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[ "Dimitri Tiomkin", "Working for Frank Capra (1937-1946)", "On what movie did he work with Frank Capra?", "first break from Columbia director Frank Capra, who picked him to write and perform the score for Lost Horizon (1937).", "Did he work on subsequent Capra films?", "including the comedy You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946).", "Did he write the scores for those movies?", "He worked on other Capra films during the following decade,", "Was It's a Wonderful Life the last movie he did with Capra?", "and It's a Wonderful Life (1946).", "Did he win any awards for the movies he did with Capra?", "I don't know.", "Was there anything unusual about the scores he wrote for Capra's films?", "credited Capra for broadening his musical horizons by shifting them away from a purely Eurocentric and romantic style to a more American style", "Was he involved in the Why We Fight series?", "During World War II, he continued his close collaboration with Capra by composing scores for his Why We Fight series.", "Was he in the military during world war II?", "During World War II, he continued his close collaboration with Capra", "Was he writing scores for other director's movies at the time?", "I don't know." ]	C_65245218f72e4ac4b90c5f7ae11f49f8_1	Was Tiomkin under contract to a particular studio?	10	Was Dimitri Tiomkin under contract to a particular studio?	Dimitri Tiomkin	Tiomkin received his first break from Columbia director Frank Capra, who picked him to write and perform the score for Lost Horizon (1937). The film gained significant recognition for Tiomkin in Hollywood. It was released the same year that he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. In his autobiography, Please Don't Hate Me! (1959), Tiomkin recalls how the assignment by Capra forced him to first confront a director in a matter of music style: [H]e gave me the job without reservation. I could write the score without interference, and he would hear it when it was done. Lost Horizon offered me a superb chance to do something big... I thought I might be going a little too far in the matter of expense, and went to Frank one day as he sat in the projection room [and explained the score.]... He looked shocked. "No, Dimi, the lama is a simple man. His greatness is in being simple. For his death the music should be simple, nothing more than the muttering rhythm of a drum." "But Frank, death of lama is not ending one man, but is death of idea. Is tragedy applying to whole human race. I must be honest. Music should rise high, high. Should give symbolism of immense loss. Please don't hate me." He worked on other Capra films during the following decade, including the comedy You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). During World War II, he continued his close collaboration with Capra by composing scores for his Why We Fight series. These seven films were commissioned by the U.S. government to show American soldiers the reason for United States participation in the war. They were later released to the general U.S. public to generate support for American involvement. Tiomkin credited Capra for broadening his musical horizons by shifting them away from a purely Eurocentric and romantic style to a more American style based on subject matter and story. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, Dmitrij Zinov'evič Tjomkin, , Dmytro Zynoviyovyč Tomkin) (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after the Russian Revolution. In 1929, after the stock market crash, he moved to Hollywood, where he became best known for his scores for Western films, including Duel in the Sun, Red River, High Noon, The Big Sky, 55 Days at Peking, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Last Train from Gun Hill. Tiomkin received 22 Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, three for Best Original Score for High Noon, The High and the Mighty, and The Old Man and the Sea, and one for Best Original Song for "The Ballad of High Noon" from the former film. Early life and education Dimitri Tiomkin was born in Kremenchuk, then part of the Russian Empire (now central Ukraine). His family was of Jewish descent; his father Zinovy Tiomkin was a "distinguished pathologist" and associate of Professor Paul Ehrlich, and later a notable Zionist leader. His mother, Marie Tartakovskaya, was a musician who began teaching the young Tiomkin piano at an early age. Her hope was to have her son become a professional pianist, according to Tiomkin biographer, Christopher Palmer. Tiomkin described his mother as being "small, blonde, merry and vivacious." Tiomkin was educated at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied piano with Felix Blumenfeld, teacher of Vladimir Horowitz, and harmony and counterpoint with Alexander Glazunov, mentor to Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. He also studied piano with Isabelle Vengerova. He survived the revolution and found work under the new regime. In 1920, while working for the Petrograd Military District Political Administration (PUR), Tiomkin was one of the lead organizers of two revolutionary mass spectacles, the Mystery of Liberated Labor, a pseudo-religious mystery play for the May Day festivities, and The Storming of the Winter Palace for the celebrations of the third anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. He supported himself while living in St. Petersburg by playing piano accompaniment for numerous Russian silent films. Because the revolution had diminished opportunities for classical musicians in Russia, Tiomkin joined many exiles in moving to Berlin after the Russian Revolution to live with his father. In Berlin, from 1921 to 1923, he studied with the pianist Ferruccio Busoni and Busoni's disciples Egon Petri and Michael von Zadora. He composed light classical and popular music, and made his performing debut as a pianist playing Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic. He moved to Paris with his roommate, Michael Khariton, to perform a piano duo repertory together. They did this before the end of 1924. Life in America In 1925 the duo received an offer from the New York theatrical producer Morris Gest and emigrated to the US. They performed together on the Keith/Albee and Orpheum vaudeville circuits, in which they accompanied a ballet troupe run by the Austrian ballerina Albertina Rasch. Tiomkin and Rasch's professional relationship evolved into a personal one, and they married in 1927. While in New York, Tiomkin gave a recital at Carnegie Hall that featured contemporary music by Maurice Ravel, Alexander Scriabin, Francis Poulenc, and Alexandre Tansman. He and his new wife went on tour to Paris in 1928, where he played the European premiere of American George Gershwin's Concerto in F at the Paris Opera, with Gershwin in the audience. After the stock market crash in October 1929 reduced work opportunities in New York, Tiomkin and his wife moved to Hollywood, where she was hired to supervise dance numbers in MGM film musicals. He worked on some minor films, some without being credited under his own name. His first significant film score project was for Paramount's Alice in Wonderland (1933). Although Tiomkin worked on some smaller film projects, his goal was to become a concert pianist. In 1937 he broke his arm, injuring it so much that he ended that possible career. He began to focus on work as a film music composer. Working for Frank Capra (1937-1946) Tiomkin received his first break from Columbia director Frank Capra, who chose him to write and perform the score for Lost Horizon (1937). The film gained significant recognition for Tiomkin in Hollywood. It was released the same year that he became a naturalized US citizen. In his autobiography, Please Don't Hate Me! (1959), Tiomkin recalls how the assignment by Capra forced him to first confront a director in a matter of music style: He worked on other Capra films during the following decade, including the comedy You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). During World War II, he continued his close collaboration with Capra by composing scores for his Why We Fight series. These seven films were commissioned by the US government to show American soldiers the reason for United States' participation in the war. They were later released to the general US public to generate support for American involvement. Tiomkin credited Capra for broadening his musical horizons by shifting them away from a purely Eurocentric and romantic style to a more American style based on subject matter and story. High Noon (1952) Following his work for Fred Zinnemann on The Men (1950), Tiomkin composed the score for the same director's High Noon (1952). His theme song was "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'" ("The Ballad of High Noon"). At its opening preview to the press, the film, which starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, did badly. Tiomkin writes that "film experts agreed that the picture was a flat failure... The producers hesitated to release the picture." Tiomkin bought the rights to the song and released it as a single for the popular music market, with singer Frankie Laine. The record became an immediate success worldwide. Based on the song's popularity, the studio released the film four months later, with the words sung by country western star Tex Ritter. The film received seven Academy Award nominations and won four awards, including two for Tiomkin: Best Original Music and Best Song. Walt Disney presented him with both awards that evening. According to film historian Arthur R. Jarvis, Jr., the score "has been credited with saving the movie." Another music expert, Mervyn Cooke, agrees, adding that "the song's spectacular success was partly responsible for changing the course of film-music history". Tiomkin was the second composer to receive two Oscars (score and song) for the same dramatic film. (The first was Leigh Harline, who won Best Original Score for Disney's Pinocchio and Best Song for "When You Wish Upon a Star". Ned Washington wrote its lyrics as he did for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin".) The song's lyrics briefly tell High Noons entire story arc, a tale of cowardice and conformity in a small Western town. Tiomkin composed his entire score around this single western-style ballad. He also eliminated violins from the ensemble. He added a subtle harmonica in the background, to give the film a "rustic, deglamorized sound that suits the anti-heroic sentiments" expressed by the story. According to Russian film historian Harlow Robinson, building the score around a single folk tune was typical of many Russian classical composers. Robinson adds that the source of Tiomkin's score, if indeed folk, has not been proven. The Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture, on page 124, states: "The fifty-year period in the USA between 1914, the start of the First World War and the year of Irving Berlin's first full score, Watch Your Step, and 1964, the premiere of Bock and Harnick's Fiddler on the Roof, is informed by a rich musical legacy from Yiddish folk tunes (for example Mark Warshavsky's "Di milners trem," The miller's tears: and Dimitri Tiomkin's "Do Not Forsake Me." High Noon) ... " Tiomkin won two more Oscars in subsequent years: for The High and the Mighty (1954), directed by William A. Wellman, and featuring John Wayne; and The Old Man and the Sea (1958), adapted from an Ernest Hemingway novel. During the 1955 ceremonies, Tiomkin thanked all of the earlier composers who had influenced him, including Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other names from the European classical tradition. The composer worked again for Zinnemann on The Sundowners (1960). Film genres and other associations Many of his scores were for Western films, which were extremely popular in this period, and for which he is best remembered. His first Western was the King Vidor-directed Duel in the Sun (1946). In addition to High Noon, among his other Westerns were Giant (1956), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), and Last Train from Gun Hill (1959). Rio Bravo (1959), The Alamo (1960), Circus World (1964) and The War Wagon (1967) were made with the involvement of John Wayne. Tiomkin received Oscar nominations for his scores in both Giant and The Alamo. He told TV host Gig Young that his aim in creating the score for Giant was to capture the "feelings of the great land and great state of Texas." Although influenced by European music traditions, Tiomkin was self-trained as a film composer. He scored many films of various genres, including historical dramas such as Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Great Catherine (1968); war movies such as The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Town Without Pity (1961); and suspense thrillers such as 36 Hours (1965). Tiomkin also wrote scores for four of Alfred Hitchcock's suspense dramas: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Strangers on a Train (1951), I Confess (1953), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Here he used a lush style relying on solo violins and muted trumpets. He composed the score for the science fiction thriller The Thing from Another World (1951), which is considered his "strangest and most experimental score." He also worked with Howard Hawks on The Big Sky (1952) and Land of the Pharaohs (1955), with John Huston on The Unforgiven (1960), and with Nicholas Ray on 55 Days at Peking (1963). Television In addition to the cinema, Tiomkin composed for television, including such memorable theme songs as Rawhide (1959) and Gunslinger. (A cover version of the theme from Rawhide was performed in the musical film The Blues Brothers (1980); the in-joke that the composer was a Ukrainian-born Jewish American was lost on the crowd at the cowboy bar.) Although Tiomkin was hired to compose the theme for The Wild Wild West (1965), the producers rejected his music and subsequently hired Richard Markowitz as his replacement. Tiomkin also made a few cameo appearances on television programs. These include being the mystery challenger on What's My Line? and an appearance on Jack Benny's CBS program in December 1961, in which he attempted to help Benny write a song. He also appeared as a contestant on the 20 October 1955 episode of the TV quiz program You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx. He composed the music to the song "Wild Is The Wind". It was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the film Wild Is the Wind (1957). Composition styles and significance Although Tiomkin was a trained classical pianist, he adapted his music training in Russia to the rapidly expanding Hollywood film industry, and taught himself how to compose meaningful film scores for almost any story type. Film historian David Wallace notes that despite Tiomkin's indebtedness to Europe's classical composers, he would go on to express more than any other composer, "the American spirit—its frontier spirit, anyway—in film music." Tiomkin had no illusions about his talent and the nature of his film work when compared to the classical composers. "I am no Prokofiev, I am no Tchaikovsky. But what I write is good for what I write for. So please, boys, help me." Upon receiving his Oscar in 1955 for The High and the Mighty, he became the first composer to publicly list and thank the great European masters, including Beethoven, Strauss, and Brahms, among others. Music historian Christopher Palmer says that Tiomkin's "genius lay in coming up with themes and finding vivid ways of creating sonic color appropriate to the story and visual image, not in his ability to combine the themes into a complex symphonic structure that could stand on its own." In addition he speculates how a Russian-born pianist like Tiomkin, who was educated at a respected Russian music conservatory, could have become so successful in the American film industry: Tiomkin alluded to this relationship in his autobiography: Techniques of composing Tiomkin's methods of composing a film score have been analyzed and described by music experts. Musicologist Dave Epstein, for one, has explained that after reading the script, Tiomkin would then outline the film's major themes and movements. After the film itself has been filmed, he would make a detailed study of the timing of scenes, using a stopwatch to arrange precise synchronization of the music with the scenes. He would complete the final score after assembling all the musicians and orchestra, rehearse a number of times, and then record the final soundtrack. Tiomkin paid careful attention to the voices of the actors when composing. According to Epstein, he "found that in addition to the timbre of the voice, the pitch of the speaking voice must be very carefully considered..." To accomplish this, Tiomkin would go to the set during filming and would listen to each of the actors. He would also talk with them individually, noting the pitch and color of their voices. Tiomkin explains why he took the extra time with actors: Death and legacy Dimitri Tiomkin died in London, England in 1979 two weeks after fracturing his pelvis in a fall. He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. During the 1950s Tiomkin was the highest-paid film composer, composing close to a rate of a picture each month, achieving his greatest fame during the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1948 and 1958, his "golden decade," he composed 57 film scores. In 1952 he composed nine film scores, including High Noon, for which he won two Academy Awards. In the same decade, he won two more Oscars and his film scores were nominated nine times. He was honored in the Soviet Union and Russia. In 1967, he was a member of the jury of the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. In 2014, his theme songs to It's a Wonderful Life and Giant were played during the closing ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Beginning with Lost Horizon in 1937, through his retirement from films in 1979, and until modern times, he is recognized as being the only Russian to have become a Hollywood film composer. Other Russian-born composers, such as Irving Berlin, wrote their scores for Broadway plays, many of which were later adapted to film. Tiomkin was the first film score composer to write both the title theme song and the score. He expanded on that technique in many of his westerns, including High Noon and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which the theme song was repeated as a common thread running through the entire film. For the film Red River his biographer Christopher Palmer describes how the music immediately sets the epic and heroic tone for the film: Because of this stylistic contribution to westerns, along with other film genres, using title and ongoing theme songs, he had the greatest impact on Hollywood films in the following decades up until the present. With many of his songs being used in the title of films, Tiomkin created what composer Irwin Bazelon called "title song mania." In subsequent decades, studios often attempted to create their own hit songs to both sell as a soundtrack and to enhance the movie experience, with a typical example being the film score for Titanic. He was known to use "source music" in his scores. Some experts claim these were often based on Russian folk songs. Much of his film music, especially for westerns, was used to create an atmosphere of "broad, sweeping landscapes," with a prominent use of chorus. During a TV interview, he credited his love of the European classic composers along with his ability to adapt American folk music styles to creating grand American theme music. A number of Tiomkin's film scores were released on LP soundtrack albums, including Giant and The Alamo. Some of the recordings, which usually featured Tiomkin conducting his own music, have been reissued on CD. The theme song to High Noon has been recorded by many artists, with one German CD producer, Bear Family Records, producing a CD with 25 different artists performing that one song. In 1999, the US Postal Service added his image to their "Legends of American Music" stamp series. The series began with the issuance of one featuring singer Elvis Presley in 1993. Tiomkin's image was added as part of their "Hollywood Composers" selection. In 1976, RCA Victor released Lost Horizon: The Classic Film Scores of Dimitri Tiomkin (US catalogue #ARL1-1669, UK catalogue #GL 43445) with Charles Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Featuring highlights from various Tiomkin scores, the album was later reissued by RCA on CD with Dolby Surround Sound. The American Film Institute ranked Tiomkin's score for High Noon as #10 on their list of the 100 greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list: The Alamo (1960) Dial M for Murder (1954) Duel in the Sun (1946) Friendly Persuasion (1956) The Guns of Navarone (1961) Lost Horizon (1937) Awards and nominations Academy Awards 1972 - nominated for "Best Music, Scoring Adaptation and Original Song" Score for Tchaikovsky (1969) 1965 - nominated for "Best Music, Score - Substantially Original" for The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) 1964 - nominated (with Paul Francis Webster) for "Best Music, Original Song" for 55 Days at Peking (1963) for "So Little Time", sung by Andy Williams 1964 - nominated for "Best Music, Score - Substantially Original" for 55 Days at Peking (1963) 1962 - nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for Town Without Pity (1961) 1962 - nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Guns of Navarone (1961) 1961 - nominated (with Paul Francis Webster) for "Best Music, Original Song" for The Alamo (1960) for "The Green Leaves of Summer", sung by The Brothers Four 1961 - nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Alamo (1960) 1961 - nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for The Young Land (1959) 1959 - won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Old Man and the Sea (1958) 1958 - nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for Wild Is the Wind (1957) 1957 - nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for "Friendly Persuasion", "Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture" for "Giant" (1956) 1955 - won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The High and Mighty 1955 - nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for "The High and the Mighty" (1954) 1953 - won (with Ned Washington) an Oscar for "Best Music, Original Song" for High Noon (1952) for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'", sung by Tex Ritter 1953 - won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for High Noon (1952) 1950 - nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for Champion (1949) 1945 - nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944) 1944 - nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Moon and Sixpence (1943) 1943 - nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Corsican Brothers (1941) 1940 - nominated for "Best Music, Scoring" for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Golden Globe Awards 1965 for "Best Original Score" for The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) 1962 for "Best Motion Picture Score" for The Guns of Navarone (1961) 1962 for "Best Motion Picture Song" for Town without Pity (1961) 1961 for "Best Original Score" for The Alamo (1960) 1957 he received the "Special Award" as "Recognition for film music" 1955 he received the "Special Award" "For creative musical contribution to Motion Picture" 1953 for "Best Motion Picture Score" for High Noon (1952) References External links Official site Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Tiomkin's Golden Decade Multimedia links Audio clips, 40 film samples , audio score compilation by Berny Debney, 10 minutes Tiomkin on You Bet Your Life in 1955 1894 births 1979 deaths People from Kremenchuk People from Poltava Governorate Ukrainian Jews Soviet emigrants to the United States American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American film score composers American male film score composers American male conductors (music) Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Golden Globe Award-winning musicians Jewish American film score composers Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American Jews	false	[ "Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, Dmitrij Zinov'evič Tjomkin, , Dmytro Zynoviyovyč Tomkin) (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after the Russian Revolution. In 1929, after the stock market crash, he moved to Hollywood, where he became best known for his scores for Western films, including Duel in the Sun, Red River, High Noon, The Big Sky, 55 Days at Peking, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Last Train from Gun Hill.\n\nTiomkin received 22 Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, three for Best Original Score for High Noon, The High and the Mighty, and The Old Man and the Sea, and one for Best Original Song for \"The Ballad of High Noon\" from the former film.\n\nEarly life and education\n\nDimitri Tiomkin was born in Kremenchuk, then part of the Russian Empire (now central Ukraine).\n\nHis family was of Jewish descent; his father Zinovy Tiomkin was a \"distinguished pathologist\" and associate of Professor Paul Ehrlich, and later a notable Zionist leader. His mother, Marie Tartakovskaya, was a musician who began teaching the young Tiomkin piano at an early age. Her hope was to have her son become a professional pianist, according to Tiomkin biographer, Christopher Palmer. Tiomkin described his mother as being \"small, blonde, merry and vivacious.\"\n\nTiomkin was educated at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied piano with Felix Blumenfeld, teacher of Vladimir Horowitz, and harmony and counterpoint with Alexander Glazunov, mentor to Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. He also studied piano with Isabelle Vengerova.\n\nHe survived the revolution and found work under the new regime. In 1920, while working for the Petrograd Military District Political Administration (PUR), Tiomkin was one of the lead organizers of two revolutionary mass spectacles, the Mystery of Liberated Labor, a pseudo-religious mystery play for the May Day festivities, and The Storming of the Winter Palace for the celebrations of the third anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. He supported himself while living in St. Petersburg by playing piano accompaniment for numerous Russian silent films.\n\nBecause the revolution had diminished opportunities for classical musicians in Russia, Tiomkin joined many exiles in moving to Berlin after the Russian Revolution to live with his father. In Berlin, from 1921 to 1923, he studied with the pianist Ferruccio Busoni and Busoni's disciples Egon Petri and Michael von Zadora. He composed light classical and popular music, and \nmade his performing debut as a pianist playing Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic.\n\nHe moved to Paris with his roommate, Michael Khariton, to perform a piano duo repertory together. They did this before the end of 1924.\n\nLife in America\nIn 1925 the duo received an offer from the New York theatrical producer Morris Gest and emigrated to the US. They performed together on the Keith/Albee and Orpheum vaudeville circuits, in which they accompanied a ballet troupe run by the Austrian ballerina Albertina Rasch. Tiomkin and Rasch's professional relationship evolved into a personal one, and they married in 1927.\n\nWhile in New York, Tiomkin gave a recital at Carnegie Hall that featured contemporary music by Maurice Ravel, Alexander Scriabin, Francis Poulenc, and Alexandre Tansman. He and his new wife went on tour to Paris in 1928, where he played the European premiere of American George Gershwin's Concerto in F at the Paris Opera, with Gershwin in the audience.\n\nAfter the stock market crash in October 1929 reduced work opportunities in New York, Tiomkin and his wife moved to Hollywood, where she was hired to supervise dance numbers in MGM film musicals. He worked on some minor films, some without being credited under his own name. His first significant film score project was for Paramount's Alice in Wonderland (1933). Although Tiomkin worked on some smaller film projects, his goal was to become a concert pianist. In 1937 he broke his arm, injuring it so much that he ended that possible career. He began to focus on work as a film music composer.\n\nWorking for Frank Capra (1937-1946)\nTiomkin received his first break from Columbia director Frank Capra, who chose him to write and perform the score for Lost Horizon (1937). The film gained significant recognition for Tiomkin in Hollywood. It was released the same year that he became a naturalized US citizen.\n\nIn his autobiography, Please Don't Hate Me! (1959), Tiomkin recalls how the assignment by Capra forced him to first confront a director in a matter of music style:\n\nHe worked on other Capra films during the following decade, including the comedy You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). During World War II, he continued his close collaboration with Capra by composing scores for his Why We Fight series. These seven films were commissioned by the US government to show American soldiers the reason for United States' participation in the war. They were later released to the general US public to generate support for American involvement.\n\nTiomkin credited Capra for broadening his musical horizons by shifting them away from a purely Eurocentric and romantic style to a more American style based on subject matter and story.\n\nHigh Noon (1952)\nFollowing his work for Fred Zinnemann on The Men (1950), Tiomkin composed the score for the same director's High Noon (1952). His theme song was \"Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'\" (\"The Ballad of High Noon\"). At its opening preview to the press, the film, which starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, did badly. Tiomkin writes that \"film experts agreed that the picture was a flat failure... The producers hesitated to release the picture.\" Tiomkin bought the rights to the song and released it as a single for the popular music market, with singer Frankie Laine. The record became an immediate success worldwide. \n\nBased on the song's popularity, the studio released the film four months later, with the words sung by country western star Tex Ritter. The film received seven Academy Award nominations and won four awards, including two for Tiomkin: Best Original Music and Best Song. Walt Disney presented him with both awards that evening.\n\nAccording to film historian Arthur R. Jarvis, Jr., the score \"has been credited with saving the movie.\" Another music expert, Mervyn Cooke, agrees, adding that \"the song's spectacular success was partly responsible for changing the course of film-music history\". Tiomkin was the second composer to receive two Oscars (score and song) for the same dramatic film. (The first was Leigh Harline, who won Best Original Score for Disney's Pinocchio and Best Song for \"When You Wish Upon a Star\". Ned Washington wrote its lyrics as he did for \"Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin\".)\n\nThe song's lyrics briefly tell High Noons entire story arc, a tale of cowardice and conformity in a small Western town. Tiomkin composed his entire score around this single western-style ballad. He also eliminated violins from the ensemble. He added a subtle harmonica in the background, to give the film a \"rustic, deglamorized sound that suits the anti-heroic sentiments\" expressed by the story.\n\nAccording to Russian film historian Harlow Robinson, building the score around a single folk tune was typical of many Russian classical composers. Robinson adds that the source of Tiomkin's score, if indeed folk, has not been proven. The Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture, on page 124, states: \"The fifty-year period in the USA between 1914, the start of the First World War and the year of Irving Berlin's first full score, Watch Your Step, and 1964, the premiere of Bock and Harnick's Fiddler on the Roof, is informed by a rich musical legacy from Yiddish folk tunes (for example Mark Warshavsky's \"Di milners trem,\" The miller's tears: and Dimitri Tiomkin's \"Do Not Forsake Me.\" High Noon) ... \"\n\nTiomkin won two more Oscars in subsequent years: for The High and the Mighty (1954), directed by William A. Wellman, and featuring John Wayne; and The Old Man and the Sea (1958), adapted from an Ernest Hemingway novel. During the 1955 ceremonies, Tiomkin thanked all of the earlier composers who had influenced him, including Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other names from the European classical tradition.\n\nThe composer worked again for Zinnemann on The Sundowners (1960).\n\nFilm genres and other associations\nMany of his scores were for Western films, which were extremely popular in this period, and for which he is best remembered. His first Western was the King Vidor-directed Duel in the Sun (1946). In addition to High Noon, among his other Westerns were Giant (1956), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), and Last Train from Gun Hill (1959). Rio Bravo (1959), The Alamo (1960), Circus World (1964) and The War Wagon (1967) were made with the involvement of John Wayne. Tiomkin received Oscar nominations for his scores in both Giant and The Alamo. He told TV host Gig Young that his aim in creating the score for Giant was to capture the \"feelings of the great land and great state of Texas.\"\n\nAlthough influenced by European music traditions, Tiomkin was self-trained as a film composer. He scored many films of various genres, including historical dramas such as Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Great Catherine (1968); war movies such as The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Town Without Pity (1961); and suspense thrillers such as 36 Hours (1965).\n\nTiomkin also wrote scores for four of Alfred Hitchcock's suspense dramas: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Strangers on a Train (1951), I Confess (1953), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Here he used a lush style relying on solo violins and muted trumpets. He composed the score for the science fiction thriller The Thing from Another World (1951), which is considered his \"strangest and most experimental score.\" He also worked with Howard Hawks on The Big Sky (1952) and Land of the Pharaohs (1955), with John Huston on The Unforgiven (1960), and with Nicholas Ray on 55 Days at Peking (1963).\n\nTelevision\nIn addition to the cinema, Tiomkin composed for television, including such memorable theme songs as Rawhide (1959) and Gunslinger. (A cover version of the theme from Rawhide was performed in the musical film The Blues Brothers (1980); the in-joke that the composer was a Ukrainian-born Jewish American was lost on the crowd at the cowboy bar.) Although Tiomkin was hired to compose the theme for The Wild Wild West (1965), the producers rejected his music and subsequently hired Richard Markowitz as his replacement.\n\nTiomkin also made a few cameo appearances on television programs. These include being the mystery challenger on What's My Line? and an appearance on Jack Benny's CBS program in December 1961, in which he attempted to help Benny write a song. He also appeared as a contestant on the 20 October 1955 episode of the TV quiz program You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx.\n\nHe composed the music to the song \"Wild Is The Wind\". It was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the film Wild Is the Wind (1957).\n\nComposition styles and significance\n\nAlthough Tiomkin was a trained classical pianist, he adapted his music training in Russia to the rapidly expanding Hollywood film industry, and taught himself how to compose meaningful film scores for almost any story type. Film historian David Wallace notes that despite Tiomkin's indebtedness to Europe's classical composers, he would go on to express more than any other composer, \"the American spirit—its frontier spirit, anyway—in film music.\"\n\nTiomkin had no illusions about his talent and the nature of his film work when compared to the classical composers. \"I am no Prokofiev, I am no Tchaikovsky. But what I write is good for what I write for. So please, boys, help me.\" Upon receiving his Oscar in 1955 for The High and the Mighty, he became the first composer to publicly list and thank the great European masters, including Beethoven, Strauss, and Brahms, among others.\n\nMusic historian Christopher Palmer says that Tiomkin's \"genius lay in coming up with themes and finding vivid ways of creating sonic color appropriate to the story and visual image, not in his ability to combine the themes into a complex symphonic structure that could stand on its own.\" In addition he speculates how a Russian-born pianist like Tiomkin, who was educated at a respected Russian music conservatory, could have become so successful in the American film industry:\n\nTiomkin alluded to this relationship in his autobiography:\n\nTechniques of composing\n\nTiomkin's methods of composing a film score have been analyzed and described by music experts. Musicologist Dave Epstein, for one, has explained that after reading the script, Tiomkin would then outline the film's major themes and movements. After the film itself has been filmed, he would make a detailed study of the timing of scenes, using a stopwatch to arrange precise synchronization of the music with the scenes. He would complete the final score after assembling all the musicians and orchestra, rehearse a number of times, and then record the final soundtrack.\n\nTiomkin paid careful attention to the voices of the actors when composing. According to Epstein, he \"found that in addition to the timbre of the voice, the pitch of the speaking voice must be very carefully considered...\" To accomplish this, Tiomkin would go to the set during filming and would listen to each of the actors. He would also talk with them individually, noting the pitch and color of their voices.\n\nTiomkin explains why he took the extra time with actors:\n\nDeath and legacy\nDimitri Tiomkin died in London, England in 1979 two weeks after fracturing his pelvis in a fall. He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.\n\nDuring the 1950s Tiomkin was the highest-paid film composer, composing close to a rate of a picture each month, achieving his greatest fame during the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1948 and 1958, his \"golden decade,\" he composed 57 film scores. In 1952 he composed nine film scores, including High Noon, for which he won two Academy Awards. In the same decade, he won two more Oscars and his film scores were nominated nine times.\n\nHe was honored in the Soviet Union and Russia. In 1967, he was a member of the jury of the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. In 2014, his theme songs to It's a Wonderful Life and Giant were played during the closing ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.\n\nBeginning with Lost Horizon in 1937, through his retirement from films in 1979, and until modern times, he is recognized as being the only Russian to have become a Hollywood film composer. Other Russian-born composers, such as Irving Berlin, wrote their scores for Broadway plays, many of which were later adapted to film.\n\nTiomkin was the first film score composer to write both the title theme song and the score. He expanded on that technique in many of his westerns, including High Noon and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which the theme song was repeated as a common thread running through the entire film. For the film Red River his biographer Christopher Palmer describes how the music immediately sets the epic and heroic tone for the film:\n\nBecause of this stylistic contribution to westerns, along with other film genres, using title and ongoing theme songs, he had the greatest impact on Hollywood films in the following decades up until the present. With many of his songs being used in the title of films, Tiomkin created what composer Irwin Bazelon called \"title song mania.\" In subsequent decades, studios often attempted to create their own hit songs to both sell as a soundtrack and to enhance the movie experience, with a typical example being the film score for Titanic.\n\nHe was known to use \"source music\" in his scores. Some experts claim these were often based on Russian folk songs. Much of his film music, especially for westerns, was used to create an atmosphere of \"broad, sweeping landscapes,\" with a prominent use of chorus. During a TV interview, he credited his love of the European classic composers along with his ability to adapt American folk music styles to creating grand American theme music.\n\nA number of Tiomkin's film scores were released on LP soundtrack albums, including Giant and The Alamo. Some of the recordings, which usually featured Tiomkin conducting his own music, have been reissued on CD. The theme song to High Noon has been recorded by many artists, with one German CD producer, Bear Family Records, producing a CD with 25 different artists performing that one song.\n\nIn 1999, the US Postal Service added his image to their \"Legends of American Music\" stamp series. The series began with the issuance of one featuring singer Elvis Presley in 1993. Tiomkin's image was added as part of their \"Hollywood Composers\" selection.\n\nIn 1976, RCA Victor released Lost Horizon: The Classic Film Scores of Dimitri Tiomkin (US catalogue #ARL1-1669, UK catalogue #GL 43445) with Charles Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Featuring highlights from various Tiomkin scores, the album was later reissued by RCA on CD with Dolby Surround Sound.\n\nThe American Film Institute ranked Tiomkin's score for High Noon as #10 on their list of the 100 greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list: \nThe Alamo (1960)\nDial M for Murder (1954)\nDuel in the Sun (1946)\nFriendly Persuasion (1956)\nThe Guns of Navarone (1961)\nLost Horizon (1937)\n\nAwards and nominations\n\nAcademy Awards\n1972 - nominated for \"Best Music, Scoring Adaptation and Original Song\" Score for Tchaikovsky (1969)\n1965 - nominated for \"Best Music, Score - Substantially Original\" for The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)\n1964 - nominated (with Paul Francis Webster) for \"Best Music, Original Song\" for 55 Days at Peking (1963) for \"So Little Time\", sung by Andy Williams\n1964 - nominated for \"Best Music, Score - Substantially Original\" for 55 Days at Peking (1963)\n1962 - nominated for \"Best Music, Original Song\" for Town Without Pity (1961) \n1962 - nominated for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for The Guns of Navarone (1961)\n1961 - nominated (with Paul Francis Webster) for \"Best Music, Original Song\" for The Alamo (1960) for \"The Green Leaves of Summer\", sung by The Brothers Four\n1961 - nominated for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for The Alamo (1960)\n1961 - nominated for \"Best Music, Original Song\" for The Young Land (1959)\n1959 - won an Oscar for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for The Old Man and the Sea (1958)\n1958 - nominated for \"Best Music, Original Song\" for Wild Is the Wind (1957)\n1957 - nominated for \"Best Music, Original Song\" for \"Friendly Persuasion\", \"Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture\" for \"Giant\" (1956)\n1955 - won an Oscar for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for The High and Mighty\n1955 - nominated for \"Best Music, Original Song\" for \"The High and the Mighty\" (1954)\n1953 - won (with Ned Washington) an Oscar for \"Best Music, Original Song\" for High Noon (1952) for \"Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'\", sung by Tex Ritter\n1953 - won an Oscar for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for High Noon (1952)\n1950 - nominated for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for Champion (1949)\n1945 - nominated for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944)\n1944 - nominated for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for The Moon and Sixpence (1943)\n1943 - nominated for \"Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture\" for The Corsican Brothers (1941)\n1940 - nominated for \"Best Music, Scoring\" for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)\n\nGolden Globe Awards\n1965 for \"Best Original Score\" for The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)\n1962 for \"Best Motion Picture Score\" for The Guns of Navarone (1961) \n1962 for \"Best Motion Picture Song\" for Town without Pity (1961)\n1961 for \"Best Original Score\" for The Alamo (1960)\n1957 he received the \"Special Award\" as \"Recognition for film music\"\n1955 he received the \"Special Award\" \"For creative musical contribution to Motion Picture\"\n1953 for \"Best Motion Picture Score\" for High Noon (1952)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nOfficial site\n\nDimitri Tiomkin\nDimitri Tiomkin's Golden Decade\n\nMultimedia links\n\nAudio clips, 40 film samples\n, audio score compilation by Berny Debney, 10 minutes\n\nTiomkin on You Bet Your Life in 1955\n\n1894 births\n1979 deaths\nPeople from Kremenchuk\nPeople from Poltava Governorate\nUkrainian Jews\nSoviet emigrants to the United States\nAmerican people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent\nAmerican film score composers\nAmerican male film score composers\nAmerican male conductors (music)\nBest Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters\nBest Original Music Score Academy Award winners\nGolden Globe Award-winning musicians\nJewish American film score composers\nBurials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)\n20th-century American conductors (music)\n20th-century American composers\n20th-century American male musicians\n20th-century American Jews", "\"The High and the Mighty\" is a song by Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin from the film of the same name.\n\nAt the start of the film's production late in 1953, veteran film composer and musician Dimitri Tiomkin was commissioned to write the film's score. The studio also urged Tiomkin to come up with a theme song for the film, to be released to radio and as a vinyl record. Tiomkin formed the basic melody to the song and enlisted songwriter Ned Washington to write the song's lyrics. What resulted was a gentle ballad. Warner Bros. presented the song to Les Baxter and his orchestra, who recorded and released the song to coincide with the release of the film. When released in 1954, \"The High and the Mighty\" peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Pop chart.\n\nBoth the film score and the song were nominated for Academy Awards in 1955. The song, which ultimately did not win an award, was sung by Johnny Desmond, accompanied by Muzzy Marcellino at the awards show. Dimitri Tiomkin's score won the Academy Award that year.\n\nToward the end of the film, after John Wayne's character convinced the captain to try to make it to San Francisco rather than ditch, the captain said \"Whistle me a tune, Dan. I like music when I work.\" Dan (John Wayne) whistled a bit of \"(I'm a) Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech\" (Georgia Tech's famous and catchy fight song). Audiences at the time no doubt immediately recognized it and understood it was a sign of success, as Georgia Tech was in its glory years in football under Bobby Dodd, during which it won six bowl games in six years and was named National Champion by one organization in 1952.\n\nA second and much rarer version of the title song lyrics also exists. In contrast to the romantic motif of the popular hit tune, the secondary version is instead a paean to the crews who guide the airliners through the night skies towards distant cities, and concludes with an allusion to the \"high and mighty\" as the Deity.\n\nAn instrumental version was also recorded in 1954 by the conductor and arranger LeRoy Holmes, reaching number 9 on the Billboard chart. It became Holmes' biggest hit, and his most recognizable. The song is known for its distinctive whistling, which accompanies the music, and which was provided by Fred Lowery (the whistling within the film itself was dubbed by Muzzy Marcellino). Yet another hit version was recorded by Victor Young and his orchestra in 1954, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard chart, and Harry James recorded a version in 1955 on his album, Jukebox Jamboree (Columbia CL 615). Another version, complete with footsteps walking, and whistling, was recorded in the UK by Jimmy Young, with Bob Sharples & His Orchestra, on the Decca label.\n\nAnother vocal version with the complete Ned Washington lyrics has been recorded by Billy Eckstine in his album, Now Singing In 12 Great Movies, from the early 1960s. An instrumental version by George Greeley was recorded on his 1959 Warner Bros. album, Greatest Motion Picture Piano Concertos. The Shadows also recorded an instrumental version in 1964 for their album, Dance with The Shadows.\n\nThe tune is whistled in the fadeout of the Simon & Garfunkel song \"Punky's Dilemma\", from their 1968 album Bookends. Toward the end of the 1980 film Seems Like Old Times, Chevy Chase's character can be heard whistling the tune as he walks away from the camera.\n\nReferences\n\n1954 songs\nSongs with music by Dimitri Tiomkin\nSongs with lyrics by Ned Washington\nSongs written for films" ]
[ "Bloc Party", "A Weekend in the City (2006-2008)" ]	C_17fc0fcb19b245e381e9ec84cf8c3e8a_0	When was A Weekend in The City Released?	1	When was A Weekend in The City Released?	Bloc Party	Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November--ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". CANNOTANSWER	It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006.	Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion). Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices". In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album Alpha Games is due to be released on 22 April 2022. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. History Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004) Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival and decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition. After going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, Moakes said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it." In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. Also in 2003 Bloc Party personally mailed Steve Aoki a 7-inch of the track “She’s Hearing Voices” and signed to Dim Mak shortly thereafter. Dim Mak teamed up with VICE, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and entered a major label deal for the first time. Dim Mak and Atlantic later released Bloc Party's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Silent Alarm in 2005. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Silent Alarm (2004–2006) Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim. It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum. The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Further singles "Banquet" (which reached number 13 in NME's 'Top 50 Singles of 2005'), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20. The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited. The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm. In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley. The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide. After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album. An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK. This remix album, entitled Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet, and Mogwai. During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as a single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity. A Weekend in the City (2006–2008) Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". Intimacy (2008–2009) "Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008. Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland. During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance. They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008. A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album. An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009. The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009, dubbing it "Bloctober". One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011) In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album was on an indefinite timescale. A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on. During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project Pin Me Down and joined the live line-up of Irish rock-band Ash as guitarist and synthesiser player on their touring for the A–Z Series. Moakes formed the group Young Legionnaire with Paul Mullen, vocalist & guitarist of The Automatic, and William Bowerman, drummer for La Roux, releasing a single, "Colossus" in August 2010. Okereke released a solo album, The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni". Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members. Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013) Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011, but decided not to play live. In the meantime Okereke finished an EP titled The Hunter. The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012. In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four, which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four". The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200. The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh. Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression". "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May. Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records. Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015) During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party. Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014. Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in Pomona and 20 August 2015 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Following these performances, Bloc Party also subheadlined FYF Fest in Los Angeles on 22 August 2015. At these shows, the band confirmed that they've finished recording their next album. The shows marked the live debut for new bassist Justin Harris of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock outfit Menomena, who had previously opened several Bloc Party U.S. tour dates in April 2009; and Louise Bartle, who was accidentally announced a month earlier as Bloc Party's drummer by instrument manufacturer Natal Drums in a since-deleted tweet, leading to fan speculation regarding her membership that was ultimately proved correct. These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist. Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019) In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns. The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016. Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band. It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers. March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full. Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut. Alpha Games (2020–present) On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album. On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album. On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth upcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album will be released on 22 April 2022. Musical style Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)". Members Current Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler, electric piano (1999–present) Russell Lissack – lead guitar, sampler, synthesiser, programming (1999–present) Justin Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, saxophone (2015–present) Louise Bartle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals, keyboards, synthesiser, drums, glockenspiel (2002–2015) Matt Tong – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2013) Former touring Sarah Jones - drums, percussion (2013) Timeline Discography Studio albums Silent Alarm (2005) A Weekend in the City (2007) Intimacy (2008) Four (2012) Hymns (2016) Alpha Games (2022) Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category. They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005, and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006. At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City. Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for 'Best Album'. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'. The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards. At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'. References External links English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Musical quartets Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from London Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Wichita Recordings artists Dew Process artists Dim Mak Records artists Frenchkiss Records artists Vagrant Records artists Infectious Music artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham	true	[ "The SFWA Nebula Conference is an annual event at which the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gathers to honor outstanding work in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. Conference activities include professional sessions, tours, and a formal awards banquet at which the Nebula Awards are presented. The Nebula Awards have been presented annually since 1966, and the event was known as the Nebula Awards Weekend until 2014.\n\nEvents\nThe Nebula conference is held each spring in various locations within the United States. The weekend usually, but not always, consists of professional sessions to help writers improve their work, better manage their careers, and network with agents, editors, and fellow writers. Tickets to the weekend's events, are open to the public. Attendees do not have to be a nominee, a member of SFWA, or even an author.\n\nPast\n The 1989 Weekend was held in New York, New York.\n The 1991 Weekend was held in New York, New York.\n The 1992 Weekend was held in Atlanta, Georgia.\n The 1993 Weekend was held in New Orleans, Louisiana.\n The 1995 Weekend was held in New York, New York.\n The 1996 Weekend was held in Long Beach, California.\n The 1997 Weekend was held in Kansas City, Missouri.\n The 1998 Weekend was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico.\n The 1999 Weekend was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.\n The 2000 Weekend was held in New York, New York.\n The 2001 Weekend was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California.\n The 2002 Weekend was held in Kansas City, Kansas.\n The 2003 Weekend was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.\n The 2004 Weekend was held in Seattle, Washington.\n The 2005 Weekend was held April 27-May 1, 2005, at the Allegro Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.\n The 2006 Weekend was held May 4-7, 2006, at the Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe, Arizona, site of the 2004 World Fantasy Convention. \n The 2007 Weekend was held May 11-13, 2007, at the Marriott Financial Center in New York City. \n The 2008 Weekend was held April 25-27, 2008, at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown in Austin, Texas. \n The 2009 Weekend was held April 24-26, 2009, at the Luxe Hotel in Los Angeles, California. \n The 2010 Weekend was held May 14-16, 2010, at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront hotel in Cocoa Beach, Florida. \n The 2011 Weekend was held May 19-22, 2011, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC.\n The 2012 Weekend was held May 17-20, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Crystal City, Virginia.\n The 2013 Weekend was held May 16-19, 2013 at the Hilton San Jose in San Jose, California.\n The 2014 Weekend was held May 15-18, 2014 at the San Jose Marriott in San Jose, California.\n The 2015 Conference was held June 4-7, 2015 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois.\n The 2016 Conference was held May 12-15, 2016 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois.\n The 2017 Conference was held May 18-21, 2017 at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.\n The 2018 Conference was held May 17-20, 2018 at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.\n The 2019 Conference was held May 16-19, 2019 at the Marriott Warner Center in Woodland Hills, California.\n\nUpcoming\n\nThe 2020 Nebula Awards was scheduled to be held on May 28-31, 2020, at the Marriott Warner Center in Woodland Hills, California. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an announcement that the conference would take place entirely on-line from May 29-31.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Nebula Awards Weekend official website\n\nNebula Awards\nScience fiction conferences", "\"Weekend\" is a song by Dutch band Earth and Fire. It was released by Earth and Fire as a single in November 1979 and reached the number one spot in the singles charts in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Portugal. It was written by keyboard player Gerard Koerts for the album Reality Fills Fantasy.\n\nTrack listing\n\nChart performance\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nChips version \n\nWeekend was first covered by the Swedish group Chips on their eponymously titled debut-album. Originally, the version was recorded in 1980, but was only available on the album's first printed issues, as all subsequent releases (now called \"Sweets'n Chips\") replaced the song with the track \"Good Morning\". It wasn't until the release of the 1997 Greatest Hits-album \"20 bästa låtar\" that the song became widely available again. The B-Side on the single was the Instrumental track \"Tokyo\".\n\nTrack listing\n\nScooter version\n\n\"Weekend\" was also covered by German techno group Scooter as \"Weekend!\". It was released on 24 February 2003 as the first single from their ninth studio album, The Stadium Techno Experience (2003). The single reached number two in Germany and was a top-10 hit in Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. In Norway, the song is certified Platinum for sales exceeding 10,000.\n\nMusic video\nThe video for the song shows how desperate for attention the group was. The video takes place on an illuminated part of a loam-covered floor encircled by dark. While Scooter are performing the song, there are Buddhist and Christian monks, nuns, Asian martial artists, topless women, traditional Indian female dancers and Ganesha dancing around them. H. P. Baxxter can also be seen wearing a costume resembling those worn by the Roman centurions. The puerile video was censored in the multimedia part of the CD single released in Germany.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nOther versions \nIn 1980 the Belgian band De Strangers released a Dutch-language version of the song under the title \"Pluchke\".\n\nThe song was released in German version as \"Kein Mädchen für das Wochenende\" which was first sung by Conny Morin and later was covered by Daniela Dilow.\n\nIn 2002 Kid Q released the single \"This Feeling\", which contains a sample of \"Weekend\".\n\nIn 2008 Bloodhound Gang released a cover version of the Scooter cover for \"Weekend!\"\n\nIn 2012, Belgian electro producer Mickey released a cover version of the original track featuring Sylvie 'Billie' Kreusch.\n\nIn 2017, Dutch artist De Ambassade released a New wave/Synth-pop rendition of the song under the title \"Jerney\", after the lead singer of Earth and Fire Jerney Kaagman.\n\nIn 2019, German DSDS Star Sarah Lombardi released Weekend, a collaboration with DJ Herzbeat, as Schlager Song. The Song started on place 93 of the GfK Entertainment Charts and reached in the ITunes charts the Number 1, after only one week.\n\nIn 2020, German DJ LIZOT released a cover version of Weekend.\n\nReferences\n\n1979 singles\n1979 songs\n1997 singles\n2003 singles\nDutch Top 40 number-one singles\nNumber-one singles in Belgium\nNumber-one singles in Denmark\nNumber-one singles in Germany\nNumber-one singles in Hungary\nNumber-one singles in Portugal\nNumber-one singles in Switzerland\nScooter (band) songs\nSingle Top 100 number-one singles\nUK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles\nVertigo Records singles" ]
[ "Bloc Party", "A Weekend in the City (2006-2008)", "When was A Weekend in The City Released?", "It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006." ]	C_17fc0fcb19b245e381e9ec84cf8c3e8a_0	What was the first single?	2	What was the first single off of A Weekend In The City?	Bloc Party	Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November--ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". CANNOTANSWER	The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January,	Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion). Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices". In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album Alpha Games is due to be released on 22 April 2022. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. History Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004) Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival and decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition. After going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, Moakes said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it." In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. Also in 2003 Bloc Party personally mailed Steve Aoki a 7-inch of the track “She’s Hearing Voices” and signed to Dim Mak shortly thereafter. Dim Mak teamed up with VICE, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and entered a major label deal for the first time. Dim Mak and Atlantic later released Bloc Party's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Silent Alarm in 2005. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Silent Alarm (2004–2006) Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim. It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum. The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Further singles "Banquet" (which reached number 13 in NME's 'Top 50 Singles of 2005'), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20. The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited. The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm. In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley. The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide. After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album. An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK. This remix album, entitled Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet, and Mogwai. During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as a single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity. A Weekend in the City (2006–2008) Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". Intimacy (2008–2009) "Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008. Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland. During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance. They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008. A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album. An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009. The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009, dubbing it "Bloctober". One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011) In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album was on an indefinite timescale. A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on. During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project Pin Me Down and joined the live line-up of Irish rock-band Ash as guitarist and synthesiser player on their touring for the A–Z Series. Moakes formed the group Young Legionnaire with Paul Mullen, vocalist & guitarist of The Automatic, and William Bowerman, drummer for La Roux, releasing a single, "Colossus" in August 2010. Okereke released a solo album, The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni". Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members. Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013) Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011, but decided not to play live. In the meantime Okereke finished an EP titled The Hunter. The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012. In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four, which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four". The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200. The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh. Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression". "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May. Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records. Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015) During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party. Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014. Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in Pomona and 20 August 2015 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Following these performances, Bloc Party also subheadlined FYF Fest in Los Angeles on 22 August 2015. At these shows, the band confirmed that they've finished recording their next album. The shows marked the live debut for new bassist Justin Harris of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock outfit Menomena, who had previously opened several Bloc Party U.S. tour dates in April 2009; and Louise Bartle, who was accidentally announced a month earlier as Bloc Party's drummer by instrument manufacturer Natal Drums in a since-deleted tweet, leading to fan speculation regarding her membership that was ultimately proved correct. These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist. Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019) In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns. The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016. Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band. It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers. March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full. Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut. Alpha Games (2020–present) On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album. On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album. On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth upcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album will be released on 22 April 2022. Musical style Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)". Members Current Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler, electric piano (1999–present) Russell Lissack – lead guitar, sampler, synthesiser, programming (1999–present) Justin Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, saxophone (2015–present) Louise Bartle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals, keyboards, synthesiser, drums, glockenspiel (2002–2015) Matt Tong – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2013) Former touring Sarah Jones - drums, percussion (2013) Timeline Discography Studio albums Silent Alarm (2005) A Weekend in the City (2007) Intimacy (2008) Four (2012) Hymns (2016) Alpha Games (2022) Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category. They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005, and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006. At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City. Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for 'Best Album'. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'. The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards. At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'. References External links English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Musical quartets Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from London Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Wichita Recordings artists Dew Process artists Dim Mak Records artists Frenchkiss Records artists Vagrant Records artists Infectious Music artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham	true	[ "Feel What U Feel is a children's album by American musician Lisa Loeb. The album was released on October 7, 2016, and the album's first single was \"Feel What U Feel.\" The album won Best Children's Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.\n\nRelease \nThe album was announced on September 8, 2016 with the release of the lead single \"Feel What U Feel,\" featuring Craig Robinson. The album was then released by Furious Rose Productions on October 7, 2016 as an Amazon Music exclusive.\n\nPromotion \nLisa Loeb Embarked a small tour to promote the Children's album in the Fall of 2016 & Winter of 2017. Despite going on a children's tour, Lisa performed many of her \"Adult\" and \"Older\" songs. Lisa also constantly played her songs on \"Kids Place Live Radio\" for nearly 1 year after release.\n\nSingles \n\"Feel What U Feel\" was released as the album's lead single of September 8, 2016. The second single, \"Moon Star Pie (It's Gunna Be Alright)\" was released on October 7, 2016. The third single, \"Wanna Do Day\" ft. Ed Helms was released on January 12, 2017. The fourth and final single of the album, \"The Sky Is Always Blue\" was released on March 13, 2017.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences \n\n2016 albums\nChildren's music albums\nLisa Loeb albums", "\"'What're You Doing Tonight'\" is a song written by Bob McDill that was recorded by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released as her debut solo single in August 1977 and reached chart positions in both the United States and Canada. It was the first single from Fricke's debut album Singer of Songs.\n\nBackground and recording\nJanie Fricke had gone from a studio background singer and commercial jingle performer to a recording artist in 1977. After being heard on a single by country artist Johnny Duncan, she signed her own contract with Columbia Records in 1977. Under the production of producer Billy Sherrill, Fricke recorded her first single \"What're You Doing Tonight\". It was composed by Nashville songwriter Bob McDill. The song was recorded at the Columbia Studio in Nashville, Tennessee under the direction of Sherrill. The session took place in June 1977. Also cut during the same session was the track \"We're a Love Song\".\n\nRelease, chart performance and reception\nIn August 1977, \"What're You Doing Tonight\" was released as a single on Columbia Records. It was backed on the B-side by Fricke's self-composed tune \"We're a Love Song\". It was issued as a seven inch vinyl single and was the debut single released in her career. It became Fricke's first single to reach the American Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Spending 13 weeks on the survey, the single peaked at number 21 in November 1977. On Canada's RPM Country Songs chart, the single reached the top 20, peaking at number 14. \"What're You Doing Tonight\" was later included on Fricke's debut studio album called Singer of Songs. The album was released on Columbia in May 1978. At the 20th Annual Grammy Awards, Fricke was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. She would be nominated three more times for the same award in her career.\n\nTrack listing\n7\" vinyl single\n \"What're You Doing Tonight\" – 2:49\n \"We're a Love Song\" – 3:17\n\nCharts\n\nAccolades\n\n!\n\|-\n\| 1978\n\| 20th Annual Grammy Awards\n\| Best Female Country Vocal Performance\n\| \n\| \n\|-\n\|}\n\nReferences\n\n1977 debut singles\n1977 songs\nColumbia Records singles\nJanie Fricke songs\nSong recordings produced by Billy Sherrill\nSongs written by Bob McDill" ]
[ "Bloc Party", "A Weekend in the City (2006-2008)", "When was A Weekend in The City Released?", "It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006.", "What was the first single?", "The first single, \"The Prayer\", was released on 29 January," ]	C_17fc0fcb19b245e381e9ec84cf8c3e8a_0	Did they have any other singles?	3	Did the album A Weekend In The City have any other singles other than "The Prayer?"	Bloc Party	Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November--ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". CANNOTANSWER	I Still Remember",	Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion). Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices". In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album Alpha Games is due to be released on 22 April 2022. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. History Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004) Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival and decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition. After going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, Moakes said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it." In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. Also in 2003 Bloc Party personally mailed Steve Aoki a 7-inch of the track “She’s Hearing Voices” and signed to Dim Mak shortly thereafter. Dim Mak teamed up with VICE, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and entered a major label deal for the first time. Dim Mak and Atlantic later released Bloc Party's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Silent Alarm in 2005. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Silent Alarm (2004–2006) Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim. It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum. The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Further singles "Banquet" (which reached number 13 in NME's 'Top 50 Singles of 2005'), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20. The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited. The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm. In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley. The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide. After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album. An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK. This remix album, entitled Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet, and Mogwai. During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as a single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity. A Weekend in the City (2006–2008) Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". Intimacy (2008–2009) "Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008. Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland. During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance. They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008. A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album. An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009. The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009, dubbing it "Bloctober". One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011) In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album was on an indefinite timescale. A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on. During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project Pin Me Down and joined the live line-up of Irish rock-band Ash as guitarist and synthesiser player on their touring for the A–Z Series. Moakes formed the group Young Legionnaire with Paul Mullen, vocalist & guitarist of The Automatic, and William Bowerman, drummer for La Roux, releasing a single, "Colossus" in August 2010. Okereke released a solo album, The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni". Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members. Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013) Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011, but decided not to play live. In the meantime Okereke finished an EP titled The Hunter. The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012. In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four, which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four". The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200. The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh. Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression". "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May. Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records. Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015) During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party. Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014. Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in Pomona and 20 August 2015 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Following these performances, Bloc Party also subheadlined FYF Fest in Los Angeles on 22 August 2015. At these shows, the band confirmed that they've finished recording their next album. The shows marked the live debut for new bassist Justin Harris of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock outfit Menomena, who had previously opened several Bloc Party U.S. tour dates in April 2009; and Louise Bartle, who was accidentally announced a month earlier as Bloc Party's drummer by instrument manufacturer Natal Drums in a since-deleted tweet, leading to fan speculation regarding her membership that was ultimately proved correct. These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist. Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019) In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns. The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016. Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band. It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers. March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full. Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut. Alpha Games (2020–present) On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album. On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album. On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth upcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album will be released on 22 April 2022. Musical style Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)". Members Current Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler, electric piano (1999–present) Russell Lissack – lead guitar, sampler, synthesiser, programming (1999–present) Justin Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, saxophone (2015–present) Louise Bartle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals, keyboards, synthesiser, drums, glockenspiel (2002–2015) Matt Tong – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2013) Former touring Sarah Jones - drums, percussion (2013) Timeline Discography Studio albums Silent Alarm (2005) A Weekend in the City (2007) Intimacy (2008) Four (2012) Hymns (2016) Alpha Games (2022) Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category. They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005, and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006. At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City. Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for 'Best Album'. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'. The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards. At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'. References External links English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Musical quartets Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from London Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Wichita Recordings artists Dew Process artists Dim Mak Records artists Frenchkiss Records artists Vagrant Records artists Infectious Music artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham	true	[ "213 (pronounced \"Two One Three\") was an American hip hop trio supergroup from Long Beach, California composed of Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg. The name derives from Los Angeles' original telephone area code 213, which served the city of Long Beach at the time of the band's formation (it later became 562).\n\nBackground\nTheir breakthrough song was the minor hit \"Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)\" from Snoop Dogg's solo debut Doggystyle, which also featured Kurupt of Tha Dogg Pound. In 1994, they released the St. Ides EP. Since then, they continued to collaborate on each other's solo projects, but they didn't release any new material as a group. They got their name from Oakland rap group 415 as paying homage. August 17, 2004, they released their only studio album The Hard Way, which reached #4 in the U.S. Billboard 200 charts. It featured the singles, \"Groupie Luv\" and \"So Fly\".\n\nOn March 15, 2011, Nate Dogg died in Long Beach, California, from complications of multiple strokes, effectively disbanding 213.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n\nVideo albums\n\nSingles\n\nAs lead artist\n\nOther charted songs\n\nGuest appearances\n\nNotes\nA \"Fly\" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which acts as an extension to the Hot 100.\nB \"Groupie Luv\" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 6 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which acts as an extension to the Hot 100.\nC \"Dolla Bill\" did not enter the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, but peaked at number 11 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop chart, which acts as an extension to the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.\n\nReferences\n\nCrips\nSnoop Dogg\nHip hop groups from California\nHip hop supergroups\nTVT Records artists\nMusical groups from Los Angeles\nRappers from Los Angeles\nMusical groups established in 1992\nAmerican musical trios\nAfrican-American musical groups\nGangsta rap groups\nG-funk groups", "\"Under Any Moon\" is a single by Glenn Medeiros and The Jets, released in 1989. \n\nWritten by Diane Warren, the song was released as a single only in the United Kingdom. It was included on the soundtrack for The Karate Kid Part III (1989), on the Mercury label, and was also included on The Jets' album, Believe (1989), on the MCA label. \n\nThe song failed to have any chart impact in the UK, while it did have minor airplay in the United States, it did not chart either. It was never performed live by The Jets.\n\nReferences\n\n1989 singles\n1989 songs\nThe Jets (band) songs\nGlenn Medeiros songs\nMercury Records singles\nSongs written by Diane Warren" ]
[ "Bloc Party", "A Weekend in the City (2006-2008)", "When was A Weekend in The City Released?", "It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006.", "What was the first single?", "The first single, \"The Prayer\", was released on 29 January,", "Did they have any other singles?", "I Still Remember\"," ]	C_17fc0fcb19b245e381e9ec84cf8c3e8a_0	Was the album a success?	4	Was the album A Weekend In The City a success?	Bloc Party	Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November--ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". CANNOTANSWER	reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart.	Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion). Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices". In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album Alpha Games is due to be released on 22 April 2022. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. History Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004) Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival and decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition. After going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, Moakes said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it." In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. Also in 2003 Bloc Party personally mailed Steve Aoki a 7-inch of the track “She’s Hearing Voices” and signed to Dim Mak shortly thereafter. Dim Mak teamed up with VICE, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and entered a major label deal for the first time. Dim Mak and Atlantic later released Bloc Party's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Silent Alarm in 2005. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Silent Alarm (2004–2006) Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim. It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum. The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Further singles "Banquet" (which reached number 13 in NME's 'Top 50 Singles of 2005'), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20. The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited. The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm. In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley. The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide. After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album. An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK. This remix album, entitled Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet, and Mogwai. During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as a single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity. A Weekend in the City (2006–2008) Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". Intimacy (2008–2009) "Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008. Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland. During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance. They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008. A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album. An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009. The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009, dubbing it "Bloctober". One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011) In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album was on an indefinite timescale. A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on. During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project Pin Me Down and joined the live line-up of Irish rock-band Ash as guitarist and synthesiser player on their touring for the A–Z Series. Moakes formed the group Young Legionnaire with Paul Mullen, vocalist & guitarist of The Automatic, and William Bowerman, drummer for La Roux, releasing a single, "Colossus" in August 2010. Okereke released a solo album, The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni". Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members. Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013) Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011, but decided not to play live. In the meantime Okereke finished an EP titled The Hunter. The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012. In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four, which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four". The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200. The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh. Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression". "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May. Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records. Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015) During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party. Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014. Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in Pomona and 20 August 2015 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Following these performances, Bloc Party also subheadlined FYF Fest in Los Angeles on 22 August 2015. At these shows, the band confirmed that they've finished recording their next album. The shows marked the live debut for new bassist Justin Harris of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock outfit Menomena, who had previously opened several Bloc Party U.S. tour dates in April 2009; and Louise Bartle, who was accidentally announced a month earlier as Bloc Party's drummer by instrument manufacturer Natal Drums in a since-deleted tweet, leading to fan speculation regarding her membership that was ultimately proved correct. These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist. Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019) In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns. The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016. Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band. It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers. March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full. Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut. Alpha Games (2020–present) On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album. On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album. On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth upcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album will be released on 22 April 2022. Musical style Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)". Members Current Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler, electric piano (1999–present) Russell Lissack – lead guitar, sampler, synthesiser, programming (1999–present) Justin Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, saxophone (2015–present) Louise Bartle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals, keyboards, synthesiser, drums, glockenspiel (2002–2015) Matt Tong – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2013) Former touring Sarah Jones - drums, percussion (2013) Timeline Discography Studio albums Silent Alarm (2005) A Weekend in the City (2007) Intimacy (2008) Four (2012) Hymns (2016) Alpha Games (2022) Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category. They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005, and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006. At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City. Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for 'Best Album'. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'. The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards. At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'. References External links English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Musical quartets Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from London Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Wichita Recordings artists Dew Process artists Dim Mak Records artists Frenchkiss Records artists Vagrant Records artists Infectious Music artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham	true	[ "Collaborations 2 is the tenth studio album by Punjabi singer Sukshinder Shinda, released on 26 February 2009 worldwide making his second collaborated album. The album was also released internationally to USA, Canada, and U.K.\n\nThe album was preceded by the lead single, Ghum Shum Ghum Shum which featured Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The song was also Shinda's first with Rahat. Following the success of his first single, Yarrian Banai Rakhi Yaarian featuring Jazzy B, was released which was another success. Despite success with two singles from the album, the album received positive reviews.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\n2009 albums", "Myriam is the second studio album by Myriam. On her website it is also called \"Myriam: Lo que Soy, lo que Pretendo y lo que Fui\" (Myriam: What I Am, What I Pretend and What I Was) making reference to the lyrics of the album's first single \"Hasta El Limite\". It includes eleven songs with the collaboration of Tiziano Ferro, Leonel (ex Sin Bandera). Again Myriam co-wrote a song along with Estrella. In this album Myriam brought a more fresh concept, almost 100% pop genre with a little touches of flamenco. It was released in July, 2004.\n\nAlbum information\nIt was recorded in Argentina and the producer was Cachorro López who had also worked with Julieta Venegas. Myriam's career was at a low point, as she was being criticized for her third place in Desafio de Estrellas, but all that was eclipsed by the success of this album. \"Hasta el Limite\" was the first single from the album; it was Myriam's first song with a promotional video, and stayed in the charts for more than 6 months. The second single was \"Porque Soy Mujer\" which was written by Myriam and her ex-classmate Estrella.\n\nThe album was a commercial success. Within two weeks of the launch date it reached gold status in Mexico, and sold more than 200,000 copies certificating 2× Platinum. The album was a Latin success in USA selling gold status, 50,000 copies.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\n2003 albums\nMyriam Montemayor Cruz albums" ]
[ "Bloc Party", "A Weekend in the City (2006-2008)", "When was A Weekend in The City Released?", "It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006.", "What was the first single?", "The first single, \"The Prayer\", was released on 29 January,", "Did they have any other singles?", "I Still Remember\",", "Was the album a success?", "reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart." ]	C_17fc0fcb19b245e381e9ec84cf8c3e8a_0	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	5	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article besides the the success of A Weekend In The City?	Bloc Party	Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November--ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". CANNOTANSWER	They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium.	Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion). Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices". In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album Alpha Games is due to be released on 22 April 2022. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. History Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004) Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival and decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition. After going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, Moakes said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it." In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. Also in 2003 Bloc Party personally mailed Steve Aoki a 7-inch of the track “She’s Hearing Voices” and signed to Dim Mak shortly thereafter. Dim Mak teamed up with VICE, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and entered a major label deal for the first time. Dim Mak and Atlantic later released Bloc Party's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Silent Alarm in 2005. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Silent Alarm (2004–2006) Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim. It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum. The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Further singles "Banquet" (which reached number 13 in NME's 'Top 50 Singles of 2005'), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20. The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited. The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm. In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley. The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide. After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album. An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK. This remix album, entitled Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet, and Mogwai. During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as a single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity. A Weekend in the City (2006–2008) Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". Intimacy (2008–2009) "Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008. Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland. During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance. They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008. A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album. An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009. The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009, dubbing it "Bloctober". One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011) In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album was on an indefinite timescale. A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on. During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project Pin Me Down and joined the live line-up of Irish rock-band Ash as guitarist and synthesiser player on their touring for the A–Z Series. Moakes formed the group Young Legionnaire with Paul Mullen, vocalist & guitarist of The Automatic, and William Bowerman, drummer for La Roux, releasing a single, "Colossus" in August 2010. Okereke released a solo album, The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni". Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members. Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013) Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011, but decided not to play live. In the meantime Okereke finished an EP titled The Hunter. The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012. In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four, which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four". The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200. The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh. Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression". "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May. Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records. Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015) During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party. Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014. Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in Pomona and 20 August 2015 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Following these performances, Bloc Party also subheadlined FYF Fest in Los Angeles on 22 August 2015. At these shows, the band confirmed that they've finished recording their next album. The shows marked the live debut for new bassist Justin Harris of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock outfit Menomena, who had previously opened several Bloc Party U.S. tour dates in April 2009; and Louise Bartle, who was accidentally announced a month earlier as Bloc Party's drummer by instrument manufacturer Natal Drums in a since-deleted tweet, leading to fan speculation regarding her membership that was ultimately proved correct. These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist. Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019) In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns. The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016. Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band. It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers. March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full. Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut. Alpha Games (2020–present) On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album. On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album. On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth upcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album will be released on 22 April 2022. Musical style Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)". Members Current Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler, electric piano (1999–present) Russell Lissack – lead guitar, sampler, synthesiser, programming (1999–present) Justin Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, saxophone (2015–present) Louise Bartle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals, keyboards, synthesiser, drums, glockenspiel (2002–2015) Matt Tong – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2013) Former touring Sarah Jones - drums, percussion (2013) Timeline Discography Studio albums Silent Alarm (2005) A Weekend in the City (2007) Intimacy (2008) Four (2012) Hymns (2016) Alpha Games (2022) Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category. They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005, and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006. At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City. Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for 'Best Album'. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'. The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards. At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'. References External links English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Musical quartets Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from London Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Wichita Recordings artists Dew Process artists Dim Mak Records artists Frenchkiss Records artists Vagrant Records artists Infectious Music artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham	true	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Bloc Party", "A Weekend in the City (2006-2008)", "When was A Weekend in The City Released?", "It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006.", "What was the first single?", "The first single, \"The Prayer\", was released on 29 January,", "Did they have any other singles?", "I Still Remember\",", "Was the album a success?", "reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium." ]	C_17fc0fcb19b245e381e9ec84cf8c3e8a_0	What did they do in 2007?	6	What did Bloc Party do in 2007?	Bloc Party	Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November--ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". CANNOTANSWER	On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston.	Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion). Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices". In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album Alpha Games is due to be released on 22 April 2022. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. History Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004) Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival and decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition. After going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, Moakes said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it." In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. Also in 2003 Bloc Party personally mailed Steve Aoki a 7-inch of the track “She’s Hearing Voices” and signed to Dim Mak shortly thereafter. Dim Mak teamed up with VICE, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and entered a major label deal for the first time. Dim Mak and Atlantic later released Bloc Party's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Silent Alarm in 2005. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Silent Alarm (2004–2006) Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim. It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum. The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Further singles "Banquet" (which reached number 13 in NME's 'Top 50 Singles of 2005'), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20. The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited. The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm. In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley. The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide. After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album. An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK. This remix album, entitled Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet, and Mogwai. During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as a single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity. A Weekend in the City (2006–2008) Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". Intimacy (2008–2009) "Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008. Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland. During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance. They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008. A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album. An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009. The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009, dubbing it "Bloctober". One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011) In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album was on an indefinite timescale. A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on. During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project Pin Me Down and joined the live line-up of Irish rock-band Ash as guitarist and synthesiser player on their touring for the A–Z Series. Moakes formed the group Young Legionnaire with Paul Mullen, vocalist & guitarist of The Automatic, and William Bowerman, drummer for La Roux, releasing a single, "Colossus" in August 2010. Okereke released a solo album, The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni". Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members. Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013) Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011, but decided not to play live. In the meantime Okereke finished an EP titled The Hunter. The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012. In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four, which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four". The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200. The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh. Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression". "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May. Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records. Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015) During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party. Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014. Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in Pomona and 20 August 2015 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Following these performances, Bloc Party also subheadlined FYF Fest in Los Angeles on 22 August 2015. At these shows, the band confirmed that they've finished recording their next album. The shows marked the live debut for new bassist Justin Harris of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock outfit Menomena, who had previously opened several Bloc Party U.S. tour dates in April 2009; and Louise Bartle, who was accidentally announced a month earlier as Bloc Party's drummer by instrument manufacturer Natal Drums in a since-deleted tweet, leading to fan speculation regarding her membership that was ultimately proved correct. These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist. Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019) In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns. The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016. Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band. It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers. March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full. Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut. Alpha Games (2020–present) On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album. On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album. On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth upcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album will be released on 22 April 2022. Musical style Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)". Members Current Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler, electric piano (1999–present) Russell Lissack – lead guitar, sampler, synthesiser, programming (1999–present) Justin Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, saxophone (2015–present) Louise Bartle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals, keyboards, synthesiser, drums, glockenspiel (2002–2015) Matt Tong – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2013) Former touring Sarah Jones - drums, percussion (2013) Timeline Discography Studio albums Silent Alarm (2005) A Weekend in the City (2007) Intimacy (2008) Four (2012) Hymns (2016) Alpha Games (2022) Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category. They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005, and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006. At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City. Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for 'Best Album'. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'. The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards. At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'. References External links English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Musical quartets Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from London Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Wichita Recordings artists Dew Process artists Dim Mak Records artists Frenchkiss Records artists Vagrant Records artists Infectious Music artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham	true	[ "\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased songs written by Stansfield, Devaney and Morris: \"My Apple Heart,\" \"Lay Me Down\" and \"Something's Happenin'.\" \"What Did I Do to You?\" was remixed by Mark Saunders and by the Grammy Award-winning American house music DJ and producer, David Morales. The single became a top forty hit in the European countries reaching number eighteen in Finland, number twenty in Ireland and number twenty-five in the United Kingdom. \"What Did I Do to You?\" was also released in Japan.\n\nIn 2014, the remixes of \"What Did I Do to You?\" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Affection and on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology. They were also featured on The Collection 1989–2003 box set (2014), including previously unreleased Red Zone Mix by David Morales.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received positive reviews from music critics. Matthew Hocter from Albumism viewed it as a \"upbeat offering\". David Giles from Music Week said it is \"beautifully performed\" by Stansfield. A reviewer from Reading Eagle wrote that \"What Did I Do to You?\" \"would be right at home on the \"Saturday Night Fever\" soundtrack.\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Philip Richardson, who had previously directed the videos for \"All Around the World\" and \"Live Together\". It features Stansfield with her kiss curls, dressed in a white outfit and performing with her band on a stage in front of a jumping audience. The video was later published on Stansfield's official YouTube channel in November 2009. It has amassed more than 1,6 million views as of October 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n European/UK 7\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK/Japanese CD single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n UK 10\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix) – 5:52\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK 12\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 4:22\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 3:19\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:15\n\n UK 12\" promotional single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Anti Poll Tax Dub) – 6:31\n\n Other remixes\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Red Zone Mix) – 7:45\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nLisa Stansfield songs\n1990 singles\nSongs written by Lisa Stansfield\n1989 songs\nArista Records singles\nSongs written by Ian Devaney\nSongs written by Andy Morris (musician)", "\"What Would Steve Do?\" is the second single released by Mumm-Ra on Columbia Records, which was released on February 19, 2007. It is a re-recorded version of the self-release they did in April 2006. It reached #40 in the UK Singles Chart, making it their highest charting single.\n\nTrack listings\nAll songs written by Mumm-Ra.\n\nCD\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"Cute As\"\n\"Without You\"\n\n7\"\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"What Would Steve Do? (Floorboard Mix)\"\n\nGatefold 7\"\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"Cute As\"\n\nReferences\n\n2007 singles\nMumm-Ra (band) songs\n2006 songs\nColumbia Records singles" ]
[ "Bloc Party", "A Weekend in the City (2006-2008)", "When was A Weekend in The City Released?", "It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006.", "What was the first single?", "The first single, \"The Prayer\", was released on 29 January,", "Did they have any other singles?", "I Still Remember\",", "Was the album a success?", "reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium.", "What did they do in 2007?", "On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston." ]	C_17fc0fcb19b245e381e9ec84cf8c3e8a_0	Where else have they performed?	7	Where else has Bloc Party performed other than Preston?	Bloc Party	Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November--ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". CANNOTANSWER	the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading	Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion). Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices". In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album Alpha Games is due to be released on 22 April 2022. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. History Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004) Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival and decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition. After going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, Moakes said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it." In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. Also in 2003 Bloc Party personally mailed Steve Aoki a 7-inch of the track “She’s Hearing Voices” and signed to Dim Mak shortly thereafter. Dim Mak teamed up with VICE, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and entered a major label deal for the first time. Dim Mak and Atlantic later released Bloc Party's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Silent Alarm in 2005. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Silent Alarm (2004–2006) Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim. It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum. The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Further singles "Banquet" (which reached number 13 in NME's 'Top 50 Singles of 2005'), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20. The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited. The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm. In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley. The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide. After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album. An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK. This remix album, entitled Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet, and Mogwai. During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as a single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity. A Weekend in the City (2006–2008) Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". Intimacy (2008–2009) "Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008. Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland. During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance. They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008. A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album. An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009. The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009, dubbing it "Bloctober". One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011) In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album was on an indefinite timescale. A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on. During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project Pin Me Down and joined the live line-up of Irish rock-band Ash as guitarist and synthesiser player on their touring for the A–Z Series. Moakes formed the group Young Legionnaire with Paul Mullen, vocalist & guitarist of The Automatic, and William Bowerman, drummer for La Roux, releasing a single, "Colossus" in August 2010. Okereke released a solo album, The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni". Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members. Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013) Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011, but decided not to play live. In the meantime Okereke finished an EP titled The Hunter. The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012. In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four, which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four". The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200. The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh. Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression". "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May. Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records. Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015) During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party. Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014. Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in Pomona and 20 August 2015 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Following these performances, Bloc Party also subheadlined FYF Fest in Los Angeles on 22 August 2015. At these shows, the band confirmed that they've finished recording their next album. The shows marked the live debut for new bassist Justin Harris of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock outfit Menomena, who had previously opened several Bloc Party U.S. tour dates in April 2009; and Louise Bartle, who was accidentally announced a month earlier as Bloc Party's drummer by instrument manufacturer Natal Drums in a since-deleted tweet, leading to fan speculation regarding her membership that was ultimately proved correct. These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist. Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019) In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns. The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016. Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band. It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers. March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full. Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut. Alpha Games (2020–present) On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album. On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album. On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth upcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album will be released on 22 April 2022. Musical style Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)". Members Current Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler, electric piano (1999–present) Russell Lissack – lead guitar, sampler, synthesiser, programming (1999–present) Justin Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, saxophone (2015–present) Louise Bartle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals, keyboards, synthesiser, drums, glockenspiel (2002–2015) Matt Tong – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2013) Former touring Sarah Jones - drums, percussion (2013) Timeline Discography Studio albums Silent Alarm (2005) A Weekend in the City (2007) Intimacy (2008) Four (2012) Hymns (2016) Alpha Games (2022) Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category. They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005, and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006. At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City. Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for 'Best Album'. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'. The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards. At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'. References External links English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Musical quartets Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from London Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Wichita Recordings artists Dew Process artists Dim Mak Records artists Frenchkiss Records artists Vagrant Records artists Infectious Music artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham	true	[ "The Nowhere Else to Roam was the concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica, which took place in 1993 in support of their fifth studio album Metallica (commonly known as the Black Album). This tour was the third part of the huge tour they started, after the Wherever We May Roam Tour and Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour. The band played in 77 shows worldwide in three legs.\n\nBetween February 25 and March 2, Metallica played five shows in Mexico City, Mexico. All these shows were recorded live and a few months later, the band released their first live album and box set Live Shit: Binge & Purge.\n\nFirst typical setlist\n(Taken from the Rockford, Illinois MetroCentre show on January 31, 1993)\n\n \"Enter Sandman\"\n \"Creeping Death\"\n \"Harvester of Sorrow\"\n \"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)\"\n \"Sad but True\"\n \"Of Wolf and Man\"\n \"The Unforgiven\"\n \"Justice Medley\"\n \"Eye of the Beholder\"\n \"Blackened\"\n \"The Frayed Ends of Sanity\"\n \"...And Justice for All\"\n \"Blackened\"\n Bass Solo\n Guitar Solo\n \"Through the Never\"\n \"For Whom the Bell Tolls\"\n \"Fade to Black\"\n \"Master of Puppets\"\n \"Seek & Destroy\"\n \"Whiplash\"\n \"Nothing Else Matters\"\n \"Wherever I May Roam\"\n \"Am I Evil?\" (originally performed by Diamond Head)\n \"Last Caress\" (originally performed by the Misfits)\n \"One\"\n \"Battery\"\n\nSecond typical setlist\n(Taken from the Bangkok, Thailand Thai Japanese Youth Center show on April 15, 1993)\n\n \"Enter Sandman\"\n \"Creeping Death\"\n \"Harvester of Sorrow\"\n \"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)\"\n \"Sad but True\"\n \"Wherever I May Roam\"\n \"The Unforgiven\"\n \"Justice Medley\"\n \"Eye of the Beholder\"\n \"Blackened\"\n \"The Frayed Ends of Sanity\"\n \"...And Justice for All\"\n \"Blackened\"\n Bass Solo\n Guitar Solo\n \"Through the Never\"\n \"For Whom the Bell Tolls\n \"Fade to Black\"\n \"Master of Puppets\"\n \"Seek & Destroy\"\n \"Whiplash\"\n \"Nothing Else Matters\"\n \"Am I Evil?\" (originally performed by Diamond Head)\n \"Last Caress\" (originally performed by the Misfits)\n \"One\"\n \"Battery\"\n \"Stone Cold Crazy\" (originally performed by Queen)\n\nThird typical setlist\n(Taken from the Milton Keynes, England National Bowl show on June 5, 1993)\n\n \"Creeping Death\"\n \"Harvester of Sorrow\"\n \"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)\"\n \"Of Wolf and Man\"\n \"Wherever I May Roam\"\n \"The Thing That Should Not Be\"\n \"The Unforgiven\"\n \"Disposable Heroes\"\n Bass Solo\n \"Instrumental Medley\"\n \"Orion\"\n \"To Live Is to Die\"\n \"The Call of Ktulu\"\n Guitar solo\n \"The Four Horsemen\"\n \"For Whom the Bell Tolls\"\n \"Fade to Black\"\n \"Master of Puppets\"\n \"Seek & Destroy\"\n \"\|Battery\"\n \"Nothing Else Matters\"\n \"Sad but True\"\n \"Last Caress\" (originally performed by the Misfits)\n \"One\"\n \"Enter Sandman\"\n \"So What?\" (originally performed by Anti-Nowhere League)\n\nDates\n\nPersonnel\n James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar\n Kirk Hammett – lead guitar, backing vocals\n Lars Ulrich – drums\n Jason Newsted – bass, backing vocals\n\nExternal links\nOfficial website\nMetallica on Tour\n\nReferences\n\nMetallica concert tours\n1993 concert tours", "Else Brems (1908–1995) was a Danish contralto opera singer who is remembered in particular for her interpretations of Carmen, a role she performed not only in Denmark but in Vienna, Warsaw, Budapest, Stockholm and London.\n\nEarly life and education\nThe daughter of the concert singer Anders Lauridsen Brems (1877–1974) and the pianist Gerda Emilie Rasmussen (1880-1967), Else was born in Copenhagen on 16 July 1908. She was raised in a musical family. Her maternal grandfather, Peter Rasmussen, was an organist and composer, her uncle Alfred Rasmussen a French hornist, and her father, initially a clarinettist, later became known as a singer, premiering many of Carl Nielsen's songs.\n\nIt was her father who first taught her to sing, assisted by her mother, who accompanied her on the piano. When Brems was 17, she decided to become a professional singer. Her father took her to Rome to study under the celebrated baritone Mattia Battistini who was delighted to instruct her. She then went to Paris where she acquired the authentic accent which can be heard in her French-language performances.\n\nCareer\n\nShe was only 20 when she first performed in Copenhagen. Thanks to her successful début, she went to Berlin to be trained by the American opera singer Sara Cahier, famous for her Carmen performances. After perfecting her Carmen role in French, when she was 22 Brems returned to Denmark to appear as Carmen at the Royal Danish Theatre. Her reputation was firmly established as she performed under the direction of Johannes Poulsen and the German conductor Leo Blech.\n\nIn 1933, she sang at a private concert in Chicago where she received high acclaim, one critic commenting that she would be \"the world's greatest Carmen\". She went on to study in New York under Enrico Rosati who had trained Beniamino Gigli. After performing in concerts in New York and Chicago, she returned to Europe where she played Carmen over 100 times in Copenhagen alone. In Vienna, she performed the role in German under Bruno Walter, in London in English, and in Prague, Budapest, Warsaw and Stockholm in French.\n\nIn 1940, she married the Icelandic tenor Stefán Íslandi with whom she frequently performed. She spent the war years in Scandinavia, performing in Denmark and Sweden. One of her most appreciated roles in Copenhagen during the war was as Bess in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in which the actors blackened their faces, a feature which was not welcomed by the German occupying forces. Following the liberation of Denmark in 1945, Brems contributed to the celebrations by playing Elisabeth in the patriotic Elvehøj. After the war, she toured mainly in Denmark but also performed as Carmen in Covent Garden in 1948.\n\nBrems also performed in many other roles while at Copenhagen's Royal Theatre. These included Orpheus in Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice (1939), Lola in Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana (1946), Cornelia in Handel's Julius Caesar (1947), Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (1948), and Lucretia in Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia (1955). Her last role at the Royal Theatre was that of the mother in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann in 1961. In addition to opera, Brems was a successful concert performer, singing works by Bach and Handel and frequently appearing as an acclaimed lied singer, interpreting works by Schubert and Brahms. She also sang songs by Ravel and Debussy and by the Danish composer Peter Lange-Müller. After officially leaving the theatre in 1962, she worked as a singing coach until her retirement in 1978. Until 1967 she was dean of Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium after which she joined Copenhagen University's Musikvidenskabeligt Institut where one of her most successful students was the soprano opera singer Elisabeth Meyer-Topsøe.\n\nElse Brems died on 4 October 1995 in Copenhagen and is buried in Garnisons Cemetery.\n\nAwards\nIn addition to receiving the Tagea Brandt Travel Scholarship in 1945, Brems was elevated to the status of Royal Court Singer by Christian X in 1946. In 1953, she received Denmark's highest award for artists, writers and performers, the Ingenio et Arti.\n\nDiscography\nThe comprehensive discography compiled by René Aagaard in 2013 contains 42 studio recordings (from 1932 to 1960), 20 radio recordings (1934 to 1961) and 11 republished recordings on EP, LP or CD.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nIllustrated English-language biography of Else Brems at the Else Brems Rejsefond website\nDiscography of Else Brems with biographical commentary in Danish\n\n1908 births\n1995 deaths\nSingers from Copenhagen\n20th-century Danish women opera singers\nOperatic contraltos\nRecipients of Ingenio et Arti\nBurials at the Garrison Cemetery, Copenhagen" ]
[ "Bloc Party", "A Weekend in the City (2006-2008)", "When was A Weekend in The City Released?", "It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006.", "What was the first single?", "The first single, \"The Prayer\", was released on 29 January,", "Did they have any other singles?", "I Still Remember\",", "Was the album a success?", "reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium.", "What did they do in 2007?", "On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston.", "Where else have they performed?", "the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading" ]	C_17fc0fcb19b245e381e9ec84cf8c3e8a_0	Who have they toured with?	8	Who have Bloc Party toured with?	Bloc Party	Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November--ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". CANNOTANSWER	the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers,	Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion). Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices". In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album Alpha Games is due to be released on 22 April 2022. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. History Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004) Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival and decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition. After going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, Moakes said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it." In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. Also in 2003 Bloc Party personally mailed Steve Aoki a 7-inch of the track “She’s Hearing Voices” and signed to Dim Mak shortly thereafter. Dim Mak teamed up with VICE, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and entered a major label deal for the first time. Dim Mak and Atlantic later released Bloc Party's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Silent Alarm in 2005. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Silent Alarm (2004–2006) Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim. It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum. The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Further singles "Banquet" (which reached number 13 in NME's 'Top 50 Singles of 2005'), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20. The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited. The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm. In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley. The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide. After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album. An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK. This remix album, entitled Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet, and Mogwai. During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as a single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity. A Weekend in the City (2006–2008) Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006. It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts, and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January, and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4. In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page. The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart. The band released their third single, "Hunting for Witches", with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band. The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading, and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on 5 August. On 17 September 2007, they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On 27 October, the band performed a set at London's The Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London-based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux". Intimacy (2008–2009) "Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008. Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland. During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance. They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008. A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album. An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009. The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009, dubbing it "Bloctober". One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011) In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album was on an indefinite timescale. A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on. During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project Pin Me Down and joined the live line-up of Irish rock-band Ash as guitarist and synthesiser player on their touring for the A–Z Series. Moakes formed the group Young Legionnaire with Paul Mullen, vocalist & guitarist of The Automatic, and William Bowerman, drummer for La Roux, releasing a single, "Colossus" in August 2010. Okereke released a solo album, The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni". Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members. Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013) Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011, but decided not to play live. In the meantime Okereke finished an EP titled The Hunter. The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012. In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four, which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four". The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200. The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh. Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression". "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May. Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records. Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015) During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party. Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014. Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in Pomona and 20 August 2015 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Following these performances, Bloc Party also subheadlined FYF Fest in Los Angeles on 22 August 2015. At these shows, the band confirmed that they've finished recording their next album. The shows marked the live debut for new bassist Justin Harris of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock outfit Menomena, who had previously opened several Bloc Party U.S. tour dates in April 2009; and Louise Bartle, who was accidentally announced a month earlier as Bloc Party's drummer by instrument manufacturer Natal Drums in a since-deleted tweet, leading to fan speculation regarding her membership that was ultimately proved correct. These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist. Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019) In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns. The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016. Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band. It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers. March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full. Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut. Alpha Games (2020–present) On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album. On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album. On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth upcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album will be released on 22 April 2022. Musical style Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)". Members Current Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler, electric piano (1999–present) Russell Lissack – lead guitar, sampler, synthesiser, programming (1999–present) Justin Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, saxophone (2015–present) Louise Bartle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2015–present) Former Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals, keyboards, synthesiser, drums, glockenspiel (2002–2015) Matt Tong – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2013) Former touring Sarah Jones - drums, percussion (2013) Timeline Discography Studio albums Silent Alarm (2005) A Weekend in the City (2007) Intimacy (2008) Four (2012) Hymns (2016) Alpha Games (2022) Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category. They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005, and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006. At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City. Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for 'Best Album'. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'. The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards. At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'. References External links English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Musical quartets Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from London Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Wichita Recordings artists Dew Process artists Dim Mak Records artists Frenchkiss Records artists Vagrant Records artists Infectious Music artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham	true	[ "Ghostwood were an Australian alternative-indie band formed in 2006. The original line-up, known as the Ghosts, was Tom Crandles on bass guitar, Patrick Harrowsmith on lead guitar, James West on drums and Gabriel Winterield on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. They changed their name and were signed to Modular Recordings, which issued their self-titled extended play in August 2007. The group toured Australia in that year and then travelled to the United Kingdom during 2008 and 2009. They split up in 2011 with Winterfield joining Jagwar Ma. In mid-2019 they released their debut studio album, The Lost Album, which had been recorded ten years earlier.\n\nHistory \n\nGhostwood were formed in 2006 as the Ghosts in Sydney, but changed their name, \"because 7 million other bands already have the name 'Ghosts'.\" They played their last show under the former name with Lost Valentinos at the Sydney Club The Annandale on 18 May 2007. Their line-up was Tom Crandles on bass guitar, Patrick Harrowsmith on lead guitar, James West on drums and Gabriel Winterield ( Gabriel Navidzadeh) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar.\n\nGhostwood released a five track eponymous extended on 27 August 2007, which reached the ARIA Top 100 Physical Singles chart and also peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Hitseekers Singles chart. Its lead single, \"Red Version\" was iTunes single of the week in late August 2007. Some tracks on the EP are about Pokémon, all of which except \"Pencils\" reference the video game series. Winterfield stated in an interview that \"Red Version\" is about the Pokémon Trading Card Game, but \"Blue Version\" is not.\n\nThe group toured Australia during 2007 and into the following year. In 2008 they relocated to the United Kingdom to perform, and they recorded material there in the next year.\n\nGhostwood released another EP, I Am Overcast (June 2011), two of its tracks, \"Sunset Mirage\" (2010) and \"Cutlass\" had high rotation on Australian youth radio Triple J. Richard Kingsmill of Triple J rated \"Sunset Mirage\" as five-out-of-five stars and explained, \"Saw these guys a few years ago and they were all drone, no tunes. They took a break and wrote some new stuff. This is hopefully as good as the rest of what they've come up with.\" In March they co-headlined the bill at the Annandale Hotel with Laura Imbruglia and were supported by Young Revelry, the Betty Airs, Creepers, and Bonney Read.\n\nWinterfield, their main songwriter, formed a dance and neo-psychedilic duo, Jagwar Ma with Jono Ma (ex-the Valentinos) in 2011 and Ghostwood disbanded. In mid-2019 Ghostwood released their debut studio album, The Lost Album, which had been recorded ten years earlier. Brad Abrahams of Sound the Sirens described how, \"Hearing such a stellar album ten years after it was recorded, inevitably leads to questions of what could have been... hopefully through the power of the internet it will find its way into hearts of people who will appreciate its craftsmanship.\"\n\nMembers \n\nTom Crandles – bass guitar 2006–2011\nPaddy Harrowsmith – lead guitar\nJames West – drums\nGabriel Winterfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar\nRupert Parry – bass guitar\n\nTours \n\nToured the UK in 2008–09\nToured Australia with The Jesus & Mary Chain in April 2008\nToured Australia with Maxïmo Park in August 2007\nCo-headline tour of Australia with Mercy Arms in August/September 2007\nToured Australia with Ash in July 2007\nToured with Silversun Pickups in Australia in September 2007\nPlayed at the first Australian V Festival in early 2007\nToured with Red Riders in mid-2006\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums \n\n The Lost Album (July 2019)\n\nExtended plays \n\n Ghostwood (27 August 2007) – Modular Recordings/Universal Music Australia \n\nTrack listing\n \"Red Version\" - 3:45\n \"Blue Version\" - 2:45\n \"Ghost\" - 3:54\n \"Run\" - 2:49\n \"Pencils\" - 4:10\n\n I Am Overcast (June 2011)\n\nReferences \n\nAustralian indie rock groups", "Sydonia was an alternative rock/metal band formed in 1997 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band consisted of Dana Roskvist, Adam Murray, Sean Bailey and Sam Haycroft, who was replaced by Ant Connelly, after he left to pursue other ventures.\n\nThe band has released four EPs (Sojourn, I'd Say No, Subordinate, ), the full-length album Given To Destroyers through MGM and Reality Kicks through MGM as well. Several singles have had airplay on Triple J, Triple M and Channel V. Their third album is in production now, with Tom Larkin from Shihad assisting on production alongside the band.\n\nThey have toured with notable bands such as Stone Sour, Slipknot, Machine Head, Lamb of God and Korn, as well as fellow Australians Dead Letter Circus and Mammal.\n\nHistory\n\nEarly history (2003–2005)\n\nSydonia was originally formed in 1998 in Noosa Heads, Queensland Australia. They released three EPs, I'd Say No in 2003, Subordinate in 2004, and in 2005.\n\n2006\nFollowing the three EPs and many years of honing their sound and identity as a band, Sydonia recorded their debut album in April 2006. Given To Destroyers, taking its name from the single \"No Woman's Land\", was recorded over 14 days in Backbeach Studio with producer DW Norton. Despite offering distribution deals to several independent labels, Sydonia eventually elected to release the album independently in September 2006 with distribution through Green Media (MGM) Australia.\n\n2007\n A headlining national tour of Australia.\n Personally invited to tour Australia with Lamb of God (USA).\n First Given To Destroyers single \"Sorry\" video received multiple screenings on Channel V and RAGE.\n \"Sorry\" and second single \"No Woman's Land\" received regular airplay on Triple J.\n Received awards at the \"Noisies\" Award Night.\n Toured the east coast of Australia with Stone Sour (USA).\n Subsequently invited to tour the US with Stone Sour and Dirty Little Rabbits (USA). This is later documented on the band's DVD Through A Lens Is All We Are.\n\n2008\n Toured the east coast of Australia with Mammal.\n Third album single \"Taste More\" video featured on \"New Videos\" on Channel V website.\n Personally invited to tour Australia nationally with Slipknot (USA) and Machine Head (USA).\n\n2009\n Toured the east coast of Australia to launch Through a Lens Is All We Are, a DVD that documents their United States tour with Stone Sour and Dirty Little Rabbits, as well as various Australian tours.\n Toured around Australia with Dead Letter Circus on the \"Space on the Wall\" tour.\n Another headlining tour of Australia.\n\n2010\n Played the \"Rock the Bay\" festival with acts such as , Full Scale, Twelve Foot Ninja and Sleep Parade.\n Toured the east coast of Australia with American act Between the Buried and Me.\n Began work on upcoming second full-length album.\n Had single \"Oceans of Storms\" from new album mixed by Colin Richardson (Slipknot, Machine Head, Trivium) with assistance from Martyn 'Ginge' Ford and Carl Bown.\n Toured nationally with Dead Letter Circus for their This is a Warning album tour.\n Toured nationally with Korn for their \"Korn III: Remember Who You Are\" tour.\n\n2011–now\nSydonia released their 2nd Full-length album Reality Kicks in 2014 (with crowdfunding help through Pozible) through MGM Distribution and signed to Pricewar Music for Management. They toured the album with Helm and Red Bee and then went on to play shows with Trivium and In Flames, as well as Snot and Hed PE in Melbourne and at El Grande Festival in Brisbane alongside Dream On, Dreamer and Voyager. 2014 saw them play at Bigsound in Brisbane, Australia's largest Music Conference. 2016 saw them sign to Premier Artists for bookings in Australia/NZ. On 11 January 2017 Sydonia announced its disbanding via a post on their Official Facebook Page.\n\nDiscography\n\nEPs\nSojourn (1998)\nI'd Say No (2003)\nSubordinate (2004)\n (2005)\nWaiting for Words That Don't Exist (2012)\n\nAlbums\nGiven To Destroyers (2006)\nReality Kicks (2014)\n\nSingles\n\"Sorry\" (2006)\n\"No Woman's Land\" (2007)\n\"Taste More\" (2008)\n\"Ocean of Storms\" (2010)\n\"Reality Kicks\" (2014)\n\nDVD\nNo Woman's Land (2008)\nThrough A Lens Is All We Are (2009)\nWords That Don't Exist (2012)\n\nReferences\n\n http://www.sydonia.com.au/Sydonia%20bio%202009.pdf\n http://www.mp3.com.au/artist.asp?id=2297\n http://www.voltagemedia.com.au/news/2010/04/23/sydonia-work-with-colin-richardson\n http://www.myspace.com/sydonia\n\nExternal links\n\n http://www.sydonia.com.au/\n http://www.myspace.com/sydonia\n http://www.reverbnation.com/sydonia\n http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydonia/160337921708\n https://twitter.com/samsydonia\n https://www.youtube.com/samsydonia\n\nAustralian alternative rock groups\nAustralian heavy metal musical groups" ]
[ "Talking Heads", "1992-2002: Post break-up and final reunion" ]	C_b52cde93fb88454895e6e7156315d09e_0	When did the band reunite?	1	When did the band the Talking Heads reunite?	Talking Heads	Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band to prevent them using the name "Talking Heads", something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". They opted to record and tour as "The Heads". Likewise, Byrne continues his solo career. Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and in 2010, work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits during the dance-club cultural boom era of the early 1980s, particularly in the UK, where they still enjoy a strong fan following today. Their best-known single, "Genius of Love", has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy". They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently, although commercial releases have become sporadic since 1991. The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely. David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart." Weymouth, however, has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. CANNOTANSWER	on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.	Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of Scottish-born David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s", the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image. As former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads: 77, to positive reviews. They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of critically acclaimed releases—More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980)—which blended their art school punk sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. By the early 1980s, they began to expand their band by including a number of additional musicians in recording sessions and stage shows, notably guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones. After a hiatus, Talking Heads hit their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, the band was joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne' film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996. In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appear in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100. History 1973-1977: Early years In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not earn a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977. 1978–1980: Collaborations with Eno More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions, from post-punk to psychedelic funk to African music, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River". This broke Talking Heads into the general public's consciousness and gave the band their first Billboard Top 30 hit. The collaboration continued with Fear of Music (1979), with the darker stylings of post-punk rock, mixed with white funkadelia and subliminal references to the geopolitical instability of the late 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds cited Fear of Music as representing the Eno-Talking Heads collaboration "at its most mutually fruitful and equitable". The single "Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." The song refers to the Mudd Club and CBGB, two popular New York nightclubs of the time. Remain in Light (1980) was heavily influenced by the afrobeat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, whose music Eno had introduced to the band. It explored West African polyrhythms, weaving these together with Arabic music from North Africa, disco funk, and "found" voices. These combinations foreshadowed Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements, the band toured with an expanded group, including Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell, among others, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, Tom Tom Club, influenced by the foundational elements of hip hop, and Harrison released his first solo album, The Red and the Black. Likewise, Byrne—in collaboration with Eno—released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music and found sounds, as well as including a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire. Remain in Lights lead single, "Once in a Lifetime", became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but initially failed to make an impression in the USA. It grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video, which was named one of Time's All-TIME Best Music Videos. 1981–1991: Commercial peak and breakup After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus, and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the United States and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The tour in support of Speaking in Tongues was their last. Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. Little Creatures offered a much more American pop-rock sound as opposed to previous efforts. Similar in genre, True Stories hatched one of the group's most successful hits, "Wild Wild Life", and the accordion-driven track "Radio Head". Naked explored politics, sex, and death, and showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time, the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control and, after Naked, the band went on "hiatus". In 1987 Talking Heads released a book by David Byrne called What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs with Harper Collins that contained artwork by some of the top New York visual artists of the decade. In December 1991, Talking Heads announced that they had disbanded. Frantz said that he learned that Byrne had left from an article in the Los Angeles Times, and said: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (Casual Gods and Walk on Water), who toured together in 1990. 1992–2002: Post-breakup and final reunion Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison toured without Byrne as Shrunken Heads in the early 90s. In 1996, they released an album, No Talking, Just Head, under the name the Heads. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. It was accompanied by a tour with Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action to prevent the band using the name The Heads, which he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". The band briefly reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th anniversary re-release of Stop Making Sense, but did not perform together. Harrison produced records including the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn. Frantz and Weymouth have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently. Talking Heads reunited to play "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined on stage by former touring members Bernie Worrell and Steve Scales. Byrne said further work together was unlikely, due to "bad blood" and being musically "miles apart". Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. Influence AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s, by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop". Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact. Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States. Meanwhile, the more worldly popularities like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world. Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was critically acclaimed upon its theatrical release, and is considered one of the best concert films ever released. Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder, Foals, the Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Bell X1, the 1975, the Ting Tings, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead, who took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album True Stories. The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, in receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration. Members David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar (1975–1991, 2002) Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002) Additional musicians Adrian Belew – lead guitar, vocals (1980–1981) Alex Weir – guitar, vocals (1983–1984) Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Busta Jones – bass (1980–1981) Steve Scales – percussion, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Dolette McDonald – vocals, cowbell (1980–1981) Ednah Holt – vocals (1983–1984) Lynn Mabry – vocals (1983–1984) Nona Hendryx – vocals (1980) Discography Talking Heads: 77 (1977) More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) Fear of Music (1979) Remain in Light (1980) Speaking in Tongues (1983) Little Creatures (1985) True Stories (1986) Naked (1988) See also List of dance-rock artists List of funk rock bands List of new wave artists and bands List of post-punk bands References Further reading David Bowman, This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). . David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2012). . Chris Frantz, "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" (St. Martin's Press, 2020) David Gans, Talking Heads (New York: Avon Books, 1985). . Krista Reese, The Name of This Book is Talking Heads (London: Proteus Books, 1982). . Sytze Steenstra, Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present (New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010). . Talking Heads and Frank Olinsky, What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). . External links Entry at 45cat.com American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Art pop musicians Art rock musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Punk rock groups from New York (state) Sire Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners	false	[ "The Break and Repair Method is the side project of Matchbox Twenty drummer and rhythm guitarist Paul Doucette. Doucette put the band together when Matchbox Twenty was on hiatus, and when all the band's members were unsure whether their band would reunite. He has said he started The Break and Repair Method as an \"experiment\" to find out what he sounds like out on his own, as opposed to performing in a band where he was not a songwriter, as he did with Matchbox Twenty. Their debut album Milk the Bee was released on September 16, 2008. The group toured with Matt Nathanson in support of the album.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n The Break and Repair Method on Myspace\n The Break and Repair Method on Allmusic\n\nAmerican rock music groups", "The Subversive Kind is the eleventh studio album released by the metal band, Deliverance. The album was originally not going to happen, as the band had announced back in 2013 that Hear What I Say! would be the final release.\n\nHowever, Jimmy P. Brown was contacted by George Ochoa, who stated the band should reunite. Brown and Ochoa added Victor Macias (Tourniquet) and Jim Chaffin, and the band went out to perform at Exodo Fest in 2016, alongside Abated Mass of Flesh and Silent Planet. The festival was a big part of why the band decided to reunite, as the band enjoyed performing together. The band would then hire Greg Minier (The Crucified) to record solos for the album, but then added former Deliverance member Glenn Rogers to perform on the album.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel \n\nDeliverance\n Jimmy P. Brown – vocals, rhythm guitars, engineer, mixing, producer\n Glenn Rogers – lead guitars\n Victor Macias – bass guitar\n Jim Chaffin – drums, producer\n\nAdditional musicians\n Greg Minier – lead guitars\n\nProduction\n Rob Colwell – mastering\n Scott Waters – layout and design\n Robert Scott – cover art\n\nReferences\n\nDeliverance (metal band) albums\n2018 albums" ]
[ "Talking Heads", "1992-2002: Post break-up and final reunion", "When did the band reunite?", "on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." ]	C_b52cde93fb88454895e6e7156315d09e_0	Did they play any songs when they were inducted?	2	Did the Talking Heads play any songs when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame??	Talking Heads	Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band to prevent them using the name "Talking Heads", something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". They opted to record and tour as "The Heads". Likewise, Byrne continues his solo career. Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and in 2010, work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits during the dance-club cultural boom era of the early 1980s, particularly in the UK, where they still enjoy a strong fan following today. Their best-known single, "Genius of Love", has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy". They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently, although commercial releases have become sporadic since 1991. The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely. David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart." Weymouth, however, has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. CANNOTANSWER	The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together	Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of Scottish-born David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s", the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image. As former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads: 77, to positive reviews. They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of critically acclaimed releases—More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980)—which blended their art school punk sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. By the early 1980s, they began to expand their band by including a number of additional musicians in recording sessions and stage shows, notably guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones. After a hiatus, Talking Heads hit their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, the band was joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne' film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996. In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appear in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100. History 1973-1977: Early years In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not earn a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977. 1978–1980: Collaborations with Eno More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions, from post-punk to psychedelic funk to African music, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River". This broke Talking Heads into the general public's consciousness and gave the band their first Billboard Top 30 hit. The collaboration continued with Fear of Music (1979), with the darker stylings of post-punk rock, mixed with white funkadelia and subliminal references to the geopolitical instability of the late 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds cited Fear of Music as representing the Eno-Talking Heads collaboration "at its most mutually fruitful and equitable". The single "Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." The song refers to the Mudd Club and CBGB, two popular New York nightclubs of the time. Remain in Light (1980) was heavily influenced by the afrobeat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, whose music Eno had introduced to the band. It explored West African polyrhythms, weaving these together with Arabic music from North Africa, disco funk, and "found" voices. These combinations foreshadowed Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements, the band toured with an expanded group, including Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell, among others, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, Tom Tom Club, influenced by the foundational elements of hip hop, and Harrison released his first solo album, The Red and the Black. Likewise, Byrne—in collaboration with Eno—released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music and found sounds, as well as including a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire. Remain in Lights lead single, "Once in a Lifetime", became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but initially failed to make an impression in the USA. It grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video, which was named one of Time's All-TIME Best Music Videos. 1981–1991: Commercial peak and breakup After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus, and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the United States and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The tour in support of Speaking in Tongues was their last. Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. Little Creatures offered a much more American pop-rock sound as opposed to previous efforts. Similar in genre, True Stories hatched one of the group's most successful hits, "Wild Wild Life", and the accordion-driven track "Radio Head". Naked explored politics, sex, and death, and showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time, the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control and, after Naked, the band went on "hiatus". In 1987 Talking Heads released a book by David Byrne called What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs with Harper Collins that contained artwork by some of the top New York visual artists of the decade. In December 1991, Talking Heads announced that they had disbanded. Frantz said that he learned that Byrne had left from an article in the Los Angeles Times, and said: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (Casual Gods and Walk on Water), who toured together in 1990. 1992–2002: Post-breakup and final reunion Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison toured without Byrne as Shrunken Heads in the early 90s. In 1996, they released an album, No Talking, Just Head, under the name the Heads. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. It was accompanied by a tour with Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action to prevent the band using the name The Heads, which he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". The band briefly reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th anniversary re-release of Stop Making Sense, but did not perform together. Harrison produced records including the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn. Frantz and Weymouth have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently. Talking Heads reunited to play "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined on stage by former touring members Bernie Worrell and Steve Scales. Byrne said further work together was unlikely, due to "bad blood" and being musically "miles apart". Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. Influence AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s, by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop". Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact. Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States. Meanwhile, the more worldly popularities like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world. Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was critically acclaimed upon its theatrical release, and is considered one of the best concert films ever released. Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder, Foals, the Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Bell X1, the 1975, the Ting Tings, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead, who took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album True Stories. The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, in receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration. Members David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar (1975–1991, 2002) Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002) Additional musicians Adrian Belew – lead guitar, vocals (1980–1981) Alex Weir – guitar, vocals (1983–1984) Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Busta Jones – bass (1980–1981) Steve Scales – percussion, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Dolette McDonald – vocals, cowbell (1980–1981) Ednah Holt – vocals (1983–1984) Lynn Mabry – vocals (1983–1984) Nona Hendryx – vocals (1980) Discography Talking Heads: 77 (1977) More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) Fear of Music (1979) Remain in Light (1980) Speaking in Tongues (1983) Little Creatures (1985) True Stories (1986) Naked (1988) See also List of dance-rock artists List of funk rock bands List of new wave artists and bands List of post-punk bands References Further reading David Bowman, This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). . David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2012). . Chris Frantz, "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" (St. Martin's Press, 2020) David Gans, Talking Heads (New York: Avon Books, 1985). . Krista Reese, The Name of This Book is Talking Heads (London: Proteus Books, 1982). . Sytze Steenstra, Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present (New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010). . Talking Heads and Frank Olinsky, What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). . External links Entry at 45cat.com American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Art pop musicians Art rock musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Punk rock groups from New York (state) Sire Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners	false	[ "Pat McCarthy, also known as Pat Doherty, is a former Australia netball international. In 1956 she captained Australia when they toured England, Scotland and Ceylon. The tour saw Australia play against England for the first time. In 2014, McCarthy was inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame.\n\nPlaying career\n\nAustralia\nMcCarthy began playing for Australia in 1952. Initially she did not play in full internationals, but against Rest of Australia teams at inter-state sports carnivals. In 1956 McCarthy captained Australia when they toured England, Scotland and Ceylon. The team's head coach was Lorna McConchie. McCarthy made her senior debut for Australia on 11 February 1956 in a 22–12 win against Ceylon at St. Bridget's Convent, Colombo. During the tour Australia played against England for the first time. On 12 May 1956, Australia defeated England 14–11. In 2000, together with Sharelle McMahon, Wilma Shakespear, Myrtle Baylis, Shelley O'Donnell and Simone McKinnis, McCarthy was named in Netball Victoria's Team of the Century. In 2014, McCarthy was inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame.\n\nReferences\n\nAustralian netball players\nAustralia international netball players\nNetball players from Victoria (Australia)", "Introducing is the debut extended play by Swedish singer Zara Larsson. The EP was released on 21 January 2013, by TEN Music Group and Universal Music Group. The first and only single from the album, \"Uncover\", was released on 21 January 2013. \"Uncover\" went on to be a success, topping the charts in Sweden and Norway along with becoming certified 6× Platinum in Sweden and Platinum in Norway.\n\nCommercial performance \nAlthough the album itself did not chart on any charts, its songs did well. Besides \"Uncover\" being an enormous hit, other songs on the EP including \"Under My Shades\", \"When Worlds Collide\", and \"It's a Wrap\", peaked at number 45, number 26, and number 43, respectively.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences \n\nZara Larsson albums\n2013 EPs" ]
[ "Talking Heads", "1992-2002: Post break-up and final reunion", "When did the band reunite?", "on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.", "Did they play any songs when they were inducted?", "The band played \"Life During Wartime\", \"Psycho Killer\", and \"Burning Down the House\" together" ]	C_b52cde93fb88454895e6e7156315d09e_0	What is the name of a project that was produced post break-up?	3	What is the name of a Talking Heads project that was produced post break-up of the band??	Talking Heads	Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band to prevent them using the name "Talking Heads", something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". They opted to record and tour as "The Heads". Likewise, Byrne continues his solo career. Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and in 2010, work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits during the dance-club cultural boom era of the early 1980s, particularly in the UK, where they still enjoy a strong fan following today. Their best-known single, "Genius of Love", has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy". They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently, although commercial releases have become sporadic since 1991. The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely. David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart." Weymouth, however, has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. CANNOTANSWER	Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996.	Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of Scottish-born David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s", the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image. As former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads: 77, to positive reviews. They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of critically acclaimed releases—More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980)—which blended their art school punk sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. By the early 1980s, they began to expand their band by including a number of additional musicians in recording sessions and stage shows, notably guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones. After a hiatus, Talking Heads hit their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, the band was joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne' film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996. In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appear in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100. History 1973-1977: Early years In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not earn a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977. 1978–1980: Collaborations with Eno More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions, from post-punk to psychedelic funk to African music, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River". This broke Talking Heads into the general public's consciousness and gave the band their first Billboard Top 30 hit. The collaboration continued with Fear of Music (1979), with the darker stylings of post-punk rock, mixed with white funkadelia and subliminal references to the geopolitical instability of the late 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds cited Fear of Music as representing the Eno-Talking Heads collaboration "at its most mutually fruitful and equitable". The single "Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." The song refers to the Mudd Club and CBGB, two popular New York nightclubs of the time. Remain in Light (1980) was heavily influenced by the afrobeat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, whose music Eno had introduced to the band. It explored West African polyrhythms, weaving these together with Arabic music from North Africa, disco funk, and "found" voices. These combinations foreshadowed Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements, the band toured with an expanded group, including Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell, among others, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, Tom Tom Club, influenced by the foundational elements of hip hop, and Harrison released his first solo album, The Red and the Black. Likewise, Byrne—in collaboration with Eno—released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music and found sounds, as well as including a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire. Remain in Lights lead single, "Once in a Lifetime", became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but initially failed to make an impression in the USA. It grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video, which was named one of Time's All-TIME Best Music Videos. 1981–1991: Commercial peak and breakup After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus, and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the United States and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The tour in support of Speaking in Tongues was their last. Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. Little Creatures offered a much more American pop-rock sound as opposed to previous efforts. Similar in genre, True Stories hatched one of the group's most successful hits, "Wild Wild Life", and the accordion-driven track "Radio Head". Naked explored politics, sex, and death, and showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time, the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control and, after Naked, the band went on "hiatus". In 1987 Talking Heads released a book by David Byrne called What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs with Harper Collins that contained artwork by some of the top New York visual artists of the decade. In December 1991, Talking Heads announced that they had disbanded. Frantz said that he learned that Byrne had left from an article in the Los Angeles Times, and said: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (Casual Gods and Walk on Water), who toured together in 1990. 1992–2002: Post-breakup and final reunion Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison toured without Byrne as Shrunken Heads in the early 90s. In 1996, they released an album, No Talking, Just Head, under the name the Heads. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. It was accompanied by a tour with Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action to prevent the band using the name The Heads, which he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". The band briefly reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th anniversary re-release of Stop Making Sense, but did not perform together. Harrison produced records including the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn. Frantz and Weymouth have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently. Talking Heads reunited to play "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined on stage by former touring members Bernie Worrell and Steve Scales. Byrne said further work together was unlikely, due to "bad blood" and being musically "miles apart". Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. Influence AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s, by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop". Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact. Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States. Meanwhile, the more worldly popularities like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world. Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was critically acclaimed upon its theatrical release, and is considered one of the best concert films ever released. Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder, Foals, the Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Bell X1, the 1975, the Ting Tings, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead, who took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album True Stories. The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, in receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration. Members David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar (1975–1991, 2002) Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002) Additional musicians Adrian Belew – lead guitar, vocals (1980–1981) Alex Weir – guitar, vocals (1983–1984) Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Busta Jones – bass (1980–1981) Steve Scales – percussion, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Dolette McDonald – vocals, cowbell (1980–1981) Ednah Holt – vocals (1983–1984) Lynn Mabry – vocals (1983–1984) Nona Hendryx – vocals (1980) Discography Talking Heads: 77 (1977) More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) Fear of Music (1979) Remain in Light (1980) Speaking in Tongues (1983) Little Creatures (1985) True Stories (1986) Naked (1988) See also List of dance-rock artists List of funk rock bands List of new wave artists and bands List of post-punk bands References Further reading David Bowman, This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). . David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2012). . Chris Frantz, "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" (St. Martin's Press, 2020) David Gans, Talking Heads (New York: Avon Books, 1985). . Krista Reese, The Name of This Book is Talking Heads (London: Proteus Books, 1982). . Sytze Steenstra, Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present (New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010). . Talking Heads and Frank Olinsky, What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). . External links Entry at 45cat.com American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Art pop musicians Art rock musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Punk rock groups from New York (state) Sire Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners	false	[ "\"Post Break-Up Sex\" is the second single from London-based quartet the Vaccines from their debut album, What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?. The single was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download on 21 January 2011 with a 7\" vinyl released the following day. The single debuted at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart on 30 January 2011.\n\nTrack listing\n\nMusic video\nA music video to accompany the release of \"Post Break-Up Sex\" was first released onto YouTube on 15 December 2010; at a total length of two minutes and fifty-six seconds. The video features the quartet performing the song in a living room, although Young is predominantly featured throughout. The video then alternates between shots of the performance and clips of the woman, as mentioned in the song's lyrics, who is regretting the post break-up sex she had with a male; who is featured besides her in the video. For the final minute of the music video, a montage of upset adults are shown; symbolising all those who have either had post break-up sex or have been at the mercy of it.\n\nCritical reception\nJon Davies of Shazamers' Blog gave the song a positive review stating:\n\nPredictably the track is inspired by those, quite often awkward, moments when you’re trying to put a relationship behind you. Thankfully, despite the morose subject matter, the song continues the band’s string of addictive singles. Short, punchy and with a chorus that will refuse to leave your head for weeks, ‘Post Break Up Sex’ is a great slice of fuzzy guitar driven pop.\n\nRecord Store Day\nIt was announced in March 2012 that the band would be re-releasing \"Post Break-Up Sex\" as a 7\" Vinyl as part of Record Store Day 2012. On April 2, it was revealed that the track would be recorded by American singer-songwriter R. Stevie Moore and released as a double A-side alongside the group's recording of Moore's \"Why Should I Love You?\". The vinyl was limited to 500 copies, which saw release on 21 April 2012.\n\nChart performance\nAccording to the Midweeks produced by Digital Spy on 25 January 2011, \"Post Break-Up Sex\" was set to debut within the top 20 on the UK Singles Chart. However, on 30 January, it debuted at number 32. The single spent only one week within the top 40, falling 23 places to number 53 on its second week. On 13 February, the single fell a further 13 places to number 66; marking its third and final week on the top 100.\n\nCharts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2011 singles\nThe Vaccines songs\nColumbia Records singles", "Break of Dawn (formerly titled Milk & Honey) is the fourth studio album from Bay Area vocalist Goapele after a five-year-long hiatus.\n\nBackground \nThe first single, \"Milk & Honey,\" was leaked on the Internet July 10, 2009, while the video directed by David Telles went into rotation on August 4, 2009, and was shot with the Red One Camera. It offers a more suggestive and seductive vibe than what fans may be accustomed to from the singer. Goapele is known to incorporate messages of politics, love, romance, and struggle into her music. The second single, \"Right Here,\" is a love song produced by Drumma Boy.\n\nOn August 28, 2011, Goapele released the third single, \"Play,\" a sensual song produced by Dan Electric & Teddy Thunderbolt.\n\nRecording\nBreak of Dawn was recorded at the Zoo in Downtown Oakland, California, home of Goapele’s Skylight Studios. This project will be another personal album with several love songs as well as up-tempo joints. Production-wise, tracks with Drumma Boy, Bedrock, Kanye West, Drumma Boy, Dan Electric, Mike Tiger, Bobby Ozuna (Raphael Saadiq, John Mayer, Erykah Badu), Malay (John Legend, Mary J. Blige), Jeff Bhasker (The Game, Kanye West, Ludacris, T.I), and other musicians were confirmed.\n\nConcept\nOn this album Goapele revealed a more confident, open, and sensual side. She said that she was liberating herself a little more and claims while there was something very empowering about appearing in a T-shirt without make-up on the cover of her first internationally distributed album, Even Closer, there is something equally empowering about shedding her fears of music-industry exploitation and strutting confidently into more brazen territory. She said, “Now if I want to dress sexy, I can, and if I want to be more blunt, I can. I just want to do what feels good.”\n\nTrack listing\n\"Play\"—3:43\n\"Tears On My Pillow\"—4:46\n\"Undertow\"—3:47\n\"Break of Dawn\"—4:29\n\"Hush\"—4:05\n\"Money\"—4:06\n\"Pieces\"—3:24\n\"Right Here\"—3:21\n\"Milk & Honey\"—3:12\n\"Cupcake\" —3:40\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial site\nGoapele Press\nGoapele at MySpace\n\nGoapele albums\n2011 albums" ]
[ "Talking Heads", "1992-2002: Post break-up and final reunion", "When did the band reunite?", "on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.", "Did they play any songs when they were inducted?", "The band played \"Life During Wartime\", \"Psycho Killer\", and \"Burning Down the House\" together", "What is the name of a project that was produced post break-up?", "Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996." ]	C_b52cde93fb88454895e6e7156315d09e_0	Did they collaborate with anyone on the album?	4	Did the Talking Heads collaborate with anyone on the album No Talking, Just Head?	Talking Heads	Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band to prevent them using the name "Talking Heads", something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". They opted to record and tour as "The Heads". Likewise, Byrne continues his solo career. Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and in 2010, work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits during the dance-club cultural boom era of the early 1980s, particularly in the UK, where they still enjoy a strong fan following today. Their best-known single, "Genius of Love", has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy". They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently, although commercial releases have become sporadic since 1991. The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely. David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart." Weymouth, however, has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. CANNOTANSWER	featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes,	Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of Scottish-born David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s", the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image. As former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads: 77, to positive reviews. They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of critically acclaimed releases—More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980)—which blended their art school punk sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. By the early 1980s, they began to expand their band by including a number of additional musicians in recording sessions and stage shows, notably guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones. After a hiatus, Talking Heads hit their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, the band was joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne' film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996. In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appear in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100. History 1973-1977: Early years In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not earn a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977. 1978–1980: Collaborations with Eno More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions, from post-punk to psychedelic funk to African music, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River". This broke Talking Heads into the general public's consciousness and gave the band their first Billboard Top 30 hit. The collaboration continued with Fear of Music (1979), with the darker stylings of post-punk rock, mixed with white funkadelia and subliminal references to the geopolitical instability of the late 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds cited Fear of Music as representing the Eno-Talking Heads collaboration "at its most mutually fruitful and equitable". The single "Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." The song refers to the Mudd Club and CBGB, two popular New York nightclubs of the time. Remain in Light (1980) was heavily influenced by the afrobeat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, whose music Eno had introduced to the band. It explored West African polyrhythms, weaving these together with Arabic music from North Africa, disco funk, and "found" voices. These combinations foreshadowed Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements, the band toured with an expanded group, including Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell, among others, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, Tom Tom Club, influenced by the foundational elements of hip hop, and Harrison released his first solo album, The Red and the Black. Likewise, Byrne—in collaboration with Eno—released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music and found sounds, as well as including a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire. Remain in Lights lead single, "Once in a Lifetime", became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but initially failed to make an impression in the USA. It grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video, which was named one of Time's All-TIME Best Music Videos. 1981–1991: Commercial peak and breakup After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus, and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the United States and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The tour in support of Speaking in Tongues was their last. Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. Little Creatures offered a much more American pop-rock sound as opposed to previous efforts. Similar in genre, True Stories hatched one of the group's most successful hits, "Wild Wild Life", and the accordion-driven track "Radio Head". Naked explored politics, sex, and death, and showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time, the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control and, after Naked, the band went on "hiatus". In 1987 Talking Heads released a book by David Byrne called What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs with Harper Collins that contained artwork by some of the top New York visual artists of the decade. In December 1991, Talking Heads announced that they had disbanded. Frantz said that he learned that Byrne had left from an article in the Los Angeles Times, and said: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (Casual Gods and Walk on Water), who toured together in 1990. 1992–2002: Post-breakup and final reunion Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison toured without Byrne as Shrunken Heads in the early 90s. In 1996, they released an album, No Talking, Just Head, under the name the Heads. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. It was accompanied by a tour with Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action to prevent the band using the name The Heads, which he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". The band briefly reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th anniversary re-release of Stop Making Sense, but did not perform together. Harrison produced records including the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn. Frantz and Weymouth have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently. Talking Heads reunited to play "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined on stage by former touring members Bernie Worrell and Steve Scales. Byrne said further work together was unlikely, due to "bad blood" and being musically "miles apart". Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. Influence AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s, by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop". Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact. Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States. Meanwhile, the more worldly popularities like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world. Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was critically acclaimed upon its theatrical release, and is considered one of the best concert films ever released. Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder, Foals, the Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Bell X1, the 1975, the Ting Tings, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead, who took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album True Stories. The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, in receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration. Members David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar (1975–1991, 2002) Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002) Additional musicians Adrian Belew – lead guitar, vocals (1980–1981) Alex Weir – guitar, vocals (1983–1984) Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Busta Jones – bass (1980–1981) Steve Scales – percussion, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Dolette McDonald – vocals, cowbell (1980–1981) Ednah Holt – vocals (1983–1984) Lynn Mabry – vocals (1983–1984) Nona Hendryx – vocals (1980) Discography Talking Heads: 77 (1977) More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) Fear of Music (1979) Remain in Light (1980) Speaking in Tongues (1983) Little Creatures (1985) True Stories (1986) Naked (1988) See also List of dance-rock artists List of funk rock bands List of new wave artists and bands List of post-punk bands References Further reading David Bowman, This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). . David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2012). . Chris Frantz, "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" (St. Martin's Press, 2020) David Gans, Talking Heads (New York: Avon Books, 1985). . Krista Reese, The Name of This Book is Talking Heads (London: Proteus Books, 1982). . Sytze Steenstra, Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present (New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010). . Talking Heads and Frank Olinsky, What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). . External links Entry at 45cat.com American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Art pop musicians Art rock musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Punk rock groups from New York (state) Sire Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners	false	[ "Life Is Full of Possibilities is the third studio album by American electronic music producer Dntel. It was released on October 30, 2001 by Plug Research.\n\n\"(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan\", a collaboration with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, was released as a single on August 6, 2002. Dntel would collaborate with Gibbard again for an entire album, Give Up, released in 2003 under the name The Postal Service. The song \"Life Is Full of Possibilities\" includes a repeating sample of Bloop, a sound of undetermined origin.\n\nA two-disc remastered deluxe edition of Life Is Full of Possibilities was released on October 24, 2011 by Sub Pop, which featured four additional songs not included on the initial release, along with remixed versions of other songs from the album.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\nCredits are adapted from the album's liner notes.\n\nMusicians\n Dntel – music\n Meredith Figurine – vocals on \"Suddenly Is Sooner Than You Think\"\n Ben Gibbard – vocals on \"(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan\"\n Chris Gunst – vocals on \"Umbrella\"\n Rachel Haden – vocals on \"Why I'm So Unhappy\"\n Paul Larson – guitar on \"Last Songs\"\n Brian McMahan – guitar on \"Why I'm So Unhappy\"\n Mia Doi Todd – vocals on \"Anywhere Anyone\"\n\nAdditional personnel\n Low Culture – design\n Brian Tamborello – photography\n D. Zelonky – mastering\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n2001 albums\nDntel albums\nPlug Research albums", "Anyone is a band from Southern California that formed in 1995. Their 2001 self-titled album was released on Roadrunner Records. Anyone is led by Riz Story, the band's lead singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer, and also the only member of the band that has remained since its inception. Former members include David Silveria (Korn), Jon Davison (Yes, Glass Hammer, Sky Cries Mary), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), and Gretchen Menn.\n\nThe band toured in support of their debut studio album, notably at the Reading Festival, Leeds Festival and Lowland Festival, as well as American tours. The album received 5 out of 5 stars at RollingStone.com and was named #9 on the Metal Hammer year end chart for Metal Hammer's Albums of 2001 list. Other awards include \"best band\" in the Los Angeles Music Awards.\n\nAnyone re-emerged in 2016 with Story remaining as the sole member.\n\nHistory\nThe group developed from the earlier band Sylvia, consisting of Story, drummer Taylor Hawkins (later of the Foo Fighters), guitarist Sean Murphy and Jon \"Juano\" Davison (later of Yes), which dissolved when Hawkins joined Alanis Morissette's band, and Murphy began to work with bands Magdalen and Divinorum, besides his solo career. This led to Story's formation of Anyone in 1995.\n\nIn 1996, Anyone's first demo album Rats Live on no Evil Star (a palindrome) was recorded. Although never officially released, the album paved the way for the band to approach record labels. The live album Live Acid was released in 1999, and by 2000 the band were signed to Roadrunner Records and were working with producer Rick Parashar. They released their full-length studio debut Anyone in 2001. The single \"Real\" was featured in the motion picture Empire Records.\n\nJohnny Ransom replaced Nipples as drummer in 2002, and both Ransom and \"Static\" were replaced in 2004 by \"Boano\" as drummer, Miki Black as guitarist and keyboardist, and Miles Martin on bass. The DVD The Story of Maximum Acid was released, as was the EP A Little Sip in 2006.\n\nStory disbanded Anyone in 2006.\n\nRe-emergence\nStory began working with ex-Korn drummer David Silveria in 2012 when the two formed the band Infinika. The debut album Echoes and Traces was released worldwide on September 1, 2014 along with a music video for the first single \"Beautiful World\".\n. On April 10, 2016 the announcement was made that a remixed and remastered version of Echoes and Traces would be re-released under the band name Anyone.\n\nEchoes and Traces was re-released in October 2016 featuring updated mixes and mastering. The first single released was \"Fly Away\" which made #6 on the BILLBOARD Hot Singles Chart and was the #1 song on digital radio in the US (DRT NATIONAL AIRPLAY TOP 50 ROCK CHART). Five songs from the album are featured in the film and soundtrack for Riz Story's motion picture, \"A Winter Rose\".\n\nIn 2018 it was announced via the band's official website that a full-length documentary about the band would be released in 2019. Plans were also announced for the release of a new album entitled \"On the ending earth...\".\n\nOn 21 August 2020, Anyone released its third studio album, On the Ending Earth.... The album was created by Story, who performed all instrumentation, wrote, produced and mixed, with Jon Davison guesting on bass, Miles Martin guesting on bass and Ethereal guesting on piano. The band also released a slew of singles, including \"Only Imagine\", \"Traces - The Dream Mix\" and \"Chasing Dragons to the Sea\". In August 2020, they released the 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of their 1999 live concert album, Live Acid. In January 2021, the band released the single \"My Death\".\n\nOn October 12, 2021, Anyone released its fourth studio album, In Humanity. The double concept album was written, arranged, produced, mixed and mastered by Story, and performed largely by Story, save for a guest appearance from Davison on vocals. The album is also the soundtrack to Story's film concept and unpublished novel of the same title.\n\nMusic\nThey have been compared to Yes, Rush, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Jane's Addiction, Radiohead and Tool. \"Maximum Acid\" is the term the press used to describe their sound, as a fusion of hard progressive rock and psychedelia. Their sound was described as alternative rock and nu metal.\n\nFormer members\nStatic (1998–2003) Bassist on Rats Live on no Evil Star, Live Acid, and Anyone\nMiles Martin (2004-2006) Bassist\nDave \"Nipples\" Murray (1996–2000) Drummer on Rats Live on no Evil Star, Anyone and Live Acid\nJohnny Ransom (2000–2002) Drummer on tour. \nBrendan Murphy (2002) Drummer on a tour supporting Anyone\nBoano (2004–2006) drums\nMiki Black (2004–2006) guitars and keyboards\n\nDiscography\nRats Live on no Evil Star (1996, Demo Album)\nLive Acid (1999, Live Album)\n\"TogethermenT\" [Feature Film] (TogethermenT Films, 1999)\nAnyone (Roadrunner Records, 2001, Debut Studio Album)\n\"Real\" (Roadrunner Records, 2001, Single)\nMaximum Acid (RoadRunner Records, 2001, EP Sampler)\nThe Story of Maximum Acid [DVD]\nA Little Sip (2006, EP)\nEchoes and Traces [CD] (TogethermenT Records, 2016, Second Studio Album)\n\"Fly Away\" (TogethermenT Records, 2016, Single)\nOn the Ending Earth... [CD] (TogethermenT Records, 2020, Third Studio Album)\nLive Acid - Deluxe Edition [CD] (TogethermenT Records, 2020)\n\"Only Imagine\" (TogethermenT Records, 2020, Single)\n\"Traces - The Dream Mix\" (TogethermenT Records, 2020, Single)\n\"Chasing Dragons to the Sea\" (TogethermenT Records, 2020, Single)\n\"My Death\" (TogethermenT Records, 2021, Single)\nIn Humanity (TogethermenT Records, 2021, Fourth Studio Album, Double Album)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nAnyone Official Website\nRecord label Website\nhttp://www.RizStory.net\nhttps://www.facebook.com/Anyone-287588001294485/\n\nMusical groups from California" ]
[ "Talking Heads", "1992-2002: Post break-up and final reunion", "When did the band reunite?", "on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.", "Did they play any songs when they were inducted?", "The band played \"Life During Wartime\", \"Psycho Killer\", and \"Burning Down the House\" together", "What is the name of a project that was produced post break-up?", "Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996.", "Did they collaborate with anyone on the album?", "featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes," ]	C_b52cde93fb88454895e6e7156315d09e_0	Did "The Heads" ever tour?	5	Did the Talking Heads ever go on a concert tour?	Talking Heads	Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band to prevent them using the name "Talking Heads", something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". They opted to record and tour as "The Heads". Likewise, Byrne continues his solo career. Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and in 2010, work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits during the dance-club cultural boom era of the early 1980s, particularly in the UK, where they still enjoy a strong fan following today. Their best-known single, "Genius of Love", has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy". They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently, although commercial releases have become sporadic since 1991. The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely. David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart." Weymouth, however, has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. CANNOTANSWER	The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist.	Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of Scottish-born David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s", the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image. As former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads: 77, to positive reviews. They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of critically acclaimed releases—More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980)—which blended their art school punk sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. By the early 1980s, they began to expand their band by including a number of additional musicians in recording sessions and stage shows, notably guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones. After a hiatus, Talking Heads hit their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, the band was joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne' film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996. In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appear in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100. History 1973-1977: Early years In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not earn a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977. 1978–1980: Collaborations with Eno More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions, from post-punk to psychedelic funk to African music, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River". This broke Talking Heads into the general public's consciousness and gave the band their first Billboard Top 30 hit. The collaboration continued with Fear of Music (1979), with the darker stylings of post-punk rock, mixed with white funkadelia and subliminal references to the geopolitical instability of the late 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds cited Fear of Music as representing the Eno-Talking Heads collaboration "at its most mutually fruitful and equitable". The single "Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." The song refers to the Mudd Club and CBGB, two popular New York nightclubs of the time. Remain in Light (1980) was heavily influenced by the afrobeat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, whose music Eno had introduced to the band. It explored West African polyrhythms, weaving these together with Arabic music from North Africa, disco funk, and "found" voices. These combinations foreshadowed Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements, the band toured with an expanded group, including Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell, among others, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, Tom Tom Club, influenced by the foundational elements of hip hop, and Harrison released his first solo album, The Red and the Black. Likewise, Byrne—in collaboration with Eno—released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music and found sounds, as well as including a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire. Remain in Lights lead single, "Once in a Lifetime", became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but initially failed to make an impression in the USA. It grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video, which was named one of Time's All-TIME Best Music Videos. 1981–1991: Commercial peak and breakup After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus, and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the United States and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The tour in support of Speaking in Tongues was their last. Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. Little Creatures offered a much more American pop-rock sound as opposed to previous efforts. Similar in genre, True Stories hatched one of the group's most successful hits, "Wild Wild Life", and the accordion-driven track "Radio Head". Naked explored politics, sex, and death, and showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time, the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control and, after Naked, the band went on "hiatus". In 1987 Talking Heads released a book by David Byrne called What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs with Harper Collins that contained artwork by some of the top New York visual artists of the decade. In December 1991, Talking Heads announced that they had disbanded. Frantz said that he learned that Byrne had left from an article in the Los Angeles Times, and said: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (Casual Gods and Walk on Water), who toured together in 1990. 1992–2002: Post-breakup and final reunion Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison toured without Byrne as Shrunken Heads in the early 90s. In 1996, they released an album, No Talking, Just Head, under the name the Heads. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. It was accompanied by a tour with Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action to prevent the band using the name The Heads, which he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". The band briefly reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th anniversary re-release of Stop Making Sense, but did not perform together. Harrison produced records including the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn. Frantz and Weymouth have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently. Talking Heads reunited to play "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined on stage by former touring members Bernie Worrell and Steve Scales. Byrne said further work together was unlikely, due to "bad blood" and being musically "miles apart". Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. Influence AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s, by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop". Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact. Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States. Meanwhile, the more worldly popularities like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world. Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was critically acclaimed upon its theatrical release, and is considered one of the best concert films ever released. Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder, Foals, the Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Bell X1, the 1975, the Ting Tings, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead, who took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album True Stories. The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, in receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration. Members David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar (1975–1991, 2002) Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002) Additional musicians Adrian Belew – lead guitar, vocals (1980–1981) Alex Weir – guitar, vocals (1983–1984) Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Busta Jones – bass (1980–1981) Steve Scales – percussion, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Dolette McDonald – vocals, cowbell (1980–1981) Ednah Holt – vocals (1983–1984) Lynn Mabry – vocals (1983–1984) Nona Hendryx – vocals (1980) Discography Talking Heads: 77 (1977) More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) Fear of Music (1979) Remain in Light (1980) Speaking in Tongues (1983) Little Creatures (1985) True Stories (1986) Naked (1988) See also List of dance-rock artists List of funk rock bands List of new wave artists and bands List of post-punk bands References Further reading David Bowman, This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). . David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2012). . Chris Frantz, "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" (St. Martin's Press, 2020) David Gans, Talking Heads (New York: Avon Books, 1985). . Krista Reese, The Name of This Book is Talking Heads (London: Proteus Books, 1982). . Sytze Steenstra, Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present (New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010). . Talking Heads and Frank Olinsky, What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). . External links Entry at 45cat.com American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Art pop musicians Art rock musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Punk rock groups from New York (state) Sire Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners	false	[ "American singer-actress Cher has embarked on seven concert tours and three concert residencies. As a solo artist, Cher has made concerts in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Cher's first ever concert was with her ex-husband Sonny Bono in 1966 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.\n\nIn 1979, Cher started her first solo concert tour, the Cher in Concert Tour, with performances in Europa and North America in 1979. After the success with disco music, Cher and her boyfriend at the time, Les Dudek, formed the new wave band Black Rose with which she did her first mini-tour, The Black Rose Show. Black Rose band during their tour were the opening act for Bob Seger in Europe and for Hall & Oates during the 1980 summer in North America.\n\nAfter eight years off the road, Cher did her second solo sold-out tour in 1990, the Heart of Stone Tour, which was followed up by 1992's Love Hurts Tour. The Love Hurts Tour is well known by fans for cancellations due to Cher's illness.\n\nAfter the huge success of the Believe album, she did her 1999/2000 Do You Believe? tour.\nFinally, in 2002, she embarked on her so far last concert tour, the marathon Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, which lasted from June 2002 until April 2005. The tour featured a total 325 shows, the most ever for a concert tour by a female solo artist, and grossed more than $250 million, becoming Cher's highest-grossing tour ever. Cher closed the farewell tour in April 2005 at the Hollywood Bowl. It was the most successful tour by a single female solo artist at that time.\n\nFrom May 2008 until February 2011, Cher performed at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada with her new show, Cher at the Colosseum. She signed for 200 shows over the span of three years. She was paid $60 million for her return.\n\nAfter her residency at the Caesars Palace which lasted from 2008-2011, Cher began touring with the Dressed to Kill Tour in 2014 after the release of her album Closer to the Truth. Cher is one of the most successful touring artists, she was placed at number three among most successful female artists and at number twenty three overall on Billboard Top Live Artists From 1990-2014 list.\n\nConcert tours\n\nConcert residencies\n\nReferences\n\n \nCher\n\nhu:Cher filmjei", "Diabolicanos – Act III: Armageddon is the second album by the Polish avant-garde black metal band Devilish Impressions. After their full-length debut Plurima Mortis Imago was released, the band attracted significant interest from many record labels and choosing the most favourably looking offer at that time, signed with London-based Conquer Records.\n\nThe band went through some line-up changes before the album was actually released, taking the band significantly up to the next level. The band recruited a new drummer, Łukasz \"Icanraz\" Sarnacki, known at the time for his work with polish hordes Hermh and Abused Majesty among others. The band also recruited a new guitarist, Armers having Starash take over bass duties.\n\nAutumn 2007 saw Devilish Impressions shooting a video clip for the song Har-Magedon, set to promote the album. At the end of the year the band took off on their first ever headlining run across the Eastern European countries, \"Verbum Diaboli Tour\".\n\nThe success of the album gave Devilish Impressions the opportunity to open shows for titans Behemoth and Suicide Silence on their \"The Apostasy European Tour\", and then embark with Dismember on a tour through the UK, Ireland and Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, the group was invited for selected shows of Wacken Road Show 2008 but due to the above-mentioned tours having been booked earlier, they eventually managed to join the WRS bill, Overkill, Tristania, Samael and Enslaved, for a show in Kiev only. Also, the band joined Hate for their first ever Polish invasion named \"Rebel Angels Tour\", a special show with Satyricon in Ukraine and summer 2008 appearances 2008 that included the Pro Rock Festival while co-headlining with Rage and at Metal Heads Mission Festival with bands like Moonspell, Gorgoroth and Samael to name but a few.\n\nTrack listing\n T.H.O.R.N.S. - 3:58\n Rex Inferni - 7:12\n The Word Was Made Flesh Turned Into Chaos Again - 5:16\n I Am The Son Of God - 4:20\n Tales Of Babylon's Whore - 6:39\n Diabolicanos - 5:23\n Natas Ro Dog On Si Ereht (Of Plagues And Blasphemy) - 5:53\n Har-Magedon - 4:04\n Mass For The Dead - 8:04\n\nTotal playtime: 50:49 minutes.\n\nPersonnel\n Przemyslaw \"Quazarre\" Olbryt - vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar\n Turquoissa - synthesizers\n Armers - lead guitar, rhythm guitar\n Starash - bass guitar\n Łukasz \"Icanraz\" Sarnacki - drums\n\nGuest appearance\n Szymon Czech from Nyia did guest leads on the song Tales of Babylon's Whore.\n Cezar from Christ Agony did guest vocals on the song Diabolicanos.\n Marcin Kiełbaszewski did additional voice in Latin choir on Natas Ro Dog On Si Ereht (Of Plagues And Blasphemy). \n Cezar from Christ Agony also did guest vocals on the song Mass for the Dead.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Devilish Impressions Official Site\n Devilish Impressions on Facebook\n Devilish Impressions on YouTube\n Devilish Impressions on Wikipedia\n\n2008 albums\nDevilish Impressions albums" ]
[ "Talking Heads", "1992-2002: Post break-up and final reunion", "When did the band reunite?", "on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.", "Did they play any songs when they were inducted?", "The band played \"Life During Wartime\", \"Psycho Killer\", and \"Burning Down the House\" together", "What is the name of a project that was produced post break-up?", "Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996.", "Did they collaborate with anyone on the album?", "featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes,", "Did \"The Heads\" ever tour?", "The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist." ]	C_b52cde93fb88454895e6e7156315d09e_0	Did any members of the band work with other artists on their music?	6	Did any members of the Talking Heads work with other artists on the Talking Heads' music besides John Napolitano??	Talking Heads	Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band to prevent them using the name "Talking Heads", something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". They opted to record and tour as "The Heads". Likewise, Byrne continues his solo career. Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and in 2010, work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits during the dance-club cultural boom era of the early 1980s, particularly in the UK, where they still enjoy a strong fan following today. Their best-known single, "Genius of Love", has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy". They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently, although commercial releases have become sporadic since 1991. The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely. David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart." Weymouth, however, has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. CANNOTANSWER	Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked,	Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of Scottish-born David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s", the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image. As former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads: 77, to positive reviews. They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of critically acclaimed releases—More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980)—which blended their art school punk sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. By the early 1980s, they began to expand their band by including a number of additional musicians in recording sessions and stage shows, notably guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones. After a hiatus, Talking Heads hit their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, the band was joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne' film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996. In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appear in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100. History 1973-1977: Early years In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not earn a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977. 1978–1980: Collaborations with Eno More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions, from post-punk to psychedelic funk to African music, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River". This broke Talking Heads into the general public's consciousness and gave the band their first Billboard Top 30 hit. The collaboration continued with Fear of Music (1979), with the darker stylings of post-punk rock, mixed with white funkadelia and subliminal references to the geopolitical instability of the late 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds cited Fear of Music as representing the Eno-Talking Heads collaboration "at its most mutually fruitful and equitable". The single "Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." The song refers to the Mudd Club and CBGB, two popular New York nightclubs of the time. Remain in Light (1980) was heavily influenced by the afrobeat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, whose music Eno had introduced to the band. It explored West African polyrhythms, weaving these together with Arabic music from North Africa, disco funk, and "found" voices. These combinations foreshadowed Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements, the band toured with an expanded group, including Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell, among others, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, Tom Tom Club, influenced by the foundational elements of hip hop, and Harrison released his first solo album, The Red and the Black. Likewise, Byrne—in collaboration with Eno—released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music and found sounds, as well as including a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire. Remain in Lights lead single, "Once in a Lifetime", became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but initially failed to make an impression in the USA. It grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video, which was named one of Time's All-TIME Best Music Videos. 1981–1991: Commercial peak and breakup After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus, and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the United States and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The tour in support of Speaking in Tongues was their last. Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. Little Creatures offered a much more American pop-rock sound as opposed to previous efforts. Similar in genre, True Stories hatched one of the group's most successful hits, "Wild Wild Life", and the accordion-driven track "Radio Head". Naked explored politics, sex, and death, and showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time, the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control and, after Naked, the band went on "hiatus". In 1987 Talking Heads released a book by David Byrne called What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs with Harper Collins that contained artwork by some of the top New York visual artists of the decade. In December 1991, Talking Heads announced that they had disbanded. Frantz said that he learned that Byrne had left from an article in the Los Angeles Times, and said: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (Casual Gods and Walk on Water), who toured together in 1990. 1992–2002: Post-breakup and final reunion Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison toured without Byrne as Shrunken Heads in the early 90s. In 1996, they released an album, No Talking, Just Head, under the name the Heads. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. It was accompanied by a tour with Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action to prevent the band using the name The Heads, which he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". The band briefly reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th anniversary re-release of Stop Making Sense, but did not perform together. Harrison produced records including the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn. Frantz and Weymouth have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently. Talking Heads reunited to play "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined on stage by former touring members Bernie Worrell and Steve Scales. Byrne said further work together was unlikely, due to "bad blood" and being musically "miles apart". Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. Influence AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s, by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop". Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact. Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States. Meanwhile, the more worldly popularities like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world. Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was critically acclaimed upon its theatrical release, and is considered one of the best concert films ever released. Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder, Foals, the Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Bell X1, the 1975, the Ting Tings, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead, who took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album True Stories. The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, in receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration. Members David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar (1975–1991, 2002) Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002) Additional musicians Adrian Belew – lead guitar, vocals (1980–1981) Alex Weir – guitar, vocals (1983–1984) Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Busta Jones – bass (1980–1981) Steve Scales – percussion, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Dolette McDonald – vocals, cowbell (1980–1981) Ednah Holt – vocals (1983–1984) Lynn Mabry – vocals (1983–1984) Nona Hendryx – vocals (1980) Discography Talking Heads: 77 (1977) More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) Fear of Music (1979) Remain in Light (1980) Speaking in Tongues (1983) Little Creatures (1985) True Stories (1986) Naked (1988) See also List of dance-rock artists List of funk rock bands List of new wave artists and bands List of post-punk bands References Further reading David Bowman, This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). . David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2012). . Chris Frantz, "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" (St. Martin's Press, 2020) David Gans, Talking Heads (New York: Avon Books, 1985). . Krista Reese, The Name of This Book is Talking Heads (London: Proteus Books, 1982). . Sytze Steenstra, Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present (New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010). . Talking Heads and Frank Olinsky, What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). . External links Entry at 45cat.com American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Art pop musicians Art rock musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Punk rock groups from New York (state) Sire Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners	false	[ "Bill Haley's New Comets is a rock and roll band founded in 1987 by singer Joe \"Bill\" Clifton. As only legal successors of the original performers this band keeps Bill Haley's music alive in its original 1950s style with original instrumentation, stage outfits and stage acrobatics.\n\nIn 2004, the group was awarded 'Artists of the Year' by the German Artists Magazine appreciating their artistic merits for classic rock and roll.\n\nIn 2007, original Comet, Pete Davenport, joined the band with his steel guitar. In 2011, original Haley guitarist Bill Turner, will join the band for their international tours.\n\nIn 2011, Bill Haley's daughter, Gina Haley, will start working with the New Comets on the remembrance of her father's work, touring with them for the first time internationally.\n\nThe band's most important event remains November 5, 1989, when the original 1954 Comets went back on stage in Bristol, England, inviting the New Comets to perform together. Impressed by the high musical standard and the authentic presentation of their 'fostersons' (Marshall Lytle: \"I saw Bill and myself on stage 40 years ago!\"), the American musicians officially gave symbolic validation to use their name and deemed them worthy successors of their work. This honor had never before been granted to any other succession-band by their originals.\n\nDiscography\n1991: Rock On Haley (CD Sony Records)\n2000: Live On Stage (CD Warner Bros. Records)\n\nFilmography\n2004: 50 Years Rock Around The Clock (DVD CultSound)\n\nReferences\n\nMusical groups established in 1987\nRock music groups from Pennsylvania\nBill Haley\nRock and roll music groups\nRockabilly music groups", "Mono Band are an Irish electronic rock band created by Cranberries guitarist Noel Hogan. The group, which uses a different lead vocalist for almost every song, first appeared when Hogan's website announced the name of his new project on 9 October 2004. Mono Band's first gig was 13 March 2005 at Dolan's in Limerick. On vocals that night were Richard Walters, Alexandra Hamnede, and Fin Chambers. This was followed by a performance at the 2005 SXSW Festival in Austin, TX on 17 March.\n\nFormation \nThe band consists of Noel Hogan and various guest artists on a track-by-track basis.\n\nMono Band traces its roots back to what was intended to be The Cranberries' sixth studio album. Hogan had been working on tracks when the Cranberries announced their hiatus. Using his home studio, and then at West London's Town House Studios with Matthew Vaughan, Hogan set about exploring more electronic music of various genres. With Hogan writing, recording and producing almost all of the music for each track the moniker 'Mono Band' is rather appropriate. Guest artists include Richard Walters, Marius De Vries, Alexandra Hamnede, Kate Havnevik, Nicolas Leroux, Fin Chambers, Angie Hart, and two fellow Cranberries, Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler.\n\nIn May 2005, Mono Band released their debut EP, Mono Band EP, shortly before releasing their first album, Mono Band.\n\nWith the touring that followed the release of their first album it became apparent that the concept of Mono Band did not translate as favourably to touring as it did to studio recording. Not every vocalist was available for every tour date, with usually two of the vocalist performing at any given show. Over the course of touring Richard Walters began to emerge as the primary vocalist. With their touring commitment completed Hogan and Walters decided to work together and formed Arkitekt. As of February 2011 there was no word on any upcoming projects by Mono Band.\n\nLine-up\nNoel Hogan - guitar, programming, backing vocals\n various guest artists on a track-by-track basis\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n Mono Band (2005)\n\nEPs\n \"Mono Band EP\"\n \"Remixes\"\n\nSingles\n \"Waves\"\n \"Run Wild\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nMonoband.co.uk (archived site)\nGohan Records Hogan's label's site\n\nIrish alternative rock groups\nIrish electronic music groups\nThe Cranberries\nMusical groups established in 2004\nMusical groups disestablished in 2007\nIrish electronic rock musical groups" ]
[ "Talking Heads", "1992-2002: Post break-up and final reunion", "When did the band reunite?", "on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.", "Did they play any songs when they were inducted?", "The band played \"Life During Wartime\", \"Psycho Killer\", and \"Burning Down the House\" together", "What is the name of a project that was produced post break-up?", "Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996.", "Did they collaborate with anyone on the album?", "featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes,", "Did \"The Heads\" ever tour?", "The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist.", "Did any members of the band work with other artists on their music?", "Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked," ]	C_b52cde93fb88454895e6e7156315d09e_0	How was Harrison received as a producer?	7	How was Harrison received as a producer of Violet Femmes' music?	Talking Heads	Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band to prevent them using the name "Talking Heads", something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". They opted to record and tour as "The Heads". Likewise, Byrne continues his solo career. Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and in 2010, work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits during the dance-club cultural boom era of the early 1980s, particularly in the UK, where they still enjoy a strong fan following today. Their best-known single, "Genius of Love", has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy". They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently, although commercial releases have become sporadic since 1991. The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely. David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart." Weymouth, however, has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. CANNOTANSWER	Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note	Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of Scottish-born David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s", the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image. As former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads: 77, to positive reviews. They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of critically acclaimed releases—More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980)—which blended their art school punk sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. By the early 1980s, they began to expand their band by including a number of additional musicians in recording sessions and stage shows, notably guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones. After a hiatus, Talking Heads hit their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, the band was joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne' film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996. In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appear in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100. History 1973-1977: Early years In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not earn a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977. 1978–1980: Collaborations with Eno More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions, from post-punk to psychedelic funk to African music, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River". This broke Talking Heads into the general public's consciousness and gave the band their first Billboard Top 30 hit. The collaboration continued with Fear of Music (1979), with the darker stylings of post-punk rock, mixed with white funkadelia and subliminal references to the geopolitical instability of the late 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds cited Fear of Music as representing the Eno-Talking Heads collaboration "at its most mutually fruitful and equitable". The single "Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." The song refers to the Mudd Club and CBGB, two popular New York nightclubs of the time. Remain in Light (1980) was heavily influenced by the afrobeat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, whose music Eno had introduced to the band. It explored West African polyrhythms, weaving these together with Arabic music from North Africa, disco funk, and "found" voices. These combinations foreshadowed Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements, the band toured with an expanded group, including Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell, among others, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, Tom Tom Club, influenced by the foundational elements of hip hop, and Harrison released his first solo album, The Red and the Black. Likewise, Byrne—in collaboration with Eno—released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music and found sounds, as well as including a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire. Remain in Lights lead single, "Once in a Lifetime", became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but initially failed to make an impression in the USA. It grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video, which was named one of Time's All-TIME Best Music Videos. 1981–1991: Commercial peak and breakup After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus, and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the United States and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The tour in support of Speaking in Tongues was their last. Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. Little Creatures offered a much more American pop-rock sound as opposed to previous efforts. Similar in genre, True Stories hatched one of the group's most successful hits, "Wild Wild Life", and the accordion-driven track "Radio Head". Naked explored politics, sex, and death, and showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time, the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control and, after Naked, the band went on "hiatus". In 1987 Talking Heads released a book by David Byrne called What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs with Harper Collins that contained artwork by some of the top New York visual artists of the decade. In December 1991, Talking Heads announced that they had disbanded. Frantz said that he learned that Byrne had left from an article in the Los Angeles Times, and said: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (Casual Gods and Walk on Water), who toured together in 1990. 1992–2002: Post-breakup and final reunion Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison toured without Byrne as Shrunken Heads in the early 90s. In 1996, they released an album, No Talking, Just Head, under the name the Heads. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. It was accompanied by a tour with Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action to prevent the band using the name The Heads, which he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". The band briefly reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th anniversary re-release of Stop Making Sense, but did not perform together. Harrison produced records including the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn. Frantz and Weymouth have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently. Talking Heads reunited to play "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined on stage by former touring members Bernie Worrell and Steve Scales. Byrne said further work together was unlikely, due to "bad blood" and being musically "miles apart". Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. Influence AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s, by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop". Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact. Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States. Meanwhile, the more worldly popularities like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world. Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was critically acclaimed upon its theatrical release, and is considered one of the best concert films ever released. Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder, Foals, the Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Bell X1, the 1975, the Ting Tings, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead, who took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album True Stories. The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, in receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration. Members David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar (1975–1991, 2002) Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002) Additional musicians Adrian Belew – lead guitar, vocals (1980–1981) Alex Weir – guitar, vocals (1983–1984) Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Busta Jones – bass (1980–1981) Steve Scales – percussion, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Dolette McDonald – vocals, cowbell (1980–1981) Ednah Holt – vocals (1983–1984) Lynn Mabry – vocals (1983–1984) Nona Hendryx – vocals (1980) Discography Talking Heads: 77 (1977) More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) Fear of Music (1979) Remain in Light (1980) Speaking in Tongues (1983) Little Creatures (1985) True Stories (1986) Naked (1988) See also List of dance-rock artists List of funk rock bands List of new wave artists and bands List of post-punk bands References Further reading David Bowman, This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). . David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2012). . Chris Frantz, "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" (St. Martin's Press, 2020) David Gans, Talking Heads (New York: Avon Books, 1985). . Krista Reese, The Name of This Book is Talking Heads (London: Proteus Books, 1982). . Sytze Steenstra, Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present (New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010). . Talking Heads and Frank Olinsky, What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). . External links Entry at 45cat.com American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Art pop musicians Art rock musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Punk rock groups from New York (state) Sire Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners	false	[ "Doane Harrison (September 19, 1894 – November 11, 1968) was an American film editor whose career spanned four decades. For nearly twenty years, from 1935–54, he was a prolific editor of films for Paramount Pictures, including eleven films with director Mitchell Leisen. For twenty-five years, from 1941–1966, Harrison was editor, editorial supervisor or associate producer on all the films directed by Billy Wilder, who is now considered one of the great 20th-century filmmakers.\n\nEarly career\nBorn in Paw Paw, Michigan, Harrison began his career during the silent film era. The earliest phase of his career and his education don't appear to have been documented. In 1925–1926, he was credited as the editor for nine films starring Richard Talmadge, and produced by Richard Talmadge Productions.\n\nBy 1928, he was editing films produced by Pathé Exchange. In 1933 he edited his eleventh (and last) film starring Richard Talmadge, On Your Guard. By 1935, Harrison had joined Paramount Pictures, one of the major Hollywood studios. Harrison remained at Paramount for more than eighteen years. His first film there was Four Hours to Kill! (1935), which was directed by Mitchell Leisen; at Pathé Exchange, Leisen had been the art director and Harrison the editor on three films. Their notable director-editor collaboration ultimately stretched over twenty-three years and eleven films, including Hold Back the Dawn (1941), which received six Academy Award nominations, Easy Living (1937), Midnight (1939), and Remember the Night (1940).\n\nCollaboration with Billy Wilder\nHarrison is probably best remembered for his long association with Billy Wilder. As a new immigrant to the United States in the 1930s, Wilder had found work as a screenwriter for Paramount, where Harrison was also working as an editor. Wilder and Harrison both worked on Midnight in 1939, and again on Hold Back the Dawn in 1941. By 1942, Wilder had persuaded the management at Paramount to assign him as the director of the comedy The Major and the Minor; Wilder had previously directed just a single film in France. Wilder asked that Harrison be assigned as the film's editor. Wilder has been quoted as saying about this early assignment, \"I worked with a very good cutter, Doane Harrison, from whom I learned a great deal. He was much more of a help to me than the cameraman. When I became a director from a writer my technical knowledge was very meagre.\" Sam Stagg has described their early collaboration, \"In valuable early lessons, Harrison taught Wilder how to preplan each shot as part of a total editing scheme. The results: Time and money saved, and few protection shots required. (The term \"protection shot\", also called coverage, refers to footage shot from various setups and angles that may be needed for editing a sequence in the cutting room.)\"\n\nThe Major and the Minor was successful, and launched Wilder's directing career. Harrison worked on all the films directed by Wilder for the next 25 years, through The Fortune Cookie (1966); their unusually close collaboration involved Harrison in filming as well as editing.\n\nHarrison was credited as editorial supervisor on the next several films that Wilder directed, through Sunset Boulevard (1950). Harrison was credited as an \"editorial consultant\" on Sabrina (1954), which was the last film at Paramount for Wilder and Harrison. After leaving Paramount, Harrison was an associate producer on eight, and production associate on two of Wilder's films, from The Seven Year Itch (1955) through The Fortune Cookie (1966).\n\nFinal cuts\nHarrison's and Wilder's notable director-editor collaboration (as editor, editorial supervisor or advisor) had extended over ten films, from The Major and the Minor (1942) through Sabrina (1954). While he was working with Wilder, Harrison also edited more films by other directors; his final editing credit, for The Girl Most Likely (1958), was a reunion with director Mitchell Leisen. He acted as a consultant to Mike Nichols on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), which was the first film Nichols directed.\n\nHarrison was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for three films directed by Wilder: Five Graves to Cairo (1943), The Lost Weekend (1945), and Sunset Boulevard (with Arthur P. Schmidt, 1950). Harrison died in 1968 in Riverside, California, aged 74.\n\nSelected filmography\n A Prince of a King (1923)\n Jimmie's Millions (1925)\n Youth and Adventure (1925)\n The Mysterious Stranger (1925)\n Celebrity (1928)\n The Shady Lady (1928)\n His First Command (1929)\n\nSee also\nList of film director and editor collaborations\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1894 births\n1968 deaths\nAmerican film editors\nFilm producers from Michigan\nPeople from Paw Paw, Michigan", "Deerslayer is a 1943 American Western film. It is based on the 1841 novel The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper. It stars Bruce Kellogg and Jean Parker, and was directed by Lew Landers.\n\nCast\n Jean Parker as Judith Hutter\n Bruce Kellogg as Deerslayer\n Larry Parks as Jingo-Good\n Yvonne De Carlo as Wah-Tah\n Warren Ashe as Harry March\n Wanda McKay as Hetty\n\nProduction\nThe film was the first, and only, film written and produced by film reviewer P. S. Harrison, founder of the film journal Harrison's Reports.\n\nFilming began in June 1943.\n\nIt was the first notable film role for Yvonne De Carlo who was borrowed from Paramount Studios. \"She later wrote, \"There have been several movie versions of The Deerslayer and this was probably the least memorable, but at the time I was thrilled to be in it.\"\n\nReception\nVariety opined, \"Harrison draws a complete blank as a producer-scenarist.\"\n\nHarrison's publication Harrison's Reports published their first review acknowledged not to have been written by Harrison. It was written by Abram F. Myers.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nDeerslayer at TCMDB\nThe Deerslayer at IMDb\nThe Deerslayer at BFI\n\n1943 films\n1943 Western (genre) films\nAmerican Western (genre) films\nAmerican films\nFilms directed by Lew Landers\nAmerican black-and-white films\nFilms based on works by James Fenimore Cooper\nFilms set in the 1740s" ]
[ "Talking Heads", "1992-2002: Post break-up and final reunion", "When did the band reunite?", "on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.", "Did they play any songs when they were inducted?", "The band played \"Life During Wartime\", \"Psycho Killer\", and \"Burning Down the House\" together", "What is the name of a project that was produced post break-up?", "Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996.", "Did they collaborate with anyone on the album?", "featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes,", "Did \"The Heads\" ever tour?", "The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist.", "Did any members of the band work with other artists on their music?", "Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked,", "How was Harrison received as a producer?", "Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note" ]	C_b52cde93fb88454895e6e7156315d09e_0	Did Harrison work with any other artists besides the Violent Femmes?	8	Did Harrison work with any other artists as a producer besides the Violent Femmes?	Talking Heads	Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour, which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band to prevent them using the name "Talking Heads", something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". They opted to record and tour as "The Heads". Likewise, Byrne continues his solo career. Meanwhile, Harrison became a record producer of some note - his resume includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and in 2010, work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits during the dance-club cultural boom era of the early 1980s, particularly in the UK, where they still enjoy a strong fan following today. Their best-known single, "Genius of Love", has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy". They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently, although commercial releases have become sporadic since 1991. The band played "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely. David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart." Weymouth, however, has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. CANNOTANSWER	Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry,	Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of Scottish-born David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s", the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image. As former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads: 77, to positive reviews. They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of critically acclaimed releases—More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980)—which blended their art school punk sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. By the early 1980s, they began to expand their band by including a number of additional musicians in recording sessions and stage shows, notably guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones. After a hiatus, Talking Heads hit their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, the band was joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne' film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996. In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appear in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100. History 1973-1977: Early years In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not earn a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977. 1978–1980: Collaborations with Eno More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions, from post-punk to psychedelic funk to African music, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River". This broke Talking Heads into the general public's consciousness and gave the band their first Billboard Top 30 hit. The collaboration continued with Fear of Music (1979), with the darker stylings of post-punk rock, mixed with white funkadelia and subliminal references to the geopolitical instability of the late 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds cited Fear of Music as representing the Eno-Talking Heads collaboration "at its most mutually fruitful and equitable". The single "Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." The song refers to the Mudd Club and CBGB, two popular New York nightclubs of the time. Remain in Light (1980) was heavily influenced by the afrobeat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, whose music Eno had introduced to the band. It explored West African polyrhythms, weaving these together with Arabic music from North Africa, disco funk, and "found" voices. These combinations foreshadowed Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements, the band toured with an expanded group, including Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell, among others, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, Tom Tom Club, influenced by the foundational elements of hip hop, and Harrison released his first solo album, The Red and the Black. Likewise, Byrne—in collaboration with Eno—released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music and found sounds, as well as including a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire. Remain in Lights lead single, "Once in a Lifetime", became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but initially failed to make an impression in the USA. It grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video, which was named one of Time's All-TIME Best Music Videos. 1981–1991: Commercial peak and breakup After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus, and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the United States and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The tour in support of Speaking in Tongues was their last. Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. Little Creatures offered a much more American pop-rock sound as opposed to previous efforts. Similar in genre, True Stories hatched one of the group's most successful hits, "Wild Wild Life", and the accordion-driven track "Radio Head". Naked explored politics, sex, and death, and showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time, the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control and, after Naked, the band went on "hiatus". In 1987 Talking Heads released a book by David Byrne called What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs with Harper Collins that contained artwork by some of the top New York visual artists of the decade. In December 1991, Talking Heads announced that they had disbanded. Frantz said that he learned that Byrne had left from an article in the Los Angeles Times, and said: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (Casual Gods and Walk on Water), who toured together in 1990. 1992–2002: Post-breakup and final reunion Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison toured without Byrne as Shrunken Heads in the early 90s. In 1996, they released an album, No Talking, Just Head, under the name the Heads. The album featured a number of vocalists, including Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. It was accompanied by a tour with Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action to prevent the band using the name The Heads, which he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name". The band briefly reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th anniversary re-release of Stop Making Sense, but did not perform together. Harrison produced records including the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn. Frantz and Weymouth have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club continue to record and tour intermittently. Talking Heads reunited to play "Life During Wartime", "Psycho Killer", and "Burning Down the House" on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined on stage by former touring members Bernie Worrell and Steve Scales. Byrne said further work together was unlikely, due to "bad blood" and being musically "miles apart". Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship" and saying that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison. Influence AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s, by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop". Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact. Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States. Meanwhile, the more worldly popularities like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world. Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was critically acclaimed upon its theatrical release, and is considered one of the best concert films ever released. Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder, Foals, the Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Bell X1, the 1975, the Ting Tings, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead, who took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album True Stories. The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, in receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration. Members David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar (1975–1991, 2002) Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002) Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002) Additional musicians Adrian Belew – lead guitar, vocals (1980–1981) Alex Weir – guitar, vocals (1983–1984) Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Busta Jones – bass (1980–1981) Steve Scales – percussion, backing vocals (1980–1984, 2002) Dolette McDonald – vocals, cowbell (1980–1981) Ednah Holt – vocals (1983–1984) Lynn Mabry – vocals (1983–1984) Nona Hendryx – vocals (1980) Discography Talking Heads: 77 (1977) More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) Fear of Music (1979) Remain in Light (1980) Speaking in Tongues (1983) Little Creatures (1985) True Stories (1986) Naked (1988) See also List of dance-rock artists List of funk rock bands List of new wave artists and bands List of post-punk bands References Further reading David Bowman, This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century (New York: HarperCollins, 2001). . David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2012). . Chris Frantz, "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" (St. Martin's Press, 2020) David Gans, Talking Heads (New York: Avon Books, 1985). . Krista Reese, The Name of This Book is Talking Heads (London: Proteus Books, 1982). . Sytze Steenstra, Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present (New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010). . Talking Heads and Frank Olinsky, What the Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). . External links Entry at 45cat.com American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Art pop musicians Art rock musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Punk rock groups from New York (state) Sire Records artists Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners	true	[ "\"Add It Up\" is a song by American rock band Violent Femmes, released on their 1983 debut album Violent Femmes.\n\nIt contains the lyrics:\n\nBand member Gordon Gano commented:\n\nThe song title was used as the name for the compilation album by the group, Add It Up (1981–1993).\n\nSome radio stations substitute a guitar note for the swear word for airplay.\n\nUsed in other media \n\n Ethan Hawke's character in the 1994 film Reality Bites plays a cover of \"Add It Up\" with his band Hey That's My Bike.\n The song is featured in the soundtrack of the 2004 skateboarding video game Tony Hawk's Underground 2.\n The song was covered on a cello and piano, as are several other Violent Femmes songs, in the 2007 film Rocket Science. \n Canadian singer Shawn Mendes performed a cover of the song during the season 3 premiere of The 100. A music video for the cover was released by The CW. Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie responded positively to the rendition through the band's official Facebook page, saying \"It’s a testament to the universality expressed in [the song] that it can be resurrected with a different result even after 35 years and still sound current.\"\n\nNotes and references\n\nExternal links\n \"Add It Up – an Interview with the Elder Statesmen of Disaffected Youth, the Violent Femmes\"\n\n1983 songs\nSongs about sexuality\nSongs written by Gordon Gano\nViolent Femmes songs", "The Blind Leading the Naked is the third album by Violent Femmes. It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and released in 1986. The title is a play on the figure of speech \"the blind leading the blind.\"\n\nThe Blind Leading the Naked was the band's first album to reach the Billboard chart, peaking at #84, and its only one to chart in Britain.\n\nProduction and recording\nThe band said Leo Kottke and Fred Frith were both persuaded to appear on the album after approaching them at their concerts. \"I just went along and asked him if he'd like to come down and try something out in the studio,\" Ritchie said of Frith.\n\nMembers of the band said they were unhappy with the choice of Harrison as producer, with Ritchie saying, \"We knew Jerry and he'd seen us live and, uh, he didn't like it... And when I heard the reasons that he didn't like it, well, they were the reasons why we do like it! We didn't think he was right to produce music as weird as ours.\" Gano further claimed that Harrison had been suggested by Warners, \"solely on the basis that he lives in Milwaukee, because we'd stipulated to them that we had to record there. This was outrageous from their point of view.\"\n\nReception\n\nAllMusic gave the album a positive review, stating the album was a \"more mainstream effort\" that \"rocks harder\" than previous albums. People gave a positive review, stating \"the group maintains enough humor and angst to keep even their religious songs fresh.... This third album gives more evidence that the Violent Femmes rank with the very best bands of the 1980s\", while singling out the song \"Breakin' Hearts\" as a highlight.\nHowever, in a retrospective of their debut album, The Atlantic mentions The Blind Leading the Naked is \"their first unmitigated disaster, a crassly commercial piece of pandering.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\n\nViolent Femmes\n Gordon Gano – lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitars\n Brian Ritchie – acoustic and electric bass guitars, electric guitar, jaw harp, slide whistle, vocals\n Victor DeLorenzo – drums, percussion, tortoise, vocals\n\nAdditional musicians\n Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, melodica\n Fred Frith – homemade instruments, guitar\n Leo Kottke – acoustic 10-string guitar\n Sigmund Snopek III – keyboards\n Peter Balestrieri – alto saxophone\n Steve Mackay – saxophone\n Steve Scales – percussion\n Abdulhamid Alwan – tabla, daf\n Junior Brantley – keyboards\n Jim Liban – harmonica\n Bill Schaefgen – trombone\n Drake Scott – vocalizing\n\nCharts\n\nSee also\nRonald Reagan in music\n\nReferences \n\nViolent Femmes albums\n1986 albums\nAlbums produced by Jerry Harrison\nSlash Records albums" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season" ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	what was her biggest accomplishment of the season	1	what was Mao Asada's biggest accomplishment of the 2010-11 season?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating.	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	false	[ "Emily Dwyer (born c. 1993) is a Canadian curler from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. She currently skips a team on the World Curling Tour. Dwyer was born in Ottawa, Ontario.\n\nAmong Dwyer's junior accolades including winning two Under-18 provincial titles (2010 and 2011), and representing Nova Scotia at the 2011 Canada Winter Games, finishing fourth on home ice at the Mayflower Curling Club. However, her biggest junior accomplishment was representing Nova Scotia at the 2012 Canadian Junior Curling Championships. She skipped her Nova Scotia rink to a 7–5 record, just missing the playoffs.\n\nThe 2014–15 season was the first season for Dwyer on the World Curling Tour (WCT). Her first event was the Gibson's Cashspiel played in her hometown of Lower Sackville. Her team won two games. In just her second ever WCT event, the 2014 Skyy Vodka Ladies Cashspiel, Dwyer and her rink won, defeating former World Champion Mary-Anne Arsenault in the final.\n\nOn March 30, 2020 Dwyer announced she had recovered from COVID-19.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nLiving people\nSportspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia\nCurlers from Nova Scotia\nCurlers from Ottawa\nCanadian women curlers\n1990s births", "The Biggest Loser Brunei is a Bruneian reality television show that began broadcasting on BNC in 2010. The show is an adaptation of the American reality TV show The Biggest Loser. It features a host and personal trainers who help the contestants lose weight. The show features obese people competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight.\n\nIn May 2010, the first season was aired and the winner was Ali, who lost . The second season premiered on October 7, 2011 and Muhammad Zahin was given the title of The Biggest Loser. The third season premiered on March 13, 2012. In this season, for the first time, a female contestant won the show; Hannah lost 111 pounds and her percentage of weight loss was 45.87%.\n\nRenewal\n Starting in season 2, all units of the scales used the unit of the pound, which was preferred by the audience.\n In season 2, The Biggest Loser Brunei introduced Emma Pangiran Raden as co-host.\n In season 2, this show also introduced The Commando who trained contestants at the Biggest Loser Campus.\n Cristine Phoebe replaced Juliana Mikael, who did not return for the third season.\n\nCriticism\nDuring the first season, Muslims criticized the program since the broadcast coincided with Maghrib, during which Muslims are only supposed to pray. The second season was broadcast at 8.30 pm.\n\nSeasons\nEach season has its own theme and gameplay. During the first season, the game was in the basic format of The Biggest Loser. Starting from season 2, the theme was altered. In season 3, unlike the first two seasons, players were divided into teams of three and had varying colours.\n\nAs has been done on the United States version of The Biggest Loser, there is a season that involves participants in pairs, which is called \"Couples\". However, the Brunei version does not have a Couples season. This is to prove that the contestants are able to lose weight as themselves without their loved ones on the show.\n\nLeaderboard\n\nGrand prize winner\n\nAt-home winner\n\nMass media in Brunei\nBrunei" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season", "what was her biggest accomplishment of the season", "At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating." ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	Did she skate alone or in pairs competitions	2	Did Mao Asada skate alone or in pairs competitions?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	false	[ "The 2008 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2008–09 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario on October 30 – November 2. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. The compulsory dance was the Pasodoble.\n\nSchedule\nThe switch from daylight saving time to standard time was on November 2. Therefore, the events on Friday and Saturday were UTC-4, and the events on Sunday were UTC-5.\n\n Friday, October 31\n 12:05 Pairs' short program\n 14:10 Ladies' short program\n 18:30 Compulsory dance\n 19:45 Men's short program\n Saturday, November 1\n 10:45 Original dance\n 13:25 Pairs' free skating\n 16:05 Men's free skating\n 17:45 Medal ceremonies - Men and pairs\n 19:05 Ladies' free skating\n 20:50 Medal ceremonies - Ladies\n Sunday, November 2\n 12:15 Free dance\n 13:30 Medal ceremonies - Ice dancing\n 15:05 Exhibition gala\n\nResults\n\nMen\n\nLadies\n\nPairs\n\nIce dancing\n\nExternal links\n\n 2008 Skate Canada official site\n Skate Canada International at Skate Canada\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\nSkate Canada International, 2008\nSkate Canada International\nSports competitions in Ottawa\n2008 in Canadian sports\n2008 in Ontario\n2000s in Ottawa\nOctober 2008 sports events in Canada\nNovember 2008 sports events in Canada", "The Prague Skate (sometimes titled Golden Skate; from 1994: Czech Skate) is an international figure skating competition. It was a senior event from the 1960s to 1997, usually held in November or December in Prague. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating. Since 1999, it is organized in some years as part of the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.\n\nSenior medalists\n\nMen\n\nLadies\n\nPairs\n\nIce dancing\n\nJunior medalists\n\nReferences \n\n \nFigure skating competitions\nFigure skating in the Czech Republic" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season", "what was her biggest accomplishment of the season", "At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating.", "Did she skate alone or in pairs competitions", "I don't know." ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	Did she have any injuries or other setbacks during the season?	3	Did Mao Asada have any injuries or other setbacks during the season?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season.	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	false	[ "In land use, a setback is the minimum distance which a building or other structure must be set back from a street or road, a river or other stream, a shore or flood plain, or any other place which is deemed to need protection. Depending on the jurisdiction, other things like fences, landscaping, septic tanks, and various potential hazards or nuisances might be regulated and prohibited by setback lines. Setbacks along state, provincial, or federal highways may also be set in the laws of the state or province, or the federal government. Local governments create setbacks through ordinances, zoning restrictions, and Building Codes, usually for reasons of public policy such as safety, privacy, and environmental protection. Neighborhood developers may create setback lines (usually defined in Covenants & Restrictions, and set forth in official neighborhood maps) to ensure uniform appearance in the neighborhood and prevent houses from crowding adjacent structures or streets. In some cases, building ahead of a setback line may be permitted through special approval.\n\nOverview\nHomes usually have a setback from the property boundary, so that they cannot be placed close together. Setbacks may also allow for public utilities to access the buildings, and for access to utility meters. In some municipalities, setbacks are based on street right-of-ways, and not the front property line. Nonetheless, many of the world's cities, such as those built in the US before 1916 and the beginnings of zoning in the United States, do not employ setbacks. Zoning –and laws pertaining to site development, such as setbacks for front lawns– has been criticized recently by urban planners (most notably Jane Jacobs) for the role that these laws have played in producing urban sprawl and automobile-dependent, low-density cities.\n\nOlder houses have smaller setbacks between properties, as walking was a primary mode of transportation and the distance people walked to actual destinations and, eventually, streetcar stops had to be kept short out of necessity. Distances of one to five feet at most are common in neighborhoods built in the United States before 1890, when the electric streetcar first became popular. Most suburbs laid out before 1920 have narrow lots and setbacks of five to fifteen feet between houses. As automobile ownership became common, setbacks increased further because zoning laws required developers to leave large spaces between the house and street. Recently, in some areas of the United States, setback requirements have been lowered so as to permit new homes and other structures to be closer to the street, one facet of the low impact development urban design movement. This permits a more usable rear yard and limits new impervious surface areas for the purposes of stormwater infiltration.\n\nMailboxes, on the other hand, often have a maximum setback instead of a minimum one. A postal administration or postmaster may mandate that if a mailbox on a street is too far from the curb for the letter carrier to insert mail, without having to get out of the vehicle, the mail may not be delivered to that address at all until the situation is corrected.\n\nSetbacks in Canada\nBritish Columbia uses a minimum setback of 4.5 metres (15 feet) of any building, mobile home, retaining wall, or other structure from all highway rights-of-way under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure unless the building has access from another street, in which case the allowed setback is 3 metres (10 feet).\n\nReferences\n\nLand management\nUrban studies and planning terminology\nZoning", "Julia Åberg (born 12 July 1996) is a Swedish ice hockey retired ice hockey goaltender. She made over 100 SDHL appearances with Leksands IF and played intermittently for the Swedish national team.\n\nCareer \nÅberg grew up in Stockholm, playing with IK Göta as a child. \n\nIn 2011, she signed for Leksands IF. Ahead of the 2014-15 season, Swedish national team starter Sara Grahn deemed her the most promising goaltending talent in the country.\n\nFrom 2013 to 2016, she only played 13 SDHL games, spending two seasons in Leksands and one with Djurgårdens IF, missing significant amount of time due to injuries requiring multiple surgeries for herniated discs and torn cruciate ligaments.\n\nShe spent the 2016-17 season in North America, playing for NCAA Division III Johnson & Wales University in Providence\n. She had originally planned to play for a Division I university, but lost her scholarship after her injuries. She was able to play the entire season with the university without suffering any additional injuries, posting a save percentage of .955.\n\nShe returned to Sweden to rejoin Leksands ahead of he 2017-18 season. She made a 42-save shutout against Linköping in January 2019.\n\nShe announced her retirement from hockey after the end of the 2018-19 season, citing exhaustion and financial insecurity. She made an unexpected return to Leksands in December 2019, temporarily stepping in as the club suffered a goaltending crisis due to injuries. She has also since made a handful of appearances for Division 2 club Falu IF, playing as a forward.\n\nIn April 2020, it was reported that she was considering making a comeback to SDHL.\n\nInternational career \nShe was named to the Swedish roster for the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship as the backup to Sara Grahn, but did not see any ice time.\n\nPersonal life \nÅberg currently works as a firefighter.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1996 births\nLiving people\nSportspeople from Stockholm\nSwedish expatriate ice hockey people\nSwedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States\nSwedish women's ice hockey goaltenders\nJohnson & Wales University alumni\nFirefighters" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season", "what was her biggest accomplishment of the season", "At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating.", "Did she skate alone or in pairs competitions", "I don't know.", "Did she have any injuries or other setbacks during the season?", "Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season." ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	Did she compete in anything other than the Japan Nationals	4	Did Mao Asada compete in anything other than the Japan Nationals?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events.	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	false	[ "The 2000–01 Japan Figure Skating Championships were the 69th edition of the event. They were held on December 8–10, 2000 at the Big Hat arena in Nagano. National Champions were crowned in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. As well as crowning the national champions of Japan for the 2000–01 season, the results of this competition were used to help pick the teams for the 2001 World Championships and the 2001 Four Continents Championships.\n\nCompetition notes\n The following skaters placed high enough at Junior Nationals and so were invited to compete at Nationals: Soshi Tanaka, Kazumi Kishimoto, and Kensuke Nakaniwa for men, and Akiko Suzuki, Utako Wakamatsu for ladies.\n Yukari Nakano and Yuko Kawaguchi / Alexander Markuntsov did not compete due to a time conflict with the 2000–01 ISU Junior Grand Prix.\n\nResults\n\nMen\n\nLadies\n\nPairs\n\nIce dancing\n\nJapan Junior Figure Skating Championships\nThe 2000–01 Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships took place between November 25 and 26, 2000 at the Nagoya Rainbow Hall.\n\nThe following skaters placed high enough at Novice Nationals to be invited to compete here: Miki Ando (1st in novice, 3rd in junior) and Takahiko Kozuka (1st in novice, 18th in junior).\n\nAlthough normally under the rules, a podium finish in the Ladies event on the Junior level would bring an invitation to compete at the senior level, twelve years old Miki Ando was not able to be invited due to her age and skating level.\n\nMen\n Entry: 27 athletes\n\nLadies\n Entry: 32 athletes\n\nIce dancing\n\nInternational team selections\n\nWorld Championships\n\nFour Continents Championships\n\nWorld Junior Championships\n\nExternal links\n 2000–01 Japan Figure Skating Championships results\n 2000–01 Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships results \n\nJapan Figure Skating Championships\n2000 in figure skating\n2001 in figure skating\n2000 in Japanese sport", "The 2001–02 Japan Figure Skating Championships were the 70th edition of the event. They were held on December 21–23, 2001 at the Namihaya Dome arena in Kadoma, Osaka. National Champions were crowned in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. As well as crowning the national champions of Japan for the 2001–02 season, the results of this competition were used to help pick the teams for the 2002 Winter Olympics, 2002 World Championships, and the 2002 Four Continents Championships.\n\nCompetition notes\n Takeshi Honda and Yoshie Onda withdrew before the competition, but had already been chosen before the event to compete at the 2002 Winter Olympics.\n The following skaters placed high enough at Junior Nationals and so were invited to compete at Nationals: Daisuke Takahashi, Ryosuke Sasaki. Makoto Nakata, and Nobunari Oda for men, Miki Ando, Yukari Nakano, Ichie Hayashi, and Akiko Suzuki for ladies.\n Despite technically qualifying by placing third, Miki Ando was not selected for the Four Continents team because she was not age-eligible. Fourth place finisher Akiko Suzuki went instead.\n\nResults\n\nMen\n\nLadies\n\nPairs\n\nIce dancing\n\nJapan Junior Figure Skating Championships\nThe 2001–02 Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships took place between November 23 and 24, 2001 in Tokyo.\n\nThe following skaters placed high enough at Novice Nationals to be invited to compete here: Takahiko Kozuka (1st in novice A, 8th in junior), Aki Sawada (1st in novice A, 7th in junior), Nana Takeda (2nd in novice A, 9th in junior), Eri Ishigami (3rd in novice A, 25th in junior), and Mao Asada (1st in novice B, 6th in junior).\n\nMen\n Entry: 26 athletes\n\nLadies\n Entry: 31 athletes\n\nIce dancing\n\nInternational team selections\n\nWinter Olympics\n\nWorld Championships\n\nFour Continents Championships\n\nWorld Junior Championships\nAfter Junior Nationals, the World Junior team was announced as follows:\n\nExternal links\n 2001–02 Japan Figure Skating Championships results\n 2001–02 Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships results \n\nJapan Figure Skating Championships\n2001 in figure skating\n2002 in figure skating\n2001 in Japanese sport" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season", "what was her biggest accomplishment of the season", "At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating.", "Did she skate alone or in pairs competitions", "I don't know.", "Did she have any injuries or other setbacks during the season?", "Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season.", "Did she compete in anything other than the Japan Nationals", "Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events." ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	Very impressive were there others as well?	5	Very impressive were there others beside Mao Asada as well?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	true	[ "NGEN Racing is an aircraft combat/racing video game developed by British studio Curly Monsters and published by Infogrames for the PlayStation in 2000.\n\nGameplay\nIn this game, players compete in races and use the winnings to upgrade their planes.\n\nDevelopment\nThe game was released late in the PlayStation's life cycle.\n\nReception\n\nThe game received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Doug Trueman of NextGen said that the game was \"Not bad, but not what it could have been. And forget about seeing other planes while you're airborne.\"\n\nDavid Smith of IGN praised the game's originality as well as its depth & level of customizability. Smith further called the game's more difficult races 'intense', but criticized its 'uninspired' and \"predictible\" track designs. Miguel Lopez of GameSpot called the game \"innovative\" and 'a reinterpretation of the genre', further praising its fast-paced action racing gameplay. He praised its 'rich' career mode, calling it the \"heart of the game\", as well as its normal and 'pro' control schemes, but criticized the inability to remap the controls due to 'unintuitive' control placement.\n\nShawn Sanders of GameRevolution praised the game's graphics as \"detailed\" and 'impressive for the Playstation', stating that \"NGEN has some of the best graphics and background textures that I have seen in a PS title all year\", further praising its colors as \"bright and vivid\", as well as its \"very well done\" particle effects and lighting. Sanders also praised its \"smooth and constant\" frame rate, but despite its impressive graphics and selection of planes, he criticized the game as fundamentally being 'boring', further calling its combat \"kind of lame\". Keith Ellis of Eurogamer praised the game's ability to customize planes, as well as the ability to choose between normal and 'pro' control schemes; he also praised the \"very nice\" and \"colourful\" graphics, but noted that \"irritatingly\" the player's plane blends in with the background too well, causing the player to be \"passed by another plane, and not to realise it until you see your position in the race has changed\". Despite later levels becoming more difficult and \"frantic\", Ellis expressed that he got \"very bored ... far too quickly\" due to the game's \"repetitive\" music and gameplay.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n2000 video games\nCombat flight simulators\nInfogrames games\nPlayStation (console) games\nPlayStation (console)-only games\nRacing video games\nVideo games developed in the United Kingdom", "Udhowali (Urdu : ادھووالی) is a village located in Tehsil Nowshera Virkan District Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the Nokhar-Alipur road, 36 km west from Gujranwala. Its a Union Council of Nowshera Virkan.\n\nHistory\nUdhowali is a historical village like Badoki Saikhwan. There are many modern buildings as well as Mughal Empire buildings founded. The village was the home of Muslims and Sikhs before Partition Of India.\n\nEducation\nThe education system of Village is very impressive. There is a College, High School, primary Schools and other Private sector spreading Education in whole area. There are also some Madaras in village, to educate the Islamic learnings.\n\nCollege\n Govt. Degree College Udhowali\n\nSchools\n Govt. High School Udhowali\n Govt Primary School Udhowalui\n Govt. Girls Primary School Udhowali\n Concise Public Institution Udhowali\nMadaras\n Jamia Noumania Udhowali\n\nSee also\n Nowshera Virkan\n Badoki Saikhwan\n Gujranwala\n\nReferences \n\nVillages in Gujranwala District" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season", "what was her biggest accomplishment of the season", "At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating.", "Did she skate alone or in pairs competitions", "I don't know.", "Did she have any injuries or other setbacks during the season?", "Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season.", "Did she compete in anything other than the Japan Nationals", "Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events.", "Very impressive were there others as well?", "At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall" ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	Did she do anything other than skate this year	6	Did Mao Asada do anything other than skate year 2010-11?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo.	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	true	[ "Alexis Sablone (born August 12, 1986) is a goofy-footed American professional skateboarder, who ranked 12th in the world as of July 2021. She has competed in every X Games competition since 2009, the World Skateboarding Championship, and skated on the Dew Tour. Sablone competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, placing 4th in the women's street final. In addition to being a professional skateboarder, Sablone has a Master's degree in Architecture from MIT. She currently resides in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.\n\nBiography\n\nEarly life \nAlexis Sablone was born on August 12, 1986, and grew up in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. When she was nine years old Sablone began teaching herself how to skate in her mom's garage by watching old VHS tapes and mimicking what she saw. She attended The Country School in nearby Madison, Connecticut, where she met other skateboarders. As she told ESPN in a 2011 interview: \"I would just skate alone every night in the garage and on my porch. In fifth grade, I changed schools and there were a few skaters there [in Madison, Conn.]. We would all bring our skateboards to school -- I don't really know what we did with them, though, because we didn't skate at school! But that was the first contact I had with other skaters... The closest skate park to my parents' house was in Guilford, and that was like 40 minutes away. I tried to go there every weekend. But during the week it was just me.\"\n\nEarly skateboarding career\nSablone entered her first contest when she was 12 years old, an all-girls skate jam in Rhode Island, where she earned second place. The next year she entered into another skate contest in New Jersey, which she won. While skating at a park in Madison, Connecticut she happened to meet Kris Markovich who worked for Element at the time, the company flew her out to Huntington Beach, California for a skate competition where she rolled her ankle and decided she would never enter a contest ever again.\n\nSablone then attended Woodward Camp, a summer camp in Pennsylvania world-renowned for its action sports, gymnastics, and cheer programming. She then began traveling to Boston to skate on weekends, but it wasn't until 2002, with the release of PJ Ladd's Wonderful, Horrible, Life, that 16-year-old Sablone gained recognition, \"Her segment, just a couple of minutes of her soaring off railings and curbs to Rosemary Clooney’s 'Mambo Italiano,' made her a star in the skateboarding world... 'She was doing tricks that weren’t just great because she was a girl; they were better than anything anyone else was doing,'\"\n\nHowever, after trying to get an agent and being told there was no market for women in skateboarding Sablone decided to pursue other interests. After graduating from Hopkins School in 2004 she attended Barnard College in New York City, graduating with a degree in architecture in 2008.\n\nReturn to skateboarding \nWhile working as a waitress on the Upper East Side, Sablone's friend encouraged her to enter the Maloof Money Cup, which offered a $25,000 prize, she entered at the last minute and finished sixth. The same year, at 23, Sablone entered her first X Games, placing 2nd in Skateboard Street at X Games XV. As Sablone stated, \"By 2009, the whole ankle injury thing was finally history and I was past the whole no-contest mindset. I'm not going to say it was all luck, but I do feel very lucky to have done well in my first two X Games.\" Sablone has competed in every X Games since, earning: three gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals. Sablone also began competing in the Dew Tour, including the 2010 International Skateboarding Federation (ISF) Skate Park Finals where she placed third.\n\nBy 2012 Sablone's earnings from competitions allowed her to enroll in MIT's master's of architecture program. She graduated from the program in 2016, and is planning on turning her thesis, \"Nuclear Oasis: The Story of 10,000-year-old Trash\" into a graphic novel. While enrolled in graduate school Sablone also won the 2015 World Skateboarding Championship for women's street, sharing the largest prize purse in competitive skateboarding with Nyjah Huston and Jimmy Wilkins.\n\nProfessional career \nSablone received her first signature pro deck in 2017 as the first female member of the WKND Skateboards team. She also created graphics for the \"Sir Palmer\" video released by WKND in 2018 and illustrated some of board graphics for the company.\n\nIn 2018, she was invited to design a skate-able sculpture for a public square in Malmö, Sweden. \"'Lady In The Square' is an artistic interpretation of a woman’s face from an aerial view, but up close it forms a grouping of skate obstacles set on top of a three-stair square. This project is an example of a perfect incorporation of skateboarding and fine art into public space.\"\n\nIn June 2019, Sablone collaborated with Converse to release her first pro model sneakers: white suede low-top One Star Pros with an ochre star. Vogue explained the significance of Sablone's accomplishment in May 2019 article: \"Beyond being a symbol of athletic achievement, pro model merchandise offers female skaters an important opportunity to monetize their success. It was only last year that Sablone and her peers were able to make a living wage off of their sport.\"\n\nSablone placed second in the women's street event at the USA Skateboarding National Championships in October 2019. On the international circuit in 2019, she placed seventh at the World Skate SLS World Championship in September and repeated the performance for seventh place in the World Skate Oi STU Open Women's Street finals in November. Sablone parted ways with WKND in early 2020, and in November 2020 announced she had joined Alltimers Skateboards.\n\nIn early June 2021 Sablone released another collaboration with Converse, \"an all-white quilted, high-top take on the classic Jack Purcell model with a tiny rainbow tab attached to the back. The company calls it her 'Pride' shoe.\" Sablone identifies as queer, \"because the word is ambiguous and less-restricting than something like lesbian, which she dismisses as 'too gendered'\"\n\nTokyo Olympics \nAfter the June 2021 Street World Championship in Rome, Italy Sablone was chosen for the inaugural USA Skateboarding National Team at the Tokyo Olympics.\n\nIn the Olympic street final, Sablone finished in fourth place with a score of 13.57 after a number of falls. Speaking to reporters after the competition she stated, \"[P]art of it just feels like another contest. Like, I've been here, I've seen these people — we've skated together before, and then there's that part of my brain, like going crazy, thinking like 'This is history, this is the first Olympics.' I can't believe I'm here. ... It feels historic, everything just kind of feels like the stakes are higher and I can't really believe I'm here.\"\n\nThe 34-year-old Sablone also noted that she lost to much younger competitors, including 13 year olds Momiji Nishiya and Rayssa Leal, and 18 year old Funa Nakayama. \"For a long time, there were way fewer females doing this. It's taken until now to get enough people to pay attention, to get enough eyes on it, to inspire girls around the world to start skating... I was like, ‘We’re finally here... Female skateboarders have reached critical mass. There’s enough now that there will be prodigies. And they’re here.'\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \nAlexis Sablone at The Boardr\n\n1986 births\nLiving people\nAmerican skateboarders\nAmerican sportswomen\nArtist skateboarders\nBarnard College alumni\nFemale skateboarders\nLGBT skateboarders\nMIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni\nOlympic skateboarders of the United States\nPeople from Old Saybrook, Connecticut\nQueer women\nSkateboarders at the 2020 Summer Olympics\nSportspeople from Connecticut\nX Games athletes\n21st-century LGBT people\n21st-century American women", "USS Skate (SSN-578), the third submarine of the United States Navy named for the skate, a type of ray, was the lead ship of the of nuclear submarines. She was the third nuclear submarine commissioned, the first to make a completely submerged trans-Atlantic crossing, the second submarine to reach the North Pole, and the first to surface there.\n\nThe contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics on 18 July 1955, and her keel was laid in Groton, Connecticut on 21 July 1955. She was launched on 16 May 1957, sponsored by Mrs. Lewis L. Strauss, and commissioned on 23 December 1957, with Commander James F. Calvert in command.\n\nOperational history\n\nSkate conducted shakedown training out of New London, Connecticut until 29 January 1958, when she cruised to the Bermuda operating area, then returned to her home port on 8 February. Sixteen days later, the nuclear powered submarine set a course for the Isle of Portland, England. Before returning home, she had also visited ports in France and the Netherlands.\n\nFirst visit to North Pole \nOn 30 July, Skate sought the Arctic where she operated under the ice for 10 days. During this time, she surfaced nine times through the ice, navigated over under it, and on 11 August, 9:47 pm EDT\n (the week after ) became the second sea ship to reach the North Pole. Skate was unable to surface precisely at the Pole on the August voyage due to dangerous ice conditions as noted in the captain's 1960 book, Surface at the Pole: The Extraordinary Voyages of the USS Skate, where Calvert said, \"Seldom had the ice seemed so heavy and so thick as it did in the immediate vicinity of the pole. For days we had searched in vain for a suitable opening to surface in.\" The closest was to make radio contact at the surface from a polynya around 30 nm away, but not to surface fully owing to the risk of damage from ice. Skate did manage to surface and make contact with Drifting Ice Station Alpha at 85ºN, 300 nm away.\n\nAfter being denied access to visit Copenhagen in Denmark, she sailed into Bergen, Norway on 23 August. There she was inspected by king Olav V of Norway, US ambassador Frances E. Willis and minister of defence Nils Handal. The submarine made port calls in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France before returning to New London on 25 September 1958. In recognition of the dangerous and historic feat, the Skate and its crew were given the Navy Unit Commendation award for \"... braving the hazards of the polar ice pack....\"\n\nSecond visit to North Pole \nWhile the Skate was unable to surface on its first voyage to the pole, on 17 March 1959, she became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole,. Calvert described the historic moment in his book, saying, \"Slowly we blew the tanks and the Skate moved reluctantly upward. It was apparent we were under heavier ice here than any we had experienced before.\" While at the pole, Calvert and the crew planted an American Flag in a cairn they built out of ice blocks, and put a waterproof container in the cairn with a note commemorating the event. The crew also held a ceremony for the late Arctic explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins and committed his ashes at the pole. In 1931, Sir Hubert had conducted an Arctic expedition in the disarmed research submarine Nautilus (ex-). After reaching the Pole, the Skate continued its mission to pioneer arctic operations during periods of extreme cold and maximum ice thickness. When the submarine returned to port, she was awarded a bronze star in lieu of a second Navy Unit Commendation for demonstrating \"for the first time the ability of submarines to operate in and under the Arctic ice in the dead of winter\". In the fall of 1959 and in 1960, Skate participated in exercises designed to strengthen American antisubmarine defenses.\n\nSkate returned to General Dynamics in January 1961 for a regular overhaul and to have her reactor refueled for the first time. She put to sea in August and, for the next 11 months, conducted exercises to increase the operational readiness of her crew.\n\nThird visit to North Pole \nOn 7 July 1962, Skate again set course towards the North Pole. Five days later, , did likewise from Pearl Harbor. The two submarines made their rendezvous on 31 July. After meeting, they operated together for over a week. Both submarines surfaced at the North Pole on 2 August and official greetings and insignia of Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet and Submarine Force Pacific Fleet were exchanged.\n\nLater years \nSkate returned to New London and performed fleet and local operations for the next several years. She entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 28 April 1965, the first nuclear submarine overhauled there, for nuclear refueling and installation of the SUBSAFE package. Skate was the first submarine to finish this major conversion program, which was instituted after the loss of in 1963. The process was not completed until September 1967.\n\nAfter sea trials and a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean, the submarine returned to New London and participated in exercises involved in the development of new undersea tactics and equipment.\n\nIn October 1968, Skate was deployed to the Mediterranean where she operated with the Sixth Fleet for two months. The polar veteran operated under the Arctic ice again in March and April 1969, in October 1970, and in February 1971 . The remainder of her at sea time was spent in various Atlantic Fleet and NATO exercises. In July 1971, she began her third regular overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and did not return to New London until 17 November 1973. In August 1974, Skate operated as a unit of the Atlantic Fleet.\n\nIn late 1977, Skate transferred to Pearl Harbor, where she joined the other three Skate class submarines as a member of Submarine Squadron 7.\n\nDecommissioning \nSkate was decommissioned on 12 September 1986, stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 October 1986, and disposed of by submarine recycling at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 6 March 1995.\n\nAwards\nSkate received two Navy Unit Commendations and three Meritorious Unit Commendations during her career. The first Navy Unit Commendation was for the period 9–12 August 1958 and the second for the period 4 March through 6 April 1959. The Meritorious Unit Commendations were for the periods 24 March through 15 April 1969, 12 October through 18 November 1970 and 26 February through 9 March 1971. (Source – US Navy Unit Awards Webpage.)\n\nReferences\n\n \n\nSkate-class submarines\nNuclear submarines of the United States Navy\nCold War submarines of the United States\nShips built in Groton, Connecticut\nExploration of the Arctic\nArctic exploration vessels\n1957 ships\n20th century in the Arctic\nNorth Pole" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season", "what was her biggest accomplishment of the season", "At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating.", "Did she skate alone or in pairs competitions", "I don't know.", "Did she have any injuries or other setbacks during the season?", "Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season.", "Did she compete in anything other than the Japan Nationals", "Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events.", "Very impressive were there others as well?", "At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall", "Did she do anything other than skate this year", "In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo." ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	Did she ever think about stopping	7	Did Mao Asada ever think about stopping?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	false	[ "Best of Dolly Parton, Vol.3 is a 1987 compilation of Dolly Parton's early- to mid-1980s hits that RCA Nashville issued after she left the label. This was the first Dolly Parton CD that featured the song \"Potential New Boyfriend\" because Burlap & Satin did not have a CD release at the time.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Don't Call It Love\"\n \"Save the Last Dance for Me\"\n \"Real Love\" (with Kenny Rogers)\n \"We Had It All\"\n \"Tie Our Love (In a Double Knot)\"\n \"Think About Love\"\n \"Potential New Boyfriend\"\n \"Do I Ever Cross Your Mind\"\n \"Tennessee Homesick Blues\"\n\nReferences\n\n1987 greatest hits albums\nDolly Parton compilation albums", "Hannah Elizabeth Milhous Nixon (March 7, 1885 – September 30, 1967) was the mother of President Richard Nixon.\n\nRichard Nixon described his mother as \"a Quaker saint\". On May 9, 1970 (Richard Nixon's visit to the Lincoln Memorial), Nixon insisted on stopping at the United States Capitol, where he took his former seat in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives and instructed his valet Manolo Sanchez to make a speech. Sanchez spoke of his pride in being a citizen of the United States and Nixon and some female cleaners who were present applauded. One of the women present, Carrie Moore, asked Nixon to sign her bible, which he did, and holding her hand told her that his mother \"was a saint\" and \"you be a saint too\".\n\nHannah Nixon is acknowledged to have exerted a tremendous effect on her son's outlook throughout his life. In Richard Nixon's final remarks at the White House on August 9, 1974, he stated about her, \"Nobody will ever write a book, probably, about my mother. Well, I guess all of you would say this about your mother – my mother was a saint. And I think of her, two boys dying of tuberculosis, nursing four others in order that she could take care of my older brother for 3 years in Arizona, and seeing each of them die, and when they died, it was like one of her own. Yes, she will have no books written about her. But she was a saint.\"\n\nEarly life\nShe was born Hannah Elizabeth Milhous near Butlerville, Indiana, the daughter of Almira Park (née Burdg; 1849-1943), who was from Columbiana County, Ohio, and Franklin Milieus (1848-1919), a native of Colerain Township, Belmont County, Ohio.\n\nFamily\nShe was married to Francis A. Nixon and had five sons:\n\nHarold Samuel Nixon (June 1, 1909 – March 7, 1933)\nRichard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994), 37th president of the United States, married to Thelma Catherine Patricia Ryan and had two daughters.\nFrancis Donald Nixon (November 23, 1914 – June 27, 1987), married to Clara Jane Lemke and had three children, including Donald A. Nixon\nArthur Burdg Nixon (May 26, 1918 – August 10, 1925)\nEdward Calvert Nixon (May 3, 1930 – February 27, 2019)\n\nIn popular culture\nMary Steenburgen portrayed Hannah Nixon in the 1995 Oliver Stone film Nixon.\n\nReferences\n\n\t\n\n1885 births\n1967 deaths\nAmerican Quakers\nBurials at Rose Hills Memorial Park\nHousewives\nMothers of presidents of the United States\nMothers of vice presidents of the United States\nNixon family\nPeople from Jennings County, Indiana\n20th-century American politicians" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season", "what was her biggest accomplishment of the season", "At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating.", "Did she skate alone or in pairs competitions", "I don't know.", "Did she have any injuries or other setbacks during the season?", "Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season.", "Did she compete in anything other than the Japan Nationals", "Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events.", "Very impressive were there others as well?", "At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall", "Did she do anything other than skate this year", "In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo.", "Did she ever think about stopping", "Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons." ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	Was any jump something special to her?	8	Was any jump something special to Mao Asada?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship,	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	true	[ "is a Japanese manga series written by Lynn Okamoto and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. It was irregularly serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump, Miracle Jump and Young Jump Gold manga magazines from January 2012 to August 2017, and compiled into two tankōbon volumes by Shueisha.\n\nPlot\nAkira Saitou was a close friend with tomboyish Subaru Kawana when they're kids but Subaru was forced to study in a prestigious private high school because of her family's rich status. Akira followed his childhood friend and managed to enter the same high school as Subaru by a special scholarship plan. Even though he reunites with Subaru, she has grown into a talented and beautiful woman and has become a distant existence for him. Subaru keeps a cold attitude towards Akira but he wants to somehow shorten the distance between them.\nAkira troubled with Subaru's cold attitude, remembers a mistakenly overheard conversation of some girls in which they're talking about a God named \"Ura no Kamisama\" who fulfill your wish if you cast a spell and say a wish, in exchange of something. He muttered the spell and wishes that his room will connect to Subaru's and his wish magically comes true. He later found that Subaru actually wished the same thing as him, and \"Self-control\" of a person is the price at which the wish comes true. But Subaru wished earlier than him so only she loses her self-control for one hour per day. Akira and Subaru are forced to live together due to their room being connected. In spite of that, Subaru doesn't show any signs like she is compromising. Subaru sees him with cold eyes like watching an insect. However, when Subaru's self restraint was taken her usual cold attitude starting to looks like a lie to Akira.\n\nPublication\nKimi wa Midara na Boku no Joō is written by Lynn Okamoto and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. Two one-shot chapters were published in Weekly Young Jump on January 19 and June 21, 2012. It was then serialized in Miracle Jump from August 16 to December 27, 2012. The manga was irregularly published in Weekly Young Jump in 2013: on February 4; on August 8; August 22; and November 14. A 8-page extra chapter was published in Miracle Jump on March 17, 2015. Another chapter was published in Weekly Young Jump on February 25, 2016. A chapter was published in Young Jump Gold on May 18, 2017. Its last chapter was published in Weekly Young Jump on August 31, 2017. Shueisha collected its chapters in two tankōbon volumes, released on February 19, 2013, and November 17, 2017.\n\nVolume list\n\nReception\nThe manga was ranked 1st within best selling manga's in February, 2013. As of November 2013, the series had over 170,000 copies in circulation. As of August 2017, the manga had over 260,000 copies in circulation.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Kimi wa Midara na Boku no Joō official website at Young Jump \n \n\nSeinen manga\nSex comedy anime and manga\nShueisha manga", "Shital Mahajan Rane is an Indian extreme sportsperson, skydiver and the holder of eight world records in the sport. She is known as the first woman to perform an accelerated free fall jump over the Antarctica from 10,000 feet, the youngest woman to jump over both the North and South Poles, and the first woman jumper to perform it without trials. The Government of India honored Mahajan in 2011, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.\n\nBiography\n\nShital Mahajan was born on 19 September 1982 at Pune in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra to Mamta Mahajan and Kamalakar Mahajan, an engineer working with Tata Motors. Her education was at the Fergusson College, Pune from where she graduated (BSc) in geology. Her first maiden jump was on North pole on 18 April 2004 without any training. Till Jan 2022 she has completed 766 jumps..\n\nShital is married to Vaibhav Rane, a software engineer working in Finland. The solemnization of the marriage was performed on a hot air balloon, 600 feet above ground, on 19 April 2008, a feat which has been recorded in the Limca Book of World Records. The couple has twin sons.\n\nShital Mahajan is the founder of Phoenix Skydiving Academy, a skydiving training centre based in Pune. The academy, established in 2012, provides training facilities for aspiring students and prepares students for skydiving competitions around the world.\n\nAchievements\nShital Mahajan is the first woman to perform a free fall jump over the South Pole, which was completed on 15 December 2006. She also became the first woman to perform successful jumps over the North and South Poles, without trials, when she completed her jump over the South Pole. The attempt also made her the youngest woman to achieve the feat at the age of 24. The first Indian woman to perform a wingsuit jump, Mahajan is a US certified A, B, C and D skydiver and trainer and is the first Indian civilian woman diving coach.\n\nMahajan was a part of the team that created a world record as the first team to perform free fall parachute jump over Antarctica. She has also led a team of 85 Indian skydivers to achieve a record for maximum tandem jumps in an hour, the jumps performed on 25 August 2014 at Spain. Her jump from 13000 feet performed on 19 April 2009 is also a record for the height in women's category. She is also credited with a free fall jump from a hot air ballon at 5800 feet and a jump at 24000 feet.\n\nAwards and recognitions\nShital Mahajan was awarded Godavary Gaurav Puraskar in 2005. The same year, she received the Shiv Chatrapati Maharashtra State Sports Special Award which was followed by the Venutai Chavan Yuva Puraskar. In 2004, after her successful jump over the North Pole in 2004, Mahajan was awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, making her the first civilian to receive the award. In 2001, Mahajan was included the list for Republic Day honours for the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.\n\nSee also\n Skydiving\n Adventure sports\n Limca Book of World Records\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\n1982 births\nLiving people\nRecipients of the Padma Shri\nIndian sportswomen\nPeople from Pune\nIndian skydivers\nSportspeople from Maharashtra\nRecipients of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award" ]
[ "Mao Asada", "2010-11 season", "what was her biggest accomplishment of the season", "At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating.", "Did she skate alone or in pairs competitions", "I don't know.", "Did she have any injuries or other setbacks during the season?", "Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season.", "Did she compete in anything other than the Japan Nationals", "Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events.", "Very impressive were there others as well?", "At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall", "Did she do anything other than skate this year", "In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo.", "Did she ever think about stopping", "Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.", "Was any jump something special to her?", "Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship," ]	C_2292c5d47d3b48399c382ba5b58c215d_1	what did she do to change it?	9	what did Mao Asada do to change triple axel jump?	Mao Asada	In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada decided to relearn all of her jumps from scratch by getting back to basics. This contributed to her slump in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation. While reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010-11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010-11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. CANNOTANSWER	Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she stripped her triple jumps to their rudimentary parts and relearned each takeoff and landing, beginning with a single rotation.	is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14). She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada is also the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2006–2009, 2011–2012). She is the former world record holder for the ladies' short program score, which she set at the 2014 World Championships and held until it was broken by Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016. A former prodigy, Asada is the fifth woman and the first junior girl to land the triple Axel, accomplishing this at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. She won her first Grand Prix Final at the age of 15. Considered by many to be the best figure skater in the world at that time, Asada was 87 days too young to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the first figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. At the 2013 Skate America, she became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. She holds 15 Grand Prix series titles, the second-highest total among ladies and the sixth-highest total among skaters of all four disciplines. Due to her collection of ISU titles surpassing any other ladies singles figure skater during her time, she has established herself as one of the most highly recognized athletes in Japan and is widely considered to be among the best ladies figure skaters of all time. She is credited with being one of the pioneering ladies skaters that truly combined athleticism and artistry, notable athletes that regard Asada as their role model include Yuzuru Hanyu, 2 time Men's Olympic Champion, and Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 Ladies World Champion. Personal life Mao Asada was born in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. She was named after the Japanese actress Mao Daichi. She attended Nagoya International School until the middle of 1st grade. After transferring, she graduated from Takabari Elementary School and Takabaridai Junior High. She received her high school diploma from Chukyo High School on 15 March 2009. After that, she enrolled in Chukyo University and graduated in March 2015. While growing up, she idolized Midori Ito. She learned to ice skate after school almost every day. Her sister Mai Asada (two years older) is also a figure skater and finished 6th at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. She is now skating in shows. Asada owns a miniature poodle named Aero, who is named after the chocolate confection made by Nestlé. She has included Aero in exhibition programs. In 2008, Asada acquired two puppies, named Tiara and Komachi. Career Early career Mao Asada studied classical ballet from the age of three to nine, but followed her sister in switching to figure skating. She won the Japanese novice national championships in the 2002–03 season, earning an invitation to compete at the junior championships, where she placed 4th. She also competed in the senior national championships and placed 7th. In the 2003–04 season, Asada repeated the same placements at the novice and junior level and placed 8th at the senior nationals. She won the Mladost Trophy, her first international event. 2004–05 season In the 2004–05 season, Asada was age-eligible for junior international competitions. She competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, winning both of her events. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she won gold with an overall score 35.08 points ahead of the silver medalist, Yuna Kim. She became the first junior ladies skater to land a triple axel in competition, and the fifth woman overall. Asada won the Japanese Junior National championships, ahead of her sister who took the silver medal, and qualified for the 2005 Junior Worlds. Asada's win earned her an invitation to the senior national championships, where she won the silver medal. Asada was not age-eligible for the 2005 World Championships. At the Junior World Championships, she won with a 20.31 lead over the silver medalist Kim Yuna. She also set the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total (179.24 points) and the free skating (119.13 points). Both records lasted until October 2011 when they were broken by Yulia Lipnitskaya. 2005–06 season After winning all major competitions at the junior level, Asada moved to the senior level during the 2005–06 season and competed on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. During the Grand Prix Circuit, Asada defeated future medalists of 2006 Torino Winter Olympics – gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005 Cup of China, she placed second in the short program and third in the free skating and won the silver medal. Asada won her second event, the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, after placing first in both the short and free skating. She earned a total score of 182.42 points, 7.30 points ahead over silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 9.12 points ahead of bronze medalist Shizuka Arakawa. Her medals qualified Asada for the 2005–06 Grand Prix Final. At her first Senior Grand Prix Final appearance, Asada won the event at the age of 15 years. She got a total score of 189.62 points after placing first in both programs, 8.14 points ahead of silver medalist Irina Slutskaya. At the 2005–06 Japan Championships, Asada placed third in both programs and won the silver medal behind Fumie Suguri. She was ineligible for the Olympics that year. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, Asada finished 24.19 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, and 18.21 points ahead of bronze medalist Christine Zukowski. At this competition, Asada became the first lady to land a triple Axel in the short program at an ISU championship. 2006–07 season Asada moved from Japan to the United States in August 2006 to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. There she was able to escape the overcrowding of Japanese rinks and the pressure of the Japanese media. At her first event, the 2006 Skate America, Asada won the bronze medal behind Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner. While she won the short program, she placed fourth in the free skate, with a total score 171.23 points. She was 21.36 points out of first place. Asada won her second event, the 2006 NHK Trophy with 199.52 points, setting the highest combined score in a Ladies' competition under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. Her margin of victory was 20.21 points ahead of silver medalist Fumie Suguri. Asada went into the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final as the reigning champion. She placed second with 172.52 points, 11.68 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. Asada had won the short program, but placed fourth in the free skating. Asada won the 2006–07 Japan Championships by 26.11 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. At the 2007 Worlds Championships, Asada was fifth in the short program, 10.03 points behind Yuna Kim, who placed first in that section of the competition with a score of 71.95 points, setting a new world record for the highest short program score. Asada won the free skating with a score of 133.13 points, setting a new world record for the highest free skate score, a record that stood for eight months. During her free skating, she successfully landed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, and a triple Lutz-double loop-double loop combination, but under-rotated the second jump of a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She won the silver medal at her first Senior World Championships appearance, earning an overall of 194.95 points, 0.64 behind gold medalist Miki Ando and 8.31 ahead of Yuna Kim, who won the bronze. 2007–08 season During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the free skate, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner. Asada advanced to the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada failed to complete a required footwork element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 132.55 points. She executed a triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double Axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double Axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple Lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who defended her title. As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007–08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she did not encounter with problems obtaining ice time. Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach, but was accompanied by an official from the Japan Skating Federation. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skate, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner. 2008–09 season In the summer of 2008, after leaving Arutyunyan, Asada returned to Russia, and was formally coached by Tarasova. At the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed second in both programs and finished second overall with a score of 167.59 points, 12.54 behind Joannie Rochette. Asada won gold at the 2008 NHK Trophy with 191.13 points, 23.49 ahead of the silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Asada won the free skating with 123.17 points and the competition overall with a total score of 188.55 points, defeating longtime rival Yuna Kim of South Korea. Asada made history in the free skate by becoming the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition, one in combination with a double toe loop. At the 2008–09 Japan Championship, Asada was second behind Yukari Nakano in the short program. Asada landed three beautiful clean triple jumps in her free skate. Three other triple jumps were downgraded, including two triple Axels marked as under-rotated. She received 117.15 points for her free skating for a total of 182.45 points overall. Asada won her third straight national title after placing second in both the short program and the free skate. Entering the 2009 Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the defending champion, Asada placed 6th in the short program but won the free skate. Her first Axel attempt was popped into a single, but gracefully executed the second, garnering 8.80 points for the jump. She also completed a triple flip-double loop-double loop, a triple loop, and a triple flip-double loop. Asada placed third overall in the competition behind Joannie Rochette of Canada who won silver and Yuna Kim who won the gold. At the 2009 World Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 66.06 points and 4th in the free skate, where she scored 122.03 points. She finished in fourth place with a combined total score of 188.09 points. At the inaugural 2009 World Team Trophy, she won both the short and free, finishing first overall in the ladies' event, with personal bests for the short program (75.84 points) and combined total (201.87) The Japanese team finished third overall at that event, behind the United States and Canada. 2009–10 season Asada placed third in the short program and second in the free skating, finishing with the silver medal at 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, 36.04 points behind gold medalist Yuna Kim. At the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, she placed 6th in the short and 5th in the free after landing just two triple jumps in her free skating. She finished 5th overall, 21.65 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. At the 2009–10 Japan Championships, Asada was first in both programs and won her fourth Japanese national title, 8.72 points ahead of silver medalist Akiko Suzuki. At the 2010 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed third in the short program with 57.22 points after under-rotating her triple Axel, popping a triple flip and receiving a timing deduction of 1.00 point. She was first in the free skating with 126.74 points, 11.9 ahead of Akiko Suzuki, and won the gold medal with a total score of 183.96 points, 10.24 points ahead of Suzuki. Due to Tarasova's health problems, Asada was coached mostly by her assistant, Jeanetta Folle, in Nagoya, Japan; on 1 February 2010, Asada said that she had not been personally coached by Tarasova since the 2009 Rostelecom Cup in October. Tarasova was present with Asada at the 2010 Olympics but after the event, Asada chose to be based in her hometown, Nagoya, and parted ways with Tarasova. From 23 to 25 February, Asada competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the short program on 23 February, she executed a triple Axel-double toe loop, a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours for all spins and spiral sequence. She scored 73.78 points and placed second in the short program. In her free skate on 25 February, she succeeded in landing two triple Axels, but under-rotated the first jump of a triple flip-double loop-double loop combination and popped a planned triple toe loop into a single. With 131.72 points from the free skating, Asada won the Olympic silver medal with a combined score of 205.50 points, 23.06 behind Yuna Kim of South Korea. She earned a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition – one in the short program and two in the free skating. Asada was Japan's flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies. At the 2010 World Championships, Asada placed second in the short program with 68.08 points, 2.32 behind Mirai Nagasu of the United States. In her triple Axel-double toe loop combination, the Axel was downgraded to a double, but she executed a triple flip and a double Axel and received level fours on all her spins and spiral sequence. Asada reclaimed the world title with an overall score of 197.58 points. She became the first singles figure skater from Asia to win multiple world championship titles. On 17 June 2010, Asada announced that her new jump coach was Hiroshi Nagakubo. 2010–11 season In September 2010, Nobuo Sato became Asada's new coach and Asada ended her relationship with coach Nagakubo. After the Vancouver Olympics, Asada relearned all of her jumps from scratch to improve her technique. This contributed to her slump in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Under the guidance of her new coach Nobuo Sato, she relearned all the takeoffs and landings for all her triple jumps, beginning with a single rotation. Despite reworking her jumps, Asada did not skip any competitions in the 2010–11 season. Asada was assigned to the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix events. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, Asada placed 8th in both programs and finished 8th overall with a total of 133.40 points. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skating and 5th overall, scoring a combined 148.02 points. At the 2010–11 Japan national championships, Asada was first in the short program and second in the free skating. She obtained a total score of 193.69 points and placed second behind Miki Ando. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed second in both programs and won the silver medal with a score of 196.30 points, 5.04 points behind gold medalist Miki Ando. Her triple Axel jump in free skating was ratified for the first time since 2010 Worlds Championship, with +1.29 grade of execution. At the 2011 World Championships, Asada placed 7th in the short program, 6th in the free skating, and finished 6th overall with 172.79 points. 2011–12 season Asada began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 NHK Trophy. She placed third in the short program with 58.32 points and first in the free skating, earning a total of 184.45 points and the silver medal, 1.79 behind Akiko Suzuki. At the 2011 Cup of Russia, Asada placed first in the short program with 64.29 points. She earned a level four on her straight line step sequence with +1.30 GOE. She won the event and qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. She withdrew from the Final due to her mother's serious illness. Her mother died of liver cirrhosis in Nagoya Hospital while Asada was flying back to Japan. Placing second in both programs at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, Asada secured her fifth national title and qualified for the ISU Championships. First in the short program and second in the free, Asada won the silver medal at the 2012 Four Continents Championships behind gold medalist Ashley Wagner of the United States. At the 2012 World Championships, Asada placed fourth in the short program and sixth in the free skating, finishing sixth overall with 164.52 points. After a disappointing sixth at the 2012 World Championships, her mother's death, and the challenges of reworking her jump technique, Asada considered not competing. Upon visiting her choreographer Lori Nichol in May 2012 for an exhibition number, Asada realized that she still liked skating and would continue competing. 2012–13 season Asada began the 2012–13 season at the Japan Open, performing to Swan Lake. She won gold at her two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and the 2012 NHK Trophy, qualifying her to the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final. Seven years after her triumph in Torino (Italy), and three years after her victory in Goyang City (Korea), Asada won her third title at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (Russia), placing first in both the short program and free skating. Asada won her sixth national title at the 2012–13 Japan Championships. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Asada placed first in the short program with a score of 74.49 points after landing her first triple Axel this season, together with triple flip–double loop combination and a triple loop. She also won the free skate with a score of 130.96, taking the gold medal with an overall score of 205.45 points, while teammates Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took the silver and bronze medals respectively. This is the second time that Japan had swept the Four Continents Championships' podium. Asada returned to the World podium with a bronze medal finish at the 2013 World Championships with a personal best free skating score of 134.37. Asada placed fifth at the World Team Trophy and team Japan placed third. 2013–14 season Asada began the 2013–14 season at the Japan Open, performing to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. She won gold at her two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 Skate America and the 2013 NHK Trophy. She became the first singles skater, male or female, to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix series. At NHK Trophy, she set personal best scores for the free skating and total score. She advanced to the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final where she took her fourth Grand Prix Final title and became the first woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. At all three Grand Prix events, she won by a margin of over ten points. In late December, Asada competed in the 2013–14 Japan Championships. She led after a strong short program, but only placed 3rd in the free skating, dropping to 3rd overall. In the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Asada skated the ladies' short program. She fell on the triple Axel and placed third individually; team Japan finished fifth. In the ladies' singles event, she placed 16th in the short program after falling on her triple Axel, underrotating a triple flip, and doubling a triple loop. After the unfortunate short program, many established figures in the figure skating community, including Michelle Kwan and Evgeni Plushenko, reached out to her and provided her with support for the free skate. Despite the overwhelming support from fans and members of the figure skating community, the former Japanese Prime Minister and Olympics chairman Yoshirō Mori criticized Asada for "always falling at the most critical time". During a press conference after Sochi, Asada was interviewed about her feelings regarding Mori's comments, she stated that it was in the past and she has moved on. She rebounded in the free skating, landing 8 triple jumps (two underrotated) and earning a personal best score of 142.71, making her the third woman to score above the 140 mark after Kim Yuna's 2010 Olympics score and Yulia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Olympics team event score. This placed her third in the free skating and sixth overall. Asada's free skating was the most technically difficult of all the ladies and the only one with a triple Axel. This powerful performance solidified her status not only in Japanese sport, but at the Olympics; it was regarded by many as the single best performance of the ladies competition and the low program component score from Olympic judges was met with criticism. At the 2014 World Championships, she broke the world record for the short program by scoring 78.66, 0.16 points higher than the former record set by Yuna Kim at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Asada went on to score 138.03 in the free skating, winning her third world title with a total of 216.69, a personal best for her. With this victory, she became the third woman in the last 45 years (along with Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan) and the tenth woman to have won three world championship titles. After winning the World Championship title, Asada stated that there was a 50–50 chance she would continue her career. On 19 May 2014, Asada announced she intended to skip the next season. Asada said she was mentally and physically tired and wanted a chance to focus on other aspects of her life, including attending university. 2015–16 season On 18 May 2015, Asada announced her intention to make comeback in competitive skating after having taken a one-year break. She had resumed training with coach Nobuo Satou with the aim of returning to competition. Her first competitive performance of the 2015–16 season was at the 2015 Japan Open, where she successfully landed her first triple Axel in over a year of competition absence, her first-place skate to Madama Butterfly led Team Japan to a first-place finish. For the 2015–16 season Grand Prix series, Asada was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy. In the short program at the Cup of China, she landed her opening triple Axel and three additional triple jumps (one deemed under-rotated), one of the first women to try the maximum number of triple jumps in the short program. The next day during the free skate, she landed her opening triple Axel but had small errors on her remaining jumps. After winning the short program and placing third in the free skate, she won her first international competition upon returning. This victory extended her grand prix winning streak to eight, the longest in ladies single skating history. She went on to the 2015 NHK Trophy and won the bronze after several problems with her jumping passes. Asada's Grand Prix results qualified her to compete at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where she finished sixth. Asada went on to win bronze at the 2015–16 Japan Championships. She was selected to compete at both the 2016 Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships, though she opted to skip the former in order to focus on the latter. In April 2016, Asada stumbled on her opening triple Axel and the triple loop in the short program. The next day she performed a fantastic free skate, landing the triple Axel, triple flip triple loop combination, triple flip and double loop double loop combination in addition to three other jumping passes. Some of the jumps were deemed under-rotated, but the maturity in skating and the polished artistry was received with a standing ovation. She finish seventh at her final worlds event. 2016–17 season Asada began her season with a silver medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, having finished second to Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond. Her first Grand Prix assignment was 2016 Skate America where she placed 6th. Her second assignment was the 2016 Trophee de France . She then placed 8th in the short program after underrotating her triple flip in combination with the double loop. She also failed to execute a triple-triple. She failed to execute a clean triple jump in the freeskate, placing 10th in that segment and 9th overall. On 10 April 2017, Asada declared on her blog that she had retired from competition. Skating technique Asada is known for her flexibility in spins and spirals. During her first two years on the international scene, Asada became known for her signature move, the cross-grab Biellmann position. She is also noted for performing the one-handed Biellmann spin in competition. She has received +2.60 grade of execution for her spiral sequence. Asada is also known for the complexity of her footwork sequence and has earned +2.00 grade of execution. Asada landed her first 3A at the age of 12, and she became the first lady to perform a triple-triple-triple combination in national competition – she completed a 3F-3Lo-3T combination. At the age of 14, Asada landed a 3A in her free skating at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December 2004 in Helsinki, Finland, becoming the first junior girl to do one in an international event. She has since been known for her 3A jumps. Starting with the 2007–08 season, criteria for judging jump take-off and landing technique became more rigorous, and Asada was penalized for underrotations and change-of-edge errors on her Lutz jump. Asada did not include salchow jumps in her junior and senior career programs until 2008. She had stated previously that the triple salchow was the first triple jump she had ever landed and that she did not have a problem landing it cleanly, but she was not comfortable using the jump in competition because it is one of her least favorite jumps. Asada added the triple salchow to her free skate at the 2008 NHK Trophy and 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. Normally, Asada uses a 3Lo as her second jump in a combination, typically after the 3F. However, she added the toe loop to her free skate as the second jump of her first triple-triple combination during the 2004–05 season, a 3F-3T. In the 2006–07 season she used the 2A-3T, while in the 2007–08 season she performed the 3F-3T again. In the 2008–09 season, she executed the 3A-2T combination in international competition, first getting full credit for it at the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. At that same competition, Asada became the first female skater to land two 3A in the same program. She became the first lady to land 3 triple Axels in the same competition (1 in the short, 2 in the long). She also has a Guinness World Record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in competition. After finishing second in 2010 Winter Olympics, Asada decided to rework her jumps. The goal was a more fluid jump technique, achieved by adding speed to the approach run to increase the height of the jump and the speed of spins. Asada also corrected her habit of moving her shoulders up and down before jumping. The reworking process set her back for two seasons. Asada found that her jumping began to suffer and she was making mistakes on all her jumps. During the 2012–13 season, her performance improved and she maintained a winning streak. Her component score, which had mostly remained in the 7 range, edged above 8. By the 2013–14 season, Asada said, "every single one of my skating techniques had been changed." In 2014 Winter Olympics Ladies Free Skating event, Asada executed all six triple jumps. Asada has been known to practice and land quadruple jumps in training. She credits training alongside Takahiko Kozuka for improving her spins. The number of rotations she achieves with one kick increased from 30 to 104. Records and achievements Record scores: Former world record holder for the ladies' short program score (78.66), set at the 2014 World Championships on 27 March 2014. Record was broken in 2016 during the Grand Prix Final by Evgenia Medvedeva. Second woman to score over 200 points for the total score under the ISU Judging System. Third woman to score over 140 points for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. Former world record holder for the ladies' free skating score (133.13), set at the 2007 World Championships on 24 March 2007. Record was broken eight months later on 24 November 2007 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the ladies' combined total score (199.52), set at the 2006 NHK Trophy on 2 December 2006. Record was broken two years later on 28 March 2009 by Yuna Kim (South Korea). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' free skating score (119.13), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Former world record holder for the junior ladies' combined total score (179.24), set at the 2005 World Junior Championships on 3 March 2005. Record was broken six and a half years later on 9 October 2011 by Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia). Triple Axel: The oldest (26 years old) woman to land a triple Axel in international competition. Fifth woman to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First junior girl to land the triple Axel jump in international competition 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix. First woman to land the triple Axel jump at the World Junior Championships. First woman to land three triple Axel jumps in one competition Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles. First woman to land a triple Axel in the short program at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land the triple Axel in multiple Olympics. Second woman to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympics. First woman to land two triple Axel jumps in the same program 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. Currently holds the record for most triple Axels landed in international competition by a woman. Other: First figure skater in a singles discipline from Asia to win multiple world championships. First Japanese figure skater in any discipline to win multiple world championships. First singles figure skater to win all seven of the current events on the Grand Prix circuit. First woman to complete two consecutive Grand Prix seasons undefeated. First and currently only female figure skater to achieve triple Career Grand Slams. Tied with Evgeni Plushenko for the most Career Grand Slams achieved by single skaters. First non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam. First non-European woman to receive two Career Grand Slams. Youngest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 17. Oldest non-European woman to receive the Career Grand Slam, age 23. Holds 15 Grand Prix series titles – the third-most titles in history behind Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. Holds 8 consecutive Grand Prix circuit victories – longest streak of any woman in history. Tied with Irina Slutskaya for the most Grand Prix Final titles won by a woman. Tied with Fumie Suguri for the most Four Continents Championships titles won by a woman. The only woman to have landed five Axel jumps in the same Olympic competition. List of Asada's world record scores Public life and endorsements Asada is very popular in Japan and is credited with increasing the popularity of figure skating in Japan. Since gaining national attention while still on the junior circuit, she is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname "Mao-chan". During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Asada became the most discussed and mentioned athlete of the Olympics on the social networking website Twitter, ahead of Yuna Kim, ice hockey player T. J. Oshie, and snowboarder Shaun White. Asada headlines her own exhibition show called "The Ice", which began in the summer of 2008, with her sister Mai Asada. Her skating music was compiled on two albums by EMI Music Japan: Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music and Mai & Mao Asada Skating Music 2008–09. The Asada sisters have also been named as goodwill ambassadors to Canada. In 2011, Asada launched her own kimono brand named MaoMao. In January 2012, Asada cancelled the release of a book on her skating career; she stated, "The way the book was advertised was different from what I had in mind." Asada has appeared in many variety television shows and in commercials. She and her dog Aero, named after Aero chocolates, have been featured in chocolate commercials in Japan. Asada's sponsors include Coca-Cola, Itoham Foods, Kao, Lotte, Nestlé, Oji Paper Company, Olympus Corporation, Omron, Sato Pharmaceutical, United Airlines, and Weider. Other sponsors include Weider In Jelly, Nippon Life Insurance Company, and Weavajapan. On 25 December 2013, Japan Airlines unveiled a new Boeing 777-300 (JA8942) with a special Mao Asada livery to promote Japan's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, a popular Vancouver Japanese street food vendor, Japadog, named a hot dog after Asada called the Mao Dog. Similarly, a local sushi store created a sushi roll and named it the Mao Roll after Asada. After Asada's silver medal win, Japanese dollmaker Kyugetsu created a Mao Asada hina doll in celebration of her efforts. In December 2013, chrysanthemum farmers in the Ryukyu Islands named a new crop of chrysanthemums "Mao Orange" after the colour of Asada's short program dress from the 2012–13 season. On 8 April 2014, Asada's exhibition named "Smile" opened at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. This drew more than 10,000 visitors on its first day, outperforming every other event opening at the establishment for the past 10 years. In just nine days, it hit more than 100,000 visitors, the shortest period to reach the milestone in Takashimaya's history. The exhibition includes a collection of 30 costumes that were worn by Asada and a display of medals she has won over the years, among them the silver she scooped up at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. On 5 July 2014, Asada debuted as a reporter for the long-running travel program "Sekai Fushigi Hakken!" by TBS. For this documentary, she traveled to Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for eight days to find the origin of figure skating. In March 2015, Asada made her debut as DJ host for her weekly radio show program "Mao Asada's Nippon Smile". This program was sponsored by Sumitomo Life Insurance Ltd. Co. and aired in TBS radio from March 2015 to June 2015. She is also a big fan of Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, and was seen congratulating her on her 10th Anniversary. Programs Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Detailed results Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. – This is a team event; medals are awarded for the team results only. – team result – personal/individual result World records highlighted in bold and italic Personal bests highlighted in bold ISU seasons' bests highlighted in italic 2006–present 2003–2006 References External links Official Site ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Records Holder ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78;" \|World Junior Records Holder 1990 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Nagoya Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Season's world number one figure skaters Sports world record holders	false	[ "Kylie Watson (born 7 May 1978) is an Australian actress, interior designer and model. She is best known for playing Shauna Bradley in the Australian soap opera Home and Away between 1999 and 2002. She is now a successful interior designer.\n\nCareer\nIn her teens, Watson was an international model, travelling to Asia for several contracts.\n\nIn February 1999, Watson received an audition for Home and Away. However, she decided not to attend the audition because she did not think she stood a chance of winning the part. Her agent persuaded her to change her mind and she went on to receive the role of Shauna Bradley. It was her first acting role and she revealed \"So at that point, I thought 'What am I going to do? I've never done this before, never acted in my life.' My agent booked me into acting classes – I think I had about eight weeks before I started so I was absolutely petrified. I think I was really bad, to be honest, at the beginning. But like anything if you really put your mind to it and love what you do, you invest the time to grow and educate yourself and I did do that.\"\n\nAfter leaving Home and Away in 2002, Watson completed a diploma in interior design. She began her own business called KW Design.\n\nIn 2009, Watson starred in Lightswitch, a short film directed by Emma Keltie and written by Natalie Krikowa and Penny Glasswell. The film played at various LGBT festivals.\n\nPersonal life\nWatson is lesbian. She came out in an issue of Cherrie magazine in March 2008. Watson told Katrina Fox \"I've never made a point of letting people know about my sexuality because I've never thought it was relevant, but it's who I am and I'm not ashamed of it. However in saying that, I think in this particular day it's a lot easier to be identified as a not-so-straight woman particularly with The L Word series out where it's glamorised if you like; it's almost a bit of a fad like we're in fashion.\"\n\nFilmography\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nAustralian soap opera actresses\nAustralian interior designers\n1978 births\nLiving people\nAustralian lesbian actresses", "Dead Funny is a 1994 independent drama film directed by John Feldman. It stars Elizabeth Peña as Vivian Saunders, a woman who comes home from work and finds her boyfriend Reggie Barker (Andrew McCarthy) pinned to her kitchen table with a long knife.\n\nPlot\nVivian Saunders (Elizabeth Peña) comes home one day to an unusual surprise: her boyfriend Reggie Barker (Andrew McCarthy) is lying on the kitchen table with a large sword sticking out of his body. At first Vivian thinks this must be some sort of joke, but she discovers that Reggie is indeed dead, and as she calls her best friend Louise (Paige Turco) to figure out what might have happened and what to do, it occurs to her that she blacked out after too much wine the night before and isn't sure what she did before she passed out. After a few phone calls, Vivian's women's support group arrives, and what to do about Reggie soon takes second place to what Vivian should do for herself.\n\nCast\nElizabeth Peña as Vivian Saunders\nAndrew McCarthy as Reggie Barker\nPaige Turco as Louise\nBlanche Baker as Barbara\nAllison Janney as Jennifer\nAdelle Lutz as Mari\nNovella Nelson as Frances\nLisa Jane Persky as Sarah\nMichael Mantell as Harold\nKen Kensei as Yoshi\nBai Ling as Norriko\n\nRelease\nThis film has only been released on VHS and LaserDisc format.\n\nReception\nDavid Nusair of DVD Talk negatively reviewed the film, saying \"By the time we find out what really happened to McCarthy's character, it's impossible to care.\" Time Out also negatively reviewed the film, writing \"How did it happen? Who did it? Who cares? Probably not Feldman who seems more interested in shooting his actresses' naked thighs.\" The New York Times stated that Dead Funny \"tries so hard to be ingeniously tricky and ambiguous that it ends up outsmarting itself\".\n\nVariety positively reviewed the film, praising Peña's performance.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n\n1994 films\nAmerican drama films\nAmerican independent films\nAmerican films\n1994 drama films\nEnglish-language films" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues" ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	What was one of the new expenses issues?	1	What was one of the new expenses issues in regards to Nadine Dorries?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament.	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	false	[ "The Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 is an act of the Parliament of Australia. \n\nThe act is one of a few statutes used in Australia to calculate income tax assessments.\n\nHistory \nThe act was passed in an attempt to provide a rewritten income tax assessment statute, as the prior statute was considered outdated.\n\nNew matters relating to Australian income tax law are generally added to the 1997 act, rather than the 1936 act.\n\nContents \nIssues addressed by the act include:\n\n Deductions for expenses incurred earning assessed income - s8(1)\n Deductions for management of tax affairs - s25(5)\n The definition of 'trading stock', including shares - s70(10)\n The capital gains tax\n A ban on deductions for expenses relating to illegally earned income - s26(54)\n\nSee also \n Taxation in Australia\n Income tax in Australia\n Commissioner of Taxation v La Rosa\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nIncome Tax Assessment Act 1997 at ComLaw\nIncome Tax Assessment Act 1997 at SCALEplus\n\nActs of the Parliament of Australia\n1997 in Australian law\nIncome tax in Australia", "The 1997 Brantford municipal election was held on November 10, 1997, to elect a mayor, councillors, and school trustees in the city of Brantford, Ontario. Some of the rural and small-town communities outside of Brantford also held elections on the same day.\n\nChris Friel was easily re-elected as mayor of Brantford, defeating right-wing challenger Andy Woodburn.\n\nResults\n\nWayne Barlett was a first-time candidate in 1997. He has served on Brantford's economic development board.\nPatrick Clement (born September 9, 1949) was a first-time candidate in 1997. He intended to run for mayor a second time in 2000, but was informed that he could not do so because he had not filed an expenses report for the 1997 campaign. Clement had planned to run on a platform of reducing taxes and pursuing an anti-poverty strategy and described his disqualification as a prejudicial act.\n\nCam Gillespie has served on the boards of the Brantford General Hospital, the Brantford Community Services Advisory Board, and the Brantford Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Advisory Committee. In 1999, he wrote that revenues from the Brantford Charity Casino should be put in a reserve fund against future property tax increases.\n\nGeorge W. Karmiris is a real estate broker and has chaired the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association. He wrote a public letter criticizing the Ontario Liberal Party during the 1999 provincial election. He was barred from running in the 2000 municipal election after not filing an expenses return for 1997.\nRobert Corby was a first-time political candidate. He was barred from running in the 2000 election after not filing an expenses return for 1997.\nRon Rattie has been active with disability issues in Brantford. He has chaired Brantford's Operation Lift program and co-chaired the Brantford Equal Access Team, and was a peer support coordinator of the Canadian Paraplegic Association of Ontario. He himself was involved in a car accident in 1981 that resulted in his becoming a quadriplegic. Rattie was named as Brantford's Citizen of the Year in 2002 and served on the board that chose his successor in 2003. In June 2003, he wrote a public letter criticizing excessive political correctness in the language around disability issues.\n\nSource: \"City Council,\" Brantford Expositor, 8 November 2000, D4.\n\nSurrounding communities\n\nIn 1998, the newly amalgamated community of Brant County (outside of Brantford) held a special municipal election to elect a mayor and councillors.\n\nVeteran politician Ron Eddy was elected as mayor.\n\nWilliam (Bill) Stewart (died January 5, 2000) was the reeve of Onondaga Township from 1951 to 1957. He later became a perennial candidate for public office, running for reeve of Onondaga in 1972 and 1974 and for mayor of Brantford in 1978, 1982, 1985, 1988, and 1991 (there may also have been other candidacies). He came within seven votes of winning in 1972, but in every election thereafter he lost by a significant margin. Described as a \"down-to-earth farmer,\" Stewart was outspoken on many issues, including what he believed was high taxation. On one occasion, he recommended removing all parking meters from Brantford's downtown. The 1998 election seems to have been his last bid for public office. He died in 2000, at age seventy-nine.\n\nReferences\n\n1997 Ontario municipal elections\n1997" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues", "What was one of the new expenses issues?", "The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament." ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	What was the complaint?	2	What was the complaint Nadine Dorries was facing about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP,	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	false	[ "Broadway Community Hospital was a 56-bed hospital located at 9500 South Broadway, in the Broadway-Manchester district of Los Angeles, California. \n\nThe hospital was abruptly closed by its staff (and its 17 patients transferred elsewhere quietly) on Friday March 19, 1982. The next day, state and county health authorities arrived to shut the hospital down, only to find that it had already been locked down and emptied. The hospital was served with a 61-page complaint for what was alleged \"a threat to the public health\" by health officials, amid specific cases of what was deemed unacceptable and improper patient care.\n\nReferences \n\nDefunct hospitals in California\n1982 disestablishments in California\nHospitals disestablished in 1982", "On 30 June 2001, M. Karunanidhi, former chief minister of Tamil Nadu was arrested along with sitting members of the Union Council of Ministers Murasoli Maran and T. R. Baalu. This event marked the first incident in the history of Independent India that Union Cabinet Ministers were arrested. The incident began when the seventy-eight year old former Chief Minister was forcibly taken from his residence located in Gopalapuram, Chennai. Within hours, images of the arrest were broadcast on Sun TV and other network stations. Footage shown on Jaya TV saw him continuously resist arrest.\n\nBackground \nThe First Information Report (FIR) was based on a complaint lodged by Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J. C. T. Acharyalu on 29 June 2001. Mr. Acharyalu became Corporation Commissioner following the 2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election held by the Jayalalithaa Government. He had been kept under suspension by the Karunanidhi Government. The complaint related to alleged losses of in the construction of the mini-flyovers in the city of Chennai. The police complaint was lodged on Friday, 29 June at 9:00 pm, and the arrest took place a few hours after midnight. Because there was, allegedly, little time to conduct an investigation, then Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley wrote that \"the initial impression appears to be that personal agenda is being given preference over the rule of the law.\"\n\nArrest \nReports indicate that at 1:30 am on 30 June, Karunanidhi was asleep in the upstairs bedroom of his home when the police broke open the door and asked Karunanidhi to get dressed. The police cut the telephone lines to the house. A television clip showed Karunanidhi falling down and being shoved, pushed, beaten and lifted by police officers in the house. Murasoli Maran, who went to rescue him, was also attacked and arrested when he resisted the arrest of the former chief minister. Murasoli Maran, who was sick from his heart with a pacemaker, was admitted to Apollo Hospital after his arrest. T. R. Baalu and thousands of DMK cadres were arrested. M. K. Stalin, Karunanidhi's third son surrendered before a Magistrate. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee condemned the arrest and demanded a report from Chief Secretary and Governor of Tamil Nadu. The arrest was condemned by many groups across the political spectrum including both human rights groups and the Indian National Congress.\n\nCourt finds fault with the arrest \nThe court found several faults with the police's handling of the situation:\n\n A judge found fault with Chennai Corporation Commissioner Acharyalu for making a hasty complaint. They alleged that because Acharyalu had been appointed to his post only a week earlier, he could not have known what had happened between 1998 and 2000. At that time a traffic improvement committee and a high-level steering committee were set up to ease traffic and the construction of flyovers was given to contractors. He could not have known how the accused received financial benefits.\n Acharyalu made the complaint directly to CB-CID and not through the chief secretary, as is the normal procedure.\n Acharyalu had not consulted the engineers nor council members involved in the project before making a complaint.\n The judge wanted the Special Public Prosecutor, Mr. A. Raghunathan, to pinpoint who was the main accused. To the surprise of the judge, Mr. A. Raghunathan could not pinpoint the main accused.\n The judge criticized the fact that no investigation was done apart from Acharyalu's complaint and a few files with the corporation.\n The Judge disapproved of the manner in which the complaint was made, the FIR registered and the arrests carried out.\n Investigating officer, P. Padmanabhan, said that none of the accused (including Karunanidhi and the other 14), received any pecuniary benefits. This raised questions about the motive of the FIR.\n The judge was surprised that the main accused could not be pinpointed; that the accused received no benefit; and that no investigation was done prior to the arrest, all leading to his questioning the motive of the arrest.\n The judge further noted that the way the complaint was lodged and FIR registered without examining witnesses shows that the only motive was to arrest some people. The judge suggested that this was an abuse of power.\n The court wondered why, in a normal corruption case, a First Information Report would be filed, the case investigated, a charge sheet would be made and a court would decide whether to give bail to the accused or not. In this case, the FIR was filed at night and arrests were made at midnight. The accused were those leaders who were not likely to abscond. The court asked why these procedures were not followed.\n\nCharge sheet \nThe charge-sheet was filed only after 4 years, in 2005. This raised questions as to the conduct of the government.\n\nExternal links \nJudge calls Karunanidhi arrest abuse of power\nPersonal agenda\nFormer Chief Minister M Karunanidhi arrested\n\nReferences\n\nKarunanidhi, Muthuvel\nTamil politics\nPolitics of Tamil Nadu\nControversies in India\n2001 in India\nHistory of Tamil Nadu (1947–present)" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues", "What was one of the new expenses issues?", "The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament.", "What was the complaint?", "The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP," ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	What happened as a result of this?	3	What happened to Nadine Dorries as a result of 2007 The Sunday Times report?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog.	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	true	[ "Elections to Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council in June 2004 heralded a shock result as Labour council leader Sir Bill Taylor lost his seat to Liberal Democrat Zamir Khan. \"This morning as I was shaving I thought I could get beat and that is what happened\", commented Taylor after the result. \"I canvassed more for this election than for any other. I spoke to more than a thousand people on their doorsteps and was not given any suggestion there were any difficulties.\" Liberal Democrat leader Paul Browne blamed the defeat on dissatisfaction with British foreign policy, particularly in areas with high numbers of Muslim voters: \"Sir Bill has gone because of what has happened in Iraq. Simple.\" Only 63 of the 64 seats on the council were filled as the Earcroft ward by-election took place a month after due to the death of Mayor Mike Barratt. Yusuf Sidat was elected as an independent in Queen's Park Ward.\n\nElection result\n\n\|-\n!colspan=2\|Parties\n!Seats\n!Previous\n!NetGain/Loss\n\|-\n\| \n\|33\|\|35\|\|-2\n\|-\n\| \n\|17\|\|15\|\|+2\n\|-\n\| \n\|12\|\|8\|\|+4\n\|-\n\|\n\|align=left\|Independent\n\|1\|\|2\|\|-1\n\|-\n!colspan=2\|Total!!63!!60\n\|}\n\nSource:\n\nWards\n\nCorporation Park\nElected\nArshid Mahmood (Lab) 790\nPaul James McGurty (Con) 734\nAbdul Rehman (LD) 884\n\nElectorate 4617\nBallot Papers 2781\n% Poll 60.23\n\nReferences\n\n2004 English local elections\n2004\n2000s in Lancashire", "Don Juan Manuel's Tales of Count Lucanor, in Spanish Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio (Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio), also commonly known as El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio, or Libro de los ejemplos (original Old Castilian: Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de Patronio), is one of the earliest works of prose in Castilian Spanish. It was first written in 1335.\n\nThe book is divided into four parts. The first and most well-known part is a series of 51 short stories (some no more than a page or two) drawn from various sources, such as Aesop and other classical writers, and Arabic folktales.\n\nTales of Count Lucanor was first printed in 1575 when it was published at Seville under the auspices of Argote de Molina. It was again printed at Madrid in 1642, after which it lay forgotten for nearly two centuries.\n\nPurpose and structure\n\nA didactic, moralistic purpose, which would color so much of the Spanish literature to follow (see Novela picaresca), is the mark of this book. Count Lucanor engages in conversation with his advisor Patronio, putting to him a problem (\"Some man has made me a proposition...\" or \"I fear that such and such person intends to...\") and asking for advice. Patronio responds always with the greatest humility, claiming not to wish to offer advice to so illustrious a person as the Count, but offering to tell him a story of which the Count's problem reminds him. (Thus, the stories are \"examples\" [ejemplos] of wise action.) At the end he advises the Count to do as the protagonist of his story did.\n\nEach chapter ends in more or less the same way, with slight variations on: \"And this pleased the Count greatly and he did just so, and found it well. And Don Johán (Juan) saw that this example was very good, and had it written in this book, and composed the following verses.\" A rhymed couplet closes, giving the moral of the story.\n\nOrigin of stories and influence on later literature\nMany of the stories written in the book are the first examples written in a modern European language of various stories, which many other writers would use in the proceeding centuries. Many of the stories he included were themselves derived from other stories, coming from western and Arab sources.\n\nShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has the basic elements of Tale 35, \"What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\".\n\nTale 32, \"What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth\" tells the story that Hans Christian Andersen made popular as The Emperor's New Clothes.\n\nStory 7, \"What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana\", a version of Aesop's The Milkmaid and Her Pail, was claimed by Max Müller to originate in the Hindu cycle Panchatantra.\n\nTale 2, \"What happened to a good Man and his Son, leading a beast to market,\" is the familiar fable The miller, his son and the donkey.\n\nIn 2016, Baroque Decay released a game under the name \"The Count Lucanor\". As well as some protagonists' names, certain events from the books inspired past events in the game.\n\nThe stories\n\nThe book opens with a prologue which introduces the characters of the Count and Patronio. The titles in the following list are those given in Keller and Keating's 1977 translation into English. James York's 1868 translation into English gives a significantly different ordering of the stories and omits the fifty-first.\n\n What Happened to a King and His Favorite \n What Happened to a Good Man and His Son \n How King Richard of England Leapt into the Sea against the Moors\n What a Genoese Said to His Soul When He Was about to Die \n What Happened to a Fox and a Crow Who Had a Piece of Cheese in His Beak\n How the Swallow Warned the Other Birds When She Saw Flax Being Sown \n What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana \n What Happened to a Man Whose Liver Had to Be Washed \n What Happened to Two Horses Which Were Thrown to the Lion \n What Happened to a Man Who on Account of Poverty and Lack of Other Food Was Eating Bitter Lentils \n What Happened to a Dean of Santiago de Compostela and Don Yllán, the Grand Master of Toledo\n What Happened to the Fox and the Rooster \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Hunting Partridges \n The Miracle of Saint Dominick When He Preached against the Usurer \n What Happened to Lorenzo Suárez at the Siege of Seville \n The Reply that count Fernán González Gave to His Relative Núño Laynes \n What Happened to a Very Hungry Man Who Was Half-heartedly Invited to Dinner \n What Happened to Pero Meléndez de Valdés When He Broke His Leg \n What Happened to the Crows and the Owls \n What Happened to a King for Whom a Man Promised to Perform Alchemy \n What Happened to a Young King and a Philosopher to Whom his Father Commended Him \n What Happened to the Lion and the Bull \n How the Ants Provide for Themselves \n What Happened to the King Who Wanted to Test His Three Sons \n What Happened to the Count of Provence and How He Was Freed from Prison by the Advice of Saladin\n What Happened to the Tree of Lies \n What Happened to an Emperor and to Don Alvarfáñez Minaya and Their Wives \n What Happened in Granada to Don Lorenzo Suárez Gallinato When He Beheaded the Renegade Chaplain \n What Happened to a Fox Who Lay down in the Street to Play Dead \n What Happened to King Abenabet of Seville and Ramayquía His Wife \n How a Cardinal Judged between the Canons of Paris and the Friars Minor \n What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth \n What Happened to Don Juan Manuel's Saker Falcon and an Eagle and a Heron \n What Happened to a Blind Man Who Was Leading Another \n What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\n What Happened to a Merchant When He Found His Son and His Wife Sleeping Together \n What Happened to Count Fernán González with His Men after He Had Won the Battle of Hacinas \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Loaded down with Precious Stones and Drowned in the River \n What Happened to a Man and a Swallow and a Sparrow \n Why the Seneschal of Carcassonne Lost His Soul \n What Happened to a King of Córdova Named Al-Haquem \n What Happened to a Woman of Sham Piety \n What Happened to Good and Evil and the Wise Man and the Madman \n What Happened to Don Pero Núñez the Loyal, to Don Ruy González de Zavallos, and to Don Gutier Roiz de Blaguiello with Don Rodrigo the Generous \n What Happened to a Man Who Became the Devil's Friend and Vassal \n What Happened to a Philosopher who by Accident Went down a Street Where Prostitutes Lived \n What Befell a Moor and His Sister Who Pretended That She Was Timid \n What Happened to a Man Who Tested His Friends \n What Happened to the Man Whom They Cast out Naked on an Island When They Took away from Him the Kingdom He Ruled \n What Happened to Saladin and a Lady, the Wife of a Knight Who Was His Vassal \n What Happened to a Christian King Who Was Very Powerful and Haughty\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n\n Sturm, Harlan\n\n Wacks, David\n\nExternal links\n\nThe Internet Archive provides free access to the 1868 translation by James York.\nJSTOR has the to the 1977 translation by Keller and Keating.\nSelections in English and Spanish (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in Open Iberia/América (open access teaching anthology)\n\n14th-century books\nSpanish literature\n1335 books" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues", "What was one of the new expenses issues?", "The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament.", "What was the complaint?", "The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP,", "What happened as a result of this?", "Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog." ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	Were there any other complaints made?	4	Were there any other complaints made about Nadine Dorries, aside from an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses.	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	false	[ "Media Responsibility is taking ownership and being accountable for the broadcasting or publishing of material. Broadcasting and publishing is bound by law to meet specified criterion designed to protect the rights of individuals and society as a whole. There are usually separate criterion governing media aimed towards children and young people. These criterion are defined by law and vary from country to country.\n\nIn New Zealand any one can make a complaint about a publication or broadcast in New Zealand that they believe does not comply with the criterion. Different criterion apply to TV/ Radio programmes, a newspaper article, privacy issues, an advertisement in any media, and any Human Rights issue, including discrimination and bias.\n\nThe Broadcasting Standards Authority handles complaints from members of the public about TV and Radio Programmes, and also breaches of Privacy by a broadcast or publication in any media. The Office of Film and Literature Classification handles complaints about Movies, Films, videos and literature. The Press Council website offers a complaints service for any article published in a newspaper that is not an advertisement. All advertising complaints in New Zealand are processed through the Advertising Standards Authority regardless of the media in which they were published or broadcast.\n\nAll Human Rights issues and complaints, regardless of media can be raised with the Human Rights Commission in New Zealand. The Human Rights Commission will uphold complaints where discrimination or bias has been shown in media reporting. Discrimination issues include those relating to race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion and other issues.\n\nExternal links \nBroadcasting Standards Authority\nOffice of Film and Literature Classification complaints page\nOffice of Press Council complaints page\nAdvertising Standards Authority\n\nMass media in New Zealand", "The McCullough Report is a report published by the Irish Roman Catholic bishops in June 2005 following allegations of homosexual sexual abuse between seminarians and staff at St Patrick's College, Maynooth in Ireland. The report looked at how the College responded to the allegations, and found that no specific allegations of sexual abuse had been made. Instead it found that the allegations were focused on the alleged lifestyle and possible \"homosexual tendencies\" of Micheál Ledwith, at the time Vice-President of the college, and that the Dean of the college, Gerard McGinnity, had expressed non-specific concerns about possible improprieties in Ledwith's relationship with some students. Although the report did not find that there were allegations of sexual harassment made against Ledwith, it did find that the concerns raised by McGinnity were not adequately investigated.\n\nBackground\nThe inquiry leading to this report was commissioned by the bishops of following media reports that complaints of sexual harassment of junior seminarians at Maynooth in the early 1980s had not received a proper response. Micheál Ledwith, who at the time of the alleged complaints had been Vice-President of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, had, it was claimed, been the subject of complaints relating to the possible sexual harassment of some students at the college. Students were alleged to have raised concerns with a number of bishops, who then failed to investigate the claims. These complaints were also said to have been raised by Dr. Gerard McGinnity, the Dean of the college. However, it was alleged that McGinnity's concerns were similarly ignored. Shortly thereafter McGinnity took a twelve-month sabbatical, and instead of returning to his previous position at the college he was transferred to a rural parish.\n\nProcess\nIn June 2002, Denis McCullough SC was retained by the bishops to investigate the allegations that those complaints had not received a proper response. McCullough was not asked to investigate whether or not incidents of sexual harassment had occurred, but had a brief that was limited to investigating the if complaints were made any responses that emerged from those complaints. As part of his investigation, McCullough approached the five seminarians who were believed to have been the core group who raised concerns, McGinnity, all of the surviving Bishops who had been involved with alleged the complaints, and Micheál Ledwith. One of the seminarians was not interviewed as part of the inquiry as the individual concerned chose not to be involved, and McGinnity did not contribute to this inquiry. In addition to the interviews, McCullough examined documentary records, including Minutes and correspondence.\n\nThe report took over three years to complete, and was released on 16 June 2005.\n\nFindings\nMcCullough's report found that none of those interviewed had made complaints about sexual harassment in regard to Micheál Ledwith. Those interviewed stated that they were unaware of any such allegations, and had not related them to the Bishops, Trustees, or McGinnity. The complaints were more general, focused on apparent propensities rather than specific criminal acts, and were related to his apparent extravagant lifestyle and alleged \"homosexual tendencies\".\n\nNevertheless, the report also found that McGinnity may have expressed concerns about possible improprieties in Ledwith's relationship with some students, although once again it was in terms of general propensities rather than any specific claims. When McGinnity was asked to produce a student to substantiate these allegations, McGinnity was unable to do so. According to the report, it seems that the lack of evidence meant that those looking into the issue felt that there was no foundation to the allegations, and subsequently McGinnity went on sabbatical. In his findings, McCullough concluded \"that to have rejected the senior dean's concerns so completely and so abruptly without any adequate investigation may have been too precipitate, although, of course, to investigate in any very full or substantial manner, a generic complaint regarding a person's apparent propensities would have been difficult\".\n\nResponses\nThe Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Seán Brady stated, following the publication of The McCullough Report, that \"those seminarians who expressed concern in the early eighties were acting in good faith. We regret any hurt felt by those involved and that the investigation in 1984 was not more thorough\".\n\nLater in 2005 the Ferns Report was published and dealt in part with the allegations made by the seminarians against Micheal Ledwith. Dr. Ginnity was interviewed this time, and at section 4.6 the report states that the seminarians made \"no specific allegations\" but \"had an anxiety with regard to orientation and propensity rather than with specific sexual activity.\"\n\nReferences\n\nCatholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Ireland\n2005 in Ireland\n2005 works\n2005 in Christianity" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues", "What was one of the new expenses issues?", "The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament.", "What was the complaint?", "The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP,", "What happened as a result of this?", "Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog.", "Were there any other complaints made?", "On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses." ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	What about her expenses were the police investigating?	5	What about Nadine Dorries' expenses were the police investigating in 2011?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time.	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	true	[ "Ekkadiki Ee Parugu is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language web series starring Aryan Rajesh, Shashank, Pavani Gangireddy, Kalpika and Chandra Vempaty . It was directed by Abhilash Reddy. The premise of this thriller drama which revolves around Madhur Anand (Shashank), a popular chef, whose wife Vaishnavi (Pavani) goes missing. The investigating officer (Aryan Rajesh), who himself is recovering from the recent death of his wife, suspects Madhur to be the perpetrator.\n\nThe series premiered on ZEE5. It was dubbed and released in Tamil as Thadam.\n\nPremise \nMadhur Anand, a renowned chef, files a police complaint that his wife, Vaishnavi has gone missing. The investigating police officer who himself is recovering from the recent death of his wife suspects foul play, but he doesn't know if he has enough clues to suspect anyone yet. When he begins to investigate the case, things go terribly wrong when he discovers that Madhur Anand might be lying. If this isn't enough, Madhur himself sets out to unravel the mystery about Vaishnavi's life just before her death. The rest of the story is about finding who killed Vaishnavi and what were the circumstances that led to her death.\n\nCast \n\nAryan Rajesh as Investigating officer\nShashank as Madhur\nPavani Gangireddy as Vaishnavi\nKalpika Ganesh as Saira\nChandra Vempaty as Vamshi\nBharat Raj as Raj\nRajsekhar Aningi as Politician\nSudeep Patil as Restaurant Manager\n\nEpisodes\n\nSeason 1\n\nSeason 2\n\nRelease \nThe web series was released on online streaming platform Zee5 on January 8, 2019.\n\nReception \nHemanth Kumar of Firstpost praised the performances of Aryan Rajesh and Pavani Gangireddy but termed it a convoluted web-series and said it would have been better as a film, as the director's initial intention. He criticised the narrative and said that the performances in a few scenes were amateurish, but it worked well in its emotional scenes.\n\nReferences \n\nTelugu-language web series\nZEE5 original programming\n2019 web series debuts\nIndian thriller television series\nCrime thriller web series\nIndian crime television series\nIndian drama web series\n2019 web series endings\n2019 Indian television series debuts\n2019 Indian television series endings", "Shana Grice was a British teenager who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend after he had stalked her. The murder led to criticism of Sussex Police for its failure to take Shana Grice's complaints of stalking seriously.\n\nRelationship\nShana had met Michael Lane in 2015 when they both worked at Brighton Fire Alarms. Lane was from Thornhill Rise, Portslade, near Brighton. They formed a relationship and Lane had become obsessed with her. He refused to accept the breakup and said to a friend \"She’ll pay for what she’s done.\"\n\nStalking\nMichael Lane stalked Grice after she broke up with him and returned to her previous boyfriend, Ashley Cooke. Lane put a tracker device on her car which notified via his mobile phone every time the car moved.\n\nOn 8 February 2016, Grice complained to police about being stalked by Lane after receiving unwanted flowers and damage to her car.\n\nOn 24 March, Lane snatched her phone and grabbed her hair. He was arrested on suspicion of assault but later released and Grice was issued with a fixed penalty notice by the police for wasting their time by not disclosing she had been in a relationship with him.\n\nOn 9 July, Lane used a stolen key to let himself into her home and watch her while she was apparently sleeping. She was actually awake, had heard his footsteps and hid under the duvet. She heard a man breathing in her room. Shortly afterwards, the man left, and when Grice looked out her window she saw Lane walking away. He was arrested for theft, given a police caution and told to stay away from Grice.\n\nThe following day, she received around seven phone calls from a blocked number, including one with heavy breathing. She was told there were no further lines of inquiry and the case would be left on file.\n\nOn 12 July, she reported to police that she was being followed by Lane. Police treated the case as \"low risk\", but that the investigating officer would be made aware.\n\nOn 4 August, she saw Lane loitering outside her home. She confided in her friend Joann Pumphrey that she was afraid that police wouldn't believe her because of her previous fine for wasting police time. Although Joann was a witness to this, Shana didn't report the incident to the police.\n\nMurder\nOn 25 August, Lane waited until Grice was alone at home, then let himself in, slit her throat and set fire to her bedroom. She was 19 years old at the time of her murder and her killer was 27 years old. Her body was found by Ian Cooke, her boyfriend's father, in her home at Chrisdory Road, Portslade, East Sussex.\n\nMichael Lane was arrested the same day at his then workplace in Burgess Hill. He initially lied to police about his movements that day, before admitting that he had gone to Shana Grice’s home. He claimed that he had found the front door open, then found Shana’s body in her bedroom. He claimed that he panicked, then left the scene without dialing 999, checking Shana’s vital signs or telling his family what he had found. He claimed that he only kept quiet about what he had seen because he was afraid of being accused of her murder.\n\nTrial\nThe trial lasted two weeks in Lewes Crown Court. After being found guilty Lane was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 years.\n\nAftermath\nShana Grice's parents, Sharon Grice and Richard Green, said their daughter would still be alive if Sussex Police had acted on her complaints. The judge, Justice Green, also criticised police. During sentencing he said \"There was seemingly no appreciation on the part of those investigating that a young woman in a sexual relationship with a man could at one and the same time be vulnerable and at risk of serious harm. The police jumped to conclusions and Shana was stereotyped.\"\n\nPrevious complaints\nSussex police also revealed that Michael Lane had been the subject of complaints from 13 other women. Most of the complaints related to the three years before Shana Grice's murder, except for one which allegedly occurred within the preceding 10 years.\n\nDomestic homicide review\nA domestic homicide review report concluded that Michael Lane had harassed 12 girls and young women between 2006 and 2016 and he had been arrested over claims he groomed a 14-year-old girl. He was not charged over the 2010 grooming allegation, which was marked on his arrest record, but it was not noted when Shana Grice reported him for harassment. The allegation dates to when he was a volunteer scout leader. After his arrest he resigned from the Scouts. He was told the allegation would be considered if he tried to rejoin the organisation, but when he did so in 2015 he was not recognised as a past member and he volunteered for several months. The failure to recognise him was put down to a \"temporary glitch in the IT system\".\n\nThe report said that Lane had \"used youth movements, which appealed to young women and girls, to allow him access to victims.\"\n\nThe report also mentioned an account of Lane being \"very controlling\" in another relationship, of him bombarding women with explicit messages, loitering outside their homes, pestering women to sleep with him for money, harassing two women he met in a pub and sexually assaulting another woman.\n\nIn August 2019 it was announced that Sussex Police would no longer fine people reporting domestic abuse for wasting police time.\n\nConsequences for Sussex Police\nSussex Police apologised to Shana's parents and referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which launched an inquiry.\n\nIPCC recommendations\nIn late April 2017, Sussex Police accepted six recommendations from the IPCC to improve the way the force dealt with stalking. The recommendations concerned training, data systems and making use of relevant information. IPCC associate commissioner Tom Milsom said that Sussex Police had taken a positive response to the recommendations and he said that \"Stalking and harassment are serious offences and in certain situations, such as those involving Shana, can have tragic consequences.\" Detective Superintendent Jason Tingley of Sussex Police said that additional training was already being provided and \"We have improved our understanding of what stalking and harassment is and what our response should be.\"\n\nReport into stalking and harassment\nIn April 2019 a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services concluded that stalking and harassment offences were not being properly investigated by Sussex Police. The report said that a training programme introduced after Shana Grice's murder to help staff understand and identify stalking \"was never fully completed\". Most investigating officers had received no training. Not enough victims were being referred to support services and there was concern over online stalking. Police forces nationally were not using powers under stalking laws to search suspects' homes, which made investigations less thorough. Injunctions were not being used, so victims were not being properly protected. The National Police Chiefs' Council was called on to make sure police forces around the UK make improvements and that a single definition of stalking be adopted by police forces and government departments.\n\nDisciplinary action\nIn April 2019 it was announced that three police officers would face disciplinary action the following May. Two officers, one retired, faced gross misconduct proceedings, whilst another officer was accused of misconduct.\n\nPC Jon Barry Mills resigned from the police before a disciplinary hearing on 10 May 2019. One allegation against Mills is that he failed to \"adequately investigate allegations of harassment and stalking\" - this relates to 9 July 2016, when Shana Grice complained Lane had stolen her back door key, crept into her bedroom and watched her sleeping. Shana Grice made a further complaint on 12 July of Lane following her in his car, but PC Mills \"failed to contact Ms Grice or update her regarding the reported incident\". She was not called back and a few days later received a letter stating that the \"case was closed\". Friends said she was angry and could not believe the police had dropped the case and had not reported further instances of stalking as a result. It was the last time she contacted police before Lane murdered her in August.\n\nWhen questioned, PC Mills said he was alarmed by some of Lane's behaviour and admitted that his failure to properly question him was an oversight.\n\nPC Mills's first name was initially not released in an attempt by lawyers to conceal his identity.\n\nThe Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which was formed in 2018 and took over some of the IPCC's functions, stated: \"Resigning from the force does not preclude officers from facing misconduct hearings.\"\n\nA force disciplinary panel ruled that PC Mills's failings amounted to gross misconduct and that had he not resigned he would have been dismissed from the police force.\n\nFormer PC Trevor Godfrey was found by a disciplinary panel in July 2019 to have committed misconduct by not investigating Shana Grice's complaints of harassment, but that he had not committed gross misconduct. He had issued Grice with a warning for wasting police time and decided to take no further action against Michael Lane. Godfrey had since retired, but would not have been sacked if he had still been working. Shana Grice's parents said the misconduct charge was \"a joke, and the hearing a sham\".\n\nDocumentary\nA March 2021 documentary about the case, Murder in Slow Motion: The Shana Grice Story, was broadcast on Sky Crime.\n\nReferences\n\nMurder in East Sussex\nStalking\nCrime in Brighton and Hove\nHarassment\n2016 murders in the United Kingdom\nViolence against women in England" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues", "What was one of the new expenses issues?", "The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament.", "What was the complaint?", "The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP,", "What happened as a result of this?", "Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog.", "Were there any other complaints made?", "On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses.", "What about her expenses were the police investigating?", "In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time." ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	What was the result of that investigation?	6	What was the result of the 2011 police investigation into Nadine Dorries?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs.	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	true	[ "Kloop is a media organization based in Kyrgyzstan known for its news website and journalism investigations. Founded in 2007, Kloop gained prominence in Kyrgyzstan three years later, when it investigated criminal activities of the son of the president of Kyrgyzstan. Today Kloop is one of the most popular news websites in Kyrgyzstan.\n\nHistory \nKloop was founded in 2007 by journalists Bektour Iskender and Rinat Tuhvatshin. From the beginning, Kloop worked with young journalists, who were trained at its own journalism school. In February 2010 Kloop's reporters investigated how Maxim Bakiyev, son of then Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, gained illegal control over Kyrgyztelecom, the country's largest communications provider. After receiving threats for attempts to continue the investigation, Kloop gained more attention two months later for its coverage of the revolution, during which Bakiyev and his family were ousted and forced to live in exile.\n\nWork\n\nSamaragate investigation \nIn 2017 Kloop published an investigation about violations at that year's presidential election in Kyrgyzstan. Called Samaragate, the investigation focused on a mysterious Samara website that contained voter information and was hosted on a government server. According to the investigation, this website was used as a voter management system by the campaign of the elected president Sooronbay Jeenbekov to track and influence voters. The investigation was the result of Kloop's cooperation with Qurium, a digital forensic organization based in Sweden that helped track where the suspicious website was hosted\n\nAuthorities of Kyrgyzstan threatened to sue Kloop for this series of stories, but this threat was not carried out.\n\nSoon after publishing Samaragate, Kloop was invited to become the first Central Asian member of the global investigative journalism network run by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).\n\nPlunder and Patronage investigation \nIn 2019 Kloop joined forces with OCCRP and the Kyrgyz edition of Radio Liberty to release a series of investigations about the corruption at the Kyrgyz border. Published in November and December simultaneously by all three media organizations, this series revealed a story of an underground cargo empire run by a group of Chinese businessmen, and how they funnelled massive bribes to Kyrgyzstan's customs services. Journalists who worked on the story found evidence of at least $700 million that was laundered by the cargo empire as a result of this scheme.\n\nSafety concerns and legal challenges \nWhile working on the Plunder and Patronage series, journalists faced a number of risks, including a death threat to one of them. One of the main sources for the story, self-confessed money launderer Aierken Saimaiti, was murdered in Istanbul, Turkey, ten days before the first part of the investigation was published.\n\nThe investigation caused an outrage in Kyrgyzstan, where two anticorruption protests took place at the end of 2019 as a reaction to what had been revealed.\n\nIn December 2019 the family of Raimbek Matraimov, a powerful former Kyrgyz customs official who was described as one of the key people in the criminal scheme, filed a lawsuit against Kloop and Radio Liberty. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an organization that advocates for the freedom of the press, called this lawsuit absurd and called a Kyrgyz court to dismiss it. The Matraimov family are seeking 780,000 euros in damages in connection with the investigation.\n\nDespite the ongoing legal battle, in June 2020 Kloop, OCCRP, and Radio Liberty published two more parts of the series, this time joined by investigative network Bellingcat. Besides publishing new stories, this time the consortium also published all the originals of the financial documents that were used in the investigation.\n\nAwards and accolades \nFor the Plunder and Patronage series, Kloop was a joint winner of Tom Renner Award by Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).\n\nSamaragate was chosen as one of the best investigative stories from the former Soviet Union by Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) in 2017. A year later, in 2018, Kloop's investigation about a fake military expert from Kyrgyzstan made it to another annual list by GIJN, this time being mentioned as one of the year's best stories in Russian or Ukrainian.\n\nIn 2021 Kloop's investigation about femicide in Kyrgyzstan was a winner at the data journalism Sigma Awards.\n\nReferences \n\nNews agencies based in Kyrgyzstan", "Karly’s Law is a law that reformed child abuse investigation standards and procedures in the state of Oregon. Karly’s Law is named for a three-year-old girl, Karly Sheehan, who died as a result of child abuse and neglect in 2005.\n\nBackground\nKarly's Law was first introduced as House Bill 3328 in 2007. It was created as a result of the death of Karly Sheehan in 2005. Karly was a three-year-old girl who died as a result of neglect and abuse from her mother's boyfriend, Shawn Wesley Field. Her situation was brought to the attention of the Department of Health and Human Services as well as Law Enforcement, who interviewed Karly's mother, father and mother's significant other, twice and concluded that her injuries were not a result of child abuse.\n\nProcedural history\nThe bill was proposed and sponsored by Rep Sara Gelser in 2007. It passed the Oregon House of Representatives unanimously on 30 April 2007, where it went on to the Oregon state Senate Human Services Committee. The Oregon Senate also passed the bill unanimously, and it was sent back to the House with minor clarifying amendments. The House passed these amendments, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed it into law.\n\nLaw requirements\nThe law mandates children with suspicious injuries during the course of an abuse investigation receive medical treatment within 48 hours. The Oregon Department of Human Services and trained medical providers are to assess the injuries. The law sets protocol and procedures if abuse is suspected.\n\nLegacy\nAfter Karly's law was passed, the quantity of children who have been assessed for abuse in the state of Oregon rose by 140%. This does not imply a rise in the child abuse rates in the State of Oregon, simply that the number of children being inspected for possible child abuse-related injuries has gone up. In 2009, Oregon had 67,885 total referrals for child abuse and neglect. Of those, 28,584 reports were referred for investigation. Prior to the passage of HR 3328 in 2007, these numbers were: 46,524 total referrals for child abuse and neglect, 23,529 were referred for investigation in 2004.\n\nFurther reading\n Zacharias, Karen. A Silence of Mockingbirds. MacAdam/Cage\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nKarly's Law summary\n\n2007 in American law\nChild abuse law\nOregon law" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues", "What was one of the new expenses issues?", "The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament.", "What was the complaint?", "The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP,", "What happened as a result of this?", "Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog.", "Were there any other complaints made?", "On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses.", "What about her expenses were the police investigating?", "In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time.", "What was the result of that investigation?", "On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs." ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	Who/What is Bercow?	7	Who/What is Bercow in relation to Nadine Dorries?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election,	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	false	[ "Bercow is a surname.\n\nPeople\n John Bercow (born 1963), British politician and speaker of the House of Commons (2009-2019)\n Sally Bercow (née Illman), the wife of John Bercow\n\nSee also \n Bercu (disambiguation)\n Berkhof (surname)\n Berko (disambiguation)\n Berkoff\n Berkov\n Berkowitz\n Berkovich\n\nJewish surnames\nSurnames of Polish origin", "Sally Kate Bercow (née Illman; born 22 November 1969) is a British public personality and the wife of the former Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.\n\nEarly life\nBercow attended the independent co-educational King Edward's School in Witley, Surrey, where she was in St Bridget's House from 1981–86. She took her A levels at Marlborough College, where she was a contemporary of Samantha Cameron. She attended Keble College, Oxford, dropping out after one year. She was the social secretary of the Oxford University Conservative Association.\n\nAfter university, she pursued a career in public relations and advertising.\n\nPolitics\nHer husband, John Bercow, became a Conservative member of parliament at the 1997 General Election. She campaigned for New Labour and their candidate Tony Blair; she also campaigned for her husband to help win his seat. She campaigned for the election of Ed Balls as leader of the Labour Party in the 2010 Labour leadership election.\n\nIn 2010, she stood as Labour candidate for the St James's ward of Westminster City Council, unsuccessfully. Bercow is on the approved list of candidates for members of Parliament for the Labour Party, although following the Lord McAlpine Twitter case (see McAlpine v Bercow and below), she is reportedly unlikely to be considered. Bercow has repeatedly mentioned her desire to become a Labour MP, revealing that she would like to become the Labour candidate for the marginal Brighton Kemptown seat. It was reported that Bercow was in line to stand for Holborn and St Pancras if Frank Dobson retired, and she had been linked to standing to become the Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for Harrow East in 2015.\n\nThe Daily Telegraph suggested that Bercow was politicising her husband's neutral role. John Bercow rejected this criticism, stating that \"the obligation of impartiality does not apply to my wife who is not my chattel\". She has also appeared on the BBC's Question Time.\n\nTelevision\nIn February 2011, she attracted criticism for appearing to capitalise on her husband's position, when a photograph of her wearing only a bed sheet, with the House of Commons in the background, appeared in the London Evening Standard. In the article she was quoted as saying \"becoming Speaker has turned my husband into a sex symbol\", although she later claimed, in a radio interview; \"It was just meant to be a bit of fun, but obviously it has completely backfired on me and I look a complete idiot.\" John Bercow was reported as having \"read the Riot Act\" to her after the bed sheet photo was published.\n\nBercow was a housemate on Channel 5's Celebrity Big Brother 8 in August 2011. She became the first person to be evicted. She has also appeared on a celebrity edition of The Chase and Big Star's Little Star (with her daughter Jemima). She was initially scheduled to take part in the second series of The Jump, but had to quit after suffering an injury during training.\n\nPersonal life\nIn 2011 Sally Bercow said \"I don't mind people knowing about my history of one-night stands and alcoholism ... in my twenties. ... I grew up in my thirties and gained control of myself.\" She and her husband have been married since 2002, and have three children: Jemima, Oliver, and Freddie. Her elder son, Oliver, has autism. She is a parent patron of the charity Ambitious about Autism.\n\nIn 2015, her husband was reported to be seeking to divorce her over an alleged affair with his cousin Alan Bercow, but they reconciled after Sally had left for a period.\n\nLegal controversies\n\nMcAlpine affair\n\nAfter the 2 November 2012 broadcast of a BBC Two's Newsnight that linked an unnamed \"senior Conservative\" politician to sex abuse claims, Bercow hinted on her Twitter account at the name of Lord McAlpine, implying that he was a paedophile.\n\nMcAlpine took legal action against Bercow and others and, in December 2012, Bercow's solicitors, Carter-Ruck, announced that they were defending her in a £50,000 libel lawsuit filed by McAlpine. On 24 May 2013, the High Court found that Sally Bercow's tweet was \"libelous.\" Following the ruling, she accepted a settlement with McAlpine's lawyers to pay an undisclosed sum as damages.\n\nAbducted schoolgirl controversy\nIn a tweet of 18 November 2012, Bercow named the schoolgirl involved in an abduction case although the girl's identity was protected by a court order. Two days later Bercow's Twitter account was deleted after what were described as 'legal gaffes', but she returned to Twitter a week later.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nInterview with Gair Rhydd\nSally Bercow at Biogs.com\n\n1969 births\nLiving people\nPeople educated at King Edward's School, Witley\nPeople educated at Marlborough College\nAlumni of Keble College, Oxford\nLabour Party (UK) people\nNewspaper writers\nPlace of birth missing (living people)\nSpouses of British politicians" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues", "What was one of the new expenses issues?", "The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament.", "What was the complaint?", "The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP,", "What happened as a result of this?", "Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog.", "Were there any other complaints made?", "On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses.", "What about her expenses were the police investigating?", "In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time.", "What was the result of that investigation?", "On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs.", "Who/What is Bercow?", "She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election," ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	Why did she want to oust John?	8	Why did Nadine Dorries want to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	false	[ "Sara Oust (1778-1822) was a Norwegian lay minister and follower of Hans Nielsen Hauge. She was one of the first female religious leaders within the Haugean Ministry.\n\nBiography\nSara Oust was born at the village of Vingelen in the parish of Tolga in Hedmark, Norway. She was the daughter of Engebret Engebretsen Vingelen and Mari Persdatter Røe. Being fatherless at the age of seven, Sara Oust helped her mother carrying coal at the Røros Copper Works (Røros kopparverk) \n\nShe first became aware of the teachings of Hans Nielsen Hauge in 1799. She subsequently preached in Trøndelag between 1799 and 1805 alongside another female lay minister, Randi Hevle from Drivdalen in Sør-Trøndelag, and later Kirsten Fossen from Kvikne. She reportedly had a beautiful singing voice and she also wrote psalms. Under the Conventicle Act of 1741, Norwegians citizens at the time did not have the right of religious assembly without a Church of Norway minister present. She successfully defended a collective of Haugeans from the local authorities, who gave up their attempts to implement the law after having seen she had too much support from the community. She first met Hans Nielsen Hauge in Oppdal during 1803.\n\nIn 1805, Sara Oust married Ola Toresen Røe (1776–1862), who was a farmer in Vingelen. Although following the death of Hans Nielsen Hauge in 1824, the Haugean Movement became less supportive of lay ministers.\n\nReferences\n\nPrimary Source\nBakken, Arne O. (1973) Haugianerne i Nord-Østerdal de første årene lederen Sara Oust 1778-1822 (Oslo: Tolga bibliotek)\n\nExternal links\nSara Oust-spel 2012\n\nRelated Reading\nAarflot, Andreas (1979) Hans Nielsen Hauge, his life and message (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing) \nFurseth, Inger (2002) A Comparative Study of Social and Religious Movements in Norway, 1780s-1905 (New York City: Edwin Mellen Press) \nPettersen, Wilhelm (2008) The Light In The Prison Window: The Life Story of Hans Nielsen Hauge (Kessinger Publishing, LLC) \nShaw, Joseph M. (1979) Pulpit Under the Sky: A Life of Hans Nielsen Hauge (Greenwood Press Reprint) \n\n1778 births\n1822 deaths\n19th-century Norwegian people\n19th-century religious leaders\nNorwegian Christian religious leaders\nFemale Christian clergy\n19th-century Norwegian women", "\"I Want to Live\" is a song by the Christian rock band Skillet, released as a promotional single off of their ninth album, Unleashed.\n\nAbout the song \nJohn Cooper decided to write \"I Want to Live\" while wandering the streets of Moscow after a concert in Russia where a fan had given the group a letter in which she talked about suffering from depression. She was laughed at in school and she even thought about suicide, but Skillet's music made her want to live. Cooper was impressed with the \"I want to live\" line.\n\nCharts\n\nSong credits \n John Cooper — lead vocals, bass\n Korey Cooper — rhythm guitar, keyboards\n Jen Ledger — drums, backing vocals\n Seth Morrison — lead guitar\n\nReferences \n\nSkillet (band) songs\n2016 songs\nSongs written by John Cooper (musician)\n2016 singles\nAtlantic Records singles" ]
[ "Nadine Dorries", "Bercow and Dorries' new expenses issues", "What was one of the new expenses issues?", "The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament.", "What was the complaint?", "The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP,", "What happened as a result of this?", "Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog.", "Were there any other complaints made?", "On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses.", "What about her expenses were the police investigating?", "In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time.", "What was the result of that investigation?", "On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs.", "Who/What is Bercow?", "She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election,", "Why did she want to oust John?", "Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's \"magnificent\" ceremonial clothes" ]	C_f2689620104d4ab6a2c8719b0d2c8944_0	Was anyone else involved with this plot?	9	Aside from Nadine Dorries, was anyone else involved with the plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election?	Nadine Dorries	She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality". On 9 May 2010, two days after retaining the Mid-Bedfordshire seat at the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around PS10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. CANNOTANSWER	and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality".	Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire. As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the Chief Whip. It was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party. In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety. In May 2020, she was advanced to Minister of State. During Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Early life Dorries was born Nadine Vanessa Bargery in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father, a Catholic of Irish descent, was a bus driver who became a lift operator and suffered from Raynaud's disease. Her mother was an Anglican, and Dorries was raised as such. She was brought up in the Anfield district of Liverpool, where she attended Rose Heath Primary School. She then attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood before moving with her family to Runcorn. She grew up on a council estate and entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. According to an interview with The Times in 2014, Dorries' parents divorced during her adolescence. While training to be a nurse at 21, she shared a flat with her father. He died at the age of 42. Career From 1978 to 1981, Dorries was a nurse in Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report. Her CV when she was a parliamentary candidate in 2001 stated Liverpool and London as places where she worked as a nurse. She left the Liverpool area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries. In 1982, Dorries became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine. She founded Company Kids Ltd in 1987 which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA; Dorries was subsequently a director of the health provider during the following year. As Nadine Bargery, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Hazel Grove, near Manchester in spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being imposed by Conservative Central Office. Standing for the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat with a majority of 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, when Shadow Chancellor, to sort out his relations with the media amongst other things. Selection and all-women shortlists In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection: Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place. Dorries' account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that Conservative Campaign Headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate: Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point. In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided." Early parliamentary career Entering parliament Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems. Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use." In 2008, she won The Spectator magazine's Readers' Representative Award. Dorries initially supported David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005 later withdrawing her endorsement. David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed. Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, although by November 2008 she had attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee. Abortion time limits and counselling Dorries says she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten-day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. Dorries said she had received death threats from activists and was given police protection. Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill. In May 2008, Dorries tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries. According to Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane it was the greatest challenge to women's abortion rights in nearly 20 years. Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233. A majority of MPs continued to support the 24-week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: "If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles ... My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit ... it’s every baby’s right to have a life." Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International from providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but according to Zoe Williams "independent" counselling services could be "faith-based groups" intent on discouraging women from having an abortion. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because then-Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change. Dorries' criticism of Cameron's policy shift was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was, for Dorries, a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists among others for the comment, and subsequently apologised. The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after Health Minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the Government would support the spirit of Dorries' amendment. The amendment was lost by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments. Channel 4 documentary In May 2008, Dorries featured in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "In God's Name". The programme examined the growing influence of Christian evangelical movements in the UK and highlighted the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's involvement in lobbying the British Government on issues such as abortion, gay rights and the enforcing of laws relating to blasphemy. The programme included footage of an LCF representative meeting with Dorries to influence policy on matters where they had a common agenda. Damian McBride email affair In April 2009, Dorries stated that she had commenced legal action following the leaked publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger. McBride resigned and Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous: "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit". Brown subsequently said he was "sorry" and that he took "full responsibility for what happened". Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but did not carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs. Expenses claims In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries' constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 additional costs allowance (for "secondary" housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May 2009, she spoke on BBC Radio 4 and drew parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She said everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider. In January 2010, it was reported that Dorries was still being investigated by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses. There was some debate as to the location of her main home. It was also reported that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company. On 9 May 2010, two days after being returned at the General Election for Mid Bedfordshire, The Sunday Times reported that Dorries was facing the first complaint about an MP's expenses claim of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on 13 September 2008. On 13 January 2011, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. In February 2013, it was reported that Dorries was being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over her expenses, although no specific details were given at this time. On 27 June 2013, Dorries announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses as an MP, but would draw on her salary for such costs. She argued that she would be in a better position to campaign for the abolition of the present expenses arrangements by doing so. Dorries herself stood for election as a deputy speaker after one of the three posts became vacant. In the Commons vote during October 2013, she gained the support of 13 MPs, and was the first of the six candidates to be eliminated in the voting process. High heels at work In late 2009, Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes. Criticism of Speaker Bercow Prior to John Bercow's election as Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009, Dorries accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker. Dorries was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run-up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Benefit claimants In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name. Blog A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority". On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries announced: "my blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact! It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire, she said: "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she said that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also said that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family. On 27 October 2010, Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised." The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Daily Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Mrs Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then". In 2012, she was voted best MP on Twitter by the politics.co.uk website. Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a Bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13–16, which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would have required active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement in the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity". The Bill drew criticism from healthcare and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the Bill's reading. Labour MP Chris Bryant described the Bill as being "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". The Sexual Abstinence Bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185), after she was granted leave to introduce the Bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011. The Bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withdrawn shortly before its second reading. Visit to Equatorial Guinea with other MPs In August 2011, Dorries led the first delegation of Members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea. It is a small African country, but the third-biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. She met the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine MPs on the trip. Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne On 6 March 2012, Dorries criticised David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the coalition government over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either". She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk – who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May 2012: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done." In the summer of 2012, Dorries criticised Osborne again for sending a badly briefed junior Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith, to deputise for him on Newsnight in order to defend a government u-turn on fuel duty. Same-sex marriage Dorries opposed the government's ultimately successful legislation to introduce same-sex marriage. In May 2012, on the Conservative Home website she wrote: "Gay marriage is a policy which has been pursued by the metro elite gay activists and needs to be put into the same bin [as reform of the House of Lords]". In an interview with Mehdi Hasan in October 2012, Dorries said she favoured gay marriage, but only after Britain has left the European Convention on Human Rights. In an exchange with Iain Dale around the same time, she speculated that the issue could cost her (then) party four million votes at the next general election. In February 2013, at the time of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons, she argued that the Bill avoided the issue of consummation and thus contradicted the Marriages Act 1973, and therefore did not make gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriage. She also argued that there was no provision for adultery, or faithlessness, as it might apply to gay couples because the term applies to heterosexual couples only. Reality TV and temporary suspension Early in November 2012, it was announced that Dorries had agreed to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Other Conservatives objected to her decision and her constituents were "overwhelmingly negative" on local radio. Neither the Conservative Chief Whip, Sir George Young, nor the Chairman of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association were informed of her absence from Parliament. The Conservative Party suspended Dorries from the Party Whip on 6 November, after her confirmation that she was planning to be absent from Parliament. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, received a complaint about her behaviour. The series began on 11 November 2012, but on 21 November, Dorries became the first contestant to be voted off the show. Dorries met George Young on 27 November, who asked her to rebuild her relationship with the party. She then sat as an independent MP, but continued to deny the whip had been withdrawn, stating it had merely been suspended. On 8 May 2013, Dorries regained the Conservative Whip without any conditions having been applied. George Osborne reportedly objected to her regaining the parliamentary whip, while commentators speculated that, should she not be readmitted, Dorries might join UKIP, which had made gains from the Conservatives in the previous week's local elections. Peter Oborne observed at this point that Dorries had still not declared the amount she was paid for her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members interests, last published on 22 April, despite her promise to do so. Shortly after regaining the Whip, Dorries floated the idea of joint Conservative-UKIP candidates at the next general election in 2015, with herself as such a candidate. "This is not party policy and it's not going to happen", a Conservative Party spokesman told the Press Association. Following the publication of a report by the Standards Committee on 11 November 2013, Dorries apologised in the House of Commons to her fellow MPs for two errors of judgement. Her confidentiality agreement with ITV over her fee for appearing on I'm A Celebrity... had led to her refusing to disclose the information to Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. In so doing, she had broken the MP's code of conduct. The all-party standards committee said that she should never have agreed to such a clause in her contract. In addition, Dorries had falsely claimed that payment for eight pieces of work in the media did not need to be declared as they were made to Averbrook, her company, rather than to herself directly. Andy McSmith, writing in The Independent at the beginning of December 2013, said that Dorries had finally disclosed her income (amounting to £20,228 in total) from appearing on I'm a Celebrity... in the register of members' interests. Employment of family members In 2013, Dorries' daughter was reportedly among the highest-earning family members employed by MPs with a salary of £40,000–45,000 as an office manager, even though her daughter lived 96 miles away from the office. Subsequently, Dorries' sister was taken on as "senior secretary" with a salary of £30,000–35,000. In reply to an enquiry by Ben Glaze, Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mirror, about the employment of her daughter, Dorries tweeted: “Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?” Criticism of fellow Conservative MP In October 2013, Dorries described a fellow Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MPs" on her Twitter account, and criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to promote Hopkins to a junior ministerial post within the Department for Communities and Local Government as "a really awful decision". Election court petition On 29 May 2015, the independent candidate in Mid Bedfordshire, Tim Ireland, lodged an appeal against the result accusing Dorries of breaches of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. The development first emerged in early-June after the three-week petition for such an action had expired. The petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice because it was served at Dorries' constituency office and not her home address. Burka ban In August 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for a column that he had written in the Daily Telegraph. As part of an article discussing the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, Johnson said that Muslim women who wore burkas "look like letter boxes" and the garment gave them the appearance of "bank robbers", although the point of the article was to condemn governments who tell "a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business". Dorries, however, said that Johnson "did not go far enough", saying the burka should have no place in Britain and it was "shameful that countries like France and Denmark are way ahead of us on this". On 7 August 2018, Dorries tweeted "No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises." Brexit In the June 2016 EU referendum, Dorries supported the Leave campaign and was critical of prime minister David Cameron, who backed Remain. Dorries called for Cameron to resign during the campaign in May 2016, and submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee. Buzzfeed reported that in October 2017 Dorries had become confused about her party's position on Brexit after talking with a politics teacher about a key element of her party's position, Britain's proposed exit from the European Union Customs Union. The EU Customs Union is an agreement between EU members not to impose tariffs (i.e. import taxes) on goods passing across their mutual borders. From a semi-private discussion that Buzzfeed made public, it was suggested that Dorries believed the UK could leave the EU but stay within the Customs Union whilst at the same time negotiating free trade deals with other countries. Later in December 2017 she tweeted: "If we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, we haven't left." In November 2018, Dorries, who was strongly in favour of Brexit, said of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU27: "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety When Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Dorries was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety at the Department of Health and Social Care. On 10 March 2020, Dorries became the first MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19. It is not known exactly when she contracted the disease, but it was reported that she had attended Parliament and visited 10 Downing Street before being required to self-isolate. In May 2020, Dorries was promoted to the ministerial rank of Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. On 14 May 2020, Dorries was criticised after she retweeted a doctored video from a far-right Twitter account which falsely claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer obstructed the prosecution of grooming gangs while he served as Director of Public Prosecutions. In November 2020, she attracted media criticism after rejecting an offer of cross-party talks to discuss a mental health support package for frontline NHS and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Dorries defended the Government's 1% NHS pay-offer on the grounds that it would protect the financial support of those on furlough, stating that the "unprecedented" pressure on the UK's finances was behind the pay-offer. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport On 15 September 2021, Dorries was promoted as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport following Oliver Dowden's appointment as Conservative Party Co-chairman. She is a critic of what she believes to be elitism in the BBC and wants to push for "BBC reform". Dorries was criticised in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee by John Nicolson due to her previous tweets towards LBC journalist James O'Brien. In February 2022, amidst a controversy over a joke about Romani genocide, made by Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special, Dorries said that the government would bring in legislation to "hold to account" streaming companies for offensive content. She said there was no disconnect between this view and her previous opinions that "left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy". Author It became public knowledge in September 2013 that Dorries had signed a three-book deal for a six-figure advance; her first book was published the following April. Her first novel, The Four Streets, which draws on her Liverpool Catholic background, became a No.1 best-selling e-book with 100,000 copies sold in the format by July 2014, although print sales in hardback and paperback were significantly lower with, respectively, 2,735 and 637 sales by then. Dorries' work of fiction gained mostly negative reviews. Sarah Ditum in the New Statesman complained that some of the sentences "read like clippings from Wikipedia" while Christopher Howse, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described The Four Streets as "the worst novel I've read in 10 years". "You should read the next one. It’s much better", Dorries told Ann Treneman of The Times. Personal life Dorries married mining engineer Paul Dorries in 1984. They had three daughters before separating in 2007 and subsequently divorcing; he suffered from multiple sclerosis and she said they had reached "entirely different stages in [their] lives". Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but has said that her great-grandfather George Bargery was one of the founders of rival team Everton FC and was the team's first ever goalkeeper. Honours She was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 20 September 2021 at Balmoral Castle. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life. Notes References External links Nadine Dorries: brave Tory rebel or a self-serving stunt woman? \| profile Guardian profile of Dorries The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005 1957 births Living people English people of Irish descent Politicians from Liverpool 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British anti-abortion activists British Protestants British Secretaries of State Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English nurses British women bloggers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom	false	[ "\"Anyone Else\" is a song by British singer-songwriter Matt Cardle, co-written by Cardle with Jeff Halatrax. It was released as the second single from his second studio album, The Fire, on 31 December 2012. For the radio version the vocals were reworked slightly, with extra backing vocals added on the last chorus, however this version was not made available to buy. With limited national radio support and no release separate from the album digital download, which was already available, it is perhaps unsurprising that the song did not chart.\n\nBackground\nCardle wrote the song in Los Angeles and it was recorded at Canvas Studios in London and Studio 217 in Los Angeles. Cardle says the song is about \"not being able to make up my mind whether I want to sleep around or not!\" and \"To be with that one person that really means something to you.\" He says it the poppiest track on the album and describes it as \"hooky, it's funky, it's a little more colourful\".\n\nA music video to accompany the song was premiered on YouTube on 4 December 2012, at a total length of three minutes and twenty six seconds. The video was filmed at the Playhouse Theatre in London and features Cardle performing the song on the stage with his band members, as if a rehearsal for a show, with just his girlfriend watching. As the song progresses, Cardle sees the band members appearing to transform into attractive women trying to seduce him.\n\nPromotion\nCardle first performed \"Anyone Else\" on British television programme Daybreak, on 13 December 2012, followed by a performance on Loose Women on 4 January 2013. He then performed it on Irish entertainment programme The Saturday Night Show, on 26 January 2013.\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\nMatt Cardle songs\n2012 singles\nSongs written by Matt Cardle\n2012 songs", "Anauroch: The Empire of Shade is an adventure module for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.\n\nPlot summary\nAnauroch: The Empire of Shade takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting, where malign forces conspire to undo the Weave and replace it with the Shadow Weave, causing the Great Desert of Anauroch to change. The player characters must intervene or else all of Faerun will soon feel the dark might of the greatest magical empire since Netheril.\n\nPublication history\nAnauroch: The Empire of Shade was published in November 2007, with cover art by William O'Connor and interior art by Eric Deschamps, Randy Gallegos, Fred Hooper, Monte Michael Moore, William O'Connor, and Francis Tsai. Though the book is credited to Greg A. Vaughan, Thomas M. Reid, and Sean K. Reynolds on the front cover, Sean K. Reynolds was not actually involved in the project. The third author was, instead, Skip Williams and is properly credited on the book's title page and on the credits page.\n\nReception\nMartin Drury of RPGamer wrote that the adventure \"[...] just does not live up to expectations. [...] Despite a few bright spots, Anauroch: The Empire of Shade falls short of sending Wizards of the Coast's 3.5 Edition publishing days out with a bang. Game Masters and players who participated in the first two adventures of the trilogy will probably want to play through it out of necessity, but anyone looking for a stand-alone adventure would be best served looking elsewhere.\"\n\nReferences\n\nForgotten Realms adventures" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age" ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	When did the Golden Age begin?	1	When did Aquaman's Golden Age begin?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	true	[ "Jacobus Sibrandi Mancadan (c. 1602 in Minnertsga – 4 October 1680 in Tjerkgaast) was a Dutch Golden Age painter mostly known for his pastoral landscapes.\n\nBiography\nHe is considered one of the most important Frisian landscape painters of the Dutch Golden Age. His landscapes were either idealized in the Italian manner or more naturalistic and depicting recognizable features of his native Friesland region. The Italianate landscapes seem to be influenced by the work of Salvator Rosa, but also by Haarlem painters such as Jan van Goyen and Salomon van Ruysdael.\n\nMancadan also served as a government official, and apparently did not begin painting until midway through his life. According to the RKD he lived in Franeker from 1634 to 1644, where he also served as mayor. In 1658 he became involved in peatwinning in the southeast of Friesland and was one of initiators of the canal, dug to Bakkeveen. He settled down in Siegerswoude. After his wife died he moved to Beetsterzwaag where his daughter lived. He died in Tjerkgaast, where his son, who had a bad reputation, was a minister.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nEntry on the Union List of Artist Names\nJacob Sibrandi Mancadan on Artnet\n\n1600s births\n1680 deaths\nDutch Golden Age painters\nDutch male painters\nPeople from Het Bildt", "A golden age is a period in a field of endeavor when great tasks were accomplished. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets, who used it to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure (see Golden Age).\n\nThe ancient Greek philosopher Hesiod introduced the term in his Works and Days, when referring to the period when the \"Golden Race\" of man lived. This was part of fivefold division of Ages of Man, starting with the Golden age, then the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Age of Heroes (including the Trojan War), and finally, the current Iron Age. The concept was further refined by Ovid, in his Metamorphoses, into the four \"metal ages\" (golden, silver, bronze, and iron).\n\nThe Golden age in Classic literature\n\nThe Golden age as described by Hesiod was an age where all humans were created directly by the Olympian gods. They did not have women in their ranks, and could not reproduce. They lived long lives in peace and harmony, and were oblivious of death. The \"Golden race\" were however mortals, but would die peacefully and in their sleep unmarked by sickness and age. Ovid emphasizes the justice and peace that defined the Golden Age. He described it as a time before man learned the art of navigation, and as a pre-agricultural society. The idea of a Golden age lingered in literature and historical understanding throughout the Greek and Roman periods. It was partly replaced by the Christian Six Ages of the World based on the biblical chronology in the early Middle Ages.\n\nEvolution from period to metaphor\nThe term \"Golden age\" has always had a metaphoric element. A few centuries after Hesiod, Plato pointed out that the \"Golden race\" were not made from gold as such, but that the term should be understood metaphorically. The classical idea of the \"metal ages\" as actual historical periods held sway throughout the Greek and Roman periods. While supplemented by St. Augustine's \"Six Ages of the World\", the classical ideas were never entirely eradicated, and it resurfaced to form the basis of division of time in early archaeology.\n\nAt the birth of modern archaeology in the 18th century, the \"Golden age\" was associated with a pre-agricultural society. However, already in the 16th century, the term \"Golden age\" was replaced by \"Stone Age\" in the three-age system. Still, Rousseau used the term for a loosely defined historical period characterized by the \"State of nature\" as late as the during the late 18th century. While the concept of an Iron and Bronze Age are still used by historians and archaeologists, the \"Golden age\" of Hesiod was a purely mythical period, and has come to signify any period in history where the state of affairs for a specific phenomenon appear to have been on their height, better than in the periods proceeding it and following the \"Golden Age\". It is sometimes still employed for the hunter-gatherer tribal societies of the Mesolithic, but only as a metaphor.\n\nGolden Age in society timeline\n\nA society's Golden Age marks that period in its history having a heightened output of art, science, literature, and philosophy.\n\nAncient Egypt experienced several Golden Ages, including the Fourth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, as well as the New Kingdom\nAthenian Golden Age presided by Pericles\nGolden age of Latin literature, the period in Latin literature between Cicero and Ovid\nThe age of the \"Five Good Emperors\" during the Principate, part of the Pax Romana period, is generally considered the zenith of the Roman Empire, and Edward Gibbon even considered it the happiest age of humanity\nGolden age of India, the period between the 3rd century to the 6th century CE under the leadership of the Gupta Empire, during which Indians made great achievements in mathematics, science, culture, religion, philosophy and astronomy\nThe Classic Period of Mesoamerica (3rd to 9th century), the era when Teotihuacan dominated central Mexico and several important Maya city states reached their apogee\nEarly Christian Ireland, when Ireland was united under one High King and was significant in European art\nIslamic Golden Age\nReign of Harun al-Rashid (786–809), the height of the Abbasid Caliphate, before the Fourth Fitna, the Anarchy at Samarra, and the onset of political fragmentation\nMore generally from the reign of Harun al-Rashid until the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols (1258) in the Arab world\nReignited in the 14th century in the Age of the Islamic Gunpowders (Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires) until the early 17th century\nGolden Age of Bulgaria, the reign of Emperor Simeon I the Great, late 9th – early 10th centuries\nGolden age of Kiev, 10th century\n China has had multiple golden ages, with the Han, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing all considered golden ages in Chinese history. The \"Chinese Golden Age\" is used to refer to the period of the Tang and Song Dynasties from 618 to 1279, which saw an economic revolution\nGolden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula, the period between 900 and 1100. Sometimes categorized as part of the larger Islamic Golden Age, because of the event's timeframe and geography\nGolden age of Christian Monasticism, 8th–12th centuries, its peak being 11th century to early-mid 12th century. Understood to be a golden age in the European continent of strictly religious matters, and not in comparison to other golden ages of the era\nGolden Age of medieval Bulgarian culture, a golden age in Bulgaria\nGeorgian Golden Age, the period of prosperity and cultural flourishing in the Kingdom of Georgia in the 11th, 12th, and early 13th centuries, especially under Queen Tamar the Great\nGolden Age in Indonesian history from about 1293 to around 1500 when the Hindu–Buddhist Majapahit kingdom in eastern Java, under Gajah Mada, extended its influence to much of southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Bali. \nSecond Golden Age of Bulgaria, the prosperity of Bulgarian culture, literature and arts during Emperor Ivan Alexander (1331–1371)\nPortuguese Golden Ages\nPortuguese Golden Age, 15th century – 1580. Possibly the European power of the time most proficient in sailing\nSecond Portuguese Golden Age, Brazilian gold rush, late 17th century to 19th century\nGolden age of Valencian literature, 15th century\nOttoman Golden Age, 1480s–1560s, partly under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent\nThe High Renaissance of the 16th century is often described as the \"golden age\" of the culture and art of Renaissance Italy\nThe history of Malta under the Order of Saint John (1530–1798) is generally considered as a \"golden age\" of architecture, the arts, health and education, especially between the late 1560s and the early 1770s\nThe Spanish Golden Age (siglo de oro) corresponds to the reign of the Catholic Monarchs and of the Habsburgs between 1492 and 1659, a period marked by a powerful Spanish Empire and by the flourishing of the arts\nEnglish Golden Ages\nThe \"Golden Age of England\" is the Elizabethan era, under Elizabeth I of England, in the late 16th century, as her reign is often depicted as a golden age and the high point of the English Renaissance\nThe \"Golden Age of Britain\" is the Victorian era, under Queen Victoria, in the 19th century\nPolish Golden Age, 16th century, early 17th century\nDutch Golden Age, 17th century, approximately 1588–1672\nGolden Age of Dutch Painting, spanning the 17th century\nGolden Age of Netherlandish cartography, c. 1590s–1720s\nGolden age of Belarusian history, 1500s–1570s, esp. 1550s–1570s\nGrand Siècle, the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV.\nThe Golden Age of Piracy, 1650–1730\nThe Genroku era (1688–1704) in Japan is widely considered a \"golden age\" for literature, drama, and the arts\nDanish Golden Age, first half of the 19th century\nGolden Age of Russian Poetry, first half of the 19th century, with Russian poets Pushkin, Lermontov, Tyutchev and others\nGolden Age of Capitalism, a period of rapid growth in the economies of the west, and Japan, from 1945 to 1970. Also used for the Gilded Age of the late 19th century\nThe Golden Twenties, the 1920s in Europe, the Roaring Twenties were the American equivalent\nLikewise in the United States, the American Century may be taken to represent a golden age of global cultural influence and political hegemony\nGolden Age of Afghanistan, a period during the 1960s and 1970s in Afghan history\n\nCulture and technology\n\nA golden age is often ascribed to the years immediately following some technological innovation. During this time writers and artists ply their skills in this new medium. Therefore, there are Golden Ages of both radio and television. During such a nascent phase the technology allows new ideas to be expressed, as new art-forms flower quickly into new areas:\n\nGolden age of illustration, a period in US illustration history from the 1880s to the 1910s.\nThe Golden Age of Radio, 1920s–1940s\nThe Golden Age of American animation, between 1928 (sound) and the 1960s (television).\n The Golden Age of Hollywood, which lasted from the end of the silent era in American cinema in the late 1920s to the 1960s\nGolden Age of Television (referring to U.S. television circa 1950s) when television was still a fairly recent invention. Programs such as Kraft Television Theatre, Playhouse 90, and later Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone brought a level of writing to American commercial television that would rarely be seen in the next several decades.\nGolden Age of Muscle Cars, 1964–1972.\nGolden Age of Pornography, refers to a 15-year period (around 1969–1984) in commercial American pornography, which spread internationally, in which sexually-explicit films gained positive attention from mainstream cinemas, movie critics, and the general public. It began with release of the 1969 film Blue Movie directed by Andy Warhol, and the 1970 film Mona produced by Bill Osco. Those were the first adult erotic films, depicting explicit sex, to receive wide theatrical release in the United States. During that period, pornographic films emerged from underground studios, and became a full-scale industry with aspirations to become part of mainstream cinema.\nGolden Age of the Music Video, 1975–2000, a period that started with the release of \"Bohemian Rhapsody\" by Queen\nGolden Age of Arcade Video Games, the late 1970s to 1980s\nGolden age of anime, 1982–1997 (from 24 frames per second to the beginning of the CGI era)\n Golden Era of Spanish Software, 1983–1992\n The Golden Age of Radio-Controlled Buggies, 1983–1992. A period when model companies shifted towards practical electric-powered buggies, leading to numerous companies (including toy manufacturers) entering the market and helping it to become the dominant class.\n Golden age of hip hop, mid 1980s–mid 1990s a period when hip-hop music was arguably at its creative and artistic peak\n Golden age of PC Games, 1990 to the early 2000s\n Second Golden Age of Television, 1999–present, a period of high-quality and often scripted American television programming that started with The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men (among others)\n Golden Age of Viral Videos, 2005–present, a period that started with the launch of YouTube and continues today.\n Golden age of race queens had enjoyed two eras; the first was the swimsuit clad race queen bubble of the late 1980s to late 1990s and the miniskirted second golden age of race queen of the 2000s, when the influx of models came with the ability to draw the same as or bigger popularity than some of the drivers competing in the events.\n\nAt least one technology had its \"Golden Age\" in its latter years:\n The Golden Age of Sail, 19th century.\n\nA cultural \"golden age\" can feature in the construction of a national myth.\n\nGenres\n\nTechnology and creativity spawn new genres or new surges in the production of literature and the arts. The onset (or dominance or heyday) of a new genre/movement, in popular parlance, becomes its \"Golden Age\". For example:\n\n Golden Age of Broadway, the period from about 1943 to 1968 that brought musicals like Oklahoma! (1943); Kiss Me, Kate (1948); West Side Story (1957); The Sound of Music (1959); and Hello, Dolly! (1964) to the Broadway stage\n Golden Age of British dance bands, 1920s–1930s\n Golden Age of the British whodunit, early 20th-century\n Golden Age of Comic Books, period between roughly 1938 and 1945, though exact definitions vary\n Golden Age of Mexican cinema, beginning in 1935 and ending in the late 1950s\n Golden Age of Detective Fiction, an era of detective fiction between World Wars I and II, epitomised by Agatha Christie\n Golden age of the Italian horror movie ( 1957–1979)\n Golden Age of romantic comedies, 1990s\n Golden Age of Science Fiction, period from the late 1930s through the 1950s\n Golden age of Swordplay, period of sword skills from the 16th to the 18th centuries\n Golden Age of the Western, of the Western movie, 1930s–1960s\n\nScience\n The Golden age of general relativity, upon its entering the mainstream of theoretical physics, 1960–1975.\n\nSenior citizen\nCompanies will use \"Golden Age\" as a marketing euphemism to replace \"senior citizen\":\n\nGolden Age Passport, a National Park Service pass for citizens who are 62 or older.\n\nSport\n\n The golden age of alpinism (1854–1865), during which many major Alpine peaks saw their first ascents.\n The Golden Age of cricket (1890–1914)\n Golden age of baseball (1920–1960)\nGolden Age of Roller Skating (1937–1959) \n Golden Age of Trans-Am Series (1968–1972)\nGolden Age of Rallying (1983–1986). A period where car manufacturers were given carte blanche in terms of vehicle design, resulting in spectacular high powered cars that drew the sport to the height of its popularity.\n\nSee also\nGilded Age\nHeroic Age (disambiguation)\nSilver age\nBronze Age (disambiguation)\n\nNotes\n\nSources\n\n \nHistoriography\nNostalgia" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941)," ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	What happened in #73?	2	What happened in #73 of the Aquaman?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "Don Juan Manuel's Tales of Count Lucanor, in Spanish Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio (Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio), also commonly known as El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio, or Libro de los ejemplos (original Old Castilian: Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de Patronio), is one of the earliest works of prose in Castilian Spanish. It was first written in 1335.\n\nThe book is divided into four parts. The first and most well-known part is a series of 51 short stories (some no more than a page or two) drawn from various sources, such as Aesop and other classical writers, and Arabic folktales.\n\nTales of Count Lucanor was first printed in 1575 when it was published at Seville under the auspices of Argote de Molina. It was again printed at Madrid in 1642, after which it lay forgotten for nearly two centuries.\n\nPurpose and structure\n\nA didactic, moralistic purpose, which would color so much of the Spanish literature to follow (see Novela picaresca), is the mark of this book. Count Lucanor engages in conversation with his advisor Patronio, putting to him a problem (\"Some man has made me a proposition...\" or \"I fear that such and such person intends to...\") and asking for advice. Patronio responds always with the greatest humility, claiming not to wish to offer advice to so illustrious a person as the Count, but offering to tell him a story of which the Count's problem reminds him. (Thus, the stories are \"examples\" [ejemplos] of wise action.) At the end he advises the Count to do as the protagonist of his story did.\n\nEach chapter ends in more or less the same way, with slight variations on: \"And this pleased the Count greatly and he did just so, and found it well. And Don Johán (Juan) saw that this example was very good, and had it written in this book, and composed the following verses.\" A rhymed couplet closes, giving the moral of the story.\n\nOrigin of stories and influence on later literature\nMany of the stories written in the book are the first examples written in a modern European language of various stories, which many other writers would use in the proceeding centuries. Many of the stories he included were themselves derived from other stories, coming from western and Arab sources.\n\nShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has the basic elements of Tale 35, \"What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\".\n\nTale 32, \"What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth\" tells the story that Hans Christian Andersen made popular as The Emperor's New Clothes.\n\nStory 7, \"What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana\", a version of Aesop's The Milkmaid and Her Pail, was claimed by Max Müller to originate in the Hindu cycle Panchatantra.\n\nTale 2, \"What happened to a good Man and his Son, leading a beast to market,\" is the familiar fable The miller, his son and the donkey.\n\nIn 2016, Baroque Decay released a game under the name \"The Count Lucanor\". As well as some protagonists' names, certain events from the books inspired past events in the game.\n\nThe stories\n\nThe book opens with a prologue which introduces the characters of the Count and Patronio. The titles in the following list are those given in Keller and Keating's 1977 translation into English. James York's 1868 translation into English gives a significantly different ordering of the stories and omits the fifty-first.\n\n What Happened to a King and His Favorite \n What Happened to a Good Man and His Son \n How King Richard of England Leapt into the Sea against the Moors\n What a Genoese Said to His Soul When He Was about to Die \n What Happened to a Fox and a Crow Who Had a Piece of Cheese in His Beak\n How the Swallow Warned the Other Birds When She Saw Flax Being Sown \n What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana \n What Happened to a Man Whose Liver Had to Be Washed \n What Happened to Two Horses Which Were Thrown to the Lion \n What Happened to a Man Who on Account of Poverty and Lack of Other Food Was Eating Bitter Lentils \n What Happened to a Dean of Santiago de Compostela and Don Yllán, the Grand Master of Toledo\n What Happened to the Fox and the Rooster \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Hunting Partridges \n The Miracle of Saint Dominick When He Preached against the Usurer \n What Happened to Lorenzo Suárez at the Siege of Seville \n The Reply that count Fernán González Gave to His Relative Núño Laynes \n What Happened to a Very Hungry Man Who Was Half-heartedly Invited to Dinner \n What Happened to Pero Meléndez de Valdés When He Broke His Leg \n What Happened to the Crows and the Owls \n What Happened to a King for Whom a Man Promised to Perform Alchemy \n What Happened to a Young King and a Philosopher to Whom his Father Commended Him \n What Happened to the Lion and the Bull \n How the Ants Provide for Themselves \n What Happened to the King Who Wanted to Test His Three Sons \n What Happened to the Count of Provence and How He Was Freed from Prison by the Advice of Saladin\n What Happened to the Tree of Lies \n What Happened to an Emperor and to Don Alvarfáñez Minaya and Their Wives \n What Happened in Granada to Don Lorenzo Suárez Gallinato When He Beheaded the Renegade Chaplain \n What Happened to a Fox Who Lay down in the Street to Play Dead \n What Happened to King Abenabet of Seville and Ramayquía His Wife \n How a Cardinal Judged between the Canons of Paris and the Friars Minor \n What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth \n What Happened to Don Juan Manuel's Saker Falcon and an Eagle and a Heron \n What Happened to a Blind Man Who Was Leading Another \n What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\n What Happened to a Merchant When He Found His Son and His Wife Sleeping Together \n What Happened to Count Fernán González with His Men after He Had Won the Battle of Hacinas \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Loaded down with Precious Stones and Drowned in the River \n What Happened to a Man and a Swallow and a Sparrow \n Why the Seneschal of Carcassonne Lost His Soul \n What Happened to a King of Córdova Named Al-Haquem \n What Happened to a Woman of Sham Piety \n What Happened to Good and Evil and the Wise Man and the Madman \n What Happened to Don Pero Núñez the Loyal, to Don Ruy González de Zavallos, and to Don Gutier Roiz de Blaguiello with Don Rodrigo the Generous \n What Happened to a Man Who Became the Devil's Friend and Vassal \n What Happened to a Philosopher who by Accident Went down a Street Where Prostitutes Lived \n What Befell a Moor and His Sister Who Pretended That She Was Timid \n What Happened to a Man Who Tested His Friends \n What Happened to the Man Whom They Cast out Naked on an Island When They Took away from Him the Kingdom He Ruled \n What Happened to Saladin and a Lady, the Wife of a Knight Who Was His Vassal \n What Happened to a Christian King Who Was Very Powerful and Haughty\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n\n Sturm, Harlan\n\n Wacks, David\n\nExternal links\n\nThe Internet Archive provides free access to the 1868 translation by James York.\nJSTOR has the to the 1977 translation by Keller and Keating.\nSelections in English and Spanish (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in Open Iberia/América (open access teaching anthology)\n\n14th-century books\nSpanish literature\n1335 books", "\"What Happened to Us\" is a song by Australian recording artist Jessica Mauboy, featuring English recording artist Jay Sean. It was written by Sean, Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim and Israel Cruz. \"What Happened to Us\" was leaked online in October 2010, and was released on 10 March 2011, as the third single from Mauboy's second studio album, Get 'Em Girls (2010). The song received positive reviews from critics.\n\nA remix of \"What Happened to Us\" made by production team OFM, was released on 11 April 2011. A different version of the song which features Stan Walker, was released on 29 May 2011. \"What Happened to Us\" charted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 14 and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). An accompanying music video was directed by Mark Alston, and reminisces on a former relationship between Mauboy and Sean.\n\nProduction and release\n\n\"What Happened to Us\" was written by Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz and Jay Sean. It was produced by Skaller, Cruz, Rohaim and Bobby Bass. The song uses C, D, and B minor chords in the chorus. \"What Happened to Us\" was sent to contemporary hit radio in Australia on 14 February 2011. The cover art for the song was revealed on 22 February on Mauboy's official Facebook page. A CD release was available for purchase via her official website on 10 March, for one week only. It was released digitally the following day.\n\nReception\nMajhid Heath from ABC Online Indigenous called the song a \"Jordin Sparks-esque duet\", and wrote that it \"has a nice innocence to it that rings true to the experience of losing a first love.\" Chris Urankar from Nine to Five wrote that it as a \"mid-tempo duet ballad\" which signifies Mauboy's strength as a global player. On 21 March 2011, \"What Happened to Us\" debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and peaked at number 14 the following week. The song was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling 70,000 copies. \"What Happened to Us\" spent a total of ten weeks in the ARIA top fifty.\n\nMusic video\n\nBackground\nThe music video for the song was shot in the Elizabeth Bay House in Sydney on 26 November 2010. The video was shot during Sean's visit to Australia for the Summerbeatz tour. During an interview with The Daily Telegraph while on the set of the video, Sean said \"the song is sick! ... Jessica's voice is amazing and we're shooting [the video] in this ridiculously beautiful mansion overlooking the harbour.\" The video was directed by Mark Alston, who had previously directed the video for Mauboy's single \"Let Me Be Me\" (2009). It premiered on YouTube on 10 February 2011.\n\nSynopsis and reception\nThe video begins showing Mauboy who appears to be sitting on a yellow antique couch in a mansion, wearing a purple dress. As the video progresses, scenes of memories are displayed of Mauboy and her love interest, played by Sean, spending time there previously. It then cuts to the scenes where Sean appears in the main entrance room of the mansion. The final scene shows Mauboy outdoors in a gold dress, surrounded by green grass and trees. She is later joined by Sean who appears in a black suit and a white shirt, and together they sing the chorus of the song to each other. David Lim of Feed Limmy wrote that the video is \"easily the best thing our R&B princess has committed to film – ever\" and praised the \"mansion and wondrous interior décor\". He also commended Mauboy for choosing Australian talent to direct the video instead of American directors, which she had used for her previous two music videos. Since its release, the video has received over two million views on Vevo.\n\nLive performances\nMauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" live for the first time during her YouTube Live Sessions program on 4 December 2010. She also appeared on Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight on 23 February 2011 for an interview and later performed the song. On 15 March 2011, Mauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Sunrise. She also performed the song with Stan Walker during the Australian leg of Chris Brown's F.A.M.E. Tour in April 2011. Mauboy and Walker later performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Dancing with the Stars Australia on 29 May 2011. From November 2013 to February 2014, \"What Happened to Us\" was part of the set list of the To the End of the Earth Tour, Mauboy's second headlining tour of Australia, with Nathaniel Willemse singing Sean's part.\n\nTrack listing\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Just Witness Remix) – 3:45\n\nCD single\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Album Version) – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:39\n\nDigital download – Remix\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:38\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Stan Walker – 3:20\n\nPersonnel\nSongwriting – Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz, Jay Sean\nProduction – Jeremy Skaller, Bobby Bass\nAdditional production – Israel Cruz, Khaled Rohaim\nLead vocals – Jessica Mauboy, Jay Sean\nMixing – Phil Tan\nAdditional mixing – Damien Lewis\nMastering – Tom Coyne \nSource:\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly chart\n\nYear-end chart\n\nCertification\n\nRadio dates and release history\n\nReferences\n\n2010 songs\n2011 singles\nJessica Mauboy songs\nJay Sean songs\nSongs written by Billy Steinberg\nSongs written by Jay Sean\nSongs written by Josh Alexander\nSongs written by Israel Cruz\nVocal duets\nSony Music Australia singles\nSongs written by Khaled Rohaim" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer" ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	Who was his father?	3	Who was Aquaman's father?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "Glayton M. Modise (13 August 1940–9 February 2016) was the leader of one of Africa's mega churches, the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. Glayton was the only son of Frederick Samuel Modise (1914–1998) who founded the IPHC in 1962. After his father's death in 1998, Glayton took over the church until his death on 9 February 2016. Modise also was Co-consecrator of International Minister A. Louise Bonaparte of USA into the Office of Bishop.\n\nEarly life\nModise was born in Soweto, South Africa and initially was under the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) where his father was a minister. After his father received his calling in 1962 to start preaching the Gospel, Modise was one of the people who oversaw some of the smaller branches and the growth of the church. After his father died in 1998, the church grew exponentially.\n\nBeliefs\nModise claimed to have seen a vision from God, who instructed him to purchase a hill in Cape Town, South Africa and rename the hill Mount Zion. The hill, which was known as Blaauwberg Hill, was purchased for R100 million and was renamed Mount Zion. Glayton also continued his father's legacy of having a bursary scheme; the bursary scheme was known as FS Modise bursary scheme but was later renamed to FS Modise MG bursary scheme.\n\nReferences\n\n1940 births\n2016 deaths", "Thihathura II of Ava (; February 1474 – 4 March 1501) was the joint-king of Ava who co-reigned with his father Minkhaung II for 15 years. When he was just six, his father ascended to the Ava throne and he was made heir-apparent. In 1485, the 11-year-old was made a co-regent. He lived in the same palace with his father, and displayed a white umbrella as a symbol of sovereignty. He co-ruled with his father for 15 years but died a month earlier than his father. Minkhaung, who faced numerous rebellions throughout his reign, made his son joint-king because he wanted to retain loyalty of his son. Minkhaung outlived his son, died in March 1501 and was succeeded by his younger son Shwenankyawshin (Narapati II).\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nBibliography\n \n \n \n\nBurmese monarchs\nAva dynasty\n1474 births\n1501 deaths\n15th-century Burmese monarchs" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it." ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	What was his father's name?	4	What was Aquaman's father's name?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "was a scholar of Kokugaku, and student of the Japanese language. He was a first son of Motoori Norinaga. He was called Kenzo (健蔵) in childhood.\n\nLife\nHaruniwa followed his father and studied the Japanese language from childhood. His father, Norinaga made Haruniwa copy literature of antiquity. Haruniwa wrote down what his father lectured by oral. He contracted an eye disease from August 1791, eventually going blind in 1795. His disease is supposed to be an Uveitis by Adachi Kenichi (足立巻一, a student of Haruniwa.). Haruniwa transferred a Katoku（家督, patria potestas of Japan）of Motoori house to Motoori Ōhira, who was an adoptive son of Motoori Norinaga.\nHaruniwa continued with his study of the verb and finished his study of conjugation in 1806. He is a pioneer of conjugation study in Japan.\n\nWorks\n \"Kotoba no Yachimata\" : Japanese name (詞八衢) Study of conjugation\n \"Kotoba no Kayoiji\" : Japanese name (詞通路) Study of an intransitive verb and transitive verb\n \"Nochi-Suzunoyasyū\" : Japanese name (後鈴屋集) Anthology of Haruniwa's Waka poems\n\nBibliography\n \"Yachimata (やちまた)\" by Adachi Ken-ichi (足立巻一)\n\nSee also\nList of linguists\n\n1763 births\n1828 deaths\nKokugaku scholars\nLinguists from Japan\nJapanese writers of the Edo period", "Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Rustam, was the second imam of the Imamate of Tahart and founder of the Wahhabi Ibadism movement. He was part of the Rustamid dynasty that ruled a theocracy in what is now Tunis and Algeria. He became ruler after the death of his father, Abd al-Rahman ibn Rustam and founded an external Islamic religious movement called Wahhabism relative to his name Abd al-Wahhab. His Ibadi Kharijite preaching is often incorrectly associated with the modern day Wahhabi movement.\n\nEarly life \nAbd al-Wahhab was born in 747/748. His father was Abd al-Rahman ibn Rustam the founder of the rustamid dynasty and his mother was a Berber from the Banu Ifran tribe. He studied Abu Ubayda Muslim ibn Abi Karima's ideas under his father, who was also a transmitter of Ibadi tradition. He received the state after the death of his father in 788. In 789, he let Idris I to capture Tlemcen without any negative reaction. He died, probably, in the year 823/824.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n https://archive.org/details/akbaralaima\n\n740s births\n824 deaths\n9th-century Islamic religious leaders\nMedieval Algerian people\n\n9th-century monarchs in Africa\nIbadi Muslims" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.", "What was his father's name?", "I don't know." ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	What did his father do?	5	What did Aquaman's father do?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated.	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased songs written by Stansfield, Devaney and Morris: \"My Apple Heart,\" \"Lay Me Down\" and \"Something's Happenin'.\" \"What Did I Do to You?\" was remixed by Mark Saunders and by the Grammy Award-winning American house music DJ and producer, David Morales. The single became a top forty hit in the European countries reaching number eighteen in Finland, number twenty in Ireland and number twenty-five in the United Kingdom. \"What Did I Do to You?\" was also released in Japan.\n\nIn 2014, the remixes of \"What Did I Do to You?\" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Affection and on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology. They were also featured on The Collection 1989–2003 box set (2014), including previously unreleased Red Zone Mix by David Morales.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received positive reviews from music critics. Matthew Hocter from Albumism viewed it as a \"upbeat offering\". David Giles from Music Week said it is \"beautifully performed\" by Stansfield. A reviewer from Reading Eagle wrote that \"What Did I Do to You?\" \"would be right at home on the \"Saturday Night Fever\" soundtrack.\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Philip Richardson, who had previously directed the videos for \"All Around the World\" and \"Live Together\". It features Stansfield with her kiss curls, dressed in a white outfit and performing with her band on a stage in front of a jumping audience. The video was later published on Stansfield's official YouTube channel in November 2009. It has amassed more than 1,6 million views as of October 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n European/UK 7\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK/Japanese CD single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n UK 10\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix) – 5:52\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK 12\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 4:22\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 3:19\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:15\n\n UK 12\" promotional single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Anti Poll Tax Dub) – 6:31\n\n Other remixes\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Red Zone Mix) – 7:45\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nLisa Stansfield songs\n1990 singles\nSongs written by Lisa Stansfield\n1989 songs\nArista Records singles\nSongs written by Ian Devaney\nSongs written by Andy Morris (musician)", "Crow Foot (c. 1876 – December 15, 1890) was the son of Sitting Bull of the Lakota. \n\nHis mother was either Seen by Her Nation or Four Robes. He had sisters named Standing Holy and Lodge; he also had brothers named Henry, Little Soldier, Red Scout, and Theodore. He was a twin and was born just before the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. He was named in honor of Crow Foot, the Blackfeet chief in Canada.\n\nCrow Foot was recalled in his father's obituary as \"'bright as a dollar with eyes that fairly snap like whips'\".\n\nHis father, who believed Indian children needed to learn to read and write, placed Crow Foot and his other children in a Congregational day school. Crow Foot was reportedly Sitting Bull's favorite son.\n\nCrow Foot was said to be \"a solemn youth of seventeen\" who \"displayed a wisdom remarkable for one so young\". According to Robert Higheagle, \"Crow Foot was not like the rest of the boys. He did not get out and mingle with the boys and play their games. He grew old too early'\".\n\nIn 1881 he participated alongside his father in the surrender at Fort Buford, handing his father's Winchester rifle to Major Brotherton. \n\nCrow Foot was killed along with his father on December 15, 1890, by a group of Indian agents. One of the police later reported that Crow Foot told his father, \"You always called yourself a brave chief. Now you are allowing yourself to be taken by the Ceska maza\" (police). The first military and police chronicles of the arrest do not mention Crow Foot saying this. \n\nLone Man found him hiding in a pile of blankets. Crow Foot said, \"'My uncles, do not kill me. I do not wish to die'\". Some sources say that the policemen killed him at the instruction of dying Bull Head, who said, \"Do what you like with him. He is one of them that has caused this trouble\". Other sources state that Bull Head said he didn't care what they did.\n\nLone Man \"smashed Crow Foot across the forehead with a rifle butt, which sent him reeling across the room and out the door. There Lone Man and two others, tears streaming down their cheeks, pumped bullets into him.\"\n\nFurther reading \n\n Vestal, Stanley. Sitting Bull, Champion of the Sioux. Houghton Mifflin, 1932.\n\nReferences \n\n1870s births\n1890 deaths\nLakota people\nMurdered Native American people\nPeople murdered in South Dakota\nYear of birth uncertain\n19th-century Native Americans" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.", "What was his father's name?", "I don't know.", "What did his father do?", "His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated." ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	What city did he discover?	6	What city did Aquaman's father discover?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis.	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "Garrison Point is a promontory and historically significant urban park located near the junction of Georges River and Prospect Creek. The parkland may be accessed off Henry Lawson Drive, in the south-western Sydney suburb of , in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown local government area of New South Wales, Australia.\n\nIn 1795 Matthew Flinders, George Bass, and the boy servant William Martin, explored the Georges River to land at what is now Garrison Point and discover the what is now part of City of Canterbury-Bankstown. The area is so named because in Bankstown's early history, a garrison of soldiers was stationed here to ensure the safety of Major George Johnston as he conducted a census in the area.\n\nThe park is now the local focus of annual Australia Day celebrations in the Bankstown area.\n\nSee also\n\nParks in Sydney\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Sydney's inner west Online\n\nParks in Sydney\nCity of Canterbury-Bankstown", "Let's See is an American game show that aired on the ABC Network on Thursday nights from July 14, 1955 to August 25, 1955.\n\nPremise\nFilmed at Atlantic City Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the series featured panelists attempting to discover through indirect questions what attractions contestants had seen in Atlantic City. The program was sponsored by the Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce.\n\nHost\n John Reed King\n\nReferences\n\n1955 American television series debuts\n1955 American television series endings\nAmerican Broadcasting Company original programming\nTelevision shows set in New Jersey\nTelevision shows filmed in New Jersey\n1950s American game shows\nTelevision game shows with incorrect disambiguation" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.", "What was his father's name?", "I don't know.", "What did his father do?", "His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated.", "What city did he discover?", "My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis." ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	What did he find there?	7	What did Aquaman's father find in the lost kingdom of Atlantis?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom.	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "Thomas v Times Book Company [1966] 1 WLR 911 is an English law case, in which the legal requirements of making gifts were explored.\n\nFacts\nOn Monday 19 October 1953, writer Dylan Thomas told BBC producer Douglas Cleverdon that he could keep the original manuscript of the play Under Milk Wood - if he could find it. Thomas had lost the manuscript a few days earlier in a London pub, but Cleverdon had made copies. Thomas made the promise to Cleverdon as he handed over three copies in London's Victoria Station, from where Thomas was due to journey to America to promote the play. Thomas suggested a number of likely locations for the manuscript, and a day or two later, Cleverdon successfully found it. Unfortunately Thomas died whilst still abroad. His wife claimed the manuscript back, originally from the Times Book Company who had possession of it. Mr Cleverdon and another party were later added as defendants to the claim.\n\nThe overall issue was the question of what is required to make a gift. The judge analysed this into what is required to deduce intention to make a gift, and what is required to make effective delivery of the manuscript as a gift.\n\nJudgment\nPlowman J found that there was intention to make a gift and there was satisfactory delivery, and therefore a valid gift was made. Because Mr Thomas had told Mr Cleverdon that the manuscript was his to keep, there was intention to make a gift and because Mr Thomas had told Mr Cleverdon where he might find the manuscript, and as Mr Cleverdon succeeded in finding it from one of those locations within two days, there was effective delivery. Although there were evidential difficulties about who said what at a railway station over twelve years before, and one of the parties was now dead, the judge did not dismiss the claim as being out of time under the Limitation Act 1980. The judge followed the advice of Brett MR in Re Garnett that he should be suspicious of claims made against dead men, as they are unable to argue for themselves, yet need not place any undue “corroborative” burden on the evidence of those still alive. He did however give more weight to Mr Cleverdon's statements than those of Ruthven Todd, who Mr Thomas met shortly on arriving in America, in finding that Mr Todd's evidence was second hand. The judge accepted Mr Cleverdon's evidence through logical inference. The day after the promise was made at Victoria Station, Mr Cleverdon told his secretary the story, even though Mr Thomas was still alive and due back in a few days. The judge reasoned that Mr Cleverdon would have not lied, as such a lie would have been quickly exposed if, as expected, Mr Thomas had returned safe and well.\n\nSignificance\nPlowman J did not give a wide ratio. It is not clear whether a gift would have been made if Mr Thomas had not listed locations, or if the manuscript was not at those locations, or if it took much longer to find.\n\nSee also\nRe Garnett (1885) 31 Ch.D. 1, C.A, Re Cole, A Bankrupt [1964] Ch. 175; [1963] 3 W.L.R. 621; [1963] 3 All E.R. 433, C.A., Edginton v. Clark [1964] 1 Q.B. 367; [1963] 3 W.L.R. 721; [1963] 3 All E.R. 468, C.A.\n\nNotes\n\nEnglish property case law\nHigh Court of Justice cases\n1966 in case law\n1966 in British law", "\"Find What You Love and Let It Kill You\" may refer to:\n\nMusic \n Find What You Love and Let It Kill You (Jonny Craig album)\n Find What You Love and Let It Kill You (Hurricane No. 1 album)\n \"Find What You Love and Let It Kill You\", a song by Linus Pauling Quartet\n Find What You Love and Let It Kill You, a 2019 short film" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.", "What was his father's name?", "I don't know.", "What did his father do?", "His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated.", "What city did he discover?", "My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis.", "What did he find there?", "records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom." ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	Any particular records or devices?	8	Did Aquaman's father find any particular records or devices in the lost kingdom of Atlantis?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean,	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "Node-locked licensing is a software licensing approach in which a license for a software application is assigned to one or more hardware devices (specific nodes, such as a computer, mobile devices, or IoT device). Typically any numbers of instances are allowed to execute for such license.\n\nThis form of licensing is used by software publishers to ensure the license is only run on particular hardware devices.\n\nEvery node is identified by a unique hardware ID (device fingerprint) which needs to be obtained or entered during the pairing process (usually product setup or first license validation).\n\nThis licensing model is also known as:\n Single Use License\n Device License\n Machine Based License\n Named Host License\n\nSee also\nSoftware metering\nLicense manager\nLicense borrowing\nFloating licensing\n\nReferences \n\nSoftware licenses", "A port expander is computer hardware that allows more than one device to connect to a single port on a computer. The Commodore VIC-20, for example, used a port expander to allow more than one cartridge to connect to the single ROM cartridge port.\n\nA port expander can be any device to which one existing or onboard port becomes two or more - for example: a KVM switch or a USB hub. Such expanders offer the advantage of allowing more devices of a particular port type to be utilized at the same time. A major downside is that, for example, a 3Gbit/s port might have a hub or expander installed and now be able to accommodate 6 devices, but at a maximum of 3Gbit/s throughput bandwidth divided by the said 6 devices, or by however many are plugged in and being used. A port expander is a device that allows one port on a computer system to connect to multiple devices. Two basic forms of port expander exist: internal and external. An internal expander has a connection inside the computer, typically on the motherboard, and the only part the user sees is the expansion plate containing multiple ports. An external device plugs into the existing port and then has multiple places to connect. When not part of a computer system, these devices are commonly known as splitters.\n\nIn the non-computer world, splitters are very common. Extension cords and power strips are in nearly every modern home. Both of these devices will split a single outlet to multiple devices. Cable splitters also operate in many homes, allowing a single coaxial cable to provide cable television to multiple sets. Some systems may even use an A/B box, a device that connects multiple sets of devices to the same system, with users switching between them by flipping between the A or B mode.\n\nThese devices all perform the same basic job that a port expander does. The expander will connect to a single spot, but have multiple connections for devices. They go by several names, such as \"switch\", \"hub\" or \"splitter\", but they all do the same thing. Manufacturers have produced expanders for nearly every type of port, but the most common household versions connect to universal serial bus (USB) or to Ethernet ports.\n\nSee also \n Docking station\n\nExternal links\n Definition at Computerhope\n\nComputer peripherals\nComputer connectors" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.", "What was his father's name?", "I don't know.", "What did his father do?", "His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated.", "What city did he discover?", "My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis.", "What did he find there?", "records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom.", "Any particular records or devices?", "he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean," ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	Is this how Aquaman got his powers?	9	Is learning how to live under the ocean how Aquaman got his powers?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water.	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "Aquaman is a Filmation animated series that premiered on CBS on September 9, 1967, and ended June 1970. It is a 30-minute version of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, repackaged without the Superman and Superboy segments.\n\nThe show is composed of previously aired adventures featuring the DC Comics superheroes Aquaman (voiced by Marvin Miller) and his sidekick Aqualad (voiced by Jerry Dexter). There were also segments featuring the Atom, the Flash and Kid Flash, the Green Lantern and Hawkman, as well as team-ups with the Justice League of America and Teen Titans. The series was narrated by Ted Knight, with Marvin Miller voicing most of the villains.\n\nAquaman's wife Mera also appeared occasionally. Aquaman rode his seahorse Storm, and Aqualad was accompanied by a sea pony, Imp, and his pet, Tusky.\n\nEpisodes\n\nThirty-six Aquaman segments were produced for The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, plus 18 segments featuring other superheroes.\n\nHome video\n\nIn recent years, Aquaman episodes have been seen as part of Cartoon Network's Boomerang. In 1985, Warner Home Video released eight selected Aquaman episodes of the series on VHS in the \"Super Powers\" video collection along with Batman, Superboy and Superman. These videos were rereleased in 1996 and are now out of print. On October 23, 2007, Warner Home Video (via DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) released The Adventures of Aquaman: The Complete Collection on DVD in Region 1; the 2-disc set features all 36 Aquaman segments from the series and was presented in its original, uncut broadcast presentation and original airdate order, as well as special features, including a retrospective featurette titled Aquaman: The Sovereign of the Seas, which explores Aquaman's depiction in various media and how his character and superheroic capabilities have progressed over the years.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Aquaman at the Big Cartoon DataBase\n \n\n1967 American television series debuts\n1970 American television series endings\n1960s American animated television series\n1970s American animated television series\nCBS original programming\nAnimated television shows based on DC Comics\nDC Comics animated television series by Filmation\nAquaman in other media\nEnglish-language television shows\nAmerican children's animated action television series\nAmerican children's animated adventure television series\nAmerican children's animated superhero television series", "Stephen Shin is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a supporting character of Aquaman who debuted during \"The New 52\" reboot. Stephen Shin first appeared in Aquaman (vol. 7) #2 (December 2011) and was created by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis.\n\nShin made his live-action cinematic debut in the 2018 DC Extended Universe film Aquaman, portrayed by Randall Park and will return in the upcoming 2022 sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.\n\nFictional character biography\nStephen Shin is a marine biologist who befriends lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and his son with the sea-dwelling Atlanna, Arthur Curry, the future Aquaman. He has more knowledge of Atlantis than any other surface-dweller. Shin helps Arthur develop his powers, but turns on his protege when he refuses to reveal the location of Atlantis.\n\nSome years later, Aquaman and Mera pay a visit to Shin, asking for his help to identify strange sea creatures. He does, but is angered again when Aquaman refuses to let him keep one.\n\nAfter Aquaman and Mera help some ships get to the coast before a storm hits, the two of them pay a visit to Stephen Shin to see if he can help figure out the Atlantean artifact that they have. They ask him if he knows of the identity of the person who sank Atlantis. Shin states that it was possible for someone to sink Atlantis and mentions that it has enemies due to it being the most powerful civilization in the world. When he asked about the creatures that came from the Trench, Aquaman stated that he caused a volcanic explosion that trapped them there. Just then, a woman named Ya'Wara breaks into Stephen's house in order to kill him only for Mera to take action. When Aquaman breaks up the fight, Ya'Wara tells him that Black Manta killed Kahina, took the gold seal that she had, and believed Stephen told Black Manta about it. As Ya'Wara believes that Stephen Shin is in league with Black Manta, Aquaman says that they need him to find the missing relics as Aquaman has Stephen start looking. He does warn Shin that if he is in anyway connected to Kahina's death, he will allow Ya'Wara to feed him to her pet jaguar. Shin returns to work on the Atlantean black box as Mera asks him about Black Manta and what he knows about the Others. When Mera keeps asking Stephen Shin about Black Manta, he states that he hasn't seen Black Manta in years. He explains that he met Tom Curry and his son Arthur years ago when Tom saved him from an expedition that went wrong. While he did get the knowledge of Atlantis during that time, Tom refused to have Arthur's abilities revealed to the media as Shin states that it can save his career. Shin then tells Mera about a treasure hunter that he found shipwrecked off the coast of Iceland and had fought off a group of pirates. Mera believed that the treasure hunter was Black Manta which Shin confirms. Though he denied that Black Manta had a hand in Tom Curry's death by stating that Tom died of a heart attack and Aquaman later killed Black Manta's father. As Mera still doesn't trust Stephen Shin after he revealed Aquaman to the public, he states that he is not the man that she thinks he is. He also explains that on the day of Tom Curry's funeral, Aquaman attacked Black Manta's ship where it was revealed that the captain was Black Manta's father while Black Manta was the diver. When Black Manta arrives to abduct Stephen Shin, Mera fights him until Black Manta stuns Mera and teleports away with Stephen. When Aquaman arrives at King Atlan's tomb, Black Manta tries to get Stephen to help him only for Stephen to decline as he does not want to betray Aquaman again. After getting information from the Operative on where Stephen Shin was taken, Mera heads to King Atlan's tomb. At King Atlan's tomb, Black Manta has the Dead King's Scepter in his hand as he orders his men to kill Stephen only to Aquaman to fight Black Manta's minions. As Ya'Wara believes Stephen to be responsible for Black Manta obtaining the Dead King's Scepter, she starts to attack only for Vostok to stop her saying that Stephen has regretted his actions. After the Others regrouped at the Operative's airplane, Stephen Shin still feels remorse for what happened to Tom Curry only for Aquaman to tell him that what happened to Tom wasn't his fault.\n\nAs Aquaman faced off against Ocean Master during the \"Throne of Atlantis\" storyline, Cyborg is instructed to protect Stephen Shin. Stephen Shin and Nuidis Vulko watch the news about the war from the computers of the Justice League Watchtower. When the reporters claim that Aquaman will betray the Justice League, Stephen refuses to believe that fact. Vulko reminds Stephen about his past actions towards Aquaman. He then attacks and knocks out Stephen while ranting about how he was banished after Aquaman left Atlantis.\n\nPowers and abilities\nStephen Shin has genius-level intellect.\n\nIn other media\n Stephen Shin appears in Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, voiced by Matthew Yang King. Batman and Superman head to Stephen Shin's house to talk to him about Atlantis only to find that his house has been trashed and his research has been destroyed. They do find a picture of Aquaman and the letter confirming that he is half-Atlantean. Stephen meets up with Aquaman only for him to be killed by Atlantean soldiers sent by Ocean Master.\n An alternate version of Stephen Shin appears in Justice League: Gods and Monsters, voiced by Eric Bauza. He is a member of Project Fair Play which also consisted of John Henry Irons, T.O. Morrow, Michael Holt, Victor Fries, Pat Dugan, Emil Hamilton, Karen Beecher, Ray Palmer, Silas Stone, Thaddeus Sivana, Kimiyo Hoshi, and Will Magnus. After the deaths of Victor Fries, Ray Palmer, and Silas Stone at the hands of the Metal Men that were posing as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, Stephen Shin is among the remaining scientists that meet at Beecher's house only for them to be attacked by the Metal Men with Stephen being among the Metal Men's victims upon the debris of the Superdroid coming through the roof striking him. Will Magnus survived as he secretly orchestrated the attack on his fellow scientists.\n Stephen Shin appears in Aquaman, portrayed by Randall Park. In the film, Shin is a former United States Institute of Marine Science officer fired for conspiracy theories. He is first seen on GBS-TV claiming that Atlantis is plotting to attack the surface world. In a mid-credits scene, Shin rescues Black Manta who was adrift at sea after being defeated by Aquaman. When Shin realizes that Black Manta's suit is made of Atlantean technology, Black Manta agrees to tell him how he received the technology in exchange for Shin telling him how to find Aquaman.\n Park will reprise his role in the upcoming sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Stephen Shin at DC Comics Wiki\n Stephen Shin at Comic Vine\n\nDC Comics male characters\nCharacters created by Geoff Johns\nCharacters created by Ivan Reis\nFictional biologists" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.", "What was his father's name?", "I don't know.", "What did his father do?", "His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated.", "What city did he discover?", "My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis.", "What did he find there?", "records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom.", "Any particular records or devices?", "he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean,", "Is this how Aquaman got his powers?", "By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water." ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	What were his powers in the Golden Age?	10	What were Aquaman's powers in the Golden Age?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute.	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "Vulcan the Volcanic Man is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comic Books. He first appeared in Super-Mystery Comics #1, published by Ace Comics in July 1940. His creator is unknown, but some of his stories were written by Otto Binder, with Maurice Gutwirth and Jack Alderman illustrating.\n\nVulcan is the descendant of the Roman god of Fire, born in a volcano in the South Sea Islands. His powers include fire manipulation, flight, super-strength, and invulnerability. The character appeared in Super-Mystery Comics #1-14, and also in Ace's team book, Four Favorites #1-4.\n\nAccording to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, Vulcan \"fights arsonists, costumed criminals looking to profit from drought, Nazis, and the Man of a Thousand Faces\". In one issue, he visited Berlin and burned off Adolf Hitler's mustache. \n\nHe last appeared in 1942. When the company went out of business, the hero fell into the public domain.\n\nReferences\n\nGolden Age superheroes\nPublic domain comics\nComics characters introduced in 1940", "The American Eagle is a superhero from the Golden Age of Comics. He first appeared in America's Best Comics #2 (Sept 1942), published by Nedor Comics, an imprint of Standard Comics. \n\nAmerican Eagle was revived by two other comics publishers: first AC Comics, and then by America's Best Comics, by writer Alan Moore as part of his Tom Strong comics and its spin-off Terra Obscura.\n\nNedor Comics\nAmerican Eagle was the secret identity of scientist Tom Standish. While performing experiments for the US government, he was accidentally exposed to a mysterious black ray infused with the blood of an eagle. The ray gave him the powers of the bald eagle — flight, strength and (of course) patriotism. Standish used his powers to fight the Nazis and other enemies during World War II. He was accompanied by his young companion Bud Pierce who, as \"Eaglet\", had powers similar to the American Eagle. His enemies include Dr. Amoto and the Red Mask. In one story, \"The Machine That Raised the Dead\", the Nazis use a machine to bring historical figures back to life, including Blackbeard, a Neanderthal and a Viking.\n\nNedor Comics bibliography\nThe American Eagle appeared in:\n America's Best Comics #2, 6-7, 10-12, 14 (Sept 1942 - June 1945)\n Exciting Comics #22-27, 29-38, 40-47, 49-50 (Oct 1942 - Aug 1946)\n The Fighting Yank #18 (Nov 1946)\n\nAC Comics\nAC Comics has reused the Golden Age American Eagle in their revival of the Nedor Comics superheroes. He has appeared in issues of The Fighting Yank, set during the 1950s.\n\nAmerica's Best Comics/DC\nThe Golden Age version of the American Eagle was also revived by Alan Moore for his Tom Strong comics, published by America's Best Comics. Moore used the Nedor Comics characters to populate Terra Obscura, the alternate universe version of Tom Strong's Earth. In Moore's story, the heroes had been placed in suspended animation in 1969, and were revived 30 years later by Tom Strong. The American Eagle made a brief appearance in Tom Strong #12 (June 2001).\n\nThe American Eagle is featured briefly in the Terra Obscura spin-off series. Issue #4 reveals that the American Eagle and Eaglet had been looking for the missing Captain Future, and had traced him to the lair of Dr. X. In the struggle that followed the American Eagle and Eaglet were both killed; their bodies were discovered three years later by the Scarab and the Liberator.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nAmerican Eagle (1942) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012.\nAmerican Eagle at SMASH fansite (Archived 2009-10-25)\n\nGolden Age superheroes\nCharacters created by Richard E. Hughes\nComics characters introduced in 1942\nAmerica's Best Comics superheroes\nNedor Comics superheroes\nUnited States-themed superheroes" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.", "What was his father's name?", "I don't know.", "What did his father do?", "His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated.", "What city did he discover?", "My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis.", "What did he find there?", "records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom.", "Any particular records or devices?", "he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean,", "Is this how Aquaman got his powers?", "By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water.", "What were his powers in the Golden Age?", "Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute." ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	11	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article other than Aquaman's father's discovery?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world,	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	false	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Aquaman", "Golden Age", "When did the Golden Age begin?", "Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941),", "What happened in #73?", "The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer", "Who was his father?", "if I spoke his name, you would recognize it.", "What was his father's name?", "I don't know.", "What did his father do?", "His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated.", "What city did he discover?", "My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis.", "What did he find there?", "records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom.", "Any particular records or devices?", "he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean,", "Is this how Aquaman got his powers?", "By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water.", "What were his powers in the Golden Age?", "Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world," ]	C_79585bc8026549e0a226a0e90f137204_1	What were some of his adventures?	12	What were some of Aquaman's adventures?	Aquaman	Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer--if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see--a human being who lives and thrives under the water. In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to a minute. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a 20 yards (18 m) radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world, and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains where he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with various sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #107, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. CANNOTANSWER	During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains	Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Publication history Aquaman's appearances began in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 and continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. At this time, in 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, being one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue run in the anthology series Showcase in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293. Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962. The same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (cover-dated May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. After a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978. Aquaman once again returned to Adventure Comics as part of the Dollar Comics revamp of the series, appearing in issues #460–466 over 1978–1979. When this ended, Aquaman appeared in three issues of World's Finest Comics (#262–264) and then returned to Adventure Comics as the first feature for four more issues (#475–#478). The feature found a new home as a backup in Action Comics for 14 issues (#517–520; #527–530; #536–540), which would be the end of Aquaman's Pre-Crisis solo appearances. Aquaman's first Post-Crisis appearance was in the four-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 2) in 1986, which gave the character a new blue costume which did not reappear in any later series. In 1989, the character starred in the Legend of Aquaman Special one-shot issue, followed by the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (vol. 3). A new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 4), began in 1991, but was cancelled after 13 issues. The character was reinvented in the 1993–1994 miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide, which provided a revamped origin for Aquaman. This was followed by a new ongoing series, Aquaman (vol. 5), which lasted until 2001 with 75 issues altogether, making it the longest-running Aquaman solo series to date. Aquaman (vol. 6) was launched in 2003, following on from the Obsidian Age storyline in JLA. In the wake of the DC event miniseries Infinite Crisis and DC's "One Year Later" relaunch, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 until the final issue (#57); these 18 issues starred a brand new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. There were no more solo Aquaman publications in Post-Crisis continuity, although the original Aquaman did feature as a main character in the limited series Brightest Day. The New 52 continuity reboot in September 2011 saw the beginning of the ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 7). A spin-off team title, Aquaman and the Others, also ran for 11 issues from 2014 to 2015. Aquaman vol. 7 lasted for the entirety of the New 52 era of DC, ending with issue #52 in 2016 as part of the line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth. The New 52 volume was immediately followed by the one-shot issue Aquaman: Rebirth, preceding the launch of the current ongoing series Aquaman (vol. 8), which ended with issue #66. A digital only series titled Aquaman: Deep Dives was released in 2020. Fictional character biography Golden Age Aquaman's first origin story was presented in flashback from his debut in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), narrated by the character himself: In his early Golden Age appearances, Aquaman can breathe underwater and control fish and other underwater life for up to an hour. Initially, he was depicted as speaking to sea creatures "in their own language" rather than telepathically, and only when they were close enough to hear him (within a radius). Aquaman's adventures took place all across the world and his base was "a wrecked fishing boat kept underwater," in which he also lived. During his wartime adventures, most of Aquaman's foes were Nazi U-boat commanders and various Axis villains from when he once worked with the All-Star Squadron. The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Aquaman's last appearance in More Fun Comics was in issue #106, before being moved along with Superboy and Green Arrow to Adventure Comics, starting with issue #103 in 1946. Silver Age Aquaman's adventures continued to be published in Adventure Comics through the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the few superheroes to last through the 1950s in continuous publication. Starting in the late 1950s new elements to Aquaman's backstory were introduced, with various new supporting characters added and several adjustments made to the character, his origins, his power and persona. The first of these elements was the story "Aquaman's Undersea Partner" in Adventure Comics #229 (October 1956), where his octopus sidekick Topo was first introduced. This and subsequent elements were later removed or altered from the Aquaman character after the establishment of DC's multiverse in the 1960s, attributed to the Aquaman of Earth-One. The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, on one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman". It was later revealed that after Atlanna's death, Tom Curry met and married an ordinary human woman and had a son named Orm Curry, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm grew up as a troubled youth in the shadow of his brother, who constantly bailed him out of trouble with the law. He grew to hate Aquaman not only for the powers that he could never possess, but also because he believed that their father would always favor Aquaman. Orm disappeared after becoming an amnesiac and would resurface years later as Aquaman's nemesis the Ocean Master. Aquaman's ability to talk with fish eventually expanded to full-fledged telepathic communication with sea creatures even from great distances. He also retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite or Green Lantern's vulnerability to the color yellow: Aquaman had to come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, Aquaman could exist both in and out of water indefinitely. In Aquaman #18 (December 1964), Aquaman married Mera in the first superhero wedding depicted in a comic book. Allies and enemies Aquaman was included in the Justice League of America comic book series, appearing with the team in their very first adventure, and was also a founding member of the team. Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team. Aquaman's supporting cast and rogues gallery soon began to grow with the addition of Aqualad, an outcast, orphaned youth from an Atlantean colony whom Aquaman took in and began to mentor. Aquaman later discovered the submerged fictional city of New Venice, which became Aquaman's base of operations for a time. Aquaman is recognized as the son of Atlanna and is later voted to be the King after the death of the former regent, who had no heirs. By this time, Aquaman had met Mera, a queen from a water-based dimension, and married her shortly after he became king. They soon have a son, Arthur, Jr. (nicknamed "Aquababy"). The 1960s series introduced other such archenemies as the Ocean Master (Aquaman's amnesiac half-brother Orm), Black Manta, the Fisherman, the Scavenger, and the terrorist organization known as O.G.R.E. Other recurring members of the Aquaman cast introduced in this series include the well-meaning but annoying Qwsp (a water sprite); Dr. Vulko, a trustworthy Atlantean scientist who became Aquaman's royal advisor and whom Aquaman eventually appoints to be king after leaving the throne himself; and Tula (known as "Aquagirl"), an Atlantean princess who was Aqualad's primary love interest. End of an era In the mid-1980s, after his own feature's demise, Aquaman is briefly made the leader of the Justice League of America. In a storyline in Justice League of America #228–230, an invasion of Earth by a race of Martians occurs at a time when the core members are missing. Aquaman is thus forced to defend Earth with a League much depleted in power and capability, and he takes it upon himself to disband the Justice League altogether in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984), thereafter reforming it with new bylaws requiring members to give full participation to the League's cases. With the help of veteran Justice League members the Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and the Elongated Man, Aquaman recruits and trains four new and untried members: Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Steel. Arthur also relocates the team's headquarters to a reinforced bunker in Detroit, Michigan after the destruction of the JLA's satellite headquarters during the Martian invasion. Aquaman's participation in this new version of the Justice League ended in #243 (October 1985), when he resigned to work on his marriage with Mera. Modern Age After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several short miniseries were produced in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, beginning with 1986's four-issue miniseries Aquaman (February–May 1986), written by Neal Pozner and featuring Aquaman in a new, largely deep-sea blue "camouflage" costume. The series was well received and a follow-up limited series was in the works, but was eventually cancelled due to creative problems. This series also expanded on several details of the Silver Age Aquaman's origin as well as Aquaman's relationship with his half-brother, the Ocean Master, whose origin was retold in more complete detail. The series also added mystical elements to Aquaman's mythology and reinvented the Ocean Master as a sorcerer. Aquaman reappeared in his blue costume in Aquaman Special #1 (1988). In late 1988, the character appeared in the Invasion! storyline, guest-starring with the Doom Patrol and once again wearing his trademark orange and green costume. Retelling origins In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special (officially titled as Aquaman Special #1 in the comic's legal indicia, the second Special in back-to-back years) rewrote Aquaman's mythos and origin while still keeping most of his Silver Age history intact. The special was written by writer Robert Loren Fleming with plots/breakdown art by Keith Giffen and full pencil art by artist Curt Swan. This origin story of the Modern Age recounts that Aquaman is born as Orin to Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan in the sunken Atlantean city of Poseidonis. As a baby, Orin was abandoned to die on Mercy Reef (which is above sea level at low tide, causing fatal air exposure to Atlanteans) because of his blond hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a sign of a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only individual who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no patience for myth or superstition. While his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor to the young Orin. As a feral child who raised himself in the wilds of the ocean with only sea creatures to keep him company, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry who named Orin "Arthur Curry" after himself. One day, a young Arthur returns home and finds that his adoptive father has disappeared, so he sets off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventures to the far North, where he meets and falls in love with an Inupiat girl named Kako. It is also here that he first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who was later revealed to be Arthur's half-brother by Atlan and an Inupiat woman. As detailed in the five-issue miniseries Aquaman (June–October 1989) (by the same creative team of the 1989 special of Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Curt Swan), which continued a few of the themes from the Legend of Aquaman Special, Mera is eventually driven insane by grief over the death of her son, Arthur, Jr., and is committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, a jellyfish-esque alien force conquers Atlantis. Arthur is forced to save the city, but is hampered by an escaped Mera, who personally blames Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera leaves Earth for her homeworld of Xebel in another dimension. The publication of writer Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles #1–7 (March–September 1990), which tells the story of Atlantis from antediluvian times to Aquaman's birth, introduced the ancient Atlantean characters Orin (after whom Aquaman was named) and Atlan (who was revealed to be Aquaman's father). Another Aquaman ongoing series with creative team Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper (#1–13) thereafter ran from December 1991 to December 1992, which portrayed Aquaman reluctantly deciding to remain in Poseidonis as its protector once again. For a time, Arthur served as Atlantis' representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans and soon becomes tangled up in another attempt by Black Manta to destroy Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. Peter David returned to the character in another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, a 1993–1994 four-issue miniseries which further explained Aquaman's origins, as he finally learns all about the history of his people through the Atlantis Chronicles, which are presented as historical texts passed down and updated through the centuries. Aquaman learns that his birth name was Orin and that he and his enemy the Ocean Master share the same father, "an ancient Atlantean wizard" named Atlan. This revelation sends Orin into a bout of rage and depression, setting the stage for later confrontations between the two, as it is said in the Chronicles that "two brothers will also battle for control of Atlantis". This is in contrast to the Silver Age Aquaman, who had always known that the Ocean Master was his half-brother Orm, although Orm's amnesia prevented him from remembering this fact for some time. This series is credited by Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources with helping the character reach the height of his modern-era popularity. New direction Aquaman starred in his own series again with the publication of Aquaman (vol. 5) #1 (August 1994), initially scripted by Peter David, following up on his 1993 Time and Tide miniseries. This series was the longest-running for the character, lasting until its 75th issue. David left the series after issue #46 (July 1998) after working on it for nearly four years. David began by giving Aquaman an entirely new look, forsaking his former clean-cut appearance. Following his discoveries reading the Atlantis Chronicles during Time and Tide, Aquaman withdraws from the world for a time. Garth finds him weeks later, with his hair and beard grown long, brooding in his cave. Aquaman loses his left hand when the madman Charybdis, attempting to force Arthur to show him how he can harness Arthur's ability to communicate with sea life, sticks Arthur's hand into a piranha-infested pool. This loss causes Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged and he begins having prophetic dreams, and then, feeling in need of a "symbol", attaches a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. His classic orange shirt is shredded in a battle with Lobo, but rather than replace it, he instead goes shirtless for a while before donning a gladiatorial manica. After the destruction of the harpoon, Aquaman has it replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic harpoon from S.T.A.R. Labs with a retractable reel that he can fully control. A major storyline, culminating in #25, concerns the Five Lost Cities of Atlantis. Facing an unearthly invading species linked to the origin of the Atlanteans, Aquaman has to search out and unite the lost cities. This storyline established Arthur as a Warrior King and a major political power, ruling largely undisputed over all the Atlantean cities. The remainder of Peter David's run focused on Orin coming to terms with his genetic heritage and his role as king. During this time he discovers the remnants of a sentient alien ship beneath Poseidonis and is able to take control of it, returning Poseidonis to the surface and bringing Atlantis into greater contact with the outside world. The cultural changes this brings about, including increased tourism, as well as his conflicting duties as superhero and king, bring him into increasing tension with the political powers in his city. After a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, David was replaced as writer by Erik Larsen with issue #50 (Dec. 1998) and again by Dan Jurgens in issue #63 (January 2000). The series ended with issue #75 (January 2001). During this time Aquaman's wife Mera returns, once again sane, from the otherworldly dimension where she had been trapped and Aquaman narrowly averts a coup d'état orchestrated by his son Koryak and his advisor Vulko. Arthur's second harpoon is also destroyed, this time in a battle with Noble, King of the Lurkers. Aquaman replaces it with a golden prosthetic hand developed by Atlantean scientists which can change shape at his command, thus retaining the powers of the former harpoon while also being more all-purpose. After a brief war with an island nation, Aquaman expands Atlantis' surface influence by annexing the country to Atlantis. Hiatus between series Aquaman had no regular series of his own from 2001 to 2003, but his plot went through several developments via his cameo appearances in multiple other titles. Aquaman was a founding member of the reformed JLA and remained an active, if sometimes reluctant member of that team, until the "Our Worlds at War" storyline in 2001 (shortly after the cancellation of Aquaman vol. 5), during which Aquaman and the city of Poseidonis disappear during a battle between Aquaman and an Imperiex probe. The Justice League eventually found out that the city was still there, just magically shielded, but in ruins and apparently uninhabited. These Atlanteans were trapped in the ancient past, sent there by Tempest (Aqualad) as a last measure when it appeared that the city would be destroyed by the probe. There, however, they were enslaved by their own Atlantean ancestors, led by a powerful sorceress named Gamemnae, and Aquaman himself was transformed into living water and imprisoned in an ornamental pool. Over time, this civilization had collapsed until only Gamemnae herself, now immensely powerful, inhabited the ruins. After a few months of their own time, but fully 15 years for the Atlanteans, the JLA free Aquaman in "The Obsidian Age" storyline in JLA. Although the original League is killed by Gamemnae, their souls are contained by the magician Manitou Raven to use in a spell to contain Gamemnae in Atlantis until the present day, when he is able to resurrect them. Aquaman is freed from his imprisonment in the pool and Zatanna enhances his abilities so that he can now control the entire ocean as a powerful water wraith. With this power, Aquaman is able to sever Gamemnae's connection to the city by sinking it under the sea again. While he fights Gamemnae, the League members return the modern Atlanteans to the present, where they begin rebuilding the city, which is once again at the bottom of the sea. Sixth series A sixth Aquaman series began shortly afterward, initially written by Rick Veitch, who sought to take Aquaman in a more mystical direction. Subsequent writers who contributed to the series include John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer, Tad Williams, and John Arcudi. This series ran 57 issues, starting in December 2002 (cover-dated February 2003). Initially focusing on Aquaman's efforts to survive after he was exiled from Atlantis and the ocean, the theme of the storyline changed when Aquaman became involved after a sizeable portion of San Diego sunk into the ocean. Over the next few months, it was discovered that the sinking was the work of a scientist who had acquired a sample of Aquaman's DNA. Believing that the human race as it currently existed would destroy Earth, he had sunk the city while also using the DNA sample he took from Aquaman to convert most of the residents into water-breathers. Aquaman goes on to establish himself as the protector of 'Sub Diego', aided by new Aquagirl Lorena Marquez, despite such problems as the human residents' poor reaction to being trapped underwater and the Ocean Master's attempt to rewrite history so that he is Aquaman while Orin is the Ocean Master. Starting with #40 (May 2006), following the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline, the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis which ended with issue #57 (October 2007). These issues featured a new, younger Aquaman named Arthur Joseph Curry. The "missing year" through Final Crisis Following the "One Year Later" storyline (starting with Aquaman (vol. 6) #40 (May 2006)), the series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and taken in an entirely different direction by writer Kurt Busiek. In this version, Aquaman is missing and presumed dead following the events of Infinite Crisis. A young man with aquatic powers by the name of Arthur Joseph Curry is summoned by the mysterious Dweller in the Depths to take up the mantle of Aquaman, but it gradually emerges that the Dweller himself is Aquaman, having lost much of his memory and been strangely mutated, while gaining magical powers (see the Arthur Joseph Curry section below). These changes were explained later during the "missing year" between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later depicted in the weekly series 52, where Aquaman makes a brief appearance at the memorial for Superboy. Sometime later Ralph Dibny, seemingly accompanied by Doctor Fate's helmet, meets a bearded, long-haired and amnesic Orin in the ruins of Atlantis. The helmet portends that "if he lives... if he lives... it is as a victim of the magicks of legend and the power of the sea." During Infinite Crisis, Orin makes a deal with the gods of the sea in a desperate bid to gain the power to save the lives of several Sub Diego inhabitants who had lost the ability to live in water. Using the bones of his severed left hand in a magical ritual, the sea gods give Orin the power to raise Sub Diego onto dry land. However, as a side effect of this, Orin mutates into the "Dweller of the Depths" and loses his memories. The fate the Dweller foresees for Arthur Joseph Curry once they meet is revealed to really only be a confused memory of the Dweller's own past as Aquaman. In the midst of trying to help his successor, Arthur Joseph, the Dweller (Orin) is murdered by Narwhal. Upon the receipt of Orin's body, members of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, examine the body in Atlantis and wish the best for Mera and the new Aquaman. Orin seemingly reappears in Atlantis during the 2008 Final Crisis storyline to fend off the forces of Darkseid, but this Aquaman is revealed to be from another Earth in the multiverse. The appearance of this Aquaman is later perceived by Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, since this person was never seen nor heard from again. Sometime between his death and the beginning of the 2008–09 Blackest Night storyline, Orin's body is moved and buried on land at Mercy Reef alongside Tom Curry in accordance with his final wishes. Blackest Night In Blackest Night #1 (July 2009), Garth returns to Atlantis and tells Orin's wife Mera that he is angry at the notion of Aquaman's body being buried on land. Mera relays to Tempest that Orin felt safe on land and that this is indeed what Arthur wanted. Sometime later, a black power ring is seen entering Orin's grave, bidding him to rise from the dead. Aquaman's corpse rises, along with those of Tula and the Dolphin as revenant members of the Black Lantern Corps, and demands that Mera reunite with him in death, offering her a chance to see her son again. Garth is killed and joins the Black Lanterns himself. Mera rejects Aquaman's corpse before fleeing. In the climax of the miniseries, Aquaman is among those resurrected by The White Lantern Entity and is reunited with Mera. The Black Lantern Ring helps reconstruct Orin's body and when he is resurrected, his hand is restored as well. Brightest Day Aquaman and Mera spend the night together in the lighthouse of Amnesty Bay, but in the morning Mera finds Arthur on the dock looking at the sea and wondering why he was resurrected. They later intercept a pirate vessel, but Aquaman finds that he can now only call on dead sea life to help him. While cleaning up an oil spill, Aquaman and Mera are attacked by soldiers from Mera's homeworld, led by the Siren, and Mera reveals that the Siren was sent to kill him. Mera also hints that, despite the long-lasting exile of her people, Xebel's soldiers had been enemies of Black Manta himself from a distant time, even preceding the first public appearance of Aquaman. She also states that, despite Mera's original mission being a solo one, the Siren is now backed by an entire Death Squad of elite Xebel soldiers acting at the orders of the acting princess and also later reveals that the Siren is her younger sister. Aquaman is instructed by the White Lantern Entity to find Jackson Hyde before a second, unidentified group does. Mera states that she knows who Hyde is and after she tells Aquaman, he leaves and rescues Jackson from a Xebel attack. It is revealed that Aquaman's Silver Age origin has been re-established and he is once again the half-human son of Tom Curry and an Atlantean queen. The Entity subsequently reduces Aquaman to what appears to be white water. Aquaman is revealed to be one of the Elementals, transformed by the Entity to become the element of water and protect the Star City forest from the Dark Avatar, the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, the Swamp Thing returns Aquaman to normal. Afterward, Aquaman is reunited with Mera, at which point he discovers that the Xebels' weapons were made of Atlantean technology. The New 52 and Convergence As part of The New 52, DC's 2011 relaunch of their entire superhero line, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado served as the initial creative team of the company's new Aquaman series, the first issue of which was released September 28, 2011. The three creators remained on the title for the first 16 issues which subsequently lead into the first continual Aquaman-related crossover in years: "Throne of Atlantis". The relaunched series cemented Aquaman's status as the half-human son of Tom Curry and Atlanna and saw him return to Amnesty Bay with Mera. Greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis, Aquaman decides to abdicate the Atlantean throne and return to full-time heroics. Arthur struggles, however, with his lack of reputation with the greater public, which views him as a lesser metahuman with less impressive powers than those of his peers. He is also once again a founding member of the Justice League and it is revealed in Aquaman (vol. 7) #7 that early in his career, Aquaman had teamed with a mysterious, loose-knit group of characters simply known as the Others. The Others consist of Aquaman, the South American jungle girl Ya'Wara and her panther, a Russian known as Vostok-X, an ex-army veteran called Prisoner-of-War, the Operative, and an Iranian called Kahina the Seer. All of the Others have in their possession an enchanted relic from Atlantis. From 2014 to 2015, an independent Aquaman and the Others series was launched based on the success of these new characters. The 2015 Convergence storyline gave Aquaman a new look at issue #41. In this story, he has been deposed from his throne by Mera, now Queen of Atlantis, who is now hunting him as a fugitive. Along the way, Arthur acquires some new powers and new equipment, giving him access to powerful mystical capabilities. It is later revealed that Atlantis is really being run by the Siren, identical twin sister of Mera, whom Mera had taken prisoner. DC Rebirth/DC Universe Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth with one focus point to bring back legacy and relationships, Arthur finally proposes to Mera in DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Aquaman was given an eighth volume of his eponymous series, which started with a one-shot comic book entitled Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). This series kept writer Dan Abnett, who had taken over the title for the last three issues of The New 52 and who had previously written the character for a short time a decade earlier. Aquaman (vol. 8) focuses on Aquaman's role as king and diplomat with Arthur attempting to strengthen Atlantis-surface relationships by opening an Atlantean embassy in Amnesty Bay, with Mera appointed as ambassador. The series largely focuses on the main cast featured in the New 52 series, consisting of Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta while also fleshing out forgotten side characters such as Lagoon Boy, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Jack, and others. After the events of Drowned Earth Arthur loses his memories, begins going by Andy and lives amongst an enclave of island dwellers making their home on Unspoken Water. Unbeknownst to him, however, this habitation is a place set within the Sphere of the Gods where forgotten sea deities go—either when/after they perish, fade from their worshipers' memories or simply forget their role in servicing the ocean's majesty. One such goddess, who was actually a primordial adept from before time, begrudgingly makes her home on a separate island adjacent to that of the divinity who betrayed her and her departed husband. Namma, whose real name is actually Mother Salt, has every intention of drowning the world in brine with the intended consequence of killing everything that lives and breathes on it in revenge and to start over—remaking the universe in her own image. With the help of one of Namma's cast-off creatures—needed to regain her full power as well as aid from the forgotten gods—who is reawakened by Arthur/Andy's clarion call through the Life Force power, Aquaman is able to best the vengeful divine progenitor and scatter her essence across the cosmos, ending her threat for a time. In thanks for aiding them in quelling their mother's fury, the Sea Gods of the World and the newly revived Father Sea (the aforementioned life mate of Mother Salt), give praise to Arthur for his valor and integrity. The Sea Gods awaken his dormant demigod abilities by bestowing upon him tribal tattoo's, christening him a bastion of the High Seas, while Father Sea himself retrieves Arthur/Andy's trident from the waters bestowing it to him once more. Yearning to remember who he was, Arthur/Andy undergoes a ritual where he communes with another primal ocean entity known as Mother Shark, who, when asked to, restores Arthur's memories wherein he realizes Mera killed him in a fit of rage because of his hesitation about hearing that he is going to become a father. Aquaman and the sea gods return to Amnesty Bay, the gods settle on Amnesty Island, in an abandoned lighthouse formerly occupied by Tristram Maurer, a 19th-century horror writer. Aquaman is called upon to bail Jackson Hyde out of jail, and Jackson appoints himself Aquaman's ”assistant”. Along with Callie and Tula, the two fight a sea monster which mysteriously disappears when the new lamp in the restored lighthouse is destroyed. An Amnesty Bay civilian named Ralph is killed during the fight, and at his funeral, Aquaman meets the resurrected Tristan Maurer. Black Manta destroys an Atlantean historical site in order to provoke a confrontation with Mera and the recently resurrected Arthur. Mera, along with Arthur, Jackson Hyde, and Arthur's new ally Tristan Maurer successfully fight off Manta, who is equipped with a mecha provided by Lex Luthor. Mera joins her powers with Jackson to create a gigantic, bioelectric powered water construct of herself, destroying the mecha, however, the strain of the immense hydrokinetic power Mera she is forced to use puts her in a coma, and she gives birth to her daughter Andy shortly after. Arthur was present for his daughter's birth, and fell in love with her instantly, losing all of his trepidation about becoming a father or the kind of life they could have together. He named her Andy, the name he used while amnesiac and stranded on Unspoken Water. Mera remains comatose for ten months, during which Arthur and Andy would regularly sneak into Atlantis to visit the comatose Mera in secret. After 10 months in a coma, Mera reawakens. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested. Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods. Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards, Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon. Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Trolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack. The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis. Arthur Joseph Curry Arthur Joseph Curry is the second DC Comics superhero to be known as Aquaman. Created by Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice, he first appeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 (May 2006). As part of DC Comics's One Year Later event, Aquaman's series was renamed Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis with issue #40 (May 2006). The new developments included a new lead character, a new supporting cast, and the inclusion of sword and sorcery–type fantasy elements in the series. The character was short-lived, and was not seen much leading up to the revival of Aquaman in the 2010 Blackest Night miniseries, and he was not featured in DC continuity at all following its 2011 reboot, The New 52. Arthur's story resembles versions of the original Aquaman's. While awaiting transport to Miami, Florida, a young man named Arthur Joseph Curry is washed out to sea when a storm ruptures the tank he is in. This Arthur Curry, much like the Golden Age Aquaman, is the son of oceanobiologist Dr. Phillip Curry. Arthur's mother, Elaine, died in childbirth and Dr. Curry was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son when he was born three months premature. Arthur has lived his whole life in the main tank of his father's research facility at Avalon Cay, his only window to the outside world being television. Shortly after his arrival in the sea, Arthur is mentally contacted by the mysterious "Dweller of the Depths", a deformed humanoid with tentacles instead of hair and a left hand made of water who is later revealed to be the new form of the previous Aquaman (Arthur Curry). The Dweller urges him to help King Shark, who still bears scars from a previous battle with Aquaman during the recent Crisis. The Dweller, confusing this new Arthur for Aquaman and calling him his "charge", tells Arthur and King Shark of a prophecy regarding Arthur's future, a prophecy which seems to be a distorted version of the original Aquaman's history. The Dweller reveals that the original Aquaman was "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and became the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Arthur's first trip to Atlantis and the oceans causes him to meet many of Aquaman's supporting characters, including Mera, the Sea Devils, Vulko, and, eventually, the Ocean Master. During this adventure, the Dweller progressively realizes that he himself is the original Aquaman, despite having no memory of his former life. Later, Arthur finds a humanoid squid named Topo, a naive youth attracted by superheroics and seeking to become a sidekick and Tempest, who is amnesiac, unable to breathe water, and implanted with a post-hypnotic suggestion warning of an upcoming battle. The foreseen battle soon occurs, during which the Dweller is apparently killed. The Justice League is called in to evaluate The Dweller's situation, but are unable to determine if he is truly dead, or if he can somehow resurrect himself due to his new magical nature. In Sword of Atlantis #57, the series' final issue, Aquaman is visited by the Lady of the Lake, who explains his origins. She explains that the original Aquaman had given a sample of his water hand to Dr. Curry in order to resurrect Curry's dead son, Arthur, whom he had named after the hero. When the original Aquaman attempted to resurrect Sub Diego, a part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Arthur Joseph Curry, while Aquaman's (Arthur Curry) body mutated into the Dweller of the Depths. Blaming himself for this death, Aquaman vows to never be called 'Arthur' again, refraining from using what he sees as a "stolen" name and asking only to be called Joseph in the future. Joseph is considered as a candidate for the new Outsiders by Batman. After seeing him in action with Metamorpho, however, Batman decides against his induction. In their quest to rid the Earth of all forms of kryptonite, Superman and Batman journey deep below the sea, where they find a large amount of the substance. The two of them are met with hostility by Aquaman and King Shark. A brief fight ensues, but, eventually, Joseph allows them to take the kryptonite. Before doing so, he points out that not everyone may want Superman to find all of Earth's kryptonite, but that Superman would have to be at least part human to understand that. Joseph Curry would continue to be the stand-in king of Atlantis until after the Final Crisis storyline. It was revealed that Joseph had stepped down from his position due to being unable to deal with the pressure of carrying on the Aquaman legacy. Tempest later finds Joseph's trident and costume draped over a throne, confirming that he had abandoned his duties as Atlantis' king. This is the final real reference to Arthur Joseph Curry, with the character never appearing again or being referenced in any DC material since that point. The character has yet to reappear after two of DC Comics' major relaunches, 2011's The New 52 and 2016's DC Rebirth.. Powers and abilities Aquaman's most widely recognized power, apart from being able to breathe underwater, is the ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. This was originally described in the stories as an ability to actually speak with fish, like Dr Dolittle's ability to speak to animals, and later was retconned into an ability to communicate with them telepathically. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings who live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force,a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy. Orin pre-flashpoint has had an ill-defined level of telekinetic capability he would use every so often. It's very, very rarely touched upon and the only times he's ever used are far and in-between; often applying these abilities as a focus for team battles to strengthen combo attacks with other supers. The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar. Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power. Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well. After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8. At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards. Other versions In the 1960s, following the establishment of DC Comics's multiverse system, the Golden Age version of Aquaman became known as the Aquaman of Earth-Two, while the Silver Age version of Aquaman became the Aquaman of Earth-One. Although the two versions never met, the Earth-Two Aquaman did appear post-Golden Age in All-Star Squadron #59–60 (July–August 1986), just before the character was retroactively eliminated from existence via the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The 1980s series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! presented the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus," a world populated by anthropomorphic animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. Earth-C-Minus featured Aquaduck, a duck version of Aquaman with similar powers. Aquaman watches over the seas and his kingdom in the Supergirl: Wings Elseworlds story. Arthur Curry appears in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Green Lantern, in which he is revealed to be the son of the pilot Captain Boomerang, and a member of Boomerang's fleet. Aquaman is the focus in a look into the future in Old Lady Harley. During a Joker attack on the Justice League, Aquaman and Lobo had pursued the villain. A simple accident has the Joker decapitated by Aquaman's trident. Future Aquaman acts as a peacekeeper between America and Mexico, a meeting that goes well for all concerned. In the Countdown tie-in issue The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman, a female version of Aquaman is shown to reside on Earth-11. This version is called "Anne", is physically similar to Joseph Curry, and commands the armies of Atlantis. The Aquawoman of the slightly revised Earth-11 appears in The Multiversity #1 (2014) as one of the assembled heroes of the Multiverse who have come together to save it from destruction. In the 2003–04 intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers, Aquaman teams up with the Avenger the Vision to investigate the changes to their respective Earths as a result of the actions of the Grandmaster. He displays his immense psychic control over sea life when he single-handedly shuts down the minds of Atlantean soldiers under the control of Attuma, although his abilities only partially affect Namor the Sub-Mariner, due to Namor's half-human physiology. In the alternate timeline of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, Aquaman is brought back to Atlantis when he was a teenager, due to the death of his father. As a result, the young Arthur never learned compassion and kindness from his father, who was killed by the Atlantean agents sent to recover him. In the present day, Aquaman and all of Atlantis wage war against Wonder Woman and the Amazons, which began when Diana's mother Hippolyta was killed on Aquaman and Diana's wedding day. In an act of retribution, Wonder Woman later killed Mera, who had apparently married Aquaman. The death of Hippolyta was, however, revealed to be a casualty of war since the real target was Wonder Woman herself. Aquaman later caused Western Europe to sink into the sea, killing over 60 million people, and intends to sink England as well. In the present, Aquaman reassigns the Siren and the Ocean Master to assassinate Terra in New Themyscira. The mission fails, with the Siren being killed by Diana's aunt, Penthesleia. The Amazonian Furies then attack the reinforcements led by Aquaman, who is confronted in battle by their leader, Wonder Woman. During their struggle, Wonder Woman tells him that they have both been deceived by the Ocean Master and Penthesileia, who are responsible for the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons. This Aquaman returns in Convergence: Justice League #1. In the prequel comic to the online video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Aquaman appears to attack Japanese fisherman who killed a whale. He is intercepted by the Justice League, with it turning into a brawl between the Justice League and the Atlanteans. Superman, having undergone the death of his wife and unborn child and the destruction of Metropolis, threatens Aquaman to stop his efforts. While warned over a communication link with Batman not to test him, Aquaman does just that, summoning a kraken. In response Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Wonder Woman lift the entire city of Atlantis off the sea floor and carry it to dry deserts, putting its inhabitants in harm as a way to bully Aquaman. He relents and, as a result of this, largely abstains from the conflict between the Regime (led by Superman) and the Insurgency (led by Batman). In Year Four, he gets involved when Batman informs him that the Greek gods have attempted to force their own rule over the world, so Aquaman and Mera take on Poseidon. He wins the conflict, as his wife stalls a massive tidal wave from crashing on Themiscyra. Superman comes to Atlantis in Year Five to ensure the Regime has Aquaman's support, despite Aquaman having frequently made it clear he is not choosing sides. Aquaman agrees, purely to get Superman to leave. Earth-3 During the 2013 "Trinity War" storyline, Aquaman's Crime Syndicate counterpart is revealed to be The Sea King. He apparently fails to survive the passage from Earth-3 to Prime Earth, but is awakened in "Forever Evil: Blight" after being possessed by Deadman. The design of the Sea King resembles that of the 1990s Aquaman. Collected editions The New 52 DC Rebirth In other media Since his comic book debut in November 1941, Aquaman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include television shows, video games, and films. Television Aquaman has made multiple television appearances. The character was featured in the animated series Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Harley Quinn and Aquaman: King of Atlantis. He also appeared in the live-action television series Smallville being portrayed by Alan Ritchson. There was also an Aquaman pilot made by the creator of Smallville, featuring Justin Hartley, which never aired. Aquaman has made non-speaking appearances in the animated series Teen Titans Go!. Film The character has appeared in direct-to-DVD animated films such as Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2011). Within the live-action DC Extended Universe films, American actor Jason Momoa plays Aquaman, and the character made his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Momoa reprised the role in Justice League (2017) and starred in his own film Aquaman (2018). This movie version of Aquaman is of Polynesian ethnicity, rather than the blond-haired white man of his traditional depiction. Momoa's Aquaman has long, dark hair, a full beard and extensive tattoos. Actor Vijay depicted Aquaman in his own style with stunts as an Indian version in multiverse who fights for the rights of his fisherman community in 2010 Sura (film). Theme park attractions Aquaman: Power Wave is a Mack water roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It will opened in 2021. Reception and legacy Aquaman was listed as the 147th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Aquaman as the 53rd-greatest comic book hero of all time, opining that "even though he'll forever be the butt of jokes thanks to his fishy powers, comic readers have come to love Aquaman as a noble (and very powerful) figure who is forever torn between the worlds of land and sea." In a 2011 reader poll, Parade magazine ranked Aquaman among the top 10 superheroes of all time. By 2008, cultural critic Glen Weldon noted that Aquaman had become ridiculed by a popular mindset that cast him as an ineffectual hero. This was due to the perception that his heroic abilities were too narrow. Weldon wrote that critics and pop culture comedians who chose to focus on this had overplayed the joke, making it "officially the hoariest, hackiest arrow in the quiver of pop-culture commentary." See also List of Aquaman enemies Namor a similar character from Marvel Comics References External links The Unofficial Aquaman Site, including the Aquaman FAQ Aquaman Shrine AquamanTV: Mercy Reef Index of Aquaman's Earth-1 Adventures Aquaman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. 1941 comics debuts Atlantis in fiction Characters created by Paul Norris Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics film characters DC Comics telepaths DC Comics titles DC Comics male superheroes Fantasy comics Nautical comics Fictional activists Fictional amputees Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional conservationists and environmentalists Fictional empaths Fictional kings Fictional mermen and mermaids Golden Age superheroes Superheroes who are adopted	true	[ "Lewis Carroll’s 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There has been translated into 65 languages. Some of the translations, with the first date of publishing and of reprints or re-editions by other publishers, are:\n\nSee also\n\nTranslations of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland\n\nReferences\n\nAlice's Adventures in Wonderland\nThrough the Looking-Glass\nLists of fantasy books\nChildren's literature bibliographies", "Marian Walentynowicz (born 20 January 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, died 26 August 1967 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish graphic artist, architect, teacher, writer and a precursor to the comic book in Poland.\n\nHe is probably best known for his collaboration as illustrator with Kornel Makuszyński in their creation of Koziołek Matołek, a popular classic children's series about a billy goat.\n\nLife\nWalentynowicz studied Architecture at the Warsaw Polytechnic. During the 1930s he taught at the Women's Architectural Academy in Warsaw (). From the 1920s onwards he worked as an illustrator for various Warsaw publications. During the Second world war, he was the war correspondent attached to General Stanisław Maczek's \nFirst Panzer division. While with the Polish Forces, Walentynowicz stayed in London prior to the Normandy landings. The army had a quandary what to do with a Lieutenant who was a qualified architect, with insufficient knowledge of war craft. 'Make me a general', he suggested laconically and promptly was turned into a journalist. His war memoirs were published as , War without pathos in 1969.\n\nGraphic legacy\n\nHe designed the emblem of the Independent Polish Parachute Brigade as well as the awards for the Brigade's heroes.\nHe was a prolific book illustrator. Among his jacket designs was the wartime edition of Józef Kisielewski's , The Earth Gathers Dust. His children's book illustrations include:\n\nWith Kornel Makuszyński:\n 1933 Koziołek Matołek (120 adventures of Koziołek Matołek), on account of the 120 drawings, each with a caption in a quatrain.\n\nWith other authors:\n , a comic book with text by Ryszard Kiersnowski, published in 1957 by the weekly review for young people, , in a series of 49 whole page comic strips.\n , 1956, The Adventures of Professor Ladybird\n\nSome of the stories have been turned into well loved TV and feature film animations.\n\nLiterary output\nAside from his collaborations with other authors, Marian Walentynowicz also published his own work:\n , stories published in the review \n 1969, war reminiscences\n\nSee also\n Pacanów\n List of Polish people\n The Adventures of Tintin\n\nBibliography\n\nWith Kornel Makuszyński:\n 1933 Koziołek Matołek (120 adventures of Koziołek Matołek) on account of the 120 drawings, each with a caption in a quatrain.\n 1933 , The Second Book of Koziołek Matołek's Adventures\n 1934 , The Third Book of Koziołek Matołek's Adventures\n 1934 , The Fourth Book of Koziołek Matołek's Adventures\n 1935 , Rows and japes of the little monkey, Fiki-Miki\n 1936 , More Fiki-Miki Adventures, all readers laugh\n 1937 , About the Wawel Dragon\n 1938 , Wanda lies in our earth\n 1938 , No Use Crying and Screaming, this is the End of Fiki-Miki's Adventures\n 1960 (Collected edition, Legends of Kraków, about the Wawel Dragon and Wanda)\n 1964 , complete edition\n 1969 , Collected edition of Koziołek Matołek's Adventures\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n1896 births\n1967 deaths\n20th-century Polish painters\n20th-century male artists\nArchitects from Warsaw\nPeople from Saint Petersburg\nPolish designers\nPolish comics artists\nPolish cartoonists\nPolish illustrators\nPolish caricaturists\nPolish military personnel of World War II\nArtists from Warsaw\nWarsaw University of Technology alumni\nWarsaw University of Technology faculty\nBurials at Powązki Cemetery\nPolish male painters" ]
[ "A-Teens", "The ABBA Generation (1999)" ]	C_9393574a6528435a9bcad784e7e6a097_1	What is The Abba Generation?	1	What is The Abba Generation?	A-Teens	In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Chile and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. CANNOTANSWER	In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation,	A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, Dhani Lennevald and Sara Lumholdt. The band's debut album became a success around the world. In 2001, following their second album, Teen Spirit, it was reported that the band had sold 2 million copies. After six years together, the band announced they would take a break in 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album. Each song from that album became a Top 20 hit in at least one country around the world. However, following in the year 2006, Serneholt's Swedish-language website has announced that they had made their break-up more indefinite, and is said to have finally disbanded as they all went to pursue solo recording careers for the next few years. History 1998–2001: The ABBA Generation In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA-Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Argentina and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 2 million copies worldwide,(Citation needed) being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" was playfully based on the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. 2001–2002: Teen Spirit The band's second album, entitled "Teen Spirit", featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and when it was finally released on 26 February 2001, it debuted at number two in the Swedish Charts. This pop sensation hit reached the top ten in other countries and entered at number eighty-three on the World Charts, number thirteen on the European Albums Chart, number fourteen on CNN's WorldBeat Album Charts and peaked at number fifty in the United States selling over 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, ensuring Gold Status for sales exceeding the 500,000 copies in the United States alone. Prior to the release of the album, the A-Teens became one of the first bands to broadcast one of their shows on MSN's Websites. The UK releases were delayed due to A-Teens' failure with their previous album in that country. When "Upside Down" was released there in May 2001, it became their biggest hit in the country. The single peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom becoming their only top ten hit in that country. The album was delayed and released after the second single, "Halfway Around The World" in late October 2001. The single barely made the top thirty and the album did not chart in the top 75. Before they started their concert tour in the U.S. the band went to promote their album to Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia where they did show for MTV Asia and Thailand, with great success, especially in the former where Coca-Cola signed the band to become the face of the brand there and promote, "We were the first international artists ever to appear on a soda can there. They printed 15 million of them; we went home with ten!" Remembers Sara, The cans were distributed around the country that year. Also in 2001, the A-Teens performed as top billing during the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour in Chicago and Philadelphia markets. The group promoted their album with a forty-three-date tour with Aaron Carter around the U.S. Back in Europe, the band toured with No Angels in Germany. By the end of 2001, Teen Spirit went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and were invited by Walt Disney/Buena Vista to record the European soundtrack for the movie "The Princess Diaries". As the movie had already been released in North and South America, the movie was set to be released in Europe in the winter 2001. "Heartbreak Lullaby" a song written by Cathy Dennis (famous for writing Kylie Minogue's number one hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head") and Kasmanaut, the video was shot in Germany in late October, in the middle of their tour. The single was released in December 2001 and it became another top ten hit for the band in their home country spending four months inside the charts. 2002–2003: Pop 'til You Drop! In early 2002, the band started working on what would be their third studio album. In January a press conference was held in Stockholm with American rock musician Alice Cooper, they announced they would do a collaboration recording Cooper's classic, "School's Out". The song was recorded on 25 January in Stockholm, Sweden. Two versions were recorded, a Pop Version and a Harder Version and both were planned to be included on A-Teens' third album due to be released mid-2002. During the start of the year, many updates and reports were published on the band's official website anticipating the release of the album. By March 2002, the band reported they had over fifteen tracks already recorded, giving names of tracks and telling the fans the direction they were going musically. The band finished recording their album in late March that year with meeting with MCA executives to plan what would be the promotion and tour for the album. In May 2002, the band announced the first single to be taken from the album would be Elvis Presley's cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" to be launched to radios that month, and would also serve as the soundtrack of the then new Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. A series of promotional stops in different TV Shows throughout the United States followed to promote both the movie and the album. On 18 June their third studio album, Pop 'til You Drop!, was released exclusively in the United States. The album was aimed to the American market putting on hold the release for the international markets. The album debuted at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The single also received a commercial release in Australia and Sweden in September 2002. The band announced their first headlining tour in the United States. The Pop 'til You Drop! Tour, a thirty-date tour around the U.S., was held in the summer of 2002 with Baha Men, Jump5, LMNT and Play. The tour ran from mid-July until the end of August throughout the United States and Canada. The concert tour consisted mainly of outdoor venues at amusement parks and amphitheaters. The tour consisted of songs from all three of their studio albums. Later in 2002, due to public demand, the album was released in several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, the latter a country where the band promoted in November. The band had a concert planned in the Auditorio Nacional but was later canceled due to some problems with the set. The band was also invited to do a show for the King and Queen of Sweden and the then president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Their album reached number three on the international albums chart and number fourteen on the main album charts. After the promotion in Mexico, the band headed to Europe to release their single "Floorfiller". The song became a top five hit in their home country and reached the top forty in most European countries as well as becoming a hit in Latin America, but did not match the success of their previous releases. The band appeared on CNN's The Music Room in December 2002, talking about pop music in Sweden. 2003–2004: New Arrival By the end of 2002 the A-Teens were in Europe, on the verge of what would be the international release of their third album, the band performed their hit single, "Floorfiller" at the 2002 Swedish Hit Music Awards as part of the promotion for their new album. In January 2003 the band announced the release dates of their third album for the international market The band promoted in Germany and the Netherlands prior to the album's release. On 27 January the album, entitled New Arrival (a reference to the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. It combined tracks from the last effort Pop 'til You Drop! and new tracks, making a whole new album, or a "half-new album", as they described it. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A-Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The album debuted at number four in Sweden and was certified Gold a few weeks after its release. The second single taken from the album (first in some countries), was "A Perfect Match", the band shot the video for the song in Cuba, the video was premiered on 26 February on ZTV. When the single was released, it reached number two in Sweden and ensured top forty placings all over the world. Worldwide releases of the album followed, including a release in Mexico, on 24 March, the band promoted in the country for almost a month, their album reached number seven on the international album charts and number fifteen on the main album charts in late April that year. Back in their homeland, the band embarked in their New Arrival Tour across Europe doing shows all over Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Slovakia. The band signed a promotional deal to promote Popdrinks in Sweden, with the song "Bounce With Me", Amit graduated from high school and Marie Serneholt was named the third-sexiest woman in Sweden. The third single from the album (second in some countries), "Let Your Heart Do All the Talking" was meant to be commercially released, but after the lack of sales of the A-Teens album in a worldwide scale, the record label canceled the release, and just unleashed the song to radios. Sales for "New Arrival" were lower than expected, selling fewer than 350,000 copies worldwide. The band still got a nomination in the Swedish Hit Music Awards for "Swedish artist/group of the year". The album also contains a cover from Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (from the musical Chess). The music of this song is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the two male ABBA members), while the lyrics are written by Tim Rice. Other covers featured on the album include Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" and The Box Tops' "The Letter". 2004–2006: Greatest Hits and break-up By the beginning of 2004 the band announced their first Greatest Hits compilation was going to be released, a cover of Nick Kamen's "I Promised Myself" became the last single from the band. The band shot the video for the song in March 2004, and was premiered on ZTV in early April, the song went to international radios on late April/May becoming the last hit of the band. The album was a compilation of thirteen singles, which each one of them made the top twenty in at least one country and three new tracks, two of them were written by the band members. Promotion for the album was slow, the band did a few shows in Sweden and international interviews to magazines. Many were reporting the band was splitting up after six years in the pop world. The band quickly denied the rumours on their official website. The single became another top-two hit for the band in Sweden, it became one of the band's biggest hits in South America (especially in Argentina) and the album became the band's first to not make the top ten in their homeland while it brought back the attention to them in other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The album was just released in selected European countries, Asia and only Mexico and Argentina in Latin America. It did not receive a U.S. release, although, when MCA Records went bankrupt and was absorbed by both Geffen and Interscope, the former had plans to release it in November, ready for the Christmas sales, but plans were scrapped when the band finished their tour and Dhani released his first solo single. After "Greatest Hits" was released, the band announced a two-year break. On 15 April 2006, Serneholt's Swedish website officially announced that the A-Teens had disbanded. The members of the group wanted to pursue solo careers. In one magazine Serneholt stated, "The A-Teens are nothing but a memory now, we have all started our own projects." Lennevald confirmed his former groupmate's comment. 2006–present: Solo careers All four pursued solo recording careers over the next few years, before moving into other aspects of music and entertainment, or careers unrelated to music. In September 2004 Dhani Lennevald released "Girl Talk", his first single as a solo artist, in Sweden. There it peaked at number twenty-nine, ensuring Gold status after nine weeks on the charts. After parting ways with Universal Music in 2005, Lennevald works as a music producer and songwriter. In 2005, Marie Serneholt signed with SonyBMG and in early 2006, she released her first single as a solo artist titled "That's the Way My Heart Goes". It reached number two in Sweden in February, and was later released in Europe and certified Gold. This was followed by the album Enjoy the Ride which peaked at number nine in her homeland. She participated in Melodifestivalen 2009 with the track "Disconnect Me". In 2011 she was the host for Melodifestivalen in Sweden. She also participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the single "Salt and Pepper". Serneholt was a judge on X Factor in Sweden where she was the mentor for the groups. Serneholt has moved into working as a model and as a TV-host for shows like Bingolotto and other game shows. Amit Sebastian Paul made his debut as well. Songs in a Key of Mine is a mini-album with eight demos. Amit Paul has released his first Solo album "Songs In A Key Of Mine" which features 12 songs in April 2008, with the first single "Judge You" was released soon after. Amit Paul then finished his Masters at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he did an internship at the management consultancy Bain & Company. In 2010 Amit joined his family business, Paxymer AB, as a Managing Director. Sara Lumholdt released a cover of Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" for a compilation album. She released the song under the name of Sara Love, and according to her official MySpace page she was working with producers from the United States and Europe to release more music. She released "Glamour Bitch" to her MySpace page and is said to be her debut single. Another single, "First", became available on iTunes in July 2008. She moved on to working as a pole dancing instructor and is one of the founders of FLOW, a pole dance studio based in Sweden. In 2014, Sara won Swedish Championships in pole dance. Discography For a complete list of all the songs, see List of songs recorded by A-Teens The ABBA Generation (1999) Teen Spirit (2001) Pop 'til You Drop! (2002) New Arrival (2003) Tours Pop 'Til You Drop! (2002) References External links Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Child musical groups Swedish child singers Swedish co-ed groups Swedish Eurodance groups Swedish pop music groups Teen pop groups Tribute bands 1998 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Stockholm ABBA English-language singers from Sweden MCA Records artists Universal Music Group artists	true	[ "Jeremiah bar Abba (or Rav Yirmeyah bar Abba ; Hebrew: רב ירמיה בר אבא) was a Babylonian rabbi who lived around the mid-3rd century (second generation of amoraim). He is cited many times in the Jerusalem Talmud, where he is mentioned simply as Rav Jeremiah, without his patronymic name.\n\nSome identify Jeremiah bar Abba with Jeremiah Rabbah (Rabbah = \"the Great\") , a sage who lived in Basra. According to this assertion he also lived in Basra.\n\nBiography\n\nLittle is known about Jeremiah's family: His father was named \"Abba\", and was a famous Baal teshuva of his generation. (According to another version: the brother of his father, called \"Aha\" was the famous Baal teshuva). Huna b. Hiyya (of Pumbdita) was his son-in-law, and his son and grandson are also mentioned as sages. For a certain period of time he lived in a place called Shumtamya, which is not known from any other sources.\n\nHis son was the rabbi Raba Bar Jeremiah.\n\nJeremiah was primarily a student of Rav, and usually acted in accordance with his rulings. However, he was considered as a Fellow Student of his, and would address him in a second, and third Grammatical person form as is common among students and rabbis.\n\nJeremiah debates many known contemporary scholars: Rav Huna, Judah ben Ezekiel and more. Rav Nachman once addressed him in a matter of a Jewish law. Most of his references in the Talmud are laws delivered by him in the name of the most prominent scholars of his generation: Rav, Samuel of Nehardea, and Yochanan bar Nafcha. Several times he reports that the beit midrash of Rav asked questions to Samuel after the death of Rav, and gives Samuel's answer.\n\nJeremiah bar Abba II\nSome are of the opinion that there were two sages named Jeremiah bar Abba, one in the second Amora generation, and the other in the third generation, This is based on the words of Ulla, that Jeremiah was the student of Rav Huna, the pupil of Rav. According to that opinion, the statements of Jeremiah in the name of Yochanan bar Nafcha belong to the latter one.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nJEREMIAH B. ABBA article at jewishencyclopedia.com\n\nTalmud rabbis of Babylonia", "The ABBA Generation Remix is an A-Teens album, a compilation of the best remixes of their singles from their first album, The ABBA Generation.\n\nReleased in Japan only, including 12 re-mixed tracks and exclusive artwork. This album was released after the success of the first album in the Asian country.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nA-Teens albums\n2001 remix albums" ]
[ "A-Teens", "The ABBA Generation (1999)", "What is The Abba Generation?", "In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation," ]	C_9393574a6528435a9bcad784e7e6a097_1	what music was on The ABBA Generation?	2	what music was on The ABBA Generation?	A-Teens	In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Chile and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. CANNOTANSWER	consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans.	A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, Dhani Lennevald and Sara Lumholdt. The band's debut album became a success around the world. In 2001, following their second album, Teen Spirit, it was reported that the band had sold 2 million copies. After six years together, the band announced they would take a break in 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album. Each song from that album became a Top 20 hit in at least one country around the world. However, following in the year 2006, Serneholt's Swedish-language website has announced that they had made their break-up more indefinite, and is said to have finally disbanded as they all went to pursue solo recording careers for the next few years. History 1998–2001: The ABBA Generation In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA-Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Argentina and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 2 million copies worldwide,(Citation needed) being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" was playfully based on the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. 2001–2002: Teen Spirit The band's second album, entitled "Teen Spirit", featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and when it was finally released on 26 February 2001, it debuted at number two in the Swedish Charts. This pop sensation hit reached the top ten in other countries and entered at number eighty-three on the World Charts, number thirteen on the European Albums Chart, number fourteen on CNN's WorldBeat Album Charts and peaked at number fifty in the United States selling over 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, ensuring Gold Status for sales exceeding the 500,000 copies in the United States alone. Prior to the release of the album, the A-Teens became one of the first bands to broadcast one of their shows on MSN's Websites. The UK releases were delayed due to A-Teens' failure with their previous album in that country. When "Upside Down" was released there in May 2001, it became their biggest hit in the country. The single peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom becoming their only top ten hit in that country. The album was delayed and released after the second single, "Halfway Around The World" in late October 2001. The single barely made the top thirty and the album did not chart in the top 75. Before they started their concert tour in the U.S. the band went to promote their album to Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia where they did show for MTV Asia and Thailand, with great success, especially in the former where Coca-Cola signed the band to become the face of the brand there and promote, "We were the first international artists ever to appear on a soda can there. They printed 15 million of them; we went home with ten!" Remembers Sara, The cans were distributed around the country that year. Also in 2001, the A-Teens performed as top billing during the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour in Chicago and Philadelphia markets. The group promoted their album with a forty-three-date tour with Aaron Carter around the U.S. Back in Europe, the band toured with No Angels in Germany. By the end of 2001, Teen Spirit went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and were invited by Walt Disney/Buena Vista to record the European soundtrack for the movie "The Princess Diaries". As the movie had already been released in North and South America, the movie was set to be released in Europe in the winter 2001. "Heartbreak Lullaby" a song written by Cathy Dennis (famous for writing Kylie Minogue's number one hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head") and Kasmanaut, the video was shot in Germany in late October, in the middle of their tour. The single was released in December 2001 and it became another top ten hit for the band in their home country spending four months inside the charts. 2002–2003: Pop 'til You Drop! In early 2002, the band started working on what would be their third studio album. In January a press conference was held in Stockholm with American rock musician Alice Cooper, they announced they would do a collaboration recording Cooper's classic, "School's Out". The song was recorded on 25 January in Stockholm, Sweden. Two versions were recorded, a Pop Version and a Harder Version and both were planned to be included on A-Teens' third album due to be released mid-2002. During the start of the year, many updates and reports were published on the band's official website anticipating the release of the album. By March 2002, the band reported they had over fifteen tracks already recorded, giving names of tracks and telling the fans the direction they were going musically. The band finished recording their album in late March that year with meeting with MCA executives to plan what would be the promotion and tour for the album. In May 2002, the band announced the first single to be taken from the album would be Elvis Presley's cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" to be launched to radios that month, and would also serve as the soundtrack of the then new Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. A series of promotional stops in different TV Shows throughout the United States followed to promote both the movie and the album. On 18 June their third studio album, Pop 'til You Drop!, was released exclusively in the United States. The album was aimed to the American market putting on hold the release for the international markets. The album debuted at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The single also received a commercial release in Australia and Sweden in September 2002. The band announced their first headlining tour in the United States. The Pop 'til You Drop! Tour, a thirty-date tour around the U.S., was held in the summer of 2002 with Baha Men, Jump5, LMNT and Play. The tour ran from mid-July until the end of August throughout the United States and Canada. The concert tour consisted mainly of outdoor venues at amusement parks and amphitheaters. The tour consisted of songs from all three of their studio albums. Later in 2002, due to public demand, the album was released in several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, the latter a country where the band promoted in November. The band had a concert planned in the Auditorio Nacional but was later canceled due to some problems with the set. The band was also invited to do a show for the King and Queen of Sweden and the then president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Their album reached number three on the international albums chart and number fourteen on the main album charts. After the promotion in Mexico, the band headed to Europe to release their single "Floorfiller". The song became a top five hit in their home country and reached the top forty in most European countries as well as becoming a hit in Latin America, but did not match the success of their previous releases. The band appeared on CNN's The Music Room in December 2002, talking about pop music in Sweden. 2003–2004: New Arrival By the end of 2002 the A-Teens were in Europe, on the verge of what would be the international release of their third album, the band performed their hit single, "Floorfiller" at the 2002 Swedish Hit Music Awards as part of the promotion for their new album. In January 2003 the band announced the release dates of their third album for the international market The band promoted in Germany and the Netherlands prior to the album's release. On 27 January the album, entitled New Arrival (a reference to the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. It combined tracks from the last effort Pop 'til You Drop! and new tracks, making a whole new album, or a "half-new album", as they described it. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A-Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The album debuted at number four in Sweden and was certified Gold a few weeks after its release. The second single taken from the album (first in some countries), was "A Perfect Match", the band shot the video for the song in Cuba, the video was premiered on 26 February on ZTV. When the single was released, it reached number two in Sweden and ensured top forty placings all over the world. Worldwide releases of the album followed, including a release in Mexico, on 24 March, the band promoted in the country for almost a month, their album reached number seven on the international album charts and number fifteen on the main album charts in late April that year. Back in their homeland, the band embarked in their New Arrival Tour across Europe doing shows all over Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Slovakia. The band signed a promotional deal to promote Popdrinks in Sweden, with the song "Bounce With Me", Amit graduated from high school and Marie Serneholt was named the third-sexiest woman in Sweden. The third single from the album (second in some countries), "Let Your Heart Do All the Talking" was meant to be commercially released, but after the lack of sales of the A-Teens album in a worldwide scale, the record label canceled the release, and just unleashed the song to radios. Sales for "New Arrival" were lower than expected, selling fewer than 350,000 copies worldwide. The band still got a nomination in the Swedish Hit Music Awards for "Swedish artist/group of the year". The album also contains a cover from Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (from the musical Chess). The music of this song is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the two male ABBA members), while the lyrics are written by Tim Rice. Other covers featured on the album include Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" and The Box Tops' "The Letter". 2004–2006: Greatest Hits and break-up By the beginning of 2004 the band announced their first Greatest Hits compilation was going to be released, a cover of Nick Kamen's "I Promised Myself" became the last single from the band. The band shot the video for the song in March 2004, and was premiered on ZTV in early April, the song went to international radios on late April/May becoming the last hit of the band. The album was a compilation of thirteen singles, which each one of them made the top twenty in at least one country and three new tracks, two of them were written by the band members. Promotion for the album was slow, the band did a few shows in Sweden and international interviews to magazines. Many were reporting the band was splitting up after six years in the pop world. The band quickly denied the rumours on their official website. The single became another top-two hit for the band in Sweden, it became one of the band's biggest hits in South America (especially in Argentina) and the album became the band's first to not make the top ten in their homeland while it brought back the attention to them in other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The album was just released in selected European countries, Asia and only Mexico and Argentina in Latin America. It did not receive a U.S. release, although, when MCA Records went bankrupt and was absorbed by both Geffen and Interscope, the former had plans to release it in November, ready for the Christmas sales, but plans were scrapped when the band finished their tour and Dhani released his first solo single. After "Greatest Hits" was released, the band announced a two-year break. On 15 April 2006, Serneholt's Swedish website officially announced that the A-Teens had disbanded. The members of the group wanted to pursue solo careers. In one magazine Serneholt stated, "The A-Teens are nothing but a memory now, we have all started our own projects." Lennevald confirmed his former groupmate's comment. 2006–present: Solo careers All four pursued solo recording careers over the next few years, before moving into other aspects of music and entertainment, or careers unrelated to music. In September 2004 Dhani Lennevald released "Girl Talk", his first single as a solo artist, in Sweden. There it peaked at number twenty-nine, ensuring Gold status after nine weeks on the charts. After parting ways with Universal Music in 2005, Lennevald works as a music producer and songwriter. In 2005, Marie Serneholt signed with SonyBMG and in early 2006, she released her first single as a solo artist titled "That's the Way My Heart Goes". It reached number two in Sweden in February, and was later released in Europe and certified Gold. This was followed by the album Enjoy the Ride which peaked at number nine in her homeland. She participated in Melodifestivalen 2009 with the track "Disconnect Me". In 2011 she was the host for Melodifestivalen in Sweden. She also participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the single "Salt and Pepper". Serneholt was a judge on X Factor in Sweden where she was the mentor for the groups. Serneholt has moved into working as a model and as a TV-host for shows like Bingolotto and other game shows. Amit Sebastian Paul made his debut as well. Songs in a Key of Mine is a mini-album with eight demos. Amit Paul has released his first Solo album "Songs In A Key Of Mine" which features 12 songs in April 2008, with the first single "Judge You" was released soon after. Amit Paul then finished his Masters at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he did an internship at the management consultancy Bain & Company. In 2010 Amit joined his family business, Paxymer AB, as a Managing Director. Sara Lumholdt released a cover of Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" for a compilation album. She released the song under the name of Sara Love, and according to her official MySpace page she was working with producers from the United States and Europe to release more music. She released "Glamour Bitch" to her MySpace page and is said to be her debut single. Another single, "First", became available on iTunes in July 2008. She moved on to working as a pole dancing instructor and is one of the founders of FLOW, a pole dance studio based in Sweden. In 2014, Sara won Swedish Championships in pole dance. Discography For a complete list of all the songs, see List of songs recorded by A-Teens The ABBA Generation (1999) Teen Spirit (2001) Pop 'til You Drop! (2002) New Arrival (2003) Tours Pop 'Til You Drop! (2002) References External links Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Child musical groups Swedish child singers Swedish co-ed groups Swedish Eurodance groups Swedish pop music groups Teen pop groups Tribute bands 1998 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Stockholm ABBA English-language singers from Sweden MCA Records artists Universal Music Group artists	true	[ "ABBAMAIL was an ABBA fan organisation on the Internet, based in Sydney, Australia. It was founded by Graeme Read and Grant Whittingham on 13 January 1997. The web site featured monthly columns, regular news updates, and a comprehensive archive including pictures, press releases and original articles. Revenue for the web site came from a subscription based e-mail list and an online store. It also contained a subscription-free forum and chat room. ABBAMAIL claimed to be one of the popular ABBA fan sites on the web, with over 25,000 unique hits per month. The web site was closed on 28 October 2008.\n\nOrigins \n\nThe ABBAMAIL e-mail list went live on 13 January 1997 to give ABBA fans an unmoderated voice on the Internet. The incumbent list at the time, Abba-List, was criticised for not allowing freedom of speech.\n\nCo-founders Graeme Read and Grant Whittingham (previously President and Treasurer of the Australian ABBA Fan Club from 1976 to 1983) brought their combined experience in managing such organisations to the new venture.\n\nHundreds of people initially joined the list, and within months the web site had been created. In addition to content provided by the founders, much content was provided by the e-mail list members.\n\nConventions \n\nABBAMAIL was responsible for bringing fans together, both via the e-mail list and web site and via fan conventions held in Australia. The usual format of an ABBAMAIL convention was a welcome, followed by merchandise sales, rare or topical video presentations, a break for lunch, a guest speaker with question and answer sessions, followed by dinner and an ABBA disco.\n\nThe following conventions were held by ABBAMAIL in Sydney -\n\nAustralian Tour: 20 Year Celebration - March 1997. Special Guest - Annie Wright, who was an employee of RCA in the 1970s and accompanied the group on their Australian tour.\n\nWomen of ABBA - June 1997.\n\nSummer Night City - November 1998.\n\nThe ABBA Generation - November 1999. Special Guest - Shelley Benson, who was Abba's promotional manager at RCA in the 1970s.\n\nCMP Down Under - September 2001. Special Guest - ABBA historian and author, Carl Magnus Palm.\n\nMAD 05 - September 2005.\n\nThe ABBAMAIL Effect \n\nThrough its ability to focus comments from a large number of ABBA fans into one forum, ABBAMAIL impacted parts of ABBA's music production, such as PolyGram and Universal Music re-releasing CDs in a corrected form. In 1997, all eight studio albums were remastered and re-released. Audiophiles among the fan group immediately noticed errors and problems with this mastering and discussed being disappointed by the quality of the covers. The original negatives were sourced for the cover art, resulting in the first clear covers since CDs had been released.\n\nABBAMAIL was also asked for assistance in locating additional material for the ABBA - In Concert DVD and the ABBA: The Movie DVD release. In his book, \"Bright Lights, Dark Shadows - The Real Story of ABBA\", author Carl Magnus Palm thanks the ABBAMAIL list along with many individual ABBAMAIL members who assisted him with his work.\n\nFans on the list connected initially via the e-mail list. These personal friendships have resulted in people travelling around the world in order to meet face to face.\n\nControversy \n\nIn May 2006, ABBAMAIL were threatened with legal action by MIPI (Music Industry Piracy Investigations) working on behalf of Universal Music. ABBAMAIL had offered bootleg recordings of non-commercially available television appearances and home-recorded live concerts on CD. According to ABBAMAIL, Universal Music had known about this for several years and previously chose not to take any action.\n\nInitially, they demanded all items in the web shop containing the ABBA logo to be removed from sale. This was completed. A new demand was issued demanding names and addresses of all ABBA fans who had purchased material from the site. This was not completed.\n\nA campaign was begun with ABBAMAIL supporters e-mailing the record company and the group's representatives to protest the action. As of 15 September 2006, the legal action was complete at a cost of over A$4,000 in legal fees. MIPI advised they were happy with the compliance with their demands and no further action was pending.\n\nNotes\n\nExternal links \n ABBAMAIL\n Abba fans cry SOS - newspaper article on legal action\n\nOrganizations established in 1997\nABBA\nMusic fan clubs", "\"Rock Me\" is a song recorded in 1974 by Swedish pop group ABBA, with Björn Ulvaeus singing the lead vocals. It was first released on their third album, ABBA, and was used as the B-side to the group's 1975 single \"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do\". However, after \"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do\" hit number one in both Australia and New Zealand, \"Rock Me\" was released as an A-side in April 1976, reaching number four and number two respectively. It was also issued as an A-side in Yugoslavia and in 1979 it was included on the band's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album.\n\nABBA performed the track on both their world tours, as seen in ABBA: The Movie (1977). The song was originally to be featured in the ABBA musical \"Mamma Mia!\", to be sung on a boat, as the three fathers and a deleted character (Stanley) rocked the boat from side to side.\n\nHistory\n\"Rock Me\", whose working title had been \"Didn't I?\", was first recorded as \"Baby\" (with different lyrics to the final version) on 18 October 1974 at Glen Studio. This \"tongue in cheek\" version, with vocals courtesy of Agnetha, was first released on CD on the 1994 box set Thank You for the Music as part of the \"ABBA Undeleted\" section.\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCover versions\nBrendon recorded a version in 1977 as a follow-up to his hit \"Gimme Some\".\nGerman eurodance group E-Rotic covered the song for their 1997 ABBA tribute album Thank You for the Music.\nAustralian rock band Audioscam covered the song on their 2008 album Abbattack. Samples from the album can be heard on their official MySpace page.\nStudio 99 recorded a version for their Studio Perform a Tribute to ABBA, Vol. 2 album.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n ABBA For the Record\n\n1974 songs\n1976 singles\nABBA songs\nPolar Music singles\nSongs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus" ]
[ "A-Teens", "The ABBA Generation (1999)", "What is The Abba Generation?", "In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation,", "what music was on The ABBA Generation?", "consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans." ]	C_9393574a6528435a9bcad784e7e6a097_1	When was The ABBA Generation released?	3	When was The ABBA Generation released?	A-Teens	In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Chile and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, Dhani Lennevald and Sara Lumholdt. The band's debut album became a success around the world. In 2001, following their second album, Teen Spirit, it was reported that the band had sold 2 million copies. After six years together, the band announced they would take a break in 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album. Each song from that album became a Top 20 hit in at least one country around the world. However, following in the year 2006, Serneholt's Swedish-language website has announced that they had made their break-up more indefinite, and is said to have finally disbanded as they all went to pursue solo recording careers for the next few years. History 1998–2001: The ABBA Generation In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA-Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Argentina and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 2 million copies worldwide,(Citation needed) being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" was playfully based on the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. 2001–2002: Teen Spirit The band's second album, entitled "Teen Spirit", featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and when it was finally released on 26 February 2001, it debuted at number two in the Swedish Charts. This pop sensation hit reached the top ten in other countries and entered at number eighty-three on the World Charts, number thirteen on the European Albums Chart, number fourteen on CNN's WorldBeat Album Charts and peaked at number fifty in the United States selling over 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, ensuring Gold Status for sales exceeding the 500,000 copies in the United States alone. Prior to the release of the album, the A-Teens became one of the first bands to broadcast one of their shows on MSN's Websites. The UK releases were delayed due to A-Teens' failure with their previous album in that country. When "Upside Down" was released there in May 2001, it became their biggest hit in the country. The single peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom becoming their only top ten hit in that country. The album was delayed and released after the second single, "Halfway Around The World" in late October 2001. The single barely made the top thirty and the album did not chart in the top 75. Before they started their concert tour in the U.S. the band went to promote their album to Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia where they did show for MTV Asia and Thailand, with great success, especially in the former where Coca-Cola signed the band to become the face of the brand there and promote, "We were the first international artists ever to appear on a soda can there. They printed 15 million of them; we went home with ten!" Remembers Sara, The cans were distributed around the country that year. Also in 2001, the A-Teens performed as top billing during the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour in Chicago and Philadelphia markets. The group promoted their album with a forty-three-date tour with Aaron Carter around the U.S. Back in Europe, the band toured with No Angels in Germany. By the end of 2001, Teen Spirit went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and were invited by Walt Disney/Buena Vista to record the European soundtrack for the movie "The Princess Diaries". As the movie had already been released in North and South America, the movie was set to be released in Europe in the winter 2001. "Heartbreak Lullaby" a song written by Cathy Dennis (famous for writing Kylie Minogue's number one hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head") and Kasmanaut, the video was shot in Germany in late October, in the middle of their tour. The single was released in December 2001 and it became another top ten hit for the band in their home country spending four months inside the charts. 2002–2003: Pop 'til You Drop! In early 2002, the band started working on what would be their third studio album. In January a press conference was held in Stockholm with American rock musician Alice Cooper, they announced they would do a collaboration recording Cooper's classic, "School's Out". The song was recorded on 25 January in Stockholm, Sweden. Two versions were recorded, a Pop Version and a Harder Version and both were planned to be included on A-Teens' third album due to be released mid-2002. During the start of the year, many updates and reports were published on the band's official website anticipating the release of the album. By March 2002, the band reported they had over fifteen tracks already recorded, giving names of tracks and telling the fans the direction they were going musically. The band finished recording their album in late March that year with meeting with MCA executives to plan what would be the promotion and tour for the album. In May 2002, the band announced the first single to be taken from the album would be Elvis Presley's cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" to be launched to radios that month, and would also serve as the soundtrack of the then new Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. A series of promotional stops in different TV Shows throughout the United States followed to promote both the movie and the album. On 18 June their third studio album, Pop 'til You Drop!, was released exclusively in the United States. The album was aimed to the American market putting on hold the release for the international markets. The album debuted at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The single also received a commercial release in Australia and Sweden in September 2002. The band announced their first headlining tour in the United States. The Pop 'til You Drop! Tour, a thirty-date tour around the U.S., was held in the summer of 2002 with Baha Men, Jump5, LMNT and Play. The tour ran from mid-July until the end of August throughout the United States and Canada. The concert tour consisted mainly of outdoor venues at amusement parks and amphitheaters. The tour consisted of songs from all three of their studio albums. Later in 2002, due to public demand, the album was released in several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, the latter a country where the band promoted in November. The band had a concert planned in the Auditorio Nacional but was later canceled due to some problems with the set. The band was also invited to do a show for the King and Queen of Sweden and the then president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Their album reached number three on the international albums chart and number fourteen on the main album charts. After the promotion in Mexico, the band headed to Europe to release their single "Floorfiller". The song became a top five hit in their home country and reached the top forty in most European countries as well as becoming a hit in Latin America, but did not match the success of their previous releases. The band appeared on CNN's The Music Room in December 2002, talking about pop music in Sweden. 2003–2004: New Arrival By the end of 2002 the A-Teens were in Europe, on the verge of what would be the international release of their third album, the band performed their hit single, "Floorfiller" at the 2002 Swedish Hit Music Awards as part of the promotion for their new album. In January 2003 the band announced the release dates of their third album for the international market The band promoted in Germany and the Netherlands prior to the album's release. On 27 January the album, entitled New Arrival (a reference to the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. It combined tracks from the last effort Pop 'til You Drop! and new tracks, making a whole new album, or a "half-new album", as they described it. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A-Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The album debuted at number four in Sweden and was certified Gold a few weeks after its release. The second single taken from the album (first in some countries), was "A Perfect Match", the band shot the video for the song in Cuba, the video was premiered on 26 February on ZTV. When the single was released, it reached number two in Sweden and ensured top forty placings all over the world. Worldwide releases of the album followed, including a release in Mexico, on 24 March, the band promoted in the country for almost a month, their album reached number seven on the international album charts and number fifteen on the main album charts in late April that year. Back in their homeland, the band embarked in their New Arrival Tour across Europe doing shows all over Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Slovakia. The band signed a promotional deal to promote Popdrinks in Sweden, with the song "Bounce With Me", Amit graduated from high school and Marie Serneholt was named the third-sexiest woman in Sweden. The third single from the album (second in some countries), "Let Your Heart Do All the Talking" was meant to be commercially released, but after the lack of sales of the A-Teens album in a worldwide scale, the record label canceled the release, and just unleashed the song to radios. Sales for "New Arrival" were lower than expected, selling fewer than 350,000 copies worldwide. The band still got a nomination in the Swedish Hit Music Awards for "Swedish artist/group of the year". The album also contains a cover from Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (from the musical Chess). The music of this song is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the two male ABBA members), while the lyrics are written by Tim Rice. Other covers featured on the album include Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" and The Box Tops' "The Letter". 2004–2006: Greatest Hits and break-up By the beginning of 2004 the band announced their first Greatest Hits compilation was going to be released, a cover of Nick Kamen's "I Promised Myself" became the last single from the band. The band shot the video for the song in March 2004, and was premiered on ZTV in early April, the song went to international radios on late April/May becoming the last hit of the band. The album was a compilation of thirteen singles, which each one of them made the top twenty in at least one country and three new tracks, two of them were written by the band members. Promotion for the album was slow, the band did a few shows in Sweden and international interviews to magazines. Many were reporting the band was splitting up after six years in the pop world. The band quickly denied the rumours on their official website. The single became another top-two hit for the band in Sweden, it became one of the band's biggest hits in South America (especially in Argentina) and the album became the band's first to not make the top ten in their homeland while it brought back the attention to them in other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The album was just released in selected European countries, Asia and only Mexico and Argentina in Latin America. It did not receive a U.S. release, although, when MCA Records went bankrupt and was absorbed by both Geffen and Interscope, the former had plans to release it in November, ready for the Christmas sales, but plans were scrapped when the band finished their tour and Dhani released his first solo single. After "Greatest Hits" was released, the band announced a two-year break. On 15 April 2006, Serneholt's Swedish website officially announced that the A-Teens had disbanded. The members of the group wanted to pursue solo careers. In one magazine Serneholt stated, "The A-Teens are nothing but a memory now, we have all started our own projects." Lennevald confirmed his former groupmate's comment. 2006–present: Solo careers All four pursued solo recording careers over the next few years, before moving into other aspects of music and entertainment, or careers unrelated to music. In September 2004 Dhani Lennevald released "Girl Talk", his first single as a solo artist, in Sweden. There it peaked at number twenty-nine, ensuring Gold status after nine weeks on the charts. After parting ways with Universal Music in 2005, Lennevald works as a music producer and songwriter. In 2005, Marie Serneholt signed with SonyBMG and in early 2006, she released her first single as a solo artist titled "That's the Way My Heart Goes". It reached number two in Sweden in February, and was later released in Europe and certified Gold. This was followed by the album Enjoy the Ride which peaked at number nine in her homeland. She participated in Melodifestivalen 2009 with the track "Disconnect Me". In 2011 she was the host for Melodifestivalen in Sweden. She also participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the single "Salt and Pepper". Serneholt was a judge on X Factor in Sweden where she was the mentor for the groups. Serneholt has moved into working as a model and as a TV-host for shows like Bingolotto and other game shows. Amit Sebastian Paul made his debut as well. Songs in a Key of Mine is a mini-album with eight demos. Amit Paul has released his first Solo album "Songs In A Key Of Mine" which features 12 songs in April 2008, with the first single "Judge You" was released soon after. Amit Paul then finished his Masters at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he did an internship at the management consultancy Bain & Company. In 2010 Amit joined his family business, Paxymer AB, as a Managing Director. Sara Lumholdt released a cover of Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" for a compilation album. She released the song under the name of Sara Love, and according to her official MySpace page she was working with producers from the United States and Europe to release more music. She released "Glamour Bitch" to her MySpace page and is said to be her debut single. Another single, "First", became available on iTunes in July 2008. She moved on to working as a pole dancing instructor and is one of the founders of FLOW, a pole dance studio based in Sweden. In 2014, Sara won Swedish Championships in pole dance. Discography For a complete list of all the songs, see List of songs recorded by A-Teens The ABBA Generation (1999) Teen Spirit (2001) Pop 'til You Drop! (2002) New Arrival (2003) Tours Pop 'Til You Drop! (2002) References External links Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Child musical groups Swedish child singers Swedish co-ed groups Swedish Eurodance groups Swedish pop music groups Teen pop groups Tribute bands 1998 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Stockholm ABBA English-language singers from Sweden MCA Records artists Universal Music Group artists	false	[ "The ABBA Generation Remix is an A-Teens album, a compilation of the best remixes of their singles from their first album, The ABBA Generation.\n\nReleased in Japan only, including 12 re-mixed tracks and exclusive artwork. This album was released after the success of the first album in the Asian country.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nA-Teens albums\n2001 remix albums", "Abba bar Hiyya b. Abba was a Jewish rabbi who flourished at the beginning of the fourth century CE (fourth generation of\namoraim). He was the son of Hiyya bar Abba, the well-known pupil of Johanan, and transmitted to his generation the sayings of Johanan, which in their turn had been delivered to him by his father. He was on terms of intimate friendship with Rabbi Zeira.\n\nReferences\n\nTalmud rabbis of the Land of Israel\nJews and Judaism in the Roman Empire\n4th-century rabbis\nAncient Jewish scholars" ]
[ "A-Teens", "The ABBA Generation (1999)", "What is The Abba Generation?", "In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation,", "what music was on The ABBA Generation?", "consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans.", "When was The ABBA Generation released?", "I don't know." ]	C_9393574a6528435a9bcad784e7e6a097_1	Who worked with the A-Teens to produce The Abba Generation?	4	Who worked with the A-Teens to produce The Abba Generation?	A-Teens	In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Chile and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, Dhani Lennevald and Sara Lumholdt. The band's debut album became a success around the world. In 2001, following their second album, Teen Spirit, it was reported that the band had sold 2 million copies. After six years together, the band announced they would take a break in 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album. Each song from that album became a Top 20 hit in at least one country around the world. However, following in the year 2006, Serneholt's Swedish-language website has announced that they had made their break-up more indefinite, and is said to have finally disbanded as they all went to pursue solo recording careers for the next few years. History 1998–2001: The ABBA Generation In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA-Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Argentina and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 2 million copies worldwide,(Citation needed) being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" was playfully based on the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. 2001–2002: Teen Spirit The band's second album, entitled "Teen Spirit", featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and when it was finally released on 26 February 2001, it debuted at number two in the Swedish Charts. This pop sensation hit reached the top ten in other countries and entered at number eighty-three on the World Charts, number thirteen on the European Albums Chart, number fourteen on CNN's WorldBeat Album Charts and peaked at number fifty in the United States selling over 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, ensuring Gold Status for sales exceeding the 500,000 copies in the United States alone. Prior to the release of the album, the A-Teens became one of the first bands to broadcast one of their shows on MSN's Websites. The UK releases were delayed due to A-Teens' failure with their previous album in that country. When "Upside Down" was released there in May 2001, it became their biggest hit in the country. The single peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom becoming their only top ten hit in that country. The album was delayed and released after the second single, "Halfway Around The World" in late October 2001. The single barely made the top thirty and the album did not chart in the top 75. Before they started their concert tour in the U.S. the band went to promote their album to Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia where they did show for MTV Asia and Thailand, with great success, especially in the former where Coca-Cola signed the band to become the face of the brand there and promote, "We were the first international artists ever to appear on a soda can there. They printed 15 million of them; we went home with ten!" Remembers Sara, The cans were distributed around the country that year. Also in 2001, the A-Teens performed as top billing during the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour in Chicago and Philadelphia markets. The group promoted their album with a forty-three-date tour with Aaron Carter around the U.S. Back in Europe, the band toured with No Angels in Germany. By the end of 2001, Teen Spirit went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and were invited by Walt Disney/Buena Vista to record the European soundtrack for the movie "The Princess Diaries". As the movie had already been released in North and South America, the movie was set to be released in Europe in the winter 2001. "Heartbreak Lullaby" a song written by Cathy Dennis (famous for writing Kylie Minogue's number one hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head") and Kasmanaut, the video was shot in Germany in late October, in the middle of their tour. The single was released in December 2001 and it became another top ten hit for the band in their home country spending four months inside the charts. 2002–2003: Pop 'til You Drop! In early 2002, the band started working on what would be their third studio album. In January a press conference was held in Stockholm with American rock musician Alice Cooper, they announced they would do a collaboration recording Cooper's classic, "School's Out". The song was recorded on 25 January in Stockholm, Sweden. Two versions were recorded, a Pop Version and a Harder Version and both were planned to be included on A-Teens' third album due to be released mid-2002. During the start of the year, many updates and reports were published on the band's official website anticipating the release of the album. By March 2002, the band reported they had over fifteen tracks already recorded, giving names of tracks and telling the fans the direction they were going musically. The band finished recording their album in late March that year with meeting with MCA executives to plan what would be the promotion and tour for the album. In May 2002, the band announced the first single to be taken from the album would be Elvis Presley's cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" to be launched to radios that month, and would also serve as the soundtrack of the then new Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. A series of promotional stops in different TV Shows throughout the United States followed to promote both the movie and the album. On 18 June their third studio album, Pop 'til You Drop!, was released exclusively in the United States. The album was aimed to the American market putting on hold the release for the international markets. The album debuted at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The single also received a commercial release in Australia and Sweden in September 2002. The band announced their first headlining tour in the United States. The Pop 'til You Drop! Tour, a thirty-date tour around the U.S., was held in the summer of 2002 with Baha Men, Jump5, LMNT and Play. The tour ran from mid-July until the end of August throughout the United States and Canada. The concert tour consisted mainly of outdoor venues at amusement parks and amphitheaters. The tour consisted of songs from all three of their studio albums. Later in 2002, due to public demand, the album was released in several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, the latter a country where the band promoted in November. The band had a concert planned in the Auditorio Nacional but was later canceled due to some problems with the set. The band was also invited to do a show for the King and Queen of Sweden and the then president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Their album reached number three on the international albums chart and number fourteen on the main album charts. After the promotion in Mexico, the band headed to Europe to release their single "Floorfiller". The song became a top five hit in their home country and reached the top forty in most European countries as well as becoming a hit in Latin America, but did not match the success of their previous releases. The band appeared on CNN's The Music Room in December 2002, talking about pop music in Sweden. 2003–2004: New Arrival By the end of 2002 the A-Teens were in Europe, on the verge of what would be the international release of their third album, the band performed their hit single, "Floorfiller" at the 2002 Swedish Hit Music Awards as part of the promotion for their new album. In January 2003 the band announced the release dates of their third album for the international market The band promoted in Germany and the Netherlands prior to the album's release. On 27 January the album, entitled New Arrival (a reference to the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. It combined tracks from the last effort Pop 'til You Drop! and new tracks, making a whole new album, or a "half-new album", as they described it. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A-Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The album debuted at number four in Sweden and was certified Gold a few weeks after its release. The second single taken from the album (first in some countries), was "A Perfect Match", the band shot the video for the song in Cuba, the video was premiered on 26 February on ZTV. When the single was released, it reached number two in Sweden and ensured top forty placings all over the world. Worldwide releases of the album followed, including a release in Mexico, on 24 March, the band promoted in the country for almost a month, their album reached number seven on the international album charts and number fifteen on the main album charts in late April that year. Back in their homeland, the band embarked in their New Arrival Tour across Europe doing shows all over Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Slovakia. The band signed a promotional deal to promote Popdrinks in Sweden, with the song "Bounce With Me", Amit graduated from high school and Marie Serneholt was named the third-sexiest woman in Sweden. The third single from the album (second in some countries), "Let Your Heart Do All the Talking" was meant to be commercially released, but after the lack of sales of the A-Teens album in a worldwide scale, the record label canceled the release, and just unleashed the song to radios. Sales for "New Arrival" were lower than expected, selling fewer than 350,000 copies worldwide. The band still got a nomination in the Swedish Hit Music Awards for "Swedish artist/group of the year". The album also contains a cover from Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (from the musical Chess). The music of this song is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the two male ABBA members), while the lyrics are written by Tim Rice. Other covers featured on the album include Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" and The Box Tops' "The Letter". 2004–2006: Greatest Hits and break-up By the beginning of 2004 the band announced their first Greatest Hits compilation was going to be released, a cover of Nick Kamen's "I Promised Myself" became the last single from the band. The band shot the video for the song in March 2004, and was premiered on ZTV in early April, the song went to international radios on late April/May becoming the last hit of the band. The album was a compilation of thirteen singles, which each one of them made the top twenty in at least one country and three new tracks, two of them were written by the band members. Promotion for the album was slow, the band did a few shows in Sweden and international interviews to magazines. Many were reporting the band was splitting up after six years in the pop world. The band quickly denied the rumours on their official website. The single became another top-two hit for the band in Sweden, it became one of the band's biggest hits in South America (especially in Argentina) and the album became the band's first to not make the top ten in their homeland while it brought back the attention to them in other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The album was just released in selected European countries, Asia and only Mexico and Argentina in Latin America. It did not receive a U.S. release, although, when MCA Records went bankrupt and was absorbed by both Geffen and Interscope, the former had plans to release it in November, ready for the Christmas sales, but plans were scrapped when the band finished their tour and Dhani released his first solo single. After "Greatest Hits" was released, the band announced a two-year break. On 15 April 2006, Serneholt's Swedish website officially announced that the A-Teens had disbanded. The members of the group wanted to pursue solo careers. In one magazine Serneholt stated, "The A-Teens are nothing but a memory now, we have all started our own projects." Lennevald confirmed his former groupmate's comment. 2006–present: Solo careers All four pursued solo recording careers over the next few years, before moving into other aspects of music and entertainment, or careers unrelated to music. In September 2004 Dhani Lennevald released "Girl Talk", his first single as a solo artist, in Sweden. There it peaked at number twenty-nine, ensuring Gold status after nine weeks on the charts. After parting ways with Universal Music in 2005, Lennevald works as a music producer and songwriter. In 2005, Marie Serneholt signed with SonyBMG and in early 2006, she released her first single as a solo artist titled "That's the Way My Heart Goes". It reached number two in Sweden in February, and was later released in Europe and certified Gold. This was followed by the album Enjoy the Ride which peaked at number nine in her homeland. She participated in Melodifestivalen 2009 with the track "Disconnect Me". In 2011 she was the host for Melodifestivalen in Sweden. She also participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the single "Salt and Pepper". Serneholt was a judge on X Factor in Sweden where she was the mentor for the groups. Serneholt has moved into working as a model and as a TV-host for shows like Bingolotto and other game shows. Amit Sebastian Paul made his debut as well. Songs in a Key of Mine is a mini-album with eight demos. Amit Paul has released his first Solo album "Songs In A Key Of Mine" which features 12 songs in April 2008, with the first single "Judge You" was released soon after. Amit Paul then finished his Masters at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he did an internship at the management consultancy Bain & Company. In 2010 Amit joined his family business, Paxymer AB, as a Managing Director. Sara Lumholdt released a cover of Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" for a compilation album. She released the song under the name of Sara Love, and according to her official MySpace page she was working with producers from the United States and Europe to release more music. She released "Glamour Bitch" to her MySpace page and is said to be her debut single. Another single, "First", became available on iTunes in July 2008. She moved on to working as a pole dancing instructor and is one of the founders of FLOW, a pole dance studio based in Sweden. In 2014, Sara won Swedish Championships in pole dance. Discography For a complete list of all the songs, see List of songs recorded by A-Teens The ABBA Generation (1999) Teen Spirit (2001) Pop 'til You Drop! (2002) New Arrival (2003) Tours Pop 'Til You Drop! (2002) References External links Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Child musical groups Swedish child singers Swedish co-ed groups Swedish Eurodance groups Swedish pop music groups Teen pop groups Tribute bands 1998 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Stockholm ABBA English-language singers from Sweden MCA Records artists Universal Music Group artists	false	[ "UBBA is a Swedish trallpunk band that started in Easter 1999 in Köping, by Mart Hällgren and David Stark.\n\nMart Hällgren (popularly known as Total Egon), and David Stark (Dadde) used to played together in the band \"Sunday Morning Einsteins\", and in Autumn 1998, they decided to leave the band and start a new one, focused on trallpunk. During several months, they were looking for the other two members, and, in spring 1999, Puttra and Marja were selected as lead and second guitar.\n\nDuring their first shows, the band was called \"For The Family\"; but the band soon changed its name to UBBA, meaning \"Without B, Just A\". They also used the names \"UBBA·T\", and \"UBBA-Teens\". The names are an obvious spoof of Swedish pop bands ABBA and ABBA-Teens (A-Teens); which they often parodied in several of his official photos. During that year, they released an EP called \"1972\".\n\nBy the end of 1999, the band had their first nationwide mini-tour with the band \"Charta 77\". In April 2000; they released their debut album \"The U-Generation\", their most known album to date; which is a complete parody of A-Teens' debut album The ABBA Generation. By the end of 2000, Viktor Lindström entered the band, replacing Marja.\n\nAround 2003, UBBA ceased to play actively, although they have never announced their official division. Mart Hällgren continued to play with his own band \"Total Egon\", David Stark joined Wolfbrigade (left in 2012), \"To What End?\" and became a member of Asta Kask in 2004, Viktor Lindström continued in \"The Pipelines\", which later became \"The Holiday Fun Club\", and Puttra allegedly decided to retire from music, and plays punk and rock covers with a bunch of friends only.\n\nDiscography\nExtended Plays:\n1999 - 1972 EP\nStudio albums:\n2000 - The U-Generation\n2002 - Slag Under Bältet\n\nSingles:\n1972 - 1999\nUBBA*TEENS - 1999\nSeparator - 1999\nSlag Under Bältet (\"Battle Under The Belt\") - 2002\n\nMusical groups established in 1999\nMusical groups disestablished in 2003\nMusical quartets\nSwedish music\nParody musicians\n1999 establishments in Sweden\nSwedish punk rock groups", "Extr-A-Teens is an extended play by Swedish pop group A-Teens. It was released in 2000 exclusively in Chile after the success of their first album, The ABBA Generation. The EP features Spanish language versions of \"Mamma Mia\" and \"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)\", in addition to a megamix of songs from their first album. The CD is enhanced with the music video for \"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)\".\n\nTrack listing\n\nA-Teens albums\n2000 EPs\nUniversal Music Group EPs" ]
[ "A-Teens", "The ABBA Generation (1999)", "What is The Abba Generation?", "In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation,", "what music was on The ABBA Generation?", "consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans.", "When was The ABBA Generation released?", "I don't know.", "Who worked with the A-Teens to produce The Abba Generation?", "I don't know." ]	C_9393574a6528435a9bcad784e7e6a097_1	Was The Abba Generation successful?	5	Was The Abba Generation successful?	A-Teens	In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Chile and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. CANNOTANSWER	Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks.	A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, Dhani Lennevald and Sara Lumholdt. The band's debut album became a success around the world. In 2001, following their second album, Teen Spirit, it was reported that the band had sold 2 million copies. After six years together, the band announced they would take a break in 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album. Each song from that album became a Top 20 hit in at least one country around the world. However, following in the year 2006, Serneholt's Swedish-language website has announced that they had made their break-up more indefinite, and is said to have finally disbanded as they all went to pursue solo recording careers for the next few years. History 1998–2001: The ABBA Generation In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA-Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Argentina and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 2 million copies worldwide,(Citation needed) being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" was playfully based on the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. 2001–2002: Teen Spirit The band's second album, entitled "Teen Spirit", featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and when it was finally released on 26 February 2001, it debuted at number two in the Swedish Charts. This pop sensation hit reached the top ten in other countries and entered at number eighty-three on the World Charts, number thirteen on the European Albums Chart, number fourteen on CNN's WorldBeat Album Charts and peaked at number fifty in the United States selling over 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, ensuring Gold Status for sales exceeding the 500,000 copies in the United States alone. Prior to the release of the album, the A-Teens became one of the first bands to broadcast one of their shows on MSN's Websites. The UK releases were delayed due to A-Teens' failure with their previous album in that country. When "Upside Down" was released there in May 2001, it became their biggest hit in the country. The single peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom becoming their only top ten hit in that country. The album was delayed and released after the second single, "Halfway Around The World" in late October 2001. The single barely made the top thirty and the album did not chart in the top 75. Before they started their concert tour in the U.S. the band went to promote their album to Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia where they did show for MTV Asia and Thailand, with great success, especially in the former where Coca-Cola signed the band to become the face of the brand there and promote, "We were the first international artists ever to appear on a soda can there. They printed 15 million of them; we went home with ten!" Remembers Sara, The cans were distributed around the country that year. Also in 2001, the A-Teens performed as top billing during the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour in Chicago and Philadelphia markets. The group promoted their album with a forty-three-date tour with Aaron Carter around the U.S. Back in Europe, the band toured with No Angels in Germany. By the end of 2001, Teen Spirit went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and were invited by Walt Disney/Buena Vista to record the European soundtrack for the movie "The Princess Diaries". As the movie had already been released in North and South America, the movie was set to be released in Europe in the winter 2001. "Heartbreak Lullaby" a song written by Cathy Dennis (famous for writing Kylie Minogue's number one hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head") and Kasmanaut, the video was shot in Germany in late October, in the middle of their tour. The single was released in December 2001 and it became another top ten hit for the band in their home country spending four months inside the charts. 2002–2003: Pop 'til You Drop! In early 2002, the band started working on what would be their third studio album. In January a press conference was held in Stockholm with American rock musician Alice Cooper, they announced they would do a collaboration recording Cooper's classic, "School's Out". The song was recorded on 25 January in Stockholm, Sweden. Two versions were recorded, a Pop Version and a Harder Version and both were planned to be included on A-Teens' third album due to be released mid-2002. During the start of the year, many updates and reports were published on the band's official website anticipating the release of the album. By March 2002, the band reported they had over fifteen tracks already recorded, giving names of tracks and telling the fans the direction they were going musically. The band finished recording their album in late March that year with meeting with MCA executives to plan what would be the promotion and tour for the album. In May 2002, the band announced the first single to be taken from the album would be Elvis Presley's cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" to be launched to radios that month, and would also serve as the soundtrack of the then new Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. A series of promotional stops in different TV Shows throughout the United States followed to promote both the movie and the album. On 18 June their third studio album, Pop 'til You Drop!, was released exclusively in the United States. The album was aimed to the American market putting on hold the release for the international markets. The album debuted at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The single also received a commercial release in Australia and Sweden in September 2002. The band announced their first headlining tour in the United States. The Pop 'til You Drop! Tour, a thirty-date tour around the U.S., was held in the summer of 2002 with Baha Men, Jump5, LMNT and Play. The tour ran from mid-July until the end of August throughout the United States and Canada. The concert tour consisted mainly of outdoor venues at amusement parks and amphitheaters. The tour consisted of songs from all three of their studio albums. Later in 2002, due to public demand, the album was released in several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, the latter a country where the band promoted in November. The band had a concert planned in the Auditorio Nacional but was later canceled due to some problems with the set. The band was also invited to do a show for the King and Queen of Sweden and the then president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Their album reached number three on the international albums chart and number fourteen on the main album charts. After the promotion in Mexico, the band headed to Europe to release their single "Floorfiller". The song became a top five hit in their home country and reached the top forty in most European countries as well as becoming a hit in Latin America, but did not match the success of their previous releases. The band appeared on CNN's The Music Room in December 2002, talking about pop music in Sweden. 2003–2004: New Arrival By the end of 2002 the A-Teens were in Europe, on the verge of what would be the international release of their third album, the band performed their hit single, "Floorfiller" at the 2002 Swedish Hit Music Awards as part of the promotion for their new album. In January 2003 the band announced the release dates of their third album for the international market The band promoted in Germany and the Netherlands prior to the album's release. On 27 January the album, entitled New Arrival (a reference to the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. It combined tracks from the last effort Pop 'til You Drop! and new tracks, making a whole new album, or a "half-new album", as they described it. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A-Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The album debuted at number four in Sweden and was certified Gold a few weeks after its release. The second single taken from the album (first in some countries), was "A Perfect Match", the band shot the video for the song in Cuba, the video was premiered on 26 February on ZTV. When the single was released, it reached number two in Sweden and ensured top forty placings all over the world. Worldwide releases of the album followed, including a release in Mexico, on 24 March, the band promoted in the country for almost a month, their album reached number seven on the international album charts and number fifteen on the main album charts in late April that year. Back in their homeland, the band embarked in their New Arrival Tour across Europe doing shows all over Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Slovakia. The band signed a promotional deal to promote Popdrinks in Sweden, with the song "Bounce With Me", Amit graduated from high school and Marie Serneholt was named the third-sexiest woman in Sweden. The third single from the album (second in some countries), "Let Your Heart Do All the Talking" was meant to be commercially released, but after the lack of sales of the A-Teens album in a worldwide scale, the record label canceled the release, and just unleashed the song to radios. Sales for "New Arrival" were lower than expected, selling fewer than 350,000 copies worldwide. The band still got a nomination in the Swedish Hit Music Awards for "Swedish artist/group of the year". The album also contains a cover from Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (from the musical Chess). The music of this song is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the two male ABBA members), while the lyrics are written by Tim Rice. Other covers featured on the album include Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" and The Box Tops' "The Letter". 2004–2006: Greatest Hits and break-up By the beginning of 2004 the band announced their first Greatest Hits compilation was going to be released, a cover of Nick Kamen's "I Promised Myself" became the last single from the band. The band shot the video for the song in March 2004, and was premiered on ZTV in early April, the song went to international radios on late April/May becoming the last hit of the band. The album was a compilation of thirteen singles, which each one of them made the top twenty in at least one country and three new tracks, two of them were written by the band members. Promotion for the album was slow, the band did a few shows in Sweden and international interviews to magazines. Many were reporting the band was splitting up after six years in the pop world. The band quickly denied the rumours on their official website. The single became another top-two hit for the band in Sweden, it became one of the band's biggest hits in South America (especially in Argentina) and the album became the band's first to not make the top ten in their homeland while it brought back the attention to them in other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The album was just released in selected European countries, Asia and only Mexico and Argentina in Latin America. It did not receive a U.S. release, although, when MCA Records went bankrupt and was absorbed by both Geffen and Interscope, the former had plans to release it in November, ready for the Christmas sales, but plans were scrapped when the band finished their tour and Dhani released his first solo single. After "Greatest Hits" was released, the band announced a two-year break. On 15 April 2006, Serneholt's Swedish website officially announced that the A-Teens had disbanded. The members of the group wanted to pursue solo careers. In one magazine Serneholt stated, "The A-Teens are nothing but a memory now, we have all started our own projects." Lennevald confirmed his former groupmate's comment. 2006–present: Solo careers All four pursued solo recording careers over the next few years, before moving into other aspects of music and entertainment, or careers unrelated to music. In September 2004 Dhani Lennevald released "Girl Talk", his first single as a solo artist, in Sweden. There it peaked at number twenty-nine, ensuring Gold status after nine weeks on the charts. After parting ways with Universal Music in 2005, Lennevald works as a music producer and songwriter. In 2005, Marie Serneholt signed with SonyBMG and in early 2006, she released her first single as a solo artist titled "That's the Way My Heart Goes". It reached number two in Sweden in February, and was later released in Europe and certified Gold. This was followed by the album Enjoy the Ride which peaked at number nine in her homeland. She participated in Melodifestivalen 2009 with the track "Disconnect Me". In 2011 she was the host for Melodifestivalen in Sweden. She also participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the single "Salt and Pepper". Serneholt was a judge on X Factor in Sweden where she was the mentor for the groups. Serneholt has moved into working as a model and as a TV-host for shows like Bingolotto and other game shows. Amit Sebastian Paul made his debut as well. Songs in a Key of Mine is a mini-album with eight demos. Amit Paul has released his first Solo album "Songs In A Key Of Mine" which features 12 songs in April 2008, with the first single "Judge You" was released soon after. Amit Paul then finished his Masters at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he did an internship at the management consultancy Bain & Company. In 2010 Amit joined his family business, Paxymer AB, as a Managing Director. Sara Lumholdt released a cover of Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" for a compilation album. She released the song under the name of Sara Love, and according to her official MySpace page she was working with producers from the United States and Europe to release more music. She released "Glamour Bitch" to her MySpace page and is said to be her debut single. Another single, "First", became available on iTunes in July 2008. She moved on to working as a pole dancing instructor and is one of the founders of FLOW, a pole dance studio based in Sweden. In 2014, Sara won Swedish Championships in pole dance. Discography For a complete list of all the songs, see List of songs recorded by A-Teens The ABBA Generation (1999) Teen Spirit (2001) Pop 'til You Drop! (2002) New Arrival (2003) Tours Pop 'Til You Drop! (2002) References External links Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Child musical groups Swedish child singers Swedish co-ed groups Swedish Eurodance groups Swedish pop music groups Teen pop groups Tribute bands 1998 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Stockholm ABBA English-language singers from Sweden MCA Records artists Universal Music Group artists	true	[ "Abba bar Hiyya b. Abba was a Jewish rabbi who flourished at the beginning of the fourth century CE (fourth generation of\namoraim). He was the son of Hiyya bar Abba, the well-known pupil of Johanan, and transmitted to his generation the sayings of Johanan, which in their turn had been delivered to him by his father. He was on terms of intimate friendship with Rabbi Zeira.\n\nReferences\n\nTalmud rabbis of the Land of Israel\nJews and Judaism in the Roman Empire\n4th-century rabbis\nAncient Jewish scholars", "Jeremiah bar Abba (or Rav Yirmeyah bar Abba ; Hebrew: רב ירמיה בר אבא) was a Babylonian rabbi who lived around the mid-3rd century (second generation of amoraim). He is cited many times in the Jerusalem Talmud, where he is mentioned simply as Rav Jeremiah, without his patronymic name.\n\nSome identify Jeremiah bar Abba with Jeremiah Rabbah (Rabbah = \"the Great\") , a sage who lived in Basra. According to this assertion he also lived in Basra.\n\nBiography\n\nLittle is known about Jeremiah's family: His father was named \"Abba\", and was a famous Baal teshuva of his generation. (According to another version: the brother of his father, called \"Aha\" was the famous Baal teshuva). Huna b. Hiyya (of Pumbdita) was his son-in-law, and his son and grandson are also mentioned as sages. For a certain period of time he lived in a place called Shumtamya, which is not known from any other sources.\n\nHis son was the rabbi Raba Bar Jeremiah.\n\nJeremiah was primarily a student of Rav, and usually acted in accordance with his rulings. However, he was considered as a Fellow Student of his, and would address him in a second, and third Grammatical person form as is common among students and rabbis.\n\nJeremiah debates many known contemporary scholars: Rav Huna, Judah ben Ezekiel and more. Rav Nachman once addressed him in a matter of a Jewish law. Most of his references in the Talmud are laws delivered by him in the name of the most prominent scholars of his generation: Rav, Samuel of Nehardea, and Yochanan bar Nafcha. Several times he reports that the beit midrash of Rav asked questions to Samuel after the death of Rav, and gives Samuel's answer.\n\nJeremiah bar Abba II\nSome are of the opinion that there were two sages named Jeremiah bar Abba, one in the second Amora generation, and the other in the third generation, This is based on the words of Ulla, that Jeremiah was the student of Rav Huna, the pupil of Rav. According to that opinion, the statements of Jeremiah in the name of Yochanan bar Nafcha belong to the latter one.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nJEREMIAH B. ABBA article at jewishencyclopedia.com\n\nTalmud rabbis of Babylonia" ]
[ "A-Teens", "The ABBA Generation (1999)", "What is The Abba Generation?", "In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation,", "what music was on The ABBA Generation?", "consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans.", "When was The ABBA Generation released?", "I don't know.", "Who worked with the A-Teens to produce The Abba Generation?", "I don't know.", "Was The Abba Generation successful?", "Their first single, \"Mamma Mia\", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks." ]	C_9393574a6528435a9bcad784e7e6a097_1	What did they do after the album was released?	6	What did A-Teens do after The ABBA Generation album was released?	A-Teens	In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Chile and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. CANNOTANSWER	In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States,	A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, Dhani Lennevald and Sara Lumholdt. The band's debut album became a success around the world. In 2001, following their second album, Teen Spirit, it was reported that the band had sold 2 million copies. After six years together, the band announced they would take a break in 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album. Each song from that album became a Top 20 hit in at least one country around the world. However, following in the year 2006, Serneholt's Swedish-language website has announced that they had made their break-up more indefinite, and is said to have finally disbanded as they all went to pursue solo recording careers for the next few years. History 1998–2001: The ABBA Generation In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA-Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Argentina and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 2 million copies worldwide,(Citation needed) being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" was playfully based on the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. 2001–2002: Teen Spirit The band's second album, entitled "Teen Spirit", featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and when it was finally released on 26 February 2001, it debuted at number two in the Swedish Charts. This pop sensation hit reached the top ten in other countries and entered at number eighty-three on the World Charts, number thirteen on the European Albums Chart, number fourteen on CNN's WorldBeat Album Charts and peaked at number fifty in the United States selling over 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, ensuring Gold Status for sales exceeding the 500,000 copies in the United States alone. Prior to the release of the album, the A-Teens became one of the first bands to broadcast one of their shows on MSN's Websites. The UK releases were delayed due to A-Teens' failure with their previous album in that country. When "Upside Down" was released there in May 2001, it became their biggest hit in the country. The single peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom becoming their only top ten hit in that country. The album was delayed and released after the second single, "Halfway Around The World" in late October 2001. The single barely made the top thirty and the album did not chart in the top 75. Before they started their concert tour in the U.S. the band went to promote their album to Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia where they did show for MTV Asia and Thailand, with great success, especially in the former where Coca-Cola signed the band to become the face of the brand there and promote, "We were the first international artists ever to appear on a soda can there. They printed 15 million of them; we went home with ten!" Remembers Sara, The cans were distributed around the country that year. Also in 2001, the A-Teens performed as top billing during the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour in Chicago and Philadelphia markets. The group promoted their album with a forty-three-date tour with Aaron Carter around the U.S. Back in Europe, the band toured with No Angels in Germany. By the end of 2001, Teen Spirit went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and were invited by Walt Disney/Buena Vista to record the European soundtrack for the movie "The Princess Diaries". As the movie had already been released in North and South America, the movie was set to be released in Europe in the winter 2001. "Heartbreak Lullaby" a song written by Cathy Dennis (famous for writing Kylie Minogue's number one hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head") and Kasmanaut, the video was shot in Germany in late October, in the middle of their tour. The single was released in December 2001 and it became another top ten hit for the band in their home country spending four months inside the charts. 2002–2003: Pop 'til You Drop! In early 2002, the band started working on what would be their third studio album. In January a press conference was held in Stockholm with American rock musician Alice Cooper, they announced they would do a collaboration recording Cooper's classic, "School's Out". The song was recorded on 25 January in Stockholm, Sweden. Two versions were recorded, a Pop Version and a Harder Version and both were planned to be included on A-Teens' third album due to be released mid-2002. During the start of the year, many updates and reports were published on the band's official website anticipating the release of the album. By March 2002, the band reported they had over fifteen tracks already recorded, giving names of tracks and telling the fans the direction they were going musically. The band finished recording their album in late March that year with meeting with MCA executives to plan what would be the promotion and tour for the album. In May 2002, the band announced the first single to be taken from the album would be Elvis Presley's cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" to be launched to radios that month, and would also serve as the soundtrack of the then new Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. A series of promotional stops in different TV Shows throughout the United States followed to promote both the movie and the album. On 18 June their third studio album, Pop 'til You Drop!, was released exclusively in the United States. The album was aimed to the American market putting on hold the release for the international markets. The album debuted at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The single also received a commercial release in Australia and Sweden in September 2002. The band announced their first headlining tour in the United States. The Pop 'til You Drop! Tour, a thirty-date tour around the U.S., was held in the summer of 2002 with Baha Men, Jump5, LMNT and Play. The tour ran from mid-July until the end of August throughout the United States and Canada. The concert tour consisted mainly of outdoor venues at amusement parks and amphitheaters. The tour consisted of songs from all three of their studio albums. Later in 2002, due to public demand, the album was released in several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, the latter a country where the band promoted in November. The band had a concert planned in the Auditorio Nacional but was later canceled due to some problems with the set. The band was also invited to do a show for the King and Queen of Sweden and the then president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Their album reached number three on the international albums chart and number fourteen on the main album charts. After the promotion in Mexico, the band headed to Europe to release their single "Floorfiller". The song became a top five hit in their home country and reached the top forty in most European countries as well as becoming a hit in Latin America, but did not match the success of their previous releases. The band appeared on CNN's The Music Room in December 2002, talking about pop music in Sweden. 2003–2004: New Arrival By the end of 2002 the A-Teens were in Europe, on the verge of what would be the international release of their third album, the band performed their hit single, "Floorfiller" at the 2002 Swedish Hit Music Awards as part of the promotion for their new album. In January 2003 the band announced the release dates of their third album for the international market The band promoted in Germany and the Netherlands prior to the album's release. On 27 January the album, entitled New Arrival (a reference to the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. It combined tracks from the last effort Pop 'til You Drop! and new tracks, making a whole new album, or a "half-new album", as they described it. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A-Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The album debuted at number four in Sweden and was certified Gold a few weeks after its release. The second single taken from the album (first in some countries), was "A Perfect Match", the band shot the video for the song in Cuba, the video was premiered on 26 February on ZTV. When the single was released, it reached number two in Sweden and ensured top forty placings all over the world. Worldwide releases of the album followed, including a release in Mexico, on 24 March, the band promoted in the country for almost a month, their album reached number seven on the international album charts and number fifteen on the main album charts in late April that year. Back in their homeland, the band embarked in their New Arrival Tour across Europe doing shows all over Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Slovakia. The band signed a promotional deal to promote Popdrinks in Sweden, with the song "Bounce With Me", Amit graduated from high school and Marie Serneholt was named the third-sexiest woman in Sweden. The third single from the album (second in some countries), "Let Your Heart Do All the Talking" was meant to be commercially released, but after the lack of sales of the A-Teens album in a worldwide scale, the record label canceled the release, and just unleashed the song to radios. Sales for "New Arrival" were lower than expected, selling fewer than 350,000 copies worldwide. The band still got a nomination in the Swedish Hit Music Awards for "Swedish artist/group of the year". The album also contains a cover from Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (from the musical Chess). The music of this song is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the two male ABBA members), while the lyrics are written by Tim Rice. Other covers featured on the album include Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" and The Box Tops' "The Letter". 2004–2006: Greatest Hits and break-up By the beginning of 2004 the band announced their first Greatest Hits compilation was going to be released, a cover of Nick Kamen's "I Promised Myself" became the last single from the band. The band shot the video for the song in March 2004, and was premiered on ZTV in early April, the song went to international radios on late April/May becoming the last hit of the band. The album was a compilation of thirteen singles, which each one of them made the top twenty in at least one country and three new tracks, two of them were written by the band members. Promotion for the album was slow, the band did a few shows in Sweden and international interviews to magazines. Many were reporting the band was splitting up after six years in the pop world. The band quickly denied the rumours on their official website. The single became another top-two hit for the band in Sweden, it became one of the band's biggest hits in South America (especially in Argentina) and the album became the band's first to not make the top ten in their homeland while it brought back the attention to them in other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The album was just released in selected European countries, Asia and only Mexico and Argentina in Latin America. It did not receive a U.S. release, although, when MCA Records went bankrupt and was absorbed by both Geffen and Interscope, the former had plans to release it in November, ready for the Christmas sales, but plans were scrapped when the band finished their tour and Dhani released his first solo single. After "Greatest Hits" was released, the band announced a two-year break. On 15 April 2006, Serneholt's Swedish website officially announced that the A-Teens had disbanded. The members of the group wanted to pursue solo careers. In one magazine Serneholt stated, "The A-Teens are nothing but a memory now, we have all started our own projects." Lennevald confirmed his former groupmate's comment. 2006–present: Solo careers All four pursued solo recording careers over the next few years, before moving into other aspects of music and entertainment, or careers unrelated to music. In September 2004 Dhani Lennevald released "Girl Talk", his first single as a solo artist, in Sweden. There it peaked at number twenty-nine, ensuring Gold status after nine weeks on the charts. After parting ways with Universal Music in 2005, Lennevald works as a music producer and songwriter. In 2005, Marie Serneholt signed with SonyBMG and in early 2006, she released her first single as a solo artist titled "That's the Way My Heart Goes". It reached number two in Sweden in February, and was later released in Europe and certified Gold. This was followed by the album Enjoy the Ride which peaked at number nine in her homeland. She participated in Melodifestivalen 2009 with the track "Disconnect Me". In 2011 she was the host for Melodifestivalen in Sweden. She also participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the single "Salt and Pepper". Serneholt was a judge on X Factor in Sweden where she was the mentor for the groups. Serneholt has moved into working as a model and as a TV-host for shows like Bingolotto and other game shows. Amit Sebastian Paul made his debut as well. Songs in a Key of Mine is a mini-album with eight demos. Amit Paul has released his first Solo album "Songs In A Key Of Mine" which features 12 songs in April 2008, with the first single "Judge You" was released soon after. Amit Paul then finished his Masters at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he did an internship at the management consultancy Bain & Company. In 2010 Amit joined his family business, Paxymer AB, as a Managing Director. Sara Lumholdt released a cover of Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" for a compilation album. She released the song under the name of Sara Love, and according to her official MySpace page she was working with producers from the United States and Europe to release more music. She released "Glamour Bitch" to her MySpace page and is said to be her debut single. Another single, "First", became available on iTunes in July 2008. She moved on to working as a pole dancing instructor and is one of the founders of FLOW, a pole dance studio based in Sweden. In 2014, Sara won Swedish Championships in pole dance. Discography For a complete list of all the songs, see List of songs recorded by A-Teens The ABBA Generation (1999) Teen Spirit (2001) Pop 'til You Drop! (2002) New Arrival (2003) Tours Pop 'Til You Drop! (2002) References External links Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Child musical groups Swedish child singers Swedish co-ed groups Swedish Eurodance groups Swedish pop music groups Teen pop groups Tribute bands 1998 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Stockholm ABBA English-language singers from Sweden MCA Records artists Universal Music Group artists	true	[ "What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid is the debut album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the UK four days after his nineteenth birthday on 14 May 1965, through Pye Records (catalog number NPL 18117). Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, and Geoff Stephens produced the album. The album was released in the US as Catch the Wind on Hickory Records in June 1965. Hickory Records changed the title to match that of Donovan's debut single.\n\nHistory \nIn late 1964, Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens offered Donovan a recording contract with Pye Records in the UK. Donovan had performed around Britain and had become well known in British folk circles before his record contract. His 1964 demo tapes (released as Sixty Four in 2004) show a great resemblance to both Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, which probably prompted the \"British answer to Bob Dylan\" press line that was subsequently released. What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid is notable because it captures Donovan at a point where his style and vision were starting to diverge significantly from those of Guthrie and Dylan.\n\nThe music primarily consists of Donovan singing and playing mouth harp and acoustic guitar, much like his live performances of the time. He still had some vestiges of Woody Guthrie's style, and here covers Guthrie's \"Riding In My Car\" (titled here as \"Car Car\"). What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid also includes British folk (\"Tangerine Puppet\") and even some jazz (\"Cuttin' Out\").\n\nDonovan re-recorded \"Catch the Wind\" for the album, which was initially released as his debut single in the UK on 12 March 1965.\n\nOther musicians featured on the album are Brian Locking on bass, Skip Alan (who joined the Pretty Things later the same year) on drums, and Gypsy Dave on kazoo.\n\nReissues \n On 13 September 1968, What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid was reissued in an edited form (Marble Arch Records MAL 795) in the UK. \"Car Car\" and \"Donna Donna\" were both removed from the album, possibly because they were not written by Donovan.\n On 26 February 1996, Sequel Records reissued What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid in the US under its US title Catch the Wind on compact disc. Three bonus tracks were added to the track listing. The first bonus track, \"Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?\", was released as the B-side to Donovan's UK debut single. The second bonus track is the A-side of Donovan's UK debut single. The third bonus track, \"Every Man Has His Chain\", was originally released on Donovan's Catch the Wind EP in France.\n On 22 January 2002, Sanctuary Records reissued the complete What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid for the first time on compact disc. The US version of the CD titled Catch the Wind was released six years earlier. The CD features four bonus tracks. The first two tracks are Donovan's debut single \"Catch the Wind\" (a different take than the album track) and its b-side \"Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?\". The third bonus track \"Every Man Has His Chain\" was once a rare track in Donovan's discography, and was originally released on the French EP Catch the Wind in 1965. Donovan's second single \"Colours\" is also released here, in a version different from the one included on the Fairytale album.\n\nTrack listing\n\nOriginal album (UK)\nSide 1\n\"Josie\" (Donovan Leitch) – 3:28\n\"Catch the Wind\" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:56\n\"Remember the Alamo\" (Jane Bowers) – 3:04\n\"Cuttin' Out\" (Leitch) – 2:19\n\"Car Car\" (Woody Guthrie) – 1:31\n\"Keep on Truckin'\" (traditional; arranged by Leitch) – 1:50\n\nSide 2\n\"Goldwatch Blues\" (Mick Softley) – 2:33\n\"To Sing for You\" (Leitch) – 2:45\n\"You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond\" (traditional; arranged by Leitch) – 4:04\n\"Tangerine Puppet\" (Leitch) – 1:51\n\"Donna Donna\" (Aaron Zeitlin, Sholom Secunda, Arthur S Kevess, Teddi Schwartz) – 2:56\n\"Ramblin' Boy\" (Leitch) – 2:33\n\n1996 Sequel Records CD-reissue (Title: Catch the Wind)\nThe original album plus the following bonus tracks:\n\"Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?\" (Leitch) – 2:56\n\"Catch the Wind\" (Leitch) – 2:18\n\"Every Man Has His Chain\" (Leitch) – 2:09\n\n2002 Sanctuary Records CD-reissue\nThe original album plus the following bonus tracks:\n\"Catch the Wind\" (Single version with strings) (Leitch) – 2:18\n\"Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?\" (Single b-side) (Leitch) – 2:56\n\"Every Man Has His Chain\" (French EP track) (Leitch) – 2:12\n\"Colours\" (Single version) (Leitch) – 2:45\n\nPersonnel \n Donovan – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica\n Brian Locking – bass\n Skip Alan (Alan Skipper) – drums\n Gypsy Dave (David Mills) – kazoo\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid – Donovan Unofficial Site\n Sanctuary Records\n\n1965 debut albums\nDonovan albums\nPye Records albums\nHickory Records albums\nSanctuary Records albums", "Southern Gal is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Terry Ellis. It was released by EastWest Records on November 14, 1995. Recorded and released during the time her band En Vogue were on a two-year hiatus, the album includes the R&B Top 40 hit singles, \"Where Ever You Are\" and \"What Did I Do to You?\".\n\nCritical reception\n\nSenior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic rated the album two out of five stars and found that while Southern Gal \"is a smooth, commercial-oriented, hip-hop-informed, contemporary R&B album with pop leanings [and] Ellis' voice is in fine form [...] the album is far from compelling. Even with all the production detail and Ellis'strong performance, it sinks from its lack of high quality songs.\"\n\nSingles\n\"Where Ever You Are\" was the lead single from the album. It was released on 17 October 1995. The song is Ellis's best selling song to date. It peaked at No.10 in the US R&B Top 40 and peaked at No.52 on the US Hot 100.\n\"What Did I Do To You?\" was the second and final single released from the album. The single was less successful than her previous single. It did however manage to spend 10 weeks on the US R&B Chart, peaking at No.41.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n1995 debut albums" ]
[ "A-Teens", "The ABBA Generation (1999)", "What is The Abba Generation?", "In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation,", "what music was on The ABBA Generation?", "consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans.", "When was The ABBA Generation released?", "I don't know.", "Who worked with the A-Teens to produce The Abba Generation?", "I don't know.", "Was The Abba Generation successful?", "Their first single, \"Mamma Mia\", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks.", "What did they do after the album was released?", "In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States," ]	C_9393574a6528435a9bcad784e7e6a097_1	Where did the band tour in the US?	7	Where did the A-Teens band tour in the US?	A-Teens	In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Chile and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. CANNOTANSWER	the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music.	A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, Dhani Lennevald and Sara Lumholdt. The band's debut album became a success around the world. In 2001, following their second album, Teen Spirit, it was reported that the band had sold 2 million copies. After six years together, the band announced they would take a break in 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album. Each song from that album became a Top 20 hit in at least one country around the world. However, following in the year 2006, Serneholt's Swedish-language website has announced that they had made their break-up more indefinite, and is said to have finally disbanded as they all went to pursue solo recording careers for the next few years. History 1998–2001: The ABBA Generation In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA-Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Argentina and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 2 million copies worldwide,(Citation needed) being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" was playfully based on the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. 2001–2002: Teen Spirit The band's second album, entitled "Teen Spirit", featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and when it was finally released on 26 February 2001, it debuted at number two in the Swedish Charts. This pop sensation hit reached the top ten in other countries and entered at number eighty-three on the World Charts, number thirteen on the European Albums Chart, number fourteen on CNN's WorldBeat Album Charts and peaked at number fifty in the United States selling over 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, ensuring Gold Status for sales exceeding the 500,000 copies in the United States alone. Prior to the release of the album, the A-Teens became one of the first bands to broadcast one of their shows on MSN's Websites. The UK releases were delayed due to A-Teens' failure with their previous album in that country. When "Upside Down" was released there in May 2001, it became their biggest hit in the country. The single peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom becoming their only top ten hit in that country. The album was delayed and released after the second single, "Halfway Around The World" in late October 2001. The single barely made the top thirty and the album did not chart in the top 75. Before they started their concert tour in the U.S. the band went to promote their album to Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia where they did show for MTV Asia and Thailand, with great success, especially in the former where Coca-Cola signed the band to become the face of the brand there and promote, "We were the first international artists ever to appear on a soda can there. They printed 15 million of them; we went home with ten!" Remembers Sara, The cans were distributed around the country that year. Also in 2001, the A-Teens performed as top billing during the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour in Chicago and Philadelphia markets. The group promoted their album with a forty-three-date tour with Aaron Carter around the U.S. Back in Europe, the band toured with No Angels in Germany. By the end of 2001, Teen Spirit went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and were invited by Walt Disney/Buena Vista to record the European soundtrack for the movie "The Princess Diaries". As the movie had already been released in North and South America, the movie was set to be released in Europe in the winter 2001. "Heartbreak Lullaby" a song written by Cathy Dennis (famous for writing Kylie Minogue's number one hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head") and Kasmanaut, the video was shot in Germany in late October, in the middle of their tour. The single was released in December 2001 and it became another top ten hit for the band in their home country spending four months inside the charts. 2002–2003: Pop 'til You Drop! In early 2002, the band started working on what would be their third studio album. In January a press conference was held in Stockholm with American rock musician Alice Cooper, they announced they would do a collaboration recording Cooper's classic, "School's Out". The song was recorded on 25 January in Stockholm, Sweden. Two versions were recorded, a Pop Version and a Harder Version and both were planned to be included on A-Teens' third album due to be released mid-2002. During the start of the year, many updates and reports were published on the band's official website anticipating the release of the album. By March 2002, the band reported they had over fifteen tracks already recorded, giving names of tracks and telling the fans the direction they were going musically. The band finished recording their album in late March that year with meeting with MCA executives to plan what would be the promotion and tour for the album. In May 2002, the band announced the first single to be taken from the album would be Elvis Presley's cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" to be launched to radios that month, and would also serve as the soundtrack of the then new Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. A series of promotional stops in different TV Shows throughout the United States followed to promote both the movie and the album. On 18 June their third studio album, Pop 'til You Drop!, was released exclusively in the United States. The album was aimed to the American market putting on hold the release for the international markets. The album debuted at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The single also received a commercial release in Australia and Sweden in September 2002. The band announced their first headlining tour in the United States. The Pop 'til You Drop! Tour, a thirty-date tour around the U.S., was held in the summer of 2002 with Baha Men, Jump5, LMNT and Play. The tour ran from mid-July until the end of August throughout the United States and Canada. The concert tour consisted mainly of outdoor venues at amusement parks and amphitheaters. The tour consisted of songs from all three of their studio albums. Later in 2002, due to public demand, the album was released in several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, the latter a country where the band promoted in November. The band had a concert planned in the Auditorio Nacional but was later canceled due to some problems with the set. The band was also invited to do a show for the King and Queen of Sweden and the then president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Their album reached number three on the international albums chart and number fourteen on the main album charts. After the promotion in Mexico, the band headed to Europe to release their single "Floorfiller". The song became a top five hit in their home country and reached the top forty in most European countries as well as becoming a hit in Latin America, but did not match the success of their previous releases. The band appeared on CNN's The Music Room in December 2002, talking about pop music in Sweden. 2003–2004: New Arrival By the end of 2002 the A-Teens were in Europe, on the verge of what would be the international release of their third album, the band performed their hit single, "Floorfiller" at the 2002 Swedish Hit Music Awards as part of the promotion for their new album. In January 2003 the band announced the release dates of their third album for the international market The band promoted in Germany and the Netherlands prior to the album's release. On 27 January the album, entitled New Arrival (a reference to the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. It combined tracks from the last effort Pop 'til You Drop! and new tracks, making a whole new album, or a "half-new album", as they described it. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A-Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The album debuted at number four in Sweden and was certified Gold a few weeks after its release. The second single taken from the album (first in some countries), was "A Perfect Match", the band shot the video for the song in Cuba, the video was premiered on 26 February on ZTV. When the single was released, it reached number two in Sweden and ensured top forty placings all over the world. Worldwide releases of the album followed, including a release in Mexico, on 24 March, the band promoted in the country for almost a month, their album reached number seven on the international album charts and number fifteen on the main album charts in late April that year. Back in their homeland, the band embarked in their New Arrival Tour across Europe doing shows all over Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Slovakia. The band signed a promotional deal to promote Popdrinks in Sweden, with the song "Bounce With Me", Amit graduated from high school and Marie Serneholt was named the third-sexiest woman in Sweden. The third single from the album (second in some countries), "Let Your Heart Do All the Talking" was meant to be commercially released, but after the lack of sales of the A-Teens album in a worldwide scale, the record label canceled the release, and just unleashed the song to radios. Sales for "New Arrival" were lower than expected, selling fewer than 350,000 copies worldwide. The band still got a nomination in the Swedish Hit Music Awards for "Swedish artist/group of the year". The album also contains a cover from Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (from the musical Chess). The music of this song is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the two male ABBA members), while the lyrics are written by Tim Rice. Other covers featured on the album include Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" and The Box Tops' "The Letter". 2004–2006: Greatest Hits and break-up By the beginning of 2004 the band announced their first Greatest Hits compilation was going to be released, a cover of Nick Kamen's "I Promised Myself" became the last single from the band. The band shot the video for the song in March 2004, and was premiered on ZTV in early April, the song went to international radios on late April/May becoming the last hit of the band. The album was a compilation of thirteen singles, which each one of them made the top twenty in at least one country and three new tracks, two of them were written by the band members. Promotion for the album was slow, the band did a few shows in Sweden and international interviews to magazines. Many were reporting the band was splitting up after six years in the pop world. The band quickly denied the rumours on their official website. The single became another top-two hit for the band in Sweden, it became one of the band's biggest hits in South America (especially in Argentina) and the album became the band's first to not make the top ten in their homeland while it brought back the attention to them in other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The album was just released in selected European countries, Asia and only Mexico and Argentina in Latin America. It did not receive a U.S. release, although, when MCA Records went bankrupt and was absorbed by both Geffen and Interscope, the former had plans to release it in November, ready for the Christmas sales, but plans were scrapped when the band finished their tour and Dhani released his first solo single. After "Greatest Hits" was released, the band announced a two-year break. On 15 April 2006, Serneholt's Swedish website officially announced that the A-Teens had disbanded. The members of the group wanted to pursue solo careers. In one magazine Serneholt stated, "The A-Teens are nothing but a memory now, we have all started our own projects." Lennevald confirmed his former groupmate's comment. 2006–present: Solo careers All four pursued solo recording careers over the next few years, before moving into other aspects of music and entertainment, or careers unrelated to music. In September 2004 Dhani Lennevald released "Girl Talk", his first single as a solo artist, in Sweden. There it peaked at number twenty-nine, ensuring Gold status after nine weeks on the charts. After parting ways with Universal Music in 2005, Lennevald works as a music producer and songwriter. In 2005, Marie Serneholt signed with SonyBMG and in early 2006, she released her first single as a solo artist titled "That's the Way My Heart Goes". It reached number two in Sweden in February, and was later released in Europe and certified Gold. This was followed by the album Enjoy the Ride which peaked at number nine in her homeland. She participated in Melodifestivalen 2009 with the track "Disconnect Me". In 2011 she was the host for Melodifestivalen in Sweden. She also participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the single "Salt and Pepper". Serneholt was a judge on X Factor in Sweden where she was the mentor for the groups. Serneholt has moved into working as a model and as a TV-host for shows like Bingolotto and other game shows. Amit Sebastian Paul made his debut as well. Songs in a Key of Mine is a mini-album with eight demos. Amit Paul has released his first Solo album "Songs In A Key Of Mine" which features 12 songs in April 2008, with the first single "Judge You" was released soon after. Amit Paul then finished his Masters at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he did an internship at the management consultancy Bain & Company. In 2010 Amit joined his family business, Paxymer AB, as a Managing Director. Sara Lumholdt released a cover of Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" for a compilation album. She released the song under the name of Sara Love, and according to her official MySpace page she was working with producers from the United States and Europe to release more music. She released "Glamour Bitch" to her MySpace page and is said to be her debut single. Another single, "First", became available on iTunes in July 2008. She moved on to working as a pole dancing instructor and is one of the founders of FLOW, a pole dance studio based in Sweden. In 2014, Sara won Swedish Championships in pole dance. Discography For a complete list of all the songs, see List of songs recorded by A-Teens The ABBA Generation (1999) Teen Spirit (2001) Pop 'til You Drop! (2002) New Arrival (2003) Tours Pop 'Til You Drop! (2002) References External links Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Child musical groups Swedish child singers Swedish co-ed groups Swedish Eurodance groups Swedish pop music groups Teen pop groups Tribute bands 1998 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Stockholm ABBA English-language singers from Sweden MCA Records artists Universal Music Group artists	true	[ "We All Need a Reason to Believe is the second studio album by American pop punk band Valencia. It was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid, who has done projects for We Are Scientists and Plain White T's. An early review from AbsolutePunk writer Drew Beringer stated the release proved Valencia is \"a band that can breathe new life into pop-punk\".\n\nThe album title comes from lyrics in the second track, \"Holiday\".\n\nRelease\nIn early April 2008, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival. On April 8, the band posted a rough mix of \"Holiday\" online. It was mentioned that the track would feature on the band's next album, which was planned for release in late summer/early fall. In July, the band supported All Time Low on their headlining US tour. We All Need a Reason to Believe was made available for streaming on August 19 through the band's Myspace profile, before being released on August 26 through major label Columbia Records. In October and November, the band supported Bayside on their headlining US tour. On November 21, the band released a music video for \"Where Did You Go?\". In January and February 2009, the band went on a headlining tour of the US with support from Houston Calls. In February and March, the band toured Australia as part of the Soundwave festival. On April 30, a music video was released for \"The Good Life\". The band appeared at The Bamboozle festival in early May. Between late June and late August, the band performed on the Warped Tour.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Better Be Prepared\" — 3:09\n \"Holiday\" — 2:58\n \"Where Did You Go?\" (featuring Rachel Minton of Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer) — 3:21\n \"Head in Hands\" — 2:56\n \"Carry On\" — 3:41\n \"All at Once\" — 3:27\n \"Safe to Say\" — 3:21\n \"Listen Up\" (featuring Kenny Vasoli of The Starting Line) — 3:39 \n \"I Can't See Myself\" — 3:39\n \"The Good Life\" — 4:02\n \"Free\" — 4:18\n\nBonus track\n \"Running Away\" – 3:30\n\nWe All Need a Reason to B-Side\n \"When Words Fail, This Music Speaks\" — 2:41\n \"Working\" — 2:32\n \"Running Away\" — 3:33\n \"A Better Place to Land\" — 3:26\n\nPersonnel\n Shane Henderson — vocals\n JD Perry — guitar\n Maxim Soria — drums\n George Ciukurescu — bass\n Brendan Walter — guitar\n Kenny Vasoli (The Starting Line) — guest vocals on \"Listen Up\"\n Rachel Minton (Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer) — guest vocals on \"Where Did You Go?\"\n Dana Nielsen — engineer\n\nReferences\n\n2008 albums\nValencia (band) albums\nColumbia Records albums", "My Everest is the debut studio album on Search and Rescue Records, from the Flint, Michigan based punk rock band, The Swellers.\n\nBackground\nIn September and October 2006, the band embarked on a tour of the US with Bensin. Following this, they went on a short tour of Japan.\n\nRelease\nIn January and February 2007, the Swellers went on an East Coast tour; Bensin and Giving Chase appeared on select dates. In March and April 2007, they toured across the US with labelmates Alucard, leading up to an appearance at the Bowling Green Music Festival. On May 1, 2007, My Everest was announced for release the following month. \"Bottles\", \"The Flood\", and \"This Is My Everest\" were posted on the band's Myspace profile. My Everest was released on June 4, 2007; it was promoted with a five-week US tour in June and July with Alucard, which was followed by a West Coast tour in August and September. In October, the group went on a US tour with Only Crime and A Wilhelm Scream. On November 5, a music video for \"Bottles\" premiered via Alternative Press, directed by Mike Berlucchi. Between late March and mid-May 2008, the band toured across the US, often performing one-off shows with a number of bands. In May and June, the band went on a tour of Canada with the Artist Life. In August, the band went on a tour of Canada with Polar Bear Club. In January and February 2009, the band supported Streetlight Manifesto on their headlining tour of the US.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Nick and Jonathan Diener.\n\n \"Vehicle City\" - 2:44\n \"Bottles\" - 3:08\n \"The Flood\" - 2:44\n \"This Is My Everest\" - 3:44\n \"Clean Slate\" - 3:18\n \"Surrounded\" - 2:40\n \"What's at Stake\" - 2:43\n \"Rain Check\" - 3:37\n \"Keep Looking Where Your Eyes Are Looking Now\" - 2:01\n \"Skoots\" - 3:42\n \"Conscience, Meet Common Sense\" - 1:53\n \"The Way Back Home\" - 5:22\n \"By A Thread (Acoustic)\" (Japanese Bonus Track) - 4:28\n\nPersonnel\n Nick Diener - Guitar, lead vocals\n Garrett Burgett - Guitar\n Lance Nelson - Bass\n Jonathan Diener - Drums, vocals\n\nReferences\n\n2007 albums\nThe Swellers albums" ]
[ "A-Teens", "The ABBA Generation (1999)", "What is The Abba Generation?", "In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation,", "what music was on The ABBA Generation?", "consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans.", "When was The ABBA Generation released?", "I don't know.", "Who worked with the A-Teens to produce The Abba Generation?", "I don't know.", "Was The Abba Generation successful?", "Their first single, \"Mamma Mia\", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks.", "What did they do after the album was released?", "In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States,", "Where did the band tour in the US?", "the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music." ]	C_9393574a6528435a9bcad784e7e6a097_1	Did the band travel out of the US?	8	Did the A-Teens band travel out of the US?	A-Teens	In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Chile and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	A-Teens (stylized as A★TEENS or A*Teens) were a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 originally as an ABBA tribute band called ABBA-Teens and was later renamed A-Teens. The band members were Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, Dhani Lennevald and Sara Lumholdt. The band's debut album became a success around the world. In 2001, following their second album, Teen Spirit, it was reported that the band had sold 2 million copies. After six years together, the band announced they would take a break in 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album. Each song from that album became a Top 20 hit in at least one country around the world. However, following in the year 2006, Serneholt's Swedish-language website has announced that they had made their break-up more indefinite, and is said to have finally disbanded as they all went to pursue solo recording careers for the next few years. History 1998–2001: The ABBA Generation In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit were musically united as the ABBA-Teens. However, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music. In early 1999, the band started the recording process of what would be their debut album, The ABBA Generation, consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and electronic flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", topped the charts in over ten countries including their home country Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album hit the peak position in Sweden & Argentina and became a top ten hit throughout the world. Further singles enjoyed similar success ensuring top ten placings across the globe, and the album overall sold more than 2 million copies worldwide,(Citation needed) being certified Gold or Platinum in over 22 different countries. The band's music video for "Dancing Queen" was playfully based on the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the film. The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. In early 2000, the band embarked on a U.S. promotional tour, and on the verge of the release of their album in the United States, the band was invited to tour with Britney Spears that summer in her U.S. Tour. They also made several appearances on Disney and Nickelodeon to promote their music. The band's debut became a hit in North America, where the album reached seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart being certified Gold in September 2000, but its sales reached the million mark in 2001. That month, the A-Teens won a Viva Music Award for Best International Newcomer, competing with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Blink-182, and also the band announced what would be the lead single from their second album and their first to be an original song, "Upside Down", which would also become their signature song. The song was released to Swedish radios on 23 October 2000, and was later unleashed worldwide. When the single was commercially released, it reached number two in Sweden and was later certified 2x Platinum. The song became the band's biggest hit when it reached the top ten in several countries and when the single was released in the United States. The physical single reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in three weeks and being certified Gold. In January 2001, the band was nominated for "Best Swedish Group" at the NRJ Awards. 2001–2002: Teen Spirit The band's second album, entitled "Teen Spirit", featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and when it was finally released on 26 February 2001, it debuted at number two in the Swedish Charts. This pop sensation hit reached the top ten in other countries and entered at number eighty-three on the World Charts, number thirteen on the European Albums Chart, number fourteen on CNN's WorldBeat Album Charts and peaked at number fifty in the United States selling over 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, ensuring Gold Status for sales exceeding the 500,000 copies in the United States alone. Prior to the release of the album, the A-Teens became one of the first bands to broadcast one of their shows on MSN's Websites. The UK releases were delayed due to A-Teens' failure with their previous album in that country. When "Upside Down" was released there in May 2001, it became their biggest hit in the country. The single peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom becoming their only top ten hit in that country. The album was delayed and released after the second single, "Halfway Around The World" in late October 2001. The single barely made the top thirty and the album did not chart in the top 75. Before they started their concert tour in the U.S. the band went to promote their album to Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia where they did show for MTV Asia and Thailand, with great success, especially in the former where Coca-Cola signed the band to become the face of the brand there and promote, "We were the first international artists ever to appear on a soda can there. They printed 15 million of them; we went home with ten!" Remembers Sara, The cans were distributed around the country that year. Also in 2001, the A-Teens performed as top billing during the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour in Chicago and Philadelphia markets. The group promoted their album with a forty-three-date tour with Aaron Carter around the U.S. Back in Europe, the band toured with No Angels in Germany. By the end of 2001, Teen Spirit went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and were invited by Walt Disney/Buena Vista to record the European soundtrack for the movie "The Princess Diaries". As the movie had already been released in North and South America, the movie was set to be released in Europe in the winter 2001. "Heartbreak Lullaby" a song written by Cathy Dennis (famous for writing Kylie Minogue's number one hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head") and Kasmanaut, the video was shot in Germany in late October, in the middle of their tour. The single was released in December 2001 and it became another top ten hit for the band in their home country spending four months inside the charts. 2002–2003: Pop 'til You Drop! In early 2002, the band started working on what would be their third studio album. In January a press conference was held in Stockholm with American rock musician Alice Cooper, they announced they would do a collaboration recording Cooper's classic, "School's Out". The song was recorded on 25 January in Stockholm, Sweden. Two versions were recorded, a Pop Version and a Harder Version and both were planned to be included on A-Teens' third album due to be released mid-2002. During the start of the year, many updates and reports were published on the band's official website anticipating the release of the album. By March 2002, the band reported they had over fifteen tracks already recorded, giving names of tracks and telling the fans the direction they were going musically. The band finished recording their album in late March that year with meeting with MCA executives to plan what would be the promotion and tour for the album. In May 2002, the band announced the first single to be taken from the album would be Elvis Presley's cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" to be launched to radios that month, and would also serve as the soundtrack of the then new Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. A series of promotional stops in different TV Shows throughout the United States followed to promote both the movie and the album. On 18 June their third studio album, Pop 'til You Drop!, was released exclusively in the United States. The album was aimed to the American market putting on hold the release for the international markets. The album debuted at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The single also received a commercial release in Australia and Sweden in September 2002. The band announced their first headlining tour in the United States. The Pop 'til You Drop! Tour, a thirty-date tour around the U.S., was held in the summer of 2002 with Baha Men, Jump5, LMNT and Play. The tour ran from mid-July until the end of August throughout the United States and Canada. The concert tour consisted mainly of outdoor venues at amusement parks and amphitheaters. The tour consisted of songs from all three of their studio albums. Later in 2002, due to public demand, the album was released in several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, the latter a country where the band promoted in November. The band had a concert planned in the Auditorio Nacional but was later canceled due to some problems with the set. The band was also invited to do a show for the King and Queen of Sweden and the then president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Their album reached number three on the international albums chart and number fourteen on the main album charts. After the promotion in Mexico, the band headed to Europe to release their single "Floorfiller". The song became a top five hit in their home country and reached the top forty in most European countries as well as becoming a hit in Latin America, but did not match the success of their previous releases. The band appeared on CNN's The Music Room in December 2002, talking about pop music in Sweden. 2003–2004: New Arrival By the end of 2002 the A-Teens were in Europe, on the verge of what would be the international release of their third album, the band performed their hit single, "Floorfiller" at the 2002 Swedish Hit Music Awards as part of the promotion for their new album. In January 2003 the band announced the release dates of their third album for the international market The band promoted in Germany and the Netherlands prior to the album's release. On 27 January the album, entitled New Arrival (a reference to the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. It combined tracks from the last effort Pop 'til You Drop! and new tracks, making a whole new album, or a "half-new album", as they described it. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A-Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The album debuted at number four in Sweden and was certified Gold a few weeks after its release. The second single taken from the album (first in some countries), was "A Perfect Match", the band shot the video for the song in Cuba, the video was premiered on 26 February on ZTV. When the single was released, it reached number two in Sweden and ensured top forty placings all over the world. Worldwide releases of the album followed, including a release in Mexico, on 24 March, the band promoted in the country for almost a month, their album reached number seven on the international album charts and number fifteen on the main album charts in late April that year. Back in their homeland, the band embarked in their New Arrival Tour across Europe doing shows all over Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Slovakia. The band signed a promotional deal to promote Popdrinks in Sweden, with the song "Bounce With Me", Amit graduated from high school and Marie Serneholt was named the third-sexiest woman in Sweden. The third single from the album (second in some countries), "Let Your Heart Do All the Talking" was meant to be commercially released, but after the lack of sales of the A-Teens album in a worldwide scale, the record label canceled the release, and just unleashed the song to radios. Sales for "New Arrival" were lower than expected, selling fewer than 350,000 copies worldwide. The band still got a nomination in the Swedish Hit Music Awards for "Swedish artist/group of the year". The album also contains a cover from Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (from the musical Chess). The music of this song is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the two male ABBA members), while the lyrics are written by Tim Rice. Other covers featured on the album include Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" and The Box Tops' "The Letter". 2004–2006: Greatest Hits and break-up By the beginning of 2004 the band announced their first Greatest Hits compilation was going to be released, a cover of Nick Kamen's "I Promised Myself" became the last single from the band. The band shot the video for the song in March 2004, and was premiered on ZTV in early April, the song went to international radios on late April/May becoming the last hit of the band. The album was a compilation of thirteen singles, which each one of them made the top twenty in at least one country and three new tracks, two of them were written by the band members. Promotion for the album was slow, the band did a few shows in Sweden and international interviews to magazines. Many were reporting the band was splitting up after six years in the pop world. The band quickly denied the rumours on their official website. The single became another top-two hit for the band in Sweden, it became one of the band's biggest hits in South America (especially in Argentina) and the album became the band's first to not make the top ten in their homeland while it brought back the attention to them in other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The album was just released in selected European countries, Asia and only Mexico and Argentina in Latin America. It did not receive a U.S. release, although, when MCA Records went bankrupt and was absorbed by both Geffen and Interscope, the former had plans to release it in November, ready for the Christmas sales, but plans were scrapped when the band finished their tour and Dhani released his first solo single. After "Greatest Hits" was released, the band announced a two-year break. On 15 April 2006, Serneholt's Swedish website officially announced that the A-Teens had disbanded. The members of the group wanted to pursue solo careers. In one magazine Serneholt stated, "The A-Teens are nothing but a memory now, we have all started our own projects." Lennevald confirmed his former groupmate's comment. 2006–present: Solo careers All four pursued solo recording careers over the next few years, before moving into other aspects of music and entertainment, or careers unrelated to music. In September 2004 Dhani Lennevald released "Girl Talk", his first single as a solo artist, in Sweden. There it peaked at number twenty-nine, ensuring Gold status after nine weeks on the charts. After parting ways with Universal Music in 2005, Lennevald works as a music producer and songwriter. In 2005, Marie Serneholt signed with SonyBMG and in early 2006, she released her first single as a solo artist titled "That's the Way My Heart Goes". It reached number two in Sweden in February, and was later released in Europe and certified Gold. This was followed by the album Enjoy the Ride which peaked at number nine in her homeland. She participated in Melodifestivalen 2009 with the track "Disconnect Me". In 2011 she was the host for Melodifestivalen in Sweden. She also participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the single "Salt and Pepper". Serneholt was a judge on X Factor in Sweden where she was the mentor for the groups. Serneholt has moved into working as a model and as a TV-host for shows like Bingolotto and other game shows. Amit Sebastian Paul made his debut as well. Songs in a Key of Mine is a mini-album with eight demos. Amit Paul has released his first Solo album "Songs In A Key Of Mine" which features 12 songs in April 2008, with the first single "Judge You" was released soon after. Amit Paul then finished his Masters at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he did an internship at the management consultancy Bain & Company. In 2010 Amit joined his family business, Paxymer AB, as a Managing Director. Sara Lumholdt released a cover of Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" for a compilation album. She released the song under the name of Sara Love, and according to her official MySpace page she was working with producers from the United States and Europe to release more music. She released "Glamour Bitch" to her MySpace page and is said to be her debut single. Another single, "First", became available on iTunes in July 2008. She moved on to working as a pole dancing instructor and is one of the founders of FLOW, a pole dance studio based in Sweden. In 2014, Sara won Swedish Championships in pole dance. Discography For a complete list of all the songs, see List of songs recorded by A-Teens The ABBA Generation (1999) Teen Spirit (2001) Pop 'til You Drop! (2002) New Arrival (2003) Tours Pop 'Til You Drop! (2002) References External links Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Child musical groups Swedish child singers Swedish co-ed groups Swedish Eurodance groups Swedish pop music groups Teen pop groups Tribute bands 1998 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Stockholm ABBA English-language singers from Sweden MCA Records artists Universal Music Group artists	false	[ "Travel III EP is the sixth album by the Christian rock band Future of Forestry, and the third in the \"Travel Series.\" The recording of the album “officially” started on February 11. It was released on June 29, 2010. Frontman Eric Owyoung wrote all of the songs for this EP and his wife, Tamara Owyoung, painted the cover art for the album. The band subsequently departed on what was called \"The 3 Tour\" to go along with the release. The tour was self-booked and took place in the West and Midwest regions of the United States starting on June 27, 2010 and ending on July 13, 2010.\n\nTrack listing\nThe names (and respective order) of the songs were released on the band's Myspace page leading up to the release of the CD, as they did for the rest of the Travel Series EPs. However, on Travel III, for the first time, Future of Forestry released the tracks out-of-order.\n\n \"Bold and Underlined\" - 4:04\n \"Working to Be Loved\" - 3:48\n \"Did You Lose Yourself\" - 4:47\n \"Protection\" - 4:14\n \"Horizon Rainfall\" - 2:53\n \"Your Day's Not Over\" - 5:00\n\nAwards\nThe album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards.\n\nReferences \n\n2010 EPs\nFuture of Forestry albums", "A Mouthful is the debut album by French/Finnish indie rock band The Dø, released on 14 January 2008. It spawned two singles: \"On My Shoulders\" (2007) and \"At Last!\" (2008). The album was given a US release in April 2010, featuring additional versions of three of the album's songs as bonus tracks.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti and Dan Levy.\n\"Playground Hustle\" – 2:55\n\"At Last!\" – 4:09\n\"On My Shoulders\" – 5:21\n\"Song for Lovers\" – 2:24\n\"The Bridge Is Broken\" – 4:42\n\"Stay (Just a Little Bit More)\" – 3:06\n\"Unissasi laulelet\" – 2:19\n\"Tammie\" – 3:15\n\"Queen Dot Kong\" – 3:14\n\"Coda\" – 1:57\n\"Searching Gold\" – 5:10\n\"When Was I Last Home?\" – 3:34\n\"Travel Light\" – 4:02\n\"Aha\" – 4:19\n\"In My Box\" – 1:48\n\nBonus tracks on the US release\n\nCritical reception\n\nPitchfork Media gave the album a rating of 7.5 out of 10, noting \"[A Mouthful] tries to balance the mature and the immature\" and that \"[Olivia B. Merilahti and Dan Levy] aren't shy about toying with musical categories (...) which compensates for the less-than-advisable inclusions, and the record is as ambitious and fun as any coming-out party in recent memory\", but criticizing the lack of a better quality control.\n\nDrowned in Sound gave it a rating of 9 out of 10, saying the band is like \"a female Eminem backed with a brass band\" or \"PJ Harvey on the Moon\".\n\nFrench magazine Les Inrockuptibles gave a positive review, calling them a \"cool and promising band\".\n\nThe album was nominated for the Prix Constantin in 2008 but did not win.\n\nCharts\nA Mouthful topped the French charts in its first week. It is the first English-sung pop French record to top the albums chart in France.\n\nSales\n\nIt was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe.\n\nReferences\n\n2008 debut albums\nThe Dø albums" ]
[ "James May", "Top Gear" ]	C_60db32ad43924c29b878c7e03a146de4_1	What is meant by Top Gear?	1	What is meant by James May, Top Gear?	James May	May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER	speed driving	James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. Early life James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service. Journalism career During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. Dismissal from Autocar In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." Television career His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. Top Gear May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. Science May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute. James May on the Moon James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station. James May's Toy Stories Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy. In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full mile-long circuit. Oz and James In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain. James May: Our Man in Japan In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. Internet presence May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide. May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021. In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe. In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". Personal life May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal". In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed. Vehicles May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time". May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him. Filmography Television DVD Video games Television advertisements Bibliography May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. Britcar 24 Hour results References External links 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from Bristol Alumni of Lancaster University British motoring journalists BBC people English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hammersmith and Fulham The Daily Telegraph people People from Hammersmith Top Gear people Britcar 24-hour drivers	true	[ "Top Gear: Extra Gear, known simply as Extra Gear, is a British online television series, broadcast by BBC Three, which is online only and is available on on-demand service BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom; the series serves as a spin-off show to Top Gear. In the first series, the main presenters were Top Gear co-presenters Rory Reid and Chris Harris. After Reid and Harris were appointed as main presenters to the parent show, comedian George Lewis was announced as the new lead presenter for series 2. Following Lewis’ departure, Reid returned as the presenter of the show for the third series.\n\nProduction\nOn 27 April 2016, it was announced that BBC Three had commissioned a spin-off programme to BBC Two motoring series Top Gear, entitled Extra Gear, presented by Top Gear co-presenter Rory Reid. The series is released online immediately following episodes from the twenty-third series of the main show, and features exclusive new footage, interviews, specially-recorded films and behind-the-scenes access to Top Gear.\n\nFollowing his appointment, Reid stated that \"Top Gear fans are some of the keenest in the world and with this show I’m giving them a chance to really get a peek behind the curtain. I’m looking forward to showing them how the show is made and what goes on behind the scenes, giving viewers a different perspective on some of the coolest cars on the planet.\" Reid won his place on the show after submitting a thirty-second audition video to a BBC open audition for the role.\n\nOn 24 May 2016, a behind-the-scenes trailer revealed that Reid would be joined by fellow Top Gear presenter Chris Harris, who would act as his co-presenter. Harris' addition was confirmed on 29 May 2016.\n\nIn 2017, the BBC announced following Harris and Reid's promotion to the main show, that comedian George Lewis would become the main presenter alongside the two. Reid would return, without Harris, for series 3.\n\nAfter Series 4, the BBC confirmed that the show would not return.\n\nEpisodes\n\nSeries 1 (2016)\n\nSeries 2 (2017)\n\nSeries 3 (2018)\n\nSeries 4 (2019)\n\nBroadcast\nIn the United States, Extra Gear is presented on BBC America immediately following the first airing of Top Gear. In Australia, the show is available (not broadcast) on on-demand service 9Now.\n\nFrom series 2 onwards, reruns are broadcast on BBC Two, the broadcaster of parent show Top Gear.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nTop Gear\n2016 British television series debuts\n2019 British television series endings\nEnglish-language television shows\nDriving in the United Kingdom\nTelevision series by BBC Studios", "Progressive shifting is a technique for changing gears commonly practiced by drivers of semi-trailer trucks. It is meant to reduce fuel consumption — something very important for drivers who travel several hundred miles each day.\n\nProgressive shifting is accomplished by changing gears upward as early as possible when accelerating, while staying within the flat torque range. Each shift will go a little higher into the RPM, until the vehicle is in its top gear at cruising speed. After each shift is completed, the engine and transmission should be operating at or near the lowest rpm speeds recommended by the manufacturers of those parts.\n\nThe fastest acceleration is achieved when the truck is receiving as close as possible to maximum power throughout the entire time it is accelerating. E.g. in a truck with a Caterpillar C15 engine it is achieved by going all the way up to 1950RPM, then shifting to a gear that will put the engine at 1500RPM.\n\nIn contrast, using progressive shifting, i.e. maintaining maximum torque, the overall acceleration is slower but there is increased fuel efficiency and lower wear of engine due to smaller RPM.\n\nExternal links\n\nTrucks" ]
[ "James May", "Top Gear", "What is meant by Top Gear?", "speed driving" ]	C_60db32ad43924c29b878c7e03a146de4_1	What are some important aspects of speed driving?	2	What are some important aspects of James May's speed driving?	James May	May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER	In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.	James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. Early life James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service. Journalism career During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. Dismissal from Autocar In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." Television career His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. Top Gear May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. Science May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute. James May on the Moon James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station. James May's Toy Stories Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy. In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full mile-long circuit. Oz and James In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain. James May: Our Man in Japan In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. Internet presence May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide. May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021. In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe. In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". Personal life May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal". In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed. Vehicles May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time". May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him. Filmography Television DVD Video games Television advertisements Bibliography May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. Britcar 24 Hour results References External links 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from Bristol Alumni of Lancaster University British motoring journalists BBC people English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hammersmith and Fulham The Daily Telegraph people People from Hammersmith Top Gear people Britcar 24-hour drivers	true	[ "Driving in India is governed by various legal powers and in some cases is subject to the passing of a driving test. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to road transport, national highways and transport research, in order to increase the mobility and efficiency of the road transport system in India. Indian traffic drives on the left.\n\nHighway Safety Code \nIndian Roads Congress (IRC) had published a Highway Safety Code [IRC publication code IRC:SP:44-1996]. In the publication, it states that \"this code is not a manual of traffic law, although some of the measures dealt within it are prescribed by Law. Others are dictated by good sense and courtesy. However, each category is as important as the other\". This book is created based on the recommendations of First Highway Saferty workshop help at Chandigarh in January 1972. Copyrights of this book is owned by Indian Road Congress. This book consists of a number of chapters covering various types of road users. Road users explicitly covered are Pedestrians, Animal Drawn Vehicles, Cyclists, Motor Cyclists and other Motorised vehicles. Unlike a few other countries, this book is not available on retail stores for sales to purchase, and is sold through IRC only.\n\nSpeed limits \nRoad speed limits in India are defined by the road types and Vehicle category. As per section 112 of The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Central government of India has power to notify the minimum and maximum speed limits at national level where as similar power is granted to Indian State governments or their nominated agency has power to notify speed limits under their jurisdiction.\n\nUntil 2014, there was no national upper speed limit for cars in India, as local police set the limits in their own areas. Local governments are still encouraged to set specific limits within their own jurisdiction.\n\nBelow are the latest Maximum speed limited defined by the Government of India on 6 April 2018.\n\nPedestrian crossings \nThere are two broad categories of pedestrian crossing to aid the safe passage across major roads by those travelling on foot.\nTraffic light controlled crossings: Drivers are controlled by traffic light signals.\nZebra crossings: Black and white stripes are painted on the road. Drivers must give way to pedestrians on the crossing.\n\nDriving licence \n\nDriving licences may be obtained by any citizen of age 18 or above, subject to certain conditions. Initially, a provisional licence is issued, which restricts the holder to driving whilst accompanied by a driver who has held a full licence in the category of vehicle they are supervising the learner driver. The provisional licence may be exchanged for a full licence after the holder has passed the driving test. On reaching the age of 50, drivers may apply to have their licences renewed with a medical/fitness certificate. Many foreign driving licences permit one to drive in India for a period of one year.\n\nEnforcement \nSome of the rules of the road should be enforced by the police. Motorists convicted of certain traffic, and certain non-traffic offences may have 'points' added to their licences: some traffic violations, typically warrant three points, and motorists with twelve points face a temporary driving suspension.\n\nFatalities \n\nIndia is generally considered to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to drive. In 2007, more than 130,000 people died on the roads in India, though the number should be weighed against the large population of the country. A representative of Delhi's Institute of Road Traffic Education suggested that among the main causes were the lack of traffic management, \"we do not design traffic management systems to separate different streams\", and poor driver training. A 2014 article published by Reuters described a driving test in Delhi, which lasted less than two minutes, and involved one examiner testing ten people at the same time. Peter Foster, a journalist for The Daily Telegraph, recounted that in his experience, fellow drivers paid little heed to the rules of the road, and did anything they could do avoid queuing; succeeding in blocking up more of the road. The wide variety of methods of transportation, and what is often portrayed as a common disregard for the rules of the road, contribute to the fatalities.\n\nSee also\nRoads in India\nSpeed limits in India\nRoad signs in India\n\nReferences\n\nIndia\nRoad safety\nRoad transport in India", "Speed limits in the Isle of Man are measured in miles per hour, and the same basic design of road signs is used as in the United Kingdom.\n\nAs a self-governing British Crown Dependency outside the United Kingdom, the island's parliament Tynwald is able to decide its own legislation, including road traffic laws such as speed limits and ability to close roads to allow the Isle of Man TT to take place.\n\nThere is normally no national speed limit in the Isle of Man – some roads may be driven at any speed which is safe and appropriate. In built-up areas a speed limit of 30mph usually applies. \n\nCareless and dangerous driving laws still apply, so one may not drive at absolutely any speed, and there are local speed limits on many roads. Many unrestricted roads have frequent bends which even the most experienced driver cannot see round. Drivers are limited to in the first full year after passing their driving test (Isle of Man citizens are permitted to start driving at the age of sixteen) and some are not used to having to make progress in the same way as on a larger road network such as that in the UK: even a cautious driver can get from anywhere in the island to anywhere else in no more than sixty minutes.\n\nSet against this is a strong culture of motor sport enthusiasm (pinnacled in the TT, but there are many events during the year) and many residents familiar with the roads are well used to traversing country roads at speeds illegal on similar roads elsewhere. This leads to a very diverse spread of both driving competence and speed. In an official survey in 2006, the introduction of blanket speed limits was refused by the population.\n\nDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, an island-wide temporary speed limit of 40mph was introduced in 2020, later increasing to 60mph.\n\nSee also\nSpeed limits in the United Kingdom\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nSpeed restrictions - Isle of Man Constabulary website\nBBC News, 27 March 2020 - introduction of temporary 40 m.p.h. speed limit\n\nIsle of Man" ]
[ "James May", "Top Gear", "What is meant by Top Gear?", "speed driving", "What are some important aspects of speed driving?", "In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F." ]	C_60db32ad43924c29b878c7e03a146de4_1	Was anything else tested?	3	In addition to testing Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F, was anything else tested?	James May	May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER	he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph	James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. Early life James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service. Journalism career During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. Dismissal from Autocar In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." Television career His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. Top Gear May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. Science May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute. James May on the Moon James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station. James May's Toy Stories Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy. In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full mile-long circuit. Oz and James In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain. James May: Our Man in Japan In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. Internet presence May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide. May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021. In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe. In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". Personal life May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal". In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed. Vehicles May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time". May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him. Filmography Television DVD Video games Television advertisements Bibliography May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. Britcar 24 Hour results References External links 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from Bristol Alumni of Lancaster University British motoring journalists BBC people English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hammersmith and Fulham The Daily Telegraph people People from Hammersmith Top Gear people Britcar 24-hour drivers	false	[ "Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä is a bog region in Savukoski, Lapland in Finland. Its name is 35 letters long and is the longest place name in Finland, and also the third longest, if names with spaces or hyphens are included, in Europe. It has also been the longest official place name in the European Union since 31 January 2020, when Brexit was completed, as the record was previously held by Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, a village in Wales, United Kingdom.\n\nOverview\nA pub in Salla was named Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsi-baari after this bog region. According to an anecdote, the owner of the pub tried two different names for it, but both had already been taken. Frustrated, he registered the pub under a name he knew no one else would be using. The pub also had the longest name of a registered commercial establishment in Finland. The bar was in practice known as Äteritsi-baari. The pub was closed in April 2006.\n\nThe etymology is not known, although the name has been confirmed as genuine. Other than jänkä \"bog\", lauta \"board\" and puoli \"half\", it does not mean anything in Finnish, and was probably never intended to be anything else than alliterative gibberish.\n\nReferences \n\nSavukoski\nBogs of Finland\nLandforms of Lapland (Finland)", "Benjamin F. Royal was a state senator in Alabama during the Reconstruction era. He was elected to the state senate in 1868, and was the first African American to serve in the chamber. He represented Bullock County and served for nine years. He served as a Republican, and had stated that \"he could as well be an infidel as to be anything else than a Republican\". He was a Union League organizer.\n\nHe was born to a white father and a mother who had been a slave.\n\nReferences\n\nYear of birth missing\nAlabama state senators\nReconstruction Era" ]
[ "James May", "Top Gear", "What is meant by Top Gear?", "speed driving", "What are some important aspects of speed driving?", "In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.", "Was anything else tested?", "he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph" ]	C_60db32ad43924c29b878c7e03a146de4_1	What else did he do after that?	4	In addition to taking the Bugatti at top speed, what else did James May do?	James May	May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER	He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road,	James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. Early life James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service. Journalism career During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. Dismissal from Autocar In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." Television career His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. Top Gear May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. Science May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute. James May on the Moon James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station. James May's Toy Stories Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy. In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full mile-long circuit. Oz and James In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain. James May: Our Man in Japan In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. Internet presence May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide. May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021. In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe. In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". Personal life May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal". In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed. Vehicles May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time". May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him. Filmography Television DVD Video games Television advertisements Bibliography May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. Britcar 24 Hour results References External links 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from Bristol Alumni of Lancaster University British motoring journalists BBC people English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hammersmith and Fulham The Daily Telegraph people People from Hammersmith Top Gear people Britcar 24-hour drivers	false	[ "What Else Do You Do? (A Compilation of Quiet Music) is a various artists compilation album, released in 1990 by Shimmy Disc.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel \nAdapted from the What Else Do You Do? (A Compilation of Quiet Music) liner notes.\n Kramer – production, engineering\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\n1990 compilation albums\nAlbums produced by Kramer (musician)\nShimmy Disc compilation albums", "Fiction is the Comsat Angels' third album, released in August 1982 on Polydor Records. The album has been reissued on CD three times: in 1995 by RPM Records, in 2006 by Renascent and in 2015 by Edsel Records, with different track listings (see below). The album peaked at No. 94 in the UK charts in September 1982.\n\nFiction was less gloomy than the Comsats' previous album, Sleep No More. Frontman Stephen Fellows said of the change: \"I certainly didn't want to make another record as intense as Sleep No More — at least not immediately. Sleep No More was so dark that I felt it skewed things a bit — possibly even mentally for me. I just felt if we carried on in that direction it'd lead to madness or maybe even something worse\".\n\nFellows was satisfied with many of the songs on Fiction, including \"What Else!?\", \"Pictures\" and \"After the Rain\", but felt that the album as a whole could have been better. \"We were a bit short of tunes when we recorded it\", he said. \"We were touring quite a bit after Sleep No More and there wasn't as much time to write as I would have liked\".\n\nTrack listing (1982) \nAll tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.\n\n\"After the Rain\"\n\"Zinger\"\n\"Now I Know\"\n\"Not a Word\"\n\"Ju Ju Money\"\n\"More\"\n\"Pictures\"\n\"Birdman\"\n\"Don't Look Now\"\n\"What Else!?\"\n\nTrack listing (1995) \nAll tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.\n\n\"After the Rain\"\n\"Zinger\"\n\"Now I Know\"\n\"Not a Word\"\n\"Ju Ju Money\"\n\"More\"\n\"Pictures\"\n\"Birdman\"\n\"Don't Look Now\"\n\"What Else!?\"\n\"It's History\"\n\"After the Rain\" (Remix)\n\"Private Party\"\n\"Mass\"\n\nTrack listing (2006) \nAll tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.\n\n\"After the Rain\"\n\"Zinger\"\n\"Now I Know\"\n\"Not a Word\"\n\"Ju Ju Money\"\n\"More\"\n\"Pictures\"\n\"Birdman\"\n\"Don't Look Now\"\n\"What Else!?\"\n\"(Do The) Empty House\"\n\"Red Planet Revisited\"\n\"It's History\"\n\"Private Party\"\n\"For Your Information\"\n\"After the Rain\" (Remix)\n\"(Do The) Empty House\" (Live)\n\"What Else!?\" (Live)\n\nTrack listing (2015) \nAll tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.\n\nDisc 1\n\"After the Rain\"\n\"Zinger\"\n\"Now I Know\"\n\"Not a Word\"\n\"Ju Ju Money\"\n\"More\"\n\"Pictures\"\n\"Birdman\"\n\"Don't Look Now\"\n\"What Else!?\"\n\nDisc 2 – bonus tracks\n\"(Do The) Empty House\"\n\"Red Planet Revisited\"\n\"It's History\"\n\"Private Party\"\n\"For Your Information\"\n\"After the Rain\" (Remix)\n\nJohn Peel Session\n\"Now I Know\"\n\"Ju Ju Money\"\n\"Our Secret\"\n\"Goat of the West\"\n\nPersonnel \nThe Comsat Angels\nStephen Fellows – vocals, guitar, artwork\nAndy Peake – synthesizer, vocals\nKevin Bacon – bass guitar\nMik Glaisher – drums\n\nReferences \n\n1982 albums\nThe Comsat Angels albums\nPolydor Records albums" ]
[ "James May", "Top Gear", "What is meant by Top Gear?", "speed driving", "What are some important aspects of speed driving?", "In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.", "Was anything else tested?", "he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph", "What else did he do after that?", "He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road," ]	C_60db32ad43924c29b878c7e03a146de4_1	Did he drive anything else or was that it?	5	In addition to driving a Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, did James May drive anything else?	James May	May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER	he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo,	James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. Early life James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service. Journalism career During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. Dismissal from Autocar In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." Television career His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. Top Gear May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. Science May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute. James May on the Moon James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station. James May's Toy Stories Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy. In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full mile-long circuit. Oz and James In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain. James May: Our Man in Japan In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. Internet presence May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide. May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021. In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe. In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". Personal life May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal". In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed. Vehicles May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time". May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him. Filmography Television DVD Video games Television advertisements Bibliography May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. Britcar 24 Hour results References External links 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from Bristol Alumni of Lancaster University British motoring journalists BBC people English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hammersmith and Fulham The Daily Telegraph people People from Hammersmith Top Gear people Britcar 24-hour drivers	false	[ "Ward v. Tesco Stores Ltd. [1976] 1 WLR 810, is an English tort law case concerning the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (\"the thing speaks for itself\"). It deals with the law of negligence and it set an important precedent in so called \"trip and slip\" cases which are a common occurrence.\n\nFacts\nThe plaintiff slipped on some pink yoghurt in a Tesco store in Smithdown Road, Liverpool. It was not clear whether or not Tesco staff were to blame for the spillage. It could have been another customer, or the wind, or anything else. Spillages happened roughly 10 times a week and staff had standing orders to clean anything up straight away. As Lawton LJ observed in his judgment,\n\nThe trial judge had held in Mrs Ward's favour and she was awarded £137.50 in damages. Tesco appealed.\n\nJudgment\nIt was held by a majority (Lawton LJ and Megaw LJ) that even though it could not be said exactly what happened, the pink yoghurt being spilled spoke for itself as to who was to blame. Tesco was required to pay compensation. The plaintiff did not need to prove how long the spill had been there, because the burden of proof was on Tesco. Lawton LJ's judgment explained the previous case law, starting with Richards v. WF White & Co. [1957] 1 Lloyd's Rep.\n\nDissent\nOmrod LJ disagreed with Lawton LJ and Megaw LJ on the basis that Tesco did not seem to have been able to do anything to have prevented the accident. He argued that they did not fail to take reasonable care, and in his words, the accident \"could clearly have happened no matter what degree of care these defendants had taken.\"\n\nNotes\n\nEnglish tort case law\nEnglish occupier case law\nCourt of Appeal (England and Wales) cases\n1976 in case law\n1976 in British law\nTesco", "Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä is a bog region in Savukoski, Lapland in Finland. Its name is 35 letters long and is the longest place name in Finland, and also the third longest, if names with spaces or hyphens are included, in Europe. It has also been the longest official place name in the European Union since 31 January 2020, when Brexit was completed, as the record was previously held by Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, a village in Wales, United Kingdom.\n\nOverview\nA pub in Salla was named Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsi-baari after this bog region. According to an anecdote, the owner of the pub tried two different names for it, but both had already been taken. Frustrated, he registered the pub under a name he knew no one else would be using. The pub also had the longest name of a registered commercial establishment in Finland. The bar was in practice known as Äteritsi-baari. The pub was closed in April 2006.\n\nThe etymology is not known, although the name has been confirmed as genuine. Other than jänkä \"bog\", lauta \"board\" and puoli \"half\", it does not mean anything in Finnish, and was probably never intended to be anything else than alliterative gibberish.\n\nReferences \n\nSavukoski\nBogs of Finland\nLandforms of Lapland (Finland)" ]
[ "James May", "Top Gear", "What is meant by Top Gear?", "speed driving", "What are some important aspects of speed driving?", "In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.", "Was anything else tested?", "he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph", "What else did he do after that?", "He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road,", "Did he drive anything else or was that it?", "he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo," ]	C_60db32ad43924c29b878c7e03a146de4_1	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	6	Besides driving a Volkswagen Polo, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	James May	May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER	entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross.	James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. Early life James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service. Journalism career During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. Dismissal from Autocar In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." Television career His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. Top Gear May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. Science May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute. James May on the Moon James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station. James May's Toy Stories Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy. In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full mile-long circuit. Oz and James In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain. James May: Our Man in Japan In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. Internet presence May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide. May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021. In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe. In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". Personal life May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal". In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed. Vehicles May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time". May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him. Filmography Television DVD Video games Television advertisements Bibliography May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. Britcar 24 Hour results References External links 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from Bristol Alumni of Lancaster University British motoring journalists BBC people English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hammersmith and Fulham The Daily Telegraph people People from Hammersmith Top Gear people Britcar 24-hour drivers	false	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "James May", "Top Gear", "What is meant by Top Gear?", "speed driving", "What are some important aspects of speed driving?", "In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.", "Was anything else tested?", "he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph", "What else did he do after that?", "He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road,", "Did he drive anything else or was that it?", "he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross." ]	C_60db32ad43924c29b878c7e03a146de4_1	Did he have a huge fan base?	7	Did James May have a huge fan base?	James May	May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. Early life James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service. Journalism career During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. Dismissal from Autocar In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." Television career His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. Top Gear May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. Science May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute. James May on the Moon James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station. James May's Toy Stories Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy. In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full mile-long circuit. Oz and James In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain. James May: Our Man in Japan In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. Internet presence May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide. May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021. In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe. In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". Personal life May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal". In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed. Vehicles May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time". May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him. Filmography Television DVD Video games Television advertisements Bibliography May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. Britcar 24 Hour results References External links 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from Bristol Alumni of Lancaster University British motoring journalists BBC people English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hammersmith and Fulham The Daily Telegraph people People from Hammersmith Top Gear people Britcar 24-hour drivers	false	[ "Takeshi Sato (born June 8, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to Pro Wrestling Secret Base\n\nHe is the twin brother of mixed martial artist Takenori Sato.\n\nBiography\nHe debuted in 2005 in Dragon Gate. He wrestled in exhibition matches with Yamato Onodera/YAMATO until the summer of 2006. He was thought to have retired but turned up in El Dorado Wrestling in January 2007 as Go. He quickly gained a strong fan base & joined Shuji Kondo's SUKIYAKI stable at first. He then betrayed him & joined the HELL DEMONS faction. Go and the Brahman brothers faced Toru Owashi, Takuya Sugawara and Nobutaka Araya for the vacant UWA World Trios Championship but did not win the belts.\n\nChampionships and accomplishments\n\nPro Wrestling Secret Base\nCaptain of the Secret Base Openweight Championship (2 times)\nCaptain of the Secret Base Openweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Amigo Suzuki\n\nMixed martial arts record\n\n\|-\n\|Draw\n\|align=center\| 0–0–1\n\|\n\|Draw\n\|Kingdom of Grapple: Live 2007\n\|\n\|align=center\| 2\n\|align=center\| 5:00\n\|Tokyo, Japan\n\|\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nPro Wrestling El Dorado~The Next DOOR Project~\n\nJapanese male professional wrestlers\nLiving people\n1981 births", "Hemant Chauhan is an Indian writer and singer associated with Gujarati literature and music. He was born on 7 November 1955 in Kundni village in Rajkot district of Gujarat. He specializes in Bhajan, religious and Garba songs and other folk genres.\n\nOn 9 October 2012, he received the 'Akademi Ratna Award 2011' for his contributions to Gujarat's traditional folk music. He is frequently referred to as the Bhajan King of Gujarati Music, and is also considered to be one of the best singers of Sugam Sangeet. He has a huge fan base and following all over the world including India (mainly in Gujarat), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and East Africa. His fan base outside India is made up of people of Gujarati heritage. With an extensive catalogue of hit songs and bhajans, his “Kathiya Wadi Lok Dayra and Bhajan Sandhya” concert tour in North America in early 2007 was a huge hit. He has released many albums of devotional music. He has the mastery in Gujarati Bhajans and he himself believes that he has gained popularity and fame by singing Gujarati Bhajans, especially the Bhajans of great Gujarati saint-poet Dasi Jivan. His first album 'Dasi Jivan na Bhajano' was released in 1978 and became a huge hit across Gujarat. Since then, he has sung more than 5000 bhajans and many other devotional items.\n\nSelected works\n\n Bharat no Bhimrao (Dr. B R Ambedkar)\n Bandharan kon lakhe (Dr. B R Ambedkar)\nPankhida O Pankhida\nOm Namah Shivay - Shiv Dhun\nShriman Narayan Narayan - Vishnu Dhun\nHey Ram Hey Ram Dhun\nOm Mangalam Omkar Mangalam Dhun\nOm Mangalam Omkar Mangalam - Dwadash Jyotirling Song\nBhajman Bam Bam Bholenath\nStuti Namo Bhootnath\nOm Sai Mangalam\nLaher Lagi Bhajan Ni\nDham Dham Nagara Re...\nLive In Leicester - Tu Rangai Jane Rang Ma\nChotile Dakla Vagya\nBhajan-Krishna-Devotional\nShiv Tandav\nHe Jagjanani He Jagdamba Hd Verslkion\nHemant Chauhan - Tare Rahevu Bhada Na Makan Ma...\nShrinathaji And Bhajan\nPankhida Ne Aa Pinjaru\nUnchi Medi Te Mara Sant Ni Re\nRaakh Na Ramakada\nO Ma Meri\n Pyalo mein pidhel che bharpoor (Sant Dasi Jivan)\n Dekhanda koi aa dal mai (Sant Dasi Jivan)\n Kaleja katari, madi mune laine maari (Sant Dasi Jivan)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Interview of Hemant Chauhan by Devang Vibhakar on speakbindas \n Short Introduction of Hemant Chauhan on planetradiocity\n \n\nIndian male singer-songwriters\nIndian singer-songwriters\nLiving people\nIndian male folk singers\nPerformers of Hindu music\nBhajan singers\nGujarati-language writers\nGujarati-language singers\nSingers from Gujarat\nYear of birth missing (living people)" ]
[ "James May", "Top Gear", "What is meant by Top Gear?", "speed driving", "What are some important aspects of speed driving?", "In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.", "Was anything else tested?", "he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph", "What else did he do after that?", "He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road,", "Did he drive anything else or was that it?", "he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross.", "Did he have a huge fan base?", "I don't know." ]	C_60db32ad43924c29b878c7e03a146de4_1	Is there anything else that is important to add regarding this?	8	Besides a huge fan base, is there anything else that is important to add about James May?	James May	May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER	April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters.	James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. Early life James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service. Journalism career During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. Dismissal from Autocar In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." Television career His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. Top Gear May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F. May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. Science May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute. James May on the Moon James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station. James May's Toy Stories Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy. In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full mile-long circuit. Oz and James In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain. James May: Our Man in Japan In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. Internet presence May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide. May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021. In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe. In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". Personal life May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal". In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed. Vehicles May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time". May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him. Filmography Television DVD Video games Television advertisements Bibliography May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. Britcar 24 Hour results References External links 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from Bristol Alumni of Lancaster University British motoring journalists BBC people English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hammersmith and Fulham The Daily Telegraph people People from Hammersmith Top Gear people Britcar 24-hour drivers	true	[ "SSS* is a search algorithm, introduced by George Stockman in 1979, that conducts a state space search traversing a game tree in a best-first fashion similar to that of the A* search algorithm.\n\nSSS* is based on the notion of solution trees. Informally, a solution tree can be formed from any arbitrary game tree by pruning the number of branches at each MAX node to one. Such a tree represents a complete strategy for MAX, since it specifies exactly one MAX action for every possible sequence of moves made by the opponent. Given a game tree, SSS* searches through the space of partial solution trees, gradually analyzing larger and larger subtrees, eventually producing a single solution tree with the same root and Minimax value as the original game tree. SSS* never examines a node that alpha-beta pruning would prune, and may prune some branches that alpha-beta would not. Stockman speculated that SSS* may therefore be a better general algorithm than alpha-beta. However, Igor Roizen and Judea Pearl have shown that the savings in the number of positions that SSS* evaluates relative to alpha/beta is limited and generally not enough to compensate for the increase in other resources (e.g., the storing and sorting of a list of nodes made necessary by the best-first nature of the algorithm). However, Aske Plaat, Jonathan Schaeffer, Wim Pijls and Arie de Bruin have shown that a sequence of null-window alpha-beta calls is equivalent to SSS* (i.e., it expands the same nodes in the same order) when alpha-beta is used with a transposition table, as is the case in all game-playing programs for chess, checkers, etc. Now the storing and sorting of the OPEN list were no longer necessary. This allowed the implementation of (an algorithm equivalent to) SSS* in tournament quality game-playing programs. Experiments showed that it did indeed perform better than Alpha-Beta in practice, but that it did not beat NegaScout.\n\nThe reformulation of a best-first algorithm as a sequence of depth-first calls prompted the formulation of a class of null-window alpha-beta algorithms, of which MTD(f) is the best known example.\n\nAlgorithm\nThere is a priority queue OPEN that stores states or the nodes, where - node identificator (Dot-decimal notation is used to identify nodes, is a root), - state of the node (L - the node is live, which means it's not solved yet and S - the node is solved), - value of the solved node. Items in OPEN queue are sorted descending by their value. If more than one node has the same value of , a node left-most in the tree is chosen.\n\n OPEN := { (e, L, inf) }\n while true do // repeat until stopped\n pop an element p=(J, s, h) from the head of the OPEN queue\n if J = e and s = S then\n STOP the algorithm and return h as a result\n else\n apply Gamma operator for p\n\n operator for is defined in the following way:\n\n if s = L then\n if J is a terminal node then\n (1.) add (J, S, min(h, value(J))) to OPEN\n else if J is a MIN node then\n (2.) add (J.1, L, h) to OPEN\n else\n (3.) for j=1..number_of_children(J) add (J.j, L, h) to OPEN\n else\n if J is a MIN node then\n (4.) add (parent(J), S, h) to OPEN\n remove from OPEN all the states that are associated with the children of parent(J)\n else if is_last_child(J) then // if J is the last child of parent(J)\n (5.) add (parent(J), S, h) to OPEN\n else\n (6.) add (parent(J).(k+1), L, h) to OPEN // add state associated with the next child of parent(J) to OPEN\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nChess Programming Wiki\nGeorge Stockman's website\n\nSearch algorithms\nArticles with example code", "Strand sort is a recursive sorting algorithm that sorts items of a list into increasing order. It has O(n2) worst time complexity which occurs when the input list is reverse sorted. It has a best case time complexity of O(n) which occurs when the input is a list that is already sorted. Strand sort is not in-place as its space complexity is O(n).\n\nThe algorithm first moves the first element of a list into a sub-list. It then compares the last element in the sub-list to each subsequent element in the original list. Once there is an element in the original list that is greater than the last element in the sub-list, the element is removed from the original list and added to the sub-list. This process continues until the last element in the sub-list is compared to the remaining elements in the original list. The sub-list is then merged into a new list. Repeat this process and merge all sub-lists until all elements are sorted. This algorithm is called strand sort because there are strands of sorted elements within the unsorted elements that are removed one at a time. This algorithm is also used in J Sort for fewer than 40 elements.\n\nExample \nThis example is based on the description of the algorithm provided in the book, IT Enabled Practices and Emerging Management Paradigms.\n\nStep 1: Start with a list of numbers: {5, 1, 4, 2, 0, 9, 6, 3, 8, 7 }\n\nStep 2: Next move the first element of the list into a new sub-list: sub-list contains {5}\n\nStep 3: Then iterate through the original list and compare each number to 5 until there is a number greater than 5.\n\n 1 < 5 so 1 is not added to the sub-list.\n 4 < 5 so 4 is not added to the sub-list.\n 2 < 5 so 2 is not added to the sub-list.\n 0 < 5 so 0 is not added to the sub-list.\n 9 > 5 so 9 is added to the sub-list and removed from the original list.\n\nStep 4: Now compare 9 with the remaining elements in the original list until there is a number greater than 9. \n\n 6 < 9 so 6 is not added to the sub-list.\n 3 < 9 so 3 is not added to the sub-list.\n 8 < 9 so 8 is not added to the sub-list.\n 7 < 9 so 7 is not added to the sub-list.\n\nStep 5: Now there are no more elements to compare 9 to so merge the sub-list into a new list, called solution-list.\n\nAfter step 5, the original list contains {1, 4, 2, 0, 6, 3, 8, 7}\n\nThe sub-list is empty, and the solution list contains {5, 9}\n\nStep 6: Move the first element of the original list into sub-list: sub-list contains {1}\n\nStep 7: Iterate through the original list and compare each number to 1 until there is a number greater than 1.\n\n 4 > 1 so 4 is added to the sub-list and 4 is removed from the original list.\n\nStep 8: Now compare 4 with the remaining elements in the original list until there is a number greater than 4.\n\n 2 < 4 so 2 is not added to the sub-list.\n 0 < 4 so 0 is not added to the sub-list.\n 6 > 4 so 6 is added to the sub-list and is removed from the original list.\n\nStep 9: Now compare 6 with the remaining elements in the original list until there is a number greater than 6. \n\n 3 < 6 so 3 is not added to the sub-list.\n 8 > 6 so 8 is added to the sub-list and is removed from the original list.\n\nStep 10: Now compare 8 with the remaining elements in the original list until there is a number greater than 8.\n\n 7 < 8 so 7 is not added to the sub-list.\n\nStep 11: Since there are no more elements in the original list to compare {8} to, the sub-list is merged with the solution list. Now the original list contains {2, 0, 3, 7}, the sub-list is empty and the solution-list contains: {1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9}.\n\nStep 12: Move the first element of the original list into sub-list. Sub-list contains {2}\n\nStep 13: Iterate through the original list and compare each number to 2 until there is a number greater than 2.\n\n 0 < 2 so 0 is not added to the sub-list.\n 3 > 2 so 3 is added to the sub-list and is removed from the original list.\n\nStep 14: Now compare 3 with the remaining elements in the original list until there is a number greater than 3.\n\n 7 > 3 so 7 is added to the sub-list and is removed from the original list.\n\nStep 15: Since there are no more elements in the original list to compare {7} to, the sub-list is merged with the solution list. The original list now contains {0}, the sub-list is empty, and solution list contains: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}.\n\nStep 16: Move the first element of the original list into sub-list. Sub-list contains {0}.\n\nStep 17: Since the original list is now empty, the sub-list is merged with the solution list. The solution list now contains: {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}. There are now no more elements in the original list, and all of the elements in the solution list have successfully been sorted into increasing numerical order.\n\nImplementation \nSince Strand Sort requires many insertions and deletions, it is best to use a linked list when implementing the algorithm. Linked lists require constant time for both insertions and removals of elements using iterators. The time to traverse through the linked list is directly related to the input size of the list. The following implementation is done in Java 8 and is based on the description of the algorithm from the book, IT Enabled Practices and Emerging Management Paradigms.package strandSort;\n\nimport java.util.;\n\npublic class strandSort {\n\tstatic LinkedList<Integer> solList = new LinkedList<Integer>();\n\tstatic int k = 0;\n\n\t/\n\t This is a recursive Strand Sort method. It takes in a linked list of\n\t * integers as its parameter. It first checks the base case to see if the\n\t * linked list is empty. Then proceeds to the Strand sort algorithm until\n\t * the linked list is empty.\n\t * \n\t * @param origList:\n\t * a linked list of integers\n\t */\n\tpublic static void strandSortIterative(LinkedList<Integer> origList) {\n\n\t\t// Base Case\n\t\tif (origList.isEmpty()) {\n\t\t\treturn;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\telse {\n\t\t\t// Create the subList and add the first element of\n\t\t\t// The original linked list to the sublist.\n\t\t\t// Then remove the first element from the original list.\n\t\t\tLinkedList<Integer> subList = new LinkedList<Integer>();\n\t\t\tsubList.add(origList.getFirst());\n\t\t\torigList.removeFirst();\n\n\t\t\t// Iterate through the original list, checking if any elements are\n\t\t\t// Greater than the element in the sub list.\n\t\t\tint index = 0;\n\t\t\tfor (int j = 0; j < origList.size(); j++) {\n\t\t\t\tif (origList.get(j) > subList.get(index)) {\n\t\t\t\t\tsubList.add(origList.get(j));\n\t\t\t\t\torigList.remove(j);\n\t\t\t\t\tj = j - 1;\n\t\t\t\t\tindex = index + 1;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t// Merge sub-list into solution list.\n\t\t\t// There are two cases for this step/\n\t\t\t// Case 1: The first recursive call, add all of the elements to the\n\t\t\t// solution list in sequential order\n\t\t\tif (k == 0) {\n\t\t\t\tfor (int i = 0; i < subList.size(); i++) {\n\n\t\t\t\t\tsolList.add(subList.get(i));\n\t\t\t\t\tk = k + 1;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t// Case 2: After the first recursive call, \n\t\t\t// merge the sub-list with the solution list.\n\t\t\t// This works by comparing the greatest element in the sublist (which is always the last element)\n\t\t\t// with the first element in the solution list. \n\t\t\telse {\n\t\t\t\tint subEnd = subList.size() - 1;\n\t\t\t\tint solStart = 0;\n\t\t\t\twhile (!subList.isEmpty()) {\n\n\t\t\t\t\tif (subList.get(subEnd) > solList.get(solStart)) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsolStart++;\n\n\t\t\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsolList.add(solStart, subList.get(subEnd));\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsubList.remove(subEnd);\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsubEnd--;\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsolStart = 0;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\tstrandSortIterative(origList);\n\t\t}\n\n\t}\n\n\tpublic static void main(String[] args) {\n\t\t// Create a new linked list of Integers\n\t\tLinkedList<Integer> origList = new LinkedList<Integer>();\n\n\t\t// Add the following integers to the linked list: {5, 1, 4, 2, 0, 9, 6, 3, 8, 7}\n\n\t\torigList.add(5);\n\t\torigList.add(1);\n\t\torigList.add(4);\n\t\torigList.add(2);\n\t\torigList.add(0);\n\t\torigList.add(9);\n\t\torigList.add(6);\n\t\torigList.add(3);\n\t\torigList.add(8);\n\t\torigList.add(7);\n\n\t\tstrandSortIterative(origList);\n\t\t// Print out the solution list\n\t\tfor (int i = 0; i < solList.size(); i++) {\n\t\t\tSystem.out.println(solList.get(i));\n\t\t}\n\n\t}\n\n}\n\nReferences \n\nSorting algorithms" ]
[ "James Buchanan", "Covode Committee" ]	C_5ed6e2f3fcc0410b9e8f1cb2059dafa4_1	What was the Covode Committee?	1	What was the Covode Committee?	James Buchanan	In March 1860, the House created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses, some impeachable, such as bribery and extortion of representatives in exchange for their votes. The committee, with three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they also charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge (since the president had vetoed a bill that was fashioned as a land grant for new agricultural colleges, but was designed to benefit Covode's railroad company). However, the Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were equally enthusiastic in their pursuit of Buchanan, and as pointed in their condemnations, as the Republicans. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 exposed corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet, as well as allegations (if not impeachable evidence) from the Republican members of the Committee, that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution. (The Democratic report, issued separately the same day, pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed with the Republican report even though he did not sign it.) Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Nonetheless, Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. CANNOTANSWER	created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses,	James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He was an advocate for states' rights, particularly regarding slavery, and minimized the role of the federal government preceding the Civil War. Buchanan was a prominent lawyer in Pennsylvania and won his first election to the state's House of Representatives as a Federalist. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820 and retained that post for five terms, aligning with Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party. Buchanan served as Jackson's minister to Russia in 1832. He won election in 1834 as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and continued in that position for 11 years. He was appointed to serve as President James K. Polk's secretary of state in 1845, and eight years later was named as President Franklin Pierce's minister to the United Kingdom. Beginning in 1844, Buchanan became a regular contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. He was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Democratic National Convention. He benefited from the fact that he had been out of the country, as ambassador in London, and had not been involved in slavery issues. Buchanan and running mate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky carried every slave state except Maryland, defeating anti-slavery Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing former president Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election. As President, Buchanan intervened to assure the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scott case. He acceded to Southern attempts to engineer Kansas’ entry into the Union as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution, and angered not only Republicans but also Northern Democrats. Buchanan honored his pledge to serve only one term, and supported Breckinridge's unsuccessful candidacy in the 1860 presidential election. He failed to reconcile the fractured Democratic party amid the grudge against Stephen Douglas, leading to the election of Republican and former Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan's leadership during his lame duck period, before the American Civil War, has been widely criticized. He simultaneously angered the North by not stopping secession, and the South by not yielding to their demands. He supported the Corwin Amendment in an effort to reconcile the country, but it was too little, too late. He made an unsuccessful attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, but otherwise refrained from preparing the military. His failure to forestall the Civil War has been described as incompetency, and he spent his last years defending his reputation. In his personal life, Buchanan never married, the only U.S. president to remain a lifelong bachelor, leading some to question his sexual orientation. Buchanan died of respiratory failure in 1868, and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had lived for nearly 60 years. Historians and scholars consistently rank Buchanan as one of the worst presidents in American history. Early life James Buchanan Jr. was born April 23, 1791, in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to James Buchanan Sr. (1761–1821) and Elizabeth Speer (1767–1833). His parents were both of Ulster Scot descent, and his father emigrated from Ramelton, Ireland in 1783. Shortly after Buchanan's birth, the family moved to a farm near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1794 the family moved into the town. His father became the wealthiest resident there, working as a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. Buchanan attended the Old Stone Academy in Mercersburg, and then Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was nearly expelled for bad behavior, but pleaded for a second chance and ultimately graduated with honors in 1809. Later that year he moved to the state capital at Lancaster. James Hopkins, a leading lawyer there, accepted Buchanan as an apprentice, and in 1812 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. Many other lawyers moved to Harrisburg when it became the state capital in 1812, but Buchanan made Lancaster his lifelong home. His income rapidly rose after he established his practice, and by 1821 he was earning over $11,000 per year (). He handled various types of cases, including a much-publicized impeachment trial, where he successfully defended Pennsylvania Judge Walter Franklin. Buchanan began his political career as a member of the Federalist Party, and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814 and 1815. The legislature met for only three months a year, but Buchanan's service helped him acquire more clients. Politically, he supported federally-funded internal improvements, a high tariff, and a national bank. He became a strong critic of Democratic-Republican President James Madison during the War of 1812. He was a Freemason, and served as the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, and as a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Military service When the British invaded neighboring Maryland in 1814, he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, a unit of yagers. Buchanan is the only president with military experience who was not an officer. He is also the last president who served in the War of 1812. Congressional career U.S. House service In 1820 Buchanan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Federalist Party was waning. During his tenure in Congress, he became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and an avid defender of states' rights. After the 1824 presidential election, he helped organize Jackson's followers into the Democratic Party, and he became a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat. In Washington, he was close with many southern Congressmen, and viewed some New England Congressmen as dangerous radicals. He was appointed to the Agriculture Committee in his first year, and he eventually became Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He declined re-nomination to a sixth term, and briefly returned to private life. Minister to Russia After Jackson was re-elected in 1832, he offered Buchanan the position of United States Ambassador to Russia. Buchanan was reluctant to leave the country but ultimately agreed. He served as ambassador for 18 months, during which time he learned French, the trade language of diplomacy in the nineteenth century. He helped negotiate commercial and maritime treaties with the Russian Empire. U.S. Senate service Buchanan returned home and was elected by the Pennsylvania state legislature to succeed William Wilkins in the U.S. Senate. Wilkins in turn replaced Buchanan as the ambassador to Russia. The Jacksonian Buchanan, who was re-elected in 1836 and 1842, opposed the re-chartering of the Second Bank of the United States and sought to expunge a congressional censure of Jackson stemming from the Bank War. Buchanan also opposed a gag rule sponsored by John C. Calhoun that would have suppressed anti-slavery petitions. He joined the majority in blocking the rule, with most senators of the belief that it would have the reverse effect of strengthening the abolitionists. He said, "We have just as little right to interfere with slavery in the South, as we have to touch the right of petition." Buchanan thought that the issue of slavery was the domain of the states, and he faulted abolitionists for exciting passions over the issue. His support of states' rights was matched by his support for Manifest Destiny, and he opposed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty for its "surrender" of lands to the United Kingdom. Buchanan also argued for the annexation of both Texas and the Oregon Country. In the lead-up to the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Buchanan positioned himself as a potential alternative to former President Martin Van Buren, but the nomination went to James K. Polk, who won the election. Diplomatic career Secretary of State Buchanan was offered the position of Secretary of State in the Polk administration, as well as the alternative of serving on the Supreme Court. He accepted the State Department post and served for the duration of Polk's single term in office. He and Polk nearly doubled the territory of the United States through the Oregon Treaty and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which included territory that is now Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. In negotiations with Britain over Oregon, Buchanan at first preferred a compromise, but later advocated for annexation of the entire territory. Eventually, he agreed to a division at the 49th parallel. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, he advised Polk against taking territory south of the Rio Grande River and New Mexico. However, as the war came to an end, Buchanan argued for the annexation of further territory, and Polk began to suspect that he was angling to become president. Buchanan did quietly seek the nomination at the 1848 Democratic National Convention, as Polk had promised to serve only one term, but Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated. Ambassador to the United Kingdom With the 1848 election of Whig Zachary Taylor, Buchanan returned to private life. He bought the house of Wheatland on the outskirts of Lancaster and entertained various visitors, while monitoring political events. In 1852, he was named president of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and he served in this capacity until 1866. He quietly campaigned for the 1852 Democratic presidential nomination, writing a public letter that deplored the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed to ban slavery in new territories. He became known as a "doughface" due to his sympathy towards the South. At the 1852 Democratic National Convention, he won the support of many southern delegates but failed to win the two-thirds support needed for the presidential nomination, which went to Franklin Pierce. Buchanan declined to serve as the vice presidential nominee, and the convention instead nominated his close friend, William King. Pierce won the 1852 election, and Buchanan accepted the position of United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Buchanan sailed for England in the summer of 1853, and he remained abroad for the next three years. In 1850, the United States and Great Britain had signed the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which committed both countries to joint control of any future canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America. Buchanan met repeatedly with Lord Clarendon, the British foreign minister, in hopes of pressuring the British to withdraw from Central America. He also focussed on the potential annexation of Cuba, which had long interested him. At Pierce's prompting, Buchanan met in Ostend, Belgium with U.S. Ambassador to Spain Pierre Soulé and U.S. Ambassador to France John Mason. A memorandum draft resulted, called the Ostend Manifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain, then in the midst of revolution and near bankruptcy. The document declared the island "as necessary to the North American republic as any of its present ... family of states". Against Buchanan's recommendation, the final draft of the manifesto suggested that "wresting it from Spain", if Spain refused to sell, would be justified "by every law, human and Divine". The manifesto, generally considered a blunder, was never acted upon, and weakened the Pierce administration and reduced support for Manifest Destiny. Presidential election of 1856 Buchanan's service abroad allowed him to conveniently avoid the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act then roiling the country in the slavery dispute. While he did not overtly seek the presidency, he assented to the movement on his behalf. The 1856 Democratic National Convention met in June 1856, producing a platform that reflected his views, including support for the Fugitive Slave Law, which required the return of escaped slaves. The platform also called for an end to anti-slavery agitation, and U.S. "ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico". President Pierce hoped for re-nomination, while Senator Stephen A. Douglas also loomed as a strong candidate. Buchanan led on the first ballot, support by powerful Senators John Slidell, Jesse Bright, and Thomas F. Bayard, who presented Buchanan as an experienced leader appealing to the North and South. He won the nomination after seventeen ballots. He was joined on the ticket by John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, placating supporters of Pierce and Douglas, also allies of Breckinridge. Buchanan faced two candidates in the general election: former Whig President Millard Fillmore ran as the American Party (or "Know-Nothing") candidate, while John C. Frémont ran as the Republican nominee. Buchanan did not actively campaign, but he wrote letters and pledged to uphold the Democratic platform. In the election, he carried every slave state except for Maryland, as well as five slavery-free states, including his home state of Pennsylvania. He won 45 percent of the popular vote and decisively won the electoral vote, taking 174 of 296 votes. His election made him the first president from Pennsylvania. In a combative victory speech, Buchanan denounced Republicans, calling them a "dangerous" and "geographical" party that had unfairly attacked the South. He also declared, "the object of my administration will be to destroy sectional party, North or South, and to restore harmony to the Union under a national and conservative government." He set about this initially by feigning a sectional balance in his cabinet appointments. Presidency (1857–1861) Inauguration Buchanan was inaugurated on March 4, 1857, taking the oath of office from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. In his inaugural address, Buchanan committed himself to serving only one term, as his predecessor had done. He expressed an abhorrence for the growing divisions over slavery and its status in the territories, while saying that Congress should play no role in determining the status of slavery in the states or territories. He also declared his support for popular sovereignty. Buchanan recommended that a federal slave code be enacted to protect the rights of slave-owners in federal territories. He alluded to a then-pending Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, which he said would permanently settle the issue of slavery. Dred Scott was a slave who was temporarily taken from a slave state to a free territory by his owner, John Sanford (the court misspelled his name). After Scott returned to the slave state, he filed a petition for his freedom based on his time in the free territory. The Dred Scott decision, rendered after Buchanan's speech, denied Scott's petition in favor of his owner. Personnel Cabinet and administration As his inauguration approached, Buchanan sought to establish an obedient, harmonious cabinet, to avoid the in-fighting that had plagued Andrew Jackson's administration. He chose four Southerners and three Northerners, the latter of whom were all considered to be doughfaces (Southern sympathizers). His objective was to dominate the cabinet, and he chose men who would agree with his views. Concentrating on foreign policy, he appointed the aging Lewis Cass as Secretary of State. Buchanan's appointment of Southerners and their allies alienated many in the North, and his failure to appoint any followers of Stephen A. Douglas divided the party. Outside of the cabinet, he left in place many of Pierce's appointments, but removed a disproportionate number of Northerners who had ties to Democrat opponents Pierce or Douglas. In that vein, he soon alienated their ally, and his vice president, Breckinridge; the latter therefore played little role in the administration. Judicial appointments Buchanan appointed one Justice, Nathan Clifford, to the Supreme Court of the United States. He appointed seven other federal judges to United States district courts. He also appointed two judges to the United States Court of Claims. Intervention in the Dred Scott case Two days after Buchanan's inauguration, Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision, denying the enslaved petitioner's request for freedom. The ruling broadly asserted that Congress had no constitutional power to exclude slavery in the territories. Prior to his inauguration, Buchanan had written to Justice John Catron in January 1857, inquired about the outcome of the case, and suggested that a broader decision, beyond the specifics of the case, would be more prudent. Buchanan hoped that a broad decision protecting slavery in the territories could lay the issue to rest, allowing him to focus on other issues. Catron, who was from Tennessee, replied on February 10, saying that the Supreme Court's Southern majority would decide against Scott, but would likely have to publish the decision on narrow grounds unless Buchanan could convince his fellow Pennsylvanian, Justice Robert Cooper Grier, to join the majority of the court. Buchanan then wrote to Grier and prevailed upon him, providing the majority leverage to issue a broad-ranging decision, sufficient to render the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional. Buchanan's letters were not then public; he was, however, seen at his inauguration in whispered conversation with the Chief Justice. When the decision was issued, Republicans began spreading word that Taney had revealed to Buchanan the forthcoming result. Rather than destroying the Republican platform as Buchanan had hoped, the decision outraged Northerners who denounced it. Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 began in the summer of that year, ushered in by the collapse of 1,400 state banks and 5,000 businesses. While the South escaped largely unscathed, numerous northern cities experienced drastic increases in unemployment. Buchanan agreed with the southerners who attributed the economic collapse to overspeculation. Reflecting his Jacksonian background, Buchanan's response was "reform not relief". While the government was "without the power to extend relief," it would continue to pay its debts in specie, and while it would not curtail public works, none would be added. In hopes of reducing paper money supplies and inflation, he urged the states to restrict the banks to a credit level of $3 to $1 of specie and discouraged the use of federal or state bonds as security for bank note issues. The economy recovered in several years, though many Americans suffered as a result of the panic. Buchanan had hoped to reduce the deficit, but by the time he left office the federal deficit stood at $17 million. Utah War The Utah territory, settled in preceding decades by the Latter-day Saints and their leader Brigham Young, had grown increasingly hostile to federal intervention. Young harassed federal officers and discouraged outsiders from settling in the Salt Lake City area. In September 1857, the Utah Territorial Militia, associated with the Latter-day Saints, perpetrated the Mountain Meadows massacre against Arkansans headed for California. Buchanan was offended by the militarism and polygamous behavior of Young. Believing the Latter-day Saints to be in open rebellion, Buchanan in July 1857 sent Alfred Cumming, accompanied by the Army, to replace Young as governor. While the Latter-day Saints had frequently defied federal authority, some historians consider Buchanan's action was an inappropriate response to uncorroborated reports. Complicating matters, Young's notice of his replacement was not delivered because the Pierce administration had annulled the Utah mail contract. Young reacted to the military action by mustering a two-week expedition, destroying wagon trains, oxen, and other Army property. Buchanan then dispatched Thomas L. Kane as a private agent to negotiate peace. The mission succeeded, the new governor took office, and the Utah War ended. The President granted amnesty to inhabitants affirming loyalty to the government, and placed the federal troops at a peaceable distance for the balance of his administration. Bleeding Kansas The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas Territory and allowed the settlers there to decide whether to allow slavery. This resulted in violence between "Free-Soil" (antislavery) and pro-slavery settlers, which developed into the "Bleeding Kansas" period. The antislavery settlers, with the help of Northern abolitionists, organized a government in Topeka. The more numerous proslavery settlers, many from the neighboring slave state Missouri, established a government in Lecompton, giving the Territory two different governments for a time, with two distinct constitutions, each claiming legitimacy. The admission of Kansas as a state required a constitution be submitted to Congress with the approval of a majority of its residents. Under President Pierce, a series of violent confrontations escalated over who had the right to vote in Kansas. The situation drew national attention, and some in Georgia and Mississippi advocated secession should Kansas be admitted as a free state. Buchanan chose to endorse the pro-slavery Lecompton government. Buchanan appointed Robert J. Walker to replace John W. Geary as Territorial Governor, with the expectation he would assist the proslavery faction in gaining approval of a new constitution. However, Walker wavered on the slavery question, and there ensued conflicting referendums from Topeka and Lecompton, where election fraud occurred. In October 1857, the Lecompton government framed the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution and sent it to Buchanan without a referendum. Buchanan reluctantly rejected it, and he dispatched federal agents to arrange a compromise. The Lecompton government agreed to a referendum limited solely to the slavery question. Despite the protests of Walker and two former Kansas governors, Buchanan decided to accept the Lecompton Constitution. In a December 1857 meeting with Stephen Douglas, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Buchanan demanded that all Democrats support the administration's position of admitting Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. On February 2, he transmitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress. He also transmitted a message that attacked the "revolutionary government" in Topeka, conflating them with the Mormons in Utah. Buchanan made every effort to secure congressional approval, offering favors, patronage appointments, and even cash for votes. The Lecompton Constitution won the approval of the Senate in March, but a combination of Know-Nothings, Republicans, and northern Democrats defeated the bill in the House. Rather than accepting defeat, Buchanan backed the 1858 English Bill, which offered Kansans immediate statehood and vast public lands in exchange for accepting the Lecompton Constitution. In August 1858, Kansans by referendum strongly rejected the Lecompton Constitution. The dispute over Kansas became the battlefront for control of the Democratic Party. On one side were Buchanan, most Southern Democrats, and the "doughfaces". On the other side were Douglas and most northern Democrats plus a few Southerners. Douglas's faction continued to support the doctrine of popular sovereignty, while Buchanan insisted that Democrats respect the Dred Scott decision and its repudiation of federal interference with slavery in the territories. The struggle ended only with Buchanan's presidency. In the interim he used his patronage powers to remove Douglas sympathizers in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and installed pro-administration Democrats, including postmasters. 1858 mid-term elections Douglas's Senate term was coming to an end in 1859, with the Illinois legislature, elected in 1858, determining whether Douglas would win re-election. The Senate seat was the primary issue of the legislative election, marked by the famous debates between Douglas and his Republican opponent for the seat, Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan, working through federal patronage appointees in Illinois, ran candidates for the legislature in competition with both the Republicans and the Douglas Democrats. This could easily have thrown the election to the Republicans, and showed the depth of Buchanan's animosity toward Douglas. In the end, Douglas Democrats won the legislative election and Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. In that year's elections, Douglas forces took control throughout the North, except in Buchanan's home state of Pennsylvania. Buchanan's support was otherwise reduced to a narrow base of southerners. The division between northern and southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to win a plurality of the House in the 1858 elections, and allowed them to block most of Buchanan's agenda. Buchanan, in turn, added to the hostility with his veto of six substantial pieces of Republican legislation. Among these measures were the Homestead Act, which would have given 160 acres of public land to settlers who remained on the land for five years, and the Morrill Act, which would have granted public lands to establish land-grant colleges. Buchanan argued that these acts were unconstitutional. Foreign policy Buchanan took office with an ambitious foreign policy, designed to establish U.S. hegemony over Central America at the expense of Great Britain. He hoped to re-negotiate the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which he thought limited U.S. influence in the region. He also sought to establish American protectorates over the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, and most importantly, he hoped to achieve his long-term goal of acquiring Cuba. After long negotiations with the British, he convinced them to cede the Bay Islands to Honduras and the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. However, Buchanan's ambitions in Cuba and Mexico were largely blocked by the House of Representatives. Buchanan also considered buying Alaska from the Russian Empire, as a colony for Mormon settlers, but he and the Russians were unable to agree upon a price. In China, the administration won trade concessions in the Treaty of Tientsin. In 1858, Buchanan ordered the Paraguay expedition to punish Paraguay for firing on the , and the expedition resulted in a Paraguayan apology and payment of an indemnity. The chiefs of Raiatea and Tahaa in the South Pacific, refusing to accept the rule of King Tamatoa V, unsuccessfully petitioned the United States to accept the islands under a protectorate in June 1858. Buchanan was offered a herd of elephants by King Rama IV of Siam, though the letter arrived after Buchanan's departure from office. As Buchanan's successor, Lincoln declined the King's offer, citing the unsuitable climate. Other presidential pets included a pair of bald eagles and a Newfoundland dog. Covode Committee In March 1860, the House impaneled the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for alleged impeachable offenses, such as bribery and extortion of representatives. The committee, three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge from a disputed land grant designed to benefit Covode's railroad company. The Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were enthusiastic in their condemnation of Buchanan. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 alleged corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet. The report also included accusations from Republicans that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress, in connection with the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution of Kansas. The Democrats pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated that he agreed with the Republicans, though he did not sign it. Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. Election of 1860 As he had promised in his inaugural address, Buchanan did not seek re-election. He went so far as to tell his ultimate successor, “If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland [his home], you are a happy man.” The 1860 Democratic National Convention convened in April of that year and, though Douglas led after every ballot, he was unable to win the two-thirds majority required. The convention adjourned after 53 ballots, and re-convened in Baltimore in June. After Douglas finally won the nomination, several Southerners refused to accept the outcome, and nominated Vice President Breckinridge as their own candidate. Douglas and Breckinridge agreed on most issues except the protection of slavery. Buchanan, nursing a grudge against Douglas, failed to reconcile the party, and tepidly supported Breckinridge. With the splintering of the Democratic Party, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln won a four-way election that also included John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln's support in the North was enough to give him an Electoral College majority. Buchanan became the last Democrat to win a presidential election until Grover Cleveland in 1884. As early as October, the army's Commanding General, Winfield Scott, an opponent of Buchanan, warned him that Lincoln's election would likely cause at least seven states to secede from the union. He recommended that massive amounts of federal troops and artillery be deployed to those states to protect federal property, although he also warned that few reinforcements were available. Since 1857 Congress had failed to heed calls for a stronger militia and allowed the army to fall into deplorable condition. Buchanan distrusted Scott and ignored his recommendations. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan directed War Secretary Floyd to reinforce southern forts with such provisions, arms, and men as were available; however, Floyd persuaded him to revoke the order. Secession With Lincoln's victory, talk of secession and disunion reached a boiling point, putting the burden on Buchanan to address it in his final speech to Congress on December 10. In his message, which was anticipated by both factions, Buchanan denied the right of states to secede but maintained the federal government was without power to prevent them. He placed the blame for the crisis solely on "intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States," and suggested that if they did not "repeal their unconstitutional and obnoxious enactments ... the injured States, after having first used all peaceful and constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to the Government of the Union." Buchanan's only suggestion to solve the crisis was "an explanatory amendment" affirming the constitutionality of slavery in the states, the fugitive slave laws, and popular sovereignty in the territories. His address was sharply criticized both by the North, for its refusal to stop secession, and the South, for denying its right to secede. Five days after the address was delivered, Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb resigned, as his views had become irreconcilable with the President's. South Carolina, long the most radical Southern state, seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. However, Unionist sentiment remained strong among many in the South, and Buchanan sought to appeal to the Southern moderates who might prevent secession in other states. He proposed passage of constitutional amendments protecting slavery in the states and territories. He also met with South Carolinian commissioners in an attempt to resolve the situation at Fort Sumter, which federal forces remained in control of despite its location in Charleston, South Carolina. He refused to dismiss Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson after the latter was chosen as Mississippi's agent to discuss secession, and he refused to fire Secretary of War John B. Floyd despite an embezzlement scandal. Floyd ended up resigning, but not before sending numerous firearms to Southern states, where they eventually fell into the hands of the Confederacy. Despite Floyd's resignation, Buchanan continued to seek the advice of counselors from the Deep South, including Jefferson Davis and William Henry Trescot. Efforts were made in vain by Sen. John J. Crittenden, Rep. Thomas Corwin, and former president John Tyler to negotiate a compromise to stop secession, with Buchanan's support. Failed attempts were also made by a group of governors meeting in New York. Buchanan secretly asked President-elect Lincoln to call for a national referendum on the issue of slavery, but Lincoln declined. Despite the efforts of Buchanan and others, six more slave states seceded by the end of January 1861. Buchanan replaced the departed Southern cabinet members with John Adams Dix, Edwin M. Stanton, and Joseph Holt, all of whom were committed to preserving the Union. When Buchanan considered surrendering Fort Sumter, the new cabinet members threatened to resign, and Buchanan relented. On January 5, Buchanan decided to reinforce Fort Sumter, sending the Star of the West with 250 men and supplies. However, he failed to ask Major Robert Anderson to provide covering fire for the ship, and it was forced to return North without delivering troops or supplies. Buchanan chose not to respond to this act of war, and instead sought to find a compromise to avoid secession. He received a March 3 message from Anderson, that supplies were running low, but the response became Lincoln's to make, as the latter succeeded to the presidency the next day. Proposed constitutional amendment On March 2, 1861, Congress approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states, including slavery, from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress. The proposed amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, it was never ratified by the requisite number of states. States admitted to the Union Three new states were admitted to the Union while Buchanan was in office: Minnesota – May 11, 1858 Oregon – February 14, 1859 Kansas – January 29, 1861 Post-presidency (1861–1868) The Civil War erupted within two months of Buchanan's retirement. He supported the Union, writing to former colleagues that, "the assault upon Sumter was the commencement of war by the Confederate states, and no alternative was left but to prosecute it with vigor on our part." He also wrote a letter to his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, urging them to "join the many thousands of brave & patriotic volunteers who are already in the field." Buchanan was dedicated to defending his actions prior to the Civil War, which was referred to by some as "Buchanan's War". He received threatening letters daily, and stores displayed Buchanan's likeness with the eyes inked red, a noose drawn around his neck and the word "TRAITOR" written across his forehead. The Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation which ultimately failed, and newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly. Buchanan became distraught by the vitriolic attacks levied against him, and fell sick and depressed. In October 1862, he defended himself in an exchange of letters with Winfield Scott, published in the National Intelligencer. He soon began writing his fullest public defense, in the form of his memoir Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion, which was published in 1866. Soon after the publication of the memoir, Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, of respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. Political views Buchanan was often considered by anti-slavery northerners a "doughface", a northerner with pro-southern principles. Shortly after his election, he said that the "great object" of his administration was "to arrest, if possible, the agitation of the Slavery question in the North and to destroy sectional parties". Buchanan believed the abolitionists were preventing the solution to the slavery problem. He stated, "Before [the abolitionists] commenced this agitation, a very large and growing party existed in several of the slave states in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery; and now not a voice is heard there in support of such a measure. The abolitionists have postponed the emancipation of the slaves in three or four states for at least half a century." In deference to the intentions of the typical slaveholder, he was willing to provide the benefit of the doubt. In his third annual message to Congress, the president claimed that the slaves were "treated with kindness and humanity. ... Both the philanthropy and the self-interest of the master have combined to produce this humane result." Buchanan thought restraint was the essence of good self-government. He believed the constitution comprised "... restraints, imposed not by arbitrary authority, but by the people upon themselves and their representatives. ... In an enlarged view, the people's interests may seem identical, but to the eye of local and sectional prejudice, they always appear to be conflicting ... and the jealousies that will perpetually arise can be repressed only by the mutual forbearance which pervades the constitution." Regarding slavery and the Constitution, he stated: "Although in Pennsylvania we are all opposed to slavery in the abstract, we can never violate the constitutional compact we have with our sister states. Their rights will be held sacred by us. Under the constitution it is their own question; and there let it remain." One of the prominent issues of the day was tariffs. Buchanan was conflicted by free trade as well as prohibitive tariffs, since either would benefit one section of the country to the detriment of the other. As a senator from Pennsylvania, he said: "I am viewed as the strongest advocate of protection in other states, whilst I am denounced as its enemy in Pennsylvania." Buchanan was also torn between his desire to expand the country for the general welfare of the nation, and to guarantee the rights of the people settling particular areas. On territorial expansion, he said, "What, sir? Prevent the people from crossing the Rocky Mountains? You might just as well command the Niagara not to flow. We must fulfill our destiny." On the resulting spread of slavery, through unconditional expansion, he stated: "I feel a strong repugnance by any act of mine to extend the present limits of the Union over a new slave-holding territory." For instance, he hoped the acquisition of Texas would "be the means of limiting, not enlarging, the dominion of slavery." Romantic life In 1818, Buchanan met Anne Caroline Coleman at a grand ball in Lancaster, and the two began courting. Anne was the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturer Robert Coleman. She was also the sister-in-law of Philadelphia judge Joseph Hemphill, one of Buchanan's colleagues. By 1819, the two were engaged, but spent little time together. Buchanan was busy with his law firm and political projects during the Panic of 1819, which took him away from Coleman for weeks at a time. Rumors abounded, as some suggested that he was marrying her only for money; others said he was involved with other (unidentified) women. Letters from Coleman revealed she was aware of several rumors. She broke off the engagement, and soon afterward, on December 9, 1819, suddenly died. Buchanan wrote to her father for permission to attend the funeral, which was refused. After Coleman's death, Buchanan never courted another woman. At the time of her funeral, he said that, "I feel happiness has fled from me forever." During his presidency, an orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, whom he had adopted, served as official White House hostess. There was an unfounded rumor that he had an affair with President Polk's widow, Sarah Childress Polk. Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood after Anne Coleman's death has drawn interest and speculation. Some conjecture that Anne's death merely served to deflect questions about Buchanan's sexuality and bachelorhood. Several writers have surmised that he was homosexual, including James W. Loewen, Robert P. Watson, and Shelley Ross. One of his biographers, Jean Baker, suggests that Buchanan was celibate, if not asexual. Buchanan had a close relationship with William Rufus King, which became a popular target of gossip. King was an Alabama politician who briefly served as vice president under Franklin Pierce. Buchanan and King lived together in a Washington boardinghouse and attended social functions together from 1834 until 1844. Such a living arrangement was then common, though King once referred to the relationship as a "communion". Andrew Jackson called King "Miss Nancy" and Buchanan's Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown referred to King as Buchanan's "better half", "wife", and "Aunt Fancy". Loewen indicated that Buchanan late in life wrote a letter acknowledging that he might marry a woman who could accept his "lack of ardent or romantic affection". Catherine Thompson, the wife of cabinet member Jacob Thompson, later noted that "there was something unhealthy in the president's attitude." King died of tuberculosis shortly after Pierce's inauguration, four years before Buchanan became president. Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest and most consistent public men I have known". Biographer Baker opines that both men's nieces may have destroyed correspondence between the two men. However, she believes that their surviving letters illustrate only "the affection of a special friendship". Legacy Historical reputation Though Buchanan predicted that "history will vindicate my memory," historians have criticized Buchanan for his unwillingness or inability to act in the face of secession. Historical rankings of presidents of the United States without exception place Buchanan among the least successful presidents. When scholars are surveyed, he ranks at or near the bottom in terms of vision/agenda-setting, domestic leadership, foreign policy leadership, moral authority, and positive historical significance of their legacy. Buchanan biographer Philip Klein focuses upon challenges Buchanan faced: Biographer Jean Baker is less charitable to Buchanan, saying in 2004: Memorials A bronze and granite memorial near the southeast corner of Washington, D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park was designed by architect William Gorden Beecher and sculpted by Maryland artist Hans Schuler. It was commissioned in 1916 but not approved by the U.S. Congress until 1918, and not completed and unveiled until June 26, 1930. The memorial features a statue of Buchanan, bookended by male and female classical figures representing law and diplomacy, with engraved text reading: "The incorruptible statesman whose walk was upon the mountain ranges of the law," a quote from a member of Buchanan's cabinet, Jeremiah S. Black. An earlier monument was constructed in 1907–08 and dedicated in 1911, on the site of Buchanan's birthplace in Stony Batter, Pennsylvania. Part of the original memorial site is a 250-ton pyramid structure that stands on the site of the original cabin where Buchanan was born. The monument was designed to show the original weathered surface of the native rubble and mortar. Three counties are named in his honor, in Iowa, Missouri, and Virginia. Another in Texas was christened in 1858 but renamed Stephens County, after the newly elected Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stephens, in 1861. The city of Buchanan, Michigan, was also named after him. Several other communities are named after him: the unincorporated community of Buchanan, Indiana, the city of Buchanan, Georgia, the town of Buchanan, Wisconsin, and the townships of Buchanan Township, Michigan, and Buchanan, Missouri. James Buchanan High School is a small, rural high school located on the outskirts of his childhood hometown, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Popular culture depictions Buchanan and his legacy are central to the film Raising Buchanan (2019). He is portrayed by René Auberjonois. See also Historical rankings of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States by previous experience Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps List of federal political sex scandals in the United States References Works cited Pulitzer prize. Further reading Secondary sources Balcerski, Thomas J. Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (Oxford University Press, 2019. online review Balcerski, Thomas J. "Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston." in A Companion to First Ladies (2016): 197-213. Birkner, Michael J., et al. eds. The Worlds of James Buchanan and Thaddeus Stevens: Place, Personality, and Politics in the Civil War Era (Louisiana State University Press, 2019) Nichols, Roy Franklin; The Democratic Machine, 1850–1854 (1923), detailed narrative; online Rosenberger, Homer T. "Inauguration of President Buchanan a Century Ago." Records of the Columbia Historical Society 57 (1957): 96-122 online. , fictional. Wells, Damon. "Douglas and Goliath." in Stephen Douglas (University of Texas Press, 1971) pp. 12-54. on Douglas and Buchanan. online Primary sources Buchanan, James. Fourth Annual Message to Congress. (December 3, 1860). Buchanan, James. Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion (1866) National Intelligencer (1859) External links White House biography James Buchanan: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress The James Buchanan papers, spanning the entirety of his legal, political and diplomatic career, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. University of Virginia article: Buchanan biography Wheatland James Buchanan at Tulane University Essay on James Buchanan and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, Franklin County, Pennsylvania "Life Portrait of James Buchanan", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, June 21, 1999 Primary sources James Buchanan Ill with Dysentery Before Inauguration: Original Letters Shapell Manuscript Foundation Mr. Buchanans Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion. President Buchanans memoirs. Inaugural Address Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1860 1791 births 1868 deaths 1850s in the United States 1860s in the United States 19th-century presidents of the United States Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom 19th-century American memoirists American militiamen in the War of 1812 American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Presbyterians American white supremacists Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Deaths from respiratory failure Democratic Party presidents of the United States Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Dickinson College alumni American Freemasons Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania Jacksonians Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Polk administration cabinet members Presidents of the United States Union political leaders Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1856 United States presidential election United States Secretaries of State United States senators from Pennsylvania People of the Utah War Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians 18th-century Presbyterians 19th-century Presbyterians Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives Buchanan County, Iowa Buchanan County, Missouri Buchanan County, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Jacksonian United States senators from Pennsylvania	false	[ "John Covode (March 17, 1808 – January 11, 1871) was an American businessman and abolitionist politician. He served three stints in the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.\n\nEarly life\nCovode was born in Fairfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He worked for several years on his father's farm, served an apprenticeship to a blacksmith, and then was employed at a woolen mill in Lockport, Pennsylvania. He became owner of the woolen mill and attained considerable wealth as a woolen manufacturer. Other business interests included the Westmoreland Coal Company, where he served as the first president of the company in 1854. He served for two terms in the Pennsylvania Legislature(House of Representatives). Two attempts to enter the Pennsylvania Senate were unsuccessful.\n\nUnited States House of Representatives\nIn 1854, he was elected to Congress as an Opposition Party candidate.\n\nAfter joining the Republican Party, he was re-elected to the 35th Congress in 1856. He was a strong supporter of the Freedmen's Bureau, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Reconstruction Acts. He attended the Union National Convention in Philadelphia in 1866. On February 21, 1868, Covode introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to impeach President Andrew Johnson. Johnson was impeached in the House, but the Senate did not vote to convict him.\n\nCommittees\nHe served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Public Expenditures from 1857 until 1859 and the United States House Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds from 1867 until 1869. He also served on the United States Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, in reference to the American Civil War.\n\nCovode Committee\nCovode is most famous for chairing a committee to investigate the possibility of impeaching President James Buchanan during the spring and summer of 1860. Officially titled the United States House Select Committee to Investigate Alleged Corruptions in Government, it is more popularly known as the Covode Committee after him.\n\nUnited States House election, 1870\nCovode contested with Henry D. Foster the election to the Forty-first Congress, neither being sworn pending the contest, as no credentials were issued by the Governor. On February 9, 1870, the House declared him duly elected, whereupon he qualified and served until his death. Covode died in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, aged 62.\n\nFamily\nHis oldest son, George H. Covode (1835–1864), was a colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War. He died on June 25, 1864, after being shot in the arm and stomach by Confederate troops he had mistaken for Unionists.\n\nSee also\nList of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nBiography from Spartacus Educational\nThe Political Graveyard\n\nPapers of John Covode - People's Contest Website\n\nBibliography\n\nChester, Edward W. \"The Impact of the Covode Congressional Investigation.\" Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 42 (December 1959): 343-50\nBaker, Jean H.: James Buchanan, Times Books: 2004\n\n1808 births\n1871 deaths\nPeople from Adams County, Pennsylvania\nPennsylvania Whigs\nMembers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives\nOpposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania\nPennsylvania Oppositionists\nPennsylvania Republicans\nRepublican Party members of the United States House of Representatives\nMembers of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania\nAmerican abolitionists\nPoliticians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania\nPeople from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania\nPeople of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War\n19th-century American politicians", "The Select Committee to Investigate Alleged Corruptions in Government was a select committee of the United States House of Representatives which operated during the spring and summer of 1860 during the 36th Congress. The committee was charged with a broad investigation of the administration of President James Buchanan, including possible impeachment. It was also referred to as the Covode Committee after its chairman, John Covode of Pennsylvania.\n\nHistory and jurisdiction\nThe committee was established March 5, 1860, when the House adopted a resolution offered by John Covode, which was adopted by a vote of 115 to 45.\n\nResolved, That a committee of five members be appointed by the Speaker for the purpose of investigating whether the President of the United States, or any other officer of the government, has, by money, patronage, or other improper means, sought to influence the action of Congress, or any committees thereof, for or against the passage of any law appertaining to the rights of any State or Territory; and also to inquire into and investigate whether any officer or officers of the government have, by combination or otherwise, prevented and defeated, or attempted to prevent or defeat, the execution of any law or laws now on the statute-books; and whether the President has failed or refused to compel the execution of any law thereof; that said committee shall investigate and inquire into the abuse at the Chicago or other post offices, and at the Philadelphia and other navy yards, and into any abuses in connection with the public buildings, and other public works of the United States.\n\nResolved, further, That as the President, in his letter to the Pittsburgh centenary celebration of the 25th November, 1858, speaks of \"the employment of money to carry elections,\" said committee shall inquire into and ascertain the amount so used in Pennsylvania, and any other State or States, in what districts it was expended, and by whom, and by whose authority it was done, and from what sources the money was derived, and report the names of the parties implicated; and for the purpose aforesaid, said committee shall have power to send for persons and papers, and to report at any time.\n\nWhile it was for the most part a partisan attempt (as the committee consisted of three Republicans and one Democrat) to embarrass the beleaguered president, the committee was surprisingly successful at rooting out fearsome amounts of corruption, treason and incompetence. The committee was terminated upon submitting its final report on June 16, 1860.\n\nIn the end, the committee found that Buchanan had not done anything to warrant impeachment, but that his was the most corrupt administration since the adoption of the US Constitution in 1789.\n\nCriticism\nBuchanan sent at least two formal messages to Congress complaining that Covode and company were making vague accusations which were too broad and far-reaching to allow the accused to exercise his Constitutional right to prepare a defense or cross-examine witnesses, but was intended merely as a secret inquisition and one-sided smear campaign, compiled from a large pool of unsuccessful applicants for coveted government jobs. Buchanan formally objected in writing that this type of committee set a dangerous precedent that threatened to undermine the independence of the office of the president, rendering it answerable not to the people who elected him, but to the Congress. \n\nIn one of them he said: \nI do, therefore,... solemnly protest against these proceedings of the House of Representatives, because they are in violation of the rights of the coordinate executive branch of the Government, and subversive of its constitutional independence; because they are calculated to foster a band of interested parasites and informers, ever ready, for their own advantage, to swear before ex parte committees to pretended private conversations between the President and themselves, incapable, from their nature, of being disproved; thus furnishing material for harassing him, degrading him in the eyes of the country...\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \"The Covode Investigation\", U.S. House Report 648, 36th Congress, 1st session, June 16, 1860 (838 pages)\n\nCovode\nPresidency of James Buchanan\nImpeachment inquiries in the United States" ]
[ "James Buchanan", "Covode Committee", "What was the Covode Committee?", "created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses," ]	C_5ed6e2f3fcc0410b9e8f1cb2059dafa4_1	Was there ever any evidence found?	2	Was there ever any evidence found by the covode committee in regards to offenses in the administration??	James Buchanan	In March 1860, the House created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses, some impeachable, such as bribery and extortion of representatives in exchange for their votes. The committee, with three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they also charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge (since the president had vetoed a bill that was fashioned as a land grant for new agricultural colleges, but was designed to benefit Covode's railroad company). However, the Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were equally enthusiastic in their pursuit of Buchanan, and as pointed in their condemnations, as the Republicans. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 exposed corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet, as well as allegations (if not impeachable evidence) from the Republican members of the Committee, that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution. (The Democratic report, issued separately the same day, pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed with the Republican report even though he did not sign it.) Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Nonetheless, Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. CANNOTANSWER	The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan;	James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He was an advocate for states' rights, particularly regarding slavery, and minimized the role of the federal government preceding the Civil War. Buchanan was a prominent lawyer in Pennsylvania and won his first election to the state's House of Representatives as a Federalist. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820 and retained that post for five terms, aligning with Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party. Buchanan served as Jackson's minister to Russia in 1832. He won election in 1834 as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and continued in that position for 11 years. He was appointed to serve as President James K. Polk's secretary of state in 1845, and eight years later was named as President Franklin Pierce's minister to the United Kingdom. Beginning in 1844, Buchanan became a regular contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. He was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Democratic National Convention. He benefited from the fact that he had been out of the country, as ambassador in London, and had not been involved in slavery issues. Buchanan and running mate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky carried every slave state except Maryland, defeating anti-slavery Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing former president Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election. As President, Buchanan intervened to assure the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scott case. He acceded to Southern attempts to engineer Kansas’ entry into the Union as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution, and angered not only Republicans but also Northern Democrats. Buchanan honored his pledge to serve only one term, and supported Breckinridge's unsuccessful candidacy in the 1860 presidential election. He failed to reconcile the fractured Democratic party amid the grudge against Stephen Douglas, leading to the election of Republican and former Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan's leadership during his lame duck period, before the American Civil War, has been widely criticized. He simultaneously angered the North by not stopping secession, and the South by not yielding to their demands. He supported the Corwin Amendment in an effort to reconcile the country, but it was too little, too late. He made an unsuccessful attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, but otherwise refrained from preparing the military. His failure to forestall the Civil War has been described as incompetency, and he spent his last years defending his reputation. In his personal life, Buchanan never married, the only U.S. president to remain a lifelong bachelor, leading some to question his sexual orientation. Buchanan died of respiratory failure in 1868, and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had lived for nearly 60 years. Historians and scholars consistently rank Buchanan as one of the worst presidents in American history. Early life James Buchanan Jr. was born April 23, 1791, in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to James Buchanan Sr. (1761–1821) and Elizabeth Speer (1767–1833). His parents were both of Ulster Scot descent, and his father emigrated from Ramelton, Ireland in 1783. Shortly after Buchanan's birth, the family moved to a farm near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1794 the family moved into the town. His father became the wealthiest resident there, working as a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. Buchanan attended the Old Stone Academy in Mercersburg, and then Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was nearly expelled for bad behavior, but pleaded for a second chance and ultimately graduated with honors in 1809. Later that year he moved to the state capital at Lancaster. James Hopkins, a leading lawyer there, accepted Buchanan as an apprentice, and in 1812 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. Many other lawyers moved to Harrisburg when it became the state capital in 1812, but Buchanan made Lancaster his lifelong home. His income rapidly rose after he established his practice, and by 1821 he was earning over $11,000 per year (). He handled various types of cases, including a much-publicized impeachment trial, where he successfully defended Pennsylvania Judge Walter Franklin. Buchanan began his political career as a member of the Federalist Party, and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814 and 1815. The legislature met for only three months a year, but Buchanan's service helped him acquire more clients. Politically, he supported federally-funded internal improvements, a high tariff, and a national bank. He became a strong critic of Democratic-Republican President James Madison during the War of 1812. He was a Freemason, and served as the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, and as a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Military service When the British invaded neighboring Maryland in 1814, he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, a unit of yagers. Buchanan is the only president with military experience who was not an officer. He is also the last president who served in the War of 1812. Congressional career U.S. House service In 1820 Buchanan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Federalist Party was waning. During his tenure in Congress, he became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and an avid defender of states' rights. After the 1824 presidential election, he helped organize Jackson's followers into the Democratic Party, and he became a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat. In Washington, he was close with many southern Congressmen, and viewed some New England Congressmen as dangerous radicals. He was appointed to the Agriculture Committee in his first year, and he eventually became Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He declined re-nomination to a sixth term, and briefly returned to private life. Minister to Russia After Jackson was re-elected in 1832, he offered Buchanan the position of United States Ambassador to Russia. Buchanan was reluctant to leave the country but ultimately agreed. He served as ambassador for 18 months, during which time he learned French, the trade language of diplomacy in the nineteenth century. He helped negotiate commercial and maritime treaties with the Russian Empire. U.S. Senate service Buchanan returned home and was elected by the Pennsylvania state legislature to succeed William Wilkins in the U.S. Senate. Wilkins in turn replaced Buchanan as the ambassador to Russia. The Jacksonian Buchanan, who was re-elected in 1836 and 1842, opposed the re-chartering of the Second Bank of the United States and sought to expunge a congressional censure of Jackson stemming from the Bank War. Buchanan also opposed a gag rule sponsored by John C. Calhoun that would have suppressed anti-slavery petitions. He joined the majority in blocking the rule, with most senators of the belief that it would have the reverse effect of strengthening the abolitionists. He said, "We have just as little right to interfere with slavery in the South, as we have to touch the right of petition." Buchanan thought that the issue of slavery was the domain of the states, and he faulted abolitionists for exciting passions over the issue. His support of states' rights was matched by his support for Manifest Destiny, and he opposed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty for its "surrender" of lands to the United Kingdom. Buchanan also argued for the annexation of both Texas and the Oregon Country. In the lead-up to the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Buchanan positioned himself as a potential alternative to former President Martin Van Buren, but the nomination went to James K. Polk, who won the election. Diplomatic career Secretary of State Buchanan was offered the position of Secretary of State in the Polk administration, as well as the alternative of serving on the Supreme Court. He accepted the State Department post and served for the duration of Polk's single term in office. He and Polk nearly doubled the territory of the United States through the Oregon Treaty and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which included territory that is now Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. In negotiations with Britain over Oregon, Buchanan at first preferred a compromise, but later advocated for annexation of the entire territory. Eventually, he agreed to a division at the 49th parallel. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, he advised Polk against taking territory south of the Rio Grande River and New Mexico. However, as the war came to an end, Buchanan argued for the annexation of further territory, and Polk began to suspect that he was angling to become president. Buchanan did quietly seek the nomination at the 1848 Democratic National Convention, as Polk had promised to serve only one term, but Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated. Ambassador to the United Kingdom With the 1848 election of Whig Zachary Taylor, Buchanan returned to private life. He bought the house of Wheatland on the outskirts of Lancaster and entertained various visitors, while monitoring political events. In 1852, he was named president of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and he served in this capacity until 1866. He quietly campaigned for the 1852 Democratic presidential nomination, writing a public letter that deplored the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed to ban slavery in new territories. He became known as a "doughface" due to his sympathy towards the South. At the 1852 Democratic National Convention, he won the support of many southern delegates but failed to win the two-thirds support needed for the presidential nomination, which went to Franklin Pierce. Buchanan declined to serve as the vice presidential nominee, and the convention instead nominated his close friend, William King. Pierce won the 1852 election, and Buchanan accepted the position of United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Buchanan sailed for England in the summer of 1853, and he remained abroad for the next three years. In 1850, the United States and Great Britain had signed the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which committed both countries to joint control of any future canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America. Buchanan met repeatedly with Lord Clarendon, the British foreign minister, in hopes of pressuring the British to withdraw from Central America. He also focussed on the potential annexation of Cuba, which had long interested him. At Pierce's prompting, Buchanan met in Ostend, Belgium with U.S. Ambassador to Spain Pierre Soulé and U.S. Ambassador to France John Mason. A memorandum draft resulted, called the Ostend Manifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain, then in the midst of revolution and near bankruptcy. The document declared the island "as necessary to the North American republic as any of its present ... family of states". Against Buchanan's recommendation, the final draft of the manifesto suggested that "wresting it from Spain", if Spain refused to sell, would be justified "by every law, human and Divine". The manifesto, generally considered a blunder, was never acted upon, and weakened the Pierce administration and reduced support for Manifest Destiny. Presidential election of 1856 Buchanan's service abroad allowed him to conveniently avoid the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act then roiling the country in the slavery dispute. While he did not overtly seek the presidency, he assented to the movement on his behalf. The 1856 Democratic National Convention met in June 1856, producing a platform that reflected his views, including support for the Fugitive Slave Law, which required the return of escaped slaves. The platform also called for an end to anti-slavery agitation, and U.S. "ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico". President Pierce hoped for re-nomination, while Senator Stephen A. Douglas also loomed as a strong candidate. Buchanan led on the first ballot, support by powerful Senators John Slidell, Jesse Bright, and Thomas F. Bayard, who presented Buchanan as an experienced leader appealing to the North and South. He won the nomination after seventeen ballots. He was joined on the ticket by John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, placating supporters of Pierce and Douglas, also allies of Breckinridge. Buchanan faced two candidates in the general election: former Whig President Millard Fillmore ran as the American Party (or "Know-Nothing") candidate, while John C. Frémont ran as the Republican nominee. Buchanan did not actively campaign, but he wrote letters and pledged to uphold the Democratic platform. In the election, he carried every slave state except for Maryland, as well as five slavery-free states, including his home state of Pennsylvania. He won 45 percent of the popular vote and decisively won the electoral vote, taking 174 of 296 votes. His election made him the first president from Pennsylvania. In a combative victory speech, Buchanan denounced Republicans, calling them a "dangerous" and "geographical" party that had unfairly attacked the South. He also declared, "the object of my administration will be to destroy sectional party, North or South, and to restore harmony to the Union under a national and conservative government." He set about this initially by feigning a sectional balance in his cabinet appointments. Presidency (1857–1861) Inauguration Buchanan was inaugurated on March 4, 1857, taking the oath of office from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. In his inaugural address, Buchanan committed himself to serving only one term, as his predecessor had done. He expressed an abhorrence for the growing divisions over slavery and its status in the territories, while saying that Congress should play no role in determining the status of slavery in the states or territories. He also declared his support for popular sovereignty. Buchanan recommended that a federal slave code be enacted to protect the rights of slave-owners in federal territories. He alluded to a then-pending Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, which he said would permanently settle the issue of slavery. Dred Scott was a slave who was temporarily taken from a slave state to a free territory by his owner, John Sanford (the court misspelled his name). After Scott returned to the slave state, he filed a petition for his freedom based on his time in the free territory. The Dred Scott decision, rendered after Buchanan's speech, denied Scott's petition in favor of his owner. Personnel Cabinet and administration As his inauguration approached, Buchanan sought to establish an obedient, harmonious cabinet, to avoid the in-fighting that had plagued Andrew Jackson's administration. He chose four Southerners and three Northerners, the latter of whom were all considered to be doughfaces (Southern sympathizers). His objective was to dominate the cabinet, and he chose men who would agree with his views. Concentrating on foreign policy, he appointed the aging Lewis Cass as Secretary of State. Buchanan's appointment of Southerners and their allies alienated many in the North, and his failure to appoint any followers of Stephen A. Douglas divided the party. Outside of the cabinet, he left in place many of Pierce's appointments, but removed a disproportionate number of Northerners who had ties to Democrat opponents Pierce or Douglas. In that vein, he soon alienated their ally, and his vice president, Breckinridge; the latter therefore played little role in the administration. Judicial appointments Buchanan appointed one Justice, Nathan Clifford, to the Supreme Court of the United States. He appointed seven other federal judges to United States district courts. He also appointed two judges to the United States Court of Claims. Intervention in the Dred Scott case Two days after Buchanan's inauguration, Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision, denying the enslaved petitioner's request for freedom. The ruling broadly asserted that Congress had no constitutional power to exclude slavery in the territories. Prior to his inauguration, Buchanan had written to Justice John Catron in January 1857, inquired about the outcome of the case, and suggested that a broader decision, beyond the specifics of the case, would be more prudent. Buchanan hoped that a broad decision protecting slavery in the territories could lay the issue to rest, allowing him to focus on other issues. Catron, who was from Tennessee, replied on February 10, saying that the Supreme Court's Southern majority would decide against Scott, but would likely have to publish the decision on narrow grounds unless Buchanan could convince his fellow Pennsylvanian, Justice Robert Cooper Grier, to join the majority of the court. Buchanan then wrote to Grier and prevailed upon him, providing the majority leverage to issue a broad-ranging decision, sufficient to render the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional. Buchanan's letters were not then public; he was, however, seen at his inauguration in whispered conversation with the Chief Justice. When the decision was issued, Republicans began spreading word that Taney had revealed to Buchanan the forthcoming result. Rather than destroying the Republican platform as Buchanan had hoped, the decision outraged Northerners who denounced it. Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 began in the summer of that year, ushered in by the collapse of 1,400 state banks and 5,000 businesses. While the South escaped largely unscathed, numerous northern cities experienced drastic increases in unemployment. Buchanan agreed with the southerners who attributed the economic collapse to overspeculation. Reflecting his Jacksonian background, Buchanan's response was "reform not relief". While the government was "without the power to extend relief," it would continue to pay its debts in specie, and while it would not curtail public works, none would be added. In hopes of reducing paper money supplies and inflation, he urged the states to restrict the banks to a credit level of $3 to $1 of specie and discouraged the use of federal or state bonds as security for bank note issues. The economy recovered in several years, though many Americans suffered as a result of the panic. Buchanan had hoped to reduce the deficit, but by the time he left office the federal deficit stood at $17 million. Utah War The Utah territory, settled in preceding decades by the Latter-day Saints and their leader Brigham Young, had grown increasingly hostile to federal intervention. Young harassed federal officers and discouraged outsiders from settling in the Salt Lake City area. In September 1857, the Utah Territorial Militia, associated with the Latter-day Saints, perpetrated the Mountain Meadows massacre against Arkansans headed for California. Buchanan was offended by the militarism and polygamous behavior of Young. Believing the Latter-day Saints to be in open rebellion, Buchanan in July 1857 sent Alfred Cumming, accompanied by the Army, to replace Young as governor. While the Latter-day Saints had frequently defied federal authority, some historians consider Buchanan's action was an inappropriate response to uncorroborated reports. Complicating matters, Young's notice of his replacement was not delivered because the Pierce administration had annulled the Utah mail contract. Young reacted to the military action by mustering a two-week expedition, destroying wagon trains, oxen, and other Army property. Buchanan then dispatched Thomas L. Kane as a private agent to negotiate peace. The mission succeeded, the new governor took office, and the Utah War ended. The President granted amnesty to inhabitants affirming loyalty to the government, and placed the federal troops at a peaceable distance for the balance of his administration. Bleeding Kansas The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas Territory and allowed the settlers there to decide whether to allow slavery. This resulted in violence between "Free-Soil" (antislavery) and pro-slavery settlers, which developed into the "Bleeding Kansas" period. The antislavery settlers, with the help of Northern abolitionists, organized a government in Topeka. The more numerous proslavery settlers, many from the neighboring slave state Missouri, established a government in Lecompton, giving the Territory two different governments for a time, with two distinct constitutions, each claiming legitimacy. The admission of Kansas as a state required a constitution be submitted to Congress with the approval of a majority of its residents. Under President Pierce, a series of violent confrontations escalated over who had the right to vote in Kansas. The situation drew national attention, and some in Georgia and Mississippi advocated secession should Kansas be admitted as a free state. Buchanan chose to endorse the pro-slavery Lecompton government. Buchanan appointed Robert J. Walker to replace John W. Geary as Territorial Governor, with the expectation he would assist the proslavery faction in gaining approval of a new constitution. However, Walker wavered on the slavery question, and there ensued conflicting referendums from Topeka and Lecompton, where election fraud occurred. In October 1857, the Lecompton government framed the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution and sent it to Buchanan without a referendum. Buchanan reluctantly rejected it, and he dispatched federal agents to arrange a compromise. The Lecompton government agreed to a referendum limited solely to the slavery question. Despite the protests of Walker and two former Kansas governors, Buchanan decided to accept the Lecompton Constitution. In a December 1857 meeting with Stephen Douglas, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Buchanan demanded that all Democrats support the administration's position of admitting Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. On February 2, he transmitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress. He also transmitted a message that attacked the "revolutionary government" in Topeka, conflating them with the Mormons in Utah. Buchanan made every effort to secure congressional approval, offering favors, patronage appointments, and even cash for votes. The Lecompton Constitution won the approval of the Senate in March, but a combination of Know-Nothings, Republicans, and northern Democrats defeated the bill in the House. Rather than accepting defeat, Buchanan backed the 1858 English Bill, which offered Kansans immediate statehood and vast public lands in exchange for accepting the Lecompton Constitution. In August 1858, Kansans by referendum strongly rejected the Lecompton Constitution. The dispute over Kansas became the battlefront for control of the Democratic Party. On one side were Buchanan, most Southern Democrats, and the "doughfaces". On the other side were Douglas and most northern Democrats plus a few Southerners. Douglas's faction continued to support the doctrine of popular sovereignty, while Buchanan insisted that Democrats respect the Dred Scott decision and its repudiation of federal interference with slavery in the territories. The struggle ended only with Buchanan's presidency. In the interim he used his patronage powers to remove Douglas sympathizers in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and installed pro-administration Democrats, including postmasters. 1858 mid-term elections Douglas's Senate term was coming to an end in 1859, with the Illinois legislature, elected in 1858, determining whether Douglas would win re-election. The Senate seat was the primary issue of the legislative election, marked by the famous debates between Douglas and his Republican opponent for the seat, Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan, working through federal patronage appointees in Illinois, ran candidates for the legislature in competition with both the Republicans and the Douglas Democrats. This could easily have thrown the election to the Republicans, and showed the depth of Buchanan's animosity toward Douglas. In the end, Douglas Democrats won the legislative election and Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. In that year's elections, Douglas forces took control throughout the North, except in Buchanan's home state of Pennsylvania. Buchanan's support was otherwise reduced to a narrow base of southerners. The division between northern and southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to win a plurality of the House in the 1858 elections, and allowed them to block most of Buchanan's agenda. Buchanan, in turn, added to the hostility with his veto of six substantial pieces of Republican legislation. Among these measures were the Homestead Act, which would have given 160 acres of public land to settlers who remained on the land for five years, and the Morrill Act, which would have granted public lands to establish land-grant colleges. Buchanan argued that these acts were unconstitutional. Foreign policy Buchanan took office with an ambitious foreign policy, designed to establish U.S. hegemony over Central America at the expense of Great Britain. He hoped to re-negotiate the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which he thought limited U.S. influence in the region. He also sought to establish American protectorates over the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, and most importantly, he hoped to achieve his long-term goal of acquiring Cuba. After long negotiations with the British, he convinced them to cede the Bay Islands to Honduras and the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. However, Buchanan's ambitions in Cuba and Mexico were largely blocked by the House of Representatives. Buchanan also considered buying Alaska from the Russian Empire, as a colony for Mormon settlers, but he and the Russians were unable to agree upon a price. In China, the administration won trade concessions in the Treaty of Tientsin. In 1858, Buchanan ordered the Paraguay expedition to punish Paraguay for firing on the , and the expedition resulted in a Paraguayan apology and payment of an indemnity. The chiefs of Raiatea and Tahaa in the South Pacific, refusing to accept the rule of King Tamatoa V, unsuccessfully petitioned the United States to accept the islands under a protectorate in June 1858. Buchanan was offered a herd of elephants by King Rama IV of Siam, though the letter arrived after Buchanan's departure from office. As Buchanan's successor, Lincoln declined the King's offer, citing the unsuitable climate. Other presidential pets included a pair of bald eagles and a Newfoundland dog. Covode Committee In March 1860, the House impaneled the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for alleged impeachable offenses, such as bribery and extortion of representatives. The committee, three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge from a disputed land grant designed to benefit Covode's railroad company. The Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were enthusiastic in their condemnation of Buchanan. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 alleged corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet. The report also included accusations from Republicans that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress, in connection with the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution of Kansas. The Democrats pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated that he agreed with the Republicans, though he did not sign it. Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. Election of 1860 As he had promised in his inaugural address, Buchanan did not seek re-election. He went so far as to tell his ultimate successor, “If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland [his home], you are a happy man.” The 1860 Democratic National Convention convened in April of that year and, though Douglas led after every ballot, he was unable to win the two-thirds majority required. The convention adjourned after 53 ballots, and re-convened in Baltimore in June. After Douglas finally won the nomination, several Southerners refused to accept the outcome, and nominated Vice President Breckinridge as their own candidate. Douglas and Breckinridge agreed on most issues except the protection of slavery. Buchanan, nursing a grudge against Douglas, failed to reconcile the party, and tepidly supported Breckinridge. With the splintering of the Democratic Party, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln won a four-way election that also included John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln's support in the North was enough to give him an Electoral College majority. Buchanan became the last Democrat to win a presidential election until Grover Cleveland in 1884. As early as October, the army's Commanding General, Winfield Scott, an opponent of Buchanan, warned him that Lincoln's election would likely cause at least seven states to secede from the union. He recommended that massive amounts of federal troops and artillery be deployed to those states to protect federal property, although he also warned that few reinforcements were available. Since 1857 Congress had failed to heed calls for a stronger militia and allowed the army to fall into deplorable condition. Buchanan distrusted Scott and ignored his recommendations. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan directed War Secretary Floyd to reinforce southern forts with such provisions, arms, and men as were available; however, Floyd persuaded him to revoke the order. Secession With Lincoln's victory, talk of secession and disunion reached a boiling point, putting the burden on Buchanan to address it in his final speech to Congress on December 10. In his message, which was anticipated by both factions, Buchanan denied the right of states to secede but maintained the federal government was without power to prevent them. He placed the blame for the crisis solely on "intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States," and suggested that if they did not "repeal their unconstitutional and obnoxious enactments ... the injured States, after having first used all peaceful and constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to the Government of the Union." Buchanan's only suggestion to solve the crisis was "an explanatory amendment" affirming the constitutionality of slavery in the states, the fugitive slave laws, and popular sovereignty in the territories. His address was sharply criticized both by the North, for its refusal to stop secession, and the South, for denying its right to secede. Five days after the address was delivered, Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb resigned, as his views had become irreconcilable with the President's. South Carolina, long the most radical Southern state, seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. However, Unionist sentiment remained strong among many in the South, and Buchanan sought to appeal to the Southern moderates who might prevent secession in other states. He proposed passage of constitutional amendments protecting slavery in the states and territories. He also met with South Carolinian commissioners in an attempt to resolve the situation at Fort Sumter, which federal forces remained in control of despite its location in Charleston, South Carolina. He refused to dismiss Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson after the latter was chosen as Mississippi's agent to discuss secession, and he refused to fire Secretary of War John B. Floyd despite an embezzlement scandal. Floyd ended up resigning, but not before sending numerous firearms to Southern states, where they eventually fell into the hands of the Confederacy. Despite Floyd's resignation, Buchanan continued to seek the advice of counselors from the Deep South, including Jefferson Davis and William Henry Trescot. Efforts were made in vain by Sen. John J. Crittenden, Rep. Thomas Corwin, and former president John Tyler to negotiate a compromise to stop secession, with Buchanan's support. Failed attempts were also made by a group of governors meeting in New York. Buchanan secretly asked President-elect Lincoln to call for a national referendum on the issue of slavery, but Lincoln declined. Despite the efforts of Buchanan and others, six more slave states seceded by the end of January 1861. Buchanan replaced the departed Southern cabinet members with John Adams Dix, Edwin M. Stanton, and Joseph Holt, all of whom were committed to preserving the Union. When Buchanan considered surrendering Fort Sumter, the new cabinet members threatened to resign, and Buchanan relented. On January 5, Buchanan decided to reinforce Fort Sumter, sending the Star of the West with 250 men and supplies. However, he failed to ask Major Robert Anderson to provide covering fire for the ship, and it was forced to return North without delivering troops or supplies. Buchanan chose not to respond to this act of war, and instead sought to find a compromise to avoid secession. He received a March 3 message from Anderson, that supplies were running low, but the response became Lincoln's to make, as the latter succeeded to the presidency the next day. Proposed constitutional amendment On March 2, 1861, Congress approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states, including slavery, from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress. The proposed amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, it was never ratified by the requisite number of states. States admitted to the Union Three new states were admitted to the Union while Buchanan was in office: Minnesota – May 11, 1858 Oregon – February 14, 1859 Kansas – January 29, 1861 Post-presidency (1861–1868) The Civil War erupted within two months of Buchanan's retirement. He supported the Union, writing to former colleagues that, "the assault upon Sumter was the commencement of war by the Confederate states, and no alternative was left but to prosecute it with vigor on our part." He also wrote a letter to his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, urging them to "join the many thousands of brave & patriotic volunteers who are already in the field." Buchanan was dedicated to defending his actions prior to the Civil War, which was referred to by some as "Buchanan's War". He received threatening letters daily, and stores displayed Buchanan's likeness with the eyes inked red, a noose drawn around his neck and the word "TRAITOR" written across his forehead. The Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation which ultimately failed, and newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly. Buchanan became distraught by the vitriolic attacks levied against him, and fell sick and depressed. In October 1862, he defended himself in an exchange of letters with Winfield Scott, published in the National Intelligencer. He soon began writing his fullest public defense, in the form of his memoir Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion, which was published in 1866. Soon after the publication of the memoir, Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, of respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. Political views Buchanan was often considered by anti-slavery northerners a "doughface", a northerner with pro-southern principles. Shortly after his election, he said that the "great object" of his administration was "to arrest, if possible, the agitation of the Slavery question in the North and to destroy sectional parties". Buchanan believed the abolitionists were preventing the solution to the slavery problem. He stated, "Before [the abolitionists] commenced this agitation, a very large and growing party existed in several of the slave states in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery; and now not a voice is heard there in support of such a measure. The abolitionists have postponed the emancipation of the slaves in three or four states for at least half a century." In deference to the intentions of the typical slaveholder, he was willing to provide the benefit of the doubt. In his third annual message to Congress, the president claimed that the slaves were "treated with kindness and humanity. ... Both the philanthropy and the self-interest of the master have combined to produce this humane result." Buchanan thought restraint was the essence of good self-government. He believed the constitution comprised "... restraints, imposed not by arbitrary authority, but by the people upon themselves and their representatives. ... In an enlarged view, the people's interests may seem identical, but to the eye of local and sectional prejudice, they always appear to be conflicting ... and the jealousies that will perpetually arise can be repressed only by the mutual forbearance which pervades the constitution." Regarding slavery and the Constitution, he stated: "Although in Pennsylvania we are all opposed to slavery in the abstract, we can never violate the constitutional compact we have with our sister states. Their rights will be held sacred by us. Under the constitution it is their own question; and there let it remain." One of the prominent issues of the day was tariffs. Buchanan was conflicted by free trade as well as prohibitive tariffs, since either would benefit one section of the country to the detriment of the other. As a senator from Pennsylvania, he said: "I am viewed as the strongest advocate of protection in other states, whilst I am denounced as its enemy in Pennsylvania." Buchanan was also torn between his desire to expand the country for the general welfare of the nation, and to guarantee the rights of the people settling particular areas. On territorial expansion, he said, "What, sir? Prevent the people from crossing the Rocky Mountains? You might just as well command the Niagara not to flow. We must fulfill our destiny." On the resulting spread of slavery, through unconditional expansion, he stated: "I feel a strong repugnance by any act of mine to extend the present limits of the Union over a new slave-holding territory." For instance, he hoped the acquisition of Texas would "be the means of limiting, not enlarging, the dominion of slavery." Romantic life In 1818, Buchanan met Anne Caroline Coleman at a grand ball in Lancaster, and the two began courting. Anne was the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturer Robert Coleman. She was also the sister-in-law of Philadelphia judge Joseph Hemphill, one of Buchanan's colleagues. By 1819, the two were engaged, but spent little time together. Buchanan was busy with his law firm and political projects during the Panic of 1819, which took him away from Coleman for weeks at a time. Rumors abounded, as some suggested that he was marrying her only for money; others said he was involved with other (unidentified) women. Letters from Coleman revealed she was aware of several rumors. She broke off the engagement, and soon afterward, on December 9, 1819, suddenly died. Buchanan wrote to her father for permission to attend the funeral, which was refused. After Coleman's death, Buchanan never courted another woman. At the time of her funeral, he said that, "I feel happiness has fled from me forever." During his presidency, an orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, whom he had adopted, served as official White House hostess. There was an unfounded rumor that he had an affair with President Polk's widow, Sarah Childress Polk. Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood after Anne Coleman's death has drawn interest and speculation. Some conjecture that Anne's death merely served to deflect questions about Buchanan's sexuality and bachelorhood. Several writers have surmised that he was homosexual, including James W. Loewen, Robert P. Watson, and Shelley Ross. One of his biographers, Jean Baker, suggests that Buchanan was celibate, if not asexual. Buchanan had a close relationship with William Rufus King, which became a popular target of gossip. King was an Alabama politician who briefly served as vice president under Franklin Pierce. Buchanan and King lived together in a Washington boardinghouse and attended social functions together from 1834 until 1844. Such a living arrangement was then common, though King once referred to the relationship as a "communion". Andrew Jackson called King "Miss Nancy" and Buchanan's Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown referred to King as Buchanan's "better half", "wife", and "Aunt Fancy". Loewen indicated that Buchanan late in life wrote a letter acknowledging that he might marry a woman who could accept his "lack of ardent or romantic affection". Catherine Thompson, the wife of cabinet member Jacob Thompson, later noted that "there was something unhealthy in the president's attitude." King died of tuberculosis shortly after Pierce's inauguration, four years before Buchanan became president. Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest and most consistent public men I have known". Biographer Baker opines that both men's nieces may have destroyed correspondence between the two men. However, she believes that their surviving letters illustrate only "the affection of a special friendship". Legacy Historical reputation Though Buchanan predicted that "history will vindicate my memory," historians have criticized Buchanan for his unwillingness or inability to act in the face of secession. Historical rankings of presidents of the United States without exception place Buchanan among the least successful presidents. When scholars are surveyed, he ranks at or near the bottom in terms of vision/agenda-setting, domestic leadership, foreign policy leadership, moral authority, and positive historical significance of their legacy. Buchanan biographer Philip Klein focuses upon challenges Buchanan faced: Biographer Jean Baker is less charitable to Buchanan, saying in 2004: Memorials A bronze and granite memorial near the southeast corner of Washington, D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park was designed by architect William Gorden Beecher and sculpted by Maryland artist Hans Schuler. It was commissioned in 1916 but not approved by the U.S. Congress until 1918, and not completed and unveiled until June 26, 1930. The memorial features a statue of Buchanan, bookended by male and female classical figures representing law and diplomacy, with engraved text reading: "The incorruptible statesman whose walk was upon the mountain ranges of the law," a quote from a member of Buchanan's cabinet, Jeremiah S. Black. An earlier monument was constructed in 1907–08 and dedicated in 1911, on the site of Buchanan's birthplace in Stony Batter, Pennsylvania. Part of the original memorial site is a 250-ton pyramid structure that stands on the site of the original cabin where Buchanan was born. The monument was designed to show the original weathered surface of the native rubble and mortar. Three counties are named in his honor, in Iowa, Missouri, and Virginia. Another in Texas was christened in 1858 but renamed Stephens County, after the newly elected Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stephens, in 1861. The city of Buchanan, Michigan, was also named after him. Several other communities are named after him: the unincorporated community of Buchanan, Indiana, the city of Buchanan, Georgia, the town of Buchanan, Wisconsin, and the townships of Buchanan Township, Michigan, and Buchanan, Missouri. James Buchanan High School is a small, rural high school located on the outskirts of his childhood hometown, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Popular culture depictions Buchanan and his legacy are central to the film Raising Buchanan (2019). He is portrayed by René Auberjonois. See also Historical rankings of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States by previous experience Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps List of federal political sex scandals in the United States References Works cited Pulitzer prize. Further reading Secondary sources Balcerski, Thomas J. Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (Oxford University Press, 2019. online review Balcerski, Thomas J. "Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston." in A Companion to First Ladies (2016): 197-213. Birkner, Michael J., et al. eds. The Worlds of James Buchanan and Thaddeus Stevens: Place, Personality, and Politics in the Civil War Era (Louisiana State University Press, 2019) Nichols, Roy Franklin; The Democratic Machine, 1850–1854 (1923), detailed narrative; online Rosenberger, Homer T. "Inauguration of President Buchanan a Century Ago." Records of the Columbia Historical Society 57 (1957): 96-122 online. , fictional. Wells, Damon. "Douglas and Goliath." in Stephen Douglas (University of Texas Press, 1971) pp. 12-54. on Douglas and Buchanan. online Primary sources Buchanan, James. Fourth Annual Message to Congress. (December 3, 1860). Buchanan, James. Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion (1866) National Intelligencer (1859) External links White House biography James Buchanan: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress The James Buchanan papers, spanning the entirety of his legal, political and diplomatic career, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. University of Virginia article: Buchanan biography Wheatland James Buchanan at Tulane University Essay on James Buchanan and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, Franklin County, Pennsylvania "Life Portrait of James Buchanan", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, June 21, 1999 Primary sources James Buchanan Ill with Dysentery Before Inauguration: Original Letters Shapell Manuscript Foundation Mr. Buchanans Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion. President Buchanans memoirs. Inaugural Address Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1860 1791 births 1868 deaths 1850s in the United States 1860s in the United States 19th-century presidents of the United States Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom 19th-century American memoirists American militiamen in the War of 1812 American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Presbyterians American white supremacists Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Deaths from respiratory failure Democratic Party presidents of the United States Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Dickinson College alumni American Freemasons Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania Jacksonians Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Polk administration cabinet members Presidents of the United States Union political leaders Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1856 United States presidential election United States Secretaries of State United States senators from Pennsylvania People of the Utah War Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians 18th-century Presbyterians 19th-century Presbyterians Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives Buchanan County, Iowa Buchanan County, Missouri Buchanan County, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Jacksonian United States senators from Pennsylvania	true	[ "Little Ease was a prison cell located beneath the White Tower in the Tower of London. The lightless cell was designed on a side, meaning that while an adult human could be placed inside, any occupant was prevented from being able to either stand, sit, or lie down, meaning it was impossible for him to find any physical position of rest (i.e., \"little ease\" could be found).\n\nEvidence suggests that Edmund Campion, a Catholic priest in Elizabethan England, was imprisoned for four days in the cell in July 1581. According to Bell (1921), by tradition, Guy Fawkes was housed there in 1605. Another possible inmate was Miles Prance in 1678. But Bell also stated that there is some doubt that the cell ever actually housed prisoners.\n\nReferences\n\nTower of London", "R v Belnavis, [1997] 3 S.C.R. 341, is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the right against unreasonable search and seizure under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court held that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the backseat of a car.\n\nBackground\nThree young women were stopped by police for stopped speeding. The police officer noticed bags in back which were found to contain new clothes with price tags still on them. More bags were found in the trunk. Two of the girls gave differing stories as to who owned which bag. They were all charged with possession of stolen property.\n\nAt trial, it was held that the search was unreasonable and violated section 8 of the Charter. The evidence was excluded under section 24(2) and the girls were acquitted. On appeal the acquittal was quashed and a new trial was ordered.\n\nThe question before the Supreme Court was whether the officer violated a reasonable expectation of privacy under section 8 by searching the back seat, and if so, whether the evidence should be excluded under section 24(2).\n\nReasons of the court\nJustice Cory wrote for the majority.\n\nOn the first question, Cory found that there was no expectation to privacy as she did not own the vehicle, she did not have any control over it, nor did she ever in the past, as well she had no relationship with the driver. She did not control access to the vehicle, nor was there any subjective evidence that she had expected there to be privacy in the vehicle.\n\nOn the second issue, Cory found that the evidence should not be excluded under section 24(2). An objective observer would find that the officer had reasonable and probable ground to suspect that the bags contained stolen property. Likewise, the officer had reasonable subjective belief in his grounds.\n\nThe violation would not affect trial fairness, the breach was isolated and brief and so was not serious. Consequently, the breach would not tend to bring the administration of justice into disrepute.\n\nDissent\nJustice La Forest wrote the dissent.\n\nLa Forest began by observing that a warrantless search is presumed to be unreasonable. La Forest looked to the American Fourth Amendment and noted that the constitutional right protected privacy, not property as was suggested by the majority. He warns of the dangers in allowing \"open season\" on vehicles.\n\nSee also\n List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (Lamer Court)\n\nExternal links\n \n\nSection Eight Charter case law\nCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms case law\nSupreme Court of Canada cases\n1997 in Canadian case law" ]
[ "James Buchanan", "Covode Committee", "What was the Covode Committee?", "created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses,", "Was there ever any evidence found?", "The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan;" ]	C_5ed6e2f3fcc0410b9e8f1cb2059dafa4_1	What year did they try to impeach him?	3	What year did the covode commitee try to impeach James Buchanan?	James Buchanan	In March 1860, the House created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses, some impeachable, such as bribery and extortion of representatives in exchange for their votes. The committee, with three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they also charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge (since the president had vetoed a bill that was fashioned as a land grant for new agricultural colleges, but was designed to benefit Covode's railroad company). However, the Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were equally enthusiastic in their pursuit of Buchanan, and as pointed in their condemnations, as the Republicans. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 exposed corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet, as well as allegations (if not impeachable evidence) from the Republican members of the Committee, that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution. (The Democratic report, issued separately the same day, pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed with the Republican report even though he did not sign it.) Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Nonetheless, Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He was an advocate for states' rights, particularly regarding slavery, and minimized the role of the federal government preceding the Civil War. Buchanan was a prominent lawyer in Pennsylvania and won his first election to the state's House of Representatives as a Federalist. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820 and retained that post for five terms, aligning with Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party. Buchanan served as Jackson's minister to Russia in 1832. He won election in 1834 as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and continued in that position for 11 years. He was appointed to serve as President James K. Polk's secretary of state in 1845, and eight years later was named as President Franklin Pierce's minister to the United Kingdom. Beginning in 1844, Buchanan became a regular contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. He was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Democratic National Convention. He benefited from the fact that he had been out of the country, as ambassador in London, and had not been involved in slavery issues. Buchanan and running mate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky carried every slave state except Maryland, defeating anti-slavery Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing former president Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election. As President, Buchanan intervened to assure the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scott case. He acceded to Southern attempts to engineer Kansas’ entry into the Union as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution, and angered not only Republicans but also Northern Democrats. Buchanan honored his pledge to serve only one term, and supported Breckinridge's unsuccessful candidacy in the 1860 presidential election. He failed to reconcile the fractured Democratic party amid the grudge against Stephen Douglas, leading to the election of Republican and former Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan's leadership during his lame duck period, before the American Civil War, has been widely criticized. He simultaneously angered the North by not stopping secession, and the South by not yielding to their demands. He supported the Corwin Amendment in an effort to reconcile the country, but it was too little, too late. He made an unsuccessful attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, but otherwise refrained from preparing the military. His failure to forestall the Civil War has been described as incompetency, and he spent his last years defending his reputation. In his personal life, Buchanan never married, the only U.S. president to remain a lifelong bachelor, leading some to question his sexual orientation. Buchanan died of respiratory failure in 1868, and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had lived for nearly 60 years. Historians and scholars consistently rank Buchanan as one of the worst presidents in American history. Early life James Buchanan Jr. was born April 23, 1791, in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to James Buchanan Sr. (1761–1821) and Elizabeth Speer (1767–1833). His parents were both of Ulster Scot descent, and his father emigrated from Ramelton, Ireland in 1783. Shortly after Buchanan's birth, the family moved to a farm near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1794 the family moved into the town. His father became the wealthiest resident there, working as a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. Buchanan attended the Old Stone Academy in Mercersburg, and then Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was nearly expelled for bad behavior, but pleaded for a second chance and ultimately graduated with honors in 1809. Later that year he moved to the state capital at Lancaster. James Hopkins, a leading lawyer there, accepted Buchanan as an apprentice, and in 1812 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. Many other lawyers moved to Harrisburg when it became the state capital in 1812, but Buchanan made Lancaster his lifelong home. His income rapidly rose after he established his practice, and by 1821 he was earning over $11,000 per year (). He handled various types of cases, including a much-publicized impeachment trial, where he successfully defended Pennsylvania Judge Walter Franklin. Buchanan began his political career as a member of the Federalist Party, and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814 and 1815. The legislature met for only three months a year, but Buchanan's service helped him acquire more clients. Politically, he supported federally-funded internal improvements, a high tariff, and a national bank. He became a strong critic of Democratic-Republican President James Madison during the War of 1812. He was a Freemason, and served as the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, and as a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Military service When the British invaded neighboring Maryland in 1814, he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, a unit of yagers. Buchanan is the only president with military experience who was not an officer. He is also the last president who served in the War of 1812. Congressional career U.S. House service In 1820 Buchanan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Federalist Party was waning. During his tenure in Congress, he became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and an avid defender of states' rights. After the 1824 presidential election, he helped organize Jackson's followers into the Democratic Party, and he became a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat. In Washington, he was close with many southern Congressmen, and viewed some New England Congressmen as dangerous radicals. He was appointed to the Agriculture Committee in his first year, and he eventually became Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He declined re-nomination to a sixth term, and briefly returned to private life. Minister to Russia After Jackson was re-elected in 1832, he offered Buchanan the position of United States Ambassador to Russia. Buchanan was reluctant to leave the country but ultimately agreed. He served as ambassador for 18 months, during which time he learned French, the trade language of diplomacy in the nineteenth century. He helped negotiate commercial and maritime treaties with the Russian Empire. U.S. Senate service Buchanan returned home and was elected by the Pennsylvania state legislature to succeed William Wilkins in the U.S. Senate. Wilkins in turn replaced Buchanan as the ambassador to Russia. The Jacksonian Buchanan, who was re-elected in 1836 and 1842, opposed the re-chartering of the Second Bank of the United States and sought to expunge a congressional censure of Jackson stemming from the Bank War. Buchanan also opposed a gag rule sponsored by John C. Calhoun that would have suppressed anti-slavery petitions. He joined the majority in blocking the rule, with most senators of the belief that it would have the reverse effect of strengthening the abolitionists. He said, "We have just as little right to interfere with slavery in the South, as we have to touch the right of petition." Buchanan thought that the issue of slavery was the domain of the states, and he faulted abolitionists for exciting passions over the issue. His support of states' rights was matched by his support for Manifest Destiny, and he opposed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty for its "surrender" of lands to the United Kingdom. Buchanan also argued for the annexation of both Texas and the Oregon Country. In the lead-up to the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Buchanan positioned himself as a potential alternative to former President Martin Van Buren, but the nomination went to James K. Polk, who won the election. Diplomatic career Secretary of State Buchanan was offered the position of Secretary of State in the Polk administration, as well as the alternative of serving on the Supreme Court. He accepted the State Department post and served for the duration of Polk's single term in office. He and Polk nearly doubled the territory of the United States through the Oregon Treaty and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which included territory that is now Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. In negotiations with Britain over Oregon, Buchanan at first preferred a compromise, but later advocated for annexation of the entire territory. Eventually, he agreed to a division at the 49th parallel. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, he advised Polk against taking territory south of the Rio Grande River and New Mexico. However, as the war came to an end, Buchanan argued for the annexation of further territory, and Polk began to suspect that he was angling to become president. Buchanan did quietly seek the nomination at the 1848 Democratic National Convention, as Polk had promised to serve only one term, but Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated. Ambassador to the United Kingdom With the 1848 election of Whig Zachary Taylor, Buchanan returned to private life. He bought the house of Wheatland on the outskirts of Lancaster and entertained various visitors, while monitoring political events. In 1852, he was named president of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and he served in this capacity until 1866. He quietly campaigned for the 1852 Democratic presidential nomination, writing a public letter that deplored the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed to ban slavery in new territories. He became known as a "doughface" due to his sympathy towards the South. At the 1852 Democratic National Convention, he won the support of many southern delegates but failed to win the two-thirds support needed for the presidential nomination, which went to Franklin Pierce. Buchanan declined to serve as the vice presidential nominee, and the convention instead nominated his close friend, William King. Pierce won the 1852 election, and Buchanan accepted the position of United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Buchanan sailed for England in the summer of 1853, and he remained abroad for the next three years. In 1850, the United States and Great Britain had signed the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which committed both countries to joint control of any future canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America. Buchanan met repeatedly with Lord Clarendon, the British foreign minister, in hopes of pressuring the British to withdraw from Central America. He also focussed on the potential annexation of Cuba, which had long interested him. At Pierce's prompting, Buchanan met in Ostend, Belgium with U.S. Ambassador to Spain Pierre Soulé and U.S. Ambassador to France John Mason. A memorandum draft resulted, called the Ostend Manifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain, then in the midst of revolution and near bankruptcy. The document declared the island "as necessary to the North American republic as any of its present ... family of states". Against Buchanan's recommendation, the final draft of the manifesto suggested that "wresting it from Spain", if Spain refused to sell, would be justified "by every law, human and Divine". The manifesto, generally considered a blunder, was never acted upon, and weakened the Pierce administration and reduced support for Manifest Destiny. Presidential election of 1856 Buchanan's service abroad allowed him to conveniently avoid the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act then roiling the country in the slavery dispute. While he did not overtly seek the presidency, he assented to the movement on his behalf. The 1856 Democratic National Convention met in June 1856, producing a platform that reflected his views, including support for the Fugitive Slave Law, which required the return of escaped slaves. The platform also called for an end to anti-slavery agitation, and U.S. "ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico". President Pierce hoped for re-nomination, while Senator Stephen A. Douglas also loomed as a strong candidate. Buchanan led on the first ballot, support by powerful Senators John Slidell, Jesse Bright, and Thomas F. Bayard, who presented Buchanan as an experienced leader appealing to the North and South. He won the nomination after seventeen ballots. He was joined on the ticket by John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, placating supporters of Pierce and Douglas, also allies of Breckinridge. Buchanan faced two candidates in the general election: former Whig President Millard Fillmore ran as the American Party (or "Know-Nothing") candidate, while John C. Frémont ran as the Republican nominee. Buchanan did not actively campaign, but he wrote letters and pledged to uphold the Democratic platform. In the election, he carried every slave state except for Maryland, as well as five slavery-free states, including his home state of Pennsylvania. He won 45 percent of the popular vote and decisively won the electoral vote, taking 174 of 296 votes. His election made him the first president from Pennsylvania. In a combative victory speech, Buchanan denounced Republicans, calling them a "dangerous" and "geographical" party that had unfairly attacked the South. He also declared, "the object of my administration will be to destroy sectional party, North or South, and to restore harmony to the Union under a national and conservative government." He set about this initially by feigning a sectional balance in his cabinet appointments. Presidency (1857–1861) Inauguration Buchanan was inaugurated on March 4, 1857, taking the oath of office from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. In his inaugural address, Buchanan committed himself to serving only one term, as his predecessor had done. He expressed an abhorrence for the growing divisions over slavery and its status in the territories, while saying that Congress should play no role in determining the status of slavery in the states or territories. He also declared his support for popular sovereignty. Buchanan recommended that a federal slave code be enacted to protect the rights of slave-owners in federal territories. He alluded to a then-pending Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, which he said would permanently settle the issue of slavery. Dred Scott was a slave who was temporarily taken from a slave state to a free territory by his owner, John Sanford (the court misspelled his name). After Scott returned to the slave state, he filed a petition for his freedom based on his time in the free territory. The Dred Scott decision, rendered after Buchanan's speech, denied Scott's petition in favor of his owner. Personnel Cabinet and administration As his inauguration approached, Buchanan sought to establish an obedient, harmonious cabinet, to avoid the in-fighting that had plagued Andrew Jackson's administration. He chose four Southerners and three Northerners, the latter of whom were all considered to be doughfaces (Southern sympathizers). His objective was to dominate the cabinet, and he chose men who would agree with his views. Concentrating on foreign policy, he appointed the aging Lewis Cass as Secretary of State. Buchanan's appointment of Southerners and their allies alienated many in the North, and his failure to appoint any followers of Stephen A. Douglas divided the party. Outside of the cabinet, he left in place many of Pierce's appointments, but removed a disproportionate number of Northerners who had ties to Democrat opponents Pierce or Douglas. In that vein, he soon alienated their ally, and his vice president, Breckinridge; the latter therefore played little role in the administration. Judicial appointments Buchanan appointed one Justice, Nathan Clifford, to the Supreme Court of the United States. He appointed seven other federal judges to United States district courts. He also appointed two judges to the United States Court of Claims. Intervention in the Dred Scott case Two days after Buchanan's inauguration, Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision, denying the enslaved petitioner's request for freedom. The ruling broadly asserted that Congress had no constitutional power to exclude slavery in the territories. Prior to his inauguration, Buchanan had written to Justice John Catron in January 1857, inquired about the outcome of the case, and suggested that a broader decision, beyond the specifics of the case, would be more prudent. Buchanan hoped that a broad decision protecting slavery in the territories could lay the issue to rest, allowing him to focus on other issues. Catron, who was from Tennessee, replied on February 10, saying that the Supreme Court's Southern majority would decide against Scott, but would likely have to publish the decision on narrow grounds unless Buchanan could convince his fellow Pennsylvanian, Justice Robert Cooper Grier, to join the majority of the court. Buchanan then wrote to Grier and prevailed upon him, providing the majority leverage to issue a broad-ranging decision, sufficient to render the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional. Buchanan's letters were not then public; he was, however, seen at his inauguration in whispered conversation with the Chief Justice. When the decision was issued, Republicans began spreading word that Taney had revealed to Buchanan the forthcoming result. Rather than destroying the Republican platform as Buchanan had hoped, the decision outraged Northerners who denounced it. Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 began in the summer of that year, ushered in by the collapse of 1,400 state banks and 5,000 businesses. While the South escaped largely unscathed, numerous northern cities experienced drastic increases in unemployment. Buchanan agreed with the southerners who attributed the economic collapse to overspeculation. Reflecting his Jacksonian background, Buchanan's response was "reform not relief". While the government was "without the power to extend relief," it would continue to pay its debts in specie, and while it would not curtail public works, none would be added. In hopes of reducing paper money supplies and inflation, he urged the states to restrict the banks to a credit level of $3 to $1 of specie and discouraged the use of federal or state bonds as security for bank note issues. The economy recovered in several years, though many Americans suffered as a result of the panic. Buchanan had hoped to reduce the deficit, but by the time he left office the federal deficit stood at $17 million. Utah War The Utah territory, settled in preceding decades by the Latter-day Saints and their leader Brigham Young, had grown increasingly hostile to federal intervention. Young harassed federal officers and discouraged outsiders from settling in the Salt Lake City area. In September 1857, the Utah Territorial Militia, associated with the Latter-day Saints, perpetrated the Mountain Meadows massacre against Arkansans headed for California. Buchanan was offended by the militarism and polygamous behavior of Young. Believing the Latter-day Saints to be in open rebellion, Buchanan in July 1857 sent Alfred Cumming, accompanied by the Army, to replace Young as governor. While the Latter-day Saints had frequently defied federal authority, some historians consider Buchanan's action was an inappropriate response to uncorroborated reports. Complicating matters, Young's notice of his replacement was not delivered because the Pierce administration had annulled the Utah mail contract. Young reacted to the military action by mustering a two-week expedition, destroying wagon trains, oxen, and other Army property. Buchanan then dispatched Thomas L. Kane as a private agent to negotiate peace. The mission succeeded, the new governor took office, and the Utah War ended. The President granted amnesty to inhabitants affirming loyalty to the government, and placed the federal troops at a peaceable distance for the balance of his administration. Bleeding Kansas The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas Territory and allowed the settlers there to decide whether to allow slavery. This resulted in violence between "Free-Soil" (antislavery) and pro-slavery settlers, which developed into the "Bleeding Kansas" period. The antislavery settlers, with the help of Northern abolitionists, organized a government in Topeka. The more numerous proslavery settlers, many from the neighboring slave state Missouri, established a government in Lecompton, giving the Territory two different governments for a time, with two distinct constitutions, each claiming legitimacy. The admission of Kansas as a state required a constitution be submitted to Congress with the approval of a majority of its residents. Under President Pierce, a series of violent confrontations escalated over who had the right to vote in Kansas. The situation drew national attention, and some in Georgia and Mississippi advocated secession should Kansas be admitted as a free state. Buchanan chose to endorse the pro-slavery Lecompton government. Buchanan appointed Robert J. Walker to replace John W. Geary as Territorial Governor, with the expectation he would assist the proslavery faction in gaining approval of a new constitution. However, Walker wavered on the slavery question, and there ensued conflicting referendums from Topeka and Lecompton, where election fraud occurred. In October 1857, the Lecompton government framed the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution and sent it to Buchanan without a referendum. Buchanan reluctantly rejected it, and he dispatched federal agents to arrange a compromise. The Lecompton government agreed to a referendum limited solely to the slavery question. Despite the protests of Walker and two former Kansas governors, Buchanan decided to accept the Lecompton Constitution. In a December 1857 meeting with Stephen Douglas, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Buchanan demanded that all Democrats support the administration's position of admitting Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. On February 2, he transmitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress. He also transmitted a message that attacked the "revolutionary government" in Topeka, conflating them with the Mormons in Utah. Buchanan made every effort to secure congressional approval, offering favors, patronage appointments, and even cash for votes. The Lecompton Constitution won the approval of the Senate in March, but a combination of Know-Nothings, Republicans, and northern Democrats defeated the bill in the House. Rather than accepting defeat, Buchanan backed the 1858 English Bill, which offered Kansans immediate statehood and vast public lands in exchange for accepting the Lecompton Constitution. In August 1858, Kansans by referendum strongly rejected the Lecompton Constitution. The dispute over Kansas became the battlefront for control of the Democratic Party. On one side were Buchanan, most Southern Democrats, and the "doughfaces". On the other side were Douglas and most northern Democrats plus a few Southerners. Douglas's faction continued to support the doctrine of popular sovereignty, while Buchanan insisted that Democrats respect the Dred Scott decision and its repudiation of federal interference with slavery in the territories. The struggle ended only with Buchanan's presidency. In the interim he used his patronage powers to remove Douglas sympathizers in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and installed pro-administration Democrats, including postmasters. 1858 mid-term elections Douglas's Senate term was coming to an end in 1859, with the Illinois legislature, elected in 1858, determining whether Douglas would win re-election. The Senate seat was the primary issue of the legislative election, marked by the famous debates between Douglas and his Republican opponent for the seat, Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan, working through federal patronage appointees in Illinois, ran candidates for the legislature in competition with both the Republicans and the Douglas Democrats. This could easily have thrown the election to the Republicans, and showed the depth of Buchanan's animosity toward Douglas. In the end, Douglas Democrats won the legislative election and Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. In that year's elections, Douglas forces took control throughout the North, except in Buchanan's home state of Pennsylvania. Buchanan's support was otherwise reduced to a narrow base of southerners. The division between northern and southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to win a plurality of the House in the 1858 elections, and allowed them to block most of Buchanan's agenda. Buchanan, in turn, added to the hostility with his veto of six substantial pieces of Republican legislation. Among these measures were the Homestead Act, which would have given 160 acres of public land to settlers who remained on the land for five years, and the Morrill Act, which would have granted public lands to establish land-grant colleges. Buchanan argued that these acts were unconstitutional. Foreign policy Buchanan took office with an ambitious foreign policy, designed to establish U.S. hegemony over Central America at the expense of Great Britain. He hoped to re-negotiate the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which he thought limited U.S. influence in the region. He also sought to establish American protectorates over the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, and most importantly, he hoped to achieve his long-term goal of acquiring Cuba. After long negotiations with the British, he convinced them to cede the Bay Islands to Honduras and the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. However, Buchanan's ambitions in Cuba and Mexico were largely blocked by the House of Representatives. Buchanan also considered buying Alaska from the Russian Empire, as a colony for Mormon settlers, but he and the Russians were unable to agree upon a price. In China, the administration won trade concessions in the Treaty of Tientsin. In 1858, Buchanan ordered the Paraguay expedition to punish Paraguay for firing on the , and the expedition resulted in a Paraguayan apology and payment of an indemnity. The chiefs of Raiatea and Tahaa in the South Pacific, refusing to accept the rule of King Tamatoa V, unsuccessfully petitioned the United States to accept the islands under a protectorate in June 1858. Buchanan was offered a herd of elephants by King Rama IV of Siam, though the letter arrived after Buchanan's departure from office. As Buchanan's successor, Lincoln declined the King's offer, citing the unsuitable climate. Other presidential pets included a pair of bald eagles and a Newfoundland dog. Covode Committee In March 1860, the House impaneled the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for alleged impeachable offenses, such as bribery and extortion of representatives. The committee, three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge from a disputed land grant designed to benefit Covode's railroad company. The Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were enthusiastic in their condemnation of Buchanan. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 alleged corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet. The report also included accusations from Republicans that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress, in connection with the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution of Kansas. The Democrats pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated that he agreed with the Republicans, though he did not sign it. Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. Election of 1860 As he had promised in his inaugural address, Buchanan did not seek re-election. He went so far as to tell his ultimate successor, “If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland [his home], you are a happy man.” The 1860 Democratic National Convention convened in April of that year and, though Douglas led after every ballot, he was unable to win the two-thirds majority required. The convention adjourned after 53 ballots, and re-convened in Baltimore in June. After Douglas finally won the nomination, several Southerners refused to accept the outcome, and nominated Vice President Breckinridge as their own candidate. Douglas and Breckinridge agreed on most issues except the protection of slavery. Buchanan, nursing a grudge against Douglas, failed to reconcile the party, and tepidly supported Breckinridge. With the splintering of the Democratic Party, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln won a four-way election that also included John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln's support in the North was enough to give him an Electoral College majority. Buchanan became the last Democrat to win a presidential election until Grover Cleveland in 1884. As early as October, the army's Commanding General, Winfield Scott, an opponent of Buchanan, warned him that Lincoln's election would likely cause at least seven states to secede from the union. He recommended that massive amounts of federal troops and artillery be deployed to those states to protect federal property, although he also warned that few reinforcements were available. Since 1857 Congress had failed to heed calls for a stronger militia and allowed the army to fall into deplorable condition. Buchanan distrusted Scott and ignored his recommendations. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan directed War Secretary Floyd to reinforce southern forts with such provisions, arms, and men as were available; however, Floyd persuaded him to revoke the order. Secession With Lincoln's victory, talk of secession and disunion reached a boiling point, putting the burden on Buchanan to address it in his final speech to Congress on December 10. In his message, which was anticipated by both factions, Buchanan denied the right of states to secede but maintained the federal government was without power to prevent them. He placed the blame for the crisis solely on "intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States," and suggested that if they did not "repeal their unconstitutional and obnoxious enactments ... the injured States, after having first used all peaceful and constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to the Government of the Union." Buchanan's only suggestion to solve the crisis was "an explanatory amendment" affirming the constitutionality of slavery in the states, the fugitive slave laws, and popular sovereignty in the territories. His address was sharply criticized both by the North, for its refusal to stop secession, and the South, for denying its right to secede. Five days after the address was delivered, Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb resigned, as his views had become irreconcilable with the President's. South Carolina, long the most radical Southern state, seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. However, Unionist sentiment remained strong among many in the South, and Buchanan sought to appeal to the Southern moderates who might prevent secession in other states. He proposed passage of constitutional amendments protecting slavery in the states and territories. He also met with South Carolinian commissioners in an attempt to resolve the situation at Fort Sumter, which federal forces remained in control of despite its location in Charleston, South Carolina. He refused to dismiss Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson after the latter was chosen as Mississippi's agent to discuss secession, and he refused to fire Secretary of War John B. Floyd despite an embezzlement scandal. Floyd ended up resigning, but not before sending numerous firearms to Southern states, where they eventually fell into the hands of the Confederacy. Despite Floyd's resignation, Buchanan continued to seek the advice of counselors from the Deep South, including Jefferson Davis and William Henry Trescot. Efforts were made in vain by Sen. John J. Crittenden, Rep. Thomas Corwin, and former president John Tyler to negotiate a compromise to stop secession, with Buchanan's support. Failed attempts were also made by a group of governors meeting in New York. Buchanan secretly asked President-elect Lincoln to call for a national referendum on the issue of slavery, but Lincoln declined. Despite the efforts of Buchanan and others, six more slave states seceded by the end of January 1861. Buchanan replaced the departed Southern cabinet members with John Adams Dix, Edwin M. Stanton, and Joseph Holt, all of whom were committed to preserving the Union. When Buchanan considered surrendering Fort Sumter, the new cabinet members threatened to resign, and Buchanan relented. On January 5, Buchanan decided to reinforce Fort Sumter, sending the Star of the West with 250 men and supplies. However, he failed to ask Major Robert Anderson to provide covering fire for the ship, and it was forced to return North without delivering troops or supplies. Buchanan chose not to respond to this act of war, and instead sought to find a compromise to avoid secession. He received a March 3 message from Anderson, that supplies were running low, but the response became Lincoln's to make, as the latter succeeded to the presidency the next day. Proposed constitutional amendment On March 2, 1861, Congress approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states, including slavery, from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress. The proposed amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, it was never ratified by the requisite number of states. States admitted to the Union Three new states were admitted to the Union while Buchanan was in office: Minnesota – May 11, 1858 Oregon – February 14, 1859 Kansas – January 29, 1861 Post-presidency (1861–1868) The Civil War erupted within two months of Buchanan's retirement. He supported the Union, writing to former colleagues that, "the assault upon Sumter was the commencement of war by the Confederate states, and no alternative was left but to prosecute it with vigor on our part." He also wrote a letter to his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, urging them to "join the many thousands of brave & patriotic volunteers who are already in the field." Buchanan was dedicated to defending his actions prior to the Civil War, which was referred to by some as "Buchanan's War". He received threatening letters daily, and stores displayed Buchanan's likeness with the eyes inked red, a noose drawn around his neck and the word "TRAITOR" written across his forehead. The Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation which ultimately failed, and newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly. Buchanan became distraught by the vitriolic attacks levied against him, and fell sick and depressed. In October 1862, he defended himself in an exchange of letters with Winfield Scott, published in the National Intelligencer. He soon began writing his fullest public defense, in the form of his memoir Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion, which was published in 1866. Soon after the publication of the memoir, Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, of respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. Political views Buchanan was often considered by anti-slavery northerners a "doughface", a northerner with pro-southern principles. Shortly after his election, he said that the "great object" of his administration was "to arrest, if possible, the agitation of the Slavery question in the North and to destroy sectional parties". Buchanan believed the abolitionists were preventing the solution to the slavery problem. He stated, "Before [the abolitionists] commenced this agitation, a very large and growing party existed in several of the slave states in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery; and now not a voice is heard there in support of such a measure. The abolitionists have postponed the emancipation of the slaves in three or four states for at least half a century." In deference to the intentions of the typical slaveholder, he was willing to provide the benefit of the doubt. In his third annual message to Congress, the president claimed that the slaves were "treated with kindness and humanity. ... Both the philanthropy and the self-interest of the master have combined to produce this humane result." Buchanan thought restraint was the essence of good self-government. He believed the constitution comprised "... restraints, imposed not by arbitrary authority, but by the people upon themselves and their representatives. ... In an enlarged view, the people's interests may seem identical, but to the eye of local and sectional prejudice, they always appear to be conflicting ... and the jealousies that will perpetually arise can be repressed only by the mutual forbearance which pervades the constitution." Regarding slavery and the Constitution, he stated: "Although in Pennsylvania we are all opposed to slavery in the abstract, we can never violate the constitutional compact we have with our sister states. Their rights will be held sacred by us. Under the constitution it is their own question; and there let it remain." One of the prominent issues of the day was tariffs. Buchanan was conflicted by free trade as well as prohibitive tariffs, since either would benefit one section of the country to the detriment of the other. As a senator from Pennsylvania, he said: "I am viewed as the strongest advocate of protection in other states, whilst I am denounced as its enemy in Pennsylvania." Buchanan was also torn between his desire to expand the country for the general welfare of the nation, and to guarantee the rights of the people settling particular areas. On territorial expansion, he said, "What, sir? Prevent the people from crossing the Rocky Mountains? You might just as well command the Niagara not to flow. We must fulfill our destiny." On the resulting spread of slavery, through unconditional expansion, he stated: "I feel a strong repugnance by any act of mine to extend the present limits of the Union over a new slave-holding territory." For instance, he hoped the acquisition of Texas would "be the means of limiting, not enlarging, the dominion of slavery." Romantic life In 1818, Buchanan met Anne Caroline Coleman at a grand ball in Lancaster, and the two began courting. Anne was the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturer Robert Coleman. She was also the sister-in-law of Philadelphia judge Joseph Hemphill, one of Buchanan's colleagues. By 1819, the two were engaged, but spent little time together. Buchanan was busy with his law firm and political projects during the Panic of 1819, which took him away from Coleman for weeks at a time. Rumors abounded, as some suggested that he was marrying her only for money; others said he was involved with other (unidentified) women. Letters from Coleman revealed she was aware of several rumors. She broke off the engagement, and soon afterward, on December 9, 1819, suddenly died. Buchanan wrote to her father for permission to attend the funeral, which was refused. After Coleman's death, Buchanan never courted another woman. At the time of her funeral, he said that, "I feel happiness has fled from me forever." During his presidency, an orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, whom he had adopted, served as official White House hostess. There was an unfounded rumor that he had an affair with President Polk's widow, Sarah Childress Polk. Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood after Anne Coleman's death has drawn interest and speculation. Some conjecture that Anne's death merely served to deflect questions about Buchanan's sexuality and bachelorhood. Several writers have surmised that he was homosexual, including James W. Loewen, Robert P. Watson, and Shelley Ross. One of his biographers, Jean Baker, suggests that Buchanan was celibate, if not asexual. Buchanan had a close relationship with William Rufus King, which became a popular target of gossip. King was an Alabama politician who briefly served as vice president under Franklin Pierce. Buchanan and King lived together in a Washington boardinghouse and attended social functions together from 1834 until 1844. Such a living arrangement was then common, though King once referred to the relationship as a "communion". Andrew Jackson called King "Miss Nancy" and Buchanan's Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown referred to King as Buchanan's "better half", "wife", and "Aunt Fancy". Loewen indicated that Buchanan late in life wrote a letter acknowledging that he might marry a woman who could accept his "lack of ardent or romantic affection". Catherine Thompson, the wife of cabinet member Jacob Thompson, later noted that "there was something unhealthy in the president's attitude." King died of tuberculosis shortly after Pierce's inauguration, four years before Buchanan became president. Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest and most consistent public men I have known". Biographer Baker opines that both men's nieces may have destroyed correspondence between the two men. However, she believes that their surviving letters illustrate only "the affection of a special friendship". Legacy Historical reputation Though Buchanan predicted that "history will vindicate my memory," historians have criticized Buchanan for his unwillingness or inability to act in the face of secession. Historical rankings of presidents of the United States without exception place Buchanan among the least successful presidents. When scholars are surveyed, he ranks at or near the bottom in terms of vision/agenda-setting, domestic leadership, foreign policy leadership, moral authority, and positive historical significance of their legacy. Buchanan biographer Philip Klein focuses upon challenges Buchanan faced: Biographer Jean Baker is less charitable to Buchanan, saying in 2004: Memorials A bronze and granite memorial near the southeast corner of Washington, D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park was designed by architect William Gorden Beecher and sculpted by Maryland artist Hans Schuler. It was commissioned in 1916 but not approved by the U.S. Congress until 1918, and not completed and unveiled until June 26, 1930. The memorial features a statue of Buchanan, bookended by male and female classical figures representing law and diplomacy, with engraved text reading: "The incorruptible statesman whose walk was upon the mountain ranges of the law," a quote from a member of Buchanan's cabinet, Jeremiah S. Black. An earlier monument was constructed in 1907–08 and dedicated in 1911, on the site of Buchanan's birthplace in Stony Batter, Pennsylvania. Part of the original memorial site is a 250-ton pyramid structure that stands on the site of the original cabin where Buchanan was born. The monument was designed to show the original weathered surface of the native rubble and mortar. Three counties are named in his honor, in Iowa, Missouri, and Virginia. Another in Texas was christened in 1858 but renamed Stephens County, after the newly elected Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stephens, in 1861. The city of Buchanan, Michigan, was also named after him. Several other communities are named after him: the unincorporated community of Buchanan, Indiana, the city of Buchanan, Georgia, the town of Buchanan, Wisconsin, and the townships of Buchanan Township, Michigan, and Buchanan, Missouri. James Buchanan High School is a small, rural high school located on the outskirts of his childhood hometown, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Popular culture depictions Buchanan and his legacy are central to the film Raising Buchanan (2019). He is portrayed by René Auberjonois. See also Historical rankings of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States by previous experience Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps List of federal political sex scandals in the United States References Works cited Pulitzer prize. Further reading Secondary sources Balcerski, Thomas J. Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (Oxford University Press, 2019. online review Balcerski, Thomas J. "Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston." in A Companion to First Ladies (2016): 197-213. Birkner, Michael J., et al. eds. The Worlds of James Buchanan and Thaddeus Stevens: Place, Personality, and Politics in the Civil War Era (Louisiana State University Press, 2019) Nichols, Roy Franklin; The Democratic Machine, 1850–1854 (1923), detailed narrative; online Rosenberger, Homer T. "Inauguration of President Buchanan a Century Ago." Records of the Columbia Historical Society 57 (1957): 96-122 online. , fictional. Wells, Damon. "Douglas and Goliath." in Stephen Douglas (University of Texas Press, 1971) pp. 12-54. on Douglas and Buchanan. online Primary sources Buchanan, James. Fourth Annual Message to Congress. (December 3, 1860). Buchanan, James. Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion (1866) National Intelligencer (1859) External links White House biography James Buchanan: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress The James Buchanan papers, spanning the entirety of his legal, political and diplomatic career, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. University of Virginia article: Buchanan biography Wheatland James Buchanan at Tulane University Essay on James Buchanan and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, Franklin County, Pennsylvania "Life Portrait of James Buchanan", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, June 21, 1999 Primary sources James Buchanan Ill with Dysentery Before Inauguration: Original Letters Shapell Manuscript Foundation Mr. Buchanans Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion. President Buchanans memoirs. Inaugural Address Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1860 1791 births 1868 deaths 1850s in the United States 1860s in the United States 19th-century presidents of the United States Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom 19th-century American memoirists American militiamen in the War of 1812 American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Presbyterians American white supremacists Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Deaths from respiratory failure Democratic Party presidents of the United States Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Dickinson College alumni American Freemasons Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania Jacksonians Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Polk administration cabinet members Presidents of the United States Union political leaders Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1856 United States presidential election United States Secretaries of State United States senators from Pennsylvania People of the Utah War Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians 18th-century Presbyterians 19th-century Presbyterians Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives Buchanan County, Iowa Buchanan County, Missouri Buchanan County, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Jacksonian United States senators from Pennsylvania	false	[ "George J. Alden (fl. 1860s) was a Florida state senator who became the Florida Secretary of State in 1868. He was involved in a dispute over who was governor when efforts were made to replace Harrison Reed. One account described Alden as \"a controversial debt ridden secretary of state... who absconded to Jacksonville with the Great Seal of Florida and used it to try to help Osborn try to impeach Gov. Reed\". He was subsequently ousted from office and succeeded by Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, an African American.\n\nReferences\n\nYear of birth unknown\n19th-century American politicians\nYear of death unknown\nFlorida state senators\nSecretaries of State of Florida", "During Barack Obama's tenure as President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, certain Republican members of Congress, as well as Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich, stated that Obama had engaged in impeachable activity and that he might face attempts to remove him from office. Rationales offered for possible impeachment ranged from Obama allowing people to use bathrooms based on their gender identity, to the 2012 Benghazi attack, to Obama's enforcement of immigration laws, and false claims that he was born outside the United States.\n\nThe closest attempt to impeach Obama occurred on December 3, 2013. On this date, the House Judiciary Committee, controlled by Republicans, held a hearing on whether or not to impeach the president. At the hearing, there were views among Republicans that the president had not done his duty, while simultaneously abusing his executive power. The hearing was attended by Georgetown University law professor Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz who encouraged impeachment claiming it was a good check on what he perceived as \"executive lawlessness\" from Obama. Impeachment efforts never advanced past this, mainly due to consistent opposition from Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner who saw impeachment as politically harmful to congressional Republicans, as well as the near-unanimous consensus that impeachment would not lead to Obama's removal in a senate trial rendering such efforts a waste of time. No list of articles of impeachment was ever drawn up and proposed to the Judiciary Committee for Obama. Obama was the first president since Jimmy Carter to not have any articles of impeachment referred against him to the House Judiciary Committee.\n\nMultiple surveys of U.S. public opinion found that a near supermajority of Americans rejected the idea of impeaching Obama, though a bit more than a simple majority of Republicans did support such efforts. For example, CNN found in July 2014 that 57% of Republicans supported impeachment, but in general, 65% of American adults, disagreed with impeachment with only 33% supporting such efforts.\n\nCongressional calls for impeachment \nIn October 2010, prior to the elections in which Republicans won control of the House, Jonathan Chait published an article in The New Republic called \"Scandal TBD\" where he predicted that if Republicans were to win control of the House, and Barack Obama were to win re-election in 2012, the Republicans would try to impeach Obama and use any reason possible as pretext.\n\nJoe Sestak \nIn May 2010, Republican Darrell Issa of California stated that the allegation that the White House had offered Pennsylvania Representative Joe Sestak a job to persuade Sestak to drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary election against Arlen Specter \"is one that everyone from Arlen Spector [sic] to Dick Morris has said is in fact a crime, and could be impeachable\". With the possibility of becoming chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in January 2011, Issa said in October 2010 that the committee would not seek to impeach Obama.\n\nPreventing Obama from \"pushing his agenda\" \nIn August 2011, Republican Congressman Michael C. Burgess of Texas agreed with a rally audience member that the impeachment of Obama \"needs to happen\" in order to prevent Obama from \"pushing his agenda\". Burgess did not mention any grounds for impeachment.\n\nObama administration immigration policy \nIn June 2012, Senator Jon Kyl mentioned impeachment when discussing the Obama Administration policy on immigration. He said on the Bill Bennett radio show, \"if it’s bad enough and if shenanigans [are] involved in it, then of course impeachment is always a possibility. But I don’t think at this point anybody is talking about that\".\n\nIn August 2013, Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma responded to a questioner in a town hall meeting, who had asserted that Obama was failing to carry out his constitutional responsibilities, by saying that \"you have to establish the criteria that would qualify for proceedings against the president... and that's called impeachment\". Coburn added, \"I don't have the legal background to know if that rises to 'high crimes and misdemeanors', but I think you're getting perilously close\". Coburn did not specify what grounds he felt would support impeachment, but NBC News noted that Coburn \"mentioned that he believes Department of Homeland Security officials have told career USCIS employees to 'ignore' background checks for immigrants\". Coburn mentioned no evidence that substantiated his belief.\n\nUse of drones\nIn March 2012, Republican Representative Walter B. Jones introduced H. Con. Res. 107, calling for Congress to hold the sentiment that certain actions of Obama be considered as impeachable offenses, including the CIA's drone program in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The resolution died in the House Judiciary Committee.\n\nLibya intervention \nIn March 2011, Democratic House Representative Dennis Kucinich called for Obama's impeachment after Obama authorized air strikes against Libya during the Libyan Civil War.\n\nBenghazi attack \nIn May 2013, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma stated that Obama could be impeached over what he alleged was a White House cover-up after the deadly attack against two United States government facilities in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. Inhofe said that \"of all the great cover-ups in history—the Pentagon papers, Iran-Contra, Watergate, all the rest of them—this ... is going to go down as most egregious cover-up in American history\". Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah also stated in an interview that impeachment was \"within the realm of possibilities\" with regard to the September 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi, later clarifying that \"it's not something I'm seeking\" and that \"I'm not willing to take that off the table. But that's certainly not what we're striving for.\" Fox News host Jeanine Pirro called for Obama's impeachment over Benghazi.\n\nThe Affordable Care Act \nIn 2013, Senator Ted Cruz responded to the question \"Why Don’t We Impeach [Obama]?\" with \"Good question... and I’ll tell you the simplest answer: To successfully impeach a president you need the votes in the U.S. Senate.\" That year, when asked if Obama had committed impeachable offenses on immigration and health care, Cruz said the implementation of the Affordable Care Act was \"lawless\", and said of impeachment, \"That’s a question for the House ultimately... My responsibility would be to render judgment.\"\n\nBirtherism \nAt a 2013 town hall meeting with constituents, two years after Obama had released his long-form birth certificate to the public, Congressman Blake Farenthold said that Obama should be impeached due to birther conspiracy theories about Obama. Farenthold said that he thinks that \"the House is already out of the barn on this, on the whole birth certificate issue.\"\n\nIRS targeting controversy \nOn August 19, 2013, Republican Congressman Kerry Bentivolio stated that if he could write articles of impeachment, \"it would be a dream come true\". To help in achieving that goal, he retained experts and historians. During the same interview, Bentivolio called the press \"the most corrupt thing in Washington,\" and said that he was looking to tie the White House to the IRS targeting controversy \"as evidence of impeachment \".\n\nDebt ceiling crisis \nDuring the debt ceiling crisis of 2013, which was the result of Republicans refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless Obama agreed to defund the Affordable Care Act, House Representative Louie Gohmert said it would be an \"impeachable offense\" of the United States as a result of the crisis.\n\n\"President's Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws\" \nOn December 3, 2013, the House Judiciary committee held a hearing formally titled \"The President's Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws\", which some participants and observers viewed as an attempt to begin justifying impeachment proceedings. Asked if the hearing was about impeachment, the committee chairman responded that it was not, adding, \"I didn't mention impeachment nor did any of the witnesses in response to my questions at the Judiciary Committee hearing.\" Contrary to his claims however, a witness did mention impeachment rather blatantly. Partisan Georgetown University law professor Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz said, “A check on executive lawlessness is impeachment” as he accused Obama of “claim[ing] the right of the king to essentially stand above the law.”\n\nPrisoner swap \nThe convention of the South Dakota Republican Party voted in a 196-176 resolution to call for the impeachment of Obama based on his action to release five detainees from Guantanamo Bay detention camp in order to free Bowe Bergdahl from his Taliban captors. Congressmember Allen West expressed the view that the prisoner exchange that brought the release of Bowe Bergdahl was grounds for impeachment. John Dean, former White House Counsel to Richard Nixon, criticized the movement to impeach Obama as \"insanity,\" arguing that Republican demands for impeachment are grounded in political disagreements rather than actual impeachable offenses. \"Partisans promoting and pushing impeachment as a political solution to being out of power seem to forget that what comes around goes around. These people are not conservatives, who by definition seek to protect the system; rather they are radicals who are gaming our constitutional system,\" he wrote.\n\nTransgender bathroom directive \nIn May 2016, the Oklahoma Legislature filed a measure asking the representatives from Oklahoma in the House of Representatives to impeach Obama, the U.S. attorney general, the U.S. secretary of education and any other administration officials involved in the decision to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity, alleging that these federal officials had exceeded their constitutional authority by issuing a directive to state schools. The same resolution also \"condemns the actions of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice and the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education ... as contrary to the values of the citizens of Oklahoma\".\n\nCongressional opposition to impeachment \nA number of prominent Republicans rejected calls for impeachment, including House Speaker John Boehner, and Sen. John McCain. McCain said impeachment would be a distraction from the 2014 election, and that if \"we regain control of the United States Senate we can be far more effective than an effort to impeach the president, which has no chance of succeeding.\" Rep. Blake Farenthold said that impeachment would be \"an exercise in futility.\"\n\nPublic debate over impeachment demands \nIn terms of background, U.S. public opinion widely opposed efforts made to impeach previous Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. CNN Polling Director Keating Holland has stated that their organization found that 69% opposed impeaching President Bush in 2006.\n\nAccording to a July 2014 YouGov poll, 35% of Americans believed President Obama should be impeached, including 68% of Republicans. Later that month, a CNN survey found that about two thirds of adult Americans disagreed with impeachment efforts. The data showed intense partisan divides, with 57% of Republicans supporting the efforts compared to only 35% of independents and 13% of Democrats.\n\nOn July 8, 2014, the former Governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin publicly called for Obama's impeachment for \"purposeful dereliction of duty\". In a full statement, she said: \"It’s time to impeach; and on behalf of American workers and legal immigrants of all backgrounds, we should vehemently oppose any politician on the left or right who would hesitate in voting for articles of impeachment.\"\n\nAndrew McCarthy of the National Review wrote the book Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case For Obama's Impeachment, which argued that threatening impeachment was a good way to limit executive action by Obama (McCarthy referred to Obama's actions as \"the standard dictatorial self-image\").\n\nIn 2018, conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder said that Obama should have been impeached for withdrawing U.S. military forces from Iraq in 2011 under what Elder said was the \"new standard for impeachment in the Trump era.\"\n\nSee also \n\nImpeachment investigations of United States federal officials\nTimeline of the investigation into the 2012 Benghazi attack\nUnited States House of Representatives v. Azar\nImpeachment of Bill Clinton\nEfforts to impeach Donald Trump\nEfforts to impeach George W. Bush\nEfforts to impeach Dick Cheney\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nMeet the Impeachment Crowd: 6 Republicans Who Want Obama Out, a list of six Republicans who voiced their opinions for Obama's impeachment.\nIRS and Benghazi Scandals Give Birther, Anti-Immigrant Impeach Obama Groups New Legs, U.S. News & World Report (May 13, 2013), article noting PACs that sought the impeachment of Barack Obama\n\n2010s in the United States\nObama, Barack\nObama administration controversies\nRepublican Party (United States)" ]
[ "James Buchanan", "Covode Committee", "What was the Covode Committee?", "created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses,", "Was there ever any evidence found?", "The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan;", "What year did they try to impeach him?", "I don't know." ]	C_5ed6e2f3fcc0410b9e8f1cb2059dafa4_1	What was the reason for wanting him impeached?	4	What was the reason for wanting James Buchanan impeached?	James Buchanan	In March 1860, the House created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses, some impeachable, such as bribery and extortion of representatives in exchange for their votes. The committee, with three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they also charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge (since the president had vetoed a bill that was fashioned as a land grant for new agricultural colleges, but was designed to benefit Covode's railroad company). However, the Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were equally enthusiastic in their pursuit of Buchanan, and as pointed in their condemnations, as the Republicans. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 exposed corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet, as well as allegations (if not impeachable evidence) from the Republican members of the Committee, that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution. (The Democratic report, issued separately the same day, pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed with the Republican report even though he did not sign it.) Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Nonetheless, Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. CANNOTANSWER	Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution.	James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He was an advocate for states' rights, particularly regarding slavery, and minimized the role of the federal government preceding the Civil War. Buchanan was a prominent lawyer in Pennsylvania and won his first election to the state's House of Representatives as a Federalist. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820 and retained that post for five terms, aligning with Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party. Buchanan served as Jackson's minister to Russia in 1832. He won election in 1834 as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and continued in that position for 11 years. He was appointed to serve as President James K. Polk's secretary of state in 1845, and eight years later was named as President Franklin Pierce's minister to the United Kingdom. Beginning in 1844, Buchanan became a regular contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. He was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Democratic National Convention. He benefited from the fact that he had been out of the country, as ambassador in London, and had not been involved in slavery issues. Buchanan and running mate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky carried every slave state except Maryland, defeating anti-slavery Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing former president Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election. As President, Buchanan intervened to assure the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scott case. He acceded to Southern attempts to engineer Kansas’ entry into the Union as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution, and angered not only Republicans but also Northern Democrats. Buchanan honored his pledge to serve only one term, and supported Breckinridge's unsuccessful candidacy in the 1860 presidential election. He failed to reconcile the fractured Democratic party amid the grudge against Stephen Douglas, leading to the election of Republican and former Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan's leadership during his lame duck period, before the American Civil War, has been widely criticized. He simultaneously angered the North by not stopping secession, and the South by not yielding to their demands. He supported the Corwin Amendment in an effort to reconcile the country, but it was too little, too late. He made an unsuccessful attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, but otherwise refrained from preparing the military. His failure to forestall the Civil War has been described as incompetency, and he spent his last years defending his reputation. In his personal life, Buchanan never married, the only U.S. president to remain a lifelong bachelor, leading some to question his sexual orientation. Buchanan died of respiratory failure in 1868, and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had lived for nearly 60 years. Historians and scholars consistently rank Buchanan as one of the worst presidents in American history. Early life James Buchanan Jr. was born April 23, 1791, in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to James Buchanan Sr. (1761–1821) and Elizabeth Speer (1767–1833). His parents were both of Ulster Scot descent, and his father emigrated from Ramelton, Ireland in 1783. Shortly after Buchanan's birth, the family moved to a farm near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1794 the family moved into the town. His father became the wealthiest resident there, working as a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. Buchanan attended the Old Stone Academy in Mercersburg, and then Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was nearly expelled for bad behavior, but pleaded for a second chance and ultimately graduated with honors in 1809. Later that year he moved to the state capital at Lancaster. James Hopkins, a leading lawyer there, accepted Buchanan as an apprentice, and in 1812 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. Many other lawyers moved to Harrisburg when it became the state capital in 1812, but Buchanan made Lancaster his lifelong home. His income rapidly rose after he established his practice, and by 1821 he was earning over $11,000 per year (). He handled various types of cases, including a much-publicized impeachment trial, where he successfully defended Pennsylvania Judge Walter Franklin. Buchanan began his political career as a member of the Federalist Party, and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814 and 1815. The legislature met for only three months a year, but Buchanan's service helped him acquire more clients. Politically, he supported federally-funded internal improvements, a high tariff, and a national bank. He became a strong critic of Democratic-Republican President James Madison during the War of 1812. He was a Freemason, and served as the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, and as a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Military service When the British invaded neighboring Maryland in 1814, he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, a unit of yagers. Buchanan is the only president with military experience who was not an officer. He is also the last president who served in the War of 1812. Congressional career U.S. House service In 1820 Buchanan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Federalist Party was waning. During his tenure in Congress, he became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and an avid defender of states' rights. After the 1824 presidential election, he helped organize Jackson's followers into the Democratic Party, and he became a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat. In Washington, he was close with many southern Congressmen, and viewed some New England Congressmen as dangerous radicals. He was appointed to the Agriculture Committee in his first year, and he eventually became Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He declined re-nomination to a sixth term, and briefly returned to private life. Minister to Russia After Jackson was re-elected in 1832, he offered Buchanan the position of United States Ambassador to Russia. Buchanan was reluctant to leave the country but ultimately agreed. He served as ambassador for 18 months, during which time he learned French, the trade language of diplomacy in the nineteenth century. He helped negotiate commercial and maritime treaties with the Russian Empire. U.S. Senate service Buchanan returned home and was elected by the Pennsylvania state legislature to succeed William Wilkins in the U.S. Senate. Wilkins in turn replaced Buchanan as the ambassador to Russia. The Jacksonian Buchanan, who was re-elected in 1836 and 1842, opposed the re-chartering of the Second Bank of the United States and sought to expunge a congressional censure of Jackson stemming from the Bank War. Buchanan also opposed a gag rule sponsored by John C. Calhoun that would have suppressed anti-slavery petitions. He joined the majority in blocking the rule, with most senators of the belief that it would have the reverse effect of strengthening the abolitionists. He said, "We have just as little right to interfere with slavery in the South, as we have to touch the right of petition." Buchanan thought that the issue of slavery was the domain of the states, and he faulted abolitionists for exciting passions over the issue. His support of states' rights was matched by his support for Manifest Destiny, and he opposed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty for its "surrender" of lands to the United Kingdom. Buchanan also argued for the annexation of both Texas and the Oregon Country. In the lead-up to the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Buchanan positioned himself as a potential alternative to former President Martin Van Buren, but the nomination went to James K. Polk, who won the election. Diplomatic career Secretary of State Buchanan was offered the position of Secretary of State in the Polk administration, as well as the alternative of serving on the Supreme Court. He accepted the State Department post and served for the duration of Polk's single term in office. He and Polk nearly doubled the territory of the United States through the Oregon Treaty and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which included territory that is now Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. In negotiations with Britain over Oregon, Buchanan at first preferred a compromise, but later advocated for annexation of the entire territory. Eventually, he agreed to a division at the 49th parallel. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, he advised Polk against taking territory south of the Rio Grande River and New Mexico. However, as the war came to an end, Buchanan argued for the annexation of further territory, and Polk began to suspect that he was angling to become president. Buchanan did quietly seek the nomination at the 1848 Democratic National Convention, as Polk had promised to serve only one term, but Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated. Ambassador to the United Kingdom With the 1848 election of Whig Zachary Taylor, Buchanan returned to private life. He bought the house of Wheatland on the outskirts of Lancaster and entertained various visitors, while monitoring political events. In 1852, he was named president of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and he served in this capacity until 1866. He quietly campaigned for the 1852 Democratic presidential nomination, writing a public letter that deplored the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed to ban slavery in new territories. He became known as a "doughface" due to his sympathy towards the South. At the 1852 Democratic National Convention, he won the support of many southern delegates but failed to win the two-thirds support needed for the presidential nomination, which went to Franklin Pierce. Buchanan declined to serve as the vice presidential nominee, and the convention instead nominated his close friend, William King. Pierce won the 1852 election, and Buchanan accepted the position of United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Buchanan sailed for England in the summer of 1853, and he remained abroad for the next three years. In 1850, the United States and Great Britain had signed the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which committed both countries to joint control of any future canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America. Buchanan met repeatedly with Lord Clarendon, the British foreign minister, in hopes of pressuring the British to withdraw from Central America. He also focussed on the potential annexation of Cuba, which had long interested him. At Pierce's prompting, Buchanan met in Ostend, Belgium with U.S. Ambassador to Spain Pierre Soulé and U.S. Ambassador to France John Mason. A memorandum draft resulted, called the Ostend Manifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain, then in the midst of revolution and near bankruptcy. The document declared the island "as necessary to the North American republic as any of its present ... family of states". Against Buchanan's recommendation, the final draft of the manifesto suggested that "wresting it from Spain", if Spain refused to sell, would be justified "by every law, human and Divine". The manifesto, generally considered a blunder, was never acted upon, and weakened the Pierce administration and reduced support for Manifest Destiny. Presidential election of 1856 Buchanan's service abroad allowed him to conveniently avoid the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act then roiling the country in the slavery dispute. While he did not overtly seek the presidency, he assented to the movement on his behalf. The 1856 Democratic National Convention met in June 1856, producing a platform that reflected his views, including support for the Fugitive Slave Law, which required the return of escaped slaves. The platform also called for an end to anti-slavery agitation, and U.S. "ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico". President Pierce hoped for re-nomination, while Senator Stephen A. Douglas also loomed as a strong candidate. Buchanan led on the first ballot, support by powerful Senators John Slidell, Jesse Bright, and Thomas F. Bayard, who presented Buchanan as an experienced leader appealing to the North and South. He won the nomination after seventeen ballots. He was joined on the ticket by John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, placating supporters of Pierce and Douglas, also allies of Breckinridge. Buchanan faced two candidates in the general election: former Whig President Millard Fillmore ran as the American Party (or "Know-Nothing") candidate, while John C. Frémont ran as the Republican nominee. Buchanan did not actively campaign, but he wrote letters and pledged to uphold the Democratic platform. In the election, he carried every slave state except for Maryland, as well as five slavery-free states, including his home state of Pennsylvania. He won 45 percent of the popular vote and decisively won the electoral vote, taking 174 of 296 votes. His election made him the first president from Pennsylvania. In a combative victory speech, Buchanan denounced Republicans, calling them a "dangerous" and "geographical" party that had unfairly attacked the South. He also declared, "the object of my administration will be to destroy sectional party, North or South, and to restore harmony to the Union under a national and conservative government." He set about this initially by feigning a sectional balance in his cabinet appointments. Presidency (1857–1861) Inauguration Buchanan was inaugurated on March 4, 1857, taking the oath of office from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. In his inaugural address, Buchanan committed himself to serving only one term, as his predecessor had done. He expressed an abhorrence for the growing divisions over slavery and its status in the territories, while saying that Congress should play no role in determining the status of slavery in the states or territories. He also declared his support for popular sovereignty. Buchanan recommended that a federal slave code be enacted to protect the rights of slave-owners in federal territories. He alluded to a then-pending Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, which he said would permanently settle the issue of slavery. Dred Scott was a slave who was temporarily taken from a slave state to a free territory by his owner, John Sanford (the court misspelled his name). After Scott returned to the slave state, he filed a petition for his freedom based on his time in the free territory. The Dred Scott decision, rendered after Buchanan's speech, denied Scott's petition in favor of his owner. Personnel Cabinet and administration As his inauguration approached, Buchanan sought to establish an obedient, harmonious cabinet, to avoid the in-fighting that had plagued Andrew Jackson's administration. He chose four Southerners and three Northerners, the latter of whom were all considered to be doughfaces (Southern sympathizers). His objective was to dominate the cabinet, and he chose men who would agree with his views. Concentrating on foreign policy, he appointed the aging Lewis Cass as Secretary of State. Buchanan's appointment of Southerners and their allies alienated many in the North, and his failure to appoint any followers of Stephen A. Douglas divided the party. Outside of the cabinet, he left in place many of Pierce's appointments, but removed a disproportionate number of Northerners who had ties to Democrat opponents Pierce or Douglas. In that vein, he soon alienated their ally, and his vice president, Breckinridge; the latter therefore played little role in the administration. Judicial appointments Buchanan appointed one Justice, Nathan Clifford, to the Supreme Court of the United States. He appointed seven other federal judges to United States district courts. He also appointed two judges to the United States Court of Claims. Intervention in the Dred Scott case Two days after Buchanan's inauguration, Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision, denying the enslaved petitioner's request for freedom. The ruling broadly asserted that Congress had no constitutional power to exclude slavery in the territories. Prior to his inauguration, Buchanan had written to Justice John Catron in January 1857, inquired about the outcome of the case, and suggested that a broader decision, beyond the specifics of the case, would be more prudent. Buchanan hoped that a broad decision protecting slavery in the territories could lay the issue to rest, allowing him to focus on other issues. Catron, who was from Tennessee, replied on February 10, saying that the Supreme Court's Southern majority would decide against Scott, but would likely have to publish the decision on narrow grounds unless Buchanan could convince his fellow Pennsylvanian, Justice Robert Cooper Grier, to join the majority of the court. Buchanan then wrote to Grier and prevailed upon him, providing the majority leverage to issue a broad-ranging decision, sufficient to render the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional. Buchanan's letters were not then public; he was, however, seen at his inauguration in whispered conversation with the Chief Justice. When the decision was issued, Republicans began spreading word that Taney had revealed to Buchanan the forthcoming result. Rather than destroying the Republican platform as Buchanan had hoped, the decision outraged Northerners who denounced it. Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 began in the summer of that year, ushered in by the collapse of 1,400 state banks and 5,000 businesses. While the South escaped largely unscathed, numerous northern cities experienced drastic increases in unemployment. Buchanan agreed with the southerners who attributed the economic collapse to overspeculation. Reflecting his Jacksonian background, Buchanan's response was "reform not relief". While the government was "without the power to extend relief," it would continue to pay its debts in specie, and while it would not curtail public works, none would be added. In hopes of reducing paper money supplies and inflation, he urged the states to restrict the banks to a credit level of $3 to $1 of specie and discouraged the use of federal or state bonds as security for bank note issues. The economy recovered in several years, though many Americans suffered as a result of the panic. Buchanan had hoped to reduce the deficit, but by the time he left office the federal deficit stood at $17 million. Utah War The Utah territory, settled in preceding decades by the Latter-day Saints and their leader Brigham Young, had grown increasingly hostile to federal intervention. Young harassed federal officers and discouraged outsiders from settling in the Salt Lake City area. In September 1857, the Utah Territorial Militia, associated with the Latter-day Saints, perpetrated the Mountain Meadows massacre against Arkansans headed for California. Buchanan was offended by the militarism and polygamous behavior of Young. Believing the Latter-day Saints to be in open rebellion, Buchanan in July 1857 sent Alfred Cumming, accompanied by the Army, to replace Young as governor. While the Latter-day Saints had frequently defied federal authority, some historians consider Buchanan's action was an inappropriate response to uncorroborated reports. Complicating matters, Young's notice of his replacement was not delivered because the Pierce administration had annulled the Utah mail contract. Young reacted to the military action by mustering a two-week expedition, destroying wagon trains, oxen, and other Army property. Buchanan then dispatched Thomas L. Kane as a private agent to negotiate peace. The mission succeeded, the new governor took office, and the Utah War ended. The President granted amnesty to inhabitants affirming loyalty to the government, and placed the federal troops at a peaceable distance for the balance of his administration. Bleeding Kansas The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas Territory and allowed the settlers there to decide whether to allow slavery. This resulted in violence between "Free-Soil" (antislavery) and pro-slavery settlers, which developed into the "Bleeding Kansas" period. The antislavery settlers, with the help of Northern abolitionists, organized a government in Topeka. The more numerous proslavery settlers, many from the neighboring slave state Missouri, established a government in Lecompton, giving the Territory two different governments for a time, with two distinct constitutions, each claiming legitimacy. The admission of Kansas as a state required a constitution be submitted to Congress with the approval of a majority of its residents. Under President Pierce, a series of violent confrontations escalated over who had the right to vote in Kansas. The situation drew national attention, and some in Georgia and Mississippi advocated secession should Kansas be admitted as a free state. Buchanan chose to endorse the pro-slavery Lecompton government. Buchanan appointed Robert J. Walker to replace John W. Geary as Territorial Governor, with the expectation he would assist the proslavery faction in gaining approval of a new constitution. However, Walker wavered on the slavery question, and there ensued conflicting referendums from Topeka and Lecompton, where election fraud occurred. In October 1857, the Lecompton government framed the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution and sent it to Buchanan without a referendum. Buchanan reluctantly rejected it, and he dispatched federal agents to arrange a compromise. The Lecompton government agreed to a referendum limited solely to the slavery question. Despite the protests of Walker and two former Kansas governors, Buchanan decided to accept the Lecompton Constitution. In a December 1857 meeting with Stephen Douglas, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Buchanan demanded that all Democrats support the administration's position of admitting Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. On February 2, he transmitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress. He also transmitted a message that attacked the "revolutionary government" in Topeka, conflating them with the Mormons in Utah. Buchanan made every effort to secure congressional approval, offering favors, patronage appointments, and even cash for votes. The Lecompton Constitution won the approval of the Senate in March, but a combination of Know-Nothings, Republicans, and northern Democrats defeated the bill in the House. Rather than accepting defeat, Buchanan backed the 1858 English Bill, which offered Kansans immediate statehood and vast public lands in exchange for accepting the Lecompton Constitution. In August 1858, Kansans by referendum strongly rejected the Lecompton Constitution. The dispute over Kansas became the battlefront for control of the Democratic Party. On one side were Buchanan, most Southern Democrats, and the "doughfaces". On the other side were Douglas and most northern Democrats plus a few Southerners. Douglas's faction continued to support the doctrine of popular sovereignty, while Buchanan insisted that Democrats respect the Dred Scott decision and its repudiation of federal interference with slavery in the territories. The struggle ended only with Buchanan's presidency. In the interim he used his patronage powers to remove Douglas sympathizers in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and installed pro-administration Democrats, including postmasters. 1858 mid-term elections Douglas's Senate term was coming to an end in 1859, with the Illinois legislature, elected in 1858, determining whether Douglas would win re-election. The Senate seat was the primary issue of the legislative election, marked by the famous debates between Douglas and his Republican opponent for the seat, Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan, working through federal patronage appointees in Illinois, ran candidates for the legislature in competition with both the Republicans and the Douglas Democrats. This could easily have thrown the election to the Republicans, and showed the depth of Buchanan's animosity toward Douglas. In the end, Douglas Democrats won the legislative election and Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. In that year's elections, Douglas forces took control throughout the North, except in Buchanan's home state of Pennsylvania. Buchanan's support was otherwise reduced to a narrow base of southerners. The division between northern and southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to win a plurality of the House in the 1858 elections, and allowed them to block most of Buchanan's agenda. Buchanan, in turn, added to the hostility with his veto of six substantial pieces of Republican legislation. Among these measures were the Homestead Act, which would have given 160 acres of public land to settlers who remained on the land for five years, and the Morrill Act, which would have granted public lands to establish land-grant colleges. Buchanan argued that these acts were unconstitutional. Foreign policy Buchanan took office with an ambitious foreign policy, designed to establish U.S. hegemony over Central America at the expense of Great Britain. He hoped to re-negotiate the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which he thought limited U.S. influence in the region. He also sought to establish American protectorates over the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, and most importantly, he hoped to achieve his long-term goal of acquiring Cuba. After long negotiations with the British, he convinced them to cede the Bay Islands to Honduras and the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. However, Buchanan's ambitions in Cuba and Mexico were largely blocked by the House of Representatives. Buchanan also considered buying Alaska from the Russian Empire, as a colony for Mormon settlers, but he and the Russians were unable to agree upon a price. In China, the administration won trade concessions in the Treaty of Tientsin. In 1858, Buchanan ordered the Paraguay expedition to punish Paraguay for firing on the , and the expedition resulted in a Paraguayan apology and payment of an indemnity. The chiefs of Raiatea and Tahaa in the South Pacific, refusing to accept the rule of King Tamatoa V, unsuccessfully petitioned the United States to accept the islands under a protectorate in June 1858. Buchanan was offered a herd of elephants by King Rama IV of Siam, though the letter arrived after Buchanan's departure from office. As Buchanan's successor, Lincoln declined the King's offer, citing the unsuitable climate. Other presidential pets included a pair of bald eagles and a Newfoundland dog. Covode Committee In March 1860, the House impaneled the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for alleged impeachable offenses, such as bribery and extortion of representatives. The committee, three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge from a disputed land grant designed to benefit Covode's railroad company. The Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were enthusiastic in their condemnation of Buchanan. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 alleged corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet. The report also included accusations from Republicans that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress, in connection with the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution of Kansas. The Democrats pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated that he agreed with the Republicans, though he did not sign it. Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. Election of 1860 As he had promised in his inaugural address, Buchanan did not seek re-election. He went so far as to tell his ultimate successor, “If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland [his home], you are a happy man.” The 1860 Democratic National Convention convened in April of that year and, though Douglas led after every ballot, he was unable to win the two-thirds majority required. The convention adjourned after 53 ballots, and re-convened in Baltimore in June. After Douglas finally won the nomination, several Southerners refused to accept the outcome, and nominated Vice President Breckinridge as their own candidate. Douglas and Breckinridge agreed on most issues except the protection of slavery. Buchanan, nursing a grudge against Douglas, failed to reconcile the party, and tepidly supported Breckinridge. With the splintering of the Democratic Party, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln won a four-way election that also included John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln's support in the North was enough to give him an Electoral College majority. Buchanan became the last Democrat to win a presidential election until Grover Cleveland in 1884. As early as October, the army's Commanding General, Winfield Scott, an opponent of Buchanan, warned him that Lincoln's election would likely cause at least seven states to secede from the union. He recommended that massive amounts of federal troops and artillery be deployed to those states to protect federal property, although he also warned that few reinforcements were available. Since 1857 Congress had failed to heed calls for a stronger militia and allowed the army to fall into deplorable condition. Buchanan distrusted Scott and ignored his recommendations. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan directed War Secretary Floyd to reinforce southern forts with such provisions, arms, and men as were available; however, Floyd persuaded him to revoke the order. Secession With Lincoln's victory, talk of secession and disunion reached a boiling point, putting the burden on Buchanan to address it in his final speech to Congress on December 10. In his message, which was anticipated by both factions, Buchanan denied the right of states to secede but maintained the federal government was without power to prevent them. He placed the blame for the crisis solely on "intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States," and suggested that if they did not "repeal their unconstitutional and obnoxious enactments ... the injured States, after having first used all peaceful and constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to the Government of the Union." Buchanan's only suggestion to solve the crisis was "an explanatory amendment" affirming the constitutionality of slavery in the states, the fugitive slave laws, and popular sovereignty in the territories. His address was sharply criticized both by the North, for its refusal to stop secession, and the South, for denying its right to secede. Five days after the address was delivered, Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb resigned, as his views had become irreconcilable with the President's. South Carolina, long the most radical Southern state, seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. However, Unionist sentiment remained strong among many in the South, and Buchanan sought to appeal to the Southern moderates who might prevent secession in other states. He proposed passage of constitutional amendments protecting slavery in the states and territories. He also met with South Carolinian commissioners in an attempt to resolve the situation at Fort Sumter, which federal forces remained in control of despite its location in Charleston, South Carolina. He refused to dismiss Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson after the latter was chosen as Mississippi's agent to discuss secession, and he refused to fire Secretary of War John B. Floyd despite an embezzlement scandal. Floyd ended up resigning, but not before sending numerous firearms to Southern states, where they eventually fell into the hands of the Confederacy. Despite Floyd's resignation, Buchanan continued to seek the advice of counselors from the Deep South, including Jefferson Davis and William Henry Trescot. Efforts were made in vain by Sen. John J. Crittenden, Rep. Thomas Corwin, and former president John Tyler to negotiate a compromise to stop secession, with Buchanan's support. Failed attempts were also made by a group of governors meeting in New York. Buchanan secretly asked President-elect Lincoln to call for a national referendum on the issue of slavery, but Lincoln declined. Despite the efforts of Buchanan and others, six more slave states seceded by the end of January 1861. Buchanan replaced the departed Southern cabinet members with John Adams Dix, Edwin M. Stanton, and Joseph Holt, all of whom were committed to preserving the Union. When Buchanan considered surrendering Fort Sumter, the new cabinet members threatened to resign, and Buchanan relented. On January 5, Buchanan decided to reinforce Fort Sumter, sending the Star of the West with 250 men and supplies. However, he failed to ask Major Robert Anderson to provide covering fire for the ship, and it was forced to return North without delivering troops or supplies. Buchanan chose not to respond to this act of war, and instead sought to find a compromise to avoid secession. He received a March 3 message from Anderson, that supplies were running low, but the response became Lincoln's to make, as the latter succeeded to the presidency the next day. Proposed constitutional amendment On March 2, 1861, Congress approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states, including slavery, from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress. The proposed amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, it was never ratified by the requisite number of states. States admitted to the Union Three new states were admitted to the Union while Buchanan was in office: Minnesota – May 11, 1858 Oregon – February 14, 1859 Kansas – January 29, 1861 Post-presidency (1861–1868) The Civil War erupted within two months of Buchanan's retirement. He supported the Union, writing to former colleagues that, "the assault upon Sumter was the commencement of war by the Confederate states, and no alternative was left but to prosecute it with vigor on our part." He also wrote a letter to his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, urging them to "join the many thousands of brave & patriotic volunteers who are already in the field." Buchanan was dedicated to defending his actions prior to the Civil War, which was referred to by some as "Buchanan's War". He received threatening letters daily, and stores displayed Buchanan's likeness with the eyes inked red, a noose drawn around his neck and the word "TRAITOR" written across his forehead. The Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation which ultimately failed, and newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly. Buchanan became distraught by the vitriolic attacks levied against him, and fell sick and depressed. In October 1862, he defended himself in an exchange of letters with Winfield Scott, published in the National Intelligencer. He soon began writing his fullest public defense, in the form of his memoir Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion, which was published in 1866. Soon after the publication of the memoir, Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, of respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. Political views Buchanan was often considered by anti-slavery northerners a "doughface", a northerner with pro-southern principles. Shortly after his election, he said that the "great object" of his administration was "to arrest, if possible, the agitation of the Slavery question in the North and to destroy sectional parties". Buchanan believed the abolitionists were preventing the solution to the slavery problem. He stated, "Before [the abolitionists] commenced this agitation, a very large and growing party existed in several of the slave states in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery; and now not a voice is heard there in support of such a measure. The abolitionists have postponed the emancipation of the slaves in three or four states for at least half a century." In deference to the intentions of the typical slaveholder, he was willing to provide the benefit of the doubt. In his third annual message to Congress, the president claimed that the slaves were "treated with kindness and humanity. ... Both the philanthropy and the self-interest of the master have combined to produce this humane result." Buchanan thought restraint was the essence of good self-government. He believed the constitution comprised "... restraints, imposed not by arbitrary authority, but by the people upon themselves and their representatives. ... In an enlarged view, the people's interests may seem identical, but to the eye of local and sectional prejudice, they always appear to be conflicting ... and the jealousies that will perpetually arise can be repressed only by the mutual forbearance which pervades the constitution." Regarding slavery and the Constitution, he stated: "Although in Pennsylvania we are all opposed to slavery in the abstract, we can never violate the constitutional compact we have with our sister states. Their rights will be held sacred by us. Under the constitution it is their own question; and there let it remain." One of the prominent issues of the day was tariffs. Buchanan was conflicted by free trade as well as prohibitive tariffs, since either would benefit one section of the country to the detriment of the other. As a senator from Pennsylvania, he said: "I am viewed as the strongest advocate of protection in other states, whilst I am denounced as its enemy in Pennsylvania." Buchanan was also torn between his desire to expand the country for the general welfare of the nation, and to guarantee the rights of the people settling particular areas. On territorial expansion, he said, "What, sir? Prevent the people from crossing the Rocky Mountains? You might just as well command the Niagara not to flow. We must fulfill our destiny." On the resulting spread of slavery, through unconditional expansion, he stated: "I feel a strong repugnance by any act of mine to extend the present limits of the Union over a new slave-holding territory." For instance, he hoped the acquisition of Texas would "be the means of limiting, not enlarging, the dominion of slavery." Romantic life In 1818, Buchanan met Anne Caroline Coleman at a grand ball in Lancaster, and the two began courting. Anne was the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturer Robert Coleman. She was also the sister-in-law of Philadelphia judge Joseph Hemphill, one of Buchanan's colleagues. By 1819, the two were engaged, but spent little time together. Buchanan was busy with his law firm and political projects during the Panic of 1819, which took him away from Coleman for weeks at a time. Rumors abounded, as some suggested that he was marrying her only for money; others said he was involved with other (unidentified) women. Letters from Coleman revealed she was aware of several rumors. She broke off the engagement, and soon afterward, on December 9, 1819, suddenly died. Buchanan wrote to her father for permission to attend the funeral, which was refused. After Coleman's death, Buchanan never courted another woman. At the time of her funeral, he said that, "I feel happiness has fled from me forever." During his presidency, an orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, whom he had adopted, served as official White House hostess. There was an unfounded rumor that he had an affair with President Polk's widow, Sarah Childress Polk. Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood after Anne Coleman's death has drawn interest and speculation. Some conjecture that Anne's death merely served to deflect questions about Buchanan's sexuality and bachelorhood. Several writers have surmised that he was homosexual, including James W. Loewen, Robert P. Watson, and Shelley Ross. One of his biographers, Jean Baker, suggests that Buchanan was celibate, if not asexual. Buchanan had a close relationship with William Rufus King, which became a popular target of gossip. King was an Alabama politician who briefly served as vice president under Franklin Pierce. Buchanan and King lived together in a Washington boardinghouse and attended social functions together from 1834 until 1844. Such a living arrangement was then common, though King once referred to the relationship as a "communion". Andrew Jackson called King "Miss Nancy" and Buchanan's Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown referred to King as Buchanan's "better half", "wife", and "Aunt Fancy". Loewen indicated that Buchanan late in life wrote a letter acknowledging that he might marry a woman who could accept his "lack of ardent or romantic affection". Catherine Thompson, the wife of cabinet member Jacob Thompson, later noted that "there was something unhealthy in the president's attitude." King died of tuberculosis shortly after Pierce's inauguration, four years before Buchanan became president. Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest and most consistent public men I have known". Biographer Baker opines that both men's nieces may have destroyed correspondence between the two men. However, she believes that their surviving letters illustrate only "the affection of a special friendship". Legacy Historical reputation Though Buchanan predicted that "history will vindicate my memory," historians have criticized Buchanan for his unwillingness or inability to act in the face of secession. Historical rankings of presidents of the United States without exception place Buchanan among the least successful presidents. When scholars are surveyed, he ranks at or near the bottom in terms of vision/agenda-setting, domestic leadership, foreign policy leadership, moral authority, and positive historical significance of their legacy. Buchanan biographer Philip Klein focuses upon challenges Buchanan faced: Biographer Jean Baker is less charitable to Buchanan, saying in 2004: Memorials A bronze and granite memorial near the southeast corner of Washington, D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park was designed by architect William Gorden Beecher and sculpted by Maryland artist Hans Schuler. It was commissioned in 1916 but not approved by the U.S. Congress until 1918, and not completed and unveiled until June 26, 1930. The memorial features a statue of Buchanan, bookended by male and female classical figures representing law and diplomacy, with engraved text reading: "The incorruptible statesman whose walk was upon the mountain ranges of the law," a quote from a member of Buchanan's cabinet, Jeremiah S. Black. An earlier monument was constructed in 1907–08 and dedicated in 1911, on the site of Buchanan's birthplace in Stony Batter, Pennsylvania. Part of the original memorial site is a 250-ton pyramid structure that stands on the site of the original cabin where Buchanan was born. The monument was designed to show the original weathered surface of the native rubble and mortar. Three counties are named in his honor, in Iowa, Missouri, and Virginia. Another in Texas was christened in 1858 but renamed Stephens County, after the newly elected Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stephens, in 1861. The city of Buchanan, Michigan, was also named after him. Several other communities are named after him: the unincorporated community of Buchanan, Indiana, the city of Buchanan, Georgia, the town of Buchanan, Wisconsin, and the townships of Buchanan Township, Michigan, and Buchanan, Missouri. James Buchanan High School is a small, rural high school located on the outskirts of his childhood hometown, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Popular culture depictions Buchanan and his legacy are central to the film Raising Buchanan (2019). He is portrayed by René Auberjonois. See also Historical rankings of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States by previous experience Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps List of federal political sex scandals in the United States References Works cited Pulitzer prize. Further reading Secondary sources Balcerski, Thomas J. Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (Oxford University Press, 2019. online review Balcerski, Thomas J. "Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston." in A Companion to First Ladies (2016): 197-213. Birkner, Michael J., et al. eds. The Worlds of James Buchanan and Thaddeus Stevens: Place, Personality, and Politics in the Civil War Era (Louisiana State University Press, 2019) Nichols, Roy Franklin; The Democratic Machine, 1850–1854 (1923), detailed narrative; online Rosenberger, Homer T. "Inauguration of President Buchanan a Century Ago." Records of the Columbia Historical Society 57 (1957): 96-122 online. , fictional. Wells, Damon. "Douglas and Goliath." in Stephen Douglas (University of Texas Press, 1971) pp. 12-54. on Douglas and Buchanan. online Primary sources Buchanan, James. Fourth Annual Message to Congress. (December 3, 1860). Buchanan, James. Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion (1866) National Intelligencer (1859) External links White House biography James Buchanan: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress The James Buchanan papers, spanning the entirety of his legal, political and diplomatic career, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. University of Virginia article: Buchanan biography Wheatland James Buchanan at Tulane University Essay on James Buchanan and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, Franklin County, Pennsylvania "Life Portrait of James Buchanan", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, June 21, 1999 Primary sources James Buchanan Ill with Dysentery Before Inauguration: Original Letters Shapell Manuscript Foundation Mr. Buchanans Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion. President Buchanans memoirs. Inaugural Address Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1860 1791 births 1868 deaths 1850s in the United States 1860s in the United States 19th-century presidents of the United States Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom 19th-century American memoirists American militiamen in the War of 1812 American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Presbyterians American white supremacists Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Deaths from respiratory failure Democratic Party presidents of the United States Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Dickinson College alumni American Freemasons Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania Jacksonians Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Polk administration cabinet members Presidents of the United States Union political leaders Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1856 United States presidential election United States Secretaries of State United States senators from Pennsylvania People of the Utah War Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians 18th-century Presbyterians 19th-century Presbyterians Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives Buchanan County, Iowa Buchanan County, Missouri Buchanan County, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Jacksonian United States senators from Pennsylvania	false	[ "Gaius Papirius Carbo (c. 163 – 119 BC) was an ancient Roman statesman and orator.\n\nCareer\nCarbo was associated with the populist politician Gaius Gracchus in carrying out the provision of the agrarian law of his brother, Tiberius Gracchus. As tribune of the people in 131 BC, Carbo carried the lex Papiria extending the secret ballot for the enactment and repeal of laws. He also proposed that the tribunes should be allowed to become candidates for the same office in successive years, a response to the fate of Tiberius. The proposal was defeated, having been opposed by Scipio Aemilianus, in whose sudden death in 129 BC Carbo was suspected of having a hand. \n\nCarbo subsequently went over to the anti-populist optimates, and as consul in 120 BC successfully defended Lucius Opimius, when he was impeached for the murder of a citizen (Gaius Gracchus) without a trial. At trial, he said that Gracchus had been justly slain. But the optimates did not trust Carbo, and he was impeached by Lucius Crassus on a similar charge. Feeling that he had nothing to hope for from the optimates and that his condemnation was certain, he committed suicide.\n\nHis son, Gaius Papirius Carbo Arvina, was remembered for his attempts to avenge his father's fate. He followed his father's prosecutor, L. Crassus, to the latter's province in 94 BC with the aim of finding a reason to prosecute him. Finding this out, L. Crassus decided not only to forgive the son, but even to grant him a position within his close circle of advisors.\n\nReferences\n\nAttribution\n\n160s BC births\n119 BC deaths\n2nd-century BC Roman consuls\nAncient Romans who committed suicide\nCarbo, Gaius\nPopulares\nTribunes of the plebs\nYear of birth uncertain", "Hamid Behbahani (, born 7 August 1935) is an Iranian academic and politician who served as minister of roads and transportation from 2 August 2008 to 1 February 2011 when he was impeached by the Parliament of Iran.\n\nEarly life and education\nHe holds a BS in civil engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Florida.\n\nCareer\nBehbahani was the head of the civil engineering department at Iran University of Science and Technology. He was appointed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an advisor for transportation affairs. He is also a member of high council of state for reform plan. After the resignation of Mohammad Rahmati from office as minister of transportation on 18 June 2008, Ahmadinejad assigned Behbahni as his candidate for the ministry to the Parliament. He received 181 out of 271 votes of the MPs and became minister of roads and transportation. He continued to serve in the same post in the second cabinet of Ahmadinejad after he was elected as president in 2009.\n\nImpeachment \nOn 1 February 2011, 147 out of 234 Members of Parliament gave a vote of no confidence to Behbahani and impeached him for falsely claiming to hold a doctoral degree. He is the second minister to be impeached by the Parliament after Ali Kordan who was impeached in 2008.\n\nConnection with Ahmadinejad\nBehbahani was the supervisor of Ahmadinejad during his PhD studies at Iran University of Science and Technology where he was involved in a plagiarism scandal. In 2009, Nature'''s investigation suggested that the paper 'Providing a decreasing connection probability model for urban street network' (published in the journal Transport'' in 2006) co-authored by Hassan Ziari, Behbahani and a PhD candidate named Mohammed Khabiri, \"contains large amounts of text from earlier articles by other researchers\", considered plagiarism.\n\nReferences\n\n1935 births\nLiving people\nGovernment ministers of Iran\nPeople involved in plagiarism controversies\nIran University of Science and Technology faculty\nPeople who fabricated academic degrees\nImpeached Iranian officials removed from office" ]
[ "James Buchanan", "Covode Committee", "What was the Covode Committee?", "created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses,", "Was there ever any evidence found?", "The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan;", "What year did they try to impeach him?", "I don't know.", "What was the reason for wanting him impeached?", "Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution." ]	C_5ed6e2f3fcc0410b9e8f1cb2059dafa4_1	Did the people think this was true?	5	Did the people think James Buchanan bribing members of congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution was true?	James Buchanan	In March 1860, the House created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses, some impeachable, such as bribery and extortion of representatives in exchange for their votes. The committee, with three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they also charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge (since the president had vetoed a bill that was fashioned as a land grant for new agricultural colleges, but was designed to benefit Covode's railroad company). However, the Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were equally enthusiastic in their pursuit of Buchanan, and as pointed in their condemnations, as the Republicans. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 exposed corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet, as well as allegations (if not impeachable evidence) from the Republican members of the Committee, that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution. (The Democratic report, issued separately the same day, pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed with the Republican report even though he did not sign it.) Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Nonetheless, Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. CANNOTANSWER	did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed	James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He was an advocate for states' rights, particularly regarding slavery, and minimized the role of the federal government preceding the Civil War. Buchanan was a prominent lawyer in Pennsylvania and won his first election to the state's House of Representatives as a Federalist. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820 and retained that post for five terms, aligning with Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party. Buchanan served as Jackson's minister to Russia in 1832. He won election in 1834 as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and continued in that position for 11 years. He was appointed to serve as President James K. Polk's secretary of state in 1845, and eight years later was named as President Franklin Pierce's minister to the United Kingdom. Beginning in 1844, Buchanan became a regular contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. He was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Democratic National Convention. He benefited from the fact that he had been out of the country, as ambassador in London, and had not been involved in slavery issues. Buchanan and running mate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky carried every slave state except Maryland, defeating anti-slavery Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing former president Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election. As President, Buchanan intervened to assure the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scott case. He acceded to Southern attempts to engineer Kansas’ entry into the Union as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution, and angered not only Republicans but also Northern Democrats. Buchanan honored his pledge to serve only one term, and supported Breckinridge's unsuccessful candidacy in the 1860 presidential election. He failed to reconcile the fractured Democratic party amid the grudge against Stephen Douglas, leading to the election of Republican and former Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan's leadership during his lame duck period, before the American Civil War, has been widely criticized. He simultaneously angered the North by not stopping secession, and the South by not yielding to their demands. He supported the Corwin Amendment in an effort to reconcile the country, but it was too little, too late. He made an unsuccessful attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, but otherwise refrained from preparing the military. His failure to forestall the Civil War has been described as incompetency, and he spent his last years defending his reputation. In his personal life, Buchanan never married, the only U.S. president to remain a lifelong bachelor, leading some to question his sexual orientation. Buchanan died of respiratory failure in 1868, and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had lived for nearly 60 years. Historians and scholars consistently rank Buchanan as one of the worst presidents in American history. Early life James Buchanan Jr. was born April 23, 1791, in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to James Buchanan Sr. (1761–1821) and Elizabeth Speer (1767–1833). His parents were both of Ulster Scot descent, and his father emigrated from Ramelton, Ireland in 1783. Shortly after Buchanan's birth, the family moved to a farm near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1794 the family moved into the town. His father became the wealthiest resident there, working as a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. Buchanan attended the Old Stone Academy in Mercersburg, and then Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was nearly expelled for bad behavior, but pleaded for a second chance and ultimately graduated with honors in 1809. Later that year he moved to the state capital at Lancaster. James Hopkins, a leading lawyer there, accepted Buchanan as an apprentice, and in 1812 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. Many other lawyers moved to Harrisburg when it became the state capital in 1812, but Buchanan made Lancaster his lifelong home. His income rapidly rose after he established his practice, and by 1821 he was earning over $11,000 per year (). He handled various types of cases, including a much-publicized impeachment trial, where he successfully defended Pennsylvania Judge Walter Franklin. Buchanan began his political career as a member of the Federalist Party, and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814 and 1815. The legislature met for only three months a year, but Buchanan's service helped him acquire more clients. Politically, he supported federally-funded internal improvements, a high tariff, and a national bank. He became a strong critic of Democratic-Republican President James Madison during the War of 1812. He was a Freemason, and served as the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, and as a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Military service When the British invaded neighboring Maryland in 1814, he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, a unit of yagers. Buchanan is the only president with military experience who was not an officer. He is also the last president who served in the War of 1812. Congressional career U.S. House service In 1820 Buchanan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Federalist Party was waning. During his tenure in Congress, he became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and an avid defender of states' rights. After the 1824 presidential election, he helped organize Jackson's followers into the Democratic Party, and he became a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat. In Washington, he was close with many southern Congressmen, and viewed some New England Congressmen as dangerous radicals. He was appointed to the Agriculture Committee in his first year, and he eventually became Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He declined re-nomination to a sixth term, and briefly returned to private life. Minister to Russia After Jackson was re-elected in 1832, he offered Buchanan the position of United States Ambassador to Russia. Buchanan was reluctant to leave the country but ultimately agreed. He served as ambassador for 18 months, during which time he learned French, the trade language of diplomacy in the nineteenth century. He helped negotiate commercial and maritime treaties with the Russian Empire. U.S. Senate service Buchanan returned home and was elected by the Pennsylvania state legislature to succeed William Wilkins in the U.S. Senate. Wilkins in turn replaced Buchanan as the ambassador to Russia. The Jacksonian Buchanan, who was re-elected in 1836 and 1842, opposed the re-chartering of the Second Bank of the United States and sought to expunge a congressional censure of Jackson stemming from the Bank War. Buchanan also opposed a gag rule sponsored by John C. Calhoun that would have suppressed anti-slavery petitions. He joined the majority in blocking the rule, with most senators of the belief that it would have the reverse effect of strengthening the abolitionists. He said, "We have just as little right to interfere with slavery in the South, as we have to touch the right of petition." Buchanan thought that the issue of slavery was the domain of the states, and he faulted abolitionists for exciting passions over the issue. His support of states' rights was matched by his support for Manifest Destiny, and he opposed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty for its "surrender" of lands to the United Kingdom. Buchanan also argued for the annexation of both Texas and the Oregon Country. In the lead-up to the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Buchanan positioned himself as a potential alternative to former President Martin Van Buren, but the nomination went to James K. Polk, who won the election. Diplomatic career Secretary of State Buchanan was offered the position of Secretary of State in the Polk administration, as well as the alternative of serving on the Supreme Court. He accepted the State Department post and served for the duration of Polk's single term in office. He and Polk nearly doubled the territory of the United States through the Oregon Treaty and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which included territory that is now Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. In negotiations with Britain over Oregon, Buchanan at first preferred a compromise, but later advocated for annexation of the entire territory. Eventually, he agreed to a division at the 49th parallel. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, he advised Polk against taking territory south of the Rio Grande River and New Mexico. However, as the war came to an end, Buchanan argued for the annexation of further territory, and Polk began to suspect that he was angling to become president. Buchanan did quietly seek the nomination at the 1848 Democratic National Convention, as Polk had promised to serve only one term, but Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated. Ambassador to the United Kingdom With the 1848 election of Whig Zachary Taylor, Buchanan returned to private life. He bought the house of Wheatland on the outskirts of Lancaster and entertained various visitors, while monitoring political events. In 1852, he was named president of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and he served in this capacity until 1866. He quietly campaigned for the 1852 Democratic presidential nomination, writing a public letter that deplored the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed to ban slavery in new territories. He became known as a "doughface" due to his sympathy towards the South. At the 1852 Democratic National Convention, he won the support of many southern delegates but failed to win the two-thirds support needed for the presidential nomination, which went to Franklin Pierce. Buchanan declined to serve as the vice presidential nominee, and the convention instead nominated his close friend, William King. Pierce won the 1852 election, and Buchanan accepted the position of United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Buchanan sailed for England in the summer of 1853, and he remained abroad for the next three years. In 1850, the United States and Great Britain had signed the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which committed both countries to joint control of any future canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America. Buchanan met repeatedly with Lord Clarendon, the British foreign minister, in hopes of pressuring the British to withdraw from Central America. He also focussed on the potential annexation of Cuba, which had long interested him. At Pierce's prompting, Buchanan met in Ostend, Belgium with U.S. Ambassador to Spain Pierre Soulé and U.S. Ambassador to France John Mason. A memorandum draft resulted, called the Ostend Manifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain, then in the midst of revolution and near bankruptcy. The document declared the island "as necessary to the North American republic as any of its present ... family of states". Against Buchanan's recommendation, the final draft of the manifesto suggested that "wresting it from Spain", if Spain refused to sell, would be justified "by every law, human and Divine". The manifesto, generally considered a blunder, was never acted upon, and weakened the Pierce administration and reduced support for Manifest Destiny. Presidential election of 1856 Buchanan's service abroad allowed him to conveniently avoid the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act then roiling the country in the slavery dispute. While he did not overtly seek the presidency, he assented to the movement on his behalf. The 1856 Democratic National Convention met in June 1856, producing a platform that reflected his views, including support for the Fugitive Slave Law, which required the return of escaped slaves. The platform also called for an end to anti-slavery agitation, and U.S. "ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico". President Pierce hoped for re-nomination, while Senator Stephen A. Douglas also loomed as a strong candidate. Buchanan led on the first ballot, support by powerful Senators John Slidell, Jesse Bright, and Thomas F. Bayard, who presented Buchanan as an experienced leader appealing to the North and South. He won the nomination after seventeen ballots. He was joined on the ticket by John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, placating supporters of Pierce and Douglas, also allies of Breckinridge. Buchanan faced two candidates in the general election: former Whig President Millard Fillmore ran as the American Party (or "Know-Nothing") candidate, while John C. Frémont ran as the Republican nominee. Buchanan did not actively campaign, but he wrote letters and pledged to uphold the Democratic platform. In the election, he carried every slave state except for Maryland, as well as five slavery-free states, including his home state of Pennsylvania. He won 45 percent of the popular vote and decisively won the electoral vote, taking 174 of 296 votes. His election made him the first president from Pennsylvania. In a combative victory speech, Buchanan denounced Republicans, calling them a "dangerous" and "geographical" party that had unfairly attacked the South. He also declared, "the object of my administration will be to destroy sectional party, North or South, and to restore harmony to the Union under a national and conservative government." He set about this initially by feigning a sectional balance in his cabinet appointments. Presidency (1857–1861) Inauguration Buchanan was inaugurated on March 4, 1857, taking the oath of office from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. In his inaugural address, Buchanan committed himself to serving only one term, as his predecessor had done. He expressed an abhorrence for the growing divisions over slavery and its status in the territories, while saying that Congress should play no role in determining the status of slavery in the states or territories. He also declared his support for popular sovereignty. Buchanan recommended that a federal slave code be enacted to protect the rights of slave-owners in federal territories. He alluded to a then-pending Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, which he said would permanently settle the issue of slavery. Dred Scott was a slave who was temporarily taken from a slave state to a free territory by his owner, John Sanford (the court misspelled his name). After Scott returned to the slave state, he filed a petition for his freedom based on his time in the free territory. The Dred Scott decision, rendered after Buchanan's speech, denied Scott's petition in favor of his owner. Personnel Cabinet and administration As his inauguration approached, Buchanan sought to establish an obedient, harmonious cabinet, to avoid the in-fighting that had plagued Andrew Jackson's administration. He chose four Southerners and three Northerners, the latter of whom were all considered to be doughfaces (Southern sympathizers). His objective was to dominate the cabinet, and he chose men who would agree with his views. Concentrating on foreign policy, he appointed the aging Lewis Cass as Secretary of State. Buchanan's appointment of Southerners and their allies alienated many in the North, and his failure to appoint any followers of Stephen A. Douglas divided the party. Outside of the cabinet, he left in place many of Pierce's appointments, but removed a disproportionate number of Northerners who had ties to Democrat opponents Pierce or Douglas. In that vein, he soon alienated their ally, and his vice president, Breckinridge; the latter therefore played little role in the administration. Judicial appointments Buchanan appointed one Justice, Nathan Clifford, to the Supreme Court of the United States. He appointed seven other federal judges to United States district courts. He also appointed two judges to the United States Court of Claims. Intervention in the Dred Scott case Two days after Buchanan's inauguration, Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision, denying the enslaved petitioner's request for freedom. The ruling broadly asserted that Congress had no constitutional power to exclude slavery in the territories. Prior to his inauguration, Buchanan had written to Justice John Catron in January 1857, inquired about the outcome of the case, and suggested that a broader decision, beyond the specifics of the case, would be more prudent. Buchanan hoped that a broad decision protecting slavery in the territories could lay the issue to rest, allowing him to focus on other issues. Catron, who was from Tennessee, replied on February 10, saying that the Supreme Court's Southern majority would decide against Scott, but would likely have to publish the decision on narrow grounds unless Buchanan could convince his fellow Pennsylvanian, Justice Robert Cooper Grier, to join the majority of the court. Buchanan then wrote to Grier and prevailed upon him, providing the majority leverage to issue a broad-ranging decision, sufficient to render the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional. Buchanan's letters were not then public; he was, however, seen at his inauguration in whispered conversation with the Chief Justice. When the decision was issued, Republicans began spreading word that Taney had revealed to Buchanan the forthcoming result. Rather than destroying the Republican platform as Buchanan had hoped, the decision outraged Northerners who denounced it. Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 began in the summer of that year, ushered in by the collapse of 1,400 state banks and 5,000 businesses. While the South escaped largely unscathed, numerous northern cities experienced drastic increases in unemployment. Buchanan agreed with the southerners who attributed the economic collapse to overspeculation. Reflecting his Jacksonian background, Buchanan's response was "reform not relief". While the government was "without the power to extend relief," it would continue to pay its debts in specie, and while it would not curtail public works, none would be added. In hopes of reducing paper money supplies and inflation, he urged the states to restrict the banks to a credit level of $3 to $1 of specie and discouraged the use of federal or state bonds as security for bank note issues. The economy recovered in several years, though many Americans suffered as a result of the panic. Buchanan had hoped to reduce the deficit, but by the time he left office the federal deficit stood at $17 million. Utah War The Utah territory, settled in preceding decades by the Latter-day Saints and their leader Brigham Young, had grown increasingly hostile to federal intervention. Young harassed federal officers and discouraged outsiders from settling in the Salt Lake City area. In September 1857, the Utah Territorial Militia, associated with the Latter-day Saints, perpetrated the Mountain Meadows massacre against Arkansans headed for California. Buchanan was offended by the militarism and polygamous behavior of Young. Believing the Latter-day Saints to be in open rebellion, Buchanan in July 1857 sent Alfred Cumming, accompanied by the Army, to replace Young as governor. While the Latter-day Saints had frequently defied federal authority, some historians consider Buchanan's action was an inappropriate response to uncorroborated reports. Complicating matters, Young's notice of his replacement was not delivered because the Pierce administration had annulled the Utah mail contract. Young reacted to the military action by mustering a two-week expedition, destroying wagon trains, oxen, and other Army property. Buchanan then dispatched Thomas L. Kane as a private agent to negotiate peace. The mission succeeded, the new governor took office, and the Utah War ended. The President granted amnesty to inhabitants affirming loyalty to the government, and placed the federal troops at a peaceable distance for the balance of his administration. Bleeding Kansas The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas Territory and allowed the settlers there to decide whether to allow slavery. This resulted in violence between "Free-Soil" (antislavery) and pro-slavery settlers, which developed into the "Bleeding Kansas" period. The antislavery settlers, with the help of Northern abolitionists, organized a government in Topeka. The more numerous proslavery settlers, many from the neighboring slave state Missouri, established a government in Lecompton, giving the Territory two different governments for a time, with two distinct constitutions, each claiming legitimacy. The admission of Kansas as a state required a constitution be submitted to Congress with the approval of a majority of its residents. Under President Pierce, a series of violent confrontations escalated over who had the right to vote in Kansas. The situation drew national attention, and some in Georgia and Mississippi advocated secession should Kansas be admitted as a free state. Buchanan chose to endorse the pro-slavery Lecompton government. Buchanan appointed Robert J. Walker to replace John W. Geary as Territorial Governor, with the expectation he would assist the proslavery faction in gaining approval of a new constitution. However, Walker wavered on the slavery question, and there ensued conflicting referendums from Topeka and Lecompton, where election fraud occurred. In October 1857, the Lecompton government framed the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution and sent it to Buchanan without a referendum. Buchanan reluctantly rejected it, and he dispatched federal agents to arrange a compromise. The Lecompton government agreed to a referendum limited solely to the slavery question. Despite the protests of Walker and two former Kansas governors, Buchanan decided to accept the Lecompton Constitution. In a December 1857 meeting with Stephen Douglas, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Buchanan demanded that all Democrats support the administration's position of admitting Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. On February 2, he transmitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress. He also transmitted a message that attacked the "revolutionary government" in Topeka, conflating them with the Mormons in Utah. Buchanan made every effort to secure congressional approval, offering favors, patronage appointments, and even cash for votes. The Lecompton Constitution won the approval of the Senate in March, but a combination of Know-Nothings, Republicans, and northern Democrats defeated the bill in the House. Rather than accepting defeat, Buchanan backed the 1858 English Bill, which offered Kansans immediate statehood and vast public lands in exchange for accepting the Lecompton Constitution. In August 1858, Kansans by referendum strongly rejected the Lecompton Constitution. The dispute over Kansas became the battlefront for control of the Democratic Party. On one side were Buchanan, most Southern Democrats, and the "doughfaces". On the other side were Douglas and most northern Democrats plus a few Southerners. Douglas's faction continued to support the doctrine of popular sovereignty, while Buchanan insisted that Democrats respect the Dred Scott decision and its repudiation of federal interference with slavery in the territories. The struggle ended only with Buchanan's presidency. In the interim he used his patronage powers to remove Douglas sympathizers in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and installed pro-administration Democrats, including postmasters. 1858 mid-term elections Douglas's Senate term was coming to an end in 1859, with the Illinois legislature, elected in 1858, determining whether Douglas would win re-election. The Senate seat was the primary issue of the legislative election, marked by the famous debates between Douglas and his Republican opponent for the seat, Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan, working through federal patronage appointees in Illinois, ran candidates for the legislature in competition with both the Republicans and the Douglas Democrats. This could easily have thrown the election to the Republicans, and showed the depth of Buchanan's animosity toward Douglas. In the end, Douglas Democrats won the legislative election and Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. In that year's elections, Douglas forces took control throughout the North, except in Buchanan's home state of Pennsylvania. Buchanan's support was otherwise reduced to a narrow base of southerners. The division between northern and southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to win a plurality of the House in the 1858 elections, and allowed them to block most of Buchanan's agenda. Buchanan, in turn, added to the hostility with his veto of six substantial pieces of Republican legislation. Among these measures were the Homestead Act, which would have given 160 acres of public land to settlers who remained on the land for five years, and the Morrill Act, which would have granted public lands to establish land-grant colleges. Buchanan argued that these acts were unconstitutional. Foreign policy Buchanan took office with an ambitious foreign policy, designed to establish U.S. hegemony over Central America at the expense of Great Britain. He hoped to re-negotiate the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which he thought limited U.S. influence in the region. He also sought to establish American protectorates over the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, and most importantly, he hoped to achieve his long-term goal of acquiring Cuba. After long negotiations with the British, he convinced them to cede the Bay Islands to Honduras and the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. However, Buchanan's ambitions in Cuba and Mexico were largely blocked by the House of Representatives. Buchanan also considered buying Alaska from the Russian Empire, as a colony for Mormon settlers, but he and the Russians were unable to agree upon a price. In China, the administration won trade concessions in the Treaty of Tientsin. In 1858, Buchanan ordered the Paraguay expedition to punish Paraguay for firing on the , and the expedition resulted in a Paraguayan apology and payment of an indemnity. The chiefs of Raiatea and Tahaa in the South Pacific, refusing to accept the rule of King Tamatoa V, unsuccessfully petitioned the United States to accept the islands under a protectorate in June 1858. Buchanan was offered a herd of elephants by King Rama IV of Siam, though the letter arrived after Buchanan's departure from office. As Buchanan's successor, Lincoln declined the King's offer, citing the unsuitable climate. Other presidential pets included a pair of bald eagles and a Newfoundland dog. Covode Committee In March 1860, the House impaneled the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for alleged impeachable offenses, such as bribery and extortion of representatives. The committee, three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge from a disputed land grant designed to benefit Covode's railroad company. The Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were enthusiastic in their condemnation of Buchanan. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 alleged corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet. The report also included accusations from Republicans that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress, in connection with the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution of Kansas. The Democrats pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated that he agreed with the Republicans, though he did not sign it. Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. Election of 1860 As he had promised in his inaugural address, Buchanan did not seek re-election. He went so far as to tell his ultimate successor, “If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland [his home], you are a happy man.” The 1860 Democratic National Convention convened in April of that year and, though Douglas led after every ballot, he was unable to win the two-thirds majority required. The convention adjourned after 53 ballots, and re-convened in Baltimore in June. After Douglas finally won the nomination, several Southerners refused to accept the outcome, and nominated Vice President Breckinridge as their own candidate. Douglas and Breckinridge agreed on most issues except the protection of slavery. Buchanan, nursing a grudge against Douglas, failed to reconcile the party, and tepidly supported Breckinridge. With the splintering of the Democratic Party, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln won a four-way election that also included John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln's support in the North was enough to give him an Electoral College majority. Buchanan became the last Democrat to win a presidential election until Grover Cleveland in 1884. As early as October, the army's Commanding General, Winfield Scott, an opponent of Buchanan, warned him that Lincoln's election would likely cause at least seven states to secede from the union. He recommended that massive amounts of federal troops and artillery be deployed to those states to protect federal property, although he also warned that few reinforcements were available. Since 1857 Congress had failed to heed calls for a stronger militia and allowed the army to fall into deplorable condition. Buchanan distrusted Scott and ignored his recommendations. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan directed War Secretary Floyd to reinforce southern forts with such provisions, arms, and men as were available; however, Floyd persuaded him to revoke the order. Secession With Lincoln's victory, talk of secession and disunion reached a boiling point, putting the burden on Buchanan to address it in his final speech to Congress on December 10. In his message, which was anticipated by both factions, Buchanan denied the right of states to secede but maintained the federal government was without power to prevent them. He placed the blame for the crisis solely on "intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States," and suggested that if they did not "repeal their unconstitutional and obnoxious enactments ... the injured States, after having first used all peaceful and constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to the Government of the Union." Buchanan's only suggestion to solve the crisis was "an explanatory amendment" affirming the constitutionality of slavery in the states, the fugitive slave laws, and popular sovereignty in the territories. His address was sharply criticized both by the North, for its refusal to stop secession, and the South, for denying its right to secede. Five days after the address was delivered, Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb resigned, as his views had become irreconcilable with the President's. South Carolina, long the most radical Southern state, seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. However, Unionist sentiment remained strong among many in the South, and Buchanan sought to appeal to the Southern moderates who might prevent secession in other states. He proposed passage of constitutional amendments protecting slavery in the states and territories. He also met with South Carolinian commissioners in an attempt to resolve the situation at Fort Sumter, which federal forces remained in control of despite its location in Charleston, South Carolina. He refused to dismiss Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson after the latter was chosen as Mississippi's agent to discuss secession, and he refused to fire Secretary of War John B. Floyd despite an embezzlement scandal. Floyd ended up resigning, but not before sending numerous firearms to Southern states, where they eventually fell into the hands of the Confederacy. Despite Floyd's resignation, Buchanan continued to seek the advice of counselors from the Deep South, including Jefferson Davis and William Henry Trescot. Efforts were made in vain by Sen. John J. Crittenden, Rep. Thomas Corwin, and former president John Tyler to negotiate a compromise to stop secession, with Buchanan's support. Failed attempts were also made by a group of governors meeting in New York. Buchanan secretly asked President-elect Lincoln to call for a national referendum on the issue of slavery, but Lincoln declined. Despite the efforts of Buchanan and others, six more slave states seceded by the end of January 1861. Buchanan replaced the departed Southern cabinet members with John Adams Dix, Edwin M. Stanton, and Joseph Holt, all of whom were committed to preserving the Union. When Buchanan considered surrendering Fort Sumter, the new cabinet members threatened to resign, and Buchanan relented. On January 5, Buchanan decided to reinforce Fort Sumter, sending the Star of the West with 250 men and supplies. However, he failed to ask Major Robert Anderson to provide covering fire for the ship, and it was forced to return North without delivering troops or supplies. Buchanan chose not to respond to this act of war, and instead sought to find a compromise to avoid secession. He received a March 3 message from Anderson, that supplies were running low, but the response became Lincoln's to make, as the latter succeeded to the presidency the next day. Proposed constitutional amendment On March 2, 1861, Congress approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states, including slavery, from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress. The proposed amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, it was never ratified by the requisite number of states. States admitted to the Union Three new states were admitted to the Union while Buchanan was in office: Minnesota – May 11, 1858 Oregon – February 14, 1859 Kansas – January 29, 1861 Post-presidency (1861–1868) The Civil War erupted within two months of Buchanan's retirement. He supported the Union, writing to former colleagues that, "the assault upon Sumter was the commencement of war by the Confederate states, and no alternative was left but to prosecute it with vigor on our part." He also wrote a letter to his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, urging them to "join the many thousands of brave & patriotic volunteers who are already in the field." Buchanan was dedicated to defending his actions prior to the Civil War, which was referred to by some as "Buchanan's War". He received threatening letters daily, and stores displayed Buchanan's likeness with the eyes inked red, a noose drawn around his neck and the word "TRAITOR" written across his forehead. The Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation which ultimately failed, and newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly. Buchanan became distraught by the vitriolic attacks levied against him, and fell sick and depressed. In October 1862, he defended himself in an exchange of letters with Winfield Scott, published in the National Intelligencer. He soon began writing his fullest public defense, in the form of his memoir Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion, which was published in 1866. Soon after the publication of the memoir, Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, of respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. Political views Buchanan was often considered by anti-slavery northerners a "doughface", a northerner with pro-southern principles. Shortly after his election, he said that the "great object" of his administration was "to arrest, if possible, the agitation of the Slavery question in the North and to destroy sectional parties". Buchanan believed the abolitionists were preventing the solution to the slavery problem. He stated, "Before [the abolitionists] commenced this agitation, a very large and growing party existed in several of the slave states in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery; and now not a voice is heard there in support of such a measure. The abolitionists have postponed the emancipation of the slaves in three or four states for at least half a century." In deference to the intentions of the typical slaveholder, he was willing to provide the benefit of the doubt. In his third annual message to Congress, the president claimed that the slaves were "treated with kindness and humanity. ... Both the philanthropy and the self-interest of the master have combined to produce this humane result." Buchanan thought restraint was the essence of good self-government. He believed the constitution comprised "... restraints, imposed not by arbitrary authority, but by the people upon themselves and their representatives. ... In an enlarged view, the people's interests may seem identical, but to the eye of local and sectional prejudice, they always appear to be conflicting ... and the jealousies that will perpetually arise can be repressed only by the mutual forbearance which pervades the constitution." Regarding slavery and the Constitution, he stated: "Although in Pennsylvania we are all opposed to slavery in the abstract, we can never violate the constitutional compact we have with our sister states. Their rights will be held sacred by us. Under the constitution it is their own question; and there let it remain." One of the prominent issues of the day was tariffs. Buchanan was conflicted by free trade as well as prohibitive tariffs, since either would benefit one section of the country to the detriment of the other. As a senator from Pennsylvania, he said: "I am viewed as the strongest advocate of protection in other states, whilst I am denounced as its enemy in Pennsylvania." Buchanan was also torn between his desire to expand the country for the general welfare of the nation, and to guarantee the rights of the people settling particular areas. On territorial expansion, he said, "What, sir? Prevent the people from crossing the Rocky Mountains? You might just as well command the Niagara not to flow. We must fulfill our destiny." On the resulting spread of slavery, through unconditional expansion, he stated: "I feel a strong repugnance by any act of mine to extend the present limits of the Union over a new slave-holding territory." For instance, he hoped the acquisition of Texas would "be the means of limiting, not enlarging, the dominion of slavery." Romantic life In 1818, Buchanan met Anne Caroline Coleman at a grand ball in Lancaster, and the two began courting. Anne was the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturer Robert Coleman. She was also the sister-in-law of Philadelphia judge Joseph Hemphill, one of Buchanan's colleagues. By 1819, the two were engaged, but spent little time together. Buchanan was busy with his law firm and political projects during the Panic of 1819, which took him away from Coleman for weeks at a time. Rumors abounded, as some suggested that he was marrying her only for money; others said he was involved with other (unidentified) women. Letters from Coleman revealed she was aware of several rumors. She broke off the engagement, and soon afterward, on December 9, 1819, suddenly died. Buchanan wrote to her father for permission to attend the funeral, which was refused. After Coleman's death, Buchanan never courted another woman. At the time of her funeral, he said that, "I feel happiness has fled from me forever." During his presidency, an orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, whom he had adopted, served as official White House hostess. There was an unfounded rumor that he had an affair with President Polk's widow, Sarah Childress Polk. Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood after Anne Coleman's death has drawn interest and speculation. Some conjecture that Anne's death merely served to deflect questions about Buchanan's sexuality and bachelorhood. Several writers have surmised that he was homosexual, including James W. Loewen, Robert P. Watson, and Shelley Ross. One of his biographers, Jean Baker, suggests that Buchanan was celibate, if not asexual. Buchanan had a close relationship with William Rufus King, which became a popular target of gossip. King was an Alabama politician who briefly served as vice president under Franklin Pierce. Buchanan and King lived together in a Washington boardinghouse and attended social functions together from 1834 until 1844. Such a living arrangement was then common, though King once referred to the relationship as a "communion". Andrew Jackson called King "Miss Nancy" and Buchanan's Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown referred to King as Buchanan's "better half", "wife", and "Aunt Fancy". Loewen indicated that Buchanan late in life wrote a letter acknowledging that he might marry a woman who could accept his "lack of ardent or romantic affection". Catherine Thompson, the wife of cabinet member Jacob Thompson, later noted that "there was something unhealthy in the president's attitude." King died of tuberculosis shortly after Pierce's inauguration, four years before Buchanan became president. Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest and most consistent public men I have known". Biographer Baker opines that both men's nieces may have destroyed correspondence between the two men. However, she believes that their surviving letters illustrate only "the affection of a special friendship". Legacy Historical reputation Though Buchanan predicted that "history will vindicate my memory," historians have criticized Buchanan for his unwillingness or inability to act in the face of secession. Historical rankings of presidents of the United States without exception place Buchanan among the least successful presidents. When scholars are surveyed, he ranks at or near the bottom in terms of vision/agenda-setting, domestic leadership, foreign policy leadership, moral authority, and positive historical significance of their legacy. Buchanan biographer Philip Klein focuses upon challenges Buchanan faced: Biographer Jean Baker is less charitable to Buchanan, saying in 2004: Memorials A bronze and granite memorial near the southeast corner of Washington, D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park was designed by architect William Gorden Beecher and sculpted by Maryland artist Hans Schuler. It was commissioned in 1916 but not approved by the U.S. Congress until 1918, and not completed and unveiled until June 26, 1930. The memorial features a statue of Buchanan, bookended by male and female classical figures representing law and diplomacy, with engraved text reading: "The incorruptible statesman whose walk was upon the mountain ranges of the law," a quote from a member of Buchanan's cabinet, Jeremiah S. Black. An earlier monument was constructed in 1907–08 and dedicated in 1911, on the site of Buchanan's birthplace in Stony Batter, Pennsylvania. Part of the original memorial site is a 250-ton pyramid structure that stands on the site of the original cabin where Buchanan was born. The monument was designed to show the original weathered surface of the native rubble and mortar. Three counties are named in his honor, in Iowa, Missouri, and Virginia. Another in Texas was christened in 1858 but renamed Stephens County, after the newly elected Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stephens, in 1861. The city of Buchanan, Michigan, was also named after him. Several other communities are named after him: the unincorporated community of Buchanan, Indiana, the city of Buchanan, Georgia, the town of Buchanan, Wisconsin, and the townships of Buchanan Township, Michigan, and Buchanan, Missouri. James Buchanan High School is a small, rural high school located on the outskirts of his childhood hometown, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Popular culture depictions Buchanan and his legacy are central to the film Raising Buchanan (2019). He is portrayed by René Auberjonois. See also Historical rankings of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States by previous experience Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps List of federal political sex scandals in the United States References Works cited Pulitzer prize. Further reading Secondary sources Balcerski, Thomas J. Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (Oxford University Press, 2019. online review Balcerski, Thomas J. "Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston." in A Companion to First Ladies (2016): 197-213. Birkner, Michael J., et al. eds. The Worlds of James Buchanan and Thaddeus Stevens: Place, Personality, and Politics in the Civil War Era (Louisiana State University Press, 2019) Nichols, Roy Franklin; The Democratic Machine, 1850–1854 (1923), detailed narrative; online Rosenberger, Homer T. "Inauguration of President Buchanan a Century Ago." Records of the Columbia Historical Society 57 (1957): 96-122 online. , fictional. Wells, Damon. "Douglas and Goliath." in Stephen Douglas (University of Texas Press, 1971) pp. 12-54. on Douglas and Buchanan. online Primary sources Buchanan, James. Fourth Annual Message to Congress. (December 3, 1860). Buchanan, James. Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion (1866) National Intelligencer (1859) External links White House biography James Buchanan: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress The James Buchanan papers, spanning the entirety of his legal, political and diplomatic career, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. University of Virginia article: Buchanan biography Wheatland James Buchanan at Tulane University Essay on James Buchanan and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, Franklin County, Pennsylvania "Life Portrait of James Buchanan", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, June 21, 1999 Primary sources James Buchanan Ill with Dysentery Before Inauguration: Original Letters Shapell Manuscript Foundation Mr. Buchanans Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion. President Buchanans memoirs. Inaugural Address Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1860 1791 births 1868 deaths 1850s in the United States 1860s in the United States 19th-century presidents of the United States Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom 19th-century American memoirists American militiamen in the War of 1812 American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Presbyterians American white supremacists Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Deaths from respiratory failure Democratic Party presidents of the United States Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Dickinson College alumni American Freemasons Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania Jacksonians Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Polk administration cabinet members Presidents of the United States Union political leaders Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1856 United States presidential election United States Secretaries of State United States senators from Pennsylvania People of the Utah War Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians 18th-century Presbyterians 19th-century Presbyterians Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives Buchanan County, Iowa Buchanan County, Missouri Buchanan County, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Jacksonian United States senators from Pennsylvania	false	[ "For Those Who Think Young, appearing on the album cover as (for those who think young) and originally to be entitled for those who think jung, was the third album by Canadian new wave band Rough Trade; it was released in 1981 (True North TN-48 in Canada; Boardwalk NB-33261-1, US; Big Time, UK; CBS 85385, The Netherlands). It climbed to #9 in Canada on the RPM Top 50 Albums Chart on November 7, 1981 (putting it at #1 on the CANCON Chart listing), and held the position for three weeks, dropping out of the Top 50 after sixteen weeks on February 6 of the following year. It was certified gold in Canada by the CRIA on November 1, 1981. The single \"All Touch\" gave the band its biggest commercial success, reaching #12 in Canada on the RPM Top 50 Singles Chart (#2 on the CANCON Chart) and #58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.\n\nSingles released from the album included \"All Touch\" (b/w \"Baptism of Fire\") [True North TN4-165], \"Blood Lust\" (b/w \"Bodies In Collision\") [True North TN4-170], \"For Those Who Think Young\" (b/w \"Attitude\") [True North TN4-171], all 1981 Canadian releases in picture sleeves, and the 1982 U.S. release of \"All Touch\" (b/w \"The Sacred And The Profane\") [Boardwalk NB-11-167-7].\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\n\n Carole Pope – Songwriter, lead vocals\n Kevan Staples – Vocals, guitar, piano, synthesiser, producer\n David McMorrow – Vocals, piano, Rhodes, synthesisers\n Terry Wilkins – Vocals, Fender fretless bass\n Bucky Berger – Vocals, drums\n Gene Martynec – Producer\n Gary Gray – Engineer\n Rick Starks – Assistant engineer\n Jack Skinner – Mastering\n Peter J. Moore – Remastering, restoration\n Dusty Springfield – Backing vocals\n Shawne Jackson – Backing vocals\n Colina Phillips – Backing vocals\n Derek Taylor – Make-up\n\nCharts\n\nSingles\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Amazon.com review\n Artist Direct review\n Rate Your Music review\n\n1981 albums\nRough Trade (band) albums", "\"Who Did You Think I Was\" is the debut single by blues-rock group John Mayer Trio from their first album, Try!. As it is from a live album, the single itself is a live recording. Speculation that Mayer was moving away from his known field of sensitive acoustic pop rock into blues was confirmed by the release of this single, being that it's a moderately heavy blues-rock song. Furthermore, the line from the first verse, \"Got a brand new blues that I can't explain\", indicates Mayer exploring blues unlike before.\n\nThe song also appeared as the B-side on the Trio's subsequent EP, \"Live @ Yahoo! Music\", after the track, \"Out of My Mind\", a heavily blues-influenced song written by Mayer which also appears on Try!.\n\nThe B-side to \"Who Did You Think I Was\" is \"Come When I Call\", which did not appear on the album Try!, but was frequently played throughout the trio live performances, like the song, \"I Don't Need No Doctor\".\n\nMusic video\nDespite the single for \"Who Did You Think I Was\" being the version from the trio's live album, the music video of the song was a studio recording specifically for the purpose of the video itself. The music video features the trio in a worn-down factory or warehouse playing the song. In certain shots, the cameras are intentionally clearly visible to make the video have a \"put-together\" feel.\n\nThe guitar Mayer plays in the video is a Fender Custom Shop Monterey Stratocaster, which is based upon a guitar that Jimi Hendrix played and subsequently burned at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The guitar is part of the limited run on 210 instruments made by Custom Shop in 1997, all hand-painted and signed by Pamelina H.\n\nSee also\n2005 in music\nJohn Mayer Trio\nTry!\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nJohn Mayer Trio - Official Site\n\"Who Did You Think I Was?\" lyrics, at Yahoo! Music\n\n2005 singles\nJohn Mayer Trio songs\nSongs written by John Mayer\n2005 songs" ]
[ "James Buchanan", "Covode Committee", "What was the Covode Committee?", "created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses,", "Was there ever any evidence found?", "The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan;", "What year did they try to impeach him?", "I don't know.", "What was the reason for wanting him impeached?", "Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution.", "Did the people think this was true?", "did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed" ]	C_5ed6e2f3fcc0410b9e8f1cb2059dafa4_1	Did this effect his personal life?	6	Did the allegations of bribery effect James Buchanan's personal life?	James Buchanan	In March 1860, the House created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses, some impeachable, such as bribery and extortion of representatives in exchange for their votes. The committee, with three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they also charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge (since the president had vetoed a bill that was fashioned as a land grant for new agricultural colleges, but was designed to benefit Covode's railroad company). However, the Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were equally enthusiastic in their pursuit of Buchanan, and as pointed in their condemnations, as the Republicans. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 exposed corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet, as well as allegations (if not impeachable evidence) from the Republican members of the Committee, that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution. (The Democratic report, issued separately the same day, pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed with the Republican report even though he did not sign it.) Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Nonetheless, Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. CANNOTANSWER	Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal"	James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He was an advocate for states' rights, particularly regarding slavery, and minimized the role of the federal government preceding the Civil War. Buchanan was a prominent lawyer in Pennsylvania and won his first election to the state's House of Representatives as a Federalist. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820 and retained that post for five terms, aligning with Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party. Buchanan served as Jackson's minister to Russia in 1832. He won election in 1834 as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and continued in that position for 11 years. He was appointed to serve as President James K. Polk's secretary of state in 1845, and eight years later was named as President Franklin Pierce's minister to the United Kingdom. Beginning in 1844, Buchanan became a regular contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. He was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Democratic National Convention. He benefited from the fact that he had been out of the country, as ambassador in London, and had not been involved in slavery issues. Buchanan and running mate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky carried every slave state except Maryland, defeating anti-slavery Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing former president Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election. As President, Buchanan intervened to assure the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scott case. He acceded to Southern attempts to engineer Kansas’ entry into the Union as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution, and angered not only Republicans but also Northern Democrats. Buchanan honored his pledge to serve only one term, and supported Breckinridge's unsuccessful candidacy in the 1860 presidential election. He failed to reconcile the fractured Democratic party amid the grudge against Stephen Douglas, leading to the election of Republican and former Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan's leadership during his lame duck period, before the American Civil War, has been widely criticized. He simultaneously angered the North by not stopping secession, and the South by not yielding to their demands. He supported the Corwin Amendment in an effort to reconcile the country, but it was too little, too late. He made an unsuccessful attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, but otherwise refrained from preparing the military. His failure to forestall the Civil War has been described as incompetency, and he spent his last years defending his reputation. In his personal life, Buchanan never married, the only U.S. president to remain a lifelong bachelor, leading some to question his sexual orientation. Buchanan died of respiratory failure in 1868, and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had lived for nearly 60 years. Historians and scholars consistently rank Buchanan as one of the worst presidents in American history. Early life James Buchanan Jr. was born April 23, 1791, in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to James Buchanan Sr. (1761–1821) and Elizabeth Speer (1767–1833). His parents were both of Ulster Scot descent, and his father emigrated from Ramelton, Ireland in 1783. Shortly after Buchanan's birth, the family moved to a farm near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1794 the family moved into the town. His father became the wealthiest resident there, working as a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. Buchanan attended the Old Stone Academy in Mercersburg, and then Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was nearly expelled for bad behavior, but pleaded for a second chance and ultimately graduated with honors in 1809. Later that year he moved to the state capital at Lancaster. James Hopkins, a leading lawyer there, accepted Buchanan as an apprentice, and in 1812 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. Many other lawyers moved to Harrisburg when it became the state capital in 1812, but Buchanan made Lancaster his lifelong home. His income rapidly rose after he established his practice, and by 1821 he was earning over $11,000 per year (). He handled various types of cases, including a much-publicized impeachment trial, where he successfully defended Pennsylvania Judge Walter Franklin. Buchanan began his political career as a member of the Federalist Party, and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814 and 1815. The legislature met for only three months a year, but Buchanan's service helped him acquire more clients. Politically, he supported federally-funded internal improvements, a high tariff, and a national bank. He became a strong critic of Democratic-Republican President James Madison during the War of 1812. He was a Freemason, and served as the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, and as a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Military service When the British invaded neighboring Maryland in 1814, he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, a unit of yagers. Buchanan is the only president with military experience who was not an officer. He is also the last president who served in the War of 1812. Congressional career U.S. House service In 1820 Buchanan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Federalist Party was waning. During his tenure in Congress, he became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and an avid defender of states' rights. After the 1824 presidential election, he helped organize Jackson's followers into the Democratic Party, and he became a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat. In Washington, he was close with many southern Congressmen, and viewed some New England Congressmen as dangerous radicals. He was appointed to the Agriculture Committee in his first year, and he eventually became Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He declined re-nomination to a sixth term, and briefly returned to private life. Minister to Russia After Jackson was re-elected in 1832, he offered Buchanan the position of United States Ambassador to Russia. Buchanan was reluctant to leave the country but ultimately agreed. He served as ambassador for 18 months, during which time he learned French, the trade language of diplomacy in the nineteenth century. He helped negotiate commercial and maritime treaties with the Russian Empire. U.S. Senate service Buchanan returned home and was elected by the Pennsylvania state legislature to succeed William Wilkins in the U.S. Senate. Wilkins in turn replaced Buchanan as the ambassador to Russia. The Jacksonian Buchanan, who was re-elected in 1836 and 1842, opposed the re-chartering of the Second Bank of the United States and sought to expunge a congressional censure of Jackson stemming from the Bank War. Buchanan also opposed a gag rule sponsored by John C. Calhoun that would have suppressed anti-slavery petitions. He joined the majority in blocking the rule, with most senators of the belief that it would have the reverse effect of strengthening the abolitionists. He said, "We have just as little right to interfere with slavery in the South, as we have to touch the right of petition." Buchanan thought that the issue of slavery was the domain of the states, and he faulted abolitionists for exciting passions over the issue. His support of states' rights was matched by his support for Manifest Destiny, and he opposed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty for its "surrender" of lands to the United Kingdom. Buchanan also argued for the annexation of both Texas and the Oregon Country. In the lead-up to the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Buchanan positioned himself as a potential alternative to former President Martin Van Buren, but the nomination went to James K. Polk, who won the election. Diplomatic career Secretary of State Buchanan was offered the position of Secretary of State in the Polk administration, as well as the alternative of serving on the Supreme Court. He accepted the State Department post and served for the duration of Polk's single term in office. He and Polk nearly doubled the territory of the United States through the Oregon Treaty and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which included territory that is now Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. In negotiations with Britain over Oregon, Buchanan at first preferred a compromise, but later advocated for annexation of the entire territory. Eventually, he agreed to a division at the 49th parallel. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, he advised Polk against taking territory south of the Rio Grande River and New Mexico. However, as the war came to an end, Buchanan argued for the annexation of further territory, and Polk began to suspect that he was angling to become president. Buchanan did quietly seek the nomination at the 1848 Democratic National Convention, as Polk had promised to serve only one term, but Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated. Ambassador to the United Kingdom With the 1848 election of Whig Zachary Taylor, Buchanan returned to private life. He bought the house of Wheatland on the outskirts of Lancaster and entertained various visitors, while monitoring political events. In 1852, he was named president of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and he served in this capacity until 1866. He quietly campaigned for the 1852 Democratic presidential nomination, writing a public letter that deplored the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed to ban slavery in new territories. He became known as a "doughface" due to his sympathy towards the South. At the 1852 Democratic National Convention, he won the support of many southern delegates but failed to win the two-thirds support needed for the presidential nomination, which went to Franklin Pierce. Buchanan declined to serve as the vice presidential nominee, and the convention instead nominated his close friend, William King. Pierce won the 1852 election, and Buchanan accepted the position of United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Buchanan sailed for England in the summer of 1853, and he remained abroad for the next three years. In 1850, the United States and Great Britain had signed the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which committed both countries to joint control of any future canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America. Buchanan met repeatedly with Lord Clarendon, the British foreign minister, in hopes of pressuring the British to withdraw from Central America. He also focussed on the potential annexation of Cuba, which had long interested him. At Pierce's prompting, Buchanan met in Ostend, Belgium with U.S. Ambassador to Spain Pierre Soulé and U.S. Ambassador to France John Mason. A memorandum draft resulted, called the Ostend Manifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain, then in the midst of revolution and near bankruptcy. The document declared the island "as necessary to the North American republic as any of its present ... family of states". Against Buchanan's recommendation, the final draft of the manifesto suggested that "wresting it from Spain", if Spain refused to sell, would be justified "by every law, human and Divine". The manifesto, generally considered a blunder, was never acted upon, and weakened the Pierce administration and reduced support for Manifest Destiny. Presidential election of 1856 Buchanan's service abroad allowed him to conveniently avoid the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act then roiling the country in the slavery dispute. While he did not overtly seek the presidency, he assented to the movement on his behalf. The 1856 Democratic National Convention met in June 1856, producing a platform that reflected his views, including support for the Fugitive Slave Law, which required the return of escaped slaves. The platform also called for an end to anti-slavery agitation, and U.S. "ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico". President Pierce hoped for re-nomination, while Senator Stephen A. Douglas also loomed as a strong candidate. Buchanan led on the first ballot, support by powerful Senators John Slidell, Jesse Bright, and Thomas F. Bayard, who presented Buchanan as an experienced leader appealing to the North and South. He won the nomination after seventeen ballots. He was joined on the ticket by John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, placating supporters of Pierce and Douglas, also allies of Breckinridge. Buchanan faced two candidates in the general election: former Whig President Millard Fillmore ran as the American Party (or "Know-Nothing") candidate, while John C. Frémont ran as the Republican nominee. Buchanan did not actively campaign, but he wrote letters and pledged to uphold the Democratic platform. In the election, he carried every slave state except for Maryland, as well as five slavery-free states, including his home state of Pennsylvania. He won 45 percent of the popular vote and decisively won the electoral vote, taking 174 of 296 votes. His election made him the first president from Pennsylvania. In a combative victory speech, Buchanan denounced Republicans, calling them a "dangerous" and "geographical" party that had unfairly attacked the South. He also declared, "the object of my administration will be to destroy sectional party, North or South, and to restore harmony to the Union under a national and conservative government." He set about this initially by feigning a sectional balance in his cabinet appointments. Presidency (1857–1861) Inauguration Buchanan was inaugurated on March 4, 1857, taking the oath of office from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. In his inaugural address, Buchanan committed himself to serving only one term, as his predecessor had done. He expressed an abhorrence for the growing divisions over slavery and its status in the territories, while saying that Congress should play no role in determining the status of slavery in the states or territories. He also declared his support for popular sovereignty. Buchanan recommended that a federal slave code be enacted to protect the rights of slave-owners in federal territories. He alluded to a then-pending Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, which he said would permanently settle the issue of slavery. Dred Scott was a slave who was temporarily taken from a slave state to a free territory by his owner, John Sanford (the court misspelled his name). After Scott returned to the slave state, he filed a petition for his freedom based on his time in the free territory. The Dred Scott decision, rendered after Buchanan's speech, denied Scott's petition in favor of his owner. Personnel Cabinet and administration As his inauguration approached, Buchanan sought to establish an obedient, harmonious cabinet, to avoid the in-fighting that had plagued Andrew Jackson's administration. He chose four Southerners and three Northerners, the latter of whom were all considered to be doughfaces (Southern sympathizers). His objective was to dominate the cabinet, and he chose men who would agree with his views. Concentrating on foreign policy, he appointed the aging Lewis Cass as Secretary of State. Buchanan's appointment of Southerners and their allies alienated many in the North, and his failure to appoint any followers of Stephen A. Douglas divided the party. Outside of the cabinet, he left in place many of Pierce's appointments, but removed a disproportionate number of Northerners who had ties to Democrat opponents Pierce or Douglas. In that vein, he soon alienated their ally, and his vice president, Breckinridge; the latter therefore played little role in the administration. Judicial appointments Buchanan appointed one Justice, Nathan Clifford, to the Supreme Court of the United States. He appointed seven other federal judges to United States district courts. He also appointed two judges to the United States Court of Claims. Intervention in the Dred Scott case Two days after Buchanan's inauguration, Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision, denying the enslaved petitioner's request for freedom. The ruling broadly asserted that Congress had no constitutional power to exclude slavery in the territories. Prior to his inauguration, Buchanan had written to Justice John Catron in January 1857, inquired about the outcome of the case, and suggested that a broader decision, beyond the specifics of the case, would be more prudent. Buchanan hoped that a broad decision protecting slavery in the territories could lay the issue to rest, allowing him to focus on other issues. Catron, who was from Tennessee, replied on February 10, saying that the Supreme Court's Southern majority would decide against Scott, but would likely have to publish the decision on narrow grounds unless Buchanan could convince his fellow Pennsylvanian, Justice Robert Cooper Grier, to join the majority of the court. Buchanan then wrote to Grier and prevailed upon him, providing the majority leverage to issue a broad-ranging decision, sufficient to render the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional. Buchanan's letters were not then public; he was, however, seen at his inauguration in whispered conversation with the Chief Justice. When the decision was issued, Republicans began spreading word that Taney had revealed to Buchanan the forthcoming result. Rather than destroying the Republican platform as Buchanan had hoped, the decision outraged Northerners who denounced it. Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 began in the summer of that year, ushered in by the collapse of 1,400 state banks and 5,000 businesses. While the South escaped largely unscathed, numerous northern cities experienced drastic increases in unemployment. Buchanan agreed with the southerners who attributed the economic collapse to overspeculation. Reflecting his Jacksonian background, Buchanan's response was "reform not relief". While the government was "without the power to extend relief," it would continue to pay its debts in specie, and while it would not curtail public works, none would be added. In hopes of reducing paper money supplies and inflation, he urged the states to restrict the banks to a credit level of $3 to $1 of specie and discouraged the use of federal or state bonds as security for bank note issues. The economy recovered in several years, though many Americans suffered as a result of the panic. Buchanan had hoped to reduce the deficit, but by the time he left office the federal deficit stood at $17 million. Utah War The Utah territory, settled in preceding decades by the Latter-day Saints and their leader Brigham Young, had grown increasingly hostile to federal intervention. Young harassed federal officers and discouraged outsiders from settling in the Salt Lake City area. In September 1857, the Utah Territorial Militia, associated with the Latter-day Saints, perpetrated the Mountain Meadows massacre against Arkansans headed for California. Buchanan was offended by the militarism and polygamous behavior of Young. Believing the Latter-day Saints to be in open rebellion, Buchanan in July 1857 sent Alfred Cumming, accompanied by the Army, to replace Young as governor. While the Latter-day Saints had frequently defied federal authority, some historians consider Buchanan's action was an inappropriate response to uncorroborated reports. Complicating matters, Young's notice of his replacement was not delivered because the Pierce administration had annulled the Utah mail contract. Young reacted to the military action by mustering a two-week expedition, destroying wagon trains, oxen, and other Army property. Buchanan then dispatched Thomas L. Kane as a private agent to negotiate peace. The mission succeeded, the new governor took office, and the Utah War ended. The President granted amnesty to inhabitants affirming loyalty to the government, and placed the federal troops at a peaceable distance for the balance of his administration. Bleeding Kansas The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas Territory and allowed the settlers there to decide whether to allow slavery. This resulted in violence between "Free-Soil" (antislavery) and pro-slavery settlers, which developed into the "Bleeding Kansas" period. The antislavery settlers, with the help of Northern abolitionists, organized a government in Topeka. The more numerous proslavery settlers, many from the neighboring slave state Missouri, established a government in Lecompton, giving the Territory two different governments for a time, with two distinct constitutions, each claiming legitimacy. The admission of Kansas as a state required a constitution be submitted to Congress with the approval of a majority of its residents. Under President Pierce, a series of violent confrontations escalated over who had the right to vote in Kansas. The situation drew national attention, and some in Georgia and Mississippi advocated secession should Kansas be admitted as a free state. Buchanan chose to endorse the pro-slavery Lecompton government. Buchanan appointed Robert J. Walker to replace John W. Geary as Territorial Governor, with the expectation he would assist the proslavery faction in gaining approval of a new constitution. However, Walker wavered on the slavery question, and there ensued conflicting referendums from Topeka and Lecompton, where election fraud occurred. In October 1857, the Lecompton government framed the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution and sent it to Buchanan without a referendum. Buchanan reluctantly rejected it, and he dispatched federal agents to arrange a compromise. The Lecompton government agreed to a referendum limited solely to the slavery question. Despite the protests of Walker and two former Kansas governors, Buchanan decided to accept the Lecompton Constitution. In a December 1857 meeting with Stephen Douglas, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Buchanan demanded that all Democrats support the administration's position of admitting Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. On February 2, he transmitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress. He also transmitted a message that attacked the "revolutionary government" in Topeka, conflating them with the Mormons in Utah. Buchanan made every effort to secure congressional approval, offering favors, patronage appointments, and even cash for votes. The Lecompton Constitution won the approval of the Senate in March, but a combination of Know-Nothings, Republicans, and northern Democrats defeated the bill in the House. Rather than accepting defeat, Buchanan backed the 1858 English Bill, which offered Kansans immediate statehood and vast public lands in exchange for accepting the Lecompton Constitution. In August 1858, Kansans by referendum strongly rejected the Lecompton Constitution. The dispute over Kansas became the battlefront for control of the Democratic Party. On one side were Buchanan, most Southern Democrats, and the "doughfaces". On the other side were Douglas and most northern Democrats plus a few Southerners. Douglas's faction continued to support the doctrine of popular sovereignty, while Buchanan insisted that Democrats respect the Dred Scott decision and its repudiation of federal interference with slavery in the territories. The struggle ended only with Buchanan's presidency. In the interim he used his patronage powers to remove Douglas sympathizers in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and installed pro-administration Democrats, including postmasters. 1858 mid-term elections Douglas's Senate term was coming to an end in 1859, with the Illinois legislature, elected in 1858, determining whether Douglas would win re-election. The Senate seat was the primary issue of the legislative election, marked by the famous debates between Douglas and his Republican opponent for the seat, Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan, working through federal patronage appointees in Illinois, ran candidates for the legislature in competition with both the Republicans and the Douglas Democrats. This could easily have thrown the election to the Republicans, and showed the depth of Buchanan's animosity toward Douglas. In the end, Douglas Democrats won the legislative election and Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. In that year's elections, Douglas forces took control throughout the North, except in Buchanan's home state of Pennsylvania. Buchanan's support was otherwise reduced to a narrow base of southerners. The division between northern and southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to win a plurality of the House in the 1858 elections, and allowed them to block most of Buchanan's agenda. Buchanan, in turn, added to the hostility with his veto of six substantial pieces of Republican legislation. Among these measures were the Homestead Act, which would have given 160 acres of public land to settlers who remained on the land for five years, and the Morrill Act, which would have granted public lands to establish land-grant colleges. Buchanan argued that these acts were unconstitutional. Foreign policy Buchanan took office with an ambitious foreign policy, designed to establish U.S. hegemony over Central America at the expense of Great Britain. He hoped to re-negotiate the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which he thought limited U.S. influence in the region. He also sought to establish American protectorates over the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, and most importantly, he hoped to achieve his long-term goal of acquiring Cuba. After long negotiations with the British, he convinced them to cede the Bay Islands to Honduras and the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. However, Buchanan's ambitions in Cuba and Mexico were largely blocked by the House of Representatives. Buchanan also considered buying Alaska from the Russian Empire, as a colony for Mormon settlers, but he and the Russians were unable to agree upon a price. In China, the administration won trade concessions in the Treaty of Tientsin. In 1858, Buchanan ordered the Paraguay expedition to punish Paraguay for firing on the , and the expedition resulted in a Paraguayan apology and payment of an indemnity. The chiefs of Raiatea and Tahaa in the South Pacific, refusing to accept the rule of King Tamatoa V, unsuccessfully petitioned the United States to accept the islands under a protectorate in June 1858. Buchanan was offered a herd of elephants by King Rama IV of Siam, though the letter arrived after Buchanan's departure from office. As Buchanan's successor, Lincoln declined the King's offer, citing the unsuitable climate. Other presidential pets included a pair of bald eagles and a Newfoundland dog. Covode Committee In March 1860, the House impaneled the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for alleged impeachable offenses, such as bribery and extortion of representatives. The committee, three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge from a disputed land grant designed to benefit Covode's railroad company. The Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were enthusiastic in their condemnation of Buchanan. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 alleged corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet. The report also included accusations from Republicans that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress, in connection with the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution of Kansas. The Democrats pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated that he agreed with the Republicans, though he did not sign it. Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. Election of 1860 As he had promised in his inaugural address, Buchanan did not seek re-election. He went so far as to tell his ultimate successor, “If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland [his home], you are a happy man.” The 1860 Democratic National Convention convened in April of that year and, though Douglas led after every ballot, he was unable to win the two-thirds majority required. The convention adjourned after 53 ballots, and re-convened in Baltimore in June. After Douglas finally won the nomination, several Southerners refused to accept the outcome, and nominated Vice President Breckinridge as their own candidate. Douglas and Breckinridge agreed on most issues except the protection of slavery. Buchanan, nursing a grudge against Douglas, failed to reconcile the party, and tepidly supported Breckinridge. With the splintering of the Democratic Party, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln won a four-way election that also included John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln's support in the North was enough to give him an Electoral College majority. Buchanan became the last Democrat to win a presidential election until Grover Cleveland in 1884. As early as October, the army's Commanding General, Winfield Scott, an opponent of Buchanan, warned him that Lincoln's election would likely cause at least seven states to secede from the union. He recommended that massive amounts of federal troops and artillery be deployed to those states to protect federal property, although he also warned that few reinforcements were available. Since 1857 Congress had failed to heed calls for a stronger militia and allowed the army to fall into deplorable condition. Buchanan distrusted Scott and ignored his recommendations. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan directed War Secretary Floyd to reinforce southern forts with such provisions, arms, and men as were available; however, Floyd persuaded him to revoke the order. Secession With Lincoln's victory, talk of secession and disunion reached a boiling point, putting the burden on Buchanan to address it in his final speech to Congress on December 10. In his message, which was anticipated by both factions, Buchanan denied the right of states to secede but maintained the federal government was without power to prevent them. He placed the blame for the crisis solely on "intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States," and suggested that if they did not "repeal their unconstitutional and obnoxious enactments ... the injured States, after having first used all peaceful and constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to the Government of the Union." Buchanan's only suggestion to solve the crisis was "an explanatory amendment" affirming the constitutionality of slavery in the states, the fugitive slave laws, and popular sovereignty in the territories. His address was sharply criticized both by the North, for its refusal to stop secession, and the South, for denying its right to secede. Five days after the address was delivered, Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb resigned, as his views had become irreconcilable with the President's. South Carolina, long the most radical Southern state, seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. However, Unionist sentiment remained strong among many in the South, and Buchanan sought to appeal to the Southern moderates who might prevent secession in other states. He proposed passage of constitutional amendments protecting slavery in the states and territories. He also met with South Carolinian commissioners in an attempt to resolve the situation at Fort Sumter, which federal forces remained in control of despite its location in Charleston, South Carolina. He refused to dismiss Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson after the latter was chosen as Mississippi's agent to discuss secession, and he refused to fire Secretary of War John B. Floyd despite an embezzlement scandal. Floyd ended up resigning, but not before sending numerous firearms to Southern states, where they eventually fell into the hands of the Confederacy. Despite Floyd's resignation, Buchanan continued to seek the advice of counselors from the Deep South, including Jefferson Davis and William Henry Trescot. Efforts were made in vain by Sen. John J. Crittenden, Rep. Thomas Corwin, and former president John Tyler to negotiate a compromise to stop secession, with Buchanan's support. Failed attempts were also made by a group of governors meeting in New York. Buchanan secretly asked President-elect Lincoln to call for a national referendum on the issue of slavery, but Lincoln declined. Despite the efforts of Buchanan and others, six more slave states seceded by the end of January 1861. Buchanan replaced the departed Southern cabinet members with John Adams Dix, Edwin M. Stanton, and Joseph Holt, all of whom were committed to preserving the Union. When Buchanan considered surrendering Fort Sumter, the new cabinet members threatened to resign, and Buchanan relented. On January 5, Buchanan decided to reinforce Fort Sumter, sending the Star of the West with 250 men and supplies. However, he failed to ask Major Robert Anderson to provide covering fire for the ship, and it was forced to return North without delivering troops or supplies. Buchanan chose not to respond to this act of war, and instead sought to find a compromise to avoid secession. He received a March 3 message from Anderson, that supplies were running low, but the response became Lincoln's to make, as the latter succeeded to the presidency the next day. Proposed constitutional amendment On March 2, 1861, Congress approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states, including slavery, from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress. The proposed amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, it was never ratified by the requisite number of states. States admitted to the Union Three new states were admitted to the Union while Buchanan was in office: Minnesota – May 11, 1858 Oregon – February 14, 1859 Kansas – January 29, 1861 Post-presidency (1861–1868) The Civil War erupted within two months of Buchanan's retirement. He supported the Union, writing to former colleagues that, "the assault upon Sumter was the commencement of war by the Confederate states, and no alternative was left but to prosecute it with vigor on our part." He also wrote a letter to his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, urging them to "join the many thousands of brave & patriotic volunteers who are already in the field." Buchanan was dedicated to defending his actions prior to the Civil War, which was referred to by some as "Buchanan's War". He received threatening letters daily, and stores displayed Buchanan's likeness with the eyes inked red, a noose drawn around his neck and the word "TRAITOR" written across his forehead. The Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation which ultimately failed, and newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly. Buchanan became distraught by the vitriolic attacks levied against him, and fell sick and depressed. In October 1862, he defended himself in an exchange of letters with Winfield Scott, published in the National Intelligencer. He soon began writing his fullest public defense, in the form of his memoir Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion, which was published in 1866. Soon after the publication of the memoir, Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, of respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. Political views Buchanan was often considered by anti-slavery northerners a "doughface", a northerner with pro-southern principles. Shortly after his election, he said that the "great object" of his administration was "to arrest, if possible, the agitation of the Slavery question in the North and to destroy sectional parties". Buchanan believed the abolitionists were preventing the solution to the slavery problem. He stated, "Before [the abolitionists] commenced this agitation, a very large and growing party existed in several of the slave states in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery; and now not a voice is heard there in support of such a measure. The abolitionists have postponed the emancipation of the slaves in three or four states for at least half a century." In deference to the intentions of the typical slaveholder, he was willing to provide the benefit of the doubt. In his third annual message to Congress, the president claimed that the slaves were "treated with kindness and humanity. ... Both the philanthropy and the self-interest of the master have combined to produce this humane result." Buchanan thought restraint was the essence of good self-government. He believed the constitution comprised "... restraints, imposed not by arbitrary authority, but by the people upon themselves and their representatives. ... In an enlarged view, the people's interests may seem identical, but to the eye of local and sectional prejudice, they always appear to be conflicting ... and the jealousies that will perpetually arise can be repressed only by the mutual forbearance which pervades the constitution." Regarding slavery and the Constitution, he stated: "Although in Pennsylvania we are all opposed to slavery in the abstract, we can never violate the constitutional compact we have with our sister states. Their rights will be held sacred by us. Under the constitution it is their own question; and there let it remain." One of the prominent issues of the day was tariffs. Buchanan was conflicted by free trade as well as prohibitive tariffs, since either would benefit one section of the country to the detriment of the other. As a senator from Pennsylvania, he said: "I am viewed as the strongest advocate of protection in other states, whilst I am denounced as its enemy in Pennsylvania." Buchanan was also torn between his desire to expand the country for the general welfare of the nation, and to guarantee the rights of the people settling particular areas. On territorial expansion, he said, "What, sir? Prevent the people from crossing the Rocky Mountains? You might just as well command the Niagara not to flow. We must fulfill our destiny." On the resulting spread of slavery, through unconditional expansion, he stated: "I feel a strong repugnance by any act of mine to extend the present limits of the Union over a new slave-holding territory." For instance, he hoped the acquisition of Texas would "be the means of limiting, not enlarging, the dominion of slavery." Romantic life In 1818, Buchanan met Anne Caroline Coleman at a grand ball in Lancaster, and the two began courting. Anne was the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturer Robert Coleman. She was also the sister-in-law of Philadelphia judge Joseph Hemphill, one of Buchanan's colleagues. By 1819, the two were engaged, but spent little time together. Buchanan was busy with his law firm and political projects during the Panic of 1819, which took him away from Coleman for weeks at a time. Rumors abounded, as some suggested that he was marrying her only for money; others said he was involved with other (unidentified) women. Letters from Coleman revealed she was aware of several rumors. She broke off the engagement, and soon afterward, on December 9, 1819, suddenly died. Buchanan wrote to her father for permission to attend the funeral, which was refused. After Coleman's death, Buchanan never courted another woman. At the time of her funeral, he said that, "I feel happiness has fled from me forever." During his presidency, an orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, whom he had adopted, served as official White House hostess. There was an unfounded rumor that he had an affair with President Polk's widow, Sarah Childress Polk. Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood after Anne Coleman's death has drawn interest and speculation. Some conjecture that Anne's death merely served to deflect questions about Buchanan's sexuality and bachelorhood. Several writers have surmised that he was homosexual, including James W. Loewen, Robert P. Watson, and Shelley Ross. One of his biographers, Jean Baker, suggests that Buchanan was celibate, if not asexual. Buchanan had a close relationship with William Rufus King, which became a popular target of gossip. King was an Alabama politician who briefly served as vice president under Franklin Pierce. Buchanan and King lived together in a Washington boardinghouse and attended social functions together from 1834 until 1844. Such a living arrangement was then common, though King once referred to the relationship as a "communion". Andrew Jackson called King "Miss Nancy" and Buchanan's Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown referred to King as Buchanan's "better half", "wife", and "Aunt Fancy". Loewen indicated that Buchanan late in life wrote a letter acknowledging that he might marry a woman who could accept his "lack of ardent or romantic affection". Catherine Thompson, the wife of cabinet member Jacob Thompson, later noted that "there was something unhealthy in the president's attitude." King died of tuberculosis shortly after Pierce's inauguration, four years before Buchanan became president. Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest and most consistent public men I have known". Biographer Baker opines that both men's nieces may have destroyed correspondence between the two men. However, she believes that their surviving letters illustrate only "the affection of a special friendship". Legacy Historical reputation Though Buchanan predicted that "history will vindicate my memory," historians have criticized Buchanan for his unwillingness or inability to act in the face of secession. Historical rankings of presidents of the United States without exception place Buchanan among the least successful presidents. When scholars are surveyed, he ranks at or near the bottom in terms of vision/agenda-setting, domestic leadership, foreign policy leadership, moral authority, and positive historical significance of their legacy. Buchanan biographer Philip Klein focuses upon challenges Buchanan faced: Biographer Jean Baker is less charitable to Buchanan, saying in 2004: Memorials A bronze and granite memorial near the southeast corner of Washington, D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park was designed by architect William Gorden Beecher and sculpted by Maryland artist Hans Schuler. It was commissioned in 1916 but not approved by the U.S. Congress until 1918, and not completed and unveiled until June 26, 1930. The memorial features a statue of Buchanan, bookended by male and female classical figures representing law and diplomacy, with engraved text reading: "The incorruptible statesman whose walk was upon the mountain ranges of the law," a quote from a member of Buchanan's cabinet, Jeremiah S. Black. An earlier monument was constructed in 1907–08 and dedicated in 1911, on the site of Buchanan's birthplace in Stony Batter, Pennsylvania. Part of the original memorial site is a 250-ton pyramid structure that stands on the site of the original cabin where Buchanan was born. The monument was designed to show the original weathered surface of the native rubble and mortar. Three counties are named in his honor, in Iowa, Missouri, and Virginia. Another in Texas was christened in 1858 but renamed Stephens County, after the newly elected Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stephens, in 1861. The city of Buchanan, Michigan, was also named after him. Several other communities are named after him: the unincorporated community of Buchanan, Indiana, the city of Buchanan, Georgia, the town of Buchanan, Wisconsin, and the townships of Buchanan Township, Michigan, and Buchanan, Missouri. James Buchanan High School is a small, rural high school located on the outskirts of his childhood hometown, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Popular culture depictions Buchanan and his legacy are central to the film Raising Buchanan (2019). He is portrayed by René Auberjonois. See also Historical rankings of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States by previous experience Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps List of federal political sex scandals in the United States References Works cited Pulitzer prize. Further reading Secondary sources Balcerski, Thomas J. Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (Oxford University Press, 2019. online review Balcerski, Thomas J. "Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston." in A Companion to First Ladies (2016): 197-213. Birkner, Michael J., et al. eds. The Worlds of James Buchanan and Thaddeus Stevens: Place, Personality, and Politics in the Civil War Era (Louisiana State University Press, 2019) Nichols, Roy Franklin; The Democratic Machine, 1850–1854 (1923), detailed narrative; online Rosenberger, Homer T. "Inauguration of President Buchanan a Century Ago." Records of the Columbia Historical Society 57 (1957): 96-122 online. , fictional. Wells, Damon. "Douglas and Goliath." in Stephen Douglas (University of Texas Press, 1971) pp. 12-54. on Douglas and Buchanan. online Primary sources Buchanan, James. Fourth Annual Message to Congress. (December 3, 1860). Buchanan, James. Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion (1866) National Intelligencer (1859) External links White House biography James Buchanan: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress The James Buchanan papers, spanning the entirety of his legal, political and diplomatic career, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. University of Virginia article: Buchanan biography Wheatland James Buchanan at Tulane University Essay on James Buchanan and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, Franklin County, Pennsylvania "Life Portrait of James Buchanan", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, June 21, 1999 Primary sources James Buchanan Ill with Dysentery Before Inauguration: Original Letters Shapell Manuscript Foundation Mr. Buchanans Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion. President Buchanans memoirs. Inaugural Address Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1860 1791 births 1868 deaths 1850s in the United States 1860s in the United States 19th-century presidents of the United States Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom 19th-century American memoirists American militiamen in the War of 1812 American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Presbyterians American white supremacists Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Deaths from respiratory failure Democratic Party presidents of the United States Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Dickinson College alumni American Freemasons Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania Jacksonians Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Polk administration cabinet members Presidents of the United States Union political leaders Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1856 United States presidential election United States Secretaries of State United States senators from Pennsylvania People of the Utah War Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians 18th-century Presbyterians 19th-century Presbyterians Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives Buchanan County, Iowa Buchanan County, Missouri Buchanan County, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Jacksonian United States senators from Pennsylvania	true	[ "Orest Danilovich Khvolson or Chwolson () (November 22 (N.S. December 4), 1852 – May 11, 1934) was a Russian physicist and honorary member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1920). He is most noted for being one of the first to study the gravitational lens effect.\n\nEarly life and education\nOrest, son of the noted Orientalist Daniel Chwolson, was born in Saint Petersburg. He graduated from St. Petersburg University in 1873.\n\nCareer\nKhvolson began teaching at his alma mater in 1876 and became a professor in 1891. He authored works on electricity, magnetism, photometry, and actinometry. He proposed the designs of an actinometer and a pyrheliometer, which would be used by the Russian weather stations for many years.\n\nAfter 1896, Khvolson was mainly engaged in compiling the five-volume Physics Course (Курс физики), which would improve immensely the teaching of physics throughout the country and remain a principal textbook in universities for years to come. It was even translated into the German, French, and Spanish languages.\n\nHis most noted accomplishment was in 1924, when he published about gravitational lenses in Astronomische Nachrichten, a scientific journal on astronomy. In the article he mentioned the “halo effect” of gravitation when the source, lens, and observer are in near-perfect alignment (now referred to as the Einstein ring), although he did not explicitly discuss the use of the ring as lens.\n\nThe concept of gravitational lenses did not get much attention until 1936, when Albert Einstein wrote about the gravitational lens effect. The \"halo\" effect of a gravitational lens, where one source (sun or galaxy) produces a ring around another source is referred to as an Chwolson ring, or Einstein ring.\n\nHe became an honorary member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. The crater Khvolson on the Moon is named after him.\n\nPersonal life and demise\nKhvolson died in Leningrad, the same city he was born, but its name had changed.\n\nPublications\n\nReferences \n\nRussian physicists\nRussian people of Jewish descent\n1852 births\n1934 deaths\nPeople from Saint Petersburg\nCorresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences\nHonorary Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences", "Joshua Michael Knobe (born 1974) is an American experimental philosopher, whose work ranges across issues in philosophy of mind and action and ethics. He is Professor of Cognitive Science and Philosophy at Yale University. He is known for his work on the \"Knobe effect\" and use of experimental methods to understand personal reactions to moral dilemmas.\n\nEducation and career \nKnobe received his B.A. at Stanford University in 1996 and his Ph.D. from Princeton in 2006, where his dissertation was directed by Gilbert Harman.\n\nHe was Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2006 until moving to Yale in 2009.\n\nPhilosophical work\nHis work has spanned various topics, including intentionality, free will, and the self.\n\nKnobe effect\nKnobe is arguably most widely known for what has come to be called the Knobe effect or the \"side-effect effect\". According to Jones (2009):\n\nRather than consulting his own philosophical intuitions, Knobe set out to find out how ordinary people think about intentional action. In a study published in 2003, Knobe presented passers-by in a Manhattan park with the following scenario. The CEO of a company is sitting in his office when his Vice President of R&D comes in and says, ‘We are thinking of starting a new programme. It will help us increase profits, but it will also harm the environment.’ The CEO responds that he doesn’t care about harming the environment and just wants to make as much profit as possible. The programme is carried out, profits are made and the environment is harmed.\n\nDid the CEO intentionally harm the environment? The vast majority of people Knobe quizzed – 82 per cent – said he did. But what if the scenario is changed such that the word ‘harm’ is replaced with ‘help’? In this case the CEO doesn’t care about helping the environment, and still just wants to make a profit – and his actions result in both outcomes. Now faced with the question ‘Did the CEO intentionally help the environment?’, just 23 per cent of Knobe’s participants said ‘yes’ (Knobe, 2003a).\n\nThis asymmetry in responses between the ‘harm’ and ‘help’ scenarios, now known as the Knobe effect, provides a direct challenge to the idea of a one-way flow of judgments from the factual or non-moral domain to the moral sphere. ‘These data show that the process is actually much more complex,’ argues Knobe. Instead, the moral character of an action’s consequences also seems to influence how non-moral aspects of the action – in this case, whether someone did something intentionally or not – are judged.\n\nSelected publications\n\n Hitchcock, C. & Knobe, J. (2009). \"Cause and Norm\". Journal of Philosophy, 106, 587-612.\n Knobe, J. (2009). \"Answers to Five Questions\". In Aguilar, J & Buckareff, A (eds.) Philosophy of Action: 5 Questions. London: Automatic Press. (PDF)\n Knobe, J., & Kelly, S. D. (2009). \"Can one act for a reason without acting intentionally?\" In C. Sandis (ed.), New Essays on the Explanation of Action (pp. 169–183). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.\n Knobe, J. & Nichols, S. (2008). Experimental Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press.\n Nichols, S. & Knobe, J. (2007). \"Moral Responsibility and Determinism: The Cognitive Science of Folk Intuitions\". Nous, 41, 663-685.\n Knobe, J. (2006). \"The Concept of Intentional Action: A Case Study in the Uses of Folk Psychology\". Philosophical Studies. 130: 203-231.\n Knobe, J. (2003a). \"Intentional Action and Side Effects in Ordinary Language\". Analysis, 63, 190-193.\n Knobe, J. (2003b). \"Intentional Action in Folk Psychology: An Experimental Investigation\". Philosophical Psychology, 16, 309-324.\n\nSee also\nAmerican philosophy\nList of American philosophers\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nPersonal page with a list of published papers\nAn in-depth autobiographical interview with Joshua Knobe\nThe Experimental Philosophy Page\nList of Video Discussions on bloggingheads.tv\nInterview at 3AM Magazine\n\nStanford University alumni\nPrinceton University alumni\nUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty\nYale University faculty\nLiving people\n21st-century American philosophers\nPhilosophers of mind\nMoral philosophers\nMoral psychologists\n1974 births" ]
[ "James Buchanan", "Covode Committee", "What was the Covode Committee?", "created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses,", "Was there ever any evidence found?", "The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan;", "What year did they try to impeach him?", "I don't know.", "What was the reason for wanting him impeached?", "Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution.", "Did the people think this was true?", "did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed", "Did this effect his personal life?", "Buchanan claimed to have \"passed triumphantly through this ordeal\"" ]	C_5ed6e2f3fcc0410b9e8f1cb2059dafa4_1	Did he do anything for the people during his time that he served?	7	Did James Buchanan do anything for the people during his time that he served?	James Buchanan	In March 1860, the House created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses, some impeachable, such as bribery and extortion of representatives in exchange for their votes. The committee, with three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they also charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge (since the president had vetoed a bill that was fashioned as a land grant for new agricultural colleges, but was designed to benefit Covode's railroad company). However, the Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were equally enthusiastic in their pursuit of Buchanan, and as pointed in their condemnations, as the Republicans. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 exposed corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet, as well as allegations (if not impeachable evidence) from the Republican members of the Committee, that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress in connection with the Lecompton constitution. (The Democratic report, issued separately the same day, pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated publicly that he agreed with the Republican report even though he did not sign it.) Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Nonetheless, Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He was an advocate for states' rights, particularly regarding slavery, and minimized the role of the federal government preceding the Civil War. Buchanan was a prominent lawyer in Pennsylvania and won his first election to the state's House of Representatives as a Federalist. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820 and retained that post for five terms, aligning with Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party. Buchanan served as Jackson's minister to Russia in 1832. He won election in 1834 as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and continued in that position for 11 years. He was appointed to serve as President James K. Polk's secretary of state in 1845, and eight years later was named as President Franklin Pierce's minister to the United Kingdom. Beginning in 1844, Buchanan became a regular contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. He was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Democratic National Convention. He benefited from the fact that he had been out of the country, as ambassador in London, and had not been involved in slavery issues. Buchanan and running mate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky carried every slave state except Maryland, defeating anti-slavery Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing former president Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election. As President, Buchanan intervened to assure the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scott case. He acceded to Southern attempts to engineer Kansas’ entry into the Union as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution, and angered not only Republicans but also Northern Democrats. Buchanan honored his pledge to serve only one term, and supported Breckinridge's unsuccessful candidacy in the 1860 presidential election. He failed to reconcile the fractured Democratic party amid the grudge against Stephen Douglas, leading to the election of Republican and former Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan's leadership during his lame duck period, before the American Civil War, has been widely criticized. He simultaneously angered the North by not stopping secession, and the South by not yielding to their demands. He supported the Corwin Amendment in an effort to reconcile the country, but it was too little, too late. He made an unsuccessful attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, but otherwise refrained from preparing the military. His failure to forestall the Civil War has been described as incompetency, and he spent his last years defending his reputation. In his personal life, Buchanan never married, the only U.S. president to remain a lifelong bachelor, leading some to question his sexual orientation. Buchanan died of respiratory failure in 1868, and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had lived for nearly 60 years. Historians and scholars consistently rank Buchanan as one of the worst presidents in American history. Early life James Buchanan Jr. was born April 23, 1791, in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to James Buchanan Sr. (1761–1821) and Elizabeth Speer (1767–1833). His parents were both of Ulster Scot descent, and his father emigrated from Ramelton, Ireland in 1783. Shortly after Buchanan's birth, the family moved to a farm near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1794 the family moved into the town. His father became the wealthiest resident there, working as a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. Buchanan attended the Old Stone Academy in Mercersburg, and then Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was nearly expelled for bad behavior, but pleaded for a second chance and ultimately graduated with honors in 1809. Later that year he moved to the state capital at Lancaster. James Hopkins, a leading lawyer there, accepted Buchanan as an apprentice, and in 1812 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. Many other lawyers moved to Harrisburg when it became the state capital in 1812, but Buchanan made Lancaster his lifelong home. His income rapidly rose after he established his practice, and by 1821 he was earning over $11,000 per year (). He handled various types of cases, including a much-publicized impeachment trial, where he successfully defended Pennsylvania Judge Walter Franklin. Buchanan began his political career as a member of the Federalist Party, and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814 and 1815. The legislature met for only three months a year, but Buchanan's service helped him acquire more clients. Politically, he supported federally-funded internal improvements, a high tariff, and a national bank. He became a strong critic of Democratic-Republican President James Madison during the War of 1812. He was a Freemason, and served as the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, and as a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Military service When the British invaded neighboring Maryland in 1814, he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, a unit of yagers. Buchanan is the only president with military experience who was not an officer. He is also the last president who served in the War of 1812. Congressional career U.S. House service In 1820 Buchanan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Federalist Party was waning. During his tenure in Congress, he became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and an avid defender of states' rights. After the 1824 presidential election, he helped organize Jackson's followers into the Democratic Party, and he became a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat. In Washington, he was close with many southern Congressmen, and viewed some New England Congressmen as dangerous radicals. He was appointed to the Agriculture Committee in his first year, and he eventually became Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He declined re-nomination to a sixth term, and briefly returned to private life. Minister to Russia After Jackson was re-elected in 1832, he offered Buchanan the position of United States Ambassador to Russia. Buchanan was reluctant to leave the country but ultimately agreed. He served as ambassador for 18 months, during which time he learned French, the trade language of diplomacy in the nineteenth century. He helped negotiate commercial and maritime treaties with the Russian Empire. U.S. Senate service Buchanan returned home and was elected by the Pennsylvania state legislature to succeed William Wilkins in the U.S. Senate. Wilkins in turn replaced Buchanan as the ambassador to Russia. The Jacksonian Buchanan, who was re-elected in 1836 and 1842, opposed the re-chartering of the Second Bank of the United States and sought to expunge a congressional censure of Jackson stemming from the Bank War. Buchanan also opposed a gag rule sponsored by John C. Calhoun that would have suppressed anti-slavery petitions. He joined the majority in blocking the rule, with most senators of the belief that it would have the reverse effect of strengthening the abolitionists. He said, "We have just as little right to interfere with slavery in the South, as we have to touch the right of petition." Buchanan thought that the issue of slavery was the domain of the states, and he faulted abolitionists for exciting passions over the issue. His support of states' rights was matched by his support for Manifest Destiny, and he opposed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty for its "surrender" of lands to the United Kingdom. Buchanan also argued for the annexation of both Texas and the Oregon Country. In the lead-up to the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Buchanan positioned himself as a potential alternative to former President Martin Van Buren, but the nomination went to James K. Polk, who won the election. Diplomatic career Secretary of State Buchanan was offered the position of Secretary of State in the Polk administration, as well as the alternative of serving on the Supreme Court. He accepted the State Department post and served for the duration of Polk's single term in office. He and Polk nearly doubled the territory of the United States through the Oregon Treaty and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which included territory that is now Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. In negotiations with Britain over Oregon, Buchanan at first preferred a compromise, but later advocated for annexation of the entire territory. Eventually, he agreed to a division at the 49th parallel. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, he advised Polk against taking territory south of the Rio Grande River and New Mexico. However, as the war came to an end, Buchanan argued for the annexation of further territory, and Polk began to suspect that he was angling to become president. Buchanan did quietly seek the nomination at the 1848 Democratic National Convention, as Polk had promised to serve only one term, but Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated. Ambassador to the United Kingdom With the 1848 election of Whig Zachary Taylor, Buchanan returned to private life. He bought the house of Wheatland on the outskirts of Lancaster and entertained various visitors, while monitoring political events. In 1852, he was named president of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and he served in this capacity until 1866. He quietly campaigned for the 1852 Democratic presidential nomination, writing a public letter that deplored the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed to ban slavery in new territories. He became known as a "doughface" due to his sympathy towards the South. At the 1852 Democratic National Convention, he won the support of many southern delegates but failed to win the two-thirds support needed for the presidential nomination, which went to Franklin Pierce. Buchanan declined to serve as the vice presidential nominee, and the convention instead nominated his close friend, William King. Pierce won the 1852 election, and Buchanan accepted the position of United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Buchanan sailed for England in the summer of 1853, and he remained abroad for the next three years. In 1850, the United States and Great Britain had signed the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which committed both countries to joint control of any future canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America. Buchanan met repeatedly with Lord Clarendon, the British foreign minister, in hopes of pressuring the British to withdraw from Central America. He also focussed on the potential annexation of Cuba, which had long interested him. At Pierce's prompting, Buchanan met in Ostend, Belgium with U.S. Ambassador to Spain Pierre Soulé and U.S. Ambassador to France John Mason. A memorandum draft resulted, called the Ostend Manifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain, then in the midst of revolution and near bankruptcy. The document declared the island "as necessary to the North American republic as any of its present ... family of states". Against Buchanan's recommendation, the final draft of the manifesto suggested that "wresting it from Spain", if Spain refused to sell, would be justified "by every law, human and Divine". The manifesto, generally considered a blunder, was never acted upon, and weakened the Pierce administration and reduced support for Manifest Destiny. Presidential election of 1856 Buchanan's service abroad allowed him to conveniently avoid the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act then roiling the country in the slavery dispute. While he did not overtly seek the presidency, he assented to the movement on his behalf. The 1856 Democratic National Convention met in June 1856, producing a platform that reflected his views, including support for the Fugitive Slave Law, which required the return of escaped slaves. The platform also called for an end to anti-slavery agitation, and U.S. "ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico". President Pierce hoped for re-nomination, while Senator Stephen A. Douglas also loomed as a strong candidate. Buchanan led on the first ballot, support by powerful Senators John Slidell, Jesse Bright, and Thomas F. Bayard, who presented Buchanan as an experienced leader appealing to the North and South. He won the nomination after seventeen ballots. He was joined on the ticket by John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, placating supporters of Pierce and Douglas, also allies of Breckinridge. Buchanan faced two candidates in the general election: former Whig President Millard Fillmore ran as the American Party (or "Know-Nothing") candidate, while John C. Frémont ran as the Republican nominee. Buchanan did not actively campaign, but he wrote letters and pledged to uphold the Democratic platform. In the election, he carried every slave state except for Maryland, as well as five slavery-free states, including his home state of Pennsylvania. He won 45 percent of the popular vote and decisively won the electoral vote, taking 174 of 296 votes. His election made him the first president from Pennsylvania. In a combative victory speech, Buchanan denounced Republicans, calling them a "dangerous" and "geographical" party that had unfairly attacked the South. He also declared, "the object of my administration will be to destroy sectional party, North or South, and to restore harmony to the Union under a national and conservative government." He set about this initially by feigning a sectional balance in his cabinet appointments. Presidency (1857–1861) Inauguration Buchanan was inaugurated on March 4, 1857, taking the oath of office from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. In his inaugural address, Buchanan committed himself to serving only one term, as his predecessor had done. He expressed an abhorrence for the growing divisions over slavery and its status in the territories, while saying that Congress should play no role in determining the status of slavery in the states or territories. He also declared his support for popular sovereignty. Buchanan recommended that a federal slave code be enacted to protect the rights of slave-owners in federal territories. He alluded to a then-pending Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, which he said would permanently settle the issue of slavery. Dred Scott was a slave who was temporarily taken from a slave state to a free territory by his owner, John Sanford (the court misspelled his name). After Scott returned to the slave state, he filed a petition for his freedom based on his time in the free territory. The Dred Scott decision, rendered after Buchanan's speech, denied Scott's petition in favor of his owner. Personnel Cabinet and administration As his inauguration approached, Buchanan sought to establish an obedient, harmonious cabinet, to avoid the in-fighting that had plagued Andrew Jackson's administration. He chose four Southerners and three Northerners, the latter of whom were all considered to be doughfaces (Southern sympathizers). His objective was to dominate the cabinet, and he chose men who would agree with his views. Concentrating on foreign policy, he appointed the aging Lewis Cass as Secretary of State. Buchanan's appointment of Southerners and their allies alienated many in the North, and his failure to appoint any followers of Stephen A. Douglas divided the party. Outside of the cabinet, he left in place many of Pierce's appointments, but removed a disproportionate number of Northerners who had ties to Democrat opponents Pierce or Douglas. In that vein, he soon alienated their ally, and his vice president, Breckinridge; the latter therefore played little role in the administration. Judicial appointments Buchanan appointed one Justice, Nathan Clifford, to the Supreme Court of the United States. He appointed seven other federal judges to United States district courts. He also appointed two judges to the United States Court of Claims. Intervention in the Dred Scott case Two days after Buchanan's inauguration, Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision, denying the enslaved petitioner's request for freedom. The ruling broadly asserted that Congress had no constitutional power to exclude slavery in the territories. Prior to his inauguration, Buchanan had written to Justice John Catron in January 1857, inquired about the outcome of the case, and suggested that a broader decision, beyond the specifics of the case, would be more prudent. Buchanan hoped that a broad decision protecting slavery in the territories could lay the issue to rest, allowing him to focus on other issues. Catron, who was from Tennessee, replied on February 10, saying that the Supreme Court's Southern majority would decide against Scott, but would likely have to publish the decision on narrow grounds unless Buchanan could convince his fellow Pennsylvanian, Justice Robert Cooper Grier, to join the majority of the court. Buchanan then wrote to Grier and prevailed upon him, providing the majority leverage to issue a broad-ranging decision, sufficient to render the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional. Buchanan's letters were not then public; he was, however, seen at his inauguration in whispered conversation with the Chief Justice. When the decision was issued, Republicans began spreading word that Taney had revealed to Buchanan the forthcoming result. Rather than destroying the Republican platform as Buchanan had hoped, the decision outraged Northerners who denounced it. Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 began in the summer of that year, ushered in by the collapse of 1,400 state banks and 5,000 businesses. While the South escaped largely unscathed, numerous northern cities experienced drastic increases in unemployment. Buchanan agreed with the southerners who attributed the economic collapse to overspeculation. Reflecting his Jacksonian background, Buchanan's response was "reform not relief". While the government was "without the power to extend relief," it would continue to pay its debts in specie, and while it would not curtail public works, none would be added. In hopes of reducing paper money supplies and inflation, he urged the states to restrict the banks to a credit level of $3 to $1 of specie and discouraged the use of federal or state bonds as security for bank note issues. The economy recovered in several years, though many Americans suffered as a result of the panic. Buchanan had hoped to reduce the deficit, but by the time he left office the federal deficit stood at $17 million. Utah War The Utah territory, settled in preceding decades by the Latter-day Saints and their leader Brigham Young, had grown increasingly hostile to federal intervention. Young harassed federal officers and discouraged outsiders from settling in the Salt Lake City area. In September 1857, the Utah Territorial Militia, associated with the Latter-day Saints, perpetrated the Mountain Meadows massacre against Arkansans headed for California. Buchanan was offended by the militarism and polygamous behavior of Young. Believing the Latter-day Saints to be in open rebellion, Buchanan in July 1857 sent Alfred Cumming, accompanied by the Army, to replace Young as governor. While the Latter-day Saints had frequently defied federal authority, some historians consider Buchanan's action was an inappropriate response to uncorroborated reports. Complicating matters, Young's notice of his replacement was not delivered because the Pierce administration had annulled the Utah mail contract. Young reacted to the military action by mustering a two-week expedition, destroying wagon trains, oxen, and other Army property. Buchanan then dispatched Thomas L. Kane as a private agent to negotiate peace. The mission succeeded, the new governor took office, and the Utah War ended. The President granted amnesty to inhabitants affirming loyalty to the government, and placed the federal troops at a peaceable distance for the balance of his administration. Bleeding Kansas The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas Territory and allowed the settlers there to decide whether to allow slavery. This resulted in violence between "Free-Soil" (antislavery) and pro-slavery settlers, which developed into the "Bleeding Kansas" period. The antislavery settlers, with the help of Northern abolitionists, organized a government in Topeka. The more numerous proslavery settlers, many from the neighboring slave state Missouri, established a government in Lecompton, giving the Territory two different governments for a time, with two distinct constitutions, each claiming legitimacy. The admission of Kansas as a state required a constitution be submitted to Congress with the approval of a majority of its residents. Under President Pierce, a series of violent confrontations escalated over who had the right to vote in Kansas. The situation drew national attention, and some in Georgia and Mississippi advocated secession should Kansas be admitted as a free state. Buchanan chose to endorse the pro-slavery Lecompton government. Buchanan appointed Robert J. Walker to replace John W. Geary as Territorial Governor, with the expectation he would assist the proslavery faction in gaining approval of a new constitution. However, Walker wavered on the slavery question, and there ensued conflicting referendums from Topeka and Lecompton, where election fraud occurred. In October 1857, the Lecompton government framed the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution and sent it to Buchanan without a referendum. Buchanan reluctantly rejected it, and he dispatched federal agents to arrange a compromise. The Lecompton government agreed to a referendum limited solely to the slavery question. Despite the protests of Walker and two former Kansas governors, Buchanan decided to accept the Lecompton Constitution. In a December 1857 meeting with Stephen Douglas, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Buchanan demanded that all Democrats support the administration's position of admitting Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. On February 2, he transmitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress. He also transmitted a message that attacked the "revolutionary government" in Topeka, conflating them with the Mormons in Utah. Buchanan made every effort to secure congressional approval, offering favors, patronage appointments, and even cash for votes. The Lecompton Constitution won the approval of the Senate in March, but a combination of Know-Nothings, Republicans, and northern Democrats defeated the bill in the House. Rather than accepting defeat, Buchanan backed the 1858 English Bill, which offered Kansans immediate statehood and vast public lands in exchange for accepting the Lecompton Constitution. In August 1858, Kansans by referendum strongly rejected the Lecompton Constitution. The dispute over Kansas became the battlefront for control of the Democratic Party. On one side were Buchanan, most Southern Democrats, and the "doughfaces". On the other side were Douglas and most northern Democrats plus a few Southerners. Douglas's faction continued to support the doctrine of popular sovereignty, while Buchanan insisted that Democrats respect the Dred Scott decision and its repudiation of federal interference with slavery in the territories. The struggle ended only with Buchanan's presidency. In the interim he used his patronage powers to remove Douglas sympathizers in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and installed pro-administration Democrats, including postmasters. 1858 mid-term elections Douglas's Senate term was coming to an end in 1859, with the Illinois legislature, elected in 1858, determining whether Douglas would win re-election. The Senate seat was the primary issue of the legislative election, marked by the famous debates between Douglas and his Republican opponent for the seat, Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan, working through federal patronage appointees in Illinois, ran candidates for the legislature in competition with both the Republicans and the Douglas Democrats. This could easily have thrown the election to the Republicans, and showed the depth of Buchanan's animosity toward Douglas. In the end, Douglas Democrats won the legislative election and Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. In that year's elections, Douglas forces took control throughout the North, except in Buchanan's home state of Pennsylvania. Buchanan's support was otherwise reduced to a narrow base of southerners. The division between northern and southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to win a plurality of the House in the 1858 elections, and allowed them to block most of Buchanan's agenda. Buchanan, in turn, added to the hostility with his veto of six substantial pieces of Republican legislation. Among these measures were the Homestead Act, which would have given 160 acres of public land to settlers who remained on the land for five years, and the Morrill Act, which would have granted public lands to establish land-grant colleges. Buchanan argued that these acts were unconstitutional. Foreign policy Buchanan took office with an ambitious foreign policy, designed to establish U.S. hegemony over Central America at the expense of Great Britain. He hoped to re-negotiate the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which he thought limited U.S. influence in the region. He also sought to establish American protectorates over the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, and most importantly, he hoped to achieve his long-term goal of acquiring Cuba. After long negotiations with the British, he convinced them to cede the Bay Islands to Honduras and the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. However, Buchanan's ambitions in Cuba and Mexico were largely blocked by the House of Representatives. Buchanan also considered buying Alaska from the Russian Empire, as a colony for Mormon settlers, but he and the Russians were unable to agree upon a price. In China, the administration won trade concessions in the Treaty of Tientsin. In 1858, Buchanan ordered the Paraguay expedition to punish Paraguay for firing on the , and the expedition resulted in a Paraguayan apology and payment of an indemnity. The chiefs of Raiatea and Tahaa in the South Pacific, refusing to accept the rule of King Tamatoa V, unsuccessfully petitioned the United States to accept the islands under a protectorate in June 1858. Buchanan was offered a herd of elephants by King Rama IV of Siam, though the letter arrived after Buchanan's departure from office. As Buchanan's successor, Lincoln declined the King's offer, citing the unsuitable climate. Other presidential pets included a pair of bald eagles and a Newfoundland dog. Covode Committee In March 1860, the House impaneled the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for alleged impeachable offenses, such as bribery and extortion of representatives. The committee, three Republicans and two Democrats, was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge from a disputed land grant designed to benefit Covode's railroad company. The Democratic committee members, as well as Democratic witnesses, were enthusiastic in their condemnation of Buchanan. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 alleged corruption and abuse of power among members of his cabinet. The report also included accusations from Republicans that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress, in connection with the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution of Kansas. The Democrats pointed out that evidence was scarce, but did not refute the allegations; one of the Democratic members, Rep. James Robinson, stated that he agreed with the Republicans, though he did not sign it. Buchanan claimed to have "passed triumphantly through this ordeal" with complete vindication. Republican operatives distributed thousands of copies of the Covode Committee report throughout the nation as campaign material in that year's presidential election. Election of 1860 As he had promised in his inaugural address, Buchanan did not seek re-election. He went so far as to tell his ultimate successor, “If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland [his home], you are a happy man.” The 1860 Democratic National Convention convened in April of that year and, though Douglas led after every ballot, he was unable to win the two-thirds majority required. The convention adjourned after 53 ballots, and re-convened in Baltimore in June. After Douglas finally won the nomination, several Southerners refused to accept the outcome, and nominated Vice President Breckinridge as their own candidate. Douglas and Breckinridge agreed on most issues except the protection of slavery. Buchanan, nursing a grudge against Douglas, failed to reconcile the party, and tepidly supported Breckinridge. With the splintering of the Democratic Party, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln won a four-way election that also included John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln's support in the North was enough to give him an Electoral College majority. Buchanan became the last Democrat to win a presidential election until Grover Cleveland in 1884. As early as October, the army's Commanding General, Winfield Scott, an opponent of Buchanan, warned him that Lincoln's election would likely cause at least seven states to secede from the union. He recommended that massive amounts of federal troops and artillery be deployed to those states to protect federal property, although he also warned that few reinforcements were available. Since 1857 Congress had failed to heed calls for a stronger militia and allowed the army to fall into deplorable condition. Buchanan distrusted Scott and ignored his recommendations. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan directed War Secretary Floyd to reinforce southern forts with such provisions, arms, and men as were available; however, Floyd persuaded him to revoke the order. Secession With Lincoln's victory, talk of secession and disunion reached a boiling point, putting the burden on Buchanan to address it in his final speech to Congress on December 10. In his message, which was anticipated by both factions, Buchanan denied the right of states to secede but maintained the federal government was without power to prevent them. He placed the blame for the crisis solely on "intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States," and suggested that if they did not "repeal their unconstitutional and obnoxious enactments ... the injured States, after having first used all peaceful and constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to the Government of the Union." Buchanan's only suggestion to solve the crisis was "an explanatory amendment" affirming the constitutionality of slavery in the states, the fugitive slave laws, and popular sovereignty in the territories. His address was sharply criticized both by the North, for its refusal to stop secession, and the South, for denying its right to secede. Five days after the address was delivered, Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb resigned, as his views had become irreconcilable with the President's. South Carolina, long the most radical Southern state, seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. However, Unionist sentiment remained strong among many in the South, and Buchanan sought to appeal to the Southern moderates who might prevent secession in other states. He proposed passage of constitutional amendments protecting slavery in the states and territories. He also met with South Carolinian commissioners in an attempt to resolve the situation at Fort Sumter, which federal forces remained in control of despite its location in Charleston, South Carolina. He refused to dismiss Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson after the latter was chosen as Mississippi's agent to discuss secession, and he refused to fire Secretary of War John B. Floyd despite an embezzlement scandal. Floyd ended up resigning, but not before sending numerous firearms to Southern states, where they eventually fell into the hands of the Confederacy. Despite Floyd's resignation, Buchanan continued to seek the advice of counselors from the Deep South, including Jefferson Davis and William Henry Trescot. Efforts were made in vain by Sen. John J. Crittenden, Rep. Thomas Corwin, and former president John Tyler to negotiate a compromise to stop secession, with Buchanan's support. Failed attempts were also made by a group of governors meeting in New York. Buchanan secretly asked President-elect Lincoln to call for a national referendum on the issue of slavery, but Lincoln declined. Despite the efforts of Buchanan and others, six more slave states seceded by the end of January 1861. Buchanan replaced the departed Southern cabinet members with John Adams Dix, Edwin M. Stanton, and Joseph Holt, all of whom were committed to preserving the Union. When Buchanan considered surrendering Fort Sumter, the new cabinet members threatened to resign, and Buchanan relented. On January 5, Buchanan decided to reinforce Fort Sumter, sending the Star of the West with 250 men and supplies. However, he failed to ask Major Robert Anderson to provide covering fire for the ship, and it was forced to return North without delivering troops or supplies. Buchanan chose not to respond to this act of war, and instead sought to find a compromise to avoid secession. He received a March 3 message from Anderson, that supplies were running low, but the response became Lincoln's to make, as the latter succeeded to the presidency the next day. Proposed constitutional amendment On March 2, 1861, Congress approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states, including slavery, from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress. The proposed amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, it was never ratified by the requisite number of states. States admitted to the Union Three new states were admitted to the Union while Buchanan was in office: Minnesota – May 11, 1858 Oregon – February 14, 1859 Kansas – January 29, 1861 Post-presidency (1861–1868) The Civil War erupted within two months of Buchanan's retirement. He supported the Union, writing to former colleagues that, "the assault upon Sumter was the commencement of war by the Confederate states, and no alternative was left but to prosecute it with vigor on our part." He also wrote a letter to his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, urging them to "join the many thousands of brave & patriotic volunteers who are already in the field." Buchanan was dedicated to defending his actions prior to the Civil War, which was referred to by some as "Buchanan's War". He received threatening letters daily, and stores displayed Buchanan's likeness with the eyes inked red, a noose drawn around his neck and the word "TRAITOR" written across his forehead. The Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation which ultimately failed, and newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly. Buchanan became distraught by the vitriolic attacks levied against him, and fell sick and depressed. In October 1862, he defended himself in an exchange of letters with Winfield Scott, published in the National Intelligencer. He soon began writing his fullest public defense, in the form of his memoir Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion, which was published in 1866. Soon after the publication of the memoir, Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, of respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. Political views Buchanan was often considered by anti-slavery northerners a "doughface", a northerner with pro-southern principles. Shortly after his election, he said that the "great object" of his administration was "to arrest, if possible, the agitation of the Slavery question in the North and to destroy sectional parties". Buchanan believed the abolitionists were preventing the solution to the slavery problem. He stated, "Before [the abolitionists] commenced this agitation, a very large and growing party existed in several of the slave states in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery; and now not a voice is heard there in support of such a measure. The abolitionists have postponed the emancipation of the slaves in three or four states for at least half a century." In deference to the intentions of the typical slaveholder, he was willing to provide the benefit of the doubt. In his third annual message to Congress, the president claimed that the slaves were "treated with kindness and humanity. ... Both the philanthropy and the self-interest of the master have combined to produce this humane result." Buchanan thought restraint was the essence of good self-government. He believed the constitution comprised "... restraints, imposed not by arbitrary authority, but by the people upon themselves and their representatives. ... In an enlarged view, the people's interests may seem identical, but to the eye of local and sectional prejudice, they always appear to be conflicting ... and the jealousies that will perpetually arise can be repressed only by the mutual forbearance which pervades the constitution." Regarding slavery and the Constitution, he stated: "Although in Pennsylvania we are all opposed to slavery in the abstract, we can never violate the constitutional compact we have with our sister states. Their rights will be held sacred by us. Under the constitution it is their own question; and there let it remain." One of the prominent issues of the day was tariffs. Buchanan was conflicted by free trade as well as prohibitive tariffs, since either would benefit one section of the country to the detriment of the other. As a senator from Pennsylvania, he said: "I am viewed as the strongest advocate of protection in other states, whilst I am denounced as its enemy in Pennsylvania." Buchanan was also torn between his desire to expand the country for the general welfare of the nation, and to guarantee the rights of the people settling particular areas. On territorial expansion, he said, "What, sir? Prevent the people from crossing the Rocky Mountains? You might just as well command the Niagara not to flow. We must fulfill our destiny." On the resulting spread of slavery, through unconditional expansion, he stated: "I feel a strong repugnance by any act of mine to extend the present limits of the Union over a new slave-holding territory." For instance, he hoped the acquisition of Texas would "be the means of limiting, not enlarging, the dominion of slavery." Romantic life In 1818, Buchanan met Anne Caroline Coleman at a grand ball in Lancaster, and the two began courting. Anne was the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturer Robert Coleman. She was also the sister-in-law of Philadelphia judge Joseph Hemphill, one of Buchanan's colleagues. By 1819, the two were engaged, but spent little time together. Buchanan was busy with his law firm and political projects during the Panic of 1819, which took him away from Coleman for weeks at a time. Rumors abounded, as some suggested that he was marrying her only for money; others said he was involved with other (unidentified) women. Letters from Coleman revealed she was aware of several rumors. She broke off the engagement, and soon afterward, on December 9, 1819, suddenly died. Buchanan wrote to her father for permission to attend the funeral, which was refused. After Coleman's death, Buchanan never courted another woman. At the time of her funeral, he said that, "I feel happiness has fled from me forever." During his presidency, an orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, whom he had adopted, served as official White House hostess. There was an unfounded rumor that he had an affair with President Polk's widow, Sarah Childress Polk. Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood after Anne Coleman's death has drawn interest and speculation. Some conjecture that Anne's death merely served to deflect questions about Buchanan's sexuality and bachelorhood. Several writers have surmised that he was homosexual, including James W. Loewen, Robert P. Watson, and Shelley Ross. One of his biographers, Jean Baker, suggests that Buchanan was celibate, if not asexual. Buchanan had a close relationship with William Rufus King, which became a popular target of gossip. King was an Alabama politician who briefly served as vice president under Franklin Pierce. Buchanan and King lived together in a Washington boardinghouse and attended social functions together from 1834 until 1844. Such a living arrangement was then common, though King once referred to the relationship as a "communion". Andrew Jackson called King "Miss Nancy" and Buchanan's Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown referred to King as Buchanan's "better half", "wife", and "Aunt Fancy". Loewen indicated that Buchanan late in life wrote a letter acknowledging that he might marry a woman who could accept his "lack of ardent or romantic affection". Catherine Thompson, the wife of cabinet member Jacob Thompson, later noted that "there was something unhealthy in the president's attitude." King died of tuberculosis shortly after Pierce's inauguration, four years before Buchanan became president. Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest and most consistent public men I have known". Biographer Baker opines that both men's nieces may have destroyed correspondence between the two men. However, she believes that their surviving letters illustrate only "the affection of a special friendship". Legacy Historical reputation Though Buchanan predicted that "history will vindicate my memory," historians have criticized Buchanan for his unwillingness or inability to act in the face of secession. Historical rankings of presidents of the United States without exception place Buchanan among the least successful presidents. When scholars are surveyed, he ranks at or near the bottom in terms of vision/agenda-setting, domestic leadership, foreign policy leadership, moral authority, and positive historical significance of their legacy. Buchanan biographer Philip Klein focuses upon challenges Buchanan faced: Biographer Jean Baker is less charitable to Buchanan, saying in 2004: Memorials A bronze and granite memorial near the southeast corner of Washington, D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park was designed by architect William Gorden Beecher and sculpted by Maryland artist Hans Schuler. It was commissioned in 1916 but not approved by the U.S. Congress until 1918, and not completed and unveiled until June 26, 1930. The memorial features a statue of Buchanan, bookended by male and female classical figures representing law and diplomacy, with engraved text reading: "The incorruptible statesman whose walk was upon the mountain ranges of the law," a quote from a member of Buchanan's cabinet, Jeremiah S. Black. An earlier monument was constructed in 1907–08 and dedicated in 1911, on the site of Buchanan's birthplace in Stony Batter, Pennsylvania. Part of the original memorial site is a 250-ton pyramid structure that stands on the site of the original cabin where Buchanan was born. The monument was designed to show the original weathered surface of the native rubble and mortar. Three counties are named in his honor, in Iowa, Missouri, and Virginia. Another in Texas was christened in 1858 but renamed Stephens County, after the newly elected Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stephens, in 1861. The city of Buchanan, Michigan, was also named after him. Several other communities are named after him: the unincorporated community of Buchanan, Indiana, the city of Buchanan, Georgia, the town of Buchanan, Wisconsin, and the townships of Buchanan Township, Michigan, and Buchanan, Missouri. James Buchanan High School is a small, rural high school located on the outskirts of his childhood hometown, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Popular culture depictions Buchanan and his legacy are central to the film Raising Buchanan (2019). He is portrayed by René Auberjonois. See also Historical rankings of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States List of presidents of the United States by previous experience Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps List of federal political sex scandals in the United States References Works cited Pulitzer prize. Further reading Secondary sources Balcerski, Thomas J. Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (Oxford University Press, 2019. online review Balcerski, Thomas J. "Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston." in A Companion to First Ladies (2016): 197-213. Birkner, Michael J., et al. eds. The Worlds of James Buchanan and Thaddeus Stevens: Place, Personality, and Politics in the Civil War Era (Louisiana State University Press, 2019) Nichols, Roy Franklin; The Democratic Machine, 1850–1854 (1923), detailed narrative; online Rosenberger, Homer T. "Inauguration of President Buchanan a Century Ago." Records of the Columbia Historical Society 57 (1957): 96-122 online. , fictional. Wells, Damon. "Douglas and Goliath." in Stephen Douglas (University of Texas Press, 1971) pp. 12-54. on Douglas and Buchanan. online Primary sources Buchanan, James. Fourth Annual Message to Congress. (December 3, 1860). Buchanan, James. Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion (1866) National Intelligencer (1859) External links White House biography James Buchanan: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress The James Buchanan papers, spanning the entirety of his legal, political and diplomatic career, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. University of Virginia article: Buchanan biography Wheatland James Buchanan at Tulane University Essay on James Buchanan and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, Franklin County, Pennsylvania "Life Portrait of James Buchanan", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, June 21, 1999 Primary sources James Buchanan Ill with Dysentery Before Inauguration: Original Letters Shapell Manuscript Foundation Mr. Buchanans Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion. President Buchanans memoirs. Inaugural Address Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1860 1791 births 1868 deaths 1850s in the United States 1860s in the United States 19th-century presidents of the United States Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom 19th-century American memoirists American militiamen in the War of 1812 American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Presbyterians American white supremacists Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Deaths from respiratory failure Democratic Party presidents of the United States Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Dickinson College alumni American Freemasons Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania Jacksonians Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Polk administration cabinet members Presidents of the United States Union political leaders Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1856 United States presidential election United States Secretaries of State United States senators from Pennsylvania People of the Utah War Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians 18th-century Presbyterians 19th-century Presbyterians Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives Buchanan County, Iowa Buchanan County, Missouri Buchanan County, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Jacksonian United States senators from Pennsylvania	false	[ "Washington Carlos Nunes Rodrigues (Rio de Janeiro, September 1, 1936), also known as Apolinho is a Brazilian radio sports and football broadcaster of Super Rádio Tupi.\n\nDeclared fan of Flamengo, Apolinho assumed the technical command of the equipment in the year of 1995.\n\nRegarding his passage as coach of Flamengo, Apolinho stated:\n\n\"I'm not a coach and I've never been, but Flamengo did not invite me, he summoned me. And every time he calls me I go, for Flamengo I do anything, if the goalkeeper gets hurt and needs me on the goal I go there and play, for Flamengo I do any business, if called I'm in, anything, I go.\"\n\nReferences\n\n1936 births\nLiving people\nBrazilian sports broadcasters\nBrazilian sports journalists\nAssociation football commentators\nFootball people in Brazil\nBrazilian football managers", "Arthur Bonnell Schirmer Jr. was the fifty-ninth mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, completing the final four months of J. Palmer Gaillard, after Gaillard's resignation. He did not run for election for a full term.\n\nSchirmer was born on February 24, 1933, and died on July 17, 2008; he is buried at Magnolia Cemetery.\n\nSchirmer was sworn in on August 19, 1975. Although Schirmer served for only four months, he did not want to be thought of as a mere interim mayor, once saying, \"When my accomplishments are considered, people will realize that I have been anything but an interim mayor.\" During his brief tenure, he directed the city to begin sharing its pools with the school district and also began planning for the sale of the municipal airport. His mayorship ended on December 15, 1975, with the inauguration of Joseph P. Riley Jr. At that time, he returned to his job running paving and landscaping companies and operating a limestone quarry.\n\nSchirmer was raised in downtown Charleston on Bull Street, but during his time in office, he lived in West Ashley, making him the one of the few mayors of Charleston to have lived there. A set of tennis courts at Bees Landing Recreation Center is named in his honor.\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican people of German descent\nMayors of Charleston, South Carolina\n1933 births\n2008 deaths\n20th-century American politicians" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy" ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	Did John ever possess ecstasy?	1	Did Andrew Johns ever possess ecstasy?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet.	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "Ecstasy may refer to:\n\n Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness\n Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria\n Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside oneself\n Ecstasy (drug), colloquial term for MDMA, an empathogenic drug\n\nArts and entertainment\n\nLiterature\n Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, a 1996 collection of three novellas by Irvine Welsh\n Ecstasies (book), a 1989 book by Carlo Ginzburg\n Ecstasy (comics), a super villain in the Marvel Comics Universe\n \"The Ecstasy\", a poem by John Donne\n\nMusic\n\nBands\n XTC, an English band, pronounced as X-T-C\n\nAlbums\n Ecstasy (Avant album), 2002\n Ecstasy (Deuter album), 1979\n Ecstasy (Kissin' Dynamite album), 2018\n Ecstasy (Lou Reed album), 2000\n Ecstasy (My Bloody Valentine album), 1987\n Ecstasy (Ohio Players album), 1973\n Ecstasy (Steve Kuhn album), 1975\n\nSongs\n \"Ecstasy\" (ATB song), by ATB on his 2004 album No Silence\n \"Ecstasy\" (Jody Watley song), by Jody Watley from her 1993 album Intimacy\n \"Ecstasy\" (Koda Kumi song), on her 2009 album 3 Splash\n \"Ecstasy\" (New Order song), on their 1983 album Power, Corruption & Lies\n \"Ecstasy\", by Raspberries on their 1973 album Side 3\n \"Ecstasy\", by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony on their 2000 album BTNHResurrection\n \"Ecstasy\", by Crooked Still on their 2005 album Shaken by a Low Sound\n \"Ecstasy\", by D-Complex, released for the music video game Dance Dance Revolution Extreme\n \"Ecstasy\", by Dolores O'Riordan on her 2007 debut solo album Are You Listening?\n \"Ecstasy\", by Danity Kane on their 2008 album Welcome to the Dollhouse\n \"Ecstasy\", by Eric Burdon on his album Darkness Darkness\n \"Ecstasy\", by Iceage on their 2013 album You're Nothing\n \"Ecstasy\", by jj on their 2009 album jj n° 2\n \"Ecstasy\", by Megadeth on their 1999 album Risk\n \"Ecstasy\", by The Stripes\n \"Ecstasy\", by zZz\n \"Ecstasy\", by Doc Pomus and Phil Spector, recorded by Ben E. King\n\nOther media\n Ecstasy (film), a 1933 Czech film starring Hedy Lamarr and directed by Gustav Machatý\n Ecstasy (play), a 1979 play by Mike Leigh\n Ecstasy (Gill sculpture), a 1982 relief sculpture by Eric Gill\n Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy, a 2011 film based on Irvine Welsh's third novella, The Undefeated\n\nOther uses\n Carnival Ecstasy, previously known as Ecstasy, a cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Lines\n Ecstasy (clothing), a fashion brand based in Bangladesh\n\nSee also\n \n \n \"Extacy\" (Kanye West song)\n Extasy Records, a record label\n XTC (disambiguation)\n Ekstasis (disambiguation)", "Live at Montreux 2000 is a concert DVD by Lou Reed, released in 2005 by Eagle Vision. It was recorded at the 2000 Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. Reed performed eight songs from his Ecstasy album plus a few older ones.\n\nTrack listing \nAll tracks composed by Lou Reed; except where indicated\n\"Paranoia Key of E\" Ecstasy, 2000\n\"Turn to Me\" New Sensations, 1984\n\"Modern Dance\" Ecstasy, 2000\n\"Ecstasy\" Ecstasy, 2000\n\"Smalltown\" (Reed, John Cale), Songs for Drella, 1990\n\"Future Farmers of America\" Ecstasy, 2000\n\"Turning Around Time\" Ecstasy, 2000\n\"Romeo Had Juliette\" New York, 1989\n\"Riptide\" Set the Twilight Reeling, 1996\n\"Rock Minuet Ecstasy, 2000\n\"Mystic Child\" Ecstasy, 2000\n\"Tatters\" Ecstasy, 2000\n\"Set the Twilight Reeling\" Set the Twilight Reeling, 1996\n\"Dirty Blvd.\" New York, 1989\n\"Dime Store Mystery\" New York, 1989\n\"Perfect Day\" Transformer, 1972\n\nPersonnel\n Lou Reed - guitar, vocals\n Fernando Saunders - bass guitar, backing vocals\n Mike Rathke - guitar\n Tony Thunder Smith - drums\n\nReferences \n\nLou Reed video albums\n2000 video albums\nalbums recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy", "Did John ever possess ecstasy?", "subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet." ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	Was he arrested?	2	Was Andrew Johns arrested?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	Johns was arrested	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "Xie Shiguang (; June 1917 – 25 August 2005) was a bishop of People's Republic of China's underground Roman Catholic Church.\n\nCareer \nXie was ordained to the priesthood on May 3, 1949, and he became a bishop on January 25, 1984.\n\nArrests \nXie was arrested multiple times in China. The first arrest was in 1955, when he refused to enter the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. He was arrested again for the same reason in 1958, but he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. He was then arrested in 1984, released in 1987, and was arrested yet again in 1990.\n\nDeath \nXie died from leukemia on 25 August 2005 at the age of 88.\n\nHeritage \nA street has been named after him in 2021 in Budapest.\n\nSee also\n\nCatholicism in China\n\nReferences \n\n20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China\n1917 births\n2005 deaths\n21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in China\nDeaths from leukemia", "M. A. Aziz (1921 - 11 January 1971) was an Awami League politician and the former Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from Kotwali-Double Mooring, Chittagong.\n\nEarly life\nAziz was born in 1921 in Halishahar, Bengal Presidency, British India. In 1940 he graduated from Pahartali Railway High School and then completed his IA in 1942 from Chittagong College. He was expelled from the college due to his activities with the All Bengal Muslim Students league. After which he joined the Awami Muslim League.\n\nCareer\nAziz was the first general secretary of Chittagong District. He was involved in the Bengali Language Movement and worked as the joint convener \"Sarba Daliya Rashtra Bhasha Sangram Committee\". He was arrested for his involvement. In 1953 he was elected to the central committee of Awami League. In 1954 he was arrested. In 1958 he was arrested again after Martial law was declared. In the 1960s, he started a business with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bhupati Bhushan Chowdhury named New Agency. The majority of the profits were to be used to finance Awami League.\n\nAziz played an important role in the Six point program led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 8 May 1966 he was arrested for his role in the program. On 18 July 1970 he was arrested for protesting martial law. In 1970 general elections he was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan, from Kotwali-Double Mooring constituency as a candidate of Awami League.\n\nDeath\nAziz died on 11 January 1971. M. A. Aziz Stadium in Chittagong was named after him.\n\nReferences\n\nAwami League politicians\n1921 births\n1971 deaths" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy", "Did John ever possess ecstasy?", "subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet.", "Was he arrested?", "Johns was arrested" ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	Did he regularly take ecstacy?	3	Did Andrew Johns regularly take ecstacy?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "Victims In were an unsigned rock band from Phoenix, Arizona who were active between 1998 and 2001.\n\nHistory\n\nFormation\nVictims In were formed in 1998 in Phoenix, Arizona by Jim Louvau, Jared Bakin and Andy Gerold. Their style of music was, according to themselves, “New School Arena Rock”. They took influence from bands such as Mary's Window, Faith No More, Guns N' Roses and Plastic Princess. To stand out and differentiate themselves from other local bands in the area they often sported dresses and wore make-up onstage.\n\nDiscography\n\nChinese Pornography\nApril 2000 saw the band release their eagerly awaited debut album, “Chinese Pornography” to positive reviews.\n\nMark Matson of Sipping Soma worked alongside the band to produce the album. Both “Believe” and “New Taste” featured in the Top 10 (industrial/metal/new wave) on www.Mp3.com\n\nIn July 2000 VIE struck a deal with V&R distribution which made “Chinese Pornography” available in Best Buy stores across the United States.\n\nTrack listing:\n1.\tNew Taste \n2.\tInjected\n3.\tNothing\n4.\tAss+Fuck=57\n5.\tBelieve\n6.\tFragile\n\nWhite Box Therapy\nVictims In spent most of 2001 at Sound Vision studios recording what was to be their second album, “White Box Therapy”, with producer/engineer Michael Beck. White Box Therapy was released in March 2002. This album saw Andy Gerold assume the position of drummer with Ken Bergeron taking over guitar duties.\n\nTrack listing:\n Euphoria \n Cold Again\n Atmospheric Textures\n sdrawkcaB\n New Taste\n Beautiful\n untitled\n White Box Therapy (Heroine)\n White Box Therapy (Radio Edit)\n\nTribute albums\nVictims In featured on two tribute albums.They appeared on “Mutations: A Tribute to Alice Cooper” where they did a version of “Welcome to My Nightmare” and on “Tribute of the Year: A Tribute to Faith No More” where they covered “Strip Search”.\n\nNon-album tracks\nDresses, dolls & lollipops\n\nMedia\nNovember 2001 saw them line up a sponsorship deal with Pepsi, which ran the song \"New Taste\" on radio ads for the company's energy drink Amp.\n\nLive performances\nVIE performed regularly at the Atomic Cafe in Phoenix. They performed at the opening of Phoenix club The Machine and while recording their second album, White Box Therapy, they were invited to play on the Preaching to the Perverted tour along with Pigface, Gravity Kills and Godhead.\n\nVIE have also shared the stage with bands such as Linkin Park, Disturbed, KMFDM, Alien Ant Farm, Sinnistar, Guttermouth, Jack Off Jill, Life of Agony, The Genitorturers, Psychotica, Dope, Drain STH, Vanilla Ice, Pitchshifter, Primer55 and Switchblade Symphony.\n\nOn June 24, 2001, their concert was webcast by Hollywoodmusic.com.\n\nAwards\n1998 - New Times Showcase Award for “Best Industrial Band”\n2000 – New Times Showcase Award for “Most Likely to Make it Big”\n2001 – New Times Showcase Award for “Best Hard/Modern Rock”\n2001 – New Times Showcase Award for “Most Likely to Make it Big”\n2001 – Aim Award for “Best Fashion”\n\nBand members\nJim Louvau– lead vocals\nAndy Gerold– guitar, drums\nJim Kaufmann– guitar\nJared Bakin– bass, guitar\nKen Bergeron (credited as Ken Virii on Chinese Pornography) – bass, guitar\nDanny Diaz– drums\n\nReferences\n\nhttp://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-03-30/music/driven-to-ecstacy/\nhttp://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1998-12-03/music/kind-of-a-drag/\nhttp://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-03-30/music/driven-to-ecstacy/\nhttp://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2002-03-28/music/hello-goodbye/\nhttp://www.mp3.com/artist/victims-in-ecstacy/summary/\nhttp://www.thelyricarchive.com/album/609601/Chinese-Pornography\nhttp://interlyrics.com/artist-lyrics/681171/Victims-in-Ecstacy\nhttp://www.swaptree.com/CD/faith-more-tribute-tribute-year-various-artists/312605/\n\nExternal links\nVictims In \n\nRock music groups from Arizona\nAmerican industrial rock musical groups\nMusical groups from Phoenix, Arizona\nMusical groups established in 1998\nMusical groups disestablished in 2001", "Nude is the third studio album by the band VAST, released on Carson Daly's independent label 456 Entertainment. It was released on February 24, 2004. The album is made up of remastered and remixed demos from the online Turquoise & Crimson releases.\n\nA European version of the album was also released, which includes two bonus tracks and a sixteen-page booklet housed in a cardboard slipcase. The bonus tracks included are Falling from the Sky (as track 13) and I Woke Up L.A. (as track 14).\n\nWith the release of Turquoise & Crimson (Retail Version), the album was made obsolete, because the double album featured all of the songs on Nude, remastered from their unfinished versions released online, and mixed with many new songs. Crosby marketed the album through his own independent label after his unhappiness with 456 Entertainment. He later claimed that releasing Nude on 456 Entertainment was a \"disaster, and not a very good idea\".\n\nDuring the promotional phase of the album's release, the band played on Last Call with Carson Daly and performed their single \"Thrown Away\".\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Jon Crosby. \n\"Turquoise\" – 3:20\n\"Thrown Away\" – 4:01\n\"Don't Take Your Love Away\" – 4:57\n\"Be With Me\" – 3:54\n\"Lost\" – 4:01\n\"Winter in My Heart\" – 3:36\n\"I Need to Say Goodbye\" – 3:22\n\"Japanese Fantasy\" – 3:01\n\"Ecstacy\" – 3:34\n\"Candle\" – 3:28\n\"I Can't Say No (To You)\" – 4:19\n\"Desert Garden\" – 3:43\n\nEU Version Track listing\n\"Turquoise\" – 3:20\n\"Thrown Away\" – 4:01\n\"Don't Take Your Love Away\" – 4:57\n\"Be With Me\" – 3:54\n\"Lost\" – 4:01\n\"Winter in My Heart\" – 3:36\n\"I Need to Say Goodbye\" – 3:22\n\"Japanese Fantasy\" – 3:01\n\"Ecstacy\" – 3:34\n\"Candle\" – 3:28\n\"I Can't Say No (To You)\" – 4:19\n\"Desert Garden\" – 3:43\n\"Falling from the Sky\" – 3:27\n\"I Woke Up L.A.\" – 3:39\n\nReception\n\nCritical reception was mostly mixed, Allmusic noted that \"his faraway vocal choirs and manipulated sound effects have the ability to evoke the unsettled tension that once tinged Lacuna Coil's dark electronic experiments...unfortunately these atmospheres deflate in the face of guitar-heavy modern rock appliques,\" and giving the album a 2.5 out of 5. The album has recently become a fan favorite and rarity after it was dropped out of print in recent years.\n\nReferences\n\nVAST albums\n2004 albums" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy", "Did John ever possess ecstasy?", "subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet.", "Was he arrested?", "Johns was arrested", "Did he regularly take ecstacy?", "Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket" ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	Did he take the drugs for a reason?	4	Did Andrew Johns take the ecstasy for a reason?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue.	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "An unused drug or leftover drug is the medicine which remains after the consumer has quit using it. Individual patients may have leftover medicines at the end of their treatment. Health care organizations may keep larger amounts of drugs as part of providing care to a community, and may have unused drugs for a range of reasons. The unused drugs should be destroyed utterly to eliminate the toxic effects of undisposed drugs on flora and fauna. The improper disposal of unused drugs could be the reason for the contamination of Surface, Ground and Drinking Water. Discharge of unused antibiotics and disinfectants in the sewage system may ruin the aquatic life or contamination of drinking water.\n\nThe determination of appropriate ways for disposal \nof unused medications can predict the number of contamination problems of the environment. There are several studies which evidence the toxic effects of medications on the environment which are disposed of inappropriately.\n\nCauses\nVarious circumstances may cause a consumer to have unused drugs. The consumer might find that their medication is ineffective and quit taking it. The medicine might be effective, but the consumer might not adhere to their treatment and fail to take it for any reason. A patient might die, leaving their medications behind. A patient might move, such as from a hospital to their home, and somehow leave their unused drugs behind with the health care provider.\n\nSome medical professional practices lead to patients having unused drugs. Physicians may prescribe more than they should. Physicians and patients might see each other less often than they should, and the physician might agree to prescribe medication for a longer period of time than is best. The physician might neglect to review what medications a patient already has, and recommend more. The medical office might have confused records about what drugs a patient has, especially for offices without full computer records. Also a physician might provide drugs inappropriately in unnecessary health care.\n\nScope of the issue\nMany consumers store unused drugs. Many health care organizations come to acquire large amounts of unused drugs. The volunteer for health centres must know the importance of proper drug disposal systems. The EPA and the FDA want unwanted or expired drugs disposed of completely.\n\nResponses\nConsumer organizations recommend that individuals be thoughtful about their unused drugs. Storing unused drugs at home can be a safety hazard. Drug disposal is often the right choice for consumers. Some regions offer government or nonprofit programs for the collection of unused drugs.\n\nGovernments and organizations can have larger stockpiles of drugs than any consumer and a different set of concerns. World-leading organizations such as WHO and UNICEF recommended several appropriate and safe drug disposal options and drug use prevention. With large supplies of drugs, drug pollution and negative environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products becomes a concern. Also, drug recycling might be a possibility.\n\nCollection\nCollection of unused drugs, also called drug return or drug take-back, is any program for individual consumers to dispose of drugs by returning their unused drugs to a collection center. One survey of consumers found that individuals like the idea of pharmacies accepting drug returns.\n\nDrug return programs can reduce the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products.\n\nVarious research projects have investigated drug return programs at pharmacies in particular regions. Studied places include the United States, Britain, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Serbia, and Germany.\n\nLeftover opioids\nPeople in the United States tend to store unused opioids if any remain unused after medical treatment. Keeping unused opioids can be particularly dangerous because of substantial risk of their being misused.\n\nReferences\n\nMedical waste\nProduct return\nPharmaceuticals policy", "Novel Therapeutic Targets for Antiarrhythmic Drugs is a book edited by George Billman and published by John Wiley and Sons in 2010.\n\nContent\nAccording to the publisher, the book describes the current state of cardiac arrhythmia treatment, and attempts to identify future directions research may take. Its 21 chapters cover a variety of topics related to cardiac arrhythmia and electrophysiology, primarily reviewing known molecular targets for drugs. Subjects covered in the book include both traditional approaches to looking at arrhythmia, such as ion channel effects, and more general issues such as the genetics behind differential response to existing drug therapies. Drug safety and side effects are also cover.\n\nThe book examines avenues by which new treatments might be developed, with four chapters (10, 13, 16, 17) specifically focused on novel targets. Novel ideas offered included studying sodium-calcium exchanger and ryanodine receptor effects. One chapter (5) is dedicated to examining the targets on which existing drugs operate, and another (8) examines drugs in clinical trial at the time of publication. The chemical structure of existing drugs is not covered. Overall, the book advocates for segregating drug targets by disease type and state, rather than the conventional approach of segregating by likelihood to harm. In addition to pharmacological therapies, the book examines potential alternate treatments to arrhythmia including the effect of endurance training on susceptibility. It also investigates omega-3 fatty acids which have a proven effect on cardiac electrophysiology, but have failed to prove protective when obtained through diet.\n\nAccording to cardiologist Peter R. Kowey, the chapter authors are \"eminent scientists\" in their respective areas. The list includes \"some brilliant industry scientists\", but does not include any clinicians or drug trialists, possibly creating a biased perspective, according to Kowey.\n\nResponse\nIn a review for Circulation, Kowey called the book \"an admirable attempt\" to develop a more targeted approach to arrhythmia treatment, and said it was \"illuminating and far reaching\". He particularly liked the advocated approach of segregating drug targets by disease state. Kowey said the book's main weakness was a lack of focus on clinical issues – both in topics covered and author selection. He noted that bringing drugs to the marketplace is expensive and proof of concept clinical trials are necessary to justify the investment. He said \"Billman should be congratulated for his willingness to take on what is clearly an extraordinarily complex problem area\" and praised him for \"[encouraging] blue sky thinking\" is his contributions to the book. He also congratulated the chapter authors for making \"complex discussions not only interpretable, but topical\". Kowey concluded \"I would recommend this book to my colleagues and fellows, not only as a reference source, but as a compendium of information that summarizes where we are, and most importantly, the path we must take.\"\n\nIn a review for ChemMedChem, medicinal chemistry professor Ahmed S. Mehanna agreed that Novel Therapeutic Targets for Antiarrhythmic Drugs did not adequately cover clinical aspects of drug development. He also said the book could have been better organized and focused too heavily on describing known research, as opposed to the novel treatments implied by the book's title. He did, however, say the book \"gives very valuable and comprehensive reviews of arrhythmia and its pharmacological management.\" Mehanna said the book reviewed topics appropriately and was free of obvious errors. Overall, he recommended the book, calling it \"a worthwhile addition to the literature on cardiac arrhythmia and antiarrhythmic drugs.\"\n\nReferences\n\n2010 non-fiction books\nWiley (publisher) books\nMedical books" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy", "Did John ever possess ecstasy?", "subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet.", "Was he arrested?", "Johns was arrested", "Did he regularly take ecstacy?", "Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket", "Did he take the drugs for a reason?", "he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue." ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	Did he ever go on TV and state why he took drugs?	5	Did Andrew Johns ever go on TV and state why he took drugs?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career,	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "Money Boy (born June 27, 1981 in Vienna, also known as Mbeezy, interim Why SL Know Plug, YSL Know Plug, Why SL Beezy, Mbeezy Pineapple The Fruit Dude and other pseudonyms, born as Sebastian Meisinger) is an Austrian rap-singer. He became famous with his hit Dreh den Swag auf.\n\nBiography\nMoney Boy grew up in the 15th district of Vienna, Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus. By 2008, he studied Journalism and Communication at the University of Vienna. He successfully graduated with the degree Magister philosophiae. His master's thesis was about Gangsta Rap in Germany. Before starting with rap, he played basketball for a long time. He initially wrote his lyrics in English. After his first public title, Ching, Chang, Chung, Money Boy caught attention in late summer 2010 after publishing his cover Version of Soulja Boy's Turn My Swag On, Dreh den Swag auf.\n\nIn 2014, he gained attention for his appearance in a live show on Swiss TV channel joiz, during which he recommended the recreational use of Heroin and MDMA at parties. Some of the Twitter messages which were contributed by the TV audience, and were read out on live TV by a moderator included ″Take drugs and rape sluts\" and \"I just took Heroin and I'm having a really good time\"; regarding the latter one, the moderator stated that he \"did not know if this is meant seriously or just a joke\". One of the moderators also alleged that he urinated on the wall of the TV station building during a break. For that performance, Money Boy got an award by German TV station ProSieben. He attended the awarding ceremony, which was broadcast on TV, and recited his acceptance speech as a rap.\n\nIn 2015, he performed with members of the Glo Up Dinero Gang at the sold out VideoDays, including an ambiguous statement about recreational drug use at the end of his performance: \"Drugs are bad, I confess that shit; but I am high, so I have no problems with it.\".\n\nGlo Up Dinero Gang\n\nHe founded the Glo Up Dinero Gang, a gang that features various artists with a similar style and image; some of the more known artists include Spinning 9. Hustensaft Jüngling (Cough Syrup Youngster) and Medikamenten Manfred (Medication Manfred).\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums \n 2013: SWAG\n 2014: HiTunes\n 2015: Cash Flow\n 2016: Alles Ist Designer\n 2018: Mann unter Feuer\n 2019: Quick Mart\n 2019: Geld Motivierte Muzik\n 2020: Dripolympics\n 2020: Feed The Skreetz\n 2021: The Plug\n\nEPs \n 2013: Trap Haus \n 2014: Hitunes \n 2015: Ca$h Flow\n 2016: Der boy is immer crystal clean\"\n\n Singles \n 2010: X-Mas Time 2011: Dreh den Swag auf (Club Remix)\n 2013: Swaghetti Yolonese 2013: Yolohafte Swagnachten 2014: Einer Geht Noch 2014: Gay C D.B.n.C.''\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nSources\n\nKronen Zeitung\nVice.\nVice.\nVice.\n Vice.\nMusik Express\nExpress\nVienna Online\nHeute\n Vienna Online\n\nExternal links \n YSL Know Plug on Youtube\n\n1981 births\nLiving people\nAustrian rappers", "Ordinary World is the second studio album by American band Get Set Go, released on January 17, 2006 through TSR Records. The album marks a shift in sound for the band, going for more of an indie rock approach when compared to the slick pop-punk sound of its predecessor, So You've Ruined Your Life. All of the album's tracks were written during a time in which the band's main songwriter, Michael Torres, was addicted to drugs. Lyrical themes include misanthropy, drugs, alcohol, terrorism, the end of the world, murder, and relationship problems. It is the first album to feature long-time band members Eric Summer and Dave Palamero.\n\nBackground and recording\nGet Set Go formed in 2002 in Highland Park, Los Angeles with a line up consisting of guitarist, vocalist, and main songwriter Michael Torres (known by his nickname Mike TV), bassist Patrick Flores (known by his nickname Dr. Modo) and drummer Amy Wood. The trio were signed to the independent family-operated TSR Records in 2003 and released their debut album So You've Ruined Your Life in September that same year. The album met very little fanfare and next to no radio airplay, and by 2004, both Flores and Wood left the band to pursue other careers (both did, however, help with the production of Ordinary World later on). Torres fell into a state of depression afterwards and later became a drug addict.\n\nDuring his addiction, Torres wrote 64 songs on his acoustic guitar, most of which later found their way on Ordinary World. By 2005, Torres was able to become sober and, with the help of new members of the band, began working on the second Get Set Go album. While Ordinary World was only ever released on compact disc formats, the design of the album is a homage to double disc LP records, with the track listing being divided into four \"parts\" (four sides of a record).\n\nOrdinary World was recorded throughout June 2005, fourteen tracks at Stanley Recordings and another seven tracks at Nate Greeley's home studio. By this point in time, the \"official\" Get Set Go line up consisted of Torres, violist Eric Summer, and drummer Dave Palamaro. Producer John Would performed bass guitar on most of the album, although for some were performed by Patrick Flores. The same case was made for the drums, for some recordings were performed by Amy Wood. Nate Greeley also performed guitar on this album. Mixing duties were shared by Torres, Would, and Greeley.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\nAdapted from the Ordinary World liner notes.\n\nMusicians\nMichael \"Mike TV\" Torres – guitar, vocals\nAmy Wood – drums\nJohn Would – drums, bass\nPatrick \"Dr. Modo\" Flores – bass\nRyan \"Schmed\" Mayen – keyboards, guitars, percussion\nNate Greeley – guitars\nEric Summer – viola\nDave Palamaro – drums\nKelsey Wood – backing vocals\n\nProduction and artwork\nMichael \"Mike TV\" Torres – production, mixing\nNate Greeley – mixing, recording\nJohn Would – production, mixing, recording\nDylan Hay J. Chapman – artwork, photography\nVivian Barraza – photography\n\nReferences\n\n2006 albums\nGet Set Go albums" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy", "Did John ever possess ecstasy?", "subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet.", "Was he arrested?", "Johns was arrested", "Did he regularly take ecstacy?", "Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket", "Did he take the drugs for a reason?", "he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue.", "Did he ever go on TV and state why he took drugs?", "On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career," ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	6	Besides Andrew Johns regularly taking ecstacy throughout his playing career, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure'	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy", "Did John ever possess ecstasy?", "subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet.", "Was he arrested?", "Johns was arrested", "Did he regularly take ecstacy?", "Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket", "Did he take the drugs for a reason?", "he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue.", "Did he ever go on TV and state why he took drugs?", "On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure'" ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	why did he suffer from these disorders?	7	why did Andrew Johns suffer from depression and bipolar disorder?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman.	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "A psychiatric casualty is a military combatant who is unable to continue fighting due to some sort of mental debilitation. The debilitations a casualty can suffer are extensive; they can be anything from affective disorders to somatoform disorders, with many psychiatric casualties developing long term or permanent post-traumatic stress disorder. Treatment generally consists of simply removing a soldier from combat; however, psychotherapy is sometimes used.\n\nSee also \n Casualty (person)\n Post-traumatic stress disorder\n\nReferences \n\nMilitary psychiatry", "Freedom From Fear is a national nonprofit mental illness advocacy organization located in Staten Island, New York. This organization was founded in 1984 by director Mary Guardino as an outgrowth of her own personal experiences having suffered from anxiety and depression for more than 25 years. The mission of Freedom From Fear is to impact, in a positive way, the lives of all those affected by anxiety, depressive and related disorders through advocacy, education, research and community support. Freedom From Fear is dedicated to improving the lives of those experiencing mental illness. By serving as an advocate for the mentally ill, Freedom From Fear works to reduce the stigma behind mental illness through education. Freedom from Fear specializes in the treatment of clinical depression and anxiety disorders. Freedom From Fear is located in Staten Island, New York at 308 Seaview Avenue.\n\nDepression and anxiety\n\nAnxiety\n\nFreedom From Fear specializes in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders. While anxiety is a common experience of everyday life, mental health professionals deal with anxiety that is excessive and interferes with daily life. Clinicians recognize about 12 relatively distinct subtypes of anxiety disorder: Panic Disorder, with and without Agoraphobia, Agoraphobia Without a History of Panic Disorder, Specific Phobia, Social Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Acute Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Anxiety Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition, Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder, and Anxiety Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. The prevalence of these disorders is startling. In any given year, approximately 40 million adults in the United States will suffer from an anxiety disorder which is 18% of the adult population. The causes of anxiety disorders are a cross between nature and nurture. Several areas of the brain such as the amygdala and the hippocampus are impaired which leads to an increased fear response. How individuals respond to their environment and how the environment responds to them are also play a role in the development of anxiety disorders. Studies are researching the impact of stress, life changes, social factors and other influences on the development of anxiety disorders.\n\nDepression\n\nFreedom From Fear also specializes in the treatment of Depression. Depression affects approximately 20 million adult Americans causing them to have symptoms such as hopelessness, sleep problems and feelings of being \"down\" and \"blue\". Depression is a chronic condition that impairs individuals in getting the most out of their daily lives. In depression, neural circuits responsible for the regulation of moods, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior fail to function properly. Critical neurotransmitters-chemicals used by nerve cells to communicate-are also out of balance. A combination of genetic, cognitive, and environmental factors are involved in the onset of a depressive disorder.\n\nTreatment\nFreedom From Fear, along with Clinical Management Consultants, provides counseling service to patients experiencing Anxiety or Depressive disorders. Treatment for adults, adolescents and children are provided. Licensed psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, social workers and other licensed mental health practitioners provide cognitive behavioral therapy or interpersonal therapy to patients. The focus of cognitive behavioral therapy is to change dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors the lead to a heightened sense of anxiety. Interpersonal therapy focuses on improving the relationships that the patient has with others that contribute to anxiety or depression. Psychiatrists are also available to prescribe any necessary medication. Inpatient evaluations are also provided on a walk in basis to determine whether or not Freedom From Fear can provide patients with adequate assistance. The services provided by Freedom From Fear all have the goal of positively impacting the lives of patients by treating mental illness.\n\nFreedom's Way: Treatment For Children and Adolescents\n\nFreedom's Way is a group of programs that were developed and organized by Freedom From Fear. All of these programs are focused on children and adolescence who are suffering from different mental health conditions. Freedom From Fear understands that early intervention plays a key role in a successful recovery. Early intervention also sets up the road to a more successful adulthood.\n Anxiety and Depressive Illness Center at Freedoasdfm From Fear- This program specializes in the treatment of children and adolescence who suffer from a variety of different mental health concerns. Some of the mental health illnesses that children/adolescence suffer from are anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and so forth. The program is under the direction of a licensed child psychiatrist (M.D) as well as licensed mental health professionals. These mental health professionals include social workers and licensed mental health counselors\n Early Beginnings for Life Long Mental Health- The program teaches parents appropriate skills to help their children who are suffering from anxiety and depressive illnesses.\n The Freedom’s Way Summer Program- The program is designed to offer a variety of fun activities such as sports, arts and crafts, music and drama. Children will also receive daily sessions in age appropriate Emotional Management Training (EMT). These sessions are conducted by mental health professionals who have experience and training in working with children. EMT is focused on concrete behavioral elements that have been proven to effectively treat children who suffer from anxiety and depression.\n\nAdvocacy\nFreedom From Fear advocates for those that are mentally ill by spreading awareness of the importance of good mental health. This organization participates in and encourages others to support Mental Health Wellness Week which takes place during the month of November. Founded by Freedom From Fear, this national campaign emphasizes the importance of a healthy mind and body. Throughout this week, mental health practices as well as individuals throughout the country educate their community about how to increase mental health by combating everyday stress and anxiety.\n\nFreedom From Fear also advocates for the mentally ill by participating in National Anxiety and Depression Awareness week which occurs during the month of May. This campaign focuses on increasing awareness about the effects of anxiety and depression. Freedom From Fear provides mental health agencies as well as individuals with materials such as videos, books, handouts and screening forms to aid participants in educating the public. Workshops about these illnesses, screenings of educational movies, and giving the community information about local treatment centers are all common throughout this week.\n\nEducation\nDirector Mary Guardino serves to educate the public about mental illness through the creation of a video series called Mind in Motion. This YouTube video series focuses on mental health and behavior. The show discusses the development and treatment of mental illnesses such as Depression and Anxiety Disorders. The show that is hosted by Mary Guardino brings in experienced mental health professionals to discuss research that is currently being done on these illnesses. Mind in Motion also interviews people about their experiences with mental illness in order to better educate the public about the effects of mental illness of a person's daily life.\n\nBoard of directors\nIrwin Freeman (President)\nMark Sisti, Ph.D. (1st Vice President)\nEileen Murray (2nd Vice President)\nJonathan W. Stewart, M.D. (Treasurer)\nMarty Garfinkle, Ph.D.\nKathleen Garrigan, Esq.\nWillian Henri, MPA, MA\nEdith Mandarino\nJustine Pawlukewicz, Ph.D.\nConnie Salhany, Ph.D.\nPaul Scano, Esq.\nCarol Sonnenblick, Ph.D.\nJoel F. Tricarico, M.D.\n\nReferences\n\n(1) http://www.freedomfromfear.org/index.html\n\n(2) http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/introduction.shtml\n\nMental health organizations in New York (state)" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy", "Did John ever possess ecstasy?", "subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet.", "Was he arrested?", "Johns was arrested", "Did he regularly take ecstacy?", "Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket", "Did he take the drugs for a reason?", "he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue.", "Did he ever go on TV and state why he took drugs?", "On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure'", "why did he suffer from these disorders?", "'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman." ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	What happened in 2008?	8	What happened to Andrew Johns 2008?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008,	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "Don Juan Manuel's Tales of Count Lucanor, in Spanish Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio (Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio), also commonly known as El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio, or Libro de los ejemplos (original Old Castilian: Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de Patronio), is one of the earliest works of prose in Castilian Spanish. It was first written in 1335.\n\nThe book is divided into four parts. The first and most well-known part is a series of 51 short stories (some no more than a page or two) drawn from various sources, such as Aesop and other classical writers, and Arabic folktales.\n\nTales of Count Lucanor was first printed in 1575 when it was published at Seville under the auspices of Argote de Molina. It was again printed at Madrid in 1642, after which it lay forgotten for nearly two centuries.\n\nPurpose and structure\n\nA didactic, moralistic purpose, which would color so much of the Spanish literature to follow (see Novela picaresca), is the mark of this book. Count Lucanor engages in conversation with his advisor Patronio, putting to him a problem (\"Some man has made me a proposition...\" or \"I fear that such and such person intends to...\") and asking for advice. Patronio responds always with the greatest humility, claiming not to wish to offer advice to so illustrious a person as the Count, but offering to tell him a story of which the Count's problem reminds him. (Thus, the stories are \"examples\" [ejemplos] of wise action.) At the end he advises the Count to do as the protagonist of his story did.\n\nEach chapter ends in more or less the same way, with slight variations on: \"And this pleased the Count greatly and he did just so, and found it well. And Don Johán (Juan) saw that this example was very good, and had it written in this book, and composed the following verses.\" A rhymed couplet closes, giving the moral of the story.\n\nOrigin of stories and influence on later literature\nMany of the stories written in the book are the first examples written in a modern European language of various stories, which many other writers would use in the proceeding centuries. Many of the stories he included were themselves derived from other stories, coming from western and Arab sources.\n\nShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has the basic elements of Tale 35, \"What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\".\n\nTale 32, \"What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth\" tells the story that Hans Christian Andersen made popular as The Emperor's New Clothes.\n\nStory 7, \"What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana\", a version of Aesop's The Milkmaid and Her Pail, was claimed by Max Müller to originate in the Hindu cycle Panchatantra.\n\nTale 2, \"What happened to a good Man and his Son, leading a beast to market,\" is the familiar fable The miller, his son and the donkey.\n\nIn 2016, Baroque Decay released a game under the name \"The Count Lucanor\". As well as some protagonists' names, certain events from the books inspired past events in the game.\n\nThe stories\n\nThe book opens with a prologue which introduces the characters of the Count and Patronio. The titles in the following list are those given in Keller and Keating's 1977 translation into English. James York's 1868 translation into English gives a significantly different ordering of the stories and omits the fifty-first.\n\n What Happened to a King and His Favorite \n What Happened to a Good Man and His Son \n How King Richard of England Leapt into the Sea against the Moors\n What a Genoese Said to His Soul When He Was about to Die \n What Happened to a Fox and a Crow Who Had a Piece of Cheese in His Beak\n How the Swallow Warned the Other Birds When She Saw Flax Being Sown \n What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana \n What Happened to a Man Whose Liver Had to Be Washed \n What Happened to Two Horses Which Were Thrown to the Lion \n What Happened to a Man Who on Account of Poverty and Lack of Other Food Was Eating Bitter Lentils \n What Happened to a Dean of Santiago de Compostela and Don Yllán, the Grand Master of Toledo\n What Happened to the Fox and the Rooster \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Hunting Partridges \n The Miracle of Saint Dominick When He Preached against the Usurer \n What Happened to Lorenzo Suárez at the Siege of Seville \n The Reply that count Fernán González Gave to His Relative Núño Laynes \n What Happened to a Very Hungry Man Who Was Half-heartedly Invited to Dinner \n What Happened to Pero Meléndez de Valdés When He Broke His Leg \n What Happened to the Crows and the Owls \n What Happened to a King for Whom a Man Promised to Perform Alchemy \n What Happened to a Young King and a Philosopher to Whom his Father Commended Him \n What Happened to the Lion and the Bull \n How the Ants Provide for Themselves \n What Happened to the King Who Wanted to Test His Three Sons \n What Happened to the Count of Provence and How He Was Freed from Prison by the Advice of Saladin\n What Happened to the Tree of Lies \n What Happened to an Emperor and to Don Alvarfáñez Minaya and Their Wives \n What Happened in Granada to Don Lorenzo Suárez Gallinato When He Beheaded the Renegade Chaplain \n What Happened to a Fox Who Lay down in the Street to Play Dead \n What Happened to King Abenabet of Seville and Ramayquía His Wife \n How a Cardinal Judged between the Canons of Paris and the Friars Minor \n What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth \n What Happened to Don Juan Manuel's Saker Falcon and an Eagle and a Heron \n What Happened to a Blind Man Who Was Leading Another \n What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\n What Happened to a Merchant When He Found His Son and His Wife Sleeping Together \n What Happened to Count Fernán González with His Men after He Had Won the Battle of Hacinas \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Loaded down with Precious Stones and Drowned in the River \n What Happened to a Man and a Swallow and a Sparrow \n Why the Seneschal of Carcassonne Lost His Soul \n What Happened to a King of Córdova Named Al-Haquem \n What Happened to a Woman of Sham Piety \n What Happened to Good and Evil and the Wise Man and the Madman \n What Happened to Don Pero Núñez the Loyal, to Don Ruy González de Zavallos, and to Don Gutier Roiz de Blaguiello with Don Rodrigo the Generous \n What Happened to a Man Who Became the Devil's Friend and Vassal \n What Happened to a Philosopher who by Accident Went down a Street Where Prostitutes Lived \n What Befell a Moor and His Sister Who Pretended That She Was Timid \n What Happened to a Man Who Tested His Friends \n What Happened to the Man Whom They Cast out Naked on an Island When They Took away from Him the Kingdom He Ruled \n What Happened to Saladin and a Lady, the Wife of a Knight Who Was His Vassal \n What Happened to a Christian King Who Was Very Powerful and Haughty\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n\n Sturm, Harlan\n\n Wacks, David\n\nExternal links\n\nThe Internet Archive provides free access to the 1868 translation by James York.\nJSTOR has the to the 1977 translation by Keller and Keating.\nSelections in English and Spanish (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in Open Iberia/América (open access teaching anthology)\n\n14th-century books\nSpanish literature\n1335 books", "\"What Happened to Us\" is a song by Australian recording artist Jessica Mauboy, featuring English recording artist Jay Sean. It was written by Sean, Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim and Israel Cruz. \"What Happened to Us\" was leaked online in October 2010, and was released on 10 March 2011, as the third single from Mauboy's second studio album, Get 'Em Girls (2010). The song received positive reviews from critics.\n\nA remix of \"What Happened to Us\" made by production team OFM, was released on 11 April 2011. A different version of the song which features Stan Walker, was released on 29 May 2011. \"What Happened to Us\" charted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 14 and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). An accompanying music video was directed by Mark Alston, and reminisces on a former relationship between Mauboy and Sean.\n\nProduction and release\n\n\"What Happened to Us\" was written by Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz and Jay Sean. It was produced by Skaller, Cruz, Rohaim and Bobby Bass. The song uses C, D, and B minor chords in the chorus. \"What Happened to Us\" was sent to contemporary hit radio in Australia on 14 February 2011. The cover art for the song was revealed on 22 February on Mauboy's official Facebook page. A CD release was available for purchase via her official website on 10 March, for one week only. It was released digitally the following day.\n\nReception\nMajhid Heath from ABC Online Indigenous called the song a \"Jordin Sparks-esque duet\", and wrote that it \"has a nice innocence to it that rings true to the experience of losing a first love.\" Chris Urankar from Nine to Five wrote that it as a \"mid-tempo duet ballad\" which signifies Mauboy's strength as a global player. On 21 March 2011, \"What Happened to Us\" debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and peaked at number 14 the following week. The song was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling 70,000 copies. \"What Happened to Us\" spent a total of ten weeks in the ARIA top fifty.\n\nMusic video\n\nBackground\nThe music video for the song was shot in the Elizabeth Bay House in Sydney on 26 November 2010. The video was shot during Sean's visit to Australia for the Summerbeatz tour. During an interview with The Daily Telegraph while on the set of the video, Sean said \"the song is sick! ... Jessica's voice is amazing and we're shooting [the video] in this ridiculously beautiful mansion overlooking the harbour.\" The video was directed by Mark Alston, who had previously directed the video for Mauboy's single \"Let Me Be Me\" (2009). It premiered on YouTube on 10 February 2011.\n\nSynopsis and reception\nThe video begins showing Mauboy who appears to be sitting on a yellow antique couch in a mansion, wearing a purple dress. As the video progresses, scenes of memories are displayed of Mauboy and her love interest, played by Sean, spending time there previously. It then cuts to the scenes where Sean appears in the main entrance room of the mansion. The final scene shows Mauboy outdoors in a gold dress, surrounded by green grass and trees. She is later joined by Sean who appears in a black suit and a white shirt, and together they sing the chorus of the song to each other. David Lim of Feed Limmy wrote that the video is \"easily the best thing our R&B princess has committed to film – ever\" and praised the \"mansion and wondrous interior décor\". He also commended Mauboy for choosing Australian talent to direct the video instead of American directors, which she had used for her previous two music videos. Since its release, the video has received over two million views on Vevo.\n\nLive performances\nMauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" live for the first time during her YouTube Live Sessions program on 4 December 2010. She also appeared on Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight on 23 February 2011 for an interview and later performed the song. On 15 March 2011, Mauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Sunrise. She also performed the song with Stan Walker during the Australian leg of Chris Brown's F.A.M.E. Tour in April 2011. Mauboy and Walker later performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Dancing with the Stars Australia on 29 May 2011. From November 2013 to February 2014, \"What Happened to Us\" was part of the set list of the To the End of the Earth Tour, Mauboy's second headlining tour of Australia, with Nathaniel Willemse singing Sean's part.\n\nTrack listing\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Just Witness Remix) – 3:45\n\nCD single\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Album Version) – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:39\n\nDigital download – Remix\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:38\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Stan Walker – 3:20\n\nPersonnel\nSongwriting – Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz, Jay Sean\nProduction – Jeremy Skaller, Bobby Bass\nAdditional production – Israel Cruz, Khaled Rohaim\nLead vocals – Jessica Mauboy, Jay Sean\nMixing – Phil Tan\nAdditional mixing – Damien Lewis\nMastering – Tom Coyne \nSource:\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly chart\n\nYear-end chart\n\nCertification\n\nRadio dates and release history\n\nReferences\n\n2010 songs\n2011 singles\nJessica Mauboy songs\nJay Sean songs\nSongs written by Billy Steinberg\nSongs written by Jay Sean\nSongs written by Josh Alexander\nSongs written by Israel Cruz\nVocal duets\nSony Music Australia singles\nSongs written by Khaled Rohaim" ]
[ "Andrew Johns", "Ecstasy use controversy", "Did John ever possess ecstasy?", "subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet.", "Was he arrested?", "Johns was arrested", "Did he regularly take ecstacy?", "Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket", "Did he take the drugs for a reason?", "he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue.", "Did he ever go on TV and state why he took drugs?", "On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure'", "why did he suffer from these disorders?", "'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman.", "What happened in 2008?", "When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008," ]	C_80e7a48dbc964dec931ca5d983c0155d_0	Was he in good health or still taking drugs?	9	Was Andrew Johns in good health or still taking drugs in 2008?	Andrew Johns	On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." CANNOTANSWER	his health was now in great shape.	Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points. In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. Football career Early Days Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989. Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity. Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played at the Knights since 1991. 1995–2001 The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the role. Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury. During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978. Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. 2002–2005 Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a , scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date. Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005. During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. Johns was the center of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes. Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate. He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach. The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008. 2006–2007 Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta. Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor. Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league. The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. Cricket career In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket for New South Wales, in its Twenty20 series. The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town of Newcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down. In his second match, against Tasmania at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over. After retirement Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia's Dally Messenger in the original All Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union. Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team. Queensland and Australia Darren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury. New Zealand Warriors captain and Queensland front rower Steve Price was the eventual replacement for the match. Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 and Monday Night Football on Triple M radio. On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new young Jarrod Mullen wearing number 18. Later in the year the Knights named Johns as and captain for their commemorative Team of the Era. In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code the Australian Rugby Union hired Johns as the Wallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the 2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island. When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the 2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with the Parramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halves Brett Finch and Tim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves, s and backs. In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named in Team of the Century as a by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the 100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage). On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron In 2010 the Melbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with the Super Rugby club's inside backs. Recent Rebels signing James O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome." Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth 'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, after Rugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing). In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles. Ecstasy use controversy On 26 August 2007 Johns was arrested for fare evasion on the London Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of one ecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue. This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on the Footy Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman. Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL. The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision. When Johns was named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years in early 2008, the accolade allayed concern that Johns' shock drug admission the year before had tarnished his remarkable efforts on the field for Newcastle, NSW and Australia. On receiving the award he was quoted as saying his health was now in great shape. "I'm at the best place I have been in a long time," he said. "It's not until you step away that I realise all the pressure I was under, I'm not going to miss playing at all." Racism controversy In June 2010 during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black cunt" during a training session. Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June, it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment. Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league. More Joyous Scandal Johns was the catalyst to the More Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, advertising figure John Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainer Tom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared his Channel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by a Racing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased until 2016. Epilepsy In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns on Fox League on Sunday night, he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”. Johns lost his driver's licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018. The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but did when his lawyer, Avinash Singh, successfully appealed the decision. Career statistics Club career Representative career Achievements, awards and accolades In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Johns went on to be named as in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as a . Newcastle Knights records Most points in a match: 34 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001) Most tries in a match: 4 (v Canberra, 29 July 2001 – record shared with Darren Albert, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna, James McManus & Akuila Uate) Most goals in a match: 11 (v Canberra, 19 March 2006) Most points in a season: 279 (2001 National Rugby League Season) Most first grade appearances: 249 Most points for the club: 2,176 Australian premiership records Retired as highest individual point scorer in premiership history: 2,176 (eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 (now 4th). The competition's leading point scorer in 2001: 279 points. Most ever points scored by a in a single National Rugby League season (279 in 2001). International records Most points scored on international debut: 30 (v South Africa at the 1995 World Cup) Most points scored in a test match: 32 (v Fiji in 1996) Most goals in a test match: 12 (v Fiji in 1996) Awards Dally M Medal (best player in the NRL competition): 3 (1998, 1999 and 2002) Provan-Summons Medal (fans' favourite player): 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) Golden Boot (best player in the world): 2 (1999 and 2001) Clive Churchill Medal (man-of-the-match in the grand final): 1 (2001) Dally M 'Representative Player of the Year' Award: 1 (2005) Player of the Series – Australia v Great Britain: 2001 Most Valuable Player of the Tournament at the 1995 World Cup in England State of Origin man-of-the-match: 4 (Game 2, 1996; Game 1, 2002; Game 2, 2003 and Game 2, 2005) Voted #1 in the 'Modern Masters Top 30 Players of the Past 30 Years' poll (Rugby League Week) Announced as the eighth Immortal of the Australian game on 27 September 2012 joining other greats: Bob Fulton, John Raper, Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis and Arthur Beetson. This being the ultimate honour one could receive as a professional rugby league footballer. Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 11 October 2012 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne along with fellow greats of Australian sport such as Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and cricketing great Adam Gilchrist See also List of cricket and rugby league players References Further reading External links State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats 2001 Ashes profile Sport Australia Hall of Fame profile Australian Network Entertainment profile 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian autobiographers Australian cricketers Australian people of Welsh descent Australian republicans Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Cessnock Goannas players Clive Churchill Medal winners Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Cricketers from New South Wales New South Wales cricketers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players People with bipolar disorder Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Warrington Wolves players	true	[ "Drugs.com is an online pharmaceutical encyclopedia that provides drug information for consumers and healthcare professionals, primarily in the United States.\n\nWebsite\n\nThe Drugs.com website is owned and operated by the Drugsite Trust. The Drugsite Trust is a privately held Trust administered by two New Zealand pharmacists, Karen Ann and Phillip James Thornton.\n\nThe site contains a library of reference information which includes content from Cerner Multum, Micromedex, Truven Health Analytics, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), AHFS, Harvard Health Publications, Mayoclinic, Animalytix, and Healthday.\n\nDrugs.com is certified by the TRUSTe online privacy certification program and the HONcode of Health on the Net Foundation.\n\nHistory\n\nThe domain Drugs.com was originally registered by Bonnie Neubeck in 1994. In 1999 at the height of the dotcom boom, Eric MacIver purchased an option to buy the domain from Neubeck. In August 1999, MacIver sold the domain at auction for US$823,666 to Venture Frogs, a startup incubator run by Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin, best known for their involvement in LinkExchange and later Zappos.com. Venture Frogs sold the drugs.com domain name to a private investor in June 2001, allowing Hsieh & Lin to focus on Zappos.com.\n\nThe Drugs.com website was officially launched in September 2001.\n\nIn March 2008, Drugs.com announced the release of Mednotes—an online personal medication record application which connected to Google Health (On June 24, 2011 Google announced it was retiring Google Health on January 1, 2012).\n\nIn May 2010, U.S. FDA announced a collaboration with Drugs.com to distribute consumer health updates on the Drugs.com website and mobile platform.\n\nIn February 2016, comScore stated that Drugs.com was the sixth most popular health network receiving approximately 23 million visitors for the month, while Searchmetrics listed Drugs.com in the top 100 US websites for search visibility.\n\nIn April 2017, The Harris Poll listed Drugs.com as the Health Information Website Brand of the Year.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Drugs.com\n\nAmerican medical websites\nAmerican companies established in 2001\nHealth care companies established in 2001\nInternet properties established in 2001\nDrugs", "On 25 November 2014 two British tourists aged 20 and 21 died in a hotel room in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, after snorting white heroin that was sold as cocaine by a street dealer. The bodies were found less than a month after another British tourist died in similar circumstances. At least 17 other people have had medical treatment after taking the white heroin. Health authorities in Amsterdam are warning of the dangerous drugs being sold. Large signs were set up at popular tourist locations in the city. An award of €15,000 is offered for tips about the dealer of the drugs. On 20 January 2015 the last warning signs were removed from the city as there had been no further incidents.\n\nIn the night of 25 February 2015, three Danish tourists became unwell after using white heroin, but left the hospital later. The police spread video material of the alleged seller. The warning signs returned in the streets in Amsterdam and flyers and posters were deployed at crucial places in the city. People could also test their drugs at 30 sites in the city.\n\nThe man who sold the drugs in February 2015 was Flip S. from Amsterdam. In court there was not enough evidence that he was also the dealer of the drugs causing the other incidents. There was no evidence he sold the drugs to harm people. In February 2016, he was sentenced to one year in prison for dealing drugs and not taking proper precautions like testing his drugs beforehand.\n\nAftermath\nThe weekend after the two British men died, a minute's silence was held by thirty-seven amateur football matches in the Novahomes Plymouth and West Devon Combination league in honour of the two. Neither has been named by the Foreign Office following a request from their families. One of their old clubs, Plymouth Falcons, postponed their upcoming match with Plymouth Spurs.\n\nControversy\nDrugs expert Adam Winstock proposed that the drug dealer had murdered the buyers. He mentioned that the street price of white heroin is three times the price of cocaine, which makes the scenario of a drug dealer, a person driven by the desire of profit, very unlikely to have accidentally substituted heroin for cocaine once, and much less so multiple times for more than two months.\n\nSee also\n 2014 in the Netherlands\n Timeline of Amsterdam\n List of deaths from drug overdose and intoxication\n\nReferences\n\nAmsterdam drug\nAmsterdam drug deaths\n2010s in Amsterdam\nAccidental deaths in the Netherlands\nBritish victims of crime\nDeaths by heroin overdose\nDrug-related deaths in the Netherlands\nTourism in Amsterdam\n2014 crimes in the Netherlands\nNovember 2014 events in Europe\nNovember 2014 crimes in Europe" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion" ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	What happened in 1967 for Eddy?	1	What happened in 1967 for Eddy Merckx?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna.	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	true	[ "Dr. Mary Pierson Eddy (1864-1923) was a religious and medical missionary. She was born in Syria to American missionary parents. Dr. Eddy followed in her parents' footsteps to become a medical missionary in the Middle East. She was the first woman to obtain a license to practice medicine in the Ottoman Empire. Dr. Eddy spent most of her missionary career traveling among remote villages of Syria until her death at age 59.\n\nHer family is credited with the success of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Syria.\n\nEarly life\nDr. Mary Eddy was born in Sidon, Lebanon on September 21, 1864, the fourth child out of five of William Woodbridge and Hannah Eddy (née Condit). Mary, along with siblings William and Harriet, followed their parents' examples and became missionaries in the Middle East. The eldest child, William, continued his parents' missionary practice in Sidon until he died in 1906. Harriet, the eldest daughter, also became a missionary. She worked in Sidon before continuing her mission in Beirut. Their sibling Robert is the only child of the Eddys to live in the United States, where he was a physician in New Rochelle, New York. The Eddys also had a fifth child, Ms. Julia Woodbridge Eddy, but little is known about her.\n\nDr. William W. Eddy was born in Penn Yan, New York on December 18, 1825. He attended Williams College (where he was a member of Delta Upsilon) and graduated in 1845. He died in Beirut on January 26, 1900. Hannah Condit Eddy was from Oswego, New York and attended Mount Holyoke Seminary. She died on April 14, 1904.\n\nIn November 1851, William Eddy sailed with his wife to Syria with the American Board missionaries to begin a lifelong missionary career. After arriving in Syria, William and Hannah remained in Syria for 48 years, spending time in Aleppo, but mostly in Beirut and Sidon(present-day Lebanon). During their time in Syria, the Eddys established various seminaries, schools, and churches.\n\nEducation \nAt 16, Eddy went to the United States for the first time to complete her studies, as is common among missionary families. Eddy attended school in Philadelphia for 2 years before studying at Elmira College in upstate New York. She returned to Syria in 1883 after sustaining an injury due to a fall.\n\nMissionary work in Syria\n\nBackground \nIn 1888, Eddy became seriously ill with burning fever. At just twenty-two years old, friends and family feared for her life until her fever broke. Because of this illness, Mary decided to become a physician. Dr. Eddy subsequently returned to New York in 1890 to study medicine. She completed her studies sometime around 1892 and was appointed as a missionary to Syria by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions.\n\nIn 1893, Dr. Eddy left New York and traveled to Istanbul to obtain a medical license from the Ottoman Empire. When questioned by Turkish officials of the Imperial Council about her origins and background, she responded in Arabic, \"I am of you and from among you.\" Officials were stunned and proceeded to examine her medical knowledge for six hours before approving her as a physician of the Ottoman Empire.\n\nWork in Syria \nDr. Mary Eddy began her missionary work in November 1893. Although she worked under the American Protestant missionaries, Dr. Eddy's main focus was not to proselytize but to heal. She founded eye clinics, hospitals, and a tuberculosis sanatorium. Unlike other missionaries of her time, Dr. Eddy traveled frequently throughout her mission. She set up clinics in tents and reached a great number of patients. In one instance, Dr. Eddy saw more than 500 new patients and performed over 40 eye operations in a single day. Dr. Eddy continued her mission for more than 20 years and faced many unorthodox situations. She contracted malaria, was swept out to sea, almost shipwrecked a trip from Beirut to Syria, and slept in a mud hut among other people and animals, among other hardships.\n\nDeath \nStress, exhaustion, and overwork contributed to Dr. Eddy's serious health problems. In 1914, she suffered a stroke and lost her eyesight. From then on, Eddy's health slowly deteriorated. A few years before her death, Dr. Eddy was hospitalized in the United States. In 1916, she wrote, \"I don't know what the future has in store. I only wish I had a home on this globe.\" Eddy's wish was to return to her place of birth before her death. In 1922, and accompanied by her sister Harriet, Eddy returned to the Middle East. Dr. Eddy died, blind and invalid, at age 59.\n\nLegacy \nMary Eddy was born in Syria to religious missionary parents. She was fluent in Arabic and very familiar with the culture of her patients. However, Dr. Eddy was a complex character in that while she desired to serve her patients, she also at times was critical of them. In correspondence with friends, she remarked that the \"natives\" had a \"lack of moral sense\" and described them as \"Black and uncomely with no redeeming qualities of the mind and body.\" Despite this, Dr. Eddy genuinely cared for the physical and spiritual wellbeing of her patients, as seen through her commitment to serve despite hardships and personal illness.\n\nDr. Eddy felt as if she was neither Syrian nor American. The only times Eddy visited the United States was for her schooling and for her health treatments. Although she was more at home in Syria, she still at times held Syrians in contempt. Until her death, Eddy felt as if she had \"no home\" on Earth. Rather, she felt as if she had a calling to evangelize and heal before reaching her home in heaven.\n\nReferences \n\n1864 births\n1923 deaths\nAmerican ophthalmologists\nChristian medical missionaries\nAmerican expatriates in the Ottoman Empire\nAmerican Protestant missionaries\nFemale Christian missionaries\nProtestant missionaries in Syria\nProtestant missionaries in the Ottoman Empire\nWomen ophthalmologists", "William Crawford (\"Bill\") Eddy (August 22, 1902 – September 15, 1989) might best be described as a 20th-century Renaissance man. Naval officer, submariner, engineer, television producer, educator, cartoonist, artist, inventor, entrepreneur, explorer, writer – all of these characterizations and more could justifiably be applied to him, and he was successful in all of them.\nBill Eddy was born and raised in Saratoga Springs, New York, where his father was a successful businessman and four-term mayor. He completed high school at the New York Military Academy, then received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. With minimal hearing capability, he passed the physical examination by \"reading lips,\" then kept this deficiency hidden throughout his years at the Academy and during his initial military service.\n\nEarly career\n\nUpon graduating from the Naval Academy in 1926, Eddy's first assignment as an ensign was on the light cruiser . He was initially sent to Nicaragua to \"fight the Banana Wars,\" then dispatched to China to protect American interests and \"show the flag\" along the Yangtze River. In 1928, Eddy requested and received a transfer to the submarine service. At six-foot six, he was almost too tall for submarines, but nevertheless received an assignment on the , patrolling the Asiatic waters from the Philippines. To compensate for his hearing problem, he designed a visual display for audio tracking signals; this apparatus was widely used on submarines for many years. When Eddy learned that the Navy needed a suitable badge for the submarine service, being a talented artist he designed the \"Dolphins\" insignia; this was adopted and is still proudly worn by eligible personnel.\n\nIn 1930, Eddy was sent to the Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut. Here he qualified as a submarine commander and was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade). Remaining at New London, Eddy set up an electronics course for officers. He had his own laboratory for conducting research in underwater sound gear and signal communicating from a submerged position; his research resulted in four secret patents. When standing a physical examination for promotion to lieutenant, his hearing loss came to light, and he was forced into disability retirement at the close of 1934.\n\nIn early 1935, Eddy joined Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of fully electronic television, in his new research operations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While he soon made engineering contributions in developing new equipment, it was with Farnsworth's experimental television station, W3XPF, where he gained wide recognition. He essentially \"wrote the book\" for the emerging studio activities, setting the stage for television operations over the next years.\n\nTo assist with his hearing – by now very poor – Eddy developed a miniature electronic set driving a vibrating element that was contained within an unlit pipe. When clenched in his teeth, the pipe delivered the sounds – albeit very distorted – through his jaw to his inner ear. For the rest of his life, this pipe was ever present.\n\nHaving gained a reputation at W3XPF, Eddy was recruited by RCA, Farnsworth's main rival. In 1937, he joined RCA's experimental station W2XBS in New York City. Here, Eddy applied for 43 patents and received wide recognition for his accomplishments. Among other television studio innovations, he is credited with creating the field of sight effects – using miniatures, special sets, and innovative lighting to greatly broaden the telecast scenes.\n\nNow one of the most recognized television authorities in America, Eddy was invited by the Balaban and Katz theater chain to initiate electronic television broadcasting in Chicago. In April 1941, he opened W9XBK as an experimental station, operating from facilities in the Chicago Loop district. Although there were only a few hundred television receivers in the area, Eddy inaugurated many technical and programming innovations, including the use of a remote unit with a high-frequency link to telecast live sports events.\n\nWartime activities\nOn December 7, 1941, when Eddy heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he took a night train from Chicago to Washington, D.C., intent on returning to active duty as a Navy officer. The next day, with an unlit pipe clenched in his teeth, he searched through the chaos in the Navy Department, trying to find a receptive ear. Eventually he found a senior officer in the Training Division of the Bureau of Navigation who had heard of Eddy's television accomplishments.\n\nWhen the officer told Eddy that highly skilled personnel were desperately needed to maintain a new type of high-frequency radio equipment, Eddy responded, \"You'll need lots of radar men. We can train 'em. We've got room, equipment, skilled personnel – you can have it all!\" (Radar was then highly classified, but Eddy was aware of it because engineers at W9XBK had been recruited by the Navy for this activity.) A small ad hoc group was already immersed in searching for solutions to the crisis in training issue – radar was on the way into the fleet, and there was only a handful of personnel with any knowledge of its maintenance. Eddy was invited to join this planning group and quickly became the leader.\n\nIn less than a month, Eddy's group had developed plans for what came to be recognized as the most challenging training program of WWII. Popularly called the Electronics Training Program (ETP), this had a three-month Primary School, followed by a five- or six-month Secondary School, both involving unbelievable 15-hour study days. The Primary, covering the major topics normally in the first two years of an electrical engineering curriculum, was initially given by six engineering colleges distributed across the U.S. The Secondary, involving advanced topics (such as microwave theory) and secret-level laboratory experience on radar and related equipment, was at three highly secure Navy facilities: one at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.; a similar facility on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay; and the third (for airborne systems) at Ward Island near the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. Later during the war, schools at other locations were added.\n\nAdmission to the ETP was through passing a comprehensive, psychologically probing examination commonly called the Eddy Test. Throughout the war years, it is estimated that some 500,000 persons took the Eddy Test, but only about 30,000 passed, survived the courses, and eventually graduated from the program. In a journal article, it was indicated that the average passing students were in the top two percent of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in the nation. The Commander of Treasure Island stated that ETP students represented the top three to five percent of all Navy personnel.\n\nThe ETP was initiated on January 12, 1942, in a prototype Primary School using the facilities of W9XBK on the top floors of the State-Lake Theater Building on the Loop in downtown Chicago. Eddy was returned to active duty, and in less than three years was promoted to the rank of captain. The greatly enlarged activities became Naval Training Schools – Radio Chicago, and were under the command of Eddy for the duration of the war.\n\nIn 1943, Radio Chicago took over two junior colleges and several other facilities in the area to provide month-long preparatory/filtering Pre-Radio Schools, each for about 1,000 entering students. To prepare potential students, Eddy personally led a team in writing a nationally used refresher book on mathematics. Radio Chicago also had a special school for program instructors.\n\nAt the end of the war, Eddy declined a further promotion to rear admiral and retired (again) in December 1945. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his wartime accomplishments. An article in the IEEE Spectrum, a leading electrical engineering magazine, heralded these accomplishments, crediting Eddy with a major contribution to the post-war educational boom in this field.\n\nPost-Navy accomplishments\nThroughout his time with Radio Chicago, Eddy had maintained a \"moonlighting\" relationship with the local experimental television station. Eddy was hired away from RCA technologies in the fall of 1940, to work for Paramount pictures. He was bet by executives at NBC that he couldn't start a television station and get in on the air within six months. Unlike the usual $500,000 it takes to get a station up and running, Eddy was able to start W9XBX for $60,000, and within five months, leading it in 1943 to become WBKB – Chicago's first commercial station. He authored a book, Television: The Eyes of Tomorrow, that defined TV operations for the next decade.\n\nOn leaving the Navy, Eddy resumed control of WBKB, and almost immediately established an operation that was historically noteworthy. In addition to continuing with his technical and production innovations, Eddy initiated many highly popular programs, including Junior Jamboree (puppeteers, later becoming Kukla, Fran and Ollie), the Chicago Zoo with Marlin Perkins (later Wild Kingdom), news with Hugh Downs, and the first live broadcasts of many sports: baseball (Chicago Cubs remote from Wrigley Field), college football (Notre Dame remote from South Bend), boxing, wrestling, and golf.\n\nIn 1947, Eddy formed Television Associates of Indiana, headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana, eventually with 200 employees. This firm developed equipment and techniques for geographical surveys using low-flying aircraft. For this, Eddy earned a private pilot license and handled the plane for most of the test flights. This activity grew into a four-aircraft service, mapping profiles along 25,000 route-miles all over the world, including a 3,000-mile track through Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. An inventive genius, Eddy led his firm in many electronic developments, including a continuous-loop, eight-track player for the Navy. Eddy was awarded even more patents, including one for the Turnpike Pacer (what is today the automobile cruise control).\n\nIn 1961, Television Associates was acquired by Westinghouse Air Brake Company and merged with its subsidiary Melpar, one of the most prominent technology firms of that time. Television Associates was maintained as a Melpar subsidiary, with Eddy serving as Board Chairman and President. There were eight overseas offices, and Eddy spent much time in travel. Melpar was sold in 1972, and Television Associates was then dissolved.\n\nPersonal life\n\nAt age 70, Eddy's professional career ended, but he remained very active in personal pursuits. For 33 years, starting in the 1930s, he had designed annual calendars for Honeywell's Brown Instruments. In retirement, he continued as an accomplished cartoonist and visual artist, winning awards for his oil paintings, ceramic sculptures, stained glass creations, and computer-generated art. A skilled sailor, Eddy owned a custom-built Chinese junk and sailed it all over Lake Michigan. He cared deeply for animals, and his last major activity was operating a small preserve for injured creatures.\n\nEddy met his future wife, Christine Woolridge, when she was traveling the world, and they were married in July 1927, in Hankow, China. They had three children, Nancy; William C., Jr.; and Dianne. Captain William Crawford Eddy died in Michigan City on September 15, 1989, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.\n\nReferences\n\nUnited States Naval Academy alumni\nSubmarine pioneers\nTelevision pioneers\n20th-century American educators\nRecipients of the Legion of Merit\nAmerican cartoonists\nBurials at Arlington National Cemetery\n1902 births\n1989 deaths\n20th-century American inventors" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion", "What happened in 1967 for Eddy?", "opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna." ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	Did he have any other victories?	2	Did Eddy Merckx have any other victories in addition to two stage victories at Giro di Sardegna?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	false	[ "Karl-Heinz Bendert (9 September 191416 July 1983) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Karl-Heinz Bendert claimed 55 victories in 610 missions. During his time with JG 27 in Africa he was involved in scandal with falsifying claims; his victories were mostly false because he would claim to have shot down enemy aircraft during missions in which other squadron members did shoot down aircraft to save face. Despite this, he was given credit to the victories. After a confrontation with his squadron leader, Gustav Roedel, who did not interfere with his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross nomination, he did not score any more victories.\n\nAwards\n Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (18 September 1942)\n Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe\n Iron Cross (1939)\n 2nd Class\n 1st Class\n German Cross in Gold on 15 October 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the 4./Jagdgeschwader 27\n Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 December 1942 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 5./Jagdgeschwader 27\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nCitations\n\nBibliography\n\nExternal links\nTracesOfWar.com\nAces of the Luftwaffe\nRitterkreuztrager 1939-1945\n\n1914 births\n1983 deaths\nLuftwaffe pilots\nGerman World War II flying aces\nRecipients of the Gold German Cross\nRecipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross\nPeople from Świebodzin\nPeople from the Province of Brandenburg", "Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), widely known as the Red Baron, is considered the ace-of-aces of the First World War, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories, more than any other pilot of the war – before being killed in action near Amiens on 21 April 1918.\n\nAs the following list demonstrates, his victories are well documented. Victories are against English flyers unless otherwise noted. The † indicates death.\n\nSources: Franks, Giblin & McCrery 2000; The Aerodrome n.d.\n\nCitations\n\nBibliography\n\nExternal links\nDid Red Baron shoot down Suffolk Pilot?\n\nVictories\nAerial victories of Richthofen, Manfred von\nAerial victories of Richthofen, Manfred von\nRichthofen, Manfred von\nAviation in World War I\n\nca:Manfred von Richthofen#Víctimes" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion", "What happened in 1967 for Eddy?", "opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna.", "Did he have any other victories?", "these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage" ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	3	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article along with Eddy Merckx's wins?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish.	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	true	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion", "What happened in 1967 for Eddy?", "opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna.", "Did he have any other victories?", "these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish." ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	Has he won any awards or trophies?	4	Has Eddy Merckx won any awards or trophies?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	false	[ "The Onze d'Or (alternative name: Onze Mondial European Footballer of the Year) is an association football award given by French magazine Onze Mondial since 1976. The award honors the best player in Europe, with any player in a European league eligible. Since 1991, there has also been a vote for the best coach of the year.\n\nOnze Mondials readers select their ideal team of the season, Onze de Onze (\"Onze's eleven\"), and among those players they choose the top three, who receive the Onze d'Or (\"Golden Onze\"), Onze d'Argent (\"Silver Onze\"), and Onze de Bronze (\"Bronze Onze\") respectively. The awards were based on the previous calendar year until 2009, but moved to a seasonal format beginning with the 2010–11 season.\n\nLionel Messi is the only player to have won the award on four occasions (2009–2012, 2018). Only two other players have won the Onze d'Or three times: Michel Platini (1983–1985) and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2000–2001). At the 20th anniversary of the magazine in 1995, a Super Onze d'Or was chosen among the previous winners; the top five players selected were: 1. Michel Platini (74%), 2. Marco van Basten (10%), 3. Diego Maradona (5%), 4. Roberto Baggio (4%) and 5. Romário (3%).\n\nWinners\n\nCoach of the Year\n\nWins by coach\n\nSee also \n\n The Guardian 100 Best Male Footballers In The World\nWorld Soccer Player of the Year\n FourFourTwo Player of the Year \nEl País King of European Soccer\nESM Team of the Season\n\nReferences\nNotes\n\nCitations\n\nFrench football trophies and awards\nEuropean football trophies and awards \nAssociation football trophies and awards\nFrance 3\nAwards by magazines\nAwards established in 1976\n1976 establishments in France", "The League Managers Association Awards is an annual award ceremony in English football, awarded by the League Managers Association. The most prestigious award is the LMA Manager of the Year award. It is presented to a manager from any division for his achievements in the prior season. The award is voted by fellow professional managers and as a result consideration is also given to managers who inherit poor sides or financial difficulties and not only those managers who do not have such financial constraints and have won trophies. On only five occasions has the Premier League winning manager won the award compared with the Premier League Manager of the Year award which has been won on all but four occasions by the manager of the team who were league champions. Trophies for the event are hand-crafted by silversmith Thomas Lyte, which also makes trophies for the LG Performance of the Week Award throughout the league season.\n\nLMA Manager of the Year\nThe LMA Manager of the Year Award is voted by fellow managers and the winner can come from any of the four professional leagues. To date only six have come from outside the Premier League: 1996 winner Peter Reid, who led Sunderland to the Division One title; 1997 winner Danny Wilson, who guided Barnsley into the Premier League; 2000 winner Alan Curbishley who led Charlton to the Division One title; 2006 winner Steve Coppell, who led Reading to win the Championship; 2015 winner Eddie Howe, who guided AFC Bournemouth into the Premier League; and 2019 winner Chris Wilder, who took Sheffield United up from the Championship.\n\nBreakdown of winners\n\nWinners by individual\n\nWinners by nationality\n\nDivisional Award Winners\n\nThe divisional award winners are voted by a panel.\n\nFA Cup Manager of the Year\n\nWinners by individual\nThe following managers have won two or more awards.\n\nWins by country\n\nSpecial Merit Award\nAlso referred to as Service to Football Award.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nLeague Managers Association\n\nEnglish football trophies and awards\nFootball managers in England\nEngland\nAnnual events in England\nAnnual sporting events in the United Kingdom" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion", "What happened in 1967 for Eddy?", "opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna.", "Did he have any other victories?", "these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish.", "Has he won any awards or trophies?", "His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne" ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	What else can you tell me about the article?	5	What else can you tell me about the article besides Eddy Merckx's wins?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles.	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	true	[ "Follow Me! is a series of television programmes produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk and the BBC in the late 1970s to provide a crash course in the English language. It became popular in many overseas countries as a first introduction to English; in 1983, one hundred million people watched the show in China alone, featuring Kathy Flower.\n\nThe British actor Francis Matthews hosted and narrated the series.\n\nThe course consists of sixty lessons. Each lesson lasts from 12 to 15 minutes and covers a specific lexis. The lessons follow a consistent group of actors, with the relationships between their characters developing during the course.\n\nFollow Me! actors\n Francis Matthews\n Raymond Mason\n David Savile\n Ian Bamforth\n Keith Alexander\n Diane Mercer\n Jane Argyle\n Diana King\n Veronica Leigh\n Elaine Wells\n Danielle Cohn\n Lashawnda Bell\n\nEpisodes \n \"What's your name\"\n \"How are you\"\n \"Can you help me\"\n \"Left, right, straight ahead\"\n \"Where are they\"\n \"What's the time\"\n \"What's this What's that\"\n \"I like it very much\"\n \"Have you got any wine\"\n \"What are they doing\"\n \"Can I have your name, please\"\n \"What does she look like\"\n \"No smoking\"\n \"It's on the first floor\"\n \"Where's he gone\"\n \"Going away\"\n \"Buying things\"\n \"Why do you like it\"\n \"What do you need\"\n \"I sometimes work late\"\n \"Welcome to Britain\"\n \"Who's that\"\n \"What would you like to do\"\n \"How can I get there?\"\n \"Where is it\"\n \"What's the date\"\n \"Whose is it\"\n \"I enjoy it\"\n \"How many and how much\"\n \"What have you done\"\n \"Haven't we met before\"\n \"What did you say\"\n \"Please stop\"\n \"How can I get to Brightly\"\n \"Where can I get it\"\n \"There's a concert on Wednesday\"\n \"What's it like\"\n \"What do you think of him\"\n \"I need someone\"\n \"What were you doing\"\n \"What do you do\"\n \"What do you know about him\"\n \"You shouldn't do that\"\n \"I hope you enjoy your holiday\"\n \"Where can I see a football match\"\n \"When will it be ready\"\n \"Where did you go\"\n \"I think it's awful\"\n \"A room with a view\"\n \"You'll be ill\"\n \"I don't believe in strikes\"\n \"They look tired\"\n \"Would you like to\"\n \"Holiday plans\"\n \"The second shelf on the left\"\n \"When you are ready\"\n \"Tell them about Britain\"\n \"I liked everything\"\n \"Classical or modern\"\n \"Finale\"\n\nReferences \n\n BBC article about the series in China\n\nExternal links \n Follow Me – Beginner level \n Follow Me – Elementary level\n Follow Me – Intermediate level\n Follow Me – Advanced level\n\nAdult education television series\nEnglish-language education television programming", "\"Tell Me What You Want\" is the fourth single by English R&B band Loose Ends from their first studio album, A Little Spice, and was released in February 1984 by Virgin Records. The single reached number 74 in the UK Singles Chart.\n\nTrack listing\n7” Single: VS658\n \"Tell Me What You Want) 3.35\n \"Tell Me What You Want (Dub Mix)\" 3.34\n\n12” Single: VS658-12\n \"Tell Me What You Want (Extended Version)\" 6.11\n \"Tell Me What You Want (Extended Dub Mix)\" 5.41\n\nU.S. only release - 12” Single: MCA23596 (released 1985)\n \"Tell Me What You Want (U.S. Extended Remix)\" 6.08 \n \"Tell Me What You Want (U.S. Dub Version)\" 5.18\n\n The U.S. Extended Remix version was released on CD on the U.S. Version of the 'A Little Spice' album (MCAD27141).\n\nThe Extended Version also featured on Side D of the limited gatefold sleeve version of 'Magic Touch'\n\nChart performance\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Tell Me What You Want at Discogs.\n\n1984 singles\nLoose Ends (band) songs\nSong recordings produced by Nick Martinelli\nSongs written by Carl McIntosh (musician)\nSongs written by Steve Nichol\n1984 songs\nVirgin Records singles" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion", "What happened in 1967 for Eddy?", "opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna.", "Did he have any other victories?", "these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish.", "Has he won any awards or trophies?", "His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne", "What else can you tell me about the article?", "Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles." ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	What was the Second Straight Milan?	6	What was the Second Straight Milan?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	false	[ "Milan (foaled 8 March 1998), is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire who was bred in Britain but trained in Ireland. In a career which lasted from October 2000 until May 2002, he ran ten times and won three races. He recorded his most important success when winning the Classic St. Leger Stakes as a three-year-old in 2001. In the same year also won the Great Voltigeur Stakes and finished second in the Breeders' Cup Turf. He was retired after being injured in his only race as a four-year-old.\n\nBackground\nMilan is a bay horse with a large white star and four white feet, who was bred at the Fittocks Stud at Upend, Newmarket in Suffolk. The stud is managed by Sara Cumani, the wife of the trainer Luca Cumani. Milan is one of numerous top-class middle-distance runners sired by the thirteen-time Champion sire Sadler's Wells. His dam Kithanga was a successful racemare who won the St. Simon Stakes and finished third in the Irish St. Leger. As a yearling, Milan was set to the Tattersalls sales at Newmarket, where he was bought for 650,000 guineas by the bloodstock agent Dermot \"Demi\" O'Byrne on behalf of the Coolmore organisation. Like many of the Coolmore horses he was sent into training with Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle. He was registered for racing purposes as being owned by either Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier or a partnership of the two.\n\nRacing career\n\n2000: two-year-old season\nMilan did not appear until the autumn of his two-year-old season when he began his racing career at the Curragh on 15 October. Contesting the Kildare Maiden Stakes he was ridden by Colm O'Donoghue and started at odds of 9/1 in a field of twenty-two runners. Milan tracked the leaders before moving into the lead a furlong from the finish and quickened clear to win \"easily\" by three and a half lengths from his stable companion Leopard Spot.\n\n2001: three-year-old season\nMilan began his three-year-old season in the Listed Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown on 16 April. He started at odds of 7/1 and finished second to the subsequent Epsom Derby winner Galileo, with Vinnie Roe in third. With his stable companion Galileo aimed for the Derby, Milan was sent to contest Group One races in France. He finished a half length third to Chichicastenago in the Prix Lupin at Longchamp in May after which O'Brien called Milan \"still a big baby\" In the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly in June he was poorly drawn and stumbled exiting the stalls before finishing \"powerfully\" to take fifth place behind Anabaa Blue. In these races he was ridden by Mick Kinane who rode Milan in all his subsequent races.\n\nLater in June, Milan started favourite for the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot but finished fourth of the twelve runners behind Storming Home. Milan and Storming Home met again in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York in August. On this occasion, Milan started second favourite at 6/1, despite receiving three pounds from his English-trained opponent. Kinane restrained Milan in the early stages before moving him forward in the straight. He took the lead a furlong from the finish and stayed on to beat Storming Home by one and a half lengths. Aidan O'Brien explained that the colt had been given a break since things had happened \"a bit quick for him\" in France and at Ascot, and that he had been looking fresh in training. The Racing Post described Milan as looking \"stylish and progressive\".\n\nAt Doncaster on 15 September, Milan started the 13/8 favourite for the St Leger against nine opponents over fourteen and a half furlongs. Milan was held up at the rear of the field before making steady progress but appeared to be boxed in on the rail before being switched to the outside in the straight. He took the lead a furlong from the finish and pulled clear of the field with what the BBC described as an \"incredible burst of speed\" to win by five lengths from Demophilos and Mr Combustible. Kinane, winning the race at his first attempt at the age of forty-two, described Milan as \"the class horse in the race\". Following his Classic win, Milan was brought back in distance to contest the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp. As part of the Ballydoyle entry, he started 4.8/1 third favourite. He stayed on steadily in the straight, but was never able to reach the leaders and finished fifth behind Sakhee. The final start of Milan's three-year-old season saw him race outside Europe for the only time as he was sent to Belmont Park for the Breeders' Cup Turf. He was towards the rear of the eleven horse field for much of the way before moving into fourth place at the turn into the straight. In the closing stages he stayed on strongly but failed by three quarters of a length to catch the leader Fantastic Light with the two European horses finishing almost six lengths clear of the rest of the runners.\n\n2002: four-year-old season\nOn his four-year-old debut, Milan was made evens favourite for the Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh on 6 May 2002. He had been considered doubtful for the race after sustaining a bruised foot in training, but was cleared to run after an X-ray examination. He raced in third place before sustaining an injury and being pulled-up by Kinane approaching the straight. The injury proved to be fracture of the colt's cannon bone, and Milan was retired to stud.\n\nStud career\nMilan was retired to stand for his owners' Coolmore Stud organisation and has been primarily marketed as a National Hunt Stallion. He is currently based at the Grange Stud, Fermoy, County Cork, where he stands at a stud fee of €5,000. His winners include Jezki, Darlan, Raya Star (Scottish Champion Hurdle) and One For Arthur.\n\nPedigree\n\nReferences \n\nRacehorses bred in the United Kingdom\nRacehorses trained in Ireland\n1998 racehorse births\nThoroughbred family 5-e\nSt Leger winners", "Porta Magenta, formerly known as Porta Vercellina, was one of the city gates of Milan, Italy. The gate was established in the 9th century, with the Roman walls of the city; it was moved with the medieval and Spanish walls, and was finally demolished in the 19th century. The phrase \"Porta Magenta\" is now used to refer to the district (\"quartiere\") where the gate used to be; the district is part of the Zone 7 administrative division of Milan, west of the city centre.\n\nBoth names \"Porta Magenta\" and \"Porta Vercellina\" refer to cities located west of Milan (respectively Magenta and Vercelli). The former name was after Vercelli as the gate controlled the road connecting Milan to this city; the latter name was chosen to celebrate the Battle of Magenta, a decisive victory in the Second Italian War of Independence.\n\nThe gate\n\nA Porta Vercellina was part of the Roman walls of Milan; it was located in what is now Via San Giovanni sul Muro, at the corner of Via Meravigli. The gate was probably restructured (but not relocated) in the Roman Empire era. There are no remnants of the Roman gate, although the area houses some of the best preserved Roman relics of Milan, namely part of the Imperial Palace (in Via Brisa), the \"Anspertus Tower\" (later adapted as a clocktower of the Maggiore monastery), and part of the foundations of the walls themselves.\n\nIn the 12th century, after Frederick I Barbarossa conquered and ravaged Milan, a new fortified walls system was built, enclosing a larger area, and Porta Vercellina was thus moved west, farther from the centre, to what is now Via Carducci, between the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio and the Sforza Castle. A moat and a drawbridge were added to the gate. In the Middle Ages, the name \"Porta Vercellina\" began to identify the rione as well as the gate; the rione had its own coat of arms. The only remnant of the medieval walls is a statue of Mary and Baby, now housed by the nearby Church of San Nicolao (Nicholas of Flüe).\n\nIn the 16th century, during Spanish rule, the walls of Milan were again enlarged, and the gate moved again west, to what is now the corner between Via Toti and Corso Vercelli. This gate was demolished and rebuilt in the early 19th century, when Milan became the capital of the Napoleonic Italian Kingdom. Porta Vercellina was actually among the first gates to be restructured, as it was destined to be used for the triumphal entry of Napoleon in Milan on 8 May 1805. The design of the new gate was commissioned to architect Luigi Canonica. As with the other Napoleonic gates of Milan, Porta Vercellina had lost its defensive function, and became a toll gate.\n\nThe gate was renamed \"Porta Magenta\" in 1860, to celebrate the victorious Battle of Magenta. In 1873, when the boundaries of Milan were enlarged and the surrounding Comune dei Corpi Santi was annexed to the city, the toll gate at Porta Vercellina lost its purpose, and in 1885 the gate was finally demolished.\n\nThe district\nThe district of Porta Magenta is a central district of Milan. Its main streets, Corso Magenta and Corso Vercelli, are a prominent shopping area, with several shops and large stores. Being part of the centre of Milan, the district is rich of 19th century monumental buildings and other prominent architectures, especially in Corso Magenta. The most important building in the district is the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, one of Milan's prominent landmarks as well as UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is known both for its architecture and for housing Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper mural. Other landmark buildings in Porta Magenta include Palazzo Litta, the church of San Mauririzio, and the Palazzo delle Stelline. The district also includes the most well-known and historic jailhouse of Milan, the Carcere di San Vittore (in Via San Vittore).\n\nDistricts of Milan" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion", "What happened in 1967 for Eddy?", "opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna.", "Did he have any other victories?", "these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish.", "Has he won any awards or trophies?", "His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne", "What else can you tell me about the article?", "Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles.", "What was the Second Straight Milan?", "I don't know." ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	Where there any other champion ships?	7	Where there any other champion ships aside from road race amateur and professional titles?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place.	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	true	[ "USS Champion (1859), an armed river steamer, was built in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1859 as Champion No. 4; purchased there on 14 March 1863; fitted out at Cairo, Illinois; and commissioned on 26 April 1863, Acting Master Alfred Phelps, Jr., in command.\n\nCivil War operations\nOperating almost continuously from 27 April 1863 – 9 June 1865, Champion patrolled the Mississippi River, Tennessee River, and the Red River. She transported troops, prisoners, supplies, and cotton; towed and convoyed ships; and delivered dispatches.\n\nDecommissioning\nHer yeoman service ended at Mound City, Illinois, where she was decommissioned on 1 July. Champion was sold 29 November 1865.\n\nSee also\nAmerican Civil War\nUnion Navy\nConfederate States Navy\nUnited States Navy\nSteamboat\n\nReferences\n\nSteamships of the United States Navy\nShips built in Cincinnati\nShips of the Union Navy\nGunboats of the United States Navy\n1859 ships", "Naval War is a card game first published by Battleline Publications in 1979.\n\nDescription\nNaval War is a light system of naval combat, not intended to represent any actual tactics of historical naval battles, in which players may operate ships from opposing navies side-by-side. All ships depicted in the game were involved in World War II. The basic mechanic is one where ships have different size guns and players have cards which are different size ammunition. A player must match ammo to the guns to fire and damage other players' ships. Players have multiple ships and the winner is the last player with ships afloat; in the latest edition (1983), winning is based on points from sinking enemy ships.\n\nPublication history\nNaval War was first published by Battleline Publications in 1979, and was designed by S. Craig Taylor, Jr. and Neil Zimmerer.\n\nReception\nJohn Scott Tynes commented: \"There hasn't been an edition of Naval War since Avalon Hill's in 1983 and the game is long out of print. Yet the World Boardgaming Championships have crowned a Naval War champion every single year since 1992, a testament to the vitality and irresistible appeal of this superb game.\"\n\nReferences\n\nDedicated deck card games" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion", "What happened in 1967 for Eddy?", "opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna.", "Did he have any other victories?", "these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish.", "Has he won any awards or trophies?", "His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne", "What else can you tell me about the article?", "Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles.", "What was the Second Straight Milan?", "I don't know.", "Where there any other champion ships?", "Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place." ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	Did he win any other first place races during that time frame?	8	Did Eddy Merckx win any other first place races during that time frame aside from Jan Janssen?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race.	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	false	[ "Bigger Picture (foaled February 8, 2011 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse whose wins included the Grade 1 United Nations Handicap plus three consecutive editions of the John B. Connally Turf Cup.\n\nCareer\n\nBigger Picture's first race was on December 7th, 2013, at Turfway Park, where he did not finish. He completed his second race however en route to victory on January 1st, 2014.\n\nBigger Picture spent his 2014 and 2015 seasons competing in various claiming races, picking up some wins along the way. During the 2016 season he competed in the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes, finishing eighth. He won his first graded race on November 12th, 2016 at the Red Smith Handicap.\n\nHe picked up his first of two wins in his 2017 season by winning the Grade -3 John B. Connally Turf Cup, on January 29, 2017. \n\nHis second win of the 2017 season came on July 1st, when he competed again in the Grade-1 United Nations Stakes. He came into the race at 10-1 odds and in a major upset was victorious. He finished on the podium at both the July 2017 Bowling Green Handicap and the August 2017 Sword Dancer Stakes.\n\nHe started off his 2018 season with a successful defense of his John B. Connally Turf Cup crown by coming in first place. He did not win any more races in 2018, but came close with a third place finish at the 2018 United Nations Stakes.\n\nHe won the John B. Connally Turf Cu] for the third time on January 27, 2019. He also added another victory to his name by winning the 2019 Elkhorn Stakes.\n This was his final win of 2019.\n\nPedigree\n\nReferences\n\n2011 racehorse births", "Russia was a hardy Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1946 Melbourne Cup and other staying races.\n\nBreeding\nHe was a chestnut stallion foaled in 1940 by the unplaced, but good sire, Excitement (IRE) from the unraced Lady March by the useful broodmare sire, Bonnement (GB). Lady March also had two sets of twins that died and Brazen March, a filly that did not race. Russia was bred at Trangie, New South Wales by J. G. Leeds and trained throughout his career by Ted Hush. During Russia's racing career Leeds gave Ted Hush a half share in Russia prior to his Melbourne Cup win.\n\nRacing record\nA hardy competitor he competed for seven seasons over distances from 5 furlongs (1,000 metres) to 2¼ miles, starting 89 times for 22½ wins, which included victories in 19 principal races. Racing under weight for age (w.f.a.) conditions he won 12½ races and defeated Shannon and Flight when they were at the peak of their racing careers.\n\nHis biggest win was the 1946 VRC Melbourne Cup which he won by five lengths in a time of 3 minutes 21.25 seconds that equalled the then race record set by Wotan ten years earlier.\n\nRussia won a further 10 races following his Melbourne Cup win. He won £39,273 during his racing career.\n\n1946 racebook\n\nStud record\nRussia stood at stud in 1948 before he returned to racing in the autumn of 1949 for a short period. He was then sold to David J. Davis of Phar Lap fame, and is now living in America after the conclusion of his racing career. Russia did not sire any principal race winners in Australia but did produce three stakes winners in the US, Carolas ($42,610), Georgie ($21,505) and Noredski ($72,410).\n\nReferences\n\n1940 racehorse births\nRacehorses bred in Australia\nRacehorses trained in Australia\nMelbourne Cup winners\nThoroughbred family 1-i\nGodolphin Arabian sire line" ]
[ "Eddy Merckx", "1967: Second straight Milan-San Remo and world champion", "What happened in 1967 for Eddy?", "opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna.", "Did he have any other victories?", "these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish.", "Has he won any awards or trophies?", "His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne", "What else can you tell me about the article?", "Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles.", "What was the Second Straight Milan?", "I don't know.", "Where there any other champion ships?", "Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place.", "Did he win any other first place races during that time frame?", "His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race." ]	C_23f96a021e00402fa7a5d8d59bcb1b55_0	How long did his career in cycling last or was it 1967?	9	How long did Eddy Merckx's career in cycling last or was it over in 1967?	Eddy Merckx	Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with . His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to , and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974, Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 meters. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all twice or more. The other two are fellow Belgians Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. However, Merckx was caught in three separate doping incidents during his career. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle chain, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted the Tour of Oman in running, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Early life and amateur career Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, in Brussels, Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball, football, table tennis and boxing, the latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race a month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien, on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning the Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx was selected for the men's road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished in twelfth position. Later in the season, he won the amateur road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches, France. Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Professional career 1965–1967: Solo–Superia and Peugeot–BP–Michelin 1965: First professional season Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy's Belgian team, . He won his first race in Vilvoorde, beating Emile Daems. On 1 August, Merckx finished second in the Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Raphaël Géminiani, the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for the next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout. Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot-BP-Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with , he won nine races out of the nearly 70 races he entered. 1966: First Monument victory In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice. He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo, his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with the main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio. He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. Three other riders reached the line with him; Merckx, however, beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, the most important cobbled classics; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. 1967: Second straight Milan–San Remo and world champion Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. 1968–1970: Faema 1968: First Grand Tour victory Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit the race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France. He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and the group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification. In the Volta a Catalunya, Merckx took the race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. 1969: A victory in Paris and injury in Blois Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders. On a rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending the Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with seventy kilometers remaining in the pouring rain. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France. Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before the start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting the Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on the Col du Tourmalet. Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque, increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At the end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg. Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into the second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider was to be paced by a derny. Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of the other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion, whiplash, trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis, and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at the hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx stopped racing on 26 October to recuperate. 1970: A Giro–Tour double Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee. His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem, followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970. His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships. Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey. After losing the lead following the second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux, where upon finishing he was given oxygen. Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year. 1971–1976: Molteni 1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni. The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk. After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné, both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme. Bernard Thévenet attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson. The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered the Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon, being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté, Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia. This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. 1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España, he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the stage's final climb. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass, but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City, Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar. Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of , breaking the world record. After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." 1973: A Giro–Vuelta double An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, instead of racing the Tour de France. He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications. Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and the next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens, Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations. He won both legs of À travers Lausanne, as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. 1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the Tour de France. The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier. The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja. He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. 1975: Second place at the Tour With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders. He launched an attacked with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia. He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race. At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second. He placed second in the Tour de France's prologue. The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with Francesco Moser, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk. In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk. He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk. He won the next time trial into Auch as well. During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage. Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day. On the day's final climb to Pla d'Adet, he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk. Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes. After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme. While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked. Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters. With about 150 m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton. He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath. The punch left him with a large bruise. During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners. The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an analgesic. Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the Col des Champs, all of which Merckx countered. Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent. On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb. However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left. Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down. The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught. He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the Col d'Izoard. He crashed in the next leg, breaking a cheekbone, and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris. He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts. 1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo. He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow. This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season. He entered the Giro d'Italia but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career. He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race. Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the Tour de France. He took part in the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships and finished in fifth position. He ended his season in October after racing for most of August. He failed to win the Super Prestige Pernod International, a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968. In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down. Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season. 1977–1978: Fiat France and C&A Fiat France became the new sponsor for Merckx's team and Raphaël Géminiani the new manager. He got his season's first victories in the Grand Prix d'Aix and Tour Méditerranéen. Merckx agreed to ride a light spring season in order to save himself for a chance at a sixth Tour victory. He took one stage at the Paris–Nice but had to withdraw from the race's final stage due to sinusitis. In the spring classics, Merckx did not win any races, with his best finish being a sixth place in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Before the Tour, Merckx raced both the Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, winning one stage of the latter. He admitted his poor form and anxiety about aggravating previous injuries going into the Tour de France. He held on to second place overall for two weeks. As the race entered the Alps, Merckx began to lose more time; he lost thirteen minutes on the stage to Alpe d'Huez alone. On the stage into Saint-Étienne, Merckx attacked and gained enough time to move into sixth overall; he finished the Tour in the same position. In the time following the Tour, Merckx raced twenty-two races in a span of forty days before coming in thirty-third at the UCI Road World Championships's men's road race. Merckx earned his final victory on the road on 17 September in a kermis race. In late December, Fiat France chose to end their sponsorship of Merckx in favor of building a more French centered squad. In January, the department store C&A announced that they would sponsor a new team for Merckx after their owner met Merckx at a football game. His plan for the season was to race one last Tour de France and then ride several smaller races for appearances. He raced a total of five races in the 1978 calendar. His last victory was in a track event, an omnium in Zürich, on 10 February 1978 with Patrick Sercu. His first road race came in the Grand Prix de Montauroux on 19 February. Merckx came to the front of the race and put in a large effort before swinging off and quitting the race. His best finish came in the Tour de Haut, where he managed fifth. He dropped out of Omloop Het Volk due to colitis and completed his final race on 19 March, a kermis in Kemzeke. Following the race, Merckx went on a vacation to go skiing. He returned from travel to train more, but by this point the team sponsor knew he was going to quit. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport on 18 May. He stated that the doctors advised him against racing. Retirement Following his exit from racing, Merckx opened up Eddy Merckx Cycles on 28 March 1980 in Brussels. The initial workers that were hired for the factory were trained by Ugo De Rosa, a notable bike maker, before starting. The company almost went bankrupt at one point and was also caught up in a tax repayment controversy. Merckx would spend time giving input on the models as they were being produced. Despite the financial problems the brand became highly regarded and successful, being used by several top-level cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Merckx stepped down as CEO in 2008 and sold most of his shares, but still tests the bikes that are created and has some input. Cycling journalist Sam Dansie believes that Eddy Merckx Cycles has maintained a presence as an elite bicycle due to its adoption of new methods over time. As of January 2015, the business is still based in Belgium and distributes to over twenty-five countries. Merckx managed the Belgian national team world championships for eleven years, between 1986 and 1996. He acted as the race director for the Tour of Flanders for a brief period of time. He temporarily sponsored a youth developmental team with CGER Bank, a team that featured his son Axel. He helped organize the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, which started out as an invitation only individual time trial event, later becoming a two-man time trial event. The event folded after 2004 due to riders' lack of interest. He played a pivotal role in getting the Tour of Qatar started in 2002. In 2001 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, reached out to Merckx and told him of his interest in starting a bicycle race to show off his country. Merckx then contacted then Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who checked out Qatar's roads. Following a successful inspection, Merckx contacted the Amaury Sport Organisation about working with him planning the race; they agreed in 2001. Merckx officially co-owned the race with Dirk De Pauw and helped organize it until the race was cancelled before the 2017 edition due to financial reasons. In addition, Merckx also helped Qatar secure the right to host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, as well as designing the race route for the road race. Merckx briefly co-owned and helped start the Tour of Oman in 2010. In 2015, Merckx said later that although he was not racing, he knew would still be involved with the sport "as a bike builder, first in the factory and now as an ambassador." In November 2017, it was announced that Merckx and his partner Dirk De Pauw split with Tour of Oman organizer ASO following an undisclosed dispute. Personal life Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school. In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites. Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on 21 March and done as a preventative procedure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several males in his family died young of heart related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomach aches suffered since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and being unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. Legacy Merckx has been regarded by many as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He rode well in the Grand Tours and in the one-day classics. He was a very good time trialist and climber. In addition, Merckx showed great ability to race on the track. He was known for racing style that consisted of attacking constantly, which came to be known as la course en tête ("the race in the lead") for which the documentary on Merckx, "La Course en Tête" (which also has the double meaning of 'the race in your head') was named. Attacking for Merckx was the best form of defence. He would spend a day in a breakaway and then make another significant attack the following day. Despite his constant attacking, he would occasionally ride in a defensive mindset, particularly when racing the Giro and facing Fuente. Merckx entered over 1,800 races during his career and won a total of 525. Due to his dominance in the sport some cycling historians refer to the period in which he raced as the "Merckx Era." During his professional career, he won 445 of the 1585 races he entered. Between the years of 1967 and 1977 Merckx raced between 111 and 151 races each season. In 1971, he raced 120 times and won 54 of the events, the most races any cyclist has won in a season. Merckx admits that he was the best of his generation, but insists it's not practical to compare across generations. He is one of the three riders to win all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia), the other two being Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck. He finished his career with nineteen victories across the monuments, more than any other rider and eight more than the rider with the second most. He won twenty-eight classic races, with Paris–Tours being the only race he did not win. The closest he came to victory in the race was sixth in the 1973 race. A lesser Belgian rider, Noël van Tyghem, won Paris–Tours in 1972 and said: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest." While racing, he became the third rider to win all three Grand Tours in his career, a feat that has since been accomplished by more riders. He holds the record for most Grand Tour victories with 11, along with the record for most stage wins across all three Grand Tours with 64. He has completed the most Giro-Tour doubles in history with three. He was the first rider to win cycling's Triple Crown which has only been accomplished one other time, by Stephen Roche in 1987. He is the only rider to win the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia, in 1968, and at the Tour de France, in 1969. Since then, the general, points and mountains classifications have been won at the Vuelta a España by Tony Rominger in 1993 and by Laurent Jalabert in 1995. He shares the record for most victories at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with five wins at each. In those races he also holds the records for days spent in the race leader's jersey at 78 and 96 respectively. For his career successes in the Giro d'Italia, Merckx became the first rider inducted into the race's Hall of Fame in 2012. When being inducted, Merckx was given the modern-day trophy with the winners engraved until 1974, the last year he won the race. At the Tour, he shares the record for most stage wins in its history, with thirty-four. The Grand Départ for the 2019 Tour de France was held in Brussels, Belgium to honor Merckx's first Tour de France win in 1969. He was given the nickname "The Cannibal" by the daughter of Christian Raymond, a teammate of Merckx's. Raymond had commented on Merckx not allowing anyone else to win, to which his daughter referred to Merckx as a cannibal. Raymond liked the nickname and then mentioned it to the press. In Italy, he was known as il mostro ("the Monster"). Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk said "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him." Cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett wrote that if Merckx started a race, many riders acknowledged that they likely would be competing for second place. Ted Costantino wrote that Merckx was undoubtedly the number one cyclist of all time, whereas in other sports there are debates that go on about who is actually the greatest of all time. Gianni Motta told of how Merckx would ride without a racing cape when it was snowing or raining in order to go faster than other riders. Even after his retirement, many subsequent stars still feel overshadowed by his fame and race results. Merckx befriended Fiorenzo Magni when he began racing for an Italian team. He was criticized by opposing riders for his relentless pursuit of victory that prevented even lesser known riders from collecting a few victories. When told that he won too much, Merckx stated that "The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." Doping Merckx was leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia upon the conclusion of the sixteenth stage in Savona. After the stage, Merckx traveled to the mobile lab that traveled with the race and conducted the drug tests. Merckx's first test came up positive for fencamfamine, an amphetamine. A second test was conducted and also came up positive. The word spread about Merckx's positive test while Merckx himself was still asleep. The positive test meant Merckx was to be suspended for a month. Race director Vincenzo Torriani delayed the start of the seventeenth stage in an attempt to persuade the president of the Italian Cycling Federation to allow Merckx to begin the stage. However, the president was not in his office and Torriani was forced to start the stage, disqualifying Merckx in the process. In the succeeding days, the UCI removed the suspension put in place. From the start, Merckx claimed his innocence saying that "I am a clean rider, I do not need to take anything to win." He maintains that his samples were mishandled. After the incident, several conspiracy theories emerged including: the urine that tested positive was not Merckx's, a move to give Italian Felice Gimondi a better chance at victory, and Merckx had been given a water bottle with the stimulant in it. On 8 November 1973, it was announced that Merckx had tested positive for norephedrine after winning the Giro di Lombardia a month earlier. Upon learning of the first test being positive in later October, he had a counter-analysis performed which also turned up positive. The drug was present in a cough medicine that the Molteni doctor, Dr. Cavalli, prescribed to him. Merckx was disqualified from the race and the victory was awarded to second-place finisher Gimondi. In addition, Merckx was given a month suspension and fined 150,000 lira. Merckx admitted his fault in taking the medicine but said that the name norephedrine was not on the bottle of cough syrup he used. On 8 May 1977, Merckx, along with several other riders, tested positive for pemoline, a stimulant in Stimul, at La Flèche Wallonne. The group of riders was charged by the Belgian cycling federation, and the riders were each given a 24,000 pesetas fine and a one-month suspension. Initially, Merckx announced his intention to appeal the penalty, saying he only took substances that were not on the banned list. Merckx's eighth-place finish in the race was voided. Years later, Merckx admitted he did take a banned substance, citing that he was wrong to have trusted a doctor. Due to Merckx's positive tests during his career, he was asked by the event organizers to stay away from the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The organizers stated that "[they] had to be role models", while Merckx wrote them off claiming them to be crazy. Merckx was not alone, as several other riders were asked to keep their distance from the event. Career achievements Honours Titles of Honour Knight of the French Legion of Honour: 1975 Created Baron Merckx by Royal Decree, with devise Post Proelia Premia: 1996 Officer in the Order of Leopold II: 1996 Commander of the Legion of Honour: 2014 Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Silver Medal of the Olympian Order Sport Honours Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1967 Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 Belgian Sportsman of the 20th Century: 1999 PAP European Sportsperson of the Year: 1969, 1970 Worldwide Sportsman of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1974 Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sport: 1969 Mendrisio d'Or: 1972, 2011 Procyclingstats.com - All Time Wins Ranking: 1st place (283 wins) Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame (2002) Memoire du Cyclisme - Classement les Plus Grands Coureurs: 1st place (2002) Bleacher Report - The 30 Most Dominant Athletes of All Time: 20th (2010) Bleacher Report - Tour de France All-Time Top 25 Riders: 1st place (2011) First Member Giro Hall of Fame (2012) Topito - Top 15 Greatest Cyclists Ever: 1st place (2012) L'Equipe Trophée Champion des Champions de Légende (2014) Velonews The Greatest Cyclists of All Time: 1st place (2019) Wiggle The Best Cyclists Ever Rank: 1st place (2020) Eurosport Greatest General Classification Cyclist of all Time (2020) Cyclingranking - Overal Ranking: 1st place (2022) See also Cycling records Yellow jersey statistics Pink jersey statistics List of Belgians List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners List of Grand Tour general classification winners List of noble families in Belgium List of Tour de France general classification winners List of Tour de France secondary classification winners List of Vuelta a España general classification winners List of Vuelta a España classification winners References Footnotes Citations Bibliography External links 1945 births Living people Barons of Belgium Belgian male cyclists Belgian Giro d'Italia stage winners Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Cycling announcers Doping cases in cycling Giro d'Italia winners Olympic cyclists of Belgium Tour de France prologue winners Tour de France winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Belgian track cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant People from Tielt-Winge	false	[ "The Women's road race at the 2008 World University Cycling Championship took place on 25 May 2008 in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The race was 96.3 km long.\n\nEllen van Dijk, who won the title in 2006 (and was still a student) did not defend her title.\n\nFinal classification\n\nSource\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nInternational University Sports Federation – Cycling\n\nWorld University Cycling Championships\n2008 in women's road cycling\nCycling", "Ng Joo Pong (born 19 June 1946) is a Malaysian cyclist who represented Malaysia at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1966 Asian Games.\n\nHis greatest success at a major international was when he was 19 and was chosen to represent Malaysia at the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok where he won the individual gold medal in the long-distance cycling competition. It was a surprise for the Asian cycling community as virtually no one, not even his teammates, expected Malaysia to win any medals given Japan's long term domination of the sport in Asia. As it turned out, cycling was a highlight for Malaysia at the 1966 Asian Games. In addition to Ng's gold, his brother also won a gold medal, and so did another cyclist, Daud Ibrahim, who won a gold medal in the 1,600m cycling event.\n\nReferences\n\n1946 births\nLiving people\nMalaysian male cyclists\nOlympic cyclists of Malaysia\nCyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics\nCyclists at the 1968 Summer Olympics\nSportspeople from Kuala Lumpur\nAsian Games medalists in cycling\nCyclists at the 1966 Asian Games\nCyclists at the 1970 Asian Games\nMedalists at the 1970 Asian Games\nAsian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia" ]
[ "Andrés Galarraga", "Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)" ]	C_68ea0ff2b8e2499891cc35c93ecbdc18_0	What position did he play with the Braves?	1	What position did Andrés Galarraga play with the Braves?	Andrés Galarraga	During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing . Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment. Career Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League. Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians (). Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year. Montreal Expos (1985–1991) Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games. Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season. was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base. Galarraga's season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill. St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Galarraga had a second chance with the Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) National League batting champion (1993) By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in . Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In the strike-shortened season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI. On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0. Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over . NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at and then . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled and respectively, totaling , an average of each. The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought. Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003) The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season. In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI. Anaheim Angels (2004) In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career. New York Mets (2005) In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement. Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010) See also List of athletes on Wheaties boxes List of Colorado Rockies team records List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders Major League Baseball titles streaks Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum References External links Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News 1961 births Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Calgary Expos players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Leones del Caracas players Living people Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt Lake Stingers players San Francisco Giants players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Caracas Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Venezuela national baseball team people Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Palm Beach Expos players	false	[ "The 2003 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 38th season in Atlanta and 133rd overall. The Braves won their 9th consecutive division title, finishing 10 games ahead of the second-place Florida Marlins. The Braves lost the 2003 Divisional Series to the Chicago Cubs, 3 games to 2. The Braves finished 2003 with their best offensive season in franchise history, hitting a franchise record 235 home runs. Atlanta also had one of the most noteworthy combined offensive outfield productions in league history. \n\nThe Braves' starting rotation had new faces in 2003, but aged pitchers. Opposite of what they were traditionally known for in years earlier. Greg Maddux was joined by trade acquisitions Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz, free agent Shane Reynolds and rookie Horacio Ramírez. Critics noted had Atlanta had a younger staff with this offense, they would've been more likely to win the World Series. Marcus Giles had an All-Star season as the Braves' second baseman and Gary Sheffield as the Braves' right fielder. Sheffield finished with a top 5 voting in NL MVP voting. 2003 also marked the last season for Maddux, ending his tenure in Atlanta after 11 seasons.\n\nOffseason\n November 18, 2002: Mike Hampton was traded by the Florida Marlins with cash to the Atlanta Braves for Ryan Baker (minors) and Tim Spooneybarger. (Hampton had been traded to the Marlins from the Colorado Rockies on November 16, 2002) \n November 20, 2002: Donzell McDonald was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n December 16, 2002: Ray King was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Atlanta Braves for John Foster and Wes Helms.\n December 17, 2002: Russ Ortiz was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez.\n December 18, 2002: Paul Byrd was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves. (Byrd did not play for the Braves in 2003)\n December 19, 2002: Greg Maddux was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n December 20, 2002: Johnny Estrada was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Atlanta Braves for Kevin Millwood.\n January 6, 2003: Robert Fick signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves. \n January 8, 2003: Julio Franco was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n January 23, 2003: Roberto Hernandez signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n April 10, 2003: Shane Reynolds signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n\nRegular season\n In 2003, John Smoltz set a Major League record (since tied) by having 34 saves before the All-Star Break.\n May 23, 2003 – During the Atlanta Braves 15-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Braves players Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive home runs to start the game.\n On August 10, 2003, Rafael Furcal of the Braves had an unassisted triple play. He caught the liner, touched second base, and tagged the runner going back to first base.\n\nOpening Day starters\n\nSeason standings\n\nNational League East\n\nRecord vs. opponents\n\nNotable transactions\n August 29, 2003: Jaret Wright was selected off waivers by the Atlanta Braves from the San Diego Padres.\n Notable draft signings in 2003 include Jarrod Saltalamacchia (36th overall) and Jonny Venters (30th round).\n\nRoster\n\nPlayer stats\n\nBatting\nNote: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in\n\nOther batters\n\nStarting pitchers\n\nOther pitchers\n\nN/A\n\nRelief pitchers\n\n2003 National League Division Series\n\nAtlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs\nChicago wins the series, 3-2\n\nAward winners\n2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game\n\nFarm system\n\nLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rome, GCL Braves\n\nReferences\n\n 2003 Atlanta Braves at Baseball Reference\n\nNational League East champion seasons\nAtlanta Braves seasons\nAtlanta Braves Season, 2003\nAtlanta Braves Season, 2003\nAtlanta", "Below are the rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Atlanta Braves:\n\nProspects\n\nCorbin Clouse\n\nCorbin James Clouse (born June 26, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nClouse attended Grand Ledge High School in Grand Ledge, Michigan, and played college baseball at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2016, as a redshirt sophomore, he went 5–0 with a 1.62 ERA. After the season, he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 27th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.\n\nClouse made his professional debut that year with the Danville Braves, and after pitching scoreless innings, was promoted to the Rome Braves where he finished the season, posting a 1.52 ERA over 15 relief appearances. He began 2017 with the Florida Fire Frogs and was promoted to the Mississippi Braves during the season. Over 41 relief appearances between both teams, he was 5–4 with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League. He began 2018 with Mississippi and was promoted to the Gwinnett Stripers in August. Over 45 appearances (three starts) between the two clubs, he went 6–2 with a 1.94 ERA, striking out 83 batters in 65 innings. He returned to Gwinnett for the 2019 season, going 0–3 with a 5.65 ERA over relief innings, striking out 37. Following the season's end, he underwent shoulder surgery.\n\nClouse did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to undisclosed reasons, Clouse did not make his 2021 debut until mid-August, with Mississippi. Over 13 games (three starts), he went 1–0 with a 1.48 ERA and 33 strikeouts over innings.\n\nJasseel De La Cruz\n\nJasseel De La Cruz (born June 26, 1997) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nDe La Cruz signed with the Atlanta Braves as an international free agent on June 1, 2015. He spent his first professional season of 2015 with the DSL Braves, going 0–1 with a 7.11 ERA in 6 innings. He split the 2016 season between the DSL and the GCL Braves, going a combined 4–0 with a 2.18 ERA in 41 innings. He split the 2017 season between the GCL and the Danville Braves, going a combined 2–4 with a 3.80 ERA in innings. He played for the Rome Braves in 2018, going 3–4 with a 3.83 ERA in 69 innings. De La Cruz split the 2019 season between Rome, Florida Fire Frogs, and Mississippi Braves, going a combined 7–9 with a 3.25 ERA over 133 innings.\n\nDe La Cruz was added to the Braves 40–man roster following the 2019 season. On September 15, 2020, De La Cruz was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He was optioned down the next day without making a major league appearance. On May 8, 2021, De La Cruz was again promoted to the majors but was again sent down on May 10 without playing. Following the conclusion of the 2021 season, De La Cruz was not tendered a contract, making him a free agent.\n\nIndigo Diaz\n\nIndigo Dunham Diaz (born October 14, 1998) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nDiaz played Little League baseball with the Forest Hills team, then participated in the British Columbia Premier Baseball League as a member of the North Shore Twins and Coquitlam Reds. He attended Handsworth Secondary School, and continued playing baseball. Diaz began his collegiate baseball career at Iowa Western Community College, where he pitched two seasons, then transferred to the Michigan State Spartans baseball team. In the midst of his junior season with the Spartans, Diaz became the team's closer. Diaz was subsequently selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 27th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. Diaz started his professional career with the Gulf Coast League Braves after signing with the Atlanta Braves organization. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 minor league season was cancelled. Diaz began the 2021 season at the High-A level with the Rome Braves. He threw 18 walks over 18 relief appearances, spanning 27 innings. Diaz was promoted to the Mississippi Braves in July 2021.\n\nMichigan State Spartans bio\nDiaz at Iowa Western: 1 and 2\n\nBryce Elder\n\nBryce Cason Elder (born May 19, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nElder attended the Decatur High School in Decatur, Texas and played college baseball at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2019, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Elder was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft and signed.\n\nElder made his professional debut in 2021 with the Rome Braves and was promoted to the Mississippi Braves and the Gwinnett Stripers during the season. On July 10, 2021, Elder threw a combined no-hitter with Daysbel Hernandez. Over 25 starts between the three teams, Elder went 11–5 with a 2.75 ERA and 155 strikeouts over innings.\n\nJoey Estes\n\nJoseph Lee Estes (born October 8, 2001) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nEstes attended Paraclete High School in Lancaster, California. As a freshman in 2016, he compiled a 1.05 ERA, and as a sophomore, he went 9–1 with a 0.31 ERA over ninety innings. In 2019, as a senior, he went 8–0 with a 0.91 ERA and 124 strikeouts. He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 16th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He signed, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at Long Beach State University.\n\nEstes made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves with whom he gave up nine earned runs over ten innings. He did not play a game in 2020 after the minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Estes spent the 2021 season with the Augusta GreenJackets of the Low-A East, starting twenty games and pitching to a 3–6 record, a 2.91 ERA, and 127 strikeouts over 99 innings. His .181 batting average against was ninth in the minor leagues. He was named the league's Pitcher of the Week twice during the season, and was named the league's Pitcher of the Year following the season's end.\n\nJesse Franklin V\n\nJesse Owen Franklin V (born December 1, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nFranklin attended Seattle Preparatory School in Seattle, Washington. As a sophomore in 2015, he hit .532. In 2017, his senior year, he batted .571 with four home runs and was named Washington's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year. He was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 37th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and instead enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played college baseball.\n\nIn 2018, Franklin's freshman year at Michigan, he appeared in 47 games in which he hit .327 with ten home runs and 47 RBIs. He was named Player of the Week once and Freshman of the Week three times throughout the season. He played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Brewster Whitecaps that summer. As a sophomore in 2019, he batted .262 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs over 68 games. He returned to Brewster after the season's end. Franklin did not make an appearance during the 2020 season due to a collarbone injury and the season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the third round with the 97th overall selection of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. He signed for $497,500.\n\nFranklin made his professional debut in 2021 with the Rome Braves of the High-A East, slashing .244/.320/.522 with 24 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases over 101 games. His 24 home runs were most among Atlanta minor leaguers and were also tied for first place in the league. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas after the season.\n\nVaughn Grissom\n\nVaughn Anthony Grissom (born January 5, 2001) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nGrissom attended Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida. As a senior in 2019, he batted .389 alongside pitching to a 0.82 ERA. He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 11th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft and signed, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at Florida International University.\n\nGrissom made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves, batting .288 with three home runs and 23 RBIs over 44 games. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season. He began the 2021 season with the Augusta GreenJackets of the Low-A East and was promoted to the Rome Braves of the High-A East during the season. Over 87 games between the two teams, he slashed .319/.418/.464 with seven home runs, 43 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases.\n\nLiving people\n\nMichael Harris II\n\nMichael Machion Harris II (born March 7, 2001) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nHarris attended Stockbridge High School in Stockbridge, Georgia. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the third round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Braves, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at Texas Tech University.\n\nHarris started his professional career that year with the Gulf Coast Braves before being promoted to the Rome Braves. Over 53 games between the two teams, he batted .277/.344/.393 with two home runs and 27 RBIs.\n\nDue to the cancellation of the 2020 Minor League Baseball season due to COVID-19, he did not play for a team. In 2021, the Braves invited him to their Spring Training. He spent the 2021 season with the Rome Braves, slashing .294/.362/.436 with seven home runs, 64 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases. In June, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game.\n\nTrey Harris\n\nTerone Sevante Harris (born January 15, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nHarris attended McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia. In 2014, his senior year, he hit .487 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs. Undrafted in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at the University of Missouri where he played college baseball.\n\nIn 2015, Harris' freshman year at Missouri, he hit .263 with four home runs and 22 RBIs over 53 games, earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team. As a sophomore in 2016, he batted .213 with one home runs and 36 RBIs in 53 games. After the season, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and also played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. In 2017, as a junior, he compiled a .268 batting average with a career-high 12 home runs and 48 RBIs in 52 games. In 2018, Harris' senior season, he slashed .316/.413/.516 with 11 home runs, fifty RBIs, and 12 stolen bases over 56 games. After the season, he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 32nd round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.\n\nHarris signed with the Braves and made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves, and, after 22 games, was promoted to the Rome Braves of the Class A Short Season South Atlantic League, with whom he finished the year. Over 53 games between the two teams, he hit .302 with one home run and 29 RBIs. In 2019, he returned to Rome, with whom he was named an All-Star. In June, he was promoted to the Florida Fire Frogs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and in July, he was promoted to the Mississippi Braves of the Class AA Southern League, with whom he finished the season. Over 131 games between the three clubs, Harris slashed .323/.389/.498 with 14 home runs and 73 RBIs. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions following the season and was named an All-Star.\n\nHarris did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 2021 season, he returned to Mississippi, now members of the Double-A South, slashing .247/.317/.354 with eight home runs and fifty RBIs over 96 games.\n\nGreyson Jenista\n\nGreyson Douglas Jenista (born December 7, 1996) is an American professional baseball right fielder in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nJenista attended De Soto High School in De Soto, Kansas, and Wichita State University, where he played college baseball for the Wichita State Shockers. In 2017, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named the league's most valuable player.\n\nThe Atlanta Braves selected Jenista in the second round, with the 49th overall selection, of the 2018 MLB draft. He signed and played ten games for the Danville Braves of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, and was promoted to the Rome Braves of the Class A South Atlantic League. After 32 games in Rome, he was promoted to the Florida Fire Frogs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. In 61 total games between the two teams, he hit .265 with four home runs and 34 RBIs. He returned to Florida to begin 2019, and was promoted to the Mississippi Braves in June. Over 130 games between both teams, he batted .233 with nine home runs and 55 RBIs. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions following the season.\n\nNolan Kingham\n\nNolan Ray Kingham (born August 18, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nKingham grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and initially attended Sierra Vista High School before transferring to Desert Oasis High School before his senior year. Kingham was selected in the 39th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, but opted not to sign.\n\nKingham played college baseball for the Texas Longhorns for three seasons. He pitched mostly in relief during his freshman season and appeared in 21 total games and finished with a 2–3 record and a 3.79 ERA. As a sophomore, Kingham was moved to the starting rotation and was named first team All-Big 12 Conference after leading the Longhorns with a 10–4 record and a 2.84 ERA.\n\nKingham was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 12th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft. After signing with the team he was assigned to the Rookie League Danville Braves. Kingham began the 2019 season with the Class A Rome Braves before being promoted to the Florida Fire Frogs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League after allowing one earned run over 16 innings pitched. After throwing three complete game shutouts with Florida, he was promoted a second time to the Double-A Mississippi Braves and had a 3.79 ERA over six starts. Kingham did not play during 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kingham returned to the Mississippi Braves for the start of the 2021 minor league season before being promoted to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.\n\nTexas Longhorns bio\n\nJacob Pearson\n\nJacob Taylor Pearson (born June 1, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nPearson attended West Monroe High School in West Monroe, Louisiana. As a senior, he batted .519 with 12 home runs. He was named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year and the most valuable player of the All-State team. Pearson committed to attend Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college baseball for the LSU Tigers.\n\nThe Los Angeles Angels selected Pearson in the third round, with the 85th overall selection, of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Angels rather than attend LSU, earning a $1 million signing bonus. Pearson spent his first professional season with the Arizona League Angels where he batted .226 with 13 RBIs in 40 games.\n\nAfter being told they would not sign Shohei Ohtani during the 2017–18 offseason, the Minnesota Twins traded $1 million in international signing bonus money to the Angels for Pearson on December 6, 2017. Pearson spent the 2018 season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, hitting .237 with seven home runs and 36 RBIs in 78 games. He returned to Cedar Rapids to begin 2019 before being promoted to the Fort Myers Miracle in July. Over 117 games between the two clubs, Pearson slashed .233/.303/.338 with five home runs, 41 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases.\n\nOn December 10, 2020, Pearson was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Pearson was assigned to the Mississippi Braves for the 2021 season. Over 53 games, he batted .171 with four home runs and 19 RBIs.\n\nAlan Rangel\n\nAlan Eduardo Rangel (born August 21, 1997) is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nThe Braves added him to their 40-man roster after the 2021 season.\n\nFreddy Tarnok\n\nFrederic Michael Tarnok (born November 24, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nTarnok attended Riverview High School in Riverview, Florida, where he played baseball. In 2017, his senior year, he went 7–0 with a 0.66 ERA while also batting .393. Following his senior season, he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the third round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Braves, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at the University of Tampa.\n\nTarnok made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves, going 0–3 with a 2.57 ERA over 14 innings. In 2018, he pitched with the Rome Braves of the Class A South Atlantic League, with whom he was named an All-Star. Over 27 games (11 starts), Tarnok went 5–5 with a 3.96 ERA, striking out 83 batters over innings. Tarnok missed time during the 2019 season due to injury, but still started 19 games for the Florida Fire Frogs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, pitching to a 3–7 record with a 4.87 ERA. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tarnok missed the beginning of the 2021 season while rehabbing and made his first appearance in mid-June for Rome, now members of the High-A East. After innings pitched with Rome, he was promoted to the Mississippi Braves of the Double-A South in mid-July with whom he finished the year. Over 16 games (14 starts) between the two teams, Tarnok went 6–4 with a 3.44 ERA and 109 strikeouts over innings.\n\nOn November 18, 2021, the Braves selected Tarnok's contract and added him to the 40-man roster.\n\nLuke Waddell\n\nLuke Waddell (born July 13, 1998) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nWaddell was born in Loveland, Ohio, on July 13, 1998, to parents Eric and Lisa. His older brother is Reid. Luke Waddell attended Loveland High School. He set several school records in baseball and American football, and as a high school freshman in 2013, was a member of the Loveland Tigers team that won Ohio's Division II state championship in football against Glenville High School, which featured future National Football League player Marshon Lattimore. While a high school student, Waddell also played on the Midland Redskins travel baseball team for three years. In 2017, his final year with the team, Waddell won a Connie Mack World Series championship. After graduating from high school in 2017, Waddell joined the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball team. Following the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season, he played for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League. His second year in Cape Cod was cut short by his selection to the USA Baseball collegiate national team, which played in Japan and Taiwan. Waddell was named Georgia Tech's first solo captain since 1991 during the 2020 NCAA Division I baseball season, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2021 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball season, Waddell was honored with an All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team selection.\n\nWaddell was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 32nd round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, but returned to Georgia Tech. He was eligible for, but not chosen in the 2020 draft, and instead focused on completing his bachelor's degree in business administration. He was subsequently selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, and accepted a signing bonus of $247,500, which was approximately $85,000 under slot. Waddell was assigned to the Rome Braves, where he played 21 games, hitting .304/.372/.580. In September 2021, Waddell was promoted to the Mississippi Braves, and became the first Braves' draft pick of the 2021 class to reach the Double-A level. After the 2021 Double-A South season ended, the Braves sent Waddell to the Arizona Fall League, where he played for the Peoria Javelinas.\n\nWilliam Woods\n\nWilliam Woods (born December 29, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.\n\nWoods attended Peabody High School in Trenton, Tennessee, where he pitched to a 12–2 record with a 0.84 ERA and 119 strikeouts as a senior in 2017. After graduating, he enrolled at Dyersburg State Community College where he went 7–3 with a 3.64 ERA over 12 starts for the 2018 season. Following the season's end, he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 23rd round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.\n\nWoods signed with Atlanta and made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves, going 0–1 with a 6.10 ERA over innings. In 2019, Woods pitched for the Rome Braves of the Class A South Atlantic League in which he went 1–5 with a 3.35 ERA and 58 strikeouts over 51 innings. Woods did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He appeared in only five games in 2021 due to an elbow injury.\n\nOn November 18, 2021, the Braves selected his contract and added him to the 40-man roster.\n\nFull Triple-A to Rookie League rosters\n\nTriple-A\n\nDouble-A\n\nHigh-A\n\nLow-A\n\nRookie\n\nForeign Rookie\n\nReferences\n\nMinor League Players\nLists of minor league baseball players\nYear of birth missing (living people)" ]
[ "Andrés Galarraga", "Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)", "What position did he play with the Braves?", "I don't know." ]	C_68ea0ff2b8e2499891cc35c93ecbdc18_0	What was his role with the Braves?	2	What was Andrés Galarraga role with the Braves?	Andrés Galarraga	During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER	He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI.	Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing . Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment. Career Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League. Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians (). Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year. Montreal Expos (1985–1991) Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games. Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season. was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base. Galarraga's season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill. St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Galarraga had a second chance with the Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) National League batting champion (1993) By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in . Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In the strike-shortened season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI. On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0. Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over . NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at and then . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled and respectively, totaling , an average of each. The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought. Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003) The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season. In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI. Anaheim Angels (2004) In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career. New York Mets (2005) In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement. Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010) See also List of athletes on Wheaties boxes List of Colorado Rockies team records List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders Major League Baseball titles streaks Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum References External links Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News 1961 births Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Calgary Expos players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Leones del Caracas players Living people Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt Lake Stingers players San Francisco Giants players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Caracas Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Venezuela national baseball team people Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Palm Beach Expos players	false	[ "Alex Jordan Minter (born September 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Texas A&M University. Minter was drafted by the Braves in the second round of the 2015 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2017.\n\nHigh school and college\nMinter attended Brook Hill School in Bullard, Texas, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 38th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He did not sign and attended Texas A&M University, where he played college baseball. After the 2014 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. After spending his first two years pitching out of the bullpen, Minter was converted into a starting pitcher his junior year. Early in his junior season he suffered an injury which required Tommy John surgery, ending his season.\n\nProfessional career\nMinter was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 2015 MLB draft. He made his professional debut in 2016 for the Rome Braves. He spent two stints with the Carolina Mudcats and was promoted to the Mississippi Braves in July, where he finished the season. Minter finished 2016 with a 1.30 ERA in innings. Minter began 2017 with the Florida Fire Frogs and was reassigned to Rome, the Mississippi Braves, and the Gwinnett Braves during the season.\n\nMinter was called up to the major leagues for the first time on August 23, 2017. In 26 relief appearances for Florida, Rome, Mississippi, and Gwinnett prior to his call up he was 1–2 with a 3.33 ERA. He made his major league debut that night, in the eighth inning of a game against the Seattle Mariners. Minter spent the remainder of the 2017 season with Atlanta, pitching to a 0–1 record and 3.00 ERA in 15 innings in which he struck out 26 batters. \n\nIn 2018, Minter pitched innings over 65 games, saving 15, while recording a 3.23 ERA and 69 strikeouts. \n\nFollowing a fender-bender motor vehicle incident in March, the start of Minter's 2019 season was delayed. Minter replaced fellow reliever Arodys Vizcaíno as closer due to injury, but lost the role to teammate Luke Jackson by late April. Minter was optioned to the Gwinnett Braves on May 10. He returned to Atlanta in June, then was optioned to Gwinnett for a second time in August as the Braves traded for Shane Greene, Chris Martin, and Mark Melancon. Minter ended the season as a September call-up when rosters expanded, but shortly thereafter was placed on the 60-day disabled list. \n\nFor the 2019 season with the Braves, he was 3–4 with five saves and a 7.06 ERA in 36 relief appearances, in which he struck out 35 batters in 29.1 innings.\n\nMinter started the 2020 season at spring training with the major league team, and was optioned to Gwinnett in March. In Game 5 of the 2020 NLCS, Minter made history by becoming the first MLB player ever to make their starting debut in the postseason. He pitched three innings, surrendering only one hit while striking out seven batters, also a record. \n\nIn 2020 he was 1–1 with an 0.83\tERA, with 24 strikeouts in 21.2 innings over 22 relief appearances.\n\nOn July 18, 2021, Minter was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett following the Braves 7-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.\n\nIn 2021 with Atlanta he was 3-6 with a 3.78 ERA in 61 games.The Braves finished with an 88-73 record, clinching the NL East, and eventually won the 2021 World Series, giving the Braves their first title since 1995.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1993 births\nLiving people\nSportspeople from Tyler, Texas\nBaseball players from Texas\nMajor League Baseball pitchers\nAtlanta Braves players\nTexas A&M Aggies baseball players\nCotuit Kettleers players\nRome Braves players\nCarolina Mudcats players\nMississippi Braves players\nFlorida Fire Frogs players\nGwinnett Braves players\nGwinnett Stripers players", "Shae Austin Simmons (born September 3, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners.\n\nCareer\nSimmons attended Scott City High School in Scott City, Missouri and Southeast Missouri State University, where he played college baseball.\n\nAtlanta Braves\nSimmons was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 22nd round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.\n\nIn his first professional season, Simmons pitched for the Danville Braves and Gulf Coast Braves. He appeared in 16 games with a 1.46 earned run average (ERA) and 36 strikeouts in innings pitched. In 2013, he played for the Rome Braves and Mississippi Braves. He finished the season with a 1.69 ERA and 82 strikeouts over innings in 50 games. He was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.\n\nIn 2014, Simmons was invited to spring training with the Braves. He started the 2014 season back with Double-A Mississippi. He was called up to the major leagues for the first time on May 30, 2014. He made his major league debut the next day, striking out the only batter he faced. On July 19, 2014, Simmons gave up a home run to Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins. This marked the first time Simmons had allowed a home run since May 18, 2012, his senior year in college. Simmons was enjoying a successful ride in the Braves bullpen until he landed on the disabled list on July 29 with shoulder soreness. In his first 20 appearances, he had a 0.96 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 6 walks. Simmons told reporters he \"held off\" telling the Braves about the tightness, thinking it wasn't \"too serious\". On August 20, he was temporarily shut down following an unsuccessful rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett, and he didn't return to the mound the rest of the season. Despite the abrupt end to his season, he impressed in a mere 21.2 innings, going 1-2 with a 2.91 ERA and 23 strikeouts to only 11 walks.\n\nExpected to enter the season competing for the primary setup role to closer Craig Kimbrel, Simmons received unfortunate news when an MRI revealed a tear to his UCL in his throwing elbow, causing him to miss the entire 2015 season. On February 12, 2015, Simmons underwent successful Tommy John surgery, performed by Dr. James Andrews. He began pitching again in May 2016, but recovery was slow, as he was affected by other minor injuries. The Braves recalled Simmons on August 30.\n\nSeattle Mariners\nOn January 11, 2017, Simmons was traded, along with Mallex Smith, to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor-league pitchers Luiz Gohara and Thomas Burrows.\n\nChicago Cubs\nOn February 14, 2018, Simmons signed a one-year split contract with the Chicago Cubs. Simmons was placed on waivers on June 26, 2018 and was outrighted on June 27, but rather than accept the assignment, he rejected it in favor of free agency.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nSoutheast Missouri State Redhawks bio\n\n1990 births\nLiving people\nSportspeople from Cape Girardeau, Missouri\nPeople from Scott County, Missouri\nBaseball players from Missouri\nMajor League Baseball pitchers\nAtlanta Braves players\nSeattle Mariners players\nSoutheast Missouri State Redhawks baseball players\nGulf Coast Braves players\nDanville Braves players\nRome Braves players\nMississippi Braves players\nScottsdale Scorpions players\nGwinnett Braves players\nArizona League Mariners players\nArkansas Travelers players\nTacoma Rainiers players\nIowa Cubs players" ]
[ "Andrés Galarraga", "Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)", "What position did he play with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "What was his role with the Braves?", "He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI." ]	C_68ea0ff2b8e2499891cc35c93ecbdc18_0	How many seasons was he with the Braves?	3	How many seasons was Andrés Galarraga with the Braves?	Andrés Galarraga	During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing . Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment. Career Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League. Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians (). Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year. Montreal Expos (1985–1991) Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games. Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season. was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base. Galarraga's season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill. St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Galarraga had a second chance with the Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) National League batting champion (1993) By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in . Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In the strike-shortened season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI. On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0. Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over . NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at and then . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled and respectively, totaling , an average of each. The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought. Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003) The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season. In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI. Anaheim Angels (2004) In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career. New York Mets (2005) In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement. Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010) See also List of athletes on Wheaties boxes List of Colorado Rockies team records List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders Major League Baseball titles streaks Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum References External links Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News 1961 births Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Calgary Expos players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Leones del Caracas players Living people Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt Lake Stingers players San Francisco Giants players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Caracas Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Venezuela national baseball team people Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Palm Beach Expos players	false	[ "The 2003 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 38th season in Atlanta and 133rd overall. The Braves won their 9th consecutive division title, finishing 10 games ahead of the second-place Florida Marlins. The Braves lost the 2003 Divisional Series to the Chicago Cubs, 3 games to 2. The Braves finished 2003 with their best offensive season in franchise history, hitting a franchise record 235 home runs. Atlanta also had one of the most noteworthy combined offensive outfield productions in league history. \n\nThe Braves' starting rotation had new faces in 2003, but aged pitchers. Opposite of what they were traditionally known for in years earlier. Greg Maddux was joined by trade acquisitions Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz, free agent Shane Reynolds and rookie Horacio Ramírez. Critics noted had Atlanta had a younger staff with this offense, they would've been more likely to win the World Series. Marcus Giles had an All-Star season as the Braves' second baseman and Gary Sheffield as the Braves' right fielder. Sheffield finished with a top 5 voting in NL MVP voting. 2003 also marked the last season for Maddux, ending his tenure in Atlanta after 11 seasons.\n\nOffseason\n November 18, 2002: Mike Hampton was traded by the Florida Marlins with cash to the Atlanta Braves for Ryan Baker (minors) and Tim Spooneybarger. (Hampton had been traded to the Marlins from the Colorado Rockies on November 16, 2002) \n November 20, 2002: Donzell McDonald was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n December 16, 2002: Ray King was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Atlanta Braves for John Foster and Wes Helms.\n December 17, 2002: Russ Ortiz was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez.\n December 18, 2002: Paul Byrd was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves. (Byrd did not play for the Braves in 2003)\n December 19, 2002: Greg Maddux was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n December 20, 2002: Johnny Estrada was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Atlanta Braves for Kevin Millwood.\n January 6, 2003: Robert Fick signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves. \n January 8, 2003: Julio Franco was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n January 23, 2003: Roberto Hernandez signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n April 10, 2003: Shane Reynolds signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.\n\nRegular season\n In 2003, John Smoltz set a Major League record (since tied) by having 34 saves before the All-Star Break.\n May 23, 2003 – During the Atlanta Braves 15-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Braves players Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive home runs to start the game.\n On August 10, 2003, Rafael Furcal of the Braves had an unassisted triple play. He caught the liner, touched second base, and tagged the runner going back to first base.\n\nOpening Day starters\n\nSeason standings\n\nNational League East\n\nRecord vs. opponents\n\nNotable transactions\n August 29, 2003: Jaret Wright was selected off waivers by the Atlanta Braves from the San Diego Padres.\n Notable draft signings in 2003 include Jarrod Saltalamacchia (36th overall) and Jonny Venters (30th round).\n\nRoster\n\nPlayer stats\n\nBatting\nNote: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in\n\nOther batters\n\nStarting pitchers\n\nOther pitchers\n\nN/A\n\nRelief pitchers\n\n2003 National League Division Series\n\nAtlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs\nChicago wins the series, 3-2\n\nAward winners\n2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game\n\nFarm system\n\nLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rome, GCL Braves\n\nReferences\n\n 2003 Atlanta Braves at Baseball Reference\n\nNational League East champion seasons\nAtlanta Braves seasons\nAtlanta Braves Season, 2003\nAtlanta Braves Season, 2003\nAtlanta", "Clint Joseph Sammons (born May 15, 1983) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Atlanta Braves from 2007 to 2009.\n\nAmateur career\nA native of Lilburn, Georgia, Sammons attended Parkview High School, and was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 43rd round of the 2001 MLB Draft. He did not sign with them however, and instead played college baseball at the University of Georgia, where he was starting catcher. In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Braves in the 6th round of the 2004 MLB Draft and eventually signed with the Braves.\n\nProfessional career\nSammons began his professional career with the Braves Rookie team, the Danville Braves. He played for the Single-A Rome Braves in and was selected to the South Atlantic League midseason All-Star team. The Braves organization named Sammons as the Rome Braves Player of the Year. In 121 games with the Rome Braves, he batted .286 with 4 home runs. In , he spent the entire season with the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans.\n\nIn , he began the season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans again. After 23 games with the Pelicans, he was promoted to the Double-A Mississippi Braves. He went on the finish the minor league season at Mississippi. On September 11, 2007, the Braves added him to the major league roster as the fourth catcher when they purchased his contract. The next day, he made his major league debut as a defensive replacement. He got his first two Major League hits on September 30, the last day of the season, which included a double. He hit his first Major League home run on July 31, 2008. Sammons became a free agent at the end of the 2009 season. He signed a one-year minor league contract with the Braves for the 2010 season, then signed two one year, minor league deals with the Miami Marlins for the 2011-2012 seasons.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1983 births\nLiving people\nBaseball players from Atlanta\nMajor League Baseball catchers\nGeorgia Bulldogs baseball players\nCotuit Kettleers players\nDanville Braves players\nRome Braves players\nMyrtle Beach Pelicans players\nMississippi Braves players\nRichmond Braves players\nGwinnett Braves players\nGulf Coast Marlins players\nNew Orleans Zephyrs players\nAtlanta Braves players\nPeoria Javelinas players" ]
[ "Andrés Galarraga", "Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)", "What position did he play with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "What was his role with the Braves?", "He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI.", "How many seasons was he with the Braves?", "I don't know." ]	C_68ea0ff2b8e2499891cc35c93ecbdc18_0	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	4	Besides playing for the braves, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	Andrés Galarraga	During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER	On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer.	Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing . Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment. Career Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League. Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians (). Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year. Montreal Expos (1985–1991) Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games. Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season. was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base. Galarraga's season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill. St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Galarraga had a second chance with the Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) National League batting champion (1993) By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in . Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In the strike-shortened season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI. On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0. Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over . NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at and then . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled and respectively, totaling , an average of each. The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought. Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003) The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season. In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI. Anaheim Angels (2004) In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career. New York Mets (2005) In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement. Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010) See also List of athletes on Wheaties boxes List of Colorado Rockies team records List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders Major League Baseball titles streaks Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum References External links Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News 1961 births Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Calgary Expos players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Leones del Caracas players Living people Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt Lake Stingers players San Francisco Giants players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Caracas Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Venezuela national baseball team people Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Palm Beach Expos players	false	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Andrés Galarraga", "Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)", "What position did he play with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "What was his role with the Braves?", "He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI.", "How many seasons was he with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer." ]	C_68ea0ff2b8e2499891cc35c93ecbdc18_0	Did he beat the cancer?	5	Did Andrés Galarraga beat cancer?	Andrés Galarraga	During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER	Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine.	Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing . Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment. Career Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League. Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians (). Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year. Montreal Expos (1985–1991) Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games. Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season. was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base. Galarraga's season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill. St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Galarraga had a second chance with the Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) National League batting champion (1993) By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in . Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In the strike-shortened season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI. On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0. Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over . NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at and then . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled and respectively, totaling , an average of each. The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought. Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003) The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season. In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI. Anaheim Angels (2004) In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career. New York Mets (2005) In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement. Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010) See also List of athletes on Wheaties boxes List of Colorado Rockies team records List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders Major League Baseball titles streaks Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum References External links Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News 1961 births Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Calgary Expos players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Leones del Caracas players Living people Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt Lake Stingers players San Francisco Giants players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Caracas Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Venezuela national baseball team people Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Palm Beach Expos players	false	[ "In Honor: A Compilation to Beat Cancer is a compilation album released by Vagrant Records in 2004. As the name implies, it is a benefit album with proceeds going to fight Cancer. In this case, the proceeds went\nto the Syrentha Savio Endowment and the Sean McGrath Fund. Alternative and punk bands contributed tracks, with many being previously unreleased.\n\nTrack listing\n\nExternal links\n Vagrant Records page for ''In Honor: A Compilation to Beat Cancer\n\n2004 compilation albums\nCharity albums\nVagrant Records compilation albums\nAlternative rock compilation albums\nPunk rock compilation albums", "Fashion for a cure is a charity that aims to raise awareness of breast cancer, and to raise funds to research the cure or prevention of breast cancer.\n\nThe organization encourages local groups to host fashion shows where all the models are cancer survivors.\nJaQuitta Williams, a newscaster in Atlanta, appeared at a Fashion for a cure event and sang the Destiny's Child song \"Survivor\" after taking an 18-month leave of absence to beat her own cancer.\n\nReferences\n\nBreast cancer organizations" ]
[ "Andrés Galarraga", "Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)", "What position did he play with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "What was his role with the Braves?", "He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI.", "How many seasons was he with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer.", "Did he beat the cancer?", "Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine." ]	C_68ea0ff2b8e2499891cc35c93ecbdc18_0	What records does he hold?	6	What records does Andrés Galarraga hold?	Andrés Galarraga	During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER	he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300.	Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing . Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment. Career Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League. Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians (). Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year. Montreal Expos (1985–1991) Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games. Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season. was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base. Galarraga's season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill. St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Galarraga had a second chance with the Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) National League batting champion (1993) By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in . Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In the strike-shortened season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI. On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0. Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over . NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at and then . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled and respectively, totaling , an average of each. The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought. Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003) The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season. In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI. Anaheim Angels (2004) In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career. New York Mets (2005) In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement. Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010) See also List of athletes on Wheaties boxes List of Colorado Rockies team records List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders Major League Baseball titles streaks Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum References External links Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News 1961 births Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Calgary Expos players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Leones del Caracas players Living people Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt Lake Stingers players San Francisco Giants players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Caracas Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Venezuela national baseball team people Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Palm Beach Expos players	true	[ "The Essential Toto is a greatest hits album by American rock band Toto. It was released in 2003 by Sony BMG, as part of the Essential series. Originally a single-disc compilation, a two-disc edition was released in 2004.\n\nThe single-disc compilation was re-released as Playlist: The Very Best of Toto on April 17, 2009.\n\nTrack listing\n\nSingle-disc edition\n \"Hold the Line\" – 3:56\n \"Rosanna\" – 5:30\n \"Africa\" – 4:58\n \"99\" – 5:15\n \"Make Believe\" – 3:43\n \"I'll Supply the Love\" – 3:46\n \"Georgy Porgy\" – 4:10\n \"I Won't Hold You Back\" – 4:56\n \"I'll Be Over You\" – 3:50\n \"Without Your Love\" – 4:53\n \"Pamela\" – 5:10\n \"The Turning Point\" – 5:27\n \"Mindfields\" – 6:13\n \"On the Run\" (Live) – 6:59\n\nDouble-disc re-release\n\nDisc 1\n \"Rosanna\" (single version) – 4:01\n \"Stop Loving You\" – 4:28\n \"Hold the Line\" (single version) – 3:31\n \"Caught In the Balance\" – 6:21\n \"99\" – 5:11\n \"The Other Side\" – 4:39\n \"I Won't Hold You Back\" – 4:56\n \"Africa\" (single version) – 4:21\n \"Don't Chain My Heart\" – 4:42\n \"2 Hearts\" – 5:06\n \"Waiting for Your Love\" – 4:12\n \"Make Believe\" – 3:43\n \"Goodbye Elenore\" – 4:53\n \"Home of the Brave\" – 6:45\n \"How Does It Feel\" – 3:50\n \"The Road Goes On\" – 4:24\n\nDisc 2\n \"I Will Remember\" – 4:22\n \"Georgy Porgy\" – 4:08\n \"Just Can't Get to You\" – 5:02\n \"Pamela\" (single version) – 4:30\n \"Baby He's Your Man\" – 5:40\n \"I'll Supply the Love\" – 3:45\n \"Holyanna\" – 4:15\n \"The Turning Point\" (single version) – 4:03\n \"If You Belong to Me\" – 3:58\n \"Can You Hear What I'm Saying\" – 4:58\n \"Slipped Away\" – 5:16\n \"Dave's Gone Skiing\" – 4:59\n \"Without Your Love\" (single version) – 4:29\n \"Stranger In Town\" – 4:43\n \"Till the End\" – 5:27\n \"I'll Be Over You\" – 3:48\n\nNotes and references\n\nToto (band) albums\n2003 greatest hits albums\nColumbia Records compilation albums", "Lyceum is an album by The Orchids, released on Sarah Records in 1989.\n\nIt was the first album release by the group (and also by the label) and was originally only available as an 8 track, 10\" mini-album on vinyl. As was usual for albums on Sarah Records, no singles were released from it, although the later 2005 reissue contained all the early singles.\n\nIt was reviewed in Melody Maker as \"Another fountainhead of unqualified greatness\".\n\nTrack listing\n\"It's Only Obvious\" \n\"A Place Called Home\" \n\"Caveman\" \n\"York Song\" \n\"Carrole-Anne\" \n\"Hold On\" \n\"Blue Light\" \n\"If You Can't Find Love\"\n\n2005 re-issue\n\"It's Only Obvious\"\n\"A Place Called Home\" \n\"Caveman\" \n\"York Song\" \n\"Carrole-Anne\" \n\"Hold On\" \n\"Blue Light\" \n\"If You Can't Find Love\"\n\"I've Got a Habit\" – First single on Sarah Records, 1988\n\"Apologies\" – Single B-side\n\"Give Me Some Peppermint Freedom\" - from Shadow Factory compilation, Sarah Records 1989\n\"Defy the Law \" - From \"Underneath the Window\" EP, Sarah Records 1988\n\"Underneath the Window, Underneath the Sink\" - From \"Underneath the Window\" EP\n\"Tiny Words\" - From \"Underneath the Window\" EP\n\"Walter\" - From \"Underneath the Window\" EP\n\"What Will We Do Next\" - What Will We Do Next Single A-side Sarah Records 1989\n\"As Times Goes By\" - What Will We Do Next Single B-side \n\"Yawn\" - What Will We Do Next Single B-side \n\"Ill Wind That Blows\" - 7\" A-side, Caff 1990\n\"All Those Things\" - 7\" B-side, Caff 1990\n\n1989 albums\nThe Orchids albums\nSarah Records albums" ]
[ "Andrés Galarraga", "Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)", "What position did he play with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "What was his role with the Braves?", "He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI.", "How many seasons was he with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer.", "Did he beat the cancer?", "Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine.", "What records does he hold?", "he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300." ]	C_68ea0ff2b8e2499891cc35c93ecbdc18_0	How many home runs did he hit?	7	How many home runs did Andrés Galarraga hit?	Andrés Galarraga	During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER	At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs.	Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing . Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment. Career Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League. Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians (). Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year. Montreal Expos (1985–1991) Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games. Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season. was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base. Galarraga's season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill. St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Galarraga had a second chance with the Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) National League batting champion (1993) By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in . Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In the strike-shortened season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI. On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0. Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over . NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at and then . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled and respectively, totaling , an average of each. The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought. Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003) The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season. In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI. Anaheim Angels (2004) In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career. New York Mets (2005) In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement. Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010) See also List of athletes on Wheaties boxes List of Colorado Rockies team records List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders Major League Baseball titles streaks Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum References External links Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News 1961 births Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Calgary Expos players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Leones del Caracas players Living people Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt Lake Stingers players San Francisco Giants players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Caracas Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Venezuela national baseball team people Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Palm Beach Expos players	false	[ "Charles Bricker Keller (born February 9, 1955) is a former first baseman, catcher and designated hitter in Minor League Baseball who played from 1976 through 1985 in the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays organizations. Listed at 6' 4\", 210 lb., Keller batted and threw right handed. He was born in Royal Oak, Michigan.\n\nThough he never played at the major league level, Keller played entirely at Triple-A – the classification directly below the major leagues – in seven of his 10 seasons and spent part of an eighth year there, as well. He hit over 200 home runs in his decade playing professional baseball.\n\nKeller was drafted by major league teams twice. He was initially taken by the Montreal Expos in the 20th round of the 1973 draft out of Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan, but did not sign a contract. He did sign after being taken by the Braves in the 10th round of the 1976 MLB Draft out of Eastern Michigan University, where he earned All-Mid-American Conference honors in 1975 and 1976.\n\nIn his first professional season, 1976, Keller hit a combined .339 average with 11 home runs, 54 RBI, a .425 on-base percentage and a .571 slugging percentage in 62 games between two teams. He played for the Kingsport Braves, with whom he hit .362 with six home runs in 41 games, and the Greenwood Braves, with whom he hit .296 with five home runs in 21 games.\n\nKeller earned an invitation to major league spring training in 1977, to compete with Willie Montañez for the Braves' first base job. He did not make the big league club and was sent to Double-A. With the Savannah Braves in 1977, Keller hit .253 with 17 home runs and 86 RBI in 138 games to lead the Southern League in RBI. He tied Tom Chism and Al Javier for the league lead in home runs. Though he spent four games with the Triple-A Richmond Braves in 1978 – hitting .400 in 15 at-bats – he spent most of the year with Savannah, hitting .251 in 124 games. Overall, he hit .255 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI in 128 games that year.\n\nKeller joined Richmond again in 1979 and remained there until 1982. With the club in 1979, he hit .255 with 21 home runs and 75 RBI in 126 games to tie Sam Bowen with the International League lead in RBI. In 1980, he hit .197 with 20 home runs and 48 RBI in 117 games and in 1981, he hit .191 with 22 home runs and 60 RBI in 98 games. He hit .285 with 28 home runs, 93 RBI, a .402 on-base percentage and a .539 slugging percentage in 122 games during his final season with the team.\n\nUpon joining the Phillies organization as a free agent for 1983, Keller hit .273 with 28 home runs and 75 RBI in 119 games for the Triple-A Portland Beavers. His slugging percentage was .543. The Phillies signed him for 1984 and he hit .249 with 28 home runs and 82 RBI in 124 games for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. That year, he led the International League in home runs and made the league's All-Star team. He returned to Syracuse in 1985, his final season, and hit .208 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 69 games.\n\nIn between, Keller played winter ball with the Leones del Caracas and Tiburones de La Guaira clubs of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, playing for them in the 1979-80 and 1982-83 seasons, respectively.\n\nOverall, Keller hit .251 with 203 home runs, 674 RBI, 523 runs, 942 hits, 146 doubles, 16 triples, 11 stolen bases, 546 walks and 805 strikeouts in 3,757 at-bats over 1,103 career games. He slugged .460 and had a .347 on-base percentage. He hit at least 20 home runs a year from 1978 to 1984, a seven-year stretch.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1955 births\nLiving people\nBaseball catchers\nBaseball first basemen\nBaseball players from Michigan\nEastern Michigan Eagles baseball players\nEastern Michigan University alumni\nGreenwood Braves players\nKingsport Braves players\nLeones del Caracas players\nAmerican expatriate baseball players in Venezuela\nSportspeople from Royal Oak, Michigan\nPortland Beavers players\nRichmond Braves players\nSavannah Braves players\nSyracuse Chiefs players\nTiburones de La Guaira players", "Harry Reuben \"Bud\" Heslet (February 27, 1920 – April 21, 2012) was a minor league baseball player from 1940 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1956 who hit 314 home runs and won five home run titles in his 14-year career. He was described as fiery-tempered, slow-footed and often lackluster defensively.\n\nHe was born in Topeka, Kansas and attended Seaman High School. He began his professional career in 1940, playing for the Norfolk Yankees and the Joplin Miners and hitting a combined .287 with nine home runs in 104 games. He was named the Western League's All-Star catcher. In 1941, he was with Joplin again and hit .281 with 12 home runs in 119 games. He again played with Joplin in 1942, hitting .343 with 13 home runs in 87 games. He was the Western Association leader in batting average.\n\nHe did not play from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. He returned in 1946 to play for the Twin Falls Cowboys – that season, he hit .308 with 29 home runs in 124 games. He led the Pioneer League in both homers and RBI (124). He was fourth in league Most Valuable Player voting that year. With the Binghamton Triplets in 1947, he hit .288 with 24 home runs. He led the Eastern League in homers, two ahead of Ken Wood. At age 27, he made it to Triple-A as he played for the Newark Bears in 1948 and 1949, hitting .266 with a .349 on-base percentage and a .421 slugging mark with nine home runs and 43 RBI in 91 games in 1948 and .228/.322/.412 with 22 home runs and 75 RBI in 140 games in 1949. He began playing the outfield in addition to catching in 1948 and would mostly be a full-time outfielder by 1950. Heslet tied for 9th in the 1949 International League in homers with Chet Laabs, George Schmees and Coaker Triplett. Every other player in the league with 20 or more home runs would appear in the major leagues during their career.\n\nHeslet played with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1950 and 1951. In his first year with the team, he hit .256/.354/.471 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI in 135 games. He became the first player in International League history to hit three home runs in a game when he did so that year. Russ Sullivan became the second to do so, in 1955. The following year, he hit .257/.350/.380 with six home runs and 27 RBI in 80 games to end his run in AAA. With the San Antonio Missions in 1952, he hit .283/.370/.491 with 31 home runs in 155 games; he led the Texas League in home runs by eight.\n\nIn 1953 and 1954, and for part of 1955, Heslet played for the Shreveport Sports. He hit .269/.350/.551 with 41 home runs and 100 RBI in 150 games in 1953, leading the Texas League in home runs by 11 over Jim Baxes and was second in slugging. In 1954, he hit .263/.368/.503 with 31 home runs and 100 RBI in 150 games. He split the 1955 season between the Sports and the Sacramento Solons, hitting .219 with 15 home runs and 37 RBI in 102 games.\n\nHe played his final season in 1956, with the Visalia Cubs. That year, he hit .334 with 51 home runs, 172 RBI and 175 hits in 140 games – all career highs. Both his home run and RBI totals were California League records. Heslet won his last home run title, seven ahead of Dick Greco and also led in both runs and RBI. His .685 slugging percentage tied Greco for second behind Joe Brovia. That campaign was considered \"the greatest offensive season in California League history.\" Despite posting such solid numbers, 1956 would be his final professional season. He retired because, \"...I had a boy [Joseph] who was two and a half years old, and I wanted to get him settled...The only way to do that was to give up baseball, stay home and be a dad. So I retired...\"\n\nOverall, Heslet hit .279 with 1,164 RBI, 266 doubles, 48 triples and 314 home runs in 1,711 games in his 14-year career. He never reached the major leagues.\n\nHe had a card in the 1950 Big League Stars baseball card set.\n\nReferences\n\n1920 births\n2012 deaths\nPeople from Wichita, Kansas" ]
[ "Andrés Galarraga", "Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)", "What position did he play with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "What was his role with the Braves?", "He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI.", "How many seasons was he with the Braves?", "I don't know.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer.", "Did he beat the cancer?", "Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine.", "What records does he hold?", "he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300.", "How many home runs did he hit?", "At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs." ]	C_68ea0ff2b8e2499891cc35c93ecbdc18_0	What was his best RBI season?	8	What was Andrés Galarraga's best RBI season?	Andrés Galarraga	During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing . Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment. Career Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League. Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians (). Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year. Montreal Expos (1985–1991) Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games. Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season. was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base. Galarraga's season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill. St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Galarraga had a second chance with the Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) National League batting champion (1993) By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in . Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In the strike-shortened season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI. On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0. Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over . NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at and then . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled and respectively, totaling , an average of each. The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams. During spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight. In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300. At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News. Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought. Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003) The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season. In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI. Anaheim Angels (2004) In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career. New York Mets (2005) In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement. Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010) See also List of athletes on Wheaties boxes List of Colorado Rockies team records List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders Major League Baseball titles streaks Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum References External links Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News 1961 births Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Calgary Expos players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Leones del Caracas players Living people Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt Lake Stingers players San Francisco Giants players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Caracas Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Venezuela national baseball team people Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Palm Beach Expos players	false	[ "Leonardo Gómez Vélez (born March 2, 1966) is a former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball primarily as a third baseman in 1990 to 1996. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1997 to 2002.\n\nCareer\n\nMinor leagues\nGómez was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1985 as an amateur free agent. He broke into professional baseball with the 1986 Bluefield Orioles, batting .352/~.496/.693 in just 27 games. His average would have led the Appalachian League had he played enough to qualify and despite missing over half the season, he still was only one home run behind the Bluefield leader. Even though Appy league managers got just a glance at Gómez, they rated him the #10 prospect in the circuit, tied with Gerónimo Peña.\n\nLeo moved up to the Carolina League in 1987. For the Hagerstown Suns, Gómez won the batting title with a line of .326/~.440/.538 with 94 runs, 38 doubles, 19 homers, 110 RBI and 95 walks. He led the league in slugging percentage and doubles and tied Casey Webster for the RBI lead. Milt Harper edged him by five points for the OBP lead. In the Year of the Third Baseman in the Carolina League (according to Baseball America), Gómez beat out Webster, Jeff King and Hensley Meulens for the All-Star spot at the hot corner, though Webster (who made the team at DH) won MVP honors and Meulens (who made the All-Stars as a utility man) was named top prospect. Gómez was picked as the second-best hope for the future.\n\nAt age 22, Gómez moved up to the AA Charlotte Knights but only played 24 games (presumably he was injured most of the season) and hit .292/~.364/.382 with only one homer in 89 at-bats. His progress stunted, he returned to AA in 1989, returning to Hagerstown, which had moved up the ladder. The Puerto Rican infielder hit .281/~.400/.467 with 18 homers and a league-high 89 walks. His 78 RBI ranked second, he was fifth in homers and presumably in the top five in slugging and OBP as well. He made the Eastern League All-Star team at third base, his second minor league All-Star team in his only two full seasons of play.\n\nGómez spent most of the 1990 campaign with the Rochester Red Wings. Leo hit .277/~.408/.537 with 26 homers, 97 runs, 89 walks and 97 RBI. He led the International League in runs and RBI, was one walk behind the league leader (Jim Walewander) and tied for second in HR, seven behind leader Phil Plantier. He again was among the OBP and slugging leaders. He was named to the All-Star team once again at third base for the third time in his three full seasons. In the AAA All-Star Game, Gómez hit 5th for the AL team, right behind Juan González. In his three full years in the minors, he had led his leagues in batting average, slugging percentage, walks, runs, RBI and doubles and had been second in OBP and homers.\n\nIn the majors\nThat earned him a September call-up to the majors in 1990, where he batted .231/.362/.231 with no homers and one RBI. In 1991, Gómez became the Orioles' everyday third baseman though he spent June back in Rochester (.257/~.359/.495), batting .233/.302/.409 for the O's with 16 HR's and 45 RBI in 118 games. He had a very good year in 1992 when he batted .265/.356/.425 (116 OPS+) with 17 HR's and 64 RBI. In 1993, he fell to .197/.295/.348 (71 OPS+) with 10 HR's and 25 RBI. During the strike year of 1994, Gómez was having an excellent year, batting .274/.336/.502 (a 117 OPS+) with 15 HR's and 56 RBI. In Gómez's final year in Baltimore, 1995, he fell to .236/.336/.370 with only 4 HR's and 12 RBI.\n\nAs a result of Gómez's poor performance with Baltimore, he was let go at the end of the 1995 season. He signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs in January 1996. Gómez rebounded to a .238/.344/.431 season (a 103 OPS+), with 17 HR's and 56 RBI. However, he was released in December.\n\nJapan\nGómez signed with the Chunichi Dragons in 1997. In his first season, he hit .315/.407/.559 with 21 HR's and 89 RBI, which earned him his first of two Best Nines. Gómez's success continued in the 1998 season, when he batted .274/.363/.493 with 26 HR's and 76 RBI.\n\nIn 1999, Gómez had his career best year in Japan, batting .297/.389/.570 with 36 HR's and 109 RBI, which earned him to another Best Nine squad. He was third in the Central League in RBI that season. He slid to .289/.373/.507 with 25 HR's and 79 RBI in 2000.\n\nGómez was signed to a minor league contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001, but didn't play very much that spring, and was let go by the Pirates. As a result, he re-signed with the Dragons, where he batted .306/.398/.546 with 19 HR's and 61 RBI. During his final year with Chunichi in 2002, he batted .267/.344/.502 with 16 circuit clouts and 43 RBI. In his last two years in the NPB, Gómez was plagued by knee injuries. Overall Leo hit .293/.382/.532 in Japan, with 153 home runs. For years he was probably the Dragons' top power threat, leading the club three times and finishing second to Takeshi Yamasaki twice (once trailing by a single homer). Only in his last year did he not finish in the club's top two and his rate of one every 15.4 AB still led Chunichi's regulars.\n\nOverall, Leo Gómez hit over 300 homers as a pro baseball player.\n\nMinor League Manager\nHe managed the Aberdeen IronBirds of the New York–Penn League in 2011.\n\nExternal links\n\n1966 births\nLiving people\nBaltimore Orioles players\nChicago Cubs players\nChunichi Dragons players\nHagerstown Suns players\nMajor League Baseball players from Puerto Rico\nMajor League Baseball third basemen\nNippon Professional Baseball first basemen\nNippon Professional Baseball third basemen\nPeople from Canóvanas, Puerto Rico\nPuerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Japan\nRochester Red Wings players", "Jason Wyatt Hart (born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman and current hitting coach of the Hickory Crawdads in the Texas Rangers organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers in .\n\nHigh school and college\nStanding at 6'4\" and weighing 240 pounds, Hart attended Fair Grove High School and was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 20th round of the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft. He opted to play college baseball at Southwest Missouri State University. In 1997, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was a 2nd-team college All-American and a Missouri Valley Conference All-Star in . He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the fifth round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft, and signed with the club.\n\nProfessional career\nHe began his professional career in 1998 with the Southern Oregon Timberjacks, hitting .258 with 20 home runs and 69 RBI with them. He led or tied for the Northwest League lead in games played, home runs and RBI. He earned a trip to the All-Star game and the Northwest League MVP Award that season.\n\nPlaying for the Modesto A's in , Hart hit .305 with 19 home runs, 48 doubles and 123 RBI in 550 at-bats. Once again, he topped his league (the California League) in multiple categories, those being: at-bats, doubles and RBI.\n\nIn , Hart had another outstanding season. He spent most of the season with the Double-A Midland RockHounds, hitting .326 with 44 doubles, 30 home runs and 121 RBI for them. He led the Texas League in at-bats, hits, and RBI. Although he spent most of the year with the Rockhounds, he also played five games for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, hitting .278 with one home run, one double and four RBI in 18 at-bats. Overall, he hit .324 with 45 doubles, 31 home runs and 125 RBI. He was a Baseball America All-Star, a Double-A All-Star and a Texas League All-Star. Indeed, he was developing into a minor league star.\n\nAccording to Baseball America, Hart was ranked the 59th best prospect in baseball and the second best prospect in the Athletics organization in . Despite that, he slumped that year while playing for the River Cats. In 494 at-bats, he hit .247 with 19 home runs and 75 RBI.\n\nOn January 14, , Hart was traded with Gerald Laird, Ryan Ludwick, and Mario Ramos to the Rangers for Carlos Peña and Mike Venafro. Although he slumped mightily in 2001, Baseball America still named him the 10th best prospect in the Rangers organization in 2002.\n\nIndeed, he did show some improvement in 2002, hitting .263 with 25 home runs and 83 RBI for the Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks. He earned a call-up to the big leagues that season, and on August 18 he made his debut, at the age of 24. Facing the Toronto Blue Jays, he appeared as a pinch hitter for Mike Lamb in his first plate appearance and drew a walk. Overall, Hart would appear in 10 games, hitting .267 with three of his four hits being doubles. He appeared in his final big league game on September 29 of that season.\n\nAlthough he did not play in the big leagues after 2002, he stuck around in the minors until . In , he again played for Oklahoma, hitting .252 with 21 home runs and 82 RBI.\n\nIn , Hart was diagnosed with a brain tumor and did not play. He did, however, play for the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders in . With them, he hit .246 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI. On October 15, he was granted free agency. He was signed by the Minnesota Twins on December 14.\n\nHart began the 2006 season with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. In 30 games with them, he hit .225 with four home runs and eight RBI. On June 1, he was sent back to the Rangers as part of a conditional deal. He finished the season with Oklahoma, hitting .254 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. Combined, Hart hit .248 with 18 home runs and 53 RBI in his final professional season.\n\nIn total, Hart hit .271 with 174 home runs, 243 doubles, and 687 RBI in eight minor league seasons.\n\nCoaching career\nIn , Hart assisted the Single-A Clinton LumberKings in the Rangers organization. Hart was the hitting coach for the \nArizona Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2009. Hart spent the 2010 and 2011 season as the hitting coach of the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League. Hart served as the hitting coach of the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League from 2012 through 2019. He returned to Hickory as their hitting coach for the 2020 season.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1977 births\nLiving people\nSportspeople from Walnut Creek, California\nBaseball players from California\nMajor League Baseball left fielders\nMajor League Baseball first basemen\nTexas Rangers players\nMissouri State Bears baseball players\nChatham Anglers players\nSouthern Oregon Timberjacks players\nModesto A's players\nSacramento River Cats players\nOklahoma RedHawks players\nFrisco RoughRiders players\nRochester Red Wings players\nPhoenix Desert Dogs players\nMinor league baseball coaches" ]
[ "Jane Roberts", "Reception and influence" ]	C_31c7e947fbf14fe0acf3060a69c05adf_1	When was "The Nature of Personal Reality, A seth book" published?	1	When was "The Nature of Personal Reality, A seth book" published?	Jane Roberts	Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library), contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks." John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that, for each individual: "you create your own reality." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions which trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality," related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness." Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East... and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah." The late amateur physicist Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise--and slight annoyance--I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics." CANNOTANSWER	The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library),	Dorothy Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, psychic, and spirit medium, who channeled an energy personality who called himself "Seth." Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the Seth Material, established her as one of the preeminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena. Early life and career Roberts was born in Albany, New York and grew up in nearby Saratoga Springs, New York. Her parents, Delmer Hubbell Roberts and Marie Burdo, divorced when she was two years old. With her only child, the young Marie then returned to her own parents, and the home that the family had rented for a number of years: half of a double dwelling in a poor neighborhood. Marie had begun experiencing the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis by 1932 but worked as much as possible. Eventually, Roberts' grandfather, Joseph Burdo, with whom she shared a deep mystical identification, was unable to support two extra people, and the family had to rely upon public assistance. Roberts' grandmother was killed in an automobile accident in 1936. The next year, her grandfather moved out of the house. By then Marie was partially incapacitated, and the Welfare Department began to furnish mother and daughter with occasional and often unreliable domestic help. When Marie became a bedridden invalid, it was Jane's responsibility to take care of her. This included cooking, cleaning, bringing her the bedpan, and getting up in the middle of the night to refuel the stove. Her embittered mother would tell Jane she was going to turn on the gas jets in the middle of the night and kill them both. When her mother attempted suicide for about the fifth time, she took sleeping pills and was in the hospital. Jane wrote that she went to the welfare worker and said, 'I can't take it anymore. I've just got to leave.'" Over and over Marie told Jane she was no good, that the daughter's birth had caused the mother's illness, and that she was disowned and considered no longer her daughter. The persistent psychological abuse and mistreatment by her mother resulted in the young girl's deep fear of abandonment. Such situations increased Jane's sense of not being safe, yet also reinforced feelings of independence, for she did not have to feel as dependent upon Marie as she might otherwise. Well before she was 10 years old Jane had developed persistent symptoms of colitis. By her early teens, she had an overactive thyroid gland. Her vision was poor; she required very strong glasses (which she seldom wore). For most of 1940 and half of 1941, Jane was in a strictly-run Catholic orphanage in Troy, NY while her mother was hospitalized in another city for treatment of her arthritis. Priests came to the house regularly and support was offered to the fatherless family. Jane's initial bonding to the cultural beliefs of religion was very strong to make up for the lack of a loving, nurturing family. For a time she was left between belief systems. In the summer of 1945, when she was 16 years old, Jane began working at a variety store. It was her first job. That fall she continued on the job after school hours and on an occasional Saturday. After attending public schools she went to Skidmore College from 1947 to 1950 on a poetry scholarship. Roberts' grandfather died when she was age 19. It was a time of severe shock for her. She began to substitute scientific world view for religious belief. At that time Jane was dating Walt Zeh, a long-time Saratoga Springs friend. Together they went to the west coast by motorcycle to see Jane's father who had also come from a broken home. Jane then married Walt and continued to write while taking a variety of other jobs, including society editor for the Saratoga newspaper, and as a supervisor in a radio factory. Walt and Jane lived together for three years. It was then in February 1954 while "cutting up, dancing, and raisin' hell at a party," that Jane first met the former commercial artist Robert Fabian Butts, Jr. (June 20, 1919 - May 26, 2008). The fourth time they met at another party and Jane 'just looked at him and said, "Look, I'm leaving Walt, and I'm going to live by myself or I'm going to live with you, so just let me know."'" Eventually the two left town together and Jane filed for divorce. Jane and Rob married on December 27, 1954 at the home of his parents in Sayre, PA. Roberts wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children's literature, nonfiction, science fiction, and fantasy, and novels. She was the only woman invited to the first science-fiction writer's conference in 1956 in Milford, PA. The couple moved to Elmira, NY, in 1960, to find steady part-time work – Rob in the local greeting card company, Jane in an art gallery. Now in her 30s, she and her husband began to record what she said were messages from a personality named "Seth," and she wrote several books about the experience. Seth Material On a September evening in 1963, Roberts sat down at her table to work on poetry; Butts was in his back-room studio, painting. "It was very domestic, very normal, very unpsychedelic," she would later remember. And then "Between one normal minute and the next, a fantastic avalanche of radical, new ideas burst into my head with tremendous force ... It was as if the physical world were really tissue-paper-thin, hiding infinite dimensions of reality, and I was flung through the tissue paper with a huge ripping sound." When she "came to," Roberts found herself scrawling the title of this batch of notes: The Physical Universe as Idea Construction. Before this, though her fiction typically dealt with such themes as clairvoyance and reincarnation, intellectually neither she nor Butts believed in extrasensory abilities. Yet soon after this episode, Roberts suddenly began recalling her dreams, including two that were precognitive. Their curiosity piqued, the couple decided to investigate further, and she managed to land a contract with a New York publisher for a do-it-yourself book on extra-sensory perception. In late 1963, Roberts and Butts started experimenting with a Ouija board as part of Roberts' research for the book. According to Roberts and Butts, on December 2, 1963, they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality who eventually identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. The first seven sessions were entirely with the Ouija board. The three-hour session on the evening of Jan. 2, 1964 was the first where she began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board. For a while, she still opened her sessions with the board, but finally abandoned it after the 27th session on Feb. 19, 1964. Roberts described the process of writing the Seth books as entering a trance state. She said Seth would assume control of her body and speak through her, while her husband wrote down the words she spoke. They referred to such episodes as "readings" or "sessions." The 26th session on Feb. 18, 1964, was the first held in the presence of another person—a friend. On Jan. 17, 1964, Roberts channeled an allegedly recently deceased woman who told Butts that his and his wife's work with Seth was a life-time project, that they would publish his manuscripts, and help spread his ideas. At the 27th session Seth also told the couple how to rearrange the furniture in their apartment which would better suit their energies. Despite feelings of disbelief toward both messages, the couple somewhat reluctantly agreed. Two days afterward they heard from a psychologist interested in reincarnation to whom they had written three weeks earlier with some session copies enclosed. The psychologist told them that the very fluency of the material suggested that it might come from Roberts' subconscious, though it was impossible to tell. He also cautioned that in some circumstances, amateur mediumship could lead to mental problems. The letter upset her but helped her deal with her doubts. She felt there were no "alarming changes" in her personality. "I was doing twice the creative work I had done earlier. I was satisfied with the quality of the Seth Material; it was far superior to anything I could do on my own. If nothing else, I thought the sessions presented a way of making deeply unconscious knowledge available on a consistent basis." "Because we were so innocent about psychic literature, we weren't hampered by superstitious fears about such [psychic] phenomena. I didn't believe in gods or demons, so I didn't fear them. I wanted to learn. Rob and I had discovered a whole new world together, and we were going to explore it." Roberts assumed Seth was a subconscious fantasy, personified because she did not believe in spirits or life after death. She monitored her personality characteristics and went to a psychologist. But she felt that "Seth seemed far more mature and well-balanced than the psychologist, so finally I stopped worrying. This is not to say the experience did not cause certain strains and stresses that could accompany any worthwhile venture in an entirely new field." Roberts also purportedly channeled the world views of several other people, including the philosopher William James, Rembrandt, and the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, through a process she described as using a typewriter to write "automatically." For 21 years until Roberts' death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held more than 1500 regular or private "ESP class" trance sessions in which she spoke on behalf of Seth. Butts served as the stenographer, taking the messages down in shorthand he had made up, having others on occasion make recording of some sessions. The messages from Seth channeled through Roberts consisted mostly of monologues on a wide variety of topics. They were published by Prentice-Hall under the collective title Seth Material. Over the years, hundreds of people witnessed Roberts channeling "Seth". Some went to the ESP classes Roberts held (Tuesday and some Thursday nights, Sept. 1967 – Feb. 1975) for an evening, others attended for longer periods. (By this time Jane had given up her gallery work, and was teaching nursery school during part of this time.) Outside of the ESP class structure, Roberts gave many personal Seth sessions to various individuals who had written her, asking for help. She never charged for those sessions; however, at some point, she did charge $2.50 to $3.50 per ESP class of 5 to 40 people. When the books began to sell in sufficient numbers, she dropped that fee. Book sessions were almost always private, held on Monday and Wednesday evenings without witnesses from 1967 through 1982 (except for Tues and Thurs from Aug. to Nov. 1981). The material through 1969 was published in summary form in The Seth Material, written by Roberts from the output of the channeling sessions. Beginning in January 1970, Roberts wrote books which she described as dictated by Seth. Roberts claimed no authorship of these books beyond her role as a medium. This series of "Seth books" totaled ten volumes. The last two books appear to be incomplete due to Roberts' illness. Butts contributed extensive footnotes, appendices, and other comments to all the Seth books, and thus was a co-author on all of them. These additions describe what was going on in Roberts' and his life at the time of the various sessions, annotated in light of contemporary beliefs and materials he and Roberts were reading, described excerpts from some fan mail and letters from professionals commenting on Seth's material about their fields, and, especially later, provided insight as to the many steps of production of multiple books with the publisher. By February 1982 they were still receiving "from 30 to 50 letters and packages a week" from readers of their various books. Some of Roberts' earlier and later poetry was occasionally included to show how she had touched upon some of Seth's concepts. Roberts also wrote The Oversoul Seven trilogy to explore via fiction some of Seth's teachings on the concepts of reincarnation and oversouls. According to Roberts, Seth described himself as an "energy personality essence no longer focused in physical matter," and was independent of Roberts' subconscious. Roberts initially expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, wondering if he was a part of her own personality. While speaking as Seth, Roberts at times appeared stern, jovial, or professorial. "His" voice was deeper and more masculine sounding than Jane's and was possessed of a distinct, although not identifiable, accent. Unlike the psychic Edgar Cayce, whose syntax when speaking in trance was antiquated and convoluted, Roberts' syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth. Later books continued to develop but did not contradict the material introduced in earlier works. Some "Practice Elements" were even included on how a few of the concepts could be practically experienced. A few contemporary world events were commented upon, such as the Jonestown Guyana deaths and the Three Mile Island accident. Seth also provided an alternative creation myth to that of the Big Bang or Intelligent Design. Roberts' father died in November 1971 at the age of 68; her mother died six months later at the same age. In early 1982 Roberts spent a month in the hospital for severely underactive thyroid gland, protruding eyes and double vision, an almost total hearing loss, a slight anemia, budding bedsores—and a hospital-caused staph infection. She recovered to an extent, but died two and a half years later in 1984, having been bedridden with severe arthritis-like her mother—for the final year and a half of her life. Roberts had spent 504 consecutive days in a hospital in Elmira, N.Y. The immediate causes of her death were a combination of protein depletion, osteomyelitis, and soft-tissue infections. These conditions arose out of her long-standing rheumatoid arthritis. (Butts believed for some 15 years that in Roberts' case, at least, the young girl's psychological conditioning was far more important—far more damaging, in those terms—than any physical tendency to inherit the disease.) Roberts was cremated the next day, in a process, she and Butts had agreed upon several years earlier. After Roberts' death, recorded in The Way Toward Health (1997), Butts continued his work as a guardian of the Seth texts and continued to supervise the publication of some of the remaining material, including The Early Sessions, making sure all of the recordings, manuscripts, notes, and drawings would be given to the Yale Library. Butts remarried, and his second wife, Laurel Lee Davies, supported his work during the more than 20 years they were together and helped answer mail and proofread manuscripts. Butts died of cancer on May 26, 2008. Jane Roberts Butts and Robert F. Butts Jr. are interred together in the Wayne County, NY Furnaceville cemetery; however, there is another gravestone with their names on it in the Sunnyside cemetery in Tunkhannock, PA. A number of groups have compiled anthologies of quotes from Seth, summarized sections of his teachings, issued copies of Seth sessions on audio tape, and further relayed the material via classes and conventions. Reception and influence Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," republished in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library), contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks." John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that for each individual: "you create your own reality." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions that trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually, those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality," related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness." Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East… and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah." New Age writer Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise—and slight annoyance—I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics." The Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives maintains a collection entitled Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090), which documents the career and personal life of Jane Roberts, including journals, poetry, correspondence, audio, and video recordings, and other materials donated after her death by Roberts' husband and other individuals and organizations. Yale University's collection entitled "Jane Roberts papers" occupies 164.08 linear feet of shelf space and is contained in 498 boxes. Criticism Roberts and the Seth Material have attracted critiques from outside the paranormal community. The poet Charles Upton, in his collection of essays titled The System of Antichrist, posited that Roberts multiplied the self due to a fear of death. His opinion was that the Seth texts are based on a misunderstanding of both Christianity and of Eastern religions. Professor of psychology and noted critic of parapsychology James E. Alcock opined, "In light of all this, the Seth materials must surely be viewed as less than ordinary. There certainly was the time and talent for fraud to play a role, but we cannot discriminate between that possibility and the possibility of unconscious production—at any rate, given these circumstances, there seems little need to consider the involvement of any supernatural agency." Some religious groups have warned their members about the dangers and deceptions of reading channeled messages from Roberts and others. John MacArthur, host of a syndicated Christian talk show, considers The Seth Material to be "a book entirely written by a demon.", while the New Age Urantia Foundation considers the book evidence for "Devil possession." Videos such as Jane Roberts' Seth Speaks is Anti-Catholic Hate Books – Allowed By The Media claimed that Seth was "a demon from hell contacted through a ouija board." Science writer Karen Stollznow has written that much of Roberts work was "criticized for being a rip-off of Christian and Eastern philosophy. It comes as no surprise that Seth influenced such authors as Deepak Chopra and Louise Hay." Since Roberts' death, others have claimed to channel Seth. In the introduction to Seth's first dictated book, Seth Speaks, "he" says, "communications will come exclusively through Ruburt [Seth's name for Jane] at all times, to protect the integrity of the material." In The Seth Material, Jane Roberts wrote: "Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts." At least one person has claimed more recently to channel Roberts. Complete writings Books: Roberts, Jane (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) . Roberts, Jane (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. . Roberts, Jane (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry. Roberts, Jane (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1977). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1979). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1977). The World View of Paul Cézanne: A Psychic Interpretation. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. . Children's literature. Roberts, Jane (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, . Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, . Roberts, Jane (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984)). Roberts, Jane (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. . Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. . Roberts, Jane (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry. Roberts, Jane (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, and . Roberts, Jane (1986). Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness. Stillpoint Publishing. (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. . Roberts, Jane (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. . Roberts, Jane (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. . Roberts, Jane (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. . Roberts. Jane. The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes. Short Stories and novellas: Roberts, Jane. "Prayer of a Wiser People" in Profile, 1950. Roberts, Jane. "The Red Wagon" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1956 (republished 1993, Reality Change Magazine; anthologized in 1975, Ladies of Fantasy). Roberts, Jane. "The Canvas Pyramid" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958). Roberts, Jane. "First Communion" in Fantastic Universe, 1957. Roberts, Jane. "The Chestnut Beads" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958; anthologized in Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963). Roberts, Jane. "The Bundu" (novella, sequel to "The Chestnut Beads") in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958. Roberts, Jane. "A Demon at Devotions" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Winter 1994). Roberts, Jane. "Nightmare" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959. Roberts, Jane. "Impasse" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959 (Spanish anthology edition ca. 1960). Roberts, Jane. "Three Times Around" in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1964 (anthologized in Earth Invaded, 1982). Roberts, Jane. "The Big Freeze" in Dude, 1965 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Summer 1994). Roberts, Jane. "The Mission," purchased by Topper magazine in August 1965. (Publication not yet confirmed.) Poetry Submissions: "Time" in The Saratogian [Saratoga Springs, NY], 1947 Mar 19. "Enigma" in The Saratogian, 1947 Mar 19. "Spring Gaiety" in The Saratogian, 1947 Apr 26. "Rain" in Profile [Skidmore College literary magazine], December, 1947. "Pretense" in Profile, December, 1947. "Code" in Profile, December, 1947. "Skyscrapers" in Profile, December, 1947. "Introvert" in Profile, May, 1948. "Poem" in Profile, May, 1948. "How Public Like a Frog" in Profile, Fall, 1948. "Motorcycle Ride" in Profile, Fall, 1948. "Echo" in Profile, May, 1949. "Death Stood at the Door" in Profile, May, 1949. "Compromise" in Profile, May, 1949. "I Shall Die in the Springtime." Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954. "Lyric" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954. "Matilda" in Quicksilver, Spring, 1960. "It is Springtime, Grandfather." Epos., v.12, n.3, Spring 1961. "The Familiar." Bitterroot. v.1, n.2, Winter 1962. "I Saw a Hand" in Treasures of Parnassus: Best Poems of 1962, Young Publications, 1962 (reprinted in The Elmira Star-Gazette, 1962). "My Grandfather's World." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963. "Lullaby." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963. "Beware, October." Epos. v.16, n.1, Fall 1964. "This Wrist, This Hand." Epos. v.16, n.4, Summer 1965. "The Game." New Lantern Club Review. n.2, Summer 1965. "The Flowers." Steppenwolf. n.1, Winter 1965–1966. "Vision." Dust/9. v.3, n.1, Fall 1966. "Who Whispers Yes." Dust/12. v.3, n.4, Spring 1969. "Hi, Low, and Psycho." Excerpts published in Reality Change, Third Quarter, 1996. See also Stewart Edward White Modal realism Counterpart theory Eternalism New Thought References External links Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. Includes both published and unpublished materials Seth Center Index to the Early Sessions Seth Learning Center An overview of titles and related audio clips, New Awareness Network Nirvikalpa Archive of over 1500 quotations and excerpts from the Seth Material 'The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts' by Paul Cunningham List of Seth Sessions by Mary Dillman Index of Eleven Seth Books by Sue R. Williams Seth Talk - by Lynda Madden Dahl 1929 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American poets American children's writers American motivational writers Women motivational writers American psychics American spiritual mediums American women poets Channellers Consciousness researchers and theorists Deaths from arthritis New Age writers People from Saratoga Springs, New York Skidmore College alumni American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers Women's page journalists	false	[ "\n\nComplete writings of Jane Roberts \n\nBooks by Publication Date\n (1963) The Rebellers. Publisher: Ace Books, Inc. (Published as a Dual Mass Market Paperback Book with Listen! The Stars! by John Brunner) ISBN: None\n(1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) .\n (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. . (A SETH BOOK) NB: The Seth Material is a summary and discussion of The Early Sessions material\n (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry.\n (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1977). The \"Unknown\" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (1979). The \"Unknown\" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (1977). The World View of Paul Cézanne: A Psychic Interpretation. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. . Children's literature.\n (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, . Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, . (A SETH BOOK)\n (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984).\n (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. . Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. .\n (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry.\n (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, and . (A SETH BOOK)\n (1986). Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness. Stillpoint Publishing.\n (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. .\n (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. .\n (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (2008) The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes. (A SETH BOOK)\n\nSeth Books Only (by date channeled)\n (Channeled 1963-1970) (Published 1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1965-1984) (Published 2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1967-1972) (Published 2008) The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes. (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1963-1970) (Published 1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. . (A SETH BOOK) NB: The Seth Material is a summary and discussion of The Early Sessions material\n (Channeled 1970-1971) (Published 1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1972-1973) (Published 1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1974) (Published 1977). The \"Unknown\" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1974-1975) (Published 1979). The \"Unknown\" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1975-1977) (Published 1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1977-1979) (Published 1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, . Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1980) (Published 1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1982) (Published 1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, and . (A SETH BOOK)\n (Channeled 1984) (Published 1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. . (A SETH BOOK)\n\nShort Stories and novellas:\n\"Prayer of a Wiser People\" in Profile, 1950. \n\"The Red Wagon\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1956 (republished 1993, Reality Change Magazine; anthologized in 1975, Ladies of Fantasy).\n\"The Canvas Pyramid\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1957 (French edition, 1958).\n\"First Communion\" in Fantastic Universe, March 1957. \n\"The Chestnut Beads\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1957 (French edition, 1958; anthologized in Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963).\n\"The Bundu\" (novella) in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1958. \n\"A Demon at Devotions\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1958 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Winter 1994).\n\"Nightmare\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1959. \n\"Impasse\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1959 (Spanish anthology edition ca. 1960).\n\"Three Times Around\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1964 (anthologized in Earth Invaded, 1982). \n\"The Big Freeze\" in Dude, 1965 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Summer 1994).\n\"The Mission,\" purchased by Topper magazine in August, 1965. (Publication not yet confirmed.)\n\nPoetry:\n“Time” in The Saratogian [Saratoga Springs, NY], 1947 Mar 19.\n“Enigma” in The Saratogian, 1947 Mar 19.\n“Spring Gaiety” in The Saratogian, 1947 Apr 26.\n“Rain” in Profile [Skidmore College literary magazine], December, 1947.\n“Pretense” in Profile, December, 1947.\n“Code” in Profile, December, 1947.\n“Skyscrapers” in Profile, December, 1947.\n“Introvert” in Profile, May, 1948.\n“Poem” in Profile, May, 1948.\n“How Public Like a Frog” in Profile, Fall, 1948.\n“Motorcycle Ride” in Profile, Fall, 1948.\n“Echo” in Profile, May, 1949.\n“Death Stood at the Door” in Profile, May, 1949.\n“Compromise” in Profile, May, 1949.\n\"I Shall Die in the Springtime.\" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954.\n\"Lyric\" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954.\n\"Matilda\" in Quicksilver, Spring, 1960.\n\"It is Springtime, Grandfather.\" Epos., v.12, n.3, Spring 1961.\n\"The Familiar.\" Bitterroot. v.1, n.2, Winter 1962.\n\"I Saw a Hand\" in Treasures of Parnassus: Best Poems of 1962, Young Publications, 1962 (reprinted in The Elmira Star-Gazette, 1962).\n\"My Grandfather's World.\" Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963.\n\"Lullaby.\" Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963.\n\"Beware, October.\" Epos. v.16, n.1, Fall 1964.\n\"This Wrist, This Hand.\" Epos. v.16, n.4, Summer 1965.\n\"The Game.\" New Lantern Club Review. n.2, Summer 1965.\n\"The Flowers.\" Steppenwolf. n.1, Winter 1965-1966.\n\"Vision.\" Dust/9. v.3, n.1, Fall 1966.\n\"Who Whispers Yes.\" Dust/12. v.3, n.4, Spring 1969.\n\"Hi, Low, and Psycho.\" Excerpts published in Reality Change, Third Quarter, 1996.\n\nRoberts, Jane", "A Suitable Girl is a long-delayed novel by Vikram Seth; it is supposed to be a sequel to his 1993 book A Suitable Boy. Seth has said the book will be set in the present, rather than in 1952 when A Suitable Boy finished, and will therefore be what Seth calls a \"jump sequel\". The book was announced in 2009 but has yet to be completed.\n\nAfter Seth missed a deadline to submit the manuscript to Penguin Publisher in June 2013, it was announced that the new novel would be published in autumn of 2016 by Orion Publishers, which had published A Suitable Boy. In May 2015, it was reported that Seth was hoping to finish writing the book in 2016, for publication in 2017. Seth explained that he had missed the Penguin deadline due to suffering from writer's block as a result of the failure of a romantic relationship. As of 2020 the novel was still unfinished though Seth confirmed in a 2018 interview that he was still working on the book as well as more material in the A Suitable Boy universe to be collectively called A Bridge of Leaves.\n\nReferences\n\nNovels by Vikram Seth\nUpcoming books\n2016 Indian novels\n2016 British novels" ]
[ "Jane Roberts", "Reception and influence", "When was \"The Nature of Personal Reality, A seth book\" published?", "The title jacket of \"The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book,\" published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library)," ]	C_31c7e947fbf14fe0acf3060a69c05adf_1	Which notable people had expressed the effect of seth material upon their own awakening?	2	Which notable people expressed the effect of Seth's material upon awakening?	Jane Roberts	Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library), contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks." John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that, for each individual: "you create your own reality." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions which trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality," related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness." Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East... and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah." The late amateur physicist Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise--and slight annoyance--I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics." CANNOTANSWER	the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay,	Dorothy Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, psychic, and spirit medium, who channeled an energy personality who called himself "Seth." Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the Seth Material, established her as one of the preeminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena. Early life and career Roberts was born in Albany, New York and grew up in nearby Saratoga Springs, New York. Her parents, Delmer Hubbell Roberts and Marie Burdo, divorced when she was two years old. With her only child, the young Marie then returned to her own parents, and the home that the family had rented for a number of years: half of a double dwelling in a poor neighborhood. Marie had begun experiencing the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis by 1932 but worked as much as possible. Eventually, Roberts' grandfather, Joseph Burdo, with whom she shared a deep mystical identification, was unable to support two extra people, and the family had to rely upon public assistance. Roberts' grandmother was killed in an automobile accident in 1936. The next year, her grandfather moved out of the house. By then Marie was partially incapacitated, and the Welfare Department began to furnish mother and daughter with occasional and often unreliable domestic help. When Marie became a bedridden invalid, it was Jane's responsibility to take care of her. This included cooking, cleaning, bringing her the bedpan, and getting up in the middle of the night to refuel the stove. Her embittered mother would tell Jane she was going to turn on the gas jets in the middle of the night and kill them both. When her mother attempted suicide for about the fifth time, she took sleeping pills and was in the hospital. Jane wrote that she went to the welfare worker and said, 'I can't take it anymore. I've just got to leave.'" Over and over Marie told Jane she was no good, that the daughter's birth had caused the mother's illness, and that she was disowned and considered no longer her daughter. The persistent psychological abuse and mistreatment by her mother resulted in the young girl's deep fear of abandonment. Such situations increased Jane's sense of not being safe, yet also reinforced feelings of independence, for she did not have to feel as dependent upon Marie as she might otherwise. Well before she was 10 years old Jane had developed persistent symptoms of colitis. By her early teens, she had an overactive thyroid gland. Her vision was poor; she required very strong glasses (which she seldom wore). For most of 1940 and half of 1941, Jane was in a strictly-run Catholic orphanage in Troy, NY while her mother was hospitalized in another city for treatment of her arthritis. Priests came to the house regularly and support was offered to the fatherless family. Jane's initial bonding to the cultural beliefs of religion was very strong to make up for the lack of a loving, nurturing family. For a time she was left between belief systems. In the summer of 1945, when she was 16 years old, Jane began working at a variety store. It was her first job. That fall she continued on the job after school hours and on an occasional Saturday. After attending public schools she went to Skidmore College from 1947 to 1950 on a poetry scholarship. Roberts' grandfather died when she was age 19. It was a time of severe shock for her. She began to substitute scientific world view for religious belief. At that time Jane was dating Walt Zeh, a long-time Saratoga Springs friend. Together they went to the west coast by motorcycle to see Jane's father who had also come from a broken home. Jane then married Walt and continued to write while taking a variety of other jobs, including society editor for the Saratoga newspaper, and as a supervisor in a radio factory. Walt and Jane lived together for three years. It was then in February 1954 while "cutting up, dancing, and raisin' hell at a party," that Jane first met the former commercial artist Robert Fabian Butts, Jr. (June 20, 1919 - May 26, 2008). The fourth time they met at another party and Jane 'just looked at him and said, "Look, I'm leaving Walt, and I'm going to live by myself or I'm going to live with you, so just let me know."'" Eventually the two left town together and Jane filed for divorce. Jane and Rob married on December 27, 1954 at the home of his parents in Sayre, PA. Roberts wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children's literature, nonfiction, science fiction, and fantasy, and novels. She was the only woman invited to the first science-fiction writer's conference in 1956 in Milford, PA. The couple moved to Elmira, NY, in 1960, to find steady part-time work – Rob in the local greeting card company, Jane in an art gallery. Now in her 30s, she and her husband began to record what she said were messages from a personality named "Seth," and she wrote several books about the experience. Seth Material On a September evening in 1963, Roberts sat down at her table to work on poetry; Butts was in his back-room studio, painting. "It was very domestic, very normal, very unpsychedelic," she would later remember. And then "Between one normal minute and the next, a fantastic avalanche of radical, new ideas burst into my head with tremendous force ... It was as if the physical world were really tissue-paper-thin, hiding infinite dimensions of reality, and I was flung through the tissue paper with a huge ripping sound." When she "came to," Roberts found herself scrawling the title of this batch of notes: The Physical Universe as Idea Construction. Before this, though her fiction typically dealt with such themes as clairvoyance and reincarnation, intellectually neither she nor Butts believed in extrasensory abilities. Yet soon after this episode, Roberts suddenly began recalling her dreams, including two that were precognitive. Their curiosity piqued, the couple decided to investigate further, and she managed to land a contract with a New York publisher for a do-it-yourself book on extra-sensory perception. In late 1963, Roberts and Butts started experimenting with a Ouija board as part of Roberts' research for the book. According to Roberts and Butts, on December 2, 1963, they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality who eventually identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. The first seven sessions were entirely with the Ouija board. The three-hour session on the evening of Jan. 2, 1964 was the first where she began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board. For a while, she still opened her sessions with the board, but finally abandoned it after the 27th session on Feb. 19, 1964. Roberts described the process of writing the Seth books as entering a trance state. She said Seth would assume control of her body and speak through her, while her husband wrote down the words she spoke. They referred to such episodes as "readings" or "sessions." The 26th session on Feb. 18, 1964, was the first held in the presence of another person—a friend. On Jan. 17, 1964, Roberts channeled an allegedly recently deceased woman who told Butts that his and his wife's work with Seth was a life-time project, that they would publish his manuscripts, and help spread his ideas. At the 27th session Seth also told the couple how to rearrange the furniture in their apartment which would better suit their energies. Despite feelings of disbelief toward both messages, the couple somewhat reluctantly agreed. Two days afterward they heard from a psychologist interested in reincarnation to whom they had written three weeks earlier with some session copies enclosed. The psychologist told them that the very fluency of the material suggested that it might come from Roberts' subconscious, though it was impossible to tell. He also cautioned that in some circumstances, amateur mediumship could lead to mental problems. The letter upset her but helped her deal with her doubts. She felt there were no "alarming changes" in her personality. "I was doing twice the creative work I had done earlier. I was satisfied with the quality of the Seth Material; it was far superior to anything I could do on my own. If nothing else, I thought the sessions presented a way of making deeply unconscious knowledge available on a consistent basis." "Because we were so innocent about psychic literature, we weren't hampered by superstitious fears about such [psychic] phenomena. I didn't believe in gods or demons, so I didn't fear them. I wanted to learn. Rob and I had discovered a whole new world together, and we were going to explore it." Roberts assumed Seth was a subconscious fantasy, personified because she did not believe in spirits or life after death. She monitored her personality characteristics and went to a psychologist. But she felt that "Seth seemed far more mature and well-balanced than the psychologist, so finally I stopped worrying. This is not to say the experience did not cause certain strains and stresses that could accompany any worthwhile venture in an entirely new field." Roberts also purportedly channeled the world views of several other people, including the philosopher William James, Rembrandt, and the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, through a process she described as using a typewriter to write "automatically." For 21 years until Roberts' death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held more than 1500 regular or private "ESP class" trance sessions in which she spoke on behalf of Seth. Butts served as the stenographer, taking the messages down in shorthand he had made up, having others on occasion make recording of some sessions. The messages from Seth channeled through Roberts consisted mostly of monologues on a wide variety of topics. They were published by Prentice-Hall under the collective title Seth Material. Over the years, hundreds of people witnessed Roberts channeling "Seth". Some went to the ESP classes Roberts held (Tuesday and some Thursday nights, Sept. 1967 – Feb. 1975) for an evening, others attended for longer periods. (By this time Jane had given up her gallery work, and was teaching nursery school during part of this time.) Outside of the ESP class structure, Roberts gave many personal Seth sessions to various individuals who had written her, asking for help. She never charged for those sessions; however, at some point, she did charge $2.50 to $3.50 per ESP class of 5 to 40 people. When the books began to sell in sufficient numbers, she dropped that fee. Book sessions were almost always private, held on Monday and Wednesday evenings without witnesses from 1967 through 1982 (except for Tues and Thurs from Aug. to Nov. 1981). The material through 1969 was published in summary form in The Seth Material, written by Roberts from the output of the channeling sessions. Beginning in January 1970, Roberts wrote books which she described as dictated by Seth. Roberts claimed no authorship of these books beyond her role as a medium. This series of "Seth books" totaled ten volumes. The last two books appear to be incomplete due to Roberts' illness. Butts contributed extensive footnotes, appendices, and other comments to all the Seth books, and thus was a co-author on all of them. These additions describe what was going on in Roberts' and his life at the time of the various sessions, annotated in light of contemporary beliefs and materials he and Roberts were reading, described excerpts from some fan mail and letters from professionals commenting on Seth's material about their fields, and, especially later, provided insight as to the many steps of production of multiple books with the publisher. By February 1982 they were still receiving "from 30 to 50 letters and packages a week" from readers of their various books. Some of Roberts' earlier and later poetry was occasionally included to show how she had touched upon some of Seth's concepts. Roberts also wrote The Oversoul Seven trilogy to explore via fiction some of Seth's teachings on the concepts of reincarnation and oversouls. According to Roberts, Seth described himself as an "energy personality essence no longer focused in physical matter," and was independent of Roberts' subconscious. Roberts initially expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, wondering if he was a part of her own personality. While speaking as Seth, Roberts at times appeared stern, jovial, or professorial. "His" voice was deeper and more masculine sounding than Jane's and was possessed of a distinct, although not identifiable, accent. Unlike the psychic Edgar Cayce, whose syntax when speaking in trance was antiquated and convoluted, Roberts' syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth. Later books continued to develop but did not contradict the material introduced in earlier works. Some "Practice Elements" were even included on how a few of the concepts could be practically experienced. A few contemporary world events were commented upon, such as the Jonestown Guyana deaths and the Three Mile Island accident. Seth also provided an alternative creation myth to that of the Big Bang or Intelligent Design. Roberts' father died in November 1971 at the age of 68; her mother died six months later at the same age. In early 1982 Roberts spent a month in the hospital for severely underactive thyroid gland, protruding eyes and double vision, an almost total hearing loss, a slight anemia, budding bedsores—and a hospital-caused staph infection. She recovered to an extent, but died two and a half years later in 1984, having been bedridden with severe arthritis-like her mother—for the final year and a half of her life. Roberts had spent 504 consecutive days in a hospital in Elmira, N.Y. The immediate causes of her death were a combination of protein depletion, osteomyelitis, and soft-tissue infections. These conditions arose out of her long-standing rheumatoid arthritis. (Butts believed for some 15 years that in Roberts' case, at least, the young girl's psychological conditioning was far more important—far more damaging, in those terms—than any physical tendency to inherit the disease.) Roberts was cremated the next day, in a process, she and Butts had agreed upon several years earlier. After Roberts' death, recorded in The Way Toward Health (1997), Butts continued his work as a guardian of the Seth texts and continued to supervise the publication of some of the remaining material, including The Early Sessions, making sure all of the recordings, manuscripts, notes, and drawings would be given to the Yale Library. Butts remarried, and his second wife, Laurel Lee Davies, supported his work during the more than 20 years they were together and helped answer mail and proofread manuscripts. Butts died of cancer on May 26, 2008. Jane Roberts Butts and Robert F. Butts Jr. are interred together in the Wayne County, NY Furnaceville cemetery; however, there is another gravestone with their names on it in the Sunnyside cemetery in Tunkhannock, PA. A number of groups have compiled anthologies of quotes from Seth, summarized sections of his teachings, issued copies of Seth sessions on audio tape, and further relayed the material via classes and conventions. Reception and influence Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," republished in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library), contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks." John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that for each individual: "you create your own reality." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions that trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually, those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality," related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness." Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East… and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah." New Age writer Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise—and slight annoyance—I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics." The Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives maintains a collection entitled Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090), which documents the career and personal life of Jane Roberts, including journals, poetry, correspondence, audio, and video recordings, and other materials donated after her death by Roberts' husband and other individuals and organizations. Yale University's collection entitled "Jane Roberts papers" occupies 164.08 linear feet of shelf space and is contained in 498 boxes. Criticism Roberts and the Seth Material have attracted critiques from outside the paranormal community. The poet Charles Upton, in his collection of essays titled The System of Antichrist, posited that Roberts multiplied the self due to a fear of death. His opinion was that the Seth texts are based on a misunderstanding of both Christianity and of Eastern religions. Professor of psychology and noted critic of parapsychology James E. Alcock opined, "In light of all this, the Seth materials must surely be viewed as less than ordinary. There certainly was the time and talent for fraud to play a role, but we cannot discriminate between that possibility and the possibility of unconscious production—at any rate, given these circumstances, there seems little need to consider the involvement of any supernatural agency." Some religious groups have warned their members about the dangers and deceptions of reading channeled messages from Roberts and others. John MacArthur, host of a syndicated Christian talk show, considers The Seth Material to be "a book entirely written by a demon.", while the New Age Urantia Foundation considers the book evidence for "Devil possession." Videos such as Jane Roberts' Seth Speaks is Anti-Catholic Hate Books – Allowed By The Media claimed that Seth was "a demon from hell contacted through a ouija board." Science writer Karen Stollznow has written that much of Roberts work was "criticized for being a rip-off of Christian and Eastern philosophy. It comes as no surprise that Seth influenced such authors as Deepak Chopra and Louise Hay." Since Roberts' death, others have claimed to channel Seth. In the introduction to Seth's first dictated book, Seth Speaks, "he" says, "communications will come exclusively through Ruburt [Seth's name for Jane] at all times, to protect the integrity of the material." In The Seth Material, Jane Roberts wrote: "Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts." At least one person has claimed more recently to channel Roberts. Complete writings Books: Roberts, Jane (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) . Roberts, Jane (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. . Roberts, Jane (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry. Roberts, Jane (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1977). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1979). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1977). The World View of Paul Cézanne: A Psychic Interpretation. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. . Children's literature. Roberts, Jane (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, . Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, . Roberts, Jane (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984)). Roberts, Jane (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. . Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. . Roberts, Jane (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry. Roberts, Jane (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, and . Roberts, Jane (1986). Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness. Stillpoint Publishing. (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. . Roberts, Jane (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. . Roberts, Jane (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. . Roberts, Jane (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. . Roberts. Jane. The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes. Short Stories and novellas: Roberts, Jane. "Prayer of a Wiser People" in Profile, 1950. Roberts, Jane. "The Red Wagon" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1956 (republished 1993, Reality Change Magazine; anthologized in 1975, Ladies of Fantasy). Roberts, Jane. "The Canvas Pyramid" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958). Roberts, Jane. "First Communion" in Fantastic Universe, 1957. Roberts, Jane. "The Chestnut Beads" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958; anthologized in Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963). Roberts, Jane. "The Bundu" (novella, sequel to "The Chestnut Beads") in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958. Roberts, Jane. "A Demon at Devotions" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Winter 1994). Roberts, Jane. "Nightmare" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959. Roberts, Jane. "Impasse" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959 (Spanish anthology edition ca. 1960). Roberts, Jane. "Three Times Around" in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1964 (anthologized in Earth Invaded, 1982). Roberts, Jane. "The Big Freeze" in Dude, 1965 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Summer 1994). Roberts, Jane. "The Mission," purchased by Topper magazine in August 1965. (Publication not yet confirmed.) Poetry Submissions: "Time" in The Saratogian [Saratoga Springs, NY], 1947 Mar 19. "Enigma" in The Saratogian, 1947 Mar 19. "Spring Gaiety" in The Saratogian, 1947 Apr 26. "Rain" in Profile [Skidmore College literary magazine], December, 1947. "Pretense" in Profile, December, 1947. "Code" in Profile, December, 1947. "Skyscrapers" in Profile, December, 1947. "Introvert" in Profile, May, 1948. "Poem" in Profile, May, 1948. "How Public Like a Frog" in Profile, Fall, 1948. "Motorcycle Ride" in Profile, Fall, 1948. "Echo" in Profile, May, 1949. "Death Stood at the Door" in Profile, May, 1949. "Compromise" in Profile, May, 1949. "I Shall Die in the Springtime." Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954. "Lyric" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954. "Matilda" in Quicksilver, Spring, 1960. "It is Springtime, Grandfather." Epos., v.12, n.3, Spring 1961. "The Familiar." Bitterroot. v.1, n.2, Winter 1962. "I Saw a Hand" in Treasures of Parnassus: Best Poems of 1962, Young Publications, 1962 (reprinted in The Elmira Star-Gazette, 1962). "My Grandfather's World." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963. "Lullaby." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963. "Beware, October." Epos. v.16, n.1, Fall 1964. "This Wrist, This Hand." Epos. v.16, n.4, Summer 1965. "The Game." New Lantern Club Review. n.2, Summer 1965. "The Flowers." Steppenwolf. n.1, Winter 1965–1966. "Vision." Dust/9. v.3, n.1, Fall 1966. "Who Whispers Yes." Dust/12. v.3, n.4, Spring 1969. "Hi, Low, and Psycho." Excerpts published in Reality Change, Third Quarter, 1996. See also Stewart Edward White Modal realism Counterpart theory Eternalism New Thought References External links Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. Includes both published and unpublished materials Seth Center Index to the Early Sessions Seth Learning Center An overview of titles and related audio clips, New Awareness Network Nirvikalpa Archive of over 1500 quotations and excerpts from the Seth Material 'The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts' by Paul Cunningham List of Seth Sessions by Mary Dillman Index of Eleven Seth Books by Sue R. Williams Seth Talk - by Lynda Madden Dahl 1929 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American poets American children's writers American motivational writers Women motivational writers American psychics American spiritual mediums American women poets Channellers Consciousness researchers and theorists Deaths from arthritis New Age writers People from Saratoga Springs, New York Skidmore College alumni American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers Women's page journalists	true	[ "The Seth Material is a collection of writing dictated by Jane Roberts to her husband from late 1963 until her death in 1984. Roberts claimed the words were spoken by a discarnate entity named Seth. The material is regarded as one of the cornerstones of New Age philosophy, and the most influential channelled text of the post-World War II \"New Age\" movement, after the Edgar Cayce books and A Course in Miracles. Jon Klimo writes that the Seth books were instrumental in bringing the idea of channeling to a broad public audience.\n\nCatherine L. Albanese said in the 1970s that the Seth Material launched an era of nationwide awareness of the channeling trend and contributed to the self-identity of an emergent New Age movement. Study groups formed in the United States to work with the Seth Material, and now are found around the world, as well as numerous websites and online groups in several languages, as various titles have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Dutch and Arabic.\n\nJohn P. Newport, in his study of the influence of New Age beliefs, described the central focus of the Seth Material as the idea that each individual creates his or her own reality, a foundational concept of the New Age movement first articulated in the Seth Material.\n\nHistory \n\nIn late 1963, Jane Roberts and her husband, Robert Butts, experimented with a ouija board as part of Roberts's research for a book on extra-sensory perception. Roberts and Butts claimed that they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality on December 2, 1963, who later identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. She began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board, and the board was eventually abandoned. For 21 years until Roberts's death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held regular sessions in which she went into a trance and purportedly spoke on behalf of Seth.\n\nAccording to Roberts, Seth described himself as an \"energy personality essence no longer focused in physical matter\" who was independent of Roberts's subconscious, although Roberts expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, frequently referring to Seth's statements as \"theories\".<ref>Chapter 10, The Seth Material, by Jane Roberts (1970).</ref> Roberts claimed that Seth indicated he had completed his earthly reincarnations and was speaking from an adjacent plane of existence. The Seth personality described himself as a \"teacher\", and said: \n\"this material has been given by himself and others in other times and places, but that it is given again, in new ways, for each succeeding generation through the centuries.\"\n\nUnlike the psychic Edgar Cayce, whose syntax when speaking in trance was antiquated and convoluted, Roberts's syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth. Roberts often sat in a rocking chair during sessions, and she would occasionally smoke cigarettes and sip beer or wine. Afterwards, she claimed to not remember the contents of the session, and she would often read the transcript or ask what Seth had said.\n\nSummary\nThe core teachings of the Seth Material are based on the principle that consciousness creates matter, that each person creates his or her own reality through thoughts, beliefs and expectations, and that the \"point of power\" through which the individual can affect change is in the present moment.\n\nIt discusses a wide range of metaphysical concepts, including the nature of God (referred to as \"All That Is\" and \"The Multidimensional God\"); the nature of physical reality; the origins of the universe; the nature of the self and the \"higher self\"; the story of Christ; the evolution of the soul and all aspects of death and rebirth, including reincarnation and karma, past lives, after-death experiences, \"guardian spirits\", and ascension to planes of \"higher consciousness\"; the purpose of life; the nature of good and evil; the purpose of suffering; multidimensional reality, parallel lives; and transpersonal realms.\n\nNature of the self\nAccording to the Seth Material, the entire self or \"entity\" is a gestalt consisting of the inner self, various selves that the entity has assumed through past existences (physical and non-physical), plus all the currently incarnated selves and all their probable counterparts. Reincarnation is included as a core principle.\n\nWouter Hanegraaff, Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy, University of Amsterdam, says that these ideas have been influential to other new age authors (some of whom use the term \"higher self\" to refer to the same concept), and that Roberts's terminology has been adopted by some of those authors. Hanegraaff says that Seth uses various terms to refer to the concept of the \"self\", including \"entity\", \"whole self\", \"gestalt\", and \"(over)soul\".\n\nRealityThe Seth Material says that all individuals create their own circumstances and experiences within the shared earthly environment, similar to the doctrine of responsibility assumption. This concept is expressed in the phrase \"you create your own reality\", which may have originated with the Seth readings (although Nietzsche wrote some 90 years earlier, on the subject of \"Becoming who you are\": \"We, however, want to become who we are—human beings who are new, unique, incomparable, who give themselves laws, who create themselves!\"). The inner self, or inner ego, is responsible for the construction and maintenance of the individual's physical body and immediate physical environment, and the unfolding of events is determined by the expectations, attitudes and beliefs of the outer ego, that portion of the self that human beings know as themselves. \"If you want to change your world, you must first change your thoughts, expectations, and beliefs.\" Or, more succinctly: \"You get what you concentrate upon. There is no other main rule\".\n\nThe books discuss the idea that the physical environment is constructed and maintained by the inner selves of the individual occupants (including animals). The inner selves project, en masse, a pattern for physical reality that is then filled with energy, as needed, by each individual. All events are also produced in the same manner.\n\nComplete writings of Jane Roberts\n\nBooks:\n (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) .\n (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. .\n (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry.\n (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1977). The \"Unknown\" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . \n (1979). The \"Unknown\" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1977). The World View of Paul Cézanne: A Psychic Interpretation. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. . Children's literature.\n (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, . Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, .\n (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984)).\n (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. . Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. .\n (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry.\n (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, and .\n (1986). Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness. Stillpoint Publishing.\n (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. .\n (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. .\n (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. .\n (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. .\n The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes.\n\nShort stories and novellas:\n\"Prayer of a Wiser People\" in Profile, 1950. \n\"The Red Wagon\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1956 (republished 1993, Reality Change Magazine; anthologized in 1975, Ladies of Fantasy).\n\"The Canvas Pyramid\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958).\n\"First Communion\" in Fantastic Universe, 1957. \n\"The Chestnut Beads\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958; anthologized in Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963).\n\"The Bundu\" (novella) in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958. \n\"A Demon at Devotions\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Winter 1994).\n\"Nightmare\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959. \n\"Impasse\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959 (Spanish anthology edition ca. 1960).\n\"Three Times Around\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1964 (anthologized in Earth Invaded, 1982). \n\"The Big Freeze\" in Dude, 1965 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Summer 1994).\n\"The Mission,\" purchased by Topper magazine in August, 1965. (Publication not yet confirmed.)\n\nPoetry:\n\"Time\" in The Saratogian [Saratoga Springs, NY], 1947 Mar 19.\n\"Enigma\" in The Saratogian, 1947 Mar 19.\n\"Spring Gaiety\" in The Saratogian, 1947 Apr 26.\n\"Rain\" in Profile [Skidmore College literary magazine], December, 1947.\n\"Pretense\" in Profile, December, 1947.\n\"Code\" in Profile, December, 1947.\n\"Skyscrapers\" in Profile, December, 1947.\n\"Introvert\" in Profile, May, 1948.\n\"Poem\" in Profile, May, 1948.\n\"How Public Like a Frog\" in Profile, Fall, 1948.\n\"Motorcycle Ride\" in Profile, Fall, 1948.\n\"Echo\" in Profile, May, 1949.\n\"Death Stood at the Door\" in Profile, May, 1949.\n\"Compromise\" in Profile, May, 1949.\n\"I Shall Die in the Springtime.\" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954.\n\"Lyric\" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954.\n\"Matilda\" in Quicksilver, Spring, 1960.\n\"It is Springtime, Grandfather.\" Epos., v.12, n.3, Spring 1961.\n\"The Familiar.\" Bitterroot. v.1, n.2, Winter 1962.\n\"I Saw a Hand\" in Treasures of Parnassus: Best Poems of 1962, Young Publications, 1962 (reprinted in The Elmira Star-Gazette, 1962).\n\"My Grandfather's World.\" Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963.\n\"Lullaby.\" Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963.\n\"Beware, October.\" Epos. v.16, n.1, Fall 1964.\n\"This Wrist, This Hand.\" Epos. v.16, n.4, Summer 1965.\n\"The Game.\" New Lantern Club Review. n.2, Summer 1965.\n\"The Flowers.\" Steppenwolf. n.1, Winter 1965–1966.\n\"Vision.\" Dust/9. v.3, n.1, Fall 1966.\n\"Who Whispers Yes.\" Dust/12. v.3, n.4, Spring 1969.\n\"Hi, Low, and Psycho.\" Excerpts published in Reality Change, Third Quarter, 1996.\n\nSeth Material-related works from other authors:\n Watkins, Susan M. Conversations with Seth. Moment Point Press, 2005, 2006, two volumes. and original version published: Vol. 1 (1980), Vol 2 (1981).\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (1993). Beyond the Winning Streak: Using Conscious Creation to Consistently Win at Life. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (1995). Ten Thousand Whispers: A Guide to Conscious Creation. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (1997). The Wizards of Consciousness: Making the Imponderable Practical. The Woodbridge Group. . \n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2001). The Book of Fallacies: A Little Primer of New Thought. Moment Point Press. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2012). Living a Safe Universe: A Book for Seth Readers. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2013). Living a Safe Universe, Vol. 2: A Book for Seth Readers. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2014). Living a Safe Universe, Vol. 3: A Book for Seth Readers. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2015). Living a Safe Universe, Vol. 4: Seth and Psychic Health. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Friedman, Norman (1994). Bridging Science and Spirit: Common Elements in David Bohm's Physics, The Perennial Philosophy and Seth. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Friedman, Norman (1997). The Hidden Domain: Home of the Quantum Wave Function, Nature's Creative Source. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Stack, Rick. Out-Of-Body Adventures : 30 days to the Most Exciting Experience of Your Life. Contemporary Books. .\n Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Reality : A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1984. .\n Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Happiness: A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1988. .\n Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Dreams: A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1990. . \n Watkins, Susan M. Speaking of Jane Roberts: Remembering the Author of the Seth Material. Moment Point Press, 2001. .\n Hsu, Tien-Sheng. The Secret to Healing Cancer: A Chinese Psychiatrist and Family Doctor Presents His Amazing Method For Curing Cancer Through Psychological and Spiritual Growth. New Awareness Network, 2011. .\n Kendall, Richard. The Road To Elmira, Volume 1 : A former student of Jane Roberts recounts his experiences while attending Jane's classes. Rich Kendall Books, 2011. ; .\n Helfrich, Paul M. Seth: The Ultimate Guide. New World View Publishing, 2010. .\n\nRelationship with Christianity\nAccording to the Seth Material, Jesus Christ exists as part of the Christ entity, a highly evolved entity who exists in many systems of reality. At the time of Christ, the Christ entity incarnated as three individuals: John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, and Paul or Saul of Tarsus.\n\nOther authorship claims\nOther authors have written material they claimed was channeled from Seth, especially after Roberts's death. These included Thomas Massari, who founded the Seth-Hermes Foundation and said he had channeled Seth as early as 1972; and Jean Loomis, director of the Aquarian Center in Connecticut. However, in the introduction to the first book written about Seth, he is said to have conveyed that \"communications will come exclusively through Ruburt [Seth's name for Jane] at all times, to protect the integrity of the material\". In The Seth Material, Roberts wrote: \"Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts.\"\n\nCriticism\nCharles Upton in his book The System of Antichrist, argues that the reason Jane Roberts multiplies the self in many ways is due to a fear of death, and that the Seth texts are based on a misunderstanding of both Christianity and Eastern religions. The implied influences of Eastern mysticism and philosophy are also highlighted in Astrology and Psychic Phenomena'' by Terry Holley, E Calvin Beisner and Robert M Bowman Jr, who say, \"Husband Robert Butts admitted that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East . . . and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah.\" According to Robert C. Fuller, Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called \"unchurched American spirituality,\" including the topics of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and \"Christ consciousness.\" James Alcock wrote \"there seems little need to consider the involvement of any supernatural agency.\"\n\nPsychologist Paul Cunningham of Rivier University, New Hampshire, analyzed the case of Jane Roberts in his 2010 paper \"The Problem of Seth's Origin\", concluding that \"fraud and cryptomnesia are highly improbable explanations\" and suggesting that to \"emphasize and expect fraud and trickery ... is essentially a misleading, though culturally expectable, response\" to such cases.\n\nSee also \n\n Biocentric universe\n Counterpart theory\n Modal realism\n Idealism\n Many-minds interpretation\n Brane cosmology\n J. B. Priestley's Time Plays\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Guide to the Jane Roberts Papers, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library Archival Collection includes both published and unpublished materials\n Seth Center Index to the Early Sessions\n Seth Learning Center An overview of titles and related audio clips, New Awareness Network\n\nChannelled texts\nReincarnation\nParanormal\nWorks by Jane Roberts", "The Oversoul Seven Trilogy is a novel by author Jane Roberts. It consists of the three previously published books The Education of Oversoul Seven (1973), The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979), and Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984).\n\nThe Oversoul Seven Trilogy is a work of fiction based on the Seth material. The Seth material is a series of dictations on what it means to be human, claimed by their author to have been received via trance communications from a multidimensional being named Seth. The Oversoul Seven Trilogy summarizes these teachings in novelized format, and explores the nature of consciousness and reality creation.\n\nEditions \n\n Amber Allen Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995\n\nSee also\n Seth Material\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Quotes from the Seth Books\n\n1995 American novels\nLiterary trilogies\nVisionary fiction\nWorks by Jane Roberts" ]
[ "Jane Roberts", "Reception and influence", "When was \"The Nature of Personal Reality, A seth book\" published?", "The title jacket of \"The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book,\" published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library),", "Which notable people had expressed the effect of seth material upon their own awakening?", "the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay," ]	C_31c7e947fbf14fe0acf3060a69c05adf_1	Who was Catherine L. Albanese?	3	Who was Catherine L. Albanese?	Jane Roberts	Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library), contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks." John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that, for each individual: "you create your own reality." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions which trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality," related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness." Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East... and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah." The late amateur physicist Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise--and slight annoyance--I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics." CANNOTANSWER	professor of religious history at the University of Chicago,	Dorothy Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, psychic, and spirit medium, who channeled an energy personality who called himself "Seth." Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the Seth Material, established her as one of the preeminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena. Early life and career Roberts was born in Albany, New York and grew up in nearby Saratoga Springs, New York. Her parents, Delmer Hubbell Roberts and Marie Burdo, divorced when she was two years old. With her only child, the young Marie then returned to her own parents, and the home that the family had rented for a number of years: half of a double dwelling in a poor neighborhood. Marie had begun experiencing the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis by 1932 but worked as much as possible. Eventually, Roberts' grandfather, Joseph Burdo, with whom she shared a deep mystical identification, was unable to support two extra people, and the family had to rely upon public assistance. Roberts' grandmother was killed in an automobile accident in 1936. The next year, her grandfather moved out of the house. By then Marie was partially incapacitated, and the Welfare Department began to furnish mother and daughter with occasional and often unreliable domestic help. When Marie became a bedridden invalid, it was Jane's responsibility to take care of her. This included cooking, cleaning, bringing her the bedpan, and getting up in the middle of the night to refuel the stove. Her embittered mother would tell Jane she was going to turn on the gas jets in the middle of the night and kill them both. When her mother attempted suicide for about the fifth time, she took sleeping pills and was in the hospital. Jane wrote that she went to the welfare worker and said, 'I can't take it anymore. I've just got to leave.'" Over and over Marie told Jane she was no good, that the daughter's birth had caused the mother's illness, and that she was disowned and considered no longer her daughter. The persistent psychological abuse and mistreatment by her mother resulted in the young girl's deep fear of abandonment. Such situations increased Jane's sense of not being safe, yet also reinforced feelings of independence, for she did not have to feel as dependent upon Marie as she might otherwise. Well before she was 10 years old Jane had developed persistent symptoms of colitis. By her early teens, she had an overactive thyroid gland. Her vision was poor; she required very strong glasses (which she seldom wore). For most of 1940 and half of 1941, Jane was in a strictly-run Catholic orphanage in Troy, NY while her mother was hospitalized in another city for treatment of her arthritis. Priests came to the house regularly and support was offered to the fatherless family. Jane's initial bonding to the cultural beliefs of religion was very strong to make up for the lack of a loving, nurturing family. For a time she was left between belief systems. In the summer of 1945, when she was 16 years old, Jane began working at a variety store. It was her first job. That fall she continued on the job after school hours and on an occasional Saturday. After attending public schools she went to Skidmore College from 1947 to 1950 on a poetry scholarship. Roberts' grandfather died when she was age 19. It was a time of severe shock for her. She began to substitute scientific world view for religious belief. At that time Jane was dating Walt Zeh, a long-time Saratoga Springs friend. Together they went to the west coast by motorcycle to see Jane's father who had also come from a broken home. Jane then married Walt and continued to write while taking a variety of other jobs, including society editor for the Saratoga newspaper, and as a supervisor in a radio factory. Walt and Jane lived together for three years. It was then in February 1954 while "cutting up, dancing, and raisin' hell at a party," that Jane first met the former commercial artist Robert Fabian Butts, Jr. (June 20, 1919 - May 26, 2008). The fourth time they met at another party and Jane 'just looked at him and said, "Look, I'm leaving Walt, and I'm going to live by myself or I'm going to live with you, so just let me know."'" Eventually the two left town together and Jane filed for divorce. Jane and Rob married on December 27, 1954 at the home of his parents in Sayre, PA. Roberts wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children's literature, nonfiction, science fiction, and fantasy, and novels. She was the only woman invited to the first science-fiction writer's conference in 1956 in Milford, PA. The couple moved to Elmira, NY, in 1960, to find steady part-time work – Rob in the local greeting card company, Jane in an art gallery. Now in her 30s, she and her husband began to record what she said were messages from a personality named "Seth," and she wrote several books about the experience. Seth Material On a September evening in 1963, Roberts sat down at her table to work on poetry; Butts was in his back-room studio, painting. "It was very domestic, very normal, very unpsychedelic," she would later remember. And then "Between one normal minute and the next, a fantastic avalanche of radical, new ideas burst into my head with tremendous force ... It was as if the physical world were really tissue-paper-thin, hiding infinite dimensions of reality, and I was flung through the tissue paper with a huge ripping sound." When she "came to," Roberts found herself scrawling the title of this batch of notes: The Physical Universe as Idea Construction. Before this, though her fiction typically dealt with such themes as clairvoyance and reincarnation, intellectually neither she nor Butts believed in extrasensory abilities. Yet soon after this episode, Roberts suddenly began recalling her dreams, including two that were precognitive. Their curiosity piqued, the couple decided to investigate further, and she managed to land a contract with a New York publisher for a do-it-yourself book on extra-sensory perception. In late 1963, Roberts and Butts started experimenting with a Ouija board as part of Roberts' research for the book. According to Roberts and Butts, on December 2, 1963, they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality who eventually identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. The first seven sessions were entirely with the Ouija board. The three-hour session on the evening of Jan. 2, 1964 was the first where she began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board. For a while, she still opened her sessions with the board, but finally abandoned it after the 27th session on Feb. 19, 1964. Roberts described the process of writing the Seth books as entering a trance state. She said Seth would assume control of her body and speak through her, while her husband wrote down the words she spoke. They referred to such episodes as "readings" or "sessions." The 26th session on Feb. 18, 1964, was the first held in the presence of another person—a friend. On Jan. 17, 1964, Roberts channeled an allegedly recently deceased woman who told Butts that his and his wife's work with Seth was a life-time project, that they would publish his manuscripts, and help spread his ideas. At the 27th session Seth also told the couple how to rearrange the furniture in their apartment which would better suit their energies. Despite feelings of disbelief toward both messages, the couple somewhat reluctantly agreed. Two days afterward they heard from a psychologist interested in reincarnation to whom they had written three weeks earlier with some session copies enclosed. The psychologist told them that the very fluency of the material suggested that it might come from Roberts' subconscious, though it was impossible to tell. He also cautioned that in some circumstances, amateur mediumship could lead to mental problems. The letter upset her but helped her deal with her doubts. She felt there were no "alarming changes" in her personality. "I was doing twice the creative work I had done earlier. I was satisfied with the quality of the Seth Material; it was far superior to anything I could do on my own. If nothing else, I thought the sessions presented a way of making deeply unconscious knowledge available on a consistent basis." "Because we were so innocent about psychic literature, we weren't hampered by superstitious fears about such [psychic] phenomena. I didn't believe in gods or demons, so I didn't fear them. I wanted to learn. Rob and I had discovered a whole new world together, and we were going to explore it." Roberts assumed Seth was a subconscious fantasy, personified because she did not believe in spirits or life after death. She monitored her personality characteristics and went to a psychologist. But she felt that "Seth seemed far more mature and well-balanced than the psychologist, so finally I stopped worrying. This is not to say the experience did not cause certain strains and stresses that could accompany any worthwhile venture in an entirely new field." Roberts also purportedly channeled the world views of several other people, including the philosopher William James, Rembrandt, and the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, through a process she described as using a typewriter to write "automatically." For 21 years until Roberts' death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held more than 1500 regular or private "ESP class" trance sessions in which she spoke on behalf of Seth. Butts served as the stenographer, taking the messages down in shorthand he had made up, having others on occasion make recording of some sessions. The messages from Seth channeled through Roberts consisted mostly of monologues on a wide variety of topics. They were published by Prentice-Hall under the collective title Seth Material. Over the years, hundreds of people witnessed Roberts channeling "Seth". Some went to the ESP classes Roberts held (Tuesday and some Thursday nights, Sept. 1967 – Feb. 1975) for an evening, others attended for longer periods. (By this time Jane had given up her gallery work, and was teaching nursery school during part of this time.) Outside of the ESP class structure, Roberts gave many personal Seth sessions to various individuals who had written her, asking for help. She never charged for those sessions; however, at some point, she did charge $2.50 to $3.50 per ESP class of 5 to 40 people. When the books began to sell in sufficient numbers, she dropped that fee. Book sessions were almost always private, held on Monday and Wednesday evenings without witnesses from 1967 through 1982 (except for Tues and Thurs from Aug. to Nov. 1981). The material through 1969 was published in summary form in The Seth Material, written by Roberts from the output of the channeling sessions. Beginning in January 1970, Roberts wrote books which she described as dictated by Seth. Roberts claimed no authorship of these books beyond her role as a medium. This series of "Seth books" totaled ten volumes. The last two books appear to be incomplete due to Roberts' illness. Butts contributed extensive footnotes, appendices, and other comments to all the Seth books, and thus was a co-author on all of them. These additions describe what was going on in Roberts' and his life at the time of the various sessions, annotated in light of contemporary beliefs and materials he and Roberts were reading, described excerpts from some fan mail and letters from professionals commenting on Seth's material about their fields, and, especially later, provided insight as to the many steps of production of multiple books with the publisher. By February 1982 they were still receiving "from 30 to 50 letters and packages a week" from readers of their various books. Some of Roberts' earlier and later poetry was occasionally included to show how she had touched upon some of Seth's concepts. Roberts also wrote The Oversoul Seven trilogy to explore via fiction some of Seth's teachings on the concepts of reincarnation and oversouls. According to Roberts, Seth described himself as an "energy personality essence no longer focused in physical matter," and was independent of Roberts' subconscious. Roberts initially expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, wondering if he was a part of her own personality. While speaking as Seth, Roberts at times appeared stern, jovial, or professorial. "His" voice was deeper and more masculine sounding than Jane's and was possessed of a distinct, although not identifiable, accent. Unlike the psychic Edgar Cayce, whose syntax when speaking in trance was antiquated and convoluted, Roberts' syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth. Later books continued to develop but did not contradict the material introduced in earlier works. Some "Practice Elements" were even included on how a few of the concepts could be practically experienced. A few contemporary world events were commented upon, such as the Jonestown Guyana deaths and the Three Mile Island accident. Seth also provided an alternative creation myth to that of the Big Bang or Intelligent Design. Roberts' father died in November 1971 at the age of 68; her mother died six months later at the same age. In early 1982 Roberts spent a month in the hospital for severely underactive thyroid gland, protruding eyes and double vision, an almost total hearing loss, a slight anemia, budding bedsores—and a hospital-caused staph infection. She recovered to an extent, but died two and a half years later in 1984, having been bedridden with severe arthritis-like her mother—for the final year and a half of her life. Roberts had spent 504 consecutive days in a hospital in Elmira, N.Y. The immediate causes of her death were a combination of protein depletion, osteomyelitis, and soft-tissue infections. These conditions arose out of her long-standing rheumatoid arthritis. (Butts believed for some 15 years that in Roberts' case, at least, the young girl's psychological conditioning was far more important—far more damaging, in those terms—than any physical tendency to inherit the disease.) Roberts was cremated the next day, in a process, she and Butts had agreed upon several years earlier. After Roberts' death, recorded in The Way Toward Health (1997), Butts continued his work as a guardian of the Seth texts and continued to supervise the publication of some of the remaining material, including The Early Sessions, making sure all of the recordings, manuscripts, notes, and drawings would be given to the Yale Library. Butts remarried, and his second wife, Laurel Lee Davies, supported his work during the more than 20 years they were together and helped answer mail and proofread manuscripts. Butts died of cancer on May 26, 2008. Jane Roberts Butts and Robert F. Butts Jr. are interred together in the Wayne County, NY Furnaceville cemetery; however, there is another gravestone with their names on it in the Sunnyside cemetery in Tunkhannock, PA. A number of groups have compiled anthologies of quotes from Seth, summarized sections of his teachings, issued copies of Seth sessions on audio tape, and further relayed the material via classes and conventions. Reception and influence Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," republished in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library), contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks." John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that for each individual: "you create your own reality." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions that trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually, those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality," related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness." Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East… and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah." New Age writer Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise—and slight annoyance—I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics." The Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives maintains a collection entitled Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090), which documents the career and personal life of Jane Roberts, including journals, poetry, correspondence, audio, and video recordings, and other materials donated after her death by Roberts' husband and other individuals and organizations. Yale University's collection entitled "Jane Roberts papers" occupies 164.08 linear feet of shelf space and is contained in 498 boxes. Criticism Roberts and the Seth Material have attracted critiques from outside the paranormal community. The poet Charles Upton, in his collection of essays titled The System of Antichrist, posited that Roberts multiplied the self due to a fear of death. His opinion was that the Seth texts are based on a misunderstanding of both Christianity and of Eastern religions. Professor of psychology and noted critic of parapsychology James E. Alcock opined, "In light of all this, the Seth materials must surely be viewed as less than ordinary. There certainly was the time and talent for fraud to play a role, but we cannot discriminate between that possibility and the possibility of unconscious production—at any rate, given these circumstances, there seems little need to consider the involvement of any supernatural agency." Some religious groups have warned their members about the dangers and deceptions of reading channeled messages from Roberts and others. John MacArthur, host of a syndicated Christian talk show, considers The Seth Material to be "a book entirely written by a demon.", while the New Age Urantia Foundation considers the book evidence for "Devil possession." Videos such as Jane Roberts' Seth Speaks is Anti-Catholic Hate Books – Allowed By The Media claimed that Seth was "a demon from hell contacted through a ouija board." Science writer Karen Stollznow has written that much of Roberts work was "criticized for being a rip-off of Christian and Eastern philosophy. It comes as no surprise that Seth influenced such authors as Deepak Chopra and Louise Hay." Since Roberts' death, others have claimed to channel Seth. In the introduction to Seth's first dictated book, Seth Speaks, "he" says, "communications will come exclusively through Ruburt [Seth's name for Jane] at all times, to protect the integrity of the material." In The Seth Material, Jane Roberts wrote: "Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts." At least one person has claimed more recently to channel Roberts. Complete writings Books: Roberts, Jane (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) . Roberts, Jane (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. . Roberts, Jane (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry. Roberts, Jane (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1977). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1979). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1977). The World View of Paul Cézanne: A Psychic Interpretation. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. . Children's literature. Roberts, Jane (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, . Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, . Roberts, Jane (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984)). Roberts, Jane (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. . Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. . Roberts, Jane (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry. Roberts, Jane (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, and . Roberts, Jane (1986). Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness. Stillpoint Publishing. (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. . Roberts, Jane (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. . Roberts, Jane (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. . Roberts, Jane (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. . Roberts. Jane. The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes. Short Stories and novellas: Roberts, Jane. "Prayer of a Wiser People" in Profile, 1950. Roberts, Jane. "The Red Wagon" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1956 (republished 1993, Reality Change Magazine; anthologized in 1975, Ladies of Fantasy). Roberts, Jane. "The Canvas Pyramid" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958). Roberts, Jane. "First Communion" in Fantastic Universe, 1957. Roberts, Jane. "The Chestnut Beads" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958; anthologized in Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963). Roberts, Jane. "The Bundu" (novella, sequel to "The Chestnut Beads") in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958. Roberts, Jane. "A Demon at Devotions" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Winter 1994). Roberts, Jane. "Nightmare" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959. Roberts, Jane. "Impasse" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959 (Spanish anthology edition ca. 1960). Roberts, Jane. "Three Times Around" in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1964 (anthologized in Earth Invaded, 1982). Roberts, Jane. "The Big Freeze" in Dude, 1965 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Summer 1994). Roberts, Jane. "The Mission," purchased by Topper magazine in August 1965. (Publication not yet confirmed.) Poetry Submissions: "Time" in The Saratogian [Saratoga Springs, NY], 1947 Mar 19. "Enigma" in The Saratogian, 1947 Mar 19. "Spring Gaiety" in The Saratogian, 1947 Apr 26. "Rain" in Profile [Skidmore College literary magazine], December, 1947. "Pretense" in Profile, December, 1947. "Code" in Profile, December, 1947. "Skyscrapers" in Profile, December, 1947. "Introvert" in Profile, May, 1948. "Poem" in Profile, May, 1948. "How Public Like a Frog" in Profile, Fall, 1948. "Motorcycle Ride" in Profile, Fall, 1948. "Echo" in Profile, May, 1949. "Death Stood at the Door" in Profile, May, 1949. "Compromise" in Profile, May, 1949. "I Shall Die in the Springtime." Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954. "Lyric" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954. "Matilda" in Quicksilver, Spring, 1960. "It is Springtime, Grandfather." Epos., v.12, n.3, Spring 1961. "The Familiar." Bitterroot. v.1, n.2, Winter 1962. "I Saw a Hand" in Treasures of Parnassus: Best Poems of 1962, Young Publications, 1962 (reprinted in The Elmira Star-Gazette, 1962). "My Grandfather's World." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963. "Lullaby." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963. "Beware, October." Epos. v.16, n.1, Fall 1964. "This Wrist, This Hand." Epos. v.16, n.4, Summer 1965. "The Game." New Lantern Club Review. n.2, Summer 1965. "The Flowers." Steppenwolf. n.1, Winter 1965–1966. "Vision." Dust/9. v.3, n.1, Fall 1966. "Who Whispers Yes." Dust/12. v.3, n.4, Spring 1969. "Hi, Low, and Psycho." Excerpts published in Reality Change, Third Quarter, 1996. See also Stewart Edward White Modal realism Counterpart theory Eternalism New Thought References External links Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. Includes both published and unpublished materials Seth Center Index to the Early Sessions Seth Learning Center An overview of titles and related audio clips, New Awareness Network Nirvikalpa Archive of over 1500 quotations and excerpts from the Seth Material 'The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts' by Paul Cunningham List of Seth Sessions by Mary Dillman Index of Eleven Seth Books by Sue R. Williams Seth Talk - by Lynda Madden Dahl 1929 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American poets American children's writers American motivational writers Women motivational writers American psychics American spiritual mediums American women poets Channellers Consciousness researchers and theorists Deaths from arthritis New Age writers People from Saratoga Springs, New York Skidmore College alumni American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers Women's page journalists	true	[ "Joseph Peter Albanese (June 26, 1933 – June 17, 2000) was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned eight seasons, including a part of one in Major League Baseball with the Washington Senators (1958). Albanese was a pitcher. Over his major league career, he was in involved in no decisions with a 4.50 earned run average (ERA) and three strikeouts in six games, all in relief. He also played in the minor leagues with the Class-B Roanoke Ro-Sox (1951–1952), the Class-B Greensboro Patriots (1953, 1955), the Class-A Albany Senators (1953, 1956–1957), the Class-B Raleigh Capitals (1958), the Class-A Allentown Red Sox (1958) and the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (1959). While in the minors, Albanese compiled a record of 45–62 within 213 games. Albanese batted and threw right-handed.\n\nProfessional career\n\nBoston Red Sox\nAlbanese attended Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California before being signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1951. He started his professional baseball career that season with the Class-B Roanoke Ro-Sox in the Red Sox organization. That season, Albanese went 3–7 with a 5.10 earned run average (ERA) in 21 games, 10 starts. He continued playing with the Ro-Sox in 1952. On the season, Albanese went 13–10 with a 3.40 ERA in 43 games, 21 stars. Albanese split the 1953 season between the Class-B Greensboro Patriots and the Class-A Albany Senators. With the Patriots, he went 1–3 with a 4.21 ERA in 11 games, five starts. After his promotion to the Senators, he went 0–2. Albanese did not play during the 1954 season for unknown reasons. In 1955, Albanese resumed his playing career and was assigned to the Class-B Greensboro Patriots. He went 10–10 that season with a 3.45 earned run average (ERA) in 38 games, 24 starts.\n\nIn January 1956, the Boston Red Sox added Albanese to the major league roster. While attending spring training with the Red Sox that season, he separated his shoulder after and filing to catch a fly ball. Albanese was expected to be out for a month. During the 1956 season, he was assigned to the Class-A Albany Senators where he went 5–11 with a 5.10 ERA in 37 games, 14 starts. In 1957, Albanese attended spring training with the Red Sox for the second time in his career. He was again assigned to Class-A Albany that season where he went 9–8 with a 3.77 ERA in 34 games, 27 starts. Albanese began the 1958 season in the Red Sox organization with the Class-B Raleigh Capitals where he went 4–7 with a 3.92 ERA in 16 games, 10 starts. He also played for the Class-A Allentown Red Sox that season, going 0–2 in four games.\n\nWashington Senators\nOn July 11, 1958, the Boston Red Sox traded Albanese and pitcher Jack Spring to the Washington Senators in exchange for pitcher Bud Byerly and a player to be named later. The player who was sent to Boston ended up being Spring, meaning in essence he was traded for himself. Albanese made his Major League Baseball debut on July 18, 1958 against the Chicago White Sox, pitching one inning, giving-up no runs and striking out one. In the majors that season, Albanese was involved in no decisions with a 4.50 ERA and six strikeouts in six games, all in relief. During his final season in professional baseball, 1959, Albanese played for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts in the Senators organization. With the Lookouts, Albanese compiled a record of 0–2 in nine games.\n\nPersonal\nAlbanese was born on June 26, 1933 in New York City. After his playing career was over, Albanese resided in Colonia, New Jersey. He died on June 17, 2000 in New York City and was buried at St. George Cemetery in Neptune City, New Jersey.\n\nReferences\nGeneral references\n\nInline citations\n\nExternal links\n\n1933 births\n2000 deaths\nAlbany Senators players\nAllentown Red Sox players\nBaseball players from New York (state)\nBaseball players from San Jose, California\nChattanooga Lookouts players\nGreensboro Patriots players\nMajor League Baseball pitchers\nSportspeople from New York City\nWashington Senators (1901–1960) players", "Vito A. Albanese (1917/1918–April 13, 1998) was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1966 to 1968 and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 1973. Albanese spent 25 years as a labor leader, serving as president of the Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers Union.\n\nPolitical career \nA resident of Fort Lee, New Jersey, Albanese was elected to the State Assembly in the 1965 Democratic landslide, running at-large in Bergen County. He was the top vote-getter in the race for seven Assembly seats; he defeated, among others, Republican Assemblyman David Gelber. As an Assemblyman, Albanese created a major controversy when he alleged the Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Breslin and officials of the Bergen County Chamber of Commerce offered him a bribe to withdraw his proposed legislation to eliminate the Borough of Teterboro and divide it up into four adjacent municipalities. A special legislative committee formed to investigate Albanese's accusations said that Albanese's claim that he was offered a bribe was \"wholly without support or corroboration\" and accused him of McCarthyism. Albanese said the committee was putting \"a coat of white paint on a pile of manure.\" He was an early advocate of a State Income Tax. In 1967, Albanese was defeated in his bid for re-election to a second term. Running in the newly created Bergen County District 6B, he and his running mate, Assemblyman Arnold E. Brown, were defeated by Republicans Thomas Costa and Austin Volk. Albanese ran fourth, losing by nearly 11,000 votes.\n\nIn 1969, Albanese ran again for the State Assembly, this time without the support of the Bergen County Democratic Organization. He lost the primary to Ernest Allen Cohen and Martin T. Durkin by more than 5,000 votes.\n\nAlbanese sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 1973, supporting the legalization of marijuana and advocated an end to New Jersey's prohibition of abortion. During the campaign, he complained that the media was more interested in writing about his ownership of several bars in Bergen County and in New York City that were \"frequented by homosexuals\" than they were in covering his proposals. He finished fifth in the Democratic primary that was won by Brendan Byrne; Albanese won just 5,460 statewide (1.28%).\n\nIn 1974, Albanese testified at the federal campaign fraud trial of his onetime rival, former Republican state chairman Nelson G. Gross, a former Bergen County GOP chairman, state senator, assemblyman, and 1970 Republican U.S. Senate nominee. The New York Times said that Albanese's \"value as a witness appeared to be nullified under cross-examination.\"\n\nAlbanese grew up in Palisades Park before moving to Fort Lee. His brothers were politically active in Palisades Park including Vincent, a Republican, and Mario who was the Democratic Committee Chair. He died on April 13, 1998 at the age of 81 in Fort Lee.\n\nReferences\n\n1910s births\n1998 deaths\nMembers of the New Jersey General Assembly\nNew Jersey Democrats\nTrade unionists from New Jersey\nPeople from Fort Lee, New Jersey\nPeople from Palisades Park, New Jersey\nDate of birth unknown\n20th-century American politicians" ]
[ "Jane Roberts", "Reception and influence", "When was \"The Nature of Personal Reality, A seth book\" published?", "The title jacket of \"The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book,\" published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library),", "Which notable people had expressed the effect of seth material upon their own awakening?", "the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay,", "Who was Catherine L. Albanese?", "professor of religious history at the University of Chicago," ]	C_31c7e947fbf14fe0acf3060a69c05adf_1	What was the idea behind the central focus of the Seth material?	4	What was the idea behind the central focus of the Seth material?	Jane Roberts	Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library), contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks." John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that, for each individual: "you create your own reality." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions which trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality," related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness." Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East... and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah." The late amateur physicist Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise--and slight annoyance--I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics." CANNOTANSWER	for each individual: "you create your own reality." (	Dorothy Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, psychic, and spirit medium, who channeled an energy personality who called himself "Seth." Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the Seth Material, established her as one of the preeminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena. Early life and career Roberts was born in Albany, New York and grew up in nearby Saratoga Springs, New York. Her parents, Delmer Hubbell Roberts and Marie Burdo, divorced when she was two years old. With her only child, the young Marie then returned to her own parents, and the home that the family had rented for a number of years: half of a double dwelling in a poor neighborhood. Marie had begun experiencing the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis by 1932 but worked as much as possible. Eventually, Roberts' grandfather, Joseph Burdo, with whom she shared a deep mystical identification, was unable to support two extra people, and the family had to rely upon public assistance. Roberts' grandmother was killed in an automobile accident in 1936. The next year, her grandfather moved out of the house. By then Marie was partially incapacitated, and the Welfare Department began to furnish mother and daughter with occasional and often unreliable domestic help. When Marie became a bedridden invalid, it was Jane's responsibility to take care of her. This included cooking, cleaning, bringing her the bedpan, and getting up in the middle of the night to refuel the stove. Her embittered mother would tell Jane she was going to turn on the gas jets in the middle of the night and kill them both. When her mother attempted suicide for about the fifth time, she took sleeping pills and was in the hospital. Jane wrote that she went to the welfare worker and said, 'I can't take it anymore. I've just got to leave.'" Over and over Marie told Jane she was no good, that the daughter's birth had caused the mother's illness, and that she was disowned and considered no longer her daughter. The persistent psychological abuse and mistreatment by her mother resulted in the young girl's deep fear of abandonment. Such situations increased Jane's sense of not being safe, yet also reinforced feelings of independence, for she did not have to feel as dependent upon Marie as she might otherwise. Well before she was 10 years old Jane had developed persistent symptoms of colitis. By her early teens, she had an overactive thyroid gland. Her vision was poor; she required very strong glasses (which she seldom wore). For most of 1940 and half of 1941, Jane was in a strictly-run Catholic orphanage in Troy, NY while her mother was hospitalized in another city for treatment of her arthritis. Priests came to the house regularly and support was offered to the fatherless family. Jane's initial bonding to the cultural beliefs of religion was very strong to make up for the lack of a loving, nurturing family. For a time she was left between belief systems. In the summer of 1945, when she was 16 years old, Jane began working at a variety store. It was her first job. That fall she continued on the job after school hours and on an occasional Saturday. After attending public schools she went to Skidmore College from 1947 to 1950 on a poetry scholarship. Roberts' grandfather died when she was age 19. It was a time of severe shock for her. She began to substitute scientific world view for religious belief. At that time Jane was dating Walt Zeh, a long-time Saratoga Springs friend. Together they went to the west coast by motorcycle to see Jane's father who had also come from a broken home. Jane then married Walt and continued to write while taking a variety of other jobs, including society editor for the Saratoga newspaper, and as a supervisor in a radio factory. Walt and Jane lived together for three years. It was then in February 1954 while "cutting up, dancing, and raisin' hell at a party," that Jane first met the former commercial artist Robert Fabian Butts, Jr. (June 20, 1919 - May 26, 2008). The fourth time they met at another party and Jane 'just looked at him and said, "Look, I'm leaving Walt, and I'm going to live by myself or I'm going to live with you, so just let me know."'" Eventually the two left town together and Jane filed for divorce. Jane and Rob married on December 27, 1954 at the home of his parents in Sayre, PA. Roberts wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children's literature, nonfiction, science fiction, and fantasy, and novels. She was the only woman invited to the first science-fiction writer's conference in 1956 in Milford, PA. The couple moved to Elmira, NY, in 1960, to find steady part-time work – Rob in the local greeting card company, Jane in an art gallery. Now in her 30s, she and her husband began to record what she said were messages from a personality named "Seth," and she wrote several books about the experience. Seth Material On a September evening in 1963, Roberts sat down at her table to work on poetry; Butts was in his back-room studio, painting. "It was very domestic, very normal, very unpsychedelic," she would later remember. And then "Between one normal minute and the next, a fantastic avalanche of radical, new ideas burst into my head with tremendous force ... It was as if the physical world were really tissue-paper-thin, hiding infinite dimensions of reality, and I was flung through the tissue paper with a huge ripping sound." When she "came to," Roberts found herself scrawling the title of this batch of notes: The Physical Universe as Idea Construction. Before this, though her fiction typically dealt with such themes as clairvoyance and reincarnation, intellectually neither she nor Butts believed in extrasensory abilities. Yet soon after this episode, Roberts suddenly began recalling her dreams, including two that were precognitive. Their curiosity piqued, the couple decided to investigate further, and she managed to land a contract with a New York publisher for a do-it-yourself book on extra-sensory perception. In late 1963, Roberts and Butts started experimenting with a Ouija board as part of Roberts' research for the book. According to Roberts and Butts, on December 2, 1963, they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality who eventually identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. The first seven sessions were entirely with the Ouija board. The three-hour session on the evening of Jan. 2, 1964 was the first where she began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board. For a while, she still opened her sessions with the board, but finally abandoned it after the 27th session on Feb. 19, 1964. Roberts described the process of writing the Seth books as entering a trance state. She said Seth would assume control of her body and speak through her, while her husband wrote down the words she spoke. They referred to such episodes as "readings" or "sessions." The 26th session on Feb. 18, 1964, was the first held in the presence of another person—a friend. On Jan. 17, 1964, Roberts channeled an allegedly recently deceased woman who told Butts that his and his wife's work with Seth was a life-time project, that they would publish his manuscripts, and help spread his ideas. At the 27th session Seth also told the couple how to rearrange the furniture in their apartment which would better suit their energies. Despite feelings of disbelief toward both messages, the couple somewhat reluctantly agreed. Two days afterward they heard from a psychologist interested in reincarnation to whom they had written three weeks earlier with some session copies enclosed. The psychologist told them that the very fluency of the material suggested that it might come from Roberts' subconscious, though it was impossible to tell. He also cautioned that in some circumstances, amateur mediumship could lead to mental problems. The letter upset her but helped her deal with her doubts. She felt there were no "alarming changes" in her personality. "I was doing twice the creative work I had done earlier. I was satisfied with the quality of the Seth Material; it was far superior to anything I could do on my own. If nothing else, I thought the sessions presented a way of making deeply unconscious knowledge available on a consistent basis." "Because we were so innocent about psychic literature, we weren't hampered by superstitious fears about such [psychic] phenomena. I didn't believe in gods or demons, so I didn't fear them. I wanted to learn. Rob and I had discovered a whole new world together, and we were going to explore it." Roberts assumed Seth was a subconscious fantasy, personified because she did not believe in spirits or life after death. She monitored her personality characteristics and went to a psychologist. But she felt that "Seth seemed far more mature and well-balanced than the psychologist, so finally I stopped worrying. This is not to say the experience did not cause certain strains and stresses that could accompany any worthwhile venture in an entirely new field." Roberts also purportedly channeled the world views of several other people, including the philosopher William James, Rembrandt, and the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, through a process she described as using a typewriter to write "automatically." For 21 years until Roberts' death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held more than 1500 regular or private "ESP class" trance sessions in which she spoke on behalf of Seth. Butts served as the stenographer, taking the messages down in shorthand he had made up, having others on occasion make recording of some sessions. The messages from Seth channeled through Roberts consisted mostly of monologues on a wide variety of topics. They were published by Prentice-Hall under the collective title Seth Material. Over the years, hundreds of people witnessed Roberts channeling "Seth". Some went to the ESP classes Roberts held (Tuesday and some Thursday nights, Sept. 1967 – Feb. 1975) for an evening, others attended for longer periods. (By this time Jane had given up her gallery work, and was teaching nursery school during part of this time.) Outside of the ESP class structure, Roberts gave many personal Seth sessions to various individuals who had written her, asking for help. She never charged for those sessions; however, at some point, she did charge $2.50 to $3.50 per ESP class of 5 to 40 people. When the books began to sell in sufficient numbers, she dropped that fee. Book sessions were almost always private, held on Monday and Wednesday evenings without witnesses from 1967 through 1982 (except for Tues and Thurs from Aug. to Nov. 1981). The material through 1969 was published in summary form in The Seth Material, written by Roberts from the output of the channeling sessions. Beginning in January 1970, Roberts wrote books which she described as dictated by Seth. Roberts claimed no authorship of these books beyond her role as a medium. This series of "Seth books" totaled ten volumes. The last two books appear to be incomplete due to Roberts' illness. Butts contributed extensive footnotes, appendices, and other comments to all the Seth books, and thus was a co-author on all of them. These additions describe what was going on in Roberts' and his life at the time of the various sessions, annotated in light of contemporary beliefs and materials he and Roberts were reading, described excerpts from some fan mail and letters from professionals commenting on Seth's material about their fields, and, especially later, provided insight as to the many steps of production of multiple books with the publisher. By February 1982 they were still receiving "from 30 to 50 letters and packages a week" from readers of their various books. Some of Roberts' earlier and later poetry was occasionally included to show how she had touched upon some of Seth's concepts. Roberts also wrote The Oversoul Seven trilogy to explore via fiction some of Seth's teachings on the concepts of reincarnation and oversouls. According to Roberts, Seth described himself as an "energy personality essence no longer focused in physical matter," and was independent of Roberts' subconscious. Roberts initially expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, wondering if he was a part of her own personality. While speaking as Seth, Roberts at times appeared stern, jovial, or professorial. "His" voice was deeper and more masculine sounding than Jane's and was possessed of a distinct, although not identifiable, accent. Unlike the psychic Edgar Cayce, whose syntax when speaking in trance was antiquated and convoluted, Roberts' syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth. Later books continued to develop but did not contradict the material introduced in earlier works. Some "Practice Elements" were even included on how a few of the concepts could be practically experienced. A few contemporary world events were commented upon, such as the Jonestown Guyana deaths and the Three Mile Island accident. Seth also provided an alternative creation myth to that of the Big Bang or Intelligent Design. Roberts' father died in November 1971 at the age of 68; her mother died six months later at the same age. In early 1982 Roberts spent a month in the hospital for severely underactive thyroid gland, protruding eyes and double vision, an almost total hearing loss, a slight anemia, budding bedsores—and a hospital-caused staph infection. She recovered to an extent, but died two and a half years later in 1984, having been bedridden with severe arthritis-like her mother—for the final year and a half of her life. Roberts had spent 504 consecutive days in a hospital in Elmira, N.Y. The immediate causes of her death were a combination of protein depletion, osteomyelitis, and soft-tissue infections. These conditions arose out of her long-standing rheumatoid arthritis. (Butts believed for some 15 years that in Roberts' case, at least, the young girl's psychological conditioning was far more important—far more damaging, in those terms—than any physical tendency to inherit the disease.) Roberts was cremated the next day, in a process, she and Butts had agreed upon several years earlier. After Roberts' death, recorded in The Way Toward Health (1997), Butts continued his work as a guardian of the Seth texts and continued to supervise the publication of some of the remaining material, including The Early Sessions, making sure all of the recordings, manuscripts, notes, and drawings would be given to the Yale Library. Butts remarried, and his second wife, Laurel Lee Davies, supported his work during the more than 20 years they were together and helped answer mail and proofread manuscripts. Butts died of cancer on May 26, 2008. Jane Roberts Butts and Robert F. Butts Jr. are interred together in the Wayne County, NY Furnaceville cemetery; however, there is another gravestone with their names on it in the Sunnyside cemetery in Tunkhannock, PA. A number of groups have compiled anthologies of quotes from Seth, summarized sections of his teachings, issued copies of Seth sessions on audio tape, and further relayed the material via classes and conventions. Reception and influence Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," republished in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library), contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks." John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that for each individual: "you create your own reality." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions that trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually, those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality," related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness." Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East… and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah." New Age writer Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise—and slight annoyance—I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics." The Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives maintains a collection entitled Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090), which documents the career and personal life of Jane Roberts, including journals, poetry, correspondence, audio, and video recordings, and other materials donated after her death by Roberts' husband and other individuals and organizations. Yale University's collection entitled "Jane Roberts papers" occupies 164.08 linear feet of shelf space and is contained in 498 boxes. Criticism Roberts and the Seth Material have attracted critiques from outside the paranormal community. The poet Charles Upton, in his collection of essays titled The System of Antichrist, posited that Roberts multiplied the self due to a fear of death. His opinion was that the Seth texts are based on a misunderstanding of both Christianity and of Eastern religions. Professor of psychology and noted critic of parapsychology James E. Alcock opined, "In light of all this, the Seth materials must surely be viewed as less than ordinary. There certainly was the time and talent for fraud to play a role, but we cannot discriminate between that possibility and the possibility of unconscious production—at any rate, given these circumstances, there seems little need to consider the involvement of any supernatural agency." Some religious groups have warned their members about the dangers and deceptions of reading channeled messages from Roberts and others. John MacArthur, host of a syndicated Christian talk show, considers The Seth Material to be "a book entirely written by a demon.", while the New Age Urantia Foundation considers the book evidence for "Devil possession." Videos such as Jane Roberts' Seth Speaks is Anti-Catholic Hate Books – Allowed By The Media claimed that Seth was "a demon from hell contacted through a ouija board." Science writer Karen Stollznow has written that much of Roberts work was "criticized for being a rip-off of Christian and Eastern philosophy. It comes as no surprise that Seth influenced such authors as Deepak Chopra and Louise Hay." Since Roberts' death, others have claimed to channel Seth. In the introduction to Seth's first dictated book, Seth Speaks, "he" says, "communications will come exclusively through Ruburt [Seth's name for Jane] at all times, to protect the integrity of the material." In The Seth Material, Jane Roberts wrote: "Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts." At least one person has claimed more recently to channel Roberts. Complete writings Books: Roberts, Jane (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) . Roberts, Jane (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. . Roberts, Jane (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry. Roberts, Jane (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1977). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1979). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1977). The World View of Paul Cézanne: A Psychic Interpretation. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. . Roberts, Jane (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. . Children's literature. Roberts, Jane (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, . Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, . Roberts, Jane (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984)). Roberts, Jane (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. . Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. . Roberts, Jane (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry. Roberts, Jane (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, and . Roberts, Jane (1986). Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness. Stillpoint Publishing. (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. . Roberts, Jane (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. . Roberts, Jane (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. . Roberts, Jane (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. . Roberts, Jane (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. . Roberts. Jane. The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes. Short Stories and novellas: Roberts, Jane. "Prayer of a Wiser People" in Profile, 1950. Roberts, Jane. "The Red Wagon" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1956 (republished 1993, Reality Change Magazine; anthologized in 1975, Ladies of Fantasy). Roberts, Jane. "The Canvas Pyramid" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958). Roberts, Jane. "First Communion" in Fantastic Universe, 1957. Roberts, Jane. "The Chestnut Beads" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958; anthologized in Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963). Roberts, Jane. "The Bundu" (novella, sequel to "The Chestnut Beads") in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958. Roberts, Jane. "A Demon at Devotions" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Winter 1994). Roberts, Jane. "Nightmare" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959. Roberts, Jane. "Impasse" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959 (Spanish anthology edition ca. 1960). Roberts, Jane. "Three Times Around" in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1964 (anthologized in Earth Invaded, 1982). Roberts, Jane. "The Big Freeze" in Dude, 1965 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Summer 1994). Roberts, Jane. "The Mission," purchased by Topper magazine in August 1965. (Publication not yet confirmed.) Poetry Submissions: "Time" in The Saratogian [Saratoga Springs, NY], 1947 Mar 19. "Enigma" in The Saratogian, 1947 Mar 19. "Spring Gaiety" in The Saratogian, 1947 Apr 26. "Rain" in Profile [Skidmore College literary magazine], December, 1947. "Pretense" in Profile, December, 1947. "Code" in Profile, December, 1947. "Skyscrapers" in Profile, December, 1947. "Introvert" in Profile, May, 1948. "Poem" in Profile, May, 1948. "How Public Like a Frog" in Profile, Fall, 1948. "Motorcycle Ride" in Profile, Fall, 1948. "Echo" in Profile, May, 1949. "Death Stood at the Door" in Profile, May, 1949. "Compromise" in Profile, May, 1949. "I Shall Die in the Springtime." Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954. "Lyric" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954. "Matilda" in Quicksilver, Spring, 1960. "It is Springtime, Grandfather." Epos., v.12, n.3, Spring 1961. "The Familiar." Bitterroot. v.1, n.2, Winter 1962. "I Saw a Hand" in Treasures of Parnassus: Best Poems of 1962, Young Publications, 1962 (reprinted in The Elmira Star-Gazette, 1962). "My Grandfather's World." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963. "Lullaby." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963. "Beware, October." Epos. v.16, n.1, Fall 1964. "This Wrist, This Hand." Epos. v.16, n.4, Summer 1965. "The Game." New Lantern Club Review. n.2, Summer 1965. "The Flowers." Steppenwolf. n.1, Winter 1965–1966. "Vision." Dust/9. v.3, n.1, Fall 1966. "Who Whispers Yes." Dust/12. v.3, n.4, Spring 1969. "Hi, Low, and Psycho." Excerpts published in Reality Change, Third Quarter, 1996. See also Stewart Edward White Modal realism Counterpart theory Eternalism New Thought References External links Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. Includes both published and unpublished materials Seth Center Index to the Early Sessions Seth Learning Center An overview of titles and related audio clips, New Awareness Network Nirvikalpa Archive of over 1500 quotations and excerpts from the Seth Material 'The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts' by Paul Cunningham List of Seth Sessions by Mary Dillman Index of Eleven Seth Books by Sue R. Williams Seth Talk - by Lynda Madden Dahl 1929 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American poets American children's writers American motivational writers Women motivational writers American psychics American spiritual mediums American women poets Channellers Consciousness researchers and theorists Deaths from arthritis New Age writers People from Saratoga Springs, New York Skidmore College alumni American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers Women's page journalists	true	[ "A Suitable Girl is a long-delayed novel by Vikram Seth; it is supposed to be a sequel to his 1993 book A Suitable Boy. Seth has said the book will be set in the present, rather than in 1952 when A Suitable Boy finished, and will therefore be what Seth calls a \"jump sequel\". The book was announced in 2009 but has yet to be completed.\n\nAfter Seth missed a deadline to submit the manuscript to Penguin Publisher in June 2013, it was announced that the new novel would be published in autumn of 2016 by Orion Publishers, which had published A Suitable Boy. In May 2015, it was reported that Seth was hoping to finish writing the book in 2016, for publication in 2017. Seth explained that he had missed the Penguin deadline due to suffering from writer's block as a result of the failure of a romantic relationship. As of 2020 the novel was still unfinished though Seth confirmed in a 2018 interview that he was still working on the book as well as more material in the A Suitable Boy universe to be collectively called A Bridge of Leaves.\n\nReferences\n\nNovels by Vikram Seth\nUpcoming books\n2016 Indian novels\n2016 British novels", "The Seth Material is a collection of writing dictated by Jane Roberts to her husband from late 1963 until her death in 1984. Roberts claimed the words were spoken by a discarnate entity named Seth. The material is regarded as one of the cornerstones of New Age philosophy, and the most influential channelled text of the post-World War II \"New Age\" movement, after the Edgar Cayce books and A Course in Miracles. Jon Klimo writes that the Seth books were instrumental in bringing the idea of channeling to a broad public audience.\n\nCatherine L. Albanese said in the 1970s that the Seth Material launched an era of nationwide awareness of the channeling trend and contributed to the self-identity of an emergent New Age movement. Study groups formed in the United States to work with the Seth Material, and now are found around the world, as well as numerous websites and online groups in several languages, as various titles have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Dutch and Arabic.\n\nJohn P. Newport, in his study of the influence of New Age beliefs, described the central focus of the Seth Material as the idea that each individual creates his or her own reality, a foundational concept of the New Age movement first articulated in the Seth Material.\n\nHistory \n\nIn late 1963, Jane Roberts and her husband, Robert Butts, experimented with a ouija board as part of Roberts's research for a book on extra-sensory perception. Roberts and Butts claimed that they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality on December 2, 1963, who later identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. She began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board, and the board was eventually abandoned. For 21 years until Roberts's death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held regular sessions in which she went into a trance and purportedly spoke on behalf of Seth.\n\nAccording to Roberts, Seth described himself as an \"energy personality essence no longer focused in physical matter\" who was independent of Roberts's subconscious, although Roberts expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, frequently referring to Seth's statements as \"theories\".<ref>Chapter 10, The Seth Material, by Jane Roberts (1970).</ref> Roberts claimed that Seth indicated he had completed his earthly reincarnations and was speaking from an adjacent plane of existence. The Seth personality described himself as a \"teacher\", and said: \n\"this material has been given by himself and others in other times and places, but that it is given again, in new ways, for each succeeding generation through the centuries.\"\n\nUnlike the psychic Edgar Cayce, whose syntax when speaking in trance was antiquated and convoluted, Roberts's syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth. Roberts often sat in a rocking chair during sessions, and she would occasionally smoke cigarettes and sip beer or wine. Afterwards, she claimed to not remember the contents of the session, and she would often read the transcript or ask what Seth had said.\n\nSummary\nThe core teachings of the Seth Material are based on the principle that consciousness creates matter, that each person creates his or her own reality through thoughts, beliefs and expectations, and that the \"point of power\" through which the individual can affect change is in the present moment.\n\nIt discusses a wide range of metaphysical concepts, including the nature of God (referred to as \"All That Is\" and \"The Multidimensional God\"); the nature of physical reality; the origins of the universe; the nature of the self and the \"higher self\"; the story of Christ; the evolution of the soul and all aspects of death and rebirth, including reincarnation and karma, past lives, after-death experiences, \"guardian spirits\", and ascension to planes of \"higher consciousness\"; the purpose of life; the nature of good and evil; the purpose of suffering; multidimensional reality, parallel lives; and transpersonal realms.\n\nNature of the self\nAccording to the Seth Material, the entire self or \"entity\" is a gestalt consisting of the inner self, various selves that the entity has assumed through past existences (physical and non-physical), plus all the currently incarnated selves and all their probable counterparts. Reincarnation is included as a core principle.\n\nWouter Hanegraaff, Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy, University of Amsterdam, says that these ideas have been influential to other new age authors (some of whom use the term \"higher self\" to refer to the same concept), and that Roberts's terminology has been adopted by some of those authors. Hanegraaff says that Seth uses various terms to refer to the concept of the \"self\", including \"entity\", \"whole self\", \"gestalt\", and \"(over)soul\".\n\nRealityThe Seth Material says that all individuals create their own circumstances and experiences within the shared earthly environment, similar to the doctrine of responsibility assumption. This concept is expressed in the phrase \"you create your own reality\", which may have originated with the Seth readings (although Nietzsche wrote some 90 years earlier, on the subject of \"Becoming who you are\": \"We, however, want to become who we are—human beings who are new, unique, incomparable, who give themselves laws, who create themselves!\"). The inner self, or inner ego, is responsible for the construction and maintenance of the individual's physical body and immediate physical environment, and the unfolding of events is determined by the expectations, attitudes and beliefs of the outer ego, that portion of the self that human beings know as themselves. \"If you want to change your world, you must first change your thoughts, expectations, and beliefs.\" Or, more succinctly: \"You get what you concentrate upon. There is no other main rule\".\n\nThe books discuss the idea that the physical environment is constructed and maintained by the inner selves of the individual occupants (including animals). The inner selves project, en masse, a pattern for physical reality that is then filled with energy, as needed, by each individual. All events are also produced in the same manner.\n\nComplete writings of Jane Roberts\n\nBooks:\n (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) .\n (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. .\n (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry.\n (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1977). The \"Unknown\" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. . \n (1979). The \"Unknown\" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1977). The World View of Paul Cézanne: A Psychic Interpretation. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. .\n (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. . Children's literature.\n (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, . Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, .\n (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. . Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984)).\n (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. . Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. .\n (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. . Poetry.\n (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, and .\n (1986). Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness. Stillpoint Publishing.\n (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. .\n (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. .\n (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. .\n (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. .\n (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. .\n The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes.\n\nShort stories and novellas:\n\"Prayer of a Wiser People\" in Profile, 1950. \n\"The Red Wagon\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1956 (republished 1993, Reality Change Magazine; anthologized in 1975, Ladies of Fantasy).\n\"The Canvas Pyramid\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958).\n\"First Communion\" in Fantastic Universe, 1957. \n\"The Chestnut Beads\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958; anthologized in Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963).\n\"The Bundu\" (novella) in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958. \n\"A Demon at Devotions\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Winter 1994).\n\"Nightmare\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959. \n\"Impasse\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959 (Spanish anthology edition ca. 1960).\n\"Three Times Around\" in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1964 (anthologized in Earth Invaded, 1982). \n\"The Big Freeze\" in Dude, 1965 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Summer 1994).\n\"The Mission,\" purchased by Topper magazine in August, 1965. (Publication not yet confirmed.)\n\nPoetry:\n\"Time\" in The Saratogian [Saratoga Springs, NY], 1947 Mar 19.\n\"Enigma\" in The Saratogian, 1947 Mar 19.\n\"Spring Gaiety\" in The Saratogian, 1947 Apr 26.\n\"Rain\" in Profile [Skidmore College literary magazine], December, 1947.\n\"Pretense\" in Profile, December, 1947.\n\"Code\" in Profile, December, 1947.\n\"Skyscrapers\" in Profile, December, 1947.\n\"Introvert\" in Profile, May, 1948.\n\"Poem\" in Profile, May, 1948.\n\"How Public Like a Frog\" in Profile, Fall, 1948.\n\"Motorcycle Ride\" in Profile, Fall, 1948.\n\"Echo\" in Profile, May, 1949.\n\"Death Stood at the Door\" in Profile, May, 1949.\n\"Compromise\" in Profile, May, 1949.\n\"I Shall Die in the Springtime.\" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954.\n\"Lyric\" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954.\n\"Matilda\" in Quicksilver, Spring, 1960.\n\"It is Springtime, Grandfather.\" Epos., v.12, n.3, Spring 1961.\n\"The Familiar.\" Bitterroot. v.1, n.2, Winter 1962.\n\"I Saw a Hand\" in Treasures of Parnassus: Best Poems of 1962, Young Publications, 1962 (reprinted in The Elmira Star-Gazette, 1962).\n\"My Grandfather's World.\" Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963.\n\"Lullaby.\" Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963.\n\"Beware, October.\" Epos. v.16, n.1, Fall 1964.\n\"This Wrist, This Hand.\" Epos. v.16, n.4, Summer 1965.\n\"The Game.\" New Lantern Club Review. n.2, Summer 1965.\n\"The Flowers.\" Steppenwolf. n.1, Winter 1965–1966.\n\"Vision.\" Dust/9. v.3, n.1, Fall 1966.\n\"Who Whispers Yes.\" Dust/12. v.3, n.4, Spring 1969.\n\"Hi, Low, and Psycho.\" Excerpts published in Reality Change, Third Quarter, 1996.\n\nSeth Material-related works from other authors:\n Watkins, Susan M. Conversations with Seth. Moment Point Press, 2005, 2006, two volumes. and original version published: Vol. 1 (1980), Vol 2 (1981).\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (1993). Beyond the Winning Streak: Using Conscious Creation to Consistently Win at Life. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (1995). Ten Thousand Whispers: A Guide to Conscious Creation. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (1997). The Wizards of Consciousness: Making the Imponderable Practical. The Woodbridge Group. . \n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2001). The Book of Fallacies: A Little Primer of New Thought. Moment Point Press. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2012). Living a Safe Universe: A Book for Seth Readers. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2013). Living a Safe Universe, Vol. 2: A Book for Seth Readers. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2014). Living a Safe Universe, Vol. 3: A Book for Seth Readers. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Dahl, Lynda Madden (2015). Living a Safe Universe, Vol. 4: Seth and Psychic Health. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Friedman, Norman (1994). Bridging Science and Spirit: Common Elements in David Bohm's Physics, The Perennial Philosophy and Seth. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Friedman, Norman (1997). The Hidden Domain: Home of the Quantum Wave Function, Nature's Creative Source. The Woodbridge Group. .\n Stack, Rick. Out-Of-Body Adventures : 30 days to the Most Exciting Experience of Your Life. Contemporary Books. .\n Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Reality : A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1984. .\n Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Happiness: A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1988. .\n Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Dreams: A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1990. . \n Watkins, Susan M. Speaking of Jane Roberts: Remembering the Author of the Seth Material. Moment Point Press, 2001. .\n Hsu, Tien-Sheng. The Secret to Healing Cancer: A Chinese Psychiatrist and Family Doctor Presents His Amazing Method For Curing Cancer Through Psychological and Spiritual Growth. New Awareness Network, 2011. .\n Kendall, Richard. The Road To Elmira, Volume 1 : A former student of Jane Roberts recounts his experiences while attending Jane's classes. Rich Kendall Books, 2011. ; .\n Helfrich, Paul M. Seth: The Ultimate Guide. New World View Publishing, 2010. .\n\nRelationship with Christianity\nAccording to the Seth Material, Jesus Christ exists as part of the Christ entity, a highly evolved entity who exists in many systems of reality. At the time of Christ, the Christ entity incarnated as three individuals: John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, and Paul or Saul of Tarsus.\n\nOther authorship claims\nOther authors have written material they claimed was channeled from Seth, especially after Roberts's death. These included Thomas Massari, who founded the Seth-Hermes Foundation and said he had channeled Seth as early as 1972; and Jean Loomis, director of the Aquarian Center in Connecticut. However, in the introduction to the first book written about Seth, he is said to have conveyed that \"communications will come exclusively through Ruburt [Seth's name for Jane] at all times, to protect the integrity of the material\". In The Seth Material, Roberts wrote: \"Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts.\"\n\nCriticism\nCharles Upton in his book The System of Antichrist, argues that the reason Jane Roberts multiplies the self in many ways is due to a fear of death, and that the Seth texts are based on a misunderstanding of both Christianity and Eastern religions. The implied influences of Eastern mysticism and philosophy are also highlighted in Astrology and Psychic Phenomena'' by Terry Holley, E Calvin Beisner and Robert M Bowman Jr, who say, \"Husband Robert Butts admitted that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East . . . and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah.\" According to Robert C. Fuller, Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called \"unchurched American spirituality,\" including the topics of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and \"Christ consciousness.\" James Alcock wrote \"there seems little need to consider the involvement of any supernatural agency.\"\n\nPsychologist Paul Cunningham of Rivier University, New Hampshire, analyzed the case of Jane Roberts in his 2010 paper \"The Problem of Seth's Origin\", concluding that \"fraud and cryptomnesia are highly improbable explanations\" and suggesting that to \"emphasize and expect fraud and trickery ... is essentially a misleading, though culturally expectable, response\" to such cases.\n\nSee also \n\n Biocentric universe\n Counterpart theory\n Modal realism\n Idealism\n Many-minds interpretation\n Brane cosmology\n J. B. Priestley's Time Plays\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Guide to the Jane Roberts Papers, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library Archival Collection includes both published and unpublished materials\n Seth Center Index to the Early Sessions\n Seth Learning Center An overview of titles and related audio clips, New Awareness Network\n\nChannelled texts\nReincarnation\nParanormal\nWorks by Jane Roberts" ]

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