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497_13 | NFC Album Deck
In addition to the musical jacket, 'Montagu Square' was released as the world's first NFC Album Deck in collaboration with MOO. The Next Web called this release "a brilliant inspiring idea that transcends novelty" and Wired called it "bleeding edge." The Montagu Square album deck comes as a pack of printed cards with each card corresponding to each track off the album and featuring artwork, lyrics and an embedded Near field communication (NFC) chip – allowing listeners to tap the song cards onto their phone to play the music and access its content. The Montagu Square Deck was previewed at London's Serpentine Gallery.
Album: Raw Space: 2017
Wolfe's third album Raw Space was conceived at Bell Labs' Anechoic chamber, cited in the Guinness World Records as the quietest room in the world. The album features |
497_14 | "Little Moth", a song written in tribute to singer songwriter Elliott Smith and described by Spindle Magazine as "a tender homage with the intimate double vocals, distant mellotron and all round low-fi sound, very much in the spirit of Smith’s style and production." Highsnobiety named Wolfe as one of '10 Ways Music Will Change in 2017.'
Raw Space was released in May 2017 and reviewed positively by BBC Radio 4 who called it "delicious", KCRW who called it "raw, gritty and honest", Jazziz who praised the song arrangements for having echoes of George Martin, New Scientist who described it as "intimate, like the sound of secrets whispered under bed covers," and Nathan Brackett who called it "amazing" and made it an Amazon Music album of the month. It also featured on Bayerischer Rundfunk, BBC Radio 2, Hoxton Radio, XETRA-FM.
Raw Space's Innovations |
497_15 | Live 360° AR Stream
Responding to the streaming age of music becoming the principal way of listening and continuing her approach of trying to reunite music in the digital age with a sense of tangibility, ceremony and storytelling, Wolfe released Raw Space as the world's first live 360° AR stream in collaboration with Bell Labs and Theo Watson's design company, Design I/O. This was a first in the world for combining live, 360˚ stereoscopic video and real-time AR visuals, creating a modern, Fantasia-like live streamed album experience. In an interview with Hoboken Life, Wolfe described the thinking behind Raw Space: |
497_16 | Raw Space touches on the themes I’ve been exploring since my first album but in perhaps the most extreme and technicolor way. For this album, it began with a question. What would the anti-stream of today look like? With Raw Space, I wanted to create the antithesis of our current streaming experience and really celebrate the world of the album—it’s artwork, arc, narrative, music—in a fully immersive and multi sensory way, which has the effect of placing the listener at the centre of this dynamic world.The live stream started on 5 May 2017 and ran continuously for 7 days straight. A turntable physically played Wolfe's album Raw Space on repeat from inside the Bell Labs' Anechoic chamber while people logged on via YouTube to listen to the music and explore the room in 360-degree video with the Augmented reality animation bringing the album's artwork, lyrics and visual landscape to life in real-time for the viewers. The Augmented reality animation was also part-generative, which meant |
497_17 | that with every spin the visuals would evolve and listeners might experience different things. The Raw Space live stream was given high praise by TechCrunch, Axios (website), Fast Company, Wired and New Scientist, who described it as "like walking around in a dream someone had made for me" and the BBC Radio 4 called it "transformative" and "an extraordinary production: music and visuals" for "operating in this liminal space between online and offline." Raw Space was featured in YouTube's 'Best of 360°.' Live, generative AR performance''' |
497_18 | In addition to the live stream, Wolfe also pioneered the world's first live, generative Augmented reality performance for songs "Little Moth" and "As You" as part of the launch of Raw Space. This was achieved by using kinect's motion-sensing devices, designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 games console, to track Wolfe's movements in the chamber and allow the Augmented reality animation to respond to her specific location in real time. New Scientist described this as "an enchanting effect," with the song's lyrics streaming out of her mouth as her sung and the graphics following her round the room in real time.
Raw Space galactic broadcast
On 26 September 2017, Wolfe broadcast her album Raw Space into space via the Holmdel Horn Antenna and with the assistance of Robert Woodrow Wilson. Robert Woodrow Wilson made an update to the horn to ensure Wolfe's music got past the earth's atmosphere and into space, making this the first music broadcast into space using the Holmdel Horn Antenna. |
497_19 | Experiments in Art and Technology collaborator
Wolfe's Raw Space sits under the umbrella of Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology, a 50-year-old collaborative program which began in October 1966 with 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering. Wolfe is one of the first 21st century collaborators joining the likes of past participants John Cage, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg. Bell Labs president and Nokia CTO Marcus Weldon said the program had "attenuated" over the decades, but he's hoping to kickstart it by working with Wolfe.
Philanthropic work
Power of Music and Dementia |
497_20 | Power of Music & Dementia is a philanthropic collaboration between Wolfe and The Utley Foundation. Wolfe was inspired by the work of neurologist Oliver Sacks and his book Musicophilia to begin this project after family members became inflicted by the condition. The Power of Music & Dementia research project was the first recorded study to look at new music for people living with dementia. Wolfe's study has been described as "ground-breaking" and "profound" for testing music unconnected to memory and has been endorsed by the American Alzheimer's Association and Stanford University. The Power of Music research tour ran for 4-months between November 2014 and February 2015 and Wolfe performed her original music at Priory Group care homes across the UK while responses were monitored, both during the live performance and in the weeks following as the patients listened to the same songs on headsets. The findings, which included a significant improvement in communication and memory, were |
497_21 | published in May 2015 and received positive press from The Times, Independent, Guardian, BBC Radio 4, and Wired as the first study to both test and show the benefits of new (novel) music. |
497_22 | Wolfe has presented about 'Power of Music & Dementia' at TEDMED, WIRED's Conference, Digital Life Design, UCSD, Royal Institution, Social Innovation Summit, the American Alzheimer Association, in a televised interview for Stanford University "Of Sound Mind" and Sky News. Wolfe's song "Need Somebody" (from on Montagu Square'') was inspired by this dementia project. Wolfe also collaborated with Punchdrunk on their Greenhive Green as the musical artist for the installation.
Power of Music & Dementia was turned into the UK charity Music For Dementia 2020 with the aim of getting music in all UK care homes. Wolfe is an ambassador for the charity. |
497_23 | Awards, patronage and nominations
Google Play Music nominated Wolfe for the 'Best Digital Artist' 2016 award alongside the 1975 and Alan Walker (music producer). Wolfe was the only independent artist nominated across the awards
The Mayor of London appointed Wolfe as an Ambassador for London Technology. Wolfe was the only artist ambassador, joining UK CEO's of Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Martha Lane Fox and Eileen Burbidge
The Great Campaign selected Wolfe to represent the best of British creativity & innovation at the IFB2016 in Liverpool where Wolfe met Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Bell Labs chose Wolfe to reboot Experiments in Art and Technology programme, which began with 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering in October 1966 and featured Andy Warhol, John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg as past collaborators |
497_24 | Wired UK highlighted Wolfe as one of twenty-two changing the world in 2017 alongside Julie Hanna (President Barack Obama's Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship) and Manal Al-Sharif
The-Dots named Wolfe a 'Creative Leaders for 2017' alongside the Southbank Centre's Artistic Director, Design Museum's CEO and British Film Institute's CEO.
UN Women chose Wolfe as one of nine innovators to represent its global campaign as part of International Women's Day 2019
The Women's International Music Network awarded Beatie Wolfe the She Rocks award for innovation alongside Gloria Gaynor, Suzi Quatro, Linda Perry and Tal Wilkenfeld |
497_25 | Musical style and influences
Wolfe's style has been described by The Huffington Post as "low fi and honest" indie rock with a "strong percussive sound and bluesy overtone" and by Monocle as "expertly played, beautifully sung chamber pop." Praised by GQ for her "smoky captivating melodies that envelop the listener in tales of love and loss" Wolfe's music pulls from the brooding poeticism of Leonard Cohen, the tender intimacy of Elliott Smith and occasionally veers into Americana and grunge territory. Wolfe's live performance has been hailed as "absolutely breathtaking" by The New York Times Magazine and "a profound delivery of depth and soul" and Wolfe has been described as a "beguiling, excellent live performer." |
497_26 | Wolfe influences include: "Donny Hathaway’s vocals, James Brown’s sass, Nina Simone’s soul, Tom Waits’ grit, Leonard Cohen's words, Stevie Wonder's melodies, Brian Wilson's harmonies, Otis Redding's feeling, The Beatles’ versatility, John Lennon's honesty, Rick Rubin's production and Elliott Smith's everything."
Discography
Albums
Raw Space
Released: 5 May 2017
Montagu Square
Released: 26 October 2015
8ight
Released: 1 July 2013
EPs
Burst EP
Released: 1 January 2010
Singles
Videos
Apps
References
External links
BBC Beatie Wolfe Profile |
497_27 | Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
English women singer-songwriters
English women guitarists
English guitarists
English women pianists
Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
People educated at Ibstock Place School
Singers from London
American women singer-songwriters
21st-century American guitarists
American women guitarists
21st-century English women singers
21st-century English singers
Experiments in Art and Technology collaborating artists
American singer-songwriters
21st-century American women guitarists |
498_0 | Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located in Duffus to the north-west of Elgin. Attendance is subject to an interview plus references and exam results. It is one of the last remaining full boarding schools in the United Kingdom.
Founded in 1934 by German-Jewish educator Kurt Hahn, Gordonstoun has an enrolment of around 500 full boarders as well as about 100-day pupils between the ages of 6 and 18. With the number of teaching staff exceeding 100, there is a low student-teacher ratio compared to the average in the United Kingdom. There are eight boarding houses (formerly nine prior to the closure of Altyre house in summer 2016) including two 17th-century buildings that were part of the original estate. The other houses have been built or modified since the school was established. |
498_1 | Gordonstoun has some notable alumni. Three generations of British royalty were educated at Gordonstoun, including Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and his son Charles, Prince of Wales. Rock musician David Bowie sent his son Duncan Jones to Gordonstoun, and Jason Connery, son of actor Sir Sean Connery, also attended. Due to Hahn's influence, the school has had a strong connection with Germany. It is part of the Round Square Conference of Schools, a group of more than 80 schools across the globe based on the teaching of Hahn, and named after the Round Square building at Gordonstoun, where the first conference took place in 1967. Around 30% of students attending Gordonstoun come from abroad.
History |
498_2 | Founding
The British Salem School of Gordonstoun was established in 1934 by Kurt Hahn, a Jewish educationalist who, after being arbitrarily arrested after the Reichstag fire, fled Nazi Germany. Hahn was asked by friends to give a demonstration in the UK of his "Salem system". He was born in Berlin in 1886 and studied at the University of Oxford. After reading Plato's The Republic as a young man, Hahn conceived the idea of a modern school. With the help of Prince Max of Baden, he set up the Schule Schloss Salem in 1919. After the First World War, both men decided that education was key in influencing the future. They developed Salem to develop its students as community leaders. By the 1930s Salem had already become a renowned school throughout Europe. In 1932, Hahn spoke out against the Nazis and was arrested in March 1933. |
498_3 | He was released and exiled to Britain in the same year through the influence of the Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, who was familiar with Hahn's work. At the urging of British friends, Hahn decided to start a new school in Morayshire.
Gordonstoun was started in a small way and had financial difficulties in its early years. After the death in 1930 of Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 4th Baronet, his house at Gordonstoun was obtained by Kurt Hahn, whose offer for the lease was accepted on 14 March 1934. The buildings needed repair and renovation, and at the start of the first academic year, the school had only two enrolled pupils. Hahn expected Gordonstoun to operate for only a few years, as an example of his vision. The number of pupils steadily increased, and some additional pupils transferred from Salem, including Prince Philip of Greece, who later became Duke of Edinburgh. By the start of the Second World War, 135 boys were attending. |
498_4 | World War II
In June 1940 the school was evacuated and the Gordonstoun estate was taken over by the army for use as barracks. The school was relocated temporarily to quarters in Llandinam in Mid Wales when Lord Davies, a parent of two pupils, allowed the school to use one of his houses. The buildings were insufficient, and finances and pupil numbers began to drop. In 1941 by Hahn and Lawrence Holt with the support of the Blue Funnel Line, founded Outward Bound, based on the educational approach of Gordonstoun.
The school survived the war, pupil numbers increased again, and the school became well known throughout Wales and the Midlands. Once the war ended, the school returned to the Gordonstoun estate. |
498_5 | Post-war years
By the end of 1940, the school achieved its primary target of 250 pupils and continued growing in size. It built dormitories on the estate, removing the need for maintaining a house in Altyre, Forres, many miles away from the main campus. Gordonstoun also developed its academic offerings. It arranged to admit poorer children from the surrounding areas, and to deepen the Outward Bound-type activities that were central to Hahn's system. Skills in mountaineering and seamanship were always taught at the school. The introduction of the Moray Badge, from which the Duke of Edinburgh's Award was borrowed, expanded the types of physical challenges for students to conquer. |
498_6 | From the 1950s onwards, the school administration concentrated on improving the facilities and expanding the curriculum. Major changes since then include: the founding of Round Square in 1966, an international community of schools sharing Hahn's educational ideals; the school becoming co-educational in 1972; and the moving of Aberlour House, Gordonstoun's preparatory school, from Speyside to a purpose-built Junior School on campus in 2004.
Former governor Lisa Kerr took over from Simon Reid as the school's principal in 2016. She is the school's first female principal.
Ethos
Gordonstoun's curriculum emphasises an experiential approach, and built upon the work of educationalists, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Johann Friedrich Herbart and John Dewey. However, unlike Herbart and Dewey, who were concerned with the cognitive benefits of out of classroom experiences, Hahn's ethos emphasises the emotional aspects of Herbartianism and Experiential learning. |
498_7 | Hahn established Gordonstoun's ethos during his tenure at Schule Schloss Salem. In a document, written in 1930, Hahn set out, what he referred to as the seven laws of Salem;
Give the children opportunities for self-discovery.
Make the children meet with triumph and defeat.
Give the children the opportunity of self-effacement in the common cause.
Provide periods of silence.
Train the imagination.
Make games (i.e., competition) important but not predominant.
Free the sons of the wealthy and powerful from the enervating sense of privilege.
Hahn blended outdoor activities and skills such as seamanship and mountaineering with a traditional private school ethos, modelled on his experiences at Eton and Oxford. Plato's The Republic and other elements of ancient Greek history inspired Hahn's approach. This is seen in the title "Guardian", denoting the head boy and girl, the adoption of a Greek trireme as the school's emblem, and a routine that could be described as Spartan. |
498_8 | Classics, and the Greek ideal that education aims to produce a complete person, intellectually, morally, physically and aesthetically had a profound influence on Hahn. Mostly, He believed that pupils should participate in activities, as opposed to sitting and absorbing information. Therefore, physical education forms much of Gordonstoun's curriculum but achieving personal-goals and overcoming physical challenges take precedent over any competition. As part of their studies, Gordonstoun's students complete something referred to as "The Project" a practical assignment of the student's choosing. The result might be a handmade boat, a restored car or a piece of music.
Additionally, there is a chance to join one of the annual international service projects which take pupils abroad to help a foreign community, for instance, there have been projects to build schools in Africa, build wells in Thailand and help orphans in Romania. |
498_9 | Hahn believed that an important part of education was to challenge a person and take them out of their areas of familiarity and comfort, improving a person's ability to deal with difficult situations. The school requires that every pupil takes part in a series of outdoor programmes particularly expeditions in the Cairngorms and sailing training on the school's 80-foot vessel, Ocean Spirit.
The school had a reputation for challenging conditions, with cold showers and morning runs as a matter of routine. The school still practices periods of silence, intended to give the pupils the space to reflect and glean insights from their experiences. The school no longer practices cold showers or punishment runs, although physical education and challenging outdoor activities are still an integral part of Gordonstound's identity. Former pupil Charles, Prince of Wales, had once called the school a "Colditz in kilts" alluding to the prisoner-of-war camp Colditz Castle. |
498_10 | Hahn believed that "The Platonic view of education is that a nation must do all it can to make the individual citizen discover his own power and further more that the individual becomes a cripple in his or her point of view if he is not qualified by education to serve the community." The idea of service at the school is thought to encourage students to gain a feeling of responsibility to aid other people and is implemented in creating an array of services to the community in which every student becomes involved (see below). |
498_11 | Gordonstoun offers a series of grants, drawing on its investments and other funds, to support pupils who are unable to pay the full fees. In the academic year 2009/10 the school provided financial support for 163 pupils including 11 with 100% fee coverage and 95 with 50% fee reduction. The school is a registered charity: Scottish charity number SC037867.
Hahn's views on education centred on the ability to understand different cultures. Gordonstoun incorporates this in a number of ways including its association with Round Square and in offering pupil exchanges to the different schools within the association. |
498_12 | In 2018, Simon Beames, senior lecturer in outdoor learning at the University of Edinburgh, co-published research the effectiveness of Gordonstoun's ethos, and this research has formed an important part of the school's promotional literature. A poll of alumni revealed mixed feelings about Gordonstoun's emphasis on extra-curricular activities. Fifty-seven per cent of the former pupils surveyed agreed that outdoor activities enhanced their academic studies. At the same time, the remaining forty-three per cent felt the activities did not help their studies. However, the research by Beames et al. also found that most former pupils believe the school's emphasis on outdoor activities had a positive effect on their careers.
Gordonstoun Schools
Along with the main school, two other schools form part of the greater Gordonstoun community. These are Gordonstoun's preparatory school, Aberlour House, and a summer school that serves to promote the school outside of the academic year. |
498_13 | Aberlour House
The first preparatory school was founded in 1936 at Wester Elchies and unlike Gordonstoun, was not made to move during the war. At the start of the war, there were 40 boys and girls attending, and these numbers increased to the point that a second school was opened at Aberlour House in 1947 by which time nearly 100 pupils were attending.
Wester Elchies was pulled down in the early 1960s because of dilapidation. The prep school continued with just Aberlour, but even so, there were always problems with the that separated the main Gordonstoun campus and the school. In 2002 the running of Aberlour House was taken over by Gordonstoun, and in 2004 a purpose-built prep school was constructed on the main campus. In January 2007, the disused Aberlour House became the head offices of Walkers Shortbread, whose main factory complex at Fisherton is adjacent to the house. |
498_14 | Presently Aberlour House has approximately 115 pupils between the ages of 6 and 13 attending. Although they form part of the same institution, going to Aberlour is not a prerequisite for going to Gordonstoun and neither is it enforced that pupils at Aberlour House continue on into Gordonstoun. They share the school song, flag and motto with Gordonstoun.
Gordonstoun International Summer School
The Gordonstoun International Summer School started in 1976, it has catered to over 7,000 pupils since then. It opens for a four-week period every summer with the aim of giving a taste of the Gordonstoun ethos. Although for the most part, the priority is adventure, sports and creative arts, the school also teaches courses in English. Around 250 children from all over the world between the ages of 8 and 16 attend each year. |
498_15 | Active revision programme
The school runs a revision programme over the Easter Holidays, based on the belief that exercise improves cognition. Gordonstoun designed the programme for GCSE students, and it combines revision in English, mathematics and science with periods of gentle exercise and restricted access to electronic devices. The school also claim to serve a diet which promotes brain health throughout the programme.
Academic curriculum
Entrance to Gordonstoun requires the pupil to pass the Common Entrance Examination. |
498_16 | In the Junior School (ages 8–13), pupils study a range of courses and follow the Scottish education system. In the Senior School (ages 13+) the pupils complete a year's foundation course and then enter into the English education system by starting a two-year GCSE course followed by a two-year A Level course. Gordonstoun offers 21 GCSE courses, 27 AS Level courses and 21 A Level courses including specialised subjects such as Dance, Classical Studies and Further Mathematics.
The 2019 Education Scotland inspection of Gordonstoun rated the school as 'outstanding' and 'sector-leading'
The 2009 HMIE inspection evaluated Gordonstoun as being 'Excellent' in its curriculum.
96% of pupils proceed to higher education with 79% going to British universities and 17% to universities abroad. Of those who do not go on to further education, many take gap years or join the armed forces.
Activities |
498_17 | Sports
In the beginning, Hahn expressed his view that at many schools, ball games had been given precedence over other activities and so, to start with, more focus was placed on seamanship and practical work than the playing of games. Due to this, competitive matches did not start until 1935 when Gordonstoun played and won its first rugby match against Grantown Academy. Even so, the school was still in its infancy, and there were no designated fields on which to play with conditions being so bad that during pre-match, half-time and post-match, players would clear as many pebbles off the field of play as possible. 1935 saw Gordonstoun's cricket team win two, lose two and draw one. Hahn set up the hockey team personally, with Prince Philip humorously recalling a game against Elgin Academy's ladies' team and saying that he "hoped that soon we shall be among the best Scottish girls' teams." |
498_18 | As of 2013 there were playing fields for rugby, football and cricket as well as an outdoor hockey AstroTurf, outdoor tennis courts and a 400m running track. Apart from these outdoor pitches, there is a large sports centre with facilities that include a rock climbing wall, a 25m swimming pool, a weights room, squash courts and an indoor activity hall for basketball, badminton and netball.
Aside from these more traditional sports, there is the opportunity to participate in karate, horse riding, skiing, .22 rifle shooting and clay pigeon shooting, athletics, golf and many others. Clubs also form part of the activities list which is made up of cooking, debating, astronomy and film.
Sports and other physical activities are vital for an esteemed "correct" education at Gourdonstouns. Exercise is a key element in the everyday life at Gourdonstouns. All children subject to this physical curriculum must exercise for at least three-hour a day not to mention, much more. |
498_19 | Football
The 1st XI participate in four different competitions. The main competition is the County Schools League where Gordonstoun plays alongside nine other schools in a league system with the chance of promotion/relegation at the end of the season. The other three are Scottish Cup, North of Scotland Cup and the Scottish Independent Schools Cup where Gordonstoun plays with a mixture of independent and state schools. |
498_20 | Service
The school's fire service works closely with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and has a fire station on campus with two fire-fighting appliances at their disposal. It was started in 1940 while the school was based in Wales and they acquired an appliance soon after. They attend roughly fifty call-outs a year and so members have to be medically and physically fit, training to pass the practical test before becoming fire fighters. The team is split into three watches lasting a week each and are on call 24 hours a day having to carry pagers and react quickly should they be called.
Seamanship |
498_21 | Seamanship has been a main part of the curriculum since the school began. The first voyage of note was in a cutter from Hopeman to Dornoch in June 1935, a distance of . Pupils still train in cutters from the age of 13 upward at Hopeman Harbour to prepare for a voyage in the school's sailing vessel. Most excursions take a week sailing off the West Coast of Scotland, but the school also enters into the Tall Ships' Races annually which allows pupils to take part in an international competition in European waters lasting up to a month.
Prefects
In the lower school, ages 13 to 16, a boy and a girl in the sixth form (ages 16 to 18) are elected to be Captains of the lower school. They provide liaison between teachers and pupils so that any concerns can be rectified. Other roles can include organising inter-house activities, charitable events and the lower school social ("social" refers to social event or party). |
498_22 | In the Upper School, ages 16 to 18, responsibility is available through a hierarchy of positions. This starts with Captains of Sports, Service and House. In the case of Captains, no peer voting takes place, but rather a pupil is elected by the Head of the respective department. This way it is not uncommon for some people to be re-elected as Captain for multiple terms depending on whether or not anybody else of suitable stance is available. Captains of Sport such as the Football or Rugby Captain are chosen by the Head of that sport and will help the Head organise teams for practice and preparation off the field of play as well as on it. Similarly, Captains of Service will aid the Head of Service to organise training sessions and be a point of contact for the rest of the members. |
498_23 | Captains of House are slightly different though in that they play a more personal role for pupils who want to voice problems with conditions within the house and this often means that House Captains have a lot more pupils to be responsible for. This difference is more evident in their original title of 'Helper'. They tend to be in close contact with the housemaster so that any issues requiring immediate attention can be dealt with as well as being able to relay any general ideas or concerns in the House Captains' Council which meet once every two weeks. At the meeting a teacher is present, and minutes are taken so that they can be passed onto the Colour Bearers (CBs). |
498_24 | Colour Bearers get their name from a band of purple they wear as insignia on their uniform, purple being one of the school's colours. They are elected by the pupils and the staff, similar to Eton's Pop, and have non-important roles in the school community as a whole. Unlike captains they keep their positions for a whole year unless they are demoted as a punishment for untoward behaviour. They meet every week with the Headmaster to attend to a wide range of school matters. As well as this they are responsible for minor roles which would otherwise be taken up by teaching staff such as, maintaining the refectory and the library and for serving drinks behind the bar at the weekly socials in addition to organising major school wide events that take place throughout the year. |
498_25 | From the CBs a boy and a girl are chosen to be Guardians for the academic term. These are the Head Pupils for the entire school and only normally 6 people a year are allowed to have this position. The term Guardian comes from the name of the supportive rulers of Plato's ideal state. Like the staff, they are closely involved in the management and well-being of the school. |
498_26 | Boarding houses |
498_27 | There are seven boarding houses ranging from year 9–13, one sixth-form house, nine including the one no longer in operation, on the campus. The houses are run by a small team of teachers. The House Master (HM) has overall responsibility and is helped by the Assistant House Master (AHM). Either or both of these will be present at the daily house meeting and will oversee homework to make sure pupils are studying. The HM will organise any special house events, decide who the house captain will be for the term as well as choosing a captain to take care of other house related activities. The HM is also the person who most pupils would talk to if they had a problem although all teachers are available for help. Both the HM and the AHM normally have residences within the houses and so are very much part of the house. Each house has a matron who helps the pupils through their daily routine as well as a tutor to help the pupils in their studies. The year a pupil is in, and the amount of rooms |
498_28 | in the house decides which pupils are allowed a room of their own, although it is normally decided that younger years share whilst senior pupils get their own rooms. All pupils rotate rooms each term. |
498_29 | The houses are:
Female
Hopeman House
Plewlands House
Windmill Lodge
Male
Altyre House (pre-2016)
Bruce House
Cumming House
Duffus House
Gordonstoun House (G-House; sixth-form only) (pre-2018)
Round Square
Some houses will go on house expeditions and there are many inter-house competitions that take place in the year. These competitions vary. The most common are sports such as basketball and football or simply a tug of war. All of the boarding houses throw a themed party annually, and pupils may invite guests from other houses.
Old Gordonstounians
For OGs there is the Gordonstoun Association which aims to promote and strengthen links between former pupils of the school and the school itself. The patron of the GA is the Duke of Edinburgh.
British Royal Family |
498_30 | During the 1960s Prince Charles attended the school on the recommendation of his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who had been one of the first pupils to attend Gordonstoun, having previously been educated at Salem in Germany. Prince Charles did not enjoy the regime, which he later characterised as "Colditz in kilts". Princes Andrew and Edward followed in their father's and elder brother's footsteps. Of the four princes, three (Philip, Charles and Edward) were appointed Guardian (Head Boy) during their time at the school. Princess Anne, Philip's only daughter, was not educated at Gordonstoun, which at that time was for boys only, but she sent her two children, Zara and Peter, while also serving for some time on the school's board of governors. |
498_31 | Royalty and aristocrats
Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Peter Phillips
Zara Phillips
Nicholas Alexander, 7th Earl of Caledon
James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife
Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton
Jasper Duncombe, 7th Baron Feversham
Christopher Finch-Hatton, 16th Earl of Winchilsea
Granville Gordon, 13th Marquess of Huntly
John Grant, 13th Earl of Dysart
Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern
Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester
Lord Ivar Mountbatten
Michael Pearson, 4th Viscount Cowdray
Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau count of Orange-Nassau, member of the Dutch royal family (currently attending)
Other OGs
Other OGs are listed in List of people educated at Gordonstoun. |
498_32 | In addition to the royal family other notable alumni include:
Stuart Agnew – Former UK Independence Party MEP
William Boyd – writer
Oona Chaplin – actress
Jason Connery – actor
Balthazar Getty – actor and heir to the Getty oil fortune
Dick Heckstall-Smith – musician
Caroline Johnson – Conservative Member of Parliament
Duncan Jones (formerly known as Zowie Bowie) – film director and son of musician David Bowie
Luca Prodan – musician
Lara Breay – film producer
Heather Stanning – rower, Olympic gold medallist at London 2012 with Helen Glover
Roy Williamson – musician, member of the Corries, writer of Flower of Scotland, one of several unofficial Scottish national anthems and possibly the most popular.
Gordonstoun also has a notable fictional alumna: the heroine of Tomb Raider, Lady Lara Croft, was supposed to have attended the school in sixth year; she has also been used to advertise it. |
498_33 | Controversies
In 2010, a teacher was struck off, or had their teaching licence/qualification revoked, by the General Teaching Council for Scotland for warning students about exam content in advance of the tests.
In 2017, Gordonstoun was named as one of the schools being investigated in the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry chaired by Lady Smith. In 2021 Gordonstoun said at the inquiry that there had been 11 cases of pupil abuse and 82 claims of bullying between students, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1995 the school had started a child protection policy and in 2013 there had been "significant" abuse disclosures. The school issued a "sincere and unreserved apology" to pupils who had undergone abuse.
In 2018, ex-teacher Andrew Keir was convicted of offences including indecent assault involving thirteen-year-old pupils at the school between 1988 and 1991. He was subsequently jailed for twelve months. |
498_34 | In 2020, the school carried out renovations which included work on principal Lisa Kerr's living quarters. An unnamed source claimed that the renovations cost approximately one hundred thousand pounds and included eight-thousand pounds for carpets and six thousand pounds for flooring. Speaking to the Times, the school confirmed that Kerr "contributed significantly" to the costs and that the renovations had "become urgent in order to reconfigure classrooms and increase cleaning regimes to comply with Covid regulations".
Television appearances |
498_35 | True Stories
In 1996, the school appeared on an episode of Channel Four's True Stories. Filmmaker Penny Woodcock shot the documentary during the autumn term. Despite preconceptions that Gordonstoun was one of Britain's stricter boarding schools; Woodcock's documentary depicted a compassionate and liberal institution led at that time by the headteacher Mark Pyper. The programme gave insights into the school's management, conflict resolution processes and day-to-day life. Highlights included technologically literate students using a modified Walkman to trigger amplified toilet flushes during the daily sermon and a candid interview with the school's sailing instructor.
The Crown
In December 2017, two fictionalised depictions of the school were featured in season 2 of episode 9 of the TV series The Crown. Left Bank Pictures filmed ten of the scenes on the grounds of Gloucestershire's Woodchester Mansion. |
498_36 | Queen Elizabeth II reportedly felt "sad and annoyed" by how the episode portrayed the relationship between Charles and Philip during Charles' time at Gordonstoun.
The school disputed the series' portrayal of Charles' alma mater, citing in their defence a 1970s speech he made in the House of Lords and an interview published in The Observer Magazine where he gave a nuanced recollection of the school.
Legacy |
498_37 | Outward bound
Gordonstoun temporarily relocated to Aberdyfi, Wales during World War II, while the British Army used the Gordonstoun estate as barracks.
Hahn worked with friends and fellow educationalist, Lawrence Durning Holt and Jim Hogan. Holt was a partner in the Alfred Holt and Company who owned the Blue Funnel Line. Hogan was the Warden of The Blue Funnel Line's sea school in Aberdyfi, which provided four-year character-building courses and practical training to young, prospective officers. The courses included preparations for a land-based expedition as the course' finale. Due to the necessities of World War II, Aberdyfi focused on Seamanship. However, the courses' founders later claimed that their sea school didn't offer "training for the Sea", but "Training through the sea". |
498_38 | Duke of Edinburgh Award
Hahn founded the Moray Badge scheme in 1937. The Scheme gave Moray's local children training by taking part in expeditions before completing a final project to earn the award. The Duke of Edinburgh completed his Moray badge while at Gordonstoun. Hahn approached the Duke of Edinburgh after World War II about the prospect of creating a national awards scheme based on the Moray Badge. At the time a gap existed for boys leaving school aged 15 and beginning National Service aged 18. Therefore, its founders aimed the original Duke of Edinburgh award at boys aged 15 to 18. |
498_39 | Influence on state education
In the U.S., Hahn's Outward-Bound approach inspired an English and Arts Curriculum known as EL Education. From 2009, U.S schools adopted the ELA curriculum after the formation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
In Britain, former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan voiced a need for a greater curricular emphasis on character building. At the same time the educational advisor John Cridland and former shadow education minister Tristram Hunt began using phrases such as "rounded and grounded", "resilience", "team-building" and "communication skills" when discussing education.
See also
Broneirion, Gordonstoun's home during World War II
Notes
References
Works cited
External links
Kurt Hahn website
Round Square website
Gordonstoun International Summer School |
498_40 | Independent schools in Moray
Boarding schools in Moray
Round Square schools
Secondary schools in Moray
Educational institutions established in 1934
Category A listed buildings in Moray
Listed schools in Scotland
1934 establishments in Scotland
Primary schools in Moray |
499_0 | Chicago's Chinatown is a neighborhood located in the South Side of Chicago, centered on Cermak and Wentworth Avenues. Over a third of Chicago's Chinese population resides in this ethnic enclave, making it one of the largest concentrations of Chinese people in the United States. The present Chicago Chinatown formed around 1912, after settlers moved steadily south from near the Loop where the first enclaves were established in the 19th century.
Chinatown is sometimes confused with an area on the city's North Side sometimes referred to as "New Chinatown", which is centered on Argyle Street and is somewhat of a misnomer given that it is largely populated by people of Southeast Asian heritage.
History |
499_1 | Initial migration and "old" Chinatown
Looking to escape the anti-Chinese violence that had broken out on the west coast, the first Chinese arrived in Chicago after 1869 when the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed. Aside from ethnic violence, governments on the west coast had begun to systematically target Chinese, such as a 1870 San Francisco ordinance that taxed laundrymen who used horseless wagons for their deliveries. This discrimination on the west coast, in tandem with poor economic conditions at the time, led to intense Chinese migration to other areas of the United States. Further aiding this rapid migration was the fact that many Chinese lost their jobs after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, as they had made up 90% of the workforce for the Central Pacific Railroad. |
499_2 | At first, the Chinese in Chicago were largely welcomed by their fellow Chicagoans of all races. As early immigrant Moy Dong Chow would later state, "the Chicagoans found us a peculiar people to be sure, but they liked to mix with us." The willingness of Chinese Chicagoans to accept Christian missions in Chinatown also helped to ease tensions between the two groups. By 1909, there were two Christian missions in old Chinatown, and eight other missions dedicated to serving ethnic Chinese by 1909. |
499_3 | This acceptance led to a prospering early Chinese community in Chicago. By the late 1800s, 25% of Chicago's approximately 600 Chinese residents settled along Clark Street between Van Buren and Harrison Streets in Chicago's Loop. In the mid-1870s, the Kim Kee Company opened a store selling imported Chinese goods and ingredients, and in the basement of the same building stood a Chinese-owned restaurant. In 1889, 16 Chinese-owned businesses were located along the two-block stretch, including eight grocery stores, two butcher shops and a restaurant. Other businesses operated in the early Chinatown included gambling houses, headquarters of family associations, and Christian mission houses. Further, grocery stores in Chinatown could double as a cultural center, where people would gamble, consume rice wine, and smoke cigars. Laundry services were also quite important to the average working Chinese man in the original Chinatown, with 198 Chinese laundries by 1883. However, by 1897, white |
499_4 | Chicagoans had begun to open laundry businesses as well. Many white laundrymen offered their services cheaper than the Chinese laundrymen, causing the leaders of Chinatown to declare "war" on the "cheap foreign labor" that was hurting Chinese laundry businesses in the area. By 1903, white Chicagoans also became highly interested in the increasingly popular "fad" of chop suey restaurants in Chinatown, with the cuisine developing a "mysterious" aura among whites. This helped lead to the opening of more restaurants on Clark Street. |
499_5 | By the turn of the century, numerous powerful clans and family associations rose up among the Chinese population in Chicago. The first and most powerful was the Moy clan, who were the de facto leaders of the Chinese in Chicago, and, even from this earlier period of migration, the Moy Family Association came to be the largest association in the city. From 1898 to 1940, there were over six thousand immigrant files in Chicago, and over one thousand of these files contained the name "Moy". Sam Moy was the first "mayor" of Chinatown, and he acted as an interpreter and interacted with city officials on behalf of the area. Besides the Moy clan, other major clans in early Chinatown were the Wong and Chin clans. The prevalence of just a few surnames reflects the phenomenon of chain migration and the continuing propensity of transnational ties that existed early on within Chinatown. |
499_6 | Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Chinese Americans arrived in Chicago in droves and were vehemently supported by their fellow Chinese in the city, largely due to the preexisting clan associations who sought to take care of their kinsmen. The importance of clan ties for finding success in Chinatown continued for decades, with many clans financing businesses through fellow members of their family association or strictly hiring kinsmen to work in their businesses. The population of Chinese in Chicago more than doubled from 1890 to 1900, with many of these new migrants residing in the original Chinatown. In terms of ties to mainland China, the large majority of the early Chinese in Chicago were from Taishan, such as influential merchants Chin Foin and Moy Dong Chow. |
499_7 | Old Chinatown, like other highly-populated Chinatowns in cities across the country, was a major site of the Tong Wars, and there were several high profile incidents related to these wars throughout early Chinatown's history. In 1909, a large shootout broke out between different Tongs, leading to mass arrests. Later, in 1911 Lee Yip Wing and Moy Dong Tong were shot for failing to comply with demands by the Hip Sing Tong. The Tong Wars would continue for the next several decades, with Chicago and Chinatown constantly preparing for another outbreak of violence. For example, in 1930 extra police details were sent to Chinatown after a truce was called off between the warring parties.
Relocation South |
499_8 | While Chinese in Chicago had been relatively welcomed by the locals in the past, the renewal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1892, in tandem with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, brought a significant amount of discrimination to the Chinese population. Because of this, in 1912, the Chinese living in this area began moving south to Armour Square, with about half of all Chinese moving out of Clark Street into the South Side by this time. Some historians say this was due to increasing rent prices, as rents were significantly higher for Chinese businesses than similar white businesses. Others see more complex causes: discrimination, overcrowding, a high non-Chinese crime rate, and disagreements between the two associations ("tongs") within the community, the Hip Sing Tong and the On Leong Tong. Largely, however, the move was a result of multiple factors including racial prejudice, cultural bias, and economic competition. One such example of racial prejudice was incited |
499_9 | by the murder of Elsie Sigel in New York City by a supposedly Chinese man, which made white residents in Chicago suspicious of the close relationship between white women and Chinese males in their own city. Yet another factor that precipitated the move further south was the impending construction of a federal building in the heart of the old Chinatown in 1911, which would require many Chinese-owned buildings to be demolished. By 1911, prominent Chinese men in Chicago were already negotiating with property holders about moving two miles south. |
499_10 | In response to this, the move to the new South Side Chinatown was led by the On Leong Merchants Association who, in 1912, had a building constructed along Cermak Road (then 22nd Street) that could house 15 stores, 30 apartments and the Association's headquarters. While the building's design was typical of the period, it also featured Chinese accents such as tile trim adorned with dragons. The total cost of the building was $200,000. In addition, the On Leong Merchants Association purchased a series of ten year leases to develop the surrounding area. Thus, starting in 1912, the area near Wentworth Avenue and Cermak Road was officially proclaimed the "New Chinatown". Even in the first year of this move south, Chinese in the new Chinatown faced significant discrimination from the established Italian community in Armor Square, causing them to restrict the new Chinatown to just one square block at 22nd Street and Princeton Avenue. This discrimination was a continuation of tensions that |
499_11 | were present before the move south, when non-Chinese residents fearing a "yellow invasion" sought to block Chinese buying property in Armour Square. |
499_12 | The new Chinatown would come to hold over one-third of Chicago's two thousand strong Chinese population soon after its founding. Politically, many in new Chinatown were united in their strong support of the Republic of China. In 1919, a visit to Chinatown by Wang Chen Wei, the right hand man of the Republic’s first president Sun Yat-sen, produced a large parade with many Republican banners flying. As new Chinatown grew significantly, the old Chinatown was left largely empty of ethnic Chinese inhabitants. According to one contemporary journalist, by 1927 there were a hundred "for rent" signs on the windows of the old Chinatown, with only two Chinese businesses remaining. |
499_13 | In the 1920s, Chinese community leaders secured approximately 50 ten-year leases on properties in the newly developing Chinatown. Because of severe racial discrimination, these leases needed to be secured via an intermediary, H. O. Stone Company. Jim Moy, then-director of the On Leong Merchants Association, then decided that a Chinese-style building should be constructed as a strong visual announcement of the Chinese community's new presence in the area. With no Chinese-born architects in Chicago at the time, Chicago-born Norse architects Christian S. Michaelsen and Sigurd A. Rognstad were asked to design the new On Leong Merchants Association Building in spring 1926. Michaelsen and Rognstad drew their final design after studying texts on Chinese architecture. When the building opened in 1928 at a cost of a million dollars, it was the finest large Chinese-style structure in any North American Chinatown. While the overall structure of the building was fairly commonplace for the time, |
499_14 | it was marked with two massive pagoda towers to frame it. The On Leong Association allowed the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association to put its headquarters in the new building and also used it as an immigrant assistance center, a school, a shrine, a meeting hall, and office space for the Association itself. It was often informally referred to as Chinatown's "city hall". |
499_15 | Economically, by the 1930s, a large portion of Chinese businesses in the new Chinatown were large grocery stores stocking imported goods. Through transnational associations, these initial Chinese-owned stores substantiated a strong link between Chicago's Chinatown, other Chinatowns in the United States, and even East Asia itself. For example, the Moy-owned Hip Lung Yee Kee company on Wentworth Avenue facilitated communication between associations in San Francisco, Chicago, and Hong Kong. The grocery stores in Chinatown at this time also had a very important role locally. They employed over six hundred Chinese locals, and they functioned as hotels and banks as well. Otherwise, Chinese restaurants were supremely important to the economy of Chinatown in this period. By 1930, there were at least eleven restaurants located in the new Chinatown. Often, these restaurants were places of fine dining, and, because of this, they also acted as gathering places to connect Chinatown’s elites with |
499_16 | the elites of Chicago in general. For example, Mong Long Fo's restaurant was the site of a publicized meeting between two members of the Moy clan and three of Chicago's white elite. Overall, however, the economic situation for many Chinese in the new Chinatown remained the same as in the old Chinatown. The majority of Chinatown's residents were poorly-educated immigrants who made their livings through low-skill, manual labor or through restaurant-related work. In turn, the wealthy merchant families still wielded immense power in the area, with the Moys wielding the most. |
499_17 | Numerous important buildings and structures in Chinatown arose in the area during this early period. The Canal Street railroad bridge, built in 1914, remains a tall vertical structure in the backdrop of Chinatown. The Hung Mun building in Chicago was and is still inhabited by the Chicago branch of the Hung Mun Association. While it only occupied the building starting in the 1920s, the local branch of the association played an active role in the 1911 revolution that founded the Chinese Republic. The Won Kow Building was built from 1926-1927 by the same architects that designed the On Leong Merchant Association Building. As can be expected, it shares many of the same design characteristics as the former building, and it has since housed a restaurant in the building that is the oldest restaurant in Chinatown. Finally, reflecting the prominence of the Moy clan once again, the Moy Association Building still stands as one of the more impressive and beautiful buildings in Chinatown. It was |
499_18 | originally built in 1928 and added onto in 1932. Like the On Leong Merchant Association Building and the Won Kow Building, the Moy Association building was designed by Michaelsen and Rognstad. |
499_19 | Post-World War II Chinatown
Before World War II, Chicago's Chinatown remained a largely insulated enclave, with little of the racial mixing seen in cities such as New York City. The residents only grew closer together from the war as they collectively united against fascism. However, this unity increasingly became frayed in the years that followed. The influx of refugees and educated Chinese into Chicago dramatically changed the importance of Chinatown to Chicago's Chinese residents. Instead of living and working in Chinatown, many newcomers decided to move to the suburbs. Further, as Chinese immigration came to be more accepted following the passing of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, young, educated Chinese Americans began to take a greater role in Chinatown, clashing with the old family associations. |
499_20 | In an effort to improve connectivity between Chinese throughout the city, construction began on the Chinatown Gateway in 1975, meant to act as a symbol of unity and encourage greater cultural exchange between Chinese. During the late 1980s, a group of Chinatown business leaders bought of property north of Archer Avenue from the Santa Fe Railway and built Chinatown Square, a two-level mall consisting of restaurants, beauty salons and law offices, flanked by 21 new townhouses. Additional residential construction, such as the Santa Fe Gardens, a 600-unit village of townhouses, condominiums and single-family homes was developed on formerly industrial land to the north. Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the new addition was the creation of Ping Tom Memorial Park in 1999; located on the bank of the Chicago River, the park features a Chinese-style pavilion that many consider to be the most beautiful in the Midwest.
Commerce |
499_21 | Chicago's Chinatown is home to a number of banks, Chinese restaurants, gift shops, grocery stores, Chinese medicine stores, as well as a number of services that cater to people interested in Chinese culture, including those speaking varieties of Chinese, especially Cantonese. It is a community hub for Chinese people in the Chicago metropolitan area, a business center for Chinese in the Midwest, as well as a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.
Demographics
In 1990, about 10,000 Chinese lived in Chinatown's business district and the area south of 26th Street; several Italian Americans still remained in the neighborhood.
, about 8,000 people lived within Chinatown itself, and 90% were ethnic Chinese. As of that year, many of the residents were elderly.
In 2010, about 16,325 people lived within Chinatown.
Landmarks and attractions |
499_22 | Chinatown Mural, a mural showing the history of Chinese immigrants in United States
Chinatown Square, Shopping area opened in 1993. Decorated with sculptures of animals in the Chinese zodiac
Wentworth Avenue, with shopping, restaurants, and landmarks, including the Chinatown Gate
Pui Tak Center was designated a Chicago Landmark on December 1, 1993. It was the On Leong Merchants Association Building.
Chinese American Museum of Chicago, conducts research and exhibits objects and pictures relating to the history of Chinese in the American Midwest. The museum experienced a fire on September 19, 2008 and was temporarily closed. Thanks to strong community support, it reopened in the fall of 2010 with improved facilities.
Ping Tom Memorial Park, Opened in 1999 with Chinese gardens on the northern edge of Chinatown along the Chicago River
Chicago Fire Department Engine 8 Company firehouse, firehouse used in the 1991 Ron Howard film Backdraft |
499_23 | Chinatown Gate, which spans Wentworth Avenue at the intersection of Cermak Road, designed by Peter Fung
Moy Association Building, built in 1928 and added onto in 1932. |
499_24 | Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal Service operates the Chinatown Post Office at 2345 South Wentworth Avenue.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Residents are zoned to schools in the Chicago Public Schools including John C. Haines School () and Phillips Academy High School. |
499_25 | Haines, which had its current facility built in 1994, serves students from Chinatown and formerly from the Harold L. Ickes Homes; students from the latter used a tunnel to get to school. 70% of the students were Asian while 28% were black; most residents of Ickes were black. Connie Laureman of the Chicago Tribune stated that Haines, in 1990, was "crowded and dilapidated". Until Gandy Easton became principal in 1990, the school had de facto racial segregation as ethnic Chinese students stayed in a bilingual program while black students took regular classes. Easton combined the two levels together, despite protests from ethnic Chinese parents. By 2001 school authorities instituted programs to combat racism and ensure Chinese and black students socialized with one another. |
499_26 | The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago supports the St. Therese Chinese Catholic School (), a K-8 private Catholic school, which has one of its two campuses in Chinatown. It was established in 1941. In 1990, almost all of the students were ethnic Chinese.
The Pui Tak Christian School () is a private pre-kindergarten to 8th grade school.
Public libraries
The Chicago Public Library operates the Chinatown Library at 2100 South Wentworth Avenue.
Culture
A 1942 article from the Chicago Tribune stated that the strong family ties among the residents of Chinatown meant that there was little juvenile delinquency present in the community. |
499_27 | One Chinatown tradition is the Double Ten Parade, which commemorates the birthday of the Republic of China. This parade includes lion dances and a large amount of Republic of China-Taiwanese flags. Additionally, many Chinese in Chinatown celebrate the National Day of the People’s Republic of China, where they host parties and which is often attended by members of the Chinese consulate.
Transportation
The Dan Ryan Expressway and the Stevenson Expressway intersect over the southside of Chinatown. The Stevenson's exit 293A (northbound exit and southbound entrances) gives Chinatown commuters immediate access to the expressways via Cermak Road, only one block east of Wentworth Avenue. There is metered street parking throughout the area, as well as two pay parking lots located on Wentworth Avenue. |
499_28 | Several forms of public transportation are also available in Chinatown. The Chicago Transit Authority operates both an elevated train and four bus routes that service the area. The Red Line, the CTA's busiest transit route, stops 24/7 at the Cermak–Chinatown station located in the heart of Chinatown near the corner of Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue. Running north–south, the #24 bus route runs on Wentworth Avenue on the eastside of Chinatown, while the #44 route runs on Canal Street on the westside. The #21 runs east–west on Cermak Road, and the #62 runs southwest–northeast on Archer Avenue. There is a taxicab stand on Wentworth Avenue, and a water taxi service also runs along the Chicago River from Michigan Avenue to Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown during the summer months.
Annual events
Chinatown 5K
Chinese New Year Festival
Dragon Boat Races
See also
Chinese in Chicago
References
Further reading
External links |
499_29 | Chicago Chinese American Historical Society
Chinese–American Museum of Chicago
Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce
John C. Haines Elementary School - K-8 school of Chicago's Chinatown
Explore Chicago Collections
Neighborhoods in Chicago
South Side, Chicago
Asian-American culture in Chicago
Chinese-American culture in Illinois
Chicago
Populated places established in 1912
1912 establishments in Illinois
Tourist attractions in Chicago
Armour Square, Chicago |
500_0 | Ruby Laffoon (January 15, 1869March 1, 1941) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Kentucky from 1931 to 1935. A Kentucky native, at age 17 Laffoon moved to Washington, D.C., to live with his uncle, U.S. Representative Polk Laffoon. He developed an interest in politics and returned to Kentucky, where he compiled a mixed record of victories and defeats in elections at the county and state levels. In 1931, he was chosen as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee by a nominating convention, not a primary, making him the only Kentucky gubernatorial candidate to be chosen by a convention after 1903. In the general election, he defeated Republican William B. Harrison by what was then the largest margin of victory in Kentucky gubernatorial history. |
500_1 | Dubbed "the terrible Turk from Madisonville," Laffoon was confronted with the economic difficulties of the Great Depression. To raise additional revenue for the state treasury, he advocated the enactment of the state's first sales tax. This issue dominated most of his term in office and split the state Democratic Party and Laffoon's own administration. The lieutenant governor, A. B. "Happy" Chandler, led the fight against the tax in the legislature. After the tax was defeated in two regular legislative sessions and one specially called legislative session, Laffoon forged a bipartisan alliance to get the tax passed in a special session in 1934. |
500_2 | Laffoon's feud with Lieutenant Governor Chandler continued throughout his term and affected the 1935 gubernatorial race. (At the time, the lieutenant governor was elected independently from the governor.) Term-limited by the state constitution, Laffoon supported political boss Tom Rhea to succeed him as governor, and convinced the Democrats to again hold a nominating convention to choose their gubernatorial nominee. This would have greatly improved Laffoon's chances of hand-picking his successor. While Laffoon was on a visit to Washington, D.C., Chandler was left as acting governor under the provisions of the Kentucky Constitution. Chandler issued a call for a special legislative session to consider a mandatory primary election bill. Laffoon rushed back to the state to invalidate the call, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld it as constitutional, and the primary law was passed. Chandler defeated Rhea in the primary, and went on to succeed Laffoon as governor. Following his term |
500_3 | in office, Laffoon returned to his native Madisonville, where he died of a stroke in 1941. |
500_4 | Among his gubernatorial legacies was appointing a record number of Kentucky Colonels, including Harland Sanders, who would use the title "Colonel" when he opened his chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants.
Early life
Ruby Laffoon was born on January 15, 1869, in a log cabin in Madisonville, Kentucky. He was the third child and only son of John Bledsoe Laffoon, Jr. and Martha Henrietta (née Earle) Laffoon. According to Laffoon biographer Vernon Gipson, his parents could not decide on a name for their new child, and for several years, referred to him only as "Bud". When he was a young child, Laffoon chose the name "Ruby" after John Edwin Ruby, a local businessman whose grocery store he frequently visited. |
500_5 | The Laffoons were primarily farmers but also had some experience in politics. Ruby Laffoon's grandfather, John Bledsoe Laffoon, Sr., migrated to Kentucky from South Carolina in 1815 and served one term in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Ruby's father, John, Jr., served several terms as a deputy sheriff in Hopkins County and one term as county assessor. Ruby's uncle, Polk Laffoon, served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. |
500_6 | Laffoon's early education was obtained in the public schools of Madisonville. While there, one of his teachers was his sister, Susan Isabella Laffoon, who was only 16 years old. At age 15, while plowing a field, Laffoon was kicked in the hip by a mule, requiring a six-week stay in a Nashville hospital. In the winter of the same year, he slipped on some ice and re-injured the hip. As a result of these injuries, his right leg was one-and-a-half inches shorter than his left leg, requiring him to wear special shoes and walk with a cane and a limp for the rest of his life. After his injury, Laffoon's parents decided that he could not make his living as a farmer and sent him to the private school of W. C. O'Bryan. By age 17, he was teaching in the common schools of Charleston in Hopkins County. |
500_7 | Legal and early political career
In 1886, Laffoon moved to Washington, D.C. to live with his uncle, U.S. Representative Polk Laffoon. There he served as a messenger in the office of Judge C. R. Faulkner, director of the pension office. In September 1887, he enrolled at Columbia Law School (asserted by Vernon Gipson to have been a prior designation for George Washington University Law School). On October 17, 1888, he matriculated to Washington and Lee University, where he earned a law degree in 1890. He returned to Madisonville, was admitted to the bar, and began practicing in the office of Judge William H. Yost. He became active in the Democratic Party and served as a county election officer. In 1892, he was elected city attorney of Madisonville over Ward Headley. In 1894, he ran for the office of county attorney for Hopkins County, but lost to Roy Salmon by seventeen votes. |
500_8 | Laffoon married Mary "May" Bryant Nisbet on January 31, 1894 at, the Lucille Hotel in Madisonville. The couple had three daughters. Besides supporting her husband's political endeavors, May Laffoon was also active in politics. She was a delegate-at-large to every Democratic National Convention between 1932 and 1960, and actively campaigned for Franklin D. Roosevelt during his first run for the presidency. To supplement the family's income, Ruby Laffoon became a partner in the Madisonville branch of the Phoenix Insurance Company in 1897. He sold his interest in the company in 1901, the same year he made a second bid to become county attorney. He won the election over Thomas E. Finley by a vote of 3,335 to 2,910. In 1905, he was re-elected to his post, marking the first time in the history of Hopkins County that the county attorney had been re-elected. |
500_9 | In 1907, Laffoon sought the office of state treasurer. He faced no opposition in the Democratic primary, but the entire Democratic ticket was defeated in the general election. In 1911, he ran for state auditor, but lost in the primary to Henry Bosworth. That same year, he was elected as one of Hopkins County's delegates to the state Democratic convention. A bill passed in the state legislature in 1912 created a State Insurance Rating Board under the office of state auditor, and Bosworth appointed Laffoon chairman of the board due to his experience in the insurance field and as a reward for his loyalty to the party. In 1915, Laffoon sought the post of Commonwealth's Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, which comprised Hopkins, Caldwell, Crittenden, and Livingston counties. He lost in the primary to J. Elliott Baker, but the Republican candidate, Charles Ferguson, won the general election. |
500_10 | In September 1918, Laffoon moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he opened a law practice and managed a citrus fruit business near Galveston. Though he had intended this to be a permanent relocation, while on a visit to family a few months later, friends urged him to return to Kentucky, and he obliged after only three months in Texas. In 1921, he sought election to the bench of the Fourth District Circuit Court. In the primary, he defeated Trice Bennett, a candidate from Princeton, and went on to face Republican incumbent Carl Henderson of Marion. In the general election on November 8, 1921, Laffoon defeated Henderson, carrying every county in the district. In his first term, only 7 percent of his decisions were reversed by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which was a record for the Fourth District at the time. He was re-elected for a second six-year term in 1927. |
500_11 | Governor of Kentucky
In 1931, Laffoon sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. As a result of factional infighting within the Democratic party, the Democrats opted for a nominating convention instead of a primary to choose their nominee for governor. It was the first nominating convention held by the Democrats since the Music Hall Convention that nominated William Goebel in 1899, and it was the only one held after 1903. The convention was held in Lexington on May 12, 1931. Laffoon gained the support of several important leaders within the party, including Ben Johnson, Thomas Rhea, M. M. Logan, Allie Young, and William J. Fields. He was selected in a landslide over a myriad of candidates, including sitting lieutenant governor James Breathitt, Jr. and Centre College football hero James "Red" Roberts. |
500_12 | Despite his physical disability, Laffoon waged a vigorous campaign across the state. During campaign stops, he interspersed political commentary with passages from the Bible. The Louisville Courier-Journal objected to his campaign style and gave a tentative endorsement to the Republican William B. Harrison, the mayor of Louisville. Dubbed "the terrible Turk from Madisonville" by former Republican governor Edwin P. Morrow, Laffoon promised that, if elected, he would remove all of the Republican officials appointed by sitting governor Flem D. Sampson from state government. He cited the failed administration of Governor Sampson and the problem-filled presidency of Herbert Hoover as reasons to elect a Democrat. In the general election, Laffoon defeated Harrison by a margin of just over 72,000 votes, the largest margin of victory for any Kentucky governor at the time. |
500_13 | Shortly after taking office, Laffoon organized the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, a charitable organization of people who had been commissioned as honorary Kentucky colonels. During his term as governor, Laffoon commissioned 2,368 honorary colonels, the most ever by a Kentucky governor. His best known commission was to Harland Sanders, who used the title "Colonel" when he opened his chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. Other colonels commissioned by Laffoon included Mae West, Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Will Rogers, Fred Astaire, Jean Harlow, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Jack Dempsey and W. C. Fields. |
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