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Arachnophobia | Cultural | Cultural
An alternative view is that the dangers, such as from spiders, are overrated and not sufficient to influence evolution. Instead, inheriting phobias would have restrictive and debilitating effects upon survival, rather than being an aid. For some communities, such as in Papua New Guinea and Cambodia, spiders are included in traditional foods. This suggests arachnophobia may, at least in part, be a cultural rather than genetic trait.
Stories about spiders in the media often contain errors and use sensationalistic vocabulary, which could contribute to the fear of spiders. |
Arachnophobia | Treatments | Treatments
The fear of spiders can be treated by any of the general techniques suggested for specific phobias. The first line of treatment is systematic desensitization – also known as exposure therapy. Before engaging in systematic desensitization, it is common to train the individual with arachnophobia in relaxation techniques, which will help keep the patient calm. Systematic desensitization can be done in vivo (with live spiders) or by getting the individual to imagine situations involving spiders, then modelling interaction with spiders for the person affected and eventually interacting with real spiders. This technique can be effective in just one session, although it generally takes more time.
Recent advances in technology have enabled the use of virtual or augmented reality spiders for use in therapy. These techniques have proven to be effective. It has been suggested that exposure to short clips from the Spider-Man movies may help to reduce an individual's arachnophobia. |
Arachnophobia | Epidemiology | Epidemiology
Arachnophobia affects 3.5 to 6.1 percent of the global population.
Even though most spiders are small and not poisonous. They still trigger intense fear in many people, making arachnophobia one of the most widespread anxiety disorders. It is strongly linked to sociodemographic factors like gender, age, education, and an individual’s tendency toward disgust. The majority of studies show that females are more likely to develop this phobia. |
Arachnophobia | See also | See also
Apiphobia, fear of bees
Entomophobia, fear of insects
Myrmecophobia, fear of ants |
Arachnophobia | References | References |
Arachnophobia | External links | External links
National Geographic: "Fear of Snakes, Spiders Rooted in Evolution, Study Finds"
Category:Arachnids and humans
Category:Phobias
Category:Spiders and humans
Category:Zoophobias |
Arachnophobia | Table of Content | short description, Signs and symptoms, Reasons, Evolutionary, Cultural, Treatments, Epidemiology, See also, References, External links |
Alabaster | Short description | thumb|Calcite alabaster: The tomb of Tutankhamun (d. 1323 BC) contained a practical objet d’art, a cosmetics jar made of Egyptian alabaster, which features a lid surmounted by a lioness (goddess Bast).
Alabaster is a mineral and a soft rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word alabaster. In archaeology, the term alabaster includes objects and artefacts made from two different minerals: (i) the fine-grained, massive type of gypsum, and (ii) the fine-grained, banded type of calcite.More About Alabaster and Travertine: Brief Guide explains the different definitions used by geologists, archaeologists, and the stone trade. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, 2012,
Chemically, gypsum is a hydrous sulfate of calcium, whereas calcite is a carbonate of calcium. As types of alabaster, gypsum and calcite have similar properties, such as light color, translucence, and soft stones that can be carved and sculpted; thus the historical use and application of alabaster for the production of carved, decorative artefacts and objets d’art."Grove": R. W. Sanderson and Francis Cheetham. "Alabaster", Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 13 March 2013, subscriber link. Calcite alabaster also is known as onyx-marble, Egyptian alabaster, and Oriental alabaster, which terms usually describe either a compact, banded travertine stone or a stalagmitic limestone colored with swirling bands of cream and brown.
thumb|Alabaster artefact: A composite bust of the Emperor Septimius Severus; the head is marble and the bust is alabaster.
In general, ancient alabaster is calcite in the wider Middle East, including Egypt and Mesopotamia, while it is gypsum in medieval Europe. Modern alabaster is most likely calcite but may be either. Both are easy to work and slightly soluble in water. They have been used for making a variety of indoor artwork and carving, as they will not survive long outdoors.
The two types are readily distinguished by their different hardness: gypsum alabaster (Mohs hardness 1.5 to 2) is so soft that a fingernail scratches it, while calcite (Mohs hardness 3) cannot be scratched in this way but yields to a knife. Moreover, calcite alabaster, being a carbonate, effervesces when treated with hydrochloric acid while gypsum alabaster remains almost unaffected. Endnotes:
M. Carmichael, Report on the Volterra Alabaster Industry, Foreign Office, Miscellaneous Series, No. 352 (London, 1895)
A. T. Metcalfe, "The Gypsum Deposits of Nottingham and Derbyshire," Transactions of the Federated Institution, vol. xii. (1896), p. 107
J. G. Goodchild, "The Natural History of Gypsum," Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, vol. x. (1888), p. 425
George P. Merrill, "The Onyx Marbles," Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1893, p. 539. |
Alabaster | Etymology | Etymology
thumb|upright=1.1|Alabaster windows in the Church of Santa Maria la Mayor of Morella, Spain (built 13th–16th centuries)
The English word "alabaster" was borrowed from Old French , in turn derived from Latin , and that from Greek () or (). The Greek words denoted a vase of alabaster.Alabastos, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, at Perseus
The name may be derived further from ancient Egyptian , which refers to vessels of the Egyptian goddess Bast. She was represented as a lioness and frequently depicted as such in figures placed atop these alabaster vessels."alabaster", Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Ancient Roman authors Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy wrote that the stone used for ointment jars called alabastra came from a region of Egypt known as Alabastron or Alabastrites. |
Alabaster | Properties and usability | Properties and usability
The purest alabaster is a snow-white material of fine uniform grain, but it often is associated with an oxide of iron, which produces brown clouding and veining in the stone. The coarser varieties of gypsum alabaster are converted by calcination into plaster of Paris, and are sometimes known as "plaster stone".
The softness of alabaster enables it to be carved readily into elaborate forms, but its solubility in water renders it unsuitable for outdoor work. If alabaster with a smooth, polished surface is washed with dishwashing liquid, it will become rough, dull and whiter, losing most of its translucency and lustre. The finer kinds of alabaster are employed largely as an ornamental stone, especially for ecclesiastical decoration and for the rails of staircases and halls. |
Alabaster | Modern processing | Modern processing
thumb|Alabaster workshop in Volterra, Italy |
Alabaster | Working techniques | Working techniques
Alabaster is mined and then sold in blocks to alabaster workshops. There they are cut to the needed size ("squaring"), and then are processed in different techniques: turned on a lathe for round shapes, carved into three-dimensional sculptures, chiselled to produce low relief figures or decoration; and then given an elaborate finish that reveals its transparency, colour, and texture. |
Alabaster | Marble imitation | Marble imitation
In order to diminish the translucency of the alabaster and to produce an opacity suggestive of true marble, the statues are immersed in a bath of water and heated gradually—nearly to the boiling point—in an operation requiring great care, because if the temperature is not regulated carefully, the stone acquires a dead-white, chalky appearance. The effect of heating appears to be a partial dehydration of the gypsum. If properly treated, it closely resembles true marble and is known as "marmo di Castellina". |
Alabaster | Dyeing | Dyeing
Alabaster is a porous stone and can be dyed into any colour or shade, a technique used for centuries. For this the stone needs to be fully immersed in various pigment solutions and heated to a specific temperature. The technique can be used to disguise alabaster. In this way an imitation of coral that is called "alabaster coral" is produced. |
Alabaster | Types, occurrence, history | Types, occurrence, history
thumb|upright|A calcite alabaster perfume jar from the tomb of Tutankhamun, d. 1323 BC
Typically only one type is sculpted in any particular cultural environment, but sometimes both have been worked to make similar pieces in the same place and time. This was the case with small flasks of the alabastron type made in Cyprus from the Bronze Age into the Classical period.Hermary, Antoine, Mertens, Joan R., The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art: Stone Sculpture, 2014, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, , 9781588395504, pp. 384-398 |
Alabaster | Window panels | Window panels
When cut into thin sheets, alabaster is translucent enough to be used for small windows. It was used for this purpose in Byzantine churches and later in medieval ones, especially in Italy. Large sheets of Aragonese gypsum alabaster are used extensively in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, dedicated in 2002 by the Los Angeles, California, Archdiocese. The cathedral incorporates special cooling to prevent the panes from overheating and turning opaque. The ancients used the calcite type, while the modern Los Angeles cathedral employs gypsum alabaster. There are also multiple examples of alabaster windows in ordinary village churches and monasteries in northern Spain. |
Alabaster | Calcite alabaster | Calcite alabaster
thumb|Calcite dish from the Ancient Egyptian tomb of "U", Semerkhet
Calcite alabaster, harder than the gypsum variety, was used in ancient Egypt and the wider Middle East (except Assyrian palace reliefs), and also in modern times. It is found as either a stalagmitic deposit from the floor and walls of limestone caverns, or as a kind of travertine, similarly deposited in springs of calcareous water. Its deposition in successive layers gives rise to the banded appearance that the marble often shows on cross-section, from which its name is derived: onyx-marble or alabaster-onyx, or sometimes simply (and wrongly) as onyx. |
Alabaster | Egypt and the Middle East | Egypt and the Middle East
Egyptian alabaster has been worked extensively near Suez and Assiut.
This stone variety is the "alabaster" of the ancient Egyptians and Bible and is often termed Oriental alabaster, since the early examples came from the Far East. The Greek name alabastrites is said to be derived from the town of Alabastron in Egypt, where the stone was quarried. The locality may owe its name to the mineral; though the origin of the mineral name is obscure
The "Oriental" alabaster was highly esteemed for making small perfume bottles or ointment vases called alabastra; the vessel name has been suggested as a possible source of the mineral name. In Egypt, craftsmen used alabaster for canopic jars and various other sacred and sepulchral objects. The sarcophagus of Seti I, found in his tomb near Thebes, is on display in Sir John Soane's Museum, London; it is carved in a single block of translucent calcite alabaster from Alabastron.
Algerian onyx-marble has been quarried largely in the province of Oran.
Calcite alabaster was quarried in ancient Israel in the cave known as the Twins Cave near Beit Shemesh. Herod used this alabaster for baths in his palaces. |
Alabaster | North America | North America
In Mexico, there are famous deposits of a delicate green variety at La Pedrara, in the district of Tecali, near Puebla. Onyx-marble occurs also in the district of Tehuacán and at several localities in the US including California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Virginia. |
Alabaster | Gypsum alabaster | Gypsum alabaster
Gypsum alabaster is softer than calcite alabaster. It was used primarily in medieval Europe, and is also used in modern times. |
Alabaster | Ancient and Classical Near East | Ancient and Classical Near East
thumb|upright=1.35|Wounded lion, detail from the Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, 7th century BC, British Museum
"Mosul marble" is a kind of gypsum alabaster found in the north of modern Iraq, which was used for the Assyrian palace reliefs of the 9th to 7th centuries BC; these are the largest type of alabaster sculptures to have been regularly made. The relief is very low and the carving detailed, but large rooms were lined with continuous compositions on slabs around high. The Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal and military Lachish reliefs, both 7th century BC and in the British Museum, are some of the best known.
Gypsum alabaster was widely used for small sculpture for indoor use in the ancient world, especially in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Fine detail could be obtained in a material with an attractive finish without iron or steel tools. Alabaster was used for vessels dedicated for use in the cult of the deity Bast in the culture of the ancient Egyptians, and thousands of gypsum alabaster artifacts dating to the late 4th millennium BC also have been found in Tell Brak (modern Nagar), in Syria.
In Mesopotamia, gypsum alabaster was the material of choice for figures of deities and devotees in temples, as in a figure believed to represent the deity Abu dating to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, which is kept in New York. |
Alabaster | Aragon, Spain | Aragon, Spain
Much of the world's alabaster is extracted from the centre of the Ebro Valley in Aragon, Spain, which has the world's largest known exploitable deposits. According to a brochure published by the Aragon government, alabaster has elsewhere either been depleted, or its extraction is so difficult that it has almost been abandoned or is carried out at a very high cost. There are two separate sites in Aragon, both are located in Tertiary basins. The most important site is the Fuentes-Azaila area, in the Tertiary Ebro Basin. The other is the Calatayud-Teruel Basin, which divides the Iberian Range in two main sectors (NW and SE).
The abundance of Aragonese alabaster was crucial for its use in architecture, sculpture and decoration. There is no record of use by pre-Roman cultures, so the first ones to use alabaster from Aragon may have been the Romans, who produced vessels from alabaster following the Greek and Egyptian models. It seems that since the reconstruction of the Roman Wall in Zaragoza in the 3rd century AD with alabaster, the use of this material became common in building for centuries. Muslim Saraqusta (Zaragoza) was also called "Medina Albaida", the White City, due to the appearance of its alabaster walls and palaces, which stood out among gardens, groves and orchards by the Ebro and Huerva Rivers.
The oldest remains in the Aljafería Palace, together with other interesting elements like capitals, reliefs and inscriptions, were made using alabaster, but it was during the artistic and economic blossoming of the Renaissance that Aragonese alabaster reached its golden age. In the 16th century sculptors in Aragon chose alabaster for their best works. They were adept at exploiting its lighting qualities and generally speaking the finished art pieces retained their natural color. |
Alabaster | Volterra (Tuscany) | Volterra (Tuscany)
thumb|upright|Uplighter lamp, white and brown Italian alabaster, base diameter 13 cm (20th century)
In modern Europe, the centre of the alabaster trade is Florence, Italy. Tuscan alabaster occurs in nodular masses embedded in limestone, interstratified with marls of Miocene and Pliocene age. The mineral is worked largely by means of underground galleries, in the district of Volterra. Several varieties are recognized—veined, spotted, clouded, agatiform, and others. The finest kind, obtained principally from Castellina, is sent to Florence for figure-sculpture, while the common kinds are carved locally, into vases, lights, and various ornamental objects. These items are objects of extensive trade, especially in Florence, Pisa, and Livorno.
In the 3rd century BC the Etruscans used the alabaster of Tuscany from the area of modern-day Volterra to produce funeral urns, possibly taught by Greek artists. During the Middle Ages the craft of alabaster was almost completely forgotten. A revival started in the mid-16th century, and until the beginning of the 17th century alabaster work was strictly artistic and did not expand to form a large industry.
In the 17th and 18th centuries production of artistic, high-quality Renaissance-style artifacts stopped altogether, replaced by less sophisticated, cheaper items better suited for large-scale production and commerce. The new industry prospered, but the reduced need for skilled craftsmen left few of them still working. The 19th century brought a boom to the industry, largely due to the "traveling artisans" who offered their wares to the palaces of Europe, as well as to America and the East.
In the 19th century new processing technology was also introduced, allowing for the production of custom-made, unique pieces, as well as the combination of alabaster with other materials. Apart from the newly developed craft, artistic work became again possible, chiefly by Volterran sculptor Albino Funaioli. After a short slump, the industry was revived again by the sale of mass-produced mannerist Expressionist sculptures. It was further enhanced in the 1920s by a new branch that created ceiling and wall lamps in the Art Deco style, culminating in participation at the 1925 International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris. Important names in the evolution of alabaster use after World War II are Volterran Umberto Borgna, the "first alabaster designer", and later on the architect and industrial designer Angelo Mangiarotti.:it:Ecomuseo dell'alabastro, Volterra; official website |
Alabaster | England and Wales | England and Wales
thumb|upright=1.1|Resurrection of Christ, typical Nottingham alabaster panel from an altarpiece set, 1450–1490, showing remnants of its painted decoration
Gypsum alabaster is a common mineral, which occurs in England in the Keuper marls of the Midlands, especially at Chellaston in Derbyshire, at Fauld in Staffordshire, and near Newark in Nottinghamshire. Deposits at all of these localities have been worked extensively.
In the 14th and 15th centuries the carving into small statues and sets of relief panels for altarpieces was a valuable local industry in Nottingham, as well as a major English export. These were usually painted, or partly painted. It was also used for the effigies, often life size, on tomb monuments, as the typical recumbent position suited the material's lack of strength, and it was cheaper and easier to work than good marble. After the English Reformation the making of altarpiece sets was discontinued, but funerary monument work in reliefs and statues continued.
In addition to the carvings still in Britain (particularly the Nottingham Castle Museum, British Museum, and Victoria and Albert Museum), trade in mineral alabaster (other than the antiques trade) is ongoing as far afield as the Musée de Cluny, Spain, and Scandinavia.
Alabaster is also found, in smaller quantity, at Watchet in Somerset, near Penarth in Glamorganshire, and elsewhere. In Cumbria it occurs largely in the New Red rocks, but at a lower geological horizon. The alabaster of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire is found in thick nodular beds or "floors" in spheroidal masses known as "balls" or "bowls" and in smaller lenticular masses termed "cakes". At Chellaston, where the local alabaster is known as "Patrick", it has been worked into ornaments under the name of "Derbyshire spar"―a term more properly applied to fluorspar.
alt=|thumb|Attributed to Willem van den Broecke, Rijksmuseum |
Alabaster | Black alabaster | Black alabaster
Black alabaster is a rare anhydrite form of the gypsum-based mineral. The black form is found in only three veins in the world, one each in United States, Italy, and China.
Alabaster Caverns State Park, near Freedom, Oklahoma, is home to a natural gypsum cave in which much of the gypsum is in the form of alabaster. There are several types of alabaster found at the site, including pink, white, and the rare black alabaster. |
Alabaster | Gallery | Gallery |
Alabaster | Ancient and Classical Near East | Ancient and Classical Near East |
Alabaster | European Middle Ages | European Middle Ages |
Alabaster | Modern | Modern |
Alabaster | See also | See also |
Alabaster | Mineralogy | Mineralogy
– mineral consisting of calcium carbonate (); archaeologists and stone trade professionals, unlike mineralogists, call one variety of calcite "alabaster"
– mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate (); alabaster is one of its varieties
– a mineral closely related to gypsum
– the main inorganic compound () of gypsum
– translucent sheets of marble or alabaster used during the Early Middle Ages for windows instead of glass |
Alabaster | Window and roof panels | Window and roof panels
Chronological list of examples:
– 5th century, Ravenna
– 6th century, Ravenna
– mainly 13th–14th century, Valencia, Spain; the lantern of the octagonal crossing tower
– 14th-century, Orvieto, Umbria, central Italy
– 17th century, Rome; alabaster window by Bernini (1598–1680) used to create a "spotlight"
– 1924, Jerusalem, architect: Antonio Barluzzi. Windows fitted with dyed alabaster panels.
– 1924, Mount Tabor, architect: Antonio Barluzzi. Alabaster roofing was attempted. |
Alabaster | References | References |
Alabaster | Further reading | Further reading
Harrell J.A. (1990), "Misuse of the term 'alabaster' in Egyptology", Göttinger Miszellen, 119, pp. 37–42.
Mackintosh-Smith T. (1999), "Moonglow from Underground". Aramco World May–June 1999. |
Alabaster | External links | External links
More about alabaster and travertine, brief guide explaining the confusing, different use of the same terms by geologists, archaeologists and the stone trade. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, 2012
Alabaster Craftmanship in Volterra
Category:Calcium minerals
Category:Carbonate minerals
Category:Sulfate minerals
Category:Minerals
Category:Stone (material)
Category:Sculpture materials
Category:Bastet |
Alabaster | Table of Content | Short description, Etymology, Properties and usability, Modern processing, Working techniques, Marble imitation, Dyeing, Types, occurrence, history, Window panels, Calcite alabaster, Egypt and the Middle East, North America, Gypsum alabaster, Ancient and Classical Near East, Aragon, Spain, Volterra (Tuscany), England and Wales, Black alabaster, Gallery, Ancient and Classical Near East, European Middle Ages, Modern, See also, Mineralogy, Window and roof panels, References, Further reading, External links |
Ahab | Short description | Ahab (; ; ; ; ) was a king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bible. He is depicted in the Bible as a Baal worshipper and is criticized for causing moral decline in Israel, though modern scholars argue that Ahab was a Yahwist himself.Grabbe, Lester (2017). p. 183-184. Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-567-67043-4. “His chief palace overseer Obadiah was a devoted Yhwh worshipper, and Ahab could hardly have been ignorant of that (1 Kgs 17.3). Furthermore, his two sons had theophoric names that contained a form of the divine name Yhwh (Ahaziah [1 Kgs 22.40] and Jehoram [2 Kgs 1.17]), which would hardly have been the case if he had been a Baal worshipper.”
The existence of Ahab is historically supported outside the Bible. The contemporary Kurkh Monolith inscription of king Shalmaneser IIIRainey, Anson F. "Stones for Bread: Archaeology versus History". Near Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 64, No. 3 (September 2001), pp. 140–149 from the Neo-Assyrian Empire documented in 853 BC that Shalmaneser III defeated an alliance of a dozen kings in the Battle of Qarqar; one of these was Ahab. Though not named, he is also mentioned on the inscriptions of the Mesha Stele.
Ahab became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah, and reigned for twenty-two years, according to 1 Kings 16:29. William F. Albright dated his reign to 869–850 BC, while Edwin R. Thiele offered the dates 874–853 BC. Most recently, Michael Coogan has dated Ahab's reign to 871–852 BC. |
Ahab | Reign | Reign
As Omri's successor, Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of Ithobaal I of Tyre. Under Jezebel's influence, he abandoned Yahweh and established Baal and Asherah cults in Israel according to 1 Kings 16:29–33. For example, he allowed Hiel the Bethelite to rebuild Jericho, even though it was 'cursed' by Yahweh (1 Kings 16:34), and helped his wife kill opponents, such as the "servants of Yahweh" and possibly, the priests of Jeroboam's cult (1 Kings 18:3–16). Edward Lipiński argues that the "Baal" worshipped by Ahab and Jezebel was the "YHWH of Samaria", which was opposed as Yahwist heresy by the Judean priests.Edward Lipiński "Studia z dziejów i kultury starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu" Nomos Press, 2013, Others disagree based on archaeological evidence and extrabiblical sources about Jezebel's upbringing.Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977) 327.
In terms of foreign policy, Ahab continued Omri's policies against Moab, which was a tributary state of Israel (2 Kings 1:1). According to the Moabite Mesha Stele, Omri and Ahab "oppressed Moab for many days". By marriage, he allied with Jehoshaphat, who was the king of Judah (2 Kings 8:16–18). Aram-Damascus was the only foreign state that Ahab opposed but he made peace with them after their king promised to withdraw from conquered territory. He also allowed Ahab to conquer Aramean territory to compensate (1 Kings 20:34).
thumb|150px|right|Shalmaneser III's (859–824 BC) Kurkh Monolith names King Ahab. |
Ahab | Battle of Qarqar | Battle of Qarqar
The Battle of Qarqar is mentioned in extra-biblical records, and occurred at Apamea, where Shalmaneser III of Assyria fought a great confederation of princes from Cilicia, northern Syria, Israel, Ammon, and the tribes of the Syrian desert (853 BCE), including Arabs, Ahab the Israelite (A-ha-ab-bu matSir-'a-la-a-a) and Hadadezer (Adad-'idri).
Ahab's contribution was estimated at 2,000 chariots and 10,000 men. In reality, however, the number of chariots in Ahab's forces was probably closer to a number in the hundreds (based upon archaeological excavations of the area and the foundations of stables that have been found). If, however, the numbers are referring to allies, they could include forces from Tyre, Judah, Edom, and Moab. The Assyrian king claimed victory, but his immediate return and subsequent expeditions in 849 BC and 846 BC against a similar but unspecified coalition implied that the victory had no lasting impact.
Jezreel was identified as Ahab's fortified chariot and cavalry base. |
Ahab | Ahab and the prophets | Ahab and the prophets
In the Biblical text, Ahab has four important encounters with prophets:
The first encounter is with Elijah, who predicts a drought because of Ahab's sins. Because of this, Ahab blames Elijah for Israel's misfortunes but Elijah proclaims the supremacy of Yahweh so that Ahab could repent.
The second encounter is between Ahab and an unnamed prophet, who criticized him for sparing Ben-hadad and told him that Israel would be invaded by the Arameans as punishment.
The third is with Elijah, who criticized his role in Naboth's unjust execution. Ahab sincerely repents, which Yahweh relays to Elijah.
The fourth encounter is with Micaiah, who initially tells Ahab that he would re-capture Ramoth-Gilead before revealing that Ahab was deceived by his Yahwistic court prophets who had a lying spirit in their mouths which was sent by Yahweh himself. Instead of victory, he would die in battle. |
Ahab | Death of Ahab | Death of Ahab
200px|thumbnail|right|Death of Ahab, by Gustave Doré
Ahab is mortally wounded by an unaimed arrow after he and Jehoshaphat tried to re-capture Ramoth-Gilead from the Arameans. Depending on translation, Ahab's corpse was licked by dogs or a combination of dogs and pigs, according to Elijah's prophecy. It marked his "uncleanliness" in the presence of Israelites, who abstained from pork consumption. |
Ahab | Legacy | Legacy
Ahab's reign was deeply unpopular among Yahwists and was considered to be worse than the previous kings of Israel. Whilst the previous kings followed a "heretical" interpretation of Yahwism, known as the "sins of Jeroboam", Ahab institutionalized Baalism, which was completely divorced from Yahwism. He was likewise criticized for his oppressive policies, both domestically and internationally.
However, Yahwists commend him for fortifying numerous Israelite cities and building an ivory palace. Christian Frevel argues that Ahab used imperialism to introduce Yahweh to the Kingdom of Judah. To do this, he gave his children theophoric names whilst expanding in northern territories and Judah. Michael J. Stahl clarifies that this mostly occurred in the latter half of his reign, according to biblical and extrabiblical evidence. |
Ahab | In Rabbinic literature | In Rabbinic literature
Ahab was one of the three or four wicked kings of Israel singled out by tradition as being excluded from the future world of bliss (Sanh. x. 2; Tosef., Sanh. xii. 11). Midrash Konen places him in the fifth department of Gehenna, as having the heathen under his charge. Though held up as a warning to sinners, Ahab is also described as displaying noble traits of character (Sanh. 102b; Yer. Sanh. xi. 29b). Talmudic literature represents him as an enthusiastic idolater who left no hilltop in the Land of Israel without an idol before which he bowed, and to which he or his wife, Jezebel, brought his weight in gold as a daily offering. So defiant in his apostasy was he that he had inscribed on all the doors of the city of Samaria the words, "Ahab hath abjured the living God of Israel." Nevertheless, he paid great respect to the representatives of learning, "to the Torah given in twenty-two letters," for which reason he was permitted to reign for twenty-two successive years. He generously supported the students of the Law out of his royal treasury, in consequence of which half his sins were forgiven him. A type of worldliness (Ber. 61b), the Crœsus of his time, he was, according to ancient tradition (Meg. 11a), ruler over the whole world. Two hundred and thirty subject kings had initiated a rebellion; but he brought their sons as hostages to Samaria and Jerusalem. All the latter turned from idolaters into worshipers of the God of Israel (Tanna debe Eliyahu, i. 9). Each of his seventy sons had an ivory palace built for him. Since, however, it was Ahab's idolatrous wife who was the chief instigator of his crimes (B. M. 59a), some of the ancient teachers gave him the same position in the world to come as a sinner who had repented (Sanh. 104b, Num. R. xiv). Like Manasseh, he was made a type of repentance (I Kings, xxi. 29). Accordingly, he is described as undergoing fasts and penances for a long time; praying thrice a day to God for forgiveness, until his prayer was heard (PirḲe R. El. xliii). Hence, the name of Ahab in the list of wicked kings was changed to Ahaz (Yer. Sanh. x. 28b; Tanna debe Eliyahu Rabba ix, Zuṭṭa xxiv.).
Pseudo-Epiphanius ("Opera," ii. 245) makes Micah an Ephraimite. Confounding him with Micaiah, son of Imlah, he states that Micah, for his inauspicious prophecy, was killed by order of Ahab through being thrown from a precipice, and was buried at Morathi (Maroth?; Mic. i. 12), near the cemetery of Enakim (Ένακεὶμ Septuagint rendering of ; ib. i. 10). According to "Gelilot Ereẓ Yisrael" (quoted in "Seder ha-Dorot," i. 118, Warsaw, 1889), Micah was buried in Chesil, a town in southern Judah (Josh. xv. 30). Naboth's soul was the lying spirit that was permitted to deceive Ahab to his death. |
Ahab | In popular culture | In popular culture
Ahab is portrayed by Eduard Franz in the film Sins of Jezebel (1953). He is also the namesake of Captain Ahab in Moby Dick by Herman Melville. |
Ahab | See also | See also
List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources |
Ahab | Citations | Citations |
Ahab | General and cited references | General and cited references
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Ahab | External links | External links
Category:850s BC deaths
Category:9th-century BC Kings of Israel
Category:Deaths by arrow wounds
Category:Monarchs killed in action
Category:Omrides
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:Biblical murderers
Category:Jezebel
Category:Year of death uncertain |
Ahab | Table of Content | Short description, Reign, Battle of Qarqar, Ahab and the prophets, Death of Ahab, Legacy, In Rabbinic literature, In popular culture, See also, Citations, General and cited references, External links |
ASIC (disambiguation) | In the realm of electronic technology, | In the realm of electronic technology, ASIC stands for application-specific integrated circuit, an integrated circuit customized for a specific task.
ASIC may also refer to:
Accreditation Service for International Colleges, an educational accreditation agency in the UK
Acid-sensing ion channels, a protein family
Air and Space Interoperability Council, former name of the Air Force Interoperability Council
Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime, the antagonist group in the video game Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2
ASIC programming language, a dialect of BASIC
Associated Signature Containers (ASiC), specifies the use of container structures to bind together one or more signed objects with either advanced electronic signatures or time-stamp tokens into one single digital container
Association Scientifique Internationale pour le Café, a scientific organization based in France
Australian Securities & Investments Commission, Australia's corporate regulator
Aviation Security Identification Card, an Australian identification card |
ASIC (disambiguation) | See also | See also
Asics, an athletic equipment company |
ASIC (disambiguation) | Table of Content | In the realm of electronic technology,, See also |
Dasyproctidae | Short description | Dasyproctidae is a family of large South American rodents, comprising the agoutis and acouchis. Their fur is a reddish or dark colour above, with a paler underside. They are herbivorous, often feeding on ripe fruit that falls from trees. They live in burrows, and, like squirrels, will bury some of their food for later use.
Dasyproctids exist in Central and South America, which are the tropical parts of the New World. The fossil record of this family can be traced back to the Late Oligocene (Deseadan in the SALMA classification).
As with all rodents, members of this family have incisors, pre-molars, and molars, but no canines. The cheek teeth are hypsodont and flat-crowned. |
Dasyproctidae | Classification | Classification
Fossil taxa follow McKenna and Bell, with modifications following Kramarz.
Family Dasyproctidae
Genus †Alloiomys
Genus †Australoprocta
Genus †Branisamys
Genus †Incamys
Genus †Neoreomys
Genus †Megastus
Genus †Palmiramys
Genus Dasyprocta
Azara's agouti, D. azarae
Coiban agouti, D. coibae
Crested agouti, D. cristata
Black agouti, D. fuliginosa
Orinoco agouti, D. guamara
Kalinowski's agouti, D. kalinowskii
Red-rumped agouti, D. leporina
Mexican agouti, D. mexicana
Black-rumped agouti, D. prymnolopha
Central American agouti, D. punctata
Ruatan Island agouti, D. ruatanica
Genus Myoprocta
Green acouchi, M. pratti
Red acouchi, M. acouchy
The pacas (genus Cuniculus) are placed by some authorities in Dasyproctidae, but molecular studies have demonstrated they do not form a monophyletic group. |
Dasyproctidae | References | References |
Dasyproctidae | External links | External links
Central American agouti at Smithsonian
Dasyproctidae at Animaldiversity.org
2014 - Figueira et al. - Carrion consumption by Dasyprocta leporina (Rodentia: Dasyproctidae) and a review of meat use by agoutis
Category:Caviomorpha
Category:Rodent families
Category:Extant Chattian first appearances
Category:Mammals described in 1825 |
Dasyproctidae | Table of Content | Short description, Classification, References, External links |
Algol | short description | Algol , designated Beta Persei (β Persei, abbreviated Beta Per, β Per), known colloquially as the Demon Star, is a bright multiple star in the constellation of Perseus and one of the first non-nova variable stars to be discovered.
Algol is a three-star system, consisting of Beta Persei Aa1, Aa2, and Ab – in which the hot luminous primary β Persei Aa1 and the larger, but cooler and fainter, β Persei Aa2 regularly pass in front of each other, causing eclipses. Thus Algol's magnitude is usually near-constant at 2.1, but regularly dips to 3.4 every 2.86 days during the roughly 10-hour-long partial eclipses. The secondary eclipse when the brighter primary star occults the fainter secondary is very shallow and can only be detected photoelectrically.
Algol gives its name to its class of eclipsing variable, known as Algol variables. |
Algol | Observation history | Observation history
thumb|left|upright=1.6|The Algol system on 12 August 2009. This is a CHARA interferometer image with -milliarcsecond resolution in the near-infrared H-band. The elongated appearance of Algol Aa2 (labelled B) and the round appearance of Algol Aa1 (labelled A) are real, but the form of Algol Ab (labelled C) is an artifact.
thumb|left|Light curve of the Algol recorded by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
An ancient Egyptian calendar of lucky and unlucky days composed some 3,200 years ago is said to be the oldest historical documentation of the discovery of Algol.
The association of Algol with a demon-like creature (Gorgon in the Greek tradition, ghoul in the Arabic tradition) suggests that its variability was known long before the 17th century, but there is still no indisputable evidence for this. The Arabic astronomer al-Sufi said nothing about any variability of the star in his Book of Fixed Stars published c.964.
The variability of Algol was noted in 1667 by Italian astronomer Geminiano Montanari,G. Montanari, "Sopra la sparizione d'alcune stelle et altre novità celesti", in: Prose de Signori Accademici Gelati di Bologna (Bologna: Manolessi, 1671), pp. 369–92 (Google books). but the periodic nature of its variations in brightness was not recognized until more than a century later, when the British amateur astronomer John Goodricke also proposed a mechanism for the star's variability.ADS O.J. Eggen,"An Eighteenth Century Discussion of Algol", The Observatory, 77 (1957), 191–197. In May 1783, he presented his findings to the Royal Society, suggesting that the periodic variability was caused by a dark body passing in front of the star (or else that the star itself has a darker region that is periodically turned toward the Earth). For his report he was awarded the Copley Medal.
In 1881, the Harvard astronomer Edward Charles Pickering presented evidence that Algol was actually an eclipsing binary. This was confirmed a few years later, in 1889, when the Potsdam astronomer Hermann Carl Vogel found periodic doppler shifts in the spectrum of Algol, inferring variations in the radial velocity of this binary system. Thus, Algol became one of the first known spectroscopic binaries. Joel Stebbins at the University of Illinois Observatory used an early selenium cell photometer to produce the first-ever photoelectric study of a variable star. The light curve revealed the second minimum and the reflection effect between the two stars. Some difficulties in explaining the observed spectroscopic features led to the conjecture that a third star may be present in the system; four decades later this conjecture was found to be correct.Meltzer, Alan S., A "Spectroscopic Investigation of Algol". Astrophysical Journal, vol. 125, (1957), p.359, BibCode:1957ApJ...125..359M |
Algol | System | System
thumb|left|Algol Aa2 orbits Algol Aa1. This animation was assembled from 55 images of the CHARA interferometer in the near-infrared H-band, sorted according to orbital phase. Because some phases are poorly covered, Aa2 jumps at some points along its path. thumb|left|alt=interpolation|Interpolation of the orbit of Aa2 around Aa1 with focus on Aa1.
Algol is a multiple-star system with three confirmed and two suspected stellar components. From the point of view of the Earth, Algol Aa1 and Algol Aa2 form an eclipsing binary because their orbital plane contains the line of sight to the Earth. The eclipsing binary pair is separated by only 0.062 astronomical units (au) from each other, whereas the third star in the system (Algol Ab) is at an average distance of 2.69 au from the pair, and the mutual orbital period of the trio is 681 Earth days. The total mass of the system is about 5.8 solar masses, and the mass ratios of Aa1, Aa2, and Ab are about 4.5 to 1 to 2.
The three components of the bright triple star used to be, and still sometimes are, referred to as β Per A, B, and C. The Washington Double Star Catalog lists them as Aa1, Aa2, and Ab, with two very faint stars B and C about one arcmin distant. A further five faint stars are also listed as companions.
The close pair consists of a B8 main sequence star and a much less massive K0 subgiant, which is highly distorted by the more massive star. These two orbit every 2.9 days and undergo the eclipses that cause Algol to vary in brightness. The third star orbits these two every 680 days and is an A or F-type main sequence star. It has been classified as an Am star, but this is now considered doubtful.
Studies of Algol led to the Algol paradox in the theory of stellar evolution: although components of a binary star form at the same time, and massive stars evolve much faster than the less massive stars, the more massive component Algol Aa1 is still in the main sequence, but the less massive Algol Aa2 is a subgiant star at a later evolutionary stage. The paradox can be solved by mass transfer: when the more massive star became a subgiant, it filled its Roche lobe, and most of the mass was transferred to the other star, which is still in the main sequence. In some binaries similar to Algol, a gas flow can be seen. The gas flow between the primary and secondary stars in Algol has been imaged using Doppler Tomography.
This system also exhibits x-ray and radio wave flares. The x-ray flares are thought to be caused by the magnetic fields of the A and B components interacting with the mass transfer. The radio-wave flares might be created by magnetic cycles similar to those of sunspots, but because the magnetic fields of these stars are up to ten times stronger than the field of the Sun, these radio flares are more powerful and more persistent. The secondary component was identified as the radio emitting source in Algol using Very-long-baseline interferometry by Lestrade and co-authors.
Magnetic activity cycles in the chromospherically active secondary component induce changes in its radius of gyration that have been linked to recurrent orbital period variations on the order of ≈ via the Applegate mechanism. Mass transfer between the components is small in the Algol system but could be a significant source of period change in other Algol-type binaries.
left|thumb|Size comparison between the Sun (bottom middle), Algol Aa2 (right) and the blue giant Bellatrix (left).
The distance to Algol has been measured using very-long baseline interferometry, giving a value of 94 light-years. About 7.3 million years ago it passed within 9.8 light-years of the Solar System and its apparent magnitude was about −2.5, which is considerably brighter than the star Sirius is today. Because the total mass of the Algol system is about 5.8 solar masses, at the closest approach this might have given enough gravity to perturb the Oort cloud of the Solar System somewhat and hence increase the number of comets entering the inner Solar System. However, the actual increase in net cometary collisions is thought to have been quite small. |
Algol | Names | Names
thumb|right|upright|Algol is a bright star in the constellation of Perseus (upper right).
Beta Persei is the star's Bayer designation. |
Algol | The official name Algol | The official name Algol
The name Algol derives from Arabic raʾs al-ghūl : head (raʾs) of the ogre (al-ghūl) (see "ghoul").P. Kunitzsch & T. Smart, Short Guide to Modern Star Names and Their Derivations (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1986), p 49. The English name Demon Star was taken from the Arabic name. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Algol for this star. It is so entered on the IAU Catalog of Star Names. |
Algol | Ghost and demon star | Ghost and demon star
Algol was called Rōsh ha Sāṭān or "Satan's Head" in Hebrew folklore, as stated by Edmund Chilmead, who called it "Divels head" or Rosch hassatan. A Latin name for Algol from the 16th century was Caput Larvae or "the Spectre's Head". Hipparchus and Pliny made this a separate, though connected, constellation. |
Algol | First star of Medusa's head | First star of Medusa's head
Earlier the name of the constellation Perseus was Perseus and Medusa's Head where an asterism representing the head of Medusa after Perseus has cut it off already known in ancient Rome. Medusa is a gorgon so the star is also called Gorgonea Prima meaning the first star of the gorgon. |
Algol | Chinese names | Chinese names
In Chinese, (), meaning Mausoleum, refers to an asterism consisting of β Persei, 9 Persei, τ Persei, ι Persei, κ Persei, ρ Persei, 16 Persei and 12 Persei. Consequently, the Chinese name for β Persei itself is (, English: The Fifth Star of Mausoleum.). AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網2006年7月11日 According to R.H. Allen the star bore the grim name of Tseih She (), meaning "Piled up Corpses" but this appears to be a misidentification, and Dié Shī is correctly π Persei, which is inside the Mausoleum. |
Algol | Observing Algol | Observing Algol
The Algol system usually has an apparent magnitude of 2.1, similar to those of Mirfak (α Persei) at 1.9 and Almach (γ Andromedae) at 2.2, with whom it forms a right triangle. During eclipses it dims to 3.4, making it as faint as nearby ρ Persei at 3.3.
+ Observing Algol's Eclipses in 2025Edgar, James S. (editor). Observer's Handbook 2025. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. .
Date
Time
December 1, 2024
18:52
January 2, 2025
07:53
February 2, 2025
20:55
March 3, 2025
13:09
April 1, 2025
05:22
May 2, 2025
18:23
June 3, 2025
07:22
July 1, 2025
23:30
August 2, 2025
12:25
September 3, 2025
17:35
October 1, 2025
01:20
November 2, 2025
06:23
December 3, 2025
19:22
thumb |The constellation Perseus and Algol, the Bright Star in the Gorgon's head (Johannes Hevelius, Uranographia, 1690)
Listed are the first eclipse dates and times of each month, with all times in UT. β Persei Aa2 eclipses β Persei Aa1 every 2.867321 days (2 days 20 hours 49 min). To determine subsequent eclipses, add this interval to each listed date and time. For example, the Jan 2 eclipse at 8h will result in consecutive eclipse times on Jan 5 at 5h, Jan 8 at 1h, Jan 10 at 22h, and so on (all times approximate). |
Algol | Cultural significance | Cultural significance
Historically, the star has received a strong association with bloody violence across a wide variety of cultures. In the Tetrabiblos, the 2nd-century astrological text of the Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy, Algol is referred to as "the Gorgon of Perseus" and associated with death by decapitation: a theme which mirrors the myth of the hero Perseus's victory over the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa.Robbins, Frank E. (ed.) 1940. Ptolemy: Tetrabiblos. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library). , IV.9, p.435. In the astrology of fixed stars, Algol is considered one of the unluckiest stars in the sky, and was listed as one of the 15 Behenian stars. Lyons, 1531/33. Llewellyn reprint, 1993; tr. J. Freake (1651), ed. D. Tyson, p.411. |
Algol | See also | See also
Jaana Toivari-Viitala, egyptologist who contributed to understanding Ancient Egypt and the star |
Algol | References | References |
Algol | External links | External links
Category:Algol variables
Persei, Beta
Category:B-type main-sequence stars
Persei, 26
019356
014576
Category:K-type subgiants
Category:Perseus (constellation)
Algol
Category:Triple star systems
Category:Astronomical objects known since antiquity
0936
BD+40 0673
Category:Am stars
Category:F-type main-sequence stars |
Algol | Table of Content | short description, Observation history, System, Names, The official name Algol, Ghost and demon star, First star of Medusa's head, Chinese names, Observing Algol, Cultural significance, See also, References, External links |
Amazing Grace | Short description | "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779, written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the United States, where it is used for both religious and secular purposes.
Newton wrote the words from personal experience; he grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by others' reactions to what they took as his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed into service with the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, so severely that he called out to God for mercy. While this moment marked his spiritual conversion, he continued slave trading until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether. Newton began studying Christian theology and later became an abolitionist.
Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became the curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have been chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton's and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States, "Amazing Grace" became a popular song used by Baptist and Methodist preachers as part of their evangelizing, especially in the American South, during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies. In 1835, American composer William Walker set it to the tune known as "New Britain" in a shape note format; this is the version most frequently sung today.
With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognisable songs in the English-speaking world. American historian Gilbert Chase writes that it is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns"Chase, p. 181. and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that the song is performed about 10 million times annually.
It has had particular influence in folk music, and has become an emblematic black spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" became newly popular during the 1960s revival of American folk music, and it has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century. |
Amazing Grace | John Newton's conversion | John Newton's conversion
According to the Dictionary of American Hymnology, "Amazing Grace" is John Newton's spiritual autobiography in verse."Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound", Dictionary of American Hymnology. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
In 1725, Newton was born in Wapping, a district in London near the Thames. His father was a shipping merchant who was brought up as a Catholic but had Protestant sympathies, and his mother was a devout Independent, unaffiliated with the Anglican Church. She had intended Newton to become a clergyman, but she died of tuberculosis when he was six years old.Martin (1950), pp. 8–9. For the next few years, while his father was at sea Newton was raised by his emotionally distant stepmother. He was also sent to boarding school, where he was mistreated.Newton (1824), p. 12. At the age of eleven, he joined his father on a ship as an apprentice; his seagoing career would be marked by headstrong disobedience.
As a youth, Newton began a pattern of coming very close to death, examining his relationship with God, then relapsing into bad habits. As a sailor, he denounced his faith after being influenced by a shipmate who discussed with him Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, a book by the Third Earl of Shaftesbury. In a series of letters Newton later wrote, "Like an unwary sailor who quits his port just before a rising storm, I renounced the hopes and comforts of the Gospel at the very time when every other comfort was about to fail me."Newton (1824), pp. 21–22. His disobedience caused him to be pressed into the Royal Navy, and he took advantage of opportunities to overstay his leave.
He deserted the navy to visit Mary "Polly" Catlett, a family friend with whom he had fallen in love.Martin (1950), p. 23. After enduring humiliation for deserting, he was traded as crew to a slave ship.
He began a career in slave trading.
thumb|left|alt=Engraving of an older heavyset man, wearing robes, vestments, and wig|John Newton in his later years
Newton often openly mocked the captain by creating obscene poems and songs about him, which became so popular that the crew began to join in.Martin (1950), pp. 51–52. His disagreements with several colleagues resulted in his being starved almost to death, imprisoned while at sea, and chained like the slaves they carried. He was himself enslaved by the Sherbro and forced to work on a plantation in Sierra Leone near the Sherbro River. After several months he came to think of Sierra Leone as his home, but his father intervened after Newton sent him a letter describing his circumstances, and crew from another ship happened to find him. Newton claimed the only reason he left Sierra Leone was because of Polly.Martin (1950), p. 63.
While aboard the ship Greyhound, Newton gained notoriety as being one of the most profane men the captain had ever met. In a culture where sailors habitually swore, Newton was admonished several times for not only using the worst words the captain had ever heard, but creating new ones to exceed the limits of verbal debauchery.Martin (1950), pp. 67–68. In March 1748, while the Greyhound was in the North Atlantic, a violent storm came upon the ship that was so rough it swept overboard a crew member who was standing where Newton had been moments before. After hours of the crew emptying water from the ship and expecting to be capsized, Newton and another mate tied themselves to the ship's pump to keep from being washed overboard, working for several hours. After proposing the measure to the captain, Newton had turned and said, "If this will not do, then Lord have mercy upon us!"Newton (1824), p. 41.Martin (1950), pp. 70–71. Newton rested briefly before returning to the deck to steer for the next eleven hours. During his time at the wheel, he pondered his divine challenge.Martin (1950), p. 73.
About two weeks later, the battered ship and starving crew landed in Lough Swilly, Ireland. For several weeks before the storm, Newton had been reading The Christian's Pattern, a summary of the 15th-century The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. The memory of his own "Lord have mercy upon us!" uttered during a moment of desperation in the storm did not leave him; he began to ask if he was worthy of God's mercy or in any way redeemable. Not only had he neglected his faith but directly opposed it, mocking others who showed theirs, deriding and denouncing God as a myth. He came to believe that God had sent him a profound message and had begun to work through him.Aitken, pp. 81–84.
Newton's conversion was not immediate, but he contacted Polly's family and announced his intention to marry her. Her parents were hesitant as he was known to be unreliable and impetuous. They knew he was profane too but allowed him to write to Polly, and he set to begin to submit to authority for her sake.Martin (1950), pp. 82–85. He sought a place on a slave ship bound for Africa, and Newton and his crewmates participated in most of the same activities he had written about before; the only immorality from which he was able to free himself was profanity. After a severe illness his resolve was renewed, yet he retained the same attitude towards slavery as was held by his contemporaries. Newton continued in the slave trade through several voyages where he sailed the coasts of Africa, now as a captain, and procured slaves being offered for sale in larger ports, transporting them to North America.
In between voyages, he married Polly in 1750, and he found it more difficult to leave her at the beginning of each trip. After three shipping voyages in the slave trade, Newton was promised a position as ship's captain with cargo unrelated to slavery. But at the age of thirty, he collapsed and never sailed again.Aitken, p. 125. |
Amazing Grace | Olney curate | Olney curate
thumb|alt=Engraving of a two-storey building, eight windows across, partially obscured by trees and shrubs|The vicarage in Olney, where Newton wrote the hymn that would become "Amazing Grace"
Working as a customs agent in Liverpool starting in 1756, Newton began to teach himself Latin, Greek, and theology. He and Polly immersed themselves in the church community, and Newton's passion was so impressive that his friends suggested he become a priest in the Church of England. He was turned down by John Gilbert, Archbishop of York, in 1758, ostensibly for having no university degree,Martin (1950), pp. 166–188. although the more likely reasons were his leanings toward evangelism and tendency to socialise with Methodists.Aitken, pp. 153–154. Newton continued his devotions, and after being encouraged by a friend, he wrote about his experiences in the slave trade and his conversion. William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, impressed with his story, sponsored Newton for ordination by John Green, Bishop of Lincoln, and offered him the curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire, in 1764.Martin (1950), pp. 198–200. |
Amazing Grace | ''Olney Hymns'' | Olney Hymns
Olney was a village of about 2,500 residents whose main industry was making lace by hand. The people were mostly illiterate and many of them were poor.Aitken, p. 224. Newton's preaching was unique in that he shared many of his own experiences from the pulpit; many clergy preached from a distance, not admitting any intimacy with temptation or sin. He was involved in his parishioners' lives and was much loved, although his writing and delivery were sometimes unpolished.Martin (1950), pp. 208–217. But his devotion and conviction were apparent and forceful, and he often said his mission was to "break a hard heart and to heal a broken heart". He struck a friendship with William Cowper, a gifted writer who had failed at a career in law and suffered bouts of insanity, attempting suicide several times. Cowper enjoyed Olney and Newton's company; he was also new to Olney and had gone through a spiritual conversion similar to Newton's. Together, their effect on the local congregation was impressive. In 1768, they found it necessary to start a weekly prayer meeting to meet the needs of an increasing number of parishioners. They also began writing lessons for children.Turner, p. 76.
Partly from Cowper's literary influence, and partly because learned vicars were expected to write verses, Newton began to try his hand at hymns, which had become popular through the language, made plain for common people to understand. Several prolific hymn writers were at their most productive in the 18th century, including Isaac Watts whose hymns Newton had grown up hearingAitken, p. 28. and Charles Wesley, with whom Newton was familiar. Wesley's brother John, the eventual founder of the Methodist Church, had encouraged Newton to go into the clergy. Watts was a pioneer in English hymn writing, basing his work after the Psalms. The most prevalent hymns by Watts and others were written in the common meter in 8.6.8.6: the first line is eight syllables and the second is six.Turner, pp. 77–79.
Newton and Cowper attempted to present a poem or hymn for each prayer meeting. The lyrics to "Amazing Grace" were written in late 1772 and probably used in a prayer meeting for the first time on 1 January 1773. A collection of the poems Newton and Cowper had written for use in services at Olney was bound and published anonymously in 1779 under the title Olney Hymns. Newton contributed 280 of the 348 texts in Olney Hymns; "1 Chronicles 17:16–17, Faith's Review and Expectation" was the title of the poem with the first line "Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)". |
Amazing Grace | Critical analysis | Critical analysis
The general impact of Olney Hymns was immediate and it became a widely popular tool for evangelicals in Britain for many years. Scholars appreciated Cowper's poetry somewhat more than Newton's plaintive and plain language, expressing his forceful personality. The most prevalent themes in the verses written by Newton in Olney Hymns are faith in salvation, wonder at God's grace, his love for Jesus, and his cheerful exclamations of the joy he found in his faith.Benson, p. 339. As a reflection of Newton's connection to his parishioners, he wrote many of the hymns in first person, admitting his own experience with sin. Bruce Hindmarsh in Sing Them Over Again To Me: Hymns and Hymnbooks in America considers "Amazing Grace" an excellent example of Newton's testimonial style afforded by the use of this perspective.Noll and Blumhofer, p. 6. Several of Newton's hymns were recognised as great work ("Amazing Grace" was not among them), while others seem to have been included to fill in when Cowper was unable to write.Benson, p. 338. Jonathan Aitken calls Newton, specifically referring to "Amazing Grace", an "unashamedly middlebrow lyricist writing for a lowbrow congregation", noting that only twenty-one of the nearly 150 words used in all six verses have more than one syllable.Aitken, p. 226.
William Phipps in the Anglican Theological Review and author James Basker have interpreted the first stanza of "Amazing Grace" as evidence of Newton's realisation that his participation in the slave trade was his wretchedness, perhaps representing a wider common understanding of Newton's motivations.Phipps, William (Summer 1990). " 'Amazing Grace' in the hymnwriter's life", Anglican Theological Review, 72 (3), pp. 306–313. Newton joined forces with William Wilberforce, the British Member of Parliament who led the Parliamentarian campaign to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire, culminating in the Slave Trade Act 1807. But Newton did not become an ardent and outspoken abolitionist until after he left Olney in the 1780s; he is not known to have connected writing the hymn known as "Amazing Grace" to anti-slavery sentiments.Aitken, p. 231.
The lyrics in Olney Hymns were arranged by their association to the Biblical verses that would be used by Newton and Cowper in their prayer meetings, and did not address any political objective. For Newton, the beginning of the year was a time to reflect on one's spiritual progress. At the same time he completed a diary which has since been lost that he had begun 17 years before, two years after he quit sailing. The last entry of 1772 was a recounting of how much he had changed since then.Aitken, p. 227.
The title ascribed to the hymn, "1 Chronicles 17:16–17", refers to David's reaction to the prophet Nathan telling him that God intends to maintain his family line forever. Some Christians interpret this as a prediction that Jesus Christ, as a descendant of David, was promised by God as the salvation for all people.Noll and Blumhofer, p. 8. Newton's sermon on that January day in 1773 focused on the necessity to express one's gratitude for God's guidance, that God is involved in the daily lives of Christians though they may not be aware of it, and that patience for deliverance from the daily trials of life is warranted when the glories of eternity await.Turner, p. 81. Newton saw himself a sinner like David who had been chosen, perhaps undeservedly, and was humbled by it. According to Newton, unconverted sinners were "blinded by the god of this world" until "mercy came to us not only undeserved but undesired ... our hearts endeavored to shut him out till he overcame us by the power of his grace."
The New Testament served as the basis for many of the lyrics of "Amazing Grace". The first verse, for example, can be traced to the story of the Prodigal Son. In the Gospel of Luke the father says, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found". The story of Jesus healing a blind man who tells the Pharisees that he can now see is told in the Gospel of John. Newton used the words "I was blind but now I see" and declared "Oh to grace how great a debtor!" in his letters and diary entries as early as 1752.Aitken, p. 228. The effect of the lyrical arrangement, according to Bruce Hindmarsh, allows an instant release of energy in the exclamation "Amazing grace!", to be followed by a qualifying reply in "how sweet the sound". In An Annotated Anthology of Hymns, Newton's use of an exclamation at the beginning of his verse is called "crude but effective" in an overall composition that "suggest(s) a forceful, if simple, statement of faith".Watson, p. 215. Grace is recalled three times in the following verse, culminating in Newton's most personal story of his conversion, underscoring the use of his personal testimony with his parishioners.
The sermon preached by Newton was his last of those that William Cowper heard in Olney, since Cowper's mental instability returned shortly thereafter. One author suggests Newton may have had his friend in mind, employing the themes of assurance and deliverance from despair for Cowper's benefit.Turner, p. 86. |
Amazing Grace | Dissemination | Dissemination
thumb|450px|alt=Original long hymnal with shape note music notation of a tune titled "New Britain" set to Newton's first verse, with four subsequent verses printed below. Underneath is another hymn titled "Cookham".|An 1847 publication of Southern Harmony, showing the title "New Britain" and shape note music.
More than 60 of Newton and Cowper's hymns were republished in other British hymnals and magazines, but "Amazing Grace" was not, appearing only once in a 1780 hymnal sponsored by the Countess of Huntingdon. Scholar John Julian commented in his 1892 A Dictionary of Hymnology that outside of the United States, the song was unknown and it was "far from being a good example of Newton's finest work".Julian, p. 55. Between 1789 and 1799, four variations of Newton's hymn were published in the US in Baptist, Dutch Reformed, and Congregationalist hymnodies; by 1830 Presbyterians and Methodists also included Newton's verses in their hymnals.Noll and Blumhofer, p. 10.Aitken, pp. 232–233.
Although it had its roots in England, "Amazing Grace" became an integral part of the Christian tapestry in the United States. The greatest influences in the 19th century that propelled "Amazing Grace" to spread across the US and become a staple of religious services in many denominations and regions were the Second Great Awakening and the development of shape note singing communities. A tremendous religious movement swept the US in the early 19th century, marked by the growth and popularity of churches and religious revivals that got their start on the frontier in Kentucky and Tennessee. Unprecedented gatherings of thousands of people attended camp meetings where they came to experience salvation; preaching was fiery and focused on saving the sinner from temptation and backsliding.Turner, pp. 115–116. Religion was stripped of ornament and ceremony, and made as plain and simple as possible; sermons and songs often used repetition to get across to a rural population of poor and mostly uneducated people the necessity of turning away from sin. Witnessing and testifying became an integral component to these meetings, where a congregation member or stranger would rise and recount his turn from a sinful life to one of piety and peace. "Amazing Grace" was one of many hymns that punctuated fervent sermons, although the contemporary style used a refrain, borrowed from other hymns, that employed simplicity and repetition such as:
Simultaneously, an unrelated movement of communal singing was established throughout the South and Western states. A format of teaching music to illiterate people appeared in 1800. It used four syllables to distinguish the intervals of the major scale: fa-sol-la-fa-sol-la-mi-fa. Each syllable was associated with a specifically shaped note, and thus the use of books printed in this format became known as shape note singing. The method was simple to learn and teach, and schools were established throughout the South and West. Communities would come together for an entire day of singing in a large building where they sat in four distinct areas surrounding an open space, one member directing the entire gathering. Some groups sang outdoors, on benches set up in a square. Preachers used shape note music to teach hymns to people on the frontier and to raise the emotion of camp meetings. Most of the music was Christian, but the purpose of communal singing was not primarily spiritual. Communities either could not afford instruments for accompaniment, or rejected their use due to a Calvinistic sense of simplicity, so the songs were sung a cappella.Turner, p. 117. |
Amazing Grace | "New Britain" tune | "New Britain" tune
thumb|right|upright|alt=Grainy portrait of a middle aged white man in a black suit|William Walker, the American composer who first set John Newton's verses to the "New Britain" tune, creating the version of the song known as "Amazing Grace"
When originally used in Olney, it is unknown what music, if any, accompanied the verses written by John Newton. Contemporary hymnbooks did not contain music and were simply small books of religious poetry. The first known instance of Newton's lines joined to music was in A Companion to the Countess of Huntingdon's Hymns (London, 1808), where it is set to the tune "Hephzibah" by English composer John Jenkins Husband.The Hymn Tune Index, Search="Hephzibah". University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana Library website. Retrieved 31 December 2010. Common meter hymns were interchangeable with a variety of tunes; more than twenty musical settings of "Amazing Grace" circulated with varying popularity until 1835, when American composer William Walker assigned Newton's words to a traditional song named "New Britain". This was an amalgamation of two melodies ("Gallaher" and "St. Mary"), first published in the Columbian Harmony by Charles H. Spilman and Benjamin Shaw (Cincinnati, 1829). Spilman and Shaw, both students at Kentucky's Centre College, compiled their tunebook both for public worship and revivals, to satisfy "the wants of the Church in her triumphal march". Most of the tunes had been previously published, but "Gallaher" and "St. Mary" had not.Turner, pp. 120–122. As neither tune is attributed and both show elements of oral transmission, scholars can only speculate that they are possibly of British origin.Turner, p. 123. A manuscript from 1828 by Lucius Chapin, a famous hymn writer of that time, contains a tune very close to "St. Mary", but that does not mean that he wrote it.
"Amazing Grace", with the words written by Newton and joined with "New Britain", the melody most currently associated with it, appeared for the first time in Walker's shape note tunebook Southern Harmony in 1847.Noll and Blumhofer, p. 11. It was, according to author Steve Turner, a "marriage made in heaven ... The music behind 'amazing' had a sense of awe to it. The music behind 'grace' sounded graceful. There was a rise at the point of confession, as though the author was stepping out into the open and making a bold declaration, but a corresponding fall when admitting his blindness."Turner, p. 124. Walker's collection was enormously popular, selling about 600,000 copies all over the US when the total population was just over 20 million. Another shape note tunebook named The Sacred Harp (1844) by Georgia residents Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha J. King became widely influential and continues to be used.Turner, p. 126.
Another verse was first recorded in Harriet Beecher Stowe's immensely influential 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Three verses were emblematically sung by Tom in his hour of deepest crisis.Stowe, p. 417. He sings the sixth and fifth verses in that order, and Stowe included another verse, not written by Newton, that had been passed down orally in African-American communities for at least 50 years. It was one of between 50 and 70 verses of a song titled "Jerusalem, My Happy Home", which was first published in a 1790 book called A Collection of Sacred Ballads:
"Amazing Grace" came to be an emblem of a Christian movement and a symbol of the US itself as the country was involved in a great political experiment, attempting to employ democracy as a means of government. Shape-note singing communities, with all the members sitting around an open center, each song employing a different song leader, illustrated this in practice. Simultaneously, the US began to expand westward into previously unexplored territory that was often wilderness. The "dangers, toils, and snares" of Newton's lyrics had both literal and figurative meanings for Americans. This became poignantly true during the most serious test of American cohesion in the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865). "Amazing Grace", set to "New Britain", was included in two hymnals distributed to soldiers. With death so real and imminent, religious services in the military became commonplace.Turner, pp. 127–128. The hymn was translated into other languages as well: while on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee sang Christian hymns as a way of coping with the ongoing tragedy, and a version of the song by Samuel Worcester that had been translated into the Cherokee language became very popular.Duvall, p. 35.Swiderski, p. 91. |
Amazing Grace | Urban revival | Urban revival
Although "Amazing Grace" set to "New Britain" was popular, other versions existed regionally. Primitive Baptists in the Appalachian region often used "New Britain" with other hymns, and sometimes sing the words of "Amazing Grace" to other folk songs, including titles such as "In the Pines", "Pisgah", "Primrose", and "Evan", as all are able to be sung in common meter, of which the majority of their repertoire consists.Patterson, p. 137.Sutton, Brett (January 1982). "Shape-Note Tune Books and Primitive Hymns", Ethnomusicology, 26 (1), pp. 11–26. In the late 19th century, Newton's verses were sung to a tune named "Arlington" as frequently as to "New Britain" for a time.
Two musical arrangers named Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey heralded another religious revival in the cities of the US and Europe, giving the song international exposure. Moody's preaching and Sankey's musical gifts were significant; their arrangements were the forerunners of gospel music, and churches all over the US were eager to acquire them.Turner, pp. 133–135. Moody and Sankey began publishing their compositions in 1875, and "Amazing Grace" appeared three times with three different melodies, but they were the first to give it its title; hymns were typically published using the incipits (first line of the lyrics), or the name of the tune such as "New Britain". Publisher Edwin Othello Excell gave the version of "Amazing Grace" set to "New Britain" immense popularity by publishing it in a series of hymnals that were used in urban churches. Excell altered some of Walker's music, making it more contemporary and European, giving "New Britain" some distance from its rural folk-music origins. Excell's version was more palatable for a growing urban middle class and arranged for larger church choirs. Several editions featuring Newton's first three stanzas and the verse previously included by Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Tom's Cabin were published by Excell between 1900 and 1910. His version of "Amazing Grace" became the standard form of the song in American churches.Noll and Blumhofer, p. 13.Turner, pp. 137–138, 140–145. |
Amazing Grace | Recorded versions | Recorded versions
With the advent of recorded music and radio, "Amazing Grace" began to cross over from primarily a gospel standard to secular audiences. The ability to record combined with the marketing of records to specific audiences allowed "Amazing Grace" to take on thousands of different forms in the 20th century. Where Edwin Othello Excell sought to make the singing of "Amazing Grace" uniform throughout thousands of churches, records allowed artists to improvise with the words and music specific to each audience. AllMusic lists over 1,000 recordings – including re-releases and compilations – as of 2019.AllMusic search=Amazing Grace Song , AllMusic. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
Its first recording is an a cappella version from 1922 by the Sacred Harp Choir.
It was included from 1926 to 1930 in Okeh Records' catalogue, which typically concentrated strongly on blues and jazz. Demand was high for black gospel recordings of the song by H. R. Tomlin and J. M. Gates. A poignant sense of nostalgia accompanied the recordings of several gospel and blues singers in the 1940s and 1950s who used the song to remember their grandparents, traditions, and family roots.Turner, pp. 154–155. It was recorded with musical accompaniment for the first time in 1930 by Fiddlin' John Carson, although to another folk hymn named "At the Cross", not to "New Britain". "Amazing Grace" is emblematic of several kinds of folk music styles, often used as the standard example to illustrate such musical techniques as lining out and call and response, that have been practised in both black and white folk music.Tallmadge, William (May 1961). "Dr. Watts and Mahalia Jackson: The Development, Decline, and Survival of a Folk Style in America", Ethnomusicology, 5 (2), pp. 95–99.
Mahalia Jackson's 1947 version received significant radio airplay, and as her popularity grew throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she often sang it at public events such as concerts at Carnegie Hall."Mahalia Jackson". Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971–1975. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994. Author James Basker states that the song has been employed by African Americans as the "paradigmatic Negro spiritual" because it expresses the joy felt at being delivered from slavery and worldly miseries.Basker, p. 281. Anthony Heilbut, author of The Gospel Sound, states that the "dangers, toils, and snares" of Newton's words are a "universal testimony" of the African American experience.Turner, p. 148.
During the civil rights movement and opposition to the Vietnam War, the song took on a political tone. Mahalia Jackson employed "Amazing Grace" for Civil Rights marchers, writing that she used it "to give magical protection a charm to ward off danger, an incantation to the angels of heaven to descend ... I was not sure the magic worked outside the church walls ... in the open air of Mississippi. But I wasn't taking any chances."Aitken, p. 236. Folk singer Judy Collins, who knew the song before she could remember learning it, witnessed Fannie Lou Hamer leading marchers in Mississippi in 1964, singing "Amazing Grace". Collins also considered it a talisman of sorts, and saw its equal emotional impact on the marchers, witnesses, and law enforcement who opposed the civil rights demonstrators. According to fellow folk singer Joan Baez, it was one of the most requested songs from her audiences, but she never realised its origin as a hymn; by the time she was singing it in the 1960s she said it had "developed a life of its own".Turner, p. 162. It even made an appearance at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 during Arlo Guthrie's performance.Turner, p. 175.
Collins decided to record it in the late 1960s amid an atmosphere of counterculture introspection; she was part of an encounter group that ended a contentious meeting by singing "Amazing Grace" as it was the only song to which all the members knew the words. Her producer was present and suggested she include a version of it on her 1970 album Whales & Nightingales. Collins, who had a history of alcohol abuse, claimed that the song was able to "pull her through" to recovery. It was recorded in St. Paul's, the chapel at Columbia University, chosen for the acoustics. She chose an a cappella arrangement that was close to Edwin Othello Excell's, accompanied by a chorus of amateur singers who were friends of hers. Collins connected it to the Vietnam War, to which she objected: "I didn't know what else to do about the war in Vietnam. I had marched, I had voted, I had gone to jail on political actions and worked for the candidates I believed in. The war was still raging. There was nothing left to do, I thought ... but sing 'Amazing Grace'."Collins, p. 165. Gradually and unexpectedly, the song began to be played on the radio, and then be requested. It rose to number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the charts for 15 weeks,Whitburn, p. 144. as if, she wrote, her fans had been "waiting to embrace it".Collins, p. 166. In the UK, it charted 8 times between 1970 and 1972, peaking at number 5 and spending a total of 75 weeks on popular music charts.Brown, Kutner, and Warwick p. 179. Her rendition also reached number 5 in New Zealand and number 12 in Ireland in 1971.The Irish Charts – All there is to know
In 1972, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, the senior Scottish regiment of the British Army, recorded an instrumental version featuring a bagpipe soloist accompanied by a pipe band. The tempo of their arrangement was slowed to allow for the bagpipes, but it was based on Collins's: it began with a bagpipe solo introduction similar to her lone voice, then it was accompanied by the band of bagpipes and horns, whereas in her version she is backed up by a chorus. It became an international hit, spending five weeks at number-one in the UK Singles Chart, topping the RPM national singles chart in Canada for three weeks,Top Singles Volume 17, No. 17 RPM Magazine. 10 June 1972. Retrieved 12 April 2020. and also peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.Brown, Kutner, and Warwick p. 757.Whitburn, p. 610. It is also a controversial instrumental, as it combined pipes with a military band. The Pipe Major of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards was summoned to Edinburgh Castle and chastised for demeaning the bagpipes.Turner, p. 188.
Aretha Franklin and Rod Stewart also recorded "Amazing Grace" around the same time, and both of their renditions were popular. All four versions were marketed to distinct types of audiences, thereby assuring its place as a pop song.Turner, p. 192. Johnny Cash recorded it on his 1975 album Sings Precious Memories, dedicating it to his older brother Jack, who had been killed in a mill accident when they were boys in Dyess, Arkansas. Cash and his family sang it to themselves while they worked in the cotton fields following Jack's death. Cash often included the song when he toured prisons, saying "For the three minutes that song is going on, everybody is free. It just frees the spirit and frees the person."
The U.S. Library of Congress has a collection of 3,000 versions of and songs inspired by "Amazing Grace", some of which were first-time recordings by folklorists Alan and John Lomax, a father and son team who in 1932 travelled thousands of miles across the southern states of the US to capture the different regional styles of the song. More contemporary renditions include samples from such popular artists as Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers (1963), the Byrds (1970), Elvis Presley (1971), Skeeter Davis (1972), Mighty Clouds of Joy (1972), Amazing Rhythm Aces (1975), Willie Nelson (1976) and the Lemonheads (1992).Amazing Grace: Special Presentation: Amazing Grace Timeline United States Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 November 2008. |
Amazing Grace | In American popular culture | In American popular culture
"Amazing Grace" is an icon in American culture that has been used for a variety of secular purposes and marketing campaigns. It is referenced in the 2006 film Amazing Grace, which highlights Newton's influence on the leading British abolitionist William Wilberforce,Noll and Blumhofer, p. 15. in the film biography of Newton, Newton's Grace,Young, Wesley (1 August 2013), "A tale of grace: Local filmmaker bringing story of John Newton to life". Winston-Salem Journal and the 2014 film Freedom which tells the story of Newton's composition of the hymn.
Since 1954, when an organ instrumental of "New Britain" became a best-seller, "Amazing Grace" has been associated with funerals and memorial services.Turner, p. 159. The hymn has become a song that inspires hope in the wake of tragedy, becoming a sort of "spiritual national anthem" according to authors Mary Rourke and Emily Gwathmey.Rourke and Gwathmey, p. 108. For example, President Barack Obama recited and later sang the hymn at the memorial service for Clementa Pinckney, who was one of the nine victims of the Charleston church shooting in 2015. |
Amazing Grace | Modern interpretations | Modern interpretations
In recent years, the words of the hymn have been changed in some religious publications to downplay a sense of imposed self-loathing by its singers. The second line, "That saved a wretch like me!" has been rewritten as "That saved and strengthened me", "save a soul like me", or "that saved and set me free".Saunders, William (2003). Lenten Music Arlington Catholic Herald. Retrieved 7 February 2010. Kathleen Norris in her book Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith characterises this transformation of the original words as "wretched English" making the line that replaces the original "laughably bland".Norris, p. 66. Part of the reason for this change has been the altered interpretations of what wretchedness and grace means. Newton's Calvinistic view of redemption and divine grace formed his perspective that he considered himself a sinner so vile that he was unable to change his life or be redeemed without God's help. Yet his lyrical subtlety, in Steve Turner's opinion, leaves the hymn's meaning open to a variety of Christian and non-Christian interpretations.Turner, pp. 213–214. "Wretch" also represents a period in Newton's life when he saw himself outcast and miserable, as he was when he was enslaved in Sierra Leone; his own arrogance was matched by how far he had fallen in his life.Bruner and Ware, pp. 31–32.
thumb|200px|left|A Canadian bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace" during a memorial service, 29 October 2009, at Forward Operating Base Wilson, Afghanistan
Due to its immense popularity and iconic nature, the meaning behind the words of "Amazing Grace" has become as individual as the singer or listener.Turner, pp. 218–220. Bruce Hindmarsh suggests that the secular popularity of "Amazing Grace" is due to the absence of any mention of God in the lyrics until the fourth verse (by Excell's version, the fourth verse begins "When we've been there ten thousand years"), and that the song represents the ability of humanity to transform itself instead of a transformation taking place at the hands of God. "Grace", however, had a clearer meaning to John Newton, as he used the word to represent God or the power of God.Noll and Blumhofer, p. 16.
The transformative power of the song was investigated by journalist Bill Moyers in a documentary released in 1990. Moyers was inspired to focus on the song's power after watching a performance at Lincoln Center, where the audience consisted of Christians and non-Christians, and he noticed that it had an equal impact on everybody in attendance, unifying them.Pollock, John (2009). "Amazing Grace: The great Sea Change in the Life of John Newton", The Trinity Forum Reading, The Trinity Forum. James Basker also acknowledged this force when he explained why he chose "Amazing Grace" to represent a collection of anti-slavery poetry: "there is a transformative power that is applicable ... : the transformation of sin and sorrow into grace, of suffering into beauty, of alienation into empathy and connection, of the unspeakable into imaginative literature."Basker, p. xxxiv.
Moyers interviewed Collins, Cash, opera singer Jessye Norman, Appalachian folk musician Jean Ritchie and her family, white Sacred Harp singers in Georgia, black Sacred Harp singers in Alabama, and a prison choir at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. Collins, Cash, and Norman were unable to discern if the power of the song came from the music or the lyrics. Norman, who once notably sang it at the end of a large outdoor rock concert for Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday, stated, "I don't know whether it's the text I don't know whether we're talking about the lyrics when we say that it touches so many people or whether it's that tune that everybody knows." A prisoner interviewed by Moyers explained his literal interpretation of the second verse: "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved" by saying that the fear became immediately real to him when he realised he may never get his life in order, compounded by the loneliness and restriction in prison. Gospel singer Marion Williams summed up its effect: "That's a song that gets to everybody".
The Dictionary of American Hymnology claims it is included in more than a thousand published hymnals, and recommends its use for "occasions of worship when we need to confess with joy that we are saved by God's grace alone; as a hymn of response to forgiveness of sin or as an assurance of pardon; as a confession of faith or after the sermon".
Score taken from [./https://hymnstogod.org/Hymn-Files/Public-Domain-Hymns/A-Hymns/Amazing-Grace-Excell/AmazingGraceExcell.pdf |
Amazing Grace | Explanatory notes | Explanatory notes |
Amazing Grace | References | References |
Amazing Grace | Citations | Citations |
Amazing Grace | Sources | Sources
Aitken, Jonathan (2007). John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, Crossway Books.
Basker, James (2002). Amazing Grace: An Anthology of Poems About Slavery, 1660–1810, Yale University Press.
Benson, Louis (1915). The English Hymn: Its Development and Use in Worship, The Presbyterian Board of Publication, Philadelphia.
Bradley, Ian (ed.)(1989). The Book of Hymns, The Overlook Press.
Brown, Tony; Kutner, Jon; Warwick, Neil (2000). Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles & Albums, Omnibus.
Bruner, Kurt; Ware, Jim (2007). Finding God in the Story of Amazing Grace, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Chase, Gilbert (1987). America's Music, From the Pilgrims to the Present, McGraw-Hill.
Collins, Judy (1998). Singing Lessons: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Hope, and Healing , Pocket Books.
Duvall, Deborah (2000). Tahlequah and the Cherokee Nation, Arcadia Publishing.
Julian, John (ed.)(1892). A Dictionary of Hymnology, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
Martin, Bernard (1950). John Newton: A Biography, William Heineman, Ltd., London.
Martin, Bernard and Spurrell, Mark, (eds.)(1962). The Journal of a Slave Trader (John Newton), The Epworth Press, London.
Newton, John (1811). Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade, Samuel Whiting and Co., London.
Newton, John (1824). The Works of the Rev. John Newton Late Rector of the United Parishes of St. Mary Woolnoth and St. Mary Woolchurch Haw, London: Volume 1, Nathan Whiting, London.
Noll, Mark A.; Blumhofer, Edith L. (eds.) (2006). Sing Them Over Again to Me: Hymns and Hymnbooks in America, University of Alabama Press.
Norris, Kathleen (1999). Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Riverhead.
Patterson, Beverly Bush (1995). The Sound of the Dove: Singing in Appalachian Primitive Baptist Churches, University of Illinois Press.
Porter, Jennifer; McLaren, Darcee (eds.)(1999). Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture, State University of New York Press,
Rourke, Mary; Gwathmey, Emily (1996). Amazing Grace in America: Our Spiritual National Anthem, Angel City Press.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher (1899). Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, R. F. Fenno & Company, New York City.
Swiderski, Richard (1996). The Metamorphosis of English: Versions of Other Languages, Greenwood Publishing Group.
Turner, Steve (2002). Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song, HarperCollins.
Watson, J. R. (ed.)(2002). An Annotated Anthology of Hymns, Oxford University Press.
Whitburn, Joel (2003). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955–2002, Record Research, Inc. |
Amazing Grace | External links | External links
Amazing Grace at Hymnary.org
The Amazing Grace
U.S. Library of Congress Amazing Grace collection
Cowper & Newton Museum in Olney, England
Amazing Grace: Some Early Tunes Anthology of the American Hymn-Tune Repertory
Amazing Grace: The story behind the song and its connection to Lough Swilly |
Amazing Grace | Further reading | Further reading
Walvin, James. Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023.
Category:1772 songs
Category:18th-century hymns
Category:1970 singles
Category:1971 singles
Category:1972 singles
Category:2007 singles
Category:Elvis Presley songs
Category:English Christian hymns
Category:English patriotic songs
Category:Funerary and memorial compositions
Category:Gospel songs
Category:Hymns by John Newton
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Joan Baez songs
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Number-one singles in South Africa
Category:Okeh Records singles
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:UK singles chart number-one singles
Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings
Category:Atlantic slave trade |
Amazing Grace | Table of Content | Short description, John Newton's conversion, Olney curate, ''Olney Hymns'', Critical analysis, Dissemination, "New Britain" tune, Urban revival, Recorded versions, In American popular culture, Modern interpretations, Explanatory notes, References, Citations, Sources, External links, Further reading |
AOL | Short description | AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc.
The service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET. PlayNET licensed its software to Quantum Link (Q-Link), which went online in November 1985. A new IBM PC client was launched in 1988, and eventually renamed as America Online in 1989. AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source. By 1995, AOL had about three million active users.
AOL was at one point the most recognized brand on the Web in the United States. AOL once provided a dial-up Internet service to millions of Americans and pioneered instant messaging and chat rooms with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). In 1998, AOL purchased Netscape for US$4.2 billion. By 2000, AOL was providing internet service to over 20 million consumers, dominating the market of Internet service providers (ISPs). In 2001, at the height of its popularity, it purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in US history. AOL shrank rapidly thereafter, partly due to the decline of dial-up and rise of broadband. AOL was eventually spun off from Time Warner in 2009, with Tim Armstrong appointed the new CEO. Under his leadership, the company invested in media brands and advertising technologies.
On June 23, 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion. On May 3, 2021, Verizon announced it would sell Yahoo and AOL to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion. On September 1, 2021, AOL became part of the new Yahoo! Inc. |
AOL | History | History |
AOL | 1983–1991: early years | 1983–1991: early years
AOL began in 1983, as a short-lived venture called Control Video Corporation (CVC), founded by William von Meister. Its sole product was an online service called GameLine for the Atari 2600 video game console, after von Meister's idea of buying music on demand was rejected by Warner Bros. Subscribers bought a modem from the company for $49.95 and paid a one-time $15 setup fee. GameLine permitted subscribers to temporarily download games and keep track of high scores, at a cost of $1 per game. The telephone disconnected and the downloaded game would remain in GameLine's Master Module, playable until the user turned off the console or downloaded another game.
In January 1983, Steve Case was hired as a marketing consultant for Control Video on the recommendation of his brother, investment banker Dan Case. In May 1983, Jim Kimsey became a manufacturing consultant for Control Video, which was near bankruptcy. Kimsey was brought in by his West Point friend Frank Caufield, an investor in the company. In early 1985, von Meister left the company.
On May 24, 1985, Quantum Computer Services, an online services company, was founded by Kimsey from the remnants of Control Video, with Kimsey as chief executive officer and Marc Seriff as chief technology officer. The technical team consisted of Seriff, Tom Ralston, Ray Heinrich, Steve Trus, Ken Huntsman, Janet Hunter, Dave Brown, Craig Dykstra, Doug Coward, and Mike Ficco. In 1987, Case was promoted again to executive vice-president. Kimsey soon began to groom Case to take over the role of CEO, which he did when Kimsey retired in 1991.
Kimsey changed the company's strategy, and in 1985, launched a dedicated online service for Commodore 64 and 128 computers, originally called Quantum Link ("Q-Link" for short). The Quantum Link software was based on software licensed from PlayNet, Inc., which was founded in 1983 by Howard Goldberg and Dave Panzl. The service was different from other online services as it used the computing power of the Commodore 64 and the Apple II rather than just a "dumb" terminal. It passed tokens back and forth and provided a fixed-price service tailored for home users. In May 1988, Quantum and Apple launched AppleLink Personal Edition for Apple II and Macintosh computers. In August 1988, Quantum launched PC Link, a service for IBM-compatible PCs developed in a joint venture with the Tandy Corporation. After the company parted ways with Apple in October 1989, Quantum changed the service's name to America Online. Case promoted and sold AOL as the online service for people unfamiliar with computers, in contrast to CompuServe, which was well established in the technical community.
From the beginning, AOL included online games in its mix of products; many classic and casual games were included in the original PlayNet software system. The company introduced many innovative online interactive titles and games, including:
Graphical chat environments Habitat (1986–1988) from LucasArts.
The first online interactive fiction series QuantumLink Serial by Tracy Reed (1988).
Quantum Space, the first fully automated play-by-mail game (1989–1991). |
AOL | 1991–2006: Internet age, Time Warner merger | 1991–2006: Internet age, Time Warner merger
thumb|left|First AOL logo as "America Online", used from 1991 to 2005
In February 1991, AOL for DOS was launched using a GeoWorks interface; it was followed a year later by AOL for Windows. This coincided with growth in pay-based online services, like Prodigy, CompuServe, and GEnie.
During the early 1990s, the average subscription lasted for about 25 months and accounted for $350 in total revenue. Advertisements invited modem owners to "Try America Online FREE", promising free software and trial membership. AOL discontinued Q-Link and PC Link in late 1994. In September 1993, AOL added Usenet access to its features. This is commonly referred to as the "Eternal September", as Usenet's cycle of new users was previously dominated by smaller numbers of college and university freshmen gaining access in September and taking a few weeks to acclimate. This also coincided with a new "carpet bombing" marketing campaign by CMO Jan Brandt to distribute as many free trial AOL trial disks as possible through nonconventional distribution partners. At one point, 50% of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo. AOL quickly surpassed GEnie, and by the mid-1990s, it passed Prodigy (which for several years allowed AOL advertising) and CompuServe. In November 1994, AOL purchased Booklink for its web browser, to give its users web access. In 1996, AOL replaced Booklink with a browser based on Internet Explorer, reportedly in exchange for inclusion of AOL in Windows.
AOL launched services with the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, Pearson, Scholastic, ASCD, NSBA, NCTE, Discovery Networks, Turner Education Services (CNN Newsroom), NPR, The Princeton Review, Stanley Kaplan, Barron's, Highlights for Kids, the US Department of Education, and many other education providers. AOL offered the first real-time homework help service (the Teacher Pager—1990; prior to this, AOL provided homework help bulletin boards), the first service by children, for children (Kids Only Online, 1991), the first online service for parents (the Parents Information Network, 1991), the first online courses (1988), the first omnibus service for teachers (the Teachers' Information Network, 1990), the first online exhibit (Library of Congress, 1991), the first parental controls, and many other online education firsts.
AOL purchased search engine WebCrawler in 1995, but sold it to Excite the following year; the deal made Excite the sole search and directory service on AOL. After the deal closed in March 1997, AOL launched its own branded search engine, based on Excite, called NetFind. This was renamed to AOL Search in 1999.
thumb|America Online 2.0 software for Microsoft Windows (1994)
AOL charged its users an hourly fee until December 1996, when the company changed to a flat monthly rate of $19.95. During this time, AOL connections were flooded with users trying to connect, and many canceled their accounts due to constant busy signals. A commercial was made featuring Steve Case telling people AOL was working day and night to fix the problem. Within three years, AOL's user base grew to 10 million people. In 1995, AOL was headquartered at 8619 Westwood Center Drive in the Tysons Corner CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. near the Town of Vienna.
AOL was quickly running out of room in October 1996 for its network at the Fairfax County campus. In mid-1996, AOL moved to 22000 AOL Way in Dulles, unincorporated Loudoun County, Virginia to provide room for future growth. In a five-year landmark agreement with the most popular operating system, AOL was bundled with Windows software.
On March 31, 1996, the short-lived eWorld was purchased by AOL. In 1997, about half of all US homes with Internet access had it through AOL. During this time, AOL's content channels, under Jason Seiken, including News, Sports, and Entertainment, experienced their greatest growth as AOL become the dominant online service internationally with more than 34 million subscribers.
In February 1998, AOL acquired CompuServe Interactive Services (CIS) via WorldCom (later Verizon), which kept Compuware's networking business.
In November 1998, AOL announced it would acquire Netscape, best known for their web browser, in a major $4.2 billion deal. The deal closed on March 17, 1999. Another large acquisition in December 1999 was that of MapQuest, for $1.1 billion.
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In January 2000, as new broadband technologies were being rolled out around the New York City metropolitan area and elsewhere across the United States, AOL and Time Warner Entertainment announced plans to merge, forming AOL Time Warner, Inc. The terms of the deal called for AOL shareholders to own 55% of the new, combined company. The deal closed on January 11, 2001. The new company was led by executives from AOL, SBI, and Time Warner. Gerald Levin, who had served as CEO of Time Warner, was CEO of the new company. Steve Case served as chairman, J. Michael Kelly (from AOL) was the chief financial officer, Robert W. Pittman (from AOL) and Dick Parsons (from Time Warner) served as co-chief operating officers. In 2002, Jonathan Miller became CEO of AOL. Note: only the beginning of the news article was available, the remainder behind a paywall. The following year, AOL Time Warner dropped the "AOL" from its name. It was the largest merger in history when completed with the combined value of the companies at $360 billion. This value fell sharply, to as low as $120 billion, as markets repriced AOL's valuation as a pure internet firm more modestly when combined with the traditional media and cable business. This status did not last long, and the company's value rose again within three months. By the end of that year, the tide had turned against "pure" internet companies, with many collapsing under falling stock prices, and even the strongest companies in the field losing up to 75% of their market value. The decline continued though 2001, but even with the losses, AOL was among the internet giants that continued to outperform brick and mortar companies.
In 2004, along with the launch of AOL 9.0 Optimized, AOL also made available the option of personalized greetings which would enable the user to hear his or her name while accessing basic functions and mail alerts, or while logging in or out. In 2005, AOL broadcast the Live 8 concert live over the Internet, and thousands of users downloaded clips of the concert over the following months. In late 2005, AOL released AOL Safety & Security Center, a bundle of McAfee Antivirus, CA anti-spyware, and proprietary firewall and phishing protection software. News reports in late 2005 identified companies such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google as candidates for turning AOL into a joint venture. Those plans were abandoned when it was revealed on December 20, 2005, that Google would purchase a 5% share of AOL for $1 billion. |
AOL | 2006–2009: rebranding and decline | 2006–2009: rebranding and decline
thumb|left|Former AOL logo, used from 2005 to 2009
On April 3, 2006, AOL announced that it would retire the full name America Online. The official name of the service became AOL, and the full name of the Time Warner subdivision became AOL LLC. On June 8, 2006, AOL offered a new program called AOL Active Security Monitor, a diagnostic tool to monitor and rate PC security status, and recommended additional security software from AOL or Download.com. Two months later, AOL released AOL Active Virus Shield, a free product developed by Kaspersky Lab, that did not require an AOL account, only an internet email address. The ISP side of AOL UK was bought by Carphone Warehouse in October 2006 to take advantage of its 100,000 LLU customers, making Carphone Warehouse the largest LLU provider in the UK.
thumb|right|Decline in AOL US subscribers Q2 2001 – Q2 2009, with a significant drop from Q2 2006 onward
In August 2006, AOL announced that it would offer email accounts and software previously available only to its paying customers, provided that users accessed AOL or AOL.com through an access method not owned by AOL (otherwise known as "third party transit", "bring your own access" or "BYOA"). The move was designed to reduce costs associated with the "walled garden" business model by reducing usage of AOL-owned access points and shifting members with high-speed internet access from client-based usage to the more lucrative advertising provider AOL.com. The change from paid to free access was also designed to slow the rate at which members canceled their accounts and defected to Microsoft Hotmail, Yahoo! or other free email providers. The other free services included:
AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)
AOL Video, which featured professional content and allowed users to upload videos.
AOL Local, comprising its CityGuide, Yellow Pages and Local Search services to help users find local information like restaurants, local events, and directory listings.
AOL News
AOL My eAddress, a custom domain name for email addresses. These email accounts could be accessed in a manner similar to those of other AOL and AIM email accounts.
Xdrive, which allowed users to back up files over the Internet. Quote: "Online backups, where files are shuttled off to the Internet for safekeeping, are suddenly becoming effortless, capacious and even free." It was acquired by AOL on August 4, 2005, and closed on December 31, 2008. It offered a free 5 GB account (free online file storage) to anyone with an AOL screenname. Xdrive also provided remote backup services and 50 GB of storage for $9.95 per month.
Also in August, AOL informed its US customers of an increase in the price of its dial-up access to $25.90. The increase was part of an effort to migrate the service's remaining dial-up users to broadband, as the increased price was the same as that of its monthly DSL access. However, AOL subsequently began offering unlimited dial-up access for $9.95 a month.
On November 16, 2006, Randy Falco succeeded Jonathan Miller as CEO. In December 2006, AOL closed its last remaining call center in the United States, "taking the America out of America Online," according to industry pundits. Service centers based in India and the Philippines continue to provide customer support and technical assistance to subscribers.
thumb|upright|left|AOL headquarters at 770 Broadway in New York City
On September 17, 2007, AOL announced the relocation of one of its corporate headquarters from Dulles, Virginia to New York City and the combination of its advertising units into a new subsidiary called Platform A. This action followed several advertising acquisitions, most notably Advertising.com, and highlighted the company's new focus on advertising-driven business models. AOL management stressed that "significant operations" would remain in Dulles, which included the company's access services and modem banks.
In October 2007, AOL announced the relocation of its other headquarters from Loudoun County, Virginia to New York City, while continuing to operate its Virginia offices. As part of the move to New York and the restructuring of responsibilities at the Dulles headquarters complex after the Reston move, Falco announced on October 15, 2007, plans to lay off 2,000 employees worldwide by the end of 2007, beginning "immediately". The result was a layoff of approximately 40% of AOL's employees. Most compensation packages associated with the October 2007 layoffs included a minimum of 120 days of severance pay, 60 of which were offered in lieu of the 60-day advance notice requirement by provisions of the 1988 federal WARN Act.
By November 2007, AOL's customer base had been reduced to 10.1 million subscribers, slightly more than the number of subscribers of Comcast and AT&T Yahoo!. According to Falco, as of December 2007, the conversion rate of accounts from paid access to free access was more than 80%.
On January 3, 2008, AOL announced the closing of its Reston, Virginia, data center, which was sold to CRG West. On February 6, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes announced that Time Warner would divide AOL's internet-access and advertising businesses, with the possibility of later selling the internet-access division.
On March 13, 2008, AOL purchased the social networking site Bebo for $850 million (£417 million). On July 25, AOL announced that it was shuttering Xdrive, AOL Pictures and BlueString to save on costs and focus on its core advertising business. AOL Pictures was closed on December 31. On October 31, AOL Hometown (a web-hosting service for the websites of AOL customers) and the AOL Journal blog hosting service were eliminated. |
AOL | 2009–2015: As a digital media company | 2009–2015: As a digital media company
thumb|left|Former AOL logo, used from 2009 to 2024
On March 12, 2009, Tim Armstrong, formerly with Google, was named chairman and CEO of AOL.Tim Armstrong Named Chairman and CEO of AOL . AOL Press Release. Retrieved on April 9, 2012. On May 28, Time Warner announced that it would position AOL as an independent company after Google's shares ceased at the end of the fiscal year.Time Warner walking out on AOL marriage . NBC News (May 28, 2009). Retrieved on July 8, 2011. On November 23, AOL unveiled a new brand identity with the wordmark "Aol." superimposed onto canvases created by commissioned artists. The new identity, designed by Wolff Olins, was integrated with all of AOL's services on December 10, the date upon which AOL traded independently for the first time since the Time Warner merger on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AOL.
On April 6, 2010, AOL announced plans to shutter or sell Bebo. On June 16, the property was sold to Criterion Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount, believed to be approximately $10 million.AOL sells Bebo for scrap – and a $275 million tax break . CNN Money. Retrieved on April 12, 2011. In December, AIM eliminated access to AOL chat rooms, noting a marked decline in usage in recent months.Why is AIM Chat Closed? . AOL Help. Retrieved on April 9, 2012.
Under Armstrong's leadership, AOL followed a new business direction marked by a series of acquisitions. It announced the acquisition of Patch Media, a network of community-specific news and information sites focused on towns and communities. On September 28, 2010, at the San Francisco TechCrunch Disrupt Conference, AOL signed an agreement to acquire TechCrunch. On December 12, 2010, AOL acquired about.me, a personal profile and identity platform, four days after the platform's public launch.AOL Acquires Personal Profile Startup About.Me . TechCrunch. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
On January 31, 2011, AOL announced the acquisition of European video distribution network goviral.Online video distribution network Goviral acquired by AOL Europe . AOL Press Release. Retrieved April 9, 2012. In March 2011, AOL acquired HuffPost for $315 million.AOL buys Huffington Post: the beginning of the end?. Guardian. Retrieved on July 8, 2011. Shortly after the acquisition was announced, Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington replaced AOL content chief David Eun, assuming the role of president and editor-in-chief of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group.Wired.com . Wired.com. Retrieved on July 8, 2011. On March 10, AOL announced that it would cut approximately 900 workers following the HuffPost acquisition.
On September 14, 2011, AOL formed a strategic ad-selling partnership with two of its largest competitors, Yahoo and Microsoft. The three companies would begin selling inventory on each other's sites. The strategy was designed to help the companies compete with Google and advertising networks.
On February 28, 2012, AOL partnered with PBS to launch MAKERS, a digital documentary series focusing on high-achieving women in industries perceived as male-dominated such as war, comedy, space, business, Hollywood and politics.Dwyer, Kate (March 28, 2016). "How You Can Be in the Music Video for Michelle Obama's Song With Zendaya and Lea Michele" . Teen Vogue."AOL and PBS Announce 'MAKERS: WOMEN WHO MAKE AMERICA'" . PBS. February 28, 2012. Subjects for MAKERS episodes have included Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, Martha Stewart, Indra Nooyi, Lena Dunham and Ellen DeGeneres.
On March 15, 2012, AOL announced the acquisition of Hipster, a mobile photo-sharing app, for an undisclosed amount.AOL acquires mobile photo-sharing app Hipster . VentureBeat. Retrieved on April 9, 2012. On April 9, 2012, AOL announced a deal to sell 800 patents to Microsoft for $1.056 billion. The deal included a perpetual license for AOL to use the patents.AOL and Microsoft Announce $1.056 Billion Deal . AOL Press Release. Retrieved on April 9, 2012.
In April, AOL took several steps to expand its ability to generate revenue through online video advertising. The company announced that it would offer gross rating point (GRP) guarantee for online video, mirroring the television-ratings system and guaranteeing audience delivery for online-video advertising campaigns bought across its properties. This announcement came just days before the Digital Content NewFront (DCNF) a two-week event held by AOL, Google, Hulu, Microsoft, Vevo and Yahoo to showcase the participating sites' digital video offerings. The DCNF was conducted in advance of the traditional television upfronts in the hope of diverting more advertising money into the digital space. On April 24, the company launched the AOL On network, a single website for its video output.
In February 2013, AOL reported its fourth quarter revenue of $599.5 million, its first growth in quarterly revenue in eight years.
In August 2013, Armstrong announced that Patch Media would scale back or sell hundreds of its local news sites. Not long afterward, layoffs began, with up to 500 out of 1,100 positions initially impacted. On January 15, 2014, Patch Media was spun off, and majority ownership was held by Hale Global. By the end of 2014, AOL controlled 0.74% of the global advertising market, well behind industry leader Google's 31.4%.
On January 23, 2014, AOL acquired Gravity, a software startup that tracked users' online behavior and tailored ads and content based on their interests, for $83 million. The deal, which included approximately 40 Gravity employees and the company's personalization technology, was Armstrong's fourth-largest deal since taking command in 2009. Later that year, AOL acquired Vidible, a company that developed technology to help websites run video content from other publishers, and help video publishers sell their content to these websites. The deal, which was announced December 1, 2014, was reportedly worth roughly $50 million.
On July 16, 2014, AOL earned an Emmy nomination for the AOL original series The Future Starts Here in the News and Documentary category. This came days after AOL earned its first Primetime Emmy Award nomination and win for Park Bench with Steve Buscemi in the Outstanding Short Form Variety Series. Created and hosted by Tiffany Shlain, the series focused on humans' relationship with technology and featured episodes such as "The Future of Our Species", "Why We Love Robots" and "A Case for Optimism". |
AOL | 2015–2021: division of Verizon | 2015–2021: division of Verizon
thumb|left|AOL's Silicon Valley branch office
On May 12, 2015, Verizon announced plans to buy AOL for $50 per share in a deal valued at $4.4 billion. The transaction was completed on June 23. Armstrong, who continued to lead the firm following regulatory approval, called the deal the logical next step for AOL. "If you look forward five years, you're going to be in a space where there are going to be massive, global-scale networks, and there's no better partner for us to go forward with than Verizon." he said. "It's really not about selling the company today. It's about setting up for the next five to 10 years."
Analyst David Bank said he thought the deal made sense for Verizon. The deal will broaden Verizon's advertising sales platforms and increase its video production ability through websites such as HuffPost, TechCrunch, and Engadget. However, Craig Moffett said it was unlikely the deal would make a big difference to Verizon's bottom line. AOL had about two million dial-up subscribers at the time of the buyout. The announcement caused AOL's stock price to rise 17%, while Verizon's stock price dropped slightly.
Shortly before the Verizon purchase, on April 14, 2015, AOL launched ONE by AOL, a digital marketing programmatic platform that unifies buying channels and audience management platforms to track and optimize campaigns over multiple screens. Later that year, on September 15, AOL expanded the product with ONE by AOL: Creative, which is geared towards creative and media agencies to similarly connect marketing and ad distribution efforts.
On May 8, 2015, AOL reported its first-quarter revenue of $625.1 million, $483.5 million of which came from advertising and related operations, marking a 7% increase from Q1 2014. Over that year, the AOL Platforms division saw a 21% increase in revenue, but a drop in adjusted OIBDA due to increased investments in the company's video and programmatic platforms.
On June 29, 2015, AOL announced a deal with Microsoft to take over the majority of its digital advertising business. Under the pact, as many as 1,200 Microsoft employees involved with the business will be transferred to AOL, and the company will take over the sale of display, video, and mobile ads on various Microsoft platforms in nine countries, including Brazil, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, Google Search will be replaced on AOL properties with Bing—which will display advertising sold by Microsoft. Both advertising deals are subject to affiliate marketing revenue sharing.
On July 22, 2015, AOL received two News and Documentary Emmy nominations, one for MAKERS in the Outstanding Historical Programming category, and the other for True Trans With Laura Jane Grace, which documented the story of Laura Jane Grace, a transgender musician best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!, and her decision to come out publicly and overall transition experience.
On September 3, 2015, AOL agreed to buy Millennial Media for $238 million. On October 23, 2015, AOL completed the acquisition.
On October 1, 2015, Go90, a free ad-supported mobile video service aimed at young adult and teen viewers that Verizon owns and AOL oversees and operates, launched its content publicly after months of beta testing. The initial launch line-up included content from Comedy Central, HuffPost, Nerdist News, Univision News, Vice, ESPN and MTV.
On April 20, 2016, AOL acquired virtual reality studio RYOT to bring immersive 360 degree video and VR content to HuffPost's global audience across desktop, mobile, and apps.
In July 2016, Verizon Communications announced its intent to purchase the core internet business of Yahoo!. Verizon merged AOL with Yahoo into a new company called "Oath Inc.", which in January 2019 rebranded itself as Verizon Media.
In April 2018, Oath Inc. sold Moviefone to MoviePass Parent Helios and Matheson Analytics.
In November 2020 the Huffington Post was sold to BuzzFeed in a stock deal. |
AOL | 2021–present: Apollo Global Management | 2021–present: Apollo Global Management
On May 3, 2021, Verizon announced it would sell 90 percent of its Verizon Media division to Apollo Global Management for $5 billion. The division became the second incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. |
AOL | Products and services | Products and services |
AOL | Content | Content
As of September 1, 2021, the following media brands became subsidiary of AOL's parent Yahoo Inc.
Engadget
Autoblog
TechCrunch
Built by Girls
AOL's content contributors consists of over 20,000 bloggers, including politicians, celebrities, academics, and policy experts, who contribute on a wide range of topics making news.
In addition to mobile-optimized web experiences, AOL produces mobile applications for existing AOL properties like Autoblog, Engadget, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and products such as Alto, Pip, and Vivv. |
AOL | Advertising | Advertising
AOL has a global portfolio of media brands and advertising services across mobile, desktop, and TV. Services include brand integration and sponsorships through its in-house branded content arm, Partner Studio by AOL, as well as data and programmatic offerings through ad technology stack, ONE by AOL.
AOL acquired a number of businesses and technologies help to form ONE by AOL. These acquisitions included AdapTV in 2013 and Convertro, Precision Demand, and Vidible in 2014. ONE by AOL is further broken down into ONE by AOL for Publishers (formerly Vidible, AOL On Network and Be On for Publishers) and ONE by AOL for Advertisers, each of which have several sub-platforms.
On September 10, 2018, AOL's parent company Oath consolidated BrightRoll, One by AOL and Yahoo Gemini to 'simplify' adtech service by launching a single advertising proposition dubbed Oath Ad Platforms, now Yahoo! Ad Tech. |