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| chuhan = 哲學中國
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| hanja = 中國哲學
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| katakana = チュウゴクテツガク
| kunrei = Tyûgoku tetugaku
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Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developments.
The Han dynasty Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Tan looked back on the Warring States era and grouped the thinkers into the major philosophical schools, Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism, along with philosophies that later fell into obscurity, like Agriculturalism, Mohism, Chinese Naturalism, and the Logicians. Even in modern society, Confucianism is still the creed of social behaviour.
Chinese philosophy as a philosophy
The debate over whether the thought of ancient Chinese masters should be called philosophy has been discussed since the introduction of this academic discipline into China. See Legitimacy of Chinese philosophy for details.
Early beliefs
Early Shang dynasty thought was based on cycles like the 10 stems and 12 earthly branches. This notion stems from what the people of the Shang dynasty could observe around them: day and night cycles, the seasons progressed again and again, and even the moon waxed and waned until it waxed again. Thus, this notion, which remained relevant throughout Chinese history, reflects the order of nature. In juxtaposition, it also marks a fundamental distinction from western philosophy, in which the dominant view of time is a linear progression. During the Shang, Ancestor worship was present and universally recognized.
When the Shang were overthrown by the Zhou a new political, religious and philosophical concept was introduced called the Mandate of Heaven. This mandate was said to be taken when rulers became unworthy of their position and provided a justification for Zhou rule it is said that the Duke of Zhou made the early solar terms by measuring with a gnomon that was added to make the complete solar terms. He is also said to have used try squares and wrote the Zhoubi Suanjing with his astrologer. Several early beliefs might be found in the Guicang and perhaps the earliest Chinese book, the small calendar of the Xia in Da Dai Liji, though debated to exist the Xia dynasty is said to be its origin.OverviewConfucianism developed during the Spring and Autumn period from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE), who considered himself a retransmitter of Zhou values. His philosophy concerns the fields of ethics and politics, emphasizing personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, traditionalism, and sincerity. The Analects stress the importance of ritual, but also the importance of ren, which loosely translates as "human-heartedness", Confucianism, along with Legalism, is responsible for creating one of the world's first meritocracies, which holds that one's status should be determined by education and character rather than ancestry, wealth, or friendship. Confucianism was and continues to be a major influence in Chinese culture, the state of China and the surrounding areas of East Asia.
Before the Han dynasty the largest rivals to Confucianism were Chinese Legalism, and Mohism. Confucianism largely became the dominant philosophical school of China during the early Han dynasty following the replacement of its contemporary, the more Taoist Huang-Lao. Legalism as a coherent philosophy disappeared largely due to its relationship with the unpopular authoritarian rule of Qin Shi Huang, however, many of its ideas and institutions would continue to influence Chinese philosophy throughout the Han dynasty and after.
Mohism, though initially popular due to its emphasis on brotherly love versus harsh Legalism, fell out of favour during the Han dynasty due to the efforts of Confucians in establishing their views as political orthodoxy. The Six Dynasties era saw the rise of the Xuanxue philosophical school and the maturation of Chinese Buddhism, which had entered China from India during the Late Han dynasties. By the time of the Tang dynasty five-hundred years after Buddhism's arrival into China, it had transformed into a thoroughly Chinese religious philosophy dominated by the school of Zen Buddhism. Neo-Confucianism became highly popular during the Song dynasty and Ming dynasty due in large part to the eventual combination of Confucian and Buddhist and even Taoist Philosophy.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Chinese philosophy integrated concepts from Western philosophy. Anti-Qing dynasty revolutionaries, involved in the Xinhai Revolution, saw Western philosophy as an alternative to traditional philosophical schools; students in the May Fourth Movement called for completely abolishing the old imperial institutions and practices of China. During this era, Chinese scholars attempted to incorporate Western philosophical ideologies such as democracy, Marxism, socialism, liberalism, republicanism, anarchism and nationalism into Chinese philosophy. The most notable examples are Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People ideology and Mao Zedong's Maoism, a variant of Marxism–Leninism. In the modern People's Republic of China, the official ideology is Deng Xiaoping's "market economy socialism".
Although the People's Republic of China has been historically hostile to the philosophy of ancient China, the influences of past are still deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture. In the post-Chinese economic reform era, modern Chinese philosophy has reappeared in forms such as New Confucianism. As in Japan, philosophy in China has become a melting pot of ideas. It accepts new concepts, while attempting also to accord old beliefs their due. Chinese philosophy still carries profound influence amongst the people of East Asia, and even Southeast Asia.Ancient philosophy Spring and Autumn period
Around 500 BCE, after the Zhou state weakened and China moved into the Spring and Autumn period, the classic period of Chinese philosophy began. This is known as the Hundred Schools of Thought (; zhūzǐ bǎijiā; "various scholars, hundred schools"). This period is considered the golden age of Chinese philosophy. Of the many schools founded at this time and during the subsequent Warring States period, the four most influential ones were Confucianism, Daoism (often spelled "Taoism"), Mohism and Legalism.
Confucianism
: Confucius)]]
Confucianism is a philosophical school developed from the teachings of Confucius collected and written by his disciples after his death in The Analects, and in the Warring States period, Mencius in The Mencius and Xunzi in The Xunzi. It is a system of moral, social, political, and religious thought that has had tremendous influence on Chinese history, thought, and culture down to the 20th century. Some Westerners have considered it to have been the "state religion" of imperial China because of its lasting influence on Asian culture. Its influence also spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and many other Asian countries.
Confucianism reached its peak of influence during the Tang and Song dynasties under a rebranded Confucianism called Neo-Confucianism. Confucius expanded on the already present ideas of Chinese religion and culture to reflect the time period and environment of political chaos during the Warring States period. Because Confucius embedded the Chinese culture so heavily into his philosophy it was able to resonate with the people of China. However, the relationship between Confucianism and contemporary Chinese society is continuously transforming, reflecting the evolving cultural, political, and social landscape of modern China.
The major Confucian concepts include filial piety, loyalty (), li (ritual), ren (humanity or humaneness), the rectification of names (i.e., to ensure everything is what its name implies it should be),. Confucius taught both positive and negative versions of the Golden Rule. The concepts yin and yang represent two opposing forces that are permanently in conflict with each other, leading to perpetual contradiction and change. The Confucian idea of "Rid of the two ends, take the middle" is a Chinese equivalent of the idea of "thesis, antithesis, and synthesis", often attributed to Hegel, which is a way of reconciling opposites, arriving at some middle ground combining the best of both.
Confucius heavily emphasized the idea of microcosms in society (subunits of family and community) success's were the foundations for a successful state or country. Confucius believed in the use of education to further knowledge the people in ethics, societal behavior, and reverence in other humans. With the combination of education, successful family, and his ethical teachings he believed he could govern a well established society in China. Taoism
d stoneware statue of a Daoist deity, from the Ming dynasty, 16th century]]
: Modern Taijitu with I Ching trigrams]]
Taoism arose as a philosophy and later also developed into a religion based on the texts the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Laozi) and the Zhuangzi (partly ascribed to Zhuang Zhou). The word Tao (; also transliterated as Dao) literally means 'path' or 'way'. However, in Taoism it refers more often to a meta-physical force that encompasses the entire universe but which cannot be described nor felt.
All major Chinese philosophical schools have investigated the correct Way to go about a moral life, but in Taoism it takes on the most abstract meanings, leading this school to be named after it. It advocated nonaction (wu wei), the strength of softness, spontaneity, and relativism. Although it serves as a rival to Confucianism, a school of active morality, this rivalry is compromised and given perspective by the idiom "practice Confucianism on the outside, Taoism on the inside."
Most of Taoism's focus is on the notion that human attempts to make the world better actually make the world worse. Therefore, it is better to strive for harmony, minimising potentially harmful interference with nature or in human affairs. Warring States period Legalism
Philosopher Han Fei synthesized together earlier the methods of his predecessors, which famous historian Sima Tan posthumously termed Legalism. With an essential principle like "when the epoch changed, the ways changed", late pre-Han dynasty reformers emphasized rule by law.
In Han Fei's philosophy, a ruler should govern his subjects by the following trinity:
#Fa (): law or principle.
#Shu (): method, tactic, art, or statecraft.
#Shi (): legitimacy, power, or charisma.
What has been termed by some as the intrastate Realpolitik of the Warring States period was highly progressive, and extremely critical of the Confucian and Mohist schools. But that of the Qin dynasty would be blamed for creating a totalitarian society, thereby experiencing decline. Its main motto is: "Set clear strict laws, or deliver harsh punishment". In Han Fei's philosophy the ruler possessed authority regarding reward and penalty, enacted through law. Shang Yang and Han Fei promoted absolute adherence to the law, regardless of the circumstances or the person. Ministers were only to be rewarded if their words were accurate to the results of their proposals. Legalism, in accordance with Shang Yang's interpretation, could encourage the state to be a militaristic autarky.
Naturalists
The School of Naturalists or the School of Yin-yang () was a Warring States era philosophy that synthesized the concepts of yin-yang and the wuxing; Zou Yan is considered the founder of this school. His theory attempted to explain the universe in terms of basic forces in nature: the complementary agents of yin (dark, cold, female, negative) and yang (light, hot, male, positive) and the Five Elements or Five Phases (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth).
In its early days, this theory was most strongly associated with the states of Yan and Qi. In later periods, these epistemological theories came to hold significance in both philosophy and popular belief. This school was absorbed into Taoism's alchemic and magical dimensions as well as into the Chinese medical framework. The earliest surviving recordings of this are in the Mawangdui texts and Huangdi Neijing.
Mohism
Mohism (Moism), founded by Mozi, promotes universal love with the aim of mutual benefit. Everyone must love each other equally and impartially to avoid conflict and war. Mozi was strongly against Confucian ritual, instead emphasizing pragmatic survival through farming, fortification, and statecraft. Tradition is inconsistent, and human beings need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general benefit. As motivation for his theory, Mozi brought in the Will of Heaven, but rather than being religious his philosophy parallels utilitarianism.
Logicians
The logicians (School of Names) were concerned with logic, paradoxes, names and actuality (similar to Confucian rectification of names). The logician Hui Shi was a friendly rival to Zhuangzi, arguing against Taoism in a light-hearted and humorous manner. Another logician, Gongsun Long, originated the famous When a White Horse is Not a Horse dialogue.
Agriculturalists
Agriculturalism was an early agrarian social and political philosophy that advocated peasant utopian communalism and egalitarianism. The philosophy is founded on the notion that human society originates with the development of agriculture, and societies are based upon "people's natural propensity to farm."
The Agriculturalists believed that the ideal government, modeled after the semi-mythical governance of Shennong, is led by a benevolent king, one who works alongside the people in tilling the fields. The Agriculturalist king is not paid by the government through its treasuries; his livelihood is derived from the profits he earns working in the fields, not his leadership. Unlike the Confucians, the Agriculturalists did not believe in the division of labour, arguing instead that the economic policies of a country need to be based upon an egalitarian self sufficiency. The Agriculturalists supported the fixing of prices, in which all similar goods, regardless of differences in quality and demand, are set at exactly the same, unchanging price. Buddhism brought to China the idea of many hells, where sinners went, but the deceased sinners souls could be saved by pious acts. During later Chinese dynasties like the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), as well as in the Korean Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), a resurgent Neo-Confucianism led by thinkers such as Wang Yangming (1472–1529) became the dominant school of thought and was promoted by the imperial state. In Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867) was also strongly influenced by Confucian philosophy.Schools of thought Neo-Confucianism
Despite Confucianism losing popularity to Taoism and Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism combined those ideas into a more metaphysical framework. Its concepts include li (principle, akin to Plato's forms), qi (vital or material force), taiji (the Great Ultimate), and xin (mind). Song dynasty philosopher Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073) is commonly seen as the first true "pioneer" of Neo-Confucianism, using Daoist metaphysics as a framework for his ethical philosophy.
Neo-Confucianism developed both as a renaissance of traditional Confucian ideas, and as a reaction to the ideas of Buddhism and religious Daoism. Although the Neo-Confucianists denounced Buddhist metaphysics, Neo-Confucianism did borrow Daoist and Buddhist terminology and concepts.
Neo-Confucianist philosophers like Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming are seen as the most important figures of Neo-Confucianism.
<gallery>
File:Zhu-xi1.gif|Zhu Xi was a leading figure in Neo-Confucianism.
File:Wang-yang-ming.jpg|Wang Yangming was an important figure in Neo-Confucianism.
</gallery>
Modern era
During the Industrial and Modern Ages, Chinese philosophy had also begun to integrate concepts of Western philosophy, as steps toward modernization. Chinese philosophy never developed the concept of human rights, so that classical Chinese lacked words for them. In 1864, W.A.P. Martin had to invent the word quanli () to translate the Western concept of "rights" in the process of translating Henry Wheaton's Elements of International Law into classical Chinese.
By the time of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, there were many calls such as the May Fourth Movement to completely abolish the old imperial institutions and practices of China. There have been attempts to incorporate democracy, republicanism, and industrialism into Chinese philosophy, notably by Sun Yat-Sen at the beginning of the 20th century. Mao Zedong added Marxism, Stalinism, Chinese Marxist Philosophy and other communist thought.
When the Chinese Communist Party took over in 1949, previous schools of thought were denounced as backward, and later purged during the Cultural Revolution as part of the campaign against the Four Olds.
During the Xi Jinping administration, the People's Republic of China has promoted a revival in Chinese philosophy. In 2024, East China Normal University established the Chinese Zhuzi Research Institute to promote the study of Chinese philosophies. New Confucianism Philosophers
* Confucius, seen as the Great Master but sometimes ridiculed by Taoists.
** Mencius, Confucius' follower having idealist inspiration
** Xun Zi, another Confucius' follower, closer to realism, teacher of Han Fei and Li Si
** Zhu Xi, founder of Neo-Confucianism
** Wang Yangming, most influential proponent of "state of mind." ()
* Laozi, the semi-mythical founder of Taoist school.
** Zhuang Zhou, said to be the author of the Zhuangzi.
** Lie Yukou, said to be the author of the Liezi.
* Yang Zhu, proposed ethical egoism and founded Yangism.
* Mozi, the founder of Mohist school.
* Shang Yang, Legalist founder and pivotal Qin reformer
* Han Fei, one of the most notable theoreticians of Legalism
* Li Si, major proponent and practitioner of Legalism
Concepts
Although the individual philosophical schools differ considerably, they nevertheless share a common vocabulary and set of concerns.
Among the terms commonly found in Chinese philosophy are:
* Dao (the Way, or one's doctrine)
* De (virtue, power)
* Li (principle, Law)
* Qi (vital energy or material force)
* The Tai-chi (Great Heavenly Axis) forms a unity of the two complementary polarities, Yin and Yang. The word Yin originally referred to a hillside facing away from the sun. Philosophically, it stands the dark, passive, feminine principle; whereas Yang (the hillside facing the sun) stands for the bright, active, masculine principle. Yin and Yang are not antagonistic, they alternate in inverse proportion to one another—like the rise and fall of a wave and are known by their comparison.
Among the commonalities of Chinese philosophies are:
* The tendency not to view man as separate from nature.
* Questions about the nature and existence of a monotheistic deity, which have profoundly influenced Western philosophy, have not been important in Chinese philosophies or a source of great conflict in Chinese traditional religion.
* The belief that the purpose of philosophy is primarily to serve as an ethical and practical guide.
* The political focus: most scholars of the Hundred Schools were trying to convince the ruler to behave in the way they defended.
See also
{| valigntop style"font-size:95%;"|-
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* Chinese classic texts
*History of China
* Chinese philosophers
|width200 valigntop|
* Confucianism
* Culture of China
* Eastern philosophy
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* Five Elements
* Hun and po
* List of Chinese philosophers
|width200 valigntop|
* Taoism
* Thirteen Classics
|}
References
Further reading
* Bo Mou (Editor), History of Chinese Philosophy, Routledge, 2009.
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* Antonio S. Cua (Editor), Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy, Routledge, 2003.
* Feng Youlan, A History of Chinese Philosophy (Princeton Paperbacks), tr. Derk Bodde, 1983.
* Herrlee Glessner Creel, Chinese Thought, from Confucius to Mao Zedong, 1971.
* A. C. Graham, Disputers of the Tao; Philosophical Argument in Ancient China, 1989.
* Christoph Harbsmeier, Logic and Language in Ancient China, Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 7, Part I, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
* Philip J. Ivanhoe and Bryan W. Van Norden (Editors), Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, 2nd edition, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2005.
* Karyn Lai, Introduction to Chinese Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, 2008.
* Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living, William Morrow Paperbacks, 1998.
* Jana S. Rošker, Searching for the Way: Theory of Knowledge in Pre-modern and Modern Chinese Philosophy Hong Kong Chinese University Press, 2008.
* Roel Sterckx, Chinese Thought. From Confucius to Cook Ding. London: Penguin, 2019.
* Roel Sterckx, Ways of Heaven. An Introduction to Chinese Thought. New York: Basic Books, 2019.
* Justin Tiwald and Bryan W. Van Norden (Editors), Readings in Later Chinese Philosophy: Han Dynasty to the 20th Century, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2014.
* Bryan W. Van Norden, Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2011.
* Arthur Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China, 1983.
External links
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070704160934/http://www.literati-tradition.com/space.html Article "The Chinese Concept of Space"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070704160751/http://www.literati-tradition.com/time.html Article "The Chinese Concept of Time"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091119230928/http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/zhou-literature.html The Hundred Schools of Thought]
* [http://ctext.org Chinese Text Project] – Chinese philosophy texts in classical Chinese with English and modern Chinese translations
* [http://www.newleftreview.org/?pagearticle&view2664 Contesting Confucius] Henry Zhao, New Left Review 44, March–April 2007
* Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751–1772, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080605205614/http://ringmar.net/europeanfury/?page_id=1594 "Philosophie des Chinois]" [in French]
Category:Chinese literature
Category:Cultural history of China | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_philosophy | 2025-04-05T18:27:32.770516 |
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Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the philosophy and teachings of Confucius. His philosophical teachings, called Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, harmonious social relationships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue.
Confucius considered himself a transmitter for the values of earlier periods which he claimed had been abandoned in his time. He advocated for filial piety, endorsing strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, the respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. Confucius recommended a robust family unit as the cornerstone for an ideal government. He championed the Silver Rule, or a negative form of the Golden Rule, advising, "Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself."
The time of Confucius's life saw a rich diversity of thought, and was a formative period in China's intellectual history. His ideas gained in prominence during the Warring States period, but experienced setback immediately following the Qin conquest. Under Emperor Wu of Han, Confucius's ideas received official sanction, with affiliated works becoming mandatory readings for career paths leading to officialdom. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Confucianism developed into a system known in the West as Neo-Confucianism, and later as New Confucianism. From ancient dynasties to the modern era, Confucianism has integrated into the Chinese social fabric and way of life.
Traditionally, Confucius is credited with having authored or edited many of the ancient texts including all of the Five Classics. However, modern scholars exercise caution in attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself, for at least some of the texts and philosophy associated with him were of a more ancient origin. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but not until many years after his death.
Name
The name "Confucius" is a Latinized form of the Mandarin Chinese (, "Master Kong"), and was coined in the late 16th century by early Jesuit missionaries to China. Confucius's family name was Kong () and his given name was Qiu (). His courtesy name, a capping (guan: ) given at his coming of age ceremony, and by which he would have been known to all but his older family members, was Zhongni (), the "Zhòng" indicating that he was the second son in his family.
Life
Early life
It is thought that Confucius was born on 28 September 551 BCE, in Zou (, in modern Shandong). The area was notionally controlled by the kings of Zhou but effectively independent under the local lords of Lu, who ruled from the nearby city of Qufu. His father Kong He (or Shuliang He) was an elderly commandant of the local Lu garrison. His ancestry traced back through the dukes of Song to the Shang dynasty which had preceded the Zhou. Traditional accounts of Confucius's life relate that Kong He's grandfather had migrated the family from Song to Lu. Not all modern scholars accept Confucius's descent from Song nobility.
Kong He died when Confucius was three years old, and Confucius was raised by his mother Yan Zhengzai () in poverty. His mother later died at less than 40 years of age. At age 19, he married Lady Qiguan (), and a year later the couple had their first child, their son Kong Li (). Qiguan and Confucius later had two daughters together, one of whom is thought to have died as a child and one was named Kong Jiao ().
Confucius was educated at schools for commoners, where he studied and learned the Six Arts.
Confucius was born into the class of shi (), between the aristocracy and the common people. He is said to have worked in various government jobs during his early 20s, and as a bookkeeper and a caretaker of sheep and horses, using the proceeds to give his mother a proper burial.
Political career
In Confucius's time, the state of Lu was headed by a ruling ducal house. Under the duke were three aristocratic families, whose heads bore the title of viscount and held hereditary positions in the Lu bureaucracy. The Ji family held the position "Minister over the Masses", who was also the "Prime Minister"; the Meng family held the position "Minister of Works"; and the Shu family held the position "Minister of War". In the winter of , Yang Hu—a retainer of the Ji family—rose up in rebellion and seized power from the Ji family. However, by the summer of , the three hereditary families had succeeded in expelling Yang Hu from Lu. By then, Confucius had built up a considerable reputation through his teachings, while the families came to see the value of proper conduct and righteousness, so they could achieve loyalty to a legitimate government. Thus, that year (), Confucius came to be appointed to the minor position of governor of a town. Eventually, he rose to the position of Minister of Crime. The Xunzi says that once assuming the post, Confucius ordered the execution of Shaozheng Mao, another Lu state official and scholar whose lectures attracted the three thousand disciples several times except Yan Hui. Shaozheng Mao was accused of 'five crimes', each worth execution, including 'concealed evilness, stubborn abnormality, eloquent duplicity, erudition in bizarre facts and generosity to evildoers'.
Confucius desired to return the authority of the state to the duke by dismantling the fortifications of the city—strongholds belonging to the three families. This way, he could establish a centralized government. However, Confucius relied solely on diplomacy as he had no military authority himself. In , Hou Fan—the governor of Hou—revolted against his lord of the Shu family. Although the Meng and Shu families unsuccessfully besieged Hou, a loyalist official rose up with the people of Hou and forced Hou Fan to flee to the state of Qi. The situation may have been in favor for Confucius as this likely made it possible for Confucius and his disciples to convince the aristocratic families to dismantle the fortifications of their cities. Eventually, after a year and a half, Confucius and his disciples succeeded in convincing the Shu family to raze the walls of Hou, the Ji family in razing the walls of Bi, and the Meng family in razing the walls of Cheng. First, the Shu family led an army towards their city Hou and tore down its walls in .
) fresco depicting Confucius and Laozi, from a tomb of Dongping County, Shandong
}}
Soon thereafter, Gongshan Furao, a retainer of the Ji family, revolted and took control of the forces at Bi. He immediately launched an attack and entered the capital Lu. Earlier, Gongshan had approached Confucius to join him, which Confucius considered as he wanted the opportunity to put his principles into practice but he gave up on the idea in the end. Confucius disapproved the use of a violent revolution by principle, even though the Ji family dominated the Lu state by force for generations and had exiled the previous duke. Creel states that, unlike the rebel Yang Hu before him, Gongshan may have sought to destroy the three hereditary families and restore the power of the duke. However, Dubs is of the view that Gongshan was encouraged by Viscount Ji Huan to invade the Lu capital in an attempt to avoid dismantling the Bi fortified walls. Whatever the situation may have been, Gongshan was considered an upright man who continued to defend the state of Lu, even after he was forced to flee.
During the revolt by Gongshan, Zhong You had managed to keep the duke and the three viscounts together at the court. Zhong You was one of the disciples of Confucius and Confucius had arranged for him to be given the position of governor by the Ji family. When Confucius heard of the raid, he requested that Viscount Ji Huan allow the duke and his court to retreat to a stronghold on his palace grounds. Thereafter, the heads of the three families and the duke retreated to the Ji's palace complex and ascended the Wuzi Terrace. Confucius ordered two officers to lead an assault against the rebels. At least one of the two officers was a retainer of the Ji family, but they were unable to refuse the orders while in the presence of the duke, viscounts, and court. The rebels were pursued and defeated at Gu. Immediately after the revolt was defeated, the Ji family razed the Bi city walls to the ground.
The attackers retreated after realizing that they would have to become rebels against the state and their lord. Through Confucius' actions, the Bi officials had inadvertently revolted against their own lord, thus forcing Viscount Ji Huan's hand in having to dismantle the walls of Bi—as it could have harbored such rebels—or confess to instigating the event by going against proper conduct and righteousness as an official. Dubs suggests that the incident brought to light Confucius' foresight, practical political ability, and insight into human character.
When it was time to dismantle the city walls of the Meng family, the governor was reluctant to have his city walls torn down and convinced the head of the Meng family not to do so. The Zuo Zhuan recalls that the governor advised against razing the walls to the ground as he said that it made Cheng vulnerable to Qi, and cause the destruction of the Meng family. Even though Viscount Meng Yi gave his word not to interfere with an attempt, he went back on his earlier promise to dismantle the walls.
Later in , Duke Ding of Lu personally went with an army to lay siege to Cheng in an attempt to raze its walls to the ground, but he did not succeed. Thus, Confucius could not achieve the idealistic reforms that he wanted including restoration of the legitimate rule of the duke. He had made powerful enemies within the state, especially with Viscount Ji Huan, due to his successes so far. According to accounts in the Zuo Zhuan and the Records of the Grand Historian, Confucius departed his homeland in after his support for the failed attempt of dismantling the fortified city walls of the powerful Ji, Meng, and Shu families. He left the state of Lu without resigning, remaining in self-exile and unable to return as long as Viscount Ji Huan was alive.
Exile
The Shiji stated that the neighboring Qi state was worried that Lu was becoming too powerful while Confucius was involved in the government of the Lu state. According to this account, Qi decided to sabotage Lu's reforms by sending 100 good horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the duke of Lu. The duke indulged himself in pleasure and did not attend to official duties for three days. Confucius was disappointed and resolved to leave Lu and seek better opportunities, yet to leave at once would expose the misbehavior of the duke and therefore bring public humiliation to the ruler Confucius was serving. Confucius therefore waited for the duke to make a lesser mistake. Soon after, the duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that was his due according to custom, and Confucius seized upon this pretext to leave both his post and the Lu state.
After Confucius's resignation, he travelled around the principality states of north-east and central China including Wey, Song, Zheng, Cao, Chu, Qi, Chen, and Cai (and a failed attempt to go to Jin). At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them implemented.Return home
, Qufu, Shandong]]
According to the Zuozhuan, Confucius returned home to his native Lu when he was 68, after he was invited to do so by Ji Kangzi, the chief minister of Lu. The Shiji depicts him spending his last years teaching 3000 pupils, with 72 or 77 accomplished disciples that mastered the Six Arts. Meanwhile, Confucius dedicated himself in transmitting the old wisdom by writing or editing the Five Classics.
During his return, Confucius sometimes acted as an advisor to several government officials in Lu, including Ji Kangzi, on matters including governance and crime.
Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favorite disciples, he died at the age of 71 or 72 from natural causes. Confucius was buried on the bank of the Sishui River, to the north of Qufu City in Shandong Province. Starting as a humble tomb, the cemetery of Confucius had been expanded by emperors since the Han Dynasty. To date, the Cemetery of Confucius (孔林) covers an area of 183 hectares with more than 100,000 graves of the Kong descendants, it is included in the World Heritage List for its cultural and architectural value.Philosophy
In the Analects, Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing". He puts the greatest emphasis on the importance of study, and it is the Chinese character for study (學) that opens the text. Far from trying to build a systematic or formalist theory, he wanted his disciples to master and internalize older classics, so that they can capture the ancient wisdoms that promotes "harmony and order", to aid their self-cultivation to become a perfect man. For example, the Annals would allow them to relate the moral problems of the present to past political events; the Book of Odes reflects the "mood and concerns" of the commoners and their view on government; while the Book of Changes encompasses the key theory and practice of divination.
Although some Chinese people follow Confucianism in a religious manner, many argue that its values are secular and that it is less a religion than a secular morality. Proponents of religious Confucianism argue that despite the secular nature of Confucianism's teachings, it is based on a worldview that is religious. Confucius was considered more of a humanist than a spiritualist, his discussions on afterlife and views concerning Heaven remained indeterminate, and he is largely unconcerned with spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of souls.Ethics
]]
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules. Confucian ethics may, therefore, be considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed indirectly, through allusion, innuendo, and even tautology. His teachings require examination and context to be understood. A good example is found in this famous anecdote:
When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court Confucius said, "Was anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.|Analects'' X.11 (tr. Waley), 10–13 (tr. Legge), or X-17 (tr. Lau)}}
This remark was considered a strong manifestation of Confucius' advocacy in humanism.
One of his teachings was a variant of the Golden Rule, sometimes called the "Silver Rule" owing to its negative form:
Zi Gong [a disciple] asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?" The Master replied: "How about 'reciprocity'! Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself."|Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton}}
Often overlooked in Confucian ethics are the virtues to the self: sincerity and the cultivation of knowledge. Virtuous action towards others begins with virtuous and sincere thought, which begins with knowledge. A virtuous disposition without knowledge is susceptible to corruption, and virtuous action without sincerity is not true righteousness. Cultivating knowledge and sincerity is also important for one's own sake; the superior person loves learning for the sake of learning and righteousness for the sake of righteousness.
The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in lǐ () is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: (a) ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types, (b) social and political institutions, and (c) the etiquette of daily behavior. Some believed that lǐ originated from the heavens, but Confucius stressed the development of lǐ through the actions of sage leaders in human history. His discussions of lǐ seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those conforming with canonical standards of ceremony.
In the early Confucian tradition, lǐ was doing the proper thing at the proper time; balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. Training in the lǐ of past sages, cultivates virtues in people that include ethical judgment about when lǐ must be adapted in light of situational contexts.
In Confucianism, the concept of li is closely related to yì (), which is based upon the idea of reciprocity. Yì can be translated as righteousness, though it may mean what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of self-interest or profitableness (). While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one's life was based upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of yì is doing the right thing for its own sake, without regarding the material gains.
Just as action according to lǐ should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of adhering to yì, so yì is linked to the core value of rén (). Rén consists of five basic virtues: seriousness, generosity, sincerity, diligence, and kindness. Rén is the virtue of perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as "benevolence", "humaneness", or "empathy"; translator Arthur Waley calls it "Goodness" (with a capital G), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and "selflessness". Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of rén so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of yì. Confucius asserts that virtue is a mean between extremes. For example, the properly generous person gives the right amount – not too much and not too little.
Confucius looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples. In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of Heaven () that could unify the "world" (, "all under Heaven") and bestow peace and prosperity on the people. Because his vision of personal and social perfections was framed as a revival of the ordered society of earlier times, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to power on the basis of their moral merits instead of lineage. These would be rulers devoted to their people, striving for personal and social perfection, and such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.
While Confucius supported the idea of government ruling by a virtuous king, his ideas contained a number of elements to limit the power of rulers. He argued for representing truth in language, and honesty was of paramount importance. Even in facial expression, truth must always be represented. Confucius believed that if a ruler is to lead correctly, by action, that orders would be unnecessary in that others will follow the proper actions of their ruler. In discussing the relationship between a king and his subject (or a father and his son), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This demanded that the subordinates must advise their superiors if the superiors are considered to be taking a course of action that is wrong. Confucius believed in ruling by example, if you lead correctly, orders by force or punishment are not necessary.Music and poetry
'']]
Music was one of the six arts that students needed to master, together with archery, charioteering, mathematics, calligraphy, and a partner to music, the purpose of rituals. Confucius heavily promoted the use of music with rituals or the rites order. Unlike other philosophers around the world, Confucius viewed music and music theory beyond a mere art form or curriculum subject, and stated that it was intrinsically intertwined with rites in structuring man. <blockquote>"Music is that which moves man from the internal; rites are that which affects man
on the external. Music brings about harmony. Rites ensure obedience."</blockquote> To Confucius, music created the focus necessary to unite and harmonize man. Thus, music and rites together were more than beneficial but were to make people act in a manner compatible with heaven and earth. The scholar Li Zehou argued that Confucianism is based on the idea of rites. Rites serve as the starting point for each individual and that these sacred social functions allow each person's human nature to be harmonious with reality. Given this, Confucius believed that "music is the harmonization of heaven and earth; the rites is the order of heaven and earth." Therefore, the application of music in rites creates the order that makes it possible for society to prosper. In the Analects, Confucius described the importance of poetry in the intellectual and moral development of an individual:
?
serve to stimulate the mind.
They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation.
They teach the art of sociability.
They show how to regulate feelings of resentment.
From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving one's prince.
From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts, and plants."
Legacy
and Muhammad among the greatest legislators of the past, by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse (1827), Louvre Palace]]
Confucius's teachings were later turned into an elaborate set of rules and practices by his numerous disciples and followers, who organized his teachings into the Analects. Confucius's disciples and his only grandson, Zisi, continued his philosophical school after his death. These efforts spread Confucian ideals to students who then became officials in many of the royal courts in China, thereby giving Confucianism the first wide-scale test of its dogma.
Two of Confucius's most famous later followers emphasized radically different aspects of his teachings. In the centuries after his death, Mencius () and Xunzi () both composed important teachings elaborating in different ways on the fundamental ideas associated with Confucius. Mencius () articulated the innate goodness in human beings as a source of the ethical intuitions that guide people towards rén, yì, and lǐ, while Xunzi () underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects of Confucian thought, stressing that morality was inculcated in society through tradition and in individuals through training. In time, their writings, together with the Analects and other core texts came to constitute the philosophical corpus of Confucianism.
This realignment in Confucian thought was parallel to the development of Legalism, which held that humanity and righteousness were not sufficient in government, and that rulers should instead rely on statecrafts, punishments, and law. A disagreement between these two political philosophies came to a head in when the Qin state conquered all of China. Li Si, Prime Minister of the Qin dynasty, convinced Qin Shi Huang to abandon the Confucians' recommendation of awarding fiefs akin to the Zhou dynasty before them which he saw as being against to the Legalist idea of centralizing the state around the ruler.
Under the succeeding Han and Tang dynasties, Confucian ideas gained even more widespread prominence. Under Emperor Wu of Han, the works attributed to Confucius were made the official imperial philosophy and required reading for civil service examinations in which was continued nearly unbroken until the end of the 19th century. As Mohism lost support by the time of the Han, the main philosophical contenders were Legalism, which Confucian thought somewhat absorbed, the teachings of Laozi, whose focus on more spiritual ideas kept it from direct conflict with Confucianism, and the new Buddhist religion, which gained acceptance during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era. Both Confucian ideas and Confucian-trained officials were relied upon in the Ming dynasty and even the Yuan dynasty, although Kublai Khan distrusted handing over provincial control to them.
During the Song dynasty, Confucianism was revitalized in a movement known as Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism was a revival of Confucianism that expanded on classical theories by incorporating metaphysics and new approaches to self-cultivation and enlightenment, influenced by Buddhism and Daoism. The most renowned scholar of this period was Zhu Xi (1130-1200CE). There are clear Buddhist and Daoist influences in the Neo-Confucian advocacy of "quiet sitting" (meditation) as a technique of self-cultivation that leads to transformative experiences of insight." In his life, Zhu Xi was largely ignored, but not long after his death, his ideas became the new orthodox view of what Confucian texts actually meant. Modern historians view Zhu Xi as having created something rather different and call his way of thinking Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism held sway in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam until the 19th century.
at Paris in 1687]]
The works of Confucius were first translated into European languages by Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century during the late Ming dynasty. The first known effort was by Michele Ruggieri, who returned to Italy in 1588 and carried on his translations while residing in Salerno. Matteo Ricci started to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and a team of Jesuits—Prospero Intorcetta, Philippe Couplet, and two others—published a translation of several Confucian works and an overview of Chinese history in Paris in 1687. François Noël, after failing to persuade ClementXI that Chinese veneration of ancestors and Confucius did not constitute idolatry, completed the Confucian canon at Prague in 1711, with more scholarly treatments of the other works and the first translation of the collected works of Mencius. It is thought that such works had considerable importance on European thinkers of the period, particularly among the Deists and other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western civilization.
The Ahmadiyya believes Confucius was a Divine Prophet of God, as were Lao-Tzu and other eminent Chinese personages.
According to the Siddhar tradition of Tamil Nadu, Confucius is one of the 18 esteemed Siddhars of yore, and is better known as Kalangi Nathar or Kamalamuni. The Thyagaraja Temple in Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu is home to his Jeeva Samadhi.
In modern times, Asteroid 7853, "Confucius", was named after the Chinese thinker.Teaching and DisciplesConfucius was regarded as the first teacher who advocated for public welfare and the spread of education in China. Confucius devoted his entire life, from a relatively young age, to teaching. He pioneered private education adopting a curriculum known as the Six Arts, aimed at making education accessible to all social classes, and believed in its power to cultivate character rather than merely vocational skills. Confucius not only made teaching his profession but also contributed to the development of a distinct class of professionals in ancient China—the gentlemen who were neither farmers, artisans, merchants, nor officials but instead dedicated themselves to teaching and potential government service. (right) kneeling before Confucius (center), as depicted in a painting from the Illustrations of the Classic of Filial Piety, Song dynasty]]
Confucius began teaching after he turned 30, and taught more than 3,000 students in his life, about 70 of whom were considered outstanding. His disciples and the early Confucian community they formed became the most influential intellectual force in the Warring States period. The Han dynasty historian Sima Qian dedicated a chapter in his Records of the Grand Historian to the biographies of Confucius's disciples, accounting for the influence they exerted in their time and afterward. Sima Qian recorded the names of 77 disciples in his collective biography, while Kongzi Jiayu, another early source, records 76, not completely overlapping. The two sources together yield the names of 96 disciples. Twenty-two of them are mentioned in the Analects, while the Mencius records 24.
Confucius did not charge any tuition, and only requested a symbolic gift of a bundle of dried meat from any prospective student. According to his disciple Zigong, his master treated students like doctors treated patients and did not turn anybody away. Most of them came from Lu, Confucius's home state, with 43 recorded, but he accepted students from all over China, with six from the state of Wey (such as Zigong), three from Qin, two each from Chen and Qi, and one each from Cai, Chu, and Song. Confucius considered his students' personal background irrelevant, and accepted noblemen, commoners, and even former criminals such as Yan Zhuoju and Gongye Chang. His disciples from richer families would pay a sum commensurate with their wealth which was considered a ritual donation.
Confucius's favorite disciple was Yan Hui, most probably one of the most impoverished of them all. Sima Niu, in contrast to Yan Hui, was from a hereditary noble family hailing from the Song state. Under Confucius's teachings, the disciples became well learned in the principles and methods of government. He often engaged in discussion and debate with his students and gave high importance to their studies in history, poetry, and ritual. Confucius advocated loyalty to principle rather than to individual acumen, in which reform was to be achieved by persuasion rather than violence. Even though Confucius denounced them for their practices, the aristocracy was likely attracted to the idea of having trustworthy officials who were studied in morals as the circumstances of the time made it desirable. In fact, the disciple Zilu even died defending his ruler in Wey.
Yang Hu, who was a subordinate of the Ji family, had dominated the Lu government from 505 to 502 and even attempted a coup, which narrowly failed. As a likely consequence, it was after this that the first disciples of Confucius were appointed to government positions. A few of Confucius's disciples went on to attain official positions of some importance, some of which were arranged by Confucius. By the time Confucius was 50 years old, the Ji family had consolidated their power in the Lu state over the ruling ducal house. Even though the Ji family had practices with which Confucius disagreed and disapproved, they nonetheless gave Confucius's disciples many opportunities for employment. Confucius continued to remind his disciples to stay true to their principles and renounced those who did not, all the while being openly critical of the Ji family.
In the West
The influence of Confucius has been observed on multiple Western thinkers, including Niels Bohr, Benjamin Franklin, Allen Ginsberg, Thomas Jefferson, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Robert Cummings Neville, Alexander Pope, Ezra Pound, François Quesnay, Friedrich Schiller, Voltaire, and Christian Wolff.Visual portraits
(1494–1552), Ming dynasty]]
No contemporary painting or sculpture of Confucius survives, and it was only during the Han dynasty that he was portrayed visually. Carvings often depict his legendary meeting with Laozi. Since that time there have been many portraits of Confucius as the ideal philosopher. An early verbal portrayal of Confucius is found in the chapter "External Things" () of the book Zhuangzi (), finished in about 3rd BCE, long after Confucius's death. The oldest known portrait of Confucius has been unearthed in the tomb of the Han dynasty ruler Marquis of Haihun (died ). The picture was painted on the wooden frame to a polished bronze mirror.
In former times, it was customary to have a portrait in Confucius Temples; however, during the reign of Hongwu Emperor (Taizu) of the Ming dynasty, it was decided that the only proper portrait of Confucius should be in the temple in his home town, Qufu in Shandong. In other temples, Confucius is represented by a memorial tablet. In 2006, the China Confucius Foundation commissioned a standard portrait of Confucius based on the Tang dynasty portrait by Wu Daozi.
The South Wall Frieze in the courtroom of the Supreme Court of the United States depicts Confucius as a teacher of harmony, learning, and virtue.
Fictional portrayals
There have been two film adaptations of Confucius' life: the 1940 film Confucius starring Tang Huaiqiu, and the 2010 film Confucius starring Chow Yun-fat.
Confucius appears as a leader in Civilization VII, leading China.Memorials
in Zhenhai]]
in Jiading, now a suburb of Shanghai. The Jiading Temple of Confucius now operates a museum devoted to the imperial exam formerly administered at the temples.]]
Soon after Confucius's death, Qufu, his home town, became a place of devotion and remembrance. The Han dynasty Records of the Grand Historian records that it had already become a place of pilgrimage for ministers. It is still a major destination for cultural tourism, and many people visit his grave and the surrounding temples. There are also numerous temples dedicated to Confucius and distinguished Confucian scholars. These temples have been used for ceremonies paying tribute to Confucius as a revered Master, honoring his guiding principles that have shaped Chinese society.
Followers of Confucianism have a tradition of holding spectacular memorial ceremonies of Confucius () every year, using ceremonies that supposedly derived from Zhou Li () as recorded by Confucius, on the date of Confucius's birth. In the 20th century, this tradition was interrupted for several decades in mainland China, where the official stance of the Communist Party and the State was that Confucius and Confucianism represented reactionary feudalist beliefs which held that the subservience of the people to the aristocracy is a part of the natural order. All such ceremonies and rites were therefore banned. Only after the 1990s did the ceremony resume. As it is now considered a veneration of Chinese history and tradition, even Communist Party members may be found in attendance.
In Taiwan, where the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) strongly promoted Confucian beliefs in ethics and behavior, the tradition of the memorial ceremony of Confucius () is supported by the government and has continued without interruption. While not a national holiday, it does appear on all printed calendars, much as Father's Day or Christmas Day do in the Western world.
In South Korea, a grand-scale memorial ceremony called Seokjeon Daeje is held twice a year on Confucius's birthday and the anniversary of his death, at Confucian academies across the country and Sungkyunkwan in Seoul.
Descendants
Confucius's descendants were repeatedly identified and honored by successive imperial governments with titles of nobility and official posts. They were honored with the rank of a marquis 35 times since Gaozu of the Han dynasty, and they were promoted to the rank of duke 42 times from the Tang dynasty to the Qing dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang first bestowed the title of "Duke Wenxuan" on Kong Suizhi of the 35th generation. In 1055, Emperor Renzong of Song first bestowed the title of "Duke Yansheng" on Kong Zongyuan of the 46th generation.
During the Southern Song dynasty, the Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou fled south with the Song Emperor to Quzhou in Zhejiang, while the newly established Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in the north appointed Kong Duanyou's brother Kong Duancao who remained in Qufu as Duke Yansheng.<!-- Self-published source: --><!-- Incomprehensible due to invalid encoding: --> From that time up until the Yuan dynasty, there were two Duke Yanshengs, one in the north in Qufu and the other in the south at Quzhou. An invitation to come back to Qufu was extended to the southern Duke Yansheng Kong Zhu by the Yuan-dynasty Emperor Kublai Khan. The title was taken away from the southern branch after Kong Zhu rejected the invitation, so the northern branch of the family kept the title of Duke Yansheng. The southern branch remained in Quzhou where they live to this day. Confucius's descendants in Quzhou alone number 30,000. The Hanlin Academy rank of Wujing boshi 五經博士 was awarded to the southern branch at Quzhou by a Ming Emperor while the northern branch at Qufu held the title Duke Yansheng. The leader of the southern branch was 孔祥楷 Kong Xiangkai.
In 1351, during the reign of Emperor Toghon Temür of the Yuan dynasty, 54th-generation Kong Shao () moved from China to Korea during the Goryeo dynasty, and was received courteously by Princess Noguk (the Mongolian-born queen consort of the future king Gongmin). After being naturalized as a subject of Goryeo, he changed the hanja of his name from "昭" to "紹" (both pronounced so in Korean), married a Korean woman and bore a son (Gong Yeo (), 1329–1397), therefore establishing the Changwon Gong clan (), whose ancestral seat was located in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. In 1794, during the reign of King Jeongjo, the clan then changed its name to Gokbu Gong clan () in honor of Confucius's birthplace Qufu ().
Famous descendants include actors such as Gong Yoo (real name Gong Ji-cheol (공지철)) and Gong Hyo-jin (공효진); and artists such as male idol group B1A4 member Gongchan (real name Gong Chan-sik (공찬식)), singer-songwriter Minzy (real name Gong Min-ji (공민지)), as well as her great aunt, traditional folk dancer (공옥진).
Despite repeated dynastic change in China, the title of Duke Yansheng was bestowed upon successive generations of descendants until it was abolished by the Nationalist government in 1935. The last holder of the title, Kung Te-cheng of the 77th generation, was appointed Sacrificial Official to Confucius. Kung Te-cheng died in October 2008, and his son, Kung Wei-yi, the 78th lineal descendant, died in 1989. Kung Te-cheng's grandson, Kung Tsui-chang, the 79th lineal descendant, was born in 1975; his great-grandson, Kung Yu-jen, the 80th lineal descendant, was born in Taipei on 1 January 2006. Te-cheng's sister, Kong Demao, lives in mainland China and has written a book about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Another sister, Kong Deqi, died as a young woman. Many descendants of Confucius still live in Qufu today.
A descendant of Confucius, H. H. Kung, was the Premier of the Republic of China. One of his sons, (孔令傑), married Debra Paget who gave birth to Gregory Kung ().
Confucius's family, the Kongs, have the longest recorded extant pedigree in the world today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation, has been recorded since the death of Confucius. According to the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee (CGCC), he has two million known and registered descendants, and there are an estimated three million in all. Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China. and in 1715 in Xuanwei in Yunnan province. Many of the Muslim Confucius descendants are descended from the marriage of Ma Jiaga (), a Muslim woman, and Kong Yanrong (), 59th generation descendant of Confucius in the year 1480, and are found among the Hui and Dongxiang peoples. The new genealogy includes the Muslims. Kong Dejun () is a prominent Islamic scholar and Arabist from Qinghai province and a 77th generation descendant of Confucius.
Because of the huge interest in the Confucius family tree, there was a project in China to test the DNA of known family members of the collateral branches in mainland China. Among other things, this would allow scientists to identify a common Y chromosome in male descendants of Confucius. If the descent were truly unbroken, father-to-son, since Confucius's lifetime, the males in the family would all have the same Y chromosome as their direct male ancestor, with slight mutations due to the passage of time. The aim of the genetic test was to help members of collateral branches in China who lost their genealogical records to prove their descent. However, in 2009, many of the collateral branches decided not to agree to DNA testing. Bryan Sykes, professor of genetics at Oxford University, understands this decision: "The Confucius family tree has an enormous cultural significance ... It's not just a scientific question." The main branch of the family which fled to Taiwan was never involved in the proposed DNA test at all.
In 2013, a DNA test performed on multiple different families who claimed descent from Confucius found that they shared the same Y chromosome as reported by Fudan University.
The fifth and most recent edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed by the CGCC. Women are now included for the first time.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Further reading
See and for extensive bibliographies
* Clements, Jonathan (2008). Confucius: A Biography. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing. .
* Confucius (1997). Lun yu, (in English The Analects of Confucius). Translation and notes by Simon Leys. New York: W.W. Norton. .
* Confucius (2003). Confucius: Analects – With Selections from Traditional Commentaries. Translated by E. Slingerland. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. (Original work published c. ) .
* Creel, Herrlee Glessner (1949). Confucius and the Chinese Way. New York: Harper.
*
* Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2005). "Confucianism: An Overview". In Encyclopedia of Religion (Vol. C, pp. 1890–1905). Detroit: MacMillan Reference
*
*
*
* .
*
* Sterckx, Roel. Chinese Thought. From Confucius to Cook Ding. London: Penguin, 2019.
* Van Norden, B.W., ed. (2001). Confucius and the Analects: New Essays. New York: Oxford University Press. .
External links
*
*
*
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130124210603/http://confucius.org/ Multilingual web site on Confucius and the Analects]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171020011747/http://faculty.vassar.edu/brvannor/Mypapers/DaoofKongzi.pdf The Dao of Kongzi], introduction to the thought of Confucius.
*
*
*
* [http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4094 Confucian Analects] (Project Gutenberg release of James Legge's Translation)
* [http://www.wfu.edu/~moran/zhexuejialu/Analects_PEM.html Core philosophical passages] in the Analects of Confucius.
}}
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5826 | Complex number | , representing the complex plane. Re is the real axis, Im is the imaginary axis, and is the "imaginary unit", that satisfies .]]
In mathematics, a complex number is an element of a number system that extends the real numbers with a specific element denoted , called the imaginary unit and satisfying the equation <math>i^{2}-1</math>; every complex number can be expressed in the form <math>a + bi</math>, where and are real numbers. Because no real number satisfies the above equation, was called an imaginary number by René Descartes. For the complex number is called the , and is called the . The set of complex numbers is denoted by either of the symbols <math>\mathbb C</math> or . Despite the historical nomenclature, "imaginary" complex numbers have a mathematical existence as firm as that of the real numbers, and they are fundamental tools in the scientific description of the natural world.
Complex numbers allow solutions to all polynomial equations, even those that have no solutions in real numbers. More precisely, the fundamental theorem of algebra asserts that every non-constant polynomial equation with real or complex coefficients has a solution which is a complex number. For example, the equation
<math>(x+1)^2 = -9</math>
has no real solution, because the square of a real number cannot be negative, but has the two nonreal complex solutions <math>-1+3i</math> and <math>-1-3i</math>.
Addition, subtraction and multiplication of complex numbers can be naturally defined by using the rule <math>i^{2}-1</math> along with the associative, commutative, and distributive laws. Every nonzero complex number has a multiplicative inverse. This makes the complex numbers a field with the real numbers as a subfield. Because of these properties, , and which form is written depends upon convention and style considerations.
The complex numbers also form a real vector space of dimension two, with <math>\{1,i\}</math> as a standard basis. This standard basis makes the complex numbers a Cartesian plane, called the complex plane. This allows a geometric interpretation of the complex numbers and their operations, and conversely some geometric objects and operations can be expressed in terms of complex numbers. For example, the real numbers form the real line, which is pictured as the horizontal axis of the complex plane, while real multiples of <math>i</math> are the vertical axis. A complex number can also be defined by its geometric polar coordinates: the radius is called the absolute value of the complex number, while the angle from the positive real axis is called the argument of the complex number. The complex numbers of absolute value one form the unit circle. Adding a fixed complex number to all complex numbers defines a translation in the complex plane, and multiplying by a fixed complex number is a similarity centered at the origin (dilating by the absolute value, and rotating by the argument). The operation of complex conjugation is the reflection symmetry with respect to the real axis.
The complex numbers form a rich structure that is simultaneously an algebraically closed field, a commutative algebra over the reals, and a Euclidean vector space of dimension two.
Definition and basic operations
A complex number is an expression of the form , where and are real numbers, and is an abstract symbol, the so-called imaginary unit, whose meaning will be explained further below. For example, is a complex number.
For a complex number , the real number is called its real part, and the real number (not the complex number ) is its imaginary part. The real part of a complex number is denoted , <math>\mathcal{Re}(z)</math>, or <math>\mathfrak{R}(z)</math>; the imaginary part is , <math>\mathcal{Im}(z)</math>, or <math>\mathfrak{I}(z)</math>: for example, <math display"inline"> \operatorname{Re}(2 + 3i) 2 </math>, <math> \operatorname{Im}(2 + 3i) 3 </math>.
A complex number can be identified with the ordered pair of real numbers <math>(\Re (z),\Im (z))</math>, which may be interpreted as coordinates of a point in a Euclidean plane with standard coordinates, which is then called the complex plane or Argand diagram.: "The plane <math>\R^2</math> whose points are identified with the elements of <math>\Complex</math> is called the complex plane ... The complete geometric interpretation of complex numbers and operations on them appeared first in the work of C. Wessel (1799). The geometric representation of complex numbers, sometimes called the 'Argand diagram', came into use after the publication in 1806 and 1814 of papers by J.R. Argand, who rediscovered, largely independently, the findings of Wessel".}} The horizontal axis is generally used to display the real part, with increasing values to the right, and the imaginary part marks the vertical axis, with increasing values upwards.
(blue).]]
A real number can be regarded as a complex number , whose imaginary part is 0. A purely imaginary number is a complex number , whose real part is zero. It is common to write , , and ; for example, .
The set of all complex numbers is denoted by <math>\Complex</math> (blackboard bold) or (upright bold).
In some disciplines such as electromagnetism and electrical engineering, is used instead of , as frequently represents electric current, It is also denoted by some authors by <math>z^*</math>. Geometrically, }} is the "reflection" of about the real axis. Conjugating twice gives the original complex number: <math>\overline{\overline{z}}=z.</math> A complex number is real if and only if it equals its own conjugate. The unary operation of taking the complex conjugate of a complex number cannot be expressed by applying only the basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
For any complex number , the product
:<math>z \cdot \overline z (x+iy)(x-iy) x^2 + y^2</math>
is a non-negative real number. This allows to define the absolute value (or modulus or magnitude) of z to be the square root
<math display"block">|z|\sqrt{x^2+y^2}.</math>
By Pythagoras' theorem, <math>|z|</math> is the distance from the origin to the point representing the complex number z in the complex plane. In particular, the circle of radius one around the origin consists precisely of the numbers z such that <math>|z| 1 </math>. If <math> z x x + 0i </math> is a real number, then <math> |z| |x| </math>: its absolute value as a complex number and as a real number are equal.
Using the conjugate, the reciprocal of a nonzero complex number <math>z = x + yi</math> can be computed to be
<math display=block>
\frac{1}{z}
\frac{\bar{z}}{z\bar{z}} \frac{\bar{z}}{|z|^2}
\frac{x - yi}{x^2 + y^2} \frac{x}{x^2 + y^2} - \frac{y}{x^2 + y^2}i.</math>
More generally, the division of an arbitrary complex number <math>w u + vi</math> by a non-zero complex number <math>z x + yi</math> equals
<math display=block>
\frac{w}{z}
\frac{w\bar{z}}{|z|^2} \frac{(u + vi)(x - iy)}{x^2 + y^2}
= \frac{ux + vy}{x^2 + y^2} + \frac{vx - uy}{x^2 + y^2}i.
</math>
This process is sometimes called "rationalization" of the denominator (although the denominator in the final expression may be an irrational real number), because it resembles the method to remove roots from simple expressions in a denominator.
The argument of (sometimes called the "phase" )
The argument can be computed from the rectangular form by means of the arctan (inverse tangent) function.Polar form
of the blue triangle (the multiplication of both radiuses, as per term r<sub>1</sub>r<sub>2</sub> in the equation).]]
For any complex number z, with absolute value <math>r = |z|</math> and argument <math>\varphi</math>, the equation
:<math>z=r(\cos\varphi +i\sin\varphi) </math>
holds. This identity is referred to as the polar form of z. It is sometimes abbreviated as <math display"inline"> z r \operatorname\mathrm{cis} \varphi </math>.
In electronics, one represents a phasor with amplitude and phase in angle notation:<math display"block">z r \angle \varphi . </math>
If two complex numbers are given in polar form, i.e., and , the product and division can be computed as
<math displayblock>z_1 z_2 r_1 r_2 (\cos(\varphi_1 + \varphi_2) + i \sin(\varphi_1 + \varphi_2)).</math>
<math displayblock>\frac{z_1}{z_2} \frac{r_1}{r_2} \left(\cos(\varphi_1 - \varphi_2) + i \sin(\varphi_1 - \varphi_2)\right), \text{if }z_2 \ne 0.</math>
(These are a consequence of the trigonometric identities for the sine and cosine function.)
In other words, the absolute values are multiplied and the arguments are added to yield the polar form of the product. The picture at the right illustrates the multiplication of
<math displayblock>(2+i)(3+i)5+5i. </math>
Because the real and imaginary part of are equal, the argument of that number is 45 degrees, or (in radian). On the other hand, it is also the sum of the angles at the origin of the red and blue triangles are arctan(1/3) and arctan(1/2), respectively. Thus, the formula
<math displayblock>\frac{\pi}{4} \arctan\left(\frac{1}{2}\right) + \arctan\left(\frac{1}{3}\right) </math>
holds. As the arctan function can be approximated highly efficiently, formulas like this – known as Machin-like formulas – are used for high-precision approximations of :
<math displayblock>\frac{\pi}{4} 4 \arctan\left(\frac{1}{5}\right) - \arctan\left(\frac{1}{239}\right) </math>
Powers and roots
The n-th power of a complex number can be computed using de Moivre's formula, which is obtained by repeatedly applying the above formula for the product:
<math displayblock> z^{n}\underbrace{z \cdot \dots \cdot z}_{n \text{ factors}} (r(\cos \varphi + i\sin \varphi ))^n r^n \, (\cos n\varphi + i \sin n \varphi).</math>
For example, the first few powers of the imaginary unit i are <math>i, i^2 -1, i^3 -i, i^4 1, i^5 i, \dots</math>.
The th roots of a complex number are given by
<math displayblock>z^{1/n} \sqrt[n]r \left( \cos \left(\frac{\varphi+2k\pi}{n}\right) + i \sin \left(\frac{\varphi+2k\pi}{n}\right)\right)</math>
for . (Here <math>\sqrt[n]r</math> is the usual (positive) th root of the positive real number .) Because sine and cosine are periodic, other integer values of do not give other values. For any <math>z \ne 0</math>, there are, in particular n distinct complex n-th roots. For example, there are 4 fourth roots of 1, namely
:<math>z_1 1, z_2 i, z_3 -1, z_4 -i.</math>
In general there is no natural way of distinguishing one particular complex th root of a complex number. (This is in contrast to the roots of a positive real number x, which has a unique positive real n-th root, which is therefore commonly referred to as the n-th root of x.) One refers to this situation by saying that the th root is a -valued function of .
Fundamental theorem of algebra
The fundamental theorem of algebra, of Carl Friedrich Gauss and Jean le Rond d'Alembert, states that for any complex numbers (called coefficients) , the equation
<math displayblock>a_n z^n + \dotsb + a_1 z + a_0 0</math>
has at least one complex solution z, provided that at least one of the higher coefficients is nonzero. This property does not hold for the field of rational numbers <math>\Q</math> (the polynomial does not have a rational root, because is not a rational number) nor the real numbers <math>\R</math> (the polynomial does not have a real root, because the square of is positive for any real number ).
Because of this fact, <math>\Complex</math> is called an algebraically closed field. It is a cornerstone of various applications of complex numbers, as is detailed further below.
There are various proofs of this theorem, by either analytic methods such as Liouville's theorem, or topological ones such as the winding number, or a proof combining Galois theory and the fact that any real polynomial of odd degree has at least one real root.
History
The solution in radicals (without trigonometric functions) of a general cubic equation, when all three of its roots are real numbers, contains the square roots of negative numbers, a situation that cannot be rectified by factoring aided by the rational root test, if the cubic is irreducible; this is the so-called casus irreducibilis ("irreducible case"). This conundrum led Italian mathematician Gerolamo Cardano to conceive of complex numbers in around 1545 in his Ars Magna, though his understanding was rudimentary; moreover, he later described complex numbers as being "as subtle as they are useless". Cardano did use imaginary numbers, but described using them as "mental torture." This was prior to the use of the graphical complex plane. Cardano and other Italian mathematicians, notably Scipione del Ferro, in the 1500s created an algorithm for solving cubic equations which generally had one real solution and two solutions containing an imaginary number. Because they ignored the answers with the imaginary numbers, Cardano found them useless.
Work on the problem of general polynomials ultimately led to the fundamental theorem of algebra, which shows that with complex numbers, a solution exists to every polynomial equation of degree one or higher. Complex numbers thus form an algebraically closed field, where any polynomial equation has a root.
Many mathematicians contributed to the development of complex numbers. The rules for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and root extraction of complex numbers were developed by the Italian mathematician Rafael Bombelli. A more abstract formalism for the complex numbers was further developed by the Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton, who extended this abstraction to the theory of quaternions.
The earliest fleeting reference to square roots of negative numbers can perhaps be said to occur in the work of the Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria in the 1st century AD, where in his Stereometrica he considered, apparently in error, the volume of an impossible frustum of a pyramid to arrive at the term <math>\sqrt{81 - 144}</math> in his calculations, which today would simplify to <math>\sqrt{-63} 3i\sqrt{7}</math>. Negative quantities were not conceived of in Hellenistic mathematics and Hero merely replaced the negative value by its positive <math>\sqrt{144 - 81} 3\sqrt{7}.</math>
The impetus to study complex numbers as a topic in itself first arose in the 16th century when algebraic solutions for the roots of cubic and quartic polynomials were discovered by Italian mathematicians (Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia and Gerolamo Cardano). It was soon realized (but proved much later)}} However, the general formula can still be used in this case, with some care to deal with the ambiguity resulting from the existence of three cubic roots for nonzero complex numbers. Rafael Bombelli was the first to address explicitly these seemingly paradoxical solutions of cubic equations and developed the rules for complex arithmetic, trying to resolve these issues.
The term "imaginary" for these quantities was coined by René Descartes in 1637, who was at pains to stress their unreal nature:
A further source of confusion was that the equation <math>\sqrt{-1}^2 \sqrt{-1}\sqrt{-1} -1</math> seemed to be capriciously inconsistent with the algebraic identity <math>\sqrt{a}\sqrt{b} \sqrt{ab}</math>, which is valid for non-negative real numbers and , and which was also used in complex number calculations with one of , positive and the other negative. The incorrect use of this identity in the case when both and are negative, and the related identity <math display"inline">\frac{1}{\sqrt{a}} \sqrt{\frac{1}{a}}</math>, even bedeviled Leonhard Euler. This difficulty eventually led to the convention of using the special symbol in place of <math>\sqrt{-1}</math> to guard against this mistake. Even so, Euler considered it natural to introduce students to complex numbers much earlier than we do today. In his elementary algebra text book, Elements of Algebra'', he introduces these numbers almost at once and then uses them in a natural way throughout.
In the 18th century complex numbers gained wider use, as it was noticed that formal manipulation of complex expressions could be used to simplify calculations involving trigonometric functions. For instance, in 1730 Abraham de Moivre noted that the identities relating trigonometric functions of an integer multiple of an angle to powers of trigonometric functions of that angle could be re-expressed by the following de Moivre's formula:
<math displayblock>(\cos \theta + i\sin \theta)^{n} \cos n \theta + i\sin n \theta. </math>
in the complex plane, to the cosine and sine functions, geometrically its projections onto the real and imaginary axes, respectively.]]
In 1748, Euler went further and obtained Euler's formula of complex analysis:
<math display"block">e ^{i\theta } \cos \theta + i\sin \theta </math>
by formally manipulating complex power series and observed that this formula could be used to reduce any trigonometric identity to much simpler exponential identities.
The idea of a complex number as a point in the complex plane (above) was first described by Danish–Norwegian mathematician Caspar Wessel in 1799, although it had been anticipated as early as 1685 in Wallis's A Treatise of Algebra.
Wessel's memoir appeared in the Proceedings of the Copenhagen Academy but went largely unnoticed. In 1806 Jean-Robert Argand independently issued a pamphlet on complex numbers and provided a rigorous proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra. Carl Friedrich Gauss had earlier published an essentially topological proof of the theorem in 1797 but expressed his doubts at the time about "the true metaphysics of the square root of −1". It was not until 1831 that he overcame these doubts and published his treatise on complex numbers as points in the plane, largely establishing modern notation and terminology:
<blockquote>If one formerly contemplated this subject from a false point of view and therefore found a mysterious darkness, this is in large part attributable to clumsy terminology. Had one not called +1, −1, <math>\sqrt{-1}</math> positive, negative, or imaginary (or even impossible) units, but instead, say, direct, inverse, or lateral units, then there could scarcely have been talk of such darkness.</blockquote>
In the beginning of the 19th century, other mathematicians discovered independently the geometrical representation of the complex numbers: Buée, Mourey, Warren, Français and his brother, Bellavitis.
The English mathematician G.H. Hardy remarked that Gauss was the first mathematician to use complex numbers in "a really confident and scientific way" although mathematicians such as Norwegian Niels Henrik Abel and Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi were necessarily using them routinely before Gauss published his 1831 treatise.
Augustin-Louis Cauchy and Bernhard Riemann together brought the fundamental ideas of complex analysis to a high state of completion, commencing around 1825 in Cauchy's case.
The common terms used in the theory are chiefly due to the founders. Argand called the direction factor, and <math>r \sqrt{a^2 + b^2}</math> the modulus; defines the modulus of a complex number but he doesn't name it:<br/>''"Dans ce qui suit, les accens, indifféremment placés, seront employés pour indiquer la grandeur absolue des quantités qu'ils affectent; ainsi, si <math>a m + n\sqrt{-1}</math>, <math>m</math> et <math>n</math> étant réels, on devra entendre que <math>a_'</math> ou <math>a' \sqrt{m^2 + n^2}</math>."''<br/>[In what follows, accent marks, wherever they're placed, will be used to indicate the absolute size of the quantities to which they're assigned; thus if <math>a m + n\sqrt{-1}</math>, <math>m</math> and <math>n</math> being real, one should understand that <math>a_'</math> or <math>a' \sqrt{m^2 + n^2}</math>.]<br/>
defines and names the module and the direction factor of a complex number: "... <math>a \sqrt{m^2 + n^2}</math> pourrait être appelé le module de <math>a + b \sqrt{-1}</math>, et représenterait la grandeur absolue'' de la ligne <math>a + b \sqrt{-1}</math>, tandis que l'autre facteur, dont le module est l'unité, en représenterait la direction."<br/>[... <math>a \sqrt{m^2 + n^2}</math> could be called the module of <math>a + b \sqrt{-1}</math> and would represent the absolute size of the line <math>a + b \sqrt{-1}\,,</math> (Argand represented complex numbers as vectors.) whereas the other factor [namely, <math>\tfrac{a}{\sqrt{a^2 + b^2}} + \tfrac{b}{\sqrt{a^2 + b^2}} \sqrt{-1} </math>], whose module is unity [1], would represent its direction.]}} Cauchy (1821) called the reduced form'' (l'expression réduite) and apparently introduced the term argument; Gauss used for <math>\sqrt{-1}</math>,{{efn| Gauss writes: "Quemadmodum scilicet arithmetica sublimior in quaestionibus hactenus pertractatis inter solos numeros integros reales versatur, ita theoremata circa residua biquadratica tunc tantum in summa simplicitate ac genuina venustate resplendent, quando campus arithmeticae ad quantitates imaginarias extenditur, ita ut absque restrictione ipsius obiectum constituant numeri formae a + bi, denotantibus i, pro more quantitatem imaginariam <math>\sqrt{-1}</math>, atque a, b indefinite omnes numeros reales integros inter -<math>\infty</math> et +<math>\infty</math>." [Of course just as the higher arithmetic has been investigated so far in problems only among real integer numbers, so theorems regarding biquadratic residues then shine in greatest simplicity and genuine beauty, when the field of arithmetic is extended to imaginary quantities, so that, without restrictions on it, numbers of the form a + bi — i denoting by convention the imaginary quantity <math>\sqrt{-1}</math>, and the variables a, b [denoting] all real integer numbers between <math>-\infty</math> and <math>+\infty</math> — constitute an object.]}} introduced the term complex number for , and called the norm. The expression direction coefficient, often used for , is due to Hankel (1867), and absolute value, for modulus, is due to Weierstrass.
Later classical writers on the general theory include Richard Dedekind, Otto Hölder, Felix Klein, Henri Poincaré, Hermann Schwarz, Karl Weierstrass and many others. Important work (including a systematization) in complex multivariate calculus has been started at beginning of the 20th century. Important results have been achieved by Wilhelm Wirtinger in 1927.
Abstract algebraic aspects
While the above low-level definitions, including the addition and multiplication, accurately describe the complex numbers, there are other, equivalent approaches that reveal the abstract algebraic structure of the complex numbers more immediately.
Construction as a quotient field
One approach to <math>\C</math> is via polynomials, i.e., expressions of the form
<math displayblock>p(X) a_nX^n+\dotsb+a_1X+a_0,</math>
where the coefficients are real numbers. The set of all such polynomials is denoted by <math>\R[X]</math>. Since sums and products of polynomials are again polynomials, this set <math>\R[X]</math> forms a commutative ring, called the polynomial ring (over the reals). To every such polynomial p, one may assign the complex number <math>p(i) a_n i^n + \dotsb + a_1 i + a_0</math>, i.e., the value obtained by setting <math>X i</math>. This defines a function
:<math>\R[X] \to \C</math>
This function is surjective since every complex number can be obtained in such a way: the evaluation of a linear polynomial <math>a+bX</math> at <math>X i</math> is <math>a+bi</math>. However, the evaluation of polynomial <math>X^2 + 1</math> at i is 0, since <math>i^2 + 1 0.</math> This polynomial is irreducible, i.e., cannot be written as a product of two linear polynomials. Basic facts of abstract algebra then imply that the kernel of the above map is an ideal generated by this polynomial, and that the quotient by this ideal is a field, and that there is an isomorphism
:<math>\R[X] / (X^2 + 1) \stackrel \cong \to \C</math>
between the quotient ring and <math>\C</math>. Some authors take this as the definition of <math>\C</math>.
Accepting that <math>\Complex</math> is algebraically closed, because it is an algebraic extension of <math>\mathbb{R}</math> in this approach, <math>\Complex</math> is therefore the algebraic closure of <math>\R.</math>
Matrix representation of complex numbers<!-- .This section is linked from Cauchy-Riemann equations -->
Complex numbers can also be represented by matrices that have the form
<!--
This definition with the minus sign in the upper right corner matches the article Rotation matrix. Please do not change it.
-->
<math display=block>
\begin{pmatrix}
a & -b \\
b & \;\; a
\end{pmatrix}.
</math>
Here the entries and are real numbers. As the sum and product of two such matrices is again of this form, these matrices form a subring of the ring of matrices.
A simple computation shows that the map
<math display=block>a+ib\mapsto \begin{pmatrix}
a & -b \\
b & \;\; a
\end{pmatrix}</math>
is a ring isomorphism from the field of complex numbers to the ring of these matrices, proving that these matrices form a field. This isomorphism associates the square of the absolute value of a complex number with the determinant of the corresponding matrix, and the conjugate of a complex number with the transpose of the matrix.
The geometric description of the multiplication of complex numbers can also be expressed in terms of rotation matrices by using this correspondence between complex numbers and such matrices. The action of the matrix on a vector corresponds to the multiplication of by . In particular, if the determinant is , there is a real number such that the matrix has the form
<math display=block>\begin{pmatrix}
\cos t & - \sin t \\
\sin t & \;\; \cos t
\end{pmatrix}.</math>
In this case, the action of the matrix on vectors and the multiplication by the complex number <math>\cos t+i\sin t</math> are both the rotation of the angle .
Complex analysis
<!--
plot of the function
<br /><math>f(x) = \tfrac{(x^2 - 1)(x - 2 - i)^2}{x^2 + 2 + 2 i}</math><br />
The hue represents the function argument, while the saturation and value represent the magnitude.]]
The absolute value has three important properties:
<math displayblock> | z | \geq 0, \,</math> where <math> | z | 0 \,</math> if and only if <math> z = 0</math>
<math display=block> | z + w | \leq | z | + | w | \,</math> (triangle inequality)
<math displayblock> | z \cdot w | | z | \cdot | w | </math>
for all complex numbers and . These imply that 1 1}} and z/w z/w}}. By defining the distance function z − w}}, we turn the set of complex numbers into a metric space and we can therefore talk about limits and continuity.
In general, distances between complex numbers are given by the distance function z − w}}, which turns the complex numbers into a metric space and introduces the ideas of limits and continuity. All of the standard properties of two dimensional space therefore hold for the complex numbers, including important properties of the modulus such as non-negativity, and the triangle inequality (<math>| z + w | \leq | z | + | w |</math> for all and ).
-->
The study of functions of a complex variable is known as complex analysis and has enormous practical use in applied mathematics as well as in other branches of mathematics. Often, the most natural proofs for statements in real analysis or even number theory employ techniques from complex analysis (see prime number theorem for an example).
graph of the function
}}. Darker spots mark moduli near zero, brighter spots are farther away from the origin. The color encodes the argument. The function has zeros for and poles at <math>\pm \sqrt.</math>]]
Unlike real functions, which are commonly represented as two-dimensional graphs, complex functions have four-dimensional graphs and may usefully be illustrated by color-coding a three-dimensional graph to suggest four dimensions, or by animating the complex function's dynamic transformation of the complex plane.
Convergence
The notions of convergent series and continuous functions in (real) analysis have natural analogs in complex analysis. A sequence <!--(a<sub>n</sub>)<sub>n ≥ 0</sub>--> of complex numbers is said to converge if and only if its real and imaginary parts do. This is equivalent to the (ε, δ)-definition of limits, where the absolute value of real numbers is replaced by the one of complex numbers. From a more abstract point of view, <math>\mathbb{C}</math>, endowed with the metric
<math displayblock>\operatorname{d}(z_1, z_2) |z_1 - z_2|</math>
is a complete metric space, which notably includes the triangle inequality
<math display=block>|z_1 + z_2| \le |z_1| + |z_2|</math>
for any two complex numbers and .
Complex exponential
Like in real analysis, this notion of convergence is used to construct a number of elementary functions: the exponential function , also written , is defined as the infinite series, which can be shown to converge for any z:
<math displayblock>\exp z: 1+z+\frac{z^2}{2\cdot 1}+\frac{z^3}{3\cdot 2\cdot 1}+\cdots \sum_{n0}^{\infty} \frac{z^n}{n!}. </math>
For example, <math>\exp (1)</math> is Euler's number <math>e \approx 2.718</math>. ''Euler's formula'' states:
<math displayblock>\exp(i\varphi) \cos \varphi + i\sin \varphi </math>
for any real number . This formula is a quick consequence of general basic facts about convergent power series and the definitions of the involved functions as power series. As a special case, this includes Euler's identity
<math displayblock>\exp(i \pi) -1. </math>
Complex logarithm
For any positive real number t, there is a unique real number x such that <math>\exp(x) = t</math>. This leads to the definition of the natural logarithm as the inverse
<math>\ln \colon \R^+ \to \R ; x \mapsto \ln x </math> of the exponential function. The situation is different for complex numbers, since
:<math>\exp(z+2\pi i) \exp z \exp (2 \pi i) \exp z</math>
by the functional equation and Euler's identity.
For example, e = −1}} , so both and are possible values for the complex logarithm of .
In general, given any non-zero complex number w, any number z solving the equation
:<math>\exp z = w</math>
is called a complex logarithm of , denoted <math>\log w</math>. It can be shown that these numbers satisfy
<math displayblock>z \log w = \ln|w| + i\arg w, </math>
where <math>\arg</math> is the argument defined above, and <math>\ln</math> the (real) natural logarithm. As arg is a multivalued function, unique only up to a multiple of , log is also multivalued. The principal value of log is often taken by restricting the imaginary part to the interval . This leads to the complex logarithm being a bijective function taking values in the strip <math>\R^+ + \; i \, \left(-\pi, \pi\right]</math> (that is denoted <math>S_0</math> in the above illustration)
<math display=block>\ln \colon \; \Complex^\times \; \to \; \; \; \R^+ + \; i \, \left(-\pi, \pi\right] .</math>
If <math>z \in \Complex \setminus \left( -\R_{\ge 0} \right)</math> is not a non-positive real number (a positive or a non-real number), the resulting principal value of the complex logarithm is obtained with . It is an analytic function outside the negative real numbers, but it cannot be prolongated to a function that is continuous at any negative real number <math>z \in -\R^+ </math>, where the principal value is .
Complex exponentiation is defined as
<math displayblock>z^\omega \exp(\omega \ln z), </math>
and is multi-valued, except when is an integer. For , for some natural number , this recovers the non-uniqueness of th roots mentioned above. If is real (and an arbitrary complex number), one has a preferred choice of <math>\ln x</math>, the real logarithm, which can be used to define a preferred exponential function.
Complex numbers, unlike real numbers, do not in general satisfy the unmodified power and logarithm identities, particularly when naïvely treated as single-valued functions; see failure of power and logarithm identities. For example, they do not satisfy
<math displayblock>a^{bc} \left(a^b\right)^c.</math>
Both sides of the equation are multivalued by the definition of complex exponentiation given here, and the values on the left are a subset of those on the right.
Complex sine and cosine
The series defining the real trigonometric functions sine and cosine, as well as the hyperbolic functions sinh and cosh, also carry over to complex arguments without change. For the other trigonometric and hyperbolic functions, such as tangent, things are slightly more complicated, as the defining series do not converge for all complex values. Therefore, one must define them either in terms of sine, cosine and exponential, or, equivalently, by using the method of analytic continuation.
Holomorphic functions
A function <math>f: \mathbb{C}</math> → <math>\mathbb{C}</math> is called holomorphic or complex differentiable at a point <math>z_0</math> if the limit
:<math>\lim_{z \to z_0} {f(z) - f(z_0) \over z - z_0 }</math>
exists (in which case it is denoted by <math>f'(z_0)</math>). This mimics the definition for real differentiable functions, except that all quantities are complex numbers. Loosely speaking, the freedom of approaching <math>z_0</math> in different directions imposes a much stronger condition than being (real) differentiable. For example, the function
:<math>f(z) = \overline z</math>
is differentiable as a function <math>\R^2 \to \R^2</math>, but is not complex differentiable.
A real differentiable function is complex differentiable if and only if it satisfies the Cauchy–Riemann equations, which are sometimes abbreviated as
:<math>\frac{\partial f}{\partial \overline z} = 0.</math>
Complex analysis shows some features not apparent in real analysis. For example, the identity theorem asserts that two holomorphic functions and agree if they agree on an arbitrarily small open subset of <math>\mathbb{C}</math>. Meromorphic functions, functions that can locally be written as with a holomorphic function , still share some of the features of holomorphic functions. Other functions have essential singularities, such as at .
Applications
Complex numbers have applications in many scientific areas, including signal processing, control theory, electromagnetism, fluid dynamics, quantum mechanics, cartography, and vibration analysis. Some of these applications are described below.
Complex conjugation is also employed in inversive geometry, a branch of geometry studying reflections more general than ones about a line. In the network analysis of electrical circuits, the complex conjugate is used in finding the equivalent impedance when the maximum power transfer theorem is looked for.
Geometry
Shapes
Three non-collinear points <math>u, v, w</math> in the plane determine the shape of the triangle <math>\{u, v, w\}</math>. Locating the points in the complex plane, this shape of a triangle may be expressed by complex arithmetic as
<math displayblock>S(u, v, w) \frac {u - w}{u - v}. </math>
The shape <math>S</math> of a triangle will remain the same, when the complex plane is transformed by translation or dilation (by an affine transformation), corresponding to the intuitive notion of shape, and describing similarity. Thus each triangle <math>\{u, v, w\}</math> is in a similarity class of triangles with the same shape.Fractal geometryThe Mandelbrot set is a popular example of a fractal formed on the complex plane. It is defined by plotting every location <math>c</math> where iterating the sequence <math>f_c(z)z^2+c</math> does not diverge when iterated infinitely. Similarly, Julia sets have the same rules, except where <math>c</math> remains constant.
Triangles
Every triangle has a unique Steiner inellipse – an ellipse inside the triangle and tangent to the midpoints of the three sides of the triangle. The foci of a triangle's Steiner inellipse can be found as follows, according to Marden's theorem: Denote the triangle's vertices in the complex plane as , , and . Write the cubic equation <math>(x-a)(x-b)(x-c)0</math>, take its derivative, and equate the (quadratic) derivative to zero. Marden's theorem says that the solutions of this equation are the complex numbers denoting the locations of the two foci of the Steiner inellipse.Algebraic number theory
.]]
As mentioned above, any nonconstant polynomial equation (in complex coefficients) has a solution in <math>\mathbb{C}</math>. A fortiori, the same is true if the equation has rational coefficients. The roots of such equations are called algebraic numbers – they are a principal object of study in algebraic number theory. Compared to <math>\overline{\mathbb{Q}}</math>, the algebraic closure of <math>\mathbb{Q}</math>, which also contains all algebraic numbers, <math>\mathbb{C}</math> has the advantage of being easily understandable in geometric terms. In this way, algebraic methods can be used to study geometric questions and vice versa. With algebraic methods, more specifically applying the machinery of field theory to the number field containing roots of unity, it can be shown that it is not possible to construct a regular nonagon using only compass and straightedge – a purely geometric problem.
Another example is the Gaussian integers; that is, numbers of the form , where and are integers, which can be used to classify sums of squares.
Analytic number theory
Analytic number theory studies numbers, often integers or rationals, by taking advantage of the fact that they can be regarded as complex numbers, in which analytic methods can be used. This is done by encoding number-theoretic information in complex-valued functions. For example, the Riemann zeta function is related to the distribution of prime numbers.
Improper integrals
In applied fields, complex numbers are often used to compute certain real-valued improper integrals, by means of complex-valued functions. Several methods exist to do this; see methods of contour integration.
Dynamic equations
In differential equations, it is common to first find all complex roots of the characteristic equation of a linear differential equation or equation system and then attempt to solve the system in terms of base functions of the form . Likewise, in difference equations, the complex roots of the characteristic equation of the difference equation system are used, to attempt to solve the system in terms of base functions of the form .
Linear algebra
Since <math>\C</math> is algebraically closed, any non-empty complex square matrix has at least one (complex) eigenvalue. By comparison, real matrices do not always have real eigenvalues, for example rotation matrices (for rotations of the plane for angles other than 0° or 180°) leave no direction fixed, and therefore do not have any real eigenvalue. The existence of (complex) eigenvalues, and the ensuing existence of eigendecomposition is a useful tool for computing matrix powers and matrix exponentials.
Complex numbers often generalize concepts originally conceived in the real numbers. For example, the conjugate transpose generalizes the transpose, hermitian matrices generalize symmetric matrices, and unitary matrices generalize orthogonal matrices.
In applied mathematics
Control theory
In control theory, systems are often transformed from the time domain to the complex frequency domain using the Laplace transform. The system's zeros and poles are then analyzed in the complex plane. The root locus, Nyquist plot, and Nichols plot techniques all make use of the complex plane.
In the root locus method, it is important whether zeros and poles are in the left or right half planes, that is, have real part greater than or less than zero. If a linear, time-invariant (LTI) system has poles that are
* in the right half plane, it will be unstable,
* all in the left half plane, it will be stable,
* on the imaginary axis, it will have marginal stability.
If a system has zeros in the right half plane, it is a nonminimum phase system.
Signal analysis
Complex numbers are used in signal analysis and other fields for a convenient description for periodically varying signals. For given real functions representing actual physical quantities, often in terms of sines and cosines, corresponding complex functions are considered of which the real parts are the original quantities. For a sine wave of a given frequency, the absolute value z}} of the corresponding is the amplitude and the argument is the phase.
If Fourier analysis is employed to write a given real-valued signal as a sum of periodic functions, these periodic functions are often written as complex-valued functions of the form
<math displayblock>x(t) \operatorname{Re} \{X( t ) \} </math>
and
<math displayblock>X( t ) A e^{i\omega t} a e^{ i \phi } e^{i\omega t} a e^{i (\omega t + \phi) } </math>
where ω represents the angular frequency and the complex number A encodes the phase and amplitude as explained above.
This use is also extended into digital signal processing and digital image processing, which use digital versions of Fourier analysis (and wavelet analysis) to transmit, compress, restore, and otherwise process digital audio signals, still images, and video signals.
Another example, relevant to the two side bands of amplitude modulation of AM radio, is:
<math display=block>\begin{align}
\cos((\omega + \alpha)t) + \cos\left((\omega - \alpha)t\right)
& = \operatorname{Re}\left(e^{i(\omega + \alpha)t} + e^{i(\omega - \alpha)t}\right) \\
& = \operatorname{Re}\left(\left(e^{i\alpha t} + e^{-i\alpha t}\right) \cdot e^{i\omega t}\right) \\
& = \operatorname{Re}\left(2\cos(\alpha t) \cdot e^{i\omega t}\right) \\
& = 2 \cos(\alpha t) \cdot \operatorname{Re}\left(e^{i\omega t}\right) \\
& = 2 \cos(\alpha t) \cdot \cos\left(\omega t\right).
\end{align}</math>
In physics
Electromagnetism and electrical engineering
In electrical engineering, the Fourier transform is used to analyze varying voltages and currents. The treatment of resistors, capacitors, and inductors can then be unified by introducing imaginary, frequency-dependent resistances for the latter two and combining all three in a single complex number called the impedance. This approach is called phasor calculus.
In electrical engineering, the imaginary unit is denoted by , to avoid confusion with , which is generally in use to denote electric current, or, more particularly, , which is generally in use to denote instantaneous electric current.
Because the voltage in an AC circuit is oscillating, it can be represented as
<math displayblock> V(t) V_0 e^{j \omega t} = V_0 \left (\cos\omega t + j \sin\omega t \right ),</math>
To obtain the measurable quantity, the real part is taken:
<math displayblock> v(t) \operatorname{Re}(V) \operatorname{Re}\left [ V_0 e^{j \omega t} \right ] V_0 \cos \omega t.</math>
The complex-valued signal is called the analytic representation of the real-valued, measurable signal .
Fluid dynamicsIn fluid dynamics, complex functions are used to describe potential flow in two dimensions.Quantum mechanicsThe complex number field is intrinsic to the mathematical formulations of quantum mechanics, where complex Hilbert spaces provide the context for one such formulation that is convenient and perhaps most standard. The original foundation formulas of quantum mechanics – the Schrödinger equation and Heisenberg's matrix mechanics – make use of complex numbers.RelativityIn special and general relativity, some formulas for the metric on spacetime become simpler if one takes the time component of the spacetime continuum to be imaginary. (This approach is no longer standard in classical relativity, but is used in an essential way in quantum field theory.) Complex numbers are essential to spinors, which are a generalization of the tensors used in relativity.Characterizations, generalizations and related notionsAlgebraic characterization
The field <math>\Complex</math> has the following three properties:
* First, it has characteristic 0. This means that for any number of summands (all of which equal one).
* Second, its transcendence degree over <math>\Q</math>, the prime field of <math>\Complex,</math> is the cardinality of the continuum.
* Third, it is algebraically closed (see above).
It can be shown that any field having these properties is isomorphic (as a field) to <math>\Complex.</math> For example, the algebraic closure of the field <math>\Q_p</math> of the -adic number also satisfies these three properties, so these two fields are isomorphic (as fields, but not as topological fields). Also, <math>\Complex</math> is isomorphic to the field of complex Puiseux series. However, specifying an isomorphism requires the axiom of choice. Another consequence of this algebraic characterization is that <math>\Complex</math> contains many proper subfields that are isomorphic to <math>\Complex</math>.Characterization as a topological field
The preceding characterization of <math>\Complex</math> describes only the algebraic aspects of <math>\Complex.</math> That is to say, the properties of nearness and continuity, which matter in areas such as analysis and topology, are not dealt with. The following description of <math>\Complex</math> as a topological field (that is, a field that is equipped with a topology, which allows the notion of convergence) does take into account the topological properties. <math>\Complex</math> contains a subset (namely the set of positive real numbers) of nonzero elements satisfying the following three conditions:
* is closed under addition, multiplication and taking inverses.
* If and are distinct elements of , then either or is in .
* If is any nonempty subset of , then for some in <math>\Complex.</math>
Moreover, <math>\Complex</math> has a nontrivial involutive automorphism (namely the complex conjugation), such that is in for any nonzero in <math>\Complex.</math>
Any field with these properties can be endowed with a topology by taking the sets p − (y − x)(y − x)* ∈ P } }} as a base, where ranges over the field and ranges over . With this topology is isomorphic as a topological field to <math>\Complex.</math>
The only connected locally compact topological fields are <math>\R</math> and <math>\Complex.</math> This gives another characterization of <math>\Complex</math> as a topological field, because <math>\Complex</math> can be distinguished from <math>\R</math> because the nonzero complex numbers are connected, while the nonzero real numbers are not.Other number systems
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Number systems
|-
!
! rational numbers <math>\Q</math>
! real numbers <math>\R</math>
! complex numbers <math>\C</math>
! quaternions <math>\mathbb H</math>
! octonions <math>\mathbb O</math>
! sedenions <math>\mathbb S</math>
|-
! complete
| || || || || ||
|-
! dimension as an <math>\R</math>-vector space
| [does not apply] || 1 || 2 || 4 || 8 || 16
|-
! ordered
| || || || || ||
|-
! multiplication commutative
| || || || || ||
|-
! multiplication associative
| || || || || ||
|-
! normed division algebra
| [does not apply] || || || || ||
|}
The process of extending the field <math>\mathbb R</math> of reals to <math>\mathbb C</math> is an instance of the Cayley–Dickson construction. Applying this construction iteratively to <math>\C</math> then yields the quaternions, the octonions, the sedenions, and the trigintaduonions. This construction turns out to diminish the structural properties of the involved number systems.
Unlike the reals, <math>\Complex</math> is not an ordered field, that is to say, it is not possible to define a relation that is compatible with the addition and multiplication. In fact, in any ordered field, the square of any element is necessarily positive, so precludes the existence of an ordering on <math>\Complex.</math> Passing from <math>\C</math> to the quaternions <math>\mathbb H</math> loses commutativity, while the octonions (additionally to not being commutative) fail to be associative. The reals, complex numbers, quaternions and octonions are all normed division algebras over <math>\mathbb R</math>. By Hurwitz's theorem they are the only ones; the sedenions, the next step in the Cayley–Dickson construction, fail to have this structure.
The Cayley–Dickson construction is closely related to the regular representation of <math>\mathbb C,</math> thought of as an <math>\mathbb R</math>-algebra (an <math>\mathbb{R}</math>-vector space with a multiplication), with respect to the basis . This means the following: the <math>\mathbb R</math>-linear map
<math display=block>\begin{align}
\mathbb{C} &\rightarrow \mathbb{C} \\
z &\mapsto wz
\end{align}</math>
for some fixed complex number can be represented by a matrix (once a basis has been chosen). With respect to the basis , this matrix is
<math display=block>\begin{pmatrix}
\operatorname{Re}(w) & -\operatorname{Im}(w) \\
\operatorname{Im}(w) & \operatorname{Re}(w)
\end{pmatrix},</math>
that is, the one mentioned in the section on matrix representation of complex numbers above. While this is a linear representation of <math>\mathbb C</math> in the 2 × 2 real matrices, it is not the only one. Any matrix
<math displayblock>J \begin{pmatrix}p & q \\ r & -p \end{pmatrix}, \quad p^2 + qr + 1 = 0</math>
has the property that its square is the negative of the identity matrix: . Then
<math displayblock>\{ z a I + b J : a,b \in \mathbb{R} \}</math>
is also isomorphic to the field <math>\mathbb C,</math> and gives an alternative complex structure on <math>\mathbb R^2.</math> This is generalized by the notion of a linear complex structure.
Hypercomplex numbers also generalize <math>\mathbb R,</math> <math>\mathbb C,</math> <math>\mathbb H,</math> and <math>\mathbb{O}.</math> For example, this notion contains the split-complex numbers, which are elements of the ring <math>\mathbb R[x]/(x^2-1)</math> (as opposed to <math>\mathbb R[x]/(x^2+1)</math> for complex numbers). In this ring, the equation has four solutions.
The field <math>\mathbb R</math> is the completion of <math>\mathbb Q,</math> the field of rational numbers, with respect to the usual absolute value metric. Other choices of metrics on <math>\mathbb Q</math> lead to the fields <math>\mathbb Q_p</math> of -adic numbers (for any prime number ), which are thereby analogous to <math>\mathbb{R}</math>. There are no other nontrivial ways of completing <math>\mathbb Q</math> than <math>\mathbb R</math> and <math>\mathbb Q_p,</math> by Ostrowski's theorem. The algebraic closures <math>\overline {\mathbb{Q}_p}</math> of <math>\mathbb Q_p</math> still carry a norm, but (unlike <math>\mathbb C</math>) are not complete with respect to it. The completion <math>\mathbb{C}_p</math> of <math>\overline {\mathbb{Q}_p}</math> turns out to be algebraically closed. By analogy, the field is called -adic complex numbers.
The fields <math>\mathbb R,</math> <math>\mathbb Q_p,</math> and their finite field extensions, including <math>\mathbb C,</math> are called local fields.
See also
* Analytic continuation
* Circular motion using complex numbers
* Complex-base system
* Complex coordinate space
* Complex geometry
* Geometry of numbers
* Dual-complex number
* Eisenstein integer
* Geometric algebra (which includes the complex plane as the 2-dimensional spinor subspace <math>\mathcal{G}_2^+</math>)
* Unit complex number
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Historical references
*
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book |refnone |titleAn Imaginary Tale: The Story of <math>\scriptstyle\sqrt{-1}</math> |firstPaul J. |lastNahin |publisherPrinceton University Press |isbn978-0-691-02795-1 |year=1998}} — A gentle introduction to the history of complex numbers and the beginnings of complex analysis.
* — An advanced perspective on the historical development of the concept of number.
Category:Composition algebras | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_number | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.311073 |
5828 | Cryptozoology | Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor of folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.
(1967), whose filmmakers claimed to feature Bigfoot in Northern California. Bigfoot is a popular figure in cryptozoology.]]
Scholars have noted that the subculture rejected mainstream approaches from an early date, and that adherents often express hostility to mainstream science. Scholars studying cryptozoologists and their influence (including cryptozoology's association with Young Earth creationism) noted parallels in cryptozoology and other pseudosciences such as ghost hunting and ufology, and highlighted uncritical media propagation of cryptozoologist claims.
Terminology, history, and approach
As a field, cryptozoology originates from the works of Bernard Heuvelmans, a Belgian zoologist, and Ivan T. Sanderson, a Scottish zoologist. Notably, Heuvelmans published On the Track of Unknown Animals (French: ) in 1955, a landmark work among cryptozoologists that was followed by numerous other similar works. In addition, Sanderson published a series of books that contributed to the developing hallmarks of cryptozoology, including Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life (1961). Heuvelmans himself traced cryptozoology to the work of Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans, who theorized that a large unidentified species of seal was responsible for sea serpent reports.
Cryptozoology is 'the study of hidden animals' (from Ancient Greek: κρυπτός, kryptós "hidden, secret"; Ancient Greek ζῷον, zōion "animal", and λόγος, logos, i.e. "knowledge, study"). The term dates from 1959 or before— Heuvelmans attributes the coinage of the term cryptozoology to Sanderson. Following cryptozoology, the term cryptid was coined in 1983 by cryptozoologist J. E. Wall in the summer issue of the International Society of Cryptozoology newsletter. According to Wall "[It has been] suggested that new terms be coined to replace sensational and often misleading terms like 'monster'. My suggestion is 'cryptid', meaning a living thing having the quality of being hidden or unknown ... describing those creatures which are (or may be) subjects of cryptozoological investigation."
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the noun cryptid as "an animal whose existence or survival to the present day is disputed or unsubstantiated; any animal of interest to a cryptozoologist". While used by most cryptozoologists, the term cryptid is not used by academic zoologists. In a textbook aimed at undergraduates, academics Caleb W. Lack and Jacques Rousseau note that the subculture's focus on what it deems to be "cryptids" is a pseudoscientific extension of older belief in monsters and other similar entities from the folkloric record, yet with a "new, more scientific-sounding name: cryptids".
(1934). Like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster has historically been of significant interest to cryptozoologists.]]While biologists regularly identify new species, cryptozoologists often focus on creatures from the folkloric record. Most famously, these include the Loch Ness Monster, Champ (folklore), Bigfoot, the chupacabra, as well as other "imposing beasts that could be labeled as monsters". In their search for these entities, cryptozoologists may employ devices such as motion-sensitive cameras, night-vision equipment, and audio-recording equipment. While there have been attempts to codify cryptozoological approaches, unlike biologists, zoologists, botanists, and other academic disciplines, however, "there are no accepted, uniform, or successful methods for pursuing cryptids".
In a 2025 interview with science writer Sharon Hill "Cryptids have become cutified" ... The reason why cryptids are seeing a resurgence are because of the Internet, for example, the Flatwoods monster is seen in over 33 video games, but the real reason according to Hill is because for awhile cryptids were thought to be real animals that some people had assigned magical powers to, and with some investigation the hope was that the magic could be stripped away and they would discover a real, perhaps unknown animal. “One of the reasons why I think that fell apart completely was because the International Society of Cryptozoology fell apart completely, so there were no longer any gatekeepers as of the early 1990’s to say ‘a cryptid is these animals that we are studying because we think it’s got a zoological basis’, those people were gone … they were quite old, they died and there was nobody there to take over that gatekeeping aspect although some people tried. … Then you saw an explosion of amateurs in the 2000’s … they became researchers that connected via the Internet. Now they start making media they can publish themselves … it started to hit a younger and younger generation … who love these creatures … now everything can be a cryptid.”
Historically, notable cryptozoologists have often identified instances featuring "irrefutable evidence" (such as Sanderson and Krantz), only for the evidence to be revealed as the product of a hoax. This may occur during a closer examination by experts or upon confession of the hoaxer. Expeditions Cryptozoologists have often led unsuccessful expeditions to find evidence of cryptids. Bigfoot researcher René Dahinden led searches into caves to find evidence of sasquatch, as early sasquatch legends claimed they lived in rocky areas. Despite the failure of these searches, he spent years trying to find proof of bigfoot. Lensgrave Adam Christoffer Knuth led an expedition into Lake Tele in the Congo to find the Mokele-mbembe in 2018. While the expedition was a failure, they discovered a new species of green algae.Young Earth creationismA subset of cryptozoology promotes the pseudoscience of Young Earth creationism, rejecting conventional science in favor of a literal Biblical interpretation and promoting concepts such as "living dinosaurs". Science writer Sharon Hill observes that the Young Earth creationist segment of cryptozoology is "well-funded and able to conduct expeditions with a goal of finding a living dinosaur that they think would invalidate evolution".
Anthropologist Jeb J. Card says that "[[Creationism|[c]reationists]] have embraced cryptozoology and some cryptozoological expeditions are funded by and conducted by creationists hoping to disprove evolution." In a 2013 interview, paleontologist Donald Prothero notes an uptick in creationist cryptozoologists. He observes that "[p]eople who actively search for Loch Ness monsters or Mokele Mbembe do it entirely as creationist ministers. They think that if they found a dinosaur in the Congo it would overturn all of evolution. It wouldn't. It would just be a late-occurring dinosaur, but that's their mistaken notion of evolution."
Citing a 2013 exhibit at the Petersburg, Kentucky-based Creation Museum, which claimed that dragons were once biological creatures who walked the earth alongside humanity and is broadly dedicated to Young Earth creationism, religious studies academic Justin Mullis notes that "[c]ryptozoology has a long and curious history with Young Earth Creationism, with this new exhibit being just one of the most recent examples".
Academic Paul Thomas analyzes the influence and connections between cryptozoology in his 2020 study of the Creation Museum and the creationist theme park Ark Encounter. Thomas comments that, "while the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter are flirting with pseudoarchaeology, coquettishly whispering pseudoarchaeological rhetoric, they are each fully in bed with cryptozoology" and observes that "[y]oung-earth creationists and cryptozoologists make natural bed fellows. As with pseudoarchaeology, both young-earth creationists and cryptozoologists bristle at the rejection of mainstream secular science and lament a seeming conspiracy to prevent serious consideration of their claims."Lack of critical media coverageMedia outlets have often uncritically disseminated information from cryptozoologist sources, including newspapers that repeat false claims made by cryptozoologists or television shows that feature cryptozoologists as monster hunters (such as the popular and purportedly nonfiction American television show MonsterQuest, which aired from 2007 to 2010). Media coverage of purported "cryptids" often fails to provide more likely explanations, further propagating claims made by cryptozoologists.
Reception and pseudoscience
There is a broad consensus among academics that cryptozoology is a pseudoscience. The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method. No academic course of study nor university degree program grants the status of cryptozoologist and the subculture is primarily the domain of individuals without training in the natural sciences.
Anthropologist Jeb J. Card summarizes cryptozoology in a survey of pseudoscience and pseudoarchaeology:
Card notes that "cryptozoologists often show their disdain and even hatred for professional scientists, including those who enthusiastically participated in cryptozoology", which he traces back to Heuvelmans's early "rage against critics of cryptozoology". He finds parallels with cryptozoology and other pseudosciences, such as ghost hunting and ufology, and compares the approach of cryptozoologists to colonial big-game hunters, and to aspects of European imperialism. According to Card, "[m]ost cryptids are framed as the subject of indigenous legends typically collected in the heyday of comparative folklore, though such legends may be heavily modified or worse. Cryptozoology's complicated mix of sympathy, interest, and appropriation of indigenous culture (or non-indigenous construction of it) is also found in New Age circles and dubious "Indian burial grounds" and other legends [...] invoked in hauntings such as the "Amityville" hoax [...]".
In a 2011 foreword for The American Biology Teacher, then National Association of Biology Teachers president Dan Ward uses cryptozoology as an example of "technological pseudoscience" that may confuse students about the scientific method. Ward says that "Cryptozoology [...] is not valid science or even science at all. It is monster hunting." Historian of science Brian Regal includes an entry for cryptozoology in his Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia (2009). Regal says that "as an intellectual endeavor, cryptozoology has been studied as much as cryptozoologists have sought hidden animals".
In a 1992 issue of Folklore, folklorist Véronique Campion-Vincent says:
Campion-Vincent says that "four currents can be distinguished in the study of mysterious animal appearances": "Forteans" ("compiler[s] of anomalies" such as via publications like the Fortean Times), "occultists" (which she describes as related to "Forteans"), "folklorists", and "cryptozoologists". Regarding cryptozoologists, Campion-Vincent says that "this movement seems to deserve the appellation of parascience, like parapsychology: the same corpus is reviewed; many scientists participate, but for those who have an official status of university professor or researcher, the participation is a private hobby".
In his analysis of cryptozoology, folklorist Peter Dendle says that "cryptozoology devotees consciously position themselves in defiance of mainstream science" and that:
In a paper published in 2013, Dendle refers to cryptozoologists as "contemporary monster hunters" that "keep alive a sense of wonder in a world that has been very thoroughly charted, mapped, and tracked, and that is largely available for close scrutiny on Google Earth and satellite imaging" and that "on the whole the devotion of substantial resources for this pursuit betrays a lack of awareness of the basis for scholarly consensus (largely ignoring, for instance, evidence of evolutionary biology and the fossil record)."
According to historian Mike Dash, few scientists doubt there are thousands of unknown animals, particularly invertebrates, awaiting discovery; however, cryptozoologists are largely uninterested in researching and cataloging newly discovered species of ants or beetles, instead focusing their efforts towards "more elusive" creatures that have often defied decades of work aimed at confirming their existence.}}
Paleontologist Donald Prothero (2007) cites cryptozoology as an example of pseudoscience and categorizes it, along with Holocaust denial and UFO abductions claims, as aspects of American culture that are "clearly baloney".
In Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers (2017), Hill surveys the field and discusses aspects of the subculture, noting internal attempts at creating more scientific approaches and the involvement of Young Earth creationists and a prevalence of hoaxes. She concludes that many cryptozoologists are "passionate and sincere in their belief that mystery animals exist. As such, they give deference to every report of a sighting, often without critical questioning. As with the ghost seekers, cryptozoologists are convinced that they will be the ones to solve the mystery and make history. With the lure of mystery and money undermining diligent and ethical research, the field of cryptozoology has serious credibility problems." Organizations
There have been several organizations, of varying types, dedicated or related to cryptozoology. These include:
* International Fortean Organization – a network of professional Fortean researchers and writers based in the United States
* International Society of Cryptozoology – an American organisation that existed from 1982 to 1998
* Kosmopoisk – a Russian organisation whose interests include cryptozoology and Ufology
* The Centre for Fortean Zoology- an English organization centered around hunting for unknown animals
Museums and exhibitions
The zoological and cryptozoological collection and archive of Bernard Heuvelmans is held at the Musée Cantonal de Zoologie in Lausanne and consists of around "1,000 books, 25,000 files, 25,000 photographs, correspondence, and artifacts".
In 2006, the Bates College Museum of Art held the "Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale" exhibition, which compared cryptozoological creatures with recently extinct animals like the thylacine and extant taxa like the coelacanth, once thought long extinct (living fossils). The following year, the American Museum of Natural History put on a mixed exhibition of imaginary and extinct animals, including the elephant bird Aepyornis maximus and the great ape Gigantopithecus blacki, under the name "Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids". The museum houses more than 3000 cryptozoology related artifacts.
See also
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* Ethnozoology
* Fearsome critters, fabulous beasts that were said to inhabit the timberlands of North America
* Folk belief
* List of cryptozoologists, a list of notable cryptozoologists
* Scientific skepticism
References
Sources
* Bartholomew, Robert E. 2012. ''The Untold Story of Champ: A Social History of America's Loch Ness Monster. State University of New York Press.
* Campion-Vincent, Véronique. 1992. "Appearances of Beasts and Mystery-cats in France". Folklore 103.2 (1992): 160–183.
* Card, Jeb J. 2016. "Steampunk Inquiry: A Comparative Vivisection of Discovery Pseudoscience" in Card, Jeb J. and Anderson, David S. Lost City, Found Pyramid: Understanding Alternative Archaeologies and Pseudoscientific Practices, pp. 24–25. University of Alabama Press.
* Church, Jill M. (2009). Cryptozoology. In H. James Birx. Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology & Culture, Volume 1. SAGE Publications. pp. 251–252.
* Dash, Mike. 2000. Borderlands: The Ultimate Exploration of the Unknown. Overlook Press.
* Dendle, Peter. 2006. "Cryptozoology in the Medieval and Modern Worlds". Folklore, Vol. 117, No. 2 (Aug., 2006), pp. 190–206. Taylor & Francis.
* Dendle, Peter. 2013. "Monsters and the Twenty-First Century" in The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous. Ashgate Publishing.
* Hill, Sharon A. 2017. Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers. McFarland.
* Lack, Caleb W. and Jacques Rousseau. 2016. Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can't Trust Our Brains. Springer.
* Lee, Jeffrey A. 2000. The Scientific Endeavor: A Primer on Scientific Principles and Practice. Benjamin Cummings.
* Loxton, Daniel and Donald Prothero. 2013. Abominable Science: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and other Famous Cryptids. Columbia University Press.
* Mullis, Justin. 2019. "Cryptofiction! Science Fiction and the Rise of Cryptozoology" in Caterine, Darryl & John W. Morehead (ed.). 2019. The Paranormal and Popular Culture: A Postmodern Religious Landscape, pp. 240–252. Routledge. .
* Mullis, Justin. 2021. "Thomas Jefferson: The First Cryptozoologist?". In Joseph P. Laycock & Natasha L. Mikles (eds). Religion, Culture, and the Monstrous: Of Gods and Monsters, pp. 185–197. Lexington Books.
* Nagel, Brian. 2009. Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO.
* Paxton, C.G.M. 2011. "Putting the 'ology' into cryptozoology." Biofortean Notes. Vol. 7, pp. 7–20, 310.
* Prothero, Donald R. 2007. Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters. Columbia University Press.
* Radford, Benjamin. 2014. "Bigfoot at 50: Evaluating a Half-Century of Bigfoot Evidence" in Farha, Bryan (ed.). Pseudoscience and Deception: The Smoke and Mirrors of Paranormal Claims. University Press of America.
* Regal, Brian. 2011a. "Cryptozoology" in McCormick, Charlie T. and Kim Kennedy (ed.). Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art, pp. 326–329. 2nd edition. ABC-CLIO. .
* Regal, Brian. 2011b. Sasquatch: Crackpots, Eggheads, and Cryptozoology. Springer. .
* Roesch, Ben S & John L. Moore. (2002). Cryptozoology. In Michael Shermer (ed.). The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: Volume One. ABC-CLIO. pp. 71–78.
* Shea, Rachel Hartigan. 2013. "The Science Behind Bigfoot and Other Monsters".National Geographic, September 9, 2013. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130910013440/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130907-cryptid-crytozoology-bigfoot-loch-yeti-monster-abominable-science/ Online].
* Shermer, Michael. 2003. "Show Me the Body" in Scientific American, issue 288 (5), p. 27. [http://www.michaelshermer.com/2003/05/show-me-the-body Online].
* Simpson, George Gaylord (1984). "Mammals and Cryptozoology". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 128, No. 1 (Mar. 30, 1984), pp. 1–19. American Philosophical Society.
* Thomas, Paul. 2020. Storytelling the Bible at the Creation Museum, Ark Encounter, and Museum of the Bible. Bloomsbury Publishing.
* Uscinski, Joseph. 2020. Conspiracy Theories: A Primer. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
* Wall, J. E. 1983. The ISC Newsletter, vol. 2, issue 10, p. 10. International Society of Cryptozoology.
* Ward, Daniel. 2011. "From the President". The American Biology Teacher, 73.8 (2011): 440–440.
* Watts, Linda S. 2007. Encyclopedia of American Folklore. Facts on File.
External links
*
Category:Forteana
Category:Pseudoscience
Category:Subcultures
Category:Young Earth creationism
Category:Zoology | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptozoology | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.367984 |
5829 | Craig Charles | | birth_place = Liverpool, England
| occupation =
| years_active = 1981–present
| known_for = Red Dwarf<br>Coronation Street<br>Robot Wars<br>''Takeshi's Castle
| spouse =
*
}}
| children = 3
}}
Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera Coronation Street (2005–2015). He presented the gladiator-style game show Robot Wars from 1998 to 2004, and narrated the comedy endurance show Takeshi's Castle. As a DJ, he appears on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Charles first appeared on television as a performance poet, which led to minor presenting roles. After finding fame in Red Dwarf, he regularly featured on national television with celebrity appearances on many popular shows while he continued to host a wide variety of programmes. From 2017 to 2022, Charles hosted The Gadget Show for Channel 5. His acting credits include playing inmate Eugene Buffy in the ITV drama The Governor, and leading roles in the British films Fated and Clubbing to Death.
Charles has hosted The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show on BBC radio since 2002, and performs DJ sets at numerous clubs and festivals, nationally and internationally. In September 2015, he left Coronation Street after ten years of acting, to film new episodes of Red Dwarf'' and to continue his BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 broadcasting.
Early life
Craig Joseph Charles was born in Liverpool on 11 July 1964, the son of a Guyanese father and Irish mother. He grew up on the Cantril Farm housing estate He won a national competition run by The Guardian newspaper for a poem he wrote when he was 12 years old.
Early career
Charles began his career as a contemporary and urban performance poet on the British cabaret circuit. His performances were considered original, with Charles described as having a natural ironic wit which appealed to talent scouts. In 1981, Charles climbed on stage at a Teardrop Explodes concert and recited a humorous, but derogatory, poem about the band's singer, Julian Cope. Charles was invited to open subsequent gigs for the group, and went on to perform as a support act in pubs and clubs for the following three years, and at events such as the Larks in the Park music festival at Sefton Park (1982). He performed poetry reading poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky, W. H. Auden and E. E. Cummings, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre (1983), with such poets as Roger McGough and Adrian Henri. In 1980, he played keyboards, bass and provided voice in the rock band Watt 4. He performed his political rap lyrics as a 'Wordsmith'. In 1983, Charles was invited to record a session on the John Peel BBC Radio show, performing his poems backed by a band. This was his first professional engagement. He recorded a further Peel Session in 1984.
Charles realised he was using poetry as a vehicle for his sense of humour, and progressed into stand-up comedy. He was part of the Red Wedge comedy tour in 1986, which aimed to raise awareness of the social problems of the time, in support of the Labour Party. He also performed his first one-man show in 1986, which premiered in Edinburgh, and then toured internationally. Charles was a guest on programmes including Janice Long's Radio 1 show, and he was a regular panellist on Ned Sherrin's chat show Loose Ends (1987–88) on BBC Radio 4. Television career Performance poetry Charles first appeared on television as the resident poet on the arts programme Riverside on BBC2 and on the day-time BBC1 chat show Pebble Mill at One. Charles was the resident poet on the Channel 4 programme Black on Black (1985) and its entertainment-based successor Club Mix (1986), and he appeared, weekly, as a John Cooper Clarke-style 'punk poet' on the BBC2 pop music programme Oxford Road Show (ORS). Charles performed his political poems as stand-up comedy on the late-night show Saturday Live (1985–87) and on the prime-time BBC1 chat show Wogan (1986–87), where he performed a topical poem in a weekly feature. He also appeared as a guest on shows including Open Air (1988). Charles included significant acting in his performance style, enabling him to put the emotion across.
In September 2015, Charles performed his "epic" poem Scary Fairy and the Tales of the Dark Wood live with the BBC Philharmonic orchestra, in a concert to be broadcast on BBC Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night at Halloween.
Red Dwarf
Charles' first television acting role was the Liverpudlian slob Dave Lister in science fiction comedy series Red Dwarf starting in 1988. He was introduced to the show by Saturday Live and Red Dwarf producer Paul Jackson, who wanted his opinion on whether the black character Cat was a racist stereotype. Charles, who like all of the eventual main cast had no acting experience, was eventually offered an audition after begging Jackson. The role has involved Charles playing a variety of alternative characters, including a gangster, a cowboy and angelic and evil versions of Lister, and in him carrying out a wide range of stunts, and acting involving special effects. All series, except 7 and 9, were recorded in front of a studio audience. Along with Danny John-Jules (Cat), Charles is one of only two cast members to appear in every episode of Red Dwarf to date.
Charles reads the audiobook editions of both the Red Dwarf novel Last Human and his book The Log: A Dwarfer's Guide to Everything, and he regularly attends sci-fi, comedy and memorabilia conventions in connection with the Red Dwarf franchise. During Back to Earth, Lister visits the set of Coronation Street, where he meets the actor Craig Charles.
Robot Wars
Charles presented Robot Wars on BBC2 (1998–2003) and Channel 5 (2003–04), from series 2 until series 7, which included two Extreme'' series and numerous 'specials'. Charles was the main host and presided over the arena in which teams of amateur engineers battled their home-made radio-controlled robots against each other, and against the house robots. Charles introduced the show, enthusiastically announced the results of the battles and spoke to the contestants after the main events. He ended each episode with a short Robot Wars-themed poem. Charles' son, Jack, appeared on the show on several occasions, and was a contestant on "Team Nemesis" during series 4. Charles also hosted the Robot Wars Live UK tour, in 2001 and shows performed at the Wembley Arena.
Robot Wars returned to the BBC in 2016. Charles stated his interest in hosting it again, but the job went to Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon. ''Takeshi's Castle Charles provided the English voice-over commentary for the Challenge (2002–04) rebroadcast of the popular game show Takeshi's Castle'', originally by Tokyo Broadcasting System in Japan. In each episode, between 100 and 142 contestants attempted to pass a series of wacky and near-impossible physical challenges to reach the Show Down at the castle against Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano for a chance to win large cash prizes. Charles co-wrote the programme and commentated throughout all 122 episodes of the four series, and also some special and "best of" episodes. He provided comedy insights into the contestants' abilities, which were designed to appeal to adult audiences, as well as younger viewers – and also coined the term "Keshi Heads" to describe fans of the show. A 2013 reboot narrated by Dick and Dom was not as well received.
Coronation Street
In 2005, Charles joined the main cast of Coronation Street, playing a philandering taxicab driver, Lloyd Mullaney. Charles introduced aspects of the character himself, making Lloyd a Northern Soul DJ and record collector, and funk music enthusiast. Charles has chosen funk and soul songs playing as backing tracks during scenes, and posters for The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club and Red Dwarf have appeared in the background.
Charles portrayed Lloyd as tough, but kind-hearted and romantic, and the character was popular with viewers. Charles added a comedy element to the role, but was also involved in traumatic and emotional scenes with intricate storylines. In 2010, his character was involved in the show's dramatic 50th anniversary tram crash storyline, which was broadcast live. Charles presented documentaries for the show, including 50 Years of Corrie Stunts (2010), which is included on the Tram Crash DVD. In November 2011, Charles took time off from Coronation Street to film a new series of Red Dwarf, returning in April 2012. In February 2014 an online mini-series, ''Steve & Lloyd's Streetcar Stories'', ran alongside the television show's storyline.
In May 2015, Craig announced he would be leaving Coronation Street for Red Dwarf, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music. Lloyd left in a red Cadillac during the live episode on 23 September, although his final pre-recorded farewell scenes with Steve were shown during the following episode. Other acting roles Charles has acted in episodes of popular dramas such as The Bill (1995), EastEnders (2002) and Holby City (2003) Detective Chief Inspector Mercer in seven episodes of the BBC soap opera Doctors (2003); and soccer agent, Joel Brooks, in the Sky TV football soap Dream Team (2004). Charles presented the virtual reality game show Cyberzone (1993) on BBC2; However, on 20 November, Charles left the series soon after learning that his brother Dean had died after suffering a heart attack.
Radio
As well as his early appearances on shows such as Radio 4's Loose Ends (1987–88) and the Beatleland (2012) documentary on The Beatles. Charles has also chosen music as a guest of other broadcasters such as Ken Bruce on Radio 2 and Liz Kershaw on 6 Music. Charles covered for Graham Norton on Radio 2's Saturday mid-morning show during Norton's ten-week 2015 summer break. From 16 April 2016 until 18 June 2022, Charles presented the House Party on Saturday nights on BBC Radio 2, with the show airing between 10 pm and midnight. For eight weeks from April–June 2020, he also presented Craig Charles At Teatime between 4 pm and 7 pm on weekdays on Radio 6 Music. The show was sometimes billed as Craig Charles Weekend Workout on Fridays.
Since 18 October 2021, Charles has hosted the weekday afternoon show on BBC Radio 6 Music (1 pm – 4 pm). The shows include the "Trunk of Punk" and the "Jar of Ska". In 2023 the weekday show won the Gold Aria award for Best Music Entertainment Show. Music
Charles has been involved in the music industry through much of his career. His bands have included Watt 4 (1980), in which he played keyboards and sang; Craig Charles and the Beat Burglars (1989); The Sons of Gordon Gekko (1989), where he wrote lyrics and also composed tunes; and The Eye (2000–02), with whom he recorded the rock album Giving You the Eye, Live at the Edinburgh Festival. Charles plays guitar and piano.
In 1987, Charles provided the poem track used for the opening credits of the BBC series The Marksman (in which he also acted), which is included on the album "The Marksman: Music from the BBC TV Series". Charles wrote lyrics for Suzanne Rhatigan's album To Hell with Love (1992). In 1993, Charles was signed to the Acid Jazz record label.
In 2009, Charles formed the Fantasy Funk Band from the leading British musicians in the genre, and has presented the band at festivals, including Glastonbury and the BBC's Proms in the Park. As a continuation of his 6 Music show, Charles regularly takes the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club to varied venues across the UK and abroad, and to the major UK music festivals. He performs live DJ sets, occasionally comperes and curates events, including his own Craig Charles Fantasy Weekender, and has broadcast the radio show live from festival locations. with Freestyle Records. The second volume was released in the same format in 2013, and the third in 2014. He followed these with a Craig Charles Funk and Soul Classics album of three CDs in 2015. and 2001, regularly touring his one-man adult-rated shows nationally and releasing the videos Craig Charles: Live on Earth! (1995), Live Official Bootleg (1996) and Sickbag (2000). International performances included the Great Norwegian Comedy Festival and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2000, he performed the show Craig Charles and His Band at the Edinburgh Festival.
Charles has a regular slot at Butlins Minehead House Of Fun Weekend every third November for three nights, of DJing, Comedy, Twanging and singing. Film roles Charles played Eddie in the 1987 political drama Business as Usual. In 2006, Charles starred in two British feature films: the fantasy film Fated and the gangster film Clubbing to Death. Charles voiced Zipper the Cat in the animation Prince Cinders (1993) and Asterix in Asterix Conquers America (1994). Roles in short films include playing Keith Dennis in the comedy The Colour of Funny (1999) and Mark in the drama Ten Minutes (2004).
Charles has been involved in journalism and has had a column in Time Out magazine. In 1994, he launched a single issue of Comedy magazine with articles dedicated to the comedy circuit. In 2005 and 2006, Charles was a monthly columnist for the Liverpool Echo newspaper. His television writing credits include The Easter Stories (1994), Funky Bunker (1997) and ''Takeshi's Castle (2002). He is also involved in music journalism, as he wrote liner notes for the funk and soul music producer Mr. Confuse for his albums Feel The Fire (2008), Do You Realize (2012) and Only A Man (2018) regarding his work as a music presenter for The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show'' on BBC Radio 6 Music. He has three children: a son named Jack from his first marriage to actress Cathy Tyson, and two daughters named Anna-Jo and Nellie from his second marriage to Jackie Fleming.
In July 1994, Charles and another man were charged with rape and four counts of indecent assault, following allegations by an associate and ex-girlfriend of Charles. Charles was remanded in custody for three-and-a-half months before being granted bail, during which time he was assaulted by a man wielding a makeshift knife. In March 1995, Charles and his co-accused were acquitted of all charges at trial. He stated: "The fact that my name and address along with my picture can appear on the front of the papers before the so-called 'victim' has even signed a statement proves that anonymity for rape defendants is a must and that the law must be changed." In June 2006, newspaper allegations of crack cocaine use resulted in Charles being suspended from both Coronation Street and BBC Radio 6 Music. In August, Charles was arrested and released on bail pending further enquiries, and in September he accepted a caution for possession of a Class A drug. Charles returned to hosting his 6 Music show from November 2006 and filming Coronation Street from January 2007. In a 2015 interview, Charles spoke of his need to remain "vigilant" in abstaining from drugs.
Credits
Filmography{| class"wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |(early 1980s)
|Riverside
| rowspan="2" |Resident poet
|Arts review programme
|-
|Pebble Mill at One
|Daily magazine show. Performed in front of Princess Anne
|-
|1984
|Lift Off
|Himself—interviewee
|Documentary
|-
|1985
|Black on Black
|Resident poet
|Channel 4's first multicultural programme. Including the poem "Halt"
|-
|1985–1987
|Saturday Live
|Himself—stand up
|Live poetry stand-up comedy. Series 1: VHS (1986), DVD (2007). Series 2: VHS (1987), DVD (2008)
|-
| rowspan="3" |1986
|Club Mix
|Resident poet
|Entertainment-based successor to Black on Black
|-
|Red Wedge
|Himself
|Stand-up comedy tour
|-
|Edinburgh Festival Fringe
| rowspan="2" |Himself—poet
|August
|-
|1986–1987
|Wogan
|Chat show. Co-hosted and performed weekly topical poem on current affairs
|-
| rowspan="5" |1987
|Business as Usual
|Eddie
|Drama feature film. VHS (1988)
|-
|Craig Charles
|Himself—stand up
|Poetry at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 7–29 August
|-
|Video View
| rowspan="2" |Himself—presenter
|TV series
|-
|Night Network
|
|-
|The Marksman
|McFadden
|TV drama miniseries, wrote opening poem and played a murderer, aired December
|-
| rowspan="3" |1988
|Open Air
|Himself—interviewee
|Aired 23 February
|-
|Craig Goes Mad in Melbourne
|Himself—host
|Behind the scenes at the International Comedy Festival, 1–11 June
|-
|TOR! Total Football
|Himself—presenter
|Introducing highlights in official film of European Football Championships
|-
|1988–1999, 2009, 2012, 2016–2020
|Red Dwarf
|Dave Lister
|All 74 episodes
|-
| rowspan="5" |1989
|Daytime Live
|Himself—interviewee
|Aired 6 January
|-
|Teechers
|Multiple characters
|John Godber stage play
|-
|Star Test: Craig Charles
|Himself—interviewee
|Interviewed by a computer on chat show, aired 18 April
|-
|Dogs of War
|Voiceover
|3D computer video game. Voiced story speech and one character
|-
|''What's That Noise?''
|Himself—host
|Children's music show
|-
| rowspan="3" |1991
|Comic Relief
|Dave Lister
|Short television film
|-
|Them and Us
|Himself—host
|Consumer rights series
|-
|You Bet!
|Himself—contestant
|Celebrity game show
|-
| rowspan="6" |1992
|The Last Cigarette
|Himself
|Encouraging giving up smoking, aired 8 March
|-
|Open to Question
|Himself—interviewee
|Audience questions from young people on topical issues, 23 March
|-
|Parallel 9
|Himself
|Children's magazine show. Including episode 1.13, aired 18 July
|-
|Weather Watch
|Himself—presenter
|Educational TV series investigating different aspect of the weather
|-
|Wogan
|Himself
|Chat show, 23 October
|-
|Ghostwatch
|Himself—reporter
|Drama, aired 31 October (Halloween). DVD (2002)
|-
| rowspan="11" |1993
|''That's Showbusiness
|Himself—contestant
|Quiz show, BBC1, aired 2 February
|-
|Cyberzone''
|Himself—host
|All 10 episodes of the world's first virtual reality game show
|-
|Cyberpunks and Technophobes
|Himself
|TV series
|-
|A Word in Your Ear
|Himself—contestant
|Game show, BBC1
|-
|Super Mario All Stars
|Himself—presenter
|Nintendo video game on VHS
|-
|Dinosaurs: The Myths & The Reality
|Himself—narrator
|Animated documentary. VHS (1993), DVD (2006)
|-
|Prince Cinders
|Zipper the Cat
|Voice of character in animated film of Babette Cole's book. VHS (1993), DVD (2007)
|-
|Telly Addicts
|Himself—contestant
|Aired 13 September and 29 December
|-
|Pebble Mill
|Himself—interviewee
|Performed song, 29 October
|-
|Funny Stories
|Himself—voice
|Audiobook anthology of stories for children
|-
|The Big Breakfast
|Himself—guest presenter
|Magazine show
|-
| rowspan="6" |1994
|Go Getters
|Himself—host
|Children's programme
|-
|The Easter Stories
|Judas Iscariot
|Drama series. Episode: "Judas' Tale"
|-
|Asterix Conquers America
|Asterix (voice)
|Animated feature film, English language version
|-
|The Word
|Himself—interviewee
|Late night magazine show
|-
|Red Dwarf: Smeg Ups
|Dave Lister
|Video release (archive footage)
|-
|Big Break in Wonderland
|Himself—contestant
|Charity Christmas special of snooker competition, aired 27 December
|-
| rowspan="8" |1995
|Red Dwarf: Smeg Outs
|Dave Lister
|Video release (new and archive footage)
|-
|Breakfast with Frost
|Himself—guest
|Chat show with Sir David Frost, 5 March
|-
|May the 4 Be with You
|Himself—presenter
|"Starburst Vol. 2" VHS (1996)
|-
|Craig Charles: Live on Earth!
|Himself—stand up
|VHS video release of live stand-up comedy stage show. Also co-producer
|-
|Just a Minute
|Himself—contestant
|TV version of radio panel game, 21 July
|-
|Beam Me Up Scotty!
|Himself—presenter
|Aired 26 August
|-
|The Bill
|Martin Bailey
|Episode: "Honey Pot", 31 October
|-
|Have I Got News for You
|Himself—contestant
|Guest panelist on satire quiz show. Series 10, episode 7, 8 December
|-
| rowspan="5" |1996
|Craig Charles Live Official Bootleg
|Himself
|VHS video documentary of stand-up show
|-
|''They Think It's All Over
|Himself—contestant
|Series 2, episode 3, aired 26 March
|-
|The Governor
|Eugene Buffy
|Drama from Lynda La Plante. All 6 episodes of series 2. DVD (2012)
|-
|Cyberspace
|Himself—narrator
|TV series
|-
|The 10 Percenters
|Bobby Titan
|Episode: "Revenge" playing a rap singer
|-
| rowspan="9" |1997
|The Big Breakfast
|Himself—guest
|Aired 6 January
|-
|Night Fever
|Himself—contestant
|Pop music quiz including singing
|-
|Captain Butler
|Captain Butler
|All 6 episodes
|-
|Bully: Ha Bloody Ha''
|Himself—interviewee
|Educational show discussing celebrities' memories of school bullies, aired 28 August
|-
|Pulling Power
|Himself—guest
|Motoring show, aired 24 September
|-
|Space Cadets
|Team captain
|Comedy sci-fi quiz, all 10 episodes
|-
|Funky Bunker
|Himself—host
|Late night chat show. 13 episodes. Also co-writer
|-
|The National Lottery Live
|Himself—presenter
|Opened the draw, 5 November
|-
|English Express Language Skills
|Himself—presenter
|Schools education series
|-
|1997–1998
|Dick Whittington and His Wonderful Cat
|Idle Jack
|Pantomime stage play
|-
| rowspan="5" |1998
|''Can't Smeg, Won't Smeg
|Dave Lister—contestant
|Special edition of Can't Cook, Won't Cook, aired 14 February
|-
|Universe Challenge
|Himself—contestant
|Special Red Dwarf edition of University Challenge, aired 14 February
|-
|Children in Need
|Dave Lister
|Red Dwarf short episode
|-
|The Selfish Crocodile''
|Narrator
|Audiobook edition of children's book
|-
|Fully Booked
|Himself—interviewee
|Magazine show
|-
|1998–2004
|Robot Wars
| rowspan="2" |Himself—host
|Series 2–7 (after replacing Jeremy Clarkson)
|-
|1999–2000
|''Ripley's Believe It or Not!
|UK presenter
|-
|1999
|The Colour of Funny
|Keith Dennis
|Short comedy film
|-
| rowspan="3" |2000
|Craig Charles: Sickbag
| rowspan="2" |Himself
|VHS video release of live stand-up comedy show
|-
|Craig Charles and His Band
|Edinburgh Festival, August. Recording album Giving You The Eye
|-
|Jailbreak
|Himself—host
|Reality challenge show
|-
| rowspan="5" |2001
|Top Ten TV Sci-Fi
|Himself—interviewee
|Documentary
|-
|Porridge Selection Box
|Himself
|Worldwide VHS video release. Introduced clips
|-
|Lexx
|The Warden
|Canadian sci-fi series. Episode: "P4X" Hattie Hayridge from Red Dwarf as his wife. Series 4, Vol. 1 DVD (2001)
|-
|Don't Walk
|Narrator (voice)
|Short film
|-
|Amazing Space: The Pub Guide to the Universe
|Himself—host
|Discussion series with guest experts on space related topics
|-
| rowspan="2" |2002
|EastEnders: Ricky and Bianca
|Vince
|EastEnders spin-off drama, aired 20 May
|-
|The Saturday Show
|Himself—interviewee
|Magazine show, 1 June
|-
|2002–2004
|Takeshi's Castle
|Himself—commentator
|UK voiceover of Japanese comedy challenge show. Also co-writer
|-
| rowspan="6" |2003
|The Sitcom Story
|Himself
|TV documentary
|-
|Sushi TV
|Himself—narrator
|UK version of Japanese TV clip show (after replacing Julian Clary)
|-
|Doctors
|DCI Mercer
|7 episodes of soap opera
|-
|Monstrous Bosses
| rowspan="2" |Himself—presenter
|Links between clips in a battle between two comedy characters, 10–11 May
|-
|Lovable Rogues
|Links between clips, aired 3 August
|-
|Holby City
|Adrian Summers
|Episode: "Full Circle", aired 16 December
|-
| rowspan="9" |2004
|Ten Minutes
|Mark
|Short comedy film, launched at the BAFTA and Cannes Film Festival in 2003. Film release July 2004
|-
|Britain's Best Sitcom
|Himself
|TV documentary
|-
|Weapons of Mass Distraction
|Himself—presenter
|Satirical comedy chat show exploring tabloid newspaper world
|-
|Celebrities Disfigured
|Himself (disguised)
|Documentary exploring attitudes to disfigurement, aired 17 April
|-
|The Weakest Link''
|Himself—contestant
|Charity edition of quiz show. "Stars of the '90s". Reached 3rd place, aired 4 August
|-
|Comedy Connections
| rowspan="2" |Himself—interviewee
|Documentary episode on Red Dwarf, aired 30 August
|-
|Public Opinion
|Panel show, opinions on celebrities from members of the public, aired 21 September
|-
|Celebrity Poker Club
|Himself—contestant
|Challenge, series 3, reached semi-finals
|-
|Dream Team
|Joel Brooks
|Soccer agent in Sky TV football drama
|-
| rowspan="3" |2005
|Forty Years of Fuck
|Himself—interviewee
|BBC documentary examining swearing on TV
|-
|The Games
| rowspan="2" |Himself—contestant
|Reality game show for charity, based on the Olympic Games. Series 3.
|-
|Athletes in Training
|Live feed, following The Games contestants through their intensive training regime
|-
|2005–2015
|Coronation Street
|Lloyd Mullaney
|Principal cast in soap opera, first appearance 20 June 2005
|-
| rowspan="2" |2006
|Fated
|Pedro
|Feature film. DVD (2011)
|-
|Clubbing to Death
|Carl Begsley
|Feature film. Not yet released (in post production)
|-
|2008–present
|The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club
|Himself—DJ
|Live DJ performances throughout the UK, and occasionally abroad
|-
|2009
|Carpool
|Himself—interviewee
|Video-podcast interview by Robert Llewellyn of Red Dwarf
|-
| rowspan="3" |2010
|UK Festival Awards
|Himself
|Hosted award ceremony at The IndigO2, London, 18 November
|-
|''Robert Llewellyn's Carpool
|Himself—interviewee
|Chat show. Episode 1.5: aired 2 December
|-
|50 Years of Corrie Stunts
|Himself—voiceover
|Coronation Street documentary, aired 6 December. On Tram Crash DVD (2010)
|-
| rowspan="3" |2011
|Zombie Carnage
|Frank
|Promotional trailer for feature film
|-
|Cast Mates
|Himself
|Coronation Street online Q&A, 31 August
|-
|This Morning
| rowspan="3" |Himself—Interviewee
|Daytime entertainment show, 6 September
|-
| rowspan="11" |2012
|BBC Breakfast
|News programme, 10 March
|-
|Loose Women
|Chat show, 15 March
|-
|Motorbike Diaries: Mad in the Med
|Himself—narrator
|Travel documentary series from Danny John-Jules of Red Dwarf
|-
|Evidently... John Cooper Clarke''
| rowspan="6" |Himself—interviewee
|Documentary on the poet John Cooper Clarke's life and career, aired 30 May
|-
|This Morning
|Chat show, 6 July
|-
|Loose Women
|Chat show, 25 September
|-
|The Alan Titchmarsh Show
|Chat show, 28 September
|-
|''We're Smegged
|Documentary on the making of Red Dwarf X. On series X DVD, released 19 November
|-
|This Morning
|Chat show, 19 November
|-
|The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club
|Music compiler
|Compilation album, released on Freestyle Records as CD and digital download, 26 November
|-
|The Chase''
|Himself—contestant
|Celebrity edition of quiz show for 'Text Santa' charity appeal, ITV1, 21 December
|-
| rowspan="7" |2013
|Glastonbury Festival
|Himself—presenter
|Introduced acts (also interviewed musicians and performed DJ set), BBC Four, 28–30 June
|-
|Proms in the Park
|Himself
|Presented the Fantasy Funk Band at the BBC Proms, Hyde Park, London, 7 September
|-
|Pointless Celebrities
|Himself—contestant
|Charity edition of quiz show, with Danny John-Jules from Red Dwarf, BBC1, aired 17 August
|-
|Craig Charles Fantasy Weekender
| rowspan="3" |Himself
|Funk and soul music festival, Bristol, 24–26 August
|-
|This Morning
|'Take a Moment' appeal, ITV1, 25 September
|-
|Surprise, Surprise
|With Simon Gregson and Sue Cleaver of Coronation Street, ITV1, 27 October
|-
|The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club 2
|Music compiler
|Compilation album, Freestyle records, released 25 November
|-
| rowspan="6" |2014
|''Steve & Lloyd's Streetcar Stories
|Lloyd Mullaney
|Coronation Street mini-series, online, 3–12 February
|-
|BBC Radio 6 Music Festival
|Himself
|Introduced acts, presented radio, DJ set, poetry performance at Festival Fringe, 1 March
|-
|Lorraine
|Himself—interviewee
|Chat show, ITV1, 28 April
|-
|I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here
|Himself—contestant
|Game show, withdrew on day 4 for personal reasons
|-
|Keith Lemon's Through the Keyhole
|Himself—panellist
|ITV1 game show
|-
|The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club 3
| rowspan="2" |Music compiler
|Compilation album, Freestyle records, released 24 November
|-
| rowspan="4" |2015
|Craig Charles Funk and Soul Club Classics
|Compilation album box set, Sony Music, released 18 September
|-
|Witches, Wizards and Scary Fairies
|Himself—narrator
|Live performance of Scary Fairy poetry with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, 29 September
|-
|BBC Breakfast
| rowspan="2" |Himself—interviewee
|BBC One news programme, 17 September
|-
|The One Show
|BBC One chat show, 30 September
|-
|2016
|Celebrity Home Secrets
|Himself
|Series 1, Episode 2, 5 September
|-
|2017–2022
|The Gadget Show
| Co-host alongside Jon Bentley, Ortis Deley and Georgie Barrat
| Series regular
|-
|2021–2022
| Moneybags''
| Host
| Channel 4 quiz show
|-
|2021
|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Celebrity Special
|Himself—contestant
|Series 37
|-
|2022
|Craig Charles: UFO Conspiracies
|Co-presenter; with Sarah Cruddas
|Sky History documentary series
|}
Radio
{| class="wikitable"
! scope"col" width"80" | Year
! scope"col" width"300" | Programme
! scope"col" width"200" | Role
! scope"col" width"300" | Notes
|-
|1983
| rowspan="2" |John Peel Show
| rowspan="2" |Himself—guest
|Recorded 6 poems during "Peel Session", aired 17 March
|-
|1984
|Radio. Recorded 3 song, aired 14 February
|-
|1987–1989
|Loose Ends
|Himself—panelist
|Regular guest on Ned Sherrin's chat show
|-
|1989
|The Steve Jones Show
|Himself—interviewee
|16 March
|-
|1992–1993
|The Craig Charles Breakfast Show
|Himself—host
|Radio show
|-
|1995
|Macbeth
|The Porter
|Steven Berkoff's Macbeth, aired 28 December
|-
|2002–present
|The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show
| rowspan="2" |Himself—host
|First broadcast 15 March 2002
|-
|2004
|Craig Charles Breakfast Show
|
|-
|2005
|One Nation Under a Groove
|Himself—presenter
|Radio 2 documentary. The Story of George Clinton & P-Funk, aired 12 February
|-
|2011
|The Craig Charles Soul All-nighter
|Himself—host
|27–28 August
|-
| rowspan="2" |2012
|Fantasy Funk Band at Maida Vale
| rowspan="2" |Himself—presenter
|Review for BBC Radio 6 Music's 10th anniversary
|-
|Beatleland
|Documentary on the Beatles in Liverpool, aired 10 October
|-
|2013
|''Didn't It Rain: When the Blues came to Britain
|Himself—narrator
|Music history documentary, BBC Radio 2, aired 24 October
|-
| rowspan="2" |2015
|Sarah and Dan's Extra Edition
|Himself—interviewee
|BBC Radio 5 Live, 24 September
|-
|Witches, Wizards and Scary Fairies
|Narrator
|"Scary Fairy" poetry performance with the BBC Philharmonic orchestra, BBC Radio 2, airs 30 October 2015
|}
Bibliography
Published
* 1993, Craig Charles Almanac of Total Knowledge (with Russell Bell), Penguin Books
* 1997, The Log: A Dwarfer's Guide to Everything (with Russell Bell), Penguin Books
* 1998, No Other Blue (illustrations by Philippa Drakeford), Penguin Books
Unpublished
* 2000, No Irish, No Niggers, Penguin Books
* 2008, On the Rocks, Hodder Headline
References
External links
*
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h9wt Craig Charles] (BBC Radio 6 Music)
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0072ky7 The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show''] (BBC Radio 6 Music)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090528145121/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/295158?view=credit Craig Charles] BFI site
* [https://www.craigcharles.co.uk] Craig Charles Online Website
* [https://www.viola-boutique.me.uk/thecraigcharleswebsite1.htm] Marie Birch's Unofficial Craig Charles Website
Category:1964 births
Category:20th-century English comedians
Category:20th-century English male writers
Category:20th-century English poets
Category:21st-century English comedians
Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters
Category:BBC Radio 6 Music presenters
Category:Black British male actors
Category:Black British male comedians
Category:Comedians from Liverpool
Category:English game show hosts
Category:English male poets
Category:English male radio actors
Category:English male soap opera actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:English male voice actors
Category:English people of Guyanese descent
Category:English people of Irish descent
Category:English radio DJs
Category:English spoken word artists
Category:English television presenters
Category:False allegations of sex crimes
Category:Living people
Category:Male actors from Liverpool
Category:People acquitted of rape
Category:People from Knowsley, Merseyside
Category:English satirists
Category:Poets from Liverpool | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Charles | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.470419 |
5830 | County Mayo | |settlement_type = County
|image_shield = COA of County Mayo.png
|shield_size = 100px
|image_flag |nickname The Maritime County, The Yew County <small>(Others)</small>
|motto = <small>(Irish)</small><br />"God and Mary be with us"
|image_map = Island of Ireland location map Mayo.svg
|area_footnotes
|area_total_km2 = 5588
|area_rank = 3rd
|seat_type = County town
|seat = Castlebar
|blank_name_sec1 = Vehicle index<br />mark code
|blank_info_sec1 = MO
|population_total = 137,231
|population_density_km2 = auto
|population_footnotes
|population_rank = 18th
|population_as_of = 2022
|leader_title1 = Local authority
|leader_name1 = Mayo County Council
|leader_title2 = Dáil constituencies
|leader_name2 =
|leader_title3 = EP constituency
|leader_name3 = Midlands–North-West
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = Ireland
|subdivision_type1 = Province
|subdivision_name1 = Connacht
|subdivision_type2 = Region
|subdivision_name2 = Northern and Western
|website =
|timezone = WET
|utc_offset = ±0
|timezone_DST = IST
|utc_offset_DST = +1
|established_title = Established
|established_date
|area_code_type = Telephone area codes
|area_code = 093–098 <small>(primarily)</small>
|postal_code_type = Eircode routing keys
|postal_code = F12, F23, F26, F28, F31, F35 <small>(primarily)</small>
|module
|iso_code = IE-MO
}}
County Mayo (; ) is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority. The population was 137,231 at the 2022 census. It is the second-largest of Connacht's five counties in both size and population. Mayo has of coastline, or approximately 21% of the total coastline of the State. It is one of three counties which claims to have the longest coastline in Ireland, alongside Cork and Donegal. There is a distinct geological difference between the west and the east of the county. The west consists largely of poor subsoils and is covered with large areas of extensive Atlantic blanket bog, whereas the east is largely a limestone landscape. Agricultural land is therefore more productive in the east than in the west. Clew Bay lies on the west coast of the county.
*The highest point in Mayo (and Connacht) is Mweelrea, at
*The River Moy in the northeast of the county is renowned for its salmon fishing
*Ireland's largest island, Achill Island, lies off Mayo's west coast
*Mayo has Ireland's highest cliffs at Croaghaun, Achill Island, while the Benwee Head cliffs in Kilcommon Erris drop almost perpendicularly into the Atlantic Ocean.
*The northwest areas of County Mayo have some of the best renewable energy resources in Europe, if not the world, in terms of wind resources, ocean wave, tidal and hydroelectric resources
There are nine historic baronies, four in the northern area and five in the south of the county:
North Mayo
*Erris (north-west, containing Belmullet, Gweesalia, Bangor Erris, Kilcommon, Ballycroy etc.)
*Burrishoole (west, containing Achill, Mulranny and Newport, County Mayo)
*Gallen (east, containing Bonniconlon, Foxford)
*Tyrawley (north-east, containing Ballina, Ballycastle, Killala, Moygownagh)
South Mayo
*Clanmorris, (south-east, containing Claremorris and Balla)
*Costello (east-south-east, containing Kilkelly Ballyhaunis etc.)
*Murrisk (south-west, containing Westport, Louisburgh, Croagh Patrick etc.)
*Kilmaine (south, containing Ballinrobe, Cong etc.)
*Carra (south, containing Castlebar, Partry etc.)
Largest towns by population
According to the 2022 census:
#Castlebar 13,054
#Ballina 10,556
#Westport 6,872
#Claremorris 3,857
#Ballinrobe 3,148
#Ballyhaunis 2,773
#Swinford 1,459
#Foxford 1,452
#Kiltimagh 1,232
#Crossmolina 1,134
Flora and fauna
A survey of the terrestrial and freshwater algae of Clare Island was made between 1990 and 2005 and published in 2007. A record of Gunnera tinctoria is also noted.
Consultants working for the Corrib gas project have carried out extensive surveys of wildlife flora and fauna in Kilcommon Parish, Erris between 2002 and 2009. This information is published in the Corrib Gas Proposal Environmental impact statements 2009 and 2010.
History
Prehistory
]]
There is evidence of human occupation of what is now County Mayo going far back into prehistory. At Belderrig on the north Mayo coast, there is evidence for Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) communities around 4500 BC. while throughout the county there is a wealth of archaeological remains from the Neolithic (New Stone Age) period (ca. 4,000 BC to 2,500 BC), particularly in terms of megalithic tombs and ritual stone circles.
The first people who came to Ireland – mainly to coastal areas as the interior was heavily forested – arrived during the Middle Stone Age, as far back as eleven thousand years ago.
The Neolithic period followed the Mesolithic around 6,000 years ago. People began to farm the land, domesticate animals for food and milk, and settle in one place for longer periods. These people had skills such as making pottery, building houses from wood, weaving, and knapping (stone tool working). The first farmers cleared forestry to graze livestock and grow crops. In North Mayo, where the ground cover was fragile, thin soils washed away and blanket bog covered the land farmed by the Neolithic people.
Extensive pre-bog field systems have been discovered under the blanket bog, particularly along the North Mayo coastline in Erris and north Tyrawley at sites such as the Céide Fields, centred on the northeast coast.
The Neolithic people developed rituals associated with burying their dead; this is why they built huge, elaborate, galleried stone tombs for their dead leaders, known nowadays as megalithic tombs. There are over 160 recorded megaliths in County Mayo, such as Faulagh.
, Erris]]
Megalithic tombs
There are four distinct types of Irish megalithic tombs—court tombs, portal tombs, passage tombs and wedge tombs—examples of all of which can be found in County Mayo. Areas particularly rich in megalithic tombs include Achill, Kilcommon, Ballyhaunis, Moygownagh, Killala and the Behy/Glenurla area around the Céide Fields.
Bronze Age (ca. 2,500 BC to 500 BC)
Megalithic tomb building continued into the Bronze Age when metal began to be used for tools alongside the stone tools. The Bronze Age lasted approximately from 4,500 years ago to 2,500 years ago (2,500 BC to 500 BC). Archaeological remains from this period include stone alignments, stone circles and fulachta fiadh (early cooking sites). They continued to bury their chieftains in megalithic tombs which changed design during this period, more being of the wedge tomb type and cist burials.
Iron Age (ca. 500 BC to AD 325)
Around 2,500 years ago the Iron Age took over from the Bronze Age as more and more metalworking took place. This is thought to have coincided with the arrival of Celtic speaking peoples and the introduction of the ancestor of the Irish language. Towards the end of this period, the Roman Empire was at its height in Britain but it is not thought that the Roman Empire extended into Ireland. Remains from this period, which lasted until the Early Christian period began about AD 325 (with the arrival of Saint Patrick into Ireland, as a slave) include crannógs (Lake dwellings), promontory forts, ringforts and souterrains of which there are numerous examples across the county. The Iron Age was a time of tribal warfare and kingships, each fighting neighbouring kings, vying for control of territories and taking slaves. Territories were marked by tall stone markers, Ogham stones, using the first written down words using the Ogham alphabet. The Iron Age is the time period in which the mythological tales of the Ulster Cycle and sagas took place, as well as that of the Táin Bó Flidhais, whose narrative is set in mainly in Erris.
Early Christian period (ca. AD 325 to AD 800)
Christianity came to Ireland around the start of the 5th century. It brought many changes including the introduction of the Latin alphabet. The tribal 'tuatha' and new Christian religious settlements existed side by side. Sometimes it suited the chieftains to become part of the early Churches, other times they remained as separate entities. St. Patrick (4th century) may have spent time in County Mayo and it is believed that he spent forty days and forty nights on Croagh Patrick praying for the people of Ireland. From the middle of the 6th-century hundreds of small monastic settlements were established around the county. Some examples of well-known early monastic sites in Mayo include Mayo Abbey, Aughagower, Ballintubber, Errew Abbey, Cong Abbey, Killala, Turlough on the outskirts of Castlebar, and island settlements off the Mullet Peninsula like the Inishkea Islands, Inishglora and Duvillaun.
In 795 the first of the Viking raids took place. The Vikings came from Scandinavia to raid the monasteries as they were places of wealth with precious metal working taking place in them. Some of the larger ecclesiastical settlements erected round towers to prevent their precious items from being plundered and also to show their status and strength against these pagan raiders from the north. There are round towers at Aughagower, Balla, Killala, Turlough and Meelick. The Vikings established settlements that later developed into towns (Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Waterford etc.) but none were in County Mayo. Between the reigns of Kings of Connacht Cathal mac Conchobar mac Taidg (973–1010) and Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1106–1156), various tribal territories were incorporated into the kingdom of Connacht and ruled by the Siol Muirdaig dynasty, based initially at Rathcroghan in County Roscommon, and from 1050 at Tuam. The families of O'Malley and O'Dowd of Mayo served as admirals of the fleet of Connacht, while families such as O'Lachtnan, Mac Fhirbhisigh, and O'Cleary were ecclesiastical and bardic clans.
Anglo-Normans (12th to 16th centuries)
In AD 1169 when one of the warring kings in the east of Ireland, Dermot MacMurrough, appealed to the King of England for help in his fight with a neighbouring king, the response resulted in the Anglo-Norman colonisation of Ireland.
County Mayo came under Norman control in AD 1235. Norman control meant the eclipse of many Gaelic lords and chieftains, chiefly the O'Connors of Connacht. During the 15th and 16th centuries, despite regular conflicts between them as England chopped and changed between religious beliefs, the Irish usually regarded the King of England as their King. When Elizabeth I came to the throne in the mid-16th century, the English people, as was customary at that time, followed the religious practices of the reigning monarch and became Protestant. Many Irish people such as Grace O'Malley, the famous pirate queen, had close relationships with the English monarchy, and the English kings and queens were welcome visitors to Irish shores. The Irish however, generally held onto their Catholic religious practices and beliefs. The early plantations of settlers in Ireland began during the reign of Queen Mary in the mid-16th century and continued throughout the long reign of Queen Elizabeth I until 1603. By then the term County Mayo had come into use. In the summer of 1588, the galleons of the Spanish Armada were wrecked by storms along the west coast of Ireland. Some of the hapless Spaniards came ashore in Mayo, only to be robbed and imprisoned, and in many cases slaughtered.
Almost all the religious foundations set up by the Anglo-Normans were suppressed in the wake of the Reformation in the 16th century.
Protestant settlers from Scotland, England, and elsewhere in Ireland, settled in the County in the early 17th century. Many would be killed or forced to flee because of the 1641 Rebellion, during which a number of massacres were committed by the Catholic Gaelic Irish, most notably at Shrule in 1642. A third of the overall population was reported to have perished due to warfare, famine and plague between 1641 and 1653, with several areas remaining disturbed and frequented by Reparees into the 1670s.
17th and 18th centuries
is considered to be a founding father and national hero in Argentina thanks to his efforts during the Argentine War of Independence and subsequent wars to defend the newfound nation]]
Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley is probably the best-known person from County Mayo between the mid-16th century and the turn of the 17th century. In the 1640s, when Oliver Cromwell overthrew the English monarchy and set up a parliamentarian government, Ireland suffered severely. With a stern regime in absolute control needing to pay its armies and allies, the need to pay them with grants of land in Ireland led to the 'to hell or to Connaught' policies. Displaced native Irish families from other (eastern and southern mostly) parts of the country were either forced to leave the country or were awarded grants of land 'west of the Shannon' and put off their own lands in the east. The land in the west was divided and sub-divided between more and more people as huge estates were granted on the best land in the east to those who best pleased the English. Mayo does not seem to have been affected much during the Williamite War in Ireland, though many natives were outlawed and exiled.
For the vast majority of people in County Mayo the 18th century was a period of unrelieved misery. Because of the penal laws, Catholics had no hope of social advancement while they remained in their native land. Some, like William Brown (1777–1857), left Foxford with his family at the age of nine and thirty years later was an admiral in the fledgeling Argentine Navy. Today he is a national hero in that country.
The general unrest in Ireland was felt just as keenly across Mayo, and as the 19th century approached and news reached Ireland about the American War of Independence and the French Revolution, the downtrodden Irish, constantly suppressed by Government policies and decisions from Dublin and London, began to rally themselves for their own stand against British rule in their country. 1798 saw Mayo become a central part of the United Irishmen Rebellion when General Humbert from France landed in Killala with over 1,000 soldiers playing to support the main uprising. They marched across the county towards the administrative centre of Castlebar, leading to the Battle of Castlebar. Taking the garrison by surprise Humbert's army was victorious. He established a ' Republic of Connacht' with John Moore of the Moore family from Moore Hall near Partry as its head. Humbert's army marched on towards Sligo, Leitrim and Longford where they were suddenly faced with a massive British army and were forced to surrender in less than half an hour. The French soldiers were treated honourably, but for the Irish the surrender meant slaughter. Many died on the scaffold in towns like Castlebar and Claremorris, where the high sheriff for County Mayo, the Honourable Denis Browne, M.P., brother of Lord Altamont, wreaked a terrible vengeance – thus earning for himself the nickname which has survived in folk memory to the present day, 'Donnchadh an Rópa' (Denis of the Rope).
In the 18th century and early 19th century, sectarian tensions arose as evangelical Protestant missionaries sought to 'redeem the Irish poor from the errors of Popery'. One of the best known was the Rev. Edward Nangle's mission at Dugort in Achill. These too were the years of the campaign for Catholic Emancipation and, later, for the abolition of the tithes, which a predominately Catholic population was forced to pay for the upkeep of the clergy of the Established (Protestant) Church.19th and 20th centuries
spearheaded rural agrarian agitation as a leading figure in the Land League]]
During the early years of the 19th century, famine was a common occurrence, particularly where population pressure was a problem. The population of Ireland grew to over eight million people prior to the Irish Famine (or Great Famine) of 1845–47. The Irish people depended on the potato crop for their sustenance. Disaster struck in August 1845, when a killer fungus (later diagnosed as Phytophthora infestans) started to destroy the potato crop. When widespread famine struck, about a million people died and a further million left the country. People died in the fields of starvation and disease. The catastrophe was particularly bad in County Mayo, where nearly ninety per cent of the population depended on the potato as their staple food. By 1848, Mayo was a county of total misery and despair, with any attempts at alleviating measures in complete disarray.
There are numerous reminders of the Great Famine to be seen on the Mayo landscape: workhouse sites, famine graves, sites of soup kitchens, deserted homes and villages and even traces of undug 'lazy-beds' in fields on the sides of hills. Many roads and lanes were built as famine relief measures. There were nine workhouses in the county: Ballina, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Castlebar, Claremorris, Killala, Newport, Swinford and Westport.
A small poverty-stricken place called Knock, County Mayo, made headlines when it was announced that an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John had taken place there on 21 August 1879, witnessed by fifteen local people.
A national movement was initiated in County Mayo during 1879 by Michael Davitt, James Daly, and others, which brought about a major social change in Ireland. Michael Davitt, a labourer whose family had moved to England joined forces with Charles Stewart Parnell to win back the land for the people from the landlords and stop evictions for non-payment of rents. The organisation became known as the Irish National Land League, and its struggle to win rights for poor farmers in Ireland was known as the Land War.
It was in this era of agrarian unrest that a new verb was introduced to the English language by Mayo - "to boycott". Charles Boycott was an English landlord deeply unpopular with his tenants. When Charles Steward Parnell made a speech in Ennis, County Clare, urging nonviolent resistance against landlords, his tactics were enthusiastically taken in Mayo against Boycott. The entire Catholic community around Lough Mask in South Mayo where Boycott had his estate became a campaign of total social ostracisation against Boycott, a tactic that would one day come to bear his name. The campaign against Boycott became a in the British press after he wrote a letter to The Times. The British elite rallied to his cause and Fifty Orangemen from County Cavan and County Monaghan travelled to his estate to harvest the crops, while a regiment of the 19th Royal Hussars and more than 1,000 men of the Royal Irish Constabulary were deployed to protect the harvesters. However, the cost of doing this was completely uneconomic: It cost the British government somewhere in the region of £10,000 to simply harvest £500 worth of crops. Boycott sold off the estate and the British government's resolve to try to break boycotts in this completely dissolved, resulting in victory for the tenants.
The "Land Question" was gradually resolved by a scheme of state-aided land purchase schemes. The tenants became the owners of their lands under the newly set-up Land Commission.
A Mayo nun, Mother Agnes Morrogh-Bernard, set up the Foxford Woollen Mill in 1892. She made Foxford synonymous throughout the world with high-quality tweeds, rugs and blankets.
Mayo, as all parts of what became the Irish Free State, was affected by the events of the Irish revolutionary period, including the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Irish Civil War. Major John MacBride of Westport was amongst those who took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and was subsequently executed by the British for his participation. His death served as a rallying call for Republicans in Mayo and led to Mayo men such as P. J. Ruttledge, Ernie O'Malley, Michael Kilroy and Thomas Derrig to rise up during the War of Independence. In the ensuing Civil War, many of these leading figures chose the Anti-treaty side and fought in bitter battles such as those in Ballina, which changed hands between pro and anti-treaty forces a number of times.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, there was a consolidation of many of those with anti-treaty feelings into the new political party Fianna Fáil. PJ Ruttledge and Thomas Derrig would become founding members of the party and served in Éamon de Valera's first-ever Fianna Fáil government as ministers. Mayo politicians would continue to contribute to the national political scene over the decades. In 1990 Mary Robinson, from County Mayo, became the first-ever female President of Ireland, and is widely credited with revitalising the position with importance and focus it had never possessed before. During her tenure she unveiled Ireland's National Famine Memorial which is situated in the village of Murrisk, County Mayo.
In 2011 Enda Kenny became the first politician from a Mayo constituency and the second Mayo native to serve as Taoiseach, the head of government of Ireland. Kenny went on to become the longest-serving Fine Gael Taoiseach in Irish history.
Clans and families
In the early historic period, what is now County Mayo consisted of a number of large kingdoms, minor lordships and tribes of obscure origins. They included:
* Calraige – pre-historic tribe found in the parishes of Attymass, Kilgarvan, Crossmolina and the River Moy
* Ciarraige – settlers from Munster found in south-east Mayo around Kiltimagh and west County Roscommon
* Conmaicne – a people located in the barony of Kilmaine, alleged descendants of Fergus mac Róich
* Fir Domnann – branch of the Laigin, originally from Britain, located in Erris
* Gamanraige – pre-historic kings of Connacht, famous for battle with Medb & Ailill of Cruachan in Táin Bó Flidhais. Based in Erris, Carrowmore Lake, Killala Bay, Lough Conn
* Gailenga – kingdom extending east from Castlebar to adjoining parts of Mayo
* Uí Fiachrach Muidhe – a sept of the Connachta, based around Ballina, some of whom were kings of Connacht
* Partraige – a pre-Gaelic people of Lough Mask and Lough Carra, namesakes of Partry
* Umaill – kingdom surrounding Clew Bay, east towards Castlebar, its rulers adopted the surname O'Malley
Politics
Local government and political subdivisions
Mayo County Council is the authority responsible for local government. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The county is divided into four municipal districts of Ballina, Castlebar, Claremorris and Westport–Belmullet, each with a population of roughly 32,000 to 34,000 people. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment.
County Mayo is divided into six local electoral areas (LEAs). Councillors are elected for a five-year term.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Local electoral area
! Number of councillors
|-
| Castlebar
| 7
|-
| Ballina
| 6
|-
| Westport
| 4
|-
| Belmullet
| 3
|-
| Claremorris
| 6
|-
| Swinford
| 4
|}
The county town is at Áras an Contae in Castlebar, the main population centre located in the centre of the county.
National politics
Since 2016, Mayo has been represented on a national political level by four TDs who represent the constituency of Mayo in Dáil Éireann. Previous to 2016 the constituency had five TDs but this was reduced based on the county's current population in line with proportional representation. The electoral divisions of Cong, Dalgan, Houndswood, Kilmaine, Neale, Shrule, in the former Rural District of Ballinrobe, are in Galway West.Voting patterns and political history
Historically, Mayo has tended to vote Fianna Fáil, as Fianna Fáil managed to position themselves in the 20th century as the party best fit to represent farmers with small holdings, who were plentiful in Mayo. With so many of Mayo's electorate being small farmers, the county became a base for the emergence of Clann na Talmhan, an agrarian party in the 1940s and 1950s. Clann an Talmhan's second leader, Joseph Blowick came from South Mayo and that is where his seat was. The party was not able to last in the long run though as it was unable to hold together its voting bloc of both small farmers in the west of Ireland and large farmers in the east.
Towards the start of the 21st century, the balance of power in Mayo began to shift towards Fine Gael, thanks in part to the emergence of Enda Kenny and Michael Ring. Kenny, who became Taoiseach in 2011, led Fine Gael to a historic victory in the 2011 Irish general election which included securing four out of five available seats for his party in Mayo.
In 2020, Rose Conway-Walsh came within 200 votes of topping the poll and became the first Sinn Féin TD for Mayo since 1927, riding a nationwide surge for Sinn Féin that year.
Despite being historically the third-largest party in Ireland, Labour has struggled to ever make inroads into Mayo. The party has only ever had one TD for Mayo, former party leader Thomas J. O'Connell, who represented South Mayo between 1927 and 1932. While Labour has not proven itself electorally successful in Mayo, Mayo has provided important members to the Labour Party. Mary Robinson from Ballina became the first-ever female President of Ireland as a Labour candidate while Pat Rabbitte, originally from Claremorris, served as leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007. Serving alongside Rabbitte was Emmet Stagg, one of the longest-standing Labour TDs of the modern era, himself from Hollymount not far from Claremorris.
Demographics
Irish history has been defined by waves of emigration due to push and pull factors. Mayo was one of the counties most depopulated by emigration in the ninetieth and twentieth century. Initially triggered by starvation during the Great Famine, the population fell from 388,887 to 274,830 between 1841 and 1851. Then in search of work in the newly industrialising United Kingdom and the United States, the population plummeted from 388,887 in 1841 to 199,166 in 1901. It reached a low of 109,525 in 1971. Emigration slowed dramatically as the Irish economy began to expand in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the population of Mayo increased from 110,713 in 1991 to 130,638 in 2011.Religion
In the 2006 National Census, the religious demographic breakdown for County Mayo was 114,215 Roman Catholics, 2,476 Church of Ireland, 733 Muslims, 409 other Christians, 280 Presbyterians, 250 Orthodox Christians, 204 Methodists, 853 other stated religions, 3,267 no religion and 1,152 no stated religion.
Irish language
in 1871. Mayo's relative remoteness meant that Irish was still widely spoken decades after the Great Famine and is still spoken today in the north-west of the county]]
9% of the population of County Mayo live in the Gaeltacht. The Gaeltacht Irish-speaking region in County Mayo is the third-largest in Ireland with 10,886 inhabitants. These Irish-speaking areas of Mayo contain 5,956 Irish speakers. Tourmakeady is the largest village in this area. All schools in the area use Irish as the language of instruction. Mayo has four gaelscoileanna in its four major towns, providing primary education to students through Irish.
Transport
Rail
Westport railway station is the terminus station on the Dublin to Westport Rail service. Railway stations are also located at Ballyhaunis, Claremorris, Castlebar, Manulla, Ballina and Foxford. All railway stations are located on the same railway line, with the exception of Ballina and Foxford which requires passengers to change at Manulla Junction. There are currently four services each way every day on the line.
There are also proposals to reopen the currently disused Western Railway Corridor connecting Limerick with Sligo.
Road
There are a number of national primary roads in the county including the N5 road connecting Westport with Dublin, the N17 road connecting the county with Galway and Sligo and the N26 road connecting Ballina with Dublin via the N5. There are a number of national secondary roads in the county also including the N58 road, N59 road, N60 road, N83 road & N84 road. As of 2021, a new road running from northwest of Westport to east of Castlebar is under construction. The road is a dual carriageway with junctions at the N59, N84 and N60 and will open in late 2022.
Air
Ireland West Airport is an international airport located in the county. The name is derived from the nearby village of Knock. Recent years have seen the airport's passenger numbers grow to over 650,000 yearly with a number of UK and European destinations. August 2014 saw the airport have its busiest month on record with 102,774 passengers using the airport.
Places of interest
]]
* Ashford Castle
* Ballintubber Abbey
* Blacksod Lighthouse
* Broadhaven Bay
* Burrishoole Abbey
* Céide Fields
* Clare Island
* Cong Abbey
* Croagh Patrick
* Eagle Island lighthouse
* Erris
* Granuaile's Castle, Clare Island
* Great Western Greenway
* Joyce Country
* Killala Bay
* Knock Shrine
* List of designated Scenic Roads in County Mayo
* Lough Mask
* Mayo Peace Park
* Moore Hall
* Moygownagh
* Mullet Peninsula
* Murrisk Abbey
* Murrisk Millennium Peace Park
* National Museum of Ireland – Country Life
* National Famine Memorial
* Nephin
* Partry Mountains
* Rockfleet Castle
* Sruwaddacon Bay
* Tourmakeady
* Uggool Beach
* Westport House
* Wild Nephin National Park
Media
flag|250px]]
Newspapers in County Mayo include The Mayo News, the Connaught Telegraph, the Connacht Tribune, Western People, and Mayo Advertiser, which is Mayo's only free newspaper.
Mayo Now is a monthly entertainment and culture magazine for the towns of Ballina, Foxford, Killala, Crossmolina and surrounding areas – this is out on the first Friday of each month.
Mayo has its own online TV channel Mayo TV which was launched in 2011. It covers news and events from around the county and regularly broadcasts live to a worldwide audience. Local radio stations include Erris FM, Community Radio Castlebar, Westport Community Radio, BCR FM (Ballina Community Radio) and M.W.R. (Mid West Radio).
The documentary Pipe Down, which won best feature documentary at the 2009 Waterford Film Festival, was made in Mayo.Energy) mowed in Ros Dumhach hay field]]Energy controversy
There is local resistance to Shell's decision to process raw gas from the Corrib gas field at an onshore terminal. In 2005, five local men were jailed for contempt of court after refusing to follow an Irish court order. Subsequent protests against the project led to the Shell to Sea and related campaigns.
Energy audit
The Mayo Energy Audit 2009–2020 is an investigation into the implications of peak oil and subsequent fossil fuel depletion for a rural county in west of Ireland. The study draws together many different strands to examine current energy supply and demand within the area of study, and assesses these demands in
the face of the challenges posed by the declining production of fossil fuels and expected disruptions to supply chains, and by long-term economic recession.Sport
kitted out in the Mayo colours for the 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Final]]
The Mayo GAA senior team last won the Sam Maguire Cup in 1951, when the team was captained by Seán Flanagan. The team's third title followed victories in 1936 and the previous year, 1950. Since 1951, the team have made numerous All-Ireland Final appearances (in 1989, twice in 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, twice again in 2016 against Dublin, 2017, 2020, with their latest appearance being against Tyrone in the 2021 final), though the team have failed on all occasions to achieve victory over their opponents.
The team's unofficial supporters club are Mayo Club '51, named after the last team who won the Sam Maguire. The county colours of Mayo GAA are traditionally green and red.
The county's most popular association football teams are Westport United and Castlebar Celtic.
Although Gaelic football and association football are the most popular sport in the county, other sports are popular in the county as well such as rugby, basketball, hurling, swimming, tennis, badminton, athletics, handball and racquetball.
Notable people
<!-- Please only add internationally known people who were either born in Mayo or are affiliated with the county. -->
]]
]]
* Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo (1822–1872) – Viceroy of India (1869–1872)
* Patrick Browne (1720–1790) – physician and botanist
* Michael Davitt (1846–1906) – Irish republican, agrarian campaigner, labour leader, Home Rule politician and Member of Parliament (MP) who founded the Irish National Land League.
* Grace O'Malley (circa 1530 – circa 1603) – Lord of the O'Malley dynasty in the 16th century
* Admiral William Brown (1777–1857) – Founder of the Argentine Navy
* Charles Haughey (1925–2006) – Taoiseach of Ireland (1979–1982; 1987–1992)
* Enda Kenny (born 1951) – Politician, leader of Fine Gael (2002–2017), and Taoiseach of Ireland (2011–2017)
* John MacBride (1868–1916) – Republican and military leader, executed by the British for his participation in the 1916 Easter Rising
* William O'Dwyer (1890–1964) – 100th mayor of New York City (1946–1950)
* Michael Ring (born 1953) – Politician and Mayo TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development (2017–2020)
* Mary Robinson (born 1944) – First female President of Ireland (1990–1997), and United Nations High Commissioner for Human rights.
* Millie Robinson (1924–1994) – Cyclist: first winner of women's Tour de France (1955) and holder of women's world hour record (1958)
* Sally Rooney (born 1991) – Author (Conversations with Friends, Normal People), and screenwriter
* John Ruane (1936–2006) – American jockey, born County Mayo
* Martin Sheridan, Olympic Games gold medalist representing the United States
* Louis Walsh (born 1952) – Entertainment manager and judge on The X Factor (UK), and ''Ireland's Got Talent''
See also
* High Sheriff of Mayo
* List of abbeys and priories in the Republic of Ireland (County Mayo)
* List of loughs of County Mayo
* List of Mayo people
* List of mountains and hills of County Mayo
* List of rivers of County Mayo
* List of roads of County Mayo
* Lord Lieutenant of Mayo
* Mayo County Council
* River Robe
* Táin Bó Flidhais
References
External links
* [http://www.Con-telegraph.ie/ Connaught Telegraph]
* [http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/Mayo/History/FullHist.htm County Mayo: An Outline History]
* [http://www.goldenlangan.com/ Family History in North County Mayo]
* [http://www.historicalballinrobe.com/index.aspx Historical Ballinrobe]
* [http://www.irishlanguageincountymayo.com/ Irish language in Mayo]
* [http://www.activeme.ie/guides/driving/wild-atlantic-way-co-mayo-route-map-and-guide-ireland/ Wild Atlantic Way Mayo Route Map and Guide]
* [http://www.mayo.ie/ Mayo.ie]
* [http://www.mayococo.ie/ Mayo County Council's website]
* [http://www.mayonews.ie Mayo News]
* [http://www.mayopeacepark.ie The Mayo Peace Park and Garden of Remembrance]
* [http://www.westernpeople.ie/ Western People]
<!-- see WP:SUBCAT#Topic_article_rule -->
Mayo
Mayo
Mayo | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Mayo | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.528419 |
5833 | County Fermanagh | <br />Coontie Fermanay (Ulster-Scots)
| settlement_type = County
| image_shield = Ferm arms.png
| shield_size = 120px
| nickname = The Lakeland County
| motto = Feor Magh Eanagh (Irish)<br />"the Country of the Lakes"
| image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Fermanagh.svg
| area_total_km2 = 1851
| area_land_km2 = 1691
| area_rank = 25th
| seat_type = County town
| seat = Enniskillen
| unit_pref = Imperial
| elevation_max_m = 665
| elevation_max_point = Cuilcagh
| timezone = GMT
| utc_offset = ±0
| timezone_DST = BST
| utc_offset_DST = +1
| website | postal_code_type Postcode area
| postal_code = BT
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 1584/85
| population = 63585
| population_rank 29th
| population_as_of = 2021
| subdivision_type = Sovereign state
| subdivision_name = United Kingdom
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = Northern Ireland
| subdivision_type2 = Province
| subdivision_name2 = Ulster
| footnotes Contae Fhear Manach is the Irish name; Countie Fermanagh, Coontie Fermanagh and Coontie Fermanay are Ulster Scots spellings (the latter used only by Dungannon & South Tyrone Borough Council).
| official_name | area_code 028
}}
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the county town and largest in both size and population.
Fermanagh is one of four counties of Northern Ireland to have a majority of its population from a Catholic background, according to the 2011 census. It is the only county in Northern Ireland that does not border Lough Neagh.
The county has three prominent upland areas:
* the expansive West Fermanagh Scarplands to the southwest of Lough Erne, which rise to about 350m,
* the Sliabh Beagh hills, situated to the east on the Monaghan border, and
* the Cuilcagh mountain range, located along Fermanagh's southern border, which contains Cuilcagh, the county's highest point, at 665m.
The county borders:
* County Tyrone to the north-east,
* County Monaghan to the south-east,
* County Cavan to the south-west,
* County Leitrim to the west, and
* County Donegal to the north-west.
Fermanagh is by far the least populous of Northern Ireland's six counties, with just over one-third the population of Tyrone, the next least populous county.
It is approximately from Belfast and from Dublin. The county town, Enniskillen, is the largest settlement in Fermanagh, situated in the middle of the county.
The county enjoys a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb') with cool winters, mild humid summers, and a lack of temperature extremes, according to the Köppen climate classification.
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty manages three sites of historic and natural beauty in the county: Crom Estate, Florence Court, and Castle Coole.
Geology
The oldest sediments in the county are found north of Lough Erne. These so-called red beds were formed approximately 550 million years ago. Extensive sandstone can be found in the eastern part of the county, laid down during the Devonian, 400 million years ago. Much of the rest of the county's sediments are shale and limestone dating from the Carboniferous, 354 to 298 million years ago. These softer sediments have produced extensive cave systems such as the Shannon Cave, the Marble Arch Caves and the Caves of the Tullybrack and Belmore hills. The carboniferous shale exists in several counties of northwest Ireland, an area known colloquially as the Lough Allen basin. The basin is estimated to contain 9.4 trillion cubic metres of natural gas, equivalent to 1.5 billion barrels of oil.
The county is situated over a sequence of prominent faults, primarily the Killadeas – Seskinore Fault, the Tempo – Sixmilecross Fault, the Belcoo Fault and the Clogher Valley Fault which cross-cuts Lough Erne.
History
The Menapii are the only known Celtic tribe specifically named on Ptolemy's 150 AD map of Ireland, where they located their first colony—Menapia—on the Leinster coast . They later settled around Lough Erne, becoming known as the Fir Manach, and giving their name to Fermanagh and Monaghan. Mongán mac Fiachnai, a 7th-century King of Ulster, is the protagonist of several legends linking him with Manannán mac Lir. They spread across Ireland, evolving into historic Irish (also Scottish and Manx) clans.
The Annals of Ulster which cover medieval Ireland between AD 431 to AD 1540 were written at Belle Isle on Lough Erne near Lisbellaw.
In the early 9th century, the Erne was considered to be the boundary of Connacht and Ulster, specifically the over-kingdom of Airgíalla. The Fir Manach proper, Tirkennedy and Magherastephana, along with Clankelly were part of the western Airgíalla group-kingdom of Uí Creamthainn with its seat at Clogher, whereas Lurg was associated with the northern Airgíalla branch of Uí Fiachrach centred at Ardstraw.
Fermanagh was a stronghold of the Maguire clan and Donn Carrach Maguire (died 1302) was the first of the chiefs of the Maguire dynasty. However, on the confiscation of lands relating to Hugh Maguire, Fermanagh was divided in a similar manner to the other five escheated counties among Scottish and English undertakers and native Irish. The baronies of Knockninny and Magheraboy were allotted to Scottish undertakers, those of Clankelly, Magherastephana and Lurg to English undertakers and those of Clanawley, Coole, and Tyrkennedy, to servitors and natives. The chief families to benefit under the new settlement were the families of Cole, Blennerhasset, Butler, Hume, and Dunbar.
Fermanagh was made into a county by a statute of Elizabeth I, but it was not until the time of the Plantation of Ulster that it was finally brought under civil government.
The closure of all the lines of Great Northern Railway (Ireland) within County Fermanagh in 1957 left the county as the first non-island county in the UK without a railway service.
Administration
The county was administered by Fermanagh County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973. With the creation of Northern Ireland's district councils, Fermanagh District Council became the only one of the 26 that contained all of the county from which it derived its name. After the re-organisation of local government in 2015, Fermanagh was still the only county wholly within one council area, namely Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, albeit that it constituted only a part of that entity.
For the purposes of elections to the UK Parliament, the territory of Fermanagh is part of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone Parliamentary Constituency. This constituency elected Provisional IRA hunger-striker Bobby Sands as a member of parliament in the April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election, shortly before his death.
Demographics
{{bar box
|title Religious Background in Fermanagh (2021)
*0.93% were from an ethnic minority population and the remaining 99.07% were white (including Irish Traveller)
*59.16% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 37.78% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion
*37.20% indicated that they had a British national identity, 36.08% had an Irish national identity and 29.53% had a Northern Irish national identity
2021 Census
On Census Day (2021), the usually resident population of Fermanagh Local Government District, the borders of the district were very similar to those of the traditional County Fermanagh, was 63,585. Of these:
*58.8% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 35.5% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion.
Community background and religion
{| class="wikitable"
|+Religion or religion brought up in (2021 Census)
!National identity
!Number
!%
|-
|Irish only
|24,341
|38.3%
|-
|British only
|16,678
|26.2%
|-
|Northern Irish only
|13,543
|21.3%
|-
|British and Northern Irish only
|2,863
|4.5%
|-
|Irish and Northern Irish only
|1,168
|1.8%
|-
|British, Irish and Northern Irish only
|602
|0.9%
|-
|British and Irish only
|305
|0.5%
|-
|Other identity
|4,086
|6.4%
|-
!Total
!63,585
!100.0%
|-
!All Irish identities
!26,653
!41.9%
|-
!All British identities
!20,920
!32.9%
|-
!All Northern Irish identities
!18,481
!29.1%
|}
Industry and tourism
Agriculture and tourism are two of the most important industries in Fermanagh. The main types of farming in the area are beef, dairy, sheep, pigs and some poultry. Most of the agricultural land is used as grassland for grazing and silage or hay rather than for other crops.
The waterways are extensively used by cabin cruisers, other small pleasure craft and anglers. The main town of Fermanagh is Enniskillen (, 'Ceithleann's island'). The island town hosts a range of attractions including the Castle Coole Estate and Enniskillen Castle, which is home to the museum of The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. Fermanagh is also home to The Boatyard Distillery, a distillery producing gin.
Attractions outside Enniskillen include:
* Belleek Pottery
* Castle Archdale
* Crom Estate
* Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail
* Devenish Island
* Florence Court
* Marble Arch Caves
* Tempo Manor
Settlements
The classification of settlements by NISRA defines six categories following the 2011 census (ignoring Belfast and Derry City which have their own separate categories), namely; Large towns, Medium towns, Small towns, Intermediate settlements, Villages and Small villages or hamlets. The majority of the settlements in County Fermanagh lie within the final category, five within the village category and one each in the intermediate settlements and medium towns categories. No settlements in the county are classified as Large towns or Small towns.
Large towns
(population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2011 Census)
* none
Medium towns
(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2011 Census)
* St Mary's High School, Belleek -Brollagh Closed 2021
* St. Eugene’s College, Roslea - Closed 2017
* St. Eugene’s Primary School, Knocks - Closed 2013
* Lisnaskea High School - Closed 2013
* Corranny Primary School - Closed 2012
* Cornagague Primary School- Closed 2012
* Duke of Westminster High School, Ballinamallard - Closed 2004
* Kesh Duke of Westminster - Closed 2004
* Ashwoods Primary School - Closed 1968
* St Mary's Primary School, Bannagh'' - Closed 1960/70s
Sport
Fermanagh GAA has never won a Senior Provincial or an All-Ireland title in any Gaelic games, it is only one of two counties to win neither title. There are 22 GAA clubs in the county, this is the second least of all 32 counties (Longford now has the least, with 21 GAA clubs).
Only Ballinamallard United F.C. take part in the Northern Ireland football league system. All other Fermanagh clubs play in the Fermanagh & Western FA league systems. Fermanagh Mallards F.C. played in the Women's Premier League until 2013.
Enniskillen RFC was founded in 1925 and is still going. There is also a rugby league team, the Fermanagh Redskins
Famous football players from Fermanagh include –
* Sandy Fulton
* Jim Cleary
*Roy Carroll
* Harry Chatton
* Barry Owens
* Kyle Lafferty
Notable people
Famous people born, raised in or living in Fermanagh include:
<!-- (Please make additions in alphabetical order.) -->
* John Armstrong (1717–1795), born in Fermanagh, Major General in the Continental Army and delegate in the Continental Congress
* Samuel Beckett (1906–1989), author and playwright from Foxrock in Dublin, educated at Portora Royal School
* Darren Breslin, traditional musician
* The 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, 1943–1963
* Denis Parsons Burkitt (1911–1993), doctor, discoverer of Burkitt's lymphoma
* Roy Carroll (born 1977), association footballer
* Edward Cooney (1867–1960), evangelist and early leader of the Cooneyite and Go-Preachers
* Brian D'Arcy (born 1945), C.P., Passionist priest and media personality
* Brendan Dolan (born 1973), professional darts player for the PDC
* Adrian Dunbar (born 1958), actor
* Arlene Foster, Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (born 1970), politician
* Neil Hannon (born 1970), musician
* Robert Kerr (1882–1963), athlete and Olympic gold medalist
* Kyle Lafferty (born 1987), Northern Ireland International association footballer
* Charles Lawson (born 1959), actor (plays Jim McDonald in Coronation Street)
* Francis Little (1822–1890), born in Fermanagh, Wisconsin State Senator
* Terence MacManus (c. 1823–1861), leader in Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848
* Michael Magner (1840–97), recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Peter McGinnity, Gaelic footballer, Fermanagh's first winner of an All-Star Award
* Martin McGrath, Gaelic footballer, All-Star winner
* Ciarán McMenamin (born 1975), actor
* Gilla Mochua Ó Caiside (12th century), poet
* Aurora Mulligan, director
* Barry Owens, Gaelic footballer, two-time All-Star winner
* Sean Quinn (born 1947), entrepreneur
* Michael Sleavon (1826–1902), recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Joan Trimble (1915–2000), pianist and composer
* Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), author and playwright, educated at Portora Royal School
* Gordon Wilson (1927–1995), peace campaigner and Irish senator
Surnames
The most common surnames in County Fermanagh at the time of the United Kingdom Census of 1901 were:
# Maguire
# McManus
# Johnston
# Armstrong
# Gallagher
# Elliott
# Murphy
# Reilly
# Cassidy
# Wilson
Railways
The railway lines in County Fermanagh connected Enniskillen railway station with Derry from 1854, Dundalk from 1861, Bundoran from 1868 and Sligo from 1882.
The railway companies that served the county, prior to the establishment by the merger of Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway, Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway which was later named the Irish North Western Railway, thus forming the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). By 1883 the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) absorbed all the lines except the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, which remained independent throughout its existence.
In October 1957 the Government of Northern Ireland closed the GNR line, which made it impossible for the SL&NCR continue and forced it also to close.
The nearest railway station to Enniskillen is Sligo station which is served by trains to Dublin Connolly and is operated by Iarnród Éireann. The Dublin-Sligo railway line has a two-hourly service run by Iarnród Éireann. The connecting bus from Sligo via Manorhamilton to Enniskillen is route 66 operated by Bus Éireann.
See also
* Abbeys and priories in Northern Ireland (County Fermanagh)
* Castles in County Fermanagh
* Extreme points of the United Kingdom
* High Sheriff of Fermanagh
* List of parishes of County Fermanagh
* List of places in County Fermanagh
* List of townlands in County Fermanagh
* Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh
* People from County Fermanagh
Notes
References
* Clogher Record
* "Fermanagh" A Dictionary of British Place-Names. A. D. Mills. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Northern Ireland Public Libraries. 25 July 2007
* "Fermanagh" Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. 25 July 2007 <[http://library.eb.co.uk/eb/article-9034047 Britannica Library]>.
* Fermanagh: its special landscapes: a study of the Fermanagh countryside and its heritage /Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. – Belfast: HMSO, 1991
* Livingstone, Peadar. – The Fermanagh story:a documented history of the County Fermanagh from the earliest times to the present day – Enniskillen: Cumann Seanchais Chlochair, 1969.
* Lowe, Henry N. – County Fermanagh 100 years ago: a guide and directory 1880. – Belfast: Friar's Bush Press, 1990.
* Parke, William K. – A Fermanagh Childhood. Derrygonnelly, Co Fermanagh: Friar's Bush Press, 1988.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928055512/http://www.impartialreporter.com/archive/2002-04-04/frontpage.html Impartial Reporter]
* [http://www.fermanaghherald.com Fermanagh Herald]
External links
*[https://wikishire.co.uk/map/#Fermanagh Fermanagh on the interactive map of the counties of Great Britain and Ireland] – Wikishire
* [http://fermanaghroots.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page A folk history of Fermanagh] | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Fermanagh | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.593166 |
5835 | Christian (disambiguation) | Christian most often refers to:
Christians, people who follow or adhere to Christianity
pertaining to Christianity
Christian (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
Christian (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Christian or The Christian may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film
Christian (1939 film), a Czech comedy film
Christian (1989 film), a Danish drama film
The Christian (1911 film), an Australian silent film
The Christian (1914 film), an American silent film directed by Frederick A. Thomson
The Christian (1915 film), a British silent film directed by George Loane Tucker
The Christian (1923 film), an American silent film drama directed by Maurice Tourneur
Television
Christian (TV series), an Italian television series
Music
"Christian" (song), a 1982 song by China Crisis
Christian the Christian, a 2004 album by Lackthereof
The Christians (band), a UK band from Liverpool, formed 1985
"Christian", a 2023 song by Zior Park
Other uses in arts and entertainment
The Christian, an 1897 novel and play by Hall Caine, adapted for Broadway
The Christian (magazine), the title of several magazines
Christian, the protagonist in John Bunyan's novel The Pilgrim's Progress
People
Christian of Clogher (d. 1138), saint and Irish bishop
Christian of Oliva, a 13th-century Cistercian monk
Christian (bishop of Aarhus), fl. c. 1060 to c. 1102
Christian (footballer, born 1995) (Christian Savio Machado)
Christian (footballer, born 2000) (Christian Roberto Alves Cardoso)
Christian (singer) (Gaetano Cristiano Rossi, born 1949)
Christian, ring name of professional wrestler Christian Cage (William Jason Reso, born November 30, 1973)
Prince Christian (disambiguation)
Christian I (disambiguation)
Christian II (disambiguation)
Christian III (disambiguation)
Other uses
Christian the lion (born 1969)
Christian, West Virginia, a place in the U.S.
See also
The Christians (disambiguation)
Cyclone Christian, another name for the St. Jude storm of 2013
Christian Doctrine in United States federal law, arising from G. L. Christian and Associates v. United States | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_(disambiguation) | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.618273 |
5836 | Geography of Colombia | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
|highest point = Pico Cristobal Colon<br />
|lowest point = Pacific Ocean<br />
|borders Total land borders:<br />
----------------
Venezuela: <br />Brazil: <br />Peru: <br />Ecuador: <br />Panama:
|coordinates
|longest river Magdalena River
|exclusive economic zone
}}
The Republic of Colombia is situated largely in the north-west of South America, with some territories falling within the boundaries of Central America. It is bordered to the north-west by Panama; to the east by Brazil and Venezuela; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and it shares maritime limits with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
Colombia has a land size of and it is the 25th largest nation in the world and the fourth-largest country in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru). Colombia's population is not evenly distributed, and most of the people live in the mountainous western portion of the country as well as along the northern coastline; the highest number live in or near the capital city of Bogotá. The southern and eastern portions of the country are sparsely inhabited, consisting of tropical rainforest, and inland tropical plains that contain large estates or large livestock farms, oil and gas production facilities, small farming communities, and indigenous tribes with their territories. Colombia has the 35th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of .Main
Colombia usually classifies its geography into five natural regions, from the Andes mountain range, a region shared with Ecuador, Venezuela; the Pacific Ocean coastal region, shared with Panama and Ecuador; the Caribbean Sea coastal region, shared with Venezuela and Panama; the Llanos (plains), shared with Venezuela; to the Amazon Rainforest region shared with Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. Colombia is one of only two South American countries that have coastline on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the other being Chile.
The World Factbook does not differentiate between the Amazon region of Colombia (predominantly jungle) and the Orinoquia region of Colombia (predominantly plains). It suggests dividing the country into four geographic regions: the Andean highlands, consisting of the three Andean ranges and intervening valley lowlands; the Caribbean lowlands coastal region; the Pacific lowlands coastal region, separated from the Caribbean lowlands by swamps at the base of the Isthmus of Panama; and eastern Colombia, the great plain that lies to the east of the Andes Mountains.
]]
The chief western mountain range, the Cordillera Occidental, is a moderately high range with peaks reaching up to about (4,670 m). The Cauca River Valley, an important agricultural region with several large cities on its borders, separates the Cordillera Occidental from the massive Cordillera Central. Several snow-clad volcanoes in the Cordillera Central have summits that rise above . The valley of the slow-flowing and muddy Magdalena River, a major transportation artery, separates the Cordillera Central from the main eastern range, the Cordillera Oriental. The peaks of the Cordillera Oriental are moderately high. This range differs from Colombia's other mountain ranges in that it contains several large basins. In the east, the sparsely populated, flat to gently rolling eastern lowlands called llanos cover almost 60 percent of the country's total land area.
This cross section of the republic does not include two of Colombia's regions: the Caribbean coastal lowlands and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, both in the northern part of the country. The lowlands in the west are mostly swampy; the reed-filled marshes of the area are called ciénagas by the people of Colombia. The Guajira Peninsula in the east is semiarid and is occupied primarily by indigenous peoples. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is a spectacular triangular snowcapped block of rock that towers over the eastern part of this lowland. Here can be found the highest peak of the country, named Pico Cristobal Colon (5775 m).
This was his alternative to the canal that was eventually built further west on the isthmus of what became Panama after it gained independence in the early 20th century. Although the US sent an expedition to explore Kennish's proposal, the concept was not developed at the time. Colombia refused a later US offer to build a canal. After independence, in 1903 Panama made a treaty with the US to support construction of the Panama Canal. Colombia occupies most of the Andes mountain range northern extremity, sharing a bit with Venezuela; the range splits into three branches between the Colombia-Ecuador border.
In the 1980s, only three percent of all Colombians resided in the Pacific lowlands, a region of jungle and swamp with considerable but little-exploited potential in minerals and other resources. Later in the 20th century, it was threatened by mining-related deforestation, as gold mining proceeded by both major companies and artisan miners. Buenaventura is the only port of any size on the coast. To the east, the Pacific lowlands are bounded by the Cordillera Occidental, from which numerous streams run. Most of the streams flow westward to the Pacific, but the largest, the navigable Río Atrato, flows northward to the Golfo de Urabá. Its river settlements have access to the major Atlantic ports and consequently are commercially related primarily to the Caribbean lowlands hinterland. To the west of the Río Atrato rises the Serranía de Baudó, an isolated chain of low mountains that occupies a large part of the region. Its highest elevation is less than 1,800 meters, and its vegetation resembles that of the surrounding tropical forest.
The Atrato Swamp, in Chocó Department adjoining the border with Panama, is a deep muck sixty-five kilometers in width. For years it has challenged engineers seeking to complete the Pan-American Highway. This stretch, near Turbo, where the highway is interrupted, is known as the Tapón del Chocó (Chocon Plug).
A second major transportation project in Chocó Department has been proposed. A second inter-oceanic canal would be constructed by dredging the Río Atrato and tributary streams and digging short access canals. Completion of either of these projects would do much to transform this region, although it could have devastating consequences on the fragile, tropical forest environment.
Orinoquía region
The area east of the Andes includes about 699,300 square kilometers or three-fifths of the country's total area, but Colombians view it almost as an alien land. The entire area, known as the eastern plains, was home to only two percent of the country's population in the late 1980s. The Spanish term for plains (llanos) can be applied only to the open plains in the northern part, particularly the Piedmont areas near the Cordillera Oriental, where extensive cattle raising is practiced.
The region is unbroken by highlands except in Meta Department, where the Serranía de la Macarena, an outlier of the Andes has unique vegetation and wildlife believed to be reminiscent of those that once existed throughout the Andes.
Amazon region
Many of the numerous large rivers of eastern Colombia are navigable. The Río Guaviare and the streams to its north flow eastward and drain into the basin of the Río Orinoco, a river that crosses into Venezuela and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Those south of the Río Guaviare flows into the Amazon Basin. The Río Guaviare divides eastern Colombia into the llanos subregion in the north and the tropical rainforest, or selva, subregion in the south.
Climate
zones]]
The striking variety in temperature and precipitation results principally from differences in elevation. Temperatures range from very hot at sea level to relatively cold at higher elevations but vary little with the season. At Bogotá, for example, the average annual temperature is , and the difference between the average of the coldest and the warmest months is less than 1 °C (1.8 °F). More significant, however, is the daily variation in temperature, from at night to during the day.
Colombians customarily describe their country in terms of the climatic zones: the area under in elevation is called the hot zone (tierra caliente), elevations between are the temperate zone (tierra templada), and elevations from to about constitute the cold zone (tierra fría). The upper limit of the cold zone marks the tree line and the approximate limit of human habitation. The treeless regions adjacent to the cold zone and extending to approximately are high, bleak areas (usually referred to as the páramos), above which begins the area of permanent snow (nevado).
About 86% of the country's total area lies in the hot zone. Included in the hot zone and interrupting the temperate area of the Andean highlands are the long and narrow extension of the Magdalena Valley and a small extension in the Cauca Valley. Temperatures, depending on elevation, vary between , and there are alternating dry and wet seasons corresponding to summer and winter, respectively. Breezes on the Caribbean coast, however, reduce both heat and precipitation.
Rainfall in the hot zone is heaviest in the Pacific lowlands and in parts of eastern Colombia, where rain is almost a daily occurrence and rain forests predominate. Precipitation exceeds annually in most of the Pacific lowlands, making this one of the wettest regions in the world. The highest average annual precipitation in the world is estimated to be in Lloro, Colombia, with . In eastern Colombia, it decreases from in portions of the Andean Piedmont to eastward. Extensive areas of the Caribbean interior are permanently flooded, more because of poor drainage than because of the moderately heavy precipitation during the rainy season from May through October.
The temperate zone covers about 8% of the country. This zone includes the lower slopes of the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Central and most of the intermontane valleys. The important cities of Medellín () and Cali () are located in this zone, where rainfall is moderate and the mean annual temperature varies between , depending on the elevation. In the higher elevations of this zone, farmers benefit from two wet and two dry seasons each year; January through March and July through September are the dry seasons.
.]]
The cold or cool zone constitutes about 6% of the total area, including some of the most densely populated plateaus and terraces of the Colombian Andes; this zone supports about one fourth of the country's total population. The mean temperature ranges between , and the wet seasons occur in April and May and from September to December, as in the high elevations of the temperate zone.
Precipitation is moderate to heavy in most parts of the country; the heavier rainfall occurs in the low-lying hot zone. Considerable variations occur because of local conditions that affect wind currents, however, and areas on the leeward side of the Guajira Peninsula receive generally light rainfall; the annual rainfall of recorded at the Uribia station there is the lowest in Colombia. Considerable year-to-year variations have been recorded, and Colombia sometimes experiences droughts.
Colombia's geographic and climatic variations have combined to produce relatively well-defined "ethnocultural" groups among different regions of the country: the Costeño from the Caribbean coast; the Caucano in the Cauca region and the Pacific coast; the Antioqueño in Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda, and Valle del Cauca departments; the Tolimense in Tolima and Huila departments; the Cundiboyacense in the interior departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá in the Cordillera Oriental; the Santandereano in Norte de Santander and Santander departments; and the Llanero in the eastern plains. Each group has distinctive characteristics, accents, customs, social patterns, and forms of cultural adaptation to climate and topography that differentiates it from other groups. Even with rapid urbanization and modernization, regionalism and regional identification continued to be important reference points, although they were somewhat less prominent in the 1980s than in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Colombia's proximity to the equator influences its climates. The lowland areas are continuously hot. Altitude affects temperature greatly. Temperatures decrease about for every increase in altitude above sea level. Rainfall varies by location in Colombia, tending to increase as one travels southward. This is especially true in the eastern lowlands. For example, rainfall in parts of the Guajira Peninsula seldom exceeds per year. Colombia's rainy southeast, however, is often drenched by more than of rain per year. Rainfall in most of the rest of the country runs between these two extremes.Vegetation
in Colombia]]
Altitude affects not only temperature, but also vegetation. In fact, altitude is one of the most important influences on vegetation patterns in Colombia. The mountainous parts of the country can be divided into several vegetation zones according to altitude, although the altitude limits of each zone may vary somewhat depending on the latitude.
The "tierra caliente" (hot land), below , is the zone of tropical crops such as bananas. The tierra templada (temperate land), extending from an altitude of , is the zone of coffee and maize. Wheat and potatoes dominate in the "tierra fría" (cold land), at altitudes from . In the "zona forestada" (forested zone), which is located between , many of the trees have been cut for firewood. Treeless pastures dominate the páramos, or alpine grasslands, at altitudes of . Above , where temperatures are below freezing, is the "tierra helada", a zone of permanent snow and ice.
Vegetation also responds to rainfall patterns. A scrub woodland of scattered trees and bushes dominates the semiarid northeast. To the south, savannah (tropical grassland) vegetation covers the Colombian portion of the llanos. The rainy areas in the southeast are blanketed by tropical rainforest. In the mountains, the spotty patterns of precipitation in alpine areas complicate vegetation patterns. The rainy side of a mountain may be lush and green, while the other side, in the rain shadow, may be parched.
Relief
The Andean range is located in Colombia from the southwest (Ecuador border) toward the northeast (Venezuela border) and is divided in the Colombian Massif (Macizo Colombiano) in three ranges (East Andes, Central Andes and West Andes) that form two long valleys, Magdalena and Cauca follow by the rivers of the same name.
The eastern half of Colombia, comprising more than half its territory, is plain and composed by savanna and rainforest, crossed by rivers belonging to the Amazon and Orinoco basins. The northern part, called the Llanos, is a savanna region, mostly in the Orinoco basin (therefore called also Orinoquía). The southern part is covered by the Amazon rain forest and belongs mostly to the Amazon basin. It is usually called Amazonía.
At the north and west of the Andes range there are some coastal plains. The Caribbean plains at the north and the Pacific plains at the west.
A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 553km² of tidal flats in Colombia, making it the 46th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.
Colombian Pacific Plains are among the most rainy parts in the world, chiefly at the north (Chocó).
The highest mountain in Colombia is not in the Andes but in the Caribbean plain: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta with its highest points named Pico Cristobal Colon (5775 m) and Pico Simon Bolivar (same elevation). Other mountains in the Caribbean plain include the Montes de María and the Serranía de San Lucas.
In the Pacific Plains there are other mountain formations, chiefly the Serranía del Darién and the Serranía del Baudó.
In the eastern Region, there is the Serranía de la Macarena and there are formations belonging to the Guyana Shield.
Protected areas
Natural resources
The natural resources of Colombia are varied and extensive with most of its territory and oceans still unexplored. Colombia has one of the largest open pit coal mines in the world in the region of Cerrejon in the Guajira Peninsula. It also has oil rigs and natural gas extraction in the eastern plains. Colombia is the main producer of emeralds and an important participant in gold, silver, iron, salt, platinum, petroleum, nickel, copper, hydropower and uranium extraction.Environmental issues
The main environmental issues affecting Colombia are deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions and other main cities. The collateral damaged produced by attacks against oil pipeline infrastructure by rebel guerrillas in the Colombian armed conflict has produced long term damage to the environment. The armed groups also deforest large areas to cultivate illegal crops and open unauthorized highways in protected areas.
Extreme points
;Highest points:
Snowfields and glaciers in Colombia are limited to the highest peaks and ranges in the Cordillera Central and Cordillera Oriental and above the elevation on the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The total area of snowfields and glaciers was estimated to be about 104 square kilometers in the early 1970s.
Historical, geographical, and pictorial records point toward a consistent and progressive depletion of ice-and-snow masses in the Colombian Andes since the end of the "Little Ice Age" in the late 1800s. Many glaciers have disappeared during the 20th century, and others are expected to disappear in the coming decades.Facts
Land size:
total:
Land boundaries:
total: 6,672 km
Coastline:
3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Exclusive Economic Zone:
total:
Climate:
tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain:
flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,975 m
note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 1.43%
permanent crops: 1.68%
other: 96.89% (2012)
Irrigated land:
10,870 km<sup>2</sup> (2011)
Total renewable water resources:
2,132 km<sup>3</sup> (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 12.65 km<sup>3</sup> (55%/4%/41%)
per capita: 308 m<sup>3</sup>/yr (2010)
Natural hazards:
highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Hydrology
Colombia has four main drainage systems: the Pacific drain, the Caribbean drain, the Orinoco Basin and the Amazon Basin.
The Orinoco and Amazon Rivers mark limits with Colombia to Venezuela and Peru respectively.
{|
|- bgcolor="cccccc"
!width="25%"|Caribbean Drain
!width="25%"|Pacific Drain
!width="25%"|Orinoco Basin
!width="25%"|Amazon Basin
|-
!colspan"4" align"left"|
Rivers confined to Colombia
|-
|valign="top"|<!--Caribe-->
*Atrato
*Cauca
*Magdalena
*Nechí
*Sinú
|valign="top"|<!--Pacífico-->
*Baudó
*Patía
*San Juan
|valign="top"|<!--Orinoco-->
*Guaviare
*Inírida
*Meta
*Vichada
|valign="top"|<!--Amazonas-->
*Apaporis
*Caguán
|-
!colspan"4" align"left"|
Rivers originating in Colombia
|-
|valign="top"|<!--Caribe-->
*Catatumbo
|valign="top"|<!--Pacífico-->
|valign="top"|<!--Orinoco-->
*Arauca
|valign="top"|<!--Amazonas-->
*Caquetá
*Guainía
*Putumayo River
*Vaupés
|}
Lakes
and the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta.]]
*Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta
*La Cocha Lagoon
*Lake Tota
See also
* Valleys and Plateaus of Colombia
* Environmental issues in Colombia
References
*
*
External links
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071027011246/http://web.minambiente.gov.co/biogeo/menu/biodiversidad/ecosistemas/historia_geologia.htm Colombian Ministry of Environment]
* [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11318/ Map of the Republic of Colombia] from 1891 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Colombia | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.656589 |
5838 | Politics of Colombia | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
}}
The politics of Colombia take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Colombia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is carried out by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Colombia. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Constitutional reformsColombia's present constitution, enacted on July 5, 1991, strengthened the administration of justice with the provision for introduction of an adversarial system, which ultimately entirely replaced the existing Napoleonic Code. Other significant reforms under the new constitution include civil divorce, dual nationality, a vice president's election, and departmental governors' election. Additionally, the constitution expanded citizens' fundamental rights, including the right of "tutela," which allows individuals to request immediate court action if they feel their constitutional rights are being violated and if no other legal recourse is available.
The national government has separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
Executive branch
, seat of the executive power.]]
The president is elected for a single four-year term. Between 2005 and 2015, the president could be re-elected for a second term. The 1991 constitution reestablished the position of vice president, who is elected on the same ticket as the president. By law, the vice president will succeed in the event of the president's resignation, illness, or death.
Since 2015, the president is barred from running for reelection, even for a nonconsecutive term.
International organization participation
Global
United Nations
World Bank
Other
Regional
References
External links
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20020502010953/http://www.camararep.gov.co/ House of Representatives of Colombia]
*[http://www.senado.gov.co/ Senate of Colombia]
*[http://www.presidencia.gov.co/ Presidency of Colombia]
*[http://www.cortesuprema.gov.co/ Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia] | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Colombia | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.684415 |
5839 | Economy of Colombia | }}
| population 52,400,145 (2023)
| gdp = $417 billion (nominal, 2024)
* $1.130 trillion (PPP, 2024)
* 1.0% }}
| inflation 11.7% (2023 )
| poverty = 39.3% in poverty (2021)
* 27.8% on less than $5.50/day (2018)}}
| gini 51.7 (2018)
| hdi = 0.758 (2022) (91st)
* 0.568 IHDI (97th) (2022)
| labor = 26,788,369 (2019)
* 56.5% employment rate (2022)}}
| occupations = 19.3% youth unemployment (2023)
| average gross salary Col$1,761,494 / $384 monthly (2022)}}
| average net salary | industries textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds, shipbuilding, electronics industry, home appliance
| exports $68.273 billion (2023 est.)}}
| imports $76.23 billion (2023 est.)}}
| current account −$10.36 billion (2017 est.)
*BBB+ (Domestic)
*BBB (Foreign)
*A-(T&C Assessment)}}
| cianame = colombia
| reserves $47.13 billion (31 December 2017 est.) and the third-largest economy in South America. Throughout most of the 20th century, Colombia was Latin America's 4th and 3rd largest economy when measured by nominal GDP, real GDP, GDP (PPP), and real GDP at chained PPPs. Between 2012 and 2014, it became the third largest in Latin America by nominal GDP. As of 2024, the GDP (PPP) per capita has increased to over US$19,000, and real gross domestic product at chained PPPs increased from US$250 billion in 1990 to over US$1 trillion in 2024.
Petroleum is Colombia's main export, representing over 45% of Colombia's exports. Manufacturing represents nearly 12% of Colombia's exports and grows at a rate of over 10% a year. Colombia has the fastest growing information technology industry in the world, and has the longest fibre optic network in Latin America. Colombia also has one of the largest shipbuilding industries in the world outside Asia.
Modern industries like shipbuilding, electronics, automobile, tourism, construction, and mining grew dramatically during the 2000s and 2010s. However, most of Colombia's exports are still commodity-based. Colombia is Latin America's 2nd-largest producer of domestically made electronics and appliances, following Mexico. Colombia had the fastest-growing major economy in the Western world in 2014, behind only China worldwide.
Since the early 2010s, the Colombian government has shown interest in exporting modern Colombian pop culture to the world (which includes video games, music, films, television shows, fashion, cosmetics, and food) as a way of diversifying the economy and entirely changing the image of Colombia. This has inspired a national campaign similar to the Korean Wave. Colombia is only behind Mexico in cultural exports and is already a regional leader in cosmetic and beauty exports.
Wealth is poorly distributed and Colombia is among the most unequal societies in the world, with a Gini index of approximately 0.̟6. For example, according to the World Bank, in 2010, the richest 20% of the population owned 60.2% of the wealth and the poorest 20% only 3%, and 15.8% of Colombians lived on less than $2 a day. In 2021, more than 54% of Colombian families are food insecure and more than 560,000 children under the age of five are chronically undernourished.
The informal economy is estimated at 47% in 2020. There is no welfare state in Colombia, which has almost no unemployment or pension insurance system. As a result, only one million elderly people have pensions (and five million are without) and social assistance is very low. Many people in their 70s and 80s are forced to continue working or beg. The country is said to be the most unequal in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
History
16th–19th centuries
European explorers reached what is now Colombian territory as early as 1510 in Santa María Antigua del Darién (in present-day Chocó department). For the next couple of decades Colombia, and South America in general, remained largely unexplored. From 1533 to 1600, Europeans began expeditions into the interior of current Colombia. The in of these expeditions was mainly to conquer new lands and exploit village resources. Legends of El Dorado that reached Spaniard explorers continued to fuel exploration and raiding of Indian villages.
In the 17th century, Spanish conquerors explored Colombia and made the first settlements, and this was the beginning of Colombia's modern economic history. Major conquistadors from this period were Pedro de Heredia, Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, Sebastián de Belalcazar, and Nikolaus Federmann.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the colonial settlements in Colombia served purposes of extraction of precious metals and other natural resources, and later slavery trade. This economic arrangement left the Colony with little room for building solid institutionality for economic development. The main non-extractive institutions emerging in this centuries were the fortified port of Cartagena and the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Cartagena developed military defenses mainly out of necessity from frequently having to deal with pirate attacks. A primitive form of colonial administration was organized in Santa fé de Bogotá with the Viceroyalty of New Granada, especially under the tenure of José Solís Folch de Cardona (1753–1761), who conducted a census and built roads, bridges and aqueducts.
Following the Thousand Days' War (1899–1902), Colombia experienced a coffee boom that catapulted the country into the modern period, bringing the attendant benefits of transportation, particularly railroads, communications infrastructure, and the first major attempts at manufacturing.
20th century
Colombia's consistently sound economic policies and aggressive promotion of free trade agreements in recent years have bolstered its ability to weather external shocks. Real GDP has grown more than 4% per year for the past three years, continuing almost a decade of strong economic performance. Still, this policy makes food cheaper for the average Colombian than it would be if agricultural trade were more restricted.
Until 1997, Colombia had enjoyed a fairly stable economy. The first five years of liberalization were characterized by high economic growth rates of between 4% and 5%. The Ernesto Samper administration (1994–98) emphasized social welfare policies which targeted Colombia's lower income population. These reforms led to higher government spending which increased the fiscal deficit and public sector debt, the financing of which required higher interest rates. An over-valued peso inherited from the previous administration was maintained.
The economy slowed, and by 1998 GDP growth was only 0.6%. In 1999, the country fell into its first recession since the Great Depression. The economy shrank by 4.5% with unemployment at over 20%. While unemployment remained at 20% in 2000, GDP growth recovered to 3.1%. Unemployment in 2020 has improved compared to two decades ago to 12.20%.
The administration of President Andrés Pastrana Arango, when it took office on 7 August 1998, faced an economy in crisis, with the difficult internal security situation and global economic turbulence additionally inhibiting confidence. As evidence of a serious recession became clear in 1999, the government took a number of steps. It engaged in a series of controlled devaluations of the peso, followed by a decision to let it float. Colombia also entered into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund which provided a $2.7 billion guarantee (extended funds facility), while committing the government to budget discipline and structural reforms.
21st century
By early 2000 there had been the beginning of an economic recovery, with the export sector leading the way, as it enjoyed the benefit of the more competitive exchange rate, as well as strong prices for petroleum, Colombia's leading export product. Prices of coffee, the other principal export product, have been more variable.
Economic growth reached 3.1% during 2000 and inflation 9.0%. Inflation by 2021 has stabilized at 3.30%. Colombia's international reserves remained stable at around $8.35 billion in the year 2000 growing to $58.57 billion by 2021, and Colombia has successfully remained in international capital markets. Colombia's total foreign debt at the end of 1999 was $34.5 billion with $14.7 billion in private sector and $19.8 billion in public sector debt. Major international credit rating organizations had dropped Colombian sovereign debt below investment grade, primarily as a result of large fiscal deficits, which current policies are seeking to close. As of 2021 Colombia has recovered its investment grade rating.
Former president Álvaro Uribe (elected 7 August 2002) introduced several neoliberal economic reforms, including measures designed to reduce the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of GDP in 2004. The government's economic policy and controversial democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector, and GDP growth in 2003 was among the highest in Latin America, at over 4%. This growth rate was maintained over the next decade, averaging 4.8% from 2004 to 2014.
According to figures from Dane, monetary poverty went from 37.2% in 2010 to 26.9% in 2017, which indicates a higher income for the most vulnerable households. During the Santos government, there was an inflationary period that was also a response to the strong external shock of the fall in oil prices. It was a period of contained instability, although inflation increased, no company declared bankruptcy and there was no instability in the financial system.
The Santos period managed an increase in GDP of 4% in 2010, which peaked in 2011 to 6.6%. Thereafter it remained at 4% in 2012, 4.9% in 2013 and 4.4% in 2014. In 2011, Colombia recovered its BBB− investment grade, which was raised in 2013 to BBB. As a result of sustained growth, during the eight years of the Santos government, 3.5 million jobs were created, while 5.4 million people were lifted out of poverty.
The focus of Santos' second term was to reach a peace agreement with the FARC whose economic effects, according to assumptions, could imply a GDP growth of up to two additional percentage points. Santos' best legacy is precisely the one related to security since this will have an effect in the medium and long term in terms of investment decisions, job creation, and the beginning of a great revolution in the country's infrastructure: war prevented development in the most affected areas for centuries.
Colombia's President Iván Duque withdrew a controversial tax reform bill following four weeks of huge protests across the country starting 28 April 2021. In 2021, Colombia registered an increase in Gross Domestic Product of more than 10%, as a result of a rebound effect that derived from the 6.8% collapse a year earlier, caused by the economic closures decreed to stop the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic exacerbated poverty. In 2021, official figures showed that 39% of Colombians – out of a population of 51.6 million inhabitants – were in a condition of monetary poverty. Although it shows a slight improvement compared to 2020 (42.5%), it meant a setback of at least a decade.
The greatest increase in the value of the debt also occurred in the Duque government, according to figures from the Bank of the Republic. Between 2020 and 2021 the balance increased by 17 billion dollars, and from 2019 to 2020 it increased by 16 billion. That figure, which corresponds to a deficit of 7.1 percent of GDP, was the debt that the Central National Government or GNC (the State without its companies or regional entities) had in 2021, according to the fiscal closing bulletin.
In the Duque government, specifically between May and June 2020, 66.7 percent of the country's gold reserves were sold, which went from 710.5 to 237.4 million dollars. The decision was made by the Bank of the Republic. The sale received criticism because although it was done at a time of rising prices – after five years in which this did not happen – it was before gold reached a record price.
The COVID-19 recession had a profound impact on Colombia's economy, with significant disruptions to GDP components, unemployment, and inflation. Household consumption, which is a key driver of the economy, saw the sharpest decline, dropping by 20% in the second quarter of 2020 due to lockdowns, income uncertainty, and limited mobility. Despite a partial recovery in Q3 2020, high unemployment (peaking at 19.9%) and ongoing uncertainties slowed the recovery of consumer spending. Investment also decreased during the pandemic, with businesses reducing capital expenditures amid uncertainty (-31.6%).Overview
In the early 21st century, the Colombian economy grew in part because of austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, an export-oriented growth strategy, an improved security situation in the country, and high commodity prices. Growth slowed to 1.4 percent in 2017, and then increased to 3.3 percent in 2019.
President Uribe, who was in office from 2002 to 2010, examined opportunities including reforming the pension system, reducing high unemployment, achieving congressional passage of a fiscal transfers reform, and exploring for new oil or producing ethanol. Colombia's Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, was one of the highest in South America. International and domestic financial analysts warned of the growing central government deficit, which hovered at 5% of GDP. Nonetheless, confidence in the economy grew.
The tax system is one of the causes of Colombia's deep social inequalities. The income tax (IRPP) is not very progressive (almost all taxpayers pay it at a rate of between 19% and 28%, and the rate rises only slightly thereafter) and is levied mainly on salaries, with other categories of income being largely underreported. Redistribution through the Colombian tax system is thus the lowest in Latin America, even though it is on average very limited.
Development of main indicators
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2019 (with IMF staff stimtates in 2020–2025). Inflation below 5% is in green.
{| class"wikitable sortable sticky-header" style"text-align:center;"
! Year !! GDP<br><small>(in bil. US$PPP)</small> !! GDP per capita<br><small>(in US$ PPP)</small> !! GDP<br><small>(in bil. US$nominal)</small> !! GDP per capita<br><small>(in US$ nominal)</small> !! GDP growth<br><small>(real)</small> !! Inflation rate<br><small>(in percent)</small> !! Unemployment<br><small>(in percent)</small> !! Government debt<br><small>(in % of GDP)</small>
|-
| 1980 || 78.5 || 2,840.6 || 46.5 || 1,681.7 || 4.4% || 25.9% || 5.4% || n/a
|-
| 1981 || 87.9 || 3,110.9 || 50.6 || 1,792.3 || 2.3% || 27.4% || 6.6% || n/a
|-
| 1982 || 94.2 || 3,262.8 || 54.2 || 1,878.1 || 0.9% || 24.9% || 7.1% || n/a
|-
| 1983 || 99.4 || 3,371.2 || 53.9 || 1,827.2 || 1.6% || 19.5% || 8.7% || n/a
|-
| 1984 || 106.5 || 3,534.9 || 53.2 || 1,767.2 || 3.4% || 16.3% || 9.0% || n/a
|-
| 1985 || 113.3 || 3,785.6 || 48.6 || 1,623.0 || 3.1% || 23.9% || 8.7% || n/a
|-
| 1986 || 122.3 || 4,003.7 || 48.6 || 1,592.2 || 5.8% || 18.8% || 7.7% || n/a
|-
| 1987 || 132.0 || 4,234.3 || 50.6 || 1,623.4 || 5.4% || 23.3% || 7.4% || n/a
|-
| 1988 || 142.2 || 4,468.2 || 54.6 || 1,714.2 || 4.1% || 28.1% || 6.5% || n/a
|-
| 1989 || 152.9 || 4,704.3 || 55.0 || 1,693.4 || 3.4% || 25.9% || 6.8% || n/a
|-
| 1990 || 165.4 || 4,987.8 || 56.0 || 1,690.4 || 4.3% || 29.1% || 6.6% || n/a
|-
| 1991 || 175.0 || 5,171.3 || 57.9 || 1,711.7 || 2.4% || 30.3% || 6.4% || n/a
|-
| 1992 || 186.8 || 5,411.2 || 68.6 || 1,985.7 || 4.4% || 27.0% || 5.9% || n/a
|-
| 1993 || 202.2 || 5,746.1 || 77.7 || 2,208.3 || 5.7% || 22.4% || 5.0% || n/a
|-
| 1994 || 217.1 || 6,061.4 || 97.6 || 2,725.7 || 5.1% || 22.9% || 4.9% || n/a
|-
| 1995 || 233.2 || 6,401.5 || 110.5 || 3,034.1 || 5.2% || 20.9% || 5.6% || n/a
|-
| 1996 || 242.3 || 6,546.2 || 116.1 || 3,135.8 || 2.1% || 20.8% || 7.8% || 23.3%
|-
| 1997 || 255.0 || 6,798.3 || 127.4 || 3,398.0 || 3.4% || 18.5% || 7.9% || 25.3%
|-
| 1998 || 259.3 || 6,808.2 || 117.7 || 3,089.7 || 0.6% || 18.7% || 9.7% || 27.5%
|-
| 1999 || 251.9 || 6,530.5 || 103.1 || 2,672.6 || -4.2% || 10.9% || 13.1% || 34.0%
|-
| 2000 || 265.1 || 6,772.2 || 99.2 || 2,534.5 || 2.9% || 9.2% || 13.3% || 38.0%
|-
| 2001 || 275.7 || 6,951.6 || 97.6 || 2,460.3 || 1.7% || 8.0% || 15.0% || 41.1%
|-
| 2002 || 287.0 || 7,146.5 || 97.3 || 2,423.4 || 2.5% || 6.4% || 15.6% || 47.5%
|-
| 2003 || 304.1 || 7,479.0 || 94.0 || 2,312.6 || 3.9% || 7.1% || 14.1% || 45.0%
|-
| 2004 || 328.9 || 7,990.2 || 116.3 || 2,826.0 || 5.3% || 5.9% || 13.7% || 41.5%
|-
| 2005 || 355.2 || 8,523.9 || 145.6 || 3,494.0 || 4.7% || 5.0% || 11.8% || 38.5%
|-
| 2006 || 390.8 || 9,266.3 || 161.8 || 3,836.7 || 6.7% || 4.3% || 12.0% || 36.0%
|-
| 2007 || 428.4 || 10,041.6 || 206.2 || 4,834.4 || 6.7% || 5.5% || 11.2% || 32.7%
|-
| 2008 || 450.9 || 10,453.7 || 242.5 || 5,622.1 || 3.3% || 7.0% || 11.3% || 32.4%
|-
| 2009 || 459.0 || 10,524.8 || 232.5 || 5,330.8 || 1.1% || 4.2% || 12.0% || 35.4%
|-
| 2010 || 485.4 || 11,009.5 || 286.5 || 6,498.6 || 4.5% || 2.3% || 11.8% || 36.5%
|-
| 2011 || 529.9 || 11,893.0 || 335.0 || 7,518.3 || 6.9% || 3.4% || 10.8% || 35.8%
|-
| 2012 || 553.8 || 12,305.5 || 370.7 || 8,237.3 || 3.9% || 3.2% || 10.4% || 34.0%
|-
| 2013 || 591.8 || 13,024.8 || 382.1 || 8,409.7 || 5.1% || 2.0% || 9.7% || 37.6%
|-
| 2014 || 625.0 || 13,627.1 || 381.2 || 8,312.1 || 4.5% || 2.9% || 9.1% || 43.3%
|-
| 2015 || 630.4 || 13,611.5 || 293.5 || 6,337.0 || 3.0% || 5.0% || 8.9% || 50.4%
|-
| 2016 || 672.1 || 14,351.7 || 282.7 || 6,037.1 || 2.1% || 7.5% || 9.2% || 49.8%
|-
| 2017 || 700.1 || 14,763.9 || 311.9 || 6,577.3 || 1.4% || 4.3% || 9.4% || 49.4%
|-
| 2018 || 735.2 || 15,234.6 || 334.1 || 6,923.6 || 2.6% || 3.2% || 9.7% || 53.6%
|-
| 2019 || 772.9 || 15,647.2 || 323.4 || 6,546.6 || 3.3% || 3.5% || 10.5% || 52.3%
|-
| 2020 || 729.1 || 14,473.4 || 271.6 || 5,390.9 || -6.8% || 2.5% || 16.1% || 65.4%
|-
| 2021 || 812.8 || 15,921.8 || 300.8 || 5,892.1 || 7.6% || 3.2% || 14.5% || 66.7%
|-
| 2022 || 867.2 || 16,802.9 || 319.3 || 6,186.7 || 3.8% || 3.5% || 13.8% || 67.6%
|-
| 2023 || 916.7 || 17,576.6 || 336.2 || 6,446.9 || 3.3% || 3.0% || 13.1% || 69.7%
|-
| 2024 || 969.6 || 18,401.4 || 354.3 || 6,723.4 || 3.4% || 3.0% || 12.4% || 68.3%
|-
| 2025 || 1,024.8 || 19,257.0 || 373.4 || 7,016.1 || 3.4% || 3.0% || 11.8% || 66.7%
|-
| 2026 || 1,082.6 || 20,148.7 || 393.7 || 7,326.7 || 3.5% || 3.0% || 11.1% || 64.7%
|}
Graphics
in the world.]]
producers in the world.]]
Colombia is one of the five largest producers in the world of coffee, avocado and palm oil, and one of the 10 largest producers in the world of sugarcane, banana, pineapple and cocoa.
Colombia produced, in 2018, 36.2 million tons of sugarcane (7th largest producer in the world), 5.8 million tons of palm oil (5th largest producer in the world), 3.7 million tons of banana (11th largest producer in the world) and 720 thousand tons of coffee (4th largest producer in the world, behind Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia). Although its neighbor Brazil is the largest producer of coffee in the world (3.5 million tons produced in the same year), the advertising carried out by the country for decades suggests that Colombian coffee is of higher quality, which generates greater added value to the country's product. In the same year, Colombia produced 3.3 million tons of rice, 3.1 million tons of potato, 2.2 million tons of cassava, 1.3 million tons of maize, 900 thousand tons of pineapple, 670 thousand tons of onion, 527 thousand tons of tomato, 419 thousand tons of yam, 338 thousand tons of mango, 326 thousand tons of avocado, in addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products such as orange, tangerine, lemon, papaya, beans, carrot, coconut, watermelon etc. As of October 2024, Colombia is the tenth largest producer of cacao in the global market. Its top importers include the United States, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
The share of agriculture in GDP has fallen consistently since 1945, as industry and services have expanded. However, Colombia's agricultural share of GDP decreased during the 1990s by less than in many of the world's countries at a similar level of development, even though the share of coffee in GDP diminished in a dramatic way. Agriculture has nevertheless remained an important source of employment, providing a fifth of Colombia's jobs in 2006.
Agriculture in Columbia is particularly vulnerable to climate-induced events like La Niña, leading to droughts and heavy rains. Soil aridity, erosion, and desertification are already pressing issues in Colombian agriculture, expected to worsen with climate change. Despite representing only 0.4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, 71.3 percent of Colombia's domestic emissions stem from agriculture and land use. Colombia's revised National Determined Contributions (NDCs) aim to reduce emissions by 51% by 2030, with a focus on agriculture. Strategies include reducing greenhouse gas emissions in cocoa, rice, coffee, forestry, and cattle production. The country also aims to provide agroclimatic information to 1 million producers by 2030.
In Colombia, the exploitation and breeding of cattle is carried out on small farms and large farms. Black-eared white, casanareño, coastal with horns, romosinuano, chino santandereano and hartón del Valle, are the Colombian breeds with the highest production.
In 2013, livestock occupied 80% of productive land in Colombia. The livestock sector is one of the most outstanding in areas such as Caribbean Region, where seven departments have livestock as their primary vocation. Also in Antioquia, where there is the largest cattle inventory in the country, the department had that year 11% of the head of cattle in Colombia, and according to the livestock inventory, in 2012 Antioqueños counted around 2,268,000 head of cattle.
Also in 2013, the bovine herd in Colombia reached 20.1 million head of cattle, of which 2.5 million (12.5%) were milking cows. In addition, the country's total milk production was 13.1 million liters.
On the other hand, the increase in imports of pork meat, the high prices of inputs and the slowdown in the national economy, produced a crisis in the raising of pork in Colombia in 2015.
Industry
The World Bank lists the main producing countries each year, based on the total value of production. According to the 2019 list, Colombia has the 46th most valuable industry in the world (US$35.4 billion), behind Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina, but ahead of Peru and Chile.ManufacturingDomestic appliancesAlthough Colombia has been producing domestic appliances since the 1930s, it wasn't until the late 1990s that Colombian corporations began exporting to neighboring countries. One of Colombia's largest producers of domestic appliances, HACEB has been producing refrigeration since 1940. Some domestic corporations include: Challenger, Kalley, HACEB, Imusa, and Landers. In 2011, Groupe SEB acquired Imusa as a form to expand to the Latin American market. Colombia also manufactures for foreign companies as well, such as Whirlpool and GE. LG has also been interested in building a plant in Colombia. Colombia is also Latin America's 3rd largest producer of appliances behind Mexico and Brazil and is growing rapidly.ElectronicsColombia is a major producer of electronics in Latin America, and is South America's 2nd largest high-tech market. Colombia is also the 2nd largest producer and exporter of electronics made by domestic companies in Latin America. Since the early 2000s, major Colombian corporations began exporting aggressively to foreign markets. Some of these companies include: Challenger, PcSmart, Compumax, Colcircuirtos, and Kalley. Colombia is the first country in Latin America to manufacture a domestically made 4K television. In 2014, the Colombian Government launched a national campaign to promote IT and Electronic sectors, as well as investing in Colombia's own companies.
Construction
Construction recentlyhas played a vital role in the economy, and is growing rapidly at almost 20% annually. As a result, Colombia is seeing a historic building boom. The Colombian government is investing heavily in transport infrastructure through a plan called "Fourth Generation Network". The target of the Colombian government is to build 7,000 km of roads for the 2016–2020 period and reduce travel times by 30% and transport costs by 20%. A toll road concession program will comprise 40 projects, and is part of a larger strategic goal to invest nearly $50bn in transport infrastructure, including: railway systems; making the Magdalena river navigable again; improving port facilities; as well as an expansion of Bogotá's airport. Long-term plans include building a national high-speed train network, to vastly improve competitiveness.UtilitiesMining and energy
s are one of the most valuable and exported natural products in the country.]]
Colombia is well-endowed with minerals and energy resources. It has the largest coal reserves in Latin America, and is second to Brazil in hydroelectric potential. Estimates of petroleum reserves in 1995 were . It also possesses significant amounts of nickel, gold, silver, platinum, and emeralds.
The country was the 12th largest producer of coal in the world in 2018. In 2019, Colombia was the 20th largest petroleum producer in the world, with 791 thousand barrels / day. In mining, Colombia is the world's largest producer of emerald.
The discovery of of high-quality oil at the Cusiana and Cupiagua fields, about east of Bogotá, has enabled Colombia to become a net oil exporter since 1986. The Transandino pipeline transports oil from Orito in the Department of Putumayo to the Pacific port of Tumaco in the Department of Nariño. Total crude oil production averages ; about is exported. The Pastrana government has significantly liberalized its petroleum investment policies, leading to an increase in exploration activity. Refining capacity cannot satisfy domestic demand, so some refined products, especially gasoline, must be imported. Plans for the construction of a new refinery are under development.
While Colombia has vast hydroelectric potential, a prolonged drought in 1992 forced severe electricity rationing throughout the country until mid-1993. The consequences of the drought on electricity-generating capacity caused the government to commission the construction or upgrading of ten thermoelectric power plants. Half will be coal-fired, and half will be fired by natural gas. The government also has begun awarding bids for the construction of a natural gas pipeline system that will extend from the country's extensive gas fields to its major population centers. Plans call for this project to make natural gas available to millions of Colombian households by the middle of the next decade.
As of 2004, Colombia has become a net energy exporter, exporting electricity to Ecuador and developing connections to Peru, Venezuela and Panama to export to those markets as well. The Trans-Caribbean pipeline connecting western Venezuela to Panama through Colombia is also under construction, thanks to cooperation between presidents Álvaro Uribe of Colombia, Martín Torrijos of Panama and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. Coal is exported to Turkey.
Oil and coal account for 47% of goods exports in 2021.Human rights abuses in mining zonesThe oil pipelines are a frequent target of extortion and bombing campaigns by the National Liberation Army (ELN) and, more recently, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The bombings, which have occurred on average once every 5 days, have caused substantial environmental damage, often in fragile rainforests and jungles, as well as causing significant loss of life. In April 1999 in Cartagena de Indias, Clinton's Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson spoke before investors from the United States, Canada and other countries. He expressed his government's willingness to use military aid to support the investment that they and their allies were going to make in Colombia, especially in strategically important sectors like mining and energy.
In 2001 there were 170 attacks on the Caño Limón–Coveñas pipeline. The pipeline was out of operation for over 200 days of that year; the government estimates that these bombings reduced Colombia's GDP by 0.5%. The government of the United States increased military aid, in 2003, to Colombia to assist in the effort to defend the pipeline. to patrol the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline. Many of these operations used helicopters, equipment and weapons provided by the U.S. military and anti-narcotics aid programs.
Mining and natural exploitation has had environmental consequences. The region of Guajira is undergoing an accelerated desertification with the disappearances of forests, land, and water sources, due to the increase in coal production. Social consequences or lack of development in resource rich areas is common. 11 million Colombians survive on less than one dollar a day. Over 65% of these live in mining zones. There are 3.5 million children out of school, and the most critical situation is in the mining zone of Choco, Bolivar, and Sucre.
Economic consequences of privatization and liberal institutions have meant changes in taxation to attract foreign investment. Colombia will lose another $800 million over the next 90 years that Glencore International operates in El Cerrejon Zona Media, if the company continues to produce coal at a rate of 5 million tons/year, because of the reduction of the royalty tax from 10 to 15% to .04%. If the company, as is plausible, doubles or triples its production, the losses will be proportionally greater. The operational losses from the three large mining projects (El Cerrejon, La Loma, operated by Drummond, and Montelíbano, which produces ferronickel) for Colombia to more than 12 billion.
Coal production has grown rapidly, from 22.7 million tons in 1994 to 50.0 million tons in 2003. Over 90% of this amount was exported, making Colombia the world's sixth largest coal exporter, behind Australia, China, Indonesia, South Africa and Russia. From the mid-1980s the center of coal production was the Cerrejón mines in the Guajira department. However, the growth in output at La Loma in neighboring Cesar Department made this area the leader in Colombian coal production since 2004. Production in other departments, including Boyacá, Cundinamarca and Norte de Santander, forms about 13% of the total. The coal industry is largely controlled by international mining companies, including a consortium of BHP, Anglo American and Glencore at Cerrejón, and Conundrum Company at La Loma, which is undergoing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Alabama for union assassinations and alleged paramilitary links.
Foreign investment
Various attempts to open up the economy during the 1993-2023 period have been described by Portafolio as being "half-hearted". In 1990, to attract foreign investors and promote trade, an experiment from the International Monetary Fund known as "La Apertura" was adopted by the government, this policy was to modernize different sectors of the economy to increase the overall efficiency of production so as to bring down prices to internationally competitive levels. Although the analyses of the results are not clear, the fact is that the agricultural sector was severely impacted by this policy.
In 1991 and 1992, the government passed laws to stimulate foreign investment in nearly all sectors of the economy. The only activities closed to foreign direct investment are defense and national security, disposal of hazardous wastes, and real estate—the last of these restrictions is intended to hinder money laundering. Colombia established a special entity—Converter—to assist foreigners in making investments in the country. Foreign investment flows for 1999 were $4.4 billion, down from $4.8 billion in 1998.
Major foreign investment projects underway include the $6 billion development of the Cusiana and Cupiagua oil fields, development of coal fields in the north of the country, and the recently concluded licensing for establishment of cellular telephone service. The United States accounted for 26.5% of the total $19.4 billion stock of non-petroleum foreign direct investment in Colombia at the end of 1998.
On 21 October 1995, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), President Clinton signed an Executive Order barring U.S. entities from any commercial or financial transactions with four Colombian drug kingpins and with individuals and companies associated with the traffic in narcotics, as designated by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General. The list of designated individuals and companies is amended periodically and is maintained by the Office of Foreign Asset Control at the Department of the Treasury, tel. (202) 622-0077 (ask for Document #1900). The document also is available at the Department of Treasury website.
Colombia is the United States' fifth-largest export market in Latin America—behind Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina—and the 26th-largest market for U.S. products worldwide. The United States is Colombia's principal trading partner, with two-way trade from November 1999 through November 2000 exceeding $9.5 billion--$3.5 billion U.S. exports and $6.0 billion U.S. imports. Colombia benefits from duty-free entry—for a 10-year period, through 2001—for certain of its exports to the United States under the Andean Trade Preferences Act. Colombia improved protection of intellectual property rights through the adoption of three Andean Pact decisions in 1993 and 1994, but the U.S. remains concerned over deficiencies in licensing, patent regulations, and copyright protection.
Colombia is also the largest export partner of the Dutch constituent country of Aruba (39.4%).
The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP in 2013 was COP11,974.3mn (1.7% of GDP). This is forecast to rise by 7.4% to COP12,863.4mn in 2014. This primarily reflects the economic activity generated by industries such as hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services). But it also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists. The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP is expected to grow by 4.1% pa to COP19,208.4mn (1.8% of GDP) by 2024.
The number of tourists in Colombia grows by over 12% every year. Colombia is projected to have over 15 million tourists by 2023.
Eco-tourism
Eco-tourism is very promising in Colombia. Colombia has vast coastlines, mountainous areas, and tropical jungles. There are volcanoes and waterfalls as well. This makes Colombia a biodiverse country with many attractions for foreign visitors.
The Colombian coffee growing axis (Spanish: Eje Cafetero), also known as the Coffee Triangle (Spanish: Triángulo del Café), is a part of the Colombian Paisa region in the rural area of Colombia, which is famous for growing and production of a majority of Colombian coffee, considered by some as the best coffee in the world. There are three departments in the area: Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. These departments are among the smallest departments in Colombia with a total combined area of , about 1.2% of the Colombian territory. The combined population is 2,291,195 (2005 census).Transportation and telecommunications
Colombia's geography, with three cordilleras of the Andes running up the country from south to north, and jungle in the Amazon and Darién regions, represents a major obstacle to the development of national road networks with international connections. Thus, the basic nature of the country's transportation infrastructure is not surprising. In the spirit of the 1991 constitution, in 1993 the Ministry of Public
Works and Transportation was reorganized and renamed the Ministry of Transportation. In 2000 the new ministry strengthened its role as the planner and regulator within the sector.Air transportationColombia was a pioneer in promoting airlines in an effort to overcome its geographic barriers to transportation. The Colombian Company of Air Navigation, formed in 1919, was the second commercial airline in the world. It was not until the 1940s that Colombia's air transportation began growing significantly in the number of companies, passengers carried, and kilometers covered. In the early 2000s, an average of 72 percent of the passengers transported by air go to national destinations, while 28 percent travel internationally. One notable feature is that after the reforms of the beginning of the 1990s, the number of international passengers tripled by 2003. In 1993 the construction, administration, operation, and maintenance of the main airports transferred to departmental authorities and the private sector, including companies specializing in air transportation. Within this process, in 2006 the International Airport Operator (Opain), a Swiss-Colombian consortium, won the concession to manage and develop Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport. El Dorado is the largest airport in Latin America in terms of cargo traffic (33rd worldwide), with 622,145 metric tons in 2013, second in terms of traffic movements (45th worldwide) and third in terms of passengers (50th among the busiest airports in the world). In addition to El Dorado, Colombia's international airports are Palo Negro in Bucaramanga, Simón Bolívar in Santa Marta, Cortissoz in Barranquilla, Rafael Núñez in Cartagena, José María Córdova in Rionegro near Medellín, Alfonso Bonilla Aragón in Cali, Alfredo Vásquez Cobo in Leticia, Matecaña in Pereira, Gustavo Rojas Pinilla in San Andrés, and Camilo Daza in Cúcuta. In 2006 Colombia was generally reported to have a total of 984 airports, of which 103 had paved runways and 883 were unpaved. The Ministry of Transportation listed 581 airports in 2007, but it may have used a different methodology for counting them.
Colombia has a Gini coefficient of 51.7.
Retail
Hypermarkets and big-box stores are losing market participation in Colombian retail. Debt Between 1976 and 2006, Colombia's debt doubled every 10 years: in 1976 it was about $3.6 billion, in 1986 it was $7.2 billion, in 1996 it was over $16 billion and in 2006 it was over $36 billion. Since 2006, the growth of the debt has accelerated: it reached $72 billion in 2011 and reached $124 billion in 2017, which means that in less than 10 years Colombia's foreign debt has tripled. About a quarter of Colombia's annual budget, or $20 billion, goes to pay off the public debt. Corruption Corruption in public management in Colombia is widespread and structural in nature. This situation generates losses for the country estimated at 15 billion dollars. Colombia has not escaped the scandals involving millions of dollars in bribes from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, as well as the Cartagena refinery, a case of embezzlement of public funds that came to light in 2016 and involved members of the governments of Álvaro Uribe (2002–2010) and Juan Manuel Santos (2010–2018).
See also
* Taxation in Colombia
* WWB Colombia
* Economic history of Colombia
* List of companies of Colombia
* Colombia and the World Bank
* Economy of South America
* List of Colombian departments by GDP
* List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP growth
* List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (nominal)
* List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (PPP)
* 20,000 Colombian peso note
* 50,000 Colombian peso note
References
External links
* [http://www.investincolombia.com.co/colombia-economy Colombia Economy report – official Investment portal]
Colombia
Category:OECD member economies | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Colombia | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.773945 |
5840 | Communications in Colombia | Since being liberalized in 1991, the Colombian telecommunications sector has added new services, expanded coverage, improved efficiency, and lowered costs. The sector has had the second largest (after energy) investment in infrastructure (54 percent) since 1997. However, the economic downturn between 1999 and 2002 adversely affected telecommunications. During this period, Colombia's telecommunications industry lost US$2 billion despite a profit of US$1 billion in local service. In June 2003, the government liquidated the state-owned and heavily indebted National Telecommunications Company (Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones—Telecom) and replaced it with Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Colombia Telecom). The measure enabled the industry to expand rapidly, and in 2004 it constituted 2.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Telefónica of Spain acquired 50 percent plus one share of the company in 2006.
As a result of increasing competition, Colombia has a relatively modern telecommunications infrastructure that primarily serves larger towns and cities. Colombia's telecommunication system includes access to 8 different international Submarine cable systems, Intelsat, 11 domestic satellite Earth stations, and a nationwide microwave radio relay system. In mid-2004 mobile telephones overtook fixed lines in service for the first time. By 2005 Colombia had the highest mobile phone density (90 percent) in Latin America, as compared with the region's average density of 70 percent. The number of mobile telephone subscribers totaled an estimated 31 million in 2007, as compared to 21.8 million in 2005 and 6.8 million in 2001.
Radio and television
In late 2004, Radio Televisión Nacional de Colombia (RTVC) replaced the liquidated Inravisión (Instituto Nacional de Radio y Televisión) as the government-run radio and television broadcasting service, which oversees three national television stations and five radio companies (which operate about a dozen principal networks). Colombia has about 60 television stations, including seven low-power stations. In 2000 the population had about 11.9 million television receivers in use. Of the approximately 515 radio stations, 454 are AM; 34, FM; and 27, shortwave.
Undersea Cables
As of 2016, Colombia has access to the following international Submarine cable systems: SAC/LAN, Maya-1, AMX-1, Pan Am, SAm-1, ARCOS-1, CFX-1, and PCCS. These cables land at 4 locations in the Caribbean: Barranquilla, Cartagena, Riohacha, and Tolu. One cable lands on the Pacific Ocean coast at Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca.
Internet
Colombia is still far behind Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina in terms of online usage. It had an estimated total of 900,000 Internet subscribers by the end of 2005, a figure that equated to 4,739,000 Internet users, or 11.5 percent of the 2005 population (10.9 per 100 inhabitants). By late 2009 39% of households had internet access Colombia had 581,877 Internet hosts in 2006. Although as many as 70 percent of Colombians accessed the Internet over their ordinary telephone lines, dial-up access is losing ground to broadband. In 2005 Colombia had 345,000 broadband subscriber lines, or one per 100 inhabitants. In 2006 the number of personal computers per 1,000 people increased to an estimated 87 per 1,000 inhabitants, a rate still below that in other large Latin American economies. The internet country code is .co.
References
External links
Colombian Ministry of Communications
Comunicate.com.co, Coldecon, Internet Provider
Colombia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Colombia | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.818844 |
5841 | Transport in Colombia | thumb|right|Duplicate Highways of Colombia, in red
thumb|right|Túnel de Occidente in Antioquia. The tunnel was the longest in Latin America until the opening of La Línea in 2020.
Transport in Colombia is regulated by the Ministry of Transport.
Road travel is the main means of transport; 69 percent of cargo is transported by road, as compared with 27 percent by railroad, 3 percent by internal waterways, and 1 percent by air.
History
Indigenous peoples influence
thumb|right|Muisca culture golden raft
The indigenous peoples in Colombia used and some continue to use the waterways as the way of transportation using rafts and canoes.
Spanish influence
With the arrival of the Europeans the Spaniards brought the horses, mules and donkey (which developed into the Paso Fino) used by them in ranching duties later in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Horses contributed greatly to the transport of the Spanish conquerors and colonizers. They also introduced the wheel, and brought wooden carts and carriages to facilitate their transport. The Spaniards also developed the first roads, rudimentary and most of these in the Caribbean region. Due to the rough terrain of Colombia communications between regions was difficult and affected the effectiveness of the central government creating isolation in some regions. Maritime navigation developed locally after Spain lifted its restrictions on ports within the Spanish Empire inducing mercantilism. Spanish also transported African slaves and forcedly migrated many indigenous tribes throughout Colombia.
Post-independence
With the independence and the influences of the European Industrial Revolution the main way of transport in Colombia became the navigation mainly through the Magdalena River which connected Honda in inland Colombia, with Barranquilla by the Caribbean Sea to the trade with the United States and Europe. This also brought a large wave of immigrants from European and Middle Eastern countries. The industrialization process and transportation in Colombia were affected by the internal civil wars that surged after the independence from Spain and that continued throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Standardization
During the late 19th century European and American companies introduced railways to carry to the ports the local production of raw materials intended for exports and also imports from Europe. Steam ships began carrying Colombians, immigrants and goods from Europe and the United States over the Magdalena River.
thumb|right|The Pumarejo bridge in Barranquilla. The bridge serves to cross the Magdalena River between the Departments of Atlántico and Magdalena. It is also one of the oldest standing bridges in Colombia.
The Ministry of Transport was created in 1905 during the presidency of Rafael Reyes under the name of Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transporte or Ministry of Public Works and Transport with the main function of taking care of national assets issues, including mines, oil (fuel), patents and trade marks, railways, roads, bridges, national buildings and land without landowners.
In the early 20th century roads and highways maintenance and construction regulations were established. Rivers were cleaned, dragged and channeled and the navigational industry was organized. The Public works districts were created, as well as the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Colombia (National Railways of Colombia). Among other major projects developed were the aqueduct of Bogotá, La Regadera Dam and the Vitelma Water Treatment Plant. The Ministry also created the National Institute of Transit (from the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Tránsito), (INTRA) under the Transport and tariffs Directorate and was in charge of designing the first National roads plan with the support of many foreign multinational construction companies.
Aviation was born in Barranquilla with the creation of SCADTA in 1919 a joint venture between Colombians and Germans that delivered mail to the main cities of Colombia which later merged with SACO to form Avianca.
Infrastructure
Railways
thumb|200px|Railroads of Colombia
Colombia has of rail lines, of which are gauge and of which are gauge. However, only of lines are still in use. Rail transport in Colombia remains underdeveloped. The national railroad system, once the country's main mode of transport for freight, has been neglected in favor of road development and now accounts for only about a quarter of freight transport. Passenger-rail use was suspended in 1992 resumed at the end of the 1990s, and as of 2017 it is considered abandoned (at least for long distances). Fewer than 165,000 passenger journeys were made in 1999, as compared with more than 5 million in 1972, and the figure was only 160,130 in 2005. The two still-functioning passenger trains are: one between Puerto Berrío and García Cadena, and another one between Bogotá and Zipaquirá. There are plans to construct a deep-water port at Bahía Solano. A future light rail line in Barranquilla is planned.
Pipelines
Colombia has 4,350 kilometers of gas pipelines, 6,134 kilometers of oil pipelines, and 3,140 kilometers of refined-products pipelines. The country has five major oil pipelines, four of which connect with the Caribbean export terminal at Puerto Coveñas. Until at least September 2005, the United States funded efforts to help protect a major pipeline, the 769-kilometer-long Caño Limón–Puerto Coveñas pipeline, which carries about 20 percent of Colombia's oil production to Puerto Coveñas from the guerrilla-infested Arauca region in the eastern Andean foothills and Amazonian jungle. The number of attacks against pipelines began declining substantially in 2002. In 2004 there were only 17 attacks against the Caño Limón–Puerto Coveñas pipeline, down from 170 in 2001. However, a bombing in February 2005 shut the pipeline for several weeks, and attacks against the electrical gird system that provides energy to the Caño Limón oilfield have continued. New oil pipeline projects with Brazil and Venezuela are underway. In addition, the already strong cross-border trade links between Colombia and Venezuela were solidified in July 2004 with an agreement to build a US$320 million natural gas pipeline between the two countries, to be completed in 2008.
See also
Megabús
Railway stations in Colombia
References
External links
Colombian Ministry of Transport
Invias - Colombian National Institute of Highways
Colombian Maritime and Fluvial Port Authority
Colombian Civil Aerospace Authority | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Colombia | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.849587 |
5843 | Military Forces of Colombia | *
*
**
*
<!-- Leadership -->| commander-in-chief =
| commander-in-chief_title =
| minister =
| minister_title =
| commander = Major General Helder Fernan Giraldo
| commander_title =
| headquarters = Ministry of National Defense, Bogota D.C.
<!-- Manpower -->| age = 18
| conscription = 18 months (Army and Aerospace Force) <br /> 24 months (Navy) <br /> 12 Months (National Police)
| active 429 000
| ranked | reserve 998 000
| percent_GDP 2.9% <small>(2023)</small>
Services
The Colombian Constitution includes two overlapping definitions of what could be defined as 'armed forces' in English:
* The Public Force (): Includes the Military Forces proper and the National Police (Title VII, chapter VII, Art. 216)
* The Military Forces (): Includes only the 3 major military service branches: Army, Navy and Aerospace Force (Title VII, chapter VII, Art. 217)
This is a subtle yet important distinction, both in terms of emphasizing the civil nature of the National Police, but also adapting the national police to function as a paramilitary force which can perform military duties as a result of the Colombian Conflict. This has led to some of the most important police units adopting military training and conducting special operations alongside the Colombian Army, Aerospace Force, and Navy. Therefore, the functions of the Colombian Police in practical terms are similar to those of a gendarmerie, like the Spanish Civil Guard and the Carabineros de Chile, which maintain military ranks for all police personnel.
Personnel
The Colombian armed forces consist of: <br/>
Military Forces:
* Colombian Army
* Colombian Navy – and attached services Marines and Colombian Coast Guard
* Colombian Aerospace Force
And,
* National Police of Colombia
Public Force strength as of April 2014.
{|class"wikitable collapsible" style"width:50%; margin:1em auto;"
|- style="background-color:#CCCCCC; align:wrap"
|Force||Service
|Officers||Total
|-
|Military|| Colombian Army
|10,094||246,325
|-
|Military|| Colombian Navy
|2,481||33,824
|-
|Military|| Colombian Aerospace Force
|2,679||13,928
|-
|Public|| Colombian National Police
|6,924||176,557
|- style"background-color:#CCCCCC; font-weight:bold; align:left"
| colspan="2" |Total
|22,178||470, 634
|}
Dependencies
* Military Medical Corps ('') – Medical and Nurse Corps
* Indumil () – Military Industry Depot
* Military Sports Federation ()
* Military Printing ()
* Military Museum () – History of the Armed Forces of Colombia
* Superior War College (Escuela Superior de Guerra (Colombia) ESDEGUE)
Funding
In 2000, Colombia assigned 3.9% of its GDP to defense. By 2008 this figure had risen to 4.8%, ranking it 14th in the world. The armed forces number about 250,000 uniformed personnel: 145,000 military and 105,000 police. These figures do not include assistance personnel such as cooks, medics, mechanics, and so on. This makes the Colombian military one of the largest and most well-equipped in Latin America. Many Colombian military personnel have received military training assistance directly in Colombia and also in the United States. The United States has provided equipment and financing to the Colombian military and police through the military assistance program, foreign military sales, and the international narcotics control program, all currently united under the auspices of Plan Colombia.World factbook statistics
*Military manpower – military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation – 24 months (2004)
*Military manpower – availability:
**males age 18–49: 10,212,456
**females age 18–49: 10,561,562 (2005 estimate)
*Military manpower – fit for military service:
**males age 18–49: 6,986,228
**females age 18–49: 8,794,465 (2005 estimate)
*Military manpower – reaching military age annually:
**males age 18–49: 389,735
**females age 18–49: 383,146 (2005 estimate)
Rank Insignia
:
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Colombian Air Force Sikorsky UH-60L Arpía III (S-70A-41) Ramírez-1.jpg|Colombian Aerospace Force Sikorsky UH-60L Arpía III (S-70A-41) just after having launched several flares.
File:Infantes de marina colombia.JPG|Colombian Marines
File:Arc fragata caldas.jpg|Colombian Navy Frigate ARC Caldas
File:Special Forces Colombia.jpg|Colombian Special Forces soldiers
File:ARC Almirante Padilla.jpg|A vessel of the Colombian Navy
</gallery>
See also
* AFEUR
* Colombia
* Colombian Army
* Colombian military decorations
* Indumil
* Joint Task Force OMEGA
* Military ranks of the Colombian Armed Forces
References and notes
*Includes 435 sub-officers and 3,125 agents
*Includes 123,125 executive personnel and 23,562 Auxiliary conscript
External links
* [http://www.mindefensa.gov.co Ministerio de Defensa de Colombia] – Official Ministry of Defense site
* [http://www.cgfm.mil.co Comando General de las Fuerzas Militares] – Official Armed Forces General Command
* [http://www.ejercito.mil.co Ejército Nacional de Colombia] – Official Army site
* [http://www.army.mil.co Ejército Nacional de Colombia] – Official Army site
* [http://www.armada.mil.co Armada Nacional de Colombia] – Official Navy site ()
* [http://www.fac.mil.co Fuérza Aeroespacial Colombiana] – Official Aerospace Force site
* [http://www.policia.gov.co Policía Nacional de Colombia] – Official National Police site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081202121743/http://unffmm.com/ UNFFMM ] – Unofficial site of the Colombian Military Forces
Other Links
* [http://www.eclac.cl/publicaciones/SecretariaEjecutiva/7/lcg2067/gihaesp.pdf#search%22gasto%20militar%20colombia%22 Colombian Military expenditure ] Bibliography *
Category:Military of Colombia
Category:Ministry of National Defense (Colombia)
fr:Armée nationale colombienne | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Forces_of_Colombia | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.921575 |
5844 | History of Colombia | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
The history of Colombia includes its settlement by indigenous peoples
and the establishment of agrarian societies, notably the Muisca Confederation, Quimbaya Civilization, and Tairona Chiefdoms. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of annexation and colonization, ultimately creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada, with its capital at Bogotá. Independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 the resulting "Gran Colombia" Federation was dissolved. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada. The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858) and then the United States of Colombia (1863) before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. A period of constant political violence ensued, and Panama seceded in 1903. Since the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict which escalated in the 1990s but decreased from 2005 onward. The legacy of Colombia's history has resulted in a rich cultural heritage,
and Colombia's geographic and climatic variations have contributed to the development of strong regional identities.
Pre-Colombian
From approximately 12,000 years BP onwards, hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day Bogotá (at El Abra and Tequendama), and they traded with one another and with cultures living in the Magdalena River valley. Due to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human migration from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to the Andes and the Amazon basin. The oldest archaeological finds are from the Pubenza archaeological site and El Totumo archaeological site in the Magdalena Valley southwest of Bogotá. These sites date from the Paleoindian period (18.000–8000 BCE). At Puerto Hormiga archaeological site and other sites, traces from the Archaic period in South America (~8000–2000 BCE) have been found. Vestiges indicate that there was also early occupation in the regions of El Abra, Tibitó and Tequendama in Cundinamarca. The oldest pottery discovered in the Americas, found at San Jacinto archaeological site, dates to 5000–4000 BCE.
Indigenous people inhabited the territory that is now Colombia by 10.500 BCE. Nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes at the El Abra and Tequendama sites near present-day Bogotá traded with one another and with other cultures from the Magdalena River Valley.
Serranía de la Lindosa, a mountainous region of Guaviare Department, is known for an extensive prehistoric rock art site which stretches for nearly eight miles. Some authors have argued that the site depicts now extinct animals such as horses, gomphotheres and ground sloths and that it was painted around 12,600 years ago, but other authors have argued that the drawings depict modern (including domestic) animals and were created in the last 500 years after European contact.
Between 5000 and 1000 BCE, hunter-gatherer tribes transitioned to agrarian societies; fixed settlements were established, and pottery appeared. Beginning in the 1st millennium BCE, groups of Amerindians including the Muisca, Quimbaya, Tairona, Calima, Zenú, Tierradentro, San Agustín, Tolima and Urabá became skilled in farming, mining and metalcraft; and some developed the political system of cacicazgos with a pyramidal structure of power headed by caciques. The Muisca inhabited mainly the area of what is now the Departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca high plateau (Altiplano Cundiboyacense) where they formed the Muisca Confederation. The Muisca had one of the most developed political systems (Muisca Confederation) in South America, surpassed only by the Incas. They farmed maize, potato, quinoa and cotton, and traded gold, emeralds, blankets, ceramic handicrafts, coca and especially salt with neighboring nations. The Tairona inhabited northern Colombia in the isolated Andes mountain range of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The Quimbaya inhabited regions of the Cauca River Valley between the Western and Central Ranges. The Incas expanded their empire on the southwest part of the country. During the 1200s, Malayo-Polynesians and Native Americans in Colombia made contact, thereby spreading Native American genetics from Precolonial Colombia to some Pacific Ocean islands.
<gallery mode"packed" style"font-size:88%; line-height:130%; border-bottom:1px #aaa solid;" heights"180" caption"Pre-Columbian">
Muisca raft Legend of El Dorado Offerings of gold.jpg|The zipa used to cover his body in gold and. from his Muisca raft. he offered treasures to the Guatavita goddess in the middle of the sacred lake. This old Muisca tradition became the origin of the El Dorado legend.
Museo del Oro Zenú Bogota mod.jpg|A lowland Zenú cast-gold bird ornament that served as a staff head. dated 490 CE. This culture used alloys with a high gold content. The crest of the bird consists of the typical Zenú semi-filigree. Regular filigree is braided wire. but the Zenú cast theirs.
Taironapendants metropolitan 2006.jpg|Tairona figure pendants in gold
Cacique Quimbaya de oro (M. América, Madrid) 01.jpg|Golden statuette of a Quimbaya cacique
Parque Arqueológico de San Agustín - tomb of a deity with supporting warriors.jpg|San Agustín Archaeological Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site) contains the largest collection of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in Latin America, and is considered the world's largest necropolis.
Lost City Ruins.jpg|Ciudad Perdida is a major settlement believed to have been founded around 800 CE. It consists of a series of 169 terraces carved into the mountainside, a net of tiled roads and several small circular plazas. The entrance can only be accessed by a climb up some 1,200 stone steps through dense jungle.
Villa de Leyva el infiernito.jpg|El Infiernito, a pre-Columbian archaeoastronomical site located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the outskirts of Villa de Leyva
</gallery>
Colonial Period
Pre-Columbian history
thumb|Major areas of pre-Columbian civilization in the Americas:
]]
at the time of conquest was Tisquesusa. He led numerous efforts to resist Spanish invasion but was eventually killed in battle. His nephew, Sagipa, succeeded him and soon submitted to the conquistadors.]]
Europeans first visited the territory that became Colombia in 1499 when the first expedition of Alonso de Ojeda arrived at the Cabo de la Vela. The Spanish made several attempts to settle along the north coast of today's Colombia in the early 16th century, but their first permanent settlement, at Santa Marta, dates from 1525. The Spanish commander Pedro de Heredia founded Cartagena on June 1, 1533, in the former location of the indigenous Caribbean Calamarí village. Cartagena grew rapidly, fueled first by the gold in the tombs of the Sinú culture, and later by trade. The thirst for gold and land lured Spanish explorers to visit Chibchan-speaking areas; resulting in the Spanish conquest of the Chibchan Nations - the conquest by the Spanish monarchy of the Chibcha language-speaking nations, mainly the Muisca and Tairona who inhabited present-day Colombia, beginning the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
The Spanish advance inland from the Caribbean coast began independently from three different directions, under Jimenéz de Quesáda, Sebastián de Benalcázar (known in Colombia as Belalcázar) and Nikolaus Federmann. Although all three were drawn by the Indian treasures, none intended to reach Muisca territory. where they finally met. In August 1538, Quesáda founded Santa Fe de Bogotá on the site of Muisca village of Bacatá.
In 1549, the institution of the Spanish Royal Audiencia in Bogotá gave that city the status of capital of New Granada, which comprised in large part what is now the territory of Colombia. As early as the 1500s, however, secret anti-Spanish discontentment was already brewing for Colombians since Spain prohibited direct trade between the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included Colombia, and the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which included the Philippines, the source of Asian products like silk and porcelain which was in demand in the Americas. Illegal trade between Peruvians, Filipinos, and Mexicans continued in secret, as smuggled Asian goods ended up in Córdoba, Colombia, the distribution center for illegal Asian imports, due to the collusion between these peoples against the authorities in Spain. They settled and traded with each other while disobeying the forced Spanish monopoly in more expensive silks and porcelain made in homeland Spain. In 1717, the Viceroyalty of New Granada was originally created, and then it was temporarily removed, to finally be reestablished in 1739. Felipe Salonga a rebel Filipino who mixed Christianity with Islam and was from the formerly Muslim kingdom Manila and who was implicated in the Tondo Conspiracy, was presumably exiled to the location of what is now the Viceroyalty of New Granada (Named after a formerly Islamic kingdom in Spain) in the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada he fomented opposition against Spain among the oppressed Native Americas. The viceroyalty had Santa Fé de Bogotá as its capital. This viceroyalty included some other provinces of northwestern South America which had previously been under the jurisdiction of the viceroyalties of New Spain or Peru and correspond mainly to today's Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. Bogotá became one of the principal administrative centers of the Spanish possessions in the New World, along with Lima and Mexico City.
Gran Colombia: independence re-claimed
was crucial in the Battle of Boyacá.]]
From then on, the long independence struggle was led mainly by Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander in neighboring Venezuela. Bolívar returned to New Granada only in 1819 after establishing himself as leader of the pro-independence forces in the Venezuelan llanos. From there he led an army over the Andes and captured New Granada after a quick campaign that ended at the Battle of Boyacá on August 7, 1819. (For more information. see Military career of Simón Bolívar.)
That year, the Congress of Angostura established the Republic of Gran Colombia, which included all territories under the jurisdiction of the former Viceroyalty of New Granada. Bolívar was elected the first president of Gran Colombia and Santander, vice president.
As the Federation of Gran Colombia was dissolved in 1830, the Department of Cundinamarca (as established in Angostura) became a new country, the Republic of New Granada.
Colombia was the first nation in the Andean area to believe that racial inferiority was the cause of many of its initial problems. Creoles in the country believed that non-white citizens, mainly Indians and Africans, were lazy and holding the nation back. This led to an attempt to make a homogenous society that reflected the so-called good qualities of white people. These ideals led to a long-lasting racial and geographical segregation.
However, Colombia demonstrated a notable commitment to civil rights during the nineteenth century. The Colombian Constitution of 1863 made liberal promises for a broad range of civil rights, reflecting principles similar to those found in the United States Constitution, such as freedom of association, press, speech, religion, and due process. Colombia also abolished the death penalty during this time. Lastly, Colombian society embraced inclusivity, emphasizing that rights should be granted "universally without notice of sex nor differences of color nor unjust preferences of fortune, nor distinctions of age". The Republic: Liberal and Conservative conflict
In 1863 the name of the republic was changed officially to "United States of Colombia," and in 1886 the country adopted its present name: "Republic of Colombia".
Two political parties grew out of conflicts between the followers of Bolívar and Santander and their political visions—the Conservatives and the Liberals – and have since dominated Colombian politics. Bolívar's supporters, who later formed the nucleus of the Conservative Party, sought strong centralized government, alliance with the Roman Catholic Church, and a limited franchise. Santander's followers, forerunners of the Liberals, wanted a decentralized government, state rather than church control over education and other civil matters, and a broadened suffrage. During the mid-19th century, Colombia embraced a vision of "American republican modernity," which emphasized democratic republicanism, universal male suffrage, and civil rights as markers of progress, positioning the country as a leader in the Atlantic World. This period saw Colombia enact significant political reforms, such as the 1853 Constitution, which eliminated property and literacy requirements for voting, making it one of the most democratic nations of its time. However, by the 1880s, Colombia shifted toward Western industrial modernity, prioritizing economic development and state centralization over the earlier focus on political rights, leading to the adoption of the 1886 Constitution and the end of its republican experiment.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, each party held the presidency for roughly equal periods of time. Colombia maintained a tradition of civilian government and regular, free elections. The military has seized power three times in Colombia's history: in 1830, after the dissolution of Great Colombia; again in 1854 (by General José María Melo); and from 1953 to 1957 (under General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla). Civilian rule was restored within one year in the first two instances.
Notwithstanding the country's commitment to democratic institutions, Colombia's history has also been characterized by widespread, violent conflict. Two civil wars resulted from bitter rivalry between the Conservative and Liberal parties. The Thousand Days' War (1899–1902) cost an estimated 100.000 lives, and up to 300.000 people died during "La Violencia" of the late 1940s and 1950s, a bipartisan confrontation which erupted after the assassination of Liberal popular candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. United States activity to influence the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to a military uprising in the Isthmus Department in 1903, which resulted in the separation and independence of Panama.
A military coup in 1953 toppled the right-wing government of Conservative Laureano Gómez and brought General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla to power. Initially, Rojas enjoyed considerable popular support, due largely to his success in reducing "La Violencia." When he did not restore democratic rule and occasionally engaged in open repression, however, he was overthrown by the military in 1957 with the backing of both political parties, and a provisional government was installed.
The National Front regime (1958–1974)
In July 1957, former Conservative President Laureano Gómez (1950–1953) and former Liberal President Alberto Lleras (1945–1946. 1958–1962) issued the "Declaration of Sitges," in which they proposed a "National Front," whereby the Liberal and Conservative parties would govern jointly. The presidency would be determined by an alternating conservative and liberal president every 4 years for 16 years; the two parties would have parity in all other elective offices.
The National Front ended "La Violencia," and National Front administrations attempted to institute far-reaching social and economic reforms in cooperation with the Alliance for Progress. In particular, the Liberal president Alberto Lleras Camargo (1958–1962) created the Colombian Institute for Agrarian Reform (INCORA), and Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1966–1970) further developed land entitlement. In 1968 and 1969 alone, the INCORA issued more than 60.000 land titles to farmers and workers.
In the end, the contradictions between each successive Liberal and Conservative administration made the results decidedly mixed. Despite the progress in certain sectors, many social and political injustices continued.
The National Front system itself eventually began to be seen as a form of political repression by dissidents and even many mainstream voters, and many protesters were victimized during this period. Especially after what was later confirmed as the fraudulent election of Conservative candidate Misael Pastrana in 1970, which resulted in the defeat of the relatively populist candidate and former president (dictator) Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. The M-19 guerrilla movement, "Movimiento 19 de Abril" (19 April Movement), would eventually be founded in part as a response to this particular event. The FARC was formed in 1964 by Manuel Marulanda Vélez and other Marxist–Leninist supporters after a military attack on the community of Marquetalia.
Although the system established by the Sitges agreement was phased out by 1974, the 1886 Colombian constitution — in effect until 1991—required that the losing political party be given adequate and equitable participation in the government, which, according to many observers and later analysis, eventually resulted in some increase in corruption and legal relaxation. The current 1991 constitution does not have that requirement, but subsequent administrations have tended to include members of opposition parties.
Post-National Front
From 1974 until 1982, different presidential administrations chose to focus on ending the persistent insurgencies that sought to undermine Colombia's traditional political system. Both groups claimed to represent the poor and weak against the rich and powerful classes of the country, demanding the completion of true land and political reform from an openly Communist perspective.
By 1974, another challenge to the state's authority and legitimacy had come from 19th of April Movement (M-19), a mostly urban guerrilla group founded in response to an alleged electoral fraud during the final National Front election of Misael Pastrana Borrero (1970–1974) and the defeat of former dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. Initially, the M-19 attracted a degree of attention and sympathy from mainstream Colombians that the FARC and National Liberation Army (ELN) had found largely elusive earlier due to extravagant and daring operations, such as stealing a sword that had belonged to Colombia's Independence hero Simon Bolívar. At the same time, its larger profile soon made it the focus of the state's counterinsurgency efforts.
The ELN guerrilla had been seriously crippled by military operations in the region of Anorí by 1974, but it managed to reconstitute itself and escape destruction, in part due to the administration of Alfonso López Michelsen (1974–1978) allowing it to escape encirclement, hoping to initiate a peace process with the group.
By 1982, the perceived passivity of the FARC, together with the relative success of the government's efforts against the M-19 and ELN, enabled the administration of the Liberal Party's Julio César Turbay (1978–1982) to lift a state-of-siege decree that had been in effect, on and off, for most of the previous 30 years. Under the latest such decree, president Turbay had implemented security policies that, though of some military value against the M-19 in particular, were considered highly questionable both inside and outside Colombian circles due to numerous accusations of military human rights abuses against suspects and captured guerrillas.
Citizen exhaustion due to the conflict's newfound intensity led to the election of president Belisario Betancur (1982–1986), a Conservative who won 47% of the popular vote, directed peace feelers at all the insurgents, and negotiated a 1984 cease-fire with the FARC and M-19 after a 1982 release of many guerrillas imprisoned during the previous effort to overpower them. The ELN rejected entering any negotiation and continued to recover itself through the use of extortions and threats, in particular against foreign oil companies of European and U.S. origin.
As these events were developing, the growing illegal drug trade and its consequences were also increasingly becoming a matter of widespread importance to all participants in the Colombian conflict. Guerrillas and newly wealthy drug lords had mutually uneven relations, and thus numerous incidents occurred between them. Eventually, the kidnapping of drug cartel family members by guerrillas led to the creation of the 1981 Muerte a Secuestradores (MAS) death squad ("Death to Kidnappers"). Pressure from the U.S. government and critical sectors of Colombian society was met with further violence, as the Medellín Cartel and its hitmen bribed or murdered numerous public officials, politicians and others who stood in its way by supporting the implementation of extradition of Colombian nationals to the U.S. Victims of cartel violence included Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara, whose assassination in 1984 made the Betancur administration begin to directly oppose the drug lords.
The first negotiated cease-fire with the M-19 ended when the guerrillas resumed fighting in 1985, claiming that the cease-fire had not been fully respected by official security forces, saying that several of its members had suffered threats and assaults, and also questioning the government's real willingness to implement any accords. The Betancur administration, in turn, questioned the M-19's actions and its commitment to the peace process, as it continued to advance high-profile negotiations with the FARC, which led to the creation of the Patriotic Union (Colombia) (UP), a legal and non-clandestine political organization.
On November 6, 1985, the M-19 stormed the Colombian Palace of Justice and held the Supreme Court magistrates hostage, intending to put president Betancur on trial. In the ensuing crossfire that followed the military's reaction, scores of people lost their lives, as did most of the guerrillas, including several high-ranking operatives. Both sides blamed each other for the outcome.
Meanwhile, individual FARC members initially joined the UP leadership in representation of the guerrilla command, though most of the guerrilla's chiefs and militiamen did not demobilize nor disarm, as that was not a requirement of the process at that point in time. Tension soon significantly increased as both sides began to accuse each other of not respecting the cease-fire. Political violence against FARC and UP members (including presidential candidate Jaime Pardo) was blamed on drug lords and also on members of the security forces (to a much lesser degree on the argued inaction of Betancur administration). Members of the government and security authorities increasingly accused the FARC of continuing to recruit guerrillas. as well as kidnapping, extorting and politically intimidating voters even as the UP was already participating in politics.
The Virgilio Barco (1986–1990) administration, in addition to continuing to handle the difficulties of the complex negotiations with the guerrillas, also inherited a particularly chaotic confrontation against the drug lords, who were engaged in a campaign of terrorism and murder in response to government moves in favor of their extradition overseas. The UP also suffered an increasing number of losses during this term (including the assassination of presidential candidate Bernardo Jaramillo), which stemmed both from private proto-paramilitary organizations, increasingly powerful drug lords and a number of would-be paramilitary-sympathizers within the armed forces.
Post-1990
Following administrations had to contend with the guerrillas, paramilitaries, narcotics traffickers and the violence and corruption that they all perpetuated, both through force and negotiation. Narcoterrorists assassinated three presidential candidates before César Gaviria was elected in 1990. Since the death of Medellín cartel leader Pablo Escobar in a police shootout in December 1993, indiscriminate acts of violence associated with that organization have abated as the "cartels" have broken up into multiple smaller and often-competing trafficking organizations. Nevertheless, violence continues as these drug organizations resort to violence as part of their operations but also to protest government policies, including extradition.
The M-19 and several smaller guerrilla groups were successfully incorporated into a peace process as the 1980s ended and the 1990s began, which culminated in the elections for a Constituent Assembly of Colombia that would write a new constitution, which took effect in 1991. The new Constitution brought about a considerable number of institutional and legal reforms based on principles that the delegates considered as more modern, humanist, democratic and politically open than those in the 1886 constitution. Practical results were mixed and mingled emerged (such as the debate surrounding the constitutional prohibition of extradition, which later was reversed), but together with the reincorporation of some of the guerrilla groups to the legal political framework, the new Constitution inaugurated an era that was both a continuation and a gradual, but significant, departure from what had come before.
Contacts with the FARC, which had irregularly continued despite the generalized de facto interruptions of the ceasefire and the official 1987 break from negotiations, were temporarily cut off in 1990 under the presidency of César Gaviria (1990–1994). The Colombian Army's assault on the FARC's Casa Verde sanctuary at La Uribe, Meta, followed by a FARC offensive that sought to undermine the deliberations of the Constitutional Assembly, began to highlight a significant break in the uneven negotiations carried over from the previous decade.
President Ernesto Samper assumed office in August 1994. However, a political crisis relating to large-scale contributions from drug traffickers to Samper's presidential campaign diverted attention from governance programs, thus slowing, and in many cases, halting progress on the nation's domestic reform agenda. The military also suffered several setbacks in its fight against the guerrillas when several of its rural bases began to be overrun and a record number of soldiers and officers were taken prisoner by the FARC (which since 1982 was attempting to implement a more "conventional" style of warfare. seeking to eventually defeat the military in the field).
On August 7, 1998, Andrés Pastrana was sworn in as the President of Colombia. A member of the Conservative Party, Pastrana defeated Liberal Party candidate Horacio Serpa in a run-off election marked by high voter turnout and little political unrest. The new president's program was based on a commitment to bring about a peaceful resolution of Colombia's longstanding civil conflict and to cooperate fully with the United States to combat the trafficking of illegal drugs.
While early initiatives in the Colombian peace process gave reason for optimism, the Pastrana administration also has had to combat high unemployment and other economic problems, such as the fiscal deficit and the impact of global financial instability on Colombia. During his administration, unemployment has risen to over 20%. Additionally, the growing severity of countrywide guerrilla attacks by the FARC and ELN. and smaller movements, as well as the growth of drug production, corruption and the spread of even more violent paramilitary groups such as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) has made it difficult to solve the country's problems.
Although the FARC and ELN accepted participation in the peace process, they did not make explicit commitments to end the conflict. The FARC suspended talks in November 2000, to protest what it called "paramilitary terrorism" but returned to the negotiating table in February 2001 following 2 days of meetings between President Pastrana and FARC leader Manuel Marulanda. The Colombian Government and ELN in early 2001 continued discussions aimed at opening a formal peace process.
From 2004 and on
By 2004, the security situation of Colombia had shown improvement, and the economy, while still fragile, had also shown some positive signs. On the other hand, relatively little had been accomplished in structurally solving most of the country's other grave problems, in part due to legislative and political conflicts between the administration and the Colombian Congress (including those over the controversial 2006 project to give President Álvaro Uribe the right to be re-elected), and a relative lack of freely allocated funds and credits. In October 2006, Uribe was re-elected by a landslide.
Some critical observers consider in retrospect that Uribe's policies, while admittedly reducing crime and guerrilla activity, were too slanted in favor of a military solution to Colombia's internal war, neglecting grave social and human rights concerns to a certain extent. They hoped that Uribe's government would make serious efforts towards improving the human rights situation inside the country, protecting civilians and reducing any abuses committed by the armed forces.
Uribe's supporters in turn believed that increased military action was a necessary prelude to any serious negotiation attempt with the guerrillas and that the increased security situation would help the government, in the long term, to focus more actively on reducing most wide-scale abuses and human rights violations on the part of both the armed groups and any rogue security forces that might have links to the paramilitaries. In short, these supporters maintained that the security situation needed to be stabilized in favor of the government before any other social concerns could take precedence. In February 2010, the constitutional court blocked President Alvaro Uribe from seeking re-election again. Uribe left the presidency in 2010.
In 2010, Juan Manuel Santos was elected president; he was supported by ex-president Uribe, and he owed his election mainly through having won over former Uribe supporters. But two years after winning the presidential election, Santos (to widespread surprise) began peace talks with FARC. which took place in Havana. Re-elected in 2014, Santos revived an important infrastructure program, which had been planned during the Uribe administration. Focused mainly on the provision of national highways, the program was led by former vice-president Germán Vargas Lleras.
In 2015, Colombia's Congress limited presidency to single term, preventing the president from seeking re-election.
Talks between the government and the guerrillas resulted in the announcement of a peace agreement. However, a referendum to ratify the deal was unsuccessful. Afterward, the Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal in November 2016, which the Colombian congress approved. In 2016, President Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The government began a process of attention and comprehensive reparation for victims of conflict. Colombia under President Santos showed some progress in the struggle to defend human rights, as expressed by HRW. A Special Jurisdiction of Peace was created to investigate, clarify, prosecute and punish serious human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law which occurred during the armed conflict and to satisfy victims' right to justice. During his visit to Colombia, Pope Francis paid tribute to the victims of the conflict.
In May 2018, Ivan Duque, the candidate of the conservative Centro Democrático (Democratic Centre), won the presidential election. On 7 August 2018, he was sworn in as the new president of Colombia.
Colombia's relations with Venezuela have fluctuated due to the ideological differences between both governments. Colombia has offered humanitarian support with food and medicines to mitigate the shortage of supplies in Venezuela. Colombia's Foreign Ministry said that all efforts to resolve Venezuela's crisis should be peaceful. Colombia proposed the idea of the Sustainable Development Goals and a final document was adopted by the United Nations. In February 2019, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro cut diplomatic relations with Colombia after Colombian President Ivan Duque helped Venezuelan opposition politicians deliver humanitarian aid to their country. Colombia recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate president. In January 2020, Colombia rejected Maduro's proposal that the two countries restore diplomatic relations.
The 19 June 2022 election run-off vote ended in a win for former guerrilla Gustavo Petro, taking 50.47% of the vote compared to 47.27% of right-wing Rodolfo Hernández. The single-term limit for the country's presidency prevented president Iván Duque from seeking re-election. Petro became the country's first leftist president-elect. On 7 August 2022, he was sworn in. See also
* Colombia during World War II
* Economic history of Colombia
* History of the Americas
* History of Latin America
* History of South America
* List of presidents of Colombia
* Politics of Colombia
* Spanish colonization of the Americas
References
Bibliography
* Further reading
* Alesina, Alberto, ed. Institutional reforms: The case of Colombia (MIT press, 2005).
* Earle, Rebecca. Spain and the Independence of Colombia, 1810–1825. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2000.
* Echavarría, Juan José, María Angélica Arbeláez, and Alejandro Gaviria. "Recent economic history of Colombia." in Institutional Reforms: The Case of Colombia (2005): 33–72.
* Echeverry, Juan Carlos, et al. "Oil in Colombia: history, regulation and macroeconomic impact." Documento CEDE 2008-10 (2008). [https://repositorio.uniandes.edu.co/bitstream/handle/1992/8105/dcede2009-10.pdf?sequence=1 online]
* Etter, Andrés, Clive McAlpine, and Hugh Possingham. "Historical patterns and drivers of landscape change in Colombia since 1500: a regionalized spatial approach." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 98.1 (2008): 2-23.
* Farnsworth-Alvear, Ann. ''Dulcinea in the Factory: Myths, Morals, Men, and Women in Colombia's Industrial Experiment, 1905–1960. Duke University Press 2000.
* Fisher, J.R. Allan J. Kuethe, and Anthony McFarlane. Reform and Insurrection in Bourbon New Granada and Peru. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press 1990.
* Flores, Thomas Edward. "Vertical inequality, land reform, and insurgency in Colombia." Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy'' 20.1 (2014): 5-31. [http://www.thomas-flores.com/uploads/1/6/7/1/16717758/2014._flores_vertical_inequality_land_reform_and_insurgency_in_colombia.pdf online]
* Harvey, Robert. "Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence, 1810–1830". John Murray, London (2000).
* Kuethe, Allan J. Military Reform and Society in New Granada, 1773–1808. Gainesville: University of Florida Press 1978.
* LeGrand, Catherine. Frontier Expansion and Peasant Protest in Colombia, 1850–1936. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 1986.
* López-Pedreros, A. Ricardo. Makers of democracy: a transnational history of the middle classes in Colombia (Duke University Press, 2019).
* McFarlane, Anthony. Colombia Before Independence: Economy, Society, and Politics under Bourbon Rule. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
* Martz, John D. The politics of clientelism in Colombia: Democracy and the state (Routledge, 2017).
* Murillo, Mario A., and Jesus Rey Avirama. Colombia and the United States: war, unrest, and destabilization (Seven Stories Press, 2004).
* Phelan, John Leddy. The People and the King: The Comunero Revolt in Colombia, 1781. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press 1978.
* Racine, Karen. "Simón Bolívar and friends: Recent biographies of independence figures in Colombia and Venezuela" History Compass 18#3 (Feb 2020) https://doi.org/10.1111/hic3.12608
* Roldán, Mary. Blood and Fire: La Violencia in Antioquia, Colombia 1946–1953. Durham: Duke University Press 2002.
* Safford, Frank. Colombia: Fragmented Land, Divided Society. New York: Oxford University Press 2002.
* Sharp, William Frederick. Slavery on the Spanish Frontier: The Colombia Chocó, 1680–1810. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1976.
* Thorp, Rosemary, and Francisco Durand. "8. A Historical View of Business-State Relations: Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela Compared." in Business and the state in developing countries. (Cornell University Press, 2018) pp. 216–236.
* Twinam, Ann. Miners, Merchants, and Farmers in Colonial Colombia. Austin: University of Texas Press 1983.
* West, Robert C. Colonial Placer Mining in Colombia. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press 1952.
In Spanish
* Arciniegas, Germán. Los comuneros. Caracas: Bibliotecta Ayacucho 1992.
* Colmenares, Germán. Historia económica y social de Colombia, 1537–1719. Cali 1973.
* González, Margarita. El resguardo en el Nuevo Reino de Granada. 3rd edition. Bogotá: El Ancora 1992.
External links
*
* [https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35754.htm U.S. State Department Background Note: Colombia] | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Colombia | 2025-04-05T18:27:33.970986 |
5845 | Foreign relations of Colombia | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
Colombia seeks diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political or economic systems. For this reason, the Colombian economy is quite open, relying on international trade and following guidelines given by international law.
Since 2008, Colombia's Ministry of Trade and Commerce has either reached or strengthened Bilateral Trade Agreements with South Korea, Japan and China building stronger commerce interchange and development in the Pacific Rim.
Regional relations have also vastly improved under the Santos Administration (2010–2018). Issues however remain regarding spillover of the FARC leftist-terrorist group, being chased out of hiding in rural areas of Colombia and finding safe havens in non-monitored areas of bordering states. The FARC numbers have significantly diminished in the last decade, to an estimated 5,000–7,000. And while joint military collaboration has steadily increased with the bordering countries of Brazil, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela, there have been tensions between Colombia and Ecuador regarding the issue. In 2002, the Ecuadorian government closed its main border crossing with Colombia, restricting its hours of operation. Ecuador continues to voice its concerns over an influx of émigrés stemming from guerilla activity at its borders. Evidence has since emerged however, suggesting that a significant number of the FARC's foot soldiers in and around the Colombia–Ecuador border consist of Ecuadorian émigrés who joined the leftist terrorist group out of need. Returning Ecuadorian émigrés have faced re-entry restrictions.
In 2012, relations with Nicaragua and Venezuela were tested over territorial island disputes. Bilateral committees are negotiating the dispute with Venezuela over waters in the Gulf of Venezuela.
Background
In 1969, Colombia formed what is now the Andean Community along with Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru (Venezuela joined in 1973, and Chile left in 1976).
In the 1980s, Colombia broadened its bilateral and multilateral relations, joining the Contadora Group, the Group of Eight (now the Rio Group), and the Non-Aligned Movement, which it chaired from 1994 until September 1998. In addition, it has signed free trade agreements with Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela.
Colombia has traditionally played an active role in the United Nations and the Organization of American States and in their subsidiary agencies. Former President César Gaviria became Secretary General of the OAS in September 1994 and was reelected in 1999. Colombia was a participant in the December 1994 and April 1998 Summits of the Americas and followed up on initiatives developed at the summit by hosting two post-summit, ministerial-level meetings on trade and science and technology.
Colombia regularly participates in international fora, including CICAD, the Organization of American States' body on money laundering, chemical controls, and drug abuse prevention. Although the Colombian Government ratified the 1988 UN Convention on Narcotics in 1994—the last of the Andean governments to do so—it took important reservations, notably to the anti-money-laundering measures, asset forfeiture and confiscation provisions, maritime interdiction, and extradition clauses. Colombia subsequently withdrew some of its reservations, most notably a reservation on extradition.
International relations
Disputes – international
Maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; territorial disputes with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andrés y Providencia and Quita Sueño Bank. The United States disputes sovereignty with Colombia over the Serranilla Bank and the Bajo Nuevo Bank. Quita Sueño Bank is claimed by the United States to be a submerged reef, and thus does not recognize the sovereignty of any nation over the bank.
Membership of international organizations
The major organizations in which Colombia is a member include: the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, Andean Pact, Caribbean Development Bank Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, G3 Free Trade Agreement, Group of 11, Group of 24, Group of 77, Inter-American Development Bank, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Chamber of Commerce, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), International Development Association, International Finance Corporation, International Fund for Agricultural Development, International Labour Organization, International Maritime Organization, International Maritime Satellite Organization, International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Olympic Committee, International Organization for Migration, International Organization for Standardization, International Telecommunication Union, International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, International Trade Union Confederation, Latin American Economic System, Latin American Integration Association, Non-Aligned Movement, Organization of American States (OAS), Permanent Court of Arbitration, Rio Group, United Nations (UN), UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNESCO, UN Industrial Development Organization, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, Universal Postal Union, World Confederation of Labour, World Federation of Trade Unions, World Health Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, World Meteorological Organization, World Tourism Organization, and World Trade Organization. An OAS observer has monitored the government's peace process with the paramilitaries, lending the negotiations much-needed international credibility. In terms of foreign policy process, presidents have broad constitutional authorities, in consultation with their foreign ministers. However, since the 2000s, the influence of other domestic actors in Colombian foreign policy-making has increased. Long, Bitar, and Jiménez-Peña examine the role of the Colombian Constitutional Court, congressional politics, social movements, and electoral challengers. They find that Colombian institutions permit increasing challenges to presidential authority, and that in important cases Colombian presidents have been forced to drop their preferred foreign policies.
Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Colombia maintains diplomatic relations with:
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|—
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|96
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|98
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|99
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|100
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|101
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|102
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|104
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|105
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|106
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|146
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|147
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|148
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|149
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|150
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|151
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|152
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|153
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|154
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|156
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|157
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|—
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|183
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|}
Bilateral relations
Americas{| class"wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; margin:auto;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Country
! style="width:12%;"| Formal relations began
!Notes
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->8 March 1823 || See Argentina–Colombia relations
* Argentina has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in Buenos Aires.
* Both countries are full members of the Organization of American States, Latin American Economic System, Latin American Integration Association, Rio Group and Union of South American Nations.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120219174941/http://www.mrecic.gov.ar/portal/seree/ditra/co.html List of Treaties ruling the relations Argentina and Colombia (Argentine Foreign Ministry]
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->19 March 1912||See Bolivia–Colombia relations
* Bolivia has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in La Paz.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->24 April 1907||See Brazil–Colombia relations
* Brazil has an embassy in Bogotá and a vice-consulate in Leticia.
* Colombia has an embassy in Brasília and consulates-general in Manaus, São Paulo and in Tabatinga.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->6 October 1952||See Canada–Colombia relations
* Canada has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in Ottawa and consulates-general in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->21 October 1822||See Chile–Colombia relations
Both nations are members of the Pacific Alliance.
* Chile has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in Santiago.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->10 February 1832||See Colombia–Ecuador relations
Present-day Colombia and Ecuador trace back established official diplomatic relations to December, 1831 with the signing of the Treaty of Pasto, in which both countries recognized each other as sovereign states. The Ecuadorean diplomatic mission in New Granada (Colombia) did not open until 1837. It wasn't until 1939 that Ecuador raised the diplomatic mission's status to an official embassy. Colombia did the same the following year, in 1940.
* Colombia has an embassy in Quito.
* Ecuador has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->18 December 1970||See Colombia–Guyana relations
* Both countries have established diplomatic relations on 18 December 1970.
* Both countries are full members of Organization of American States, Association of Caribbean States and Union of South American Nations.
* Colombia is accredited to Guyana from its embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
* Guyana is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->3 October 1823 ||See Colombia–Mexico relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Mexico City and consulates in Cancún and Guadalajara.
* Mexico has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Both countries are full members of the Organization of American States and the Pacific Alliance.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->8 March 1825||See Colombia–Nicaragua relations
The relationship between the two Latin American countries has evolved amid conflicts over the San Andrés y Providencia Islands located in the Caribbean close to the Nicaraguan shoreline and the maritime boundaries covering that included the islands of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina and the banks of Roncador, Serrana, Serranilla and Quitasueño as well as the arbitrarily designed 82nd meridian west which Colombia claims as a border but which the International Court has sided with Nicaragua in disavowing.
* Colombia has an embassy in Managua.
* Nicaragua has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->9 July 1924||See Colombia–Panama relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Panama City and consulates in Colón, Jaqué and in Puerto Obaldía.
* Panama has an embassy in Bogotá and a consulate-general in Barranquilla.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->27 July 1870||See Colombia–Paraguay relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Asunción.
* Paraguay has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Both countries are full members of Union of South American Nations, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, Rio Group, Group of 77, Latin American Economic System and Latin American Integration Association.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120217191728/http://www.mre.gov.py/paginas/representaciones/Embajadas.asp?CodRepresentacion29&tipo1 Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Relations about relations with Colombia]
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->6 July 1822||See Colombia–Peru relations
Both nations are members of the Pacific Alliance.
* Colombia has an embassy in Lima and a consulate-general in Iquitos.
* Peru has an embassy in Bogotá and a consulate-general in Leticia.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->19 June 1822 ||See Colombia–United States relations
The country traditionally has had good relations with the United States. Relations were strained during the presidency of Ernesto Samper (1994–98) due to accusations of receiving illegal campaign funding from the Cali Cartel. Relations between the two countries greatly improved during the Pastrana administration (1998–2002). In January 2000, the Clinton administration pledged more than US$1 billion of mainly military assistance to Colombia to assist the antidrug component of President Pastrana's strategy known as Plan Colombia.
Relations with the United States became a foreign policy priority for the Uribe administration, and Colombia became an important ally in the "War on Terrorism". In March 2002, in response to a request from U.S. President George W. Bush, the U.S. Congress lifted restrictions on U.S. assistance to Colombia to allow it to be used for counterinsurgency in addition to antidrug operations. U.S. support for Colombia's antidrug-trafficking efforts included slightly more than US$2.5 billion between 2000 and 2004, as compared with only about US$300 million in 1998. Some critics of current US policies in Colombia, such as Law Professor John Barry, claim that US influences have catalyzed internal conflicts.
Colombia rejects threats and blackmail of the United States of America after the threat of Donald Trump to decertify the country as a partner in counter-narcotics efforts.}}
||<!--Date started-->25 August 1888||See Colombia–Uruguay relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Montevideo.
* Uruguay has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->27 November 1831 Diplomatic Severed in February 2019, Restored in August 2022||See Colombia–Venezuela relations
The relationship has developed since the early 16th century, when Spanish empire colonizers created the province of Santa Marta (now Colombia) and the province of New Andalucia (now Venezuela). The countries share a history for achieving their independence under Simón Bolívar and becoming one nation—the Gran Colombia—which dissolved in the 19th century. Following then, the overall relationship between the two countries has vacillated between cooperation and bilateral struggle.
In February 2019, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro cut diplomatic relations with Colombia after Colombian President Ivan Duque helped Venezuelan opposition politicians deliver humanitarian aid to their country. Colombia recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate president. In January 2020, Colombia rejected Maduro's proposal that the two countries restore diplomatic relations. Following the election of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the two countries restored diplomatic relations in August 2022.
* Colombia has an embassy in Caracas and maintains several consulates throughout the country.
* Venezuela has an embassy in Bogotá and maintains several consulates throughout the country.
|}
Asia
{| class"wikitable sortable" style"width:100%; margin:auto;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Country
! style="width:12%;"| Formal Relations Began
!Notes
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->22 December 1994||
Both countries established diplomatic relations on December 22, 1994.
* Armenia is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Brasília, Brazil.
* Colombia is accredited to Armenia from its embassy in Moscow, Russia.
|--valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->13 December 1994||See Azerbaijan–Colombia relations
* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in Baku.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->7 February 1980||See China–Colombia relations
* China has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in Beijing and consulates-general in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->19 January 1959||
The relationship between the two countries has been gradually increasing with more frequent diplomatic visits to promote political, commercial cultural and academic exchanges. Colombia is currently the commercial point of entry into Latin America for Indian companies.
* India has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in New Delhi.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->15 September 1980||
Both countries are members of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, the Cairns Group, and the CIVETS block.
* Colombia has an embassy in Jakarta.
* Indonesia has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->1 July 1957 Diplomatic Severed in 2 May 2024||
In an article in the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, Marcos Peckel, a Colombian scholar noted that Colombian-Israeli relations can be looked through the lenses of military cooperation, trade links, education and culture, and recognition of Palestine. Militarily, Colombia was one of the first countries to give Israel weapons and engage in arms deals, which has since been an ongoing bilateral agreement. Since, Israel and Colombia have shared intelligence, and as Peckel explains, several pieces of Israeli technology. Trade-wise, too, both countries have a strong relationship. The Free Trade Agreement, a pending agreement between Colombia and Israel, has the potential to further strengthen these relationships by boosting Colombian imports in Israel and increasing the presence of Israeli technology in Colombia. The spheres of education and culture between Colombia and Israel are deeply interwoven through Israeli scholarships to Colombians and a presence of media in each country.
"Colombia supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel within mutually agreed-upon borders. It considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal but strongly condemns Palestinian terrorism, and it advocates for a lasting peace based on the two-state solution". On resolutions in the UN General Assembly that compared Zionism to racism and wanted to establish a "right to return" for Palestinians, Colombia abstained. In 2018, Colombia officially recognized the State of Palestine. Despite creating a bump in the relations between the countries, the two have re-established strong relations. On 1 May 2024 Colombia broke diplomatic ties with Israel as a result of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.
* Colombia had an embassy in Tel Aviv.
* Israel had an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->25 May 1908||
The relationship was officially established in 1908, only interrupted between 1942 and 1954 with the surge of World War II. Relations are mostly based on commercial trade that has favored Japan interests, cultural exchanges and technological and philanthropic aid to Colombia.
* Colombia has an embassy in Tokyo.
* Japan has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||19 August 1987||
Ambassador of Colombia in Malaysia also accredited to Vietnam, while Malaysian Embassy in Lima, Peru, accredited to Colombia. Both are members of United Nations, Movement of Non-Aligned Cooperation Forum Asia-Latin America (FEALAC) and Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC).
* Colombia has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
* Malaysia is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Lima, Peru.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->19 June 1970||
Both Pakistan and Colombia do not enjoy cordial dealings with some of their neighbours. Another common aspect that makes the task of both Colombian and Pakistan Armed forces even tougher is the difficult terrain they have been encountering. Poverty, income inequality, destruction and degradation of other vital organs of the state have consequently been the natural by-products of insubordination and rebellions in both Colombia and Pakistan. Both the countries have similar Gross Domestic Products (GDPs) too. While the Colombian Purchasing Power Parity GDP stands at $460.406 billion, Pakistan s GDP stands at $464.897 billion (latest IMF statistics). Like Colombia, Pakistan too also witnesses a large presence of the US military personnel and civilian contractors on its territory. Colombia established diplomatic relations with Pakistan in 1980, but bilateral trade between the two countries was negligible which needed to be improved for the benefit of both nations.
* Colombia is accredited to Pakistan from its embassy in Ankara, Turkey.
* Pakistan is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Brasília, Brazil.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->1 January 1946||See Colombia-Philippines relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Manila.
* Philippines is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Brasília, Brazil.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->10 March 1962||See Colombia–South Korea relations
* Formal diplomatic relations between South Korea and Colombia started on 10 March 1962.
* Colombia sent about 1,000 men to Korea to assist South Korea during the Korean War.
* Colombia has an embassy in Seoul.
* South Korea has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->10 April 1959||See Colombia–Turkey relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Ankara.
* Turkey has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Both countries are members of OECD and WTO.
* Direct flights from Istanbul to Bogotá commenced in May 2016.
* Trade volume between the two countries was US$1.7 billion USD in 2019 (Colombian exports/imports: 1.46/0.25 billion USD).
|}
Europe
Under the Uribe administration, Colombia's relations with the European Union (EU) have been cordial. Representatives of the EU have been critical of Colombia's antiguerrilla and antidrug strategies in several respects. The EU is particularly concerned about the potential for increased human rights abuses within Colombia at the hands of both government forces and illegal armed groups, and it has continued to distance itself from Plan Colombia. The EU is in favor of a negotiated solution to the nation's internal conflict. EU aid to Colombia has mainly consisted of social, economic and development investments.
In 2004, the EU as an entity did not offer unrestricted support for the Uribe government's peace initiative with paramilitaries, citing concerns over the possible lack of a credible and comprehensive peace strategy and its application, but it did approve US$2 million in aid for the process. Individual EU members such Sweden, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands also provided limited support on their own.
{| class"wikitable sortable" style"width:100%; margin:auto;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Country
! style="width:12%;"| Formal relations began
!Notes
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->27 November 1995
|
* Andorra does not have an accreditation to Colombia.
* Colombia's embassy in Madrid, Spain is accredited to the Principality of Andorra.
In February 2013, Colombia's Foreign Minister at the time made an official visit to Andorra in order to strengthen relations between the two countries.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->10 January 1920 ||See Austria–Colombia relations
* Austria has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in Vienna.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->9 December 1992
|
On May 19, 1998, Colombia and Belarus signed a collaboration agreement between both countries.
* Belarus is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Quito, Ecuador.
* Colombia is accredited to Belarus from its embassy in Moscow, Russia.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->1873
|
* Belgium has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in Brussels
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->January 1993
|
* Colombia is accredited to the Czech Republic from its embassy in Vienna, Austria.( Austria).
* Czech Republic has an embassy in Bogotá.
* The first connections between Czechia and Colombia occurred in the times of colonial era, during missionary activities of Jesuits in that area. In 1860/1870s the Czech botanist Benedikt Roezl discovered the cycad plant Zamia roezlii on the Pacific coast in Colombia. The plant is named after him. In 1922 began the consulary activities between Czechoslovakia and Colombia. Since 1926 the Colombian consul had his seat in Prague. In 1935 both countries agreed to interchange the ambassadors.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started--> 30 May 1892
|See Colombia–France relations
Officially the relations between Colombian and France began on May 30, 1892, with the signature of an agreement intended to establish French nationals in Colombia, increase commerce and navigation between the two nations.
* Colombia has an embassy in Paris.
* France has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->1 June 1872||See Colombia–Germany relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Berlin and a consulate-general in Frankfurt.
* Germany has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->28 March 1973
|See Colombia–Hungary relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Budapest.
* Hungary has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->11 September 1981
|
* Colombia is accredited to Iceland from its embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.
* Iceland is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Ottawa, Canada.
* Iceland and Colombia have a Free Trade Agreement through the EFTA
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->10 November 1999||See Colombia–Ireland relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Dublin.
* Ireland has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->13 March 1864||See Colombia–Italy relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Rome and a consulate-general in Milan.
* Italy has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||3 March 2019
|
* Colombia recognized Kosovo on August 6, 2008.
* Both countries established diplomatic relations on 3 March 2019.
* Kosovo will open an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->24 October 2001
|
* Colombia is accredited to Liechtenstein from its embassy in Bern, Switzerland.
* Liechtenstein and Colombia have a Free Trade Agreement through the EFTA.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->15 December 2000
|
* Colombia is accredited to Monaco from its embassy in Paris, France.
* Monaco has an honorary consulate in Bogotá.
Colombia and Monaco first stablished diplomatic relations in December 2000. In 2012, Colombia's ambassador to France at the time, presented to Monaco its credentials becoming the first non-resident ambassador to the country.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->1 May 1829||See Colombia–Netherlands relations
On 16 and 17 February 2022 president Iván Duque visited the Netherlands. There were talks about trade and judicial cooperation. Also a bilateral treaty for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance was signed by Dutch PM Mark Rutte and president Duque.
* Colombia has an embassy in The Hague, a consulate-general in Amsterdam, and consulates in Willemstad (Curaçao) and in Oranjestad (Aruba).
* Netherlands has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->18 November 1933||See Colombia–Poland relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Warsaw.
* Poland has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->9 April 1857||
* Colombia has an embassy in Lisbon.
* Portugal has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->25 June 1935||See Colombia–Russia relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Moscow.
* Russia has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->December 1966||
* Both countries established diplomatic relations in December 1966.
* A number of bilateral agreements in various fields have been concluded and are in force between both countries.
* Colombia is accredited to Serbia from its embassy in Vienna, Austria.
* Serbia is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Brasília, Brazil.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->30 January 1881||See Colombia–Spain relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Madrid; consulates-general in Barcelona and Seville and consulates in Bilbao, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca and Valencia.
* Spain has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->|11 December 1874||See Colombia–Sweden relations
* Colombia has an embassy in Stockholm.
* Sweden has an embassy in Bogotá.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->18 April 1825
|
Colombia established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 18 April 1825.
Both countries share common membership of the International Criminal Court, the OECD, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the Andean countries–UK Free Trade Agreement. Bilaterally the two countries havea Cultural Agreement, a Partnership for Sustainable Growth, and a Security Agreement.
|}
Oceania
{| class"wikitable sortable" style"width:100%; margin:auto;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Country
! style="width:12%;"| Formal relations began
!Notes
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->9 January 1975||
* Australia has an embassy in Bogotá.
* Colombia has an embassy in Canberra and a consulate-general in Sydney.
|- valign="top"
|||<!--Date started-->1 May 1978||See Colombia–New Zealand relations
* Colombia is accredited to New Zealand from its embassy in Canberra, Australia
* New Zealand has an embassy in Bogotá.
|}
Transnational issues
Narcotics and terrorism By the 1990s, Colombia had become the world's leading supplier of refined cocaine and a growing source for heroin. More than 90% of the cocaine that entered in the 1990s the United States was produced, processed, or transshipped in Colombia. The cultivation of coca dropped between 1995 and 1999 from 3,020 to , primarily in areas where government control was more active.
Despite the death of Medellín cartel drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in 1993 and the arrests of major Cali cartel leaders in 1995 and 1996, Colombian drug cartels remain among the most sophisticated criminal organizations in the world, controlling cocaine processing, international wholesale distribution chains, and markets. In 1999 Colombian police arrested over 30 narcotraffickers, most of them extraditable, in "Operation Millennium" involving extensive international cooperation. More arrests were made in a following "Operation Millennium II."
Colombia is engaged in a broad range of narcotics control activities. Through aerial spraying of herbicide and manual eradication, Colombia has attempted to keep coca, opium poppy, and cannabis cultivation from expanding. The government has committed itself to the eradication of all illicit crops, interdiction of drug shipments, and financial controls to prevent money laundering. Alternative development programs were introduced in 1999.
Corruption and intimidation by traffickers complicate the drug-control efforts of the institutions of government. Colombia passed revised criminal procedures code in 1993 that permits traffickers to surrender and negotiate lenient sentences in return for cooperating with prosecutors. In December 1996 and February 1997, however, the Colombian Congress passed legislation to toughen sentencing, asset forfeiture, and money-laundering penalties.
In November 1997, the Colombian Congress amended the constitution to permit the extradition of Colombian nationals, albeit not retroactively. In late 1999, President Pastrana authorized the first extradition in almost 10 years of a Colombian trafficker to stand trial for U.S. crimes. Three such extraditions to the United States have taken place, the most recent in August 2000, with cases against others pending in Colombian courts. Under the Pastrana administration, Plan Colombia was developed and implemented with U.S. backing.
During the presidency of Álvaro Uribe, the government applied more military pressure on the FARC and other outlawed groups. After the offensive, many security indicators improved. Colombia achieved a great decrease in cocaine production, leading White House drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske to announce that Colombia is no longer the world's biggest producer of cocaine.
In addition to the challenge posed to the United States by Colombian drug trafficking, illegal Colombian immigrants in the United States are an issue in Colombia-U.S. relations. According to figures from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Colombia is the fourth-leading source country of illegal immigration to the United States. According to its estimates, the number of illegal Colombian residents in the United States almost tripled from 51,000 in 1990 to 141,000 in 2000. According to the US Census Bureau, the number of authorized Colombian immigrants in the United States in 2006 was 801,363.
Colombia rejected threats of the United States of America after the threat of Donald Trump to decertify the country as a partner in counter-narcotics efforts.}}
See also
* List of diplomatic missions in Colombia
* List of diplomatic missions of Colombia
* Security issues in Colombia
References | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Colombia | 2025-04-05T18:27:34.090857 |
5846 | Geography of the Czech Republic | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the north. It consists mostly of low hills and plateaus surrounded along the borders by low mountains. Two areas of lowlands follow the Elbe river and the Morava river. About a third of the area of the Czech Republic is covered by forests.
The Czech Republic also possesses Moldauhafen, a 30,000 m<sup>2</sup> enclave in the middle of Hamburg docks in Germany, which was awarded to Czechoslovakia by Article 363 of the Treaty of Versailles to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported down river could be transferred to seagoing ships. This territory reverts to Germany in 2028.
Physical geography
Climate
The Czech Republic's climate is temperate, transitional between an oceanic climate and a continental climate. The summers are rather cool and dry, with average temperatures in most areas around 20 °C, the winters are fairly mild and wet with temperatures averaging around 0 °C in most areas. The relative humidity varies between 60% and 80%.
Examples
Geology
Most of the area of the Czech Republic belongs to the geographically stable Bohemian Massif. Only an area of the Western Carpathians in the east of the country is younger, lifted during the Tertiary. Igneous rocks make up the base of the Bohemian Massif. Sedimentary rocks are mostly found in the north-eastern part of Bohemia with significant areas of sandstone. Among the metamorphic rocks, the most commonly found is Gneiss.
Mountains
The most notable mountain ranges in the Czech Republic are all found along the borders of the country. In Bohemia it is the Bohemian Forest and Ore Mountains, both bordering Germany. Then the long region of Sudetes with several mountains ranges, including Giant Mountains with Sněžka – the highest peak of the Czech Republic. The last major mountain range is the Moravian-Silesian Beskids in the east.
Rivers
There are four major rivers in the Czech Republic. The Elbe (locally "Labe") flows from the Giant Mountains in the north east of Bohemia to the west and then through northern Germany all the way to the North Sea. The Morava River drains most of Moravia and flows to the south into the Danube and ultimately to the Black Sea. The Oder starts in the Moravian Silesia and flows north through Poland into the Baltic Sea. The fourth major river is the Vltava, which is the longest river of the Czech Republic and drains the southern part of Bohemia before flowing into the Elbe at Mělník.
Bodies of water
Natural occurring bodies of water are rather scarce; most of the significant bodies of water are man-made ponds and reservoirs. The largest pond is the Rožmberk Pond, which is one of the system of fish ponds built in the 16th century around Třeboň. The largest reservoir by area covered is the Lipno Reservoir (4,870 ha), built in the 1950s and the largest reservoir by volume is Orlík Reservoir (716 million m<sup>3</sup>), built around the same time. The largest and deepest natural lake is Černé jezero (18.4 ha).
Human geography
Population geography
thumb|300px|Natural resources:
Metals are in blue: Fe — iron ore, PY — pyrite, PM – polymetal ores (Cu, Zn, Pb, etc.), U — uranium.
Fossil fuels are in red: C — coal, L — lignite, O – oil.
Non-metallic minerals are in green: G — graphite, KA — kaolinite.
The population of the Czech Republic is estimated to be around 10.6 million. The highest population density is in the larger metropolitan area of Ostrava and of course in the area around the capital of Prague. The lowest population density is in the Czech-German and Czech-Austrian borderlands, mostly as a lasting result of the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after the World War II.
Political geography
The Czech Republic is divided into thirteen regions and one capital city with regional status. The older administrative units of seventy-six districts are still recognized and remain the seats of various branches of state administration. Historically, the Czech Republic can be split into three regions: Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the east and Czech Silesia in the north east.
Industry and agriculture
Areas affected the most by heavy industry are the Sokolov Basin and the Most Basin in the north-west of the Czech Republic. The extensive deposits of brown coal in those areas are mostly used for electricity production. It is estimated, that almost 40% of all electric power produced in the Czech Republic comes from burning brown coal mined in these areas. Plant agriculture is focused around the lowlands surrounding the Elbe and the Morava. Around 34% of the country is covered by forests and approximately 37% of land is arable. The estimated area of irrigated land is 385 km<sup>2</sup>, and freshwater withdrawal per capita is around 164 m<sup>3</sup> every year.
See also
* Protected areas of the Czech Republic
* Rivers of the Czech Republic
* List of highest mountains of the Czech Republic
References
<!--
-->
pt:República Checa#Geografia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Czech_Republic | 2025-04-05T18:27:34.128188 |
5848 | Politics of the Czech Republic | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
| upperhouse = Senate
| upperhouse_speaker = Miloš Vystrčil
| upperhouse_speaker_title= President of the Senate
| upperhouse_appointer | lowerhouse Chamber of Deputies
| lowerhouse_speaker = Markéta Pekarová Adamová
| lowerhouse_speaker_title= President of the Chamber of Deputies
| lowerhouse_appointer | title_hos President
| current_hos = Petr Pavel
| appointer_hos = Direct popular vote, two-round system
| title_hog = Prime Minister
| current_hog = Petr Fiala
| appointer_hog = Chamber of Deputies
| cabinet = Cabinet of the Czech Republic
| current_cabinet = Cabinet of Petr Fiala
| cabinet_leader = Prime Minister
| cabinet_deputyleader | cabinet_appointer
| cabinet_hq = Straka Academy, Prague
| cabinet_ministries = Ministerial departments
| judiciary = Judiciary
| law = Law of the Czech Republic
| court = Constitutional Court
| court_seat = Joštova 625, Brno
| court1 = Supreme Court
| court_seat1 = Burešova 20, Brno
| court2 = Supreme Administrative Court
| court_seat2 = Moravské náměstí 6, Brno
}}
The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary republic, in which the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the Government of the Czech Republic, which reports to the Chamber of Deputies. The legislature is exercised by the Parliament. The Czech Parliament is bicameral: the upper house of the Parliament is the Senate, and the lower house is the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate consists of 81 members who are elected for six years. The Chamber of Deputies consists of 200 members who are elected for four years. The judiciary system is topped by the trio of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court.
The highest legal document is the Constitution of the Czech Republic, complemented by constitutional laws and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. The current constitution went in effect on 1 January 1993, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
The Czech Republic has a multi-party system. Between 1993 and 2013, the two largest political parties were the centre-left Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) and centre-right Civic Democratic Party (ODS). This changed in early 2014, with the rise of a new major political party ANO 2011, which has since led two cabinets.
According to the V-Dem Democracy indices the Czech Republic was 2023 the 16th most electoral democratic country in the world.
Executive branch
The president is the head of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. The majority of executive power is given to the Cabinet, which consists of the prime minister, deputy prime ministers and ministers (usually heads of the ministries).
|President
|Petr Pavel
|Independent
|9 March 2023
|-
|Prime Minister
|Petr Fiala
|Civic Democratic Party
|28 November 2021
|}
President
The president of the Czech Republic is elected by a direct vote for five years. They can only serve for two terms. The president is a formal head of state with limited executive powers specified in the articles 54 to 66 of the Constitution: Ministers Ministers are any member of the Cabinet who are not the prime minister. They are usually the head of a ministry, but this is not required. A ministry – sometimes called government department – is a governmental organisation that manages a specific sector of public administration. The number of ministries varies depending on the particular Cabinet and is managed by the Competence Law. As of 2021, the Czech Republic had 13 ministers and 14 ministries.
Legislative branch
, the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, Prague]]The Parliament (Parlament in Czech) consists of two houses. The lower house is the Chamber of Deputies, and the upper house is the Senate.
|President of the Chamber of Deputies
|Markéta Pekarová Adamová
|TOP 09
|10 November 2021
|-
|President of the Senate
|Miloš Vystrčil
|Civic Democratic Party
|19 February 2020
|}
Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies ( in Czech) has 200 members, elected for four-year terms by proportional representation with a 5% election threshold. The Chamber of Deputies elections happen every four years, unless the reigning Cabinet prematurely loses the Chamber of Deputies' support. Candidates for every political party participating in the elections are split among 14 electoral districts, which are identical to the country's administrative regions. A citizen must be at least 21 years old to be eligible for candidacy.
The Chamber of Deputies was formerly known as the Czech National Council. It has the same powers and responsibilities as the now-defunct Federal Assembly of the Czechoslovakia.
Senate
The Senate (Senát in Czech) has 81 members, each elected for a six-year term. Senate elections happen every two years and only a third of the seats is contested each time. All of the 81 Senate electoral districts are designed to contain roughly the same number of voters. The Senate elections use a two-round system, when the two most successful candidates from the first round face each other again in the second round usually a week later. Only citizens who have reached the age of 40 are eligible for candidacy. The senate's function is to be a stabilizing force and its influence is significantly lower than that of the Chamber of Deputies.
Judicial branch
The Czech court system recognizes four categories of courts and the Constitutional Court, which stands outside of the court system.
Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court's main purpose is to protect people's constitutional rights and freedoms. The decisions of the court are final, cannot be overturned and are considered a source of law. The court is composed of 15 justices who are named for a renewable period of 10 years by the president and approved by the Senate. Its functionality is similar to that of the Supreme Court of the United States.Supreme courtsThere are two supreme courts in the court system of the Czech Republic – the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. Both reside in Brno.Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is the court of highest appeal for almost all legal cases heard in the Czech Republic. The justices of the Supreme Court analyze and evaluate legally effective decisions of lower courts. They unify the Czech judicature.Supreme Administrative CourtThe Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic protects people from unlawful decisions and procedures of the state authorities. It examines objections to elections and has the authority to ban or suspend the activity of political parties. It resolves competence disputes between governmental organizations and also serves as disciplinary court for other members of the judiciary.High courtsThere are two high courts in the Czech Republic – one in Prague and one in Olomouc . They serve as courts of appeal to Regional Courts in cases, where the Regional Court acted as a court of first instance. Presidents of the high courts are appointed by the president for seven years. The vice-presidents are appointed by the minister of justice and also serve a seven-year term. A justice is required by the law to have at least eight years of experience before becoming a member of a High Court.Regional courtsRegional courts serve mainly as the courts of appeal to district courts and also as the only instance of administrative courts besides the Supreme Administrative Court. However, they can also act as courts of first instance in cases of more severe criminal charges, disputes between corporations or disputes over intellectual property. There are eight regional courts in the Czech Republic: in Brno, Ostrava, Hradec Králové, Ústí nad Labem, Plzeň, České Budějovice and two in Prague.District courtsDistrict courts serve as the courts of first instance in almost all civil or criminal proceedings. There is a total of 86 district courts in the Czech Republic. Notaries and executors are appointed by the minister of justice to their jurisdictions.Regional government
The Czech Republic is divided in 14 administrative regions, including one for the capital of Prague. The older system of 73 administrative districts (okresy in Czech) and 4 municipalities was abandoned in 1999 in an administrative reform. Each of the regions has a regional council with a varied number of regional councilors and a president of the regional cabinet (hejtman in Czech) as its formal head. The capital of Prague is the only exception to this, as the City Council acts both as regional and municipal governing body and is led by a mayor. Regional councilors are elected for four-year terms similarly to deputies in the Chamber of Deputies. All adults eligible to vote are also eligible to be a candidate to a regional council.
Composition of the Senate
For the current composition of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, see List of MPs elected in the 2017 Czech legislative election.
Recent political developments
From 1991, the Czech Republic, originally as part of Czechoslovakia and since 1993 in its own right, has been a member of the Visegrád Group and from 1995, the OECD. The Czech Republic joined NATO on 12 March 1999 and the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 21 December 2007 the Czech Republic joined the Schengen Area.
Until 2017, either the Czech Social Democratic Party or the Civic Democratic Party led the governments of the Czech Republic. In October 2017, populist movement ANO 2011, led by the country's second-richest man, Andrej Babiš, won the elections with three times more votes than its closest rival, the centre-right Civic Democrats. In December 2017, Czech President Miloš Zeman appointed Andrej Babiš as the new prime minister.
On 28 November 2021, Czech President Miloš Zeman appointed opposition leader Petr Fiala as the country's new prime minister. The centre-right coalition Spolu (meaning Together) won tightly contested legislative elections in October 2021 against Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his right-wing populist ANO party. Babiš had sought re-election after four years in power. In January 2023, Former NATO general Petr Pavel won the election runoff over Andrej Babiš to succeed Miloš Zeman as the fourth president of the Czech Republic.
See also
*Government of the Czech Republic
*Ministry of Finance (Czech Republic)
References
External links
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081220003426/http://www.hrad.cz/en/ustava_cr/index.shtml Constitution of the Czech Republic]
* [http://www.volby.cz/ Website with results of all elections in Czech and English]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060526083516/http://www.rzb.at/eBusiness/services/resources/lnz_resource_rzb_static/0,7130,1023296711504-1025308884300_1025311539513_1025311893931-65903287614859521-1-NA-NA,00.pdf RZB Group: Czech Republic – Election 2006 Special]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060718023209/http://www.praguemonitor.com/czech-election-2006/ Czech 2006 Election blog by the Prague Daily Monitor]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060702103322/http://www.ku.edu/%7Eherron/ Erik Herron's Guide to Politics of East Central Europe and Eurasia]
Government
* [http://www.vlada.cz/en/ Official governmental website] English
* [http://www.hrad.cz/en/ Official presidential website] English
* [http://www.senat.cz/index-eng.php Official Senate website] English
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120812061745/http://portal.gov.cz/portal/obcan/ Portal of the Public Administration] Czech
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081210080250/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-c/czech-republic.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members] CIA library on World leaders | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Czech_Republic | 2025-04-05T18:27:34.158206 |
5849 | Economy of the Czech Republic | $360.23 billion (nominal, 2025)
* $645.54 billion (PPP, 2025) (44th)
| sectors =
| inflation 2% (2024)
| poverty = 19% at risk of poverty or social exclusion (2023)}}
| gini 24.0 (2019)
| hdi = 0.895 (2022) (32nd)
* 0.864 IHDI (18th) (2022)
* 81.7% employment rate (2023)}}
| occupations =
| unemployment = 2.6% (September 2021)
* 8.9% youth unemployment (15 to 24 year-olds; July 2020)}}
| average gross salary = Q2 2024: 45 854 Kč. Source: https://csu.gov.cz/rychle-informace/prumerne-mzdy-2-ctvrtleti-2024
| industries =
| exports $161.2 billion (2016)
| export-goods =
| export-partners = 84.1% (2016)
* 32.4%
* 8.4%
* 5.8%
* 5.2%
* 5.2%
* 4.2%
* 4.1%
*(2016)}}
| imports $140.3 billion (2016)
* 30.6%
* 9.6%
* 7.5%
* 6.3%
* 5.3%
* 4.1%
*(2016)}}
| FDI = $185.6 billion (31 December 2017 est.) 35th
* Abroad: $54.39 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
| debt = 30.8% of GDP (2019)
* CZK 1.739 trillion (2019)
| aid =
| credit =
| cianame | spelling
}}
The economy of the Czech Republic is a developed export-oriented social market economy based in services, manufacturing, and innovation that maintains a high-income welfare state and the European social model. The Czech Republic participates in the European Single Market as a member of the European Union, and is therefore a part of the economy of the European Union. It uses its own currency, the Czech koruna, instead of the euro. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Czech Republic ranks 16th in inequality-adjusted human development and 24th in World Bank Human Capital Index, ahead of countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom or France. It was described by The Guardian as "one of Europe's most flourishing economies".
The industry sector accounts for 37% of the economy, while services account for 61% and agriculture for 2%. The principal industries are high tech engineering, electronics and machine-building, steel production, transportation equipment (automotive, rail and aerospace industry), chemicals, advanced materials and pharmaceuticals. The major services are research and development, ICT and software development, nanotechnology and life sciences. 30th in the Global Innovation Index (ranked behind UAE), 32nd in the Global Competitiveness Report, The largest trading partner for both export and import is Germany, followed by other members of the EU. The Czech Republic has a highly diverse economy that ranks 7th in the 2019 Economic Complexity Index.
History
From industrialisation to communism (1800-1989)
The Czech lands were among the first industrialized countries in continental Europe during the German Confederation era. The Czech industrial tradition dates back to the 19th century, when the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the economic and industrial heartland of the Austrian Empire and later the Austrian side of Austria-Hungary. The Czech lands produced a majority (about 70%) of all industrial goods in the Empire, some of which were almost monopolistic. The Czechoslovak crown was introduced in April 1919. Introduced at a 1:1 ratio to the Austro-Hungarian currency, it became one of the most stable currencies in Europe. It is only a widespread myth among Czechs that the First Republic belonged to the 10 most developed economies of the world. Yet the Czech part (without Slovakia interwar and Transcarpathia) had a similar GDP in the 1920s to Germany and Belgium, which was higher than that of the crisis-struck Austrian First Republic.
The consequences of the 1938 Munich Agreement and subsequent occupation were disastrous for the economy. After the occupation and forced subordination of the economy to German economic interests, the crown was officially pegged to the mark at a ratio of 1:10, even though the unofficial exchange rate was 1 to 6-7 and Germans immediately started buying Czech goods in large quantities.
In accordance with Stalin's development policy of planned interdependence, all the economies of the socialist countries were tightly linked to that of the Soviet Union. Czechoslovakia was the most prosperous country in the Eastern Bloc, however it continued to lag further behind the rest of the developed world. With the disintegration of the communist economic alliance in 1991, Czech manufacturers lost their traditional markets among former communist countries in the east.
Today, this heritage is both an asset and a liability. The Czech Republic has a well-educated population and a densely developed infrastructure.
headquarters in Prague]]
such as steelmaking is a traditional part of the Czech economy.]]
1989–1995
The "Velvet Revolution" in 1989, offered a chance for profound and sustained political and economic reform. Signs of economic resurgence began to appear in the wake of the shock therapy that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) labelled the "big bang" of January 1991. Since then, consistent liberalization and astute economic management has led to the removal of 95% of all price controls, low unemployment, a positive balance of payments position, a stable exchange rate, a shift of exports from former communist economic bloc markets to Western Europe, and relatively low foreign debt. Inflation has been higher than in some other countries – mostly in the 10% range – and the government has run consistent modest budget deficits.
Two government priorities have been strict fiscal policies and creating a good climate for incoming investment in the republic. Following a series of currency devaluations, the crown has remained stable in relation to the US dollar. The Czech crown became fully convertible for most business purposes in late 1995.
In order to stimulate the economy and attract foreign partners, the government has revamped the legal and administrative structure governing investment. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, the country, till that point highly dependent on exports to the USSR, had to make a radical shift in economic outlook: away from the East, and towards the West. This necessitated the restructuring of existing banking and telecommunications facilities, as well as adjusting commercial laws and practices to fit Western standards. Further minimizing reliance on a single major partner, successive Czech governments have welcomed U.S. investment (amongst others) as a counterbalance to the strong economic influence of Western European partners, especially of their powerful neighbour, Germany. <!-- Which was not always successful, see the flop with Boeing vs Aero Vodochody. --> Although foreign direct investment (FDI) runs in uneven cycles, with a 12.9% share of total FDI between 1990 and March 1998, the U.S. was the third-largest foreign investor in the Czech economy, behind Germany and the Netherlands.
The country boasts a flourishing consumer production sector and has privatized most state-owned heavy industries through the voucher privatization system. Under the system, every citizen was given the opportunity to buy, for a moderate price, a book of vouchers that represents potential shares in any state-owned company. The voucher holders could then invest their vouchers, increasing the capital base of the chosen company, and creating a nation of citizen share-holders. This is in contrast to Russian privatization, which consisted of sales of communal assets to private companies rather than share-transfer to citizens. The effect of this policy has been dramatic. Under communism, state ownership of businesses was estimated to be 97%. Privatization through restitution of real estate to the former owners was largely completed in 1992. By 1998, more than 80% of enterprises were in private hands. Now completed, the program has made Czechs, who own shares of each of the Czech companies, one of the highest per-capita share owners in the world. <!--. Some people think it was a flop. Shouldn't it be reflected here? -->1995–2000
is the largest automobile manufacturer in the Czech Republic.]]
The country's economic transformation was far from complete. Political and financial crises in 1997 shattered the Czech Republic's image as one of the most stable and prosperous of post-Communist states. Delays in enterprise restructuring and failure to develop a well-functioning capital market played major roles in Czech economic troubles, which culminated in a currency crisis in May. The formerly pegged currency was forced into a floating system as investors sold their Korunas faster than the government could buy them. This followed a worldwide trend to divest from developing countries that year. Investors also worried the republic's economic transformation was far from complete. Another complicating factor was the current account deficit, which reached nearly 8% of GDP.
In response to the crisis, two austerity packages were introduced later in the spring (called vernacularly "The Packages"), which cut government spending by 2.5% of GDP. Growth dropped to 0.3% in 1997, −2.3% in 1998, and −0.5% in 1999. The government established a restructuring agency in 1999 and launched a revitalization program – to spur the sale of firms to foreign companies. Key priorities included accelerating legislative convergence with EU norms, restructuring enterprises, and privatising banks and utilities. The economy, fueled by increased export growth and investment, was expected to recover by 2000.
2000–2005
Growth in 2000–05 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. Current account deficits of around 5% of GDP are beginning to decline as demand for Czech products in the European Union increases. Inflation is under control. Recent accession to the EU gives further impetus and direction to structural reform. In early 2004 the government passed increases in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and tightened eligibility for social benefits with the intention to bring the public finance gap down to 4% of GDP by 2006, but more difficult pension and healthcare reforms will have to wait until after the next elections. Privatization of the state-owned telecommunications firm Český Telecom took place in 2005. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth.
2005–2010
Growth continued in the first years of the EU membership. The credit portion of the 2007–2008 financial crisis did not affect the Czech Republic much, mostly due to its stable banking sector which has learned its lessons during a smaller crisis in the late 1990s and became much more cautious. As a fraction of the GDP, the Czech public debt is among the smallest ones in Central and Eastern Europe. Moreover, unlike many other post-communist countries, an overwhelming majority of the household debt – over 99% – is denominated in the local Czech currency. That's why the country wasn't affected by the shrunken money supply in the U.S. dollars.
However, as a large exporter, the economy was sensitive to the decrease of the demand in Germany and other trading partners. In the middle of 2009, the annual drop of the GDP for 2009 was estimated around 3% or 4.3%, a relatively modest decrease. The impact of the economic crisis may have been limited by the existence of the national currency that temporarily weakened in H1 of 2009, simplifying the life of the exporters.
2010–2015
is the major Czech airline holding company with subsidies including the Czech Airlines.]]
Due to the Great Recession, Czech Republic was in stagnation or decreasing of GDP. Some commenters and economists criticising fiscally conservative policy of Petr Nečas' right-wing government, especially criticising ex-minister of finance, Miroslav Kalousek. Miroslav Kalousek in a 2008 interview, as minister of finance in the center-right government of Mirek Topolánek, said "Czech Republic will not suffer by financial crisis". In September 2008, Miroslav Kalousek formed state budget with projection of 5% GDP increase in 2009. In 2009 and 2010, Czech Republic suffered strong economical crisis and GDP decreased by 4,5%. From 2009 to 2012, Czech Republic suffered highest state budget deficits in history of independent Czech Republic. From 2008 to 2012, the public debt of Czech Republic increased by 18,9%. Most decrease of industrial output was in construction industry (-25% in 2009, -15,5% in 2013). From 4Q 2009 to 1Q 2013, GDP decreased by 7,8%.
In 2012, Czech government increased VAT. Basic VAT was increased from 20% in 2012 to 21% in 2013 and reduced VAT increased from 14% to 15% in 2013. Small enterprises sales decreased by 21% from 2012 to 2013 as result of increasing VAT. Patria.cz predicting sales stagnation and mild increase in 2013.
Another problem is foreign trade. The Czech Republic is considered an export economy (the Czech Republic has strong machinery and automobile industries), however in 2013, foreign trade rapidly decreased which led to many other problems and increase of state budget deficit. In 2013, Czech National Bank, central bank, implemented controversial monetary step. To increase export and employment, CNB wilfully deflated Czech Crown (CZK), which inflation increased from 0.2% in November 2013, to 1.3% in 1Q 2014.
In 2014, GDP in the Czech Republic increased by 2% and is predicted to increase by 2.7% in 2015. In 2015, Czech Republic's economy grew by 4,2% and it's the fastest growing economy in the European Union. On 29 May 2015, it was announced that growth of the Czech economy has increased from calculated 3,9% to 4,2%.
2015–present
company Avast had its IPO on the Prague Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange in 2018. The information and communications technology (ICT) and software development is a major sector of the Czech economy.]]
In August 2015, Czech GDP growth was 4.4%, making the Czech economy the highest growing in Europe. On 9 November 2015, unemployment in the Czech Republic was at 5.9%, the lowest number since February 2009. Dividends worth CZK 289 billion were paid to the foreign owners of Czech companies in 2016.
Adoption of Euro and EU funds
Since its accession to the European Union in 2004, the Czech Republic has adopted the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union and it is bound by the Treaty of Accession 2003 to adopt the Euro currency in the future.
Although the Czech Republic is economically well positioned to adopt the euro, following the European debt crisis there has been considerable opposition among the public adoption of the euro currency. There is no target date by the government for joining the ERM II or adopting the euro. The cabinet that was formed following the 2017 legislative election did not plan to proceed with euro adoption within its term, and this policy was continued by the succeeding cabinet formed after the 2021 election. However, by the start of 2024, President Petr Pavel called on the government to take concrete steps in adopting the euro.
The Czech Republic also receives €24.2bn between 2014 and 2020 from the European Structural and Investment Funds, however, this sum does not outweigh the amount of capital outflow of profits of foreign owned firms from the Czech Republic into other EU members, at which the funds are aimed to compensate for.Public policy
]]
Social policy in the Czech Republic addresses issues such as healthcare, education, social welfare, housing and pensions. The government provides social assistance and benefits to vulnerable groups, including the elderly, disabled, and unemployed. These social safety nets help protect individuals and families against income loss and social risks.
The Czech Republic has elements of the European social model in its welfare system and social policies. However, there are some aspect, where the Czech Republic differs from the model.
The Czech Republic provides universal access to healthcare, and healthcare services are predominantly financed through compulsory health insurance contributions. The country has a well-developed healthcare system that aims to provide essential medical care to all citizens.
The Czech Republic has labor market regulations in place to protect workers' rights, ensure fair wages, and promote job security. However, labor market flexibility has increased in recent years, and the country has undertaken labor market reforms to enhance competitiveness.
As of 2016, the Czech Republic has the second lowest poverty rate of OECD members only behind Denmark.Prague Stock Exchange
]]
The Czech economy also includes its capital market. In the case of the Czech Republic, it is the Prague Stock Exchange (PSE). (PSE). The Prague Stock Exchange is governed by the Capital Market Business Act and the stock exchange rules it sets itself. All of its activities are controlled by the Czech National Bank. The Vienna Stock Exchange is the majority shareholder of the Prague Stock Exchange.
The Prague Stock Exchange has four main markets:
*Prime Market - a market for trading the largest and most prestigious issues of shares of Czech and foreign companies (the market capitalization of the company should exceed EUR 1 million)
*Standard Market - a market designed for trading large and prestigious issues of shares of Czech and foreign companies (Market Capitalization of the company should exceed EUR 1 million)
*Free Market - a market admits to trading both investment instruments for which the issuer has requested admission to trading and investment instruments traded on other world exchanges which are admitted to trading without the issuer's consent
*START Market - a market for smaller innovative companies (Small and Medium Enterprises) that wish to raise new capital or whose owners wish to partially or wholly exit their existing business to capitalise their existing operations
The largest issue traded on the Prague Stock Exchange is the energy company ČEZ. The main activity of ČEZ is the sale of electricity, mainly generated from its own sources, and the related provision of support services to the electricity system. Other large issues on the Prague Stock Exchange's Prime Market include banking houses - Komerční banka, MONETA Money Bank and the dual listing of the Austrian company Erste Group Bank, under which the local bank Česká spořitelna falls; as well as Colt CZ Group focusing mainly on the production of firearms (traded on the Prague Stock Exchange from 2020).
From the Standard market, the largest issue is Philip Morris ČR, the largest manufacturer and seller of tobacco products in the Czech Republic. On the START market, we find, for example, e-commerce companies Bezvavlasy and Pilulka Lékárny, leather manufacturer and processor KARO Leather or urban furniture manufacturer mmcité.
Energy
In Czech Republic energy production is diverse, with a mix of nuclear, coal, natural gas, and renewable sources. Nuclear power plays a significant role, while efforts to increase renewable usage are underway. The country aims to balance energy security, environmental concerns and sustainability in its energy policies. National objectives are to cut gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 (compared with 1990) and to construct one nuclear reactor at the current Dukovany NPP site by late 2030s.
The Czech energy sector is largely built around two large nuclear plants and several smaller conventional coal power plants. Nuclear and coal power plants provide primarily baseload power at a high level of utilization, while gas fired units, reservoir hydro and pumped storage provide flexible generation. Recent rises in costs of carbon credits have made coal power plants almost financially inviable. Statistical indicators
s by Standard & Poor's]]
(current international $). World Bank 2016]]
Development of main indicators
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2017. Inflation under 2% is in green.
{| class"wikitable" style"text-align:center;"
|-
!Year
!GDP<br /><small>(in Bil. US$ PPP)</small>
!GDP per capita<br /><small>(in US$ PPP)</small>
!GDP
<small>(in Bil. US$ nominal)</small>
!GDP growth<br /><small>(real)</small>
!Inflation rate<br /><small>(in Percent)</small>
!Unemployment <br /><small>(in Percent)</small>
!Government debt<br /><small>(in % of GDP)</small>
|-
|2015
|340.6
|32,318
|209.1
|5.3 %
|0.3 %
|5.0 %
|40.0 %
|-
|2016
|353.9
|33,529
|229.6
|2.6 %
|0.7 %
|3.9 %
|36.8 %
|-
|2017
|375.7
|35,512
|208.9
|4.3 %
|2.4 %
|2.9 %
|34.7 %
|-
|2018
|397.7
|37,547
|211.7
|3.5 %
|2.3 %
|3.0 %
|32.9 %
|-
|2019
|418.7
|39,478
|209.4
|3.0 %
|2.0 %
|3.2 %
|31.3 %
|-
|2020
|437.7
|41,220
|188.0
|2.5 %
|2.0 %
|3.4 %
|29.4 %
|}
Background
From the CIA World Factbook 2017
GDP (pp.): $353.9 billion (2016)
GDP (nom.): $195.3 billion (2016)
GDP Growth: 2.6% (2016)
GDP per capita (pp.): $33,500 (2016)
GDP per capita (nom.): $18,487 (2016)
GDP by sector:
Agriculture: 2.5%
Industry: 37.5%
Services: 60% (2016)
Inflation: 0.7% (2016)
Labour Force: 5.427 million (2017)
Unemployment: 2,3% (September 2018)
Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (2016)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: (2015)
*lowest 10%: 4.1%
*highest 10%: 21.7%
Public Debt: 34.2% GDP (2018)
Trade and finance
Exports: $136.1 billion
Export goods: machinery and transport equipment, raw materials, fuel, chemicals (2018)
Imports: $122.8 billion
Import goods: machinery and transport equipment, raw materials and fuels, chemicals (2018)
Current Account balance: $2.216 billion (2018)
Export partners: Germany 32.4%, Slovakia 8.4%, Poland 5.8%, UK 5.2%, France 5.2%, Italy 4.3%, Austria 4.2% (2016)
Import partners: Germany 30.6%, Poland 9.6%, China 7.5%, Slovakia 6.3%, Netherlands 5.3%, Italy 4.1% (2016)
Reserves: $85.73 billion (31 December 2016)
Foreign Direct Investment: $139.6 billion (31 December 2016)
Czech Investment Abroad: $43.09 billion (31 December 2016)
External debt: $138 billion (31 December 2016)
Value of Publicly Traded Shares: $44.5 billion (31 December 2016)
Exchange rates:
* koruny (Kč) per US$1 – 21.82 Kč (September 2018), 18.75 (December 2010), 18.277 (2007), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.2 (2003), 32.7 (2002), 38.0 (2001), 38.6 (2001), 34.6 (1999), 32.3 (1998), 31.7 (1997), 27.1 (1996), 26.5 (1995)
* koruny (Kč) per EUR€1 – 27.33 (May 2015), 25.06 (December 2010)
* landline telephone – 25% (2009)
** according to the Czech Statistical Office: 55,2% (2005); 31,1% (2008); 27,6% (2009); 24,2% (2010); 23,4% (2011); 21,8% (2012)
* mobile telephone – 94% (2009)
** according to the Czech Statistical Office: 75,8% (2005); 90,6% (2009); 93,9% (2011); 96,0% (2012); 96,0% (2013)
Broadband penetration rate 42,0% (2005); 59,2% (2009); 64,1% (2010); 67,1% (2011); 69,5% (2012); 70,2% (2013)
* internet – 80.9% (2019)
**according to the Czech Statistical Office: 32,1% (2005); 55,9% (2009); 61,8% (2010); 65,5% (2011); 69,5% (2012); 70,4% (2013)CompaniesIn 2022, the sector with the highest number of companies registered in Czech Republic is Services with 295,538 companies followed by Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate and Wholesale Trade with 189,308 and 95,142 companies respectively.
International rankings
Society and quality of life
2018]]
* 32th in Human Development Index (2022)
* 18th in inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (2022)
* 6th in Henley Passport Index (2024)
* 24th in Human Capital Index (2018)
* 16th in Quality of Nationality Index (Henley & Partners, 2018)
* 27th in Legatum Prosperity Index (2019)
* 22nd in Social Progress Index (2019)
Macroeconomics
* 41st in Ease of doing business index (2019)
* 7th in Economic Complexity Index (2018)
* 26th in Global Competitiveness Report (2022)
* 25th in Global Enabling Trade Report (2016)
* 24th in Global Innovation Index (2019)
* 21st in Index of Economic Freedom (2018)
See also
*List of Czech regions by GDP
*Czech National Bank
* CzechInvest and CzechStartups.org
* International rankings of the Czech Republic
* Prague Stock Exchange
* Tourism in the Czech Republic
* Transport in the Czech Republic
Resources
* Statistická ročenka České republiky (Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic) by the Czech Statistical Office. The current line is published annually since 1957. Recent yearbooks can be read [https://web.archive.org/web/20110718160107/http://www.praha.czso.cz/eng/redakce.nsf/i/statistical_yearbooks_of_the_czech_republic online] (in Czech and English).
* Czechoslovakia published its first statistical yearbook in 1920. Historically used names: Statistická příručka Republiky československé, Statistická ročenka Protektorátu Čechy a Morava (during the occupation) and Statistická ročenka Československé socialistické republiky.
* Statistics about the Czech lands in Austria-Hungary were collected by Zemský statistický úřad Království českého (Provincial Statistical Office of the Czech Kingdom) founded in 1897. Two detailed books (in Czech and German) were published in 1909 and 1913.
* Benacek, Vladimir: economics of alliances and (dis)integration, an alternative interpretation of transition illustrated on Czech economic history (June 2002) - 25 p.
* Horvath, Julius: the Czech currency crisis of 1997 - En: Dabrovski, Marek: currency crises in emerging markets - New York: Springer, 2003 - p. 221-234
* OECD: economic surveys, Czech republic, 1991-2018 (OECD iLibrary)
* Zidek, Libor: from central planning to the market, the transformation of the Czech economy 1989-2004 Budapest: CEU press, 2017
References
External links
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080530205253/http://www.czech.cz/en/economy-business-science/doing-business/ OECD Economic Survey of the Czech Republic]
* [http://eng.kurzy.cz/cnb/ Czech economic indicators] Latest indicators collected by Czech national bank
* [http://www.oecd.org/czech/ OECD's Czech Republic country Web site]
*
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041130030257/http://www.czso.cz/eng/csu.nsf/aktualniinformace Current economic data]
*
* [http://econposguerra.blogspot.com/ Maldonado, Carlos Gustavo: República checa, transición del socialismo de Estado a la economía de mercado - En: economía de posguerra, blog de historia económica global]
* [http://www.ceemarket.com/CEE_basic_data.shtml Economy of the Czech Republic – Annual Trends]
* [http://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/Country/CZE/Year/2012/Summary World Bank Summary Trade Statistics Czech Republic]
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Czech Republic | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Czech_Republic | 2025-04-05T18:27:34.210718 |
5850 | Telecommunications in the Czech Republic | There are telecommunications in the Czech Republic.
Office
There is a Czech Telecommunication Office (Czech: Český Telekomunikační Úřad) called CTU.
Companies
Telecom companies have included České Radiokomunikace, O2 Czech Republic (formerly Telefonica O2 Czech Republic), Vodafone Czech Republic (formerly Oskar Mobil a.s.), CETIN, CS Link, Eurotel, Skylink and Telekom Austria Czech Republic.
Telephones
The number of main line telephones in use was 3,741,492 in 1998, 3.869 million in 2000, 3.626 million in 2003, 2.888 million in 2006, and 1,294,806 in 2021. The number of mobile cellular phones was 965,476 in 1998, and 3,405,834 televisions in December 2000. There were 150 television broadcast stations and 1,434 repeaters in 2000. 4.4 million in 2007 There were 35 Internet Service Providers in 1999, and more than three hundred in 2000.
The internet country code is .cz.
References
Lubos Lauer. Regulation in Telecommunications in the Czech Republic. Lap Lambert Academic Publishing GmbH KG. 2012. Google
F Hesoun. Liberalisation, Regulation and Telecommunication Market in the Czech Republic. Mimeo, Praha. 1994.
Kirsten Rodine-Hardy. Global Markets and Government Regulation in Telecommunications. Cambridge University Press. 2013. Pages 8, 26, 37 to 40, 79 to 82, 84, 86 to 88, 90, 91, 97, 98, 100, 101, 103, 104, 106, 108, 112, 119, 124, 125, 166, 171, 179 to 181, 184 and 189.
Karl-Ernst Schenk, Jörn Kruse and Jürgen Müller. Telecommunications Take-off in Transition Countries. Avebury. 1997. Google
Robert Bruce, Ioannis Kessides and Lothar Kneifel. "Overview of Telecommunications Developments in the Czech Republic". Overcoming Obstacles to Liberalization of the Telecom Sector in Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary. World Bank Technical Paper 440. Chapter 5. Pages 25 to 29.
"Background Report on Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry". Regulatory Reform in the Czech Republic. OECD. Page 311 et seq. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_Czech_Republic | 2025-04-05T18:27:34.238024 |
5851 | Transport in the Czech Republic | thumb|Pendolino 680 in Prague Main railway station
Transport in the Czech Republic relies on several main modes, including transport by road, rail, water and air.
Railways
thumb|Map of the Czech railway network
The Czech Republic has a total railway length of which makes it a country with the second highest rail density in the world. The vast majority () is standard gauge. Electrified railways generally have voltages of 3 kV DC or 25 kV AC. of track is narrow gauge. The most prominent Czech railway company is the state-owned České dráhy (ČD) (English: Czech Railways). Prague has an underground rapid transit system, the Prague Metro. In addition, the cities of Brno, Liberec, Most, Olomouc, Ostrava, Plzeň, and Prague have tram systems.
Roads
alt=|thumb|Map of the Czech motorway network (2024)
thumb|right|Lovosice junction (km 45)
The Czech Republic has, in total, of roads. It has Despite this however, the fatality rate per head of population is moderately high, comparable to the United States.
Waterways
The Vltava is the country's longest river, at 430 km. 358 km of the Elbe (Labe), which totals 1154 km, is also present in the country. An artificial waterway, nowadays used for recreation, is the Baťa Canal.
Ports and harbours
Děčín, Mělník, Prague, Ústí nad Labem, Moldauhafen in Hamburg (no longer operational, will be handed over to Germany in 2028)
Airports
thumb|Václav Havel Airport Prague
thumb|Brno-Tuřany Airport
In 2006, the Czech Republic had a total 121 airports. 46 of these airports had paved runways while 75 had unpaved runways. The largest and busiest airport in the Czech Republic is Václav Havel Airport Prague, opened in 1937. Other international airports include Brno-Tuřany Airport, Karlovy Vary Airport, Ostrava Leoš Janáček Airport, Pardubice Airport, Kunovice Airport and Public domestic and private international airport is for example Hradec Králové Airport.
Airports with paved runways
Total: 46 (2007)
Over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 2
Under 914 m: 19
Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 75 (2007)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 25
Under 914 m: 49
Heliports
2 (2006)
See also
Czech Republic
List of airports in the Czech Republic
Road signs in the Czech Republic
European driving licence
References
External links
Czech Transport
idos.cz - public transport on-line timetables and trip planner (sponsored by the government)
Transport in the Czech Republic
cs:Česko#Doprava | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_the_Czech_Republic | 2025-04-05T18:27:34.263741 |
5853 | Army of the Czech Republic | | image | alt
| caption = Coat of Arms
| image2 | alt2
| caption2 = Roundel
| motto | founded 30 June 1918 <br />()
| current_form = 1 January 1993 <br />()
| disbanded | branches
*
*
*
* Special forces (Czech:Special forces)
*
| headquarters = Prague, Czech Republic
| flying_hours | website
<!-- Leadership -->
| commander-in-chief Army General Petr Pavel
| commander-in-chief_title = President
| chief minister Petr Fiala
| chief minister_title = Prime Minister
| minister Jana Černochová
| minister_title = Minister of Defence
| commander Lieutenant General Karel Řehka
| commander_title =
<!-- Manpower -->
| age = 18
| conscription Abolished in 2004
| manpower_data | manpower_age
| available | available_f
| fit | fit_f
| reaching | reaching_f
| active 30,334 professional<br>4,900 active reserve
|
|
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| alongside the Military Office of the President of the Republic and the Castle Guard. The army consists of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Air Force and support units.
Czech Army derives its legacy from the 15th century proto-Protestant Hussite Army, with many of today's units bearing names in honour of Hussite Army personalities or formations. Its modern history started with formal establishment of the Czechoslovak Legion fighting on the side of the Entente powers during the WW1, thus preceding the 1918 Czechoslovak declaration of independence. Following the Munich Agreement, the country was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Army was reconstituted in exile, fighting on the side of Allies of World War II in the European as well as Mediterranean and Middle East theatre. After the 1948 Communist Coup, the Czechoslovak People's Army with over 200,000 active personnel and some 4,500 tanks formed one of the pillars of the Warsaw Pact military alliance.
Following the Velvet Revolution and dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999. The conscription was abolished in 2004, leading to transformation into a modern professional army inspired mostly by the British Armed Forces and USMC example. Today, the Czech Army has around 30.000 professional personnel and 4.900 members of active reserves. Additionally, any citizen can voluntarily join a five-week basic training without becoming a soldier or join advanced shooting training with their privately owned firearms and become a member of militia-style Designated Reserves.
A law adopted in June 2023 stipulates that the military expenditures shall not be lower than 2% of country's GDP, starting from 2024. In March 2025, Petr Fiala Government adopted a decision to raise the military expenditures annually by 0,2% of GDP, in order to reach at least 3% of GDP in 2030.History Czech lands
Hussites and Catholic Crusaders; Jena Codex, 15th century]]
The military history of the Czech people dates back to the Middle Ages and the creation of the Duchy of Bohemia and the Kingdom of Bohemia. During the Hussite Wars, Jan Žižka became a military leader of such skill and eminence that the Hussite legacy became an important and lasting part of the Czech military traditions. The contemporary Czech Army derives its legacy from the proto-Protestant Hussite Army, with many of today's units bearing names in honour of Hussite Army personalities or formations.
When the World War I broke out, the Czech Crown lands were part of the Austria-Hungary and the colonised Czech population had to serve in its army. From 1914, on the background of attempts to attain independence, various units composed of Czech nationals (with up to 10% of Slovak nationals), mainly POWs, were established, fighting as part of the French, Italian and Russian forces against the Entente powers. Beginning in 1916, these Czechoslovak Legions gained increasingly independent status. Following the 1918 Czechoslovak declaration of independence, the newly established Czechoslovak Army derived its legacy primarily from these legions rather than from the Austrian Habsburg Imperial Army.
Official military names since 1918:
* 1918–1950 - Czechoslovak Armed Forces (this official name was given to the Czechoslovak Army on March 19, 1920, on the basis of the Armed Forces Act)
* 1950–1954 - Czechoslovak Army
* 1954–1989 - Czechoslovak People's Army
* 1990–1992 - Czechoslovak Army
* since 1993 - Army of the Czech Republic (ACR)
Czechoslovakia
The Czechoslovak Armed Forces were originally formed on 30 June 1918 when 6,000 members of the Czechoslovak Legion in France, which had been established in 1914, took oath and received a battle banner in Darney, France, thus preceding the official declaration of Czechoslovak independence by four months. There were also 50 000 legion soldiers in Russia at that time. The military achievements of the Czechoslovak legions on the French, Italian and especially Russian front became one of the main arguments that the Czechoslovak pro-independence leaders, especially for T. G. Masaryk in America, could use to gain the support for the country's independence by the Allies of World War I.
In 1938, servicemen of the Czechoslovak Army and the State Defense Guard fought in an undeclared border war against the German-backed Sudetendeutsches Freikorps as well as Polish and Hungarian paramilitary forces. As a result of the Munich Agreement, areas heavily populated by ethnic German speaking people were incorporated into the Third Reich and military-aged men living there were subject to being drafted into the Wehrmacht. In 1939, after the Slovak State proclaimed its independence and the remainder of Carpathian Ruthenia was occupied and annexed by Hungary, the German occupation of the Czech Lands followed and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the negotiations with Emil Hácha. The Protectorate's government possessed its own armed force, the Government Army (6,500 men), tasked with public security and rearguard duties. On the other side of the conflict, a number of Czechoslovak units and formations served with the Polish Army (Czechoslovak Legion), the French Army, the Royal Air Force, the British Army (the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade), and the Red Army (I Corps). Four Czech and Slovak-manned RAF squadrons were transferred to Czechoslovak control in late 1945.
soldier discusses patrol routes with a Czech Army soldier (left)]]
From 1954 until 1989, the Army was known as the Czechoslovak People's Army (ČSLA). Although the ČSLA, as formed in 1945, included both Soviet- and British-equipped/trained expatriate troops, the "Western" soldiers had been purged from the ČSLA after 1948 when the communists took power. The ČSLA offered no resistance to the invasion mounted by the Soviets in 1968 in reaction to the "Prague Spring", and was extensively reorganized by the Soviets following the re-imposition of communist rule in Prague.
Of the approximately 201,000 personnel on active duty in the ČSLA in 1987, about 145,000, or about 72 percent, served in the ground forces (commonly referred to as the army). About 100,000 of these were conscripts. There were two military districts, Western and Eastern. A 1989 listing of forces shows two Czechoslovak armies in the west, the 1st Army at Příbram with one tank division and three motor rifle divisions, the 4th Army at Písek with two tank divisions and two motor rifle divisions. In the Eastern Military District, there were two tank divisions, the 13th and 14th, with a supervisory headquarters at Trenčín in the Slovak part of the country.
During the Cold War, the ČSLA was equipped primarily with Soviet arms, although certain arms like the OT-64 SKOT armored personnel carrier, the L-29 Delfín and L-39 Albatros aircraft, the P-27 Pancéřovka antitank rocket launcher, the vz. 58 assault rifle or the Uk vz. 59 machine gun were of Czechoslovak design.
After the fall of communism during the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the Czechoslovak People's Army was renamed back to the Czechoslovak Army and was completely transformed as well.
After 1992 (dissolution of Czechoslovakia)
firing in Afghanistan]]
in Hohenfels, Germany]]
The Army of the Czech Republic was formed after the Czechoslovak Armed Forces split after the 31 December 1992 peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Czech forces stood at 90,000 in 1993. They were reduced to around 65,000 in 11 combat brigades and the Air Force in 1997, to 63,601 in 1999, and to 35,000 in 2005. At the same time, the forces were modernized and reoriented towards a defensive posture. In 2004, the army transformed itself into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished. The Army maintains an active reserve.
The Czech Republic is a member of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. In March 1999, the Czech Republic joined NATO. Since 1990, the ACR and the Czech Armed Forces have contributed to numerous peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, including IFOR, SFOR, and EUFOR Althea in Bosnia, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Albania, Turkey, Pakistan and with the Coalition forces in Iraq.
Current deployments (2019):
*Lithuania: NATO Operation (NATO Enhanced Forward Presence) - 230 soldiers
*Latvia: NATO Operation (NATO Enhanced Forward Presence) - 60 soldiers
*Afghanistan: NATO Operation (Resolute Support Mission) - 390 soldiers
*Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: NATO Operation (Baltic Air Policing) - 95 soldiers, 5x Jas 39 Gripen
*Kosovo: NATO Operation (KFOR) - 9 soldiers
*Mali: EU military training mission (EUTM Mali) - 120 soldiers
*Mali: UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA) - 5 soldiers
*Somalia: EU Operation Atalanta (NAVFOR) - 3 soldiers
*Sinai: International peacekeeping force (MFO) - 18 soldiers
*Iraq: Military intervention against the Islamic State (OIR) - 31 soldiers (air advisory team), 12 soldiers (chemical unit)
*Mediterranean Sea: EU military operation (EU Navfor Med) - 5 soldiers
*Bosnia and Herzegovina: Military deployment to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement (European Union Force Althea) - 2 soldiers
*Golan Heights: UN peacekeeping mission (UNDOF) - 3 soldiers
*DR Congo: UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) - 2 military observers
*Mali: UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA) - 2 military observers
*Kosovo: UN peacekeeping mission (UNMIK) - 2 military observers
*Central African Republic: UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) - 3 military observers
Structure
Many of the duties of the President of the Czech Republic can be said to be ceremonial to one degree or another, especially since the President has relatively few powers independent of the will of the Prime Minister. One of those is the status as commander in chief of the military; no part of these duties can take place but through the assent of the Prime Minister. In matters of war, he is in every sense merely a figurehead, since the Constitution gives all substantive constitutional authority over the use of the armed forces to the Parliament. In fact, the only specific thing the constitution allows the President to do with respect to the military is to appoint its generalsbut even this must be done with the signature of the Prime Minister.
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Structure of the Czech Armed Forces consists of two main parts and other commands:
* General Staff of Czech Armed Forces (Praha)
** Czech Land Forces (Olomouc)
** Czech Air Force (Praha)
**Special Forces Command (Praha)
**Cyber Forces Command (Brno)
**Territorial Command (Tábor)
**Training Command - Military Academy (Vyškov)
Active reserves
Active Reserve (in Czech Aktivní záloha) is a part of the otherwise professional Army of the Czech Republic. This service was created to allow the participation of citizens with a positive attitude to the military.
A volunteer needs either to have completed the compulsory military service (which ended in 2004) or to attend 6 week training. Then the reservists have to serve up to three weeks a year and can be called up to serve two weeks during a non-military crisis. They are not intended to serve abroad, but individuals may volunteer to do so. The Reserve presents itself on events like BAHNA, a military show.
Each of the active duty brigades or regiments have their own active reserve subordinate units that train with the same equipment as the professional soldiers and is part of the organisational structure usually as a 4th company in a battalion.
The Territorial Command is responsible for the active reserves and have direct control of the 14 infantry companies that belong to regional military commands in each of the 13 regions and capital city Prague.
Equipment
The Army of the Czech Republic, to a large extent, currently uses equipment dating back to the times of the Warsaw Pact. During the Cold War, Czechoslovakia was a major supplier of tanks, armoured personnel carriers, military trucks and trainer aircraft – the bulk of military exports went to its Comecon partners. Replacement of aging or obsolete equipment, or making it at least compliant with NATO standards, is urgently required. Modernization plans include acquisition of new multi-role helicopters, transport aircraft, infantry fighting vehicles, air defence radars and missiles. If possible, the Czech Ministry of Defence selects products that are manufactured or co-produced in the Czech Republic. This includes firearms of the Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, namely the CZ 75 pistol, CZ Scorpion Evo 3 submachine gun, and CZ 805 BREN and BREN 2 assault rifles. Moreover, the Czech Army is equipped with about 3,000 T810 and T815 vehicles of various modifications produced by the Czech Tatra Trucks company. Tatra Defence Vehicle factory ensures licensed production of Pandur II and Titus armoured vehicles. Aircraft such as the Aero L-39 Albatros, Aero L-159 Alca and Let L-410 Turbolet have been produced domestically as well.
At the beginning of 2019, the Czech Ministry of Defence announced its modernization program, consisting of acquiring 210 new modern IFVs as a replacement for the aging BVP-2. MoD approached four manufacturers: BAE Systems (CV90), GDELS (ASCOD), Rheinmetall (Lynx) and PSM (Puma). The cost of the program is expected to exceed 50 billion CZK.
In May 2022 the Czech Ministry of Defence announced it will get 15 Leopards 2A4 from Germany as an exchange for Czech tanks that will be given to Ukraine to help defend against Russian invasion and will purchase up to 50 modern 2A7+ variants later.
<gallery>
File:Areál čs. opevnění v Darkovičkách - akce.jpg|Czech modernized<br>T-72M4CZ
File:KBV-PZLOK.JPG|Czech Pandur II 8x8 wheeled IFV
File:Tatra T-810 Czech Army 01.jpg|Tatra T810 (Tactic, 6x6) medium truck
File:Gripen CZ 9242 LKCV.jpg|Czech Air Force JAS 39 Gripen
File:L-39NG flying low.jpg|Czech Air Force Aero L-39 Skyfox light combat aircraft
File:L-159 ALCA Czech Air Force.jpg|Czech Air Force Aero L-159 light combat aircraft
</gallery>
Uniforms
Different types of Czech Army uniforms:
<gallery>
Image:Czech ISAF (6).jpg|Commando soldier from ÚSO VP SOG in desert camouflage uniform in Afghanistan
Image:Czech KFOR (1).jpg|Standard VZ.95 pattern camouflage uniform
Image:Aktivni_zalohy_ACR.jpg|Members of the Active Reserve during exercise
Image:Posadkova hudba Olomouc.jpg|Czech military band in Olomouc
Image:Posadkova hudba Olomouc 2.jpg|Czech military band in Olomouc
Image:Czechguards.jpg|Soldier of Prague Castle guard holding ceremonial Vz. 52 rifle
</gallery>
Commanding officers
*Chief of the General Staff: Lieutenant General Karel Řehka
*First Deputy Chief of the General Staff: Major General Ivo Střecha
*Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the AČR-Chief of Staff: Lieutenant General Miroslav Hlaváč
*Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Inspector of the AČR: Major General Milan Schulc Current and historic military ranks See also
*Czechoslovakian naval forces
*Government Army
Notes
References
Citations
Publications
*
Further reading
* Stephane Lefebvre, [https://www.academia.edu/973363/The_army_of_the_Czech_republic_A_status_report 'The Army of the Czech Republic: A Status Report,'] Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Vol. 8, No. 4, December 1995, pp. 718–751
* [http://afs.sagepub.com/content/39/3/450.abstract Tomáš Weiss, 'Fighting Wars or Controlling Crowds? The Case of the Czech Military Forces and the Possible Blurring of Police and Military Functions, Armed Forces & Society, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 450-466]
External links
* [http://www.army.cz/en Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic]
* [http://www.natoaktual.cz Information Center about NATO]
*[https://www.vavyskov.cz/ Training Command – Military Academy]
Category:Military of the Czech Republic
Category:Permanent Structured Cooperation | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_the_Czech_Republic | 2025-04-05T18:27:34.331467 |
5855 | Foreign relations of the Czech Republic | thumbnail|right|Embassies (not consulates) of the Czech Republic in the world.
The Czech Republic is a Central European country, a member of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations (and all of its main specialized agencies and boards). It entertains diplomatic relations with 191 countries of the world, around half of which maintain a resident embassy in the Czech capital city, Prague.
During the years 1948–1989, the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia had followed that of the Soviet Union. Since the revolution and the subsequent mutually-agreed peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Czechs have made reintegration with Western institutions their chief foreign policy objective. This goal was rapidly met with great success, as the nation joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, and held the Presidency of the European Union during the first half of 2009.
International disputes
Liechtenstein
Throughout the past decades, Liechtenstein continuously claimed restitution for , or an area roughly ten times the size of Liechtenstein, of land currently located in the Czech Republic. The land was partially confiscated from the Liechtenstein family in 1918 with the rest of the property being confiscated in 1945 after the expulsion of Germans and confiscation of German property. The Czech Republic insisted that it could not acknowledge or be responsible for claims going back to before February 1948, when the Communists had seized power.
As a result, Liechtenstein did not diplomatically recognize the existence of the Czech Republic as a new state (and, for that matter, also that of the Slovak Republic) until 2009.
In July 2009, the Prince of Liechtenstein announced he was resigning to the previous unsuccessful claims to property located in the Czech Republic, and on 13 July 2009, after politically recognizing one another, the Czech Republic and Liechtenstein formally established diplomatic relations.
Placement of US National Missile Defense base
In February 2007, the US started formal negotiations with Czech Republic and Poland concerning construction of missile shield installations in those countries for a Ground-based Midcourse Defense System. Government of the Czech Republic agrees (while 67% Czechs disagree and only about 22% support it) to host a missile defense radar on its territory while a base of missile interceptors is supposed to be built in Poland. The objective is reportedly to protect another parts of US National Missile Defense from long-range missile strikes from Iran and North Korea, but Czech PM Mirek Topolánek said the main reason is to avoid Russian influence and strengthen ties to US.
The main government supporter Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister for European affairs, used to be an ambassador to the USA. More problematic is that between 2004 and 2006 he was an executive director of a lobbying company Dutko Worldwide Prague. Dutko's and its strategic partner AMI Communications (PR company) customers are Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Nortrop Grumman, which are largest contractors for NMD development. AMI Communications also received (without a formal selection procedure) a government contract to persuade Czechs to support US radar base.
Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Czechia maintains diplomatic relations with:
frameless|425x425px#CountryDate12345678910—11121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363740414243444546495253555887109135—136152153154155156157158159160161162163164165167168169171173178179180181184186—187188189190191
Bilateral relations
Multilateral
Organization Formal Relations BeganNotesSee Czech Republic in the European Union
Czech Republic joined the European Union as a full member on 1 May 2004.Czech Republic joined NATO as a full member on 12 March 1999.
Africa
Country Formal relations began NotesCzech Republic is represented in Cape-Verde by its embassy in Lisbon, Portugal
and an honorary consulate in Praia. Ethiopia is accredited to the Czech Republic from its embassy in Berlin, Germany.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Addis Ababa. Czech Republic has an embassy in Cairo.
Egypt has an embassy in Prague.1973Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1973 (with Czechoslovakia) and in 1993.
Czech Republic is represented in Guinea-Bissau by its embassy in Accra, Ghana. and has an honorary consulate.
Belize has an honorary consulate in Prague.1918See Brazil–Czech Republic relations
Brazil has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Brasília and a consulate-general in São Paulo.See Canada–Czech Republic relations
Canada has an embassy in Prague
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Ottawa and a consulate-general in Toronto and an honorary consulate in Calgary.See Colombia–Czech Republic relations
Colombia is accredited to the Czech Republic from its embassy in Vienna, Austria.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Bogotá and 3 consulates (in Barranquilla, Cartagena and Medellín).1922See Czech Republic–Mexico relations
Diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and Mexico were established in 1922. Mexico re-recognized Czech independence in 1993 after its separation with Slovakia.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Mexico City and honorary consulates in Monterrey, Guadalajara and Tijuana.
Mexico has an embassy in Prague. Czech Republic has an embassy in Lima.
Peru has an embassy in Prague. Relations were broken in 1957, but reestablished in 1969.See Czech Republic–United States relations
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of Czechoslovakia on 28 October 1918.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Washington, D.C., and consulates-general in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
The United States has an embassy in Prague.See Czech Republic–Uruguay relations
The Czech Republic is accredited to Uruguay from its embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Uruguay is accredited to the Czech Republic from its embassy in Vienna, Austria.
Asia
Country Formal relations began Notes 30 March 1992 Armenia has an embassy in Prague.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Yerevan.
The Czech Republic has recognized the Armenian genocide in 2017.
Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe.29 January 1993The Czech Republic recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 8 January 1992.
Azerbaijan has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Baku.
Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).6 October 1949See China–Czech Republic relations
Czech Republic has an embassy in Beijing and consulates-general in Chengdu, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
China has an embassy in Prague. The Czech Republic has an embassy in Tbilisi.
Georgia has an embassy in Prague since 2006.
The Czech Republic is an EU member and Georgia is an EU candidate.
Georgian Ministry of Foreign relations about the relation with the Czech Republic See Czech Republic–India relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in New Delhi.
Consulate of Czech Republic in India at Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata.
India has an embassy in Prague.See Czech Republic–Indonesia relationsSee Czech Republic–Iran relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Tehran.
Iran has an embassy in Prague.1993See Czech Republic–Iraq relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Baghdad.
Iraq has an embassy in Prague.
The Czech Republic was part of the Multinational force in Iraq between 2003 and 4 December 2008.See Czech Republic–Israel relations
The government of Czechoslovakia recognised independence of Israel five days after its declaration on 19 May 1948. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established on 3 July 1948. Czechoslovakia supported with military aircraft and weapons newly created Israeli state for several months, however then-new communist government ceased this support and in few years even the diplomatic relations were broken. Communist regime did spread anti-Israeli propaganda, like all then socialist countries. After the Velvet revolution, the relations were renewed. The Czech Republic has an embassy in Tel Aviv and 4 honorary consulates (in Eilat, Haifa, Jerusalem and Ramat Gan). Israel has an embassy in Prague.
In December 2008 the Czech Air Force wanted to train in desert conditions for the upcoming mission in Afghanistan. No country agreed to help, except Israel. Israel saw it as an opportunity to thank the Czechs for training Israeli pilots when the country was first established.
There are 3,000 Jews living in the Czech Republic (see also History of the Jews in the Czech Republic).1919See Czech Republic–Japan relations
Japan's first Minister Plenipotentiary to Czechoslovakia was Harukazu Nagaoka
Relations between Czechoslovakia and Japan were broken off in 1939, and not re-established until 1957
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Tokyo and an honorary consulate in Kobe.
Japan has an embassy in Prague.See Czech Republic–Kazakhstan relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Astana and a branch office of the embassy in Almaty.
Kazakhstan has an embassy in Prague and an honorary consulate in Jaroměř.See Czech Republic–Malaysia relations
Czech Republic has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia has an embassy in Prague.
Following the establishment of relations with the Soviet Union in 1968, Malaysia also expanded its relations with Czech Republic and other Eastern European countries. 1992See Czech Republic–Mongolia relations
After the 1992 dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Mongolia reaffirmed its relations with the newly formed Czech Republic in 1993.
The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ulaanbaatar was formally reopened in 1999. According to reporting in Deník N, the Security Information Service expelled a North Korean diplomat who was attempting to circumvent the sanctions against North Korea.
North Korea has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Pyongyang.See Pakistan-Czech Republic relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Islamabad and two honorary consulates in Lahore and Karachi.
Pakistan has an embassy in Prague.
On 20 September 2008 the Czech Republic's ambassador to Pakistan, Ivo Žďárek, was killed in a blast at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. See Czech Republic–Philippines relations
The current diplomatic relationship of the Czech Republic and the Philippines has its roots to the friendship of Filipino national hero José Rizal and Ferdinand Blumentritt even neither countries existed yet back in the 19th century. Rizal visited Blumentritt in the city of Litomerice, Bohemia (present day Czech Republic) in 1887. According to Filipino Foreign secretary Albert del Rosario, the friendship between the two men served as the foundation of the current bilateral ties between the two countries.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Manila.
Philippines has an embassy in Prague. See Czech Republic–South Korea relations
The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) began on 22 March 1990.
South Korea has an embassy in Prague since 1990.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Seoul since 1991.
There is also the Czech Info Center in Seoul.
The Czech Republic has a Working Holiday Program Agreement with South Korea It was at the first time with a country of the Asia. See Czech Republic–Taiwan relations
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Prague
Czech Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Taipei1924See Czech Republic–Turkey relations
Czech Republic has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate-general in Istanbul.
Turkey has en embassy in Prague.
Both are members of NATO See Czech Republic–Vietnam relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Hanoi.
Vietnam has an embassy in Prague.
Europe
Country Formal relations began NotesSee Albania–Czech Republic relations
The multi-national Communist armed forces' sole joint action was the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. All member countries, with the exception of the People's Republic of Albania and the Socialist Republic of Romania participated in the invasion. Albania formally withdrew from the Warsaw Pact in 1968 over the matter.
Albania has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Tirana.See Austria–Czech Republic relations
Austria has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Vienna.
Both countries are full members of the European Union. They share of common border, which can be crossed anywhere without border control due to the Schengen Agreement.See Belarus–Czech Republic relations
Belarus has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Minsk. 21 September 1919 Belgium has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Brussels.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO.See Bulgaria–Czech Republic relations
Diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia were established on 27 September 1920, they were severed on 1 June 1939 and were restored on 10 October 1945. On 23 December 1992 Bulgaria recognised the Czech Republic and established diplomatic relations with it at the level of embassies as of 1 January 1993.
Bulgaria has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Sofia.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO.See Croatia–Czech Republic relations
Croatia has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Zagreb.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO.See Cyprus–Czech Republic relations
Cyprus has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Nicosia.
Both countries are full members of the European Union.See Czech Republic–Denmark relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Copenhagen and an honorary consulate in Højbjerg.
Denmark has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union.s Both countries restored their diplomatic relation on 9 September 1991. On 1 January 1993 diplomatic relations were automatically transferred to the successor states of Czechoslovakia.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Tallinn.
Estonia has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union.
Estonia Ministry of Foreign affairs about relations with the Czech Republic Finland recognised the independence of the Czech Republic on 1 January 1993.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Helsinki. Finland has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO.
Embassy of the Czech Republic in Helsinki
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland about relations with the Czech RepublicSee Czech Republic–France relations
The first diplomatic contacts date back from the Middle Ages. France has been the first country to recognize Czechoslovakia on 28 October 1918.
The two countries concluded a treaty of Alliance on 25 January 1924.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Paris and four honorary consulates (in Lille, Lyon, Nancy, and Nantes).
France has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union. Since 1999, Czech Republic is an observer in the Francophonie.
French Foreign Ministry about relations with the Czech Republic-->See Czech Republic–Germany relations
Both countries share of common borders.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Berlin, three general consulates (in Bonn, Dresden and Munich), and 6 honorary consulates (in Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Nürnberg, Rostock and Stuttgart).
Germany has an embassy in Prague.See Czech Republic–Greece relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Athens.
Greece has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union. Before 1918, both countries were part of Austria-Hungary.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Budapest.
Hungary has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union.See Czech Republic–Iceland relations
Neither country has a resident embassy.
The Czech Republic is accredited to Iceland from its embassy in Oslo, Norway and maintains an honorary consulate in Reykjavík.
Iceland is accredited to the Czech Republic through its embassy in Vienna, Austria and maintains an honorary consulate in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO, of the Council of Europe and of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Czech Republic has an embassy in Dublin.
Ireland has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and the Council of Europe.
There are approximately 5,300 Czechs living in Ireland.
The Czech Irish Business Association supports Czech / Irish Business ventures-->See Czech Republic–Italy relations
Northern Italy and the Czech Republic were formerly part of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Rome and a consulate-general in Milan, and 5 honorary consulate (in Florence, Naples, Palermo, Udine, and Venice).
Italy has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union.
See also:Czechs in Italy and Italians in the Czech RepublicSee Czech Republic–Kosovo relations
Czech Republic recognized Kosovo on 21 May 2008.
The Czech Republic opened an embassy in Pristina on 16 July 2008. Czechoslovakia recognised Latvia on 5 January 1922.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Riga.
Latvia has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union.
Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with the Czech Republic Both countries re-established diplomatic relations on 9 September 1991.
Lithuania recognised the Czech Republic after the split of Czechoslovakia on 5 January 1992 and diplomatic relation were established the following day.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Vilnius.
Lithuania has an embassy in Prague and an honorary consulate in Brno.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union.
Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign affairs: list of bilateral treaties with the Czech Republic (in Lithuanian only) --> The Czech Republic has an embassy in Luxembourg City.
Luxembourg has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, of the European Union and of NATO.
See also:Czechs in Luxembourg and Luxembourgians in the Czech Republic--> The Czech Republic is accredited to Malta from its embassy in Rome, Italy and maintains an honorary consulate in Valletta.
Malta is accredited to the Czech Republic from a non-resident ambassador based at the Foreign Ministry at Valletta.
Both countries are full members of the European Union. See Czech Republic–Moldova relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Chișinău.
Moldova has an embassy in Prague.
The Czech Republic is an EU member and Moldova is an EU candidate. The Czech Republic has an embassy in The Hague and an honorary consulate in Amsterdam.
The Netherlands has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO.
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the relation with the Czech Republic (in Dutch only)
See also:Czechs in the Netherlands and Dutchs in the Czech RepublicSee Czech Republic–North Macedonia relations
Czech Republic has an embassy in Skopje.
North Macedonia has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO.See Poland–Czech Republic relations
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO. They share of common border, which can be crossed anywhere without border control due to the Schengen Agreement.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Warsaw and a consulate-general in Katowice.
Poland has an embassy in Prague and a consulate-general in Ostrava. Czech Republic has an embassy in Lisbon.
Portugal has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO.
See also:Czechs in Portugal and Portuguese in the Czech Republic After the splitting of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania established diplomatic relation on 18 December 1992.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Bucharest.
Romania has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union.See Czech Republic–Russia relations
The present day relations between the two countries have deteriorated in the wake of events such as the Russian annexation of Crimea, the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia also has further reduced its oil deliveries to the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Moscow. On 24 February 2022 the Czech Republic decided to close its both consulates-general in Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has an embassy in Prague. On 24 February 2022 the Czech Republic decided to close both of Russia's consulates-general in Brno and Karlovy Vary following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Czech Republic has an embassy in Belgrade.
Serbia has an embassy in Prague.
Czech Republic is an EU member and Serbia is an candidate.
Czech relations with Serbia were usually positive, just like relations between Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia (prewar). However, Czech government under administration of Mirek Topolánek decided to recognize Kosovo – the very important issue in Serbian politics.See Czech Republic–Slovakia relations
Before 1918, both countries were part of Austria-Hungary, and between 1918 and 1 January 1993, both countries were part of Czechoslovakia.
Czech Republic has an embassy in Bratislava.
Slovakia has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO. Czech Republic has an embassy in Ljubljana.
Slovenia has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO.See Czech Republic–Spain relations
Czech Republic has an embassy in Madrid.
Spain has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO. See Czech Republic–Sweden relations
Czech Republic has an embassy in Stockholm.
Sweden has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO. Czech Republic has an embassy in Bern.
Switzerland has an embassy in Prague.
Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe.-->|See Czech Republic–Ukraine relations
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Kyiv and 2 general consulates in Donetsk and Lviv.
Ukraine has an embassy in Prague, a consulate and an honorary consulate in Brno.
The Czech Republic is an EU member and Ukraine is an EU candidate.
During the Interwar era the Ukrainian province Zakarpattia Oblast was part of Czechoslovakia. 3 September 1919 See Czech Republic–United Kingdom relations
Czechia established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 3 September 1919.
Czechia maintains an embassy in London.
The United Kingdom is accredited to Czechia through its embassy in Prague.
Both countries share common membership of the Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, NATO, OSCE, and the World Trade Organization. Bilaterally the two countries have an Investment Agreement.
Multilateral relations
Foreign relations of the European Union
Foreign relations of NATO
See also
List of diplomatic missions in the Czech Republic
Visa policy of the Schengen Area
Visa requirements for Czech citizens
Visa (document)#Visa restrictions
References
External links
Concept of foreign policy of the Czech Republic
Category:Government of the Czech Republic | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_Czech_Republic | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.253398 |
5857 | Climbing | thumb|upright=1.35|Free soloing Separate Reality (5.11d), Yosemite
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locomotion, sporting recreation, for competition, and is also done in trades that rely on ascension, such as construction and military operations. Climbing is done indoors and outdoors, on natural surfaces (e.g. rock climbing and ice climbing), and on artificial surfaces (e.g. climbing walls and climbing gyms).
The sport of climbing evolved by climbers making first ascents of new types of climbing routes, using new climbing techniques, at ever-increasing grades of difficulty, with ever-improving pieces of climbing equipment. Guides and guidebooks were an important element in developing the popularity of the sport in the natural environment. Early pioneers included Walter Bonatti, Riccardo Cassin, Hermann Buhl, and Gaston Rébuffat, who were followed by and Reinhold Messner and Doug Scott, and later by Mick Fowler and Marko Prezelj, and Ueli Steck. Since the 1980s, the development of the safer format of bolted sport climbing, the wider availability of artificial climbing walls and climbing gyms, and the development of competition climbing, increased the popularity of rock climbing as a sport, and led to the emergence of professional rock climbers, such as Wolfgang Güllich, Alexander Huber, Chris Sharma, Adam Ondra, Lynn Hill, Catherine Destivelle, and Janja Garnbret.
Climbing became an Olympic sport for the first time in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo (see Sport climbing at the 2020 Summer Olympics) in that format that included competition lead climbing, competition bouldering, and competition speed climbing disciplines; competition ice climbing is not yet an Olympic sport.
Rock-based
Rock climbing can trace its origins to the late 19th-century, and has since developed into several main sub-disciplines. Single-pitch and multi-pitch (and big wall) climbing, can be performed in varying styles (including aid, sport, traditional, free solo, and top-roping), while the standalone discipline of bouldering (or boulder climbing) is by definition performed in a free solo format.
Single pitch climbing means ascending climbs that are a single rope-length (up to 50-metres) while multi-pitch climbing (and big wall climbing) means ascending routes that are many rope-lengths (even up to 1,000-metres). These two rock climbing sub-disciplines can be conducted in one of several ways:
Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses no artificial aids (which is known as free climbing), but does rely on permanent fixed bolts (or pitons), for use as protection while climbing (but not as aid); was started in the 1980s in France and now makes up the world's hardest climbs (e.g. Silence).
Traditional climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses no artificial aids (and is thus free climbing) but unlike sport climbing, the climbers place removable protection such as SCLDs and nuts while ascending that are removed by the second climber; has many famous routes (e.g. Indian Face, Cobra Crack).
Free soloing is a form of rock climbing that uses no artificial aids (and is thus also free climbing) and where the climber uses no protection (neither sport nor traditional); thus any fall while free soloing could be fatal; deep-water soloing is a form of free soloing where a fall will result in landing into safe water. The 2017 free solo of Freerider became the Oscar-winning film, Free Solo.
Top rope climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses no artificial aids but as the sole form of protection, uses a pre-fixed rope secured to the top of the route (i.e. is used on single-pitches), and thus should the climber fall, they simply hang off the rope with no risk of any injury; it is not regarded as free climbing but is a popular and safe way to introduce people to free climbing (and common on climbing walls).
Bouldering: means ascending boulders or small outcrops with no artificial aids (free climbing) and due to the lower height, with no protection (making bouldering a form of free soloing); very tall boulders where a fall could be serious (i.e. up to 10-metres) are known as highball bouldering. Many milestones in bouldering (e.g. Midnight Lightning, Dreamtime and Burden of Dreams) were created by practitioners of bouldering and free climbing.
Mountain-based
Alpine climbing: Ascending large routes that require rock, ice, and mixed climbing skills but with minimal equipment and no outside support.
Ice climbing: Ascending frozen water ice or hard alpine snow using equipment such as ice axes and crampons; usually in mountain settings.
Mixed climbing: Ascending routes using ice climbing equipment where there is both rock and ice (called dry-tooling if there is no ice).
Competition lead climbing is a form of competitive lead climbing performed on an artificial bolted sport climbing route.
Competition bouldering is a form of competitive bouldering performed on a selection of artificial bouldering routes.
Competition speed climbing is a form of competitive speed climbing performed on a standardized artificial wall with a top rope.
Competition ice climbing is a regulated sport of 'competitive ice climbing' that originated in the early 2000s, and which is done on outdoor or indoor climbing on artificial ice climbing walls that consist of ice and dry surfaces. The UIAA is the governing body for competition ice climbing worldwide and their events include a lead ice climbing discipline and a speed ice climbing discipline. Competition ice climbing is not as yet an Olympic Sport.
Other recreational-based
Buildering: Ascending the exterior skeletons of buildings, typically without protective equipment (e.g. as free solo climbing by Alain Robert).
Canyoneering: Climbing along canyons for sport or recreation.
Crane climbing: An illicit act of climbing up mechanical cranes, which is a form of buildering.
Grass climbing: An older form of climbing when climbing steep but grassy mountainsides, often requiring ropes, was undertaken.
Mallakhamba: A traditional Indian sport that combines climbing a pole or rope with the performance of aerial yoga and gymnastics.
Parkour: A sport based around smooth movement, including climbing, around urban landscapes.
Pole climbing: Climbing poles and masts without equipment.
Rope climbing: Climbing a short, thick rope for speed; not to be confused with roped climbing, as used in rock or ice climbing.
Stair climbing: ascending elevation via stairs.
Tree climbing: Recreationally ascending trees using ropes and other protective equipment.
Commercial-based
Rope access: Industrial climbing, usually abseiling, as an alternative to scaffolding for short works on exposed structures.
A tower climber is a professional who climbs broadcasting or telecommunication towers or masts for maintenance or repair.
International organizations and governing bodies
The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) serves as the official governing body for competition climbing worldwide. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and oversees and regulates competitive climbing events in the disciplines of lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing.
The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) is a long-standing body for mountaineering and climbing equipment, and which also oversees competition ice climbing, where it sets standards and guidelines for ice climbing events and promotes the sport's development.
In film
Climbing has been the subject of both narrative and documentary films. Notable climbing films include Touching the Void (2003), Everest (2015), Meru (2015), The Dawn Wall (2015), Free Solo (2018), 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021), and The Alpinist (2021). The Reel Rock Film Tour is a traveling film festival that exclusively screens climbing and adventure films, and includes the Reel Rock climbing film series.
Gallery
File:Robi-Bosh-Alain-Robert.jpg|Free solo climbing in the Verdon Gorge
File:Midnight Lightning yosemite.jpg|Bouldering on Midnight Lightning in Yosemite
File:Crack climbing in Indian Creek, Utah.jpg|Traditional climbing on a crack in Indian Creek
File:Ainhize Belar eskalatzen.jpg |Sport climbing on a bolted route in Spain
File:Craig DeMartino on Zodiac on El Capitan.jpg |Big wall climbing on Zodiac on El Capitan
File:Climbing World Championships 2018 Lead Final Schubert 08.jpg|Competition climbing at the 2018 World Finals
File:Herbert Hellmuth Summit on mt. Manaslu.jpg|Mountaineering on the summit ridge of the eight-thousander, Manaslu
File:Hinterstoisserquergang.JPG|Alpine climbing on the north face of the Eiger
File:Xaver Bongard in der Breitwangflue.jpg |Ice climbing on Crack Baby in Switzerland
File:Piratescove.jpg|Mixed climbing in Glenwood, Colorado
File:Buildering On Doran Bridge.jpg |Buildering on the Doran Memorial Bridge
See also
List of climbers and mountaineers
Glossary of climbing terms
References
Further reading
External links
Rock climbing: from ancient practice to Olympic sport, National Geographic (March 2019)
Rock climbing - history & factfile, BBC (2022) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climbing | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.319085 |
5859 | Continuity Irish Republican Army | |image=Ciraderry.jpg
|caption=CIRA propaganda video
|allegiance Irish Republic
|active1986–present
|ideology=
|clans=
|leader1_title=Leadership
|leader1_name=Continuity Army Council
|area=
|sizeAbout 50 (as of
|predecessor=Provisional Irish Republican Army
|alliesNIRA
|opponents=
|designated_as_terror_group_by=
|native_name=Óglaigh na hÉireann
|split|native_name_langgd
}}
The Continuity Irish Republican Army (Continuity IRA or CIRA), styling itself as the Irish Republican Army (), is an Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a united Ireland. It claims to be a direct continuation of the original Irish Republican Army and the national army of the Irish Republic that was proclaimed in 1916. It emerged from a split in the Provisional IRA in 1986 but did not become active until the Provisional IRA ceasefire of 1994. It is an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and is designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States. It has links with the political party Republican Sinn Féin (RSF).
Since 1994, the CIRA has waged a campaign in Northern Ireland against the British Army and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary. This is part of a wider campaign against the British security forces by dissident republican paramilitaries. It has targeted the security forces in gun attacks and bombings, as well as with grenades, mortars and rockets. The CIRA has also carried out bombings with the goal of causing economic harm and/or disruption, as well as many punishment attacks on alleged criminals.
To date, it has been responsible for the death of one PSNI officer. The CIRA was smaller and less active than the now-defunct Real IRA, and there have been a number of splits within the organisation since the mid-2000s.
Origins
The Continuity IRA has its origins in a split in the Provisional IRA. In September 1986, the Provisional IRA held a General Army Convention (GAC), the organisation's supreme decision-making body. It was the first GAC in 16 years. The meeting, which like all such meetings was secret, was convened to discuss among other resolutions, the articles of the Provisional IRA constitution which dealt with abstentionism, specifically its opposition to the taking of seats in Dáil Éireann (the parliament of the Republic of Ireland).
The Provisional IRA convention delegates opposed to the change in the constitution claimed that the convention was gerrymandered "by the creation of new IRA organisational structures for the convention, including the combinations of Sligo-Roscommon-Longford and Wicklow-Wexford-Waterford." The only IRA body that supported this viewpoint was the outgoing IRA Executive. Those members of the outgoing Executive who opposed the change comprised a quorum. They met, dismissed those in favour of the change, and set up a new Executive. They contacted Tom Maguire, who was a commander in the old IRA and had supported the Provisionals against the Official IRA (see Irish republican legitimatism), and asked him for support. Maguire had also been contacted by supporters of Gerry Adams, then president of Sinn Féin, and a supporter of the change in the Provisional IRA constitution.
Maguire rejected Adams' supporters, supported the IRA Executive members opposed to the change, and named the new organisers the Continuity Army Council.
Campaign
Initially, the Continuity IRA did not reveal its existence, either in the form of press statements or paramilitary activity. Although the Garda Síochána had suspicions that the organisation existed, they were unsure of its name, labelling it the "Irish National Republican Army". On 21 January 1994, on the 75th anniversary of the First Dáil Éireann, a group of men in paramilitary dress offered a "final salute" to Tom Maguire by firing over his grave. A public statement headed "Irish Republican Publicity Bureau" signed "B Ó Ruairc, Rúnaí [Secretary]" identifying the firing party as "Volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann-the Irish Republican Army", and two accompanying photos were published in Saoirse Irish Freedom. Garda Special Branch detectives raided the headquarters of Republican Sinn Féin at Arran Quay, Dublin, two days after the graveside volley, seizing files and questioning staff. In February 1994 it was reported that in previous months Gardaí had found arms dumps along the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth that did not belong to the Provisional IRA, and forensics tests determined had been used for firing practice recently.
It was only after the Provisional IRA declared a ceasefire in 1994 that the Continuity IRA became active, announcing its intention to continue the campaign against British rule. The CIRA continues to oppose the Good Friday Agreement and, unlike the Provisional IRA (and the Real IRA in 1998), the CIRA has not announced a ceasefire or agreed to participate in weapons decommissioning—nor is there any evidence that it will. In the 18th Independent Monitoring Commission's report, the RIRA, the CIRA and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) were deemed a potential future threat. The CIRA was labelled "active, dangerous and committed and... capable of a greater level of violent and other crime". Like the RIRA and RIRA splinter group Óglaigh na hÉireann, it too sought funds for expansion. It is also known to have worked with the INLA.
The CIRA has been involved in a number of bombing and shooting incidents. Targets of the CIRA have included the British military, the Northern Ireland police (both the Royal Ulster Constabulary and its successor the Police Service of Northern Ireland). Since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 the CIRA, along with other paramilitaries opposing the ceasefire, have been involved with a countless number of punishment shootings and beatings. By 2005 the CIRA was believed to be an established presence on the island of Great Britain with the capability of launching attacks. A bomb defused in Dublin in December 2005 was believed to have been the work of the CIRA. In February 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) blamed the CIRA for planting four bombs in Northern Ireland during the final quarter of 2005, as well as several hoax bomb warnings. The IMC also blamed the CIRA for the killings of two former CIRA members in Belfast, who had stolen CIRA weapons and established a rival organisation.
The CIRA continued to be active in both planning and undertaking attacks on the PSNI. The IMC said they tried to lure police into ambushes, while they have also taken to stoning and using petrol bombs. In addition, other assaults, robbery, tiger kidnapping, extortion, fuel laundering and smuggling were undertaken by the group. The CIRA also actively took part in recruiting and training members, including disgruntled former Provisional IRA members. As a result of this continued activity the IMC said the group remained "a very serious threat".
On 10 March 2009 the CIRA claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of a PSNI officer in Craigavon, County Armagh—the first police fatality in Northern Ireland since 1998. The officer was fatally shot by a sniper as he and a colleague investigated "suspicious activity" at a house nearby when a window was smashed by youths causing the occupant to phone the police. The PSNI officers responded to the emergency call, giving a CIRA sniper the chance to shoot and kill officer Stephen Carroll. Carroll was killed two days after the Real IRA's 2009 Massereene Barracks shooting at Massereene Barracks in Antrim. In a press interview with Republican Sinn Féin some days later, regarded by some to be the political wing of the Continuity IRA, Richard Walsh described the attacks as "acts of war".
In 2013, the Continuity IRA's 'South Down Brigade' threatened a Traveller family in Newry and published a statement in the local newspaper. There were negotiations with community representatives and the CIRA announced the threat was lifted. It was believed the threat was issued after a Traveller feud which resulted in a pipe bomb attack in Bessbrook, near Newry. The Continuity IRA is believed to be strongest in the County Fermanagh – North County Armagh area (Craigavon, Armagh and Lurgan). It is believed to be behind a number of attacks such as pipe bombings, rocket attacks, gun attacks, and the PSNI claimed it orchestrated riots a number of times to lure police officers into areas such as Kilwilkie in Lurgan and Drumbeg in Craigavon in order to attack them. It also claimed the group orchestrated a riot during a security alert in Lurgan. The alert turned out to be a hoax.
On Easter 2016, the Continuity IRA marched in paramilitary uniforms through North Lurgan, Co Armagh, without any hindrance from the PSNI who monitored the parade from a police helicopter.
In July and August 2019 the CIRA carried out attempted bomb attacks on the PSNI in Craigavon, County Armagh and Wattlebridge, County Fermanagh.
On 5 February 2020, a bomb planted by the CIRA was found by the PSNI in a lorry in Lurgan. The CIRA believed the lorry was going to be put on a North Channel ferry to Scotland in January 2020.
Claim to legitimacy
Similar to the claim put forward by the Provisional IRA after its split from the Official IRA in 1969, the Continuity IRA claims to be the legitimate continuation of the original Irish Republican Army or Óglaigh na hÉireann. This argument is based on the view that the surviving anti-Treaty members of the Second Dáil delegated their "authority" to the IRA Army Council in 1938. As further justification for this claim, Tom Maguire, one of those anti-Treaty members of the Second Dáil, issued a statement in favour of the Continuity IRA, just as he had done in 1969 in favour of the Provisionals. J. Bowyer Bell, in his The Irish Troubles, describes Maguire's opinion in 1986: "abstentionism was a basic tenet of republicanism, a moral issue of principle. Abstentionism gave the movement legitimacy, the right to wage war, to speak for a Republic all but established in the hearts of the people". Maguire's stature was such that a delegation from Gerry Adams sought his support in 1986, but was rejected.Relationship to other organisationsThese changes within the IRA were accompanied by changes on the political side and at the 1986 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis (party conference), which followed the IRA Convention, the party's policy of abstentionism, which forbade Sinn Féin elected representatives from taking seats in the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic, was dropped. On 2 November, the 628 delegates present cast their votes, the result being 429 to 161. The traditionalists, having lost at both conventions, walked out of the Mansion House, met that evening at the West County Hotel, and reformed as Republican Sinn Féin (RSF).
According to a report in the Cork Examiner, the Continuity IRA's first chief of staff was Dáithí Ó Conaill, who also served as the first chairman of RSF from 1986 to 1987. The Continuity IRA and RSF perceive themselves as forming a "true" Republican Movement.
Structure and status
The leadership of the Continuity IRA is believed to be based in the provinces of Munster and Ulster. It was alleged that its chief of staff was a Limerick man and that a number of other key members were from that county, until their expulsion. Dáithí Ó Conaill was the first chief of staff until 1991. In 2005, Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell told Dáil Éireann that the organisation had a maximum of 150 members.
The CIRA is an illegal organisation under UK (section 11(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000) and ROI law due to the use of 'IRA' in the group's name, in a situation analogous to that of the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA). Membership of the organisation is punishable by a sentence of up to ten years imprisonment under UK law. On 31 May 2001 Dermot Gannon became the first person to be convicted of membership of the CIRA solely on the word of a Garda Síochána chief superintendent. On 13 July 2004, the US government designated the CIRA as a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization'. This made it illegal for Americans to provide material support to the CIRA, requires US financial institutions to block the group's assets and denies alleged CIRA members visas into the US.External aid and arsenalThe US government suspects the Continuity IRA of having received funds and arms from supporters in the United States. Security sources in Ireland have expressed the suspicion that, in co-operation with the RIRA, the Continuity IRA may have acquired arms and materiel from the Balkans. They also suspect that the Continuity IRA arsenal contains some weapons that were taken from Provisional IRA arms dumps, including a few dozen rifles, machine guns, and pistols; a small amount of the explosive Semtex; and a few dozen detonators.
Internal tension and splits
in support of the Continuity IRA (2004)]]
In 2005, several members of the CIRA, who were serving prison sentences in Portlaoise Prison for paramilitary activity, left the organisation. Some transferred to the INLA landing of the prison, but the majority of those who left are now independent and on E4 landing. The remaining CIRA prisoners have moved to D Wing. Supporters of the Continuity IRA leadership claim that this resulted from an internal disagreement, which although brought to a conclusion, was followed by some people leaving the organisation anyway. Supporters of the disaffected members established the Concerned Group for Republican Prisoners. Most of those who had left went back to the CIRA, or dissociated themselves from the CGRP, which is now defunct.
In February 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission claimed in a report on paramilitary activity that two groups, styling themselves as "Óglaigh na hÉireann" and "Saoirse na hÉireann", had been formed after a split in the Continuity IRA either in early 2006 or late 2005. The Óglaigh na hÉireann group was responsible for a number of pipe bomb attacks on the PSNI, bomb hoaxes, and robberies, the IMC also claimed the organisation was responsible for the killing of Andrew Burns on 12 February 2008 and was seeking to recruit former members of the RIRA. The Saoirse na hÉireann (SNH) group was composed of "disaffected and largely young republicans" and was responsible for a number of bomb hoaxes, two of which took place in September 2006. It was thought to have operated largely in republican areas of Belfast . The groups had apparently ceased operations by early 2009.
In 2007, the Continuity IRA was responsible for shooting dead two of its members who had left and attempted to create their own organisation. Upon leaving the CIRA, they had allegedly taken a number of guns with them. The Continuity IRA is believed by Gardaí to have been involved in a number of gangland killings in Dublin and Limerick.
In July 2010, members of a "militant Northern-based faction within the CIRA" claimed to have overthrown the leadership of the organisation. They also claimed that an Army Convention representing "95 per cent of volunteers" had unanimously elected a new 12-member Army Executive, which in turn appointed a new seven-member Army Council. The moves came as a result of dissatisfaction with the southern-based leadership and the apparent winding-down of military operations. A senior source from RSF said: "We would see them [the purported new leadership] as just another splinter group that has broken away." This organisation is referred to as the Real CIRA.
In June 2011 CIRA member Liam Kenny was murdered, allegedly by drug dealers, at his home in Clondalkin, West Dublin. On 28 November 2011 an innocent man was mistakenly shot dead in retaliation for the murder of Liam Kenny. Limerick Real IRA volunteer Rose Lynch pleaded guilty to this murder at the Special Criminal Court and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In July 2012 the CIRA announced it had a new leadership after expelling members who had been working against the organisation.
In April 2014 a former leading member of the Belfast Continuity IRA who had been expelled from the organisation, Tommy Crossan, was shot dead.In popular cultureThe CIRA are depicted in RTÉ's TV series crime drama Love/Hate.
Notes
References
Category:Irish republican militant groups
Category:1986 establishments in Ireland | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_Irish_Republican_Army | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.374106 |
5862 | Congo | thumb|upright=1.5| The Congo River forms much of the border between these two countries. The Congo Basin comes from the river.
Congo or The Congo may refer to:
Congo River, in central Africa
Congo Basin, the sedimentary basin of the river
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, sometimes referred to as "Congo-Kinshasa"
Republic of the Congo, the smaller country to the northwest, sometimes referred to as "Congo-Brazzaville"
Places
Africa
Congo Canyon, a submarine canyon
Kingdom of Kongo (1390–1914)
Kingdom of Kakongo (15th century–1885)
Congo Free State (1885–1908)
Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) or Congo-Léopoldville (1960–1971)
People's Republic of the Congo (1969–1992)
M'banza Congo, capital of Zaire Province in Angola
Kongo, Ghana, town in Ghana
Kongo, Liberia, small town in Liberia
Former colonies
Belgian Congo (modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo)
French Congo (modern-day Republic of the Congo)
Portuguese Congo (modern-day Kabinda, Angola)
United States
Congo, Alabama
Congo, Missouri
Congo, Pennsylvania
Congo, West Virginia
Congo Cay, United States Virgin Islands
Elsewhere
Congo, New South Wales, Australia
Congo, Paraíba, Brazil
Congo River (disambiguation), a list of rivers with the name
Congo Town, a village in Andros Island, Bahamas
Congo Volcano or Congo Mountain, in Costa Rica
Languages and ethnic groups
Niger–Congo languages
Kongo languages
Kongo language, a Bantu language
Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group
Arts and entertainment
Music
The Congos, a reggae vocal group from Jamaica
Congo (album), 1979
"Congo" (song), by Genesis, 1997
Kongos (band), a South African American band
Other uses in arts, entertainment, and media
Congo (novel), a 1980 novel by Michael Crichton
Congo (film), a 1995 film based on the novel
Congo (chess variant), using a 7×7 gameboard
Congo (pinball), a 1995 pinball machine
Congo (TV series), a 2001 nature documentary
Congo – A Political Tragedy, a 2018 documentary film
Congo: The Epic History of a People, a 2010 book by David van Reybrouck
Kongo (film), a 1932 American film
People
Edwin Congo (born 1976), Colombian footballer
Louis Congo (fl. 1725), emancipated slave appointed public executioner of French Louisiana
Richard Congo (born 1961), American basketball player
Cheick Kongo (born 1975), French mixed martial arts fighter and kickboxer
John Kongos (born 1945), South African singer and songwriter
Kongo Kong, wrestling ring name of Steven Wilson (born 1979)
Other uses
Congo (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee who learned how to draw and paint
Congo (loa), a voodoo spirit
Congo Airways, the flag carrier of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Congo Airlines, a former airline
, a Royal Navy ship
Conference of NGOs (CoNGO), a membership association of non-governmental organizations
Kongo University, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Congo Brands, the manufacturer of Prime (drink)
See also
Conga (disambiguation)
Congolese (disambiguation)
King Kong (disambiguation)
Kongo (disambiguation)
Kongō (disambiguation)
Kongolo (disambiguation)
Congoid, an outdated historical grouping of various people
Kakongo, former kingdom
Category:Language and nationality disambiguation pages | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.401227 |
5863 | Copenhagen interpretation | The Copenhagen interpretation is a collection of views about the meaning of quantum mechanics, stemming from the work of Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and others. While "Copenhagen" refers to the Danish city, the use as an "interpretation" was apparently coined by Heisenberg during the 1950s to refer to ideas developed in the 1925–1927 period, glossing over his disagreements with Bohr. Consequently, there is no definitive historical statement of what the interpretation entails.
Features common across versions of the Copenhagen interpretation include the idea that quantum mechanics is intrinsically indeterministic, with probabilities calculated using the Born rule, and the principle of complementarity, which states that objects have certain pairs of complementary properties that cannot all be observed or measured simultaneously. Moreover, the act of "observing" or "measuring" an object is irreversible, and no truth can be attributed to an object except according to the results of its measurement (that is, the Copenhagen interpretation rejects counterfactual definiteness). Copenhagen-type interpretations hold that quantum descriptions are objective, in that they are independent of physicists' personal beliefs and other arbitrary mental factors.
Over the years, there have been many objections to aspects of Copenhagen-type interpretations, including the discontinuous and stochastic nature of the "observation" or "measurement" process, the difficulty of defining what might count as a measuring device, and the seeming reliance upon classical physics in describing such devices. Still, including all the variations, the interpretation remains one of the most commonly taught.
Background
Starting in 1900, investigations into atomic and subatomic phenomena forced a revision to the basic concepts of classical physics. However, it was not until a quarter-century had elapsed that the revision reached the status of a coherent theory. During the intervening period, now known as the time of the "old quantum theory", physicists worked with approximations and heuristic corrections to classical physics. Notable results from this period include Max Planck's calculation of the blackbody radiation spectrum, Albert Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect, Einstein and Peter Debye's work on the specific heat of solids, Niels Bohr and Hendrika Johanna van Leeuwen's proof that classical physics cannot account for diamagnetism, Bohr's model of the hydrogen atom and Arnold Sommerfeld's extension of the Bohr model to include relativistic effects. From 1922 through 1925, this method of heuristic corrections encountered increasing difficulties; for example, the Bohr–Sommerfeld model could not be extended from hydrogen to the next simplest case, the helium atom.
The transition from the old quantum theory to full-fledged quantum physics began in 1925, when Werner Heisenberg presented a treatment of electron behavior based on discussing only "observable" quantities, meaning to Heisenberg the frequencies of light that atoms absorbed and emitted. Max Born then realized that in Heisenberg's theory, the classical variables of position and momentum would instead be represented by matrices, mathematical objects that can be multiplied together like numbers with the crucial difference that the order of multiplication matters. Erwin Schrödinger presented an equation that treated the electron as a wave, and Born discovered that the way to successfully interpret the wave function that appeared in the Schrödinger equation was as a tool for calculating probabilities.
Quantum mechanics cannot easily be reconciled with everyday language and observation, and has often seemed counter-intuitive to physicists, including its inventors. The ideas grouped together as the Copenhagen interpretation suggest a way to think about how the mathematics of quantum theory relates to physical reality.Origin and use of the term
in Copenhagen]]
The 'Copenhagen' part of the term refers to the city of Copenhagen in Denmark. During the mid-1920s, Heisenberg had been an assistant to Bohr at his institute in Copenhagen. Together they helped originate quantum mechanical theory. At the 1927 Solvay Conference, a dual talk by Max Born and Heisenberg declared "we consider quantum mechanics to be a closed theory, whose fundamental physical and mathematical assumptions are no longer susceptible of any modification." In 1929, Heisenberg gave a series of invited lectures at the University of Chicago explaining the new field of quantum mechanics. The lectures then served as the basis for his textbook, The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory, published in 1930. In the book's preface, Heisenberg wrote:
<blockquote>On the whole, the book contains nothing that is not to be found in previous publications, particularly in the investigations of Bohr. The purpose of the book seems to me to be fulfilled if it contributes somewhat to the diffusion of that 'Kopenhagener Geist der Quantentheorie' [Copenhagen spirit of quantum theory] if I may so express myself, which has directed the entire development of modern atomic physics.</blockquote>
The term 'Copenhagen interpretation' suggests something more than just a spirit, such as some definite set of rules for interpreting the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics, presumably dating back to the 1920s. However, no such text exists, and the writings of Bohr and Heisenberg contradict each other on several important issues. while criticizing alternative "interpretations" (e.g., David Bohm's) that had been developed. Lectures with the titles 'The Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Theory' and 'Criticisms and Counterproposals to the Copenhagen Interpretation', that Heisenberg delivered in 1955, are reprinted in the collection Physics and Philosophy. Before the book was released for sale, Heisenberg privately expressed regret for having used the term, due to its suggestion of the existence of other interpretations, that he considered to be "nonsense". In a 1960 review of Heisenberg's book, Bohr's close collaborator Léon Rosenfeld called the term an "ambiguous expression" and suggested it be discarded. However, this did not come to pass, and the term entered widespread use.
Principles
There is no uniquely definitive statement of the Copenhagen interpretation. The term encompasses the views developed by a number of scientists and philosophers during the second quarter of the 20th century. This lack of a single, authoritative source that establishes the Copenhagen interpretation is one difficulty with discussing it; another complication is that the philosophical background familiar to Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, and contemporaries is much less so to physicists and even philosophers of physics in more recent times. and Bohr distanced himself from what he considered Heisenberg's more subjective interpretation.
Different commentators and researchers have associated various ideas with the term.}} N. David Mermin coined the phrase "Shut up and calculate!" to summarize Copenhagen-type views, a saying often misattributed to Richard Feynman and which Mermin later found insufficiently nuanced. Mermin described the Copenhagen interpretation as coming in different "versions", "varieties", or "flavors".
Some basic principles generally accepted as part of the interpretation include the following: Heisenberg wrote, "Every description of phenomena, of experiments and their results, rests upon language as the only means of communication. The words of this language represent the concepts of ordinary life, which in the scientific language of physics may be refined to the concepts of classical physics. These concepts are the only tools for an unambiguous communication about events, about the setting up of experiments and about their results." }}
# Per the above point, the device used to observe a system must be described in classical language, while the system under observation is treated in quantum terms. This is a particularly subtle issue for which Bohr and Heisenberg came to differing conclusions. According to Heisenberg, the boundary between classical and quantum can be shifted in either direction at the observer's discretion. That is, the observer has the freedom to move what would become known as the "Heisenberg cut" without changing any physically meaningful predictions. while Bohr offered an interpretation that is independent of a subjective observer or measurement or collapse, which relies on an "irreversible" or effectively irreversible process, which could take place within the quantum system.
Another issue of importance where Bohr and Heisenberg disagreed is wave–particle duality. Bohr maintained that the distinction between a wave view and a particle view was defined by a distinction between experimental setups, whereas Heisenberg held that it was defined by the possibility of viewing the mathematical formulas as referring to waves or particles. Bohr thought that a particular experimental setup would display either a wave picture or a particle picture, but not both. Heisenberg thought that every mathematical formulation was capable of both wave and particle interpretations.
Nature of the wave function
A wave function is a mathematical entity that provides a probability distribution for the outcomes of each possible measurement on a system. Knowledge of the wave function together with the rules for the system's evolution in time exhausts all that can be predicted about the system's behavior. Generally, Copenhagen-type interpretations deny that the wave function provides a directly apprehensible image of an ordinary material body or a discernible component of some such, or anything more than a theoretical concept. Probabilities via the Born rule
The Born rule is essential to the Copenhagen interpretation. Formulated by Max Born in 1926, it gives the probability that a measurement of a quantum system will yield a given result. In its simplest form, it states that the probability density of finding a particle at a given point, when measured, is proportional to the square of the magnitude of the particle's wave function at that point.
Collapse
The concept of wave function collapse postulates that the wave function of a system can change suddenly and discontinuously upon measurement. Prior to a measurement, a wave function involves the various probabilities for the different potential outcomes of that measurement. But when the apparatus registers one of those outcomes, no traces of the others linger. Since Bohr did not view the wavefunction as something physical, he never talks about "collapse". Nevertheless, many physicists and philosophers associate collapse with the Copenhagen interpretation.
Role of the observer
Because they assert that the existence of an observed value depends upon the intercession of the observer, Copenhagen-type interpretations are sometimes called "subjective". All of the original Copenhagen protagonists considered the process of observation as mechanical and independent of the individuality of the observer. Wolfgang Pauli, for example, insisted that measurement results could be obtained and recorded by "objective registering apparatus". but was insufficient to provide a technical explanation for the apparent wave function collapse. Completion by hidden variables?
In metaphysical terms, the Copenhagen interpretation views quantum mechanics as providing knowledge of phenomena, but not as pointing to 'really existing objects', which it regards as residues of ordinary intuition. This makes it an epistemic theory. This may be contrasted with Einstein's view, that physics should look for 'really existing objects', making itself an ontic theory.
The metaphysical question is sometimes asked: "Could quantum mechanics be extended by adding so-called "hidden variables" to the mathematical formalism, to convert it from an epistemic to an ontic theory?" The Copenhagen interpretation answers this with a strong 'No'. It is sometimes alleged, for example by J.S. Bell, that Einstein opposed the Copenhagen interpretation because he believed that the answer to that question of "hidden variables" was "yes". By contrast, Max Jammer writes "Einstein never proposed a hidden variable theory." Einstein explored the possibility of a hidden variable theory, and wrote a paper describing his exploration, but withdrew it from publication because he felt it was faulty.
Acceptance among physicists
During the 1930s and 1940s, views about quantum mechanics attributed to Bohr and emphasizing complementarity became commonplace among physicists. Textbooks of the time generally maintained the principle that the numerical value of a physical quantity is not meaningful or does not exist until it is measured. Prominent physicists associated with Copenhagen-type interpretations have included Lev Landau, Wolfgang Pauli, Asher Peres,
Throughout much of the 20th century, the Copenhagen tradition had overwhelming acceptance among physicists. the Copenhagen interpretation remained the most widely accepted label that physicists applied to their own views. A similar result was found in a poll conducted in 2011.
Consequences
The nature of the Copenhagen interpretation is exposed by considering a number of experiments and paradoxes.
Schrödinger's cat
This thought experiment highlights the implications that accepting uncertainty at the microscopic level has on macroscopic objects. A cat is put in a sealed box, with its life or death made dependent on the state of a subatomic particle. How can the cat be both alive and dead?
In Copenhagen-type views, the wave function reflects our knowledge of the system. The wave function <math>(|\text{dead}\rangle + |\text{alive}\rangle)/\sqrt 2</math> means that, once the cat is observed, there is a 50% chance it will be dead, and 50% chance it will be alive. (Some versions of the Copenhagen interpretation reject the idea that a wave function can be assigned to a physical system that meets the everyday definition of "cat"; in this view, the correct quantum-mechanical description of the cat-and-particle system must include a superselection rule.) Wigner puts his friend in with the cat. The external observer believes the system is in state <math>(|\text{dead}\rangle + |\text{alive}\rangle)/\sqrt 2</math>. However, his friend is convinced that the cat is alive, i.e. for him, the cat is in the state <math>|\text{alive}\rangle</math>. How can Wigner and his friend see different wave functions?
In a Heisenbergian view, the answer depends on the positioning of Heisenberg cut, which can be placed arbitrarily (at least according to Heisenberg, though not to Bohr Different Copenhagen-type interpretations take different positions as to whether observers can be placed on the quantum side of the cut.
According to Bohr's complementarity principle, light is neither a wave nor a stream of particles. A particular experiment can demonstrate particle behavior (passing through a definite slit) or wave behavior (interference), but not both at the same time.
The same experiment has been performed for light, electrons, atoms, and molecules. The extremely small de Broglie wavelength of objects with larger mass makes experiments increasingly difficult, but in general quantum mechanics considers all matter as possessing both particle and wave behaviors.
Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox
This thought experiment involves a pair of particles prepared in what later authors would refer to as an entangled state. In a 1935 paper, Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen pointed out that, in this state, if the position of the first particle were measured, the result of measuring the position of the second particle could be predicted. If instead the momentum of the first particle were measured, then the result of measuring the momentum of the second particle could be predicted. They argued that no action taken on the first particle could instantaneously affect the other, since this would involve information being transmitted faster than light, which is forbidden by the theory of relativity. They invoked a principle, later known as the "Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) criterion of reality", positing that, "If, without in any way disturbing a system, we can predict with certainty (i.e., with probability equal to unity) the value of a physical quantity, then there exists an element of reality corresponding to that quantity". From this, they inferred that the second particle must have a definite value of position and of momentum prior to either being measured.
Bohr's response to the EPR paper was published in the Physical Review later that same year.CriticismIncompleteness and indeterminism
and Albert Einstein, pictured here at Paul Ehrenfest's home in Leiden (December 1925), had a long-running collegial dispute about what quantum mechanics implied for the nature of reality.]]
Einstein was an early and persistent supporter of objective reality. Bohr and Heisenberg advanced the position that no physical property could be understood without an act of measurement, while Einstein refused to accept this. Abraham Pais recalled a walk with Einstein when the two discussed quantum mechanics: "Einstein suddenly stopped, turned to me and asked whether I really believed that the moon exists only when I look at it." While Einstein did not doubt that quantum mechanics was a correct physical theory in that it gave correct predictions, he maintained that it could not be a complete theory. The most famous product of his efforts to argue the incompleteness of quantum theory is the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen thought experiment, which was intended to show that physical properties like position and momentum have values even if not measured. The argument of EPR was not generally persuasive to other physicists. Bohr, in response, reputedly said that "it cannot be for us to tell God, how he is to run the world".The Heisenberg cutMuch criticism of Copenhagen-type interpretations has focused on the need for a classical domain where observers or measuring devices can reside, and the imprecision of how the boundary between quantum and classical might be defined. This boundary came to be termed the Heisenberg cut (while John Bell derisively called it the "shifty split" And if there is somehow a split, where should it be placed? Steven Weinberg writes that the traditional presentation gives "no way to locate the boundary between the realms in which [...] quantum mechanics does or does not apply."
The problem of thinking in terms of classical measurements of a quantum system becomes particularly acute in the field of quantum cosmology, where the quantum system is the universe. How does an observer stand outside the universe in order to measure it, and who was there to observe the universe in its earliest stages? Advocates of Copenhagen-type interpretations have disputed the seriousness of these objections. Rudolf Peierls noted that "the observer does not have to be contemporaneous with the event"; for example, we study the early universe through the cosmic microwave background, and we can apply quantum mechanics to that just as well as to any electromagnetic field.
*Bohr–Einstein debates
*Einstein's thought experiments
*Fifth Solvay Conference
*Philosophical interpretation of classical physics
*Physical ontology
*Popper's experiment
*Von Neumann–Wigner interpretation
Notes
ReferencesFurther reading*
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Category:Interpretations of quantum mechanics
Category:Quantum measurement
Category:University of Copenhagen | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_interpretation | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.472666 |
5864 | Customs union | A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.
Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set up common external trade policy (in some cases they use different import quotas). Common competition policy is also helpful to avoid competition deficiency.
Purposes for establishing a customs union normally include increasing economic efficiency and establishing closer political and cultural ties between the member countries. It is the third stage of economic integration.
Every economic union, customs and monetary union and economic and monetary union includes a customs union.
WTO definition
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, part of the World Trade Organization framework defines a customs union in the following way:
In 1834, 18 states joined to form the German Customs Union with Prussia as the main leader. Thereafter, this alliance was further expanded to all German-speaking regions and became the All-German Customs Union. The contents of the alliance convention included: abolishing internal tariffs, unifying external tariffs, raising import tax rates, and allocating tariff income to all states in the alliance in proportion. In addition, there is a customs union between France and Monaco, which was established in 1865.
A customs union was established by Switzerland and Liechtenstein in 1924, by Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in 1948, by the countries of the European Economic Community in 1958, and by the Economic Community of Central African States in 1964. At that time, the European Free Trade Association was different from the European Economic Community Customs Union. Free trade within the former was limited to industrial products, and no uniform tariffs were imposed on countries outside the Union.
It was brought into action by the initiative of Prussia and joined by most of the German states. Pre- modern conditions ( 30+ currencies, trade barriers etc.) were viewed as an obstacle as obstacles to economic exchange and growth by the new commercial classes, who argued for the creation of a unified economic territory allowing the unhindered movement of goods, people and capital.
Main feature
The main feature of the Customs Union is that the member countries have not only eliminated trade barriers and implemented free trade, but also established a common external tariff. In other words, in addition to agreeing to eliminate each other's trade barriers, members of the Customs Union also adopt common external tariff and trade policies. GATT stipulates that if the customs union is not established immediately, but is gradually completed over a period of time, it should be completed within a reasonable period, which generally does not exceed 10 years.
Reduce tariffs until the tariffs within the union are cancelled. In order to achieve this goal, the alliance often stipulates that the member countries must transition from their current external tariff rates to the unified tariff rates stipulated by the alliance in stages within a certain period of time, until finally canceling tariff.
Formulate a unified foreign trade policy and foreign tariff rates. In terms of foreign affairs, allied members must increase or decrease their original foreign tariff rates within the prescribed time, and eventually establish a common external tariff rate; and gradually unify their foreign trade policies, such as foreign discrimination policies and import quantities.
For goods imported from outside the alliance, common different tariffs are levied, such as preferential tax rates, agreed national tax rates, most-favored nation tax rates, ordinary preferential tax rates, and ordinary tax rates, according to the types of commodities and the provider countries.
Formulate unified protective measures, such as import quotas, health and epidemic prevention standards, etc.
Meaning
It avoids the problem that the free trade zone needs to be supplemented by the principle of origin to maintain the normal flow of commodities. Here, instead of the principle of origin, a common 'foreign barrier' is built. In this sense, the customs union is more exclusive than the free trade zone.
It makes the 'national sovereignty' of the member countries to be transferred to the economic integration organization to a greater extent, so that once a country joins a customs union, it loses its right to autonomous tariffs. In reality, the more typical customs union is the European Economic Community established in 1958.
Economic effects
Economic effects of customs unions can generally be grouped into static effects and dynamic effects.
Static effects
There are trade creation effects and trade diversion effects. The trade creation effect refers to the benefits generated by products from domestic production with higher production costs to the production of customs union countries with lower costs. The trade diversion effect refers to the loss incurred when a product is imported from a non-member country with lower production costs to a member country with a higher cost. This is the price of joining the customs union. When the trade creation effect is greater than the transfer effect, the combined effect of joining the Customs Union on the member countries is net profit, which means an increase in the economic welfare level of the member countries; otherwise, it is a net loss and a decline in the economic welfare level.
The trade creation effect is usually regarded as a positive effect. This is because the domestic production cost of country A is higher than the production cost of country A 's imports from country B. The Customs Union made Country A give up the domestic production of some commodities and change it to Country B to produce these commodities. From a worldwide perspective, this kind of production conversion improves the efficiency of resource allocation.
Dynamic effects
The customs union will not only bring static effects to member states, but also bring some dynamic effects to them. Sometimes, this dynamic effect is more important than its static effect, which has an important impact on the economic growth of member countries.
The establishment of a customs union helps to attract external investment. The establishment of a customs union implies the exclusion of products from non-members. In order to counteract such adverse effects, countries outside the alliance may transfer enterprises to some countries within the customs union to directly produce and sell locally in order to bypass uniform tariff and non-tariff barriers. This objectively generates capital inflows that accompany the transfer of production, attracting large amounts of foreign direct investment.
Lists of customs unions
thumb|270x270px|
Current
AgreementDate (in force)Recent reference Andean Community (CAN)1988-05-25L/6737 Caribbean Community (CARICOM)1991-01-01 Central American Common Market (CACM) 2004-10-06WT/REG93/R/B/2 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)2005-01-01 East African Community (EAC)2005-01-01WT/COMTD/N/14 Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC)1999-06-01 Eurasian Customs Union (EACU) 2010-07-01 European Union Customs Union (EUCU; EU–Monaco) 1958 ∟ EU–Andorra Customs Union1991-07-01WT/REG53/M/3 ∟ EU–San Marino Customs Union 2002-04-01 ∟ EU–Turkey Customs Union1996-01-01WT/REG22/M/4 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)2015-01-01 Israel–Palestinian Authority1994 Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR)1991-11-29WT/COMTD/1/Add.17Southern African Customs Union (SACU)1910WT/REG231/3 Switzerland–Liechtenstein (CH-FL)1924West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) 1994-01-10WT/COMTD/N/11/Add.1 United Kingdom–Crown Dependencies Customs Union
(UK-CD)2018-11-26 UK CD CU
Additionally, the autonomous and dependent territories such as some of the EU member state special territories are sometimes treated as separate customs territories from their mainland states or have varying arrangements of formal or de facto customs union, common market and currency union (or combinations thereof) with the mainland and in regards to third countries through the trade pacts signed by the mainland state.
The European Union is a customs union and therefore sets a common external tariff.
Proposed
2010 Southern African Development Community (SADC)
2011 Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
2015 Arab Customs Union (ACU)
2023 African Economic Community (AEC)
Defunct
The Zollverein in the German states (1834–1919) – Remained in effect after German unification and not dissolved until superseded by the Weimar Constitution of 1919.
– Customs union between Austria (later Austria–Hungary) from 1852 to 1918. Was replaced by the Liechtenstein–Switzerland customs union in 1924.
Czechia and Slovakia from the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993 until superseded by both countries' accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004.
Further reading
The McGill University Faculty of Law runs a Regional Trade Agreements Database that contains the text of almost all preferential and regional trade agreements in the world. ptas.mcgill.ca
Michael T. Florinsky. 1934. The Saar Struggle. New York: The Macmillan Company.
See also
European Customs Information Portal (ECIP)
List of international trade topics
Trade creation
Trade diversion
Open Balkan
Craiovia Group
CEFTA
References
External links
Agreements Notified to the GATT/WTO and in Force
Category:Commercial policy
Category:Economic integration
Category:Trade blocs | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_union | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.524674 |
5865 | Council of Europe | | image_flag = Flag of Europe.svg
| flag_type_article = Flag of Europe
| image_coat = Council of Europe logo (2013 revised version).svg
| symbol_type = Logo
| image_map = CoE_members_2024.png
| admin_center = Palace of Europe, Strasbourg, France
| admin_center_type = Headquarters
| official_languages English, French
| org_type = Regional intergovernmental organisation
| membership
*Support for intercultural integration through the Intercultural Cities (ICC) program. This program offers information and advice for local authorities on the integration of minorities and the prevention of discrimination. Institutions
The institutions of the Council of Europe are:
* The Secretary General, who is elected for a term of five years by the PACE and heads the Secretariat of the Council of Europe. Thorbjørn Jagland, the former Prime Minister of Norway, was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 29 September 2009. In June 2014, he became the first Secretary General to be re-elected, commencing his second term in office on 1 October 2014.
* The Committee of Ministers, comprising the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all 46 member states who are represented by their Permanent Representatives and Ambassadors accredited to the Council of Europe. Committee of Ministers' presidencies are held in alphabetical order for six months following the English alphabet: Turkey 11/2010-05/2011, Ukraine 05/2011-11/2011, the United Kingdom 11/2011-05/2012, Albania 05/2012-11/2012, Andorra 11/2012-05/2013, Armenia 05/2013-11/2013, Austria 11/2013-05/2014, and so on.
hemicycle]]
* The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which comprises national parliamentarians from all member states. Adopting resolutions and recommendations to governments, the Assembly holds a dialogue with its governmental counterpart, the Committee of Ministers, and is often regarded as the "motor" of the organisation. The national parliamentary delegations to the Assembly must reflect the political spectrum of their national parliament, i.e. comprise government and opposition parties. The Assembly appoints members as rapporteurs with the mandate to prepare parliamentary reports on specific subjects. The British MP Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe was rapporteur for the drafting of the European Convention on Human Rights. Dick Marty's reports on secret CIA detentions and rendition flights in Europe became quite famous in 2006 and 2007. Other Assembly reports were instrumental in, for example, the abolition of the death penalty in Europe, highlighting the political and human rights situation in Chechnya, identifying who was responsible for disappeared persons in Belarus, chronicling threats to freedom of expression in the media and many other subjects.
* The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, which was created in 1994 and comprises political representatives from local and regional authorities in all member states. The most influential instruments of the Council of Europe in this field are the European Charter of Local Self-Government of 1985 and the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities of 1980.
* The European Court of Human Rights, created under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, is composed of a judge from each member state elected for a single, non-renewable term of nine years by the PACE and is headed by the elected president of the court. The current president of the court is Guido Raimondi from Italy. Under the recent Protocol No. 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights, the Court's case processing was reformed and streamlined. Ratification of Protocol No. 14 was delayed by Russia for a number of years, but won support to be passed in January 2010.
* The Commissioner for Human Rights is elected by the PACE for a non-renewable term of six years since the creation of this position in 1999. Since April 2024, this position has been held by Michael O'Flaherty from Ireland.
* The Conference of INGOs. NGOs can participate in the INGOs Conference of the Council of Europe. Since the [Resolution (2003)8] adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 19 November 2003, they are given a "participatory status".
* The Joint Council on Youth of the Council of Europe. The European Steering Committee (CDEJ) on Youth and the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) of the Council of Europe form together the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ). The CDEJ brings together representatives of ministries or bodies responsible for youth matters from the 50 States Parties to the European Cultural Convention. The CDEJ fosters cooperation between governments in the youth sector and provides a framework for comparing national youth policies, exchanging best practices and drafting standard-setting texts. The Advisory Council on Youth comprises 30 representatives of non-governmental youth organisations and networks. It provides opinions and input from youth NGOs on all youth sector activities and ensures that young people are involved in the council's other activities.
* Information Offices of the Council of Europe in many member states.
]]
Partial Agreements
The CoE system also includes a number of semi-autonomous structures known as "Partial Agreements", some of which are also open to non-member states:
* The Council of Europe Development Bank in Paris
* The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines with its European Pharmacopoeia
* The European Audiovisual Observatory
* The European Support Fund Eurimages for the co-production and distribution of films.
* The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes, which awards the certification "Cultural Route of the Council of Europe" to transnational networks promoting European heritage and intercultural dialogue (Luxembourg)
* The Pompidou Group – Cooperation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs.
* The European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission
* The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO)
* The European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA) which is a platform for cooperation between European and Southern Mediterranean countries in the field of major natural and technological disasters.
* The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport, which is open to accession by states and sports associations.
* The North-South Centre of the Council of Europe in Lisbon (Portugal)
* The Centre for Modern Languages is in Graz (Austria)
* The Register of Damage for Ukraine, a register for Ukrainians to seek compensation for damages from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Summits
Occasionally the Council of Europe organizes summits of the heads of state and government of its member states. Four summits have been held to date with the fourth concluding on 17 May 2023.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Overview of Council of Europe summits
|-
!scope="col"| Date
!scope="col"| Host country
!scope="col"| Host city
|-
|scope="row"| 8–9 October 1993
| || Vienna
|-
|scope="row"| 10–11 October 1997
| || Strasbourg
|-
|scope="row"| 16–17 May 2005
| || Warsaw
|-
|scope="row"| 16–17 May 2023
| || Reykjavík
|}
Headquarters and buildings
in Strasbourg]]
The seat of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg, France. First meetings were held in Strasbourg's University Palace in 1949, but the Council of Europe soon moved into its own buildings. The Council of Europe's eight main buildings are situated in the Quartier européen, an area in the northeast of Strasbourg spread over the three districts of Le Wacken, La Robertsau and Quartier de l'Orangerie, where are also located the four buildings of the seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Arte headquarters and the seat of the International Institute of Human Rights.
Building in the area started in 1949 with the predecessor of the , the House of Europe (demolished in 1977), and came to a provisional end in 2007 with the opening of the New General Office Building, later named "Agora", in 2008. The (Palace of Europe) and the Art Nouveau Villa Schutzenberger (seat of the European Audiovisual Observatory) are in the Orangerie district, and the European Court of Human Rights, the EDQM and the Agora Building are in the Robertsau district. The Agora building has been voted "best international business centre real estate project of 2007" on 13 March 2008, at the MIPIM 2008. The European Youth Centre is located in the Wacken district.
Besides its headquarters in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe is also present in other cities and countries. The Council of Europe Development Bank has its seat in Paris, the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe is established in Lisbon, Portugal, and the Centre for Modern Languages is in Graz, Austria. There are European Youth Centres in Budapest, Hungary, and in Strasbourg. The European Wergeland Centre, a new Resource Centre on education for intercultural dialogue, human rights and democratic citizenship, operated in cooperation with the Norwegian Government, opened in Oslo, Norway, in February 2009.
The Council of Europe has external offices all over the European continent and beyond. There are four 'Programme Offices', namely in Ankara, Podgorica, Skopje, and Venice. There are also 'Council of Europe Offices' in Baku, Belgrade, Chisinau, Kyiv, Paris, Pristina, Sarajevo, Tbilisi, Tirana, and Yerevan. Bucharest has a Council of Europe Office on Cybercrime. There are also Council of Europe Offices in non-European capital cities like Rabat and Tunis.
Additionally, there are 4 "Council of Europe Liaison Offices", this includes:
* Council of Europe Liaison Office in Brussels: The office is in charge of liaison with the European Union
* Council of Europe Office in Geneva: Permanent Delegation of the Council of Europe to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva
* Council of Europe Office in Vienna: The office is in charge of liaison with the OSCE, United Nations Office, and other international organisations in Vienna
* Council of Europe Office in Warsaw: The office is in charge of liaison with other international organisations and institutions in Warsaw, in particular, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR)
Since "Europe" is not defined in international law, the definition of "Europe" has been a question that has recurred during the CoE's history. Turkey was admitted in 1950, although it is a transcontinental state that lies mostly in Asia, with a smaller portion in Europe. Greece and Turkey joined three months later. Iceland, West Germany and Saar Protectorate joined the Council of Europe as associate members in 1950. West Germany became a full member in 1951, and the Saar withdrew its application after it joined West Germany following the 1955 Saar Statute referendum. Joining later were Austria (1956), Cyprus (1961), Switzerland (1963), Malta (1965), and Portugal (1976). Next to join were Liechtenstein (1978), San Marino (1988) and Finland (1989).
Although most Council members are predominantly Christian in heritage, there are four Muslim-majority member states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Albania, and Azerbaijan. Currently, Canada, the Holy See, Japan, Mexico, and the United States are observer states, while Israel is an observer to the PACE. The Assembly of Kosovo was invited to take part in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and its committees as an observer in 2016. Two representatives of local government in Kosovo participate in the work of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities as observers.
Withdrawal, suspension, and expulsion
The Statute of the Council of Europe provides for the voluntary suspension, involuntary suspension, and exclusion of members. Article 8 of the Statute provides that any member who has "seriously violated" Article 3 may be suspended from its rights of representation, and that the Committee of Ministers may request that such a member withdraws from the Council under Article 7. (The Statute does not define the "serious violation" phrase. Suspension and exclusion of Russia
Russia became a member of the Council of Europe in 1996. In 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported separatists in eastern Ukraine, the Council stripped Russia of its voting rights in the PACE. In response, Russia began to boycott the Assembly in 2016, and beginning from 2017 ceased paying its annual membership dues of 32.6 million euros (US$37.1 million) to the Council placing the institution under financial strain.
Russia stated that its suspension by the council was unfair, and demanded the restoration of its voting rights. Russia had threatened to withdraw from the Council unless its voting rights were restored in time for the election of a new secretary general. In June 2019, an approximately two-thirds majority of the Council voted (on a 118–62 vote, with 10 abstentions) to restore Russia's voting rights in the council. Opponents of lifting the suspension included Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries, such as the Baltic states, who argued that readmission amounted to normalizing Russia's malign activity. which argued that a Russian withdrawal from the council would be harmful because it would deprive Russian citizens of their ability to initiate cases in the European Court of Human Rights. On 15 March 2022, hours before the vote to expel the country, Russia initiated a voluntary withdrawal procedure from the council. The Russian delegation planned to deliver its formal withdrawal on 31 December 2022, and announced its intent to denounce the ECHR. However, on the same day, the council's Committee of Ministers decided Russia's membership in the council would be terminated immediately, and determined that Russia had been excluded from the Council instead under its exclusion mechanism rather than the withdrawal mechanism. After being excluded from the Council of Europe, Russia's former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev endorsed restoring the death penalty in Russia.
Co-operation
Conventions: European Treaty Series
The Council of Europe works mainly through international treaties, usually called conventions in its system. By drafting conventions or international treaties, common legal standards are set for its member states. The conventions are collected in the European Treaty Series.
Non-member states
Several conventions have also been opened for signature to non-member states. Important examples are the Convention on Cybercrime (signed for example, by Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States), the Lisbon Recognition Convention on the recognition of study periods and degrees (signed for example, by Australia, Belarus, Canada, the Holy See, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand and the United States), the Anti-doping Convention (signed, for example, by Australia, Belarus, Canada and Tunisia) and the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (signed for example, by Burkina Faso, Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal as well as the European Community). Non-member states also participate in several partial agreements, such as the Venice Commission, the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), the European Pharmacopoeia Commission and the North-South Centre.
Invitations to sign and ratify relevant conventions of the Council of Europe on a case-by-case basis are sent to three groups of non-member entities:
* Non-European states: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, Syria, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uruguay, Venezuela and the observers Canada, Israel, Japan, Mexico, United States.
* European states: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Russia and the observer Holy See.
* The European Community and later the European Union after its legal personality was established by the ratification of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.
European Union
The Council of Europe is not to be confused with the Council of the European Union (the "Council of Ministers") or the European Council, which belong to the European Union, an entirely separate body from the Council of Europe, although they have shared the same European flag and anthem since the 1980s since they both work for European integration.
Cooperation between the European Union and the Council of Europe was reinforced in the mid-2000s, notably on culture and education as well as on the international enforcement of justice and Human Rights.
The European Union is expected to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (the convention). There are also concerns about consistency in case law – the European Court of Justice (the EU's court in Luxembourg) is treating the convention as part of the legal system of all EU member states in order to prevent conflict between its judgements and those of the European Court of Human Rights (the court in Strasbourg interpreting the convention). Protocol No. 14 of the convention is designed to allow the EU to accede to it and the EU Treaty of Lisbon contains a protocol binding the EU to join. The EU would thus be subject to its human rights law and external monitoring as its member states currently are. Schools of Political Studies The Council of Europe Schools of Political Studies were established to train future generations of political, economic, social and cultural leaders in countries in transition. With the participation of national and international experts, they run annual series of seminars and conferences on topics such as European integration, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and globalisation. The first School of Political Studies was created in Moscow in 1992. By 2020, 20 other schools had been set up along the same lines, forming an association; a network covering the whole of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, as well as some countries in the Southern Mediterranean region. The schools are part of the Education Department, which is part of the Directorate of Democratic Participation within the Directorate General of Democracy ("DGII") of the Council of Europe. United Nations Cooperation between the CoE and the UN started with the agreement signed by the Secretariats of these institutions on 15 December 1951. On 17 October 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations approved a resolution on granting observer status to the Council of Europe which was proposed by several member states of the CoE. Currently, the Council of Europe holds observer status with the United Nations and is regularly represented in the UN General Assembly. It has organised the regional UN conferences against racism and on women. It co-operates with the United Nations at many levels, in particular in the areas of human rights, minorities, migration and counter-terrorism. In November 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus Resolution (A/Res/71/17) on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe whereby it acknowledged the contribution of the Council of Europe to the protection and strengthening of human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law, welcomed the ongoing co-operation in a variety of fields.
Non-governmental organisations
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can participate in the INGOs Conference of the Council of Europe and become observers to inter-governmental committees of experts. The Council of Europe drafted the European Convention on the Recognition of the Legal Personality of International Non-Governmental Organisations in 1986, which sets the legal basis for the existence and work of NGOs in Europe. Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to freedom of association, which is also a fundamental norm for NGOs. The rules for consultative status for INGOs appended to the resolution (93)38 "On relation between the Council of Europe and non-governmental organisations", adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 18 October 1993 at the 500th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies. On 19 November 2003, the Committee of Ministers changed the consultative status into a participatory status, "considering that it is indispensable that the rules governing the relations between the Council of Europe and NGOs evolve to reflect the active participation of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) in the Organisation's policy and work programme". Others On 30 May 2018, the Council of Europe signed a memorandum of understanding with the European football confederation UEFA.
The Council of Europe also signed an agreement with FIFA in which the two agreed to strengthen future cooperation in areas of common interests. The deal which included cooperation between member states in the sport of football and safety and security at football matches was finalized in October 2018. Characteristics Privileges and immunities The General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe grants the organisation certain privileges and immunities.
The working conditions of staff are governed by the council's staff regulations, which are public. Salaries and emoluments paid by the Council of Europe to its officials are tax-exempt on the basis of Article 18 of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe.
The wide private and public use of the European Flag is encouraged to symbolise a European dimension. To avoid confusion with the European Union which subsequently adopted the same flag in the 1980s, as well as other European institutions, the Council of Europe often uses a modified version with a lower-case "e" surrounding the stars which are referred to as the "Council of Europe Logo". Criticism and controversies Both Human Rights Watch and the European Stability Initiative have called on the Council of Europe to undertake concrete actions to show that it is willing and able to return to its "original mission to protect and ensure human rights", despite launching political and economic activities that could generate redundancies with other international organizations (including the European Union and OCSE).
In October 2022, a new and different Pan-European meeting of 44 states was held, as the "inaugural summit of the European Political Community", a new forum largely organized by French President Emmanuel Macron. The Council of Europe, sidelined, reportedly was "perplexed" with this development, with a spokesperson stating "In the field of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, such a pan-European community already exists: it is the Council of Europe." A feature of the new forum is that Russia and Belarus are deliberately excluded, The Human Rights Watch criticised the Council of Europe in 2014 for allowing Azerbaijan to assume the six-month rotating chairmanship of the council's Committee of Ministers, writing that the Azeri government's repression of human rights defenders, dissidents, and journalists "shows sheer contempt for its commitments to the Council of Europe". An internal inquiry was set up in 2017 amid allegations of bribery by Azerbaijan government officials and criticism of "caviar diplomacy" at the Council. A 219-page report was issued in 2018 after a ten-month investigation. In 2021, Volontè was convicted of accepting bribes from Azerbaijani officials to water down critiques of the nation's human rights record, and he was sentenced by a court in Milan to four years in prison.
See also
* CAHDI
* Council of Europe–European Union relations
* Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
* Conference of Specialised Ministers
* Council of Europe Archives
* The Europe Prize
* European Anti-fraud Office
* European Political Community
* Film Award of the Council of Europe
* Moneyval
* International organisations in Europe, and co-ordinated organisations
* List of Council of Europe treaties
* List of linguistic rights in European constitutions
* North–South Centre of the Council of Europe
Notes
Footnotes
References
Further reading *
* Dinan, Desmond. Europe Recast: A History of European Union (2nd ed. 2004). [https://www.rienner.com/uploads/53aae65db9769.pdf excerpt] ; the excerpt covers the historiography
* Gillingham, John. Coal, Steel, and the Rebirth of Europe, 1945–1955: The Germans and French from Ruhr Conflict to Economic Community (Cambridge UP, 2004).
*
* Kopf, Susanne. ''Debating the European Union Transnationally: Wikipedians' Construction of the EU on a Wikipedia Talk Page (2001–2015). (PhD dissertation Lancaster University, 2018)[https://web.archive.org/web/20190516115656/http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/126749/1/2018kopfphd.pdf online].
* Moravcsik, Andrew. The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht (Cornell UP, 1998). . .
* Stone, Dan. Goodbye to All That?: The Story of Europe Since 1945'' (Oxford UP, 2014).
* External links
*
*
* [http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/002.htm General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe], Paris, 2 September 1949
}}
Category:1949 establishments in England
Category:Councils
Category:International organizations based in Europe
Category:International organizations based in France
Category:Organizations based in Strasbourg
Category:Organizations established in 1949
Category:Politics of Europe
Category:United Nations General Assembly observers | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.602126 |
5866 | Council of the European Union | | native_name_lang | transcription_name
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| party1 | election1 1 January 2025
| leader2_type = Secretary General
| leader2 Thérèse Blanchet
| party2 | election2 1 November 2022
| leader3_type = High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
| leader3 = Kaja Kallas
| party3 = ALDE
| election3 = 1 December 2024
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The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, is also found as a "language-neutral" name in signage, website names, etc.}} and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is one of two legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve, or veto, the proposals of the European Commission, which holds the right of initiative.
The Council of the European Union and the European Council are the only EU institutions that are explicitly intergovernmental, that is, forums whose attendees express and represent the position of their Member State's executive, be they ambassadors, ministers or heads of state/government.
The Council meets in 10 different configurations of national ministers (one per state). The precise membership of these configurations varies according to the topic under consideration; for example, when discussing agricultural policy the Council is formed by the national ministers whose portfolio includes this policy area (with the related European Commissioners contributing but not voting).
Composition
The Presidency of the Council rotates every six months among the governments of EU member states, with the relevant ministers of the respective country holding the Presidency at any given time ensuring the smooth running of the meetings and setting the daily agenda.
Its decisions are made by qualified majority voting in most areas, unanimity in others, or just simple majority for procedural issues. Usually where it operates unanimously, it only needs to consult the Parliament. However, in most areas the ordinary legislative procedure applies meaning both Council and Parliament share legislative and budgetary powers equally, meaning both have to agree for a proposal to pass. In a few limited areas the Council may initiate new EU law itself.
The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, also known as Council Secretariat, assists the Council of the European Union, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Council and the President of the European Council. The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. The Secretariat is divided into eleven directorates-general, each administered by a director-general. History
The Council first appeared in the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) as the "Special Council of Ministers", set up to counterbalance the High Authority (the supranational executive, now the Commission). The original Council had limited powers: issues relating only to coal and steel were in the Authority's domain, and the Council's consent was only required on decisions outside coal and steel. As a whole, the Council only scrutinised the High Authority (the executive). In 1957, the Treaties of Rome established two new communities, and with them two new Councils: the Council of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) and the Council of the European Economic Community (EEC). However, due to objections over the supranational power of the Authority, their Councils had more powers; the new executive bodies were known as "Commissions".
In 1965, the Council was hit by the "empty chair crisis". Due to disagreements between French President Charles de Gaulle and the Commission's agriculture proposals, among other things, France boycotted all meetings of the Council. This halted the Council's work until the impasse was resolved the following year by the Luxembourg compromise. Although initiated by a gamble of the President of the Commission, Walter Hallstein, who later on lost the Presidency, the crisis exposed flaws in the Council's workings.
Under the Merger Treaty of 1967, the ECSC's Special Council of Ministers and the Council of the EAEC (together with their other independent institutions) were merged into the Council of the European Communities, which would act as a single Council for all three institutions. In 1993, the Council adopted the name 'Council of the European Union', following the establishment of the European Union by the Maastricht Treaty. That treaty strengthened the Council, with the addition of more intergovernmental elements in the three pillars system. However, at the same time the Parliament and Commission had been strengthened inside the Community pillar, curtailing the ability of the Council to act independently.
Powers and functions
The primary purpose of the Council is to act as one of two vetoing bodies of the EU's legislative branch, the other being the European Parliament. Together they serve to amend, approve or disapprove the proposals of the European Commission, which has the sole power to propose laws. It is considered by some to be equivalent to an upper house of the EU legislature, although it is not described as such in the treaties. The Council represents the executive governments of the EU's member states
The Council also has an important role in the formation of the European Commission. The Council sitting in the General Affairs Council configuration, in agreement with the President-elect of the Commissission, adopts a list of candidates for the Commission proposed by the member states. Legislative procedure
The EU's legislative authority is divided between the Council, the Parliament and the Commission. As the relationships and powers of these institutions have developed, various legislative procedures have been created for adopting laws. but now the vast majority of laws are subject to the ordinary legislative procedure, which works on the principle that consent from both the Council and Parliament are required before a law may be adopted.
Under this procedure, the Commission presents a proposal to Parliament and the Council. Following its first reading the Parliament may propose amendments. If the Council accepts these amendments then the legislation is approved. If it does not then it adopts a "common position" and submits that new version to the Parliament. At its second reading, if the Parliament approves the text or does not act, the text is adopted, otherwise the Parliament may propose further amendments to the Council's proposal. It may be rejected out right by an absolute majority of MEPs. If the Council still does not approve the Parliament's position, then the text is taken to a "Conciliation Committee" composed of the Council members plus an equal number of MEPs. If a Committee manages to adopt a joint text, it then has to be approved in a third reading by both the Council and Parliament or the proposal is abandoned.
The few other areas that operate the special legislative procedures are justice & home affairs, budget and taxation and certain aspects of other policy areas: such as the fiscal aspects of environmental policy. In these areas, the Council or Parliament decide law alone. The procedure used also depends upon which type of institutional act is being used. The strongest act is a regulation, an act or law which is directly applicable in its entirety. Then there are directives which bind members to certain goals which they must achieve, but they do this through their own laws and hence have room to manoeuvre in deciding upon them. A decision is an instrument which is focused at a particular person or group and is directly applicable. Institutions may also issue recommendations and opinions which are merely non-binding declarations.
The Council votes in one of three ways; unanimity, simple majority, or qualified majority. In most cases, the Council votes on issues by qualified majority voting, meaning that there must be a minimum of 55% of member states agreeing (at least 15) who together represent at least 65% of the EU population. A 'blocking minority' can only be formed by at least 4 member states, even if the objecting states constitute more than 35% of the population.ResolutionsCouncil resolutions have no legal effect. Usually the Council's intention is to set out future work foreseen in a specific policy area or to invite action by the Commission. If a resolution covers a policy area which is not entirely within an area of EU competency, the resolution will be issued as a "resolution of the Council and the representatives of the governments of the member states". Examples are the Council Resolution of 26 September 1989 on the development of subcontracting in the Community and the Council Resolution of 26 November 2001 on consumer credit and indebtedness. Foreign affairs The legal instruments used by the Council for the Common Foreign and Security Policy are different from the legislative acts. Under the CFSP they consist of "common positions", "joint actions", and "common strategies". Common positions relate to defining a European foreign policy towards a particular third-country such as the promotion of human rights and democracy in Myanmar, a region such as the stabilisation efforts in the African Great Lakes, or a certain issue such as support for the International Criminal Court. A common position, once agreed, is binding on all EU states who must follow and defend the policy, which is regularly revised. A joint action refers to a co-ordinated action of the states to deploy resources to achieve an objective, for example for mine clearing or to combat the spread of small arms. Common strategies defined an objective and commits the EUs resources to that task for four years.
The Council must practice unanimity when voting on foreign affairs issues because Common Foreign and Security Policy is a "sensitive" issue (according to EUR-Lex). An exception to this rule exists via Article 31 of the Treaty on European Union, which stipulates circumstances in which qualified majority voting is permissible for the Council in discussing Common Foreign and Security Policy. Article 31 lays out provisions regarding a passerelle clause as well as the possibilities for Member State abstentions. Additionally, Article 31 stipulates derogation for "a decision defining a Union action or position". In this recent example, the Council came to a unified conclusion after discussions with the Hungarian leader; is subject to a form of the ordinary legislative procedure with a single reading giving Parliament power over the entire budget (prior to 2009, its influence was limited to certain areas) on an equal footing with the Council. If there is a disagreement between them, it is taken to a conciliation committee as it is for legislative proposals. But if the joint conciliation text is not approved, the Parliament may adopt the budget definitively. In addition to the budget, the Council coordinates the economic policy of members.
Presidency
The Presidency of the Council is not a single post, but is held by a member state's government. Every six months the presidency rotates among the states, in an order predefined by the Council's members, allowing each state to preside over the body. From 2007, every three member states co-operate for their combined eighteen months on a common agenda, although only one formally holds the presidency for the normal six-month period. For example, the President for the second half of 2007, Portugal, was the second in a trio of states alongside Germany and Slovenia with whom Portugal had been co-operating. The Council meets in various configurations (as outlined below) so its membership changes depending upon the issue. The person chairing the Council will always be the member from the state holding the Presidency. A delegate from the following Presidency also assists the presiding member and may take over work if requested. The exception however is the foreign affairs council, which has been chaired by the High Representative since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Configurations Legally speaking, the Council is a single entity (this means that technically any Council configuration can adopt decisions that fall within the remit of any other Council configuration) but it is in practice divided into several different council configurations (or '(con)formations'). Article 16(6) of the Treaty on European Union provides:
Each council configuration deals with a different functional area, for example agriculture and fisheries. In this formation, the council is composed of ministers from each state government who are responsible for this area: the agriculture and fisheries ministers. The chair of this council is held by the member from the state holding the presidency (see section above). Similarly, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council is composed of national finance ministers, and they are still one per state and the chair is held by the member coming from the presiding country. The Councils meet irregularly throughout the year except for the three major configurations (top three below) which meet once a month. , there are ten formations:
;General Affairs (GAC): General affairs co-ordinates the work of the Council, prepares for European Council meetings and deals with issues crossing various council formations.
;Foreign Affairs (FAC): Chaired by the High Representative, rather than the Presidency, it manages the CFSP, CSDP, trade and development co-operation. It sometimes meets in a defence configuration.
, seen here, has been the seat of the Council.]]
;Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin): Composed of economics and finance ministers of the member states. It includes budgetary and eurozone matters via an informal group composed only of eurozone member ministers.
;Agriculture and Fisheries (Agrifish): Composed of the agriculture and fisheries ministers of the member states. It considers matters concerning the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, forestry, organic farming, food and feed safety, seeds, pesticides, and fisheries.
;Justice and Home Affairs (JHA): This configuration brings together Justice ministers and Interior Ministers of the Member States. Includes civil protection.
;Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO): Composed of employment, social protection, consumer protection, health and equal opportunities ministers.
;Competitiveness (COMPET): Created in June 2002 through the merging of three previous configurations (Internal Market, Industry and Research). Depending on the items on the agenda, this formation is composed of ministers responsible for areas such as European affairs, industry, tourism and scientific research. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU acquired competence in space matters, and space policy has been attributed to the Competitiveness Council.
;Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (TTE): Created in June 2002, through the merging of three policies under one configuration, and with a composition varying according to the specific items on its agenda. This formation meets approximately once every two months.
;Environment (ENVI): Composed of environment ministers, who meet about four times a year.
;Education, Youth, Culture and Sport (EYCS): Composed of education, culture, youth, communications and sport ministers, who meet around three or four times a year. Includes audiovisual issues.
Complementing these, the Political and Security Committee (PSC) brings together ambassadors to monitor international situations and define policies within the CSDP, particularly in crises. since 2019, Charles Michel. The body's purpose is to define the general "impetus" of the Union. The European Council deals with the major issues such as the appointment of the President of the European Commission who takes part in the body's meetings.
Ecofin's Eurozone component, the Euro group, is also a formal group with its own President. and the TSCG.
Following the entry into force of a framework agreement between the EU and ESA there is a Space Council configuration—a joint and concomitant meeting of the EU Council and of the ESA Council at ministerial level dealing with the implementation of the ESP adopted by both organisations.
Administration
The General Secretariat of the Council provides the continuous infrastructure of the Council, carrying out preparation for meetings, draft reports, translation, records, documents, agendas and assisting the presidency. The Secretary General of the Council is head of the Secretariat. The Secretariat is divided into eleven directorates-general, each administered by a director-general.
The Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) is a body composed of representatives from the states (ambassadors, civil servants etc.) who meet each week to prepare the work and tasks of the Council. It monitors and co-ordinates work and deals with the Parliament on co-decision legislation. It is divided into two groups of the representatives (Coreper II) and their deputies (Coreper I). Agriculture is dealt with separately by the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA). The numerous working parties submit their reports to the Council through Coreper or SCA. Between 1952 and 1967, the ECSC Council held its Luxembourg City meetings in the Cercle Municipal on Place d'Armes. Its secretariat moved on numerous occasions but between 1955 and 1967 it was housed in the Verlorenkost district of the city. In 1957, with the creation of two new Communities with their own Councils, discretion on location was given to the current Presidency. In practice this was to be in the Château of Val-Duchesse until the autumn of 1958, at which point it moved to 2 Rue Ravensteinstraat in Brussels.
The 1965 agreement (finalised by the Edinburgh agreement and annexed to the treaties) on the location of the newly merged institutions, the Council was to be in Brussels but would meet in Luxembourg City during April, June, and October. The ECSC secretariat moved from Luxembourg City to the merged body Council secretariat in the Ravenstein building of Brussels. In 1971 the Council and its secretariat moved into the Charlemagne building, next to the Commission's Berlaymont, but the Council rapidly ran out of space and administrative branch of the Secretariat moved to a building at 76 Rue Joseph II/Jozef II-straat and during the 1980s the language divisions moved out into the Nerviens, Frère Orban, and Guimard buildings.
See also
* Comparisons with other institutions
Notes
References
External links
* [http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ Official Council website] – Europa
** [http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/ About the Council]
** [http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/configurations/ Council configurations]
** [http://video.consilium.europa.eu/ Live broadcast]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719061623/http://prado.consilium.europa.eu/en/homeIndex.html PRADO – The Council of the European Union Public Register of Authentic Travel and ID Documents Online]
* [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/browse/institutions/council.html Access to documents of the EU Council] on EUR-Lex
* [http://www.ena.lu?lang2&doc23843 Council of the European Union] – European NAvigator
* [http://archives.eui.eu/en/fonds/ Archival material] concerning the Council of the European Union can be consulted at the [http://www.eui.eu/Research/HistoricalArchivesOfEU/Index.aspx Historical Archives of the European Union] in Florence
Category:Institutions of the European Union
Category:Supranational legislatures
Category:Organisations based in Brussels
Category:Politics of the European Union
Category:Intergovernmental organizations
Category:International organisations based in Belgium | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_the_European_Union | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.651475 |
5867 | Continental Europe | Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by some, simply as the Continent. When Eurasia is regarded as a single continent, Europe is treated both as a continent and subcontinent.
Usage
The continental territory of the historical Carolingian Empire was one of the many old cultural concepts used for mainland Europe. This was consciously invoked in the 1950s as one of the basis for the prospective European integration (see also multi-speed Europe)
The most common definition of mainland Europe excludes these continental islands: the Greek islands, Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, Great Britain and Ireland and surrounding islands, Novaya Zemlya and the Nordic archipelago, as well as nearby oceanic islands, including the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Svalbard.
The Scandinavian Peninsula is sometimes also excluded even though it is a part of "mainland Europe", as the de facto connections to the rest of the continent were historically across the Baltic Sea or North Sea (rather than via the lengthy land route that involves travelling to the north of the peninsula where it meets Finland, and then south through northeast Europe). It has also been claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. In addition, the word Europe itself is also regularly used to mean Europe excluding the islands of Great Britain, Iceland, and Ireland (although the term is often used to refer to the European Union). The term mainland Europe is also sometimes used. Usage of these terms may reflect political or cultural allegiances, for example it has been observed that there is a correlation between whether a British citizen considers themselves "British" or "European" and whether they live in an area which primarily supported Brexit.
Derivatively, the adjective continental refers to the social practices or fashion of continental Europe. Examples include breakfast, topless sunbathing and, historically, long-range driving (before Britain had motorways) often known as Grand Touring. Differences include electrical plugs, time zones for the most part, the use of left-hand traffic, and for the United Kingdom, currency and the continued use of certain imperial units alongside the metric units which have long since displaced customary units in continental Europe.
Britain is physically connected to continental Europe through the undersea Channel Tunnel (the longest undersea tunnel in the world), which accommodates both the Eurotunnel Shuttle (passenger and vehicle use – vehicle required) and Eurostar (passenger use only) services. These services were established to transport passengers and vehicles through the tunnel on a 24/7 basis between England and continental Europe, while still maintaining passport and immigration control measures on both sides of the tunnel. This route is popular with refugees and migrants seeking to enter the UK.
Scandinavia
for a 1467 publication of Cosmographia Claudii Ptolomaei Alexandrini]]
Especially in Germanic studies, continental refers to the European continent excluding the Scandinavian Peninsula, Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. The reason for this is that although the Scandinavian peninsula is attached to continental Europe, and accessible via a land route along the 66th parallel north, it is usually reached by sea.
("the Continent") is a vernacular Swedish expression that refers to an area excluding Sweden, Norway, and Finland but including Denmark (even the Danish Archipelago which is technically not a part of continental Europe) and the rest of continental Europe. In Norway, similarly, one speaks about as a separate entity. In Denmark, Jutland is referred to as the mainland and thereby a part of continental Europe.
The Scandinavian Peninsula is now connected to the Danish mainland (the Jutland Peninsula) by several bridges and tunnels.
Mediterranean and Atlantic islands
The Continent may sometimes refer to the continental part of France (excluding Corsica and overseas France), the continental part of Greece (excluding the Aegean Islands, Crete, and the Ionian Islands), the continental part of Italy (excluding Sardinia, Sicily, etc.), the continental part of Portugal (excluding the Azores and Madeira), and the continental part of Spain (excluding the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the plazas de soberanía, etc.). The term is used from the perspective of the island residents of each country to describe the continental portion of their country or the continent (or mainland) as a whole.
Metropolitan France is also known as ''l'Hexagone, "the Hexagon", referring to its approximate shape on a map. Continental Italy is also known as lo Stivale'', "the Boot", referring to its approximate shape on a map. Continental Spain is referred to as peninsular Spain.
See also
* Contiguous United States
* Continental philosophy
* Geographical midpoint of Europe
* Hajnal line
* Mainland
** Mainland Australia
** Mainland China
** Mainland Finland
** Mainland Tanzania
* Regions of Europe
References
Category:Regions of Europe
Category:Political geography | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Europe | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.689336 |
5869 | Category theory | Category theory is a general theory of mathematical structures and their relations. It was introduced by Samuel Eilenberg and Saunders Mac Lane in the middle of the 20th century in their foundational work on algebraic topology. Category theory is used in almost all areas of mathematics. In particular, many constructions of new mathematical objects from previous ones that appear similarly in several contexts are conveniently expressed and unified in terms of categories. Examples include quotient spaces, direct products, completion, and duality.
Many areas of computer science also rely on category theory, such as functional programming and semantics.
A category is formed by two sorts of objects: the objects of the category, and the morphisms, which relate two objects called the source and the target of the morphism. Metaphorically, a morphism is an arrow that maps its source to its target. Morphisms can be composed if the target of the first morphism equals the source of the second one. Morphism composition has similar properties as function composition (associativity and existence of an identity morphism for each object). Morphisms are often some sort of functions, but this is not always the case. For example, a monoid may be viewed as a category with a single object, whose morphisms are the elements of the monoid.
The second fundamental concept of category theory is the concept of a functor, which plays the role of a morphism between two categories <math>\mathcal{C}_1</math> and <math>\mathcal{C}_2</math>: it maps objects of <math>\mathcal{C}_1</math> to objects of <math>\mathcal{C}_2</math> and morphisms of <math>\mathcal{C}_1</math> to morphisms of <math>\mathcal{C}_2</math> in such a way that sources are mapped to sources, and targets are mapped to targets (or, in the case of a contravariant functor, sources are mapped to targets and vice-versa). A third fundamental concept is a natural transformation that may be viewed as a morphism of functors.
Categories, objects, and morphisms
Categories
A category <math>\mathcal{C}</math> consists of the following three mathematical entities:
* A class <math>\text{ob}(\mathcal{C})</math>, whose elements are called objects;
* A class <math>\text{hom}(\mathcal{C})</math>, whose elements are called morphisms or maps or arrows. <p>Each morphism <math>f</math> has a source object <math>a</math> and target object <math>b</math>.</p><p>The expression <math>f:a \mapsto b</math> would be verbally stated as "<math>f</math> is a morphism from to ".</p><p>The expression <math>\text{hom}(a, b)</math> – alternatively expressed as <math>\text{hom}_\mathcal{C}(a, b)</math>, <math>\text{mor}(a, b)</math>, or <math>\mathcal{C}(a, b)</math> – denotes the hom-class of all morphisms from <math>a</math> to <math>b</math>.{{efn|The name "hom" derives from the fact that the notion of morphism is a generalisation of the notion of homomorphism. But even in categories whose objects have no notion of homomorphism or where the morphisms are explicitly not (or not precisely) homomorphisms, the classes <math>\text{hom}(a, b)</math> are still referred to as hom-classes.}}</p>
* A binary operation <math>\circ</math>, called composition of morphisms, such that for any three objects , , and , we have<math display"block">\circ : \text{hom}(b, c) \times \text{hom}(a, b) \mapsto \text{hom}(a, c)</math>The composition of <math>f : a \mapsto b</math> and <math>g: b \mapsto c</math> is written as <math>g \circ f</math> or <math>gf</math>, for . Computer scientists using category theory very commonly write for }} governed by two axioms:
*# Associativity: If <math>f: a \mapsto b</math>, <math>g: b \mapsto c</math>, and <math>h: c \mapsto d</math> then <math display"block">h \circ (g \circ f) (h \circ g) \circ f</math>
*# Identity: For every object , there exists a morphism <math>1_x : x \mapsto x</math> (also denoted as <math>\text{id}_x</math>) called the identity morphism for , such that for every morphism <math>f: a \mapsto b</math>, we have<math display"block">1_b \circ f f f \circ 1_a</math><p>From the axioms, it can be proved that there is exactly one identity morphism for every object.</p>Examples
* The category Set
** As the class of objects <math>\text{ob} (\text{Set})</math>, we choose the class of all sets.
** As the class of morphisms <math>\text{hom} (\text{Set})</math>, we choose the class of all functions. Therefore, for two objects and , i.e. sets, we have <math>\text{hom} (A,B)</math> to be the class of all functions such that .
** The composition of morphisms is simply the usual function composition, i.e. for two morphisms and , we have , <math>(g \circ f)(x) g(f(x))</math>, which is obviously associative. Furthermore, for every object we have the identity morphism <math>\text{id}_A</math> to be the identity map <math>\text{id}_A : A \mapsto A</math>, <math>\text{id}_A (x) x</math> on
Morphisms
Relations among morphisms (such as ) are often depicted using commutative diagrams, with "points" (corners) representing objects and "arrows" representing morphisms.
Morphisms can have any of the following properties. A morphism is:
* a monomorphism (or monic) if implies for all morphisms .
* an epimorphism (or epic) if implies for all morphisms .
* a bimorphism if f is both epic and monic.
* an isomorphism if there exists a morphism such that .
* an endomorphism if . end(a) denotes the class of endomorphisms of a.
* an automorphism if f is both an endomorphism and an isomorphism. aut(a) denotes the class of automorphisms of a.
* a retraction if a right inverse of f exists, i.e. if there exists a morphism with .
* a section if a left inverse of f exists, i.e. if there exists a morphism with .
Every retraction is an epimorphism, and every section is a monomorphism. Furthermore, the following three statements are equivalent:
* f is a monomorphism and a retraction;
* f is an epimorphism and a section;
* f is an isomorphism.
Functors
Functors are structure-preserving maps between categories. They can be thought of as morphisms in the category of all (small) categories.
A (covariant) functor F from a category C to a category D, written , consists of:
* for each object x in C, an object F(x) in D; and
* for each morphism in C, a morphism in D,
such that the following two properties hold:
* For every object x in C, ;
* For all morphisms and , .
A contravariant functor is like a covariant functor, except that it "turns morphisms around" ("reverses all the arrows"). More specifically, every morphism in C must be assigned to a morphism in D. In other words, a contravariant functor acts as a covariant functor from the opposite category C<sup>op</sup> to D. Natural transformations
A natural transformation is a relation between two functors. Functors often describe "natural constructions" and natural transformations then describe "natural homomorphisms" between two such constructions. Sometimes two quite different constructions yield "the same" result; this is expressed by a natural isomorphism between the two functors.
If F and G are (covariant) functors between the categories C and D, then a natural transformation η from F to G associates to every object X in C a morphism in D such that for every morphism in C, we have ; this means that the following diagram is commutative:
The two functors F and G are called naturally isomorphic if there exists a natural transformation from F to G such that η<sub>X</sub> is an isomorphism for every object X in C.
Other concepts
Universal constructions, limits, and colimits
Using the language of category theory, many areas of mathematical study can be categorized. Categories include sets, groups and topologies.
Each category is distinguished by properties that all its objects have in common, such as the empty set or the product of two topologies, yet in the definition of a category, objects are considered atomic, i.e., we do not know whether an object A is a set, a topology, or any other abstract concept. Hence, the challenge is to define special objects without referring to the internal structure of those objects. To define the empty set without referring to elements, or the product topology without referring to open sets, one can characterize these objects in terms of their relations to other objects, as given by the morphisms of the respective categories. Thus, the task is to find universal properties that uniquely determine the objects of interest.
Numerous important constructions can be described in a purely categorical way if the category limit can be developed and dualized to yield the notion of a colimit.
Equivalent categories
It is a natural question to ask: under which conditions can two categories be considered essentially the same, in the sense that theorems about one category can readily be transformed into theorems about the other category? The major tool one employs to describe such a situation is called equivalence of categories, which is given by appropriate functors between two categories. Categorical equivalence has found numerous applications in mathematics.
Further concepts and results
The definitions of categories and functors provide only the very basics of categorical algebra; additional important topics are listed below. Although there are strong interrelations between all of these topics, the given order can be considered as a guideline for further reading.
* The functor category D<sup>C</sup> has as objects the functors from C to D and as morphisms the natural transformations of such functors. The Yoneda lemma is one of the most famous basic results of category theory; it describes representable functors in functor categories.
* Duality: Every statement, theorem, or definition in category theory has a dual which is essentially obtained by "reversing all the arrows". If one statement is true in a category C then its dual is true in the dual category C<sup>op</sup>. This duality, which is transparent at the level of category theory, is often obscured in applications and can lead to surprising relationships.
* Adjoint functors: A functor can be left (or right) adjoint to another functor that maps in the opposite direction. Such a pair of adjoint functors typically arises from a construction defined by a universal property; this can be seen as a more abstract and powerful view on universal properties.
Higher-dimensional categories
Many of the above concepts, especially equivalence of categories, adjoint functor pairs, and functor categories, can be situated into the context of higher-dimensional categories. Briefly, if we consider a morphism between two objects as a "process taking us from one object to another", then higher-dimensional categories allow us to profitably generalize this by considering "higher-dimensional processes".
For example, a (strict) 2-category is a category together with "morphisms between morphisms", i.e., processes which allow us to transform one morphism into another. We can then "compose" these "bimorphisms" both horizontally and vertically, and we require a 2-dimensional "exchange law" to hold, relating the two composition laws. In this context, the standard example is Cat, the 2-category of all (small) categories, and in this example, bimorphisms of morphisms are simply natural transformations of morphisms in the usual sense. Another basic example is to consider a 2-category with a single object; these are essentially monoidal categories. Bicategories are a weaker notion of 2-dimensional categories in which the composition of morphisms is not strictly associative, but only associative "up to" an isomorphism.
This process can be extended for all natural numbers n, and these are called n-categories. There is even a notion of ω-category corresponding to the ordinal number ω.
Higher-dimensional categories are part of the broader mathematical field of higher-dimensional algebra, a concept introduced by Ronald Brown. For a conversational introduction to these ideas, see [http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/week73.html John Baez, 'A Tale of n-categories' (1996).]
Historical notes
Whilst specific examples of functors and natural transformations had been given by Samuel Eilenberg and Saunders Mac Lane in a 1942 paper on group theory, these concepts were introduced in a more general sense, together with the additional notion of categories, in a 1945 paper by the same authors Their work was an important part of the transition from intuitive and geometric homology to homological algebra, Eilenberg and Mac Lane later writing that their goal was to understand natural transformations, which first required the definition of functors, then categories.
Stanislaw Ulam, and some writing on his behalf, have claimed that related ideas were current in the late 1930s in Poland. Eilenberg was Polish, and studied mathematics in Poland in the 1930s. Category theory is also, in some sense, a continuation of the work of Emmy Noether (one of Mac Lane's teachers) in formalizing abstract processes; Noether realized that understanding a type of mathematical structure requires understanding the processes that preserve that structure (homomorphisms). Eilenberg and Mac Lane introduced categories for understanding and formalizing the processes (functors) that relate topological structures to algebraic structures (topological invariants) that characterize them.
Category theory was originally introduced for the need of homological algebra, and widely extended for the need of modern algebraic geometry (scheme theory). Category theory may be viewed as an extension of universal algebra, as the latter studies algebraic structures, and the former applies to any kind of mathematical structure and studies also the relationships between structures of different nature. For this reason, it is used throughout mathematics. Applications to mathematical logic and semantics (categorical abstract machine) came later.
Certain categories called topoi (singular topos) can even serve as an alternative to axiomatic set theory as a foundation of mathematics. A topos can also be considered as a specific type of category with two additional topos axioms. These foundational applications of category theory have been worked out in fair detail as a basis for, and justification of, constructive mathematics. Topos theory is a form of abstract sheaf theory, with geometric origins, and leads to ideas such as pointless topology.
Categorical logic is now a well-defined field based on type theory for intuitionistic logics, with applications in functional programming and domain theory, where a cartesian closed category is taken as a non-syntactic description of a lambda calculus. At the very least, category theoretic language clarifies what exactly these related areas have in common (in some abstract sense).
Category theory has been applied in other fields as well, see applied category theory. For example, John Baez has shown a link between Feynman diagrams in physics and monoidal categories. Another application of category theory, more specifically topos theory, has been made in mathematical music theory, see for example the book The Topos of Music, Geometric Logic of Concepts, Theory, and Performance by Guerino Mazzola.
More recent efforts to introduce undergraduates to categories as a foundation for mathematics include those of William Lawvere and Rosebrugh (2003) and Lawvere and Stephen Schanuel (1997) and Mirroslav Yotov (2012).
See also
* Domain theory
* Enriched category theory
* Glossary of category theory
* Group theory
* Higher category theory
* Higher-dimensional algebra
* Important publications in category theory
* Lambda calculus
* Outline of category theory
* Timeline of category theory and related mathematics
* Applied category theory
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
* .
* .
*
*
*
*
* .
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Notes for a course offered as part of the MSc. in Mathematical Logic, Manchester University.
* .
* , draft of a book.
*
* Based on .
Further reading
*
External links
* [http://www.tac.mta.ca/tac/ Theory and Application of Categories], an electronic journal of category theory, full text, free, since 1995.
* [https://cahierstgdc.com/ Cahiers de Topologie et Géométrie Différentielle Catégoriques], an electronic journal of category theory, full text, free, funded in 1957.
* [http://ncatlab.org/nlab nLab], a wiki project on mathematics, physics and philosophy with emphasis on the n-categorical point of view.
* [https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/ The n-Category Café], essentially a colloquium on topics in category theory.
* [http://www.logicmatters.net/categories/ Category Theory], a web page of links to lecture notes and freely available books on category theory.
* , a formal introduction to category theory.
*
* , with an extensive bibliography.
* [http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ List of academic conferences on category theory]
* — An informal introduction to higher order categories.
* [http://wildcatsformma.wordpress.com WildCats] is a category theory package for Mathematica. Manipulation and visualization of objects, morphisms, categories, functors, natural transformations, universal properties.
* , a channel about category theory.
* .
* [http://categorieslogicphysics.wikidot.com/events Video archive] of recorded talks relevant to categories, logic and the foundations of physics.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080916162345/http://www.j-paine.org/cgi-bin/webcats/webcats.php Interactive Web page] which generates examples of categorical constructions in the category of finite sets.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150109111227/http://category-theory.mitpress.mit.edu/index.html Category Theory for the Sciences], an instruction on category theory as a tool throughout the sciences.
* [https://bartoszmilewski.com/2014/10/28/category-theory-for-programmers-the-preface/ Category Theory for Programmers] A book in blog form explaining category theory for computer programmers.
* [http://math.mit.edu/~dspivak/teaching/sp18/7Sketches.pdf Introduction to category theory.]
Category:Higher category theory
Category:Foundations of mathematics | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_theory | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.742757 |
5872 | Bradycardia | | diagnosis = electrocardiogram
| alt | treatment
| frequency = 15% (males), 7% (females)
}}
Bradycardia, also called bradyarrhythmia, is a resting heart rate under 60 beats per minute (BPM). While bradycardia can result from various pathological processes, it is commonly a physiological response to cardiovascular conditioning or due to asymptomatic type 1 atrioventricular block. In large population studies of adults without underlying heart disease, resting heart rates of 45–50 BPM appear to be the lower limits of normal, dependent on age and sex. Bradycardia is most likely to be discovered in the elderly, as age and underlying cardiac disease progression contribute to its development.
Bradycardia may be associated with symptoms of fatigue, dyspnea, dizziness, confusion, and syncope due to reduced blood flow to the brain. The types of symptoms often depend on the etiology of the slow heart rate, classified by the anatomical location of a dysfunction within the cardiac conduction system. Chronotropic incompetence (CI) refers to an inadequate rise in heart rate during periods of increased demand, often due to exercise, and is an important sign of SND and an indication for pacemaker implantation. Normal cardiac conduction The heart is a specialized muscle containing repeating units of cardiomyocytes, or heart muscle cells. Like most cells, cardiomyocytes maintain a highly regulated negative voltage at rest and are capable of propagating action potentials, much like neurons. While at rest, the negative cellular voltage of a cardiomyocyte can be raised above a certain threshold (so-called depolarization) by an incoming action potential, causing the myocyte to contract. When these contractions occur in a coordinated fashion, the atria and ventricles of the heart will pump, delivering blood to the rest of the body. The SA node contains pacemaker cells that demonstrate "automaticity" and can generate impulses that travel through the heart and create a steady heartbeat. allowing for appropriate filling of the ventricles before contraction. The SA and AV nodes are both closely regulated by the autonomic nervous system's fibres, allowing for adjustment of cardiac output by the central nervous system in times of increased metabolic demand.
Following slowed conduction through the atrioventricular node, the action potential produced initially at the SA node now flows through the His-Purkinje system. The bundle of His originates in the AV node and rapidly splits into a left and right branch, each destined for a different ventricle. Finally, these bundle branches terminate in the small Purkinje fibers that innervate myocardial tissue. The His-Purkinje system conducts action potentials much faster than can be propagated between myocardial cells, allowing the entire ventricular myocardium to contract in less time, improving pump function. The heart muscle of athletes has a higher stroke volume, requiring fewer contractions to circulate the same volume of blood. Asymptomatic sinus bradycardia decreases in prevalence with age. Sinus arrhythmia Sinus arrhythmias are heart rhythm abnormalities characterized by variations in the cardiac cycle length over 120 milliseconds (longest cycle - shortest cycle). The condition can also be caused by dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system that regulates the node and is commonly exacerbated by medications.
2nd degree AV block is characterized by intermittently lost conduction of impulses between the SA node and the ventricles. 2nd degree block is classified into two types. Mobitz type 1 block, otherwise known by the eponym Wenckebach, classically demonstrates grouped patterns of heartbeats on ECG. Throughout the group, the PR interval gradually lengthens until a dropped conduction occurs, resulting in no QRS complex seen on surface ECG following the last P wave. After a delay, the grouping repeats, with the PR interval shortening again to baseline. Type 1 2nd degree AV block due to disease in the AV node (as opposed to in the His-purkinje system) rarely needs intervention with pacemaker implantation.
Junctional rhythms
An AV-junctional rhythm, or atrioventricular nodal bradycardia, is usually caused by the absence of the electrical impulse from the sinus node. This usually appears on an electrocardiogram with a normal QRS complex accompanied by an inverted P wave either before, during, or after the QRS complex. This is a protective mechanism for the heart to compensate for an SA node that is no longer handling the pacemaking activity and is one of a series of backup sites that can take over pacemaker function when the SA node fails to do so. This would present with a longer PR interval. An AV-junctional escape complex is a normal response that may result from excessive vagal tone on the SA node. Pathological causes include sinus bradycardia, sinus arrest, sinus exit block, or AV block. AV block may be ruled out with an ECG indicating "a 1:1 relationship between P waves and QRS complexes."Causes
Bradycardia arrhythmia may have many causes, both cardiac and non-cardiac.
Non-cardiac causes are usually secondary and can involve recreational drug use or abuse, metabolic or endocrine issues, especially hypothyroidism, an electrolyte imbalance, neurological factors, autonomic reflexes, situational factors, such as prolonged bed rest, and autoimmunity. At rest, although tachycardia is more commonly seen in fatty acid oxidation disorders, acute bradycardia can occur more rarely.
Cardiac causes include acute or chronic ischemic heart disease, vascular heart disease, valvular heart disease, or degenerative primary electrical disease. Ultimately, the causes act by three mechanisms: depressed automaticity of the heart, conduction block, or escape pacemakers and rhythms.
In general, two types of problems result in bradycardias: disorders of the SA node and disorders of the AV node.
With SA node dysfunction (sometimes called sick sinus syndrome), there may be disordered automaticity or impaired conduction of the impulse from the SA node into the surrounding atrial tissue (an "exit block"). Second-degree sinoatrial blocks can be detected only by use of a 12-lead ECG. It is difficult and sometimes impossible to assign a mechanism to any particular bradycardia, but the underlying mechanism is not clinically relevant to treatment, which is the same in both cases of sick sinus syndrome: a permanent pacemaker. Beta blockers may slow the heart rate to a dangerous level if prescribed with calcium channel blockers.
Chronic cocaine use has been associated with bradycardia. Desensitization of β-adrenergic receptors has been suggested as a possible cause of this.
COVID-19 has been found to be a cause of bradycardia.
Diagnosis
A diagnosis of bradycardia in adults is based on a heart rate of less than 60 BPM,
Treatment of chronic symptomatic bradycardia first necessitates correlation of symptoms. Other positive chronotropes have also been used to treat bradycardia, including the vasodilator and antihypertensive agent hydralazine, the alpha-1 blocker prazosin, anticholinergics, and sympathomimetic agents like beta-1 agonists.Acute or unstableIf a person is unstable, the initial recommended treatment is intravenous atropine.
Epidemiology
In clinical practice, elderly people over age 65 and young athletes of both sexes may have sinus bradycardia.Society and cultureRecords* Daniel Green holds the world record for the slowest heartbeat in a healthy human, with a heart rate measured in 2014 of 26 BPM.
* Martin Brady holds the Guinness world record for the slowest heart rate, with a certified rate over a minute duration of 27 BPM.
* During his career, professional cyclist Miguel Indurain had a resting heart rate of 28 BPM. See also * References
| ICD10 =
| ICD9 = , , ,
| ICDO | OMIM
| MedlinePlus | eMedicineSubj
| eMedicineTopic | MeshID D001919
}}
Category:Cardiac arrhythmia
Category:Symptoms and signs: Cardiac | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradycardia | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.827665 |
5873 | Canada Day | |holiday_name = Canada Day
|nickname = Fête du Canada<br>Dominion Day (1879–1982)
|observedby = Canada
|date = July 1
|mdy = no
|duration = 1 day
|frequency = Annual
|celebrations = Fireworks, parades, barbecues, concerts, carnivals, fairs, picnics
|type = national
|longtype = Historical, cultural, national
|significance Anniversary of Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867|firsttimeJuly 1, 1867}}
Canada Day,, }} formerly known as Dominion Day,}} is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the British North America Act, 1867, when the three separate colonies of the United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into a single dominion within the British Empire called Canada.
Originally called Dominion Day,}} the holiday was renamed in 1982, the same year that the Canadian constitution was patriated by the Canada Act, 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada Day celebrations take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world attended by Canadians living abroad.CommemorationCanada Day is often informally referred to as "Canada's birthday", particularly in the popular press. However, the term "birthday" can be seen as an oversimplification, as Canada Day is the anniversary of only one important national milestone on the way to the country's full sovereignty, namely the joining on July 1, 1867, of the colonies of Canada (divided into Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a wider British federation of four provinces. Canada became a "kingdom in its own right" within the British Empire, commonly known as the Dominion of Canada.
Although a British dominion, Canada gained an increased level of political control and governance over its own affairs, the British parliament and cabinet maintaining political control over certain areas, such as foreign affairs, national defence, and constitutional changes. Canada gradually gained increasing sovereignty over the years—notably with the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931—until finally becoming completely sovereign with the passing of the Constitution Act, 1982, which served to fully patriate the Canadian constitution.
Under the federal Holidays Act, Canada Day is observed on July 1, unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case July 2 is the statutory holiday. Celebratory events will generally still take place on July 1, even though it is not the legal holiday. If it falls on a weekend, businesses normally closed that day will usually dedicate the following Monday as a day off.History
celebrates Dominion Day in 1917, the golden jubilee of Confederation]]
The enactment of the British North America Act, 1867 (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which confederated Canada, was celebrated on July 1, 1867, with the ringing of the bells at the Cathedral Church of St James in Toronto and "bonfires, fireworks, and illuminations, excursions, military displays, and musical and other entertainments", as described in contemporary accounts. On June 20 of the following year, Governor General the Viscount Monck issued a royal proclamation asking for Canadians to celebrate the anniversary of Confederation, However, the holiday was not established statutorily until May 15, 1879, when it was designated as Dominion Day, alluding to the reference in the British North America Act to the country as a dominion. The holiday was initially not dominant in the national calendar; any celebrations were mounted by local communities and the governor general hosted a party at Rideau Hall.
In 1946, Philéas Côté, a Quebec member of the House of Commons, introduced a private member's bill to rename Dominion Day as Canada Day. The bill was passed quickly by the lower chamber but was stalled by the Senate, which returned it to the commons with the recommendation that the holiday be renamed The National Holiday of Canada, an amendment that effectively killed the bill.
The Canadian government began in 1958 to orchestrate Dominion Day celebrations. That year, then-Prime Minister John Diefenbaker requested that Secretary of State Ellen Fairclough organize appropriate events, with a budget of $14,000. Parliament was traditionally in session on July 1, but Fairclough persuaded Diefenbaker and the rest of the federal cabinet to attend.
Some Canadians were, by the early 1980s, informally referring to the holiday as Canada Day,|groupn|nameName}} a practice that caused some controversy: Columnist Andrew Cohen called Canada Day a term of "crushing banality" and criticized it as "a renunciation of the past [and] a misreading of history, laden with political correctness and historical ignorance".
The holiday was officially renamed as a result of a private member's bill that was passed through the House of Commons on July 9, 1982, two years after its first reading. The group passed the bill in five minutes, without debate, inspiring "grumblings about the underhandedness of the process". With the granting of royal assent, the holiday's name was officially changed to Canada Day on October 27, 1982, and first celebrated under that name July 1, 1983.
, a state order inaugurated on July 1, 1967]]
As the anniversary of Confederation, Dominion Day, and later Canada Day, was the date set for a number of important events, such as the first national radio network hookup by the Canadian National Railway (1927); the inauguration of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's cross-country television broadcast, with Governor General Vincent Massey's Dominion Day speech from Parliament Hill (1958);
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation in 2020 of all in-person Canada Day festivities nationwide, due to social distancing and restrictions on public gatherings. Some were converted to virtual events. The same cancellations occurred the following year; though, some also for political reasons. In-person festivities in Ottawa returned in 2022, being re-located from Parliament Hill to LeBreton Flats due to construction associated with the Parliament Hill Rehabilitation project.—and the enactment of the Chinese Immigration Act in 1923, leading Chinese-Canadians to refer to July 1 as Humiliation Day () and boycott Dominion Day celebrations with shop closures, flying the Canadian flag on half-mast, or hanging wreaths in front of home and shop entrances until the act was repealed in 1947. Canada Day also coincides with Quebec's Moving Day, when many fixed-lease apartment rental terms expire. The bill changing the province's moving day from May 1 to July 1 was introduced by a federalist member of the Quebec National Assembly, Jérôme Choquette, in 1973, in order not to affect children still in school in the month of May.
Activities
and Duchess of Cambridge at the official Canada Day celebration in Ottawa, 2011]]
Most communities across the country host organized celebrations for Canada Day, typically outdoor public events, such as parades, carnivals, festivals, barbecues, air and maritime shows, fireworks, and free musical concerts, as well as citizenship ceremonies. There is no standard mode of celebration for Canada Day; Jennifer Welsh, a professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford, said about this: "Canada Day, like the country, is endlessly decentralized. There doesn't seem to be a central recipe for how to celebrate it—chalk it up to the nature of the federation."
In the national capital of Ottawa, concerts and cultural displays are held on the front lawn of Parliament Hill, as organized by Canadian Heritage, which include the main "noon show" and an evening programme. The event traditionally begins with the singing of "God Save the King" and "O Canada" in English and French followed by a flyover by the Snowbirds. Typically the governor general and prime minister officiate, though the monarch or another member of the royal family may also attend or take the governor general's place. at Trafalgar Square outside Canada House in London, England; in Mexico, at the Royal Canadian Legion in Chapala, and at the Canadian Club in Ajijic. In China, Canada Day celebrations are held at the Bund Beach by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and at Canadian International School in Beijing, sponsored by the Canada China Business Council.
Criticism and protest
rally in Toronto, Ontario, on Canada Day, 2022]]
Celebrating Canada Day can create tension in Quebec, where it competes with the province's Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on June 24. The federal government sponsors Canada Day events in Montreal, while the Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebration relies on grassroots support and struggles with funding from the federal government and private sponsors.
Some Indigenous people in Canada view Canada Day negatively, linking it to the injustices they have faced from the Canadian government. This criticism intensified during Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017, as many felt that the celebrations ignored Indigenous contributions and current challenges. Similar concerns arose after the discovery of unmarked graves of Indigenous children at a residential school in British Columbia in June 2021. Canada Day events were canceled or altered in many areas, and the Indigenous group Idle No More planned peaceful protests in major cities. Some politicians backed the cancellations, while others worried that these actions undermined the concept of Canada and hindered reconciliation efforts.<ref name:1/>See also
* Canadian patriotic music
* Culture of Canada
* National Flag of Canada Day
*National symbols of Canada
* Public holidays in Canada
Notes
ReferencesExternal links
* [https://www.canada.ca/canada-day Government of Canada: Canada Day in the Capital Region]
* [https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/canada-day-history.html Government of Canada: History of Canada Day]
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Canada-Day Encyclopaedia Britannica: Canada Day]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Issv75Vaqzo The Canadian Queen's Dominion Day Message 1959]
Category:Annual events in Canada
Category:July observances
Category:Public holidays in Canada
Category:National days
Category:Summer events in Canada | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Day | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.906034 |
5874 | Claudine (book series) | The Claudine series consists of four early novels by French authors Colette and Henry Gauthier-Villars, published 1900–1904. Written in diary form, they describe the growth to maturity of a young girl, Claudine. Aged fifteen at the beginning of the first book, Claudine à l'école, the series describes her education and experiences as she grows up. All the books are written in first-person with the first three having Claudine herself as the narrator. The last in the series, Claudine s'en va, introduces a new narrator, Annie.
The novels were written in the late 19th century in collaboration with Colette's first husband, the writer Henry Gauthier-Villars, better known by his pen name "Willy". There has been much speculation over the degree of involvement of both Colette and Willy in the writing of the Claudine novels, particularly as Willy was known for often using ghostwriters. Consequently, although the novels were originally attributed to Willy only and published under his name alone, they were later published under both names. After the death of Willy, Colette went to court to challenge her former husband's involvement in any of the writing, and subsequently had his name removed from the books. This decision however was overturned after her death, as Willy's son from a prior relationship, Jacques Gauthier-Villars, successfully sued to have his father's name restored.
The Claudine novels are thought to be roughly autobiographical.
List of books
Claudine à l'école (1900) – Claudine at School
Claudine à Paris (1901) – Claudine in Paris
Claudine en ménage (1902) – Claudine Married
Claudine s'en va (1903) – Claudine and Annie
References
Category:Collaborative book series
Category:Bisexual fiction
Category:Book series
Category:Colette
Category:1900s novels
Category:1900s LGBTQ novels | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_(book_series) | 2025-04-05T18:27:35.930073 |
5876 | Coronary artery disease | Signs and symptoms
The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort that occurs regularly with activity, after eating, or at other predictable times; this phenomenon is termed stable angina and is associated with narrowing of the arteries of the heart. Angina also includes chest tightness, heaviness, pressure, numbness, fullness, or squeezing. Angina that changes in intensity, character, or frequency is termed unstable. Unstable angina may precede myocardial infarction. In adults who go to the emergency department with an unclear cause of pain, about 30% have pain due to coronary artery disease. Angina, shortness of breath, sweating, nausea or vomiting, and lightheadedness are signs of a heart attack or myocardial infarction, and immediate emergency medical services are crucial. For some, this causes severe symptoms, while others experience no symptoms at all. Other symptoms more commonly reported by females than males are extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, indigestion, and anxiety. However, some females experience irregular heartbeat, dizziness, sweating, and nausea. Females are less likely to recognize symptoms and seek treatment. Atherosclerosis is a type of arteriosclerosis which is the "chronic inflammation of the arteries which causes them to harden and accumulate cholesterol plaques (atheromatous plaques) on the artery walls". CAD has several well-determined risk factors contributing to atherosclerosis. These risk factors for CAD include "smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), abnormal (high) amounts of cholesterol and other fat in the blood (dyslipidemia), type 2 diabetes and being overweight or obese (having excess body fat)" due to lack of exercise and a poor diet. Some other risk factors include high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, lack of exercise, obesity, high blood cholesterol, poor diet, depression, family history, psychological stress and excessive alcohol. Apart from these classical risk factors, several unconventional risk factors have also been studied including high serum fibrinogen, high c-reactive protein (CRP), chronic inflammatory conditions, hypovitaminosis D, high lipoprotein A levels, serum homocysteine etc. Smoking and obesity are associated with about 36% and 20% of cases, respectively. Lack of exercise has been linked to 7–12% of cases. Exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange may increase risk. Rheumatologic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis are independent risk factors as well.
Job stress appears to play a minor role accounting for about 3% of cases. In one study, females who were free of stress from work life saw an increase in the diameter of their blood vessels, leading to decreased progression of atherosclerosis. In contrast, females who had high levels of work-related stress experienced a decrease in the diameter of their blood vessels and significantly increased disease progression. In particular, fine particle pollution (PM<sub>2.5</sub>), which comes mostly from the burning of fossil fuels, is a key risk factor for CAD.Blood fatsThe consumption of different types of fats including trans fat (trans unsaturated), and saturated fat, in a diet "influences the level of cholesterol that is present in the bloodstream". Unsaturated fats originate from plant sources (such as oils). There are two types of unsaturated fats, cis and trans isomers. Cis unsaturated fats are bent in molecular structure and trans are linear. Saturated fats originate from animal sources (such as animal fats) and are also molecularly linear in structure. The linear configurations of unsaturated trans and saturated fats allow them to easily accumulate and stack at the arterial walls when consumed in high amounts (and other positive measures towards physical health are not met).
* Fats and cholesterol are insoluble in blood and thus are amalgamated with proteins to form lipoproteins for transport. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) transport cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body and raise blood cholesterol levels. The consumption of "saturated fats increases LDL levels within the body, thus raising blood cholesterol levels". Genome-wide association studies have identified over 160 genetic susceptibility loci for coronary artery disease.
Transcriptome
Several RNA Transcripts associated with CAD - FoxP1, ICOSLG, IKZF4/Eos, SMYD3, TRIM28, and TCF3/E2A are likely markers of regulatory T cells (Tregs), consistent with known reductions in Tregs in CAD.
. The differentially expressed genes identified by RNAseq were curated by automated and manual analysis to identify the molecular pathways involved. The resulting pattern points to changes in the 'immune synapse', which involves both endocytic pathways of T cell receptor-containing vesicles, as well as ciliary protrusions that couple to intracellular signaling pathways.]]
The RNA changes are mostly related to ciliary and endocytic transcripts, which in the circulating immune system would be related to the immune synapse. One of the most differentially expressed genes, fibromodulin (FMOD), which is increased 2.8-fold in CAD, is found mainly in connective tissue and is a modulator of the TGF-beta signaling pathway. However, not all RNA changes may be related to the immune synapse. For example, Nebulette, the most down-regulated transcript (2.4-fold), is found in cardiac muscle; it is a 'cytolinker' that connects actin and desmin to facilitate cytoskeletal function and vesicular movement. The endocytic pathway is further modulated by changes in tubulin, a key microtubule protein, and fidgetin, a tubulin-severing enzyme that is a marker for cardiovascular risk identified by genome-wide association study. Protein recycling would be modulated by changes in the proteasomal regulator SIAH3, and the ubiquitin ligase MARCHF10. On the ciliary aspect of the immune synapse, several of the modulated transcripts are related to ciliary length and function. Stereocilin is a partner to mesothelin, a related super-helical protein, whose transcript is also modulated in CAD. DCDC2, a double-cortin protein, modulates ciliary length. In the signaling pathways of the immune synapse, numerous transcripts are directly related to T-cell function and the control of differentiation. Butyrophilin is a co-regulator for T cell activation. Fibromodulin modulates the TGF-beta signaling pathway, a primary determinant of Tre differentiation. Further impact on the TGF-beta pathway is reflected in concurrent changes in the BMP receptor 1B RNA (BMPR1B), because the bone morphogenic proteins are members of the TGF-beta superfamily, and likewise impact Treg differentiation. Several of the transcripts (TMEM98, NRCAM, SFRP5, SHISA2) are elements of the Wnt signaling pathway, which is a major determinant of Treg differentiation.
Other
* Endometriosis in females under the age of 40.
* Depression and hostility appear to be risks.
* The number of categories of adverse childhood experiences (psychological, physical, or sexual abuse; violence against mother; or living with household members who used substances, mentally ill, suicidal, or incarcerated) showed a graded correlation with the presence of adult diseases including coronary artery (ischemic heart) disease.
* Hemostatic factors: High levels of fibrinogen and coagulation factor VII are associated with an increased risk of CAD.
* Low hemoglobin.
* In the Asian population, the b fibrinogen gene G-455A polymorphism was associated with the risk of CAD.
* Patient-specific vessel ageing or remodelling determines endothelial cell behaviour and thus disease growth and progression. Such 'hemodynamic markers' are patient-specific risk surrogates.
* HIV is a known risk factor for developing atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.
Pathophysiology
of a coronary artery with the most common form of coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis) and marked luminal narrowing. Masson's trichrome.]]
Limitation of blood flow to the heart causes ischemia (cell starvation secondary to a lack of oxygen) of the heart's muscle cells. The heart's muscle cells may die from lack of oxygen and this is called a myocardial infarction (commonly referred to as a heart attack). It leads to damage, death, and eventual scarring of the heart muscle without regrowth of heart muscle cells. Chronic high-grade narrowing of the coronary arteries can induce transient ischemia which leads to the induction of a ventricular arrhythmia, which may terminate into a dangerous heart rhythm known as ventricular fibrillation, which often leads to death.
Typically, coronary artery disease occurs when part of the smooth, elastic lining inside a coronary artery (the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle) develops atherosclerosis. With atherosclerosis, the artery's lining becomes hardened, stiffened, and accumulates deposits of calcium, fatty lipids, and abnormal inflammatory cells – to form a plaque. Calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite) deposits in the muscular layer of the blood vessels appear to play a significant role in stiffening the arteries and inducing the early phase of coronary arteriosclerosis. This can be seen in a so-called metastatic mechanism of calciphylaxis as it occurs in chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis. Although these people have kidney dysfunction, almost fifty percent of them die due to coronary artery disease. Plaques can be thought of as large "pimples" that protrude into the channel of an artery, causing partial obstruction to blood flow. People with coronary artery disease might have just one or two plaques or might have dozens distributed throughout their coronary arteries. A more severe form is chronic total occlusion (CTO) when a coronary artery is completely obstructed for more than 3 months.
Microvascular angina is a type of angina pectoris in which chest pain and chest discomfort occur without signs of blockages in the larger coronary arteries of their hearts when an angiogram (coronary angiogram) is being performed.
The exact cause of microvascular angina is unknown. Explanations include microvascular dysfunction or epicardial atherosclerosis. For reasons that are not well understood, females are more likely than males to have it; however, hormones and other risk factors unique to females may play a role.DiagnosisThe diagnosis of CAD depends largely on the nature of the symptoms and imaging. The first investigation when CAD is suspected is an electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG), both for stable angina and acute coronary syndrome. An X-ray of the chest, blood tests and resting echocardiography may be performed.
For stable symptomatic patients, several non-invasive tests can diagnose CAD depending on pre-assessment of the risk profile. Noninvasive imaging options include; Computed tomography angiography (CTA) (anatomical imaging, best test in patients with low-risk profile to "rule out" the disease), positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/nuclear stress test/myocardial scintigraphy and stress echocardiography (the three latter can be summarized as functional noninvasive methods and are typically better to "rule in"). Exercise ECG or stress test is inferior to non-invasive imaging methods due to the risk of false negative and false positive test results. The use of non-invasive imaging is not recommended on individuals who are exhibiting no symptoms and are otherwise at low risk for developing coronary disease. Invasive testing with coronary angiography (ICA) can be used when non-invasive testing is inconclusive or show a high event risk.
* Intravascular ultrasound
* Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Stable angina
Stable angina is the most common manifestation of ischemic heart disease, and is associated with reduced quality of life and increased mortality. It is caused by epicardial coronary stenosis which results in reduced blood flow and oxygen supply to the myocardium.
Stable angina is short-term chest pain during physical exertion caused by an imbalance between myocardial oxygen supply and metabolic oxygen demand. Various forms of cardiac stress tests may be used to induce both symptoms and detect changes by way of electrocardiography (using an ECG), echocardiography (using ultrasound of the heart) or scintigraphy (using uptake of radionuclide by the heart muscle). If part of the heart seems to receive an insufficient blood supply, coronary angiography may be used to identify stenosis of the coronary arteries and suitability for angioplasty or bypass surgery.
In minor to moderate cases, nitroglycerine may be used to alleviate acute symptoms of stable angina or may be used immediately before exertion to prevent the onset of angina. Sublingual nitroglycerine is most commonly used to provide rapid relief for acute angina attacks and as a complement to anti-anginal treatments in patients with refractory and recurrent angina. When nitroglycerine enters the bloodstream, it forms free radical nitric oxide, or NO, which activates guanylate cyclase and in turn stimulates the release of cyclic GMP. This molecular signaling stimulates smooth muscle relaxation, resulting in vasodilation and consequently improved blood flow to heart regions affected by atherosclerotic plaque.
Stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) is also often called stable ischemic heart disease (SIHD). A 2015 monograph explains that "Regardless of the nomenclature, stable angina is the chief manifestation of SIHD or SCAD."
Acute coronary syndrome
Diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome generally takes place in the emergency department, where ECGs may be performed sequentially to identify "evolving changes" (indicating ongoing damage to the heart muscle). Diagnosis is clear-cut if ECGs show elevation of the "ST segment", which in the context of severe typical chest pain is strongly indicative of an acute myocardial infarction (MI); this is termed a STEMI (ST-elevation MI) and is treated as an emergency with either urgent coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (angioplasty with or without stent insertion) or with thrombolysis ("clot buster" medication), whichever is available. In the absence of ST-segment elevation, heart damage is detected by cardiac markers (blood tests that identify heart muscle damage). If there is evidence of damage (infarction), the chest pain is attributed to a "non-ST elevation MI" (NSTEMI). If there is no evidence of damage, the term "unstable angina" is used. This process usually necessitates hospital admission and close observation on a coronary care unit for possible complications (such as cardiac arrhythmias – irregularities in the heart rate). Depending on the risk assessment, stress testing or angiography may be used to identify and treat coronary artery disease in patients who have had an NSTEMI or unstable angina.Risk assessmentThere are various risk assessment systems for determining the risk of coronary artery disease, with various emphasis on the different variables above. A notable example is Framingham Score, used in the Framingham Heart Study. It is mainly based on age, gender, diabetes, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, tobacco smoking, and systolic blood pressure. When predicting risk in younger adults (18–39 years old), the Framingham Risk Score remains below 10–12% for all deciles of baseline-predicted risk.
Polygenic score is another way of risk assessment. In one study the relative risk of incident coronary events was 91% higher among participants at high genetic risk than among those at low genetic risk.PreventionUp to 90% of cardiovascular disease may be preventable if established risk factors are avoided. Prevention involves adequate physical exercise, decreasing obesity, treating high blood pressure, eating a healthy diet, decreasing cholesterol levels, and stopping smoking. Medications and exercise are roughly equally effective. High levels of physical activity reduce the risk of coronary artery disease by about 25%. Life's Essential 8 are the key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health, as defined by the American Heart Association. AHA added sleep as a factor influencing heart health in 2022.
Most guidelines recommend combining these preventive strategies. A 2015 Cochrane Review found some evidence that counseling and education to bring about behavioral change might help in high-risk groups. However, there was insufficient evidence to show an effect on mortality or actual cardiovascular events.
In diabetes mellitus, there is little evidence that very tight blood sugar control improves cardiac risk although improved sugar control appears to decrease other problems such as kidney failure and blindness.
A 2024 study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology found that the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is more effective than hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) for detecting dysglycemia in patients with coronary artery disease. The study highlighted that 2-hour post-load glucose levels of at least 9 mmol/L were strong predictors of cardiovascular outcomes, while HbA1c levels of at least 5.9% were also significant but not independently associated when combined with OGTT results.
Diet
A diet high in fruits and vegetables decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Vegetarians have a lower risk of heart disease, possibly due to their greater consumption of fruits and vegetables. Evidence also suggests that the Mediterranean diet and a high fiber diet lower the risk.
The consumption of trans fat (commonly found in hydrogenated products such as margarine) has been shown to cause a precursor to atherosclerosis and increase the risk of coronary artery disease.
Evidence does not support a beneficial role for omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in preventing cardiovascular disease (including myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death).
Secondary prevention
Secondary prevention is preventing further sequelae of already established disease. Effective lifestyle changes include:
* Weight control
* Smoking cessation
* Avoiding the consumption of trans fats (in partially hydrogenated oils)
* Decreasing psychosocial stress Aerobic exercise can help decrease blood pressure and the amount of blood cholesterol (LDL) over time. It also increases HDL cholesterol.
Although exercise is beneficial, it is unclear whether doctors should spend time counseling patients to exercise. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found "insufficient evidence" to recommend that doctors counsel patients on exercise but "it did not review the evidence for the effectiveness of physical activity to reduce chronic disease, morbidity, and mortality", only the effectiveness of counseling itself. The American Heart Association, based on a non-systematic review, recommends that doctors counsel patients on exercise.
Psychological symptoms are common in people with CHD. Many psychological treatments may be offered following cardiac events. There is no evidence that they change mortality, the risk of revascularization procedures, or the rate of non-fatal myocardial infarction.
Antibiotics for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease
Early studies suggested that antibiotics might help patients with coronary disease to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, a 2021 Cochrane meta-analysis found that antibiotics given for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease are harmful to people with increased mortality and occurrence of stroke. Consequently, since research is showing that cardiovascular diseases, like CHD, can play a role as a precursor for dementia, like Alzheimer's disease, individuals with CHD should have a neuropsychological assessment.TreatmentThere are a number of treatment options for coronary artery disease:
* Lifestyle changes
* Medical treatment – commonly prescribed drugs (e.g., cholesterol lowering medications, beta-blockers, nitroglycerin, calcium channel blockers, etc.);
* Coronary interventions as angioplasty and coronary stent;
* Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
Medications
* Statins, which reduce cholesterol, reduce the risk of coronary artery disease
* Nitroglycerin
* Calcium channel blockers and/or beta-blockers
* Antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin
It is recommended that blood pressure typically be reduced to less than 140/90 mmHg.AspirinIn those with no previous history of heart disease, aspirin decreases the risk of a myocardial infarction but does not change the overall risk of death. Aspirin therapy to prevent heart disease is thus recommended only in adults who are at increased risk for cardiovascular events, which may include postmenopausal females, males above 40, and younger people with risk factors for coronary heart disease, including high blood pressure, a family history of heart disease, or diabetes. The benefits outweigh the harms most favorably in people at high risk for a cardiovascular event, where high risk is defined as at least a 3% chance over five years, but others with lower risk may still find the potential benefits worth the associated risks.Anti-platelet therapyClopidogrel plus aspirin (dual anti-platelet therapy) reduces cardiovascular events more than aspirin alone in those with a STEMI. In others at high risk but not having an acute event, the evidence is weak. Specifically, its use does not change the risk of death in this group. In those who have had a stent, more than 12 months of clopidogrel plus aspirin does not affect the risk of death.SurgeryRevascularization for acute coronary syndrome has a mortality benefit. Percutaneous revascularization for stable ischaemic heart disease does not appear to have benefits over medical therapy alone. In those with disease in more than one artery, coronary artery bypass grafts appear better than percutaneous coronary interventions. Newer "anaortic" or no-touch off-pump coronary artery revascularization techniques have shown reduced postoperative stroke rates comparable to percutaneous coronary intervention. Hybrid coronary revascularization has also been shown to be a safe and feasible procedure that may offer some advantages over conventional CABG though it is more expensive.Epidemiologyfor ischaemic heart disease per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004.
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As of 2010, CAD was the leading cause of death globally resulting in over 7 million deaths. It may affect individuals at any age but becomes dramatically more common at progressively older ages, with approximately a tripling with each decade of life. Males are affected more often than females.
It is estimated that 60% of the world's cardiovascular disease burden will occur in the South Asian subcontinent despite only accounting for 20% of the world's population. This may be secondary to a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Organizations such as the Indian Heart Association are working with the World Heart Federation to raise awareness about this issue.
Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death for both males and females and accounts for approximately 600,000 deaths in the United States every year. According to present trends in the United States, half of healthy 40-year-old males will develop CAD in the future, and one in three healthy 40-year-old females. It is the most common reason for death of males and females over 20 years of age in the United States.
After analysing data from 2 111 882 patients, the recent meta-analysis revealed that the incidence of coronary artery diseases in breast cancer survivors was 4.29 (95% CI 3.09–5.94) per 1000 person-years.
Society and culture
Names
Other terms sometimes used for this condition are "hardening of the arteries" and "narrowing of the arteries". In Latin it is known as morbus ischaemicus cordis (MIC).Support groupsThe Infarct Combat Project (ICP) is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1998 which tries to decrease ischemic heart diseases through education and research.
Industry influence on research
In 2016 research into the archives of the Sugar Association, the trade association for the sugar industry in the US, had sponsored an influential literature review published in 1965 in the New England Journal of Medicine that downplayed early findings about the role of a diet heavy in sugar in the development of CAD and emphasized the role of fat; that review influenced decades of research funding and guidance on healthy eating.Research
Research efforts are focused on new angiogenic treatment modalities and various (adult) stem-cell therapies. A region on chromosome 17 was confined to families with multiple cases of myocardial infarction. Other genome-wide studies have identified a firm risk variant on chromosome 9 (9p21.3). However, these and other loci are found in intergenic segments and need further research in understanding how the phenotype is affected.
A more controversial link is that between Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection and atherosclerosis. While this intracellular organism has been demonstrated in atherosclerotic plaques, evidence is inconclusive regarding whether it can be considered a causative factor. Treatment with antibiotics in patients with proven atherosclerosis has not demonstrated a decreased risk of heart attacks or other coronary vascular diseases.
Myeloperoxidase has been proposed as a biomarker.
Plant-based nutrition has been suggested as a way to reverse coronary artery disease, but strong evidence is still lacking for claims of potential benefits.
Several immunosuppressive drugs targeting the chronic inflammation in coronary artery disease have been tested. See also * Mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia References External links
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151231195936/http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/HeartAttackToolsResources/Heart-Attack-Risk-Assessment_UCM_303944_Article.jsp Risk Assessment of having a heart attack or dying of coronary artery disease], from the American Heart Association.
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Category:Aging-associated diseases
Category:Heart diseases
Category:Ischemic heart diseases
Category:Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate
Category:Wikipedia emergency medicine articles ready to translate | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_artery_disease | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.029676 |
5879 | Caesium | Caesium (IUPAC spelling; also spelled cesium in American English) is a chemical element; it has symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-golden alkali metal with a melting point of , which makes it one of only five elemental metals that are liquid at or near room temperature. Caesium has physical and chemical properties similar to those of rubidium and potassium. It is pyrophoric and reacts with water even at . It is the least electronegative stable element,<!--This is sourced as most electropostive element below, do not change without a reliable modern secondary source.--> with a value of 0.79 on the Pauling scale. It has only one stable isotope, caesium-133. Caesium is mined mostly from pollucite. Caesium-137, a fission product, is extracted from waste produced by nuclear reactors. It has the largest atomic radius of all elements whose radii have been measured or calculated, at about 260 picometres.
The German chemist Robert Bunsen and physicist Gustav Kirchhoff discovered caesium in 1860 by the newly developed method of flame spectroscopy. The first small-scale applications for caesium were as a "getter" in vacuum tubes and in photoelectric cells. Caesium is widely used in highly accurate atomic clocks. In 1967, the International System of Units began using a specific hyperfine transition of neutral caesium-133 atoms to define the basic unit of time, the second.
Since the 1990s, the largest application of the element has been as caesium formate for drilling fluids, but it has a range of applications in the production of electricity, in electronics, and in chemistry. The radioactive isotope caesium-137 has a half-life of about 30 years and is used in medical applications, industrial gauges, and hydrology. Nonradioactive caesium compounds are only mildly toxic, but the pure metal's tendency to react explosively with water means that caesium is considered a hazardous material, and the radioisotopes present a significant health and environmental hazard.
Spelling
Caesium is the spelling recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The American Chemical Society (ACS) has used the spelling cesium since 1921, following ''Webster's New International Dictionary. The element was named after the Latin word caesius, meaning "bluish grey". In medieval and early modern writings caesius was spelled with the ligature æ as cæsius; hence, an alternative but now old-fashioned orthography is cæsium''. More spelling explanation at ae/oe vs e.CharacteristicsPhysical properties.|altY-shaped yellowish crystal in glass ampoule, looking like the branch of a pine tree]]
Of all elements that are solid at room temperature, caesium is the softest: it has a hardness of 0.2 Mohs. It is a very ductile, pale metal, which darkens in the presence of trace amounts of oxygen. When in the presence of mineral oil (where it is best kept during transport), it loses its metallic lustre and takes on a duller, grey appearance. It has a melting point of , making it one of the few elemental metals that are liquid near room temperature. The others are rubidium (), francium (estimated at ), mercury (), and gallium (); bromine is also liquid at room temperature (melting at ), but it is a halogen and not a metal. Mercury is the only stable elemental metal with a known melting point lower than caesium. In addition, the metal has a rather low boiling point, , the lowest of all stable metals other than mercury.
crystals (silvery)]]
Caesium forms alloys with the other alkali metals, gold, and mercury (amalgams). At temperatures below , it does not alloy with cobalt, iron, molybdenum, nickel, platinum, tantalum, or tungsten. It forms well-defined intermetallic compounds with antimony, gallium, indium, and thorium, which are photosensitive. A few amalgams have been studied: is black with a purple metallic lustre, while CsHg is golden-coloured, also with a metallic lustre.
The golden colour of caesium comes from the decreasing frequency of light required to excite electrons of the alkali metals as the group is descended. For lithium through rubidium this frequency is in the ultraviolet, but for caesium it enters the blue–violet end of the spectrum; in other words, the plasmonic frequency of the alkali metals becomes lower from lithium to caesium. Thus caesium transmits and partially absorbs violet light preferentially while other colours (having lower frequency) are reflected; hence it appears yellowish. Its compounds burn with a blue colour. Allotropes Caesium exists in the form of different allotropes, one of them a dimer called dicaesium.<!-- More exist... See https://www.knowledgedoor.com/2/elements_handbook/allotropes.html#cesium -->
Chemical properties
Caesium metal is highly reactive and pyrophoric. It ignites spontaneously in air, and reacts explosively with water even at low temperatures, more so than the other alkali metals.<!--YES INCLUDING FRANCIUM--> Caesium can be stored in vacuum-sealed borosilicate glass ampoules. In quantities of more than about , caesium is shipped in hermetically sealed, stainless steel containers. Some slight differences arise from the fact that it has a higher atomic mass and is more electropositive than other (nonradioactive) alkali metals. Caesium is the most electropositive chemical element. This prediction needs to be validated by further experiments.
Salts of Cs<sup>+</sup> are usually colourless unless the anion itself is coloured. Many of the simple salts are hygroscopic, but less so than the corresponding salts of lighter alkali metals. The phosphate, acetate, carbonate, halides, oxide, nitrate, and sulfate salts are water-soluble. Its double salts are often less soluble, and the low solubility of caesium aluminium sulfate is exploited in refining Cs from ores. The double salts with antimony (such as ), bismuth, cadmium, copper, iron, and lead are also poorly soluble. CsOH has been previously regarded by chemists as the "strongest base", reflecting the relatively weak attraction between the large Cs<sup>+</sup> ion and OH<sup>−</sup>;ComplexesLike all metal cations, Cs<sup>+</sup> forms complexes with Lewis bases in solution. Because of its large size, Cs<sup>+</sup> usually adopts coordination numbers greater than 6, the number typical for the smaller alkali metal cations. This difference is apparent in the 8-coordination of CsCl. This high coordination number and softness (tendency to form covalent bonds) are properties exploited in separating Cs<sup>+</sup> from other cations in the remediation of nuclear wastes, where <sup>137</sup>Cs<sup>+</sup> must be separated from large amounts of nonradioactive K<sup>+</sup>.Halidess (TEM image).]]
Caesium fluoride (CsF) is a hygroscopic white solid that is widely used in organofluorine chemistry as a source of fluoride anions. Caesium fluoride has the halite structure, which means that the Cs<sup>+</sup> and F<sup>−</sup> pack in a cubic closest packed array as do Na<sup>+</sup> and Cl<sup>−</sup> in sodium chloride.OxidesMore so than the other alkali metals, caesium forms numerous binary compounds with oxygen. When caesium burns in air, the superoxide is the main product. The "normal" caesium oxide () forms yellow-orange hexagonal crystals, and is the only oxide of the anti- type. It vaporizes at , and decomposes to caesium metal and the peroxide at temperatures above . In addition to the superoxide and the ozonide , several brightly coloured suboxides have also been studied. These include , , , (dark-green), CsO, , as well as . The latter may be heated in a vacuum to generate . and by the R-process in supernova explosions. The only stable caesium isotope is <sup>133</sup>Cs, with 78 neutrons. Although it has a large nuclear spin (+), nuclear magnetic resonance studies can use this isotope.
The radioactive <sup>135</sup>Cs has a very long half-life of about 2.3 million years, the longest of all radioactive isotopes of caesium. <sup>137</sup>Cs and <sup>134</sup>Cs have half-lives of 30 and two years, respectively. <sup>137</sup>Cs decomposes to a short-lived <sup>137m</sup>Ba by beta decay, and then to nonradioactive barium, while <sup>134</sup>Cs transforms into <sup>134</sup>Ba directly. The isotopes with mass numbers of 129, 131, 132 and 136, have half-lives between a day and two weeks, while most of the other isotopes have half-lives from a few seconds to fractions of a second. At least 21 metastable nuclear isomers exist. Other than <sup>134m</sup>Cs (with a half-life of just under 3 hours), all are very unstable and decay with half-lives of a few minutes or less.
The isotope <sup>135</sup>Cs is one of the long-lived fission products of uranium produced in nuclear reactors. However, this fission product yield is reduced in most reactors because the predecessor, <sup>135</sup>Xe, is a potent neutron poison and frequently transmutes to stable <sup>136</sup>Xe before it can decay to <sup>135</sup>Cs.
The beta decay from <sup>137</sup>Cs to <sup>137m</sup>Ba results in gamma radiation as the <sup>137m</sup>Ba relaxes to ground state <sup>137</sup>Ba, with the emitted photons having an energy of 0.6617 MeV. <sup>137</sup>Cs and <sup>90</sup>Sr are the principal medium-lived products of nuclear fission, and the prime sources of radioactivity from spent nuclear fuel after several years of cooling, lasting several hundred years. Those two isotopes are the largest source of residual radioactivity in the area of the Chernobyl disaster. Because of the low capture rate, disposing of <sup>137</sup>Cs through neutron capture is not feasible and the only current solution is to allow it to decay over time.
Almost all caesium produced from nuclear fission comes from the beta decay of originally more neutron-rich fission products, passing through various isotopes of iodine and xenon. Because iodine and xenon are volatile and can diffuse through nuclear fuel or air, radioactive caesium is often created far from the original site of fission. With nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s through the 1980s, <sup>137</sup>Cs was released into the atmosphere and returned to the surface of the earth as a component of radioactive fallout. It is a ready marker of the movement of soil and sediment from those times. It is the 45th most abundant element and 36th among the metals. Caesium is 30 times less abundant than rubidium, with which it is closely associated, chemically. During magma crystallization, caesium is concentrated in the liquid phase and crystallizes last. Therefore, the largest deposits of caesium are zone pegmatite ore bodies formed by this enrichment process. Because caesium does not substitute for potassium as readily as rubidium does, the alkali evaporite minerals sylvite (KCl) and carnallite () may contain only 0.002% caesium. Consequently, caesium is found in few minerals. Percentage amounts of caesium may be found in beryl () and avogadrite (), up to 15 wt% Cs<sub>2</sub>O in the closely related mineral pezzottaite (), up to 8.4 wt% Cs<sub>2</sub>O in the rare mineral londonite (), and less in the more widespread rhodizite.
The world's most significant and richest known source of caesium is the Tanco Mine at Bernic Lake in Manitoba, Canada, estimated to contain 350,000 metric tons of pollucite ore, representing more than two-thirds of the world's reserve base. Commercial pollucite contains more than 19% caesium. The Bikita pegmatite deposit in Zimbabwe is mined for its petalite, but it also contains a significant amount of pollucite. Another notable source of pollucite is in the Karibib Desert, Namibia.
In the acid digestion, the silicate pollucite rock is dissolved with strong acids, such as hydrochloric (HCl), sulfuric (), hydrobromic (HBr), or hydrofluoric (HF) acids. With hydrochloric acid, a mixture of soluble chlorides is produced, and the insoluble chloride double salts of caesium are precipitated as caesium antimony chloride (), caesium iodine chloride (), or caesium hexachlorocerate (). After separation, the pure precipitated double salt is decomposed, and pure CsCl is precipitated by evaporating the water.
The sulfuric acid method yields the insoluble double salt directly as caesium alum (). The aluminium sulfate component is converted to insoluble aluminium oxide by roasting the alum with carbon, and the resulting product is leached with water to yield a solution. The primary smaller-scale commercial compounds of caesium are caesium chloride and nitrate.
: + 2 → 2 + 2 +
The price of 99.8% pure caesium (metal basis) in 2009 was about , but the compounds are significantly cheaper. Caesium was the first element to be discovered with a spectroscope, which had been invented by Bunsen and Kirchhoff only a year previously.
From the caesium chloride, the two scientists estimated the atomic weight of the new element at 123.35 (compared to the currently accepted one of 132.9). The electrolysis of the aqueous solution of chloride with a mercury cathode produced a caesium amalgam which readily decomposed under the aqueous conditions.
Historically, the most important use for caesium has been in research and development, primarily in chemical and electrical fields. Very few applications existed for caesium until the 1920s, when it came into use in radio vacuum tubes, where it had two functions; as a getter, it removed excess oxygen after manufacture, and as a coating on the heated cathode, it increased the electrical conductivity. Caesium was not recognized as a high-performance industrial metal until the 1950s. Applications for nonradioactive caesium included photoelectric cells, photomultiplier tubes, optical components of infrared spectrophotometers, catalysts for several organic reactions, crystals for scintillation counters, and in magnetohydrodynamic power generators. The 13th General Conference on Weights and Measures of 1967 defined a second as: "the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of microwave light absorbed or emitted by the hyperfine transition of caesium-133 atoms in their ground state undisturbed by external fields".
Applications
Petroleum exploration<!-- linked from "Formate" article -->
The largest present-day use of nonradioactive caesium is in caesium formate drilling fluids for the extractive oil industry. coupled with the relatively benign nature of most caesium compounds, reduces the requirement for toxic high-density suspended solids in the drilling fluid—a significant technological, engineering and environmental advantage. Unlike the components of many other heavy liquids, caesium formate is relatively environment-friendly. Alkali formates are safe to handle and do not damage the producing formation or downhole metals as corrosive alternative, high-density brines (such as zinc bromide solutions) sometimes do; they also require less cleanup and reduce disposal costs. Caesium clocks have improved over the past half-century and are regarded as "the most accurate realization of a unit that mankind has yet achieved." Caesium clocks regulate the timing of cell phone networks and the Internet.
Definition of the second
The second, symbol s, is the SI unit of time. The BIPM restated its definition at its 26th conference in 2018: "[The second] is defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the caesium frequency , the unperturbed ground-state hyperfine transition frequency of the caesium-133 atom, to be when expressed in the unit Hz, which is equal to s<sup>−1</sup>."Electric power and electronicsCaesium vapour thermionic generators are low-power devices that convert heat energy to electrical energy. In the two-electrode vacuum tube converter, caesium neutralizes the space charge near the cathode and enhances the current flow.
Caesium is also important for its photoemissive properties, converting light to electron flow. It is used in photoelectric cells because caesium-based cathodes, such as the intermetallic compound , have a low threshold voltage for emission of electrons. The range of photoemissive devices using caesium include optical character recognition devices, photomultiplier tubes, and video camera tubes. Nevertheless, germanium, rubidium, selenium, silicon, tellurium, and several other elements can be substituted for caesium in photosensitive materials.
The element is used as an internal standard in spectrophotometry. Like other alkali metals, caesium has a great affinity for oxygen and is used as a "getter" in vacuum tubes. Other uses of the metal include high-energy lasers, vapour glow lamps, and vapour rectifiers. This technology is used primarily in the isolation of viral particles, subcellular organelles and fractions, and nucleic acids from biological samples.Chemical and medical useRelatively few chemical applications use caesium. Doping with caesium compounds enhances the effectiveness of several metal-ion catalysts for chemical synthesis, such as acrylic acid, anthraquinone, ethylene oxide, methanol, phthalic anhydride, styrene, methyl methacrylate monomers, and various olefins. It is also used in the catalytic conversion of sulfur dioxide into sulfur trioxide in the production of sulfuric acid. and as an anhydrous source of fluoride ion. Caesium salts sometimes replace potassium or sodium salts in organic synthesis, such as cyclization, esterification, and polymerization. Caesium has also been used in thermoluminescent radiation dosimetry <small>(TLD)</small>: When exposed to radiation, it acquires crystal defects that, when heated, revert with emission of light proportionate to the received dose. Thus, measuring the light pulse with a photomultiplier tube can allow the accumulated radiation dose to be quantified.
Nuclear and isotope applications
Caesium-137 is a radioisotope commonly used as a gamma-emitter in industrial applications. Its advantages include a half-life of roughly 30 years, its availability from the nuclear fuel cycle, and having <sup>137</sup>Ba as a stable end product. The high water solubility is a disadvantage which makes it incompatible with large pool irradiators for food and medical supplies. It has been used in agriculture, cancer treatment, and the sterilization of food, sewage sludge, and surgical equipment. Radioactive isotopes of caesium in radiation devices were used in the medical field to treat certain types of cancer, but emergence of better alternatives and the use of water-soluble caesium chloride in the sources, which could create wide-ranging contamination, gradually put some of these caesium sources out of use. Caesium-137 has been employed in a variety of industrial measurement gauges, including moisture, density, levelling, and thickness gauges. It has also been used in well logging devices for measuring the electron density of the rock formations, which is analogous to the bulk density of the formations.
Caesium-137 has been used in hydrologic studies analogous to those with tritium. As a daughter product of fission bomb testing from the 1950s through the mid-1980s, caesium-137 was released into the atmosphere, where it was absorbed readily into solution. Known year-to-year variation within that period allows correlation with soil and sediment layers. Caesium-134, and to a lesser extent caesium-135, have also been used in hydrology to measure the caesium output by the nuclear power industry. While they are less prevalent than either caesium-133 or caesium-137, these bellwether isotopes are produced solely from anthropogenic sources.<!--https://books.google.com/books?idpWDQnxd-r1UC&pgPT360 &pgPT12 -->Other usesCaesium and mercury were used as a propellant in early ion engines designed for spacecraft propulsion on very long interplanetary or extraplanetary missions. The fuel was ionized by contact with a charged tungsten electrode. But corrosion by caesium on spacecraft components has pushed development in the direction of inert gas propellants, such as xenon, which are easier to handle in ground-based tests and do less potential damage to the spacecraft. Nevertheless, field-emission electric propulsion thrusters that accelerate liquid metal ions such as caesium have been built.
Caesium nitrate is used as an oxidizer and pyrotechnic colorant to burn silicon in infrared flares, such as the LUU-19 flare, because it emits much of its light in the near infrared spectrum. Caesium compounds may have been used as fuel additives to reduce the radar signature of exhaust plumes in the Lockheed A-12 CIA reconnaissance aircraft. Caesium and rubidium have been added as a carbonate to glass because they reduce electrical conductivity and improve stability and durability of fibre optics and night vision devices. Caesium fluoride or caesium aluminium fluoride are used in fluxes formulated for brazing aluminium alloys that contain magnesium. Caesium metal has also been considered as the working fluid in high-temperature Rankine cycle turboelectric generators.
Caesium salts have been evaluated as antishock reagents following the administration of arsenical drugs. Because of their effect on heart rhythms, however, they are less likely to be used than potassium or rubidium salts. They have also been used to treat epilepsy.
Health and safety hazards
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}}
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. Caesium-137 became the primary source of radiation about 200 days after the accident.]]
Nonradioactive caesium compounds are only mildly toxic, and nonradioactive caesium is not a significant environmental hazard. Because biochemical processes can confuse and substitute caesium with potassium, excess caesium can lead to hypokalemia, arrhythmia, and acute cardiac arrest, but such amounts would not ordinarily be encountered in natural sources.
The median lethal dose (LD<sub>50</sub>) for caesium chloride in mice is 2.3 g per kilogram, which is comparable to the LD<sub>50</sub> values of potassium chloride and sodium chloride. The principal use of nonradioactive caesium is as caesium formate in petroleum drilling fluids because it is much less toxic than alternatives, though it is more costly.
The isotopes 134 and 137 are present in the biosphere in small amounts from human activities, differing by location. Radiocaesium does not accumulate in the body as readily as other fission products (such as radioiodine and radiostrontium). About 10% of absorbed radiocaesium washes out of the body relatively quickly in sweat and urine. The remaining 90% has a biological half-life between 50 and 150 days. Radiocaesium follows potassium and tends to accumulate in plant tissues, including fruits and vegetables. Plants vary widely in the absorption of caesium, sometimes displaying great resistance to it. It is also well-documented that mushrooms from contaminated forests accumulate radiocaesium (caesium-137) in the fungal sporocarps. Accumulation of caesium-137 in lakes has been a great concern after the Chernobyl disaster. Experiments with dogs showed that a single dose of 3.8 millicuries (140 MBq, 4.1 μg of caesium-137) per kilogram is lethal within three weeks; smaller amounts may cause infertility and cancer. The International Atomic Energy Agency and other sources have warned that radioactive materials, such as caesium-137, could be used in radiological dispersion devices, or "dirty bombs".<!-- 10.1016/S0098-8472(01)00124-1-->
See also
*
* Acerinox accident, a caesium-137 contamination accident in 1998
* Goiânia accident, a major radioactive contamination incident in 1987 involving caesium-137
* Kramatorsk radiological accident, a <sup>137</sup>Cs lost-source incident between 1980 and 1989
Notes
ReferencesExternal links
* [https://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/055.htm Caesium or Cesium] at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171104215850/http://richannel.org/the-modern-alchemist-reacting-fluorine-with-caesium View the reaction of Caesium (most reactive metal in the periodic table) with Fluorine (most reactive non-metal)] courtesy of The Royal Institution.
*
Category:1860 introductions
Category:Alkali metals
Category:Chemical elements with body-centered cubic structure
Category:Chemical elements
Category:Glycine receptor agonists
Category:Reducing agents
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:Pyrophoric materials | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.157746 |
5881 | Century | A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word century comes from the Latin centum, meaning one hundred. Century is sometimes abbreviated as c.
A centennial or centenary is a hundredth anniversary, or a celebration of this, typically the remembrance of an event which took place a hundred years earlier.
Start and end of centuries
Although a century can mean any arbitrary period of 100 years, there are two viewpoints on the nature of standard centuries. One is based on strict construction, while the other is based on popular perception.
According to the strict construction, the 1st century AD, which began with AD 1, ended with AD 100, and the 2nd century with AD 200; in this model, the n-th century starts with a year that follows a year with a multiple of 100 (except the first century as it began after the year 1 BC) and ends with the next coming year with a multiple of 100 (100n), i.e. the 20th century comprises the years 1901 to 2000, and the 21st century comprises the years 2001 to 2100 in strict usage.
In common perception and practice, centuries are structured by grouping years based on sharing the 'hundreds' digit(s). In this model, the n-th century starts with the year that ends in "00" and ends with the year ending in "99"; for example, in popular culture, the years 1900 to 1999 constitute the 20th century, and the years 2000 to 2099 constitute the 21st century. (This is similar to the grouping of "0-to-9 decades" which share the 'tens' digit.)
To facilitate calendrical calculations by computer, the astronomical year numbering and ISO 8601 systems both contain a year zero, with the astronomical year 0 corresponding to the year 1 BC, the astronomical year -1 corresponding to 2 BC, and so on.
+ Strict vs Popular usage Year 2 BC 1 BC 1 2 ... 99 100 101 102 ... 199 200 201 202 ... 1899 1900 1901 1902 ... 1999 2000 2001 2002 ...2025 ... 2099 2100 2101 2102 ... Strict 1st century BC 1st century 2nd century 3rd century ... 19th century 20th century 21st century 22nd century ... Popular 1st century BC 1st century 2nd century 3rd century ... 19th century 20th century 21st century 22nd century ...
Alternative naming systems
Informally, years may be referred to in groups based on the hundreds part of the year. In this system, the years 1900–1999 are referred to as the nineteen hundreds (1900s). Aside from English usage, this system is used in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish and Hungarian. The Swedish (or ), Danish (or ), Norwegian (or ), Finnish (or ) and Hungarian (or ) refer unambiguously to the years 1900–1999. In Swedish, however, a century is in more rare cases referred to as ("the n-th century") rather than , i.e. the 17th century is (in rare cases) referred to as rather than 1600-talet and mainly also referring to the years 1601–1700 rather than 1600–1699; according to Svenska Akademiens ordbok, may refer to either the years 1501–1600 or 1500–1599.
Similar dating units in other calendar systems
While the century has been commonly used in the West, other cultures and calendars have utilized differently sized groups of years in a similar manner. The Hindu calendar, in particular, summarizes its years into groups of 60, while the Aztec calendar considers groups of 52.
See also
Age of Discovery
Ancient history
Before Christ and Anno Domini
Common Era
Decade
List of decades, centuries, and millennia
Lustrum
Middle Ages
Millennium
Modern era
Saeculum
Year
Notes
References
Bibliography
The Battle of the Centuries, Ruth Freitag, U.S. Government Printing Office. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250- 7954. Cite stock no. 030-001-00153-9. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
Category:100 (number)
Category:Units of time | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.241330 |
5882 | Cardiff | Caerdydd (TV series)}}
}}
| settlement_type = Capital city and county
| image_skyline
| imagesize | image_alt
| image_caption | image_flag Flag of Cardiff.svg
| flag_alt | image_shield Coat of Arms of Cardiff.svg
| shield_alt | shield_link
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| blank_emblem_type | blank_emblem_link
| etymology | nickname
| motto =
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| image_map = Cardiff UK location map.svg
| map_alt | map_caption Cardiff shown within Wales
| pushpin_map = United Kingdom
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the United Kingdom
| pushpin_relief = yes
| coordinates
| subdivision_type = Sovereign state
| subdivision_name = United Kingdom
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = Wales
| subdivision_type2 = Region
| subdivision_name2 | subdivision_type3 Preserved county
| subdivision_name3 = South Glamorgan
| subdivision_type4 | subdivision_name4
| established_title = City status
| established_date = 1905
| established_title2 = Capital city
| established_date2 = 1955
| named_for | seat_type AdministrativeHQ
| seat = City Hall
<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes
| government_type = Principal council
| governing_body = Cardiff Council
| leader_title | leader_name
| leader_title1 = Control
| leader_name1
| leader_title2 | leader_name2
| leader_title3 = MPs
| leader_name3
| leader_title4 = MSs
| leader_name4
<!-- Area -->
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->| area_footnotes
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| area_land_km2 | area_water_km2
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| demographics1_title1 = Ethnic groups
| demographics1_info1 =
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->| demographics_type2 Religion <span style"font-weight:normal;">(2021)</span>
| demographics2_footnotes A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales. The Cardiff urban area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth.
Cardiff is the main commercial centre of Wales as well as the base for the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament. At the 2021 census, the unitary authority area population was put at 362,400. The population of the wider urban area in 2011 was 479,000. In 2011, it ranked sixth in the world in a National Geographic magazine list of alternative tourist destinations. It is the most popular destination in Wales with 21.3 million visitors in 2017.
Cardiff is a major centre for television and film production (such as the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sherlock) and is the Welsh base for the main national broadcasters.
Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex. Work continues at Cardiff Bay and in the centre on projects such as Cardiff International Sports Village, BBC drama village, and a new business district.
Toponymy
(the Welsh name of the city) derives from the Middle Welsh . The change from to shows the colloquial alteration of Welsh f and dd and was perhaps also driven by folk etymology. This sound change probably first occurred in the Middle Ages; both forms were current in the Tudor period. has its origins in post-Roman Brythonic words meaning "the fort of the Taff". The fort probably refers to that established by the Romans. is Welsh for fort and is in effect a form of (Taff), the river which flows by Cardiff Castle, with the showing consonant mutation to and the vowel showing affection as a result of a (lost) genitive case ending.
The anglicised Cardiff is derived from , with the Welsh f borrowed as ff , as also happens in Taff (from Welsh ) and Llandaff (from Welsh ).
The antiquarian William Camden (1551–1623) suggested that the name Cardiff may derive from * ("the Fort of Didius"), a name supposedly given in honour of , governor of a nearby province at the time when the Roman fort was established. Although some sources repeat this theory, it has been rejected on linguistic grounds by modern scholars such as Professor Pierce.HistoryOriginsArchaeological evidence from sites in and around Cardiff show that people had settled in the area by at least around 6000 BC, during the early Neolithic: about 1,500 years before either Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid of Giza was completed. These include the St Lythans burial chamber near Wenvoe, (approximately west of Cardiff city centre); the Tinkinswood burial chamber, near St. Nicholas (about west of Cardiff city centre), the Cae'rarfau Chambered Tomb, Creigiau (about northwest of Cardiff city centre) and the Gwern y Cleppa long barrow, near Coedkernew, Newport (about northeast of Cardiff city centre). A group of five Bronze Age tumuli is at the summit of the Garth, within the county's northern boundary. Four Iron Age hill fort and enclosure sites have been identified within Cardiff's county boundaries, including Caerau Hillfort, an enclosed area of .
<br />part of the original Roman fort beneath the red stones]]
Until the Roman conquest of Britain, Cardiff was part of the territory of the Silures – a Celtic British tribe that flourished in the Iron Age – whose territory included the areas that would become known as Breconshire, Monmouthshire and Glamorgan. The fort established by the Romans near the mouth of the River Taff in AD 75, in what would become the north western boundary of the centre of Cardiff, was built over an extensive settlement that had been established by the Romans in the 50s AD. The fort was one of a series of military outposts associated with (Caerleon) that acted as border defences. The fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued. However, by this time a civilian settlement, or , was established. It was likely made up of traders who made a living from the fort, ex-soldiers and their families. A Roman villa has been discovered at Ely. Contemporary with the Saxon Shore forts of the 3rd and 4th centuries, a stone fortress was established at Cardiff. Similar to the shore forts, the fortress was built to protect Britannia from raiders. Coins from the reign of Gratian indicate that Cardiff was inhabited until at least the 4th century; the fort was abandoned towards the end of the 4th century, as the last Roman legions left the province of Britannia with Magnus Maximus.
Little is known of the fort and civilian settlement in the period between the Roman departure from Britain and the Norman Conquest. The settlement probably shrank in size and may even have been abandoned. In the absence of Roman rule, Wales was divided into small kingdoms; early on, Meurig ap Tewdrig emerged as the local king in Glywysing (which later became Glamorgan). The area passed through his family until the advent of the Normans in the 11th century.
Norman occupation and Middle Ages
In 1081 William I, King of England, began work on the castle keep within the walls of the old Roman fort. Cardiff Castle has been at the heart of the city ever since. The castle was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, and the architect William Burges. Original Roman work can, however, still be distinguished in the wall facings.
A town grew up under the castle, consisting mainly of settlers from England. Cardiff had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 in the Middle Ages – a normal size for a Welsh town in the period. It was the centre of the Norman Marcher Lordship of Glamorgan. By the end of the 13th century, Cardiff was the only town in Wales with a population exceeding 2,000, although it remained relatively small compared with notable towns in England and continued to be contained within its walls, which were begun as a wooden palisade in the early 12th century. It was of sufficient size and importance to receive a series of charters, notably in 1331 from William La Zouche, Lord of Glamorgan through marriage with the de Clare family, Edward III in 1359, then Henry IV in 1400, As many of the buildings were made of timber and tightly packed within the town walls, much of Cardiff was destroyed. The settlement was soon rebuilt on the same street plan and began to flourish again. around the same time the Herberts became the most powerful family in the area. and James I in 1608. In 1573, it was made a head port for collection of customs duties.
's map of Cardiff from 1610]]
A disastrous flood in the Bristol Channel on 30 January 1607 (now believed to have been a tidal wave) changed the course of the River Taff and ruined St Mary's Parish Church, which was replaced by a chapel of ease dedicated to St John the Baptist.
During the Second English Civil War St Fagans, just to the west of the town, the Battle of St Fagans, between Royalist rebels and a New Model Army detachment, was a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians that allowed Oliver Cromwell to conquer Wales. A racecourse, printing press, bank and coffee house opened in the 1790s and Cardiff gained a stagecoach service to London. Despite these improvements, Cardiff's position in the Welsh urban hierarchy declined over the 18th century. Iolo Morganwg called it "an obscure and inconsiderable place" and the 1801 census found a population of only 1,870, making it only the 25th largest town in Wales, well behind Merthyr and Swansea.Building the docks
<!-- Deleted image removed: —from where coal was shipped throughout the world]] -->
In 1793, John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute was born. He spent his life building the Cardiff docks and was later hailed as "the creator of modern Cardiff". and in 1821, the Cardiff Gas Works was established.
The town grew rapidly from the 1830s onwards, when the Marquess of Bute built a dock, which eventually linked to the Taff Vale Railway. Cardiff became the main port for coal exports from the Cynon, Rhondda, and Rhymney valleys, and grew in population at a rate of nearly 80 per cent per decade between 1840 and 1870. Much of this was due to migration from within and outside Wales: in 1841, a quarter of Cardiff's population were English-born and more than 10 per cent born in Ireland. By the 1881 census, Cardiff had overtaken Merthyr and Swansea to become the largest town in Wales. Cardiff's status as the premier town in South Wales was confirmed when it was chosen as the site for the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire in 1883.
Cardiff faced a challenge in the 1880s when David Davies of Llandinam and the Barry Railway Company promoted rival docks at Barry. These had the advantage of being accessible in all tides: David Davies claimed his venture would cause "grass to grow in the streets of Cardiff". From 1901 coal exports from Barry surpassed those from Cardiff, but the administration of the coal trade remained centred on Cardiff, in particular its Coal Exchange, where the price of coal on the British market was determined and the first million-pound deal was struck in 1907.County Borough of CardiffCardiff became a county borough on 1 April 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888. The town had grown rapidly and had a population of over 123,000. It retained its county borough status until 1974.City and capital city status
, the only medieval building next to Cardiff Castle to still be in city centre. Seen here in 1852]]
]]
King Edward VII granted Cardiff city status on 28 October 1905. It acquired a Roman Catholic cathedral in 1916. Later, more national institutions came to the city, including the National Museum of Wales, the Welsh National War Memorial, and the University of Wales Registry Building, but it was denied the National Library of Wales, partly because the library's founder, Sir John Williams, considered Cardiff to have "a non-Welsh population". Caernarfon had also vied for the title. Welsh local authorities had been divided: only 76 out of 161 chose Cardiff in a 1924 poll organised by the South Wales Daily News. The subject was not debated again until 1950, and meanwhile Cardiff took steps to promote its "Welshness". The stalemate between Cardiff and cities such as Caernarfon and Aberystwyth was not broken until Cardiganshire County Council decided to support Cardiff; and in a new local authority vote, 134 out of 161 voted for Cardiff. consistent with a wider pattern of counter-urbanisation in Britain. However, it recovered to become one of the few cities outside London where population grew in the 1990s. During this period the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was promoting the redevelopment of south Cardiff; an evaluation of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay published in 2004 concluded that the project had "reinforced the competitive position of Cardiff" and "contributed to a massive improvement in the quality of the built environment, although it had "failed "to attract the major inward investors originally anticipated".
In the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum, Cardiff voters rejected the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales by 55.4% to 44.2% on a 47% turnout, which Denis Balsom partly ascribed to a general preference in Cardiff and some other parts of Wales for a British rather than exclusively Welsh identity. The relative lack of local support for the Assembly and difficulties between the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council in acquiring the originally preferred venue, Cardiff City Hall, encouraged other local authorities to bid to house the Assembly. However, the Assembly was eventually located at Tŷ Hywel in Cardiff Bay in 1999. In 2005, a new debating chamber on an adjacent site, designed by Richard Rogers, was opened.Government
The Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ) has been based in Cardiff Bay since its formation in 1999 as the "National Assembly for Wales". The Senedd building was opened on 1 March 2006 by The Queen. The Members of the Senedd (MSs), the Senedd Commission and ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay.
Cardiff elects four constituency Members of the Senedd to the Senedd; the constituencies for the Senedd are the same as for the UK Parliament. All of the city's electors have an extra vote for the South Wales Central regional members; this system increases proportionality to the Senedd. The most recent Senedd general election was held on 6 May 2021.
In the Senedd, Cardiff is represented by Jenny Rathbone (Labour) in Cardiff Central, Julie Morgan (Labour) in Cardiff North, former First Minister Mark Drakeford (Labour) in Cardiff West and former First Minister Vaughan Gething (Labour) in Cardiff South and Penarth.
, 2 Cardiff North, 3 Cardiff South and Penarth, 4 = Cardiff East.]]
At Westminster, Cardiff is represented by four constituencies: Cardiff East, Cardiff North, Cardiff South and Penarth, and Cardiff West.
The Welsh Government is headquartered in Cardiff's Cathays Park, where most of its civil servants are based, with smaller numbers in other central locations: Cathays, Canton, and Cardiff Bay. There are other Welsh Government offices in other parts of Wales, such as Llandudno and Aberystwyth, and there are international offices.
Local government
Between 1889 and 1974 Cardiff was a county borough governed by Cardiff County Borough Council (known as Cardiff City Council after 1905). Between 1974 and 1996, Cardiff was governed by Cardiff City Council, a district council of South Glamorgan. Since local government reorganisation in 1996, Cardiff has been governed by the City and County Council of Cardiff, based at County Hall in Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay. Voters elect 75 councillors every four years.
Between the 2004 and 2012 local elections, no individual political party held a majority on Cardiff County Council. The Liberal Democrats held the largest number of seats and Cllr Rodney Berman was Leader of the council. The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru formed a partnership administration. In the 2012 elections the Labour Party achieved an outright majority, after gaining an additional 33 seats across the city.
Cardiff is divided into communities, several with their own community council and the rest governed directly by Cardiff City Council. Elections are held every five years. The last contested elections would have been held at the same time as the 2017 Cardiff Council election had there been more candidates standing than available seats. Those with community councils are:
*Lisvane (10 seats)
*Old St. Mellons (9 seats)
*Pentyrch (13 seats)
*Radyr & Morganstown (13 seats)
*Tongwynlais (9 seats)
*St Fagans (9 seats)Geography
The centre of Cardiff is relatively flat and bounded by hills to the east, north and west. Its location influenced its development as the world's largest coal port, notably its proximity and easy access to the coalfields of the South Wales Valleys. The highest point in the local authority area is Garth Hill, above sea level.
Cardiff is built on reclaimed marshland on a bed of Triassic stones. This reclaimed marshland stretches from Chepstow to the Ely Estuary, which is the natural boundary of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic landscapes of this part of the world are usually shallow and low-lying, consistent with the flatness of the centre of Cardiff. The classic Triassic marl, sand and conglomerate rocks are used predominantly throughout Cardiff as building materials. Many of these Triassic rocks are purplish, especially the coastal marl found near Penarth. One of the Triassic rocks used in Cardiff is "Radyr Stone", a freestone which as its name suggests is quarried in the Radyr district. Cardiff has also imported some materials for buildings: Devonian sandstones (the Old Red Sandstone) from the Brecon Beacons has been used. Most famously, the buildings of Cathays Park, the civic centre in the centre of the city, are built of Portland stone from Dorset. A widely used building stone in Cardiff is the yellow-grey Liassic limestone rock of the Vale of Glamorgan, including the rare "Sutton Stone", a conglomerate of lias limestone and carboniferous limestone.
Cardiff is bordered to the west by the rural district of the Vale of Glamorgan, also known as the Garden of Cardiff, to the east by the city of Newport; to the north by the South Wales Valleys, and to the south by the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel. The River Taff winds through the city centre and together with the River Ely flows into the freshwater Cardiff Bay. A third river, the Rhymney, flows through the east of the city directly into the Severn Estuary.
Cardiff lies near the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, stretching westward from Penarth and Barry – commuter towns of Cardiff – with striped yellow-blue Jurassic limestone cliffs. The Glamorgan coast is the only part of the Celtic Sea with exposed Jurassic (blue lias) geology. This stretch of coast with its reefs, sandbanks and serrated cliffs was a ship graveyard; many ships sailing to Cardiff during the industrial era were wrecked on this hostile coastline during west/south-westerly gales. Smuggling, deliberate shipwrecking and attacks on ships were also common.Cityscape
, viewed from Penarth]]
]]
"Inner Cardiff" consists of the wards of Plasnewydd, Gabalfa, Roath, Cathays, Adamsdown and Splott ward on the north and east of the city centre, and Butetown, Grangetown, Riverside and Canton to the south and west. The inner-city areas to the south of the A4161 road, known as the "Southern Arc", are with the exception of Cardiff Bay some of the poorest districts of Wales, with low levels of economic activity. On the other hand, Gabalfa, Plasnewydd and Cathays north of the 'arc' have large student populations, and Pontcanna (north of Riverside and alongside Canton) is a favourite for students and young professionals. Penylan, to the north east of Roath Park, is an affluent area popular with older parents and the retired.
To the west lie Ely and Caerau, which have some of the largest housing estates in the United Kingdom. With the exception of some outlying privately built estates at Michaelston-super-Ely, this is an economically disadvantaged area with high numbers of unemployed households. Culverhouse Cross is a more affluent western area of the city. Fairwater, Heath, Birchgrove, Gabalfa, Mynachdy, Llandaff North, Llandaff, Llanishen, Radyr, Whitchurch & Tongwynlais, Rhiwbina, Thornhill, Lisvane and Cyncoed lie in an arc from the north-west to the north-east of the centre. Lisvane, Cyncoed, Radyr and Rhiwbina contain some of the most expensive housing in Wales.
Further east lie the wards of Pontprennau and Old St Mellons, Rumney, Pentwyn, Llanrumney, Llanedeyrn and Trowbridge. The last four are largely public housing stock, although much new private housing is being built in Trowbridge. Pontprennau is the newest "suburb" of Cardiff, while Old St Mellons has a history going back to the 11th-century Norman Conquest. The region that may be called "Rural Cardiff" contains the villages of St Fagans, Creigiau, Pentyrch, Tongwynlais and Gwaelod-y-garth. In 2017, plans were approved for a new suburb of 7,000 homes between Radyr and St Fagans, known as Plasdŵr. St Fagans, home to the Museum of Welsh Life, is protected from further development.
Since 2000, there has been a marked change of scale and building height in Cardiff, with the development of the city centre's first purpose-built high-rise apartments. Tall buildings have been built in the city centre and Cardiff Bay, and more are planned.
Climate
Cardiff, in the north temperate zone, has a maritime climate (Köppen: Cfb) marked by mild weather that is often cloudy, wet and windy. Cardiff is one of the warmest and wettest cities in the UK, with an average annual temperature and rainfall of approximately 11°C and 1200mm respectively. Summers tend to be warm and sunny, with average maxima between . Winters are fairly wet, but excessive rainfall as well as frost are rare. Spring and autumn feel similar, with mild temperatures averaging around 15°C as daytime maxima. Rain is unpredictable at any time of year, although showers tend to be shorter in summer.
The northern part of the county, being higher and inland, tends to be cooler and wetter than the city centre.
Cardiff's maximum and minimum monthly temperatures average (July) and (February).<br />For Wales, the temperatures average (July) and (February).
Cardiff has 1,518 hours of sunshine in an average year (Wales 1,388.7 hours). Cardiff is sunniest in July, with an average 203.4 hours during the month (Wales 183.3 hours), and least sunny in December with 44.6 hours (Wales 38.5 hours). Ordnance Survey
| source 2 KNMI Starlings Roost Weather
| date = February 2012}}
Demography
After a period of decline in the 1970s and 1980s, Cardiff's population is growing again. It reached 362,400 in the 2021 census, compared to a 2011 census figure of 346,100. Between mid-2007 and mid-2008, Cardiff was the fastest-growing local authority in Wales, with growth of 1.2%. According to 2001 census data, Cardiff was the 21st largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Cardiff Larger Urban Zone (a Eurostat definition including the Vale of Glamorgan and a number of local authorities in the Valleys) has 841,600 people, the 10th largest LUZ in the UK. The Cardiff and South Wales Valleys metropolitan area has a population of nearly 1.1 million.
Official census estimates of the city's total population have been disputed. The city council published two articles arguing that the 2001 census seriously under-reported the population of Cardiff, and in particular the ethnic minority population of some inner city areas.
The Welsh Government's official mid-year estimate of the population of the Cardiff local authority area in 2019 was 366,903. At the 2011, census the official population of the Cardiff Built Up Area (BUA) was put at 447,287. The BUA is not contiguous with the local authority boundary and aggregates data at a lower level; for Cardiff this includes the urban part of Cardiff, Penarth/Dinas Powys, Caerphilly and Pontypridd.
Cardiff has an ethnically diverse population due to past trading connections, post-war immigration and large numbers of foreign students who attend university in the city. The ethnic make-up of Cardiff's population at the 2011 census was: 84.7% White, 1.6% mixed White and Black African/Caribbean, 0.7% mixed White and Asian, 0.6% mixed other, 8.1% Asian, 2.4% Black, 1.4% Arab and 0.6% other ethnic groups. This means almost 53,000 people from a non-white ethnic group reside in the city. This diversity, especially that of the city's long-established African and Arab communities, has been recorded in cultural exhibitions and events, along with books published on this subject.Health
]]
There are seven NHS hospitals in the city, the largest being the University Hospital of Wales, which is the third largest hospital in the UK and deals with most accidents and emergencies. The University Dental Hospital, which provides emergency treatment, is also located on this site. Llandough Hospital is located in the south of the city.
St. David's Hospital, the city's newest hospital, built behind the former building, is located in Canton and provides services for the elderly and children. Cardiff Royal Infirmary is on Newport Road, near the city centre. The majority of this hospital was closed in 1999, but the west wing remained open for clinic services, genitourinary medicine and rehabilitation treatment. Rookwood Hospital and the Velindre Cancer Centre are also located within Cardiff. They are administered by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, with the exception of Velindre, which is run by a separate trust. Spire Healthcare, a private hospital, is in Pontprennau.Language
Cardiff has a chequered linguistic history with Welsh, English, Latin, Norse and Norman French preponderant at different times. Welsh was the majority language in Cardiff from the 13th century until the city's explosive growth in the Victorian era. As late as 1850, five of the 12 Anglican churches within the current city boundaries conducted their services exclusively in Welsh, while only two worshipped exclusively in English. The Welsh language became grouped around a small cluster of chapels and churches, the most notable of which is Tabernacl in the city centre, one of four UK churches chosen to hold official services to commemorate the new millennium.
The city's first Welsh-language school (Ysgol Gymraeg Bryntaf) was established in the 1950s. Welsh has since regained ground. Aided by Welsh-medium education and migration from other parts of Wales, there are now many more Welsh speakers: their numbers doubled between the 1991 and 2011 censuses, from 18,071 (6.6%) to 36,735 (11.1%) residents aged three years and above. The LSOA (Lower Layer Super Output Area) with the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in the city centre is found in Canton, at 25.5%. The LSOA with the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in the whole of Cardiff is Whitchurch, at 26%. The ONS estimated that in December 2020, 89,900 (24.8%) of Cardiff's population could speak Welsh.
In addition to English and Welsh, the diversity of Cardiff's population (including foreign students) means that many other languages are spoken. One study has found that Cardiff has speakers of at least 94 languages, with Somali, Urdu, Bengali and Arabic being the most commonly spoken foreign ones.
The modern Cardiff accent is distinct from that of nearby South Wales Valleys. It is marked primarily by:
*Substitution of by
*here [hiːə] pronounced as in the broader form
*The vowel of start may be realised as or even , so that Cardiff is pronounced .
Language schools
Due to its diversity and large student population, more people now come to the city to learn English. Foreign students from Arab states and other European countries are a common sight on the streets of Cardiff.
Religion
Since 1922, Cardiff has included Llandaff within its boundary, along with the Anglican Llandaff Cathedral, the parish church of Llandaff and the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales and the Diocese of Llandaff.
There is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city. Since 1916, Cardiff has been the seat of a Catholic archbishop, but there appears to have been a fall in the estimated Catholic population, with numbers in 2006 around 25,000 fewer than in 1980. Likewise, the Jewish population appears to have fallen – there are two synagogues in Cardiff, one in Cyncoed and one in Moira Terrace, as opposed to seven at the turn of the 20th century. There are several nonconformist chapels, an early 20th century Greek Orthodox church and 11 mosques. In the 2001 census, 66.9% of Cardiff's population described itself as Christian, a percentage point below the Welsh and UK averages.
The oldest of the non-Christian communities in Wales is Judaism. Jews were not permitted to live in England and Wales between the 1290 Edict of Expulsion and the 17th century. A Welsh Jewish community was re-established in the 18th century. There was once a fairly substantial Jewish population in South Wales, most of which has disappeared. The Orthodox Jewish community congregations are consolidated in the Cardiff United Synagogue in Cyncoed, which was dedicated by Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in 2003. The Cardiff Reform Synagogue is in Adamsdown.
Cardiff's Muslim population is much above the Welsh average and the longest established in the UK, being started by Yemeni and Somali sailors settling in the 19th century. Cardiff now has over 11,000 Muslims with various national affiliations – nearly 52 per cent of the Muslim population in Wales.
The proportion of Cardiff residents declaring themselves Hindu, Sikh and Jewish were all considerably higher than the Welsh averages, but lower than the UK figures. The city has had a Hindu community since Indian immigrants settled in the 1950s and 1960s. The first Hindu temple in the city was opened in Grangetown on 6 April 1979 on the site of an abandoned synagogue. The 25th anniversary of the founding was celebrated in September 2007 with a parade of over 3,000 people through the city centre, including Hindus from across the United Kingdom and members of Cardiff's other religious communities. There are over 2,000 Hindus in Cardiff, worshipping at three temples.
Economy
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As the capital city of Wales, Cardiff is the main engine of growth in the Welsh economy. Though the population of Cardiff is about 10% of the Welsh population, the economy of Cardiff makes up nearly 20% of Welsh GDP and 40% of the city's workforce are daily in-commuters from the surrounding South Wales area.
Industry has played a major part in Cardiff's development for many centuries. The main catalyst for its transformation from a small town into a big city was the demand for coal required in making iron and later steel, brought to sea by packhorse from Merthyr Tydfil. This was first achieved by building a canal from Merthyr ( above sea level) to the Taff Estuary at Cardiff. Eventually the Taff Vale Railway replaced the canal barges and massive marshalling yards sprang up as new docks were developed in Cardiff – all prompted by the soaring worldwide demand for coal from the South Wales valleys.
At its peak, Cardiff's port area, known as Tiger Bay, became the busiest port in the world and – for some time – the world's most important coal port. In the years leading up to the First World War, more than 10 million tonnes of coal was exported annually from Cardiff Docks. In 1907, Cardiff's Coal Exchange was the first host to a business deal for a million pounds Sterling. The high demand for Welsh coal and specifically Welsh artificial fuel, named Patent Fuel, is shown by the numerous factories producing this fuel, with the same recipe, in the region of Cardiff. Most well known factories were the Star Patent fuel Co., the Crown Patent fuel, the Cardiff Patent fuel etc. After a period of decline, due to low demand on coal, Cardiff's port has started to grow again – over 3 million tonnes of cargo passed through the docks in 2007.
at in height, is the tallest building in Cardiff.]]
Cardiff today is the main finance and business services centre in Wales, with strong representation of finance and business services in the local economy. This sector, combined with the public administration, education and health sectors, have accounted for about 75% of Cardiff's economic growth since 1991. The city was recently placed seventh overall in the top 50 European cities in the fDI 2008 Cities of the Future list published by the fDi magazine, and ranked seventh in terms of attracting foreign investment. Notable companies such as Legal & General, Admiral Insurance, HBOS, Zurich, ING Direct, The AA, Principality Building Society, 118118, British Gas, Brains, SWALEC Energy and BT, all operate large national or regional headquarters and contact centres in the city, some of them based in Cardiff's office towers such as Capital Tower and Brunel House. Other major employers include NHS Wales and the Senedd. On 1 March 2004, Cardiff was granted Fairtrade City status.
Cardiff is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United Kingdom, receiving 18.3 million visitors in 2010 and generating £852 million for the city's economy. One result is that one in five employees in Cardiff is based in the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector, highlighting the growing retail and tourism industries in the city.
Cardiff is home to the Welsh media and a large media sector with BBC Cymru Wales, S4C and ITV Wales all having studios in the city. Just to the north-west of the city, in Rhondda Cynon Taff, the first completely new film studios in the UK for 30 years are being built, to be named Valleywood. The studios are set to be the biggest in the UK. In 2011 the BBC completed the Roath Lock studios in Cardiff Bay to film dramas such as Casualty, Doctor Who, and Pobol y Cwm.
Cardiff has several regeneration projects, such as St David's 2 Centre and surrounding areas of the city centre, and the £1.4 billion International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay, which played a part in the London 2012 Olympics. It features the only Olympic-standard swimming pool in Wales, the Cardiff International Pool, which opened on 12 January 2008.
According to the Welsh Rugby Union, the Principality Stadium contributed £1 billion to the Welsh economy in the ten years after it opened in 1999, with around 85% of that staying in the Cardiff area.Shopping
in The Hayes is the largest shopping centre in Wales.]]
Most of Cardiff's shopping portfolio is in the city centre around Queen Street, St Mary Street and High Street, with large suburban retail parks in Cardiff Bay, Culverhouse Cross, Leckwith, Newport Road and Pontprennau, together with markets in the city centre and Splott. A £675 million regeneration programme for Cardiff's St. David's Centre was completed in 2009, providing a total of of shopping space, making it one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom. The centre was named the international shopping centre of the year in 2010 by Retail Leisure International (RLI).
The Castle Quarter is a commercial area in the north of the city centre, which includes some of Cardiff's Victorian and Edwardian arcades: Castle Arcade, Morgan Arcade and Royal Arcade, and principal shopping streets: St Mary Street, High Street, The Hayes, and Queen Street. Morgan Arcade is home to Spillers Records, the world's oldest record shop. Cardiff has a number of markets, including the vast Victorian indoor Cardiff Central Market and the newly established Riverside Community Market, which specialises in locally produced organic produce.TransportRail
Cardiff Central railway station is the largest railway station in Wales, with eight platforms coping with over 12.5 million passengers a year. It provides direct services to Bridgend and Newport, long-distance, cross-Wales services to Wrexham and Holyhead, and services to Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and London. Cardiff Central Station is situated within the southern border of what was known Temperance Town, a former residential area within central Cardiff.
Cardiff Queen Street railway station is the second busiest in Wales and the hub for the Valley Lines services that connect the South Wales Valleys and the Cardiff suburbs with the city centre. It is located at the eastern end of the city centre and provides services to Cardiff Bay. Cardiff has a suburban rail system known as the Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes, operated by Transport for Wales. There are eight lines that serve 20 stations in the city, 26 in the wider urban area (including Taffs Well, Penarth and Dinas Powys) and more than 60 in the South Wales valleys and the Vale of Glamorgan.MetroThe South Wales Metro is an integrated public transport system under development in south-east Wales, centered on Cardiff. The project is to include the electrification of some of the existing railway lines and the creation of multiple light rail and light rapid transit lines. Four lines are under construction with a further three planned. The first lines will link Penarth and Cardiff Bay to , , and , with plans to also serve Pontyclun, St Mellons and Porth Teigr. Alongside this, current commuter services will be improved with a near-tripling in capacity on some routes to and .Air
Domestic and international air links to Cardiff and South & West Wales are provided from Cardiff Airport (CWL), the only international airport in Wales. The airport lies in the village of Rhoose, west of the city. There are regular bus services linking the airport with Cardiff city centre, and a train service from Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station to Cardiff Central.Road and bus
The M4 motorway connects Cardiff with Swansea to the west and Newport and London to the east, with four junctions on the M4, including one with the A48(M). The A470 provides an important link from the city to the Heads of the Valleys road. When completed, the A4232 – also known as the Peripheral Distributor Road – will form part of the Cardiff ring-road system, along with the M4 motorway between junctions 30 and 33.
Cardiff has a comprehensive bus network, whose providers include the municipal bus company Cardiff Bus (routes within the city and to Newport, Barry and Penarth), Adventure Travel (cross-city and to Cardiff Airport), Stagecoach South Wales (to the South Wales Valleys) and First Cymru (to Cowbridge and Bridgend). National Express and Megabus provides direct services to major cities such as Bristol, London, Newcastle upon Tyne and Manchester. Most bus services in the city use Cardiff Bus Interchange located next to Central Station, which opened in 2024 replacing an older structure on the same site, whilst intercity and coach services use the coach terminal located near Sophia Gardens in the north of the city centre.
Cycle
The Taff Trail is a walking and cycle path running for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It runs through Bute Park, Sophia Gardens and many other green areas within Cardiff. It is possible to cycle the entire distance of the Trail almost completely off-road, as it largely follows the River Taff and many of the disused railways of the Glamorganshire valleys.
Nextbike previously operated a public bike-hire scheme in the city between March 2018 and January 2024, with the scheme allegedly being scrapped due to theft. Cardiff Council are seeking a replacement operator.
Water
The Aquabus water taxi runs every hour between the city centre (Taff Mead Embankment) and Cardiff Bay (Mermaid Quay), and between Cardiff Bay and Penarth Cardiff Bay Barrage. Throughout the year, Cardiff Waterbus sail between the Pierhead on The Waterfront and the Penarth end of the Cardiff Bay Barrage with short sightseeing cruises.
Between March and October boats depart from Cardiff Bay for Flat Holm Island. The PS Waverley and MV Balmoral sail from Britannia Quay (in Roath Basin) to various destinations in the Bristol Channel.
<gallery>
File:Cardiff Central station (26526139271).jpg|Cardiff Central railway station
File:Gorsaf Heol y Frenhines, Caerdydd.JPG|Cardiff Queen Street railway station
File:Depo Ffynnon Taf - TfW 398011 llaes 398010.JPG|South Wales Metro tram-trains
File:Cardiff Airport (Oct 2010).jpg|Cardiff Airport
File:Bus Interchange Open (1).jpg|Cardiff Bus Interchange
File:Cardiff Bus (Bws Caerdydd) YN17ONL.jpg|Cardiff Bus is the main bus operator in the Cardiff area
File:Cycle lane in Excalibur Drive, Cardiff.jpg|Typical cycle lane in Cardiff
File:Aquabushydro1.jpg|Aquabus
</gallery>
Telecommunications
029 is the current telephone dialling code for Cardiff, as well as for the neighbouring towns of Penarth, Dinas Powys and Caerphilly. The dialling code is optional when dialling within the area: one can dial between any two phones within the 029 code using only the eight-digit local number.
Prior to the Big Number Change on 22 April 2000 the area had shorter, six-digit local numbers with an area code of 01222. is a member of the Russell Group of leading research led universities, having most of its campus in Cathays and the city centre. Cardiff Metropolitan University (formerly UWIC) has campuses in the Llandaff, Cyncoed and city centre areas, and is part of the confederal University of Wales. The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is a conservatoire established in 1949 and is based in the grounds of Cardiff Castle. The University of South Wales's Cardiff campus, Atrium, is home to the Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries and is located in the city centre.
The total number of higher education students in the city is around 43,900. The city also has two further education colleges: Cardiff and Vale College and St David's College. The former is the result of a merger, completed in August 2011, between Coleg Glan Hafren and Barry College. Further education is also offered at most high schools in the city.
Cardiff has three state nursery schools (one bilingual), 98 state primary schools (two bilingual, fifteen Welsh medium), and 19 state secondary schools (three Welsh medium). There are also several independent schools in the city, including St John's College, Llandaff Cathedral School, Cardiff Sixth Form College, Kings Monkton School and Howell's School, a single-sex girls' school (until sixth form). In 2013 Cardiff Sixth Form College came top of the independent senior schools in the UK, which were based on the percentage of A* and A at Advanced Level. Also in the top 100 were St John's College and Howell's School.
Notable schools include Whitchurch High School (the largest secondary school in Wales), Fitzalan High School (one of the most multi-cultural state schools in the UK), and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf (the largest Welsh medium secondary school in Wales).
As well as academic institutions, Cardiff is also home to other educational and learning organisations such as Techniquest, a hands-on science discovery centre that now has franchises throughout Wales, and is part of the Wales Gene Park in collaboration with Cardiff University, NHS Wales and the Welsh Development Agency (WDA). Cardiff is also home to a regional office of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO).
{|class"toccolours" style"margin:0.5em auto"
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|<gallery caption"University Campuses in Cardiff" mode"packed">
File:Cardiff University main building.jpg|Cardiff University Cathays Park and Heath Park Campuses
File:Cardiff Metropolitan University Llandaff Campus (2).jpg|Cardiff Metropolitan University Llandaff and Cyncoed Campuses
File:University of South Wales, Cardiff Campus.jpg|University of South Wales Cardiff Campus
File:Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg|Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, part of the University of South Wales Group
File:Wales Academy of Voice & Dramatic Arts, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Cardiff.jpg|University of Wales Trinity Saint David Cardiff Campus
File:Cardiff 13737 University of Wales Registry 01.JPG|University of Wales is a confederal university based in the University of Wales Registry.
</gallery>
|}
Landmarks and attractions
Cardiff has many landmark buildings such as the Principality Stadium, Pierhead Building, the Welsh National Museum and the Senedd building, the home of the Welsh Parliament. Cardiff is also known for Cardiff Castle, St David's Hall, St John the Baptist Church, Llandaff Cathedral and the Wales Millennium Centre.
Cardiff Castle is a major tourist attraction in the city and is situated in the heart of the city centre. The National History Museum at St Fagans in Cardiff is a large open-air museum housing dozens of buildings from throughout Welsh history that have been moved to the site in Cardiff. The Civic Centre in Cathays Park comprises a collection of Edwardian buildings such as the City Hall, National Museum and Gallery of Wales, Cardiff Crown Court, and buildings forming part of Cardiff University, together with more modern civic buildings. These buildings are laid out around the Queen Alexandra Gardens, a formal park which contains the Welsh National War Memorial and a number of other, smaller memorials.
In addition to Cardiff Castle, Castell Coch is a castle in Tongwynlais, in the north of the city. The current castle is an elaborately decorated Victorian folly designed by William Burges for the Marquess and built in the 1870s, as an occasional retreat. However, the Victorian castle stands on the footings of a much older medieval castle possibly built by Ifor Bach, a regional baron with links to Cardiff Castle also. The exterior has become a popular location for film and television productions. It rarely fulfilled its intended role as a retreat for the Butes, who seldom stayed there. For the Marquess, the pleasure had been in its creation, a pleasure lost following Burges's death in 1881.
Cardiff claims the largest concentration of castles of any city in the world. As well as Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch, there are the remains of two motte-and-bailey castles in Morganstown and Rhiwbina, known as Morganstown Castle Mound and Twmpath Castle or Twmpath Motte (also known as ) respectively. Twmpath being a Welsh word for a small mound), which along with a castle at Whitchurch (known as Treoda and destroyed by housing in the 1960s) formed an arc of fortifications which divided the Norman lordship from the Welsh lordship of Senghenydd. Further up the Cefn Cibwr ridge on the boundary with Caerphilly there is also another ruined castle, known as Morgraig Castle (). Archaeological evidence suggests this castle was never finished, and it is debated whether the fortification was of Norman or Welsh origin. The concentration of castles indicates the moveable nature of the border between the Norman lordship of Glamorgan, centred at Cardiff, and its Welsh neighbours to the north.
There is also the ruined Llandaff Bishop's Palace, also known as Llandaff Castle, which was the home of the medieval bishops, which was destroyed about 1403–1404 by the Welsh leader Owain Glyndŵr. Now only the ruined gatehouse remains. Cathedral Road was developed by the 3rd Marquis of Bute and is lined by fine villas, some backing on to Sophia Gardens.
Cardiff has walks of special interest for tourists and ramblers alike, such as the Centenary Walk, which runs for within Cardiff city centre. This route passes through many of Cardiff's landmarks and historic buildings. The Animal Wall, designed by William Burges in 1866, marks the south edge of Bute Park on Castle Street. It bears 15 carved animal statues.
Culture and recreation
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Cardiff has many cultural sites varying from the historical Cardiff Castle and out of town Castell Coch to the more modern Wales Millennium Centre and Cardiff Bay. Cardiff was a finalist in the European Capital of Culture 2008. In recent years Cardiff has grown in stature as a tourist destination, with recent accolades including Cardiff being voted the eighth favourite UK city by readers of the Guardian.
The city was also listed as one of the top 10 destinations in the UK on the official British tourist boards website Visit Britain, and US travel guide Frommers have listed Cardiff as one of 13 top destinations worldwide for 2008. Annual events in Cardiff that have become regular appearances in Cardiff's calendar include Sparks in the Park, The Great British Cheese Festival, Pride Cymru (formerly Cardiff Mardi Gras), Cardiff Winter Wonderland, Cardiff Festival and Made in Roath.Music and performing arts
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A large number of concerts are held in the city, the larger ones at St David's Hall, Cardiff International Arena and occasionally the Principality Stadium. A number of festivals are also held in Cardiff, the largest being the Cardiff Big Weekend Festival, held annually in the city centre in the summer and playing host to free musical performances (from artists such as Ash, Jimmy Cliff, Cerys Matthews, the Fun Loving Criminals, Soul II Soul and the Magic Numbers), fairground rides and cultural events such as a Children's Festival that takes place in the grounds of Cardiff Castle. The annual festival claims to be the UK's largest free outdoor festival, attracting over 250,000 visitors in 2007.
Cardiff hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1883, 1899, 1938, 1960, 1978, 2008 and 2018. Cardiff is unique in Wales in having two permanent stone circles used by the Gorsedd of Bards during Eisteddfodau. The original circle stands in Gorsedd Gardens in front of the National Museum while its 1978 replacement is situated in Bute Park. Since 1983, Cardiff has hosted the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, a world-renowned event on the opera calendar which is held every two years. The city also hosts smaller events.
The Wales Millennium Centre hosts performances of opera, ballet, dance, comedy, musicals and is home to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. St David's Hall (which hosts the Singer of the World competition) has regular performances of classical music and ballet as well as music of other genres. The largest of Cardiff's theatres is the New Theatre, situated in the city centre just off Queen Street. Other such venues include the Sherman Theatre, Chapter Arts Centre and the Gate Arts Centre.
The Cardiff music scene is established and wide-ranging: home to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Welsh National Opera; has produced several leading acts; has acted as a springboard for Welsh bands to become famous. Acts hailing from Cardiff include Charlotte Church, Shirley Bassey, Iwan Rheon, the Oppressed, Kids In Glass Houses, Los Campesinos, the Hot Puppies, the School, We're No Heroes, Budgie and Shakin' Stevens. Also, artists such as Stereophonics, the Automatic, Manic Street Preachers, Lostprophets, Underworld, Super Furry Animals, Catatonia and Bullet for My Valentine have links with the city and are associated with the Cardiff music scene. In 2010, Cardiff was named the UK's second "most musical" city by PRS for Music.
Visual arts
Cardiff has held a photomarathon in the city each year since 2004, in which photographers compete to take the best 12 pictures of 12 previously unknown topics in 12 hours. An exhibition of winners and other entries is held in June/July each year.
Sporting venues
Cardiff's former municipal baths opened in 1862, as Turkish Baths, and were taken over by the City Council in 1873, before closing over a century later.
Sporting venues include the Principality Stadium – the national stadium and home of the Wales national rugby union team – Sophia Gardens for Glamorgan County Cricket Club, Cardiff City Stadium for Cardiff City F.C. and the Wales football team, Cardiff International Sports Stadium, home of Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club, Cardiff Arms Park for Cardiff Blues and Cardiff RFC rugby union teams, and Ice Arena Wales for Cardiff Devils ice hockey team. It hosted the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and was dubbed European City of Sport for its role in international sporting events in 2009 and again in 2014. The Principality Stadium hosted 11 football matches during the 2012 Summer Olympics, including the opening event and the men's bronze medal match.
Recreation
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Cardiff has strong nightlife. Most clubs and bars are situated in the city centre, especially St Mary Street. More recently Cardiff Bay has built up a strong night scene, with many modern bars and restaurants. The Brewery Quarter on St Mary Street is a recently developed venue for bars and restaurant with a central courtyard. Charles Street is also a popular part of the city.
, including the lighthouse erected as a memorial to Captain Scott]]
Cardiff is known for its extensive parks and other green spaces covering around 10% of the city's total area. Cardiff's main park, Bute Park (which was formerly the castle grounds) extends northwards from the top of one of Cardiff's main shopping street (Queen Street); when combined with the adjacent Llandaff Fields and Pontcanna Fields to the north-west it produces a massive open space skirting the River Taff. Other popular parks include Roath Park in the north, donated to the city by the 3rd Marquess of Bute in 1887, which includes a popular boating lake; Victoria Park, Cardiff's first official park; and Thompson's Park, formerly home to an aviary removed in the 1970s. Wild open spaces include Howardian Local Nature Reserve, of the lower Rhymney valley in Penylan noted for its orchids, and Forest Farm Country Park, over along the River Taff in Whitchurch.
Media
and Western Mail]]
Cardiff is the Welsh base for the main national broadcasters (BBC Cymru Wales, ITV Wales and S4C). A locally based television station, Made in Cardiff, is also based in the city centre. Major filming studios in Cardiff include the BBC's Roath Lock Studios and Pinewood Studios Wales.
Several contemporary television programmes and films are filmed in and/or set in Cardiff such as Casualty, Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, Merlin, Class, The Valleys, Upstairs Downstairs, A Discovery of Witches, His Dark Materials, Being Human, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Wizards vs Aliens, Sex Education and Sherlock.
The main local newspaper is the South Wales Echo; the national paper is the Western Mail. Both are based in Park Street in the city centre. Capital Times, Echo Extra and the South Wales edition of Metro are also based and distributed in the city.
There are several magazines, including Primary Times and a monthly papur bro, and a Welsh-language community newsletter called Y Dinesydd (The Citizen). Radio stations serving the city and based in Cardiff include Capital South Wales, Heart South Wales, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, Nation Radio Wales, Radio Cardiff, Smooth Wales and Xpress Radio.
The Principality Stadium was one of the first six British landmarks to be fully mapped on Google Street View as a 360-degree virtual tour.Sport
Cardiff hosts many high-profile sporting events at local, national and international level and in recognition of the city's commitment to sport for all was awarded the title of European Capital of Sport 2014. Organised sports have been held in the city since the early 19th century. national home sporting fixtures are nearly always played in the city. All Wales' multi-sports agencies and many of the country's sports governing bodies have their headquarters in Cardiff and the city's many top quality venues have attracted world-famous sports events, sometimes unrelated to Cardiff or to Wales. In 2008/09, 61% of Cardiff residents regularly participated in sport and active recreation, the highest percentage in ll 22 local authorities in Wales.
Rugby union fans around the world have long been familiar with the old National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, and its successor the Principality Stadium, which hosted the FA Cup for six years (from 2001 to 2006) it took to rebuild Wembley Stadium. In 2009, Cardiff hosted the first Ashes cricket test between England and Australia to be held in Wales. Cardiff hosted eight football matches of the London 2012 Olympics.
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Cardiff City F.C. (founded 1899 as Riverside AFC) played their home games at Ninian Park from 1910 until the end of the 2008–09 season. The club's new home is the Cardiff City Stadium, which they initially rented to the Cardiff Blues, the city's professional rugby union team, the Blues returning to the Arms Park in 2012. Cardiff City have played in the English Football League since the 1920–21 season, climbing to Division 1 after one season. Cardiff City are the only non-English team to have won the FA Cup, beating Arsenal in the 1927 final at Wembley Stadium. In the 2013/14 and 2018/19 seasons Cardiff City played in the English Premier League.
Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C. of the Athletic Union of Cardiff Metropolitan University, based in Cyncoed, play in the Cymru Premier, having been promoted from Welsh League Division One in 2016. They were winners of the Welsh League Cup for the 2018–19 season.
Cardiff has numerous smaller clubs including Bridgend Street A.F.C., Caerau (Ely) A.F.C., Cardiff Corinthians F.C., Cardiff Grange Harlequins A.F.C., and Ely Rangers A.F.C., which all play in the Welsh football league system.
, Cardiff, headquarters of Sport Wales, the Welsh Sports Association and the Federation of Disability Sport Wales]]
In addition to men's football teams Cardiff City Ladies of the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division are based in the city. Teams in the Welsh Premier Women's Football League are Cardiff Met. Ladies, Cyncoed Ladies and Cardiff City.
During the 1990s, London-based football club Wimbledon FC expressed interest in relocating to Cardiff, having been without a home of their own since exiting Plough Lane stadium in 1991 and sharing with Crystal Palace FC at Selhurst Park. The relocation of the club to Cardiff did not happen; in 2003, the club moved to Milton Keynes and a year later rebranded as Milton Keynes Dons.
Cardiff Arms Park (), in central Cardiff, is among the world's most famous venues—being the scene of three Welsh Grand Slams in the 1970s (1971, 1976 and 1978) and six Five Nations titles in nine years—and was the venue for Wales' games in the 1991 Rugby World Cup. The Arms Park has a sporting history dating back to at least the 1850s, when Cardiff Cricket Club (formed 1819) relocated to the site. In addition to Wales' Six Nations Championship and other international games, the Principality Stadium held four matches in the 2007 Rugby World Cup and six FA Cup finals (from the 2001–02 to 2005–06 seasons) while Wembley Stadium was being rebuilt. The Hundred franchise team Welsh Fire is also based at the stadium.
Cardiff has a long association with boxing, from 'Peerless' Jim Driscoll — born in Cardiff in 1880 — to more recent, high-profile fights staged in the city. These include the WBC Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno heavyweight championship fight at the Arms Park in 1993, and many of Joe Calzaghe's fights, between 2003 and 2007.
Cardiff's professional ice hockey team, the Cardiff Devils, plays in the 3,000-seat Ice Arena Wales in the Cardiff International Sports Village. It plays in the 12-team professional Elite Ice Hockey League. Founded in 1986, it was one of the most successful British teams in the 1990s.
Cardiff's only American-flag football team is the Hurricanes. It won the British Championship in 2014 after falling short by 2 points in a quarter-final to eventual winners, the London Rebels, the previous year. It is based at Roath Recreational Ground.
at the International Sports Village, Cardiff Bay]]
The 1958 Commonwealth Games were hosted by Cardiff. These involved 1,130 athletes from 35 national teams competing in 94 events. One of the venues for those Games—The Wales Empire Swimming Pool—was demolished in 1998 to make way for the Principality Stadium. The GBP32m Cardiff International Pool in Cardiff Bay, opened to the public on 12 January 2008 — part of the GBP1bn International Sports Village (ISV) — is the only Olympic-standard swimming pool in Wales. When complete, the ISV complex will provide Olympic standard facilities for sports including boxing and fencing, gymnastics, judo, white water events (including canoeing and kayaking) and wrestling as well as a snow dome with real snow for skiing and snowboarding, an arena for public ice skating and ice hockey and a hotel. Some of the sports facilities at the ISV were to be used as training venues for the London 2012 Olympics.
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The Principality Stadium hosts motor-sport events such as the World Rally Championship, as part of Wales Rally GB. The first indoor special stages of the World Rally Championship were held at the Principality Stadium in September 2005 and have been an annual event since. The British Speedway Grand Prix, one of the World Championship events, is held at the Principality Stadium.
The Cardiff International Sports Stadium, opened 19 January 2009, replacing the Cardiff Athletics Stadium, demolished to make way for the Cardiff City Stadium. It has a 4,953 capacity as a multi sport/special event venue, offering certificated international track and field athletics facilities, including an international standard external throws area. The stadium houses the Headquarters of Welsh Athletics, the sport's governing body for Wales. The city's indoor track and field athletics sports venue is the National Indoor Athletics Centre, an international athletics and multi sports centre at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff Campus, Cyncoed.
The Cardiff Half Marathon takes place each October and is one of the largest road races in the United Kingdom, attracting over 20,000 participants and many overseas visitors annually. The event is organised by the not-for-profit social enterprise Run 4 Wales, and has grown considerably since its establishment in 2003. It has hosted the World (2016) Commonwealth (2018) British (2014/2015) and Welsh (Annually) Half Marathon Championships and has held a World Athletics Elite Road Race Label since 2017. The race is also a part of the SuperHalfs, a series of leading international half marathon races which also includes Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Valencia and Copenhagen.
Notable people
Many notable people have hailed from Cardiff, ranging from historical figures such as the 12th-century Welsh leader Ifor Bach to more recent figures such as Roald Dahl, Ken Follett, Griff Rhys Jones, Catrin Dafydd, and the former Blue Peter presenter Gethin Jones.
Notable actors include Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic 4), Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones) and Matthew Rhys (The Americans).
Also notable is Siân Grigg, BAFTA winner and Oscar nominated Hollywood make-up artist.
The city has been the birthplace of sports stars such as Tanni Grey-Thompson and Colin Jackson, as well as many Premier League, Football League and international footballers, such as Craig Bellamy, Gareth Bale, Ryan Giggs, Joe Ledley, and former managers of the Wales national football team Terry Yorath and John Toshack. International rugby league players from Cardiff include Frank Whitcombe, Billy Boston, David Willicombe and Colin Dixon. International rugby union players include Sam Warburton, Jamie Roberts, Jamie Robinson, Nicky Robinson, Rhys Patchell, and baseball internationals include George Whitcombe and Ted Peterson.
Saint Teilo ( – 9 February ) is the patron saint of Cardiff. He was a British Christian monk, bishop, and founder of monasteries and churches. Reputed to be a cousin, friend, and disciple of Saint David, he was Bishop of Llandaff and founder of the first church at Llandaff Cathedral, where his tomb is. His Saint's Day is 9 February.
Cardiff is also well known for its musicians. Ivor Novello inspired the Ivor Novello Awards. Idloes Owen, founder of the Welsh National Opera, lived in Llandaff. Dame Shirley Bassey was born and raised in Cardiff. Charlotte Church is famous as a crossover classical/pop singer. Shakin' Stevens was one of the top-selling male artists in the UK during the 1980s. Tigertailz, a popular glam metal act in the 1980s, also hailed from Cardiff. A number of Cardiff-based bands, such as Catatonia and Super Furry Animals, were popular in the 1990s.
Twinning
*Luhansk, Ukraine
*Stuttgart, GermanyNamesakesIn the United States both Cardiff-by-the-Sea in Encinitas, California and Cardiff, Alabama were named after Cardiff in Wales. In New Zealand Cardiff, Taranaki was also named after Cardiff in Wales.Diplomatic presenceA total of 28 countries have a diplomatic presence in Cardiff. Many of these, such as Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, Thailand and the Czech Republic, are represented by honorary consulates. The United States Embassy to the UK operates a satellite office.
Freedom of the City
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City of Cardiff; they are listed with the date that they received the honour.Individuals
Military units
*The Welch Regiment: 10 June 1944
*The Welsh Guards: 27 April 1957
*The Royal Regiment of Wales: 11 June 1969
*The Royal Welch Fusiliers: 7 November 1973
*The 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards: 29 July 1985
*HMS Cardiff, RN: 3 February 1988
*The Merchant Navy Association (Wales): 3 September 2001
*203 (Welsh) Field Hospital (Volunteers) RAMC: 21 April 2014
*HMS Dragon, RN: 18 May 2014
See also
*Cardiff music scene
*List of cultural venues in Cardiff
*List of parliamentary constituencies in South Glamorgan
*List of places in Cardiff
*List of places of worship in Cardiff
*List of streets and squares in Cardiff
References
External links
*[http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ Cardiff Council]
*[https://www.visitcardiff.com/ Visit Cardiff]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070611182621/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/catalogue.asp?gid=92 Cardiff Records]: the full text of the edition of historical records for Cardiff, edited by J. H. Matthews (1898–1905). Part of British History Online.
}}
Cardiff
Category:Capital cities in the United Kingdom
Category:Cities in Wales
Category:Populated coastal places in Wales
Category:Counties of Wales
Category:Glamorgan
Category:Port cities and towns in Wales
Category:Principal areas of Wales
Category:County towns in Wales
Category:Rally GB
Category:50s establishments
Category:Populated places established in the 1st century | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.364874 |
5884 | Charles Dickens | Dickensian (TV series)|other uses|Dickens (disambiguation)}}
1867–1868
| birth_name = Charles John Huffam Dickens
| birth_date
| birth_place = Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
| death_date
| death_place = Higham, Kent, England
| resting_place = Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, England
| resting_place_coordinates
| education | alma_mater
| notableworks =
| occupation = Novelist
| spouse }}
| partner = Ellen Ternan (1857–1870, his death)
| children =
| awards | signature Charles Dickens Signature.svg
| signature_alt =
}}
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.
Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at age 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father John was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. After three years, he returned to school before beginning his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years; wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles; lectured and performed readings extensively; was a tireless letter writer; and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education and other social reforms.
Dickens's literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers, a publishing phenomenon—thanks largely to the introduction of the character Sam Weller in the fourth episode—that sparked Pickwick merchandise and spin-offs. Within a few years, Dickens had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most of them published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. Cliffhanger endings in his serial publications kept readers in suspense. The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback. His plots were carefully constructed and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the illiterate poor would individually pay a halfpenny to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers.
His 1843 novella A Christmas Carol remains especially popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every creative medium. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1853 novel Bleak House, a satire on the judicial system, helped support a reformist movement that culminated in the 1870s legal reform in England. A Tale of Two Cities (set in London and Paris) is regarded as his best-known work of historical fiction. The most famous celebrity of his era, he undertook, in response to public demand, a series of public reading tours in the later part of his career.
Early life
, Hampshire]]
, Kent, Dickens's home from 1817 to 1821]]
Charles Dickens was born on 7 February 1812 at 1 Mile End Terrace (now 393 Commercial Road), Landport in Portsea Island (Portsmouth), Hampshire, the second of eight children of Elizabeth Dickens (née Barrow; 1789–1863) and John Dickens (1785–1851). His father was a clerk in the Royal Navy Pay Office and was temporarily stationed in the district. He asked Christopher Huffam, rigger in the Royal Navy and head of an established firm, to act as godfather to Charles. Huffam is thought to be the inspiration for Paul Dombey, the owner of a shipping company in Dickens's novel Dombey and Son (1848). When Charles was four, they relocated to Sheerness and thence to Chatham, Kent, where he spent his formative years until the age of 11. His early life seems to have been idyllic, though he thought himself a "very small and not-over-particularly-taken-care-of boy".
Charles spent time outdoors, but also read voraciously, including the picaresque novels of Tobias Smollett and Henry Fielding, as well as Robinson Crusoe and Gil Blas. He read and re-read The Arabian Nights and the Collected Farces of Elizabeth Inchbald. Aged seven, he first saw Joseph Grimaldi—the father of modern clowning—perform at the Star Theatre in Rochester, Kent. He later imitated Grimaldi's clowning on several occasions, and would also edit the Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. He retained poignant memories of childhood, helped by an excellent memory of people and events, which he used in his writing. His father's brief work as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office afforded him a few years of private education, first at a dame school and then at a school run by William Giles, a dissenter, in Chatham.
, published in the 1892 edition of Forster's Life of Charles Dickens]]
This period came to an end in June 1822, when John Dickens was recalled to Navy Pay Office headquarters at Somerset House and the family (except for Charles, who stayed behind to finish his final term at school) moved to Camden Town in London. The family had left Kent amidst rapidly mounting debts and, living beyond his means, John Dickens was forced by his creditors into the Marshalsea debtors' prison in Southwark, London in 1824. His wife and youngest children joined him there, as was the practice at the time. Charles, then 12 years old, boarded with Elizabeth Roylance, a family friend, at 112 College Place, Camden Town. Mrs Roylance was "a reduced impoverished old lady, long known to our family", whom Dickens later immortalised, "with a few alterations and embellishments", as "Mrs Pipchin" in Dombey and Son. Later, he lived in a back-attic in the house of an agent for the Insolvent Court, Archibald Russell, "a fat, good-natured, kind old gentleman ... with a quiet old wife" and lame son, in Lant Street in Southwark. They provided the inspiration for the Garlands in The Old Curiosity Shop.
On Sundays—with his sister Frances, free from her studies at the Royal Academy of Music—he spent the day at the Marshalsea. Dickens later used the prison as a setting in Little Dorrit. To pay for his board and to help his family, Dickens was forced to leave school and work ten-hour days at Warren's Blacking Warehouse, on Hungerford Stairs, near the present Charing Cross railway station, where he earned six shillings a week pasting labels on pots of boot blacking. The strenuous and often harsh working conditions made a lasting impression on Dickens and later influenced his fiction and essays, becoming the foundation of his interest in the reform of socio-economic and labour conditions, the rigours of which he believed were unfairly borne by the poor. He later wrote that he wondered "how I could have been so easily cast away at such an age".}}
When the warehouse was moved to Chandos Street in the smart, busy district of Covent Garden, the boys worked in a room in which the window gave onto the street. Small audiences gathered and watched them at work—in Dickens's biographer Simon Callow's estimation, the public display was "a new refinement added to his misery".
around 1897, after it had closed. Dickens based several of his characters on the experience of seeing his father in the debtors' prison, most notably Amy Dorrit from Little Dorrit.]]
A few months after his imprisonment, John Dickens's mother, Elizabeth Dickens, died and bequeathed him £450. On the expectation of this legacy, Dickens was released from prison. Under the Insolvent Debtors Act, Dickens arranged for payment of his creditors, and he and his family left the Marshalsea,<!-- not for the bequest --> for the home of Mrs Roylance.
Charles's mother, Elizabeth Dickens, did not immediately support his removal from the boot-blacking warehouse. This influenced Dickens's view that a father should rule the family and a mother find her proper sphere inside the home: "I never afterwards forgot, I never shall forget, I never can forget, that my mother was warm for my being sent back." His mother's failure to request his return was a factor in his dissatisfied attitude towards women.
Righteous indignation stemming from his own situation and the conditions under which working-class people lived became major themes of his works, and it was this unhappy period in his youth to which he alluded in his favourite, and most autobiographical, novel, David Copperfield: "I had no advice, no counsel, no encouragement, no consolation, no assistance, no support, of any kind, from anyone, that I can call to mind, as I hope to go to heaven!"
Dickens worked at the law office of Ellis and Blackmore, attorneys, of Holborn Court, Gray's Inn, as a junior clerk from May 1827 to November 1828. He was a gifted mimic and impersonated those around him: clients, lawyers and clerks. Captivated with London's theatre scene, he went to theatres obsessively: he claimed that for at least three years he went to the theatre every day. His favourite actor was Charles Mathews and Dickens learnt his "monopolylogues" (farces in which Mathews played every character) by heart. Then, having learned Gurney's system of shorthand in his spare time, he left to become a freelance reporter. A distant relative, Thomas Charlton, was a freelance reporter at Doctors' Commons and Dickens was able to share his box there to report the legal proceedings for nearly four years.
In 1830, Dickens met his first love, Maria Beadnell, thought to have been the model for the character Dora in David Copperfield. Maria's parents disapproved of the courtship and ended the relationship by sending her to school in Paris. Career Journalism and writing
(1838). She met the author in 1834, and they became engaged the following year before marrying in April 1836.]]
In 1832, at the age of 20, Dickens was energetic and increasingly self-confident. He enjoyed mimicry and popular entertainment, lacked a clear, specific sense of what he wanted to become, and yet knew he wanted fame. Drawn to the theatre—he became an early member of the Garrick Club—he landed an acting audition at Covent Garden, where the manager George Bartley and the actor Charles Kemble were to see him. Dickens prepared meticulously and decided to imitate the comedian Charles Mathews, but ultimately he missed the audition because of a cold. Before another opportunity arose, he had set out on his career as a writer.
In 1833, Dickens submitted his first story, "A Dinner at Poplar Walk", to the London periodical Monthly Magazine. His uncle William Barrow offered him a job on The Mirror of Parliament and he worked in the House of Commons for the first time early in 1832. He rented rooms at Furnival's Inn and worked as a political journalist, reporting on Parliamentary debates, and he travelled across Britain to cover election campaigns for the Morning Chronicle.
, Sketches by Boz—Boz being a family nickname—written by Dickens with illustrations by George Cruikshank, 1837]]
His journalism, in the form of sketches in periodicals, formed his first collection of pieces, published in 1836: Sketches by Boz—Boz being a family nickname he employed as a pseudonym for some years. Dickens apparently adopted it from the nickname 'Moses', which he had given to his youngest brother Augustus Dickens, after a character in Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. When pronounced by anyone with a head cold, "Moses" became "Boses"—later shortened to Boz. Dickens's own name was considered "queer" by a contemporary critic, who wrote in 1849: "Mr Dickens, as if in revenge for his own queer name, does bestow still queerer ones upon his fictitious creations." Dickens contributed to and edited journals throughout his literary career.
from The Pickwick Papers—a publishing phenomenon that sparked numerous spin-offs and Pickwick merchandise—made the 24-year-old Dickens famous.]]
Dickens made rapid progress both professionally and socially. He began a friendship with William Harrison Ainsworth, the author of the highwayman novel Rookwood (1834), whose bachelor salon in Harrow Road had become the meeting place for a set that included Daniel Maclise, Benjamin Disraeli, Edward Bulwer-Lytton and George Cruikshank. All these became his friends and collaborators, with the exception of Disraeli, and he met his first publisher, John Macrone, at the house. The success of Sketches by Boz led to a proposal from publishers Chapman and Hall for Dickens to supply text to match Robert Seymour's engraved illustrations in a monthly letterpress. Seymour committed suicide after the second instalment and Dickens, who wanted to write a connected series of sketches, hired "Phiz" to provide the engravings (which were reduced from four to two per instalment) for the story. The resulting story became The Pickwick Papers and, although the first few episodes were not successful, the introduction of the Cockney character Sam Weller in the fourth episode (the first to be illustrated by Phiz) marked a sharp climb in its popularity. The final instalment sold 40,000 copies. The unprecedented success led to numerous spin-offs and merchandise including Pickwick cigars, playing cards, china figurines, Sam Weller puzzles, Weller boot polish and joke books. In November 1836, Dickens accepted the position of editor of ''Bentley's Miscellany, a position he held for three years, until he fell out with the owner. In 1836, as he finished the last instalments of The Pickwick Papers, he began writing the beginning instalments of Oliver Twist—writing as many as 90 pages a month—while continuing work on Bentley's and also writing four plays, the production of which he oversaw. Oliver Twist'', published in 1838, became one of Dickens's better known stories and was the first Victorian novel with a child protagonist.
by Daniel Maclise, 1839]]
On 2 April 1836, after a one-year engagement, and between episodes two and three of The Pickwick Papers, Dickens married Catherine Thomson Hogarth (1815–1879), the daughter of George Hogarth, editor of the Evening Chronicle''. They were married in St Luke's Church, Chelsea, London. After a brief honeymoon in Chalk in Kent, the couple returned to lodgings at Furnival's Inn. The first of their ten children, Charles, was born in January 1837 and a few months later the family set up home in Bloomsbury at 48 Doughty Street, London (on which Charles had a three-year lease at £80 a year) from 25 March 1837 until December 1839. Dickens's younger brother Frederick and Catherine's 17-year-old sister Mary Hogarth moved in with them. Dickens became very attached to Mary, and she died in his arms after a brief illness in 1837. Unusually for Dickens, as a consequence of his shock, he stopped working, and he and Catherine stayed at a little farm on Hampstead Heath for a fortnight. Dickens idealised Mary; the character he fashioned after her, Rose Maylie, he found he could not now kill, as he had planned, in his fiction, and, according to Ackroyd, he drew on memories of her for his later descriptions of Little Nell and Florence Dombey. His grief was so great that he was unable to meet the deadline for the June instalment of The Pickwick Papers and had to cancel the Oliver Twist instalment that month as well.
by William Powell Frith—"pretty, witty, sexy, became central to numerous theatrical adaptations".]]
His success as a novelist continued. The young Queen Victoria read both Oliver Twist and The Pickwick Papers, staying up until midnight to discuss them. Nicholas Nickleby (1838–39), The Old Curiosity Shop (1840–41) and, finally, his first historical novel, ''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty, as part of the Master Humphrey's Clock series (1840–41), were all published in monthly instalments before being made into books. Dickens biographer Peter Ackroyd has called Barnaby Rudge'' "one of Dickens's most neglected, but most rewarding, novels". The poet Edgar Allan Poe read Barnaby Rudge, and the talking raven that featured in the novel inspired in part Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven".
In the midst of all his activity during this period, there was discontent with his publishers and John Macrone was bought off, while Richard Bentley signed over all his rights in Oliver Twist. Other signs of a certain restlessness and discontent emerged; in Broadstairs he flirted with Eleanor Picken, the young fiancée of his solicitor's best friend and one night grabbed her and ran with her down to the sea. He declared they were both to drown there in the "sad sea waves". She finally got free, and afterwards kept her distance. In June 1841, he precipitously set out on a two-month tour of Scotland and then, in September 1841, telegraphed Forster that he had decided to go to America. His weekly periodical ''Master Humphrey's Clock'' ended, though Dickens was still keen on the idea of the weekly magazine, an appreciation that had begun with his childhood reading of Samuel Johnson's The Idler and the 18th-century magazines Tatler and The Spectator.
Dickens was perturbed by the return to power of the Tories, whom he described as "people whom, politically, I despise and abhor." He had been tempted to stand for the Liberals in Reading, but decided against it due to financial straits.
First visit to the United States
On 22 January 1842, Dickens and his wife arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, aboard the RMS Britannia during their first trip to the United States and Canada. At this time Georgina Hogarth, another sister of Catherine, joined the Dickens household, now living at Devonshire Terrace, Marylebone to care for the young family they had left behind. She remained with them as housekeeper, organiser, adviser and friend until Dickens's death in 1870.
He described his impressions in a travelogue, American Notes for General Circulation. In Notes, Dickens includes a powerful condemnation of slavery which he had attacked as early as The Pickwick Papers, correlating the emancipation of the poor in England with the abolition of slavery abroad citing newspaper accounts of runaway slaves disfigured by their masters. In spite of the abolitionist sentiments gleaned from his trip to America, some modern commentators have pointed out inconsistencies in Dickens's views on racial inequality. For instance, he has been criticised for his subsequent acquiescence in Governor Eyre's harsh crackdown during the 1860s Morant Bay rebellion in Jamaica and his failure to join other British progressives in condemning it. From Richmond, Virginia, Dickens returned to Washington, D.C., and started a trek westward, with brief pauses in Cincinnati and Louisville, to St. Louis, Missouri. While there, he expressed a desire to see an American prairie before returning east. A group of 13 men then set out with Dickens to visit Looking Glass Prairie, a trip 30 miles into Illinois.
During his American visit, Dickens spent a month in New York City, giving lectures, raising the question of international copyright laws and the pirating of his work in America. He persuaded a group of 25 writers, headed by Washington Irving, to sign a petition for him to take to Congress, but the press were generally hostile to this, saying that he should be grateful for his popularity and that it was mercenary to complain about his work being pirated.
The popularity he gained caused a shift in his self-perception according to critic Kate Flint, who writes that he "found himself a cultural commodity, and its circulation had passed out his control", causing him to become interested in and delve into themes of public and personal personas in the next novels. She writes that he assumed a role of "influential commentator", publicly and in his fiction, evident in his next few books.
Return to England
, 1843. Painted during the period when he was writing A Christmas Carol, it was in the Royal Academy of Arts' 1844 summer exhibition. After viewing it there, Elizabeth Barrett Browning said that it showed Dickens with "the dust and mud of humanity about him, notwithstanding those eagle eyes". The seeds for the story became planted in Dickens's mind during a trip to Manchester to witness the conditions of the manufacturing workers there. This, along with scenes he had recently witnessed at the Field Lane Ragged School, caused Dickens to resolve to "strike a sledge hammer blow" for the poor. As the idea for the story took shape and the writing began in earnest, Dickens became engrossed in the book. He later wrote that as the tale unfolded he "wept and laughed, and wept again" as he "walked about the black streets of London fifteen or twenty miles many a night when all sober folks had gone to bed".
Between 1843 and 1844, Martin Chuzzlewit, the last of his picaresque novels, was serialised. It includes the character of Sarah Gamp, a nurse who is dissolute, sloppy and generally drunk, and also features one of the first literary private detective characters, Mr Nadgett. After living briefly in Italy (1844), Dickens travelled to Switzerland (1846), where he began work on Dombey and Son (1846–48).
At about this time, he was made aware of a large embezzlement at the firm where his brother, Augustus, worked (John Chapman & Co). It had been carried out by Thomas Powell, a clerk, who was on friendly terms with Dickens and who had acted as mentor to Augustus when he started work. Powell was also an author and poet and knew many of the famous writers of the day. After further fraudulent activities, Powell fled to New York and published a book called The Living Authors of England with a chapter on Charles Dickens, who was not amused by what Powell had written. One item that seemed to have annoyed him was the assertion that he had based the character of Paul Dombey (Dombey and Son) on Thomas Chapman, one of the principal partners at John Chapman & Co. Dickens immediately sent a letter to Lewis Gaylord Clark, editor of the New York literary magazine The Knickerbocker, saying that Powell was a forger and thief. Clark published the letter in the New-York Tribune and several other papers picked up on the story. Powell began proceedings to sue these publications and Clark was arrested. Dickens, realising that he had acted in haste, contacted John Chapman & Co to seek written confirmation of Powell's guilt. Dickens did receive a reply confirming Powell's embezzlement, but once the directors realised this information might have to be produced in court, they refused to make further disclosures. Owing to the difficulties of providing evidence in America to support his accusations, Dickens eventually made a private settlement with Powell out of court.Philanthropy
; from The Illustrated London News, March 1856]]
Angela Burdett Coutts, heir to the Coutts banking fortune, approached Dickens in May 1846 about setting up a home for the redemption of fallen women of the working class. Coutts envisioned a home that would replace the punitive regimes of existing institutions with a reformative environment conducive to education and proficiency in domestic household chores. After initially resisting, Dickens eventually founded the home, named Urania Cottage, in the Lime Grove area of Shepherd's Bush, which he managed for ten years, setting the house rules, reviewing the accounts and interviewing prospective residents. Emigration and marriage were central to Dickens's agenda for the women on leaving Urania Cottage, from which it is estimated that about 100 women graduated between 1847 and 1859.
Religious views
As a young man, Dickens expressed a distaste for certain aspects of organised religion. In 1836, in a pamphlet titled Sunday Under Three Heads, he defended the people's right to pleasure, opposing a plan to prohibit games on Sundays. "Look into your churches—diminished congregations and scanty attendance. People have grown sullen and obstinate, and are becoming disgusted with the faith which condemns them to such a day as this, once in every seven. They display their feeling by staying away [from church]. Turn into the streets [on a Sunday] and mark the rigid gloom that reigns over everything around."
]]
Dickens honoured the figure of Jesus Christ.<!-- which Callow book is this? 2009 or 2012? --> He is regarded as a professing Christian. His son, Henry Fielding Dickens, described him as someone who "possessed deep religious convictions". In the early 1840s, he had shown an interest in Unitarian Christianity and Robert Browning remarked that "Mr Dickens is an enlightened Unitarian." Professor Gary Colledge has written that he "never strayed from his attachment to popular lay Anglicanism". Dickens authored a work called The Life of Our Lord (1846), a book about the life of Christ, written with the purpose of sharing his faith with his children and family. In a scene from David Copperfield, Dickens echoed Geoffrey Chaucer's use of Luke 23:34 from Troilus and Criseyde (Dickens held a copy in his library), with G. K. Chesterton writing, "among the great canonical English authors, Chaucer and Dickens have the most in common."
Dickens disapproved of Roman Catholicism and 19th-century evangelicalism, seeing both as extremes of Christianity and likely to limit personal expression, and was critical of what he saw as the hypocrisy of religious institutions and philosophies like spiritualism, all of which he considered deviations from the true spirit of Christianity, as shown in the book he wrote for his family in 1846. While Dickens advocated equal rights for Catholics in England, he strongly disliked how individual civil liberties were often threatened in countries where Catholicism predominated and referred to the Catholic Church as "that curse upon the world."Middle years
reaches Canterbury, from David Copperfield. The character incorporates many elements of Dickens's own life. Artwork by Frank Reynolds.]]
In December 1845, Dickens took up the editorship of the London-based Daily News, a liberal paper through which Dickens hoped to advocate, in his own words, "the Principles of Progress and Improvement, of Education and Civil and Religious Liberty and Equal Legislation." Among the other contributors Dickens chose to write for the paper were the radical economist Thomas Hodgskin and the social reformer Douglas William Jerrold, who frequently attacked the Corn Laws. Dickens lasted only ten weeks on the job before resigning due to a combination of exhaustion and frustration with one of the paper's co-owners. During his visit to Paris, Dickens met the French literati Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Eugène Scribe, Théophile Gautier, François-René de Chateaubriand and Eugène Sue. It was Dickens's personal favourite among his novels, as he wrote in the preface to the 1867 edition. His collection of letters, of which more than 14,000 are known, covered a wide range of subject-matter. Letters during this period included a correspondence with Mary Tyler, dated 6 November 1849, on the comedic merits of Punch and Judy, a puppet show dominated by the anarchic clowning of Mr. Punch, and his review of the Great Exhibition, the first in a series of world's fairs, which he attended at Hyde Park, London in 1851.
of Chesney Wold, the Lincolnshire estate in Bleak House]]
In November 1851, Dickens moved into Tavistock House where he wrote Bleak House (1852–53), Hard Times (1854) and Little Dorrit (1855–57). A work of Gothic fiction depicting London as a murky city swathed in fog, Bleak House is credited with introducing urban fog to the novel, which would become a frequent characteristic of urban Gothic literature and film. Reflecting the public enthusiasm for dinosaurs that first developed in Victorian England, the opening of Bleak House contains an early mention of dinosaurs in literature: "it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill".
While at Tavistock Dickens indulged in amateur theatricals, and he worked closely with the novelist and playwright Wilkie Collins. In 1856, his income from writing allowed him to buy Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent. As a child, Dickens had walked past the house and dreamed of living in it. The area was also the scene of some of the events of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 and this literary connection pleased him.
During this time Dickens was also the publisher, editor and a major contributor to the journals Household Words (1850–1859) and All the Year Round (1858–1870), with both titles deriving from a Shakespearean quotation. The journals contained a mix of fiction and non-fiction, and dealt with aspects in the culture. For example, the latter included Dickens' assessment of Madame Tussauds, a wax museum established in Baker Street in 1835, which he called "something more than an exhibition, it is an institution." In 1854, at the behest of Sir John Franklin's widow Lady Jane, Dickens viciously attacked Arctic explorer John Rae in Household Words for his report to the Admiralty, based on interviews with local Inuit, that the members of Franklin's lost expedition had resorted to cannibalism. These attacks would later be expanded on his 1856 play The Frozen Deep, which satirises Rae and the Inuit. Twentieth-century archaeology work in King William Island later confirmed that the members of the Franklin expedition resorted to cannibalism.
in Tavistock Square, London where Dickens lived between 1851 and 1860]]
In 1855, when Dickens's good friend and Liberal MP Austen Henry Layard formed an Administrative Reform Association to demand significant reforms of Parliament, Dickens joined and volunteered his resources in support of Layard's cause. With the exception of Lord John Russell, who was the only leading politician in whom Dickens had any faith and to whom he later dedicated A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens believed that the political aristocracy and their incompetence were the death of England. When he and Layard were accused of fomenting class conflict, Dickens replied that the classes were already in opposition and the fault was with the aristocratic class. Dickens used his pulpit in Household Words to champion the Reform Association. Dickens also published dozens of writings in Household Words supporting vaccination, including multiple laudations for vaccine pioneer Edward Jenner.
Following the Indian Mutiny of 1857, Dickens joined in the widespread criticism of the East India Company for its role in the event, but reserved his fury for Indians, wishing that he was the commander-in-chief in India so that he would be able to "do my utmost to exterminate the Race upon whom the stain of the late cruelties rested."
(pictured in 1858) drew the attention of Dickens after he saw her on stage in 1857.]]
In 1857, Dickens hired professional actresses for The Frozen Deep, which he and his protégé Wilkie Collins had written. Dickens fell in love with one of the actresses, Ellen Ternan, and this passion was to last the rest of his life. In 1858, when Dickens was 45 and Ternan 18, divorce would have been scandalous for someone of his fame. After publicly accusing Catherine of not loving their children and suffering from "a mental disorder"—statements that disgusted his contemporaries, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning—Dickens attempted to have Catherine institutionalised. When his scheme failed, they separated. Catherine left, never to see her husband again, taking with her one child. Her sister Georgina, who stayed at Gads Hill, raised the other children.
During this period, whilst pondering a project to give public readings for his own profit, Dickens was approached through a charitable appeal by Great Ormond Street Hospital to help it survive its first major financial crisis. His "Drooping Buds" essay in Household Words earlier on 3 April 1852 was considered by the hospital's founders to have been the catalyst for the hospital's success. Dickens, whose philanthropy was well-known, was asked by his friend, the hospital's founder Charles West, to preside over the appeal, and he threw himself into the task, heart and soul. Dickens's public readings secured sufficient funds for an endowment to put the hospital on a sound financial footing; one reading on 9 February 1858 alone raised £3,000.
After separating from Catherine, Dickens undertook a series of popular and remunerative reading tours which, together with his journalism, were to absorb most of his creative energies for the next decade, in which he was to write only two novels. His first reading tour, lasting from April 1858 to February 1859, consisted of 129 appearances in 49 towns throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. Dickens's continued fascination with the theatrical world was written into the theatre scenes in Nicholas Nickleby, and he found an outlet in public readings. In 1866, he undertook a series of public readings in England and Scotland, with more the following year in England and Ireland.
pub in Fleet Street, London. He included the venue in A Tale of Two Cities.]]
Other works soon followed, including A Tale of Two Cities (1859) and Great Expectations (1861), which were resounding successes. Set in London and Paris, A Tale of Two Cities is his best-known work of historical fiction and includes the famous opening sentence "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." It is regularly touted as one of the best-selling novels of all time. Themes in Great Expectations include wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and the eventual triumph of good over evil.
In early September 1860, in a field behind Gads Hill, Dickens made a bonfire of most of his correspondence; he spared only letters on business matters. Since Ellen Ternan also destroyed all of his letters to her, the extent of the affair between the two remains speculative. In the 1930s, Thomas Wright recounted that Ternan had unburdened herself to a Canon Benham and gave currency to rumours they had been lovers. Dickens's daughter, Kate Perugini, stated that the two had a son who died in infancy to biographer Gladys Storey in an interview before the former's death in 1929. Storey published her account in Dickens and Daughter, though no contemporary evidence was given. On his death, Dickens settled an annuity on Ternan which made her financially independent. Claire Tomalin's book The Invisible Woman argues that Ternan lived with Dickens secretly for the last 13 years of his life. The book was turned into a play, Little Nell, by Simon Gray, and a 2013 film. During the same period, Dickens furthered his interest in the paranormal, becoming one of the early members of The Ghost Club in London. In Christmas Eve of 1862, a theatrical production of his novella, ''The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain'', saw the first public demonstration of "Pepper's ghost"—a method of projecting the illusion of a ghost into a theatre (named after its developer John Henry Pepper)—which caused a sensation among those in attendance at the Regent Street theatre.
In June 1862, he was offered £10,000 for a reading tour of Australia. He was enthusiastic, and even planned a travel book, The Uncommercial Traveller Upside Down, but ultimately decided against the tour. Two of his sons, Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens and Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens, migrated to Australia, Edward becoming a member of the Parliament of New South Wales as Member for Wilcannia between 1889 and 1894.
Later life
1866, by Ernest Edwards
}}
On 9 June 1865, while returning from Paris with Ellen Ternan, Dickens was involved in the Staplehurst rail crash in Kent. The train's first seven carriages plunged off a cast iron bridge that was under repair and ten passengers were killed. The only first-class carriage to remain on the track—which was left hanging precariously off the bridge—was the one in which Dickens was travelling. For three hours before rescuers arrived, Dickens tended and comforted the wounded and the dying with a flask of brandy and a hat refreshed with water.
Dickens later used the experience of the crash as material for his short ghost story, "The Signal-Man", in which the central character has a premonition of his own death in a rail crash. He also based the story on several previous rail accidents, such as the Clayton Tunnel rail crash in Sussex of 1861. Dickens managed to avoid an appearance at the inquest to avoid disclosing that he had been travelling with Ternan and her mother, which would have caused a scandal. After the crash, Dickens was nervous when travelling by train and would use alternative means when available. In 1868 he wrote, "I have sudden vague rushes of terror, even when riding in a hansom cab, which are perfectly unreasonable but quite insurmountable." Dickens's son, Henry, recalled, "I have seen him sometimes in a railway carriage when there was a slight jolt. When this happened he was almost in a state of panic and gripped the seat with both hands." On 9 November 1867, over two years after the war, Dickens set sail from Liverpool for his second American reading tour. Landing in Boston, he devoted the rest of the month to a round of dinners with such notables as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his American publisher, James T. Fields. In early December, the readings began. He performed 76 readings, netting £19,000, from December 1867 to April 1868. Dickens shuttled between Boston and New York, where he gave 22 readings at Steinway Hall. Although he had started to suffer from what he called the "true American catarrh", he kept to a schedule that would have challenged a much younger man, even managing to squeeze in some sleighing in Central Park.
During his travels, he saw a change in the people and the circumstances of America. His final appearance was at a banquet the American Press held in his honour at Delmonico's on 18 April, when he promised never to denounce America again. By the end of the tour Dickens could hardly manage solid food, subsisting on champagne and eggs beaten in sherry. On 23 April he boarded the Cunard liner to return to Britain, barely escaping a federal tax lien against the proceeds of his lecture tour.Farewell readings
dated 4 February 1869, two months before he had a mild stroke]]
In 1868–69, Dickens gave a series of "farewell readings" in England, Scotland and Ireland, beginning on 6 October. He managed, of a contracted 100 readings, to give 75 in the provinces, with a further 12 in London. He collapsed on 22 April 1869, at Preston, Lancashire; on doctor's advice, the tour was cancelled. After further provincial readings were cancelled, he began work on his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Described as a "dark and gothic" tale, his unfinished novel focuses on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a drug-addicted choirmaster. It was fashionable in the 1860s to 'do the slums' and, in company, Dickens visited opium dens in Shadwell in the East End of London, where he witnessed an elderly addict called "Laskar Sal", who formed the model for "Opium Sal" in Edwin Drood.
After Dickens regained enough strength, he arranged, with medical approval, for a final series of readings to partly make up to his sponsors what they had lost due to his illness. There were 12 performances, on 11 January to 15 March 1870; the last at 8:00pm at St. James's Hall, London. Though in grave health by then, he read A Christmas Carol and The Trial from Pickwick. On 2 May, he made his last public appearance at a Royal Academy banquet in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, paying a special tribute on the death of his friend, illustrator Daniel Maclise.Death
On 8 June 1870, Dickens had another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness. The next day, he died at Gads Hill Place. Biographer Claire Tomalin has suggested Dickens was actually in Peckham when he had had the stroke and his mistress Ellen Ternan and her maids had him taken back to Gads Hill so that the public would not know the truth about their relationship. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner", he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads:
A letter from Dickens to the Clerk of the Privy Council in March indicates he had been offered and accepted a baronetcy, which was not gazetted before his death. His last words were "On the ground" in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down..|group"nb"}} On Sunday, 19 June 1870, five days after Dickens was buried in the Abbey, Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley delivered a memorial elegy, lauding "the genial and loving humorist whom we now mourn", for showing by his own example "that even in dealing with the darkest scenes and the most degraded characters, genius could still be clean, and mirth could be innocent". Pointing to the fresh flowers that adorned the novelist's grave, Stanley assured those present that "the spot would thenceforth be a sacred one with both the New World and the Old, as that of the representative of literature, not of this island only, but of all who speak our English tongue."
In his will, drafted more than a year before his death, Dickens left the care of his £80,000 estate (£}} in ) to his long-time colleague John Forster and his "best and truest friend" Georgina Hogarth who, along with Dickens's two sons, also received a tax-free sum of £8,000 (equivalent to £}} in ). He confirmed his wife Catherine's annual allowance
of £600 (£}} in ). He bequeathed £19 19s (£}} in ) to each servant in his employment at the time of his death.Literary style
in London. Dickens set the Gothic novel in an urban environment.]]
Dickens's approach to the novel is influenced by various things, including the picaresque novel tradition, melodrama and the novel of sensibility. According to Ackroyd, other than these, perhaps the most important literary influence on him was derived from the fables of The Arabian Nights. Satire and irony are central to the picaresque novel. Comedy is also an aspect of the British picaresque novel tradition of Laurence Sterne, Henry Fielding and Tobias Smollett. Fielding's Tom Jones was a major influence on the 19th-century novelist including Dickens, who read it in his youth and named a son Henry Fielding Dickens after him. Influenced by Gothic fiction—a literary genre that began with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole—Dickens incorporated Gothic imagery, settings and plot devices in his works. Victorian gothic moved from castles and abbeys into contemporary urban environments: in particular London, such as Dickens's Oliver Twist and Bleak House. The jilted bride Miss Havisham from Great Expectations is one of Dickens's best-known gothic creations; living in a ruined mansion, her bridal gown effectively doubles as her funeral shroud.
No other writer had such a profound influence on Dickens as William Shakespeare. On Dickens's veneration of Shakespeare, Alfred Harbage wrote in A Kind of Power: The Shakespeare-Dickens Analogy (1975) that "No one is better qualified to recognise literary genius than a literary genius". In 1838, Dickens travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon and visited the house in which Shakespeare was born, leaving his autograph in the visitors' book. Dickens would draw on this experience in his next work, Nicholas Nickleby (1838–39), expressing the strength of feeling experienced by visitors to Shakespeare's birthplace: the character Mrs Wititterly states, "I don't know how it is, but after you've seen the place and written your name in the little book, somehow or other you seem to be inspired; it kindles up quite a fire within one."
from Oliver Twist. His dialect is rooted in Cockney English.]]
Dickens's writing style is marked by a profuse linguistic creativity. Satire, flourishing in his gift for caricature, is his forte. An early reviewer compared him to the artist and social critic Hogarth for his keen practical sense of the ludicrous side of life, though his acclaimed mastery of varieties of class idiom may in fact mirror the conventions of contemporary popular theatre. Dickens worked intensively on developing arresting names for his characters that would reverberate with associations for his readers and assist the development of motifs in the storyline, giving what one critic calls an "allegorical impetus" to the novels' meanings. His literary style is also a mixture of fantasy and realism. His satires of British aristocratic snobbery—he calls one character the "Noble Refrigerator"—are often popular. Comparing orphans to stocks and shares, people to tug boats or dinner-party guests to furniture are just some of Dickens's acclaimed flights of fancy. On his ability to elicit a response from his works, English screenwriter Sarah Phelps writes, "He knew how to work an audience and how to get them laughing their heads off one minute or on the edge of their seats and holding their breath the next. The other thing about Dickens is that he loved telling stories and he loved his characters, even those horrible, mean-spirited ones."
The author worked closely with his illustrators, supplying them with a summary of the work at the outset and thus ensuring that his characters and settings were exactly how he envisioned them. He briefed the illustrator on plans for each month's instalment so that work could begin before he wrote them. Marcus Stone, illustrator of Our Mutual Friend, recalled that the author was always "ready to describe down to the minutest details the personal characteristics, and ... life-history of the creations of his fancy". Dickens employs Cockney English in many of his works, denoting working-class Londoners. Cockney grammar appears in terms such as ain't, and consonants in words are frequently omitted, as in 'ere (here) and wot (what). An example of this usage is in Oliver Twist. The Artful Dodger uses cockney slang which is juxtaposed with Oliver's 'proper' English, when the Dodger repeats Oliver saying "seven" with "sivin".
Characters
, portraying Dickens at his desk at Gads Hill Place surrounded by many of his characters]]
Dickens's biographer Claire Tomalin regards him as the greatest creator of character in English fiction after Shakespeare.
Dickensian characters are amongst the most memorable in English literature, especially so because of their typically whimsical names. The likes of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley and Bob Cratchit (A Christmas Carol); Oliver Twist, The Artful Dodger, Fagin and Bill Sikes (Oliver Twist); Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella and Abel Magwitch (Great Expectations); Sydney Carton, Charles Darnay and Madame Defarge (A Tale of Two Cities); David Copperfield, Uriah Heep and Mr Micawber (David Copperfield); Daniel Quilp and Nell Trent (The Old Curiosity Shop), Samuel Pickwick and Sam Weller (The Pickwick Papers); and Wackford Squeers (Nicholas Nickleby) are so well known as to be part and parcel of popular culture, and in some cases have passed into ordinary language: a scrooge, for example, is a miser or someone who dislikes Christmas festivity.
(from the 1914 book ''In Dickens's London) which Nancy crossed in Oliver Twist'']]
His characters were often so memorable that they took on a life of their own outside his books. "Gamp" became a slang expression for an umbrella from the character Mrs Gamp, and "Pickwickian", "Pecksniffian" and "Gradgrind" all entered dictionaries due to Dickens's original portraits of such characters who were, respectively, quixotic, hypocritical and vapidly factual. The character that made Dickens famous, Sam Weller became known for his Wellerisms—one-liners that turn proverbs on their heads. just as Mr Micawber is constructed from aspects of his father's 'rhetorical exuberance'; Harold Skimpole in Bleak House is based on James Henry Leigh Hunt; his wife's dwarfish chiropodist recognised herself in Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield. Perhaps Dickens's impressions on his meeting with Hans Christian Andersen informed the delineation of Uriah Heep (a term synonymous with sycophant).
Virginia Woolf maintained that "we remodel our psychological geography when we read Dickens" as he produces "characters who exist not in detail, not accurately or exactly, but abundantly in a cluster of wild yet extraordinarily revealing remarks". T. S. Eliot wrote that Dickens "excelled in character; in the creation of characters of greater intensity than human beings". One "character" vividly drawn throughout his novels is London itself. Dickens described London as a magic lantern, inspiring the places and people in many of his novels. Walking the streets (particularly around London) formed an integral part of his writing life, stoking his creativity. Dickens was known to regularly walk at least a dozen miles (19 km) per day, and once wrote, "If I couldn't walk fast and far, I should just explode and perish."
Autobiographical elements
from the novel David Copperfield, which is widely regarded as Dickens's most autobiographical work]]
Authors frequently draw their portraits of characters from people they have known in real life. David Copperfield is regarded by many as a veiled autobiography of Dickens. The scenes of interminable court cases and legal arguments in Bleak House reflect Dickens's experiences as a law clerk and court reporter, and in particular his direct experience of the law's procedural delay during 1844 when he sued publishers in Chancery for breach of copyright. Dickens's father was sent to prison for debt, and this became a common theme in many of his books, with the detailed depiction of life in the Marshalsea prison in Little Dorrit resulting from Dickens's own experiences of the institution. Lucy Stroughill, a childhood sweetheart, may have affected several of Dickens's portraits of girls such as Little Em'ly in David Copperfield and Lucie Manette in A Tale of Two Cities.
Dickens may have drawn on his childhood experiences, but he was also ashamed of them and would not reveal that this was where he gathered his realistic accounts of squalor. Very few knew the details of his early life until six years after his death, when John Forster published a biography on which Dickens had collaborated. Though Skimpole brutally sends up Leigh Hunt, some critics have detected in his portrait features of Dickens's own character, which he sought to exorcise by self-parody.Episodic writing
from December 1860 to August 1861. The advert contains the plot device "to be continued".]]
A pioneer of the serial publication of narrative fiction, Dickens wrote most of his major novels in monthly or weekly instalments in journals such as Master Humphrey's Clock and Household Words, later reprinted in book form. His instalment format inspired a narrative that he would explore and develop throughout his career, and the regular cliffhangers made each new episode widely anticipated. Dickens was able to incorporate this episodic writing style but still end up with a coherent novel at the end. He wrote, "The thing has to be planned for presentation in these fragments, and yet for afterwards fusing together as an uninterrupted whole."
Another important impact of Dickens's episodic writing style resulted from his exposure to the opinions of his readers and friends. His friend Forster had a significant hand in reviewing his drafts, an influence that went beyond matters of punctuation; he toned down melodramatic and sensationalist exaggerations, cut long passages (such as the episode of Quilp's drowning in The Old Curiosity Shop), and made suggestions about plot and character. It was he who suggested that Charley Bates should be redeemed in Oliver Twist. Dickens had not thought of killing Little Nell and it was Forster who advised him to entertain this possibility as necessary to his conception of the heroine. When in 1863 Jewish English reader Eliza Davis wrote to rebuke him for having "encouraged a vile prejudice against the despised Hebrew" with the character of Fagin in Oliver Twist, Dickens halted the second printing of the novel and made some changes to the original 1837 text. He also created a group of sympathetic Jewish characters in his next novel, Our Mutual Friend, published 1864–1865.
At the helm in popularising cliffhangers and serial publications in Victorian literature, Dickens's influence can also be seen in television soap operas and film series, with The Guardian stating that "the DNA of Dickens's busy, episodic storytelling, delivered in instalments and rife with cliffhangers and diversions, is traceable in everything." His serialisation of his novels also drew comments from other writers. In Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Wrecker, Captain Nares, investigating an abandoned ship, remarked: "See! They were writing up the log," said Nares, pointing to the ink-bottle. "Caught napping, as usual. I wonder if there ever was a captain yet that lost a ship with his log-book up to date? He generally has about a month to fill up on a clean break, like Charles Dickens and his serial novels."
Social commentary
(left) from Martin Chuzzlewit became a stereotype of untrained and incompetent nurses of the early Victorian era, before the reforms of Florence Nightingale.]]
Dickens's novels were, among other things, works of social commentary. Simon Callow states, "From the moment he started to write, he spoke for the people, and the people loved him for it." He was a fierce critic of the poverty and social stratification of Victorian society. In a New York address, he expressed his belief that "Virtue shows quite as well in rags and patches as she does in purple and fine linen". Dickens's second novel, Oliver Twist (1839), shocked readers with its images of poverty and crime: it challenged middle class polemics about criminals, making impossible any pretence to ignorance about what poverty entailed. Today, Dickensian is a term applied to insanitary social conditions or grim institutions akin to those denounced by Dickens in his work, with Oxford professor Peter Conrad writing, "Dickens, like Banksy, writes blackly prophetic graffiti on the wall."
At a time when Britain was the major economic and political power of the world, Dickens highlighted the life of the forgotten poor and disadvantaged within society. Through his journalism he campaigned on specific issues—such as sanitation and the workhouse—but his fiction probably demonstrated its greatest prowess in changing public opinion in regard to class inequalities. He often depicted the exploitation and oppression of the poor and condemned the public officials and institutions that not only allowed such abuses to exist, but flourished as a result. His most strident indictment of this condition is in Hard Times (1854), Dickens's only novel-length treatment of the industrial working class. In this work, he uses vitriol and satire to illustrate how this marginalised social stratum was termed "Hands" by the factory owners; that is, not really "people" but rather only appendages of the machines they operated. His writings inspired others, in particular journalists and political figures, to address such problems of class oppression. For example, the prison scenes in The Pickwick Papers are claimed to have been influential in having the Fleet Prison shut down. Karl Marx asserted that Dickens "issued to the world more political and social truths than have been uttered by all the professional politicians, publicists and moralists put together". George Bernard Shaw even remarked that Great Expectations was more seditious than Marx's Das Kapital.
It has been argued that his technique of flooding his narratives with an 'unruly superfluity of material' that, in the gradual dénouement, yields up an unsuspected order, influenced the organisation of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.Literary techniquesDickens is often described as using idealised characters and highly sentimental scenes to contrast with his caricatures and the ugly social truths he reveals. The story of Nell Trent in The Old Curiosity Shop'' (1841) was received as extremely moving by contemporary readers but viewed as ludicrously sentimental by Oscar Wilde. "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell", he said in a famous remark, "without dissolving into tears ... of laughter." G. K. Chesterton stated, "It is not the death of little Nell, but the life of little Nell, that I object to", arguing that the maudlin effect of his description of her life owed much to the gregarious nature of Dickens's grief, his "despotic" use of people's feelings to move them to tears in works like this.
The question as to whether Dickens belongs to the tradition of the sentimental novel is debatable. Valerie Purton, in her book Dickens and the Sentimental Tradition, sees him continuing aspects of this tradition, and argues that his "sentimental scenes and characters [are] as crucial to the overall power of the novels as his darker or comic figures and scenes", and that "Dombey and Son is [ ... ] Dickens's greatest triumph in the sentimentalist tradition". The Encyclopædia Britannica online comments that, despite "patches of emotional excess", such as the reported death of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol (1843), "Dickens cannot really be termed a sentimental novelist".
In Oliver Twist, Dickens provides readers with an idealised portrait of a boy so inherently and unrealistically good that his values are never subverted by either brutal orphanages or coerced involvement in a gang of young pickpockets. While later novels also centre on idealised characters (Esther Summerson in Bleak House and Amy Dorrit in Little Dorrit), this idealism serves only to highlight Dickens's goal of poignant social commentary. Dickens's fiction, reflecting what he believed to be true of his own life, makes frequent use of coincidence, either for comic effect or to emphasise the idea of providence. For example, Oliver Twist turns out to be the lost nephew of the upper-class family that rescues him from the dangers of the pickpocket group. Such coincidences are a staple of 18th-century picaresque novels, such as Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, which Dickens enjoyed reading as a youth.
Reputation
and Tennyson, on a stained glass window at the Ottawa Public Library, Ottawa, Canada]]
Dickens was the most popular novelist of his time, and remains one of the best-known and most-read of English authors. His works have never gone out of print, and have been adapted continually for the screen since the invention of cinema, with at least 200 motion pictures and TV adaptations based on Dickens's works documented. Many of his works were adapted for the stage during his own lifetime—early productions included The Haunted Man which was performed in the West End's Adelphi Theatre in 1848—and, as early as 1901, the British silent film ''Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost'' was made by Walter R. Booth. Contemporaries such as publisher Edward Lloyd cashed in on Dickens's popularity with cheap imitations of his novels, resulting in his own popular 'penny dreadfuls'.
Dickens created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest British novelist of the Victorian era. The Spectator called Bleak House "a heavy book to read through at once ... dull and wearisome as a serial"; Richard Simpson, in The Rambler, characterised Hard Times as "this dreary framework"; Fraser's Magazine thought Little Dorrit'' "decidedly the worst of his novels". All the same, despite these "increasing reservations amongst reviewers and the chattering classes, 'the public never deserted its favourite. Dickens's popular reputation remained unchanged, sales continued to rise, and Household Words and later All the Year Round were highly successful. Juliet John backed the claim for Dickens "to be called the first self-made global media star of the age of mass culture". Comparing his reception at public readings to those of a contemporary pop star—the BBC compared his reception in the US to The Beatles—The Guardian states, "People sometimes fainted at his shows. His performances even saw the rise of that modern phenomenon, the 'speculator' or ticket tout (scalpers)—the ones in New York City escaped detection by borrowing respectable-looking hats from the waiters in nearby restaurants."
Among fellow writers, there was a range of opinions on Dickens. Poet laureate, William Wordsworth (1770–1850), thought him a "very talkative, vulgar young person", adding he had not read a line of his work, while novelist George Meredith (1828–1909), found Dickens "intellectually lacking". In 1888, Leslie Stephen commented in the Dictionary of National Biography that "if literary fame could be safely measured by popularity with the half-educated, Dickens must claim the highest position among English novelists". Anthony Trollope's Autobiography famously declared Thackeray, not Dickens, to be the greatest novelist of the age. However, both Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky were admirers. Dostoyevsky commented: "We understand Dickens in Russia, I am convinced, almost as well as the English, perhaps even with all the nuances. It may well be that we love him no less than his compatriots do. And yet how original is Dickens, and how very English!" Tolstoy referred to David Copperfield as his favourite book, and he later adopted the novel as "a model for his own autobiographical reflections". French writer Jules Verne called Dickens his favourite writer, writing his novels "stand alone, dwarfing all others by their amazing power and felicity of expression". Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh was inspired by Dickens's novels in several of his paintings, such as ''Vincent's Chair, and in an 1889 letter to his sister stated that reading Dickens, especially A Christmas Carol, was one of the things that was keeping him from committing suicide. Oscar Wilde generally disparaged his depiction of character, while admiring his gift for caricature. Henry James denied him a premier position, calling him "the greatest of superficial novelists": Dickens failed to endow his characters with psychological depth, and the novels, "loose baggy monsters", betrayed a "cavalier organisation". Joseph Conrad described his own childhood in bleak Dickensian terms, noting he had "an intense and unreasoning affection" for Bleak House dating back to his boyhood. The novel influenced his own gloomy portrait of London in The Secret Agent (1907).
(1968), an adaptation of Oliver Twist and one of over 200 works based on Dickens's novels]]
Around 1940–41, the attitude of the literary critics began to warm towards Dickens—led by George Orwell in Inside the Whale and Other Essays (March 1940), Edmund Wilson in The Wound and the Bow (1941) and Humphry House in Dickens and His World. However, even in 1948, F. R. Leavis, in The Great Tradition, asserted that "the adult mind doesn't as a rule find in Dickens a challenge to an unusual and sustained seriousness"; Dickens was indeed a great genius, "but the genius was that of a great entertainer", though he later changed his opinion with Dickens the Novelist (1970, with Q. D. (Queenie) Leavis): "Our purpose", they wrote, "is to enforce as unanswerably as possible the conviction that Dickens was one of the greatest of creative writers". In 1944, Soviet film director and film theorist Sergei Eisenstein wrote an essay on Dickens's influence on cinema, such as cross-cutting—where two stories run alongside each other, as seen in novels such as Oliver Twist.
In the 1950s, "a substantial reassessment and re-editing of the works began, and critics found his finest artistry and greatest depth to be in the later novels: Bleak House, Little Dorrit and Great Expectations—and (less unanimously) in Hard Times and Our Mutual Friend". Dickens was among the favourite authors of Roald Dahl; the best-selling children's author would include three of Dickens's novels among those read by the title character in his 1988 novel Matilda. In 2005, Paul McCartney, an avid reader of Dickens, named Nicholas Nickleby his favourite novel. On Dickens he states, "I like the world that he takes me to. I like his words; I like the language", adding, "A lot of my stuff—it's kind of Dickensian." Screenwriter Jonathan Nolan's screenplay for The Dark Knight Rises (2012) was inspired by A Tale of Two Cities, with Nolan calling the depiction of Paris in the novel "one of the most harrowing portraits of a relatable, recognisable civilisation that completely folded to pieces". On 7 February 2012, the 200th anniversary of Dickens's birth, Philip Womack wrote in The Telegraph: "Today there is no escaping Charles Dickens. Not that there has ever been much chance of that before. He has a deep, peculiar hold upon us".
Legacy
statue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
Museums and festivals celebrating Dickens's life and works exist in many places with which Dickens was associated. These include the Charles Dickens Museum in London, the historic home where he wrote Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickleby; and the Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth, the house in which he was born. The original manuscripts of many of his novels, as well as printers' proofs, first editions and illustrations from the collection of Dickens's friend John Forster are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Dickens's will stipulated that no memorial be erected in his honour; nonetheless, a life-size bronze statue of Dickens entitled Dickens and Little Nell, cast in 1890 by Francis Edwin Elwell, stands in Clark Park in the Spruce Hill neighbourhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Another life-size statue of Dickens is located at Centennial Park in Sydney, Australia. In 1960 a bas-relief sculpture of Dickens, notably featuring characters from his books, was commissioned from sculptor Estcourt J Clack to adorn the office building built on the site of his former home at 1 Devonshire Terrace, London. In 2014, a life-size statue was unveiled near his birthplace in Portsmouth on the 202nd anniversary of his birth; this was supported by his great-great-grandsons, Ian and Gerald Dickens.
A Christmas Carol is most probably his best-known story, with frequent new adaptations. It is also the most-filmed of Dickens's stories, with many versions dating from the early years of cinema. According to the historian Ronald Hutton, the current state of the observance of Christmas is largely the result of a mid-Victorian revival of the holiday spearheaded by A Christmas Carol. Dickens catalysed the emerging Christmas as a family-centred festival of generosity, in contrast to the dwindling community-based and church-centred observations, as new middle-class expectations arose. Its archetypal figures (Scrooge, Tiny Tim, the Christmas ghosts) entered into Western cultural consciousness. "Merry Christmas", a prominent phrase from the tale, was popularised following the appearance of the story. The term Scrooge became a synonym for miser,<!-- already stated above --> and his exclamation "Bah! Humbug!'", a dismissal of the festive spirit, likewise gained currency as an idiom. The Victorian era novelist William Makepeace Thackeray called the book "a national benefit, and to every man and woman who reads it a personal kindness". The Charles Dickens School is a high school in Broadstairs, Kent. A theme park, Dickens World, was open in Chatham from 2007 to 2016. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2012, the Museum of London held the UK's first major exhibition on the author in 40 years. In 2002, Dickens was number 41 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. American literary critic Harold Bloom placed Dickens among the greatest Western writers of all time. In the 2003 UK survey The Big Read carried out by the BBC, five of Dickens's books were named in the Top 100.
Actors who have portrayed Dickens on screen include Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, Simon Callow, Dan Stevens and Ralph Fiennes, the latter playing the author in The Invisible Woman (2013) which depicts Dickens's alleged secret love affair with Ellen Ternan which lasted for thirteen years until his death in 1870.
Dickens and his publications have appeared on a number of postage stamps in countries including: the United Kingdom (1970, 1993, 2011 and 2012 issued by the Royal Mail—their 2012 collection marked the bicentenary of Dickens's birth), the Soviet Union (1962), Antigua, Barbuda, Botswana, Cameroon, Dubai, Fujairah, St Lucia and Turks and Caicos Islands (1970), St Vincent (1987), Nevis (2007), Alderney, Gibraltar, Jersey and Pitcairn Islands (2012), Austria (2013) and Mozambique (2014). In 1976, a crater on the planet Mercury was named in his honour.
In November 2018 it was reported that a previously lost portrait of a 31-year-old Dickens, by Margaret Gillies, had been found in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Gillies was an early supporter of women's suffrage and had painted the portrait in late 1843 when Dickens, aged 31, wrote A Christmas Carol. It was exhibited, to acclaim, at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1844. The Charles Dickens Museum is reported to have paid £180,000 for the portrait.
Works
Dickens published 15 major novels, several novellas, a large number of short stories (including a number of Christmas-themed stories), a handful of plays, and several non-fiction books.
Novels and novellas
Dickens's novels and novellas were initially published in weekly and monthly magazines, the novels in serial format, then reprinted in standard book formats.
* The Pickwick Papers (The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club; monthly serial, April 1836 to November 1837). Novel.
* Oliver Twist (The Adventures of Oliver Twist; monthly serial in ''Bentley's Miscellany, February 1837 to April 1839). Novel.
* Nicholas Nickleby (The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby; monthly serial, April 1838 to October 1839). Novel.
* The Old Curiosity Shop (weekly serial in Master Humphrey's Clock, April 1840 to November 1841). Novel.
* Barnaby Rudge (Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty; weekly serial in Master Humphrey's Clock, February to November 1841). Novel.
* Martin Chuzzlewit (The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit; monthly serial, January 1843 to July 1844). Novel.
* A Christmas Carol (A Christmas Carol in Prose: Being a Ghost-story of Christmas; 1843). Novella.
* The Chimes (The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells That Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In; 1844). Novella.
* The Cricket on the Hearth (The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home; 1845). Novella.
* Dombey and Son (Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation; monthly serial, October 1846 to April 1848). Novel.
* The Battle of Life (The Battle of Life: A Love Story; 1846). Novella.
* The Haunted Man (The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain: A Fancy for Christmas-time; 1848). Novella.
* David Copperfield (The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery [Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account]; monthly serial, May 1849 to November 1850). Novel.
* Bleak House (monthly serial, March 1852 to September 1853). Novel.
* Hard Times (Hard Times: For These Times; weekly serial in Household Words, 1 April 1854, to 12 August 1854). Novel.
* Little Dorrit (monthly serial, December 1855 to June 1857). Novel.
* A Tale of Two Cities (weekly serial in All the Year Round, 30 April 1859, to 26 November 1859). Novel.
* Great Expectations (weekly serial in All the Year Round, 1 December 1860 to 3 August 1861). Novel.
* Our Mutual Friend (monthly serial, May 1864 to November 1865). Novel.
* The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (monthly serial, April 1870 to September 1870). Novel. Left unfinished due to Dickens's death.
See also
* List of Dickensian characters
* Racism in the work of Charles Dickens
* Charles Dickens bibliography
*The Fraud by Zadie Smith
Notes
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Further reading
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* Bradbury, Nicola, ''Charles Dickens' Great Expectations'' (St. Martin's Press, 1990)
* Douglas-Fairhurst, Robert, "[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0674050037 Becoming Dickens 'The Invention of a Novelist], London: Harvard University Press, 2011
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* Johnson, Edgar, Charles Dickens: his tragedy and triumph, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1952. In two volumes.
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* Manning, Mick & Granström, Brita, Charles Dickens: Scenes From An Extraordinary Life, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2011.
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External links
Works
* [https://bookwise.io/author/charles-dickens Charles Dickens's works on Bookwise]
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* [http://www.bl.uk/people/charles-dickens Charles Dickens] at the British Library. .
Organisations and portals
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* [https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/?termscharles%20dickens&fieldtitle Charles Dickens on the Archives Hub]
* Archival material at [https://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/8625 Leeds University Library]
* [http://www.dickensfellowship.org/ The Dickens Fellowship], an international society dedicated to the study of Dickens and his Writings
* [http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb206-brothertoncollectionms19cdickens Correspondence of Charles Dickens, with related papers, ca. 1834–1955]
* [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_4078700 Finding aid to Charles Dickens papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.]
Museums
* [http://www.dickensmuseum.com/ Dickens Museum] Situated in a former Dickens House, 48 Doughty Street, London, WC1
* [http://www.charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/ Dickens Birthplace Museum] Old Commercial Road, Portsmouth
* [http://www.vam.ac.uk/dickens Victoria and Albert Museum] The V&A's collections relating to Dickens
Other
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* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/batchelder.00181 Charles Dickens's Traveling Kit] From the [https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/024.html John Davis Batchelder Collection] at the Library of Congress
* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/batchelder.55200.1 Charles Dickens's Walking Stick] From the [https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/024.html John Davis Batchelder Collection] at the Library of Congress
* Charles Dickens Collection: First editions of Charles Dickens's works included in the Leonard Kebler gift (dispersed in the Division's collection). From the [https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/ Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress]
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Category:Victorian short story writers | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.503618 |
5898 | Carabiner | }}
A carabiner or karabiner (), often shortened to biner or to crab, colloquially known as a (climbing) clip, is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notably in safety-critical systems. The word comes from the German , short for , meaning "carbine hook," as the device was used by carabiniers to attach their carbines to their belts.
Use
Carabiners are widely used in rope-intensive activities such as climbing, fall arrest systems, arboriculture, caving, sailing, hot-air ballooning, rope rescue, construction, industrial rope work, window cleaning, whitewater rescue, and acrobatics. They are predominantly made from both steel and aluminium. Those used in sports tend to be of a lighter weight than those used in commercial applications and rope rescue.
Often referred to as carabiner-style or as mini-carabiners, carabiner keyrings and other light-use clips of similar style and design have also become popular. Most are stamped with a "not for climbing" or similar warning due to a common lack of load-testing and safety standards in manufacturing.
While any metal link with a spring-loaded gate is technically a carabiner, the strict usage among the climbing community specifically refers only to devices manufactured and tested for load-bearing in safety-critical systems like rock and mountain climbing, typically rated to 20 kN or more.
Carabiners on hot-air balloons are used to connect the envelope to the basket and are rated at 2.5, 3, or 4 tonnes.
Load-bearing screw-gate carabiners are used to connect the diver's umbilical to the surface supplied diver's harness. They are usually rated for a safe working load of 5 kN or more (equivalent to a weight in excess of approximately 500 kg).
Types
Shape
Carabiners come in four characteristic shapes:
#Oval: Symmetric. Most basic and utilitarian. Smooth regular curves are gentle on equipment and allow easy repositioning of loads. Their greatest disadvantage is that a load is shared equally on both the strong solid spine and the weaker gated axis. Often preferred type for racking biners due to their symmetric shape.
#D: Asymmetric shape transfers the majority of the load on to the spine, the carabiner's strongest axis.
#Offset-D: Variant of a D with a greater asymmetry, allowing for a wider gate opening.
#Pear/HMS: Wider and rounder shape at the top than offset-D's, and typically larger. Used for belaying with a munter hitch, and with some types of belay device. The largest HMS carabiners can also be used for rappelling with a munter hitch (the size is needed to accommodate the hitch with two strands of rope). These are usually the heaviest carabiners.
Locking mechanisms
Carabiners fall into three broad locking categories: non-locking, manual locking, and auto locking.
Non-locking
Non-locking carabiners (or snap-links) have a sprung swinging gate that accepts a rope, webbing sling, or other hardware. Rock climbers frequently connect two non-locking carabiners with a short length of webbing to create a quickdraw (an extender).
Two gate types are common:
# Solid gate: The more traditional carabiner design, incorporating a solid metal gate with separate pin and spring mechanisms. Most modern carabiners feature a 'key-lock nose shape and gate opening, which is less prone to snagging than traditional notch and pin design. Most locking carabiners are based on the solid gate design.
# Wire gate: A single piece of bent spring-steel wire forms the gate. Wire gate carabiners are significantly lighter than solid gates, with roughly the same strength. Wire gates are less prone to icing up than solid gates, an advantage in Alpine mountaineering and ice climbing. The reduced gate mass makes their wire bales less prone to "gate flutter", a dangerous condition created when the carabiner suddenly impacts rock or other hard surfaces during a fall, and the gate opens momentarily due to momentum (and both lowers the breaking strength of the carabiner when open, and potentially allows the rope to escape). Simple wiregate designs feature a notch that can snag objects (similar to original solid gate designs), but newer designs feature a shroud or guide wires around the "hooked" part of the carabiner nose to prevent snagging.
Both solid and wire gate carabiners can be either "straight gate" or "bent gate". Bent-gate carabiners are easier to clip a rope into using only one hand, and so are often used for the rope-end carabiner of quickdraws and alpine draws used for lead climbing.
Locking
Locking carabiners have the same general shape as non-locking carabiners, but have an additional mechanism securing the gate to prevent unintentional opening during use. These mechanisms may be either threaded sleeves ("screw-lock"), spring-loaded sleeves ("twist-lock"), magnetic levers ("Magnetron"), other spring loaded unlocking levers or opposing double spring loaded gates ("twin-gate").
Manual
<!-- terget for redirect Screw gate carabiner -->
* Screw-lock (or screw gate): Have a threaded sleeve over the gate which must be engaged and disengaged manually. They have fewer moving parts than spring-loaded mechanisms, are less prone to malfunctioning due to contamination or component fatigue, and are easier to employ one-handed. They, however, require more total effort and are more time-consuming than pull-lock, twist-lock or lever-lock.
Auto-locking
and arborist work, where two lanyards and carabiners are used]]
* Twist-lock, push-lock, twist-and-push-lock: Have a security sleeve over the gate which must be manually rotated and/or pulled to disengage, but which springs automatically to locked position upon release. They offer the advantage of re-engaging without additional user input, but being spring-loaded are prone to both spring fatigue and their more complex mechanisms becoming balky from dirt, ice, or other contamination. They are also difficult to open one-handed and with gloves on, and sometimes jam, getting stuck after being tightened under load, and being very hard to undo once the load is removed.
* Multiple-levers: Having at least two spring loaded levers that are each operated with one hand.
* Magnetic: Have two small levers with embedded magnets on either side of the locking gate which must be pushed towards each other or pinched simultaneously to unlock. Upon release the levers pull shut and into the locked position against a small steel insert in the carabiner nose. With the gate open the magnets in the two levers repel each other so they do not lock or stick together, which might prevent the gate from closing properly. Advantages are very easy one-handed operation, re-engaging without additional user input and few mechanical parts that can fail.
*Double-Gate: Have two opposed overlapping gates at the opening which prevent a rope or anchor from inadvertently passing through the gate in either direction. Gates may only be opened by pushing outwards from in between towards either direction. The carabiner can therefore be opened by splitting the gates with a fingertip, allowing easy one hand operation. The likelihood of a rope under tension to split the gates is therefore practically none. The lack of a rotating lock prevents a rolling knot, such as the Munter hitch, from unlocking the gate and passing through, giving a measure of inherent safety in use and reducing mechanical complexity.
Certification
Europe
*Recreation: Carabiners sold for use in climbing in Europe must conform to standard EN 12275:1998 "Mountaineering equipment – Connectors – Safety requirements and test methods", which governs testing protocols, rated strengths, and markings. A breaking strength of at least 20 kN (20,000 newtons approximately 2040 kilograms of force which is significantly more than the weight of a small car) with the gate closed and 7 kN with the gate open is the standard for most climbing applications, although requirements vary depending on the activity. Carabiners are marked on the side with single letters showing their intended area of use, for example, K (via ferrata), B (base), and H (for belaying with an Italian or Munter hitch).
*Industry: Carabiners used for access in commercial and industrial environments within Europe must comply with EN 362:2004 "Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Connectors." The minimum gate closed breaking strength of a carabiner conforming with EN 362:2004 is nominally the same as that of EN 12275:1998 at around 20 kN. Carabiners complying with both EN 12275:1998 and EN 362:2004 are available.
United States
*Climbing and mountaineering: Minimum breaking strength (MBS) requirements and calculations for climbing and mountaineering carabiners in the USA are set out in ASTM Standard F1774. This standard calls for a MBS of 20 kN on the long axis, and 7 kN on the short axis (cross load).
*Rescue: Carabiners used for rescue are addressed in ASTM F1956. This document addresses two classifications of carabiners, light use and heavy-duty. Light use carabiners are the most widely used, and are commonly found in applications including technical rope rescue, mountain rescue, cave rescue, cliff rescue, military, SWAT, and even by some non-NFPA fire departments. ASTM requirements for light use carabiners are 27 kN MBS on the long axis, 7 kN on the short axis. Requirements for the lesser-used heavy duty rescue carabiners are 40 kN MBS long axis, 10.68 kN short axis.
*Fire rescue: Minimum breaking strength requirements and calculations for rescue carabiners used by NFPA compliant agencies are set out in National Fire Protection Association standard 1983-2012 edition Fire Service Life Safety Rope and Equipment. The standard defines two classes of rescue carabiners. Technical use rescue carabiners are required to have minimum breaking strengths of 27 kN gate closed, 7 kN gate open and 7 kN minor axis. General use rescue carabiners are required to have minimum breaking strengths of 40 kN gate closed, 11 kN gate open and 11 kN minor axis. Testing procedures for rescue carabiners are set out in ASTM International standard F 1956 Standard Specification of Rescue Carabiners.
*Fall protection: Carabiners used for fall protection in US industry are classified as "connectors" and are required to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard 1910.66 App C Personal Fall Arrest System which specifies "drop forged, pressed or formed steel, or made of equivalent materials" and a minimum breaking strength of .
American National Standards Institute/American Society of Safety Engineers standard ANSI Z359.1-2007 Safety Requirement for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems and Components, section 3.2.1.4 (for snap hooks and carabiners) is a voluntary consensus standard. This standard requires that all connectors/ carabiners support a minimum breaking strength (MBS) of and feature an auto-locking gate mechanism which supports a minimum breaking strength (MBS) of .
History
special forces logo]]
The first known hooks that had a sprung, hinged gate where the spring kept it closed (characteristics expected of a carabiner) were depicted by Nuremberg patrician in about 1505 in the Codex Löffelholz, in the Holy Roman Empire. These then became the clip used to hold a cavalry carbine or arquebus, with the earliest known mention of them being in 1616 by in the Holy Roman Empire. They were widely used in many European countries during the 17th century, for the British cavalry design. They were used for many other purposes during the 19th century, German and Austrian mountaineers started using them during the late 19th century, with a mention of their use from 1879, and their continued use for climbing by climbers in Saxon Switzerland. The majority used gourd shaped carabiners which were created for mining or other utility purposes. Bedayn crafted a smooth steel oval with a spring-operated lever opening (or "gate") and a rod-and-hook gate closure that imbeds in the carabiner body to prevent twisting, a design still in use today. Bedayn innovated the use of lighter aluminum when steel became scarce during the war. Early carabiners from Bedayn's commercial production efforts during the late 1940's - 1960's have "Bedayn California" or "Bedayn Calif." engraved on the gate or on one end of the oval. These were the first commercially produced carabiners designed specifically for climbing.
Later innovations included offset D-shaped carabiners and locking mechanisms. Rock climbers such as Yvon Chouinard were credited for ongoing evolutionary adaptions of the basic design - such as the "D shape" carabiner and locking features, which facilitated better safety and stability during climbs. Aluminium carabiners were first sold to the military in 1941, which were the first commercial carabiners designed specifically for climbing. Slightly offset D-shaped carabiners were sold in the late 1940s, which became the standard offset D-shape (which is now the most common) in the 1950s.<ref name="ukcavingmain" />
Chouinard Equipment introduced the 22 kN aluminium carabiner in 1968, though this strength had already been far surpassed by steel carabiners.<ref name"ukcavingmain" /> Wiregate carabiners were first patented in 1969, and were sold for maritime use.<ref name"ukcavingmain" /> They were first sold for climbing in 1996. The popular keylock, which avoids snagging, was developed around 1984–1987.<ref name"ukcavingmain" />See also
* Maillon
* Lobster clasp
* Rock-climbing equipment
* Glossary of climbing terms
References
External links
Category:Climbing equipment
Category:Caving equipment
Category:German inventions
Category:Mountaineering equipment
Category:Fasteners | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carabiner | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.533541 |
5899 | Continuity (fiction) | }}
In fiction, continuity is the consistency of the characteristics of people, plot, objects, and places seen by the audience over some period of time. It is relevant to many genres and forms of storytelling, especially if it is long-running.
Continuity is particularly a concern in the process of film and television production due to the difficulty in rectifying errors after filming ends. Continuity can also apply to other art forms, such as novels, comics, and video games, though usually on a smaller scale; it also applies to fiction used by persons, corporations, and governments in the public eye.
Most film and TV productions have a script supervisor on hand whose job is to pay attention to and attempt to maintain continuity across the chaotic and typically non-linear production schedule. It is an inconspicuous job because if done well, none may ever notice. The script supervisor gathers numerous paperwork, photographs, and other documentation which note a large quantity of detail for maintaining the continuity of the production; some of the gathered documents can be sometimes assembled into the story bible. The gathered information and photographs usually regard factors both within the scene and the technical details of the production, including meticulous records of camera positioning and equipment settings. Film-based Polaroid cameras were once standard but have since been replaced by digital cameras; all of this is, ideally, all related shots can match, due to filming being split up over months in different sets and locations.
In comic books, continuity has also come to mean a set of contiguous events, sometimes said to be "set in the same universe."
Continuity errors<!-- This section is linked from Futurama -->
's 1914 comedy short The Property Man. In the first frame, Chaplin's character is seen carrying a trunk through a door, holding his hat behind him. In the immediately subsequent shot from the other side of the door, he is wearing the hat.]]
Many continuity errors are subtle, such as minor changes between shots (like the level of drink in a glass or the length of a cigarette); these minor errors often remain due to relative indifference to the final cut. While minor errors are often unnoticed by the average viewer, other errors may be more noticeable, such as sudden drastic changes in the appearance of a character. Productions will aim to prevent such errors in continuity because they can affect the audience's suspension of disbelief.
In cinema, special attention must be paid to continuity because scenes are rarely shot in the order in which they appear in the final film. The shooting schedule is often dictated by location permit issues and other logistics. For example, a character may return to Times Square in New York City several times throughout a movie, but as it is extraordinarily expensive to close off Times Square, those scenes will likely be filmed all at once to reduce permit costs. Weather, the ambiance of natural light, cast and crew availability, or any number of other circumstances can also influence a shooting schedule.
Measures against continuity errors in the film
Film production companies use various techniques to prevent continuity errors. The first would be to film all the shots for a particular scene together and all shots of consecutive scenes together (if the scenes take place together, with no break between them in the film's timeline). This allows actors to remain in costume, in character, and in the same location (and with the same weather, if shooting on location).
The second major technique is for costume designers, production designers, prop masters, and make-up artists to take instant photographs of actors and sets at the beginning and end of each day's shooting (once made possible by Polaroid cameras, now done with digital cameras and cell phones as well). This allows the various workers to check each day's clothing, set, props, and make-up against a previous day's.
The third is to avoid shooting on location entirely but instead film everything on a studio set. This allows weather and lighting to be controlled (as the shooting is indoors), and for all clothing and sets to be stored in one place to be hauled out the next day from a secure location.
The advent of advanced CGI has helped alleviate the challenge of preventing continuity errors from reaching the final cut, as it is easier to "airbrush" the errant drink glass or cigarette than it once was, albeit still not necessarily trivial.
Editing errors
Editing errors can occur when a character in a scene references a scene or incident that has not occurred yet, or of which they should not yet be aware.
An example of an editing error can be seen in the film ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), where a scene of people climbing a slope at the start is seen from below and then replayed from above.
Visual errors
Visual errors are instant discontinuities occurring in visual media such as film and television. Items of clothing change colors, shadows get longer or shorter, items within a scene change place or disappear, etc.
One of the earliest examples of a visual error'' appears in Charlie Chaplin's 1914 movie The Property Man. Here, in a supposedly smooth step from one room to another, the Tramp loses his hat in one room, but it is instantly back on his head as he enters the next room. Rather "loose" plots and a lack of continuity editing made most early films rife with such errors.
Plot errors
A plot error, or a plot hole as it is commonly known, reflects a failure in the consistency of the created fictional world. A character might state he was an only child, yet later mention a sibling. In the TV show Cheers, Frasier Crane's wife Lilith mentions Frasier's parents are both dead, and, in another episode, Frasier himself claims his father to have been a scientist. When the character was spun off into Frasier, his father, a retired policeman named Martin, became a central character. Eventually, in an episode featuring Cheers star Ted Danson, the inconsistency was given the retroactive explanation that Frasier was embarrassed about his father's lowbrow attitudes and thus claimed his death. This is a frequent occurrence in sitcoms, where networks may agree to continue a show, but only if a certain character is emphasized, leading other minor characters to be written out of the show with no further mention of the character's existence, while the emphasized character (usually a breakout character, as in the case of Frasier Crane) develops a more complete back story that ignores previous, more simplified backstories.
Homeric nod
A Homeric nod (sometimes heard as 'Even Homer nods') is a term for a continuity error that has its origins in Homeric epic. The proverbial phrase for it was coined by the Roman poet Horace in his Ars Poetica: "et idem indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus" ("and yet I also become annoyed whenever the great Homer nods off").
There are numerous continuity errors in Homer that can be described as "nods", as for example:
*In Iliad, Menelaos kills a minor character, Pylaimenes, in combat. Pylaimenes is later still alive to witness the death of his son.
*In Iliad 9.165-93 three characters, Phoinix, Odysseus, and Aias set out on an embassy to Achilleus; however, at line 182 the poet uses a verb in the dual form to indicate that there are only two people going; at lines 185ff. verbs in the plural form are used, indicating more than two; but another dual verb appears at line 192 ("the two of them came forward").
In modern Homeric scholarship, many of Homer's "nods" are explicable as the consequences of the poem being retold and improvised by generations of oral poets. In the second case cited above, it is likely that two different versions are being conflated: one version with an embassy of three people, another with just two people.
Alexander Pope was inclined to give Homeric nods the benefit of the doubt, saying in his Essay on Criticism that "Those oft are Stratagems which Errors seem, Nor is it Homer Nods, but We that Dream."
Aging discrepancies
The practice of accelerating the age of a television character (usually a child or teenager) in conflict with the timeline of a series and/or the real-world progression of time is popularly known as Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome, or SORAS. Children unseen on screen for a time might reappear portrayed by an actor several years older than the original. Usually coinciding with a recast, this rapid aging is typically done to open up the character to a wider range of storylines, and to attract younger viewers.
Dealing with errors
When continuity mistakes have been made, explanations are often proposed by either writers or fans to smooth over discrepancies. Fans sometimes make up explanations for such errors that may or may not be integrated into canon; this has come to be colloquially known as fanwanking (a term originally coined by the author Craig Hinton to describe excessive use of continuity). Often when fans do not agree with one of the events in a story (such as the death of a favorite character), they will choose to ignore the event in question so that their enjoyment of the franchise is not diminished. When the holder of the intellectual property discards all existing continuity and starts from scratch, it is known as rebooting. Fans call a less extreme literary technique that erases one episode the reset button. See also fanon.
A conflict with previously established facts is sometimes deliberate; this is a retcon, as it is a retroactive change in continuity. Retcons sometimes clarify ambiguities or correct perceived errors. This is not to be confused with the continuance of a reality (continuality).
Ageless characters
Some fiction ignores continuity to allow characters to slow or stop the aging process, despite real-world markers like major social or technological changes. In comics this is sometimes referred to as a "floating timeline", where the fiction takes place in a "continuous present". Roz Kaveney suggests that comic books use this technique to satisfy "the commercial need to keep certain characters going forever". This is also due to the fact that the authors have no need to accommodate the aging of their characters, which is also typical of most animated television shows. Kevin Wanner compares the use of a sliding timescale in comics to the way ageless figures in myths are depicted interacting with the contemporary world of the storyteller. When certain stories in comics, especially origin stories, are rewritten, they often retain key events but are updated to a contemporary time, such as with the comic book character Tony Stark, who invents his Iron Man armor in a different war depending on when the story is told.
References
Further reading
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Category:Style (fiction)
Category:Narratology
Category:Phrases | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_(fiction) | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.557212 |
5902 | Capital punishment | Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.
Crimes that are punishable by death are known as capital crimes, capital offences, or capital felonies, and vary depending on the jurisdiction, but commonly include serious crimes against a person, such as murder, assassination, mass murder, child murder, aggravated rape, terrorism, aircraft hijacking, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, along with crimes against the state such as attempting to overthrow government, treason, espionage, sedition, and piracy. Also, in some cases, acts of recidivism, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping, in addition to drug trafficking, drug dealing, and drug possession, are capital crimes or enhancements. However, states have also imposed punitive executions, for an expansive range of conduct, for political or religious beliefs and practices, for a status beyond one's control, or without employing any significant due process procedures. As of 2021, 56 countries retain capital punishment, 111 countries have completely abolished it de jure for all crimes, 7 have abolished it for ordinary crimes (while maintaining it for special circumstances such as war crimes), and 24 are abolitionist in practice. Although the majority of countries have abolished capital punishment, over half of the world's population live in countries where the death penalty is retained, including India, China, the U.S., Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Vietnam, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia and DR Congo. As of 2023, only 2 out of 38 OECD member countries (the United States and Japan) allow capital punishment.
Capital punishment is controversial, with many people, organisations, and religious groups holding differing views on whether it is ethically permissible. Amnesty International declares that the death penalty breaches human rights, specifically "the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." In the European Union (EU), Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits the use of capital punishment. The Council of Europe, which has 46 member states, has worked to end the death penalty and no execution has taken place in its current member states since 1997. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted, throughout the years from 2007 to 2020, eight non-binding resolutions calling for a global moratorium on executions, with support for eventual abolition.History
about to be guillotined in France in 1894]]
Execution of criminals and dissidents has been used by nearly all societies since the beginning of civilisations on Earth. Until the nineteenth century, without developed prison systems, there was frequently no workable alternative to ensure deterrence and incapacitation of criminals. In pre-modern times the executions themselves often involved torture with painful methods, such as the breaking wheel, keelhauling, sawing, hanging, drawing and quartering, burning at the stake, crucifixion, flaying, slow slicing, boiling alive, impalement, mazzatello, blowing from a gun, schwedentrunk, and scaphism. Other methods which appear only in legend include the blood eagle and brazen bull.
The use of formal execution extends to the beginning of recorded history. Most historical records and various primitive tribal practices indicate that the death penalty was a part of their justice system. Communal punishments for wrongdoing generally included blood money compensation by the wrongdoer, corporal punishment, shunning, banishment and execution. In tribal societies, compensation and shunning were often considered enough as a form of justice. The response to crimes committed by neighbouring tribes, clans or communities included a formal apology, compensation, blood feuds, and tribal warfare.
A blood feud or vendetta occurs when arbitration between families or tribes fails, or an arbitration system is non-existent. This form of justice was common before the emergence of an arbitration system based on state or organized religion. It may result from crime, land disputes or a code of honour. "Acts of retaliation underscore the ability of the social collective to defend itself and demonstrate to enemies (as well as potential allies) that injury to property, rights, or the person will not go unpunished."
In most countries that practice capital punishment, it is now reserved for murder, terrorism, war crimes, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries, sexual crimes, such as rape, fornication, adultery, incest, sodomy, and bestiality carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as Hudud, Zina, and Qisas crimes, such as apostasy (formal renunciation of the state religion), blasphemy, moharebeh, hirabah, Fasad, Mofsed-e-filarz and witchcraft. In many countries that use the death penalty, drug trafficking and often drug possession is also a capital offence. In China, human trafficking and serious cases of corruption and financial crimes are punished by the death penalty. In militaries around the world, courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offences such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny.Ancient history
(1883). Roman Circus Maximus.]]
Elaborations of tribal arbitration of feuds included peace settlements often done in a religious context and compensation system. Compensation was based on the principle of substitution which might include material (for example, cattle, slaves, land) compensation, exchange of brides or grooms, or payment of the blood debt. Settlement rules could allow for animal blood to replace human blood, or transfers of property or blood money or in some case an offer of a person for execution. The person offered for execution did not have to be an original perpetrator of the crime because the social system was based on tribes and clans, not individuals. Blood feuds could be regulated at meetings, such as the Norsemen things. Systems deriving from blood feuds may survive alongside more advanced legal systems or be given recognition by courts (for example, trial by combat or blood money). One of the more modern refinements of the blood feud is the duel.
, woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld, 1860]]
In certain parts of the world, nations in the form of ancient republics, monarchies or tribal oligarchies emerged. These nations were often united by common linguistic, religious or family ties. Moreover, expansion of these nations often occurred by conquest of neighbouring tribes or nations. Consequently, various classes of royalty, nobility, various commoners and slaves emerged. Accordingly, the systems of tribal arbitration were submerged into a more unified system of justice which formalized the relation between the different "social classes" rather than "tribes". The earliest and most famous example is Code of Hammurabi which set the different punishment and compensation, according to the different class or group of victims and perpetrators. The Torah/Old Testament lays down the death penalty for murder, kidnapping, practicing magic, violation of the Sabbath, blasphemy, and a wide range of sexual crimes, although evidence suggests that actual executions were exceedingly rare, if they occurred at all.
A Peshotanu was a condemned person Ancient Persia.
A further example comes from Ancient Greece, where the Athenian legal system replacing customary oral law was first written down by Draco in about 621 BC: the death penalty was applied for a particularly wide range of crimes, though Solon later repealed Draco's code and published new laws, retaining capital punishment only for intentional homicide, and only with victim's family permission. The word draconian derives from Draco's laws. The Romans also used the death penalty for a wide range of offences.
Ancient Greece
(1787), in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City]]
Protagoras (whose thought is reported by Plato) criticised the principle of revenge, because once the damage is done it cannot be cancelled by any action. So, if the death penalty is to be imposed by society, it is only to protect the latter against the criminal or for a dissuasive purpose. "The only right that Protagoras knows is therefore human right, which, established and sanctioned by a sovereign collectivity, identifies itself with positive or the law in force of the city. In fact, it finds its guarantee in the death penalty which threatens all those who do not respect it."
Plato saw the death penalty as a means of purification, because crimes are a "defilement". Thus, in the Laws, he considered necessary the execution of the animal or the destruction of the object which caused the death of a man by accident. For the murderers, he considered that the act of homicide is not natural and is not fully consented by the criminal. Homicide is thus a disease of the soul, which must be reeducated as much as possible, and, as a last resort, sentence to death if no rehabilitation is possible.
According to Aristotle, for whom free will is proper to man, a person is responsible for their actions. If there was a crime, a judge must define the penalty allowing the crime to be annulled by compensating it. This is how pecuniary compensation appeared for criminals the least recalcitrant and whose rehabilitation is deemed possible. However, for others, he argued, the death penalty is necessary.
This philosophy aims on the one hand to protect society and on the other hand to compensate to cancel the consequences of the crime committed. It inspired Western criminal law until the 17th century, a time when the first reflections on the abolition of the death penalty appeared.Ancient RomeThe Twelve Tables, the body of laws handed down from archaic Rome, prescribe the death penalty for a variety of crimes including libel, arson and theft. During the Late Republic, there was consensus among the public and legislators to reduce the incidence of capital punishment. This opinion led to voluntary exile being prescribed in place of the death penalty, whereby a convict could either choose to leave in exile or face execution.
A historic debate, followed by a vote, took place in the Roman Senate to decide the fate of Catiline's allies when he attempted to seize power in December, 63 BC. Cicero, then Roman consul, argued in support of the killing of conspirators without judgment by decision of the Senate (Senatus consultum ultimum) and was supported by the majority of senators; among the minority voices opposed to the execution, the most notable was Julius Caesar. The custom was different for foreigners who did not hold rights as Roman citizens, and especially for slaves, who were transferrable property.
Crucifixion was a form of punishment first employed by the Romans against slaves who rebelled, and throughout the Republican era was reserved for slaves, bandits, and traitors. Intended to be a punishment, a humiliation, and a deterrent, the condemned could take up to a few days to die. Corpses of the crucified were typically left on the crosses to decompose and to be eaten by animals.
China
There was a time in the Tang dynasty (618–907) when the death penalty was abolished. This was in the year 747, enacted by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (r. 712–756). When abolishing the death penalty, Xuanzong ordered his officials to refer to the nearest regulation by analogy when sentencing those found guilty of crimes for which the prescribed punishment was execution. Thus, depending on the severity of the crime a punishment of severe scourging with the thick rod or of exile to the remote Lingnan region might take the place of capital punishment. However, the death penalty was restored only 12 years later in 759 in response to the An Lushan Rebellion. At this time in the Tang dynasty only the emperor had the authority to sentence criminals to execution. Under Xuanzong capital punishment was relatively infrequent, with only 24 executions in the year 730 and 58 executions in the year 736. A further form of execution called Ling Chi (slow slicing), or death by/of a thousand cuts, was used from the close of the Tang dynasty (around 900) to its abolition in 907.
When a minister of the fifth grade or above received a death sentence the emperor might grant him a special dispensation allowing him to commit suicide in lieu of execution. Even when this privilege was not granted, the law required that the condemned minister be provided with food and ale by his keepers and transported to the execution ground in a cart rather than having to walk there.
Nearly all executions under the Tang dynasty took place in public as a warning to the population. The heads of the executed were displayed on poles or spears. When local authorities decapitated a convicted criminal, the head was boxed and sent to the capital as proof of identity and that the execution had taken place.
In early modern Europe, a mass panic regarding witchcraft swept across Europe and later the European colonies in North America. During this period, there were widespread claims that malevolent Satanic witches were operating as an organised threat to Christendom. As a result, tens of thousands of women were prosecuted for witchcraft and executed through the witch trials of the early modern period (between the 15th and 18th centuries).
]]
The death penalty also targeted sexual offences such as sodomy. In the early history of Islam (7th–11th centuries), there is a number of "purported (but mutually inconsistent) reports" (athar) regarding the punishments of sodomy ordered by some of the early caliphs. Abu Bakr, the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, apparently recommended toppling a wall on the culprit, or else burning him alive, Other medieval Muslim leaders, such as the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad (most notably al-Mu'tadid), were often cruel in their punishments. In early modern England, the Buggery Act 1533 stipulated hanging as punishment for "buggery". James Pratt and John Smith were the last two Englishmen to be executed for sodomy in 1835. In 1636 the laws of Puritan governed Plymouth Colony included a sentence of death for sodomy and buggery. The Massachusetts Bay Colony followed in 1641. Throughout the 19th century, U.S. states repealed death sentences from their sodomy laws, with South Carolina being the last to do so in 1873.
Historians recognise that during the Early Middle Ages, the Christian populations living in the lands invaded by the Arab Muslim armies between the 7th and 10th centuries suffered religious discrimination, religious persecution, religious violence, and martyrdom multiple times at the hands of Arab Muslim officials and rulers. As People of the Book, Christians under Muslim rule were subjected to dhimmi status (along with Jews, Samaritans, Gnostics, Mandeans, and Zoroastrians), which was inferior to the status of Muslims. Christians and other religious minorities thus faced religious discrimination and religious persecution in that they were banned from proselytising (for Christians, it was forbidden to evangelise or spread Christianity) in the lands invaded by the Arab Muslims on pain of death, they were banned from bearing arms, undertaking certain professions, and were obligated to dress differently in order to distinguish themselves from Arabs.Enlightenment philosophyWhile during the Middle Ages the expiatory aspect of the death penalty was taken into account, this is no longer the case under the Lumières. These define the place of man within society no longer according to a divine rule, but as a contract established at birth between the citizen and the society, it is the social contract. From that moment on, capital punishment should be seen as useful to society through its dissuasive effect, but also as a means of protection of the latter vis-à-vis criminals.
Modern era
of Dei delitti e delle pene (On Crimes and Punishments), 1766 ed.]]
In the last several centuries, with the emergence of modern nation states, justice came to be increasingly associated with the concept of natural and legal rights. The period saw an increase in standing police forces and permanent penitential institutions. Rational choice theory, a utilitarian approach to criminology which justifies punishment as a form of deterrence as opposed to retribution, can be traced back to Cesare Beccaria, whose influential treatise On Crimes and Punishments (1764) was the first detailed analysis of capital punishment to demand the abolition of the death penalty. In England, Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), the founder of modern utilitarianism, called for the abolition of the death penalty. Beccaria, and later Charles Dickens and Karl Marx noted the incidence of increased violent criminality at the times and places of executions. Official recognition of this phenomenon led to executions being carried out inside prisons, away from public view.
In England in the 18th century, when there was no police force, Parliament drastically increased the number of capital offences to more than 200. These were mainly property offences, for example cutting down a cherry tree in an orchard. In 1820, there were 160, including crimes such as shoplifting, petty theft or stealing cattle. The severity of the so-called Bloody Code was often tempered by juries who refused to convict, or judges, in the case of petty theft, who arbitrarily set the value stolen at below the statutory level for a capital crime.20th century
, 1916]]
In Nazi Germany, there were three types of capital punishment; hanging, decapitation, and death by shooting. Also, modern military organisations employed capital punishment as a means of maintaining military discipline. In the past, cowardice, absence without leave, desertion, insubordination, shirking under enemy fire and disobeying orders were often crimes punishable by death (see decimation and running the gauntlet). One method of execution, since firearms came into common use, has also been firing squad, although some countries use execution with a single shot to the head or neck.
in retaliation for the assassination of 1 German policeman in Nazi-occupied Poland, 1944]]
Various authoritarian states employed the death penalty as a potent means of political oppression. Anti-Soviet author Robert Conquest claimed that more than one million Soviet citizens were executed during the Great Purge of 1936 to 1938, almost all by a bullet to the back of the head. Mao Zedong publicly stated that "800,000" people had been executed in China during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). Partly as a response to such excesses, civil rights organisations started to place increasing emphasis on the concept of human rights and an abolition of the death penalty.
Contemporary era
By continent, all European countries but one have abolished capital punishment; many Oceanian countries have abolished it; most countries in the Americas have abolished its use, while a few actively retain it; less than half of countries in Africa retain it; and the majority of countries in Asia retain it, for example, China, Japan and India.
Abolition was often adopted due to political change, as when countries shifted from authoritarianism to democracy, or when it became an entry condition for the EU. The United States is a notable exception: some states have had bans on capital punishment for decades, the earliest being Michigan, where it was abolished in 1846, while other states still actively use it today. The death penalty in the United States remains a contentious issue which is hotly debated.
In retentionist countries, the debate is sometimes revived when a miscarriage of justice has occurred though this tends to cause legislative efforts to improve the judicial process rather than to abolish the death penalty. In abolitionist countries, the debate is sometimes revived by particularly brutal murders, though few countries have brought it back after abolishing it. However, a spike in serious, violent crimes, such as murders or terrorist attacks, has prompted some countries to effectively end the moratorium on the death penalty. One notable example is Pakistan which in December 2014 lifted a six-year moratorium on executions after the Peshawar school massacre during which 132 students and 9 members of staff of the Army Public School and Degree College Peshawar were killed by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan terrorists, a group distinct from the Afghan Taliban, who condemned the attack.
Since then, Pakistan has executed over 400 convicts.
In 2017, two major countries, Turkey and the Philippines, saw their executives making moves to reinstate the death penalty. In the same year, passage of the law in the Philippines failed to obtain the Senate's approval.
On 29 December 2021, after a 20-year moratorium, the Kazakhstan government enacted the 'On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Abolition of the Death Penalty' signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as part of series of Omnibus reformations of the Kazak legal system 'Listening State' initiative.History of abolition
banned the death penalty in Japan in 724.]]
In 724 AD in Japan, the death penalty was banned during the reign of Emperor Shōmu but the abolition only lasted a few years. In 818, Emperor Saga abolished the death penalty under the influence of Shinto and it lasted until 1156. In China, the death penalty was banned by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in 747, replacing it with exile or scourging. However, the ban only lasted 12 years.
In England, a public statement of opposition was included in The Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards, written in 1395.
In the post-classical Republic of Poljica, life was ensured as a basic right in its Poljica Statute of 1440.
Sir Thomas More's Utopia, published in 1516, debated the benefits of the death penalty in dialogue form, coming to no firm conclusion. More was himself executed for treason in 1535.
(later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor), abolished the death penalty throughout his realm in 1786, making it the first country in modern history to do so.]]
More recent opposition to the death penalty stemmed from the book of the Italian Cesare Beccaria Dei Delitti e Delle Pene ("On Crimes and Punishments"), published in 1764. In this book, Beccaria aimed to demonstrate not only the injustice, but even the futility from the point of view of social welfare, of torture and the death penalty. Influenced by the book, Grand Duke Leopold II of Habsburg, the future emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, abolished the death penalty in the then-independent Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the first abolition in modern times. On 30 November 1786, after having de facto blocked executions (the last was in 1769), Leopold promulgated the reform of the penal code that abolished the death penalty and ordered the destruction of all the instruments for capital execution in his land. In 2000, Tuscany's regional authorities instituted an annual holiday on 30 November to commemorate the event. The event is commemorated on this day by 300 cities around the world celebrating Cities for Life Day. Leopolds brother Joseph, the then emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, abolished in his immediate lands in 1787 capital punishment, which though only lasted until 1795, after both had died and Leopolds son Francis abolished it in his immediate lands. In Tuscany it was reintroduced in 1790 after Leopolds departure becoming emperor. Only after 1831 capital punishment was again at times stopped, though it took until 2007 to abolish capital punishment in Italy completely.
The Kingdom of Tahiti (when the island was independent) was the first legislative assembly in the world to abolish the death penalty in 1824. Tahiti commuted the death penalty to banishment.
In the United States, Michigan was the first state to ban the death penalty, on 18 May 1846.
The short-lived revolutionary Roman Republic banned capital punishment in 1849. Venezuela followed suit and abolished the death penalty in 1863 and San Marino did so in 1865. The last execution in San Marino had taken place in 1468. In Portugal, after legislative proposals in 1852 and 1863, the death penalty was abolished in 1867. The last execution in Brazil was 1876; from then on all the condemnations were commuted by the Emperor Pedro II until its abolition for civil offences and military offences in peacetime in 1891. The penalty for crimes committed in peacetime was then reinstated and abolished again twice (1938–1953 and 1969–1978), but on those occasions it was restricted to acts of terrorism or subversion considered "internal warfare" and all sentences were commuted and not carried out.
Many countries have abolished capital punishment either in law or in practice. Since World War II, there has been a trend toward abolishing capital punishment. Capital punishment has been completely abolished by 108 countries, a further seven have done so for all offences except under special circumstances and 26 more have abolished it in practice because they have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice against carrying out executions.
In the United States between 1972 and 1976 the death penalty was declared unconstitutional based on the Furman v. Georgia case, but the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia case once again permitted the death penalty under certain circumstances. Further limitations were placed on the death penalty in Atkins v. Virginia (2002; death penalty unconstitutional for people with an intellectual disability) and Roper v. Simmons (2005; death penalty unconstitutional if defendant was under age 18 at the time the crime was committed). In the United States, 23 of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. ban capital punishment.
In the United Kingdom, it was abolished for murder (leaving only treason, piracy with violence, arson in royal dockyards and a number of wartime military offences as capital crimes) for a five-year experiment in 1965 and permanently in 1969, the last execution having taken place in 1964. It was abolished for all offences in 1998. Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, first entering into force in 2003, prohibits the death penalty in all circumstances for those states that are party to it, including the United Kingdom from 2004.
Abolition occurred in Canada in 1976 (except for some military offences, with complete abolition in 1998); in France in 1981; and in Australia in 1973 (although the state of Western Australia retained the penalty until 1984). In South Australia, under the premiership of then-Premier Dunstan, the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) was modified so that the death sentence was changed to life imprisonment in 1976.
In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed in a formal resolution that throughout the world, it is desirable to "progressively restrict the number of offences for which the death penalty might be imposed, with a view to the desirability of abolishing this punishment".
Contemporary use
}}
By country
Most nations, including almost all developed countries, have abolished capital punishment either in law or in practice; notable exceptions are the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. Additionally, capital punishment is also carried out in China, India, and most Islamic states.
.
]]
Since World War II, there has been a trend toward abolishing the death penalty. 54 countries retain the death penalty in active use, 112 countries have abolished capital punishment altogether, 7 have done so for all offences except under special circumstances, and 22 more have abolished it in practice because they have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice against carrying out executions.
thumb|350px|
Number of abolitionist and retentionist countries by year
According to Amnesty International, 20 countries are known to have performed executions in 2022. There are countries which do not publish information on the use of capital punishment, most significantly China and North Korea. According to Amnesty International, around 1,000 prisoners were executed in 2017. Amnesty reported in 2004 and 2009 that Singapore and Iraq respectively had the world's highest per capita execution rate. According to Al Jazeera and UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed, Iran has had the world's highest per capita execution rate. A 2012 EU report from the Directorate-General for External Relations' policy department pointed to Gaza as having the highest per capita execution rate in the MENA region.
{| class"wikitable sortable" style"text-align:right;"
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!rowspan2| Country !!colspan2|Total executed (2022)
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!Capital<br>Punishments<br>UK !!Amnesty<br>International<br> Indonesia carried out no executions between November 2008 and March 2013. Singapore, Japan and the United States are the only developed countries that are classified by Amnesty International as 'retentionist' (South Korea is classified as 'abolitionist in practice'). Nearly all retentionist countries are situated in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. During the 1980s, the democratisation of Latin America swelled the ranks of abolitionist countries.
This was soon followed by the overthrow of the socialist states in Europe. Many of these countries aspired to enter the EU, which strictly requires member states not to practice the death penalty, as does the Council of Europe (see Capital punishment in Europe). Public support for the death penalty in the EU varies. The last execution in a member state of the present-day Council of Europe took place in 1997 in Ukraine. In contrast, the rapid industrialisation in Asia has seen an increase in the number of developed countries which are also retentionist. In these countries, the death penalty retains strong public support, and the matter receives little attention from the government or the media; in China there is a small but significant and growing movement to abolish the death penalty altogether. This trend has been followed by some African and Middle Eastern countries where support for the death penalty remains high.
Some countries have resumed practising the death penalty after having previously suspended the practice for long periods. The United States suspended executions in 1972 but resumed them in 1976; there was no execution in India between 1995 and 2004; and Sri Lanka declared an end to its moratorium on the death penalty on 20 November 2004, although it has not yet performed any further executions. The Philippines re-introduced the death penalty in 1993 after abolishing it in 1987, but again abolished it in 2006.
The United States and Japan are the only developed countries to have recently carried out executions. The U.S. federal government, the U.S. military, and 27 states have a valid death penalty statute, and over 1,400 executions have been carried in the United States since it reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Japan has 106 inmates with finalized death sentences , after Chisako Kakehi, who was the 78-year-old death row inmate convicted of murdering her husband and common-law spouses to inherit their assets, has died while in custody.
The most recent country to abolish the death penalty was Kazakhstan on 2 January 2021 after a moratorium dating back 2 decades.
According to an Amnesty International report released in April 2020, Egypt ranked regionally third and globally fifth among the countries that carried out most executions in 2019. The country increasingly ignored international human rights concerns and criticism. In March 2021, Egypt executed 11 prisoners in a jail, who were convicted in cases of "murder, theft, and shooting".
According to Amnesty International's 2021 report, at least 483 people were executed in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure excluded the countries that classify death penalty data as state secret. The top five executioners for 2020 were China, Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.Modern-day public opinionThe public opinion on the death penalty varies considerably by country and by the crime in question. Countries where a majority of people are against execution include Norway, where only 25% support it. Most French, Finns, and Italians also oppose the death penalty. In 2020, 55% of Americans supported the death penalty for an individual convicted of murder, down from 60% in 2016, 64% in 2010, 65% in 2006, and 68% in 2001. In 2020, 43% of Italians expressed support for the death penalty.
In Taiwan, polls and research have consistently shown strong support for the death penalty at 80%. This includes a survey conducted by the National Development Council of Taiwan in 2016, showing that 88% of Taiwanese people disagree with abolishing the death penalty. Its continuation of the practice drew criticism from local rights groups.
The support and sentencing of capital punishment has been growing in India in the 2010s due to anger over several recent brutal cases of rape, even though actual executions are comparatively rare. A poll in South Africa, where capital punishment is abolished, found that 76% of millennial South Africans support re-introduction of the death penalty due to increasing incidents of rape and murder.
A 2017 poll found younger Mexicans are more likely to support capital punishment than older ones. 57% of Brazilians support the death penalty. The age group that shows the greatest support for execution of those condemned is the 25 to 34-year-old category, in which 61% say they support it.
A 2023 poll by Research Co. found that 54% of Canadians support reinstating the death penalty for murder in their country. In April 2021 a poll found that 54% of Britons said they would support reinstating the death penalty for those convicted of terrorism in the UK, while 23% of respondents said they would be opposed. In 2020, an Ipsos/Sopra Steria survey showed that 55% of the French people support re-introduction of the death penalty; this was an increase from 44% in 2019.Juvenile offenders
The death penalty for juvenile offenders (criminals aged under 18 years at the time of their crime although the legal or accepted definition of juvenile offender may vary from one jurisdiction to another) has become increasingly rare. Considering the age of majority is not 18 in some countries or has not been clearly defined in law, since 1990 ten countries have executed offenders who were considered juveniles at the time of their crimes: China, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United States, and Yemen. China, Pakistan, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen have since raised the minimum age to 18. Amnesty International has recorded 61 verified executions since then, in several countries, of both juveniles and adults who had been convicted of committing their offences as juveniles. China does not allow for the execution of those under 18, but child executions have reportedly taken place.
One of the youngest children ever to be executed was the infant son of Perotine Massey on or around 18 July 1556. His mother was one of the Guernsey Martyrs who was executed for heresy, and his father had previously fled the island. At less than one day old, he was ordered to be burned by Bailiff Hellier Gosselin, with the advice of priests nearby who said the boy should burn due to having inherited moral stain from his mother, who had given birth during her execution.
Since 1642 in Colonial America and in the United States, an estimated 365 juvenile offenders were executed by various colonial authorities and (after the American Revolution) the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court abolished capital punishment for offenders under the age of 16 in Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988), and for all juveniles in Roper v. Simmons (2005).
In Prussia, children under the age of 14 were exempted from the death penalty in 1794. Capital punishment was cancelled by the Electorate of Bavaria in 1751 for children under the age of 11 and by the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1813 for children and youth under 16 years. In Prussia, the exemption was extended to youth under the age of 16 in 1851. For the first time, all juveniles were excluded for the death penalty by the North German Confederation in 1871, which was continued by the German Empire in 1872. In Nazi Germany, capital punishment was reinstated for juveniles between 16 and 17 years in 1939. This was broadened to children and youth from age 12 to 17 in 1943. The death penalty for juveniles was abolished by West Germany, also generally, in 1949 and by East Germany in 1952.
In the Hereditary Lands, Austrian Silesia, Bohemia and Moravia within the Habsburg monarchy, capital punishment for children under the age of 11 was no longer foreseen by 1770. The death penalty was, also for juveniles, nearly abolished in 1787 except for emergency or military law, which is unclear in regard of those. It was reintroduced for juveniles above 14 years by 1803, and was raised by general criminal law to 20 years in 1852 and this exemption and the alike one of military law in 1855, which may have been up to 14 years in wartime, were also introduced into all of the Austrian Empire.
In the Helvetic Republic, the death penalty for children and youth under the age of 16 was abolished in 1799 yet the country was already dissolved in 1803 whereas the law could remain in force if it was not replaced on cantonal level. In the canton of Bern, all juveniles were exempted from the death penalty at least in 1866. In Fribourg, capital punishment was generally, including for juveniles, abolished by 1849. In Ticino, it was abolished for youth and young adults under the age of 20 in 1816. In Zurich, the exclusion from the death penalty was extended for juveniles and young adults up to 19 years of age by 1835. In 1942, the death penalty was almost deleted in criminal law, as well for juveniles, but since 1928 persisted in military law during wartime for youth above 14 years. If no earlier change was made in the given subject, by 1979 juveniles could no longer be subject to the death penalty in military law during wartime.
Between 2005 and May 2008, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen were reported to have executed child offenders, the largest number occurring in Iran.
During Hassan Rouhani's tenure as president of Iran from 2013 until 2021, at least 3,602 death sentences have been carried out. This includes the executions of 34 juvenile offenders.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids capital punishment for juveniles under article 37(a), has been signed by all countries and subsequently ratified by all signatories with the exception of the United States (despite the US Supreme Court decisions abolishing the practice). The UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights maintains that the death penalty for juveniles has become contrary to a jus cogens of customary international law. A majority of countries are also party to the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (whose Article 6.5 also states that "Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age...").
Iran, despite its ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, was the world's largest executioner of juvenile offenders, for which it has been the subject of broad international condemnation; the country's record is the focus of the Stop Child Executions Campaign. But on 10 February 2012, Iran's parliament changed controversial laws relating to the execution of juveniles. In the new legislation the age of 18 (solar year) would be applied to accused of both genders and juvenile offenders must be sentenced pursuant to a separate law specifically dealing with juveniles. Based on the Islamic law which now seems to have been revised, girls at the age of 9 and boys at 15 of lunar year (11 days shorter than a solar year) are deemed fully responsible for their crimes. The past executions of Mahmoud Asgari, Ayaz Marhoni and Makwan Moloudzadeh became the focus of Iran's child capital punishment policy and the judicial system that hands down such sentences. In 2023 Iran executed a minor who had knifed a man that fought him for following a girl in the street.
Saudi Arabia also executes criminals who were minors at the time of the offence. In 2013, Saudi Arabia was the center of an international controversy after it executed Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan domestic worker, who was believed to have been 17 years old at the time of the crime. Saudi Arabia banned execution for minors, except for terrorism cases, in April 2020.
Japan has not executed juvenile criminals after August 1997, when they executed Norio Nagayama, a spree killer who had been convicted of shooting four people dead in the late 1960s. Nagayama's case created the eponymously named Nagayama standards, which take into account factors such as the number of victims, brutality and social impact of the crimes. The standards have been used in determining whether to apply the death sentence in murder cases. Teruhiko Seki, convicted of murdering four family members including a 4-year-old daughter and raping a 15-year-old daughter of a family in 1992, became the second inmate to be hanged for a crime committed as a minor in the first such execution in 20 years after Nagayama on 19 December 2017. Takayuki Otsuki, who was convicted of raping and strangling a 23-year-old woman and subsequently strangling her 11-month-old daughter to death on 14 April 1999, when he was 18, is another inmate sentenced to death, and his request for retrial has been rejected by the Supreme Court of Japan.
There is evidence that child executions are taking place in the parts of Somalia controlled by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). In October 2008, a girl, Aisha Ibrahim Dhuhulow was buried up to her neck at a football stadium, then stoned to death in front of more than 1,000 people. Somalia's established Transitional Federal Government announced in November 2009 (reiterated in 2013) that it plans to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This move was lauded by UNICEF as a welcome attempt to secure children's rights in the country.Methods
prisoners being executed by the Whites in Varkaus, North Savonia during the 1918 Finnish Civil War.]]
The following methods of execution have been used by various countries:
* Hanging (Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sudan, Pakistan, Palestinian National Authority, Israel, Yemen, Egypt, India, Oman, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Liberia)
* Shooting (the People's Republic of China, Republic of China, Vietnam (until 2011), Belarus, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, Somaliland, North Korea, Indonesia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, and in the US states of Oklahoma, Utah, and South Carolina.
* Lethal injection (United States, Guatemala, Thailand, the People's Republic of China, Vietnam (after 2011))
* Beheading (Saudi Arabia)
* Stoning (Nigeria, Sudan)
* Electrocution and gas inhalation (some U.S. states, but only if the prisoner requests it or if lethal injection is unavailable)
*Inert gas asphyxiation (some U.S. states: Alabama, Louisiana)
Public execution
A public execution is a form of capital punishment which "members of the general public may voluntarily attend". This definition excludes the presence of a small number of witnesses randomly selected to assure executive accountability. While today the great majority of the world considers public executions to be distasteful and most countries have outlawed the practice, throughout much of history executions were performed publicly as a means for the state to demonstrate "its power before those who fell under its jurisdiction be they criminals, enemies, or political opponents". Additionally, it afforded the public a chance to witness "what was considered a great spectacle".
Social historians note that beginning in the 20th century in the U.S. and western Europe, death in general became increasingly shielded from public view, occurring more and more behind the closed doors of the hospital. Executions were likewise moved behind the walls of the penitentiary. There have been reports of public executions carried out by state and non-state actors in Hamas-controlled Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen. Executions which can be classified as public were also carried out in the U.S. states of Florida and Utah . Death sentences for such crimes were handed down and carried out during the Nuremberg Trials in 1946 and the Tokyo Trials in 1948, but starting in the 1990s, ad hoc tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) forbade the death penalty and can only impose life imprisonment as a maximum penalty. This tradition is carried on by the current International Criminal Court.
Murder
Intentional homicide is punishable by death in most countries retaining capital punishment, but generally provided it involves an aggravating factor required by statute or judicial precedents.
Some countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, made the death penalty mandatory for murder, though Singapore later changed its laws since 2013 to reserve the mandatory death sentence for intentional murder while providing an alternative sentence of life imprisonment with/without caning for murder with no intention to cause death, which allowed some convicted murderers on death row in Singapore (including Kho Jabing) to apply for the reduction of their death sentences after the courts in Singapore confirmed that they committed murder without the intention to kill, and are thus eligible for re-sentencing under the new death penalty laws in Singapore. In October 2018 the Malaysian Government imposed a moratorium on all executions until the passage of a new law that would abolish the death penalty. In April 2023, legislation abolishing the mandatory death penalty was passed in Malaysia. The death penalty would be retained, but courts have the discretion to replace it with other punishments, including whipping and imprisonment of 30–40 years.Drug trafficking
warning that drug trafficking is a capital crime in the Republic of China (2005)]]
In 2018, at least 35 countries retained the death penalty for drug trafficking, drug dealing, drug possession and related offences. People had been regularly sentenced to death and executed for drug-related offences in China, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Vietnam. Other countries may retain the death penalty for symbolic purposes.
The death penalty was mandated for drug trafficking in Singapore and Malaysia. Since 2013, Singapore ruled that those who were certified to have diminished responsibility (e.g. major depressive disorder) or acting as drug couriers and had assisted the authorities in tackling drug-related activities, would be sentenced to life imprisonment instead of death, with the offender liable to at least 15 strokes of the cane if he was not sentenced to death and was simultaneously sentenced to caning as well.
In April 2023, legislation abolishing the mandatory death penalty was passed in Malaysia.
*Rape (China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Brunei, etc.)
*Economic crimes (China, Iran)
*Human trafficking (China)
*Corruption (China, Iran)
*Kidnapping (China, Singapore, Bangladesh, the US states of Georgia and Idaho, etc.)
*Separatism (China)
*Unlawful sexual behaviour (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Brunei, Nigeria, etc.)<!--Adultery, rape, and sodomy fall under the same criminal category in sharia.-->
*Religious Hudud offences such as apostasy (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan etc.)
*Blasphemy (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, certain states in Nigeria)
*Moharebeh (Iran)
*Drinking alcohol (Iran)
*Witchcraft and sorcery (Saudi Arabia)
*Arson (Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, etc.)
*Hirabah; brigandage; armed or aggravated robbery (Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia, the US state of Georgia etc.)
*Homosexuality (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Brunei, Uganda, Nigeria (Northern states), Mauritania, etc.) (Unclear for United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iran, Libya, Somalia, etc.)
Controversy and debate<!--'Anti-death penalty' redirects here-->
Death penalty opponents regard the death penalty as inhumane and criticize it for its irreversibility. They argue also that capital punishment lacks deterrent effect, or has a brutalization effect, discriminates against minorities and the poor, and that it encourages a "culture of violence". There are many organizations worldwide, such as Amnesty International, and country-specific, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), whose main purpose includes abolition of the death penalty.
Advocates of the death penalty argue that it deters crime, is a good tool for police and prosecutors in plea bargaining, makes sure that convicted criminals do not offend again, and that it ensures justice for crimes such as homicide, where other penalties will not inflict the desired retribution demanded by the crime itself. Capital punishment for non-lethal crimes is usually considerably more controversial, and abolished in many of the countries that retain it.Retribution
in Germany in 1946]]
Supporters of the death penalty argued that death penalty is morally justified when applied in murder especially with aggravating elements such as for murder of police officers, child murder, torture murder, multiple homicide and mass killing such as terrorism, massacre and genocide. This argument is strongly defended by New York Law School's Professor Robert Blecker, who says that the punishment must be painful in proportion to the crime. Eighteenth-century philosopher Immanuel Kant defended a more extreme position, according to which every murderer deserves to die on the grounds that loss of life is incomparable to any penalty that allows them to remain alive, including life imprisonment.
Some abolitionists argue that retribution is simply revenge and cannot be condoned. Others while accepting retribution as an element of criminal justice nonetheless argue that life without parole is a sufficient substitute. It is also argued that the punishing of a killing with another death is a relatively unusual punishment for a violent act, because in general violent crimes are not punished by subjecting the perpetrator to a similar act (e.g. rapists are, typically, not punished by corporal punishment, although it may be inflicted in Singapore, for example).
Human rights
Abolitionists believe capital punishment is the worst violation of human rights, because the right to life is the most important, and capital punishment violates it without necessity and inflicts to the condemned a psychological torture. Human rights activists oppose the death penalty, calling it "cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment". Amnesty International considers it to be "the ultimate irreversible denial of Human Rights". Albert Camus wrote in a 1956 book called Reflections on the Guillotine, Resistance, Rebellion & Death:
In the classic doctrine of natural rights as expounded by for instance Locke and Blackstone, on the other hand, it is an important idea that the right to life can be forfeited, as most other rights can be given due process is observed, such as the right to property and the right to freedom, including provisionally, in anticipation of an actual verdict. As John Stuart Mill explained in a speech given in Parliament against an amendment to abolish capital punishment for murder in 1868:
In one of the most recent cases relating to the death penalty in Singapore, activists like Jolovan Wham, Kirsten Han and Kokila Annamalai and even the international groups like the United Nations and European Union argued for Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, who has been on death row at Singapore's Changi Prison since 2010, should not be executed due to an alleged intellectual disability, as they argued that Nagaenthran has low IQ of 69 and a psychiatrist has assessed him to be mentally impaired to an extent that he should not be held liable to his crime and execution. They also cited international law where a country should be prohibiting the execution of mentally and intellectually impaired people in order to push for Singapore to commute Nagaenthran's death penalty to life imprisonment based on protection of human rights. However, the Singapore government and both Singapore's High Court and Court of Appeal maintained their firm stance that despite his certified low IQ, it is confirmed that Nagaenthran is not mentally or intellectually disabled based on the joint opinion of three government psychiatrists as he is able to fully understand the magnitude of his actions and has no problem in his daily functioning of life. Despite the international outcry, Nagaenthran was executed on 27 April 2022.
Non-painful execution
in California formerly used for executions by lethal injection]]
Trends in most of the world have long been to move to private and less painful executions. France adopted the guillotine for this reason in the final years of the 18th century, while Britain banned hanging, drawing, and quartering in the early 19th century. Hanging by turning the victim off a ladder or by kicking a stool or a bucket, which causes death by strangulation, was replaced by long drop "hanging" where the subject is dropped a longer distance to dislocate the neck and sever the spinal cord. Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (1896–1907) introduced throat-cutting and blowing from a gun (close-range cannon fire) as quick and relatively painless alternatives to more torturous methods of executions used at that time. In the United States, electrocution and gas inhalation were introduced as more humane alternatives to hanging, but have been almost entirely superseded by lethal injection. A small number of countries, for example Iran and Saudi Arabia, still employ slow hanging methods, decapitation, and stoning.
A study of executions carried out in the United States between 1977 and 2001 indicated that at least 34 of the 749 executions, or 4.5%, involved "unanticipated problems or delays that caused, at least arguably, unnecessary agony for the prisoner or that reflect gross incompetence of the executioner". The rate of these "botched executions" remained steady over the period of the study. A separate study published in The Lancet in 2005 found that in 43% of cases of lethal injection, the blood level of hypnotics was insufficient to guarantee unconsciousness. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 (Baze v. Rees) and again in 2015 (Glossip v. Gross) that lethal injection does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. In Bucklew v. Precythe, the majority verdict – written by Judge Neil Gorsuch – further affirmed this principle, stating that while the ban on cruel and unusual punishment affirmatively bans penalties that deliberately inflict pain and degradation, it does in no sense limit the possible infliction of pain in the execution of a capital verdict.Wrongful execution
, who was executed in 1950 after being wrongfully convicted of two murders that had in fact been committed by his landlord, John Christie. The case was considered vital in bolstering opposition, which limited the scope of the penalty in 1957 and abolished it completely for murder in 1965.]]
It is frequently argued that capital punishment leads to miscarriage of justice through the wrongful execution of innocent persons. Many people have been proclaimed innocent victims of the death penalty.
Some have claimed that as many as 39 executions have been carried out in the face of compelling evidence of innocence or serious doubt about guilt in the US from 1992 through 2004. Newly available DNA evidence prevented the pending execution of more than 15 death row inmates during the same period in the US, but DNA evidence is only available in a fraction of capital cases. , 159 prisoners on death row have been exonerated by DNA or other evidence, which is seen as an indication that innocent prisoners have almost certainly been executed. The National Coalition to
Abolish the Death Penalty claims that between 1976 and 2015, 1,414 prisoners in the United States have been executed while 156 sentenced to death have had their death sentences vacated. It is impossible to assess how many have been wrongly executed, since courts do not generally investigate the innocence of a dead defendant, and defense attorneys tend to concentrate their efforts on clients whose lives can still be saved; however, there is strong evidence of innocence in many cases.
Improper procedure may also result in unfair executions. For example, Amnesty International argues that in Singapore "the Misuse of Drugs Act contains a series of presumptions which shift the burden of proof from the prosecution to the accused. This conflicts with the universally guaranteed right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty". Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act presumes one is guilty of possession of drugs if, as examples, one is found to be present or escaping from a location "proved or presumed to be used for the purpose of smoking or administering a controlled drug", if one is in possession of a key to a premises where drugs are present, if one is in the company of another person found to be in possession of illegal drugs, or if one tests positive after being given a mandatory urine drug screening. Urine drug screenings can be given at the discretion of police, without requiring a search warrant. The onus is on the accused in all of the above situations to prove that they were not in possession of or consumed illegal drugs.Volunteers
Some prisoners have volunteered or attempted to expedite capital punishment, often by waiving all appeals. Prisoners have made requests or committed further crimes in prison as well. In the United States, execution volunteers constitute approximately 11% of prisoners on death row. Volunteers often bypass legal procedures which are designed to designate the death penalty for the "worst of the worst" offenders. Opponents of execution volunteering cited the prevalence of mental illness among volunteers comparing it to suicide. Execution volunteers have received considerably less attention and effort at legal reform than those who were exonerated after execution.Racial, ethnic, and social class biasOpponents of the death penalty argue that this punishment is being used more often against perpetrators from racial and ethnic minorities and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, than against those criminals who come from a privileged background; and that the background of the victim also influences the outcome. Researchers have shown that white Americans are more likely to support the death penalty when told that it is mostly applied to black Americans, and that more stereotypically black-looking or dark-skinned defendants are more likely to be sentenced to death if the case involves a white victim. However, a study published in 2018 failed to replicate the findings of earlier studies that had concluded that white Americans are more likely to support the death penalty if informed that it is largely applied to black Americans; according to the authors, their findings "may result from changes since 2001 in the effects of racial stimuli on white attitudes about the death penalty or their willingness to express those attitudes in a survey context."
In Alabama in 2019, a death row inmate named Domineque Ray was denied his imam in the room during his execution, instead only offered a Christian chaplain. After filing a complaint, a federal court of appeals ruled 5–4 against Ray's request. The majority cited the "last-minute" nature of the request, and the dissent stated that the treatment went against the core principle of denominational neutrality.
On 30 March 2022, despite the appeals by the United Nations and rights activists, 68-year-old Malay Singaporean Abdul Kahar Othman was hanged at Singapore's Changi Prison for illegally trafficking diamorphine, which marked the first execution in Singapore since 2019 as a result of an informal moratorium caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, there were appeals made to advocate for Abdul Kahar's death penalty be commuted to life imprisonment on humanitarian grounds, as Abdul Kahar came from a poor family and has struggled with drug addiction. He was also revealed to have been spending most of his life going in and out of prison, including a ten-year sentence of preventive detention from 1995 to 2005, and has not been given much time for rehabilitation, which made the activists and groups arguing that Abdul Kahar should be given a chance for rehabilitation instead of subjecting him to execution. Both the European Union (EU) and Amnesty International criticised Singapore for finalizing and carrying out Abdul Kahar's execution, and about 400 Singaporeans protested against the government's use of the death penalty merely days after Abdul Kahar's death sentence was authorised.
International views
}}
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The United Nations introduced a resolution during the General Assembly's 62nd sessions in 2007 calling for a universal ban. The approval of a draft resolution by the Assembly's third committee, which deals with human rights issues, voted 99 to 52, with 33 abstentions, in support of the resolution on 15 November 2007 and was put to a vote in the Assembly on 18 December.
Again in 2008, a large majority of states from all regions adopted, on 20 November in the UN General Assembly (Third Committee), a second resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty; 105 countries voted in support of the draft resolution, 48 voted against and 31 abstained.
The moratorium resolution has been presented for a vote each year since 2007. On 15 December 2022, 125 countries voted in support of the moratorium, with 37 countries opposing, and 22 abstentions. The countries voting against the moratorium included the United States, People's Republic of China, North Korea, and Iran.
A range of amendments proposed by a small minority of pro-death penalty countries were overwhelmingly defeated. It had in 2007 passed a non-binding resolution (by 104 to 54, with 29 abstentions) by asking its member states for "a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty".
affirms the prohibition on capital punishment in the EU.]]
A number of regional conventions prohibit the death penalty, most notably, the Protocol 6 (abolition in time of peace) and Protocol 13 (abolition in all circumstances) to the European Convention on Human Rights. The same is also stated under Protocol 2 in the American Convention on Human Rights, which, however, has not been ratified by all countries in the Americas, most notably Canada and the United States. Most relevant operative international treaties do not require its prohibition for cases of serious crime, most notably, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This instead has, in common with several other treaties, an optional protocol prohibiting capital punishment and promoting its wider abolition.
Several international organizations have made abolition of the death penalty (during time of peace, or in all circumstances) a requirement of membership, most notably the EU and the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe are willing to accept a moratorium as an interim measure. Thus, while Russia was a member of the Council of Europe, and the death penalty remains codified in its law, it has not made use of it since becoming a member of the council – Russia has not executed anyone since 1996. With the exception of Russia (abolitionist in practice) and Belarus (retentionist), all European countries are classified as abolitionist.
Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights calls for the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances (including for war crimes). The majority of European countries have signed and ratified it. Some European countries have not done this, but all of them except Belarus have now abolished the death penalty in all circumstances (, and Russia ). Armenia is the most recent country to ratify the protocol, on 19 October 2023.
Protocol 6, which prohibits the death penalty during peacetime, has been ratified by all members of the Council of Europe. It had been signed but not ratified by Russia at the time of its expulsion in 2022.
There are also other international abolitionist instruments, such as the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which has 90 parties; and the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty (for the Americas; ratified by 13 states).
In Turkey, over 500 people were sentenced to death after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. About 50 of them were executed, the last one 25 October 1984.<!--- Hidir Aslan ---> Then there was a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in Turkey. As a move towards EU membership, Turkey made some legal changes. The death penalty was removed from peacetime law by the National Assembly in August 2002, and in May 2004 Turkey amended its constitution to remove capital punishment in all circumstances. It ratified Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights in February 2006. As a result, Europe is a continent free of the death penalty in practice, all states, having ratified Protocol 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights, with the exceptions of Russia (which has entered a moratorium) and Belarus, which are not members of the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has been lobbying for Council of Europe observer states who practice the death penalty, the U.S. and Japan, to abolish it or lose their observer status. In addition to banning capital punishment for EU member states, the EU has also banned detainee transfers in cases where the receiving party may seek the death penalty.
Sub-Saharan African countries that have recently abolished the death penalty include Burundi, which abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 2009, and Gabon which did the same in 2010. On 5 July 2012, Benin became part of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits the use of the death penalty.
The newly created South Sudan is among the 111 UN member states that supported the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly that called for the removal of the death penalty, therefore affirming its opposition to the practice. South Sudan, however, has not yet abolished the death penalty and stated that it must first amend its Constitution, and until that happens it will continue to use the death penalty.
Among non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are noted for their opposition to capital punishment. A number of such NGOs, as well as trade unions, local councils, and bar associations, formed a World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in 2002.
An open letter led by Danish Member of the European Parliament, Karen Melchior was sent to the European Commission ahead of the 26 January 2021 meeting of the Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani with the members of the European Union for the signing of a Cooperation Agreement. A total of 16 MEPs undersigned the letter expressing their grave concern towards the extended abuse of human rights in Bahrain following the arbitrary arrest and detention of activists and critics of the government. The attendees of the meeting were requested to demand from their Bahraini counterparts to take into consideration the concerns raised by the MEPs, particularly for the release of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Sheikh Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad, the two European-Bahraini dual citizens on death row.
Religious views
The world's major faiths have differing views depending on the religion, denomination, sect and the individual adherent. The Catholic Church considers the death penalty as "inadmissible" in any circumstance and denounces it as an "attack" on the "inviolability and dignity of the person." Both the Baháʼí and Islamic faiths support capital punishment.See also
* Capital punishment for homosexuality
* Capital punishment in Judaism
* Death in custody
* Execution chamber
* Executioner
* Judicial dissolution, sometimes referred to as the "corporate death penalty"
* The Death Penalty: Opposing Viewpoints (book)
* Shame culture
* Last meal
* List of prisoners with whole life orders
Notes and references
Notes
Explanatory notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
* Marian J. Borg and Michael L. Radelet. (2004). On botched executions. In: Peter Hodgkinson and William A. Schabas (eds.) Capital Punishment. pp. 143–68. [Online]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: Cambridge Books Online .
* Gail A. Van Norman. (2010). Physician participation in executions. In: Gail A. Van Norman et al. (eds.) Clinical Ethics in Anesthesiology. pp. 285–91. [Online]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: Cambridge Books Online .
Further reading
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* Curry, Tim. "[http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/13/3curry.pdf Cutting the Hangman's Noose: African Initiatives to Abolish the Death Penalty] ." American University Washington College of Law.
* Davis, David Brion. "The movement to abolish capital punishment in America, 1787–1861." American Historical Review 63.1 (1957): 23–46. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1847110 online]
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* Hammel, A. Ending the Death Penalty: The European Experience in Global Perspective (2014).
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* O'Brien, Doireann. "Investigating the Origin of Europe and America's Diverging Positions on the Issue of Capital Punishment." Social and Political Review (2018): 98+. [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a0c4a46c027d8d6e4f77763/t/5ab178a1f950b71e2a211f6b/1521580198095/SPR+Volume+XXVIII.pdf#page99 online]
* Rakoff, Jed S., "The Last of His Kind" (review of John Paul Stevens, The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years, Little, Brown, 549 pp.), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXVI, no. 14 (26 September 2019), pp. 20, 22, 24. John Paul Stevens, "a throwback to the postwar liberal Republican [U.S. Supreme Court] appointees", questioned the validity of "the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which holds that you cannot sue any state or federal government agency, or any of its officers or employees, for any wrong they may have committed against you, unless the state or federal government consents to being sued" (p. 20); the propriety of "the increasing resistance of the U.S. Supreme Court to most meaningful forms of gun control" (p. 22); and "the constitutionality of the death penalty... because of incontrovertible evidence that innocent people have been sentenced to death." (pp. 22, 24.)
* Sarat, Austin and Juergen Martschukat, eds. Is the Death Penalty Dying?: European and American Perspectives (2011)
* for middle school students
*
*
* Steiker, Carol S. "Capital punishment and American exceptionalism." Oregon Law Review. 81 (2002): 97+ [https://capitalpunishmentincontext.org/files/resources/international/CP%20and%20Amer%20Exceptionalism.pdf online]
*
}}
Category:Penology
Category:Social policy
Category:Killings by type | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.680655 |
5903 | Cultural movement | A cultural movement is a shared effort by loosely affiliated individuals to change the way others in society think by disseminating ideas through various art forms and making intentional choices in daily life. By definition, cultural movements are intertwined with other phenomena such as social movements and political movements, and can be difficult to distinguish from broader cultural change or transformation.
Historically, different nations or regions of the world have gone through their own independent sequence of movements in culture; but as world communications have accelerated, this geographical distinction has become less distinct.
When cultural movements go through revolutions from one to the next, genres tend to get attacked and mixed up, and often new genres are generated and old ones fade.: These changes are often reactions against the prior cultural form, which typically has grown stale and repetitive. An obsession emerges among the mainstream with the new movement, and the old one falls into neglect – sometimes it dies out entirely, but often it chugs along favored in a few disciplines and occasionally making reappearances (sometimes prefixed with "neo-").
There is continual argument over the precise definition of each of these periods as one historian might group them differently, or choose different names or descriptions. Even though in many cases the popular change from one to the next can be swift and sudden, the beginning and end of movements are somewhat subjective. This is because the movements did not spring out of the blue and into existence then come to an abrupt end and lose total support, as would be suggested by a date range. Thus use of the term "period" is somewhat deceptive. "Period" also suggests a linearity of development, whereas it has not been uncommon for two or more distinctive cultural approaches to be active at the same time. Historians will be able to find distinctive traces of a cultural movement before its accepted beginning, and there will always be new creations in old forms. So it can be more useful to think in terms of broad "movements" that have rough beginnings and endings. Yet for historical perspective, some rough date ranges will be provided for each to indicate the "height" or accepted time span of the movement.
This list covers Western, notably European and American cultural movements. They have, however, been paralleled by cultural movements in East Asia and elsewhere. In the late 20th and early 21st century in Thailand, for example, there has been a cultural shift away from Western social and political values and more toward Japanese and Chinese. As well, Thai culture has reinvigorated monarchical concepts to accommodate state shifts away from Western ideology regarding democracy and monarchies.
Cultural movements
Graeco-Roman
The Greek culture marked a departure from the other Mediterranean cultures that preceded and surrounded it. The Romans adopted Greek and other styles, and spread the result throughout Western Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Together, Greek and Roman thought in philosophy, religion, science, history, and all forms of thought can be viewed as a central underpinning of Western culture, and is therefore termed the Classical Age by some. Others might divide it into the Hellenistic period and the Roman period, or might choose other finer divisions.
See: Classical architecture — Classical sculpture — Greek architecture — Hellenistic architecture — Ionic — Doric — Corinthian — Stoicism — Cynicism — Epicurean — Roman architecture — Early Christian — Neoplatonism
Romanesque (11th century & 12th centuries)
A style (esp. architectural) similar in form and materials to Roman styles. Romanesque seems to be the first pan-European style since Roman Imperial Architecture and examples are found in every part of the continent.
See: Romanesque architecture — Ottonian Art
Gothic (mid 12th century until mid 15th century)
See: Gothic architecture — Gregorian chant — Neoplatonism
Nominalism
Rejects Platonic realism as a requirement for thinking and speaking in general terms.
Humanism (16th century)
Renaissance
The use of light, shadow, and perspective to more accurately represent life. Because of how fundamentally these ideas were felt to alter so much of life, some have referred to it as the "Golden Age". In reality it was less an "Age" and more of a movement in popular philosophy, science, and thought that spread over Europe (and probably other parts of the world), over time, and affected different aspects of culture at different points in time. Very roughly, the following periods can be taken as indicative of place/time foci of the Renaissance: Italian Renaissance 1450–1550. Spanish Renaissance 1550–1587. English Renaissance 1588–1629.
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation, often referred to simply as the Reformation, was a schism from the Roman Catholic Church initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli and other early Protestant Reformers in the 16th century Europe.
Mannerism
Anti-classicist movement that sought to emphasize the feeling of the artist himself.
See: Mannerism/Art
Baroque
Emphasizes power and authority, characterized by intricate detail and without the "disturbing angst" of Mannerism. Essentially is exaggerated Classicism to promote and glorify the Church and State. Occupied with notions of infinity.
See: Baroque art — Baroque music
Rococo
Neoclassical (17th–19th centuries)
Severe, unemotional movement recalling Roman and Greek ("classical") style, reacting against the overbred Rococo style and the emotional Baroque style. It stimulated revival of classical thinking, and had especially profound effects on science and politics. It also had a direct influence on Academic Art in the 19th century. Beginning in the early 17th century with Cartesian thought (see René Descartes), this movement provided philosophical frameworks for the natural sciences, sought to determine the principles of knowledge by rejecting all things previously believed to be known about the world. In Renaissance Classicism attempts are made to recreate the classic art forms — tragedy, comedy, and farce.
See also: Weimar Classicism
Age of Enlightenment (1688–1789): Reason (rationalism) seen as the ideal.
Romanticism (1770–1830)
Began in Germany and spread to England and France as a reaction against Neoclassicism and against the Age of Enlightenment.. The notion of "folk genius", or an inborn and intuitive ability to do magnificent things, is a core principle of the Romantic movement. Nostalgia for the primitive past in preference to the scientifically minded present. Romantic heroes, exemplified by Napoleon, are popular. Fascination with the past leads to a resurrection of interest in the Gothic period. It did not really replace the Neoclassical movement so much as provide a counterbalance; many artists sought to join both styles in their works.
See: Symbolism
Realism (1830–1905)
Ushered in by the Industrial Revolution and growing Nationalism in the world. Began in France. Attempts to portray the speech and mannerisms of everyday people in everyday life. Tends to focus on middle class social and domestic problems. Plays by Ibsen are an example. Naturalism evolved from Realism, following it briefly in art and more enduringly in theatre, film, and literature. Impressionism, based on 'scientific' knowledge and discoveries concerns observing nature and reality objectively.
See: Post-Impressionism — Neo-impressionism — Pointillism — Pre-Raphaelite
Art Nouveau (1880–1905)
Decorative, symbolic art
See: Transcendentalism
Modernism (1880–1965)
Also known as the Avant-garde movement. Originating in the 19th century with Symbolism, the Modernist movement composed itself of a wide range of 'isms' that ran in contrast to Realism and that sought out the underlying fundamentals of art and philosophy. The Jazz age and Hollywood emerge and have their hey-days.
See: Fauvism — Cubism — Futurism — Suprematism — Dada — Constructivism — Surrealism — Expressionism — Existentialism — Op art — Art Deco — Bauhaus — Neo-Plasticism — Precisionism — Abstract expressionism — New Realism — Color field painting — Happening — Fluxus — Hard-edge painting — Pop art — Photorealism — Minimalism — Postminimalism — Lyrical abstraction — Situationism
Postmodernism (since c.1965)
A reaction to Modernism, in a way, Postmodernism largely discards the notion that artists should seek pure fundamentals, often questioning whether such fundamentals even exist – or suggestion that if they do exist, they may be irrelevant. It is exemplified by movements such as deconstructivism, conceptual art, etc.
See: Postmodern philosophy — Postmodern music — Postmodern art
Post-postmodernism (since c.1990)
See also
Art movement
List of art movements
Critical theory
Cultural imperialism
Cultural sensibility
History of philosophy
Postliterate society
Periodization
Social movement
References
External links
Alphabetical list of some movements, styles, discoveries and facts on the World History Timeline chart
Category:Culture
Category:Social movements | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_movement | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.691572 |
5905 | Chalcogen | {| class="floatright"
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The chalcogens (ore forming) ( ) are the chemical elements in group 16 of the periodic table. This group is also known as the oxygen family. Group 16 consists of the elements oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), and the radioactive elements polonium (Po) and livermorium (Lv). Often, oxygen is treated separately from the other chalcogens, sometimes even excluded from the scope of the term "chalcogen" altogether, due to its very different chemical behavior from sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium. The word "chalcogen" is derived from a combination of the Greek word () principally meaning copper (the term was also used for bronze, brass, any metal in the poetic sense, ore and coin), and the Latinized Greek word , meaning born or produced.
Sulfur has been known since antiquity, and oxygen was recognized as an element in the 18th century. Selenium, tellurium and polonium were discovered in the 19th century, and livermorium in 2000. All of the chalcogens have six valence electrons, leaving them two electrons short of a full outer shell. Their most common oxidation states are −2, +2, +4, and +6. They have relatively low atomic radii, especially the lighter ones. Sulfur is extracted from oil and natural gas. Selenium and tellurium are produced as byproducts of copper refining. Polonium is most available in naturally occurring actinide-containing materials. Livermorium has been synthesized in particle accelerators. The primary use of elemental oxygen is in steelmaking. Sulfur is mostly converted into sulfuric acid, which is heavily used in the chemical industry.
|}
{|class"wikitable" style"text-align:center"
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!Element !! Melting point<br />(°C) and do not conduct heat well. tend to increase towards the chalcogens with higher atomic numbers.
Isotopes
Out of the six known chalcogens, one (oxygen) has an atomic number equal to a nuclear magic number, which means that their atomic nuclei tend to have increased stability towards radioactive decay. It has an additional 28 isomers.
With the exception of livermorium, all chalcogens have at least one naturally occurring radioisotope: oxygen has trace <sup>15</sup>O, sulfur has trace <sup>35</sup>S, selenium has <sup>82</sup>Se, tellurium has <sup>128</sup>Te and <sup>130</sup>Te, and polonium has <sup>210</sup>Po.
Among the lighter chalcogens (oxygen and sulfur), the most neutron-poor isotopes undergo proton emission, the moderately neutron-poor isotopes undergo electron capture or β<sup>+</sup> decay, the moderately neutron-rich isotopes undergo β<sup>−</sup> decay, and the most neutron rich isotopes undergo neutron emission. The middle chalcogens (selenium and tellurium) have similar decay tendencies as the lighter chalcogens, but no proton-emitting isotopes have been observed, and some of the most neutron-deficient isotopes of tellurium undergo alpha decay. Polonium isotopes tend to decay via alpha or beta decay. Isotopes with nonzero nuclear spins are more abundant in nature among the chalcogens selenium and tellurium than they are with sulfur. and six allotropes of solid oxygen including "red oxygen", which has the formula O<sub>8</sub>.
Sulfur has over 20 known allotropes, which is more than any other element except carbon. The most common allotropes are in the form of eight-atom rings, but other molecular allotropes that contain as few as two atoms or as many as 20 are known. Other notable sulfur allotropes include rhombic sulfur and monoclinic sulfur. Rhombic sulfur is the more stable of the two allotropes. Monoclinic sulfur takes the form of long needles and is formed when liquid sulfur is cooled to slightly below its melting point. The atoms in liquid sulfur are generally in the form of long chains, but above 190 °C, the chains begin to break down. If liquid sulfur above 190 °C is frozen very rapidly, the resulting sulfur is amorphous or "plastic" sulfur. Gaseous sulfur is a mixture of diatomic sulfur (S<sub>2</sub>) and 8-atom rings.
Selenium has at least eight distinct allotropes. The gray allotrope, commonly referred to as the "metallic" allotrope, despite not being a metal, is stable and has a hexagonal crystal structure. The gray allotrope of selenium is soft, with a Mohs hardness of 2, and brittle. Four other allotropes of selenium are metastable. These include two monoclinic red allotropes and two amorphous allotropes, one of which is red and one of which is black. The red allotrope converts to the black allotrope in the presence of heat. The gray allotrope of selenium is made from spirals on selenium atoms, while one of the red allotropes is made of stacks of selenium rings (Se<sub>8</sub>). although its typical form is hexagonal. Polonium has two allotropes, which are known as α-polonium and β-polonium. α-polonium has a cubic crystal structure and converts to the rhombohedral β-polonium at 36 °C.
Chemical
Oxygen, sulfur, and selenium are nonmetals, and tellurium is a metalloid, meaning that its chemical properties are between those of a metal and those of a nonmetal. although it has some metallic properties. Also, some allotropes of selenium display characteristics of a metalloid, even though selenium is usually considered a nonmetal. Even though oxygen is a chalcogen, its chemical properties are different from those of other chalcogens. One reason for this is that the heavier chalcogens have vacant d-orbitals. Oxygen's electronegativity is also much higher than those of the other chalcogens. This makes oxygen's electric polarizability several times lower than those of the other chalcogens.
For covalent bonding a chalcogen may accept two electrons according to the octet rule, leaving two lone pairs. When an atom forms two single bonds, they form an angle between 90° and 120°. In 1+ cations, such as , a chalcogen forms three molecular orbitals arranged in a trigonal pyramidal fashion and one lone pair. Double bonds are also common in chalcogen compounds, for example in chalcogenates (see below).
The oxidation number of the most common chalcogen compounds with positive metals is −2. However the tendency for chalcogens to form compounds in the −2 state decreases towards the heavier chalcogens. Organic sulfur compounds such as thiols have a strong specific smell, and a few are utilized by some organisms. Oxygen ions often come in the forms of oxide ions (), peroxide ions (), and hydroxide ions (). Sulfur ions generally come in the form of sulfides (), bisulfides (), sulfites (), sulfates (), and thiosulfates (). Selenium ions usually come in the form of selenides (), selenites () and selenates (). Tellurium ions often come in the form of tellurates ().
Except for polonium, the chalcogens are all fairly similar to each other chemically. They all form X<sup>2−</sup> ions when reacting with electropositive metals.
Sulfide minerals and analogous compounds produce gases upon reaction with oxygen.
Compounds
With halogens <!-- Chalcohalide redirects here -->
Chalcogens also form compounds with halogens known as chalcohalides, or chalcogen halides. The majority of simple chalcogen halides are well-known and widely used as chemical reagents. However, more complicated chalcogen halides, such as sulfenyl, sulfonyl, and sulfuryl halides, are less well known to science. Out of the compounds consisting purely of chalcogens and halogens, there are a total of 13 chalcogen fluorides, nine chalcogen chlorides, eight chalcogen bromides, and six chalcogen iodides that are known. The heavier chalcogen halides often have significant molecular interactions. Sulfur fluorides with low valences are fairly unstable and little is known about their properties. However, sulfur fluorides with high valences, such as sulfur hexafluoride, are stable and well-known. Sulfur tetrafluoride is also a well-known sulfur fluoride. Certain selenium fluorides, such as selenium difluoride, have been produced in small amounts. The crystal structures of both selenium tetrafluoride and tellurium tetrafluoride are known. Chalcogen chlorides and bromides have also been explored. In particular, selenium dichloride and sulfur dichloride can react to form organic selenium compounds. Dichalcogen dihalides, such as Se<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>2</sub> also are known to exist. There are also mixed chalcogen-halogen compounds. These include SeSX, with X being chlorine or bromine. Such compounds can form in mixtures of sulfur dichloride and selenium halides. These compounds have been fairly recently structurally characterized, as of 2008. In general, diselenium and disulfur chlorides and bromides are useful chemical reagents. Chalcogen halides with attached metal atoms are soluble in organic solutions. One example of such a compound is . Unlike selenium chlorides and bromides, selenium iodides have not been isolated, as of 2008, although it is likely that they occur in solution. Diselenium diiodide, however, does occur in equilibrium with selenium atoms and iodine molecules. Some tellurium halides with low valences, such as and , form polymers when in the solid state. These tellurium halides can be synthesized by the reduction of pure tellurium with superhydride and reacting the resulting product with tellurium tetrahalides. Ditellurium dihalides tend to get less stable as the halides become lower in atomic number and atomic mass. Tellurium also forms iodides with even fewer iodine atoms than diiodides. These include TeI and Te<sub>2</sub>I. These compounds have extended structures in the solid state. Halogens and chalcogens can also form halochalcogenate anions. and selenophenol is renowned for its "metaphysical stench". There are also thioketones, selenoketones, and telluroketones. Out of these, thioketones are the most well-studied with 80% of chalcogenoketones papers being about them. Selenoketones make up 16% of such papers and telluroketones make up 4% of them. Thioketones have well-studied non-linear electric and photophysical properties. Selenoketones are less stable than thioketones and telluroketones are less stable than selenoketones. Telluroketones have the highest level of polarity of chalcogenoketones.OtherChalcogens form single bonds and double bonds with other carbon group elements than carbon, such as silicon, germanium, and tin. Such compounds typically form from a reaction of carbon group halides and chalcogenol salts or chalcogenol bases. Cyclic compounds with chalcogens, carbon group elements, and boron atoms exist, and occur from the reaction of boron dichalcogenates and carbon group metal halides. Compounds in the form of M-E, where M is silicon, germanium, or tin, and E is sulfur, selenium or tellurium have been discovered. These form when carbon group hydrides react or when heavier versions of carbenes react. Sulfur and tellurium can bond with organic compounds containing both silicon and phosphorus. Also, oxygen can bond to hydrogen in a 1:1 ratio as in hydrogen peroxide, but this compound is unstable.
History
Early discoveries
<!--Not supported by its article: -->
Sulfur has been known since ancient times and is mentioned in the Bible fifteen times. It was known to the ancient Greeks and commonly mined by the ancient Romans. <!--Not supported by the article: It was also historically used as a component of Greek fire.--> In the Middle Ages, it was a key part of alchemical experiments. In the 1700s and 1800s, scientists Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard proved sulfur to be a chemical element.
Periodic table placing
's periodic system proposed in 1871 showing oxygen, sulfur, selenium and tellurium part of his group VI]]
Three of the chalcogens (sulfur, selenium, and tellurium) were part of the discovery of periodicity, as they are among a series of triads of elements in the same group that were noted by Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner as having similar properties. His version included a "group b" consisting of oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and osmium.
was among the first to notice similarities between what are now known as chalcogens.]]
After 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev proposed his periodic table placing oxygen at the top of "group VI" above sulfur, selenium, and tellurium. Chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium were sometimes included in this group, but they would be later rearranged as part of group VIB; uranium would later be moved to the actinide series. Oxygen, along with sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and later polonium would be grouped in group VIA, until the group's name was changed to group 16 in 1988.
Modern discoveries
In the late 19th century, Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered that a sample of pitchblende was emitting four times as much radioactivity as could be explained by the presence of uranium alone. The Curies gathered several tons of pitchblende and refined it for several months until they had a pure sample of polonium. The discovery officially took place in 1898. Prior to the invention of particle accelerators, the only way to produce polonium was to extract it over several months from uranium ore. as the elements in the group formed amphid salts (salts of oxyacids, formerly regarded as composed of two oxides, an acid and a basic oxide). The term received some use in the early 1800s but is now obsolete. gender, kindle). It was first used in 1932 by Wilhelm Biltz's group at Leibniz University Hannover, where it was proposed by Werner Fischer. The word "chalcogen" gained popularity in Germany during the 1930s because the term was analogous to "halogen". Although the literal meanings of the modern Greek words imply that chalcogen means "copper-former", this is misleading because the chalcogens have nothing to do with copper in particular. "Ore-former" has been suggested as a better translation, as the vast majority of metal ores are chalcogenides and the word in ancient Greek was associated with metals and metal-bearing rock in general; copper, and its alloy bronze, was one of the first metals to be used by humans.
Oxygen's name comes from the Greek words oxy genes, meaning "acid-forming". Sulfur's name comes from either the Latin word or the Sanskrit word ; both of those terms are ancient words for sulfur. Selenium is named after the Greek goddess of the moon, Selene, to match the previously discovered element tellurium, whose name comes from the Latin word , meaning earth. Polonium is named after Marie Curie's country of birth, Poland.
Occurrence
The four lightest chalcogens (oxygen, sulfur, selenium, and tellurium) are all primordial elements on Earth. Sulfur and oxygen occur as constituent copper ores and selenium and tellurium occur in small traces in such ores. Oxygen also occurs in many minerals, being found in all oxide minerals and hydroxide minerals, and in numerous other mineral groups. Stars of at least eight times the mass of the Sun also produce oxygen in their cores via nuclear fusion. Oxygen is the third-most abundant element in the universe, making up 1% of the universe by weight.
Selenium makes up 0.05 parts per million of the Earth's crust by weight. Selenium is not produced directly by nuclear fusion. Tellurium makes up 9 parts per billion of the universe by weight.
Polonium only occurs in trace amounts on Earth, via radioactive decay of uranium and thorium. It is present in uranium ores in concentrations of 100 micrograms per metric ton. Very minute amounts of polonium exist in the soil and thus in most food, and thus in the human body. Because sulfide minerals are much denser than the silicate minerals formed by lithophile elements,
Production
Approximately 100 million metric tons of oxygen are produced yearly. Oxygen is most commonly produced by fractional distillation, in which air is cooled to a liquid, then warmed, allowing all the components of air except for oxygen to turn to gases and escape. Fractionally distilling air several times can produce 99.5% pure oxygen. Another method with which oxygen is produced is to send a stream of dry, clean air through a bed of molecular sieves made of zeolite, which absorbs the nitrogen in the air, leaving 90 to 93% pure oxygen. Tellurium can also be refined by electrolytic reduction of sodium telluride. The world production of tellurium is between 150 and 200 metric tons per year. The United States is one of the largest producers of tellurium, producing around 50 metric tons per year. Peru, Japan, and Canada are also large producers of tellurium. Sulfur is used as a pesticide (specifically as an acaricide and fungicide) on "orchard, ornamental, vegetable, grain, and other crops."
, an application of sulfur]]
Around 40% of all selenium produced goes to glassmaking. 30% of all selenium produced goes to metallurgy, including manganese production. 15% of all selenium produced goes to agriculture. Electronics such as photovoltaic materials claim 10% of all selenium produced. Pigments account for 5% of all selenium produced. Historically, machines such as photocopiers and light meters used one-third of all selenium produced, but this application is in steady decline.
Tellurium is not known to be needed for animal life, although a few fungi can incorporate it in compounds in place of selenium. Microorganisms also absorb tellurium and emit dimethyl telluride. Most tellurium in the blood stream is excreted slowly in urine, but some is converted to dimethyl telluride and released through the lungs. On average, humans ingest about 600 micrograms of tellurium daily. Plants can take up some tellurium from the soil. Onions and garlic have been found to contain as much as 300 parts per million of tellurium in dry weight.
Sulfur is generally nontoxic and is even a vital nutrient for humans. However, in its elemental form it can cause redness in the eyes and skin, a burning sensation and a cough if inhaled, a burning sensation and diarrhoea and/or catharsis An excess of sulfur can be toxic for cows because microbes in the rumens of cows produce toxic hydrogen sulfide upon reaction with sulfur. Many sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide (H<sub>2</sub>S) and sulfur dioxide (SO<sub>2</sub>) are highly toxic. Hydrogen selenide (H<sub>2</sub>Se) is highly toxic. Polonium-210 is only dangerous if ingested or inhaled because its alpha particle emissions cannot penetrate human skin. Polonium-209 is also toxic, and can cause leukemia.
Amphid salts
Amphid salts was a name given by Jons Jacob Berzelius in the 19th century for chemical salts derived from the 16th group of the periodic table which included oxygen, sulfur, selenium, and tellurium. The term received some use in the early 1800s but is now obsolete. The current term in use for the 16th group is chalcogens.
See also
* Chalcogenide
* Gold chalcogenides
* Halogen
* Interchalcogen
* Pnictogen
References
External links
*
Category:Periodic table
Category:Groups (periodic table) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcogen | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.733068 |
5906 | Carbon dioxide | | ImageSize1 = 180
| ImageName1 = Structural formula of carbon dioxide with bond length
| ImageClass1 = skin-invert-image
| ImageFileL1 = Carbon dioxide 3D ball.png
| ImageClassL1 = bg-transparent
| ImageFileL1_Ref =
| ImageNameL1 = Ball-and-stick model of carbon dioxide
| ImageFileR1 = Carbon dioxide 3D spacefill.png
| ImageClassR1 = bg-transparent
| ImageFileR1_Ref =
| ImageNameR1 = Space-filling model of carbon dioxide
| IUPACName = Carbon dioxide
| OtherNames =
|Section1=
| PubChem = 280
| ChEMBL_Ref =
| ChEMBL = 1231871
| ChemSpiderID = 274
| ChemSpiderID_Ref =
| UNII = 142M471B3J
| UNII_Ref =
| EINECS = 204-696-9
| UNNumber = 1013 (gas), 1845 (solid)
| KEGG_Ref =
| KEGG = D00004
| MeSHName = Carbon+dioxide
| ChEBI_Ref =
| ChEBI = 16526
| RTECS = FF6400000
| Beilstein = 1900390
| Gmelin = 989
| 3DMet = B01131
| SMILES OC=O
| SMILES1 C(O)=O
| StdInChI = 1S/CO2/c2-1-3
| StdInChI_Ref =
| InChI = 1/CO2/c2-1-3
| StdInChIKey = CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYSA-N
| StdInChIKey_Ref =
| InChIKey = CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYAO}}
|Section2=μPa·s at
}}
| VaporPressure = 5.7292(30) MPa, 56.54(30) atm (20 °C (293.15 K))
| Dipole = 0D
| MagSus = −20.5·10<sup>−6</sup>cm<sup>3</sup>/mol
| ThermalConductivity 0.01662W·m<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup> ()
| CriticalTP304.128(15) K (30.978(15) °C), 7.3773(30) MPa
| PEL TWA 5000ppm (9000mg/m<sup>3</sup>)
| IDLH 40,000ppm (72,000mg/m<sup>3</sup>)
}}
|Section8=
| OtherCations =
| OtherFunction_label = carbon oxides
| OtherFunction = See Oxocarbon
| OtherCompounds =
}}
}}
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature and at normally-encountered concentrations it is odorless. As the source of carbon in the carbon cycle, atmospheric is the primary carbon source for life on Earth. In the air, carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light but absorbs infrared radiation, acting as a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is soluble in water and is found in groundwater, lakes, ice caps, and seawater.
It is a trace gas in Earth's atmosphere at 421 parts per million (ppm), or about 0.042% (as of May 2022) having risen from pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm or about 0.028%. Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of these increased concentrations, which are the primary cause of climate change.
Its concentration in Earth's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian was regulated by organisms and geological features. Plants, algae and cyanobacteria use energy from sunlight to synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water in a process called photosynthesis, which produces oxygen as a waste product. In turn, oxygen is consumed and is released as waste by all aerobic organisms when they metabolize organic compounds to produce energy by respiration. is released from organic materials when they decay or combust, such as in forest fires. When carbon dioxide dissolves in water, it forms carbonate and mainly bicarbonate (), which causes ocean acidification as atmospheric levels increase.
Carbon dioxide is 53% more dense than dry air, but is long lived and thoroughly mixes in the atmosphere. About half of excess emissions to the atmosphere are absorbed by land and ocean carbon sinks. These sinks can become saturated and are volatile, as decay and wildfires result in the being released back into the atmosphere. , or the carbon it holds, is eventually sequestered (stored for the long term) in rocks and organic deposits like coal, petroleum and natural gas.
Nearly all produced by humans goes into the atmosphere. Less than 1% of produced annually is put to commercial use, mostly in the fertilizer industry and in the oil and gas industry for enhanced oil recovery. Other commercial applications include food and beverage production, metal fabrication, cooling, fire suppression and stimulating plant growth in greenhouses.
Chemical and physical properties
Structure, bonding and molecular vibrations
The symmetry of a carbon dioxide molecule is linear and centrosymmetric at its equilibrium geometry. The length of the carbon–oxygen bond in carbon dioxide is 116.3 pm, noticeably shorter than the roughly 140 pm length of a typical single C–O bond, and shorter than most other C–O multiply bonded functional groups such as carbonyls.
In the gas phase, carbon dioxide molecules undergo significant vibrational motions and do not keep a fixed structure. However, in a Coulomb explosion imaging experiment, an instantaneous image of the molecular structure can be deduced. Such an experiment has been performed for carbon dioxide. The result of this experiment, and the conclusion of theoretical calculations based on an ab initio potential energy surface of the molecule, is that none of the molecules in the gas phase are ever exactly linear. This counter-intuitive result is trivially due to the fact that the nuclear motion volume element vanishes for linear geometries.
This is the true first acid dissociation constant, defined as
:<math chem>K_\mathrm{a1} = \frac{\ce{[HCO3- ][H+]}}{\ce{[H2CO3]}}</math>
where the denominator includes only covalently bound and does not include hydrated (aq). The much smaller and often-quoted value near 4.16 × 10<sup>−7</sup> (or pK<sub>a1</sub> = 6.38) is an apparent value calculated on the (incorrect) assumption that all dissolved is present as carbonic acid, so that
:<math chem>K_\mathrm{a1}{\rm{(apparent)}}=\frac{\ce{[HCO3- ][H+]}}{\ce{[H2CO3] + [CO2_{(aq)}]}}</math>
Since most of the dissolved remains as molecules, K<sub>a1</sub>(apparent) has a much larger denominator and a much smaller value than the true K<sub>a1</sub>.
The bicarbonate ion is an amphoteric species that can act as an acid or as a base, depending on pH of the solution. At high pH, it dissociates significantly into the carbonate ion ():
:
:K<sub>a2</sub> 4.69 × 10<sup>−11</sup> mol/L; pK<sub>a2</sub> 10.329
In organisms, carbonic acid production is catalysed by the enzyme known as carbonic anhydrase.
In addition to altering its acidity, the presence of carbon dioxide in water also affects its electrical properties. When carbon dioxide dissolves in desalinated water, the electrical conductivity increases significantly from below 1 μS/cm to nearly 30 μS/cm. When heated, the water begins to gradually lose the conductivity induced by the presence of <math> \mathrm{CO_{2}} </math> , especially noticeable as temperatures exceed 30 °C.
The temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of fully deionized water without saturation is comparably low in relation to these data.
Chemical reactions
is a potent electrophile having an electrophilic reactivity that is comparable to benzaldehyde or strongly electrophilic α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. However, unlike electrophiles of similar reactivity, the reactions of nucleophiles with are thermodynamically less favored and are often found to be highly reversible. The reversible reaction of carbon dioxide with amines to make carbamates is used in scrubbers and has been suggested as a possible starting point for carbon capture and storage by amine gas treating.
Only very strong nucleophiles, like the carbanions provided by Grignard reagents and organolithium compounds react with to give carboxylates:
:
:where M Li or MgBr and R alkyl or aryl.
In metal carbon dioxide complexes, serves as a ligand, which can facilitate the conversion of to other chemicals.
The reduction of to CO is ordinarily a difficult and slow reaction:
:
The redox potential for this reaction near pH 7 is about −0.53 V versus the standard hydrogen electrode. The nickel-containing enzyme carbon monoxide dehydrogenase catalyses this process.
Photoautotrophs (i.e. plants and cyanobacteria) use the energy contained in sunlight to photosynthesize simple sugars from absorbed from the air and water:
:{{chem2|n CO2 + n H2O → (CH2O)_{n} + n O2}}
Physical properties
Carbon dioxide is colorless. At low concentrations, the gas is odorless; however, at sufficiently high concentrations, it has a sharp, acidic odor. At standard temperature and pressure, the density of carbon dioxide is around 1.98 kg/m<sup>3</sup>, about 1.53 times that of air.
Carbon dioxide has no liquid state at pressures below 0.51795(10) MPa This form of glass, called carbonia, is produced by supercooling heated at extreme pressures (40–48 GPa, or about 400,000 atmospheres) in a diamond anvil. This discovery confirmed the theory that carbon dioxide could exist in a glass state similar to other members of its elemental family, like silicon dioxide (silica glass) and germanium dioxide. Unlike silica and germania glasses, however, carbonia glass is not stable at normal pressures and reverts to gas when pressure is released.
At temperatures and pressures above the critical point, carbon dioxide behaves as a supercritical fluid known as supercritical carbon dioxide.
Table of thermal and physical properties of saturated liquid carbon dioxide:
{|class"wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style"text-align:right;"
!Temperature<br>(°C)
!Density<br>(kg/m<sup>3</sup>)
!Specific heat<br>(kJ/(kg⋅K))
!Kinematic viscosity<br>(m<sup>2</sup>/s)
!Thermal conductivity<br>(W/(m⋅K))
!Thermal diffusivity<br>(m<sup>2</sup>/s)
!Prandtl Number
|-
|−50
|1156.34
|1.84
|1.19 × 10<sup>−7</sup>
|0.0855
|4.02 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|2.96
|-
|-
|−40
|1117.77
|1.88
|1.18 × 10<sup>−7</sup>
|0.1011
|4.81 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|2.46
|-
|-
|−30
|1076.76
|1.97
|1.17 × 10<sup>−7</sup>
|0.1116
|5.27 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|2.22
|-
|-
|−20
|1032.39
|2.05
|1.15 × 10<sup>−7</sup>
|0.1151
|5.45 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|2.12
|-
|-
|−10
|983.38
|2.18
|1.13 × 10<sup>−7</sup>
|0.1099
|5.13 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|2.2
|-
|-
|0
|926.99
|2.47
|1.08 × 10<sup>−7</sup>
|0.1045
|4.58 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|2.38
|-
|-
|10
|860.03
|3.14
|1.01 × 10<sup>−7</sup>
|0.0971
|3.61 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|2.8
|-
|-
|20
|772.57
|5
|9.10 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|0.0872
|2.22 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|4.1
|-
|30
|597.81
|36.4
|8.00 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|0.0703
|0.279 × 10<sup>−8</sup>
|28.7
|-
|}
Table of thermal and physical properties of carbon dioxide () at atmospheric pressure:
Phototrophs use the products of their photosynthesis as internal food sources and as raw material for the biosynthesis of more complex organic molecules, such as polysaccharides, nucleic acids, and proteins. These are used for their own growth, and also as the basis of the food chains and webs that feed other organisms, including animals such as ourselves. Some important phototrophs, the coccolithophores synthesise hard calcium carbonate scales. A globally significant species of coccolithophore is Emiliania huxleyi whose calcite scales have formed the basis of many sedimentary rocks such as limestone, where what was previously atmospheric carbon can remain fixed for geological timescales. (green), which can be respired (red) to water and .]]
Plants can grow as much as 50% faster in concentrations of 1,000 ppm when compared with ambient conditions, though this assumes no change in climate and no limitation on other nutrients. Elevated levels cause increased growth reflected in the harvestable yield of crops, with wheat, rice and soybean all showing increases in yield of 12–14% under elevated in FACE experiments.
Increased atmospheric concentrations result in fewer stomata developing on plants which leads to reduced water usage and increased water-use efficiency. Studies using FACE have shown that enrichment leads to decreased concentrations of micronutrients in crop plants. This may have knock-on effects on other parts of ecosystems as herbivores will need to eat more food to gain the same amount of protein.
The concentration of secondary metabolites such as phenylpropanoids and flavonoids can also be altered in plants exposed to high concentrations of .
Plants also emit during respiration, and so the majority of plants and algae, which use C3 photosynthesis, are only net absorbers during the day. Though a growing forest will absorb many tons of each year, a mature forest will produce as much from respiration and decomposition of dead specimens (e.g., fallen branches) as is used in photosynthesis in growing plants. Contrary to the long-standing view that they are carbon neutral, mature forests can continue to accumulate carbon and remain valuable carbon sinks, helping to maintain the carbon balance of Earth's atmosphere. Additionally, and crucially to life on earth, photosynthesis by phytoplankton consumes dissolved in the upper ocean and thereby promotes the absorption of from the atmosphere.
Toxicity
in air]]
Carbon dioxide content in fresh air (averaged between sea-level and 10 kPa level, i.e., about altitude) varies between 0.036% (360 ppm) and 0.041% (412 ppm), depending on the location.
In humans, exposure to at concentrations greater than 5% causes the development of hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis. Concentrations of 7% to 10% (70,000 to 100,000 ppm) may cause suffocation, even in the presence of sufficient oxygen, manifesting as dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour. Concentrations of more than 10% may cause convulsions, coma, and death. levels of more than 30% act rapidly leading to loss of consciousness in seconds. The Swahili term for this phenomenon is .
astronauts, who had to adapt cartridges from the command module to supply the carbon dioxide scrubber in the Apollo Lunar Module, which they used as a lifeboat.]]
Adaptation to increased concentrations of occurs in humans, including modified breathing and kidney bicarbonate production, in order to balance the effects of blood acidification (acidosis). Several studies suggested that 2.0 percent inspired concentrations could be used for closed air spaces (e.g. a submarine) since the adaptation is physiological and reversible, as deterioration in performance or in normal physical activity does not happen at this level of exposure for five days. Yet, other studies show a decrease in cognitive function even at much lower levels. Also, with ongoing respiratory acidosis, adaptation or compensatory mechanisms will be unable to reverse the condition.
Below 1%
There are few studies of the health effects of long-term continuous exposure on humans and animals at levels below 1%. Occupational exposure limits have been set in the United States at 0.5% (5000 ppm) for an eight-hour period. At this concentration, International Space Station crew experienced headaches, lethargy, mental slowness, emotional irritation, and sleep disruption. Studies in animals at 0.5% have demonstrated kidney calcification and bone loss after eight weeks of exposure. A study of humans exposed in 2.5 hour sessions demonstrated significant negative effects on cognitive abilities at concentrations as low as 0.1% (1000ppm) likely due to induced increases in cerebral blood flow. Similarly a study on the effects of the concentration of in motorcycle helmets has been criticized for having dubious methodology in not noting the self-reports of motorcycle riders and taking measurements using mannequins. Further when normal motorcycle conditions were achieved (such as highway or city speeds) or the visor was raised the concentration of declined to safe levels (0.2%).
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Typical concentration effects
! Concentration !! Note
|-
| 280 ppm || Pre-industrial levels
|-
| 421 ppm || Current (May 2022) levels
|-
| ~1121 ppm || ASHRAE recommendation for indoor air
|-
| 5,000 ppm || USA 8h exposure limit Higher concentrations are associated with occupant health, comfort and performance degradation. ASHRAE Standard 62.1–2007 ventilation rates may result in indoor concentrations up to 2,100 ppm above ambient outdoor conditions. Thus if the outdoor concentration is 400 ppm, indoor concentrations may reach 2,500 ppm with ventilation rates that meet this industry consensus standard. Concentrations in poorly ventilated spaces can be found even higher than this (range of 3,000 or 4,000 ppm).
Miners, who are particularly vulnerable to gas exposure due to insufficient ventilation, referred to mixtures of carbon dioxide and nitrogen as "blackdamp", "choke damp" or "stythe". Before more effective technologies were developed, miners would frequently monitor for dangerous levels of blackdamp and other gases in mine shafts by bringing a caged canary with them as they worked. The canary is more sensitive to asphyxiant gases than humans, and as it became unconscious would stop singing and fall off its perch. The Davy lamp could also detect high levels of blackdamp (which sinks, and collects near the floor) by burning less brightly, while methane, another suffocating gas and explosion risk, would make the lamp burn more brightly.
In February 2020, three people died from suffocation at a party in Moscow when dry ice (frozen ) was added to a swimming pool to cool it down. A similar accident occurred in 2018 when a woman died from fumes emanating from the large amount of dry ice she was transporting in her car.
Indoor air
Humans spend more and more time in a confined atmosphere (around 80-90% of the time in a building or vehicle). According to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) and various actors in France, the rate in the indoor air of buildings (linked to human or animal occupancy and the presence of combustion installations), weighted by air renewal, is "usually between about 350 and 2,500 ppm".
In homes, schools, nurseries and offices, there are no systematic relationships between the levels of and other pollutants, and indoor is statistically not a good predictor of pollutants linked to outdoor road (or air, etc.) traffic. is the parameter that changes the fastest (with hygrometry and oxygen levels when humans or animals are gathered in a closed or poorly ventilated room). In poor countries, many open hearths are sources of and CO emitted directly into the living environment.
Outdoor areas with elevated concentrations
Local concentrations of carbon dioxide can reach high values near strong sources, especially those that are isolated by surrounding terrain. At the Bossoleto hot spring near Rapolano Terme in Tuscany, Italy, situated in a bowl-shaped depression about in diameter, concentrations of rise to above 75% overnight, sufficient to kill insects and small animals. After sunrise the gas is dispersed by convection. High concentrations of produced by disturbance of deep lake water saturated with are thought to have caused 37 fatalities at Lake Monoun, Cameroon in 1984 and 1700 casualties at Lake Nyos, Cameroon in 1986.
Human physiology
Content
{| class"wikitable floatright" style"text-align: center;"
|+Reference ranges or averages for partial pressures of carbon dioxide (abbreviated p)
|-
! Blood compartment
! (kPa)
! (mm Hg)
|-
| Venous blood carbon dioxide
|
|-
| Alveolar pulmonary<br />gas pressures
|
|-
| Arterial blood carbon dioxide
| containing of carbon. In humans, this carbon dioxide is carried through the venous system and is breathed out through the lungs, resulting in lower concentrations in the arteries. The carbon dioxide content of the blood is often given as the partial pressure, which is the pressure which carbon dioxide would have had if it alone occupied the volume. In humans, the blood carbon dioxide contents are shown in the adjacent table.
Transport in the blood
is carried in blood in three different ways. Exact percentages vary between arterial and venous blood.
* Majority (about 70% to 80%) is converted to bicarbonate ions by the enzyme carbonic anhydrase in the red blood cells, by the reaction:
:
* 5–10% is dissolved in blood plasma
Bicarbonate ions are crucial for regulating blood pH. A person's breathing rate influences the level of in their blood. Breathing that is too slow or shallow causes respiratory acidosis, while breathing that is too rapid leads to hyperventilation, which can cause respiratory alkalosis.
Although the body requires oxygen for metabolism, low oxygen levels normally do not stimulate breathing. Rather, breathing is stimulated by higher carbon dioxide levels. As a result, breathing low-pressure air or a gas mixture with no oxygen at all (such as pure nitrogen) can lead to loss of consciousness without ever experiencing air hunger. This is especially perilous for high-altitude fighter pilots. It is also why flight attendants instruct passengers, in case of loss of cabin pressure, to apply the oxygen mask to themselves first before helping others; otherwise, one risks losing consciousness. Concentrations and role in the environment Atmosphere
Oceans
Ocean acidification
Carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean to form carbonic acid (), bicarbonate (), and carbonate (). There is about fifty times as much carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans as exists in the atmosphere. The oceans act as an enormous carbon sink, and have taken up about a third of emitted by human activity.
projected for the year 2100]]
Hydrothermal vents
Carbon dioxide is also introduced into the oceans through hydrothermal vents. The Champagne hydrothermal vent, found at the Northwest Eifuku volcano in the Mariana Trench, produces almost pure liquid carbon dioxide, one of only two known sites in the world as of 2004, the other being in the Okinawa Trough. The finding of a submarine lake of liquid carbon dioxide in the Okinawa Trough was reported in 2006.
Sources
The burning of fossil fuels for energy produces 36.8 billion tonnes of per year as of 2023. Nearly all of this goes into the atmosphere, where approximately half is subsequently absorbed into natural carbon sinks. Less than 1% of produced annually is put to commercial use. Regardless of the type of organic material, the production of gases follows well defined kinetic pattern. Carbon dioxide comprises about 40–45% of the gas that emanates from decomposition in landfills (termed "landfill gas"). Most of the remaining 50–55% is methane.
Combustion
The combustion of all carbon-based fuels, such as methane (natural gas), petroleum distillates (gasoline, diesel, kerosene, propane), coal, wood and generic organic matter produces carbon dioxide and, except in the case of pure carbon, water. As an example, the chemical reaction between methane and oxygen:
:
Iron is reduced from its oxides with coke in a blast furnace, producing pig iron and carbon dioxide:
:
By-product from hydrogen production
Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of the industrial production of hydrogen by steam reforming and the water gas shift reaction in ammonia production. These processes begin with the reaction of water and natural gas (mainly methane).
Thermal decomposition of limestone
It is produced by thermal decomposition of limestone, by heating (calcining) at about , in the manufacture of quicklime (calcium oxide, CaO), a compound that has many industrial uses:
:
Acids liberate from most metal carbonates. Consequently, it may be obtained directly from natural carbon dioxide springs, where it is produced by the action of acidified water on limestone or dolomite. The reaction between hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate (limestone or chalk) is shown below:
:
The carbonic acid () then decomposes to water and :
:
Such reactions are accompanied by foaming or bubbling, or both, as the gas is released. They have widespread uses in industry because they can be used to neutralize waste acid streams.
Commercial uses
Around 230 Mt of are used each year, mostly in the fertiliser industry for urea production (130 million tonnes) and in the oil and gas industry for enhanced oil recovery (70 to 80 million tonnes). However, the potential to use products is very small compared to the total volume of that could foreseeably be captured. The vast majority of captured is considered a waste product and sequestered in underground geologic formations. Precursor to chemicals
In the chemical industry, carbon dioxide is mainly consumed as an ingredient in the production of urea, with a smaller fraction being used to produce methanol and a range of other products. Some carboxylic acid derivatives such as sodium salicylate are prepared using by the Kolbe–Schmitt reaction.
Captured could be to produce methanol or electrofuels. To be carbon-neutral, the would need to come from bioenergy production or direct air capture. Fossil fuel recovery Carbon dioxide is used in enhanced oil recovery where it is injected into or adjacent to producing oil wells, usually under supercritical conditions, when it becomes miscible with the oil. This approach can increase original oil recovery by reducing residual oil saturation by 7–23% additional to primary extraction. It acts as both a pressurizing agent and, when dissolved into the underground crude oil, significantly reduces its viscosity, and changing surface chemistry enabling the oil to flow more rapidly through the reservoir to the removal well.
Most injected in -EOR projects comes from naturally occurring underground deposits. Some used in EOR is captured from industrial facilities such as natural gas processing plants, using carbon capture technology and transported to the oilfield in pipelines. At very high concentrations (100 times atmospheric concentration, or greater), carbon dioxide can be toxic to animal life, so raising the concentration to 10,000 ppm (1%) or higher for several hours will eliminate pests such as whiteflies and spider mites in a greenhouse. Some plants respond more favorably to rising carbon dioxide concentrations than others, which can lead to vegetation regime shifts like woody plant encroachment. Foods Carbon dioxide is a food additive used as a propellant and acidity regulator in the food industry. It is approved for usage in the EU (listed as E number E290), US, Australia and New Zealand (listed by its INS number 290).
A candy called Pop Rocks is pressurized with carbon dioxide gas at about . When placed in the mouth, it dissolves (just like other hard candy) and releases the gas bubbles with an audible pop.
Leavening agents cause dough to rise by producing carbon dioxide. Baker's yeast produces carbon dioxide by fermentation of sugars within the dough, while chemical leaveners such as baking powder and baking soda release carbon dioxide when heated or if exposed to acids.
Beverages
Carbon dioxide is used to produce carbonated soft drinks and soda water. Traditionally, the carbonation of beer and sparkling wine came about through natural fermentation, but many manufacturers carbonate these drinks with carbon dioxide recovered from the fermentation process. In the case of bottled and kegged beer, the most common method used is carbonation with recycled carbon dioxide. With the exception of British real ale, draught beer is usually transferred from kegs in a cold room or cellar to dispensing taps on the bar using pressurized carbon dioxide, sometimes mixed with nitrogen.
The taste of soda water (and related taste sensations in other carbonated beverages) is an effect of the dissolved carbon dioxide rather than the bursting bubbles of the gas. Carbonic anhydrase 4 converts carbon dioxide to carbonic acid leading to a sour taste, and also the dissolved carbon dioxide induces a somatosensory response.
Winemaking
Carbon dioxide in the form of dry ice is often used during the cold soak phase in winemaking to cool clusters of grapes quickly after picking to help prevent spontaneous fermentation by wild yeast. The main advantage of using dry ice over water ice is that it cools the grapes without adding any additional water that might decrease the sugar concentration in the grape must, and thus the alcohol concentration in the finished wine. Carbon dioxide is also used to create a hypoxic environment for carbonic maceration, the process used to produce Beaujolais wine.
Carbon dioxide is sometimes used to top up wine bottles or other storage vessels such as barrels to prevent oxidation, though it has the problem that it can dissolve into the wine, making a previously still wine slightly fizzy. For this reason, other gases such as nitrogen or argon are preferred for this process by professional wine makers.
Stunning animals
Carbon dioxide is often used to "stun" animals before slaughter. "Stunning" may be a misnomer, as the animals are not knocked out immediately and may suffer distress. Inert gas Carbon dioxide is one of the most commonly used compressed gases for pneumatic (pressurized gas) systems in portable pressure tools. Carbon dioxide is also used as an atmosphere for welding, although in the welding arc, it reacts to oxidize most metals. Use in the automotive industry is common despite significant evidence that welds made in carbon dioxide are more brittle than those made in more inert atmospheres. When used for MIG welding, use is sometimes referred to as MAG welding, for Metal Active Gas, as can react at these high temperatures. It tends to produce a hotter puddle than truly inert atmospheres, improving the flow characteristics. Although, this may be due to atmospheric reactions occurring at the puddle site. This is usually the opposite of the desired effect when welding, as it tends to embrittle the site, but may not be a problem for general mild steel welding, where ultimate ductility is not a major concern.
Carbon dioxide is used in many consumer products that require pressurized gas because it is inexpensive and nonflammable, and because it undergoes a phase transition from gas to liquid at room temperature at an attainable pressure of approximately , allowing far more carbon dioxide to fit in a given container than otherwise would. Life jackets often contain canisters of pressured carbon dioxide for quick inflation. Aluminium capsules of are also sold as supplies of compressed gas for air guns, paintball markers/guns, inflating bicycle tires, and for making carbonated water. High concentrations of carbon dioxide can also be used to kill pests. Liquid carbon dioxide is used in supercritical drying of some food products and technological materials, in the preparation of specimens for scanning electron microscopy and in the decaffeination of coffee beans. Fire extinguisher Carbon dioxide can be used to extinguish flames by flooding the environment around the flame with the gas. It does not itself react to extinguish the flame, but starves the flame of oxygen by displacing it. Some fire extinguishers, especially those designed for electrical fires, contain liquid carbon dioxide under pressure. Carbon dioxide extinguishers work well on small flammable liquid and electrical fires, but not on ordinary combustible fires, because they do not cool the burning substances significantly, and when the carbon dioxide disperses, they can catch fire upon exposure to atmospheric oxygen. They are mainly used in server rooms.
Carbon dioxide has also been widely used as an extinguishing agent in fixed fire-protection systems for local application of specific hazards and total flooding of a protected space. International Maritime Organization standards recognize carbon dioxide systems for fire protection of ship holds and engine rooms. Carbon dioxide-based fire-protection systems have been linked to several deaths, because it can cause suffocation in sufficiently high concentrations. A review of systems identified 51 incidents between 1975 and the date of the report (2000), causing 72 deaths and 145 injuries.
Supercritical as solvent
Liquid carbon dioxide is a good solvent for many lipophilic organic compounds and is used to decaffeinate coffee. Carbon dioxide has attracted attention in the pharmaceutical and other chemical processing industries as a less toxic alternative to more traditional solvents such as organochlorides. It is also used by some dry cleaners for this reason. It is used in the preparation of some aerogels because of the properties of supercritical carbon dioxide.
Refrigerant
Liquid and solid carbon dioxide are important refrigerants, especially in the food industry, where they are employed during the transportation and storage of ice cream and other frozen foods. Solid carbon dioxide is called "dry ice" and is used for small shipments where refrigeration equipment is not practical. Solid carbon dioxide is always below at regular atmospheric pressure, regardless of the air temperature.
Liquid carbon dioxide (industry nomenclature R744 or R-744) was used as a refrigerant prior to the use of dichlorodifluoromethane (R12, a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compound). might enjoy a renaissance because one of the main substitutes to CFCs, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R134a, a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) compound) contributes to climate change more than does. physical properties are highly favorable for cooling, refrigeration, and heating purposes, having a high volumetric cooling capacity. Due to the need to operate at pressures of up to , systems require highly mechanically resistant reservoirs and components that have already been developed for mass production in many sectors. In automobile air conditioning, in more than 90% of all driving conditions for latitudes higher than 50°, (R744) operates more efficiently than systems using HFCs (e.g., R134a). Its environmental advantages (GWP of 1, non-ozone depleting, non-toxic, non-flammable) could make it the future working fluid to replace current HFCs in cars, supermarkets, and heat pump water heaters, among others. Coca-Cola has fielded -based beverage coolers and the U.S. Army is interested in refrigeration and heating technology.
Minor uses
]]
Carbon dioxide is the lasing medium in a carbon-dioxide laser, which is one of the earliest type of lasers.
Carbon dioxide can be used as a means of controlling the pH of swimming pools, by continuously adding gas to the water, thus keeping the pH from rising. Among the advantages of this is the avoidance of handling (more hazardous) acids. Similarly, it is also used in the maintaining reef aquaria, where it is commonly used in calcium reactors to temporarily lower the pH of water being passed over calcium carbonate in order to allow the calcium carbonate to dissolve into the water more freely, where it is used by some corals to build their skeleton.
Used as the primary coolant in the British advanced gas-cooled reactor for nuclear power generation.
Carbon dioxide induction is commonly used for the euthanasia of laboratory research animals. Methods to administer include placing animals directly into a closed, prefilled chamber containing , or exposure to a gradually increasing concentration of . The American Veterinary Medical Association's 2020 guidelines for carbon dioxide induction state that a displacement rate of 30–70% of the chamber or cage volume per minute is optimal for the humane euthanasia of small rodents. Percentages of vary for different species, based on identified optimal percentages to minimize distress. the Flemish chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont observed that when he burned charcoal in a closed vessel, the mass of the resulting ash was much less than that of the original charcoal. His interpretation was that the rest of the charcoal had been transmuted into an invisible substance he termed a "gas" (from Greek "chaos") or "wild spirit" (spiritus sylvestris).
The properties of carbon dioxide were further studied in the 1750s by the Scottish physician Joseph Black. He found that limestone (calcium carbonate) could be heated or treated with acids to yield a gas he called "fixed air". He observed that the fixed air was denser than air and supported neither flame nor animal life. Black also found that when bubbled through limewater (a saturated aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide), it would precipitate calcium carbonate. He used this phenomenon to illustrate that carbon dioxide is produced by animal respiration and microbial fermentation. In 1772, English chemist Joseph Priestley published a paper entitled Impregnating Water with Fixed Air in which he described a process of dripping sulfuric acid (or oil of vitriol as Priestley knew it) on chalk in order to produce carbon dioxide, and forcing the gas to dissolve by agitating a bowl of water in contact with the gas.
Carbon dioxide was first liquefied (at elevated pressures) in 1823 by Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday. The earliest description of solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) was given by the French inventor Adrien-Jean-Pierre Thilorier, who in 1835 opened a pressurized container of liquid carbon dioxide, only to find that the cooling produced by the rapid evaporation of the liquid yielded a "snow" of solid .
Carbon dioxide in combination with nitrogen was known from earlier times as Blackdamp, stythe or choke damp. Along with the other types of damp it was encountered in mining operations and well sinking. Slow oxidation of coal and biological processes replaced the oxygen to create a suffocating mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
See also
*
*
* (from the atmosphere)
* (early work on and climate change)
*
* List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions
* List of least carbon efficient power stations
*
* NASA's
*
Notes
References
External links
* [https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/chem/surface/level/overlay=co2sc/winkel3 Current global map of carbon dioxide concentration]
* [https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0103.html CDC – NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards – Carbon Dioxide]
* [https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/ Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide] (NOAA)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071007040239/http://www.shecco.com/about/history.php The rediscovery of : History, What is Shecco?] - as refrigerant
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Category:Triatomic molecules | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.815385 |
5907 | Cheers | | starring <!-- Per infobox guidelines, original cast should be listed first followed by additional cast in the order they joined the series. -->
| director =
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme = "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy
| endtheme = "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" (instrumental)
| composer = Craig Safan
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 11
| num_episodes = 275 (including three double-length episodes and a triple-length finale)
| list_episodes = List of Cheers episodes
| executive_producer =
| cinematography =
| camera = Film; Multi-camera
| runtime = 21–25 minutes
| company =
| network NBC
| first_aired =
| last_aired =
| related =
}}
Cheers is an American television sitcom, created by Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for 11 seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television. The show is set in the titular bar in Boston, where a group of locals meet to drink, relax, socialize, and escape from their day-to-day issues.
At the center of the show is the bar's owner and head bartender, Sam Malone, who is a womanizing former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. The show's ensemble cast introduced in the pilot episode are waitresses Diane Chambers and Carla Tortelli, second bartender Coach Ernie Pantusso, and regular customers Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. Later main characters of the show also include Frasier Crane, Woody Boyd, Lilith Sternin, and Rebecca Howe.
After premiering in 1982, it was nearly canceled during its first season when it ranked almost last in ratings for its premiere (74th out of 77 shows). However, Cheers eventually became a Nielsen ratings juggernaut in the United States, earning a top-10 rating during eight of its 11 seasons, including one season at number one (season 9). The show spent most of its run on NBC's Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup. Widely watched, its series finale in 1993 became the most-watched single TV episode of the 1990s, and the show's 275 episodes have been successfully syndicated worldwide. Nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for all 11 of its seasons on the air, it earned 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a record of 117 nominations.
During its run, Cheers became one of the most popular series in history and received critical acclaim from its start to its end and is frequently cited as one of the greatest television shows of all time. In 1997, the episodes "Thanksgiving Orphans" and "Home Is the Sailor," aired originally in 1987, were respectively ranked No. 7 and No. 45 on TV Guides 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. Its series finale was watched by an estimated 93 million viewers, almost 40% of the US population at the time. The series also produced three spin-offs: The Tortellis, Wings, and Frasier; and a Spanish remake.Characters
Before the Cheers pilot "Give Me a Ring Sometime" was completed and aired in 1982, the series consisted of four employees in the first script.
In later years, Woody Boyd replaced Coach, after the character died off-screen in season three (1984–85), following actor Nicholas Colasanto's death. Frasier Crane started as a recurring character and became a permanent one. In season six (1987–88), new character Rebecca Howe was added, having been written into the show after the finale of the previous season (1986–87). Lilith Sternin started as a one-time character in an episode of season four, "Second Time Around" (1985). After her second season five appearance, she became a recurring character and was later featured as a permanent one during season 10 (1991–92).
Original main characters
, Ted Danson; (middle) Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto; (bottom) George Wendt, John Ratzenberger |alt=Background is the bar setting. Top row has a businesswoman and a handsome bartender. Middle row has a brunette perm waitress and an old bartender. Bottom row has a suit-dressed man and a mailman.]]
* Ted Danson as Sam Malone: A bartender and proprietor of Cheers, Sam is also a lothario. Before the series began, he was a baseball relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox nicknamed "Mayday Malone" until he became an alcoholic, harming his career. He has an on-again, off-again relationship with Diane Chambers, his class opposite, in the first five seasons (1982–1987). During their off-times, Sam has flings with many not-so-bright "sexy women" All of her children are ill behaved, except Ludlow, whose father is a prominent academic. She flirts with men, including ones who are not flattered by her ways, and believes in superstitions. Later, she marries Eddie LeBec, an ice hockey player, who later becomes a penguin mascot for ice shows. After he dies in an ice show accident by an ice resurfacer, Carla later discovers that Eddie had committed bigamy with another woman, whom he had gotten pregnant. Carla sleeps with Sam's enemy, John Allen Hill, to Sam's annoyance and anger.
* George Wendt as Norm Peterson: A bar regular and occasionally employed accountant. A recurrent joke on the show, especially in the earlier seasons, is that the character was such a popular and constant fixture at the bar that anytime he entered through the front door, everyone present would yell out his name ("NORM!") in greeting (when present in the scene Diane would be heard saying "Norman!" moments later) ; usually, this cry would be followed by one of the present bartenders asking Norm how he was, usually receiving a sardonic response and a request for a beer. ("It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear.") He has infrequent accounting jobs and a troubled marriage with (but is still in love with and married to) Vera, an unseen character, though she is occasionally heard. Later in the series, he becomes a house painter and an interior decorator. Even later in the series, Norm secures his dream job, tasting beer at a brewery. The character was not originally intended to be a main cast role; After he was cast in a more permanent role, the character was renamed Norm.Subsequent main characters, Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth; (bottom) Wendt, Kirstie Alley, Danson, Ratzenberger |thumb|upright1.36|alt=Background is bar setting. Top row has a waitress, a young handsome bartender, and married opposite-sex psychiatrists. Bottom row has a suit-dressed man, a blonde, a middle-aged handsome bartender, and a mailman.]]
* John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin: <br />A know-it-all bar regular and mail carrier. He lives with his mother Esther Clavin (Frances Sternhagen) in first the family house and later his own apartment. In the bar, Cliff continuously spouts nonsensical and annoying trivia, making him an object of derision for the bar patrons (especially Carla). Ratzenberger auditioned for the role of a minor character George, but it went to Wendt, evolving the role into Norm Peterson. The producers decided they wanted a resident bar know-it-all,
* Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane: <br />A psychiatrist and bar regular, a recurring character for seasons 3 and 4 who joins the main cast by season 5. Frasier started out as Diane Chambers' love interest in the third season (1984–85). In the fourth season (1985–86), after Diane jilts him at the altar in Europe, Frasier starts to frequent Cheers and becomes a regular. He later marries Lilith Sternin and has a son, Frederick. After the series ends, the character becomes the focus of the spin-off Frasier, in which he is divorced from Lilith and living in Seattle.
* Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd: <br />A not-so-bright At the start, Sam frequently attempts to seduce Rebecca without success. As her personality changes,
Celebrity appearances
Other celebrities guest-starred in single episodes as themselves throughout the series. Sports figures appeared on the show as themselves, with a connection to Boston or Sam's former team, the Red Sox, such as Luis Tiant, Wade Boggs, and Kevin McHale and Larry Bird (of the Boston Celtics). Some television stars also made guest appearances as themselves such as Alex Trebek, Arsenio Hall, Dick Cavett, Robert Urich, George McFarland and Johnny Carson. Various political figures even made appearances on Cheers such as then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William J. Crowe, former Colorado Senator Gary Hart, then-Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, then-Senator John Kerry, then-Governor Michael Dukakis, Ethel Kennedy (widow of Robert F. Kennedy), and then-Mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn, the last five of whom all represented Cheers' home state and city.
In maternal roles, Glynis Johns, in a guest appearance in 1983, played Diane's mother, Helen Chambers. Nancy Marchand played Frasier's mother, Hester Crane, in an episode that aired in 1985. In an episode that aired in 1992, Celeste Holm – who had previously played Ted Danson's mother in "Three Men and a Baby" – appeared as Kelly's jokester of a paternal grandmother. Melendy Britt appeared in the episode "''Woody or Won't He''" (1990) as Kelly's mother, Roxanne Gaines, a very attractive high-society lady and a sexy, flirtatious upper-class cougar who tries to seduce Woody.
The musician Harry Connick Jr. appeared in an episode as Woody's cousin and plays a song from his Grammy-winning album We Are in Love (). John Cleese won a Primetime Emmy Award for his guest appearance as "Dr. Simon Finch-Royce" in the fifth-season episode "Simon Says". Emma Thompson guest-starred as Nanny G/Nannette Guzman, a famous singing nanny and Frasier's ex-wife. Christopher Lloyd guest-starred as a tortured artist who wanted to paint Diane. Marcia Cross portrayed Rebecca's sister Susan in the season 7 episode Sisterly Love. John Mahoney once appeared as an inept jingle writer, which included a brief conversation with Frasier Crane, whose father he later portrayed on the spin-off Frasier. Peri Gilpin, who later played Roz Doyle on Frasier, also appeared in one episode of Cheers, in its 11th season, as Holly Matheson, a reporter who interviews Woody. The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley, also guest-starred in different episodes. In "The Guy Can't Help It", Rebecca meets a plumber, played by Tom Berenger, who came to fix one of the beer keg taps. They marry in the series finale, triggering her resignation from Cheers. Judith Barsi appears in the episode Relief Bartender.
Notable guest appearances of actresses portraying Sam's sexual conquests or potential sexual conquests include Kate Mulgrew in the three-episode finale of season four, portraying Boston councilwoman Janet Eldridge; Donna McKechnie as Debra, Sam's ex-wife (with whom he is on good terms), who pretends to be an intellectual in front of Diane; Barbara Babcock as Lana Marshall, a talent agent who specializes in representing male athletes, whom she routinely sleeps with on-demand; Julia Duffy as Rebecca Prout, a depressed intellectual friend of Diane's; Alison La Placa as magazine reporter Paula Nelson; Carol Kane as Amanda, who Sam eventually learns was a fellow patient at the sanitarium with Diane; Barbara Feldon as Lauren Hudson, Sam's annual Valentine's Day fling (in an homage to Same Time, Next Year); Sandahl Bergman as Judy Marlowe, a longtime casual sex partner; Laurie Marlowe (Chelsea Noble), Judy's now-grown-up daughter, who always considered Sam a pseudo-father figure, & whom Sam falls for; Madolyn Smith-Osborne as Dr. Sheila Rydell, a colleague of Frasier and Lilith; Valerie Mahaffey as Valerie Hill, John Allen Hill's daughter whom Sam pursues if only to gain an upper hand in his business relationship with Hill; and Alexis Smith as Alice Anne Volkman, Rebecca's much older ex-professor. In season 9, episode 17, "I'm Getting My Act Together and Sticking It in Your Face", Sam, believing Rebecca wants a more serious relationship, pretends to be gay, his lover being a casual friend named Leon (Jeff McCarthy)—the plan ultimately leads to a kiss between Sam and Leon.
Death of Nicholas Colasanto
Near the end of production of the third season, the writers of Cheers had to deal with the death of one of the main actors. Nicholas Colasanto's heart condition had been diagnosed in the mid-1970s, but it had worsened. He had lost weight and was having trouble breathing during filming, and he was hospitalized shortly before filming finished for season three due to fluid in his lungs. He recovered but was not cleared to return to work. He was visiting the set in January 1985 to watch the filming of several episodes, and co-star Shelley Long commented, "I think we were all in denial. We were all glad he was there, but he lost a lot of weight." Co-star Rhea Perlman added that he "wanted to be there so badly. He didn't want to be sick. He couldn't breathe well. It was hard. He was laboring all the time." Colasanto ultimately died of a heart attack at his home on February 12, 1985.
Episodes
Themes
Nearly all of Cheers takes place in the front room of the bar, but the characters often go into the rear pool room or the bar's office. Cheers does not show any action outside the bar until the first episode of the second season, which takes place in Diane's apartment.
The show's main theme in its early seasons is the romance between intellectual waitress Diane Chambers and the bar's owner, Sam Malone, a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and recovering alcoholic. After Shelley Long (Diane) left the show, the focus shifted to Sam's new relationship with Rebecca Howe, a neurotic corporate ladder climber.
Many Cheers scripts centered or touched upon a variety of social issues, albeit humorously. As Toasting Cheers puts it, "The script was further strengthened by the writers' boldness in successfully tackling controversial issues such as alcoholism, homosexuality, and adultery."
Social class was a subtext of the show. The "upper class"—represented by characters like Diane Chambers, Frasier Crane, and Lilith Sternin—rub shoulders with middle- and working-class characters Sam Malone, Carla Tortelli, Norm Peterson, and Cliff Clavin. An extreme example of this was the relationship between Woody Boyd and a millionaire's daughter, Kelly Gaines. Many viewers enjoyed Cheers in part because of this focus on character development in addition to plot development. Diane is a vocal feminist, and Sam is the epitome of everything she hates: promiscuity and chauvinism (see "Sam and Diane").
Homosexuality was dealt with from the first season, which was rare in the early 1980s on American television. In the first-season episode "The Boys in the Bar" (the title being a reference to the play and subsequent movie The Boys in the Band), a friend and former teammate of Sam's comes out in his autobiography. Some of the male regulars pressure Sam to take action to ensure that Cheers does not become a gay bar. The episode won a GLAAD Media Award, and the script's writers, Ken Levine and David Isaacs, were nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Addiction also plays a role on Cheers, almost exclusively through Sam. He is a recovering alcoholic who had bought a bar during his drinking days. Frasier has a notable bout of drinking in the fourth-season episode "The Triangle", while Woody develops a gambling problem in the seventh season episode "Call Me Irresponsible". Carla and other characters drink beer while pregnant, but nobody seems to mind.
Cheers owners
Cheers had several owners before Sam, as the bar was opened in 1889. The "Est. 1895" on the bar's sign is a made-up date chosen by Carla for numerology purposes, revealed in season 8, episode 6, "The Stork Brings a Crane", which also revealed the bar's address as 112 Beacon Street and that it originated under the name Mom's. In the series' second episode, "Sam's Women", Coach tells a customer looking for Gus, the owner of Cheers, that Gus is dead. In a later episode, Gus O'Mally comes back from Arizona for one night and helps run the bar.
The biggest storyline surrounding the ownership of Cheers begins in the fifth-season finale, "I Do, Adieu", when Sam and Diane part ways, due to Shelley Long's departure from the series. In addition, Sam leaves on a trip to circumnavigate the globe. Before he leaves, he sells Cheers to the Lillian Corporation. He returns in the sixth-season premiere, "Home is the Sailor", having sunk his boat, to find the bar under the new management of Rebecca Howe. He begs for his job back and is hired by Rebecca as a bartender. In the seventh-season premiere, "How to Recede in Business", Rebecca is fired and Sam is promoted to manager. Rebecca is allowed to keep a job at Lillian vaguely similar to what she had before, but only after Sam has Rebecca (in absentia) "agree" to a long list of demands that the corporation had for her.
From there, Sam occasionally attempts to buy the bar back with schemes that usually involve the wealthy executive Robin Colcord. Sam acquires Cheers again in the eighth-season finale, when it is sold back to him for 85¢ by the Lillian Corporation after he alerts the company to Colcord's insider trading. Fired by the corporation because of her silence on the issue, Rebecca is hired by Sam as a hostess/office manager. For the rest of the episode, to celebrate Sam's reclaiming the bar, a huge banner reading "Under OLD Management!" hangs from the staircase. When it is learned that the Pool Room and bathrooms are actually owned by Melville's (which spawns a war of wits between Sam and Melville's owner John Allen Hill), Rebecca later purchases them from Hill, making Sam and Rebecca partners in the ownership of Cheers (and more or less co-runners of the establishment).
Sam has two main battles. One is with Gary's Olde Towne Tavern, trying to beat them at some activity or another but always failing, except for one episode when Diane helps Cheers win the bowling trophy, and extending to the practical jokes they play on each other. The second is with Melville's owner John Allen Hill, who keeps annoying Sam with his pettiness and ego. Hill had an ongoing relationship with Carla.
Production
, formerly the Bull & Finch Pub, in Boston in 2005]]
Creation and concept
Some believe that the show is a rehashing of Boston's ABC affiliate WCVB's locally produced 1979 sitcom Park Street Under featuring Steve Sweeney and American Repertory Theater founder Karen MacDonald. Three men developed and created the Cheers television series: Glen and Les Charles ("Glen and Les") and James Burrows, They aimed at "creating a show around a Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn-type relationship" between their two main characters, Sam and Diane. An early concept revolved around a woman becoming the new owner of the bar and the animosity created between her and the regulars, an idea that was used later in Season 6 when the character of Rebecca Howe is introduced.
Early discussions about the location of the show centered on Barstow, California, then Kansas City, Missouri. They eventually turned to the East Coast and finally Boston. The Bull & Finch Pub in Boston, which was the model for Cheers, was chosen from a phone book. When Glen Charles asked the bar's owner, Tom Kershaw, to shoot exterior and interior photos, he agreed, charging $1. Kershaw has since gone on to make millions of dollars, licensing the pub's image and selling a variety of Cheers memorabilia. The Bull & Finch became the 42nd-busiest outlet in the American food and beverage industry in 1997.Production team
The crew of Cheers numbered in the hundreds. The three creators—James Burrows and Glen and Les Charles—kept offices on Paramount's lot for the duration of the Cheers run. The Charles Brothers remained in overall charge throughout the show's run, frequently writing major episodes, though starting with the third season they began delegating the day-to-day running of the writing staff to various showrunners. Ken Estin and Sam Simon were appointed as showrunners for the third season, and succeeded by David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee the following year. Angell, Casey and Lee would remain as showrunners until the end of the seventh season when they left to develop their own sitcom, Wings, and were replaced by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner and Phoef Sutton for the eighth through tenth seasons. For the final season, Tom Anderson and Dan O'Shannon acted as the showrunners.
James Burrows is regarded as being a factor in the show's longevity, directing 243 of the 270 episodes and supervising the show's production. Among the show's other directors were Andy Ackerman, Thomas Lofaro, Tim Berry, Tom Moore, Rick Beren, as well as cast members John Ratzenberger and George Wendt.
Craig Safan provided the series' original music for its entire run except the theme song. His extensive compositions for the show led to his winning numerous ASCAP Top TV Series awards for his music.
Casting
The character of Sam Malone was originally intended to be a retired football player and was slated to be played by Fred Dryer, but Danson was chosen in part because he was younger and had more acting experience than Dryer. Dryer, however, went on to play sportscaster Dave Richards, an old friend of Sam, in three episodes. Bill Cosby was also considered early in the casting process for the role of Sam, after having been recommended by the network.
Shelley Long was recommended by various sources to the producers for the role of Diane Chambers, but Long wished to be offered the part straight out and had to be coaxed into giving an audition. When she did read for the part, according to Glen Charles, "that was it, we knew that we wanted her." The chemistry was so apparent between Long and Danson that it secured them the roles. Alley joined the cast when Shelley Long left, and Woody Harrelson joined when Nicholas Colasanto died. Danson, Perlman and Wendt were the only actors to appear in every episode of the series; Ratzenberger appears in all but two (and his name wasn't part of the opening credit montage during the first season).
Filming styles and locations
Most Cheers episodes were, as a voiceover stated at the start of each, "filmed before a live studio audience" on Paramount Stage 25 in Hollywood, generally on Tuesday nights. Scripts for a new episode were issued the Wednesday before for a read-through, Friday was rehearsal day, and final scripts were issued on Monday. Burrows, who directed most episodes, insisted on using film stock rather than videotape. He was also noted for using motion in his directorial style, trying to constantly keep characters moving rather than standing still. Burrows and the Charles brothers emphasized to the cast to "never assume that you're not being watched" because the camera would be focused on the actors at all times, so they had to always be reacting and "always be funny".
Due to a decision by Glen and Les Charles, the cold open was often not connected to the rest of the episode, with the lowest-ranked writers assigned to create the jokes for them. Some cold opens were taken from episodes that ran too long.
The first year of the show took place entirely within the confines of the bar, the first location outside the bar being Diane's apartment in the second year. When the series became a hit, the characters started venturing further afield, first to other sets and eventually to an occasional exterior location. The exterior location shots of the bar are of the Bull & Finch Pub, located directly north of the Boston Public Garden. The pub has become a tourist attraction because of its association with the series, and draws nearly one million visitors annually. It was displayed for a short time at the defunct Hollywood Entertainment Museum, but later returned to storage, where it remained for many years. In 2014, CBS donated the set to the Museum of Television after a years-long campaign by James Burrows and his office on behalf of the museum's founder, James Comisar. At the time of the donation, Comisar initiated a planned $100,000 restoration of the set using former conservators from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, although a site for the 10,000 item collection of the museum had not been decided upon. On syndicated airings of Cheers, the theme song was shortened to make room for additional commercials.
Reception
Critical reception
Cheers was critically acclaimed in its first season, though it landed a disappointing 74th out of 96 shows in that year's ratings. This critical support, the early success at the Primetime Emmy Awards, and the support of the president of NBC's entertainment division Brandon Tartikoff, are thought to be the main reasons for the show's survival and eventual success. Tartikoff stated in 1983 that Cheers was a sophisticated adult comedy and that NBC executives "never for a second doubted" that the show would be renewed.
Writing in 2016, drama critic Chris Jones called Cheers "a hinge sitcom – one foot in classic bits and shtick not far removed from Mel Brooks and another in ambitious, Seinfeld-like absurdism." In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked Cheers as the eighth-greatest TV show of all time. The cast went on various talk shows to try to further promote the series after its first season. By the second season Cheers was competitive with CBS's top-rated show Simon & Simon.
NBC dedicated a whole night to the final episode of Cheers, following the one-hour season finale of Seinfeld (which was its lead-in). The show began with a "pregame" show hosted by Bob Costas, followed by the final 98-minute episode itself. NBC affiliates then aired tributes to Cheers during their local newscasts, and the night concluded with a special Tonight Show broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub. Although the episode fell short of its hyped ratings predictions to become the most-watched television episode, it was the most watched show that year, bringing in 93 million viewers
The episode originally aired in the usual Cheers spot of Thursday night, and was then rebroadcast on Sunday. While the original broadcast did not outperform the M*A*S*H finale, the combined non-repeating audiences for the Thursday and Sunday showings did. Television had greatly changed between the two finales, leaving Cheers with a broader array of competition for ratings.
NBC timeslots:
* Season 1 Episodes 1–12: Thursday at 9:00 pm
* Season 1 Episode 13 – Season 2 Episode 10: Thursday at 9:30 pm
* Season 2 Episode 11 – Season 11 Episode 28: Thursday at 9:00 pm
Serialized storylines
Although not the first sitcom to do it, Cheers employed the use of end-of-season cliffhangers and, starting with the third season, the show's storylines became more serialized. The show's success helped make such multi-episode story arcs popular on sitcoms, which Les Charles regrets.
<blockquote>[W]e may have been partly responsible for what's going on now, where if you miss the first episode or two, you are lost. You have to wait until you can get the whole thing on DVD and catch up with it. If that blood is on our hands, I feel kind of badly about it. It can be very frustrating."</blockquote>
Cheers began with a limited five-character ensemble consisting of Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto and George Wendt. Cheers was able to gradually phase in characters such as Cliff, Frasier, Lilith, Rebecca, and Woody. By the time season 10 began, the show had eight front characters in its roster.
Awards and honors
Over its eleven-season run, the Cheers cast and crew earned many awards. The show garnered a record 111 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with a total of 28 wins. In addition, Cheers earned 31 Golden Globe nominations, with a total of six wins. Danson, Long, Alley, Perlman, Wendt, Ratzenberger, Harrelson, Grammer, Neuwirth, and Colasanto all received Emmy nominations for their roles. Cheers won the Golden Globe Award for "Best TV-Series – Comedy/Musical" in 1991 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1983, 1984, 1989, and 1991. The series was presented with the "Legend Award" at the 2006 TV Land Awards, with many of the surviving cast members attending the event.
The following are awards that have been earned by the Cheers cast and crew over its 11-season run:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! rowspan="2" | Winner
! colspan="4" | Award
|-
! Emmy
! Year
! Golden Globe
! Year
|-
| Kirstie Alley
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
| 1991
| Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical
| 1991
|-
| Ted Danson
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
| 1990 <br/> 1993
| Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical
| 1990 <br/> 1991
|-
| Woody Harrelson
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
| 1989
|colspan="2"
|-
| rowspan="2"| Shelley Long
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
| 1983
| Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical
| 1985
|-
| colspan="2"
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for TV
| 1983
|-
| Bebe Neuwirth
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| 1990 <br/> 1991
| colspan"2" rowspan"10"
|-
| Rhea Perlman
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| 1984 <br/> 1985 <br/> 1986 <br/> 1989
|-
| John Cleese
| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
| 1987
|-
| rowspan="7" | Production Awards
| Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
| 1983 <br/> 1991
|-
| Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
| 1983 1984
|-
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences
| 1983
|-
| Outstanding Film Editing for a Series
| 1984
|-
| Outstanding Editing for a Series – Multi-Camera Production
| 1988 <br/> 1993
|-
| Outstanding Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects for a Series
| 1985
|-
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special
| 1986 <br/> 1987 <br/> 1990
|}
Distribution
Syndication
Cheers grew in popularity as it aired on American television and entered off-network syndication in 1987, initially distributed by Paramount Domestic Television. When the show went off the air in 1993, Cheers was syndicated in 38 countries, with 179 American television markets and 83 million viewers. When the quality of some earlier footage of Cheers began to deteriorate, it underwent a careful restoration in 2001. The series aired on Nick at Nite from 2001 to 2004 and on TV Land from 2004 to 2008, with Nick at Nite airing week-long Cheers "Everybody Knows Your Name" marathons. The show was removed from the lineup in 2004.
The series began airing on Hallmark Channel in the United States in October 2008, and WGN America in 2009. In January 2011, Reelz Channel began airing the series in hour-long blocks. MeTV began airing Cheers weeknights in 2010. USA Network has aired the series on Sunday early mornings and weekday mornings to allow it to show extended-length films of hours and maintain symmetric schedules. As of October 5, 2020, it airs every weeknight at 11pm & 11:30pm ET on Decades (now Catchy Comedy). In addition to that, it also has occasionally appeared on their weekend binges, with its most recent one on April 6, 2025.
In 2011, Cheers was made available on the Netflix and Amazon Prime Video streaming services.
Cheers began airing on Eleven (a digital channel of Network Ten) in Australia on January 11, 2011. NCRV in the Netherlands aired all 275 episodes in sequence, once per night, repeating the series a total of three times.
In Italy, it has previously aired on Italia 1 & Canale 5 as Cin Cin from 1985 until 1995.
Cheers was first screened in the UK on Channel 4, and was one of the then-fledgling network's first imports. As of 2012, Cheers has been repeated on UK satellite channel CBS Drama. It has also been shown on the UK free-to-air channel ITV4, with two episodes every weeknight. On March 16, 2015, the series began airing on UK subscription channel Gold on weekdays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Cheers aired again daily in 2019 on Channel 4.High definitionA high-definition transfer of Cheers began running on HDNet in the United States in August 2010. The program was originally shot on film (but transferred to and edited on videotape) and broadcast in a 4:3 aspect ratio.Home mediaParamount Home Entertainment and (from 2006 onward) CBS Home Entertainment have released all 11 seasons of Cheers on DVD in Region 1, Region 2, and Region 4. In the US, some episodes from the final three seasons appear on the DVDs with music substitutions. For example, in the episode "Grease", "I Fought the Law" was replaced even though its removal affects the comedic value of the scenes in which it was originally heard. The finale episode (73 minutes long without commercials) is presented in its three-part syndicated cut. The series is also available in high-definition Blu-ray.
On March 6, 2012, CBS released Fan Favorites: The Best of Cheers. Based on the 2012 Facebook poll, the selected episodes are:
# "Give Me a Ring Sometime" (season 1, episode 1)
# "Diane's Perfect Date" (season 1, episode 17)
# "Pick a Con, Any Con" (season 1, episode 19)
# "Abnormal Psychology" (season 5, episode 4)
# "Thanksgiving Orphans" (season 5, episode 9)
# "Dinner at Eight-ish" (season 5, episode 20)
# "Simon Says" (season 5, episode 21)
# "An Old-Fashioned Wedding", parts one and two (season 10, episodes 25)
On May 5, 2015, CBS DVD released Cheers – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.
Digital media distribution
The complete 11 seasons of Cheers are available through the iTunes Store, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock and Hulu in high definition. In Canada, all seasons are available on streaming service Crave.
The entire series was available in the UK on All 4.
Licensing
The series lent itself naturally to the development of Cheers bar-related merchandise, culminating in the development of a chain of Cheers themed pubs. Paramount's licensing group, led by Tom McGrath, developed the Cheers pub concept initially in partnership with Host Marriott, which placed Cheers themed pubs in over 15 airports around the world. The original Cheers bar is in Boston, historically known as the Bull and Finch; a Cheers restaurant in the Faneuil Hall marketplace; and Sam's Place, a spin-off sports bar concept also located in Faneuil Hall. In 1997, Europe's first officially licensed Cheers bar opened in London's Regent's Street W1. Like Cheers Faneuil Hall, Cheers London is a replica of the set. The gala opening was attended by James Burrows and cast members George Wendt and John Ratzenberger. The Cheers bar in London closed on December 31, 2008. The actual bar set had been on display at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum until the museum's closing in early 2006.
The theme song to the show was eventually licensed to a Canadian restaurant, Kelsey's Neighbourhood Bar & Grill.
CBS currently holds the rights to the Cheers franchise as a result of the 2005 Viacom split which saw Paramount transfer its entire television studio to CBS (both CBS and Viacom would reunite in 2019).
Spin-offs
Some of the actors and actresses from Cheers brought their characters onto other television shows, either in a guest appearance or on a new spin-off series. The most successful Cheers spin-off was Frasier, which featured Frasier Crane following his relocation back to Seattle, Washington. Sam, Diane, and Woody all individually appeared in Frasier episodes, with Lilith appearing as a guest on multiple episodes. In the season nine episode "Cheerful Goodbyes", Frasier returns to Boston and meets up with the Cheers gang, later attending Cliff's retirement party. Frasier was revived in 2023, moving back to Boston like Cheers.
Although Frasier was more successful, The Tortellis was the first series to spin off from Cheers, premiering in 1987. The show featured Carla's ex-husband Nick Tortelli and his wife Loretta, but was canceled after 13 episodes and drew protests for its stereotypical depictions of Italian Americans.Crossovers
In addition to direct spin-offs, several Cheers characters had guest appearance crossovers with other shows, including Wings and St. Elsewhere (episode "Cheers"). Cheers has also been spoofed or referenced in other media, including The Simpsons (spoofing the title sequence and theme song in "Flaming Moe's"; actually visiting the place with vocal role reprises of the majority of the principal cast in "Fear of Flying"), Scrubs (episode "My Life in Four Cameras"), and the 2012 comedy film Ted.
The eighth-anniversary special of Late Night with David Letterman, airing in 1990, begins with a scene at Cheers in which the bar's TV gets stuck on NBC and all the bar patrons decide to go home instead of staying to watch David Letterman. The scene was re-used to open Letterman's final episode in 1993. A similar scene aired in the Super Bowl XVII Pregame Show on NBC, in which the characters briefly discuss the upcoming game.
In 2019, members of the Cheers cast, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger and Kirstie Alley reprised their characters in an episode of The Goldbergs where they play customers of Geoff's short-lived food delivery business.
In the 2010 show Adventure Time, the show Cheers is referenced a few times, usually by Ice King/Simon because it was his favorite show back when he was a human living in the 20th century. This is explored in greater detail in the 2023 spin-off series Fionna and Cake, which is partially set within the mind of Simon. All televisions in that world simply play an animated rendition of Cheers reruns on every channel, and the characters sometimes sing the theme song in difficult moments. The season finale of the show is simply entitled "Cheers".
Cultural references
In Australia, Cheers is remembered for its role in the infamous cancellation of the 1992 Nine Network special ''Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos''. Due to the then-owner of Nine Network Kerry Packer's objections to its content, ''Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos was pulled off the air during its first and only broadcast; viewers saw the network abruptly begin airing a rerun of Cheers'' midway through the special, either after a scheduled commercial break or a Nine Network bumper claiming a technical problem. Nine Network's affiliate in Perth did not air the special at all and filled its timeslot with two episodes of Cheers. When the program was re-aired in its entirety in 2008, it abruptly cut away to the opening of Cheers midway through in a reenactment of the incident before resuming the second half that was not broadcast.
In the Cheers episode "Woody For Hire, Norman Meets the Apes", Woody shows and tells everyone how he was an extra on Boston-based drama Spenser: For Hire. In the season 4 episode of Seinfeld titled "The Pitch", Jerry and George are presenting their idea for a sitcom to NBC executives. George is unhappy with their offer and feels that he deserves the same salary as Ted Danson which he claims was $800,000 per episode, being that Cheers is also an NBC show. Danson's reported salary was actually $250,000 per episode. At this point Cheers was in its 10th season and Ted Danson had won an Emmy and a Golden Globe the year before. In another Seinfeld episode, The Trip, George runs into George Wendt (portraying himself) while backstage on the set of The Tonight Show and annoys him by suggesting that the series change its setting from a bar to a rec room or community center.
In the seventh episode of the second season of How I Met Your Mother, a coffee shop barista mistakenly hears Barney's name as "Swarley" and writes it on his cup. This leads to a running gag in which everyone mercilessly refers to Barney as "Swarley" despite his protests, which culminates in everyone in McClaren's bar shouting "Swarley" when he enters and playing the Cheers theme song. The credits are then shown in the "Cheers" style. In the season seven episode, In Tailgate, Ted and Barney are outraged with the price to get into MacLaren's on New Year's Eve, so they offer for everyone to come upstairs. In the apartment, there is a puzzles sign that is designed to parody Cheers. Ted and Barney employ Kevin as their bartender, and they invent a theme song which also parodies the Cheers theme song.
In the 2015 video game Fallout 4, which is set in Boston, there is a bar named Prost Bar near Boston Common that, when entered, is an almost exact replica of the bar featured on the series. It includes two dead bodies sitting at the end of the bar, with one of them wearing a mail carrier's uniform, a direct reference to regular barfly Cliff Clavin.
In the season 2 finale of the NBC sitcom The Good Place, Ted Danson's character Michael appears as a bartender while wearing a blue plaid button-down, in a clear homage to Danson's character in Cheers.
Remake
In September 2011, Plural Entertainment debuted a remake of the series on Spanish television, also titled Cheers. Set at an Irish pub, it starred Alberto San Juan as Nicolás "Nico" Arnedo, the equivalent of Sam Malone on the original series. It also used the original theme song, rerecorded in Spanish by Dani Martín, under the title "Donde la gente se divierte."
In December 2012, The Irish Film and Television Network announced that casting was underway on an Irish-language version of Cheers produced by production company Sideline. The new show, tentatively titled Teach Seán, would air on Ireland's TG4 and features a main character who, like Sam Malone, is a bar owner, a retired athlete, and a recovering alcoholic. However, because of being set in Ireland, the barman is a "former hurling star" rather than an ex-baseball player. As of August 2019, the Irish remake has not occurred.Cheers: Live on StageOn September 9, 2016, a stage adaptation called Cheers: Live on Stage opened at the Shubert Theatre in Boston. Comprising pieces of the original TV series, the play was adapted by Erik Forrest Jackson. It was produced by Troika/Stageworks. The director was Matt Lenz. It starred Grayson Powell as Sam Malone, Jillian Louis as Diane Chambers, Barry Pearl as Ernie "Coach" Pantusso, Sarah Sirotta as Carla Tortelli, Paul Vogt as Norm Peterson, and Buzz Roddy as Cliff Clavin. The production was scheduled to tour through 2017, but was cancelled in 2016.
}}
Bibliography
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* Further reading*
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* Darowski, Joseph J.; Darowski, Kate (2019) Cheers: A Cultural History. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
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* Snauffer, Douglas (2008). The Show Must Go On: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. .
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External links
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151110034050/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/cheers.htm Cheers] at Museum of Broadcast Communications
* [http://cheersboston.com/ Cheers Boston], an official website of a bar that tributes to and is also a production set of Cheers
* Cheers Bruchsal Bar in Bruchsal [https://www.cheersbruchsal.de/ cheersbruchsal.de]
}}
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Category:1990s American multi-camera sitcoms | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheers | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.869950 |
5909 | Counterpoint | }}
In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour.<!--This doesn't sound like it applies to organum, conductus, discant, English discant, or fauxbourdon, all of which are contrapuntal forms--or even to contrapuntal practice generally in the 13th and 14th centuries.--> The term originates from the Latin punctus contra punctum meaning "point against point", i.e. "note against note". John Rahn describes counterpoint as follows:
Counterpoint has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradition, strongly developing during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period, especially in the Baroque period. In Western pedagogy, counterpoint is taught through a system of species (see below).
There are several different forms of counterpoint, including imitative counterpoint and free counterpoint. Imitative counterpoint involves the repetition of a main melodic idea across different vocal parts, with or without variation. Compositions written in free counterpoint often incorporate non-traditional harmonies and chords, chromaticism and dissonance.
General principles
The term "counterpoint" has been used to designate a voice or even an entire composition. Counterpoint focuses on melodic interaction—only secondarily on the harmonies produced by that interaction.
Work initiated by Guerino Mazzola (born 1947) has given counterpoint theory a mathematical foundation. In particular, Mazzola's model gives a structural (and not psychological) foundation of forbidden parallels of fifths and the dissonant fourth. Octavio Agustin has extended the model to microtonal contexts. Another theorist who has tried to incorporate mathematical principles in his study of counterpoint is Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915). Inspired by Spinoza, Taneyev developed a theory which covers and generalizes a wide range of advanced contrapuntal phenomena, including what is known to the english-speaking theorists as invertible counterpoint (although he describes them mainly using his own, custom-built terminology), by means of linking them to simple algebraic procedures.
In counterpoint, the functional independence of voices is the prime concern. The violation of this principle leads to special effects, which are avoided in counterpoint. In organ registers, certain interval combinations and chords are activated by a single key so that playing a melody results in parallel voice leading. These voices, losing independence, are fused into one and the parallel chords are perceived as single tones with a new timbre. In counterpoint, parallel voices are prohibited because they violate the heterogeneity of musical texture when independent voices occasionally disappear turning into a new timbre quality and vice versa.DevelopmentSome examples of related compositional techniques include: the round (familiar in folk traditions), the canon, and perhaps the most complex contrapuntal convention: the fugue. All of these are examples of imitative counterpoint.Examples from the repertoireThere are many examples of song melodies that are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. For example, "Frère Jacques" and "Three Blind Mice" combine euphoniously when sung together. A number of popular songs that share the same chord progression can also be sung together as counterpoint. A well-known pair of examples is "My Way" combined with "Life on Mars".
Johann Sebastian Bach is revered as one of the greatest masters of counterpoint. For example the harmony implied in the opening subject of the Fugue in G-sharp minor from Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier is heard anew in a subtle way when a second voice is added. "The counterpoint in bars 5-8... sheds an unexpected light on the tonality of the Subject.":
Bach's 3-part Invention in F minor combines three independent melodies:
According to pianist András Schiff, Bach's counterpoint influenced the composing of both Mozart and Beethoven. In the development section of the opening movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in E minor, Beethoven demonstrates this influence by adding "a wonderful counterpoint" to one of the main themes.
A further example of fluid counterpoint in late Beethoven may be found in the first orchestral variation on the "Ode to Joy" theme in the last movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, bars 116–123. The famous theme is heard on the violas and cellos, while "the basses add a bass-line whose sheer unpredictability gives the impression that it is being spontaneously improvised. Meantime a solo bassoon adds a counterpoint that has a similarly impromptu quality."
In the Prelude to Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, three themes from the opera are combined simultaneously. According to Gordon Jacob, "This is universally and justly acclaimed as an extraordinary feat of virtuosity." However, Donald Tovey points out that here "the combination of themes ... unlike classical counterpoint, really do not of themselves combine into complete or euphonious harmony."
One spectacular example of 5-voice counterpoint can be found in the finale to Mozart's Symphony No 41 ("Jupiter" Symphony). Here five tunes combine simultaneously in "a rich tapestry of dialogue":
See also Invertible counterpoint.
Species counterpoint
{{Image frame|content<score sound"1">
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff \relative c' { d4 e f g | a b c d | e d c b | a b c a | g a b cis | d1 | }
\new Staff \relative c' { d1 | f | g | f | e | d | \bar "|." }
>>
</score>|aligncenter|captionExample of "third species" counterpoint}}
Species counterpoint was developed as a pedagogical tool in which students progress through several "species" of increasing complexity, with a very simple part that remains constant known as the cantus firmus (Latin for "fixed melody"). Species counterpoint generally offers less freedom to the composer than other types of counterpoint and therefore is called a "strict" counterpoint. The student gradually attains the ability to write free counterpoint (that is, less rigorously constrained counterpoint, usually without a cantus firmus) according to the given rules at the time. The idea is at least as old as 1532, when Giovanni Maria Lanfranco described a similar concept in his Scintille di musica (Brescia, 1533). The 16th-century Venetian theorist Zarlino elaborated on the idea in his influential Le institutioni harmoniche, and it was first presented in a codified form in 1619 by Lodovico Zacconi in his Prattica di musica. Zacconi, unlike later theorists, included a few extra contrapuntal techniques, such as invertible counterpoint.
In 1725 Johann Joseph Fux published Gradus ad Parnassum (Steps to Parnassus), in which he described five species:
# Note against note;
# Two notes against one;
# Four notes against one;
# Notes offset against each other (as suspensions);
# All the first four species together, as "florid" counterpoint.
A succession of later theorists quite closely imitated Fux's seminal work, often with some small and idiosyncratic modifications in the rules. Many of Fux's rules concerning the purely linear construction of melodies have their origin in solfeggio. Concerning the common practice era, alterations to the melodic rules were introduced to enable the function of certain harmonic forms. The combination of these melodies produced the basic harmonic structure, the figured bass.Considerations for all species
The following rules apply to melodic writing in each species, for each part:
# The final note must be approached by step. If the final is approached from below, then the leading tone must be raised in a minor key (Dorian, Hypodorian, Aeolian, Hypoaeolian), but not in Phrygian or Hypophrygian mode. Thus, in the Dorian mode on D, a C is necessary at the cadence.}}
# Permitted melodic intervals are the perfect unison, fourth, fifth, and octave, as well as the major and minor second, major and minor third, and ascending minor sixth. The ascending minor sixth must be immediately followed by motion downwards.
# If writing two skips in the same direction—something that must be only rarely done—the second must be smaller than the first, and the interval between the first and the third note may not be dissonant. The three notes should be from the same triad; if this is impossible, they should not outline more than one octave. In general, do not write more than two skips in the same direction.
# If writing a skip in one direction, it is best to proceed after the skip with step-wise motion in the other direction.
# The interval of a tritone in three notes should be avoided (for example, an ascending melodic motion F–A–B) as is the interval of a seventh in three notes.
# There must be a climax or high point in the line countering the cantus firmus. This usually occurs somewhere in the middle of exercise and must occur on a strong beat.
# An outlining of a seventh is avoided within a single line moving in the same direction.
And, in all species, the following rules govern the combination of the parts:
# The counterpoint must begin and end on a perfect consonance.
# Contrary motion should dominate.
# Perfect consonances must be approached by oblique or contrary motion.
# Imperfect consonances may be approached by any type of motion.
# The interval of a tenth should not be exceeded between two adjacent parts unless by necessity.
# Build from the bass, upward.
First species
In first species counterpoint, each note in every added part (parts being also referred to as lines or voices) sounds against one note in the cantus firmus. Notes in all parts are sounded simultaneously, and move against each other simultaneously. Since all notes in First species counterpoint are whole notes, rhythmic independence is not available.
In the present context, a "step" is a melodic interval of a half or whole step. A "skip" is an interval of a third or fourth. (See Steps and skips.) An interval of a fifth or larger is referred to as a "leap".
A few further rules given by Fux, by study of the Palestrina style, and usually given in the works of later counterpoint pedagogues,<!--Who says that most later counterpoint teachers give these rules?--> are as follows.
{{Image frame|width392|content<score sound="1">
\relative c {
<<
\new Staff { \clef "treble" d1 a b d cis d }
\new Staff { \clef "treble" d,1 f g f e d }
>>
}
</score>|caption=Short example of "first species" counterpoint}}
# Begin and end on either the unison, octave, or fifth, unless the added part is underneath, in which case begin and end only on unison or octave.
# Use no unisons except at the beginning or end.
# Avoid parallel fifths or octaves between any two parts; and avoid "hidden" parallel fifths or octaves: that is, movement by similar motion to a perfect fifth or octave, unless one part (sometimes restricted to the higher of the parts) moves by step.
# Avoid moving in parallel fourths. (In practice Palestrina and others frequently allowed themselves such progressions, especially if they do not involve the lowest of the parts.)
# Do not use an interval more than three times in a row.
# Attempt to use up to three parallel thirds or sixths in a row.
# Attempt to keep any two adjacent parts within a tenth of each other, unless an exceptionally pleasing line can be written by moving outside that range.
# Avoid having any two parts move in the same direction by skip.
# Attempt to have as much contrary motion as possible.
# Avoid dissonant intervals between any two parts: major or minor second, major or minor seventh, any augmented or diminished interval, and perfect fourth (in many contexts).
In the adjacent example in two parts, the cantus firmus is the lower part. (The same cantus firmus is used for later examples also. Each is in the Dorian mode.)
Second species
In second species'' counterpoint, two notes in each of the added parts work against each longer note in the given part.
{{Image frame|content<score sound"1"> {
# (set-global-staff-size 15)
\relative c' {
<< \new Staff {
r2 a' d c b e d a b cis d1
\bar "|." }
\new Staff {
d,1 f g f e d} >>
}
}
</score>
<br />Short example of "second species" counterpoint
}}
Additional considerations in second species counterpoint are as follows, and are in addition to the considerations for first species:
# It is permissible to begin on an upbeat, leaving a half-rest in the added voice.
# The accented beat must have only consonance (perfect or imperfect). The unaccented beat may have dissonance, but only as a passing tone, i.e. it must be approached and left by step in the same direction.
# Avoid the interval of the unison except at the beginning or end of the example, except that it may occur on the unaccented portion of the bar.
# Use caution with successive accented perfect fifths or octaves. They must not be used as part of a sequential pattern. The example shown is weak due to similar motion in the second measure in both voices. A good rule to follow: if one voice skips or jumps try to use step-wise motion in the other voice or at the very least contrary motion.
Third species
{{Image frame|content<score sound"1"> {
# (set-global-staff-size 16)
\relative c' {
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff {
d e f g a b c d
e d c b a b c a g a b cis d1
\bar "|." }
\new Staff {
d,1 f g f e d
}
>>
}
}
</score>
<br />Short example of "third species" counterpoint
}}
In third species counterpoint, four (or three, etc.) notes move against each longer note in the given part.
Three special figures are introduced into third species and later added to fifth species, and ultimately outside the restrictions of species writing. There are three figures to consider: The nota cambiata, double neighbor tones, and double passing tones.
Double neighbor tones: the figure is prolonged over four beats and allows special dissonances. The upper and lower tones are prepared on beat 1 and resolved on beat 4. The fifth note or downbeat of the next measure should move by step in the same direction as the last two notes of the double neighbor figure. Lastly a double passing tone allows two dissonant passing tones in a row. The figure would consist of 4 notes moving in the same direction by step. The two notes that allow dissonance would be beat 2 and 3 or 3 and 4. The dissonant interval of a fourth would proceed into a diminished fifth and the next note would resolve at the interval of a sixth.}}
Fourth species
In fourth species counterpoint, some notes are sustained or suspended in an added part while notes move against them in the given part, often creating a dissonance on the beat, followed by the suspended note then changing (and "catching up") to create a subsequent consonance with the note in the given part as it continues to sound. As before, fourth species counterpoint is called expanded when the added-part notes vary in length among themselves. The technique requires chains of notes sustained across the boundaries determined by beat, and so creates syncopation. A dissonant interval is allowed on beat 1 because of the syncopation created by the suspension. While it is not incorrect to start with a half note, it is also common to start 4th species with a half rest.
<score sound="1">
\relative c' {
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff {
\set Staff.explicitKeySignatureVisibility = #all-invisible
a'2 d~ d c~ c bes~
\key d \minor bes
a b cis d1 \bar "|."
}
\new Staff {
d, f g f e d \bar "|."
}
>>
}
</score>Short example of "fourth species" counterpoint
Fifth species (florid counterpoint)
In fifth species counterpoint, sometimes called florid counterpoint, the other four species of counterpoint are combined within the added parts. In the example, the first and second bars are second species, the third bar is third species, the fourth and fifth bars are third and embellished fourth species, and the final bar is first species. In florid counterpoint it is important that no one species dominates the composition.
<score sound="1">
\relative c' {
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff {
r2 a' d c b4 c d e f e d2~ d4 cis8 b cis2 d1 \bar "|."
}
\new Staff {
d, f g f e d \bar "|."
}
>>
}
</score>
Short example of "Florid" counterpoint
Contrapuntal derivations
Since the Renaissance period in European music, much contrapuntal music has been written in imitative counterpoint. In imitative counterpoint, two or more voices enter at different times, and (especially when entering) each voice repeats some version of the same melodic element. The fantasia, the ricercar, and later, the canon and fugue (the contrapuntal form par excellence) all feature imitative counterpoint, which also frequently appears in choral works such as motets and madrigals. Imitative counterpoint spawned a number of devices, including:
;Melodic inversion: The inverse of a given fragment of melody is the fragment turned upside down—so if the original fragment has a rising major third (see interval), the inverted fragment has a falling major (or perhaps minor) third, etc. (Compare, in twelve-tone technique, the inversion of the tone row, which is the so-called prime series turned upside down.) (Note: in invertible counterpoint, including double and triple counterpoint, the term inversion is used in a different sense altogether. At least one pair of parts is switched, so that the one that was higher becomes lower. See Inversion in counterpoint; it is not a kind of imitation, but a rearrangement of the parts.)
;Retrograde: Whereby an imitative voice sounds the melody backwards in relation to the leading voice.
;Retrograde inversion: Where the imitative voice sounds the melody backwards and upside-down at once.
;Augmentation: When in one of the parts in imitative counterpoint the note values are extended in duration compared to the rate at which they were sounded when introduced.
;Diminution: When in one of the parts in imitative counterpoint the note values are reduced in duration compared to the rate at which they were sounded when introduced.
Free counterpoint
Broadly speaking, due to the development of harmony, from the Baroque period on, most contrapuntal compositions were written in the style of free counterpoint. This means that the general focus of the composer had shifted away from how the intervals of added melodies related to a cantus firmus, and more toward how they related to each other.
Nonetheless, according to Kent Kennan: "....actual teaching in that fashion (free counterpoint) did not become widespread until the late nineteenth century." Young composers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, were still educated in the style of "strict" counterpoint, but in practice, they would look for ways to expand on the traditional concepts of the subject.
Main features of free counterpoint:
# All forbidden chords, such as second-inversion, seventh, ninth etc., can be used freely as long as they resolve to a consonant triad
# Chromaticism is allowed
# The restrictions about rhythmic-placement of dissonance are removed. It is possible to use passing tones on the accented beat
# Appoggiatura is available: dissonance tones can be approached by leaps.
Linear counterpoint
Linear counterpoint is "a purely horizontal technique in which the integrity of the individual melodic lines is not sacrificed to harmonic considerations. "Its distinctive feature is rather the concept of melody, which served as the starting-point for the adherents of the 'new objectivity' when they set up linear counterpoint as an anti-type to the Romantic harmony." The voice parts move freely, irrespective of the effects their combined motions may create." In other words, either "the domination of the horizontal (linear) aspects over the vertical" is featured or the "harmonic control of lines is rejected."Dissonant counterpoint
Dissonant counterpoint was originally theorized by Charles Seeger as "at first purely a school-room discipline," consisting of species counterpoint but with all the traditional rules reversed. First species counterpoint must be all dissonances, establishing "dissonance, rather than consonance, as the rule," and consonances are "resolved" through a skip, not step. He wrote that "the effect of this discipline" was "one of purification". Other aspects of composition, such as rhythm, could be "dissonated" by applying the same principle.
Seeger was not the first to employ dissonant counterpoint, but was the first to theorize and promote it. Other composers who have used dissonant counterpoint, if not in the exact manner prescribed by Charles Seeger, include Johanna Beyer, John Cage, Ruth Crawford-Seeger, Vivian Fine, Carl Ruggles, Henry Cowell, Carlos Chávez, John J. Becker, Henry Brant, Lou Harrison, Wallingford Riegger, and Frank Wigglesworth.
See also
* Counter-melody
* Hauptstimme
* Polyphony
* Polyrhythm
* Voice leading
References
Sources
*
* Further reading
* Kurth, Ernst (1991). "Foundations of Linear Counterpoint". In Ernst Kurth: Selected Writings, selected and translated by Lee Allen Rothfarb, foreword by Ian Bent, p. 37–95. Cambridge Studies in Music Theory and Analysis 2. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Paperback reprint 2006. (cloth); (pbk)
*
* Prout, Ebenezer (1890). Counterpoint: Strict and Free. London: Augener & Co.
* Spalding, Walter Raymond (1904). Tonal Counterpoint: Studies in Part-writing. Boston, New York: A. P. Schmidt.
* Mann, Alfred (1965). ''The Study of Counterpoint: from Johann Joseph Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum". W.W. Norton.
External links
* [http://www.lindsaydavidson.co.uk/counterpoint/ An explanation and teach yourself method for Species Counterpoint]
* [http://ntoll.org/article/species-counterpoint ntoll.org: Species Counterpoint] by Nicholas H. Tollervey
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030823070750/http://www.o-art.org/history/early/Seeger.html Orima: The History of Experimental Music in Northern California: On Dissonant Counterpoint] by David Nicholls from his American Experimental Music: 1890–1940
* [http://dictionary.onmusic.org/terms/1104-dissonant_counterpoint Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary: Dissonant counterpoint examples and definition]
* [http://www.ars-nova.com/cpmanual Counterpointer:Software tutorial for the study of counterpoint] by Jeffrey Evans
* [http://whybach.crosstownbooks.com/chapter.html "Bach as Contrapuntist"] by Dan Brown, music critic from Cornell University, from his web book Why Bach?''
* [http://www.maison-de-contrapuntal.com "contrapuntal—a collaborative arts project by Benjamin Skepper"]
* [https://alanbelkinmusic.com/site/en/index.php/ Principles of Counterpoint], by Alan Belkin | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpoint | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.890952 |
5910 | Cyanide | | UNII = OXN4E7L11K
| PubChem = 5975
| ChEBI = 17514
| SMILES = [C-]#N
| ChemSpiderID = 5755
| InChI = 1S/CN/c1-2/q-1
| InChIKey = XFXPMWWXUTWYJX-UHFFFAOYSA-N
}}
|Section2 =
| C1|N1
| Appearance | Solubility
| ConjugateAcid = Hydrogen cyanide}}
|Section3 = is one of the most poisonous chemicals. It may cause death in minutes.
| FlashPt | AutoignitionPt }}
}}
In chemistry, cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.
Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This anion is extremely poisonous. Soluble cyanide salts such as sodium cyanide (NaCN), potassium cyanide (KCN) and tetraethylammonium cyanide () are highly toxic.
Covalent cyanides contain the group, and are usually called nitriles if the group is linked by a single covalent bond to carbon atom. For example, in acetonitrile , the cyanide group is bonded to methyl . In tetracyanomethane , four cyano groups are bonded to carbon. Although nitriles generally do not release cyanide ions, the cyanohydrins do and are thus toxic. The cyano group may be covalently bonded to atoms different than carbon, e.g., in cyanogen azide , phosphorus tricyanide and trimethylsilyl cyanide .
Hydrogen cyanide, or , is a highly volatile toxic liquid that is produced on a large scale industrially. It is obtained by acidification of cyanide salts.
Bonding
The cyanide ion is isoelectronic with carbon monoxide and with molecular nitrogen N≡N. A triple bond exists between C and N. The negative charge is concentrated on carbon C.
Occurrence
In nature
in Nigeria]]
Cyanides are produced by certain bacteria, fungi, and algae. It is an antifeedant in a number of plants. Cyanides are found in substantial amounts in certain seeds and fruit stones, e.g., those of bitter almonds, apricots, apples, and peaches. Chemical compounds that can release cyanide are known as cyanogenic compounds. In plants, cyanides are usually bound to sugar molecules in the form of cyanogenic glycosides and defend the plant against herbivores. Cassava roots (also called manioc), an important potato-like food grown in tropical countries (and the base from which tapioca is made), also contain cyanogenic glycosides.
The Madagascar bamboo Cathariostachys madagascariensis produces cyanide as a deterrent to grazing. In response, the golden bamboo lemur, which eats the bamboo, has developed a high tolerance to cyanide.
The hydrogenase enzymes contain cyanide ligands attached to iron in their active sites. The biosynthesis of cyanide in the NiFe hydrogenases proceeds from carbamoyl phosphate, which converts to cysteinyl thiocyanate, the donor.
Interstellar medium
The cyanide radical <sup>•</sup>CN has been identified in interstellar space. Cyanogen, , is used to measure the temperature of interstellar gas clouds.Pyrolysis and combustion productHydrogen cyanide is produced by the combustion or pyrolysis of certain materials under oxygen-deficient conditions. For example, it can be detected in the exhaust of internal combustion engines and tobacco smoke. Certain plastics, especially those derived from acrylonitrile, release hydrogen cyanide when heated or burnt. An example of a nitrile is acetonitrile, . Nitriles usually do not release cyanide ions. A functional group with a hydroxyl and cyanide bonded to the same carbon atom is called cyanohydrin (). Unlike nitriles, cyanohydrins do release poisonous hydrogen cyanide.
Reactions
Protonation
Cyanide is basic. The pK<sub>a</sub> of hydrogen cyanide is 9.21. Thus, addition of acids stronger than hydrogen cyanide to solutions of cyanide salts releases hydrogen cyanide.
Hydrolysis
Cyanide is unstable in water, but the reaction is slow until about 170 °C. It undergoes hydrolysis to give ammonia and formate, which are far less toxic than cyanide:
:
Redox
The cyanide ion is a reductant and is oxidized by strong oxidizing agents such as molecular chlorine (), hypochlorite (), and hydrogen peroxide (). These oxidizers are used to destroy cyanides in effluents from gold mining.
Metal complexation
The cyanide anion reacts with transition metals to form M-CN bonds. This reaction is the basis of cyanide's toxicity. The high affinities of metals for this anion can be attributed to its negative charge, compactness, and ability to engage in π-bonding.
Among the most important cyanide coordination compounds are the potassium ferrocyanide and the pigment Prussian blue, which are both essentially nontoxic due to the tight binding of the cyanides to a central iron atom.
Prussian blue was first accidentally made around 1706, by heating substances containing iron and carbon and nitrogen, and other cyanides made subsequently (and named after it). Among its many uses, Prussian blue gives the blue color to blueprints, bluing, and cyanotypes.
Manufacture
The principal process used to manufacture cyanides is the Andrussow process in which gaseous hydrogen cyanide is produced from methane and ammonia in the presence of oxygen and a platinum catalyst.
:
Sodium cyanide, the precursor to most cyanides, is produced by treating hydrogen cyanide with sodium hydroxide: Tissues that depend highly on aerobic respiration, such as the central nervous system and the heart, are particularly affected. This is an example of histotoxic hypoxia.
Hydrogen cyanide, which is a gas, kills by inhalation. For this reason, working with hydrogen cyanide requires wearing an air respirator supplied by an external oxygen source. Hydrogen cyanide can be produced by adding acid to a solution containing a cyanide salt. Alkaline solutions of cyanide are safer to use because they do not evolve hydrogen cyanide gas. Oral ingestion of a small quantity of solid cyanide or a cyanide solution of as little as 200 mg, or exposure to airborne cyanide of 270 ppm, is sufficient to cause death within minutes.
Antidote
Hydroxocobalamin reacts with cyanide to form cyanocobalamin, which can be safely eliminated by the kidneys. This method has the advantage of avoiding the formation of methemoglobin (see below). This antidote kit is sold under the brand name Cyanokit and was approved by the U.S. FDA in 2006.
An older cyanide antidote kit included administration of three substances: amyl nitrite pearls (administered by inhalation), sodium nitrite, and sodium thiosulfate. The goal of the antidote was to generate a large pool of ferric iron () to compete for cyanide with cytochrome a<sub>3</sub> (so that cyanide will bind to the antidote rather than the enzyme). The nitrites oxidize hemoglobin to methemoglobin, which competes with cytochrome oxidase for the cyanide ion. Cyanmethemoglobin is formed and the cytochrome oxidase enzyme is restored. The major mechanism to remove the cyanide from the body is by enzymatic conversion to thiocyanate by the mitochondrial enzyme rhodanese. Thiocyanate is a relatively non-toxic molecule and is excreted by the kidneys. To accelerate this detoxification, sodium thiosulfate is administered to provide a sulfur donor for rhodanese, needed in order to produce thiocyanate.SensitivityMinimum risk levels (MRLs) may not protect for delayed health effects or health effects acquired following repeated sublethal exposure, such as hypersensitivity, asthma, or bronchitis. MRLs may be revised after sufficient data accumulates.ApplicationsMining
Cyanide is mainly produced for the mining of silver and gold: It helps dissolve these metals allowing separation from the other solids. In the cyanide process, finely ground high-grade ore is mixed with the cyanide (at a ratio of about 1:500 parts NaCN to ore); low-grade ores are stacked into heaps and sprayed with a cyanide solution (at a ratio of about 1:1000 parts NaCN to ore). The precious metals are complexed by the cyanide anions to form soluble derivatives, e.g., (dicyanoargentate(I)) and (dicyanoaurate(I)). Silver is less "noble" than gold and often occurs as the sulfide, in which case redox is not invoked (no is required). Instead, a displacement reaction occurs:
:
:
The "pregnant liquor" containing these ions is separated from the solids, which are discarded to a tailing pond or spent heap, the recoverable gold having been removed. The metal is recovered from the "pregnant solution" by reduction with zinc dust or by adsorption onto activated carbon. This process can result in environmental and health problems. A number of environmental disasters have followed the overflow of tailing ponds at gold mines. Cyanide contamination of waterways has resulted in numerous cases of human and aquatic species mortality.
Aqueous cyanide is hydrolyzed rapidly, especially in sunlight. It can mobilize some heavy metals such as mercury if present. Gold can also be associated with arsenopyrite (FeAsS), which is similar to iron pyrite (fool's gold), wherein half of the sulfur atoms are replaced by arsenic. Gold-containing arsenopyrite ores are similarly reactive toward inorganic cyanide.
Industrial organic chemistry
The second major application of alkali metal cyanides (after mining) is in the production of CN-containing compounds, usually nitriles. Acyl cyanides are produced from acyl chlorides and cyanide. Cyanogen, cyanogen chloride, and the trimer cyanuric chloride are derived from alkali metal cyanides.
Medical uses
The cyanide compound sodium nitroprusside is used mainly in clinical chemistry to measure urine ketone bodies mainly as a follow-up to diabetic patients. On occasion, it is used in emergency medical situations to produce a rapid decrease in blood pressure in humans; it is also used as a vasodilator in vascular research. The cobalt in artificial vitamin B<sub>12</sub> contains a cyanide ligand as an artifact of the purification process; this must be removed by the body before the vitamin molecule can be activated for biochemical use. During World War I, a copper cyanide compound was briefly used by Japanese physicians for the treatment of tuberculosis and leprosy.Illegal fishing and poaching
Cyanides are illegally used to capture live fish near coral reefs for the aquarium and seafood markets. The practice is controversial, dangerous, and damaging but is driven by the lucrative exotic fish market.
Poachers in Africa have been known to use cyanide to poison waterholes, to kill elephants for their ivory.
Pest control
M44 cyanide devices are used in the United States to kill coyotes and other canids. Cyanide is also used for pest control in New Zealand, particularly for possums, an introduced marsupial that threatens the conservation of native species and spreads tuberculosis amongst cattle. Possums can become bait shy but the use of pellets containing the cyanide reduces bait shyness. Cyanide has been known to kill native birds, including the endangered kiwi. Cyanide is also effective for controlling the dama wallaby, another introduced marsupial pest in New Zealand. A licence is required to store, handle and use cyanide in New Zealand.
Cyanides are used as insecticides for fumigating ships. Cyanide salts are used for killing ants, and have in some places been used as rat poison (the less toxic poison arsenic is more common).
Niche uses
Potassium ferrocyanide is used to achieve a blue color on cast bronze sculptures during the final finishing stage of the sculpture. On its own, it will produce a very dark shade of blue and is often mixed with other chemicals to achieve the desired tint and hue. It is applied using a torch and paint brush while wearing the standard safety equipment used for any patina application: rubber gloves, safety glasses, and a respirator. The actual amount of cyanide in the mixture varies according to the recipes used by each foundry.
Cyanide is also used in jewelry-making and certain kinds of photography such as sepia toning.
Although usually thought to be toxic, cyanide and cyanohydrins increase germination in various plant species.
Human poisoning
Deliberate cyanide poisoning of humans has occurred many times throughout history.
Common salts such as sodium cyanide are involatile but water-soluble, so are poisonous by ingestion. Hydrogen cyanide is a gas, making it more indiscriminately dangerous, however it is lighter than air and rapidly disperses up into the atmosphere, which makes it ineffective as a chemical weapon.
Food additive
Because of the high stability of their complexation with iron, ferrocyanides (Sodium ferrocyanide E535, Potassium ferrocyanide E536, and Calcium ferrocyanide E538) do not decompose to lethal levels in the human body and are used in the food industry as, e.g., an anticaking agent in table salt.
Chemical tests for cyanide
Cyanide is quantified by potentiometric titration, a method widely used in gold mining. It can also be determined by titration with silver ion.
Some analyses begin with an air-purge of an acidified boiling solution, sweeping the vapors into a basic absorber solution. The cyanide salt absorbed in the basic solution is then analyzed.Qualitative testsBecause of the notorious toxicity of cyanide, many methods have been investigated. Benzidine gives a blue coloration in the presence of ferricyanide. Iron(II) sulfate added to a solution of cyanide, such as the filtrate from the sodium fusion test, gives prussian blue. A solution of para-benzoquinone in DMSO reacts with inorganic cyanide to form a cyanophenol, which is fluorescent. Illumination with a UV light gives a green/blue glow if the test is positive.ReferencesExternal links
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100528070140/http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/MMG/MMG.asp?id1073&tid19 ATSDR medical management guidelines for cyanide poisoning (US)]
*[http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/firindex.htm HSE recommendations for first aid treatment of cyanide poisoning (UK)]
*[http://www.inchem.org/documents/cicads/cicads/cicad61.htm Hydrogen cyanide and cyanides] (CICAD 61)
*[http://www.inchem.org/documents/antidote/antidote/ant02.htm#SubSectionNumber:1.13.1 IPCS/CEC Evaluation of antidotes for poisoning by cyanides]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060517035532/http://www.npi.gov.au/database/substance-info/profiles/29.html National Pollutant Inventory – Cyanide compounds fact sheet]
*[http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/apples.asp#add Eating apple seeds is safe despite the small amount of cyanide]
*[http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp8.pdf Toxicological Profile for Cyanide, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, July 2006]
;Safety data (French)
* Institut national de recherche et de sécurité (1997). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060220084315/http://www.inrs.fr/inrs-pub/inrs01.nsf/inrs01_ftox_view/860430FE710FCFD7C1256CE8004F67CB/$File/ft4.pdf Cyanure d'hydrogène et solutions aqueuses]". Fiche toxicologique n° 4, Paris: INRS, 5 pp. (PDF file, )
* Institut national de recherche et de sécurité (1997). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060220084330/http://www.inrs.fr/inrs-pub/inrs01.nsf/inrs01_ftox_view/48145297F4EF18BBC1256CE8005A9FC2/$File/ft111.pdf Cyanure de sodium. Cyanure de potassium]". Fiche toxicologique n° 111, Paris: INRS, 6 pp. (PDF file, )
Category:Cyanides
Category:Anions
Category:Blood agents
Category:Mitochondrial toxins
Category:Nitrogen(−III) compounds
Category:Toxicology | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.932927 |
5912 | Carbonate | | PIN = Carbonate
| SystematicName Trioxidocarbonate
| OtherNames | Section1
| UNII = 7UJQ5OPE7D
| PubChem = 19660
| ChemSpiderID = 18519
| InChI = 1/CH2O3/c2-1(3)4/h(H2,2,3,4)/p-2
| InChIKey = BVKZGUZCCUSVTD-NUQVWONBAE
| StdInChI = 1S/CH2O3/c2-1(3)4/h(H2,2,3,4)/p-2
| StdInChIKey = BVKZGUZCCUSVTD-UHFFFAOYSA-L
| SMILES C(O)([O-])[O-]}}
| Section2 =
| C1|O3
| ConjugateAcid = Bicarbonate
| Appearance | Solubility }}
| Section7 =
}}
A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, (), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word "carbonate" may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate group .
The term is also used as a verb, to describe carbonation: the process of raising the concentrations of carbonate and bicarbonate ions in water to produce carbonated water and other carbonated beverageseither by the addition of carbon dioxide gas under pressure or by dissolving carbonate or bicarbonate salts into the water.
In geology and mineralogy, the term "carbonate" can refer both to carbonate minerals and carbonate rock (which is made of chiefly carbonate minerals), and both are dominated by the carbonate ion, . Carbonate minerals are extremely varied and ubiquitous in chemically precipitated sedimentary rock. The most common are calcite or calcium carbonate, , the chief constituent of limestone (as well as the main component of mollusc shells and coral skeletons); dolomite, a calcium-magnesium carbonate ; and siderite, or iron(II) carbonate, , an important iron ore. Sodium carbonate ("soda" or "natron"), , and potassium carbonate ("potash"), , have been used since antiquity for cleaning and preservation, as well as for the manufacture of glass. Carbonates are widely used in industry, such as in iron smelting, as a raw material for Portland cement and lime manufacture, in the composition of ceramic glazes, and more. New applications of alkali metal carbonates include: thermal energy storage, catalysis and electrolyte both in fuel cell technology as well as in electrosynthesis of in aqueous media.
Structure and bonding
The carbonate ion is the simplest oxocarbon anion. It consists of one carbon atom surrounded by three oxygen atoms, in a trigonal planar arrangement, with D<sub>3h</sub> molecular symmetry. It has a molecular mass of 60.01 g/mol and carries a total formal charge of −2. It is the conjugate base of the hydrogencarbonate (bicarbonate) ion, , which is the conjugate base of , carbonic acid.
The Lewis structure of the carbonate ion has two (long) single bonds to negative oxygen atoms, and one short double bond to a neutral oxygen atom.
:
This structure is incompatible with the observed symmetry of the ion, which implies that the three bonds are the same length and that the three oxygen atoms are equivalent. As in the case of the isoelectronic nitrate ion, the symmetry can be achieved by a resonance among three structures:
:
This resonance can be summarized by a model with fractional bonds and delocalized charges:
:
Chemical properties
right|thumb|190px|Stalactites and stalagmites are carbonate minerals.
Metal carbonates generally decompose on heating, liberating carbon dioxide leaving behind an oxide of the metal.
#
#
#
Exhaled depletes , which in turn consumes , causing the equilibrium of the first reaction to try to restore the level of carbonic acid by reacting bicarbonate with a hydrogen ion, an example of Le Châtelier's principle. The result is to make the blood more alkaline (raise pH). By the same principle, when the pH is too high, the kidneys excrete bicarbonate () into urine as urea via the urea cycle (or Krebs–Henseleit ornithine cycle). By removing the bicarbonate, more is generated from carbonic acid (), which comes from produced by cellular respiration.
Crucially, a similar buffer operates in the oceans. It is a major factor in climate change and the long-term carbon cycle, due to the large number of marine organisms (especially coral) which are made of calcium carbonate. Increased solubility of carbonate through increased temperatures results in lower production of marine calcite and increased concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This, in turn, increases Earth temperature. The amount of available is on a geological scale and substantial quantities may eventually be redissolved into the sea and released to the atmosphere, increasing levels even more.
Carbonate salts
* Carbonate overview:
Presence outside Earth
It is generally thought that the presence of carbonates in rock is strong evidence for the presence of liquid water. Recent observations of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 show evidence for carbonates in space, where aqueous alteration similar to that on Earth is unlikely. Other minerals have been proposed which would fit the observations.
Small amounts of carbonate deposits have been found on Mars via spectral imaging and Martian meteorites also contain small amounts. Groundwater may have existed at Gusev and Meridiani Planum.See also
* Cap carbonates
* Orthocarbonic acid, , or , a hypothetic unstable molecule
* Oxalate
* Peroxocarbonate
* Sodium percarbonate
References
External links
* [http://www2.iq.usp.br/docente/gutz/Curtipot_.html Carbonate/bicarbonate/carbonic acid equilibrium in water: pH of solutions, buffer capacity, titration and species distribution vs. pH computed with a free spreadsheet]
*
Category:Carbon oxyanions
Category:Oxocarbon anions | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonate | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.952354 |
5914 | Catalysis | Cathalistis}}
that uses a low-temperature oxidation catalyst to convert carbon monoxide to less toxic carbon dioxide at room temperature. It can also remove formaldehyde from the air.]]
Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quickly, very small amounts of catalyst often suffice; mixing, surface area, and temperature are important factors in reaction rate. Catalysts generally react with one or more reactants to form intermediates that subsequently give the final reaction product, in the process of regenerating the catalyst.
The rate increase occurs because the catalyst allows the reaction to occur by an alternative mechanism which may be much faster than the noncatalyzed mechanism. However the noncatalyzed mechanism does remain possible, so that the total rate (catalyzed plus noncatalyzed) can only increase in the presence of the catalyst and never decrease.
Catalysis may be classified as either homogeneous, whose components are dispersed in the same phase (usually gaseous or liquid) as the reactant, or heterogeneous, whose components are not in the same phase. Enzymes and other biocatalysts are often considered as a third category.
Catalysis is ubiquitous in chemical industry of all kinds. Estimates are that 90% of all commercially produced chemical products involve catalysts at some stage in the process of their manufacture.
The term "catalyst" is derived from Greek , kataluein, meaning "loosen" or "untie". The concept of catalysis was invented by chemist Elizabeth Fulhame, based on her novel work in oxidation-reduction experiments.
General principles
Example
An illustrative example is the effect of catalysts to speed the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen:
:2 HO → 2 HO + O
This reaction proceeds because the reaction products are more stable than the starting compound, but this decomposition is so slow that hydrogen peroxide solutions are commercially available. In the presence of a catalyst such as manganese dioxide this reaction proceeds much more rapidly. This effect is readily seen by the effervescence of oxygen. The catalyst is not consumed in the reaction, and may be recovered unchanged and re-used indefinitely. Accordingly, manganese dioxide is said to catalyze this reaction. In living organisms, this reaction is catalyzed by enzymes (proteins that serve as catalysts) such as catalase.
Another example is the effect of catalysts on air pollution and reducing the amount of carbon monoxide. Development of active and selective catalysts for the conversion of carbon monoxide into desirable products is one of the most important roles of catalysts. Using catalysts for hydrogenation of carbon monoxide helps to remove this toxic gas and also attain useful materials.
Units
The SI derived unit for measuring the catalytic activity of a catalyst is the katal, which is quantified in moles per second. The productivity of a catalyst can be described by the turnover number (or TON) and the catalytic activity by the turn over frequency (TOF), which is the TON per time unit. The biochemical equivalent is the enzyme unit. For more information on the efficiency of enzymatic catalysis, see the article on enzymes.
Catalytic reaction mechanisms
In general, chemical reactions occur faster in the presence of a catalyst because the catalyst provides an alternative reaction mechanism (reaction pathway) having a lower activation energy than the noncatalyzed mechanism. In catalyzed mechanisms, the catalyst is regenerated.
As a simple example occurring in the gas phase, the reaction 2 SO<sub>2</sub> + O<sub>2</sub> → 2 SO<sub>3</sub> can be catalyzed by adding nitric oxide. The reaction occurs in two steps:
: 2NO + O<sub>2</sub> → 2NO<sub>2</sub> (rate-determining)
: NO<sub>2</sub> + SO<sub>2</sub> → NO + SO<sub>3</sub> (fast)
The NO catalyst is regenerated. The overall rate is the rate of the slow step
Reaction energetics
Catalysts enable pathways that differ from the uncatalyzed reactions. These pathways have lower activation energy. Consequently, more molecular collisions have the energy needed to reach the transition state. Hence, catalysts can enable reactions that would otherwise be blocked or slowed by a kinetic barrier. The catalyst may increase the reaction rate or selectivity, or enable the reaction at lower temperatures. This effect can be illustrated with an energy profile diagram.
In the catalyzed elementary reaction, catalysts do not change the extent of a reaction: they have no effect on the chemical equilibrium of a reaction. The ratio of the forward and the reverse reaction rates is unaffected (see also thermodynamics). The second law of thermodynamics describes why a catalyst does not change the chemical equilibrium of a reaction. Suppose there was such a catalyst that shifted an equilibrium. Introducing the catalyst to the system would result in a reaction to move to the new equilibrium, producing energy. Production of energy is a necessary result since reactions are spontaneous only if Gibbs free energy is produced, and if there is no energy barrier, there is no need for a catalyst. Then, removing the catalyst would also result in a reaction, producing energy; i.e. the addition and its reverse process, removal, would both produce energy. Thus, a catalyst that could change the equilibrium would be a perpetual motion machine, a contradiction to the laws of thermodynamics. Thus, catalysts do not alter the equilibrium constant. (A catalyst can however change the equilibrium concentrations by reacting in a subsequent step. It is then consumed as the reaction proceeds, and thus it is also a reactant. Illustrative is the base-catalyzed hydrolysis of esters, where the produced carboxylic acid immediately reacts with the base catalyst and thus the reaction equilibrium is shifted towards hydrolysis.)
The catalyst stabilizes the transition state more than it stabilizes the starting material. It decreases the kinetic barrier by decreasing the difference in energy between starting material and the transition state. It does not change the energy difference between starting materials and products (thermodynamic barrier), or the available energy (this is provided by the environment as heat or light).
Related concepts
Some so-called catalysts are really precatalysts, which convert to catalysts in the reaction. For example, Wilkinson's catalyst RhCl(PPh) loses one triphenylphosphine ligand before entering the true catalytic cycle. Precatalysts are easier to store but are easily activated in situ. Because of this preactivation step, many catalytic reactions involve an induction period.
In cooperative catalysis, chemical species that improve catalytic activity are called cocatalysts or promoters.
In tandem catalysis two or more different catalysts are coupled in a one-pot reaction.
In autocatalysis, the catalyst is a product of the overall reaction, in contrast to all other types of catalysis considered in this article. The simplest example of autocatalysis is a reaction of type A + B → 2 B, in one or in several steps. The overall reaction is just A → B, so that B is a product. But since B is also a reactant, it may be present in the rate equation and affect the reaction rate. As the reaction proceeds, the concentration of B increases and can accelerate the reaction as a catalyst. In effect, the reaction accelerates itself or is autocatalyzed. An example is the hydrolysis of an ester such as aspirin to a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. In the absence of added acid catalysts, the carboxylic acid product catalyzes the hydrolysis.
Switchable catalysis refers to a type of catalysis where the catalyst can be toggled between different ground states possessing distinct reactivity, typically by applying an external stimulus. This ability to reversibly switch the catalyst allows for spatiotemporal control over catalytic activity and selectivity. The external stimuli used to switch the catalyst can include changes in temperature, pH, light, electric fields, or the addition of chemical agents.
A true catalyst can work in tandem with a sacrificial catalyst. The true catalyst is consumed in the elementary reaction and turned into a deactivated form.
The sacrificial catalyst regenerates the true catalyst for another cycle. The sacrificial catalyst is consumed in the reaction, and as such, it is not really a catalyst, but a reagent. For example, osmium tetroxide (OsO<sub>4</sub>) is a good reagent for dihydroxylation, but it is highly toxic and expensive. In Upjohn dihydroxylation, the sacrificial catalyst N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) regenerates OsO<sub>4</sub>, and only catalytic quantities of OsO<sub>4</sub> are needed.
Classification
Catalysis may be classified as either homogeneous or heterogeneous. A homogeneous catalysis is one whose components are dispersed in the same phase (usually gaseous or liquid) as the reactant's molecules. A heterogeneous catalysis is one where the reaction components are not in the same phase. Enzymes and other biocatalysts are often considered as a third category. Similar mechanistic principles apply to heterogeneous, homogeneous, and biocatalysis.
Heterogeneous catalysis
ZSM-5 is exploited in catalysts used in refineries]]
Heterogeneous catalysts act in a different phase than the reactants. Most heterogeneous catalysts are solids that act on substrates in a liquid or gaseous reaction mixture. Important heterogeneous catalysts include zeolites, alumina, higher-order oxides, graphitic carbon, transition metal oxides, metals such as Raney nickel for hydrogenation, and vanadium(V) oxide for oxidation of sulfur dioxide into sulfur trioxide by the contact process.
Diverse mechanisms for reactions on surfaces are known, depending on how the adsorption takes place (Langmuir-Hinshelwood, Eley-Rideal, and Mars-van Krevelen). The total surface area of a solid has an important effect on the reaction rate. The smaller the catalyst particle size, the larger the surface area for a given mass of particles.
A heterogeneous catalyst has active sites, which are the atoms or crystal faces where the substrate actually binds. Active sites are atoms but are often described as a facet (edge, surface, step, etc.) of a solid. Most of the volume but also most of the surface of a heterogeneous catalyst may be catalytically inactive. Finding out the nature of the active site is technically challenging.
For example, the catalyst for the Haber process for the synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen is often described as iron. But detailed studies and many optimizations have led to catalysts that are mixtures of iron-potassium-calcium-aluminum-oxide. The reacting gases adsorb onto active sites on the iron particles. Once physically adsorbed, the reagents partially or wholly dissociate and form new bonds. In this way the particularly strong triple bond in nitrogen is broken, which would be extremely uncommon in the gas phase due to its high activation energy. Thus, the activation energy of the overall reaction is lowered, and the rate of reaction increases. Another place where a heterogeneous catalyst is applied is in the oxidation of sulfur dioxide on vanadium(V) oxide for the production of sulfuric acid.Electrocatalysts
In the context of electrochemistry, specifically in fuel cell engineering, various metal-containing catalysts are used to enhance the rates of the half reactions that comprise the fuel cell. One common type of fuel cell electrocatalyst is based upon nanoparticles of platinum that are supported on slightly larger carbon particles. When in contact with one of the electrodes in a fuel cell, this platinum increases the rate of oxygen reduction either to water or to hydroxide or hydrogen peroxide.
Homogeneous catalysis
Homogeneous catalysts function in the same phase as the reactants. Typically homogeneous catalysts are dissolved in a solvent with the substrates. One example of homogeneous catalysis involves the influence of H on the esterification of carboxylic acids, such as the formation of methyl acetate from acetic acid and methanol. High-volume processes requiring a homogeneous catalyst include hydroformylation, hydrosilylation, hydrocyanation. For inorganic chemists, homogeneous catalysis is often synonymous with organometallic catalysts. Many homogeneous catalysts are however not organometallic, illustrated by the use of cobalt salts that catalyze the oxidation of p-xylene to terephthalic acid.
Organocatalysis
Whereas transition metals sometimes attract most of the attention in the study of catalysis, small organic molecules without metals can also exhibit catalytic properties, as is apparent from the fact that many enzymes lack transition metals. Typically, organic catalysts require a higher loading (amount of catalyst per unit amount of reactant, expressed in mol% amount of substance) than transition metal(-ion)-based catalysts, but these catalysts are usually commercially available in bulk, helping to lower costs. In the early 2000s, these organocatalysts were considered "new generation" and are competitive to traditional metal(-ion)-containing catalysts.
Organocatalysts are supposed to operate akin to metal-free enzymes utilizing, e.g., noncovalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding. The discipline organocatalysis is divided into the application of covalent (e.g., proline, DMAP) and noncovalent (e.g., thiourea organocatalysis) organocatalysts referring to the preferred catalyst-substrate binding and interaction, respectively. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 was awarded jointly to Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan "for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis."Photocatalysts
Photocatalysis is the phenomenon where the catalyst can receive light to generate an excited state that effect redox reactions. Singlet oxygen is usually produced by photocatalysis. Photocatalysts are components of dye-sensitized solar cells.
Enzymes and biocatalysts
In biology, enzymes are protein-based catalysts in metabolism and catabolism. Most biocatalysts are enzymes, but other nonprotein-based classes of biomolecules also exhibit catalytic properties including ribozymes, and synthetic deoxyribozymes.
Biocatalysts can be thought of as an intermediate between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, although strictly speaking soluble enzymes are homogeneous catalysts and membrane-bound enzymes are heterogeneous. Several factors affect the activity of enzymes (and other catalysts) including temperature, pH, the concentration of enzymes, substrate, and products. A particularly important reagent in enzymatic reactions is water, which is the product of many bond-forming reactions and a reactant in many bond-breaking processes.
In biocatalysis, enzymes are employed to prepare many commodity chemicals including high-fructose corn syrup and acrylamide.
Some monoclonal antibodies whose binding target is a stable molecule that resembles the transition state of a chemical reaction can function as weak catalysts for that chemical reaction by lowering its activation energy. Such catalytic antibodies are sometimes called "abzymes".
Significance
, Right: burning cube sugar with ash as catalyst]]
(via catalytic decomposition), forming a micropump.]]
Estimates are that 90% of all commercially produced chemical products involve catalysts at some stage in the process of their manufacture. In 2005, catalytic processes generated about $900 billion in products worldwide. Catalysis is so pervasive that subareas are not readily classified. Some areas of particular concentration are surveyed below.
Energy processing
Petroleum refining makes intensive use of catalysis for alkylation, catalytic cracking (breaking long-chain hydrocarbons into smaller pieces), naphtha reforming and steam reforming (conversion of hydrocarbons into synthesis gas). Even the exhaust from the burning of fossil fuels is treated via catalysis: Catalytic converters, typically composed of platinum and rhodium, break down some of the more harmful byproducts of automobile exhaust.
:2 CO + 2 NO → 2 CO + N
With regard to synthetic fuels, an old but still important process is the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons from synthesis gas, which itself is processed via water-gas shift reactions, catalyzed by iron. The Sabatier reaction produces methane from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Biodiesel and related biofuels require processing via both inorganic and biocatalysts.
Fuel cells rely on catalysts for both the anodic and cathodic reactions.
Catalytic heaters generate flameless heat from a supply of combustible fuel.
Bulk chemicals
Some of the largest-scale chemicals are produced via catalytic oxidation, often using oxygen. Examples include nitric acid (from ammonia), sulfuric acid (from sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide by the contact process), terephthalic acid from p-xylene, acrylic acid from propylene or propane and acrylonitrile from propane and ammonia. Methanol is prepared from carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide but using copper-zinc catalysts.
Bulk polymers derived from ethylene and propylene are often prepared using Ziegler–Natta catalyst. Polyesters, polyamides, and isocyanates are derived via acid–base catalysis.
Most carbonylation processes require metal catalysts, examples include the Monsanto acetic acid process and hydroformylation.
Fine chemicals
Many fine chemicals are prepared via catalysis; methods include those of heavy industry as well as more specialized processes that would be prohibitively expensive on a large scale. Examples include the Heck reaction, and Friedel–Crafts reactions. Because most bioactive compounds are chiral, many pharmaceuticals are produced by enantioselective catalysis (catalytic asymmetric synthesis). (R)-1,2-Propandiol, the precursor to the antibacterial levofloxacin, can be synthesized efficiently from hydroxyacetone by using catalysts based on BINAP-ruthenium complexes, in Noyori asymmetric hydrogenation:Food processingOne of the most obvious applications of catalysis is the hydrogenation (reaction with hydrogen gas) of fats using nickel catalyst to produce margarine. Many other foodstuffs are prepared via biocatalysis (see below).Environment
Catalysis affects the environment by increasing the efficiency of industrial processes, but catalysis also plays a direct role in the environment. A notable example is the catalytic role of chlorine free radicals in the breakdown of ozone. These radicals are formed by the action of ultraviolet radiation on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
:Cl + O → ClO + O
:ClO + O → Cl + O
History
The term "catalyst", broadly defined as anything that increases the rate of a process, is derived from Greek καταλύειν, meaning "to annul", or "to untie", or "to pick up". The concept of catalysis was invented by chemist Elizabeth Fulhame and described in a 1794 book, based on her novel work in oxidation–reduction reactions. The first chemical reaction in organic chemistry that knowingly used a catalyst was studied in 1811 by Gottlieb Kirchhoff, who discovered the acid-catalyzed conversion of starch to glucose. The term catalysis was later used by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in 1835 to describe reactions that are accelerated by substances that remain unchanged after the reaction. Fulhame, who predated Berzelius, did work with water as opposed to metals in her reduction experiments. Other 18th century chemists who worked in catalysis were Eilhard Mitscherlich who referred to it as contact processes, and Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner who spoke of contact action. He developed Döbereiner's lamp, a lighter based on hydrogen and a platinum sponge, which became a commercial success in the 1820s that lives on today. Humphry Davy discovered the use of platinum in catalysis. In the 1880s, Wilhelm Ostwald at Leipzig University started a systematic investigation into reactions that were catalyzed by the presence of acids and bases, and found that chemical reactions occur at finite rates and that these rates can be used to determine the strengths of acids and bases. For this work, Ostwald was awarded the 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Vladimir Ipatieff performed some of the earliest industrial scale reactions, including the discovery and commercialization of oligomerization and the development of catalysts for hydrogenation.
Inhibitors, poisons, and promoters
An added substance that lowers the rate is called a reaction inhibitor if reversible and catalyst poisons if irreversible.
Inhibitors are sometimes referred to as "negative catalysts" since they decrease the reaction rate. In heterogeneous catalysis, coking inhibits the catalyst, which becomes covered by polymeric side products.
The inhibitor may modify selectivity in addition to rate. For instance, in the hydrogenation of alkynes to alkenes, a palladium (Pd) catalyst partly "poisoned" with lead(II) acetate (Pb(CHCO)) can be used (Lindlar catalyst). Without the deactivation of the catalyst, the alkene produced would be further hydrogenated to alkane.
The inhibitor can produce this effect by, e.g., selectively poisoning only certain types of active sites. Another mechanism is the modification of surface geometry. For instance, in hydrogenation operations, large planes of metal surface function as sites of hydrogenolysis catalysis while sites catalyzing hydrogenation of unsaturates are smaller. Thus, a poison that covers the surface randomly will tend to lower the number of uncontaminated large planes but leave proportionally smaller sites free, thus changing the hydrogenation vs. hydrogenolysis selectivity. Many other mechanisms are also possible.
Promoters can cover up the surface to prevent the production of a mat of coke, or even actively remove such material (e.g., rhenium on platinum in platforming). They can aid the dispersion of the catalytic material or bind to reagents.
Prebiotic catalysis in the origin of life
Life is based on an interplay between information processing and catalytic activity carried out by biological polymers. A possible evolutionary pathway for the emergence of catalytic functions in prebiotic information coding polymers was proposed.See also
References
External links
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080530162951/http://scienceaid.co.uk/chemistry/inorganic/catalysis.html Science Aid: Catalysts] Page for high school level science
* [http://aci.anorg.chemie.tu-muenchen.de/wah/vortraege/catalysis.pdf W.A. Herrmann Technische Universität presentation]
* [http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~kameyama/ Alumite Catalyst, Kameyama-Sakurai Laboratory, Japan]
* [https://inorganic-chemistry-and-catalysis.eu/ Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Group, Utrecht University, The Netherlands]
* [https://set.kuleuven.be/over-ons/brochures/international-brochure/docs/2014/hr-lea-bio-micro-surface-chem.pdf Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis]
* [https://sites.google.com/view/carbocatudec CarboCat Laboratory, University of Concepcion, Chile]
* [https://www.nsfcentc.org/ NSF CENTC, Center for Enabling New Technologies] (through catalysis)
* [https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bubbles-turn-chemical-catalysts "Bubbles turn on chemical catalysts"], Science News, April 6, 2009.
Catalysis
Category:Chemical kinetics
Category:Articles containing video clips | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalysis | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.977643 |
5916 | Circumference | thumb|
Circumference × diameter 2 × radius.
In geometry, the circumference (from Latin circumferens, meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. The circumference is the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to a line segment. More generally, the perimeter is the curve length around any closed figure.
Circumference may also refer to the circle itself, that is, the locus corresponding to the edge of a disk.
The }} is the circumference, or length, of any one of its great circles.
Circle
The circumference of a circle is the distance around it, but if, as in many elementary treatments, distance is defined in terms of straight lines, this cannot be used as a definition. Under these circumstances, the circumference of a circle may be defined as the limit of the perimeters of inscribed regular polygons as the number of sides increases without bound. The term circumference is used when measuring physical objects, as well as when considering abstract geometric forms.
is 1, its circumference is <math>\pi.</math>]]
is 1—called a unit circle—its circumference is <math>2\pi.</math>]]
Relationship with
The circumference of a circle is related to one of the most important mathematical constants. This constant, pi, is represented by the Greek letter <math>\pi.</math> Its first few decimal digits are 3.141592653589793... Pi is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference <math>C</math> to its diameter <math>d:</math>
<math display"block">\pi \frac{C}{d}.</math>
Or, equivalently, as the ratio of the circumference to twice the radius. The above formula can be rearranged to solve for the circumference:
<math displayblock>{C} \pi \cdot{d} = 2\pi \cdot{r}.\!</math>
The ratio of the circle's circumference to its radius is equivalent to <math>2\pi</math>. (tau) is sometimes used to represent this constant. This notation is accepted in several online calculators and many programming languages.}} This is also the number of radians in one turn. The use of the mathematical constant is ubiquitous in mathematics, engineering, and science.
In Measurement of a Circle written circa 250 BCE, Archimedes showed that this ratio (written as <math>C/d,</math> since he did not use the name ) was greater than 3 but less than 3 by calculating the perimeters of an inscribed and a circumscribed regular polygon of 96 sides. This method for approximating was used for centuries, obtaining more accuracy by using polygons of larger and larger number of sides. The last such calculation was performed in 1630 by Christoph Grienberger who used polygons with 10<sup>40</sup> sides.
Ellipse
Some authors use circumference to denote the perimeter of an ellipse. There is no general formula for the circumference of an ellipse in terms of the semi-major and semi-minor axes of the ellipse that uses only elementary functions. However, there are approximate formulas in terms of these parameters. One such approximation, due to Euler (1773), for the canonical ellipse,
<math displayblock>\frac{x^2}{a^2} + \frac{y^2}{b^2} 1,</math>
is
<math display=block>C_{\rm{ellipse}} \sim \pi \sqrt{2\left(a^2 + b^2\right)}.</math>
Some lower and upper bounds on the circumference of the canonical ellipse with <math>a\geq b</math> are:
<math display=block>2\pi b \leq C \leq 2\pi a,</math>
<math display=block>\pi (a+b) \leq C \leq 4(a+b),</math>
<math display=block>4\sqrt{a^2+b^2} \leq C \leq \pi \sqrt{2\left(a^2+b^2\right)}.</math>
Here the upper bound <math>2\pi a</math> is the circumference of a circumscribed concentric circle passing through the endpoints of the ellipse's major axis, and the lower bound <math>4\sqrt{a^2+b^2}</math> is the perimeter of an inscribed rhombus with vertices at the endpoints of the major and minor axes.
The circumference of an ellipse can be expressed exactly in terms of the complete elliptic integral of the second kind. More precisely,
<math displayblock>C_{\rm{ellipse}} 4a \int_0^{\pi/2} \sqrt{1 - e^2 \sin^2\theta}\ d\theta,</math>
where <math>a</math> is the length of the semi-major axis and <math>e</math> is the eccentricity <math>\sqrt{1 - b^2/a^2}.</math>
See also
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Notes
References
External links
* [http://www.numericana.com/answer/ellipse.htm#elliptic Numericana - Circumference of an ellipse]
Category:Geometric measurement
Category:Circles | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumference | 2025-04-05T18:27:36.987251 |
5918 | Continuum mechanics | Continuum mechanics is a branch of mechanics that deals with the deformation of and transmission of forces through materials modeled as a continuous medium (also called a continuum) rather than as discrete particles.
Continuum mechanics deals with deformable bodies, as opposed to rigid bodies.
A continuum model assumes that the substance of the object completely fills the space it occupies. While ignoring the fact that matter is made of atoms, this provides a sufficiently accurate description of matter on length scales much greater than that of inter-atomic distances. The concept of a continuous medium allows for intuitive analysis of bulk matter by using differential equations that describe the behavior of such matter according to physical laws, such as mass conservation, momentum conservation, and energy conservation. Information about the specific material is expressed in constitutive relationships.
Continuum mechanics treats the physical properties of solids and fluids independently of any particular coordinate system in which they are observed. These properties are represented by tensors, which are mathematical objects with the salient property of being independent of coordinate systems. This permits definition of physical properties at any point in the continuum, according to mathematically convenient continuous functions. The theories of elasticity, plasticity and fluid mechanics are based on the concepts of continuum mechanics.
Concept of a continuum
The concept of a continuum underlies the mathematical framework for studying large-scale forces and deformations in materials. Although materials are composed of discrete atoms and molecules, separated by empty space or microscopic cracks and crystallographic defects, physical phenomena can often be modeled by considering a substance distributed throughout some region of space. A continuum is a body that can be continually sub-divided into infinitesimal elements with local material properties defined at any particular point. Properties of the bulk material can therefore be described by continuous functions, and their evolution can be studied using the mathematics of calculus.
Apart from the assumption of continuity, two other independent assumptions are often employed in the study of continuum mechanics. These are homogeneity (assumption of identical properties at all locations) and isotropy (assumption of directionally invariant vector properties). If these auxiliary assumptions are not globally applicable, the material may be segregated into sections where they are applicable in order to simplify the analysis. For more complex cases, one or both of these assumptions can be dropped. In these cases, computational methods are often used to solve the differential equations describing the evolution of material properties.Major areas
An additional area of continuum mechanics comprises elastomeric foams, which exhibit a curious hyperbolic stress-strain relationship. The elastomer is a true continuum, but a homogeneous distribution of voids gives it unusual properties.Formulation of models
Continuum mechanics models begin by assigning a region in three-dimensional Euclidean space to the material body <math>\mathcal B</math> being modeled. The points within this region are called particles or material points. Different configurations or states of the body correspond to different regions in Euclidean space. The region corresponding to the body's configuration at time <math>t</math> is labeled <math>\kappa_t(\mathcal B)</math>.
A particular particle within the body in a particular configuration is characterized by a position vector <br />
:<math>\mathbf x \sum_{i1}^3 x_i \mathbf e_i,</math>
where <math>\mathbf e_i</math> are the coordinate vectors in some frame of reference chosen for the problem (See figure 1). This vector can be expressed as a function of the particle position <math>\mathbf X</math> in some reference configuration, for example the configuration at the initial time, so that
:<math>\mathbf{x}=\kappa_t(\mathbf X).</math>
This function needs to have various properties so that the model makes physical sense. <math>\kappa_t(\cdot)</math> needs to be:
* continuous in time, so that the body changes in a way which is realistic,
* globally invertible at all times, so that the body cannot intersect itself,
* orientation-preserving, as transformations which produce mirror reflections are not possible in nature.
For the mathematical formulation of the model, <math>\kappa_t(\cdot)</math> is also assumed to be twice continuously differentiable, so that differential equations describing the motion may be formulated.
Forces in a continuum
A solid is a deformable body that possesses shear strength, sc. a solid can support shear forces (forces parallel to the material surface on which they act). Fluids, on the other hand, do not sustain shear forces.
Following the classical dynamics of Newton and Euler, the motion of a material body is produced by the action of externally applied forces which are assumed to be of two kinds: surface forces <math>\mathbf F_C</math> and body forces <math>\mathbf F_B</math>. Thus, the total force <math>\mathcal F</math> applied to a body or to a portion of the body can be expressed as:
:<math>\mathcal F \mathbf F_C + \mathbf F_B</math>Surface forcesSurface forces or contact forces, expressed as force per unit area, can act either on the bounding surface of the body, as a result of mechanical contact with other bodies, or on imaginary internal surfaces that bound portions of the body, as a result of the mechanical interaction between the parts of the body to either side of the surface (Euler-Cauchy's stress principle). When a body is acted upon by external contact forces, internal contact forces are then transmitted from point to point inside the body to balance their action, according to Newton's third law of motion of conservation of linear momentum and angular momentum (for continuous bodies these laws are called the Euler's equations of motion). The internal contact forces are related to the body's deformation through constitutive equations. The internal contact forces may be mathematically described by how they relate to the motion of the body, independent of the body's material makeup.
The distribution of internal contact forces throughout the volume of the body is assumed to be continuous. Therefore, there exists a contact force density or Cauchy traction field <math>\mathbf T(\mathbf n, \mathbf x, t)</math> that represents this distribution in a particular configuration of the body at a given time <math>t\,\!</math>. It is not a vector field because it depends not only on the position <math>\mathbf x</math> of a particular material point, but also on the local orientation of the surface element as defined by its normal vector <math>\mathbf n</math>.
Any differential area <math>dS\,\!</math> with normal vector <math>\mathbf n</math> of a given internal surface area <math>S\,\!</math>, bounding a portion of the body, experiences a contact force <math>d\mathbf F_C\,\!</math> arising from the contact between both portions of the body on each side of <math>S\,\!</math>, and it is given by
:<math>d\mathbf F_C= \mathbf T^{(\mathbf n)}\,dS</math>
where <math>\mathbf T^{(\mathbf n)}</math> is the surface traction, also called stress vector, traction, or traction vector. The stress vector is a frame-indifferent vector (see Euler-Cauchy's stress principle).
The total contact force on the particular internal surface <math>S\,\!</math> is then expressed as the sum (surface integral) of the contact forces on all differential surfaces <math>dS\,\!</math>:
:<math>\mathbf F_C=\int_S \mathbf T^{(\mathbf n)}\,dS</math>
In continuum mechanics a body is considered stress-free if the only forces present are those inter-atomic forces (ionic, metallic, and van der Waals forces) required to hold the body together and to keep its shape in the absence of all external influences, including gravitational attraction. Stresses generated during manufacture of the body to a specific configuration are also excluded when considering stresses in a body. Therefore, the stresses considered in continuum mechanics are only those produced by deformation of the body, sc. only relative changes in stress are considered, not the absolute values of stress.
Body forces
Body forces are forces originating from sources outside of the body that act on the volume (or mass) of the body. Saying that body forces are due to outside sources implies that the interaction between different parts of the body (internal forces) are manifested through the contact forces alone. These forces arise from the presence of the body in force fields, e.g. gravitational field (gravitational forces) or electromagnetic field (electromagnetic forces), or from inertial forces when bodies are in motion. As the mass of a continuous body is assumed to be continuously distributed, any force originating from the mass is also continuously distributed. Thus, body forces are specified by vector fields which are assumed to be continuous over the entire volume of the body, i.e. acting on every point in it. Body forces are represented by a body force density <math>\mathbf b(\mathbf x, t)</math> (per unit of mass), which is a frame-indifferent vector field.
In the case of gravitational forces, the intensity of the force depends on, or is proportional to, the mass density <math>\mathbf \rho (\mathbf x, t)\,\!</math> of the material, and it is specified in terms of force per unit mass (<math>b_i\,\!</math>) or per unit volume (<math>p_i\,\!</math>). These two specifications are related through the material density by the equation <math>\rho b_i = p_i\,\!</math>. Similarly, the intensity of electromagnetic forces depends upon the strength (electric charge) of the electromagnetic field.
The total body force applied to a continuous body is expressed as
:<math>\mathbf F_B\int_V\mathbf b\,dm\int_V \rho\mathbf b\,dV</math>
Body forces and contact forces acting on the body lead to corresponding moments of force (torques) relative to a given point. Thus, the total applied torque <math>\mathcal M</math> about the origin is given by
:<math>\mathcal M= \mathbf M_C + \mathbf M_B</math>
In certain situations, not commonly considered in the analysis of the mechanical behavior of materials, it becomes necessary to include two other types of forces: these are couple stresses}} (surface couples, contact torques) and body moments. Couple stresses are moments per unit area applied on a surface. Body moments, or body couples, are moments per unit volume or per unit mass applied to the volume of the body. Both are important in the analysis of stress for a polarized dielectric solid under the action of an electric field, materials where the molecular structure is taken into consideration (e.g. bones), solids under the action of an external magnetic field, and the dislocation theory of metals.
Materials that exhibit body couples and couple stresses in addition to moments produced exclusively by forces are called polar materials. Non-polar materials are then those materials with only moments of forces. In the classical branches of continuum mechanics the development of the theory of stresses is based on non-polar materials.
Thus, the sum of all applied forces and torques (with respect to the origin of the coordinate system) in the body can be given by
:<math>\mathcal F \int_V \mathbf a\,dm \int_S \mathbf T\,dS + \int_V \rho\mathbf b\,dV</math>
:<math>\mathcal M \int_S \mathbf r \times \mathbf T\,dS + \int_V \mathbf r \times \rho\mathbf b\,dV</math>Kinematics: motion and deformation
A change in the configuration of a continuum body results in a displacement. The displacement of a body has two components: a rigid-body displacement and a deformation. A rigid-body displacement consists of a simultaneous translation and rotation of the body without changing its shape or size. Deformation implies the change in shape and/or size of the body from an initial or undeformed configuration <math>\kappa_0(\mathcal B)</math> to a current or deformed configuration <math>\kappa_t(\mathcal B)</math> (Figure 2).
The motion of a continuum body is a continuous time sequence of displacements. Thus, the material body will occupy different configurations at different times so that a particle occupies a series of points in space which describe a path line.
There is continuity during motion or deformation of a continuum body in the sense that:
* The material points forming a closed curve at any instant will always form a closed curve at any subsequent time.
* The material points forming a closed surface at any instant will always form a closed surface at any subsequent time and the matter within the closed surface will always remain within.
It is convenient to identify a reference configuration or initial condition which all subsequent configurations are referenced from. The reference configuration need not be one that the body will ever occupy. Often, the configuration at <math>t=0</math> is considered the reference configuration, <math>\kappa_0 (\mathcal B)</math>. The components <math>X_i</math> of the position vector <math>\mathbf X</math> of a particle, taken with respect to the reference configuration, are called the material or reference coordinates.
When analyzing the motion or deformation of solids, or the flow of fluids, it is necessary to describe the sequence or evolution of configurations throughout time. One description for motion is made in terms of the material or referential coordinates, called material description or Lagrangian description.
Lagrangian description
In the Lagrangian description the position and physical properties of the particles are described in terms of the material or referential coordinates and time. In this case the reference configuration is the configuration at <math>t=0</math>. An observer standing in the frame of reference observes the changes in the position and physical properties as the material body moves in space as time progresses. The results obtained are independent of the choice of initial time and reference configuration, <math>\kappa_0(\mathcal B)</math>. This description is normally used in solid mechanics.
In the Lagrangian description, the motion of a continuum body is expressed by the mapping function <math>\chi(\cdot)</math> (Figure 2),
:<math>\mathbf x=\chi(\mathbf X, t)</math>
which is a mapping of the initial configuration <math>\kappa_0(\mathcal B)</math> onto the current configuration <math>\kappa_t(\mathcal B)</math>, giving a geometrical correspondence between them, i.e. giving the position vector <math>\mathbf{x}=x_i\mathbf e_i</math> that a particle <math>X</math>, with a position vector <math>\mathbf X</math> in the undeformed or reference configuration <math>\kappa_0(\mathcal B)</math>, will occupy in the current or deformed configuration <math>\kappa_t(\mathcal B)</math> at time <math>t</math>. The components <math>x_i</math> are called the spatial coordinates.
Physical and kinematic properties <math>P_{ij\ldots}</math>, i.e. thermodynamic properties and flow velocity, which describe or characterize features of the material body, are expressed as continuous functions of position and time, i.e. <math>P_{ij\ldots}=P_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf X,t)</math>.
The material derivative of any property <math>P_{ij\ldots}</math> of a continuum, which may be a scalar, vector, or tensor, is the time rate of change of that property for a specific group of particles of the moving continuum body. The material derivative is also known as the substantial derivative, or comoving derivative, or convective derivative. It can be thought as the rate at which the property changes when measured by an observer traveling with that group of particles.
In the Lagrangian description, the material derivative of <math>P_{ij\ldots}</math> is simply the partial derivative with respect to time, and the position vector <math>\mathbf X</math> is held constant as it does not change with time. Thus, we have
:<math>\frac{d}{dt}[P_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf X,t)]=\frac{\partial}{\partial t}[P_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf X,t)]</math>
The instantaneous position <math>\mathbf x</math> is a property of a particle, and its material derivative is the instantaneous flow velocity <math>\mathbf v</math> of the particle. Therefore, the flow velocity field of the continuum is given by
:<math>\mathbf v \dot{\mathbf x}\frac{d\mathbf x}{dt}=\frac{\partial \chi(\mathbf X,t)}{\partial t} </math>
Similarly, the acceleration field is given by
:<math>\mathbf a\dot{\mathbf v} \ddot{\mathbf x} \frac{d^2\mathbf x}{dt^2}\frac{\partial^2 \chi(\mathbf X,t)}{\partial t^2} </math>
Continuity in the Lagrangian description is expressed by the spatial and temporal continuity of the mapping from the reference configuration to the current configuration of the material points. All physical quantities characterizing the continuum are described this way. In this sense, the function <math>\chi(\cdot)</math> and <math>P_{ij\ldots}(\cdot)</math> are single-valued and continuous, with continuous derivatives with respect to space and time to whatever order is required, usually to the second or third.
Eulerian description
Continuity allows for the inverse of <math>\chi(\cdot)</math> to trace backwards where the particle currently located at <math>\mathbf x</math> was located in the initial or referenced configuration <math>\kappa_0(\mathcal B)</math>. In this case the description of motion is made in terms of the spatial coordinates, in which case is called the spatial description or Eulerian description, i.e. the current configuration is taken as the reference configuration.
The Eulerian description, introduced by d'Alembert, focuses on the current configuration <math>\kappa_t(\mathcal B)</math>, giving attention to what is occurring at a fixed point in space as time progresses, instead of giving attention to individual particles as they move through space and time. This approach is conveniently applied in the study of fluid flow where the kinematic property of greatest interest is the rate at which change is taking place rather than the shape of the body of fluid at a reference time.
Mathematically, the motion of a continuum using the Eulerian description is expressed by the mapping function
:<math>\mathbf X=\chi^{-1}(\mathbf x, t)</math>
which provides a tracing of the particle which now occupies the position <math>\mathbf x</math> in the current configuration <math>\kappa_t(\mathcal B)</math> to its original position <math>\mathbf X</math> in the initial configuration <math>\kappa_0(\mathcal B)</math>.
A necessary and sufficient condition for this inverse function to exist is that the determinant of the Jacobian matrix, often referred to simply as the Jacobian, should be different from zero. Thus,
:<math>J \left| \frac{\partial \chi_i}{\partial X_J} \right| \left| \frac{\partial x_i}{\partial X_J} \right| \neq 0</math>
In the Eulerian description, the physical properties <math>P_{ij\ldots}</math> are expressed as
:<math>P_{ij \ldots}P_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf X,t)P_{ij\ldots}[\chi^{-1}(\mathbf x,t),t]=p_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf x,t)</math>
where the functional form of <math>P_{ij \ldots}</math> in the Lagrangian description is not the same as the form of <math>p_{ij \ldots}</math> in the Eulerian description.
The material derivative of <math>p_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf x,t)</math>, using the chain rule, is then
:<math>\frac{d}{dt}[p_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf x,t)]=\frac{\partial}{\partial t}[p_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf x,t)]+ \frac{\partial}{\partial x_k}[p_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf x,t)]\frac{dx_k}{dt}</math>
The first term on the right-hand side of this equation gives the local rate of change of the property <math>p_{ij\ldots}(\mathbf x,t)</math> occurring at position <math>\mathbf x</math>. The second term of the right-hand side is the convective rate of change and expresses the contribution of the particle changing position in space (motion).
Continuity in the Eulerian description is expressed by the spatial and temporal continuity and continuous differentiability of the flow velocity field. All physical quantities are defined this way at each instant of time, in the current configuration, as a function of the vector position <math>\mathbf x</math>.
Displacement field
The vector joining the positions of a particle <math>P</math> in the undeformed configuration and deformed configuration is called the displacement vector <math>\mathbf u(\mathbf X,t)u_i\mathbf e_i</math>, in the Lagrangian description, or <math>\mathbf U(\mathbf x,t)U_J\mathbf E_J</math>, in the Eulerian description.
A displacement field is a vector field of all displacement vectors for all particles in the body, which relates the deformed configuration with the undeformed configuration. It is convenient to do the analysis of deformation or motion of a continuum body in terms of the displacement field, In general, the displacement field is expressed in terms of the material coordinates as
:<math>\mathbf u(\mathbf X,t) \mathbf b+\mathbf x(\mathbf X,t) - \mathbf X \qquad \text{or}\qquad u_i \alpha_{iJ}b_J + x_i - \alpha_{iJ}X_J</math>
or in terms of the spatial coordinates as
:<math>\mathbf U(\mathbf x,t) \mathbf b+\mathbf x - \mathbf X(\mathbf x,t) \qquad \text{or}\qquad U_J b_J + \alpha_{Ji}x_i - X_J \,</math>
where <math>\alpha_{Ji}</math> are the direction cosines between the material and spatial coordinate systems with unit vectors <math>\mathbf E_J</math> and <math>\mathbf e_i</math>, respectively. Thus
:<math>\mathbf E_J \cdot \mathbf e_i \alpha_{Ji}\alpha_{iJ}</math>
and the relationship between <math>u_i</math> and <math>U_J</math> is then given by
:<math>u_i\alpha_{iJ}U_J \qquad \text{or} \qquad U_J\alpha_{Ji}u_i</math>
Knowing that
:<math>\mathbf e_i = \alpha_{iJ}\mathbf E_J</math>
then
:<math>\mathbf u(\mathbf X,t)u_i\mathbf e_iu_i(\alpha_{iJ}\mathbf E_J)U_J\mathbf E_J\mathbf U(\mathbf x,t)</math>
It is common to superimpose the coordinate systems for the undeformed and deformed configurations, which results in <math>\mathbf b=0</math>, and the direction cosines become Kronecker deltas, i.e.
:<math>\mathbf E_J \cdot \mathbf e_i \delta_{Ji}\delta_{iJ}</math>
Thus, we have
:<math>\mathbf u(\mathbf X,t) \mathbf x(\mathbf X,t) - \mathbf X \qquad \text{or}\qquad u_i x_i - \delta_{iJ}X_J</math>
or in terms of the spatial coordinates as
:<math>\mathbf U(\mathbf x,t) \mathbf x - \mathbf X(\mathbf x,t) \qquad \text{or}\qquad U_J \delta_{Ji}x_i - X_J </math>
<!--
Fundamental laws
Conservation of mass
Conservation of momentum
P<sub>i</sub>P<sub>f</sub>Conservation of energy-->Governing equations
Continuum mechanics deals with the behavior of materials that can be approximated as continuous for certain length and time scales. The equations that govern the mechanics of such materials include the balance laws for mass, momentum, and energy. Kinematic relations and constitutive equations are needed to complete the system of governing equations. Physical restrictions on the form of the constitutive relations can be applied by requiring that the second law of thermodynamics be satisfied under all conditions. In the continuum mechanics of solids, the second law of thermodynamics is satisfied if the Clausius–Duhem form of the entropy inequality is satisfied.
The balance laws express the idea that the rate of change of a quantity (mass, momentum, energy) in a volume must arise from three causes:
#the physical quantity itself flows through the surface that bounds the volume,
#there is a source of the physical quantity on the surface of the volume, or/and,
#there is a source of the physical quantity inside the volume.
Let <math>\Omega</math> be the body (an open subset of Euclidean space) and let <math>\partial \Omega </math> be its surface (the boundary of <math>\Omega</math>).
Let the motion of material points in the body be described by the map
:<math>\mathbf{x} \boldsymbol{\chi}(\mathbf{X}) \mathbf{x}(\mathbf{X})</math>
where <math>\mathbf{X}</math> is the position of a point in the initial configuration and <math>\mathbf{x}</math> is the location of the same point in the deformed configuration.
The deformation gradient is given by
:<math>\boldsymbol{F} \frac{\partial \mathbf{x}}{\partial \mathbf{X}} \nabla \mathbf{x} ~.</math>
Balance laws
Let <math>f(\mathbf{x},t)</math> be a physical quantity that is flowing through the body. Let <math>g(\mathbf{x},t)</math> be sources on the surface of the body and let <math>h(\mathbf{x},t)</math> be sources inside the body. Let <math>\mathbf{n}(\mathbf{x},t)</math> be the outward unit normal to the surface <math>\partial \Omega </math>. Let <math>\mathbf{v}(\mathbf{x},t)</math> be the flow velocity of the physical particles that carry the physical quantity that is flowing. Also, let the speed at which the bounding surface <math>\partial \Omega </math> is moving be <math>u_n</math> (in the direction <math>\mathbf{n}</math>).
Then, balance laws can be expressed in the general form
:<math>
\cfrac{d}{dt}\left[\int_{\Omega} f(\mathbf{x},t)~\text{dV}\right] =
\int_{\partial \Omega } f(\mathbf{x},t)[u_n(\mathbf{x},t) - \mathbf{v}(\mathbf{x},t)\cdot\mathbf{n}(\mathbf{x},t)]~\text{dA} +
\int_{\partial \Omega } g(\mathbf{x},t)~\text{dA} + \int_{\Omega} h(\mathbf{x},t)~\text{dV} ~.
</math>
The functions <math>f(\mathbf{x},t)</math>, <math>g(\mathbf{x},t)</math>, and <math>h(\mathbf{x},t)</math> can be scalar valued, vector valued, or tensor valued - depending on the physical quantity that the balance equation deals with. If there are internal boundaries in the body, jump discontinuities also need to be specified in the balance laws.
If we take the Eulerian point of view, it can be shown that the balance laws of mass, momentum, and energy for a solid can be written as (assuming the source term is zero for the mass and angular momentum equations)
:<math>
{
\begin{align}
\dot{\rho} + \rho (\boldsymbol{\nabla} \cdot \mathbf{v}) & = 0
& & \qquad\text{Balance of Mass} \\
\rho~\dot{\mathbf{v}} - \boldsymbol{\nabla} \cdot \boldsymbol{\sigma} - \rho~\mathbf{b} & = 0
& & \qquad\text{Balance of Linear Momentum (Cauchy's first law of motion)} \\
\boldsymbol{\sigma} & = \boldsymbol{\sigma}^T
& & \qquad\text{Balance of Angular Momentum (Cauchy's second law of motion)} \\
\rho~\dot{e} - \boldsymbol{\sigma}:(\boldsymbol{\nabla}\mathbf{v}) + \boldsymbol{\nabla} \cdot \mathbf{q} - \rho~s & = 0
& & \qquad\text{Balance of Energy.}
\end{align}
}
</math>
In the above equations <math>\rho(\mathbf{x},t)</math> is the mass density (current), <math>\dot{\rho}</math> is the material time derivative of <math>\rho</math>, <math>\mathbf{v}(\mathbf{x},t)</math> is the particle velocity, <math>\dot{\mathbf{v}}</math> is the material time derivative of <math>\mathbf{v}</math>, <math>\boldsymbol{\sigma}(\mathbf{x},t)</math> is the Cauchy stress tensor, <math>\mathbf{b}(\mathbf{x},t)</math> is the body force density, <math>e(\mathbf{x},t)</math> is the internal energy per unit mass, <math>\dot{e}</math> is the material time derivative of <math>e</math>, <math>\mathbf{q}(\mathbf{x},t)</math> is the heat flux vector, and <math>s(\mathbf{x},t)</math> is an energy source per unit mass. The operators used are defined below.
With respect to the reference configuration (the Lagrangian point of view), the balance laws can be written as
:<math>
{
\begin{align}
\rho~\det(\boldsymbol{F}) - \rho_0 &= 0 & & \qquad \text{Balance of Mass} \\
\rho_0~\ddot{\mathbf{x}} - \boldsymbol{\nabla}_{\circ}\cdot\boldsymbol{P} -\rho_0~\mathbf{b} & = 0 & &
\qquad \text{Balance of Linear Momentum} \\
\boldsymbol{F}\cdot\boldsymbol{P}^T & = \boldsymbol{P}\cdot\boldsymbol{F}^T & &
\qquad \text{Balance of Angular Momentum} \\
\rho_0~\dot{e} - \boldsymbol{P}^T:\dot{\boldsymbol{F}} + \boldsymbol{\nabla}_{\circ}\cdot\mathbf{q} - \rho_0~s & = 0
& & \qquad\text{Balance of Energy.}
\end{align}
}
</math>
In the above, <math>\boldsymbol{P}</math> is the first Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor, and <math>\rho_0</math> is the mass density in the reference configuration. The first Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor is related to the Cauchy stress tensor by
:<math>
\boldsymbol{P} = J~\boldsymbol{\sigma}\cdot\boldsymbol{F}^{-T}
~\text{where}~ J = \det(\boldsymbol{F})
</math>
We can alternatively define the nominal stress tensor <math>\boldsymbol{N}</math> which is the transpose of the first Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor such that
:<math>
\boldsymbol{N} \boldsymbol{P}^T J~\boldsymbol{F}^{-1}\cdot\boldsymbol{\sigma} ~.
</math>
Then the balance laws become
:<math>
{
\begin{align}
\rho~\det(\boldsymbol{F}) - \rho_0 &= 0 & & \qquad \text{Balance of Mass} \\
\rho_0~\ddot{\mathbf{x}} - \boldsymbol{\nabla}_{\circ}\cdot\boldsymbol{N}^T -\rho_0~\mathbf{b} & = 0 & &
\qquad \text{Balance of Linear Momentum} \\
\boldsymbol{F}\cdot\boldsymbol{N} & = \boldsymbol{N}^T\cdot\boldsymbol{F}^T & &
\qquad \text{Balance of Angular Momentum} \\
\rho_0~\dot{e} - \boldsymbol{N}:\dot{\boldsymbol{F}} + \boldsymbol{\nabla}_{\circ}\cdot\mathbf{q} - \rho_0~s & = 0
& & \qquad\text{Balance of Energy.}
\end{align}
}
</math>
Operators
The operators in the above equations are defined as
:<math>
\begin{align}
\boldsymbol{\nabla} \mathbf{v}
&\sum_{i,j 1}^3 \frac{\partial v_i}{\partial x_j}\mathbf{e}_i\otimes\mathbf{e}_j
= v_{i,j}\mathbf{e}_i\otimes\mathbf{e}_j ~; \\[1ex]
\boldsymbol{\nabla} \cdot \mathbf{v}
&\sum_{i1}^3 \frac{\partial v_i}{\partial x_i}
= v_{i,i} ~; \\[1ex]
\boldsymbol{\nabla} \cdot \boldsymbol{S}
&\sum_{i,j1}^3 \frac{\partial S_{ij}}{\partial x_j}~\mathbf{e}_i
= \sigma_{ij,j}~\mathbf{e}_i ~.
\end{align}
</math>
where <math>\mathbf{v}</math> is a vector field, <math>\boldsymbol{S}</math> is a second-order tensor field, and <math>\mathbf{e}_i</math> are the components of an orthonormal basis in the current configuration. Also,
:<math>
\begin{align}
\boldsymbol{\nabla}_{\circ} \mathbf{v}
&\sum_{i,j 1}^3 \frac{\partial v_i}{\partial X_j}\mathbf{E}_i\otimes\mathbf{E}_j
= v_{i,j}\mathbf{E}_i\otimes\mathbf{E}_j ~; \\[1ex]
\boldsymbol{\nabla}_{\circ}\cdot\mathbf{v}
&\sum_{i1}^3 \frac{\partial v_i}{\partial X_i} = v_{i,i} ~; \\[1ex]
\boldsymbol{\nabla}_{\circ}\cdot\boldsymbol{S}
&\sum_{i,j1}^3 \frac{\partial S_{ij}}{\partial X_j}~\mathbf{E}_i
= S_{ij,j}~\mathbf{E}_i
\end{align}
</math>
where <math>\mathbf{v}</math> is a vector field, <math>\boldsymbol{S}</math> is a second-order tensor field, and <math>\mathbf{E}_i</math> are the components of an orthonormal basis in the reference configuration.
The inner product is defined as
:<math>
\boldsymbol{A}:\boldsymbol{B} \sum_{i,j1}^3 A_{ij}~B_{ij} = \operatorname{trace}(\boldsymbol{A}\boldsymbol{B}^T) ~.
</math>
Clausius–Duhem inequality
The Clausius–Duhem inequality can be used to express the second law of thermodynamics for elastic-plastic materials. This inequality is a statement concerning the irreversibility of natural processes, especially when energy dissipation is involved.
Just like in the balance laws in the previous section, we assume that there is a flux of a quantity, a source of the quantity, and an internal density of the quantity per unit mass. The quantity of interest in this case is the entropy. Thus, we assume that there is an entropy flux, an entropy source, an internal mass density <math>\rho</math> and an internal specific entropy (i.e. entropy per unit mass) <math>\eta</math> in the region of interest.
Let <math>\Omega</math> be such a region and let <math>\partial \Omega </math> be its boundary. Then the second law of thermodynamics states that the rate of increase of <math>\eta</math> in this region is greater than or equal to the sum of that supplied to <math>\Omega</math> (as a flux or from internal sources) and the change of the internal entropy density <math>\rho\eta</math> due to material flowing in and out of the region.
Let <math>\partial \Omega </math> move with a flow velocity <math>u_n</math> and let particles inside <math>\Omega</math> have velocities <math>\mathbf{v}</math>. Let <math>\mathbf{n}</math> be the unit outward normal to the surface <math>\partial \Omega </math>. Let <math>\rho</math> be the density of matter in the region, <math>\bar{q}</math> be the entropy flux at the surface, and <math>r</math> be the entropy source per unit mass.
Then the entropy inequality may be written as
:<math>
\cfrac{d}{dt}\left(\int_{\Omega} \rho~\eta~\text{dV}\right) \ge
\int_{\partial \Omega} \rho~\eta~(u_n - \mathbf{v}\cdot\mathbf{n}) ~\text{dA} +
\int_{\partial \Omega} \bar{q}~\text{dA} + \int_{\Omega} \rho~r~\text{dV}.
</math>
The scalar entropy flux can be related to the vector flux at the surface by the relation <math>\bar{q} = -\boldsymbol{\psi}(\mathbf{x})\cdot\mathbf{n}</math>. Under the assumption of incrementally isothermal conditions, we have
:<math>
\boldsymbol{\psi}(\mathbf{x}) \cfrac{\mathbf{q}(\mathbf{x})}{T} ~;~~ r \cfrac{s}{T}
</math>
where <math>\mathbf{q}</math> is the heat flux vector, <math>s</math> is an energy source per unit mass, and <math>T</math> is the absolute temperature of a material point at <math>\mathbf{x}</math> at time <math>t</math>.
We then have the Clausius–Duhem inequality in integral form:
:<math>
{
\cfrac{d}{dt}\left(\int_{\Omega} \rho~\eta~\text{dV}\right) \ge
\int_{\partial \Omega} \rho~\eta~(u_n - \mathbf{v}\cdot\mathbf{n}) ~\text{dA} -
\int_{\partial \Omega} \cfrac{\mathbf{q}\cdot\mathbf{n}}{T}~\text{dA} + \int_\Omega \cfrac{\rho~s}{T}~\text{dV}.
}
</math>
We can show that the entropy inequality may be written in differential form as
:<math>
{
\rho~\dot{\eta} \ge - \boldsymbol{\nabla} \cdot \left(\cfrac{\mathbf{q}}{T}\right)
+ \cfrac{\rho~s}{T}.
}
</math>
In terms of the Cauchy stress and the internal energy, the Clausius–Duhem inequality may be written as
:<math>
{
\rho~(\dot{e} - T~\dot{\eta}) - \boldsymbol{\sigma}:\boldsymbol{\nabla}\mathbf{v} \le
- \cfrac{\mathbf{q}\cdot\boldsymbol{\nabla} T}{T}.
}
</math>
Validity
The validity of the continuum assumption may be verified by a theoretical analysis, in which either some clear periodicity is identified or statistical homogeneity and ergodicity of the microstructure exist. More specifically, the continuum hypothesis hinges on the concepts of a representative elementary volume and separation of scales based on the Hill–Mandel condition. This condition provides a link between an experimentalist's and a theoretician's viewpoint on constitutive equations (linear and nonlinear elastic/inelastic or coupled fields) as well as a way of spatial and statistical averaging of the microstructure.
When the separation of scales does not hold, or when one wants to establish a continuum of a finer resolution than the size of the representative volume element (RVE), a statistical volume element (SVE) is employed, which results in random continuum fields. The latter then provide a micromechanics basis for stochastic finite elements (SFE). The levels of SVE and RVE link continuum mechanics to statistical mechanics. Experimentally, the RVE can only be evaluated when the constitutive response is spatially homogenous.
Applications
* Continuum mechanics
** Solid mechanics
** Fluid mechanics
* Engineering
** Civil engineering
** Mechanical engineering
** Aerospace engineering
** Biomedical engineering
** Chemical engineering
See also
* Transport phenomena
* Bernoulli's principle
* Cauchy elastic material
* Configurational mechanics
* Curvilinear coordinates
* Equation of state
* Finite deformation tensors
* Finite strain theory
* Hyperelastic material
* Lagrangian and Eulerian specification of the flow field
* Movable cellular automaton
* Peridynamics (a non-local continuum theory leading to integral equations)
* Stress (physics)
* Stress measures
* Tensor calculus
* Tensor derivative (continuum mechanics)
* Theory of elasticity
* Knudsen number
Explanatory notes
References Citations Works cited*
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* General references
<!-- Please keep these in alphabetical order. -->
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* External links
* [https://perso.isima.fr/~gileborg/IsimathMeca/Lageul.pdf "Objectivity in classical continuum mechanics: Motions, Eulerian and Lagrangian functions; Deformation gradient; Lie derivatives; Velocity-addition formula, Coriolis; Objectivity"] by Gilles Leborgne, April 7, 2021: [http://www.isima.fr/~leborgne/IsimathMeca/LageulLoidcdv.pdf "Part IV Velocity-addition formula and Objectivity"]
Category:Classical mechanics | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuum_mechanics | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.017795 |
5919 | Constitutional law | still have constitutional importance.]]
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in federal countries such as the United States and Canada, the relationship between the central government and state, provincial, or territorial governments.
Not all nation states have codified constitutions, though all such states have a , or law of the land, that may consist of a variety of imperative and consensual rules. These may include customary law, conventions, statutory law, judge-made law, or international law. Constitutional law deals with the fundamental principles by which the government exercises its authority. In some instances, these principles grant specific powers to the government, such as the power to tax and spend for the welfare of the population. Other times, constitutional principles act to place limits on what the government can do, such as prohibiting the arrest of an individual without sufficient cause.
In most nations, such as the United States, India, and Singapore, constitutional law is based on the text of a document ratified at the time the nation came into being. Other constitutions, notably that of the United Kingdom, rely heavily on uncodified rules, as several legislative statutes and constitutional conventions, their status within constitutional law varies, and the terms of conventions are in some cases strongly contested.
Legal structure
Constitutional laws can be considered second order rule making or rules about making rules to exercise power. It governs the relationships between the judiciary, the legislature and the executive with the bodies under its authority. One of the key tasks of constitutions within this context is to indicate hierarchies and relationships of power. For example, in a unitary state, the constitution will vest ultimate authority in one central administration and legislature, and judiciary, though there is often a delegation of power or authority to local or municipal authorities. When a constitution establishes a federal state for instance as seen in India, it will identify multiple levels of government coexisting with exclusive or shared areas of jurisdiction over lawmaking, application and enforcement. Some federal states, most notably the United States, have separate and parallel federal and state judiciaries, with each having its own hierarchy of courts with a supreme court for each state. India, on the other hand, has one judiciary divided into district courts, high courts, and the Supreme Court of India.Human rights
Human rights or civil liberties form a crucial part of a country's constitution and uphold the rights of the individual against the state. Most jurisdictions, like the United States and France, have a codified constitution, with a bill of rights. Canada is an example where the constitution is not codified, but includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect human rights for Canadian citizens and residents.
Some countries like the United Kingdom have no entrenched document setting out fundamental rights; in those jurisdictions the constitution is composed of statute, case law and convention. A case named Entick v. Carrington is a constitutional principle deriving from the common law. John Entick's house was searched and ransacked by Sherriff Carrington. Carrington argued that a warrant from a Government minister, the Earl of Halifax was valid authority, even though there was no statutory provision or court order for it. The court, led by Lord Camden stated that,
The common law and the civil law jurisdictions do not share the same constitutional law underpinnings. Common law nations, such as those in the Commonwealth as well as the United States, derive their legal systems from that of the United Kingdom, and as such place emphasis on judicial precedent, whereby consequential court rulings (especially those by higher courts) are a source of law. Civil law jurisdictions, on the other hand, place less emphasis on judicial review and only the parliament or legislature has the power to effect law. As a result, the structure of the judiciary differs significantly between the two, with common law judiciaries being adversarial and civil law judiciaries being inquisitorial. Common law judicatures consequently separate the judiciary from the prosecution, thereby establishing the courts as completely independent from both the legislature and law enforcement. Human rights law in these countries is as a result, largely built on legal precedent in the courts' interpretation of constitutional law, whereas that of civil law countries is almost exclusively composed of codified law, constitutional or otherwise.
There are also international enactments to protect human rights. One example is the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which was intended included in the Treaty of Lisbon. Perhaps the most important international example is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under the UN Charter. These are intended to ensure basic political, social and economic standards that a nation state, or intergovernmental body is obliged to provide to its citizens but many do include its governments.
Legislative procedure
Another main function of constitutions may be to describe the procedure by which parliaments may legislate. For instance, special majorities may be required to alter the constitution. In bicameral legislatures, there may be a process laid out for second or third readings of bills before a new law can enter into force. Alternatively, there may further be requirements for maximum terms that a government can keep power before holding an election.
Study of constitutional law
Constitutional law is a major focus of legal studies and research. For example, most law students in the United States are required to take a class in Constitutional Law during their first year, and several law journals are devoted to the discussion of constitutional issues.
The rule of law
The doctrine of the rule of law dictates that government must be conducted according to law. This was first established by British legal theorist A. V. Dicey.
Dicey identified three essential elements of the British Constitution which were indicative of the rule of law:
#Absolute supremacy of regular law as opposed to the influence of arbitrary power;
#Equality before the law;
#The Constitution is a result of the ordinary law of the land.
Dicey's rule of law formula consists of three classic tenets. The first is that the regular law is supreme over arbitrary and discretionary powers. "[N]o man is punishable ... except for a distinct breach of the law established in the ordinary legal manner before the ordinary courts of the land."
The second is that all men are to stand equal in the eyes of the law. "...no man is above the law...every man, whatever be his rank or condition, is subject to the ordinary law of the realm and amenable to the jurisdiction of the ordinary tribunals"
The third is that the general ideas and principles that the constitution supports arise directly from the judgements and precedents issued by the judiciary. "We may say that the constitution is pervaded by the rule of law on the ground that the general principles of the constitution... are with us the result of judicial decisions determining the rights of private persons in particular cases brought before the courts"
The separation of powers
Separation of powers is often regarded as a second limb functioning alongside the rule of law to curb the powers of the government. In many modern nation states, power is divided and vested into three branches of government: The legislature, the executive, and the judiciary are known as the horizontal separation of powers. The first and the second are harmonized in traditional Westminster system. Vertical separation of powers is decentralization.
Election law
Election law is a subfield of constitutional law. It includes the rules governing the process of elections. These rules enable the translation of the will of the people into functioning democracies. Election law addresses issues who is entitled to vote, voter registration, ballot access, campaign finance and party funding, redistricting, apportionment, electronic voting and voting machines, accessibility of elections, election systems and formulas, vote counting, election disputes, referendums, and issues such as electoral fraud and electoral silence.
See also
*Constitutionalism
*Constitutional review
*Constitution
*Constitutional economics
*Constitutional rights
*Monism and dualism in international law
*Philosophy of law
*Public law
*Rechtsstaat
*Rule of law
*Rule according to higher law
References
External links
*
* | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_law | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.026065 |
5920 | Celtic languages | | region = Formerly widespread in much of Europe and central Anatolia; today Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, the Isle of Man, Chubut Province (Y Wladfa), and Nova Scotia
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = Italo-Celtic?
| protoname = Proto-Celtic
| child1 = Hispano-Celtic
| child2 = Nuclear Celtic
| iso2 = cel
| iso5 = cel
| lingua 50 (phylozone)
| glotto = celt1248
| glottorefname = Celtic
| map = Celts in Europe.png
| mapcaption = Distribution of Celtic speakers:
}}
The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yves Pezron, who made the explicit link between the Celts described by classical writers and the Welsh and Breton languages.
During the first millennium BC, Celtic languages were spoken across much of Europe and central Anatolia. Today, they are restricted to the northwestern fringe of Europe and a few diaspora communities. There are six living languages: the four continuously living languages Breton, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, and the two revived languages Cornish and Manx. All are minority languages in their respective countries, though there are continuing efforts at revitalisation. Welsh is an official language in Wales and Irish is an official language across the island of Ireland and of the European Union. Welsh is the only Celtic language not classified as endangered by UNESCO. The Cornish and Manx languages became extinct in modern times but have been revived. Each now has several hundred second-language speakers.
Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic form the Goidelic languages, while Welsh, Cornish and Breton are Brittonic. All of these are Insular Celtic languages, since Breton, the only living Celtic language spoken in continental Europe, is descended from the language of settlers from Britain. There are a number of extinct but attested continental Celtic languages, such as Celtiberian, Galatian and Gaulish. Gaulish is more closely related to Insular Celtic than either of these two are to Celtiberian; together, Gaulish and Insular Celtic form the Nuclear Celtic subfamily. Beyond that, there is no agreement on the subdivisions of the Celtic language family. They may be divided into P-Celtic and Q-Celtic.
The Celtic languages have a rich literary tradition. The earliest specimens of written Celtic are Lepontic inscriptions from the 6th century BC in the Alps. Early Continental inscriptions used Italic and Paleohispanic scripts. Between the 4th and 8th centuries, Irish and Pictish were occasionally written in an original script, Ogham, but Latin script came to be used for all Celtic languages. Welsh has had a continuous literary tradition from the 6th century AD.
Living languages
SIL Ethnologue lists six living Celtic languages, of which four have retained a substantial number of native speakers. These are: the Goidelic languages (Irish and Scottish Gaelic, both descended from Middle Irish) and the Brittonic languages (Welsh and Breton, descended from Common Brittonic). The other two, Cornish (Brittonic) and Manx (Goidelic), died out in modern times with their presumed last native speakers in 1777 and 1974 respectively. Revitalisation movements in the 2000s led to the reemergence of native speakers for both languages following their adoption by adults and children. By the 21st century, there were roughly one million total speakers of Celtic languages, increasing to 1.4 million speakers by 2010.
Demographics
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope"col"| Language !! scope"col" width150pt| Native name !! scope"col"| Grouping !! scope"col" width200pt| Number of native speakers !! scope"col" width220pt| Number of skilled speakers !! scope"col"| Area of origin<br /><small>(still spoken)</small> !! scope"col" width200pp| Regulated by/language body !! scope"col"| Estimated number of speakers in major cities
|-
| scope="row"| Irish || / /
/ /
| Goidelic
| 40,000–80,000<br />In the Republic of Ireland, 73,803 people use Irish daily outside the education system.
Northern Ireland: 5,971 (2021)
Canada: 530 (2021)
| Total speakers: 2,024,095<br />Republic of Ireland: 1,774,437 (2011)1,873,997 (of which 788,927 could speak it "well")(2022)
Northern Ireland: 126,743 (2021)<br />United States: 18,000
Canada: 5,355 (2021)
| Gaeltacht of Ireland
|
| Dublin: 184,140<br />Galway: 37,614<br />Cork: 57,318<br />Belfast: 14,086
|-
| scope="row"| Welsh || / || Brittonic
| 538,000 (17.8% of the population of Wales) claim that they "can speak Welsh" (2021)
Canada: 820 (2021)<br /> England: 150,000<br /> Chubut Province, Argentina: 5,000<br /> United States: 2,500<br /> Canada: 2,200
| Wales
| Welsh Language Commissioner<br />The Welsh Government<br />(previously the Welsh Language Board, )
| Cardiff: 54,504<br />Swansea: 45,085<br />Newport: 18,490<br />Bangor: 7,190
|-
| scope="row"| Breton || || Brittonic || 206,000
| 356,000
| Brittany ||
| Rennes: 7,000<br />Brest: 40,000<br />Nantes: 4,000
|-
| scope="row"| Scottish Gaelic || || Goidelic
| Scotland: 57,375 (2011)
Canada: 385 (2021)(2.5% of the population)
Canada: 2,170 (of which 630 in Nova Scotia) (2021)<br />Aberdeen: 1,397
|-
| scope="row"| Cornish || || Brittonic
| 563 || 2,000
| Cornwall || Akademi Kernewek<br />Cornish Language Partnership ()
| Truro: 118
|-
| scope="row"| Manx || / || Goidelic
| 100+, including a small number of children who are new native speakers
| 2,223 have some skills in Manx, of which 2,023 could speak it (2021)
| Isle of Man || || Douglas: 507
|}
Mixed languages
* Beurla Reagaird, Highland travellers' language
* Shelta, based largely on Irish and Hiberno-English (some 86,000 speakers in 2009). Classification
, where Celtic languages are spoken today, or were spoken into the modern era:
]]
s. The third plaque is the longest text discovered in any ancient Celtic language. However, this plaque is inscribed in Latin script.]]
Celtic is divided into various branches:
* Lepontic, the oldest attested Celtic language (from the 6th century BC).
* Celtiberian, also called Eastern or Northeastern Hispano-Celtic, spoken in the ancient Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern part of Old Castile and south of Aragon. Modern provinces: Segovia, Burgos, Soria, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Zaragoza and Teruel. The relationship of Celtiberian with Gallaecian, in northwest Iberia, is uncertain.
* Gallaecian, also known as Western or Northwestern Hispano-Celtic, anciently spoken in the northwest of the peninsula (modern Northern Portugal, and the Spanish regions of Galicia, Asturias and northwestern Castile and León).
* Gaulish languages, including Galatian and possibly Noric. These were once spoken in a wide arc from Belgium to Turkey. They are now all extinct.
* Brittonic, spoken in Great Britain and Brittany. Including the living languages Breton, Cornish, and Welsh, and the lost Cumbric and Pictish, though Pictish may be a sister language rather than a daughter of Common Brittonic. Before the arrival of Scotti on the Isle of Man in the 9th century, there may have been a Brittonic language there. The theory of a Brittonic Ivernic language predating Goidelic speech in Ireland has been suggested, but is not widely accepted. Other scholars (such as Schmidt 1988) make the primary distinction between P-Celtic and Q-Celtic languages based on the replacement of initial Q by initial P in some words. Most of the Gallic and Brittonic languages are P-Celtic, while the Goidelic and Hispano-Celtic (or Celtiberian) languages are Q-Celtic. The P-Celtic languages (also called Gallo-Brittonic) are sometimes seen (for example by Koch 1992) as a central innovating area as opposed to the more conservative peripheral Q-Celtic languages. According to Ranko Matasović in the introduction to his 2009 Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic: "Celtiberian ... is almost certainly an independent branch on the Celtic genealogical tree, one that became separated from the others very early."
The Breton language is Brittonic, not Gaulish, though there may be some input from the latter, having been introduced from Southwestern regions of Britain in the post-Roman era and having evolved into Breton.
In the P/Q classification schema, the first language to split off from Proto-Celtic was Gaelic. It has characteristics that some scholars see as archaic, but others see as also being in the Brittonic languages (see Schmidt). In the Insular/Continental classification schema, the split of the former into Gaelic and Brittonic is seen as being late.
The distinction of Celtic into these four sub-families most likely occurred about 900 BC according to Gray & Atkinson but, because of estimation uncertainty, it could be any time between 1200 and 800 BC. However, they only considered Gaelic and Brythonic. A controversial paper by Forster & Toth included Gaulish and put the break-up much earlier at 3200 BC ± 1500 years. They support the Insular Celtic hypothesis. The early Celts were commonly associated with the archaeological Urnfield culture, the Hallstatt culture, and the La Tène culture, though the earlier assumption of association between language and culture is now considered to be less strong.
There are legitimate scholarly arguments for both the Insular Celtic hypothesis and the P-/Q-Celtic hypothesis. Proponents of each schema dispute the accuracy and usefulness of the other's categories. However, since the 1970s the division into Insular and Continental Celtic has become the more widely held view (Cowgill 1975; McCone 1991, 1992; Schrijver 1995), but in the middle of the 1980s, the P-/Q-Celtic theory found new supporters (Lambert 1994), because of the inscription on the Larzac piece of lead (1983), the analysis of which reveals another common phonetical innovation -nm- > -nu (Gaelic / Gaulish , Old Welsh 'names'), that is less accidental than only one. The discovery of a third common innovation would allow the specialists to come to the conclusion of a Gallo-Brittonic dialect (Schmidt 1986; Fleuriot 1986).
The interpretation of this and further evidence is still quite contested, and the main argument for Insular Celtic is connected with the development of verbal morphology and the syntax in Irish and British Celtic, which Schumacher regards as convincing, while he considers the P-Celtic/Q-Celtic division unimportant and treats Gallo-Brittonic as an outdated theory. Stifter affirms that the Gallo-Brittonic view is "out of favour" in the scholarly community as of 2008 and the Insular Celtic hypothesis "widely accepted".
When referring only to the modern Celtic languages, since no Continental Celtic language has living descendants, "Q-Celtic" is equivalent to "Goidelic" and "P-Celtic" is equivalent to "Brittonic".
How the family tree of the Celtic languages is ordered depends on which hypothesis is used:
"Insular Celtic hypothesis"
* Proto-Celtic
** Continental Celtic
*** Celtiberian
*** Gallaecian
*** Gaulish
** Insular Celtic
*** Brittonic
*** Goidelic
"P/Q-Celtic hypothesis"
* Proto-Celtic
** Q-Celtic
*** Celtiberian
*** Gallaecian
*** Goidelic
** P-Celtic
*** Gaulish
*** Brittonic
Eska (2010)
Eska evaluates the evidence as supporting the following tree, based on shared innovations, though it is not always clear that the innovations are not areal features. It seems likely that Celtiberian split off before Cisalpine Celtic, but the evidence for this is not robust. On the other hand, the unity of Gaulish, Goidelic, and Brittonic is reasonably secure. Schumacher (2004, p. 86) had already cautiously considered this grouping to be likely genetic, based, among others, on the shared reformation of the sentence-initial, fully inflecting relative pronoun *i̯os, *i̯ā, *i̯od into an uninflected enclitic particle. Eska sees Cisalpine Gaulish as more akin to Lepontic than to Transalpine Gaulish.
*Celtic
**Hispano-Celtic
***Celtiberian
***Gallaecian
**Nuclear Celtic
***Cisalpine Celtic: Lepontic → Cisalpine Gaulish
***Core Celtic (secure)
****Transalpine Gaulish ("Transalpine Celtic")
****Insular Celtic
*****Goidelic
*****Brittonic
Eska considers a division of Transalpine–Goidelic–Brittonic into Transalpine and Insular Celtic to be most probable because of the greater number of innovations in Insular Celtic than in P-Celtic, and because the Insular Celtic languages were probably not in great enough contact for those innovations to spread as part of a sprachbund. However, if they have another explanation (such as an SOV substratum language), then it is possible that P-Celtic is a valid clade, and the top branching would be:
*Core Celtic (P-Celtic hypothesis)
**Goidelic
**Gallo-Brittonic
***Transalpine Gaulish ("Transalpine Celtic")
***Brittonic
Italo-Celtic
Within the Indo-European family, the Celtic languages have sometimes been placed with the Italic languages in a common Italo-Celtic subfamily. This hypothesis fell somewhat out of favour after reexamination by American linguist Calvert Watkins in 1966. Irrespectively, some scholars such as Ringe, Warnow and Taylor and many others have argued in favour of an Italo-Celtic grouping in 21st century theses.
Characteristics
Although there are many differences between the individual Celtic languages, they do show many family resemblances.
* consonant mutations (Insular Celtic only)
* inflected prepositions (Insular Celtic only)
* two grammatical genders (modern Insular Celtic only; Old Irish and the Continental languages had three genders, although Gaulish may have merged the neuter and masculine in its later forms)
* a vigesimal number system (counting by twenties)
** Cornish "fifty-six" (literally "sixteen and two twenty")
* verb–subject–object (VSO) word order (probably Insular Celtic only)
* an interplay between the subjunctive, future, imperfect, and habitual, to the point that some tenses and moods have ousted others
* an impersonal or autonomous verb form serving as a passive or intransitive
** Welsh "I teach" vs. "is taught, one teaches"
** Irish "I teach" vs. "is taught, one teaches"
* no infinitives, replaced by a quasi-nominal verb form called the verbal noun or verbnoun
* frequent use of vowel mutation as a morphological device, e.g. formation of plurals, verbal stems, etc.
* use of preverbal particles to signal either subordination or illocutionary force of the following clause
** mutation-distinguished subordinators/relativisers
** particles for negation, interrogation, and occasionally for affirmative declarations
* pronouns positioned between particles and verbs
* lack of simple verb for the imperfective "have" process, with possession conveyed by a composite structure, usually BE + preposition
** Cornish "I have a cat", literally "there is a cat to me"
** Welsh "I have a cat", literally "a cat is with me"
** Irish "I have a cat", literally "there is a cat at me"
* use of periphrastic constructions to express verbal tense, voice, or aspectual distinctions
* distinction by function of the two versions of BE verbs traditionally labelled substantive (or existential) and copula
* bifurcated demonstrative structure
* suffixed pronominal supplements, called confirming or supplementary pronouns
* use of singulars or special forms of counted nouns, and use of a singulative suffix to make singular forms from plurals, where older singulars have disappeared
Examples:
:
: (Literal translation) ''Do not bother with son the beggar's and not will-bother son the beggar's with-you.
:* is the genitive of . The the result of affection; the is the lenited form of .
:* is the second person singular inflected form of the preposition .
:* The order is verb–subject–object (VSO) in the second half. Compare this to English or French (and possibly Continental Celtic) which are normally subject–verb–object in word order.
:
: (Literally) four on fifteen and four twenties''
:* is a mutated form of , which is ("five") plus ("ten"). Likewise, is a mutated form of .
:* The multiples of ten are .
Comparison table
The lexical similarity between the different Celtic languages is apparent in their core vocabulary, especially in terms of actual pronunciation. Moreover, the phonetic differences between languages are often the product of regular sound change (i.e. lenition of into or Ø).
The table below has words in the modern languages that were inherited direct from Proto-Celtic, as well as a few old borrowings from Latin that made their way into all the daughter languages. There is often a closer match between Welsh, Breton and Cornish on the one hand and Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx on the other. For a fuller list of comparisons, see the Swadesh list for Celtic.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope"col" rowspan"2"| English !! scope"col" colspan"3"| Brittonic !! scope"col" colspan"3"| Goidelic
|-
! scope"col"| Welsh !! scope"col"| Breton !! scope"col"| Cornish !! scope"col"| Irish
Gaelic
!Scottish
Gaelic
!Manx
|-
| scope="row"| bee || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| big || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| dog || || || || , ( "hound")
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| fish || <sup>†</sup> || <sup>†</sup> || <sup>†</sup> ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| full || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| goat || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| house || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| lip (anatomical) || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| mouth of a river || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| four || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| night || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| number<sup>†</sup> || <sup>†</sup>|| <sup>†</sup> || <sup>†</sup> ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| three || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| milk || <sup>†</sup> || <sup>†</sup> || <sup>†</sup> ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| you (sg) || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| star || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| today || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| tooth || || || || ,
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| (to) fall || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| (to) smoke || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| (to) whistle || || || ||
|
|
|-
| scope="row"| time, weather || || || "time", "weather" ||
|
|
|-
|}
<sup>† Borrowings from Latin.</sup>
Examples
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Possible members of the family
Several poorly-documented languages may have been Celtic.
*Ancient Belgian
* Camunic is an extinct language spoken in the first millennium BC in the Val Camonica and Valtellina valleys of the Central Alps. It has recently been proposed that it was a Celtic language.
* Ivernic
* Ligurian, on the Northern Mediterranean Coast straddling the southeast French and northwest Italian coasts, including parts of Tuscany, Elba and Corsica. Xavier Delamarre argues that Ligurian was a Celtic language similar to Gaulish. The Ligurian-Celtic question is also discussed by Barruol (1999). Ancient Ligurian is listed as either Celtic (epigraphic), or Para-Celtic (onomastic).
* Lusitanian, spoken in the area between the Douro and Tagus rivers of western Iberia (a region straddling the present border of Portugal and Spain). Known from only five inscriptions and various place names. It is also possible that the Q-Celtic languages alone, including Goidelic, originated in western Iberia (a theory that was first put forward by Edward Lhuyd in 1707) or shared a common linguistic ancestor with Lusitanian. Secondary evidence for this hypothesis has been found in research by biological scientists, who have identified (1) deep-rooted similarities in human DNA found precisely in both the former Lusitania and Ireland, and; (2) the so-called "Lusitanian distribution" of animals and plants unique to western Iberia and Ireland. Both phenomena are now generally thought to have resulted from human emigration from Iberia to Ireland, in the late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic eras. Other scholars see greater linguistic affinities between Lusitanian, Old Gallo-Italic (particularly with Ligurian) and Old European. Prominent modern linguists such as Ellis Evans, believe Gallaecian-Lusitanian was in fact one same language (not separate languages) of the "P" Celtic variant.
* Rhaetic, spoken in central Switzerland, Tyrol in Austria, and the Alpine regions of northeast Italy. Documented by a limited number of short inscriptions (found through Northern Italy and Western Austria) in two variants of the Etruscan alphabet. Its linguistic categorisation is not clearly established, and it presents a confusing mixture of what appear to be Etruscan, Indo-European, and uncertain other elements. Howard Hayes Scullard argues that Rhaetian was also a Celtic language.
* Tartessian, spoken in the southwest of the Iberia Peninsula (mainly southern Portugal and southwest Spain). Tartessian is known by 95 inscriptions, with the longest having 82 readable signs. John T. Koch argues that Tartessian was also a Celtic language.<ref name"koch2011" />
See also
* Ogham
* Celts
* Celts (modern)
* A Swadesh list of the modern Celtic languages
* Celtic Congress
* Celtic League
* Continental Celtic languages
* Italo-Celtic
* Language family
Notes
References
* Ball, Martin J. & James Fife (ed.) (1993). The Celtic Languages. London: Routledge. .
* Borsley, Robert D. & Ian Roberts (ed.) (1996). The Syntax of the Celtic Languages: A Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
*
* Celtic Linguistics, 1700–1850 (2000). London; New York: Routledge. 8 vols comprising 15 texts originally published between 1706 and 1844.
*
*
*
* Lewis, Henry & Holger Pedersen (1989). A Concise Comparative Celtic Grammar. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. .
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* .
* .
*
External links
* [http://www.abdn.ac.uk/celtic Aberdeen University Celtic Department]
* [http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/celticlanguage/labara1.html "Labara: An Introduction to the Celtic Languages", by Meredith Richard]
* [http://www.breizh.net/icdbl/saozg/Celtic_Languages.pdf Celts and Celtic Languages] (PDF) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_languages | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.105982 |
5921 | Color | }}
<!-- PLEASE, DO NOT change the spelling of "color" to "colour". Wikipedia policy (see Wikipedia:Manual of Style#National varieties of English) is to retain the English dialect used in the first non-stub version of an article. This prevents needless "spelling wars". Changing the spelling also breaks links and categories. Changing the spelling will be treated as vandalism, and for this reason will be swiftly reverted. Please see the Wikipedia:Village pump if you want to comment. -->
s]]
Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum.<!-- Don't add frequency, wavelength or photon energy as it is redundant. --> Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorption, reflection, emission spectra, and interference. For most humans, colors are perceived in the visible light spectrum with three types of cone cells (trichromacy). Other animals may have a different number of cone cell types or have eyes sensitive to different wavelengths, such as bees that can distinguish ultraviolet, and thus have a different color sensitivity range. Animal perception of color originates from different light wavelength or spectral sensitivity in cone cell types, which is then processed by the brain.
Colors have perceived properties such as hue, colorfulness (saturation), and luminance. Colors can also be additively mixed (commonly used for actual light) or subtractively mixed (commonly used for materials). If the colors are mixed in the right proportions, because of metamerism, they may look the same as a single-wavelength light. For convenience, colors can be organized in a color space, which when being abstracted as a mathematical color model can assign each region of color with a corresponding set of numbers. As such, color spaces are an essential tool for color reproduction in print, photography, computer monitors, and television. Some of the most well-known color models and color spaces are RGB, CMYK, HSL/HSV, CIE Lab, and YCbCr/YUV.
Because the perception of color is an important aspect of human life, different colors have been associated with emotions, activity, and nationality. Names of color regions in different cultures can have different, sometimes overlapping areas. In visual arts, color theory is used to govern the use of colors in an aesthetically pleasing and harmonious way. The theory of color includes the color complements; color balance; and classification of primary colors (traditionally red, yellow, blue), secondary colors (traditionally orange, green, purple), and tertiary colors. The study of colors in general is called color science.
Physical properties
]]
Electromagnetic radiation is characterized by its wavelength (or frequency) and its intensity. When the wavelength is within the visible spectrum (the range of wavelengths humans can perceive, approximately from 390 nm to 700 nm), it is known as "visible light".
Most light sources emit light at many different wavelengths; a source's spectrum is a distribution giving its intensity at each wavelength. Although the spectrum of light arriving at the eye from a given direction determines the color sensation in that direction, there are many more possible spectral combinations than color sensations. In fact, one may formally define a color as a class of spectra that give rise to the same color sensation, although such classes would vary widely among different species, and to a lesser extent among individuals within the same species. In each such class, the members are called metamers of the color in question. This effect can be visualized by comparing the light sources' spectral power distributions and the resulting colors.
Spectral colors<span class"anchor" id"Spectral colours"></span>
The familiar colors of the rainbow in the spectrum—named using the Latin word for appearance or apparition by Isaac Newton in 1671—include all those colors that can be produced by visible light of a single wavelength only, the pure spectral or monochromatic colors. The spectrum above shows approximate wavelengths (in nm) for spectral colors in the visible range. Spectral colors have 100% purity, and are fully saturated. A complex mixture of spectral colors can be used to describe any color, which is the definition of a light power spectrum.
The spectral colors form a continuous spectrum, and how it is divided into distinct colors linguistically is a matter of culture and historical contingency. Despite the ubiquitous ROYGBIV mnemonic used to remember the spectral colors in English, the inclusion or exclusion of colors is contentious, with disagreement often focused on indigo and cyan. Even if the subset of color terms is agreed, their wavelength ranges and borders between them may not be.
The intensity of a spectral color, relative to the context in which it is viewed, may alter its perception considerably. For example, a low-intensity orange-yellow is brown, and a low-intensity yellow-green is olive green. Additionally, hue shifts towards yellow or blue happen if the intensity of a spectral light is increased; this is called Bezold–Brücke shift. In color models capable of representing spectral colors, such as CIELUV, a spectral color has the maximal saturation. In Helmholtz coordinates, this is described as 100% purity.
Color of objects<span class"anchor" id"Colour of objects"></span>
The physical color of an object depends on how it absorbs and scatters light. Most objects scatter light to some degree and do not reflect or transmit light specularly like glasses or mirrors. A transparent object allows almost all light to transmit or pass through, thus transparent objects are perceived as colorless. Conversely, an opaque object does not allow light to transmit through and instead absorbs or reflects the light it receives. Like transparent objects, translucent objects allow light to transmit through, but translucent objects are seen colored because they scatter or absorb certain wavelengths of light via internal scattering. The absorbed light is often dissipated as heat. Color vision<span class"anchor" id"Colour vision"></span> Development of theories of color vision<span class"anchor" id"Development of theories of colour vision"></span>
]]
Although Aristotle and other ancient scientists had already written on the nature of light and color vision, it was not until Newton that light was identified as the source of the color sensation. In 1810, Goethe published his comprehensive Theory of Colors in which he provided a rational description of color experience, which 'tells us how it originates, not what it is'. (Schopenhauer)
In 1801 Thomas Young proposed his trichromatic theory, based on the observation that any color could be matched with a combination of three lights. This theory was later refined by James Clerk Maxwell and Hermann von Helmholtz. As Helmholtz puts it, "the principles of Newton's law of mixture were experimentally confirmed by Maxwell in 1856. Young's theory of color sensations, like so much else that this marvelous investigator achieved in advance of his time, remained unnoticed until Maxwell directed attention to it."
At the same time as Helmholtz, Ewald Hering developed the opponent process theory of color, noting that color blindness and afterimages typically come in opponent pairs (red-green, blue-orange, yellow-violet, and black-white). Ultimately these two theories were synthesized in 1957 by Hurvich and Jameson, who showed that retinal processing corresponds to the trichromatic theory, while processing at the level of the lateral geniculate nucleus corresponds to the opponent theory.
In 1931, an international group of experts known as the ''Commission internationale de l'éclairage (CIE) developed a mathematical color model, which mapped out the space of observable colors and assigned a set of three numbers to each.
Color in the eye<span class"anchor" id"Colour in the eye"></span>
responses (S, M, and L types) to monochromatic spectral stimuli]]
The ability of the human eye to distinguish colors is based upon the varying sensitivity of different cells in the retina to light of different wavelengths. Humans are trichromatic—the retina contains three types of color receptor cells, or cones. One type, relatively distinct from the other two, is most responsive to light that is perceived as blue or blue-violet, with wavelengths around 450 nm; cones of this type are sometimes called short-wavelength cones or S cones (or misleadingly, blue cones). The other two types are closely related genetically and chemically: middle-wavelength cones, M cones, or green cones are most sensitive to light perceived as green, with wavelengths around 540 nm, while the long-wavelength cones, L cones, or red cones'', are most sensitive to light that is perceived as greenish yellow, with wavelengths around 570 nm.
Light, no matter how complex its composition of wavelengths, is reduced to three color components by the eye. Each cone type adheres to the principle of univariance, which is that each cone's output is determined by the amount of light that falls on it over all wavelengths. For each location in the visual field, the three types of cones yield three signals based on the extent to which each is stimulated. These amounts of stimulation are sometimes called tristimulus values.
The response curve as a function of wavelength varies for each type of cone. Because the curves overlap, some tristimulus values do not occur for any incoming light combination. For example, it is not possible to stimulate only the mid-wavelength (so-called "green") cones; the other cones will inevitably be stimulated to some degree at the same time. The set of all possible tristimulus values determines the human color space. It has been estimated that humans can distinguish roughly 10 million different colors.
The other type of light-sensitive cell in the eye, the rod, has a different response curve. In normal situations, when light is bright enough to strongly stimulate the cones, rods play virtually no role in vision at all. On the other hand, in dim light, the cones are understimulated leaving only the signal from the rods, resulting in a colorless response (furthermore, the rods are barely sensitive to light in the "red" range). In certain conditions of intermediate illumination, the rod response and a weak cone response can together result in color discriminations not accounted for by cone responses alone. These effects, combined, are summarized also in the Kruithof curve, which describes the change of color perception and pleasingness of light as a function of temperature and intensity.
Color in the brain<span class"anchor" id"Colour in the brain"></span>
<!--opponent process is not calculated in the brain, but still in neurons in the retina; this section needs to focus more on the visual cortex-->
While the mechanisms of color vision at the level of the retina are well-described in terms of tristimulus values, color processing after that point is organized differently. A dominant theory of color vision proposes that color information is transmitted out of the eye by three opponent processes, or opponent channels, each constructed from the raw output of the cones: a red–green channel, a blue–yellow channel, and a black–white "luminance" channel. This theory has been supported by neurobiology, and accounts for the structure of our subjective color experience. Specifically, it explains why humans cannot perceive a "reddish green" or "yellowish blue", and it predicts the color wheel: it is the collection of colors for which at least one of the two color channels measures a value at one of its extremes.
The exact nature of color perception beyond the processing already described, and indeed the status of color as a feature of the perceived world or rather as a feature of our perception of the world—a type of qualia—is a matter of complex and continuing philosophical dispute.
(green) and ventral stream (purple) are shown; the ventral stream is responsible for color perception]]
From the V1 blobs, color information is sent to cells in the second visual area, V2. The cells in V2 that are most strongly color tuned are clustered in the "thin stripes" that, like the blobs in V1, stain for the enzyme cytochrome oxidase (separating the thin stripes are interstripes and thick stripes, which seem to be concerned with other visual information like motion and high-resolution form). Neurons in V2 then synapse onto cells in the extended V4. This area includes not only V4, but two other areas in the posterior inferior temporal cortex, anterior to area V3, the dorsal posterior inferior temporal cortex, and posterior TEO. Area V4 was initially suggested by Semir Zeki to be exclusively dedicated to color, and he later showed that V4 can be subdivided into subregions with very high concentrations of color cells separated from each other by zones with lower concentration of such cells though even the latter cells respond better to some wavelengths than to others, a finding confirmed by subsequent studies. The presence in V4 of orientation-selective cells led to the view that V4 is involved in processing both color and form associated with color but it is worth noting that the orientation selective cells within V4 are more broadly tuned than their counterparts in V1, V2, and V3. Tetrachromacy
Outside of humans, which are mostly trichromatic (having three types of cones), most mammals are dichromatic, possessing only two cones. However, outside of mammals, most vertebrates are tetrachromatic, having four types of cones. This includes most birds, reptiles, amphibians, and bony fish. An extra dimension of color vision means these vertebrates can see two distinct colors that a normal human would view as metamers. Some invertebrates, such as the mantis shrimp, have an even higher number of cones (12) that could lead to a richer color gamut than even imaginable by humans.
The existence of human tetrachromats is a contentious notion. As many as half of all human females have 4 distinct cone classes, which could enable tetrachromacy. However, a distinction must be made between retinal (or weak) tetrachromats, which express four cone classes in the retina, and functional (or strong) tetrachromats, which are able to make the enhanced color discriminations expected of tetrachromats. In fact, there is only one peer-reviewed report of a functional tetrachromat. It is estimated that while the average person is able to see one million colors, someone with functional tetrachromacy could see a hundred million colors.
Synesthesia
In certain forms of synesthesia, perceiving letters and numbers (grapheme–color synesthesia) or hearing sounds (chromesthesia) will evoke a perception of color. Behavioral and functional neuroimaging experiments have demonstrated that these color experiences lead to changes in behavioral tasks and lead to increased activation of brain regions involved in color perception, thus demonstrating their reality, and similarity to real color percepts, albeit evoked through a non-standard route. Synesthesia can occur genetically, with 4% of the population having variants associated with the condition. Synesthesia has also been known to occur with brain damage, drugs, and sensory deprivation.
The philosopher Pythagoras experienced synesthesia and provided one of the first written accounts of the condition in approximately 550 BCE. He created mathematical equations for musical notes that could form part of a scale, such as an octave. Afterimages
After exposure to strong light in their sensitivity range, photoreceptors of a given type become desensitized. For a few seconds after the light ceases, they will continue to signal less strongly than they otherwise would. Colors observed during that period will appear to lack the color component detected by the desensitized photoreceptors. This effect is responsible for the phenomenon of afterimages, in which the eye may continue to see a bright figure after looking away from it, but in a complementary color. Afterimage effects have also been used by artists, including Vincent van Gogh.
Color constancy<span class"anchor" id"Colour constancy"></span>
When an artist uses a limited color palette, the human visual system tends to compensate by seeing any gray or neutral color as the color which is missing from the color wheel. For example, in a limited palette consisting of red, yellow, black, and white, a mixture of yellow and black will appear as a variety of green, a mixture of red and black will appear as a variety of purple, and pure gray will appear bluish.<!-- not due to black pigment being dark blue therefore reflecting more blue light? This is a real physical phenomenon and not a perceptual one. Is this paragraph not irrelevant to color constancy? -->
The trichromatic theory is strictly true when the visual system is in a fixed state of adaptation. In reality, the visual system is constantly adapting to changes in the environment and compares the various colors in a scene to reduce the effects of the illumination. If a scene is illuminated with one light, and then with another, as long as the difference between the light sources stays within a reasonable range, the colors in the scene appear relatively constant to us. This was studied by Edwin H. Land in the 1970s and led to his retinex theory of color constancy.
Both phenomena are readily explained and mathematically modeled with modern theories of chromatic adaptation and color appearance (e.g. CIECAM02, iCAM). There is no need to dismiss the trichromatic theory of vision, but rather it can be enhanced with an understanding of how the visual system adapts to changes in the viewing environment. Reproduction
xy chromaticity diagram with the visual locus plotted using the CIE (2006) physiologically relevant LMS fundamental color matching functions transformed into the CIE 1931 xy color space and converted into Adobe RGB; the triangle shows the gamut of Adobe RGB, the Planckian locus is shown with color temperatures labeled in Kelvins, the outer curved boundary is the spectral (or monochromatic) locus, with wavelengths shown in nanometers, the colors in this file are being specified using Adobe RGB, areas outside the triangle cannot be accurately rendered since they are outside the gamut of Adobe RGB, therefore they have been interpreted, the colors depicted depend on the gamut and color accuracy of your display]]
Color reproduction is the science of creating colors for the human eye that faithfully represent the desired color. It focuses on how to construct a spectrum of wavelengths that will best evoke a certain color in an observer. Most colors are not spectral colors, meaning they are mixtures of various wavelengths of light. However, these non-spectral colors are often described by their dominant wavelength, which identifies the single wavelength of light that produces a sensation most similar to the non-spectral color. Dominant wavelength is roughly akin to hue.
There are many color perceptions that by definition cannot be pure spectral colors due to desaturation or because they are purples (mixtures of red and violet light, from opposite ends of the spectrum). Some examples of necessarily non-spectral colors are the achromatic colors (black, gray, and white) and colors such as pink, tan, and magenta.
Two different light spectra that have the same effect on the three color receptors in the human eye will be perceived as the same color. They are metamers of that color. This is exemplified by the white light emitted by fluorescent lamps, which typically has a spectrum of a few narrow bands, while daylight has a continuous spectrum. The human eye cannot tell the difference between such light spectra just by looking into the light source, although the color rendering index of each light source may affect the color of objects illuminated by these metameric light sources.
Similarly, most human color perceptions can be generated by a mixture of three colors called primaries. This is used to reproduce color scenes in photography, printing, television, and other media. There are a number of methods or color spaces for specifying a color in terms of three particular primary colors. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the particular application.
No mixture of colors, however, can produce a response truly identical to that of a spectral color, although one can get close, especially for the longer wavelengths, where the CIE 1931 color space chromaticity diagram has a nearly straight edge. For example, mixing green light (530 nm) and blue light (460 nm) produces cyan light that is slightly desaturated, because response of the red color receptor would be greater to the green and blue light in the mixture than it would be to a pure cyan light at 485 nm that has the same intensity as the mixture of blue and green.
Because of this, and because the primaries in color printing systems generally are not pure themselves, the colors reproduced are never perfectly saturated spectral colors, and so spectral colors cannot be matched exactly. However, natural scenes rarely contain fully saturated colors, thus such scenes can usually be approximated well by these systems. The range of colors that can be reproduced with a given color reproduction system is called the gamut. The CIE chromaticity diagram can be used to describe the gamut.
Another problem with color reproduction systems is connected with the initial measurement of color, or colorimetry. The characteristics of the color sensors in measurement devices (e.g. cameras, scanners) are often very far from the characteristics of the receptors in the human eye.
A color reproduction system "tuned" to a human with normal color vision may give very inaccurate results for other observers, according to color vision deviations to the standard observer.
The different color response of different devices can be problematic if not properly managed. For color information stored and transferred in digital form, color management techniques, such as those based on ICC profiles, can help to avoid distortions of the reproduced colors. Color management does not circumvent the gamut limitations of particular output devices, but can assist in finding good mapping of input colors into the gamut that can be reproduced.
Additive coloring<span class"anchor" id"Additive colouring"></span>
Additive color is light created by mixing together light of two or more different colors. Red, green, and blue are the additive primary colors normally used in additive color systems such as projectors, televisions, and computer terminals. Subtractive coloring<span class"anchor" id"Subtractive colouring"></span> Subtractive coloring uses dyes, inks, pigments, or filters to absorb some wavelengths of light and not others. The color that a surface displays comes from the parts of the visible spectrum that are not absorbed and therefore remain visible. Without pigments or dye, fabric fibers, paint base and paper are usually made of particles that scatter white light (all colors) well in all directions. When a pigment or ink is added, wavelengths are absorbed or "subtracted" from white light, so light of another color reaches the eye.
If the light is not a pure white source (the case of nearly all forms of artificial lighting), the resulting spectrum will appear a slightly different color. Red paint, viewed under blue light, may appear black. Red paint is red because it scatters only the red components of the spectrum. If red paint is illuminated by blue light, it will be absorbed by the red paint, creating the appearance of a black object.
The subtractive model also predicts the color resulting from a mixture of paints, or similar medium such as fabric dye, whether applied in layers or mixed together prior to application. In the case of paint mixed before application, incident light interacts with many different pigment particles at various depths inside the paint layer before emerging. Structural color<span class"anchor" id"Structural colour"></span>
Structural colors are colors caused by interference effects rather than by pigments. Color effects are produced when a material is scored with fine parallel lines, formed of one or more parallel thin layers, or otherwise composed of microstructures on the scale of the color's wavelength. If the microstructures are spaced randomly, light of shorter wavelengths will be scattered preferentially to produce Tyndall effect colors: the blue of the sky (Rayleigh scattering, caused by structures much smaller than the wavelength of light, in this case, air molecules), the luster of opals, and the blue of human irises. If the microstructures are aligned in arrays, for example, the array of pits in a CD, they behave as a diffraction grating: the grating reflects different wavelengths in different directions due to interference phenomena, separating mixed "white" light into light of different wavelengths. If the structure is one or more thin layers then it will reflect some wavelengths and transmit others, depending on the layers' thickness.
Structural color is studied in the field of thin-film optics. The most ordered or the most changeable structural colors are iridescent. Structural color is responsible for the blues and greens of the feathers of many birds (the blue jay, for example), as well as certain butterfly wings and beetle shells. Variations in the pattern's spacing often give rise to an iridescent effect, as seen in peacock feathers, soap bubbles, films of oil, and mother of pearl, because the reflected color depends upon the viewing angle. Numerous scientists have carried out research in butterfly wings and beetle shells, including Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke. Since 1942, electron micrography has been used, advancing the development of products that exploit structural color, such as "photonic" cosmetics.
Optimal colors
Optimal colors are the most chromatic colors that surfaces can have. That is, optimal colors are the theoretical limit for the color of objects*. For now, we are unable to produce objects with such colors, at least not without recurring to more complex physical phenomena.
*(with classical reflection. Phenomena like fluorescence or structural color may produce objects whose color lies outside the optimal color solid)
The plot of the gamut bounded by optimal colors in a color space is called the optimal color solid or Rösch–MacAdam color solid.
The reflectance spectrum of a color is the amount of light of each wavelength that it reflects, in proportion to a given maximum, which is total reflection of light of that wavelength, and has the value of 1 (100%). If the reflectance spectrum of a color is 0 (0%) or 1 (100%) across the entire visible spectrum, and it has no more than two transitions between 0 and 1, or 1 and 0, then it is an optimal color. With the current state of technology, we are unable to produce any material or pigment with these properties.
Thus four types of "optimal color" spectra are possible:
* The transition goes from zero at both ends of the spectrum to one in the middle, as shown in the image at right.
*It goes from one at the ends to zero in the middle.
*It goes from 1 at the start of the visible spectrum to 0 in some point in the middle until its end.
*It goes from 0 at the start of the visible spectrum to 1 at some point in the middle until its end.
The first type produces colors that are similar to the spectral colors and follow roughly the horseshoe-shaped portion of the CIE xy chromaticity diagram (the spectral locus), but are, in surfaces, more chromatic, although less spectrally pure. The second type produces colors that are similar to (but, in surfaces, more chromatic and less spectrally pure than) the colors on the straight line in the CIE xy chromaticity diagram (the line of purples), leading to magenta or purple-like colors. The third type produces the colors located in the "warm" sharp edge of the optimal color solid (this will be explained later in the article). The fourth type produces the colors located in the "cold" sharp edge of the optimal color solid.
In optimal color solids, the colors of the visible spectrum are theoretically black, because their reflectance spectrum is 1 (100%) in only one wavelength, and 0 in all of the other infinite visible wavelengths that there are, meaning that they have a lightness of 0 with respect to white, and will also have 0 chroma, but, of course, 100% of spectral purity. In short: In optimal color solids, spectral colors are equivalent to black (0 lightness, 0 chroma), but have full spectral purity (they are located in the horseshoe-shaped spectral locus of the chromaticiy diagram).
In linear color spaces that contain all colors visible by humans, such as LMS or CIE 1931 XYZ, the set of half-lines that start at the origin (black, (0, 0, 0)) and pass through all the points that represent the colors of the visible spectrum, and the portion of a plane that passes through the violet half-line and the red half-line (both ends of the visible spectrum), generate the "spectrum cone". The black point (coordinates (0, 0, 0)) of the optimal color solid (and only the black point) is tangent to the "spectrum cone", and the white point ((1, 1, 1)) (only the white point) is tangent to the "inverted spectrum cone", with the "inverted spectrum cone" being symmetrical to the "spectrum cone" with respect to the middle gray point ((0.5, 0.5, 0.5)). This means that, in linear color spaces, the optimal color solid is centrally symmetric.
white point) plotted within CIE 1931 XYZ color space. Notice the central symmetry of the solid, and the two sharp edges, one with warm colors and the other one with cold colors.]]
In most color spaces, the surface of the optimal color solid is smooth, except for two points (black and white); and two sharp edges: the "warm" edge, which goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, to white; and the "cold" edge, which goes from black, to deep violet, to blue, to cyan, to white. This is due to the following: If the portion of the reflectance spectrum of a color is spectral red (which is located at one end of the spectrum), it will be seen as black. If the size of the portion of total reflectance is increased, now covering from the red end of the spectrum to the yellow wavelengths, it will be seen as red or orange. If the portion is expanded even more, covering some green wavelengths, it will be seen as yellow. If it is expanded even more, it will cover more wavelengths than the yellow semichrome does, approaching white, until it is reached when the full spectrum is reflected. The described process is called "cumulation". Cumulation can be started at either end of the visible spectrum (we just described cumulation starting from the red end of the spectrum, generating the "warm" sharp edge), cumulation starting at the violet end of the spectrum will generate the "cold" sharp edge.
, with D65 white point. Notice that it has two sharp edges, one with warm colors, and the other one with cold colors.|200x200px]]
On modern computers, it is possible to calculate an optimal color solid with great precision in seconds. Usually, only the MacAdam limits (the optimal colors, the boundary of the Optimal color solid) are computed, because all the other (non-optimal) possible surface colors exist inside the boundary.
in CIE xyY color space]]
Maximum chroma colors, semichromes, or full colors
Each hue has a maximum chroma point, semichrome, or full color; objects cannot have a color of that hue with a higher chroma. They are the most chromatic, vibrant colors that objects can have. They were called semichromes or full colors by the German chemist and philosopher Wilhelm Ostwald in the early 20th century.
If B is the complementary wavelength of wavelength A, then the straight line that connects A and B passes through the achromatic axis in a linear color space, such as LMS or CIE 1931 XYZ. If the reflectance spectrum of a color is 1 (100%) for all the wavelengths between A and B, and 0 for all the wavelengths of the other half of the color space, then that color is a maximum chroma color, semichrome, or full color (this is the explanation to why they were called semichromes). Thus, maximum chroma colors are a type of optimal color.
As explained, full colors are far from being monochromatic (physically, not perceptually). If the spectral purity of a semichrome is increased, its chroma decreases, because it will approach the visible spectrum, ergo, it will approach black.
In perceptually uniform color spaces, the lightness of the full colors varies from around 30% in the violetish blue hues, to around 90% in the yellowish hues. The chroma of each maximum chroma point also varies depending on the hue; in optimal color solids plotted in perceptually uniform color spaces, semichromes like red, green, violet, and magenta have a high chroma, while semichromes like yellow, orange, and cyan have a slightly lower chroma.
Cultural perspective
The meanings and associations of colors can play a major role in works of art, including literature. Associations Individual colors have a variety of cultural associations such as national colors (in general described in individual color articles and color symbolism). The field of color psychology attempts to identify the effects of color on human emotion and activity. Chromotherapy is a form of alternative medicine attributed to various Eastern traditions. Colors have different associations in different countries and cultures.
Different colors have been demonstrated to have effects on cognition. For example, researchers at the University of Linz in Austria demonstrated that the color red significantly decreases cognitive functioning in men. The combination of the colors red and yellow together can induce hunger, which has been capitalized on by a number of chain restaurants.
Color plays a role in memory development too. A photograph that is in black and white is slightly less memorable than one in color. Studies also show that wearing bright colors makes one more memorable to people they meet.
Terminology
Colors vary in several different ways, including hue (shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, etc.), saturation, brightness. Some color words are derived from the name of an object of that color, such as "orange" or "salmon", while others are abstract, like "red".
In the 1969 study Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, Brent Berlin and Paul Kay describe a pattern in naming "basic" colors (like "red" but not "red-orange" or "dark red" or "blood red", which are "shades" of red). All languages that have two "basic" color names distinguish dark/cool colors from bright/warm colors. The next colors to be distinguished are usually red and then yellow or green. All languages with six "basic" colors include black, white, red, green, blue, and yellow. The pattern holds up to a set of twelve: black, gray, white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and azure (distinct from blue in Russian and Italian, but not English).
See also
* Chromophore
* Color analysis
* Color in Chinese culture
* Color mapping
* Complementary colors
* Impossible color
* International Color Consortium
* International Commission on Illumination
* Lists of colors (compact version)
* Neutral color
* Pearlescent coating including Metal effect pigments
* Pseudocolor
* Primary, secondary and tertiary colors
References
External links
*
*
*
Category:Image processing
Category:Vision | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.137056 |
5926 | Computation | A computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that is well-defined. Common examples of computation are mathematical equation solving and the execution of computer algorithms.
Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historically, people) that perform computations are known as computers.
Computer science is an academic field that involves the study of computation.
Introduction
The notion that mathematical statements should be 'well-defined' had been argued by mathematicians since at least the 1600s, but agreement on a suitable definition proved elusive. A candidate definition was proposed independently by several mathematicians in the 1930s. The best-known variant was formalised by the mathematician Alan Turing, who defined a well-defined statement or calculation as any statement that could be expressed in terms of the initialisation parameters of a Turing machine. Other (mathematically equivalent) definitions include Alonzo Church's lambda-definability, Herbrand-Gödel-Kleene's general recursiveness and Emil Post's 1-definability.
Despite the widespread uptake of this definition, there are some mathematical concepts that have no well-defined characterisation under this definition. This includes the halting problem and the busy beaver game. It remains an open question as to whether there exists a more powerful definition of 'well-defined' that is able to capture both computable and 'non-computable' statements.
Some examples of mathematical statements that are computable include:
All statements characterised in modern programming languages, including C++, Python, and Java. Gualtiero Piccinini's summary of this account states that a physical system can be said to perform a specific computation when there is a mapping between the state of that system and the computation such that the "microphysical states [of the system] mirror the state transitions between the computational states."
The semantic account
Philosophers such as Jerry Fodor have suggested various accounts of computation with the restriction that semantic content be a necessary condition for computation (that is, what differentiates an arbitrary physical system from a computing system is that the operands of the computation represent something). This notion attempts to prevent the logical abstraction of the mapping account of pancomputationalism, the idea that everything can be said to be computing everything.
The mechanistic account
Gualtiero Piccinini proposes an account of computation based on mechanical philosophy. It states that physical computing systems are types of mechanisms that, by design, perform physical computation, or the manipulation (by a functional mechanism) of a "medium-independent" vehicle according to a rule. "Medium-independence" requires that the property can be instantiated by multiple realizers and multiple mechanisms, and that the inputs and outputs of the mechanism also be multiply realizable. In short, medium-independence allows for the use of physical variables with properties other than voltage (as in typical digital computers); this is imperative in considering other types of computation, such as that which occurs in the brain or in a quantum computer. A rule, in this sense, provides a mapping among inputs, outputs, and internal states of the physical computing system.
Mathematical models
In the theory of computation, a diversity of mathematical models of computation has been developed.
Typical mathematical models of computers are the following:
State models including Turing machine, pushdown automaton, finite-state automaton, and PRAM
Functional models including lambda calculus
Logical models including logic programming
Concurrent models including actor model and process calculi
Giunti calls the models studied by computation theory computational systems, and he argues that all of them are mathematical dynamical systems with discrete time and discrete state space. He maintains that a computational system is a complex object which consists of three parts. First, a mathematical dynamical system DS with discrete time and discrete state space; second, a computational setup H=\left(F, B_F\right), which is made up of a theoretical part F, and a real part B_F; third, an interpretation I_{DS,H}, which links the dynamical system DS with the setup H.
See also
Computability theory
Hypercomputation
Computational problem
Limits of computation
Computationalism
Notes
References
Category:Theoretical computer science
Category:Computability theory | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computation | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.150689 |
5928 | Clown | }}
A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. The art of performing as a clown is known as clowning or buffoonery, and the term "clown" may be used synonymously with predecessors like jester, joker, buffoon, fool, or harlequin. Clowns have a diverse tradition with significant variations in costume and performance. The most recognisable clowns are those that commonly perform in the circus, characterized by colorful wigs, red noses, and oversized shoes. However, clowns have also played roles in theater and folklore, like the court jesters of the Middle Ages and the jesters and ritual clowns of various indigenous cultures. Their performances can elicit a range of emotions, from humor and laughter to fear and discomfort, reflecting complex societal and psychological dimensions. Through the centuries, clowns have continued to play significant roles in society, evolving alongside changing cultural norms and artistic expressions. History The most ancient clowns have been found in the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, around 2400 BC. Unlike court jesters, clowns have traditionally served a socio-religious and psychological role, and traditionally the roles of priest and clown have been held by the same persons. For this reason, clowning is often considered an important part of training as a physical performance discipline, partly because tricky subject matter can be dealt with, but also because it requires a high level of risk and play in the performer.
In anthropology, the term clown has been extended to comparable jester or fool characters in non-Western cultures. A society in which such clowns have an important position are termed clown societies, and a clown character involved in a religious or ritual capacity is known as a ritual clown.
Many native tribes have a history of clowning, such as the Pueblo clown of the Kachina culture. A Heyoka is an individual in Lakota and Dakota cultures who lives outside the constraints of normal cultural roles, playing the role of a backwards clown by doing everything in reverse. The Heyoka role is sometimes best filled by a Winkte. Canadian First Nations also feature jester-like ritual performers, translated by one Anishinaabe activist as "Harlequins", though the exact nature of their role is kept secret from non-members of the tribe into the present day.
The Canadian clowning method developed by Richard Pochinko and furthered by his former apprentice, Sue Morrison, combines European and Native American clowning techniques. In this tradition, masks are made of clay while the creator's eyes are closed. A mask is made for each direction of the medicine wheel. During this process, the clown creates a personal mythology that explores their personal experiences.
The circus clown tradition developed out of earlier comedic roles in theatre or Varieté shows during the 19th to mid 20th centuries. This recognizable character features outlandish costumes, distinctive makeup, colorful wigs, exaggerated footwear, and colorful clothing, with the style generally being designed to entertain large audiences.
The modern clowning school of comedy in the 21st century diverged from white-face clown tradition, with more of an emphasis on personal vulnerability and heightened sexuality. Origin
The clown character developed out of the zanni rustic fool characters of the early modern commedia dell'arte, which were themselves directly based on the rustic fool characters of ancient Greek and Roman theatre. Rustic buffoon characters in Classical Greek theater were known as sklêro-paiktês (from paizein: to play (like a child)) or deikeliktas, besides other generic terms for rustic or peasant. In Roman theater, a term for clown was fossor, literally digger; labourer.
as "Joey" the Clown, c. 1810]]
The English word clown was first recorded c. 1560 (as clowne, cloyne) in the generic meaning rustic, boor, peasant. The origin of the word is uncertain, perhaps from a Scandinavian word cognate with clumsy. It is in this sense that Clown is used as the name of fool characters in Shakespeare's Othello and ''The Winter's Tale. The sense of clown as referring to a professional or habitual fool or jester developed soon after 1600, based on Elizabethan rustic fool'' characters such as Shakespeare's.
The harlequinade developed in England in the 17th century, inspired by Arlecchino and the commedia dell'arte. It was here that Clown came into use as the given name of a stock character. Originally a foil for Harlequin's slyness and adroit nature, Clown was a buffoon or bumpkin fool who resembled less a jester than a comical idiot. He was a lower class character dressed in tattered servants' garb.
The now-classical features of the clown character were developed in the early 1800s by Joseph Grimaldi, who played Clown in Charles Dibdin's 1800 pantomime Peter Wilkins: or Harlequin in the Flying World at Sadler's Wells Theatre, where Grimaldi built the character up into the central figure of the harlequinade.
Modern circuses
The circus clown developed in the 19th century. The modern circus derives from Philip Astley's London riding school, which opened in 1768. Astley added a clown to his shows to amuse the spectators between equestrian sequences. American comedian George L. Fox became known for his clown role, directly inspired by Grimaldi, in the 1860s.
Tom Belling senior (1843–1900) developed the red clown or Auguste (Dummer August) character c. 1870, acting as a foil for the more sophisticated white clown. Belling worked for Circus Renz in Vienna. Belling's costume became the template for the modern stock character of circus or children's clown, based on a lower class or hobo character, with red nose, white makeup around the eyes and mouth, and oversized clothes and shoes. The clown character as developed by the late 19th century is reflected in Ruggero Leoncavallo's 1892 opera Pagliacci (Clowns).
Belling's Auguste character was further popularized by Nicolai Poliakoff's Coco in the 1920s to 1930s.
The English word clown was borrowed, along with the circus clown act, by many other languages, such as French clown, German Clown, Russian (and other Slavic languages) кло́ун, Greek κλόουν, Danish/Norwegian klovn, Romanian clovn etc.
Italian retains Pagliaccio, a Commedia dell'arte zanni character, and derivations of the Italian term are found in French Paillasse, Spanish payaso, Catalan/Galician pallasso, Portuguese palhaço, Greek παλιάτσος, Turkish palyaço, German Bajass or Bajazzo, Yiddish פּאַיאַץ (payats), Russian пая́ц, Romanian paiață. 20th-century North America In the early 20th century, with the disappearance of the rustic simpleton or village idiot character of everyday experience, North American circuses developed characters such as the tramp or hobo. Examples include Marceline Orbes, who performed at the Hippodrome Theater (1905), Charlie Chaplin's The Tramp (1914), and Emmett Kelly's Weary Willie based on hobos of the Depression era. Another influential tramp character was played by Otto Griebling during the 1930s to 1950s. Red Skelton's Dodo the Clown in The Clown (1953), depicts the circus clown as a tragicomic stock character, "a funny man with a drinking problem".
In the United States, Bozo the Clown was an influential Auguste character since the late 1950s. The Bozo Show premiered in 1960 and appeared nationally on cable television in 1978. McDonald's derived its mascot clown, Ronald McDonald, from the Bozo character in the 1960s. Willard Scott, who had played Bozo during 1959–1962, performed as the mascot in 1963 television spots. The McDonald's trademark application for the character dates to 1967.
Based on the Bozo template, the US custom of birthday clown, private contractors who offer to perform as clowns at children's parties, developed in the 1960s to 1970s. The strong association of the (Bozo-derived) clown character with children's entertainment as it has developed since the 1960s also gave rise to Clown Care or hospital clowning in children's hospitals by the mid-1980s. Clowns of America International (established 1984) and World Clown Association (established 1987) are associations of semi-professionals and professional performers.
The shift of the Auguste or red clown character from his role as a foil for the white in circus or pantomime shows to a Bozo-derived standalone character in children's entertainment by the 1980s also gave rise to the evil clown character, with the attraction of clowns for small children being based in their fundamentally threatening or frightening nature. The fear of clowns, particularly circus clowns, has become known by the term "coulrophobia."
Types
There are different types of clowns portrayed around the world. They include
* Auguste
* Blackface
* Buffoon
* Harlequin
* Jester
* Mime artist
* Pierrot
* Pueblo
* Rodeo clown
* Tramp
* Whiteface
Circus
Pierrot and Harlequin
The classical pairing of the White Clown with Auguste in modern tradition
has a precedent in the pairing of Pierrot and Harlequin in the Commedia dell'arte.
Originally, Harlequin's role was that of a light-hearted, nimble and astute servant, paired with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot.
In the 18th-century English Harlequinade, Harlequin was now paired with Clown.
As developed by Joseph Grimaldi around 1800, Clown became the mischievous and brutish foil for the more sophisticated Harlequin, who became more of a romantic character. The most influential such pair in Victorian England were the Payne Brothers, active during the 1860s and 1870s.
White and Auguste
The white clown, or clown blanc in French, is a sophisticated character, as opposed to the clumsy Auguste. The two types are also distinguished as the sad clown (blanc) and happy clown (Auguste).
The Auguste face base makeup color is a variation of pink, red, or tan rather than white. Features are exaggerated in size, and are typically red and black in color. The mouth is thickly outlined with white (called the muzzle) as are the eyes. Appropriate to the character, the Auguste can be dressed in either well-fitted garb or a costume that does not fit – oversize or too small, either is appropriate. Bold colors, large prints or patterns, and suspenders often characterize Auguste costumes.
The Auguste character-type is often an anarchist, a joker, or a fool. He is clever and has much lower status than the whiteface. Classically the whiteface character instructs the Auguste character to perform his bidding. The Auguste has a hard time performing a given task, which leads to funny situations. Sometimes the Auguste plays the role of an anarchist and purposefully has trouble following the whiteface's directions. Sometimes the Auguste is confused or is foolish and makes errors less deliberately.
The contra-auguste plays the role of the mediator between the white clown and the Auguste character. He has a lower status than the white clown but a higher status than the Auguste. He aspires to be more like the white clown and often mimics everything the white clown does to try to gain approval. If there is a contra-auguste character, he often is instructed by the whiteface to correct the Auguste when he is doing something wrong.
There are two major types of clowns with whiteface makeup:
The classic white clown is derived from the Pierrot character. His makeup is white, usually with facial features such as eyebrows emphasized in black. He is the more intelligent and sophisticated clown, contrasting with the rude or grotesque Auguste types. Francesco Caroli and Glenn "Frosty" Little are examples of this type. The second type of whiteface is the buffoonish clown of the Bozo type, known as Comedy or Grotesque Whiteface. This type has grotesquely emphasized features, especially a red nose and red mouth, often with partial (mostly red) hair.
In the comedic partnership of Abbott and Costello, Bud Abbott would have been the classic whiteface and Lou Costello the comedy whiteface or Auguste.
Traditionally, the whiteface clown uses clown white makeup to cover the entire face and neck, leaving none of the underlying natural skin visible.
America's first great whiteface clown was stage star George "G.L." Fox. Inspired by Grimaldi, Fox popularised the Humpty Dumpty stories throughout the U.S. in the 1860s.
In horror
The scary clown, also known as the evil clown or killer clown, is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use of horror elements and dark humor. The character can be seen as playing on the sense of unease felt by those with coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized by DC Comics character the Joker starting in 1940 and again by Pennywise in Stephen King's novel It, which introduced the fear of an evil clown to a modern audience. In the novel, the eponymous character is a pan-dimensional monster which feeds mainly on children by luring them in the form of a clown, named "Pennywise", and then assuming the shape of whatever the victim fears the most.
Character
The character clown adopts an eccentric character of some type, such as a butcher, a baker, a policeman, a housewife or hobo. Prime examples of this type of clown are the circus tramps Otto Griebling and Emmett Kelly. Red Skelton, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Rowan Atkinson and Sacha Baron Cohen would all fit the definition of a character clown.
The character clown makeup is a comic slant on the standard human face. Their makeup starts with a flesh tone base and may make use of anything from glasses, mustaches and beards to freckles, warts, big ears or strange haircuts.
The most prevalent character clown in the American circus is the hobo, tramp or bum clown. There are subtle differences in the American character clown types. The primary differences among these clown types is attitude. According to American circus expert Hovey Burgess, they are:
* The Hobo: Migratory and finds work where he travels. Down on his luck but maintains a positive attitude.
* The Tramp: Migratory and does not work where he travels. Down on his luck and depressed about his situation.
* The Bum: Non-migratory and non-working.
Organizations
The World Clown Association is a worldwide organization for clowns, jugglers, magicians, and face painters. It holds an annual convention, mainly in the United States.
Clowns of America International is a Minnesota-based non-profit clown arts membership organization which aims "to share, educate, and act as a gathering place for serious minded amateurs, semiprofessionals, and professional clowns".
Clowns International is a British clowning organisation dating back to the 1940s. It is responsible for the Clown Egg Register. Terminology Roles and skills In the circus, a clown might perform other circus roles or skills. Clowns may perform such skills as tightrope, juggling, unicycling, Master of Ceremonies, or ride an animal. Clowns may also "sit in" with the orchestra. Other circus performers may also temporarily stand in for a clown and perform their skills in clown costume. Frameworks Frameworks are the general outline of an act that clowns use to help them build out an act. Frameworks can be loose, including only a general beginning and ending to the act, leaving it up to the clown's creativity to fill in the rest, or at the other extreme a fully developed script that allows very little room for creativity.
Shows are the overall production that a clown is a part of, it may or may not include elements other than clowning, such as in a circus show. In a circus context, clown shows are typically made up of some combination of entrées, side dishes, clown stops, track gags, gags and bits.
Gags, bits and business
* Business – the individual motions the clown uses, often used to express the clown's character.
* Gag – very short piece of clown comedy that, when repeated within a bit or routine, may become a running gag. Gags are, loosely, the jokes clowns play on each other. A gag may have a beginning, a middle, and an end – or may not. Gags can also refer to the prop stunts/tricks or the stunts that clowns use, such as a squirting flower.
* Bit – the clown's sketch or routine, made up of one or more gags either worked out and timed before going on stage, or impromptu bits composed of familiar improvisational material
Menu
* Entrée — clowning acts lasting 5–10 minutes. Typically made up of various gags and bits, usually within a clowning framework. Entrées almost always end with a blow-off — the comedic ending of a show segment, bit, gag, stunt, or routine.
* Side dish — shorter feature act. Side dishes are essentially shorter versions of the entrée, typically lasting 1–3 minutes. Typically made up of various gags and bits, side dishes are usually within a clowning framework. Side dishes almost always end with a blow-off.
Interludes
Clown Stops or interludes are the brief appearances of clowns in a circus while the props and rigging are changed. These are typically made up of a few gags or several bits. Clown stops will always have a beginning, a middle, and an end to them, invariably culminating in a blow-off. These are also called reprises or run-ins by many, and in today's circus they are an art form in themselves. Originally they were bits of business usually parodying the preceding act. If for instance there had been a tightrope walker the reprise would involve two chairs with a piece of rope between and the clown trying to imitate the artiste by trying to walk between them, with the resulting falls and cascades bringing laughter from the audience. Today, interludes are far more complex, and in many modern shows the clowning is a thread that links the whole show together.
Prop stunts
Among the more well-known clown stunts are: squirting flower; the too-many-clowns-coming-out-of-a-tiny-car stunt; doing just about anything with a rubber chicken, tripping over one's own feet (or an air pocket or imaginary blemish in the floor), or riding any number of ridiculous vehicles or clown bicycles. Individual prop stunts are generally considered individual bits.
Gallery
<gallery>
File:Joseph-Grimaldi-head.jpg|Joseph Grimaldi as Clown, showing his own make-up design (1820)
File:Actor in clown costume - Weir Collection.jpg|Actor in a clown costume ()
File:SAND Maurice Masques et bouffons 05.jpg|The Italian of c. 1600 (Maurice Sand, Masques et bouffons (Comedie Italienne), 1860)
File:Chuchin the clown.jpg|Chuchín (José de Jesus Medrano), a famous Mexican circus clown from the late 1960s to 1984
File:Arm & Hammer Brand Soda poster ca. 1900.jpg|A circus clown in an Arm & Hammer Brand Soda advertisement poster ()
File:Auguste clown with a pie at a parade.jpg|Clowns are often associated with the pie-in-the-face gag. An auguste clown holds a pie at a parade.
File:Paul Cézanne- Pierrot and Harlequin.JPG|Pierrot and Harlequin by Paul Cézanne (1898)
File:Smilie 2.JPG|Smilie The Clown
File:Geclown.jpg|Swedish actor Gösta Ekman senior (1890–1938) as a whiteface clown in the play Han som får örfilarna (He Who Gets Slapped) by Leonid Andreyev (1926)
File:Lasse Beischer (2686825990).jpg|Typical aspects of an Auguste; white muzzle and eyes (Swedish actor in a performance of , 2008 photograph)
File:Inger-Nilsson-1970-in-Helsinki.jpg|10-year-old Swedish actress Inger Nilsson during her visit to Helsinki, Finland in February 1970; she is here seen with the Finnish clown Onni Gideon in Helsinki Ice Hall
File:Bozo's Circus 1968.JPG|1968 postcard, main cast of ''Bozo's Circus (WGN-TV); left to right, Ringmaster Ned (Ned Locke), Mr. Bob (bandleader Bob Trendler), Bozo the Clown (Bob Bell), Oliver O. Oliver (Ray Rayner), Sandy the Clown (Don Sandburg)
File:Colorful Clown 3.jpg|Toddles The Clown
File:Clown chili peppers.jpg|Clown at a Memorial Day parade, 2004
File:Clown dusseldorf.jpg|Clown of Düsseldorf
File:Joker.jpg|Joker Clown
File:Carnival Joker.jpg|Carnival Joker
File:AU Wien, Prater, arlekin 1, 2011.08.05 (4) COR.jpg|A sculpture of a clown at the Wurstelprater amusement park, Vienna
File:Bhutanese clown, Paro.jpg|Bhutanese clown in Paro, Bhutan
File:Clown Dog (8126571992).jpg|Clown Dog
File:Clown costume.jpg|A man dressed in clown costume
File:-Clown- MET DP325372.jpg|Clown, circa 1860
File:Clown Bassie.jpg|Clown Bassie from Bassie & Adriaan
File:34 Ulica - Teatr Pinezka - Epidemia śmiechu - 20210709 1829 8275.jpg|Teatr Pinezka in the show "An Epidemic of Laughter" at 34. ULICA – The International Festival of Street Theatres in Kraków
File:Harry Payne clown slnsw.jpg|Portrait of Englishman Harry Payne, a clown, between 1863 and 1867
</gallery>
See also
* List of clowns
* Bouffon
* Clown car
* I clowns'', 1970 film
Notes
ReferencesBibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
* [https://famousclowns.org/famous-clowns/clown-quotes-famous-sayings-clowns/ Quotes by and about Clowns]
*[https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/23671 Collection: "Clowns"] from the University of Michigan Museum of Art
Category:Comedy
*
Category:Entertainment occupations
Category:Performing arts
Category:Stock characters
Category:Articles containing video clips | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clown | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.170794 |
5930 | Coffea | * Cafe
* Cofeanthus
* Hexepta
* Leiochilus
* Nescidia
* Paracoffea
* Paolia
* Pleurocoffea
* Psilanthopsis
* Psilanthus
* Solenixora
| synonyms_ref Cultivation and use
]]
There are over 130 species of Coffea, which is grown from seed. The two most popular are Coffea arabica (commonly known simply as "Arabica"), which accounts for 60–80% of the world's coffee production, and Coffea canephora (known as "Robusta"), which accounts for about 20–40%. C. arabica is preferred for its sweeter taste, while C. canephora has a higher caffeine content. C. arabica has its origins in the highlands of Ethiopia and the Boma Plateau of Sudan, and came about as the result of a hybrid between C. canephora and C. eugenioides.
The trees produce edible red or purple fruits that are either epigynous berries or indehiscent drupes. The fruit is often referred to as a "coffee cherry", and it contains two seeds, called "coffee beans". Despite these terms, coffee is neither a true cherry (the fruit of certain species in the genus Prunus) nor a true bean (seeds from plants in the family Fabaceae).
In any coffee crop, about 5–10% of fruits contain only a single bean. Called a peaberry, it is smaller and rounder than a normal coffee bean.
When grown in the tropics, coffee is a vigorous bush or small tree that usually grows to a height of . Most commonly cultivated coffee species grow best at high elevations, but do not tolerate freezing temperatures.
The Coffea arabica tree grows fruit after three to five years, producing for an average of 50 to 60 years, though up to 100 years is possible. The white flowers are highly scented. The fruit takes about nine months to ripen.
fruits]]
beans germinating]]
flowers]]
fruits]]
'' fruit]]
Ecology
The caffeine in coffee beans serves as a toxic substance that protects against insects and other pests, a form of natural plant defense against herbivory. Caffeine simultaneously attracts pollinators, specifically honeybees, by creating an olfactory memory that signals bees to return to the plant's flowers. Not all Coffea species contain caffeine, and the earliest species had little or no caffeine content. Caffeine has evolved independently in multiple lineages of Coffea in Africa, perhaps in response to high pest predation in the humid environments of West-Central Africa. This suggests that caffeine production is an adaptive trait in coffee and plant evolution. The fruit and leaves also contain caffeine, and can be used to make coffee cherry tea and coffee-leaf tea. The fruit is also used in many brands of soft drink as well as pre-packaged teas.
Several insect pests affect coffee production, including the coffee borer beetle (Hypothenemus hampei) and the coffee leafminer (Leucoptera caffeina).
Coffee is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, Dalcera abrasa, turnip moth and some members of the genus Endoclita, including E. damor and E. malabaricus.
Research
New species of Coffea are still being identified in the 2000s. In 2008 and 2009, researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, named seven from the mountains of northern Madagascar, including C. ambongensis, C. boinensis, C. labatii, C. pterocarpa, C. bissetiae, and C. namorokensis.
In 2008, two new species were discovered in Cameroon: Coffea charrieriana, which is caffeine-free, and Coffea anthonyi. By crossing the new species with other known coffees, two new features might be introduced to cultivated coffee plants: beans without caffeine and self-pollination.
In 2011, Coffea absorbed the twenty species of the former genus Psilanthus due to the morphological and genetic similarities between the two genera. Historically, the two have been considered distinct genera due to differences in the length of the corolla tube and the anther arrangement: Coffea with a short corolla tube and exserted style and anthers; Psilanthus with a long corolla tube and included anthers. However, these characteristics were not present in all species of either respective genus, making the two genera overwhelmingly similar in both morphology and genetic sequence. This transfer expanded Coffea from 104 species to 124, and extended its native distribution to tropical Asia and Australasia.
The coffee genome was published in 2014, with more than 25,000 genes identified. This revealed that coffee plants make caffeine using a different set of genes from those found in tea, cacao and other such plants.
A robust and almost fully resolved phylogeny of the entire genus was published in 2017. For the study, scientists used DNA extraction and SSR marker analysis. This technique or similar ones may allow for several improvements to coffee production such as improved information for farmers as to the susceptibility of their coffee plants to pests and disease, a professionalized coffee seed system, and transparency and traceability for buyers of green, un-roasted coffee. Species As of May 2024, Plants of the World Online includes:
# Coffea abbayesii <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea affinis <small>De Wild.</small>
# Coffea alleizettii <small>Dubard</small>
# Coffea ambanjensis <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea ambongenis <small>J.-F. Leroy ex A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea andrambovatensis <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea ankaranensis <small>J.-F. Leroy ex A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea anthonyi <small>Stoff. & F. Anthony</small>
# Coffea arabica <small>L.</small>
# Coffea arenesiana <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea augagneurii <small>Dubard</small>
# Coffea bakossii <small>Cheek & Bridson</small>
# Coffea benghalensis <small>B. Heyne ex Schult.</small>
# Coffea bertrandii <small>A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea betamponensis <small>Portères & J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea bissetiae <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea boinensis <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea boiviniana <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea bonnieri <small>Dubard</small>
# Coffea brassii <small>(J.-F. Leroy) A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea brevipes <small>Hiern</small>
# Coffea bridsoniae <small>A. P. Davis & Mvungi</small>
# Coffea buxifolia <small>A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea callmanderi
# Coffea canephora ("Coffea robusta") <small>Pierre ex A. Froehner</small>
# Coffea carrissoi <small>A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea charrieriana <small>Stoff. & F. Anthony</small>
# Coffea cochinchinensis <small>Pierre ex Pit.</small>
# Coffea commersoniana <small>(Baill.) A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea congensis <small>A. Froehner</small>
# Coffea costatifructa <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea coursiana <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea dactylifera <small>Robbr. & Stoff.</small>
# Coffea darainensis
# Coffea decaryana <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea dubardii <small>Jum.</small>
# Coffea ebracteolata <small>(Hiern) Brenan</small>
# Coffea eugenioides <small>S. Moore</small>
# Coffea fadenii <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea farafanganensis <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea floresiana <small>Boerl.</small>
# Coffea fotsoana <small>Stoff. & Sonké</small>
# Coffea fragilis <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea fragrans <small>Wall. ex Hook. f.</small>
# Coffea gallienii <small>Dubard</small>
# Coffea grevei <small>Drake ex A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea heimii <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea × heterocalyx
# Coffea homollei <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea horsfieldiana <small>Miq.</small>
# Coffea humbertii <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea humblotiana <small>Baill.</small>
# Coffea humilis <small>A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea jumellei <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea kalobinonensis
# Coffea kapakata <small>(A. Chev.) Bridson</small>
# Coffea kianjavatensis <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea kihansiensis <small>A. P. Davis & Mvungi</small>
# Coffea kimbozensis <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea kivuensis <small>Lebrun</small>
# Coffea labatii <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea lancifolia <small>A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea lebruniana <small>Germ. & Kester</small>
# Coffea leonimontana <small>Stoff.</small>
# Coffea leroyi <small>A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea liaudii <small>J.-F. Leroy ex A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea liberica <small>Hiern</small>
# Coffea ligustroides <small>S. Moore</small>
# Coffea littoralis <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea lulandoensis <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea mabesae <small>(Elmer) J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea macrocarpa <small>A. Rich.</small>
# Coffea madurensis <small>Teijsm. & Binn. ex Koord.</small>
# Coffea magnistipula <small>Stoff. & Robbr.</small>
# Coffea malabarica <small>(Sivar., Biju & P. Mathew) A.P.Davis</small>
# Coffea mangoroensis <small>Portères</small>
# Coffea mannii <small>(Hook. f.) A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea manombensis <small>A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea mapiana <small>Sonké, Nguembou & A P. Davis</small>
# Coffea mauritiana <small>Lam.</small>
# Coffea mayombensis <small>A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea mcphersonii <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea melanocarpa <small>Welw. ex Hiern</small>
# Coffea merguensis <small>Ridl.</small>
# Coffea microdubardii
# Coffea millotii <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea minutiflora <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea mogenetii <small>Dubard</small>
# Coffea mongensis <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea montekupensis <small>Stoff.</small>
# Coffea montis-sacri <small>A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea moratii <small>J.-F. Leroy ex A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea mufindiensis <small>Hutch. ex Bridson</small>
# Coffea myrtifolia <small>(A.Rich. ex DC.) J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea namorokensis <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea neobridsoniae <small>A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea neoleroyi <small>A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea perrieri <small>Drake ex Jum. & H. Perrier</small>
# Coffea pervilleana <small>(Baill.) Drake</small>
# Coffea pocsii <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea pseudozanguebariae <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea pterocarpa <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea pustulata
# Coffea racemosa <small>Lour.</small>
# Coffea rakotonasoloi <small>A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea ratsimamangae <small>J.-F. Leroy ex A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea resinosa <small>(Hook. f.) Radlk.</small>
# Coffea rhamnifolia <small>(Chiov.) Bridson</small>
# Coffea richardii <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea rizetiana
# Coffea rupicola
# Coffea sahafaryensis <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea sakarahae <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea salvatrix <small>Swynn. & Philipson</small>
# Coffea sambavensis <small>J.-F. Leroy ex A. P Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea sapinii <small>(De Wild.) A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea schliebenii <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea semsei <small>(Bridson) A. P. Davis</small>
# Coffea sessiliflora <small>Bridson</small>
# Coffea stenophylla <small>G. Don</small>
# Coffea tetragona <small>Jum. & H. Perrier</small>
# Coffea togoensis <small>A. Chev.</small>
# Coffea toshii <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea travancorensis <small>Wight & Arn.</small>
# Coffea tricalysioides <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea tsirananae <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea vatovavyensis <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea vavateninensis <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea vianneyi <small>J.-F. Leroy</small>
# Coffea vohemarensis <small>A. P. Davis & Rakotonas.</small>
# Coffea wightiana <small>Wall. ex Wight & Arn.</small>
# Coffea zanguebariae <small>Lour.</small>
References
External links
* [https://apps.kew.org/wcsp/rubiaceae/ World Checklist of Rubiaceae]
* [https://www.coffeehabitat.com/ Coffee & Conservation]
Category:Fruits originating in Africa
Category:Medicinal plants of Asia
Category:Medicinal plants of Africa
Category:Rubiaceae genera
Category:Crops
Category:Herbal and fungal stimulants | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.197873 |
5931 | Cycling | ]]
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Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world for purposes including transport, recreation, exercise, and competitive sport.History
Cycling became popularized in Europe and North America in the latter part and especially the last decade of the 19th century. Today, over 50 percent of the human population knows how to ride a bike.War
The bicycle has been used as a method of reconnaissance as well as transporting soldiers and supplies to combat zones. In this it has taken over many of the functions of horses in warfare. In the Second Boer War, both sides used bicycles for scouting. In World War I, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand used bicycles to move troops. In its 1937 invasion of China, Japan employed some 50,000 bicycle troops, and similar forces were instrumental in Japan's march or "roll" through Malaya in World War II. Germany used bicycles again in World War II, while the British employed airborne "Cycle-commandos" with folding bikes.
In the Vietnam War, communist forces used bicycles extensively as cargo carriers along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The last country known to maintain a regiment of bicycle troops was Switzerland, which disbanded its last unit in 2003.
Equipment
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In many countries, the most commonly used vehicle for road transport is a utility bicycle. These have frames with relaxed geometry, protecting the rider from shocks of the road and easing steering at low speeds. Utility bicycles tend to be equipped with accessories such as mudguards, pannier racks and lights, which extend their usefulness on a daily basis. Since the bicycle is so effective as a means of transportation, various companies have developed methods of carrying anything from the weekly shop to children on bicycles. Certain countries rely heavily on bicycles and their culture has developed around the bicycle as a primary form of transport. In Europe, Denmark and the Netherlands have the most bicycles per capita and most often use bicycles for everyday transport.
Road bikes tend to have a more upright shape and a shorter wheelbase, which make the bike more mobile but harder to ride slowly. The design, coupled with low or dropped handlebars, requires the rider to bend forward more, making use of stronger muscles (particularly the gluteus maximus) and reducing air resistance at high speed.
Road bikes are designed for speed and efficiency on paved roads. They are characterized by their lightweight frames, skinny tires, drop handlebars, and narrow saddles. Road bikes are ideal for racing, long-distance riding, and fitness training.
Other common types of bikes include gravel bikes, designed for use on gravel roads or trails, but with the ability to ride well on pavement; mountain bikes, which are designed for more rugged, undulating terrain; and e-bikes, which provide some level of motorized assist for the rider. There are additional variations of bikes and types of biking as well.
The price of a new bicycle can range from US$50 to more than US$20,000 (the highest priced bike in the world is the custom Madone by Damien Hirst, sold at US$500,000), depending on quality, type and weight (the most exotic road bicycles can weigh as little as 3.2 kg (7 lb)). However, UCI regulations stipulate a legal race bike cannot weigh less than 6.8 kg (14.99 lbs). Being measured for a bike and taking it for a test ride are recommended before buying.
The drivetrain components of the bike should also be considered. A middle grade dérailleur is sufficient for a beginner, although many utility bikes are equipped with hub gears. If the rider plans a significant amount of hillclimbing, a triple-chainrings crankset gear system may be preferred. Otherwise, the relatively lighter, simpler, and less expensive double chainring is preferred, even on high-end race bikes. Much simpler fixed wheel bikes are also available.
Many road bikes, along with mountain bikes, include clipless pedals to which special shoes attach, via a cleat, enabling the rider to pull on the pedals as well as push. Other possible accessories for the bicycle include front and rear lights, bells or horns, child carrying seats, cycling computers with GPS, locks, bar tape, fenders (mud-guards), baggage racks, baggage carriers and pannier bags, water bottles and bottle cages.
For basic maintenance and repairs cyclists can carry a pump (or a CO<sub>2</sub> cartridge), a puncture repair kit, a spare inner tube, and tire levers and a set of allen keys. Cycling can be more efficient and comfortable with special shoes, gloves, and shorts. In wet weather, riding can be more tolerable with waterproof clothes, such as cape, jacket, trousers (pants) and overshoes and high-visibility clothing is advisable to reduce the risk from motor vehicle users.
Items legally required in some jurisdictions, or voluntarily adopted for safety reasons, include bicycle helmets, generator or battery operated lights, reflectors, and audible signalling devices such as a bell or horn. Extras include studded tires and a bicycle computer.
Bikes can also be heavily customized, with different seat designs and handle bars, for example. Gears can also be customized to better suit the rider's strength in relation to the terrain.
Skills
Many schools and police departments run educational programs to instruct children in bicycle handling skills, especially to introduce them to the rules of the road as they apply to cyclists. In some countries these may be known as bicycle rodeos, or operated as schemes such as Bikeability in the UK. Education for adult cyclists is available from organizations such as the League of American Bicyclists.
Beyond simply riding, another skill is riding efficiently and safely in traffic. One popular approach to riding in motor vehicle traffic is vehicular cycling, occupying road space as car does. Alternately, in countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, where cycling is popular, cyclists are often segregated into bike lanes at the side of, or more often separate from, main highways and roads. Many primary schools participate in the national road test in which children individually complete a circuit on roads near the school while being observed by testers.
Infrastructure
in Amsterdam. Bike paths are dedicated for cyclists and provide shelter from vehicle traffic.]]
, Japan|alt=Hundreds of bicycles, grouped in rectangular parking places with driving paths in between.]]
s outside the Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Many students at the university opt to travel by bicycle.]]
Cyclists, pedestrians and motorists make different demands on road design which may lead to conflicts. Some jurisdictions give priority to motorized traffic, for example setting up one-way street systems, free-right turns, high capacity roundabouts, and slip roads. Others share priority with cyclists so as to encourage more cycling by applying varying combinations of traffic calming measures to limit the impact of motorized transport, and by building bike lanes, bike paths and cycle tracks. The provision of cycling infrastructure varies widely between cities and countries, particularly since cycling for transportation almost entirely occurs in public streets. And, the development of computer vision and street view imagery has provided significant potential to assess infrastructure for cyclists.
In jurisdictions where motor vehicles were given priority, cycling has tended to decline while in jurisdictions where cycling infrastructure was built, cycling rates have remained steady or increased. Occasionally, extreme measures against cycling may occur. In Shanghai, where bicycles were once the dominant mode of transport, bicycle travel on a few city roads was banned temporarily in December 2003.
In areas in which cycling is popular and encouraged, cycle-parking facilities using bicycle stands, lockable mini-garages, and patrolled cycle parks are used to reduce theft. Local governments promote cycling by permitting bicycles to be carried on public transport or by providing external attachment devices on public transport vehicles. Conversely, an absence of secure cycle-parking is a recurring complaint by cyclists from cities with low modal share of cycling.
Extensive cycling infrastructure may be found in some cities. Such dedicated paths in some cities often have to be shared with in-line skaters, scooters, skateboarders, and pedestrians. Dedicated cycling infrastructure is treated differently in the law of every jurisdiction, including the question of liability of users in a collision. There is also some debate about the safety of the various types of separated facilities.
Bicycles are considered a sustainable mode of transport, especially suited for urban use and relatively shorter distances when used for transport (compared to recreation). Case studies and good practices (from European cities and some worldwide examples) that promote and stimulate this kind of functional cycling in cities can be found at Eltis, Europe's portal for local transport.
A number of cities, including Paris, London and Barcelona, now have successful bike hire schemes designed to help people cycle in the city. Typically these feature utilitarian city bikes which lock into docking stations, released on payment for set time periods. Costs vary from city to city. In London, initial hire access costs £2 per day. The first 30 minutes of each trip is free, with £2 for each additional 30 minutes until the bicycle is returned.
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In the Netherlands, many roads have one or two separate cycleways alongside them, or cycle lanes marked on the road. On roads where adjacent bike paths or cycle tracks exist, the use of these facilities is compulsory, and cycling on the main carriageway is not permitted. Some 35,000 km of cycle-track has been physically segregated from motor traffic, equal to a quarter of the country's entire 140,000 km road network. A quarter of all trips in the country are made on bicycles, one quarter of them to work. Even the prime minister goes to work by bicycle, when weather permits. This saves the lives of 6,000 citizens per year, prolongs life expectancy by 6 months, saves the country 20 million dollars per year, and prevents 150 grams of from being emitted per kilometer of cycling.
Types
Utility
s for sale in Karnataka, India|alt=A bicycle loaded with so many green fruits that the rear wheel can not be seen.]]
Utility cycling refers both to cycling as a mode of daily commuting transport as well as the use of a bicycle in a commercial activity, mainly to transport goods, mostly accomplished in an urban environment.
The postal services of many countries have long relied on bicycles. The British Royal Mail first started using bicycles in 1880; now bicycle delivery fleets include 37,000 in the UK, 25,700 in Germany, 10,500 in Hungary and 7000 in Sweden. In Australia, Australia Post has also reintroduced bicycle postal deliveries on some routes due to an inability to recruit sufficient licensed riders willing to use their uncomfortable motorbikes. The London Ambulance Service has recently introduced bicycling paramedics, who can often get to the scene of an incident in Central London more quickly than a motorized ambulance.
The use of bicycles by police has been increasing, since they provide greater accessibility to bicycle and pedestrian zones and allow access when roads are congested. In some cases, bicycle officers have been used as a supplement or a replacement for horseback officers.
Bicycles enjoy substantial use as general delivery vehicles in many countries. In the UK and North America, as their first jobs, generations of teenagers have worked at delivering newspapers by bicycle. London has many delivery companies that use bicycles with trailers. Most cities in the West, and many outside it, support a sizeable and visible industry of cycle couriers who deliver documents and small packages. In India, many of Mumbai's Dabbawalas use bicycles to deliver home cooked lunches to the city's workers. In Bogotá, Colombia the city's largest bakery recently replaced most of its delivery trucks with bicycles. Even the car industry uses bicycles. At the huge Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen, Germany workers use bicycles, color-coded by department, to move around the factory.RecreationalBicycle touring
.|altA white bicycle parked in the grass.]] |altMany bicyclists with colorful clothes]]
Bicycles are used for recreation at all ages. Bicycle touring, also known as cyclotourism, involves touring and exploration or sightseeing by bicycle for leisure. Bicycle tourism has been one of the most popular sports for recreational benefit. A brevet or randonnée is an organized long-distance ride.
One popular Dutch pleasure is the enjoyment of relaxed cycling in the countryside of the Netherlands. The land is very flat and full of public bicycle trails and cycle tracks where cyclists are not bothered by cars and other traffic, which makes it ideal for cycling recreation. Many Dutch people subscribe every year to an event called fietsvierdaagse — four days of organised cycling through the local environment. Paris–Brest–Paris (PBP), which began in 1891, is the oldest bicycling event still run on a regular basis on the open road, covers over and imposes a 90-hour time limit. Similar if smaller institutions exist in many countries.
A study conducted in Taiwan improved the environmental quality for bicyclist tourists which demonstrated greater health benefits in tourists and even in natives. The number of bicyclists in Taiwan increased from 700,000 in 2008 to 5.1 million in 2017. Thus, this resulted in more and safer bicycle routes to be established. When cycling, cyclists take into account the safety on the road, bicycle lanes, smooth roads, diverse scenery, and ride length. Thus, the environment plays a huge role in people's decision factor to use bicycle touring more. This study used many questionnaires and conducted statistical analysis to come up with the conclusion of cyclists' top 5 factors that they consider before making a decision to bike are: safety, lighting facility, design of lanes, the surrounding landscape, and how clean the environment is. Thus, after improving these 5 factors, they found much more recreational benefits to bicycle tourism.
Organized rides
Many cycling clubs hold organized rides in which bicyclists of all levels participate. The typical organized ride starts with a large group of riders, called the mass, bunch or even peloton. This will thin out over the course of the ride. Many riders choose to ride together in groups of the same skill level to take advantage of drafting.
Most organized rides, for example cyclosportives (or gran fondos), Challenge Rides or reliability trials, and hill climbs include registration requirements and will provide information either through the mail or online concerning start times and other requirements. Rides usually consist of several different routes, sorted by mileage, and with a certain number of rest stops that usually include refreshments, first aid and maintenance tools. Routes can vary by as much as .
Some organized rides are entirely social events. One example is the monthly San Jose Bike Party which can reach attendance of one to two thousand riders in Summer months.
Mountain
Mountain biking began in the 1970s, originally as a downhill sport, practised on customized cruiser bicycles around Mount Tamalpais. Most mountain biking takes place on dirt roads, trails and in purpose-built parks. Downhill mountain biking has just evolved in the recent years and is performed at places such as Whistler Mountain Bike Park. Slopestyle, a form of downhill, is when riders do tricks such as tailwhips, 360s, backflips and front flips.
There are several disciplines of mountain biking besides downhill, including: cross country (often referred to as XC), all mountain, trail, free ride, and newly popular enduro.
In 2020, due to COVID-19, mountain bikes saw a surge in popularity in the US, with some vendors reporting that they were sold out of bikes under US$1000.OtherThe Marching and Cycling Band HHK from Haarlem (the Netherlands) is one of the few marching bands around the world which also performs on bicycles.Racing
cyclists racing]]
of professional bicycle racers on the Golden Gate Bridge|alt=A group of bicyclist following a car.]]
Shortly after the introduction of bicycles, competitions developed independently in many parts of the world. Early races involving boneshaker style bicycles were predictably fraught with injuries. Large races became popular during the 1890s "Golden Age of Cycling", with events across Europe, and in the U.S. and Japan as well. At one point, almost every major city in the US had a velodrome or two for track racing events, however since the middle of the 20th century cycling has become a minority sport in the US whilst in Continental Europe it continues to be a major sport, particularly in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Italy and Spain. The most famous of all bicycle races is the Tour de France. This began in 1903, and continues to capture the attention of the sporting world.
In 1899, Charles Minthorn Murphy became the first man to ride his bicycle a mile in under a minute (hence his nickname, Mile-a-Minute Murphy), which he did by drafting a locomotive at New York's Long Island.
As the bicycle evolved its various forms, different racing formats developed. Road races may involve both team and individual competition, and are contested in various ways. They range from the one-day road race, criterium, and time trial to multi-stage events like the Tour de France and its sister events which make up cycling's Grand Tours. Recumbent bicycles were banned from bike races in 1934 after Marcel Berthet set a new hour record in his Velodyne streamliner (49.992 km on 18 November 1933). Track bicycles are used for track cycling in Velodromes, while cyclo-cross races are held on outdoor terrain, including pavement, grass, and mud. Cyclocross races feature human-made features such as small barriers which riders either bunny hop over or dismount and walk over. Time trial races, another form of road racing require a rider to ride against the clock. Time trials can be performed as a team or as a single rider. Bikes are changed for time trial races, using aero bars. In the past decade, mountain bike racing has also reached international popularity and is even an Olympic sport.
Professional racing organizations place limitations on the bicycles that can be used in the races that they sanction. For example, the Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body of international cycle sport (which sanctions races such as the Tour de France), decided in the late 1990s to create additional rules which prohibit racing bicycles weighing less than 6.8 kilograms (14.96 pounds). The UCI rules also effectively ban some bicycle frame innovations (such as the recumbent bicycle) by requiring a double triangle structure.
Activism
patrolling on bikes in London]]
Many broad and correlated themes run in bicycle activism: one is about advocating the bicycle as an alternative mode of transport, and another is about the creation of conditions to permit and/or encourage bicycle use, both for utility and recreational cycling. Although the first emphasizes the potential for energy and resource conservation and health benefits gained from cycling versus automobile use, is relatively undisputed, the second is the subject of much debate.
, 29 April 2005|alt=Many cyclists on a road, all going in the same direction.]]
It is generally agreed that improved local and inter-city rail services and other methods of mass transportation (including greater provision for cycle carriage on such services) create conditions to encourage bicycle use. However, there are different opinions on the role of various types of cycling infrastructure in building bicycle-friendly cities and roads.
Some bicycle activists (including some traffic management advisers) seek the construction of bike paths, cycle tracks and bike lanes for journeys of all lengths and point to their success in promoting safety and encouraging more people to cycle. Some activists, especially those from the vehicular cycling tradition, view the safety, practicality, and intent of such facilities with suspicion. They favor a more holistic approach based on the 4 'E's: education (of everyone involved), encouragement (to apply the education), enforcement (to protect the rights of others), and engineering (to facilitate travel while respecting every person's equal right to do so). Some groups offer training courses to help cyclists integrate themselves with other traffic.
Critical Mass is an event typically held on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world where bicyclists take to the streets en masse. While the ride was founded with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to bicyclists, the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it any one specific goal. In fact, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city streets.
There is a long-running cycle helmet debate among activists. The most heated controversy surrounds the topic of compulsory helmet use.
It is paradoxical that in many developing countries cycling is in decline as bicycles are replaced by motorbikes and cars, while in many developed countries cycling is on the rise. Studies from large-scale representative data from Germany show that people with higher levels of education cycle substantially more often than those with lower levels of education. Even for trips of the same distance and among people from the same city with the same income level, those with higher education cycle more. As a result, there are various forms of activism focused on diversifying the cycling community. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement are organizations such as Street Riders NYC that seek to protest while on bicycles about systemic racism and police brutality. An incidental experience for Street Riders NYC protest participants is the inequity in where safe bicycling infrastructure exists by neighbourhood, which is interpreted as a form of classism within cycling and urbanism. The bicycle has acted as a means for women's liberation and thus has links to feminism.Associations
in Switzerland]]
Cyclists form associations, both for specific interests (trails development, road maintenance, bike maintenance, urban design, racing clubs, touring clubs, etc.) and for more global goals (energy conservation, pollution reduction, promotion of fitness). Some bicycle clubs and national associations became prominent advocates for improvements to roads and highways. In the United States, the League of American Wheelmen lobbied for the improvement of roads in the last part of the 19th century, founding and leading the national Good Roads Movement. Their model for political organization, as well as the paved roads for which they argued, facilitated the growth of the automobile.
In Europe, the European Cyclists' Federation represents around 70 local, regional and national civil society organisations across more than 40 countries that work to promote cycling as a mode of transport and leisure.
As a sport, cycling is governed internationally by the Union Cycliste Internationale in Switzerland, USA Cycling (merged with the United States Cycling Federation in 1995) in the United States, (for upright bicycles) and by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (for other HPVs, or human-powered vehicles). Cycling for transport and touring is promoted on a European level by the European Cyclists' Federation, with associated members from Great Britain, Japan and elsewhere. Regular conferences on cycling as transport are held under the auspices of Velo City; global conferences are coordinated by Velo Mondial.
Cycling as a means of transportation
Cycling is widely regarded as an effective and efficient mode of transportation optimal for short to moderate distances.
Bicycles provide numerous possible benefits in comparison with motor vehicles, including the sustained physical exercise involved in cycling, easier parking, increased maneuverability, and access to roads, bike paths and rural trails. Cycling also offers a reduced consumption of fossil fuels, less air and noise pollution, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and greatly reduced traffic congestion. These have a lower financial cost for users as well as for society at large (negligible damage to roads, less road area required). By fitting bicycle racks on the front of buses, transit agencies can significantly increase the areas they can serve.
Among the disadvantages of cycling are the requirement of bicycles (excepting tricycles or quadricycles) for the rider to have certain level of basic skill to remain upright, the reduced protection in crashes in comparison to motor vehicles, often longer travel time (except in densely populated areas), vulnerability to weather conditions, difficulty in transporting passengers, and the fact that a basic level of fitness is required for cycling moderate to long distances.
Health effects
Cycling provides a variety of health benefits and reduces the risk of cancers, heart disease, and diabetes that are prevalent in sedentary lifestyles. Mortality rate reduction was found to be directly correlated to the average time spent cycling, totaling to approximately 6500 deaths prevented by cycling. Cycling in the Netherlands is often safer than in other parts of the world, so the risk-benefit ratio will be different in other regions. Overall, benefits of cycling or walking have been shown to exceed risks by ratios of 9:1 to 96:1 when compared with no exercise at all, including a wide variety of physical and mental outcomes.
Exercise
The physical exercise gained from cycling is generally linked with increased health and well-being. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical inactivity is second only to tobacco smoking as a health risk in developed countries, and is associated with 20-30% increased risk of various cancers, heart disease, and diabetes and tens of billions of dollars of healthcare costs. The WHO's 2009 report It has been estimated that, on average, approximately 20 life-years are gained from the health benefits of road bicycling for every life-year lost through injury.
Bicycles are often used by people seeking to improve their fitness and cardiovascular health. Recent studies on the use of cycling for commutes have shown that it reduces the risk of cardiovascular outcomes by 11%, with slightly more risk reduction in women than in men. In addition, cycling is especially helpful for those with arthritis of the lower limbs who are unable to pursue sports that cause impact to the knees and other joints. Since cycling can be used for the practical purpose of transportation, there can be less need for self-discipline to exercise.
Cycling while seated is a relatively non-weight bearing exercise that, like swimming, does little to promote bone density. Cycling up and out of the saddle, on the other hand, does a better job by transferring more of the rider's body weight to the legs. However, excessive cycling while standing can cause knee damage It used to be thought that cycling while standing was less energy efficient, but recent research has proven this not to be true. Other than air resistance, there is no wasted energy from cycling while standing, if it is done correctly.
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Cycling on a stationary cycle is frequently advocated as a suitable exercise for rehabilitation, particularly for lower limb injury, owing to the low impact which it has on the joints. In particular, cycling is commonly used within knee rehabilitation programs, to strengthen the quadriceps muscles with minimal stress on the knee ligaments. Further stress of the knee can be relieved by changing seat heights and pedal position to improve the rehabilitation. Cycling is also used for rehabilitation after hip surgery to manage soft-tissue healing, control swelling and pain, and allow a larger range of motion to the nearby muscles earlier during recovery. As a result, many institutions have established a rehabilitation protocol that involves stationary cycling as part of the recovery process. One such protocol offered by Mayo Clinic recommends 2–4 weeks of cycling on an upright stationary bike following hip arthroscopy, starting from 5 minutes per session and slowly increasing to 30 minutes per session. The goal of these sessions are to reduce joint inflammation and maintain the widest range of motion possible with limited pain.
, Amsterdam]]
As a response to the increased global sedentary lifestyles and consequent overweight and obesity, one response that has been adopted by many organizations concerned with health and environment is the promotion of Active travel, which seeks to promote walking and cycling as safe and attractive alternatives to motorized transport. Given that many journeys are for relatively short distances, there is considerable scope to replace car use with walking or cycling, though in many settings this may require some infrastructure modification, particularly to attract the less experienced and confident.
An Italian study assessed the impact of cycling for commute on major non-communicable diseases and public healthcare costs. Using a health economic assessment model, the study found a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke in individuals that cycled compared to those that did not actively commute. This model estimated that public healthcare costs would reduce by 5% over a 10-year period.
Illinois designated cycling as its official state exercise in 2007.
Mental health
The effects of cycling on overall mental health have often been studied. A European study surveying participants from seven cities about self-perceived health based on primary modes of transportation reported favorable results in the bicycle use population. The bicycle use group reported predominantly good self-perceived health, less perceived stress, better mental health, better vitality, and less loneliness. The study attributed these results to possible economic benefits and senses of both independence and identity as a member of a cyclist community. An English study recruiting non-cyclist older adults aged 50 to 83 to participate as either conventional pedal bike cyclists, electrically assisted e-bike cyclists, or a non-cyclist control group in outdoor trails measured cognitive function through executive function, spatial reasoning, and memory tests and well-being through questionnaires. The study did not find significant differences in spatial reasoning or memory tests. It did, however, find that both cyclists groups had improved executive function and well-being, both with greater improvement in the e-bike group. This suggested that non-physical factors of cycling such as independence, engagement with the outdoor environment, and mobility play a greater role in improving mental health.
A 15-month randomized controlled trial in the U.S. examined the impact of self-paced cycling on cognitive function in institutionalized older adults without cognitive impairment. Researchers used three cognitive assessments: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Fuld object memory evaluation, and symbol digit modality test. The study found that long-term cycling for at least 15 minutes per day in older adults without cognitive impairment had a protective effect on cognition and attention.
Cycling has also been shown to be effective adjunct therapy in certain mental health conditions.
Bicycle safety
venerated as the holy protector of bicyclists on the roads of the mountainous Basque Country|alt=A statue, covered with flowers.]]
Cycling suffers from a perception that it is unsafe. This perception is not always backed by hard numbers, because of under reporting of crashes and lack of bicycle use data (amount of cycling, kilometers cycled) which make it hard to assess the risk and monitor changes in risks.
In the UK, fatality rates per mile or kilometre are slightly less than those for walking. In the US, bicycling fatality rates are less than 2/3 of those walking the same distance. However, in the UK for example the fatality and serious injury rates per hour of travel are just over double for cycling than those for walking.
Injuries (to cyclists, from cycling) can be divided into two types:
* Physical trauma (extrinsic)
* Overuse (intrinsic)
Physical trauma
Acute physical trauma includes injuries to the head and extremities resulting from falls and collisions. Most cycle deaths result from a collision with a car or heavy goods vehicle. Drivers are at fault in the majority of these crashes. Segregated cycling infrastructure reduces the rate of crashes between bicycles and motor vehicles.
Although a majority of bicycle collisions occur during the day, bicycle lighting is recommended for safety when bicycling at night to increase visibility.
in Taiwan]]
(Finland)]]
Overuse injuries
Of a study of 518 cyclists, a large majority reported at least one overuse injury, with over one third requiring medical treatment. The most common injury sites were the neck (48.8%) and the knees (41.7%), as well as the groin/buttocks (36.1%), hands (31.1%), and back (30.3%). Women were more likely to suffer from neck and shoulder pain than men.
Many cyclists suffer from overuse injuries to the knees, affecting cyclists at all levels. These are caused by many factors:
*Incorrect bicycle fit or adjustment, particularly the saddle.
*Incorrect adjustment of clipless pedals.
*Too many hills, or too many miles, too early in the training season.
*Poor training preparation for long touring rides.
*Selecting too high a gear. A lower gear for uphill climb protects the knees, even though muscles may be well able to handle a higher gear.
Overuse injuries, including chronic nerve damage at weight bearing locations, can occur as a result of repeatedly riding a bicycle for extended periods of time. Damage to the ulnar nerve in the palm, carpal tunnel in the wrist, the genitourinary tract or bicycle seat neuropathy may result from overuse. Recumbent bicycles are designed on different ergonomic principles and eliminate pressure from the saddle and handlebars, due to the relaxed riding position.
Note that overuse is a relative term, and capacity varies greatly between individuals. Someone starting out in cycling must be careful to increase length and frequency of cycling sessions slowly, starting for example at an hour or two per day, or a hundred miles or kilometers per week. Bilateral muscular pain is a normal by-product of the training process, whereas unilateral pain may reveal "exercise-induced arterial endofibrosis". Joint pain and numbness are also early signs of overuse injury.
A Spanish study of top triathletes found those who cover more than 186 miles (300 km) a week on their bikes have less than 4% normal looking sperm, where normal adult males would be expected to have from 15% to 20%.
Saddle related
Much work has been done to investigate optimal bicycle saddle shape, size and position, and negative effects of extended use of less than optimal seats or configurations.
Excessive saddle height can cause posterior knee pain, while setting the saddle too low can cause pain in the anterior of the knee. An incorrectly fitted saddle may eventually lead to muscle imbalance. A 25 to 35-degree knee angle is recommended to avoid an overuse injury.
Although cycling is beneficial to health, men can be negatively affected by cycling more than three hours a week due to the significant weight on their perineum, an area located between the scrotum and the anus which hold some of the nerves and arteries that pass to the penis. This weight for continuous hours a week can cause men to experience numbness or tingling which can lead to them losing the ability to achieve an erection due to reduced blood flow; which 13% of males did experience in a study by Norwegian researchers who gathered data from 160 men participating in a long-distance bike tour. Fitting a proper sized seat can prevent this effect. In extreme cases, pudendal nerve entrapment can be a source of intractable perineal pain. Some cyclists with induced pudendal nerve pressure neuropathy gained relief from improvements in saddle position and riding techniques.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has investigated the potential health effects of prolonged bicycling in police bicycle patrol units, including the possibility that some bicycle saddles exert excessive pressure on the urogenital area of cyclists, restricting blood flow to the genitals. Their study found that using bicycle seats without protruding noses reduced pressure on the groin by at least 65% and significantly reduced the number of cases of urogenital paresthesia. A follow-up found that 90% of bicycle officers who tried the no-nose seat were using it six months later. NIOSH recommends that riders use a no-nose bicycle seat for workplace bicycling.
Despite rumors to the contrary, there is no scientific evidence linking cycling with testicular cancer.Exposure to air pollutionOne concern is that riding in traffic may expose the cyclist to higher levels of air pollution, especially cyclists regularly traveling on or along busy roads. Some authors have claimed this to be untrue, showing that the pollutant and irritant count within cars is consistently higher, presumably because of limited circulation of air within the car and due to the air intake being directly in the stream of other traffic. Other authors have found small or inconsistent differences in concentrations but claim that exposure of cyclists is higher due to increased minute ventilation and is associated with minor biological changes. A 2010 study estimated that the gained life expectancy from the health benefits of cycling (approximately 3–14 months gained) greatly exceeded the lost life expectancy from air pollution (approximately 0.8–40 days lost). The significance of the associated health effect, if any, is unclear but probably much smaller than the health impacts associated with accidents and the health benefits derived from additional physical activity.
See also
* Bicycle culture
* Cyclability
* Cycle sport
* Cycling advocacy
* Cycling in the Netherlands
* Cycling mobility
* Fancy Women Bike Ride
* History of cycling
* List of bicycle-sharing systems
* List of films about bicycles and cycling
* Masters cycling
* Outline of bicycles
References
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Category:Symbols of Illinois | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.262634 |
5932 | Carbohydrate | is a disaccharide found in animal milk. It consists of a molecule of D-galactose and a molecule of D-glucose bonded by beta-1-4 glycosidic linkage.]]
A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula {{chem2|C_{m}(H2O)_{n} }} (where m and n may differ). It is important to note that this formula does not imply direct covalent bonding between hydrogen and oxygen atoms; for example, in , hydrogen is covalently bonded to carbon, not oxygen. While the 2:1 hydrogen-to-oxygen ratio is characteristic of many carbohydrates, exceptions exist. For instance, uronic acids and deoxy-sugars like fucose deviate from this precise stoichiometric definition. Conversely, some compounds conforming to this definition, such as formaldehyde and acetic acid, are not classified as carbohydrates.
The term is predominantly used in biochemistry, functioning as a synonym for saccharide ()|sugar}}), a group that includes sugars, starch, and cellulose. The saccharides are divided into four chemical groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides and disaccharides, the smallest (lower molecular weight) carbohydrates, are commonly referred to as sugars. While the scientific nomenclature of carbohydrates is complex, the names of the monosaccharides and disaccharides very often end in the suffix -ose, which was originally taken from the word glucose ( ()|wine, must}}), and is used for almost all sugars (e.g., fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (cane or beet sugar), ribose, lactose (milk sugar)).
Carbohydrates perform numerous roles in living organisms. Polysaccharides serve as an energy store (e.g., starch and glycogen) and as structural components (e.g., cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods and fungi). The 5-carbon monosaccharide ribose is an important component of coenzymes (e.g., ATP, FAD and NAD) and the backbone of the genetic molecule known as RNA. The related deoxyribose is a component of DNA. Saccharides and their derivatives include many other important biomolecules that play key roles in the immune system, fertilization, preventing pathogenesis, blood clotting, and development.
Carbohydrates are central to nutrition and are found in a wide variety of natural and processed foods. Starch is a polysaccharide and is abundant in cereals (wheat, maize, rice), potatoes, and processed food based on cereal flour, such as bread, pizza or pasta. Sugars appear in human diet mainly as table sugar (sucrose, extracted from sugarcane or sugar beets), lactose (abundant in milk), glucose and fructose, both of which occur naturally in honey, many fruits, and some vegetables. Table sugar, milk, or honey is often added to drinks and many prepared foods such as jam, biscuits and cakes.
Cellulose, a polysaccharide found in the cell walls of all plants, is one of the main components of insoluble dietary fiber. Although it is not digestible by humans, cellulose and insoluble dietary fiber generally help maintain a healthy digestive system by facilitating bowel movements. Other polysaccharides contained in dietary fiber include resistant starch and inulin, which feed some bacteria in the microbiota of the large intestine, and are metabolized by these bacteria to yield short-chain fatty acids.TerminologyIn scientific literature, the term "carbohydrate" has many synonyms, like "sugar" (in the broad sense), "saccharide", "ose", "hydrate of carbon" or "polyhydroxy compounds with aldehyde or ketone". Some of these terms, especially "carbohydrate" and "sugar", are also used with other meanings.
In food science and in many informal contexts, the term "carbohydrate" often means any food that is particularly rich in the complex carbohydrate starch (such as cereals, bread and pasta) or simple carbohydrates, such as sugar (found in candy, jams, and desserts). This informality is sometimes confusing since it confounds chemical structure and digestibility in humans.
The term "carbohydrate" (or "carbohydrate by difference") refers also to dietary fiber, which is a carbohydrate, but, unlike sugars and starches, fibers are not hydrolyzed by human digestive enzymes. The term "carbohydrate" was first proposed by German chemist Carl Schmidt (chemist) in 1844. In 1856, glycogen, a form of carbohydrate storage in animal livers, was discovered by French physiologist Claude Bernard.
Structure
Formerly the name "carbohydrate" was used in chemistry for any compound with the formula C<sub>m</sub> (H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>n</sub>. Following this definition, some chemists considered formaldehyde (CH<sub>2</sub>O) to be the simplest carbohydrate, while others claimed that title for glycolaldehyde. Today, the term is generally understood in the biochemistry sense, which excludes compounds with only one or two carbons and includes many biological carbohydrates which deviate from this formula. For example, while the above representative formulas would seem to capture the commonly known carbohydrates, ubiquitous and abundant carbohydrates often deviate from this. For example, carbohydrates often display chemical groups such as: N-acetyl (e.g., chitin), sulfate (e.g., glycosaminoglycans), carboxylic acid and deoxy modifications (e.g., fucose and sialic acid).
Natural saccharides are generally built of simple carbohydrates called monosaccharides with general formula (CH<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>n</sub> where n is three or more. A typical monosaccharide has the structure H–(CHOH)<sub>x</sub>(CO)–(CHOH)<sub>y</sub>–H, that is, an aldehyde or ketone with many hydroxyl groups added, usually one on each carbon atom that is not part of the aldehyde or ketone functional group. Examples of monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and glyceraldehydes. However, some biological substances commonly called "monosaccharides" do not conform to this formula (e.g., uronic acids and deoxy-sugars such as fucose) and there are many chemicals that do conform to this formula but are not considered to be monosaccharides (e.g., formaldehyde CH<sub>2</sub>O and inositol (CH<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>6</sub>).
The open-chain form of a monosaccharide often coexists with a closed ring form where the aldehyde/ketone carbonyl group carbon (C=O) and hydroxyl group (–OH) react forming a hemiacetal with a new C–O–C bridge.
Monosaccharides can be linked together into what are called polysaccharides (or oligosaccharides) in a large variety of ways. Many carbohydrates contain one or more modified monosaccharide units that have had one or more groups replaced or removed. For example, deoxyribose, a component of DNA, is a modified version of ribose; chitin is composed of repeating units of N-acetyl glucosamine, a nitrogen-containing form of glucose.
Division
Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, acids, their simple derivatives and their polymers having linkages of the acetal type. They may be classified according to their degree of polymerization, and may be divided initially into three principal groups, namely sugars, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ The major dietary carbohydrates
|-
! Class<br>(degree of polymerization) !! Subgroup !! Components
|-
! rowspan=3 | Sugars (1–2)
|| Monosaccharides || Glucose, galactose, fructose, xylose
|-
| Disaccharides || Sucrose, lactose, maltose, isomaltulose, trehalose
|-
| Polyols || Sorbitol, mannitol
|-
! rowspan=2 | Oligosaccharides (3–9)
|| Malto-oligosaccharides || Maltodextrins
|-
| Other oligosaccharides || Raffinose, stachyose, fructo-oligosaccharides
|-
! rowspan=2 | Polysaccharides (>9)
|| Starch || Amylose, amylopectin, modified starches
|-
| Non-starch polysaccharides || Glycogen, Cellulose, Hemicellulose, Pectins, Hydrocolloids
|}
Monosaccharides
is an aldohexose with the formula (C·H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>6</sub>. The red atoms highlight the aldehyde group and the blue atoms highlight the asymmetric center furthest from the aldehyde; because this -OH is on the right of the Fischer projection, this is a D sugar.]]
Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates in that they cannot be hydrolyzed to smaller carbohydrates. They are aldehydes or ketones with two or more hydroxyl groups. The general chemical formula of an unmodified monosaccharide is (C•H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>n</sub>, literally a "carbon hydrate". Monosaccharides are important fuel molecules as well as building blocks for nucleic acids. The smallest monosaccharides, for which n3, are dihydroxyacetone and D- and L-glyceraldehydes.Classification of monosaccharides<div class"thumb tleft">
<div class"thumbinner" style"width:187px;">
<div class="thumbcaption">
The α and β anomers of glucose. Note the position of the hydroxyl group (red or green) on the anomeric carbon relative to the CH<sub>2</sub>OH group bound to carbon 5: they either have identical absolute configurations (R,R or S,S) (α), or opposite absolute configurations (R,S or S,R) (β).
</div>
</div>
</div>
Monosaccharides are classified according to three different characteristics: the placement of its carbonyl group, the number of carbon atoms it contains, and its chiral handedness. If the carbonyl group is an aldehyde, the monosaccharide is an aldose; if the carbonyl group is a ketone, the monosaccharide is a ketose. Monosaccharides with three carbon atoms are called trioses, those with four are called tetroses, five are called pentoses, six are hexoses, and so on. These two systems of classification are often combined. For example, glucose is an aldohexose (a six-carbon aldehyde), ribose is an aldopentose (a five-carbon aldehyde), and fructose is a ketohexose (a six-carbon ketone).
Each carbon atom bearing a hydroxyl group (-OH), with the exception of the first and last carbons, are asymmetric, making them stereo centers with two possible configurations each (R or S). Because of this asymmetry, a number of isomers may exist for any given monosaccharide formula. Using Le Bel-van't Hoff rule, the aldohexose D-glucose, for example, has the formula (C·H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>6</sub>, of which four of its six carbons atoms are stereogenic, making D-glucose one of 2<sup>4</sup>16 possible stereoisomers. In the case of glyceraldehydes, an aldotriose, there is one pair of possible stereoisomers, which are enantiomers and epimers. 1, 3-dihydroxyacetone, the ketose corresponding to the aldose glyceraldehydes, is a symmetric molecule with no stereo centers. The assignment of D or L is made according to the orientation of the asymmetric carbon furthest from the carbonyl group: in a standard Fischer projection if the hydroxyl group is on the right the molecule is a D sugar, otherwise it is an L sugar. The "D-" and "L-" prefixes should not be confused with "d-" or "l-", which indicate the direction that the sugar rotates plane polarized light. This usage of "d-" and "l-" is no longer followed in carbohydrate chemistry.Ring-straight chain isomerism
can exist in both a straight-chain and ring form.]]
The aldehyde or ketone group of a straight-chain monosaccharide will react reversibly with a hydroxyl group on a different carbon atom to form a hemiacetal or hemiketal, forming a heterocyclic ring with an oxygen bridge between two carbon atoms. Rings with five and six atoms are called furanose and pyranose forms, respectively, and exist in equilibrium with the straight-chain form.
During the conversion from straight-chain form to the cyclic form, the carbon atom containing the carbonyl oxygen, called the anomeric carbon, becomes a stereogenic center with two possible configurations: The oxygen atom may take a position either above or below the plane of the ring. The resulting possible pair of stereoisomers is called anomers. In the α anomer, the -OH substituent on the anomeric carbon rests on the opposite side (trans) of the ring from the CH<sub>2</sub>OH side branch. The alternative form, in which the CH<sub>2</sub>OH substituent and the anomeric hydroxyl are on the same side (cis) of the plane of the ring, is called the β anomer.
Use in living organisms
Monosaccharides are the major fuel source for metabolism, and glucose is an energy-rich molecule utilized to generate ATP in almost all living organisms. Glucose is a high-energy substrate produced in plants through photosynthesis by combining energy-poor water and carbon dioxide in an endothermic reaction fueled by solar energy. When monosaccharides are not immediately needed, they are often converted to more space-efficient (i.e., less water-soluble) forms, often polysaccharides. In animals, glucose circulating the blood is a major metabolic substrate and is oxidized in the mitochondria to produce ATP for performing useful cellular work. In humans and other animals, serum glucose levels must be regulated carefully to maintain glucose within acceptable limits and prevent the deleterious effects of hypo- or hyperglycemia. Hormones such as insulin and glucagon serve to keep glucose levels in balance: insulin stimulates glucose uptake into the muscle and fat cells when glucose levels are high, whereas glucagon helps to raise glucose levels if they dip too low by stimulating hepatic glucose synthesis. In many animals, including humans, this storage form is glycogen, especially in liver and muscle cells. In plants, starch is used for the same purpose. The most abundant carbohydrate, cellulose, is a structural component of the cell wall of plants and many forms of algae. Ribose is a component of RNA. Deoxyribose is a component of DNA. Lyxose is a component of lyxoflavin found in the human heart. Ribulose and xylulose occur in the pentose phosphate pathway. Galactose, a component of milk sugar lactose, is found in galactolipids in plant cell membranes and in glycoproteins in many tissues. Mannose occurs in human metabolism, especially in the glycosylation of certain proteins. Fructose, or fruit sugar, is found in many plants and humans, it is metabolized in the liver, absorbed directly into the intestines during digestion, and found in semen. Trehalose, a major sugar of insects, is rapidly hydrolyzed into two glucose molecules to support continuous flight.Disaccharides
, also known as table sugar, is a common disaccharide. It is composed of two monosaccharides: D-glucose (left) and D-fructose (right).]]
Two joined monosaccharides are called a disaccharide, the simplest kind of polysaccharide. Examples include sucrose and lactose. They are composed of two monosaccharide units bound together by a covalent bond known as a glycosidic linkage formed via a dehydration reaction, resulting in the loss of a hydrogen atom from one monosaccharide and a hydroxyl group from the other. The formula of unmodified disaccharides is C<sub>12</sub>H<sub>22</sub>O<sub>11</sub>. Although there are numerous kinds of disaccharides, a handful of disaccharides are particularly notable.
Sucrose, pictured to the right, is the most abundant disaccharide, and the main form in which carbohydrates are transported in plants. It is composed of one D-glucose molecule and one D-fructose molecule. The systematic name for sucrose, O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-D-fructofuranoside, indicates four things:
* Its monosaccharides: glucose and fructose
* Their ring types: glucose is a pyranose and fructose is a furanose
* How they are linked together: the oxygen on carbon number 1 (C1) of α-D-glucose is linked to the C2 of D-fructose.
* The -oside suffix indicates that the anomeric carbon of both monosaccharides participates in the glycosidic bond.
Lactose, a disaccharide composed of one D-galactose molecule and one D-glucose molecule, occurs naturally in mammalian milk. The systematic name for lactose is O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→4)-D-glucopyranose. Other notable disaccharides include maltose (two D-glucoses linked α-1,4) and cellobiose (two D-glucoses linked β-1,4). Disaccharides can be classified into two types: reducing and non-reducing disaccharides. If the functional group is present in bonding with another sugar unit, it is called a reducing disaccharide or biose.
Oligosaccharides and polysaccharides
Oligosaccharides
Oligosaccharides are saccharide polymers composed of three to ten units of monosaccharides, connected via glycosidic linkages, similar to disaccharides. They are usually linked to lipids or amino acids glycosic linkage with oxygen or nitrogen to form glycolipids and glycoproteins, though some, like the raffinose series and the fructooligosaccharides, do not. They have roles in cell recognition and cell adhesion.
]]
Polysaccharides
Nutrition
products: rich sources of carbohydrates]]
Carbohydrate consumed in food yields 3.87 kilocalories of energy per gram for simple sugars, and 3.57 to 4.12 kilocalories per gram for complex carbohydrate in most other foods. Relatively high levels of carbohydrate are associated with processed foods or refined foods made from plants, including sweets, cookies and candy, table sugar, honey, soft drinks, breads and crackers, jams and fruit products, pastas and breakfast cereals. Refined carbohydrates from processed foods such as white bread or rice, soft drinks, and desserts are readily digestible, and many are known to have a high glycemic index, which reflects a rapid assimilation of glucose. By contrast, the digestion of whole, unprocessed, fiber-rich foods such as beans, peas, and whole grains produces a slower and steadier release of glucose and energy into the body. Animal-based foods generally have the lowest carbohydrate levels, although milk does contain a high proportion of lactose.
Organisms typically cannot metabolize all types of carbohydrate to yield energy. Glucose is a nearly universal and accessible source of energy. Many organisms also have the ability to metabolize other monosaccharides and disaccharides but glucose is often metabolized first. In Escherichia coli, for example, the lac operon will express enzymes for the digestion of lactose when it is present, but if both lactose and glucose are present, the lac operon is repressed, resulting in the glucose being used first (see: Diauxie). Polysaccharides are also common sources of energy. Many organisms can easily break down starches into glucose; most organisms, however, cannot metabolize cellulose or other polysaccharides such as chitin and arabinoxylans. These carbohydrate types can be metabolized by some bacteria and protists. Ruminants and termites, for example, use microorganisms to process cellulose, fermenting it to caloric short-chain fatty acids. Even though humans lack the enzymes to digest fiber, dietary fiber represents an important dietary element for humans. Fibers promote healthy digestion, help regulate postprandial glucose and insulin levels, reduce cholesterol levels, and promote satiety.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that American and Canadian adults get between 45 and 65% of dietary energy from whole-grain carbohydrates. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization jointly recommend that national dietary guidelines set a goal of 55–75% of total energy from carbohydrates, but only 10% directly from sugars (their term for simple carbohydrates). A 2017 Cochrane Systematic Review concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that whole grain diets can affect cardiovascular disease.Classification<!-- This title is used as a redirect target -->
The term complex carbohydrate was first used in the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs publication Dietary Goals for the United States (1977) where it was intended to distinguish sugars from other carbohydrates (which were perceived to be nutritionally superior). However, the report put "fruit, vegetables and whole-grains" in the complex carbohydrate column, despite the fact that these may contain sugars as well as polysaccharides. The standard usage, however, is to classify carbohydrates chemically: simple if they are sugars (monosaccharides and disaccharides) and complex if they are polysaccharides (or oligosaccharides). Carbohydrates are sometimes divided into "available carbohydrates", which are absorbed in the small intestine and "unavailable carbohydrates", which pass to the large intestine, where they are subject to fermentation by the gastrointestinal microbiota. Expressed numerically as GI, carbohydrate-containing foods can be grouped as high-GI (score more than 70), moderate-GI (56-69), or low-GI (less than 55) relative to pure glucose (GI100). A "meta-analysis, of moderate quality," included as adverse effects of the diet halitosis, headache and constipation.
<!-- weight -->
Carbohydrate-restricted diets can be as effective as low-fat diets in helping achieve weight loss over the short term when overall calorie intake is reduced. An Endocrine Society scientific statement said that "when calorie intake is held constant [...] body-fat accumulation does not appear to be affected by even very pronounced changes in the amount of fat vs carbohydrate in the diet." The reasoning of diet advocates that carbohydrates cause undue fat accumulation by increasing blood insulin levels, but a more balanced diet that restricts refined carbohydrates can also reduce serum glucose and insulin levels and may also suppress lipogenesis and promote fat oxidation. However, as far as energy expenditure itself is concerned, the claim that low-carbohydrate diets have a "metabolic advantage" is not supported by clinical evidence. Further, it is not clear how low-carbohydrate dieting affects cardiovascular health, although two reviews showed that carbohydrate restriction may improve lipid markers of cardiovascular disease risk.
<!-- diabetes -->
Carbohydrate-restricted diets are no more effective than a conventional healthy diet in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes, but for people with type 2 diabetes, they are a viable option for losing weight or helping with glycemic control. The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with diabetes should adopt a generally healthy diet, rather than a diet focused on carbohydrate or other macronutrients.
<!-- keto -->
An extreme form of low-carbohydrate diet – the ketogenic diet – is established as a medical diet for treating epilepsy. The British Dietetic Association named it one of the "top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018". Unbound glucose is one of the main ingredients of honey. Glucose is extremely abundant and has been isolated from a variety of natural sources across the world, including male cones of the coniferous tree Wollemia nobilis in Rome, the roots of Ilex asprella plants in China, and straws from rice in California.
{|class"wikitable sortable" style"text-align:center; margin:auto"
|+ Sugar content of selected common plant foods (in grams per 100 g)
|-
! Food <br />item
! Carbohydrate, <br />total, including <br />dietary fiber
! Total <br />sugars
! Free <br />fructose
! Free <br />glucose
! Sucrose
! Ratio of <br />fructose/<br />glucose
! Sucrose as <br />proportion of <br />total sugars (%)
|-
!colspan8 style"text-align:left"| Fruits
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Apple || 13.8|| 10.4|| 5.9|| 2.4|| 2.1|| 2.0|| 19.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Apricot|| 11.1|| 9.2|| 0.9|| 2.4|| 5.9|| 0.7|| 63.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Banana|| 22.8|| 12.2|| 4.9|| 5.0|| 2.4|| 1.0|| 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Fig, dried|| 63.9|| 47.9|| 22.9|| 24.8|| 0.9|| 0.93|| 0.15
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Grapes|| 18.1|| 15.5|| 8.1|| 7.2|| 0.2|| 1.1|| 1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Navel orange|| 12.5|| 8.5|| 2.25|| 2.0|| 4.3|| 1.1|| 50.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Peach|| 9.5|| 8.4|| 1.5|| 2.0|| 4.8|| 0.9|| 56.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Pear|| 15.5|| 9.8|| 6.2|| 2.8|| 0.8|| 2.1|| 8.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Pineapple|| 13.1|| 9.9|| 2.1|| 1.7|| 6.0|| 1.1|| 60.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Plum|| 11.4|| 9.9|| 3.1|| 5.1|| 1.6|| 0.66|| 16.2
|-
!colspan8 style"text-align:left"| Vegetables
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Beet, red|| 9.6|| 6.8|| 0.1|| 0.1|| 6.5||1.0|| 96.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Carrot|| 9.6|| 4.7|| 0.6|| 0.6|| 3.6|| 1.0|| 77
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Red pepper, sweet|| 6.0|| 4.2|| 2.3|| 1.9|| 0.0|| 1.2|| 0.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Onion, sweet|| 7.6|| 5.0|| 2.0|| 2.3|| 0.7|| 0.9|| 14.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Sweet potato||20.1|| 4.2|| 0.7|| 1.0|| 2.5|| 0.9|| 60.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Yam|| 27.9|| 0.5|| || || || ||
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Sugar cane|| || 13–18|| 0.2–1.0|| 0.2–1.0|| 11–16|| 1.0|| high
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Sugar beet|| || 17–18|| 0.1–0.5|| 0.1–0.5|| 16–17|| 1.0|| high
|-
!colspan8 style"text-align:left"| Grains
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Corn, sweet|| 19.0|| 6.2|| 1.9|| 3.4|| 0.9|| 0.61|| 15.0
|}
The carbohydrate value is calculated in the USDA database and does not always correspond to the sum of the sugars, the starch, and the "dietary fiber".
Metabolism
Carbohydrate metabolism is the series of biochemical processes responsible for the formation, breakdown and interconversion of carbohydrates in living organisms.
The most important carbohydrate is glucose, a simple sugar (monosaccharide) that is metabolized by nearly all known organisms. Glucose and other carbohydrates are part of a wide variety of metabolic pathways across species: plants synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water by photosynthesis storing the absorbed energy internally, often in the form of starch or lipids. Plant components are consumed by animals and fungi, and used as fuel for cellular respiration. Oxidation of one gram of carbohydrate yields approximately 16 kJ (4 kcal) of energy, while the oxidation of one gram of lipids yields about 38 kJ (9 kcal). The human body stores between 300 and 500 g of carbohydrates depending on body weight, with the skeletal muscle contributing to a large portion of the storage. Energy obtained from metabolism (e.g., oxidation of glucose) is usually stored temporarily within cells in the form of ATP. Organisms capable of anaerobic and aerobic respiration metabolize glucose and oxygen (aerobic) to release energy, with carbon dioxide and water as byproducts.Catabolism
Catabolism is the metabolic reaction which cells undergo to break down larger molecules, extracting energy. There are two major metabolic pathways of monosaccharide catabolism: glycolysis and the citric acid cycle.
In glycolysis, oligo- and polysaccharides are cleaved first to smaller monosaccharides by enzymes called glycoside hydrolases. The monosaccharide units can then enter into monosaccharide catabolism. A 2 ATP investment is required in the early steps of glycolysis to phosphorylate Glucose to Glucose 6-Phosphate (G6P) and Fructose 6-Phosphate (F6P) to Fructose 1,6-biphosphate (FBP), thereby pushing the reaction forward irreversibly.<ref name"Maughan"/> In some cases, as with humans, not all carbohydrate types are usable as the digestive and metabolic enzymes necessary are not present.Carbohydrate chemistry
Carbohydrate chemistry is a large and economically important branch of organic chemistry. Some of the main organic reactions that involve carbohydrates are:
* Amadori rearrangement
* Carbohydrate acetalisation
* Carbohydrate digestion
* Cyanohydrin reaction
* Koenigs–Knorr reaction
* Lobry de Bruyn–Van Ekenstein transformation
* Nef reaction
* Wohl degradation
* Tipson-Cohen reaction
* Ferrier rearrangement
* Ferrier II reaction
Chemical synthesis
Carbohydrate synthesis is a sub-field of organic chemistry concerned specifically with the generation of natural and unnatural carbohydrate structures. This can include the synthesis of monosaccharide residues or structures containing more than one monosaccharide, known as oligosaccharides. Selective formation of glycosidic linkages and selective reactions of hydroxyl groups are very important, and the usage of protecting groups is extensive.
Common reactions for glycosidic bond formation are as follows:
* Chemical glycosylation
* Fischer glycosidation
* Koenigs-Knorr reaction
* Crich beta-mannosylation
While some common protection methods are as below:
* Carbohydrate acetalisation
* Trimethylsilyl
* Benzyl ether
* p-Methoxybenzyl ether
See also
<!-- Please keep alphabetical -->
* Bioplastic
* Carbohydrate NMR
* Gluconeogenesis – A process where glucose can be synthesized by non-carbohydrate sources.
* Glycobiology
* Glycogen
* Glycoinformatics
* Glycolipid
* Glycome
* Glycomics
* Glycosyl
* Macromolecule
* Saccharic acid
References
Further reading
*
External links
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130629185521/http://www2.ufp.pt/~pedros/bq/carb_en.htm Carbohydrates, including interactive models and animations] (Requires [https://web.archive.org/web/20060320002451/http://www.mdl.com/products/framework/chime/ MDL Chime])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050124032405/http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iupac/2carb/ IUPAC-IUBMB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature (JCBN): Carbohydrate Nomenclature]
* [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160516074319/http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/VirtualText/carbhyd.htm Carbohydrates detailed]
* [http://biochemweb.fenteany.com/carbohydrates.shtml Carbohydrates and Glycosylation – The Virtual Library of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology]
* [http://www.functionalglycomics.org/ Functional Glycomics Gateway], a collaboration between the Consortium for Functional Glycomics and Nature Publishing Group
Category:Nutrition | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.303855 |
5933 | CSS Virginia | {|
| Ship name = CSS Virginia
| Ship namesake = Virginia
| Ship country = Confederate States
| Ship ordered = July 11, 1861
| Ship completed = March 7, 1862
| Ship commissioned = February 17, 1862
| Ship fate = Scuttled May 11, 1862
()
| Ship nickname = The Rebel Monster
}}
| Ship length
| Ship beam
| Ship draft
| Ship power
| Ship propulsion = *1 shaft
*2 Horizontal back-acting steam engines
*4 boilers
| Ship speed
| Ship complement = about 320 officers and men
| Ship armament = *2 × 7-inch (178 mm) Brooke rifles
*2 × Brooke rifles
*6 × 9-inch (229 mm) Dahlgren smoothbores
*2 × 12-pounder (5 kg) howitzers
| Ship armor *Belt:
*Deck:
*Casemate:
}}
|}
'CSS Virginia' was the first steam-powered ironclad warship built by the Confederate States Navy during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the razéed (cut down) original lower hull and engines of the scuttled steam frigate . Virginia was one of the participants in the Battle of Hampton Roads, opposing the Union's in March 1862. The battle is chiefly significant in naval history as the first battle between ironclads.
USS Merrimack becomes CSS Virginia
When the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, one of the important US military bases threatened was Gosport Navy Yard (now Norfolk Naval Shipyard) in Portsmouth, Virginia. Accordingly, orders were sent to destroy the base rather than allow it to fall into Confederate hands. On the afternoon of 17 April, the day Virginia seceded, Engineer in Chief B. F. Isherwood managed to get the frigate's engines lit. However, the previous night secessionists had sunk light boats between Craney Island and Sewell's Point, blocking the channel. On 20 April, before evacuating the Navy Yard, the U. S. Navy burned Merrimack to the waterline and sank her to preclude capture. When the Confederate government took possession of the fully provisioned yard, the base's new commander, Flag Officer French Forrest, contracted on May 18 to salvage the wreck of the frigate. This was completed by May 30, and she was towed into the shipyard's only dry dock (today known as Drydock Number One), where the burned structures were removed.
The wreck was surveyed and her lower hull and machinery were discovered to be undamaged. Stephen Mallory, Secretary of the Navy decided to convert Merrimack into an ironclad, since she was the only large ship with intact engines available in the Chesapeake Bay area. Preliminary sketch designs were submitted by Lieutenants John Mercer Brooke and John L. Porter, each of whom envisaged the ship as a casemate ironclad. Brooke's general design showed the bow and stern portions submerged, and his design was the one finally selected. The detailed design work would be completed by Porter, who was a trained naval constructor.Porter had overall responsibility for the conversion, but Brooke was responsible for her iron plate and heavy ordnance, while William P. Williamson, Chief Engineer of the Navy, was responsible for the ship's machinery.
Reconstruction as an ironclad
The hull's burned timbers were cut down past the vessel's original waterline, leaving just enough clearance to accommodate her large, twin-bladed screw propeller. A new fantail and armored casemate were built atop a new main deck, and a v-shaped (bulwark) was added to her bow, which attached to the armored casemate. This forward and aft main deck and fantail were designed to stay submerged and were covered in iron plate, built up in two layers. The casemate was built of of oak and pine in several layers, topped with two layers of iron plating oriented perpendicular to each other, and angled at 36 degrees from horizontal to deflect fired enemy shells.
From reports in Northern newspapers, Virginias designers were aware of the Union plans to build an ironclad and assumed their similar ordnance would be unable to do much serious damage to such a ship. It was decided to equip their ironclad with a ram, an anachronism on a 19th-century warship. Merrimack's steam engines, now part of Virginia, were in poor working order; they had been slated for replacement when the decision was made to abandon the Norfolk naval yard. The salty Elizabeth River water and the addition of tons of iron armor and pig iron ballast, added to the hull's unused spaces for needed stability after her initial refloat, and to submerge her unarmored lower levels, only added to her engines' propulsion issues. As completed, Virginia had a turning radius of about and required 45 minutes to complete a full circle, which would later prove to be a major handicap in battle with the far more nimble Monitor.
The ironclad's casemate had 14 gun ports, three each in the bow and stern, one firing directly along the ship's centerline, the two others angled at 45° from the center line; these six bow and stern gun ports had exterior iron shutters installed to protect their cannon. There were four gun ports on each broadside; their protective iron shutters remained uninstalled during both days of the Battle of Hampton Roads. Virginias battery consisted of four muzzle-loading single-banded Brooke rifles and six smoothbore Dahlgren guns salvaged from the old Merrimack. Two of the rifles, the bow and stern pivot guns, were caliber and weighed each. They fired a shell. The other two were cannon of about , one on each broadside. The 9-inch Dahlgrens were mounted three to a side; each weighed approximately and could fire a shell up to a range of (or 1.9 miles) at an elevation of 15°. Both amidship Dahlgrens nearest the boiler furnaces were fitted-out to fire heated shot. On her upper casemate deck were positioned two anti-boarding/personnel 12-pounder Howitzers.
Virginias commanding officer, Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, arrived to take command only a few days before her first sortie; the ironclad was placed in commission and equipped by her executive officer, Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones.
Battle of Hampton Roads
depicting the Battle of Hampton Roads]]
The Battle of Hampton Roads began on March 8, 1862, when Virginia engaged the blockading Union fleet. Despite an all-out effort to complete her, the new ironclad still had workmen on board when she sailed into Hampton Roads with her flotilla of five CSN support ships: (serving as Virginias tender) and , , , and .
The first Union ship to be engaged by Virginia was the all-wood, sail-powered , which was first crippled during a furious cannon exchange, and then rammed in her forward starboard bow by Virginia. As Cumberland began to sink, the port side half of Virginias iron ram was broken off, causing a bow leak in the ironclad. Seeing what had happened to Cumberland, the captain of ordered his frigate into shallower water, where she soon grounded. Congress and Virginia traded cannon fire for an hour, after which the badly-damaged Congress finally surrendered. While the surviving crewmen of Congress were being ferried off the ship, a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on Virginia. Outraged at such a breach of war protocol, in retaliation Virginias now angry captain, Commodore Franklin Buchanan, gave the order to open fire with hot-shot on the surrendered Congress as he rushed to Virginias exposed upper casemate deck, where he was injured by enemy rifle fire. Congress, now set ablaze by the retaliatory shelling, burned for many hours into the night, a symbol of Confederate naval power and a costly wake-up call for the all-wood Union blockading squadron.
Virginia did not emerge from the battle unscathed, however. Her hanging port side anchor was lost after ramming Cumberland; the bow was leaking from the loss of the ram's port side half; shot from Cumberland, Congress, and the shore-based Union batteries had riddled her smokestack, reducing her boilers' draft and already slow speed; two of her broadside cannon (without shutters) were put out of commission by shell hits; a number of her armor plates had been loosened; both of Virginias cutters had been shot away, as had both 12-pounder anti-boarding/anti-personnel howitzers, most of the deck stanchions, railings, and both flagstaffs. Even so, the now-injured Buchanan ordered an attack on , which had run aground on a sandbar trying to escape Virginia. However, because of the ironclad's draft (fully loaded), she was unable to get close enough to do any significant damage. It being late in the day, Virginia retired from the conflict with the expectation of returning the next day and completing the destruction of the remaining Union blockaders.
Later that night, arrived at Union-held Fort Monroe. She had been rushed to Hampton Roads, still not quite complete, all the way from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in hopes of defending the force of wooden ships and preventing "the rebel monster" from further threatening the Union's blockading fleet and nearby cities, like Washington, D.C. While under tow, she nearly foundered twice during heavy storms on her voyage south, arriving in Hampton Roads by the bright firelight from the still-burning triumph of Virginias first day of handiwork.
The next day, on March 9, 1862, the world's first battle between ironclads took place. The smaller, nimbler, and faster Monitor was able to outmaneuver the larger, slower Virginia, but neither ship proved able to do any severe damage to the other, despite numerous shell hits by both combatants, many fired at virtually point-blank range. Monitor had a much lower freeboard and only its single, rotating, two-cannon gun turret and forward pilothouse sitting above her deck, and thus was much harder to hit with Virginias heavy cannon. After hours of shell exchanges, Monitor finally retreated into shallower water after a direct shell hit to her armored pilothouse forced her away from the conflict to assess the damage. The captain of the Monitor, Lieutenant John L. Worden, had taken a direct gunpowder explosion to his face and eyes, blinding him, while looking through the pilothouse's narrow, horizontal viewing slits. Monitor remained in the shallows, but as it was late in the day, Virginia steamed for her home port, the battle ending without a clear victor. The captain of Virginia that day, Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones, received advice from his pilots to depart over the sandbar toward Norfolk until the next day. Lieutenant Jones wanted to continue the fight, but the pilots emphasized that the Virginia had "nearly three miles to run to the bar" and that she could not remain and "take the ground on a falling tide." To prevent running aground, Lieutenant Jones reluctantly moved the ironclad back toward port. Virginia retired to the Gosport Naval Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, and remained in drydock for repairs until April 4, 1862.
In the following month, the crew of Virginia were unsuccessful in their attempts to break the Union blockade. The blockade had been bolstered by the hastily ram-fitted paddle steamer , and SS Illinois as well as the and , which had been repaired. Virginia made several sorties back over to Hampton Roads hoping to draw Monitor into battle. Monitor, however, was under strict orders not to re-engage; the two combatants would never battle again.
On April 11, the Confederate Navy sent Lieutenant Joseph Nicholson Barney, in command of the paddle side-wheeler , along with Virginia and five other ships in full view of the Union squadron, enticing them to fight. When it became clear that Union Navy ships were unwilling to fight, the CS Navy squadron moved in and captured three merchant ships, the brigs Marcus and Sabout and the schooner Catherine T. Dix. Their ensigns were then hoisted "Union-side down" to further taunt the Union Navy into a fight, as they were towed back to Norfolk, with the help of .
By late April, the new Union ironclads USRC E. A. Stevens and had also joined the blockade. On May 8, 1862, Virginia and the James River Squadron ventured out when the Union ships began shelling the Confederate fortifications near Norfolk, but the Union ships retired under the shore batteries on the north side of the James River and on Rip Raps island.
Destruction
]]
On May 10, 1862, advancing Union troops occupied Norfolk. Since Virginia was now a steam-powered heavy battery and no longer an ocean-going cruiser, her pilots judged her not seaworthy enough to enter the Atlantic, even if she were able to pass the Union blockade. Virginia was also unable to retreat further up the James River due to her deep draft (fully loaded). In an attempt to reduce it, supplies and coal were dumped overboard, even though this exposed the ironclad's unarmored lower hull, but this was still not enough to make a difference. Without a home port and no place to go, Virginias new captain, flag officer Josiah Tattnall III, reluctantly ordered her destruction in order to keep the ironclad from being captured. The ship was destroyed by Catesby Jones and John Taylor Wood, who set fire to scattered gunpowder and cotton strewn across the ship's deck. Early on the morning of May 11, 1862, off Craney Island, the fire reached the ironclad's magazine, leading to a massive explosion that obliterated the ship. What remained of Virginia then sank to the harbor floor.
]]
After the war, the government determined that the wreck of Virginia needed to be removed from the channel. In 1867, Captain D. A. Underdown salvaged 290,000 pounds of iron from the site, much of which was taken from the ship's ram and cannons. The following year, Underdown detonated explosives under the Virginia<nowiki/>'s hulk to fully clear the river, but the attempt did not totally remove the wreck. In 1871, E.J. Griffith recovered an additional 102,883 pounds of iron from the seabed, and in 1876, the "remaining timbers" of the ship were raised. In 1982, the National Underwater and Marine Agency explored the area around Craney Island and found that "there are no large areas of either concentrated or scattered debris associated with the Virginia lying on the river bottom within the survey area."
Most of the recovered iron was melted down and sold for scrap (notably, some of the ship's iron was used to craft Pokahuntas Bell in 1907). Other pieces of the ship have been preserved in museums: The ship's brass bell is held at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, and one of the Virginia<nowiki/>'s anchors now rests in front of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond. Numerous souvenirs, ostensibly made from salvaged iron and wood raised from Virginias sunken hulk, have found a ready and willing market among Civil War enthusiasts and eastern seaboard residents. However, the provenance of many of these artifacts is impossible to prove, which has given rise to the humorous adage that "if you took all the iron and all the wood supposedly collected from the [wreck of the CSS Virginia], you'd have enough to outfit a fleet of ironclads." hence "the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac". Both spellings are still in use in the Hampton Roads area.Memorial, heritage*A large exhibit at the Jamestown Exposition held in 1907 at Sewell's Point was the "Battle of the Merrimac and Monitor," a large diorama that was housed in a special building.
*A small community in Montgomery County, Virginia, near where the coal burned by the Confederate ironclad was mined, is now known as Merrimac.
*The name of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, built in Hampton Roads in the general vicinity of the famous engagement, with both Virginia and federal funds.
See also
* Bibliography of American Civil War naval history
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Nelson, James L. (2004). The Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack , HarperCollins Publishers, New York, .
*
* Park, Carl D., (2007) Ironclad Down, USS Merrimack-CSS Virginia, From Construction to Destruction, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. .
*
* Quarstein, John V. (2000). C.S.S. Virginia, Mistress of Hampton Roads, self-published for the Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series by H. E. Howard, Inc.
*
* Schenkman, David, (1979). Tokens & Medals Commemorating the Battle Between the Monitor and Merrimac (sic), Hampton, Virginia, 28-page booklet (the second in a series of Special Articles on the Numismatics of The Commonwealth of Virginia), Virginia Numismatic Association. No ISSN or ISBN.
*
* Smith, Gene A., (1998). Iron and Heavy Guns, Duel Between the Monitor and Merrimac (sic), Abilene, Texas, McWhiney Foundation Press, .
* Further reading* 82 pages.
* Baxter, James Phinney (1968). [https://archive.org/details/introductionofi00baxt The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship], Archon Books, p. 398.
* Besse, Sumner B., C. S. Ironclad Virginia and U. S. Ironclad Monitor, Newport News, Virginia, The Mariner's Museum, 1978. .
* DeKay, James, (1997) Monitor, Ballantine Books, New York, NY.
*
* .External links
* [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/ Library of Virginia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180331122431/http://www.vahistorical.org/ Virginia Historical Society]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041212084431/http://www.moc.org/ Museum of the Confederacy] in Richmond, Virginia
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010306080704/http://cssvirginia.org/ Website devoted to the CSS Virginia]
* [http://www.hamptonroadsvisitor.com Hampton Roads Visitor Guide]
* [http://www.monitorcenter.org/ USS Monitor Center and Exhibit] , Newport News, Virginia
* [http://www.mariner.org/ Mariner's Museum], Newport News, Virginia
* [http://www.hrnm.navy.mil/ Hampton Roads Naval Museum]
* [http://www.multied.com/Navy/cwnavalhistory/ Civil War Naval History]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027144300/http://www.geocities.com/hrforts/Fort_Wool/history.htm Fort Wool History]
* [http://www.roadstothefuture.com/I664_VA_MMMBT.html Roads to the Future – I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel]
Category:1862 ships
Category:Battle of Hampton Roads
Category:Ironclad warships of the Confederate States Navy
Category:Maritime incidents in May 1862
Category:Naval magazine explosions
Category:Scuttled vessels
Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia
Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War
Category:Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Virginia | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.327466 |
5934 | Canon | Cannon|Cañon}}
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western canon, the body of high culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that is highly valued in the West
* Canon of proportions, a formally codified set of criteria deemed mandatory for a particular artistic style of figurative art
* Canon (music), a type of composition
* Canon (hymnography), a type of hymn used in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
* Canon (album), a 2007 album by Ani DiFranco
* Canon (film), a 1964 Canadian animated short
* Canon (manga), by Nikki
* Canonical plays of William Shakespeare
* The Canon (Natalie Angier book), a 2007 science book by Natalie Angier
* The Canon (podcast), concerning film
Brands and enterprises
* Canon Inc., a Japanese imaging and optical products corporation
* Château Canon (disambiguation), a number of wineries
* UBM Canon, a media company headquartered in Los Angeles
People
* Canon (rapper) (born Aaron McCain, 1989)
* Fernando Canon (1860–1938), Filipino revolutionary general, poet, inventor, engineer, musician and chess player
* Lou Canon, stage name of Leanne Greyerbiehl, a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter
Places
* Canon, Georgia, United States
* Canons Park, London, United Kingdom
* Canon Row, a street in Westminster, London
* Cañon City, Colorado, United States
* Cañon Fiord, on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada
Religion
* : some religious texts are accepted or categorized as canonical, some non-canonical, and others extracanonical, semi-canonical, deutero-canonical, pre-canonical or post-canonical
** Biblical canon, a set of texts regarded by a Christian or Jewish community as part of the Bible
*Canon law, the whole judicial system in Christian churches
** Canon (canon law), a law or ordinance promulgated by a synod, ecumenical council, or individual bishop (within the canon law system of that Church).
* Canon (clergy), a title of certain Christian priests
** Canon regular, a priest who lives in community under a rule
* Canon (hymnography), a kind of hymn in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
* Pāli Canon, scriptures of Theravāda Buddhism (these include the Sutta Pitaka, the Vinaya Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka)
Other uses
* Canon (basic principle), an accepted body of rules
* Canon, in bellfounding, one or more hanging loops cast integrally with the crown
* The Canon of Medicine, a 1025 CE medical encyclopedia by Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna)
* Canon Yaoundé, a Cameroonian association football club based in the capital city of Yaoundé
* Canons High School, Edgware, Greater London
See also
* Canaan, a region in the Ancient Near East
* Cannon (disambiguation)
* Canonical, standard or referential form; includes many examples of canons
* Canonization, the act of a pope's declaring a deceased person a saint
* Canyon (disambiguation)
* Kanon (disambiguation)
* Kanoon (disambiguation)
* Qanun (disambiguation) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.332277 |
5935 | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | | image = SymbolofLatter-daySaintchurch.png
| alt = The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| caption =
| imagewidth = 110
| main_classification Restorationist
| orientation = Latter Day Saint movement
| scripture =
| theology |Nontrinitarian}}
| polity = Hierarchical
| leader_title = President
| leader_name = Russell M. Nelson
| founder Joseph Smith
| founded_date April 6, 1830
| Mormon Church|Church of Jesus Christ Marquardt states that organization in Manchester is most consistent with eye-witness statements. The LDS Church officially favors organization in Fayette.}} the church's name was later changed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri,}} However, in 1833, Missouri settlers violently expelled the Latter Day Saints from Jackson County.}} culminating in a dedication of the building similar to the day of Pentecost. His statement calling Far West "Zion" had the effect of "implying that Far West was to take the place of Independence".}} Believing the Latter Day Saints to be an insurrection, the Missouri governor ordered that they be "exterminated or driven from the State". This vision would come to be regarded by the LDS Church as the most important event in human history since the resurrection of Jesus.
On June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, Because Hyrum was Joseph's designated successor, their deaths caused a succession crisis,Pioneer era
led the LDS Church from 1844 until his death in 1877.]]
For two years after Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. Brigham Young led his followers, later called the Mormon pioneers, westward to Nebraska and then in 1847 on to what later became the Utah Territory, which at the time had been part of the lands of the Ute, Goshute, and Shoshone nations, and claimed by Mexico until 1848.}} Around 80,000 settlers arrived between 1847 and 1869,
Young incorporated the LDS Church as a legal entity, and initially governed both the church and the state as a theocratic leader. He also publicized the practice of plural marriage in 1852. Modern research suggests that around 20 percent of Mormon families may have participated in the practice. The Utah Mormon War ensued from 1857 to 1858, which resulted in the relatively peaceful invasion of Utah by the United States Army. The most notable instance of Mormon violence during this conflict was the Mountain Meadows massacre, in which leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the massacre of a civilian emigrant party who was traveling through Utah during the escalating military tensions. After the massacre was discovered, the church became the target of significant media criticism for it.
After the Army withdrew, Young agreed to step down from power and be replaced by a non-Mormon territorial governor, Alfred Cumming. Nevertheless, the LDS Church still wielded significant political power in the Utah Territory. Coterminously, tensions between Mormon settlers and Indigenous tribes continued to escalate as settlers began colonizing a growing area of tribal lands. While Mormons and Indigenous peoples made attempts at peaceful coexistence, skirmishes ensued from about 1849 to 1873 culminating in the armed conflicts of Wakara's War, the Bear River Massacre., and the Black Hawk War
After Young's death in 1877, he was followed in the church presidency by John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff successively, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages. In 1878, the United States Supreme Court, in Reynolds v. United States, decreed that "religious duty" to engage in plural marriage was not a valid defense to prosecutions for violating state laws against polygamy. Conflict between Mormons and the U.S. government escalated to the point that, in 1890, Congress disincorporated the LDS Church and seized most of its assets. Soon thereafter, Woodruff issued a manifesto that officially suspended the performance of new polygamous marriages in the United States. Relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state in 1896. Relations further improved after 1904, when church president Joseph F. Smith again disavowed polygamy before the United States Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto", calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunicating its members found practicing polygamy.
Modern times
was the first built in the eastern half of the United States since 1846.]]
During the 20th century, the church grew substantially and became an international organization. In 2000, the church reported over 60,000 missionaries and global church membership stood at just over 11 million. Nominal worldwide membership surpassed 16 million in 2018. Slightly under half of church membership lives within the U.S. Academics have called the denomination a Restorationist church, a new religious movement, and a potential world religion.
The church has become a strong proponent of the nuclear family and at times played a prominent role in political matters, including opposition to MX Peacekeeper missile bases in Utah and Nevada, the Equal Rights Amendment,
A number of official changes have taken place to the organization during the modern era. In 1978, the church reversed its previous policy of excluding Black men of African descent from the priesthood, which had been in place since 1852; From 1913 to 2020 the church was a major sponsor of Scouting programs for boys, particularly in the United States. The LDS Church was the largest chartered organization in the Boy Scouts of America, but in 2020, the church ended its relationship with the BSA and began an alternate, religion-centered youth program, which replaced all other youth programs.
During the second half of the 20th century and early 21st, the church has responded to various challenges to its doctrine and authority. Challenges have included rising secularization, challenges to the correctness of the translation of the Book of Abraham, and primary documents forged by Mark Hofmann purporting to contradict important aspects of official early church history.Beliefs
of Jesus, as depicted in this replica of Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus statue located in the North Visitors' Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.]]
Nature of God
LDS Church theology includes the belief in a Godhead composed of God the Father, his son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as three separate persons who share a unity of purpose or will; however, they are viewed as three distinct beings. This is in contrast with the predominant Christian view, which holds that God is a Trinity of three distinct persons in one essence. The Latter-day Saint conception of the Godhead is similar to what contemporary Christian theologians call social trinitarianism. The church also believes that God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ, are separate beings with bodies of flesh and bone, while the Holy Ghost lacks such a physical body.
According to statements by church leaders, God sits at the head of the human family and is married to a Heavenly Mother, who is the mother of human spirits. However, church leaders have also categorically discouraged prayers to her and counseled against speculation regarding her.
Jesus Christ
Church members believe in Jesus Christ as the literal Son of God and Messiah, his crucifixion as a conclusion of a sin offering, and his subsequent resurrection. Jesus is also seen as the elder brother of all who live in this world.
The church teaches that Jesus performed a substitutionary atonement. in contrast with other Christian denominations, the church teaches this atonement began in the garden of Gethsemane and continued to his crucifixion (rather than the orthodox belief that the crucifixion alone was the physical atonement).
The church also teaches that Jesus is the true founder and leader of the church itself. The physical establishment of the church by Smith in 1830 is seen as simply the reestablishment of the same primitive church that existed under Jesus and his Apostles. especially its current president. the divinity of Jesus, his atonement and resurrection, and a form of apostolic succession.}}
Nevertheless, the LDS Church differs from other churches within contemporary Christianity in other ways. Differences between the LDS Church and most of traditional Christianity include disagreement about the nature of God, belief in a theory of human salvation that includes three heavens, a doctrine of exaltation which includes the ability of humans to become gods and goddesses in the afterlife, Eastern Orthodox Church, U.S. Presbyterian Church, US Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the U.S. Episcopal Church.}} However, church members self-identify as Christians.
The faith itself views other modern Christian faiths as having departed from true Christianity by way of a general apostasy and maintains that it is a restoration of 1st-century Christianity and the only true and authorized Christian church. Church leaders assert it is the only true church and that other churches do not have the authority to act in Jesus' name.
Cosmology and plan of salvation
The church's cosmology and plan of salvation include the doctrines of a pre-existence, an earthly mortal existence, three degrees of heaven This view on the doctrine of theosis is also referred to as becoming a "joint-heir with Christ". The process by which this is accomplished is called exaltation, a doctrine which includes the reunification of the mortal family after the resurrection and the ability to have spirit children in the afterlife and inherit a portion of God's kingdom. Thus, there is a common view within the LDS Church that though prohibited by the LDS Church in mortality, polygamy or "plural marriage" will exist in the afterlife. "In the case of a man marrying a wife in the everlasting covenant who dies while he continues in the flesh and marries another by the same divine law, each wife will come forth in her order and enter with him into his glory."}} Children may also be sealed to their biological or adoptive parents to form permanent familial bonds, thus allowing all immediate and extended family relations to endure past death. The most significant LDS ordinances may be performed via proxy in behalf of those who have died, such as baptism for the dead. The church teaches that all will have the opportunity to hear and accept or reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, either in this life or the next.
Within church cosmology, the fall of Adam and Eve is seen positively. The church teaches that it was essential to allow humankind to experience separation from God, to exercise full agency in making decisions for their own happiness.Restorationism
was called to be a modern-day prophet through a visitation from God the Father and Jesus Christ.]]
The LDS Church teaches that, subsequent to the death of Jesus and his original apostles, his church, along with the authority to act in Jesus Christ's name and the church's attendant spiritual gifts, were lost, due to a combination of external persecutions and internal heresies. The "Restoration"—as begun by Joseph Smith and embodied in the church itself—refers to a return of the authentic priesthood power, spiritual gifts, ordinances, living prophets and revelation of the primitive Church of Christ. This restoration is associated with a number of events which are understood to have been necessary to re-establish the early Christian church found in the New Testament, and to prepare the earth for the Second Coming of Jesus.
Leadership
, president of the church since 2018.]]
The church is led by a president. Within the church, he is referred to as "the Prophet." He is considered to be a "prophet, seer and revelator," and is the only person who is authorized to receive revelation from God on behalf of the whole world or entire church. As such, the church teaches that he is essentially infallible when speaking on behalf of God—although the exact circumstances when his pronouncements should be considered authoritative are debated within the church. In any case, modern declarations with broad doctrinal implications are often issued by joint statement of the First Presidency; they may be joined by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as well. Church members believe Joseph Smith was the first modern-day prophet. Following the death of church president Thomas S. Monson on January 2, 2018, senior apostle Russell M. Nelson was announced as president on January 16.
Normally, the president and two other ordained apostles he chooses as counselors form the First Presidency, the presiding body of the church; twelve other apostles form the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When a president dies, his successor is chosen from the remaining apostles. The longest-tenured apostle then invariably becomes the next president of the church. In recent years, this process has contributed to the church's leadership being of increasingly advanced age.
New apostles are chosen by the church president after the death of an existing apostle. The First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, first two Quorums of Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric make up the general authorities of the church. The general presidencies of the church-wide Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Women, Young Men, and Primary organizations make up the general officers of the church. Women serve as presidents and counselors in the presidencies of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary, while men serve as presidents and counselors of the Sunday School and Young Men.}} The proclamation also promotes specific roles essential to maintaining the strength of the family unit—the traditional roles of a husband and father as the family's breadwinner and those of a wife and mother as a nurturing caregiver. It concludes by inviting its audience to "promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society". Senior church leaders have continued to emphasize conservative teachings on marriage and gender to the present time.
LDS Church members are encouraged to set aside one evening each week, typically Monday, to spend together in "Family Home Evening" (FHE), which typically consists of gathering as a family to study the faith's gospel principles, and other family activities. Daily family prayer is also encouraged.
The Book of Mormon is a foundational sacred book for the church; the terms "Mormon" and "Mormonism" come from the book itself. The LDS Church teaches that the Angel Moroni told Smith about golden plates containing the record, guided him to find them buried in the Hill Cumorah, and provided him the means of translating them from Reformed Egyptian. It claims to give a history of the inhabitants from a now-extinct society living on the American continent and their distinct Judeo-Christian teachings. The Book of Mormon is very important to modern Latter-day Saints, who consider it the world's most correct text.
The Bible, also part of the church's canon, is believed to be the word of God—subject to an acknowledgment that its translation may be incorrect, or that authoritative sections may have been lost over the centuries. Most often, the church uses the Authorized King James Version. of the more doctrinally significant verses from the translation are included as excerpts in the current LDS Church edition of the Bible. Other revelations from Smith are found in the D&C, and in the Pearl of Great Price. and that they are therefore authorized teachers of God's word.
In addition to doctrine given by the church as a whole, individual members of the church believe that they can also receive personal revelation from God in conducting their lives, and in revealing truth to them, especially about spiritual matters. Generally, this is said to occur through thoughts and feelings from the Holy Ghost, in response to prayer. Similarly, the church teaches its members may receive individual guidance and counsel from God through blessings from priesthood holders. In particular, patriarchal blessings are considered special blessings that are received only once in the recipient's life, which are recorded, transcribed, and archived. For some ordinances, the act is tied to a covenant between the ordinance recipient and God.
The ordinance of baptism is believed to bind its participant to Jesus Christ, who saves them in their imperfection if they continually keep their promises to him. Baptism is performed by immersion, and is typically administered to children starting at age eight.
Other ordinances performed in the church include confirmation, the sacrament (analogous to the Eucharist or holy communion), priesthood ordination, patriarchal blessing, anointing of the sick, and priesthood blessings.
Diet and health
The LDS Church asks its members to adhere to a dietary code called the Word of Wisdom, in which they abstain from the consumption of alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco, and illicit or harmful substances. The Word of Wisdom also encourages the consumption of herbs and grains along with the moderate consumption of meat.Sexuality
Church members are expected to follow a moral code called the law of chastity, which prohibits adultery, homosexual behavior, and sexual relations before or outside of marriage. As part of the law of chastity, the church strongly opposes pornography, and considers masturbation an immoral act. Law of chastity violations can be grounds for church discipline; resulting penalties may include having access to the temple and sacrament revoked, as well as excommunication. The church discourages romantic dating until around the age of 16.
Tithing and other donations
Church members are expected to donate one-tenth of their income to support the operations of the church. After initially relying on a communal lifestyle known as the law of consecration throughout most of the 1830s, the church created the law of tithing in July 1838 when the membership was concentrated in Missouri. Church members would frequently tithe by giving ten percent of their livestock and produce; nowadays donations are generally done with money. to $33 billion}} Members are also encouraged to fast (abstain from food and drink) on the first Sunday of each month for two consecutive meals. They donate at least the cost of the two skipped meals of the fast as a "fast offering", which the church uses to assist people in need and expand its humanitarian efforts.
Local leadership is not paid, and is expected to tithe as well. Full-time missionaries, however, are not expected to pay tithing as they are usually paying to be a missionary.Missionary service
typically commit to 18–24 months of full-time service.]]
All able-bodied LDS young men are expected to serve a two-year, full-time proselytizing mission. Missionaries do not choose where they serve or the language in which they will proselytize, and are expected to fund their missions themselves or with the aid of their families. All proselytizing missionaries are organized geographically into administrative areas called missions. The efforts in each mission are directed by an older adult male mission president. , there are 450 missions of the LDS church.
Although missionary service is expected for men, it is not compulsory and is not a requirement for retaining church membership. Unmarried women between the ages of 19 and 29 may also serve as missionaries, generally for a term of 18 months. Retired couples are also encouraged to serve missions, with terms ranging from six to 23 months. Unlike younger missionaries, these senior missionaries may serve in non-proselytizing capacities such as humanitarian aid workers or family history specialists.Sabbath day observance
Church members are expected to set aside Sundays as a day of rest and worship. Typically, weekly worship meetings occur solely on Sundays. Shopping and recreation are discouraged on Sundays as well.
Worship and meetings
Weekly meetings
]]
Meetings for worship and study are held at meetinghouses, which are typically utilitarian in character. Also included in weekly meetings are times for Sunday School, or separate instructional meetings based on age and gender, including the Relief Society for women.
Church congregations are organized geographically.Temple worship
]]
In LDS theology, a temple is considered to be a holy building, dedicated as a "House of the Lord" and held as more sacred than a typical meetinghouse or chapel. In temples, church members participate in ceremonies that are considered the most sacred in the church, including marriage, and an endowment ceremony that includes a washing and anointing, receiving a temple garment, and making covenants with God. Baptisms for the dead—as well as other temple ordinances on behalf of the dead—are performed in the temples as well. Then after the temple is dedicated, permission to enter is reserved only for church members who pass periodic interviews with ecclesiastical leaders and receive a special recommendation card, called a temple recommend, that they present upon entry.
To perform ordinances in temples on behalf of deceased family members, the church emphasizes genealogical research, and encourages its lay members to participate in genealogy.
It operates FamilySearch, the largest genealogical organization in the world.
Conferences
Twice each year (the first weekend of April and October), general authorities and general officers address the worldwide church through general conference. General conference sessions are translated into as many as 80 languages and are broadcast from the 21,000-seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City. During this conference, church members formally acknowledge, or "sustain", the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators.
where the church holds its General Conferences twice a year}}]]
Individual stakes also hold formal conferences within their own boundaries biannually; wards hold conferences annually.Organization and structureName and legal entities
The church teaches that it is a continuation of the Church of Christ restored in 1830 by Joseph Smith. This original church underwent several name changes during the 1830s, being changed to "The Church of the Latter Day Saints", "The Church of Jesus Christ", "The Church of God", Finally, after Smith died, Brigham Young and the largest body of Smith's followers incorporated the church in 1851 by legislation of the Utah Territory under the name "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", which included a hyphenated "Latter-day" and a British-style lower-case d.
Common informal names for the church include the LDS Church, the Mormon Church, and the Latter-day Saints Church. The church requests that the official name be used when possible or, if necessary, shortened to "the Church" or "the Church of Jesus Christ".
The LDS Church is organized in a hierarchical priesthood structure administered by its male members. Members of the church-wide leadership are called general authorities. They exercise both ecclesiastical and administrative leadership over the church and direct the efforts of regional leaders down to the local level. General authorities, general officers and mission presidents work full-time for the church, and typically receive stipends from church funds or investments. and young adults in broadcasts and at the Church Educational System (CES) schools, such as Brigham Young University (BYU). Local congregations are typically led by bishops, who perform similar functions to pastors in the Protestant tradition, or parish priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
All males who are living the standards of the church are generally considered for the priesthood and are ordained to the priesthood as early as age 11. Ordination occurs by a ceremony where hands are laid on the head of the one ordained. The priesthood is divided into an order for young men aged 11 years and older (called the Aaronic priesthood) and an order for men 18 years of age and older (called the Melchizedek priesthood). However, women are not formally ordained to the priesthood, and they do not participate in public functions administered by the priesthood—such as passing the Sacrament, giving priesthood blessings, or holding leadership positions over mixed-gender congregations. Since 2013, the Ordain Women organization has sought formal priesthood ordination for women. In 2019, church leadership authorized LDS women to serve as witnesses for baptisms, a ceremonial role previously reserved for male priesthood holders.
Each active church member is expected to receive a calling, or position of assigned responsibility within the church. Church members are expected to neither ask for specific callings, nor decline callings that are extended to them by their leaders. Leadership positions in the church's various congregations are filled through the calling system, and the vast majority of callings are filled on a volunteer basis. Members volunteer general custodial work for local church facilities.
Programs and organizations
, in Provo, Utah, one of several educational institutions sponsored by the church]]
The church operates several programs and organizations in the fields of proselytizing, education, and church welfare such as LDS Humanitarian Services. Many of these organizations and programs are coordinated by the Priesthood Correlation Program, which is designed to provide a systematic approach to maintain worldwide consistency, orthodoxy, and control of the church's ordinances, doctrines, organizations, meetings, materials, and other programs and activities.
is the world's largest library dedicated to genealogical research.]]
The church's welfare system, initiated in 1930 during the Great Depression, provides aid to the poor. Leaders ask members to fast once a month and donate the money they would have spent on those meals to help the needy, in what is called a fast offering. the LDS Church History Department, which collects church history and records; and the Family History Department, which administers the church's large family history efforts, including FamilySearch, the world's largest family history library and organization. Other facilities owned and operated by the church include Temple Square, the Church Office Building
, the Church Administration Building, the Church History Library and the Granite Mountain Records Vault.Finances
Since 1941, the church has been classified by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization and is therefore tax-exempt. Donations are tax-deductible in the United States. The church has not released church-wide financial statements since 1959. In the absence of official statements, people interested in knowing the church's financial status and behavior, including both members of the church and people outside the church, have attempted to estimate or guess.
In 1997, Time magazine called the LDS Church one of the world's wealthiest churches per capita. The church has stated that its for-profit, non-profit, and educational subsidiary entities are all audited by professionals independent from other church entities.
headquarters in Salt Lake City]]
The church receives significant funds from tithes and fast offerings. It has been estimated that during the 2010s its net worth increased by about $15 billion per year ($ billion in ), and by $22 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a 2020 estimate by The Wall Street Journal, the LDS Church's investment fund had a net worth of around $100 billion. In 2020, the church-owned investment firm Ensign Peak Advisors publicly reported management of $37.8 billion of financial securities. By summer 2023 assets including "international shares as well as bonds, hybrid investments, real estate and major stakes in private equity" were estimated to exceed $163 billion.Culture
Due to the differences in lifestyle promoted by church doctrine and history, members of the church have developed a distinct culture. It is primarily concentrated in the Mormon corridor of the Intermountain West.
Many of the church's more distinctive practices follow from their adherence to the Word of Wisdom—which includes abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and tea—and their observance of Sabbath-day restrictions on recreation and shopping. Common, distinctive cuisine includes funeral potatoes and Jello salad. Cultural taboos exist on piercings and tattoosMedia and arts
has received various awards and has traveled extensively since its inception.]]
LDS-themed media includes cinema, fiction, websites, and graphical art such as photography and paintings. The church owns a chain of bookstores called Deseret Book. The church also produces several pageants annually depicting various events of the primitive and modern-day church. Its Easter pageant Jesus the Christ has been identified as the "largest annual outdoor Easter pageant in the world". The church encourages entertainment without violence, sexual content, or vulgar language; many church members specifically avoid rated-R movies.
The church's official choir, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, was formed in the mid-19th century and performs in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. They have traveled to more than 28 countries, and are considered one of the most famous choirs in the world. The choir has received a Grammy Award, four Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and the National Medal of Arts.Political involvement in the U.S.
(left) and apostle Dallin H. Oaks (right) presenting U.S. president Barack Obama with his genealogy at the Oval Office in July 2009]]
The LDS Church states it generally takes no partisan role in politics, but encourages its members to play an active role as responsible citizens in their communities, including becoming informed about issues and voting. The church maintains that the faith's values can be found among many political parties.
A 2012 Pew Center on Religion and Public Life survey indicated that 74 percent of U.S. members lean towards the Republican Party. Some liberal members say they feel that they have to defend their worthiness due to political differences. Democrats and those who lean Democrat made up 18 percent of church members surveyed in the 2014 Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Survey.
The church sometimes involves itself in politics when it believes the issues at hand to have moral implications or that they "directly affect [its] mission, teachings or operations." It supported a gay rights bill in Salt Lake City which bans discrimination against homosexual persons in housing and employment, opposed gambling, opposed storage of nuclear waste in Utah, and supported an approach to U.S. immigration policy as outlined in the Utah Compact. It also opposed a ballot initiative legalizing medicinal marijuana in Utah, but supported a possible alternative to it. In 2019 and 2021, the church stated its opposition to the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination in the United States on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, but supported alternate legislation that it said would protect both LGBTQ rights and religious freedom. In 2022, the church stated its support for the Respect for Marriage Act—which codified same-sex marriage as legal in the United States—due to the "protections for religious freedom" it included.
In the 117th United States Congress, there are nine LDS Church members, including all six members of Utah's congressional delegation, all of whom are Republicans. Utah's current governor, Spencer Cox, is a church member, as are supermajorities in both houses of the Utah State Legislature.Demographics
{| class="wikitable floatright"
! style"width:200px;"|Pew 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study
!width="25"|LDS (U.S.)
!width="25"|U.S. Avg.
|-
|Married
|66%
|49%
|-
|Divorced or separated
|7%
|11%
|-
|Have children under 18
|41%
|31%
|-
|Attendance at religious services (weekly or more)
|77%
|40%
|}
The church reports a worldwide membership of 17 million, of which over 6.8 million live in the U.S. The church's definition of "membership" includes all persons who were ever baptized, or whose parents were members while the person was under the age of eight (called "members of record"), who have neither been excommunicated nor asked to have their names removed from church records.}}
{| class="wikitable floatright"
! style"width:200px;"|Pew Research Center 2014 Survey: Ethnicity
!width="25"|LDS (U.S.)
!width"25"|U.S. (2020)
|-
|White
|85%
|62%
|-
|Black
|1%
|12%
|-
|Latino
|8%
|12%
|-
|Asian
|1%
|6%
|-
|Other/Multiracial
|5%
|21%
|}
According to its statistics, the church is the fourth largest religious body in the United States. Although the church does not publish attendance figures, researchers estimate that attendance at weekly LDS worship services globally is around 4 million. Members living in the U.S. and Canada constitute 46 percent of membership, Latin America 38 percent, and members in the rest of the world 16 percent. Church members and some others from the U.S. colonized this region in the mid-to-late 1800s, dispossessing several Indigenous tribes. In the 21st century, however, church membership growth has slowed. In 2022, eight of the top ten nations with the highest LDS membership growth rate were in Africa, and Latino people are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups with millions of LDS adherents in Latin American countries.
In the United States, church members tend to be more highly educated than the general population. The racial and ethnic composition of membership in the United States is one of the least diverse in the country. Black membership is significantly lower than the general U.S. population. A 2016 survey found a majority (54%) of millennials raised in the church had disaffiliated. Activity rates vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. Young single adults are more likely to become inactive than their married counterparts, and women tend to be more active than men. Welfare efforts, originally initiated during the Great Depression, provide aid for the poor, financed by donations from church members. Donations are also used to operate bishop's storehouses, which package and store food for lower-income people at low cost. In 2016, the church reported that it had spent a total of $1.2 billion on humanitarian aid over the previous 30 years. Independent reporting has found that the Church's charity organization, LDS Charities, gave a total of $177 million from 2008 to 2020.
The church also distributes money and aid to disaster victims worldwide. In 2017, the church partnered with Catholic Relief Services and other organizations to provide aid to several African and Middle Eastern nations. In 2010, it partnered with Islamic Relief to help victims of flooding in Pakistan. Latter-day Saint Charities increased the conversion of stockpiled raw foods into finished food products during the COVID-19 pandemic and donated healthcare supplies to 16 countries affected by the crisis. The church has donated $4 million to aid refugees fleeing from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, the church gave $32 million to the United Nations World Food Programme, in its largest known one-time donation to a humanitarian organization so far.
Criticism and controversies
Modern criticism of the church includes disputed claims, allegations of historical revisionism by the church, child sexual abuse, sexism, racism, and anti-LGBTQ+ teachings. Notable 20th-century critics included Jerald and Sandra Tanner and historian Fawn Brodie.
Child sexual abuse
The church has been criticized for a number of abuses allegedly perpetrated or covered up by local church leadership; several cases have been settled out of court. In other cases, church leaders have been criticized for: allegedly failing to report abuse to law enforcement; improperly invoking clergy–penitent privilege in so doing; and failing to keep records of sexual abuse claims which were reported through its Helpline phone number.}} the Book of Mormon explicitly says it was written in a Reformed Egyptian text. Also, general archaeological and genetic evidence has not supported the book's statements about any known Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Since its publication in 1842, the Book of Abraham (currently published as part of the canonical Pearl of Great Price) has also been a major source of controversy. Numerous non-Mormon Egyptologists, beginning in the late 19th century, have disagreed with Joseph Smith's explanations of the book's facsimiles. Translations of the original papyri—by both Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists—do not match the text of the Book of Abraham as purportedly translated by Joseph Smith. Indeed, the transliterated text from the recovered papyri and facsimiles published in the Book of Abraham contain no direct references to Abraham. and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families. It was instituted privately in the 1830s by founder Joseph Smith and announced publicly in 1852 at the direction of Brigham Young. The church defended the practice as a matter of religious freedom, while the federal government aggressively sought to eradicate it;
in 1862, the United States Congress passed the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act, which prohibited plural marriage in the territories. The church does allow divorced or widowed men to be sealed to other women without cancelling any existing sealings.MinoritiesBlack people
, an enslaved Black man, was reported to have driven the first wagon of LDS pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.]]
The teachings, attitudes, and practices of top LDS Church leaders towards Black people have changed significantly from its founding years to the modern times, and the church has faced criticism and controversy on these topics.}} Joseph Smith allowed several Black men to be ordained as priests during his presidency, but also taught that the dark skin of people of Black African ancestry was a sign of a curse from God. Both Smith and Brigham Young taught that Black people were subject to the Biblical curse of Ham, and curse of Cain.}}
From 1844 to 1978, the church barred Black people from participating in temple ordinances necessary for the highest level of salvation; prevented most men of Black African descent from being ordained to the church's lay, all-male priesthood; supported racial segregation in its communities and schools; taught that righteous Black people would be made White after death; and opposed interracial marriage. Leaders taught on many occasions during this time that Black people were less righteous in the pre-existence.}} following public pressure during the United States' civil rights movement.
Over the past two centuries, the relationship between Native American people and the LDS Church has included friendly ties, displacement, battles, massacres, slavery, education placement programs, official and unofficial discrimination, and criticism. More recently, LDS researchers and publications generally favor a smaller geographic footprint of Lamanite descendants.}}
Soon after Mormons colonized the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Native American child slaves became a vital source of labor. The settlers initially had some peaceful relations, but because resources were scarce in the desert, hostilities broke out with the local Native Americans. Within 50 years of Mormon settlement, the population of Utah's Native Americans was reduced by almost 90 percent. Church leaders taught for decades that Native Americans' darker skin would be made lighter due to their righteousness.LGBTQ individuals
voicing their opposition to the church's support of Prop 8]]
The church's policies and treatment of sexual minorities and gender minorities have long been the subject of external criticism, as well as internal controversy and disaffection by members. Because of its ban against same-sex sexual activity and same-sex marriage, the LDS church taught for decades that any adherents attracted to the same sex could and should change that through sexual orientation change efforts and righteous striving.}} The church provided therapy and programs for attempting to change sexual orientation.
Current teachings and policies leave homosexual members with the options of entering a mixed-orientation opposite-sex marriage, or lifelong celibacy.}} Some have argued that church teachings against homosexuality and the treatment of LGBTQ members have contributed to their elevated rates of PTSD, depression, suicide and teen homelessness. The church's decades-long, political involvement opposing U.S. same-sex marriage laws has further garnered criticism and protests.
Those considering gender-affirming surgery are not allowed to be baptized, and those who have already had one need special clearance from the First Presidency before baptism. Undergoing a "trans-sexual operation," including feminizing surgery or masculinizing surgery like chest reconstruction (i.e. top surgery) may imperil the membership of a current member. Ordinances after baptism such as receiving the priesthood and temple endowments are only done according to birth sex. Members that gender express through clothing or pronouns differing from the sex assigned at their birth will receive membership restrictions and a notation on their membership records.
In modern popular opinion, non-Mormons in the U.S. generally consider Smith a "charlatan, scoundrel, and heretic." The Book of Mormon musical mocks his account of the golden plates. In 2007, Christopher Hitchens, writing in Slate, lambasted Smith as a mountebank, charlatan, and fraud (and the church itself as a "ridiculous cult" and a "racket" that became a religion).Financial controversy
The church has fought to keep its internal financial information out of the public record.}}
In December 2019, a whistleblower alleged the church held over $100 billion in investment funds through its investment management company, Ensign Peak Advisors (EP); that it used these funds in for-profit ventures rather than charity; and that it misled contributors and the public about the usage and extent of those funds. The church's First Presidency stated that "the Church complies with all applicable law governing our donations, investments, taxes, and reserves," and that "a portion" of funds received by the church are "methodically safeguarded through wise financial management and the building of a prudent reserve". The church has not directly addressed the fund's size to the public, but third parties have treated the disclosures as legitimate. The disclosure has led to criticism that the church's wealth may be excessive.
The church has transferred more than a billion dollars of tithing collected in Canada, tax-free, to church universities over a 15-year period. In October 2022, The Sydney Morning Herald announced that while the church publicly claimed to have donated US$1.35 billion to charity between 2008 and 2020, its private financial reports showed that it donated only US$0.177 billion.
In February 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a $5 million penalty to the church and its investment company, EP. The SEC alleged that the church concealed its investments and their management in multiple Shell companies from 1997 to 2019; the SEC believes these shell companies were approved by senior church leadership to avoid public transparency. The church released a statement that in 2000 EP "received and relied upon legal counsel regarding how to comply with its reporting obligations while attempting to maintain the privacy of the portfolio." After initial SEC concern in June 2019, the church stated that EP "adjusted its approach and began filing a single aggregated report."See also
* Index of articles related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
* List of missions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
* Christianity in the United States
* Anti-Mormonism
* List of attacks against Latter-day Saint churches
* Mormon (word)
* Mormonism and Islam
* Mormonism and Judaism
* Mormonism and women
* List of new religious movements
* List of Latter Day Saint periodicals
Notes
References
Further reading
* (1994) [https://web.archive.org/web/20231207195903/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CHURCH_OF_JESUS_CHRIST_OF_LATTER-DAY_SAINTS.shtml "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"] article in the [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ Utah History Encyclopedia.] The article was written by James B. Allen and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CHURCH_OF_JESUS_CHRIST_OF_LATTER-DAY_SAINTS.shtml the original] on December 7, 2023 and retrieved on April 9, 2024.
External links
* [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ ChurchofJesusChrist.org] – main site
* [http://www.comeuntochrist.org ComeUntoChrist.org] – ComeUntoChrist.org, contains information about basic beliefs (formerly Mormon.org)
*
*
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Category:Christian denominations established in the 19th century
Category:Latter Day Saint movement
Category:Religious organizations established in 1830
Category:Religious organizations based in the United States
Category:Christian denominations founded in the United States
Category:1830 establishments in New York (state)
Category:Nontrinitarianism
Category:Joseph Smith | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.483799 |
5936 | Chemical thermodynamics | Chemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics. Chemical thermodynamics involves not only laboratory measurements of various thermodynamic properties, but also the application of mathematical methods to the study of chemical questions and the spontaneity of processes.
The structure of chemical thermodynamics is based on the first two laws of thermodynamics. Starting from the first and second laws of thermodynamics, four equations called the "fundamental equations of Gibbs" can be derived. From these four, a multitude of equations, relating the thermodynamic properties of the thermodynamic system can be derived using relatively simple mathematics. This outlines the mathematical framework of chemical thermodynamics.
History
upright|thumb|J. Willard Gibbs - founder of chemical thermodynamics
In 1865, the German physicist Rudolf Clausius, in his Mechanical Theory of Heat, suggested that the principles of thermochemistry, e.g. the heat evolved in combustion reactions, could be applied to the principles of thermodynamics. Building on the work of Clausius, between the years 1873-76 the American mathematical physicist Willard Gibbs published a series of three papers, the most famous one being the paper On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances. In these papers, Gibbs showed how the first two laws of thermodynamics could be measured graphically and mathematically to determine both the thermodynamic equilibrium of chemical reactions as well as their tendencies to occur or proceed. Gibbs’ collection of papers provided the first unified body of thermodynamic theorems from the principles developed by others, such as Clausius and Sadi Carnot.
During the early 20th century, two major publications successfully applied the principles developed by Gibbs to chemical processes and thus established the foundation of the science of chemical thermodynamics. The first was the 1923 textbook Thermodynamics and the Free Energy of Chemical Substances by Gilbert N. Lewis and Merle Randall. This book was responsible for supplanting the chemical affinity with the term free energy in the English-speaking world. The second was the 1933 book Modern Thermodynamics by the methods of Willard Gibbs written by E. A. Guggenheim. In this manner, Lewis, Randall, and Guggenheim are considered as the founders of modern chemical thermodynamics because of the major contribution of these two books in unifying the application of thermodynamics to chemistry. In this manner, chemical thermodynamics is typically used to predict the energy exchanges that occur in the following processes:
Chemical reactions
Phase changes
The formation of solutions
The following state functions are of primary concern in chemical thermodynamics:
Internal energy (U)
Enthalpy (H)
Entropy (S)
Gibbs free energy (G)
Most identities in chemical thermodynamics arise from application of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, particularly the law of conservation of energy, to these state functions.
The three laws of thermodynamics (global, unspecific forms):
The energy of the universe is constant.
In any spontaneous process, there is always an increase in entropy of the universe.
The entropy of a perfect crystal (well ordered) at 0 Kelvin is zero.
Chemical energy
Chemical energy is the energy that can be released when chemical substances undergo a transformation through a chemical reaction. Breaking and making chemical bonds involves energy release or uptake, often as heat that may be either absorbed by or evolved from the chemical system.
Energy released (or absorbed) because of a reaction between chemical substances ("reactants") is equal to the difference between the energy content of the products and the reactants. This change in energy is called the change in internal energy of a chemical system. It can be calculated from \Delta_{\rm f}U^{\rm o}_{\mathrm {reactants}}, the internal energy of formation of the reactant molecules related to the bond energies of the molecules under consideration, and \Delta_{\rm f}U^{\rm o}_{\mathrm {products}}, the internal energy of formation of the product molecules. The change in internal energy is equal to the heat change if it is measured under conditions of constant volume (at STP condition), as in a closed rigid container such as a bomb calorimeter. However, at constant pressure, as in reactions in vessels open to the atmosphere, the measured heat is usually not equal to the internal energy change, because pressure-volume work also releases or absorbs energy. (The heat change at constant pressure is called the enthalpy change; in this case the widely tabulated enthalpies of formation are used.)
A related term is the heat of combustion, which is the chemical energy released due to a combustion reaction and of interest in the study of fuels. Food is similar to hydrocarbon and carbohydrate fuels, and when it is oxidized, its energy release is similar (though assessed differently than for a hydrocarbon fuel — see food energy).
In chemical thermodynamics, the term used for the chemical potential energy is chemical potential, and sometimes the Gibbs-Duhem equation is used.
Chemical reactions
In most cases of interest in chemical thermodynamics there are internal degrees of freedom and processes, such as chemical reactions and phase transitions, which create entropy in the universe unless they are at equilibrium or are maintained at a "running equilibrium" through "quasi-static" changes by being coupled to constraining devices, such as pistons or electrodes, to deliver and receive external work. Even for homogeneous "bulk" systems, the free-energy functions depend on the composition, as do all the extensive thermodynamic potentials, including the internal energy. If the quantities { Ni }, the number of chemical species, are omitted from the formulae, it is impossible to describe compositional changes.
Gibbs function or Gibbs Energy
For an unstructured, homogeneous "bulk" system, there are still various extensive compositional variables { Ni } that G depends on, which specify the composition (the amounts of each chemical substance, expressed as the numbers of molecules present or the numbers of moles). Explicitly,
G = G(T,P,\{N_i\})\,.
For the case where only PV work is possible,
\mathrm{d}G = -S\, \mathrm{d}T + V \, \mathrm{d}P + \sum_i \mu_i \, \mathrm{d}N_i \,
a restatement of the fundamental thermodynamic relation, in which μi is the chemical potential for the i-th component in the system
\mu_i = \left( \frac{\partial G}{\partial N_i}\right)_{T,P,N_{j\ne i},etc. } \,.
The expression for dG is especially useful at constant T and P, conditions, which are easy to achieve experimentally and which approximate the conditions in living creatures
(\mathrm{d}G)_{T,P} = \sum_i \mu_i \, \mathrm{d}N_i\,.
Chemical affinity
While this formulation is mathematically defensible, it is not particularly transparent since one does not simply add or remove molecules from a system. There is always a process involved in changing the composition; e.g., a chemical reaction (or many), or movement of molecules from one phase (liquid) to another (gas or solid). We should find a notation which does not seem to imply that the amounts of the components ( Ni ) can be changed independently. All real processes obey conservation of mass, and in addition, conservation of the numbers of atoms of each kind.
Consequently, we introduce an explicit variable to represent the degree of advancement of a process, a progress variable ξ for the extent of reaction (Prigogine & Defay, p. 18; Prigogine, pp. 4–7; Guggenheim, p. 37.62), and to the use of the partial derivative ∂G/∂ξ (in place of the widely used "ΔG", since the quantity at issue is not a finite change). The result is an understandable expression for the dependence of dG on chemical reactions (or other processes). If there is just one reaction
(\mathrm{d}G)_{T,P} = \left( \frac{\partial G}{\partial \xi}\right)_{T,P} \, \mathrm{d}\xi.\,
If we introduce the stoichiometric coefficient for the i-th component in the reaction
\nu_i = \partial N_i / \partial \xi \,
(negative for reactants), which tells how many molecules of i are produced or consumed, we obtain an algebraic expression for the partial derivative
\left( \frac{\partial G}{\partial \xi} \right)_{T,P} \sum_i \mu_i \nu_i -\mathbb{A}\,
where we introduce a concise and historical name for this quantity, the "affinity", symbolized by A, as introduced by Théophile de Donder in 1923.(De Donder; Progogine & Defay, p. 69; Guggenheim, pp. 37, 240) The minus sign ensures that in a spontaneous change, when the change in the Gibbs free energy of the process is negative, the chemical species have a positive affinity for each other. The differential of G takes on a simple form that displays its dependence on composition change
(\mathrm{d}G)_{T,P} = -\mathbb{A}\, d\xi \,.
If there are a number of chemical reactions going on simultaneously, as is usually the case,
(\mathrm{d}G)_{T,P} = -\sum_k\mathbb{A}_k\, d\xi_k \,.
with a set of reaction coordinates { ξj }, avoiding the notion that the amounts of the components ( Ni ) can be changed independently. The expressions above are equal to zero at thermodynamic equilibrium, while they are negative when chemical reactions proceed at a finite rate, producing entropy. This can be made even more explicit by introducing the reaction rates dξj/dt. For every physically independent process (Prigogine & Defay, p. 38; Prigogine, p. 24)
\mathbb{A}\ \dot{\xi} \le 0 \,.
This is a remarkable result since the chemical potentials are intensive system variables, depending only on the local molecular milieu. They cannot "know" whether temperature and pressure (or any other system variables) are going to be held constant over time. It is a purely local criterion and must hold regardless of any such constraints. Of course, it could have been obtained by taking partial derivatives of any of the other fundamental state functions, but nonetheless is a general criterion for (−T times) the entropy production from that spontaneous process; or at least any part of it that is not captured as external work. (See Constraints below.)
We now relax the requirement of a homogeneous "bulk" system by letting the chemical potentials and the affinity apply to any locality in which a chemical reaction (or any other process) is occurring. By accounting for the entropy production due to irreversible processes, the equality for dG is now replaced by
\mathrm{d}G = - S \, \mathrm{d}T + V \, \mathrm{d}P -\sum_k\mathbb{A}_k\, \mathrm{d}\xi_k + \mathrm{\delta} W'\,
or
\mathrm{d}G_{T,P} = -\sum_k\mathbb{A}_k\, \mathrm{d}\xi_k + \mathrm{\delta} W'.\,
Any decrease in the Gibbs function of a system is the upper limit for any isothermal, isobaric work that can be captured in the surroundings, or it may simply be dissipated, appearing as T times a corresponding increase in the entropy of the system and its surrounding. Or it may go partly toward doing external work and partly toward creating entropy. The important point is that the extent of reaction for a chemical reaction may be coupled to the displacement of some external mechanical or electrical quantity in such a way that one can advance only if the other also does. The coupling may occasionally be rigid, but it is often flexible and variable.
Solutions
In solution chemistry and biochemistry, the Gibbs free energy decrease (∂G/∂ξ, in molar units, denoted cryptically by ΔG) is commonly used as a surrogate for (−T times) the global entropy produced by spontaneous chemical reactions in situations where no work is being done; or at least no "useful" work; i.e., other than perhaps ± P dV. The assertion that all spontaneous reactions have a negative ΔG is merely a restatement of the second law of thermodynamics, giving it the physical dimensions of energy and somewhat obscuring its significance in terms of entropy. When no useful work is being done, it would be less misleading to use the Legendre transforms of the entropy appropriate for constant T, or for constant T and P, the Massieu functions −F/T and −G/T, respectively.
Non-equilibrium
Generally the systems treated with the conventional chemical thermodynamics are either at equilibrium or near equilibrium. Ilya Prigogine developed the thermodynamic treatment of open systems that are far from equilibrium. In doing so he has discovered phenomena and structures of completely new and completely unexpected types. His generalized, nonlinear and irreversible thermodynamics has found surprising applications in a wide variety of fields.
The non-equilibrium thermodynamics has been applied for explaining how ordered structures e.g. the biological systems, can develop from disorder. Even if Onsager's relations are utilized, the classical principles of equilibrium in thermodynamics still show that linear systems close to equilibrium always develop into states of disorder which are stable to perturbations and cannot explain the occurrence of ordered structures.
Prigogine called these systems dissipative systems, because they are formed and maintained by the dissipative processes which take place because of the exchange of energy between the system and its environment and because they disappear if that exchange ceases. They may be said to live in symbiosis with their environment.
The method which Prigogine used to study the stability of the dissipative structures to perturbations is of very great general interest. It makes it possible to study the most varied problems, such as city traffic problems, the stability of insect communities, the development of ordered biological structures and the growth of cancer cells to mention but a few examples.
System constraints
In this regard, it is crucial to understand the role of walls and other constraints, and the distinction between independent processes and coupling. Contrary to the clear implications of many reference sources, the previous analysis is not restricted to homogeneous, isotropic bulk systems which can deliver only PdV work to the outside world, but applies even to the most structured systems. There are complex systems with many chemical "reactions" going on at the same time, some of which are really only parts of the same, overall process. An independent process is one that could proceed even if all others were unaccountably stopped in their tracks. Understanding this is perhaps a "thought experiment" in chemical kinetics, but actual examples exist.
A gas-phase reaction at constant temperature and pressure which results in an increase in the number of molecules will lead to an increase in volume. Inside a cylinder closed with a piston, it can proceed only by doing work on the piston. The extent variable for the reaction can increase only if the piston moves out, and conversely if the piston is pushed inward, the reaction is driven backwards.
Similarly, a redox reaction might occur in an electrochemical cell with the passage of current through a wire connecting the electrodes. The half-cell reactions at the electrodes are constrained if no current is allowed to flow. The current might be dissipated as Joule heating, or it might in turn run an electrical device like a motor doing mechanical work. An automobile lead-acid battery can be recharged, driving the chemical reaction backwards. In this case as well, the reaction is not an independent process. Some, perhaps most, of the Gibbs free energy of reaction may be delivered as external work.
The hydrolysis of ATP to ADP and phosphate can drive the force-times-distance work delivered by living muscles, and synthesis of ATP is in turn driven by a redox chain in mitochondria and chloroplasts, which involves the transport of ions across the membranes of these cellular organelles. The coupling of processes here, and in the previous examples, is often not complete. Gas can leak slowly past a piston, just as it can slowly leak out of a rubber balloon. Some reaction may occur in a battery even if no external current is flowing. There is usually a coupling coefficient, which may depend on relative rates, which determines what percentage of the driving free energy is turned into external work, or captured as "chemical work", a misnomer for the free energy of another chemical process.
See also
Thermodynamic databases for pure substances
laws of thermodynamics
References
Further reading
Library of Congress Catalog No. 60-5597
Library of Congress Catalog No. 67-29540
Library of Congress Catalog No. 67-20003
External links
Chemical Thermodynamics - University of North Carolina
Chemical energetics (Introduction to thermodynamics and the First Law)
Thermodynamics of chemical equilibrium (Entropy, Second Law and free energy)
Category:Physical chemistry
Category:Branches of thermodynamics
Category:Chemical engineering thermodynamics | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_thermodynamics | 2025-04-05T18:27:37.502916 |
5938 | Standard works | right|thumb|upright|Quadruple combination format of the Standard Works: the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. The LDS Church regards approved versions of these works in any language to be just as authentic as the originals.
The Standard Works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, the largest in the Latter Day Saint movement) are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. The four books of the standard works are:
The Authorized King James Version (KJV) as the official scriptural text of the Bible (other versions of the Bible are used in non-English-speaking countries)
The Book of Mormon, subtitled since 1981 "Another Testament of Jesus Christ"
The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C)
The Pearl of Great Price (containing the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith–Matthew, Joseph Smith–History, and the Articles of Faith)
The Standard Works are printed and distributed by the LDS Church both in a single binding called a quadruple combination and as a set of two books, with the Bible in one binding, and the other three books in a second binding called a triple combination. Current editions of the Standard Works include a number of non-canonical study aids, including a Bible dictionary, photographs, maps and gazetteer, topical guide, index, footnotes, cross references, and excerpts from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
The scriptural canon is "open" due to the Latter-day Saint belief in continuous revelation. Additions can be made to the scriptural canon with the "common consent" of the church's membership. Other branches of the Latter Day Saint movement reject some of the Standard Works or add other scriptures, such as the Book of the Law of the Lord and The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel.
Differences in canonicity across sects
Canons of various Latter Day Saint denominations reject some of the Standard Works canonized by the LDS Church or have included additional works. For instance, the Bickertonite sect does not consider the Pearl of Great Price or D&C to be scriptural. Rather, they believe that the New Testament scriptures contain a true description of the church as established by Jesus Christ, and that both the King James Version of the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the inspired word of God. Some Latter Day Saint denominations accept earlier versions of the Standard Works or work to develop corrected translations. Others have purportedly received additional revelations.
The Community of Christ points to Jesus Christ as the living Word of God, and it affirms the Bible, along with the Book of Mormon, as well as its own regularly appended version of D&C as scripture for the church. While it publishes a version of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible—which includes material from the Book of Moses—Community of Christ also accepts the use of other English translations of the Bible, such as the standard King James Version and the New Revised Standard Version.
Like the Bickertonites, the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) rejects the D&C and the Pearl of Great Price, as well as the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, preferring to use only the King James Bible and the Book of Mormon as doctrinal standards. The Book of Commandments is accepted as being superior to the D&Cs as a compendium of Smith's early revelations but is not accorded the same status as the Bible or the Book of Mormon.
The Word of the Lord and The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel are two related books considered to be scriptural by Fettingite factions that separated from the Temple Lot church. Both books contain revelations said to be given to former Church of Christ (Temple Lot) apostle Otto Fetting by an angelic being who said he was John the Baptist. The latter title (120 messages) contains the entirety of the former's material (30 message) with additional revelations (90 messages) said to be given to William A. Draves by this same being, after Fetting's death. Neither are accepted by the larger Temple Lot body of believers.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) considers the Bible (when correctly translated), the Book of Mormon, and editions of the D&C published prior to Joseph Smith's death (which contained the Lectures on Faith) to be inspired scripture. They also hold the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible to be inspired, but do not believe modern publications of the text are accurate. Other portions of the Pearl of Great Price, however, are not considered to be scriptural—though are not necessarily fully rejected either. The Book of Jasher was consistently used by both Joseph Smith and James Strang, but as with other Latter Day Saint denominations and sects, there is no official stance on its authenticity, and it is not considered canonical.
This sect likewise holds as scriptural several prophecies, visions, revelations, and translations printed by James Strang, and published in the Revelations of James J. Strang.
An additional work, called The Book of the Law of the Lord, is also accepted as inspired scripture by the Strangites. They likewise hold as scriptural several prophecies, visions, revelations, and translations printed by James Strang, and published in the Revelations of James J. Strang. Among other things, this text contains his purported "Letter of Appointment" from Joseph Smith and his translation of the Voree plates.
The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) accepts the following as scripture: the Inspired Version of the Bible (including the Book of Moses and Joseph Smith–Matthew), the Book of Mormon, and the 1844 edition of the D&C (including the Lectures on Faith). However, the revelation on tithing (section 107 in the 1844 edition; 119 in modern LDS Church editions) is emphatically rejected by members of this church, as it is not believed to be given by Joseph Smith. The Book of Abraham is rejected as scripture, as are the other portions of the Pearl of Great Price that do not appear in the Inspired Version of the Bible.
Many Latter Day Saint denominations have also either adopted the Articles of Faith or at least view them as a statement of basic theology. (They are considered scriptural by the LDS Church and are included in the Pearl of Great Price.) At times, the Articles of Faith have been adapted to fit the respective belief systems of various faith communities.
Process of addition or alteration
The D&C teaches that "all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church". This applies to adding new scripture. LDS Church president Harold B. Lee taught "The only one authorized to bring forth any new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as revelation from God, and it will be so accepted by the Council of the Twelve and sustained by the body of the Church." There are several instances of this happening in the LDS Church:
June 9, 1830: First conference of the church, The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ, now known as D&C 20. If the Bible and Book of Mormon were not sustained on April 6 then they were by default when the Articles and Covenants were sustained. (see D&C 20:8-11)
August 17, 1835: Select revelations from Joseph Smith were unanimously accepted as scripture. These were later printed in the D&C.
October 10, 1880: The Pearl of Great Price was unanimously accepted as scripture. Also at that time, other revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants – which had not been accepted as scripture in 1835 because they were received after that date – were unanimously accepted as scripture.
October 6, 1890: Official Declaration 1 was accepted unanimously as scripture. It later began to be published in the Doctrine and Covenants.
April 3, 1976: Two visions (one received by Joseph Smith and the other by Joseph F. Smith) were accepted as scripture and added to the Pearl of Great Price. (The two visions were later moved to the D&C as sections 137 and 138.)
September 30, 1978: Official Declaration 2 was accepted unanimously as scripture. It immediately was added to the Doctrine and Covenants.
When a doctrine undergoes this procedure, the LDS Church treats it as the word of God, and it is used as a standard to compare other doctrines. Lee taught:
It is not to be thought that every word spoken by the General Authorities is inspired, or that they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost in everything they speak and write. Now you keep that in mind. I don't care what his position is, if he writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard works, unless that one be the prophet, seer, and revelator—please note that one exception—you may immediately say, "Well, that is his own idea!" And if he says something that contradicts what is found in the standard works (I think that is why we call them "standard"—it is the standard measure of all that men teach), you may know by that same token that it is false; regardless of the position of the man who says it.
The Bible
thumb|300px|right|Quadruple combination format of the Standard Works opened to the Book of Isaiah. Note the cross references between Biblical and Latter-day Saint scripture in the footnotes.
English-speaking Latter-day Saints typically study a custom edition of the KJV, which includes custom chapter headings, footnotes referencing books in the Standard Works, and select passages from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
Though the KJV was always commonly used, it was officially adopted in the 1950s when J. Reuben Clark, of the church's First Presidency, argued extensively that newer translations, such as Revised Standard Version (RSV) of 1952, were of lower quality and less compatible with LDS Church tradition. After publishing its own KJV edition in 1979, the First Presidency announced in 1992 that the KJV was the church's official English Bible, stating: "[w]hile other Bible versions may be easier to read than the King James Version, in doctrinal matters latter-day revelation supports the King James Version in preference to other English translations." In 2010, this statement was written into the church's Handbook, which directs official church policy and programs.
A Spanish version, with a similar format and using a slightly revised version of the 1909 Reina-Valera translation, was published in 2009. Latter-day Saints in other non-English speaking areas may use other versions of the Bible.
Though the Bible is part of the LDS Church's canon and members believe it to be the word of God, they believe that errors, omissions, and mistranslations are present in even the earliest known Biblical manuscripts. They state that the errors in the Bible have led to incorrect interpretations of certain passages. Thus, as Joseph Smith explained, the church believes the Bible to be the word of God "as far as it is translated correctly". The LDS Church teaches that "[t]he most reliable way to measure the accuracy of any biblical passage is not by comparing different texts, but by comparison with the Book of Mormon and modern-day revelations". and therefore it is not included in the LDS Church's canon and is rarely studied by its members. However, it is still printed in every version of the KJV published by the church.
The Apocrypha
Although the Apocrypha was part of the 1611 edition of the KJV, the LDS Church does not currently use the Apocrypha as part of its canon. Joseph Smith taught that while the contemporary edition of the Apocrypha was not to be relied on for doctrine, it was potentially useful when read with a spirit of discernment.
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
Joseph Smith translated selected verses of the Bible, working by subject. His complete work is known as the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, or the Inspired Version. Although this selected translation is not generally quoted by church members, the English Bible issued by the church and commonly used by Latter-day Saints contains cross-references to the Joseph Smith Translation (JST), as well as an appendix containing longer excerpts from it. Excerpts that were too long to include in the Bible appendix are included in the Pearl of Great Price as the Book of Moses (for Genesis 1:1-6:13) and Joseph Smith-Matthew (for Matthew 23:39-24:51 and Mark 13).
The Book of Mormon
thumb|left|200px|Cover page of the Book of Mormon from an original 1830 edition, by Joseph Smith(Image from the U.S. Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division)
LDS Church members, and others in the Latter Day Saint movement, consider the Book of Mormon a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It contains a record of God's dealings with the prophets and ancient inhabitants of the Americas. The introduction to the book asserts that it "contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon."
Segments of the Book of Mormon provide an account of the culture, religious teachings, and civilizations of some of the groups who immigrated to the New World. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, identified in the book as the Nephites and the Lamanites. Some years after their arrival, the Nephites met with a similar group, the Mulekites who left the Middle East during the same period. An older group arrived in America much earlier, when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites and their story is condensed in the Book of Ether. The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of Jesus Christ among Nephites soon after his resurrection. This account presents the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and offers men peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come. The latter segments of the Book of Mormon detail the destruction of these civilizations, as all were destroyed except the Lamanites. The book asserts that the Lamanites are among the ancestors of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
According to his record, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by gift and power of God through a set of interpreters, later referred to as the Urim and Thummim. Eleven witnesses signed testimonies of its authenticity, which are now included in the preface to the Book of Mormon. The Three Witnesses testified to have seen an angel present the golden plates and to have heard God bear witness to its truth. Eight others stated that Joseph Smith showed them the golden plates and that they handled and examined them.
The Doctrine and Covenants
The LDS Church's D&C is a collection of revelations, policies, letters, and statements given to the modern church by past church presidents. This record contains points of church doctrine and direction on church government. The book has existed in numerous forms, with varying content, throughout the history of the church and has also been published in differing formats by the various Latter Day Saint denominations. When the church chooses to canonize new material, it is typically added to the D&C; the most recent changes were made in 1981.
The Pearl of Great Price
The Pearl of Great Price is a selection of material produced by Joseph Smith and deals with many significant aspects of the faith and doctrine of the church. Many of these materials were initially published in church periodicals in the early days of the church.
The Pearl of Great Price contains five sections:
Selections from the Book of Moses: portions of the Book of Genesis from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
The Book of Abraham: a translation from papyri acquired by Smith in 1835, dealing with Abraham's journeys in Egypt. The work contains many distinctive Mormon doctrines such as exaltation.
Joseph Smith–Matthew: portions of the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Mark from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
Joseph Smith–History: a first-person narrative of Smith's life before the founding of the church. The material is taken from Documentary History of the Church and is based on a history written by Smith in 1838.
The Articles of Faith: concise listing of thirteen fundamental doctrines of Mormonism composed by Smith in 1842.
Table of canonicity
All denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement listed below use the same canon of the Book of Mormon. Other uses and content vary among their respective canons.
+ Books The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(LDS Church) Community of Christ (RLDS) Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) Church of Christ (Temple Lot) Church of Christ (Fettingite) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) Doctrine and CovenantsBook of Commandments Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith Conferral of Aaronic priesthood by John the Baptist To Three Witnesses To Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson Property division Location of Zion at Jackson County, Missouri Prayer of Joseph Smith; keys of the kingdom To William E. McLellin Testimony of the Book of Commandments To Orson Hyde, Luke S. Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson, and William E. McLellin; bishops; parents Assignments for John Whitmer Stewardship; equality Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon called to preach Bishops Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible Explanation of 1 Corinthians 7:14; salvation of children Missionary work; families of missionaries Jesus Christ; resurrection; degrees of glory; origin of Satan Explanation of certain verses in Revelation United Order; equality To Jared Carter To Stephen Burnett and Eden Smith To Jesse Gause; on 18 Mar 1833 its application was transferred to Frederick G. Williams Obedience; United Order; equality Husbands and fathers; widows and orphans Priesthood Letter from Joseph Smith to W. W. Phelps; United Order; One Mighty and Strong; equality Parable of the Tares explained Prophecy of war and calamity The "olive leaf"; "Lord's message of peace" A "Word of Wisdom" Keys of the kingdom; First Presidency The Apocrypha To Frederick G. Williams John's record of Christ; intelligence; innocence of children To Hyrum Smith, Reynolds Cahoon, and Jared Carter; construction of various buildings commanded Kirtland Temple to be built; purpose of temples Division of property Saints in Jackson County, Missouri; temple to be built in Jackson County Promises and warnings; martyrs; when war is justified; forgiving enemies To John Murdock Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon to preach gospel; Rigdon to be Smith's spokesman; welfare of Orson Hyde and John Gould Redemption of Zion; parables; United States and the U.S. Constitution; Saints to seek redress Minutes for first high council meeting Redemption of Zion; organization of Zion's Camp United Order Redemption of Zion; purpose of Kirtland Temple; peace To Warren A. Cowdery; Second Coming Priesthood; quorums To Lyman Sherman Dedicatory prayer for Kirtland Temple Visitation of Jesus Christ to accept Kirtland Temple; conferral of priesthood keys; coming of Moses, Elias, and Elijah temporal needs of the church To Thomas B. Marsh; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; First Presidency Answers to questions on the Book of Isaiah Concerning David W. Patten Name of the church; stakes; temple to be built at Far West, Missouri Adam-ondi-Ahman Concerning William Marks, Newel K. Whitney, and Oliver Granger; property; sacrifice Vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles filled Tithing Council on the Disposition of the Tithes Prayer and prophecies of Joseph Smith; why many are called but few chosen Destiny of Joseph Smith Letter to church; duty in relation to their persecutors Nauvoo Temple and Nauvoo House to be built; baptism for the dead Saints in Iowa To Brigham Young Letter to church; baptism for the dead Letter to church; baptism for the dead Distinguishing the nature of angels and disembodied spirits Various items of instruction; corporeal nature of God and Jesus Christ; intelligence; seer stones Various items of instruction; celestial marriage; eternal life Plural marriage; celestial marriage; sealing power; exaltation Original "Appendix"; Second Coming; missionary work secular governments and laws in general Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith Organization of Mormon pioneer westward journey Salvation for the dead; salvation of little children Jesus Christ preached to spirits in prison; salvation for the dead Cessation of plural marriage 1978 Revelation on Priesthood: cessation of priesthood restrictions based on race God's words to Moses Yes(Pearl of Great Price) Prophecy of Enoch Yes(Pearl of Great Price) General meeting of the quorums of the church to consider the labors of the committee charged with organizing publication of the revelations into a book Declaration on marriage; one spouse only Tithing Calling of William Marks Priesthood ordination of other races Changes in leadership positions Foreign missions Instructions to the elders Branch and district presidents Changes in leadership positions Duties of quorums Lamoni College; church publications; relations with the LDS Church; doctrinal tracts; interpretation of various scriptures; gospel boat; branch in Detroit Changes in leadership positions Patriarchs; foreign missions Quorums Sanitarium Organization and colonization Changes in leadership positions Changes in leadership positions Presiding Bishopric Presiding Bishop Missionary work Changes in leadership positions Changes in leadership positions Changes in leadership positions; unity Changes in leadership positions Changes in leadership positions; work toward Zion Changes in leadership positions Changes in leadership positions; Zion Changes in leadership positions; counsel Commendation; urge to work Changes in leadership positions; counsel New President of the Church named Changes in leadership positions Changes in leadership positions; unity commended Changes in leadership positions; stewardship Changes in leadership positions; counsel Changes in leadership positions; relationship between ministerial programs; prepare to build temple at Independence Clarification of 149 Changes in leadership positions; counsel on culture; Independence Temple preparation; ecology Changes in leadership positions; reconciliation New precedent on presidential succession; presidential successor named; changes in leadership positions; reconciliation New President of the Church; changes in leadership positions; counsel on outreach Changes in leadership positions; counsel on outreach Changes in leadership positions; counsel on witness Purpose of Independence Temple; priesthood opened to women; changes in leadership positions Changes in leadership positions; unity; humility Changes in leadership positions; the spiritual life Changes in leadership positions; trusting the Spirit; Independence Temple accepted New President of the Church named Proclaim peace; reach out; patience; embrace differences; respect tradition Be a prophetic people; diversity; tithing Strive for peace; missionary work; use and misuse of scripture; equality; generosity Effects of baptism, confirmation, and sacrament of the Lord's Supper; cultural awareness and sensitivity; flexibility in number of quorums of seventy; accelerate evangelism Expand community, promote peace, and end poverty; tithing; unity in diversity; act in accordance to beliefs Pearl of Great PriceBook of Moses Book of Abraham Joseph Smith–Matthew Joseph Smith–History Articles of Faith Inspired Inspired Inspired Latter Day Saint movement other religious textThe Word of the Lord The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel Lectures on Faith Book of Jasher No - not considered canonical The Book of the Law of the Lord Letter of Appointment
See also
Book of Joseph, untranslated scripture from Joseph Smith Papyri
Kinderhook plates, incomplete non-canonized translation made by Joseph Smith
Lectures on Faith, decanonized in 1921
List of non-canonical revelations in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
References
External links
Quadruple Combination: Official Edition of the Standard Works (King James Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) in PDF format, including footnotes, chapter headings and supplemental material.
Official Edition of the LDS standard works with cross references and study helps
Category:Latter Day Saint terms | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_works | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.294093 |
5942 | History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | The history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has three main periods, described generally as:
the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, which is in common with most Latter Day Saint movement churches;
the "pioneer era" under the leadership of Brigham Young and his 19th-century successors;
the modern era beginning in the early 20th century as the practice of polygamy was discontinued and many members sought reintegration into U.S. society.
The LDS Church originated in the burned-over district within Western New York. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was raised in this region during the Second Great Awakening. Smith gained a small following in the late 1820s as he was dictating the Book of Mormon, which he said was a translation of inscriptions found on a set of golden plates buried near his home in Upstate New York by an Indigenous American prophet named Moroni.
On April 6, 1830, at the home of Peter Whitmer in Fayette, New York, Smith organized the religion's first legal church entity, the Church of Christ, which grew rapidly under Smith's leadership. The main body of the church moved first to Kirtland, Ohio, in the early 1830s, then to Missouri in 1838, where the 1838 Mormon War with other Missouri settlers ensued. On October 27, 1838, Lilburn W. Boggs, the Governor of Missouri, signed Missouri Executive Order 44, which called to expel adherents from the state. Approximately 15,000 Mormons fled to Illinois after their surrender at Far West on November 1, 1838.
After fleeing from Missouri, Smith founded the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, which grew rapidly. When Smith was killed, Nauvoo had a population of about 12,000 people, nearly all members of Smith's church. After his death, a succession crisis ensued and the majority voted to accept the Quorum of the Twelve, led by Brigham Young, as the church's leading body.
After suffering persecution in Illinois, Young left Nauvoo in 1846 and led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, to Salt Lake Valley. The Mormon pioneers then branched out to pioneer a large state called Deseret, establishing colonies that spanned from Canada to Mexico.
Young incorporated the LDS Church as a legal entity and governed his followers as a theocratic leader, assuming both political and religious positions. He also publicized the previously secret practice of plural marriage, a form of polygamy. By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Latter-day Saints and other Americans, largely as a result of the teachings on polygamy and theocracy. During the Utah War, from 1857 to 1858, the United States Army conducted an invasion of Utah, after which Young agreed to be replaced by a non-Mormon territorial Governor, Alfred Cumming.
The church, however, still wielded significant political power in Utah Territory. Even after Young died in 1877, many members continued the practice of polygamy despite opposition by the United States Congress. When tensions with the U.S. government came to a head in 1890, the church officially abandoned the public practice of polygamy in the United States and eventually stopped performing official polygamous marriages altogether after a Second Manifesto in 1904. Eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunicating members who were found to be practicing polygamy, and today seeks to actively distance itself from polygamist fundamentalist groups.
During the 20th century, the church became an international organization. The church first began engaging with mainstream American culture, and then with international cultures. It engaged especially in Latin American countries by sending out thousands of missionaries. The church began publicly supporting monogamy and the nuclear family, and at times played a role in political matters. One of the official changes to the organization during the modern era was the participation of black members in temple ceremonies, which began in 1978, reversing a policy originally instituted by Young. The church has also gradually changed its temple ceremony. There continue to be periodic changes in the structure and organization of the church.
Early history (1820s to 1846)
Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was raised in Western New York during the Second Great Awakening. Smith gained a small following in the late 1820s as he was dictating the Book of Mormon. He stated that the book was a translation of characters from an ancient script called reformed Egyptian that he stated was inscribed on gold plates which had been buried near his residence in western New York by an indigenous American prophet. Smith said he had been given the plates from the angel Moroni.
On April 6, 1830, in western New York, Smith organized the religion's first legal church entity, the Church of Christ. The church rapidly gained a following who viewed Smith as their prophet. In late 1830, Smith envisioned a "City of Zion", a utopian city in Native American lands near Independence, Missouri. In October 1830, he sent his Assistant President, Oliver Cowdery, and others on a mission to the area. Passing through Kirtland, Ohio, the missionaries converted a congregation of Disciples of Christ led by Sidney Rigdon, and in 1831, Smith decided to temporarily move his followers to Kirtland until lands in the Missouri area could be purchased. In the meantime, the church's headquarters remained in Kirtland from 1831 to 1838 and there the church built its first temple and continued to grow in membership from 680 to 17,881 members.
While the main church body was in Kirtland, many of Smith's followers attempted to establish settlements in Missouri but were met with resistance from other Missourians who believed Mormons were abolitionists or who distrusted their political ambitions. After Smith and other Mormons in Kirtland emigrated to Missouri in 1838, hostilities escalated into the 1838 Mormon War, culminating in adherents being expelled from the state under an Extermination Order signed by Lilburn W. Boggs, the governor of Missouri.
After Missouri, Smith founded the city of Nauvoo, Illinois as the new church headquarters, and served as the city's mayor and leader of the Nauvoo Legion. As church leader, Smith also instituted the then-secret practice of plural marriage and taught a political system he called "theodemocracy", to be led by a Council of Fifty which had secretly and symbolically anointed him king of this millennial theodemocracy.
thumb|right|Joseph Smith (pictured), founder of the church, and his brother Hyrum were killed in Carthage, Illinois, by a mob on June 27, 1844
On June 7, 1844, a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor, edited by dissident Mormon William Law, issued a scathing criticism of polygamy and the Nauvoo theocratic government, including a call for church reform based on earlier Mormon principles. In response to the newspaper's publication, Smith and the Nauvoo City Council declared the paper a public nuisance, and ordered the press destroyed. The town marshal carried out the order during the evening of June 10. The destruction of the press led to charges of riot against Smith and other members of the council. After Smith surrendered on the charges, he was also charged with treason against Illinois. While in state custody, he and his brother Hyrum Smith, who was second in line to the church presidency, were killed in a firefight with an angry mob attacking the jail on June 27, 1844.
After Smith's death, a succession crisis ensued. In this crisis a number of church leaders campaigned to lead the church. Most adherents voted on August 8, 1844, to accept the leadership of Brigham Young, the senior apostle. Later, adherents bolstered their succession claims by referring to a March 1844 meeting in which Joseph committed the "keys of the kingdom" to a group of members within the Council of Fifty that included the apostles.
In addition, by the end of the 1800s, several of Young's followers had published reminiscences recalling that during Young's August 8 speech, he looked or sounded similar to Joseph Smith, which they attributed to the power of God.
Pioneer era (c. 1846 to c. 1900)
Migration to Utah and colonization of the West
right|thumb|250px|Map showing the westward exodus of the LDS church between 1846 and 1869. Also shown is a portion of the route followed by the Mormon Battalion and the path followed by the handcart companies to the Mormon Trail.
Under the leadership of Brigham Young, church leaders planned to leave Nauvoo, Illinois in April 1846, but amid threats from the state militia, they were forced to cross the Mississippi River in the cold of February. They eventually left the boundaries of the United States to what is now Utah, where they founded Salt Lake City.
The groups that left Illinois for Utah became known as the Mormon pioneers and forged a path to Salt Lake City known as the Mormon Trail. The arrival of the Mormon Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, is commemorated by the Utah State holiday Pioneer Day.
thumb|right|250px|Locations of major LDS settlements in North America prior to 1890. Included are major cities founded by LDS settlers who later abandoned the area.
Groups of converts from the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere were encouraged to gather in Utah in the following decades. Both the original Mormon migration and subsequent convert migrations resulted in many deaths. Brigham Young organized a great colonization of the American West, with Mormon settlements extending from Canada to Mexico. Notable cities that sprang from early Mormon settlements include San Bernardino, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Mesa, Arizona.
Brigham Young's early theocratic leadership
Following the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young stated that the church should be led by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (see succession crisis). Later, after the migration to Utah had begun, Young was sustained as a member of the First Presidency on December 25, 1847, and then as President of the Church on October 8, 1848.
In the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded the area to the United States. As a result, Brigham Young sent emissaries to Washington, D.C. with a proposal to create a vast State of Deseret, of which Young would be the first governor. Instead, Congress created the much smaller Utah Territory in 1850, and Young was appointed governor in 1851. Because of his religious position, Young exercised much more practical control over the affairs of Mormon and non-Mormon settlers than a typical territorial governor of the time.
For most of the 19th century, the LDS Church maintained an ecclesiastical court system parallel to federal courts, and required Mormons to use the system exclusively for civil matters, or face church discipline.
Mormon Reformation
In 1856–1858, the church underwent what is commonly called the Mormon Reformation. In 1855, a drought struck the flourishing territory. Very little rain fell, and dependable mountain streams ran very low. An infestation of grasshoppers and crickets destroyed whatever crops the Mormons had managed to salvage. During the winter of 1855–56, flour and other basic necessities were very scarce and costly.
In September 1856, as the drought continued, the trials and difficulties led to an explosion of religious fervor. Jedediah M. Grant, a counselor in the First Presidency and a well-known conservative voice in the extended community, preached three days of fiery sermons to the people of Kaysville, Utah territory. He called for repentance and a general recommitment to moral living and religious teachings. 500 people presented themselves for "re-baptism"—a symbol of their determination to reform their lives. The message spread from Kaysville to surrounding Mormon communities. Church leaders traveled around the territory, expressing their concern about signs of spiritual decay and calling for repentance. Members were asked to seal their rededication with re-baptism.
Several sermons Willard Richards and George A. Smith had given earlier in the history of the church had touched on the concept of blood atonement, suggesting that apostates could become so enveloped in sin that the voluntary shedding of their own blood might increase their chances of eternal salvation. On September 21, 1856, while calling for sincere repentance, Brigham Young took the idea further, and stated:
This belief became ingrained in the church's public image during that period and drew widespread ridicule in Eastern newspapers, particularly in connection with the practice of polygamy. The notion faced consistent criticism from numerous Mormons and was ultimately disavowed as an official doctrine by the LDS Church in 1978. Nevertheless, in contemporary times, critics of the church and some popular writers continue to associate a formal doctrine of blood atonement with the Church.
Throughout the winter, special meetings were held and Mormons were urged to adhere to the commandments of God and the practices and precepts of the church. Preaching placed emphasis on the practice of plural marriage, adherence to the Word of Wisdom, attendance at church meetings, and personal prayer. On December 30, 1856, the entire all-Mormon territorial legislature was re-baptized for the remission of their sins, and confirmed under the hands of the Twelve Apostles. As time went on, however, the sermons became intolerant and hysterical.
Utah War and Mountain Meadows massacre
In 1857–1858, the church was involved in an armed conflict with the U.S. government, now known as the Utah War. The settlers and the United States government battled for hegemony over the culture and government of the territory. Tensions over the Utah War, the murder of Mormon apostle Parley P. Pratt in Arkansas, and threats of violence from the Baker-Fancher wagon train (and possibly other factors), resulted in rogue Mormon settlers in southern Utah massacring a wagon train from Arkansas, known as Mountain Meadows massacre. The result of the Utah War was the succeeding of the governorship of the Utah territory from Brigham Young to Alfred Cumming, an outsider appointed by President James Buchanan.
Brigham Young's later years
The church had attempted unsuccessfully to institute the United Order numerous times, most recently during the Mormon Reformation. In 1874, Young once again attempted to establish a permanent Order, which he called the "United Order of Enoch" in at least 200 LDS Church-established communities, beginning in St. George, Utah on February 9, 1874.
In Young's Order, producers typically transferred ownership of their property to the Order itself. All members within the order would then collectively partake in the cooperative's net income, often distributed in proportion to the value of the property initially contributed. Occasionally, members received wages for their labor on the shared property. Much like Joseph Smith's United Order, Young's Order had a brief existence. By the time Young died, most of these Orders had faltered. As the 19th century drew to a close, these Orders had effectively become extinct.
Young died in August 1877, but the First Presidency was not reorganized until 1880, when he was succeeded by John Taylor, who in the interim had served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Polygamy and the United States "Mormon question"
For several decades, polygamy was preached as God's law. Brigham Young, the church's second president, had 56 wives during his life; many other church leaders were also polygamists.
This early practice of polygamy caused conflict between church members and the broader American society. In 1854, the Republican party referred in its platform to polygamy and slavery as the "twin relics of barbarism." In 1862, the U.S. Congress enacted the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act, signed by Abraham Lincoln, which made bigamy a felony in the territories punishable by $500 or five years in prison. The law also permitted the confiscation of church property without compensation. However, this law was not enforced by the Lincoln administration or by Mormon-controlled territorial probate courts. Moreover, as Mormon polygamist marriages were performed in secret, it was difficult to prove when a polygamist marriage had taken place. In the meantime, Congress was preoccupied with the American Civil War.
In 1874, after the war, Congress passed the Poland Act, which transferred jurisdiction over Morrill Act cases to federal prosecutors and courts, which were not controlled by Mormons. In addition, the Morrill Act was upheld in 1878 by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Reynolds v. United States. After Reynolds, Congress became even more aggressive against polygamy, and passed the Edmunds Act in 1882. The Edmunds Act prohibited not just bigamy, which remained a felony, but also bigamous cohabitation, which was prosecuted as a misdemeanor, and did not require proof an actual marriage ceremony had taken place. The Act also vacated the Utah territorial government, created an independent committee to oversee elections to prevent Mormon influence, and disenfranchised any former or present polygamist. Further, the law allowed the government to deny civil rights to polygamists without a trial.
In 1887, Congress passed the Edmunds-Tucker Act, which allowed prosecutors to force plural wives to testify against their husbands, abolished the right of women to vote, disincorporated the church, and confiscated the church's property. and the church organization itself had been disincorporated. With the reduction in federal pressure afforded by the Manifesto, however, the church began to re-establish its institutions.
World Wars
Throughout both World Wars, the LDS Church maintained a stance of neutrality, focusing on supporting its members spiritually and materially without endorsing any political sides. The church's leaders guided members through these challenging times by bolstering welfare programs and emphasizing faith. The wars notably influenced the LDS Church's international expansion and its role as a global religious organization committed to humanitarian efforts.
LDS Church in World War I
During World War I, the LDS Church was led by Joseph F. Smith, who navigated the church through the tumultuous period with a focus on neutrality and peace. Many members served in the military, and the church organized welfare and support efforts for those affected by the war.
LDS Church in World War II
In World War II, the LDS Church, under the leadership of Heber J. Grant, continued its tradition of non-partisanship in global conflicts, while still supporting its members’ decisions to serve in their respective countries’ military forces. The church's extensive welfare system was pivotal during this time, providing support for both members and non-members affected by the war.
Post-Manifesto polygamy and the Second Manifesto
The 1890 Manifesto did not, itself, eliminate the practice of new plural marriages, as they continued to occur clandestinely, mostly with church approval and authority. In addition, most Mormon polygamists and every polygamous general authority continued to cohabit with their polygamous wives. Mormon leaders, including Woodruff, maintained that the Manifesto was a temporary expediency designed to enable Utah to obtain statehood and that at some future date, the practice would soon resume. Nevertheless, the 1890 Manifesto provided the church breathing room to obtain Utah's statehood, which it received in 1896 after a campaign to convince the American public that Mormon leaders had abandoned polygamy and intended to stay out of politics.
Despite being admitted to the United States, Utah was initially unsuccessful in having its elected representatives and senators seated in the United States Congress. In 1898, Utah elected general authority B.H. Roberts to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat. Roberts, however, was denied a seat there because he was practicing polygamy. In 1903, the Utah legislature selected Reed Smoot, also an LDS Church general authority but also a monogamist, as its first senator. From 1904 to 1907, the United States Senate conducted a series of Congressional hearings on whether Smoot should be seated. Eventually, the Senate granted Smoot a seat and allowed him to vote. However, the hearings raised controversy as to whether polygamy had actually been abandoned as claimed in the 1890 Manifesto, and whether the LDS Church continued to exercise influence on Utah politics. In response to these hearings, church president Joseph F. Smith issued a Second Manifesto denying that any post-Manifesto marriages had the church's sanction, and announcing that those entering such marriages in the future would be excommunicated.
The Second Manifesto did not annul existing plural marriages within the church, and the church tolerated some degree of polygamy into at least the 1930s. However, eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunicating its members found practicing polygamy and today seeks to actively distance itself from Mormon fundamentalist groups still practicing polygamy. In modern times, members of the Mormon religion do not practice polygamy.
Involvement in national politics
Relationship to the women's suffrage movement
In 1870, the Utah Territory had become one of the first polities to grant women the right to vote—a right which the U.S. Congress revoked in 1887 as part of the Edmunds-Tucker Act.
As a result, a number of LDS women became active and vocal proponents of women's rights. Of particular note was the LDS journalist and suffragist Emmeline B. Wells, editor of the Woman's Exponent, a Utah feminist newspaper. Wells, who was both a feminist and a polygamist, wrote vocally in favor of a woman's role in the political process and public discourse. National suffrage leaders, however, were somewhat perplexed by the seeming paradox between Utah's progressive stand on women's rights, and the church's stand on polygamy.
In 1890, after the church officially renounced polygamy, U.S. suffrage leaders began to embrace Utah's feminism more directly, and in 1891, Utah hosted the Rocky Mountain Suffrage Conference in Salt Lake City, attended by such national feminist leaders as Susan B. Anthony and Anna Howard Shaw. The Utah Woman Suffrage Association, which had been formed in 1889 as a branch of the American Woman Suffrage Association (which in 1890 became the National American Woman Suffrage Association), was then successful in demanding that the constitution of the nascent state of Utah should enfranchise women. In 1896, Utah became the third state in the U.S. to grant women the right to vote.
Debate over temperance and prohibition
The LDS Church was actively involved in support of the temperance movement in the 19th century, and later the prohibition movement under the presidency of Heber J. Grant.
Relationship with socialism and communism
Mormonism has had a mixed relationship with socialism in its various forms. In the earliest days of Mormonism, Joseph Smith had established a form of Christian communalism, an idea made popular during the Second Great Awakening, combined with a move toward theocracy. Mormons referred to this form of theocratic communalism as the United Order, or the law of consecration. While short-lived during the life of Joseph Smith, the United Order was re-established for a time in several communities of Utah during the theocratic political leadership of Brigham Young. Some aspects of secular socialism also found a place in the political views of Joseph Smith. He ran for President of the United States on a platform that included a nationalized bank aimed at addressing the abuses of private banks.
As a secular political leader in Nauvoo, Joseph Smith introduced collective farms to support those lacking property, ensuring sustenance for the poor and their families. Upon reaching Utah, Brigham Young guided the church leadership in advocating for collective industry ownership. In 1876, a circular issued by them emphasized the importance of wealth distribution for liberty, warning against tyranny, oppression, and the vices arising from unequal wealth distribution. The circular, signed by the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency, cautioned that continuous wealth concentration among the rich and deepening poverty among the poor could lead the nation toward disaster.
In addition to religious socialism, many Mormons in Utah were interested in the secular socialist movement that began in America during the 1890s. During the 1890s to the 1920s, the Utah Social Democratic Party, which became part of the Socialist Party of America in 1901, elected about 100 socialists to state offices in Utah. An estimated 40% of Utah Socialists were Mormon. Many early socialists visited the Church's cooperative communities in Utah with great interest and were well received by the church leadership. Prominent early socialists such as Albert Brisbane, Victor Prosper Considerant, Plotino Rhodakanaty, Edward Bellamy, and Ruth & Reginald Wright Kauffman showed great interest in the successful cooperative communities of the church in Utah. For example, while doing research for what would become a best selling socialist novel, Looking Backward, Edward Bellamy toured the Church's cooperative communities in Utah and visited with Lorenzo Snow for a week. Ruth & Reginald Wright Kauffman also wrote a book, though this one non-fiction, after visiting the Church in Utah. Their book was titled The Latter Day Saints: A Study of the Mormons in the Light of Economic Conditions, which discussed the Church from a Marxist perspective. Socialist Plotino Rhodakanaty also became a prominent early church member in Mexico, after being baptized by a group of missionaries which included Moses Thatcher. Thatcher kept in touch with Rhodakanaty for years following and was himself perhaps the most prominent member of the church to have openly identified himself as a socialist supporter.
Albert Brisbane and Victor Prosper Considerant also visited the church in Utah during its early years, prompting Considerant to note that "thanks to a certain dose of socialist solidarity, the Mormons have in a few years attained a state of unbelievable prosperity". Attributing the peculiar socialist attitudes of the early Mormons to their success in the desert of the western United States was common even among those who were not themselves socialist. For instance, in his book History of Utah, 1540–1886, Hubert Howe Bancroft points out that the Mormons "while not communists, the elements of socialism enter strongly into all their relations, public and private, social, commercial, and industrial, as well as religious and political. This tends to render them exclusive, independent of the gentiles and their government, and even in some respects antagonistic to them. They have assisted each other until nine out of ten own their farms, while commerce and manufacturing are to large extent cooperative. The rights of property are respected; but while a Mormon may sell his farm to a gentile, it would not be deemed good fellowship for him to do so."
While religious and secular socialism gained some acceptance among Mormons, the church was more circumspect about Marxist Communism because of its acceptance of violence as a means to achieve revolution. From the time of Joseph Smith, the church had taken a favorable view as to the American Revolution and the necessity at times to violently overthrow the government, however the church viewed the revolutionary nature of Leninist Communism as a threat to the United States Constitution, which the church saw as divinely inspired to ensure the agency of man. In 1936, the First Presidency issued a statement which stated in part that “to support Communism is treasonable to our free institutions, and no patriotic American citizen may become either a Communist or supporter of Communism. ... [N]o loyal American citizen and no faithful church member can be a Communist.” The strident atheism of Marxist thought may have also been considered incompatible with the church's fundamentally religious worldview.
In later years, such leaders as Ezra Taft Benson would take a stronger anti-Communist position publicly, his anti-Communism often being anti-leftist in general. However, the stridency of Benson's views was strongly disliked by others in the church's leadership, and even considered a point of embarrassment for the church. Later, Benson would become church president and backed off of his political rhetoric. Toward the end of his presidency, the church even began to discipline church members who had taken Benson's earlier hardline right-wing speeches too much to heart, some of whom claimed that the church had excommunicated them for adhering too closely to Benson's right-wing ideology.
Institutional reforms
Developments in Church financing
Soon after the 1890 Manifesto, the LDS Church was in a dire financial condition. It was recovering from the U.S. crackdown on polygamy, and had difficulty reclaiming property that had been confiscated during polygamy raids. Meanwhile, there was a national recession beginning in 1893. By the late 1890s, the church was about $2 million in debt, and near bankruptcy. In response, Lorenzo Snow, then President of the Church, conducted a campaign to raise the payment of tithing, of which less than 20% of LDS had been paying during the 1890s. After a visit to Saint George, Utah, which had a much higher-than-average percentage of full 10% tithe-payers, Snow felt that he had received a revelation. As a result of Snow's vigorous campaign, tithing payment increased dramatically from 18.4% in 1898 to an eventual peak of 59.3% in 1910. From that time, payment of tithing has been a requirement for temple worship within the faith.
During this timeframe, changes were made in stipends for bishops and general authorities. Bishops once received a 10% stipend from tithing funds, but are now purely volunteer. General authorities receive stipends, and formerly received loans from church funds.
Changes to meeting schedule
In earlier times, Latter-day Saint meetings occurred every Sunday morning and evening, with additional gatherings throughout the week. This structure was convenient for Utah Saints, as they typically resided within walking distance of a church building. However, outside of Utah, this meeting schedule presented logistical challenges. In 1980, the church implemented the "Consolidated Meeting Schedule," consolidating most church meetings into a three-hour block on Sundays.
In 2019, the meeting schedule was condensed into a two-hour block, with meetings during the second hour alternating between Sunday School and gendered (Relief Society / Priesthood) meetings.
Changes to missionary service
In 1982, the First Presidency announced that the length of service of male full-time missionaries would be reduced to 18 months. In 1984, a little more than two years later, it was announced that the length of service would be returned to its original length of 24 months.
Starting in 1990, paying for a mission became easier on those called to work in industrialized nations. Missionaries began paying into a church-wide general missionary fund instead of paying on their own. The amount paid into the fund does not vary by location; therefore, missionaries serving in low-cost-of-living-areas effectively subsidize missionaries serving in areas with higher costs.
Changes to church hierarchy and structure
During the 1960s, the church pursued a Priesthood Correlation Program, which streamlined and centralized the structure of the church. It had begun earlier in 1908, as the Correlation Program. The program increased church control over viewpoints taught in local church meetings.
During this time period, priesthood editorial oversight was established of formerly priesthood-auxiliary-specific YMMIA, YLMIA, Relief Society, Primary, and Sunday School magazines.
In 1911, the church adopted the Scouting program for its male members of appropriate age.
The Priesthood-Auxiliary movement (1928–1937) re-emphasized the church hierarchy around Priesthood, and re-emphasized other church organizations as "priesthood auxiliaries" with reduced autonomy.
LDS multiculturalism
As the church began to collide and meld with cultures outside of Utah and the United States, the church began to jettison some of the parochialisms and prejudices that had become part of Latter-day Saint culture but were not essential to Mormonism. During and after the civil rights movement, the church faced a critical point in its history, where its previous attitudes toward other cultures and people of color, which had once been shared by much of the Anglo-American mainstream, carried racist and neocolonialist connotations. The mid-20th century saw the church critiqued over its positions on Black and Native American matters, especially the institution's bias towards European standards or norms at the expense and disregard of other racial or ethnic backgrounds' identity and humanity.
The church and black people
The cause of some of the church's most damaging publicity had to do with the church's policy of discrimination against black people. Black people were always officially welcome in the church, and Joseph Smith established an early precedent for it by ordaining black males to the Priesthood. Smith was also anti-slavery, going so far as to run on an anti-slavery platform as a candidate for the presidency of the United States. At times, however, Smith had shown sympathy for the belief that black people were the cursed descendants of Cain, a belief which was commonly held in his day. In 1849, church doctrine taught that while black people could be baptized, black men could not be ordained to the Priesthood and black people could not enter LDS temples. Journal histories and public teachings of the time reflect that Young and others stated that God would some day reverse this policy of discrimination.
By the late 1960s, the church had expanded into Brazil, the Caribbean, and the nations of Africa, but it was also being criticized for its policy of racial discrimination. In the case of Africa and the Caribbean, the church had not yet begun large-scale missionary efforts in most areas. There were large groups of people who desired to join the church in Ghana and Nigeria and there were also many faithful church members who were of African descent in Brazil. On June 9, 1978, under the administration of Spencer W. Kimball, the church's leadership changed the long-standing policy.
Today, there are many black members of the church, and there are also many predominantly black congregations. In the Salt Lake City area, black members organized branches of a monthly gathering and activity arm called the Genesis Group that provided group members with additional support.
The church and Native Americans
thumb|200px|Founder Joseph Smith preaching to Native Americans in Illinois.
During the post-World War II period, the church also began to focus on expansion into a number of Native American cultures, as well as Oceanic cultures, which many Mormons considered to be the same ethnicity. These peoples were called "Lamanites", because they were all believed to descend from the Lamanite group in the Book of Mormon. In 1947, the church began the Indian Placement Program, where Native American students (upon request by their parents) were voluntarily placed in Anglo Latter-day Saint foster homes during the school year, where they would attend public schools and become assimilated into Mormon culture.
In 1955, the church began ordaining black Melanesians to the Priesthood.
thumb|200px|left|Member of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, in 1875, being baptized by Mormon Missionaries.
The church's policy toward Native Americans also came under fire during the 1970s. In particular the Indian Placement Program was criticized as neocolonial. In 1977, the U.S. government commissioned a study to investigate accusations that the church was using its influence to push children into joining the program. However, the commission rejected these accusations and found that the program was beneficial in many cases, and provided well-balanced American education for thousands, allowing the children to return to their cultures and customs. One issue was that the time away from family caused the assimilation of Native American students into American culture, rather than allowing the children to learn within, and preserve, their own culture. By the late 1980s, the program had been in decline, and in 1996, it was discontinued. In 2016, three lawsuits against the LDS Church were filed in the Navajo Nation District Court, alleging that participants in the program were sexually abused in their foster homes. The church asked for the lawsuits to be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that the alleged abuse took place outside the reservation.
Evolution
The issue of evolution has been a point of controversy for some members of the church. The first official statement on the issue of evolution was in 1909, which marked the centennial of Charles Darwin's birth and the 50th anniversary of his masterwork, On the Origin of Species. In that year, the First Presidency, led by Joseph F. Smith as president, issued a statement reinforcing the predominant religious view of creationism, and calling human evolution one of the "theories of men", but falling short of declaring evolution untrue or evil.
Soon after the 1909 statement, Joseph F. Smith professed in an editorial that "the church itself has no philosophy about the modus operandi employed by the Lord in His creation of the world."
In 1925, as a result of publicity from the "Scopes Monkey Trial" concerning the right to teach evolution in Tennessee public schools, the First Presidency reiterated its 1909 stance, stating that "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, basing its belief on divine revelation, ancient and modern, declares man to be the direct and lineal offspring of Deity."
In the early 1930s there was an intense debate between liberal theologian and general authority B. H. Roberts and some members of the Council of the Twelve Apostles over attempts by B. H. Roberts to reconcile the fossil record with the scriptures by introducing a doctrine of pre-Adamite creation, and backing up this speculative doctrine using geology, biology, anthropology, and archeology. More conservative members of the Twelve Apostles, including Joseph Fielding Smith, rejected his speculation because it contradicted the idea that there was no death until after the fall of Adam. James E. Talmage published a book through the LDS Church that explicitly stated that organisms lived and died on this earth before the earth was fit for human habitation.
The debate over pre-Adamites has been interpreted by LDS proponents of evolution as a debate about organic evolution. This view, based on the belief that a dichotomy of thought on the subject of evolution existed between B. H. Roberts and Joseph Fielding Smith, has become common among pro-evolution members of the church. As a result, the ensuing 1931 statement has been interpreted by some as official permission for members to believe in organic evolution.
Later, Joseph Fielding Smith published his book Man: His Origin and Destiny, which denounced evolution without qualification. Similar statements of denunciation were made by Bruce R. McConkie, who in 1980 denounced evolution as one of "the seven deadly heresies." Evolution was also denounced by the conservative apostle Ezra Taft Benson, who in 1975 called on church members to use the Book of Mormon to combat evolution and several times denounced evolution as a "falsehood" on a par with socialism, rationalism, and humanism.
A dichotomy of opinion exists among church members today. Largely influenced by Smith, McConkie, and Benson, evolution is rejected by a large number of conservative church members. A minority accept evolution, supported in part by the debate between B. H. Roberts and Joseph Fielding Smith, in part by a large amount of scientific evidence, and in part by Joseph F. Smith's words that "the church itself has no philosophy about the modus operandi employed by the Lord in His creation of the world." Meanwhile, Brigham Young University, the largest private university owned and operated by the church, not only teaches evolution to its biology majors, but has also done significant research in evolution. BYU-I, another church-run school, also teaches it.
A 2018 study in PLOS One researched the attitudes toward evolution of Latter-day Saint undergraduates. The study revealed that there has been a recent shift of attitude towards evolution among LDS undergraduates, from antagonistic to more accepting. The researchers cited examples of more acceptance of fossil and geological records, as well as an acceptance of the old age of the earth. The researchers attributed this attitude change to several factors including primary-school exposure to evolution and a reduction in the number of anti-evolution statements from the First Presidency.
Reacting to pluralism
The church was opposed to the Equal Rights Amendment.
In 1995, the church issued The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
The church opposes same-sex marriage, but does not object to rights regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference. The church supported a gay rights bill in Salt Lake City which bans discrimination against gay men and lesbians in housing and employment, calling them "common-sense rights."
Some church members have formed a number of unofficial support organizations, including Evergreen International, Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, North Star, Disciples2, Wildflowers, Family Fellowship, GLYA (Gay LDS Young Adults), LDS Reconciliation, Gamofites and the Guardrail foundation. Church leaders have met with people from Evergreen International, Inc. and several gay rights leaders.
Challenges to fundamental church doctrine
In 1967, a set of papyrus manuscripts were discovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that appear to be the manuscripts from which Joseph Smith said to have translated the Book of Abraham in 1835. These manuscripts were presumed lost in the Chicago fire of 1871. Analyzed by Egyptologists, the manuscripts were identified as The Book of the Dead, an ancient Egyptian funerary text. Moreover, the scholars' translations of the scrolls disagreed with Smith's purported translation. This discovery forced many Mormon apologists to moderate the earlier prevailing view that Smith's translations were literal one-to-one translations.
In the early 1980s, the apparent discovery of an early Mormon manuscript, which came to be known as the "Salamander Letter", received much publicity. This letter, reportedly discovered by a scholar named Mark Hofmann, alleged that the Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith by a being that changed itself into a salamander, not by an angel as the official church history recounted. The document was purchased by private collector Steven Christensen, but was still significantly publicized and even printed in the church's official magazine, the Ensign. The document, however, was revealed as a forgery in 1985, and Hofmann was arrested for two murders related to his forgeries.
Mormon dissidents and scholars
In 1989, George P. Lee, a Navajo member of the First Quorum of the Seventy who had participated in the Indian Placement Program in his youth, was excommunicated. The church action occurred not long after he had submitted to the Church a 23-page letter critical of the program and the effect it had on Native American culture. In October 1994, Lee confessed to, and was convicted of, sexually molesting a 13-year-old girl in 1989. It is not known if church leaders had knowledge of this crime during the excommunication process.
In the late 1980s, the administration of Ezra Taft Benson formed what it called the Strengthening Church Members Committee, to keep files on potential church dissidents and collect their published material for possible later use in church disciplinary proceedings. The existence of this committee was first publicized by an anti-Mormon ministry in 1991, when it was referred to in a memo dated July 19, 1990 leaked from the office of the church's Presiding Bishopric.
At the 1992 Sunstone Symposium, dissident Mormon scholar Lavina Fielding Anderson accused the Committee of being "an internal espionage system," which prompted Brigham Young University professor and moderate Mormon scholar Eugene England to "accuse that committee of undermining the Church," a charge for which he later publicly apologized. The publicity concerning the statements of Anderson and England, however, prompted the church to officially acknowledge the existence of the committee. The Church explained that the Committee "provides local church leadership with information designed to help them counsel with members who, however well-meaning, may hinder the progress of the church through public criticism."
Official concern about the work of dissident scholars within the church led to the excommunication or disfellowshipping of six such scholars, dubbed the September Six, in September 1993.
Latter-day Saint public relations
thumb|140px|Pre-1995 LDS Church logo
In the 1960s, the church formed the Church Information Service with the goal of being ready to respond to media inquiries and generate positive media coverage. The organization kept a photo file to provide photos to the media for such events as Temple dedications. It also worked to get stories covering Family Home Evening, the church welfare plan and the church's youth activities in various publications.
As part of the church's efforts to re-position its image as that of a mainstream religion, the church began to moderate its earlier anti–Roman Catholic rhetoric. In Bruce R. McConkie's 1958 edition of Mormon Doctrine, he had stated his unofficial opinion that the Catholic Church was part of "the church of the devil" and "the great and abominable church" because it was among organizations that misled people away from following God's laws. In his 1966 edition of the same book, the specific reference to the Catholic Church was removed.
According to Riess and Tickle, early Mormons rarely quoted from the Book of Mormon in their speeches and writings. It was not until the 1980s that it was cited regularly in speeches given by LDS Church leaders at the biannual general conferences. In 1982, the LDS Church subtitled the Book of Mormon "Another Testament of Jesus Christ." Apostle Boyd K. Packer stated that the scripture now took its place "beside the Old Testament and the New Testament. Riess and Tickle assert that the introduction of this subtitle was intended to emphasize the Christ-centered nature of the Book of Mormon. They assert that the LDS "rediscovery of the Book of Mormon in the late twentieth century is strongly connected to their renewed emphasis on the person and nature of Jesus Christ."
thumb|200px|LDS Church logo from 1995 - 2020
In 1995, the church announced a new logo design that emphasized the words "JESUS CHRIST" in large capital letters, and de-emphasized the words "The Church of" and "of Latter-day Saints".
21st century
On January 1, 2000, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles released a proclamation entitled "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles". This document commemorated the birth of Jesus and set forth the church's official view regarding Christ.
The church has participated in several interfaith cooperation initiatives. The church has opened its broadcasting facilities (Bonneville International) to other Christian groups and has participated in the VISN Religious Interfaith Cable Television Network. The church has also participated in numerous joint humanitarian efforts with other churches. Lastly, the church has agreed not to baptize Holocaust victims by proxy.
Beginning in 2001, the church also sponsors or sponsored a low-interest educational loan program known as the Perpetual Education Fund, which provides or provided educational opportunities to students from developing nations.
In 2004, the church endorsed an amendment to the United States Constitution banning homosexual marriage. The church also announced its opposition to political measures that "confer legal status on any other sexual relationship" than a "man and a woman lawfully wedded as husband and wife."
On November 5, 2015, an update letter to LDS Church leaders for the Church Handbook was leaked. The policy banned a "child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship" from baby blessings, baptism, confirmation, priesthood ordination, and missionary service until the child was not living with their homosexual parent(s), was "of legal age", and "disavow[ed] the practice of same-gender cohabitation and marriage", in addition to receiving approval from the Office of the First Presidency. The policy update also added that entering a same-sex marriage as a type of "apostasy", mandating a disciplinary council. The next day, in a video interview, apostle D. Todd Christofferson clarified that the policy was "about love" and "protect[ing] children" from "difficulties, challenges, conflicts" where "parents feel one way and the expectations of the Church are very different". On November 13, the First Presidency released a letter clarifying that the policy applied "only to those children whose primary residence is with a couple living in a same-gender marriage or similar relationship" and that for children residing with parents in a same-sex relationship who had already received ordinances the policy would not require that "privileges be curtailed or that further ordinances be withheld". The next day around 1,500 members gathered across from the Church Office Building to submit their resignation letters in response to the policy change with thousands more resigning online in the weeks after Two months later, in a satellite broadcast, apostle Russell M. Nelson stated that the policy change was "revealed to President Monson" in a "sacred moment" when "the Lord inspired [him] ... to declare ... the will of the Lord". In April 2019, the church—then led by Nelson—reversed these policies, citing efforts to be more accepting to people of all kinds of backgrounds.
For over 100 years, the church was a major sponsor of Scouting programs for boys, particularly in the United States. The LDS Church was the largest chartered organization in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), having joined the BSA as its first charter organization in 1913. In 2020, the church ended its relationship with the BSA and began an alternate, religion-centered youth program, which replaced all other youth programs. Prior to leaving the Scouting program, LDS Scouts made up nearly 20 percent of all enrolled Boy Scouts, more than any other church.
Legal entities and merger
In 1887, the LDS Church was legally dissolved in the United States by the Edmunds–Tucker Act because of the church's practice of polygamy. For more than the next hundred years, the church as a whole operated as an unincorporated entity. During that time, tax-exempt corporations of the LDS Church included the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which managed non-ecclesiastical real estate and other holdings; and the Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which governed temples, other sacred buildings, and the church's employees. By 2021, the two had been merged into one corporate entity, legally named "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Ensign Peak Advisors
In December 2019, a whistleblower alleged the church held over $100 billion in investment funds through its investment management company, Ensign Peak Advisors (EP); that it failed to use the funds for charitable purposes and instead used them in for-profit ventures; and that it misled contributors and the public about the usage and extent of those funds. In response, the church's First Presidency stated that "the Church complies with all applicable law governing our donations, investments, taxes, and reserves," and that "a portion" of funds received by the church are "methodically safeguarded through wise financial management and the building of a prudent reserve for the future". The church has not directly addressed the fund's size to the public, but third parties have treated the disclosures as legitimate.
In February 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a $5 million penalty to the church and its investment company, EP. The SEC alleged that the church concealed its investments and their management in multiple shell companies from 1997 to 2019; the SEC believes these shell companies were approved by senior church leadership to avoid public transparency. The church released a statement that in 2000 EP "received and relied upon legal counsel regarding how to comply with its reporting obligations while attempting to maintain the privacy of the portfolio." After initial SEC concern in June 2019, the church stated that EP "adjusted its approach and began filing a single aggregated report."
See also
Church History Museum
Christian communism
Criticism of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Cunning Folk Traditions and the Latter Day Saint Movement
History of the Church (Joseph Smith)
History of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint Historians
List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement
List of historic sites of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Mormon studies
Mormonism and history
Mormonism and Pacific Islanders
Restoration movement
Restorationism (Christian primitivism)
Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days
The Joseph Smith Papers
Temperance organizations
Utah-Idaho Sugar Company
Notes
References
Bibliography
Allen, James and Leonard, Glen M. (1976, 1992) The Story of the Latter-day Saints; Deseret Book;
Arrington, Leonard J. (1979). The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints; University of Illinois Press; (1979; Paperback, 1992)
Arrington, Leonard J. (1958). Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900; University of Illinois Press; (1958; Hardcover, October 2004).
Givens, Terryl L. The Latter-day Saint Experience in America (The American Religious Experience) Greenwood Press, 2004. .
May, Dean L. Utah: A People's History. Bonneville Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1987. .
Quinn, D. Michael (1985), "LDS Church Authority and New Plural Marriages, 1890-1904 ," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 18.1 (Spring 1985): 9–105.
Roberts, B. H. (1930). A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Century I 6 volumes; Brigham Young University Press; (1930; Hardcover 1965) (out of print)
Smith, Joseph (1902–32). History of the Church, 7 volumes; Deseret Book Company; (1902–1932; Paperback, 1991)
.
External links
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Saints: The Story of The Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days (LDS Church, 2018).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Chronology of Church History (LDS Church, 2000).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church, 1996).
Annotated Early History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (BOAP, 2000)
Mormon Studies - A site dedicated to the academic and cultural study of Mormonism. Contains useful essays on aspects of Church history.
The Joseph Smith Papers The official website of the forthcoming scholarly collection of extant Joseph Smith documents.
Mormon Times Studies and Doctrine of LDS Church History
Stanley B. Kimball Sources of Mormon History in Illinois—digitized pdf of Sources of Mormon history in Illinois, 1839-48: an annotated catalog of the microfilm collection at Southern Illinois University compiled by Stanley B. Kimball.
Category:History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Category:History of the Latter Day Saint movement
Category:History of religion in the United States | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.428702 |
5943 | Christian eschatology | Christian eschatology is a minor branch of study within Christian theology which deals with the doctrine of the "last things", especially the Second Coming of Christ, or Parousia. The word eschatology derives from two Greek roots meaning "last" () and "study" (-) – involves the study of "end things", whether of the end of an individual life, of the end of the age, of the end of the world, or of the nature of the Kingdom of God. Broadly speaking, Christian eschatology focuses on the ultimate destiny of individual souls and of the entire created order, based primarily upon biblical texts within the Old and New Testaments.
Christian eschatology looks to study and discuss matters such as death and the afterlife, Heaven and Hell, the Second Coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, the rapture, the tribulation, millennialism, the end of the world, the Last Judgment, and the New Heaven and New Earth in the world to come.
Eschatological passages appear in many places in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. Many extra-biblical examples of eschatological prophecies also exist, as well as extra-biblical ecclesiastical traditions relating to the subject.
History
Eschatology within early Christianity originated with the public life and preaching of Jesus. Jesus is sometimes interpreted as referring to his Second Coming in Matthew 24:27; Matthew 24:37–39; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62. Christian eschatology is an ancient branch of study in Christian theology, informed by Biblical texts such as the Olivet Discourse (recorded in Matthew 24–25, Mark 13, and Luke 21), The Sheep and the Goats, and other discourses of end times by Jesus, with the doctrine of the Second Coming discussed by Paul the Apostle in his epistles, both the authentic and the disputed ones. Other eschatological doctrines can be found in the Epistle of James, the First Epistle of Peter, and the First Epistle of John. According to some scholars, the Second Epistle of Peter explains that God is patient and has not yet brought about the Second Coming of Christ, in order that more people will have the chance to reject evil and find salvation (3:3–9); therefore, it calls on Christians to wait patiently for the Parousia and to study scripture. Other scholars, however, believe that the New Testament epistles are an exhortation to the early church believers to patiently expect the imminent return of Jesus, predicted by himself on several occasions in the gospels. The First Epistle of Clement, written by Pope Clement I in ca. 95, criticizes those who had doubts about the faith because the Second Coming had, in his view, not yet occurred.
Christian eschatology is also discussed by Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35–107 AD) in his epistles, then given more consideration by the Christian apologist, Justin Martyr (c. 100–165). Treatment of eschatology continued in the West in the teachings of Tertullian (c. 160–225), and was given fuller reflection and speculation soon after by Origen (c. 185–254). The word was used first by the Lutheran theologian Abraham Calovius (1612–1686) but only came into general usage in the 19th century.
The growing modern interest in eschatology is tied to developments in Anglophone Christianity. Puritans in the 18th and 19th centuries were particularly interested in a postmillennial hope which surrounded Christian conversion. This would be contrasted with the growing interest in premillennialism, advocated by dispensational figures such as J. N. Darby. Both of these strands would have significant influences on the growing interests in eschatology in Christian missions and in Christianity in West Africa and Asia. However, in the 20th century, there would be a growing number of German scholars such as Jürgen Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg who would likewise be interested in eschatology.
In the 1800s, a group of Christian theologians inclusive of Ellen G. White, William Miller and Joseph Bates began to study eschatological implications revealed in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. Their interpretation of Christian eschatology resulted in the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist church.
Christian eschatological views
The following approaches arose from the study of Christianity's most central eschatological document, the Book of Revelation, but the principles embodied in them can be applied to all prophecy in the Bible. They are by no means mutually exclusive and are often combined to form a more complete and coherent interpretation of prophetic passages. Most interpretations fit into one, or a combination, of these approaches. The alternate methods of prophetic interpretation, Futurism and Preterism which came from Jesuit writings, were brought about to oppose the Historicism interpretation which had been used from Biblical times that Reformers used in teaching that the Antichrist was the Papacy or the power of the Roman Catholic Church.
Preterism
Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets some (partial preterism) or all (full preterism) prophecies of the Bible as events which have already happened. This school of thought interprets the Book of Daniel as referring to events that happened from the 7th century BC until the first century AD, while seeing the prophecies of Revelation as events that happened in the first century AD. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Historically, preterists and non-preterists have generally agreed that the Jesuit Luis de Alcasar (1554–1613) wrote the first systematic preterist exposition of prophecy, Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalypsi (published in 1614), during the Counter-Reformation.
Historicism
Historicism, a type of method of interpretation of biblical prophecies, associates symbols with historical persons, nations or events. It can result in a view of progressive and continuous fulfillment of prophecy covering the period from biblical times to what they view as a possible future Second Coming of Christ. Most Protestant Reformers from the Reformation into the 19th century held historicist views.
Futurism
In Futurism, parallels may be drawn with historical events, but most eschatological prophecies are chiefly referring to events which have not yet been fulfilled, but will take place at the end of the age and the end of the world. Most prophecies will be fulfilled during a time of global chaos known as the Great Tribulation and afterwards. Futurist beliefs usually have a close association with Premillennialism and Dispensationalism.
Idealism
Idealism (also called the spiritual approach, the allegorical approach, the nonliteral approach, and many other names) in Christian eschatology is an interpretation of the Book of Revelation that sees all of the imagery of the book as symbols.
Jacob Taubes writes that idealist eschatology came about as Renaissance thinkers began to doubt that the Kingdom of Heaven had been established on earth, or would be established, but still believed in its establishment. Rather than the Kingdom of Heaven being present in society, it is established subjectively for the individual. Barth's ideas provided fuel for the Social Gospel philosophy in America, which saw social change not as performing "required" good works, but because the individuals involved felt that Christians could not simply ignore society's problems with future dreams.
Different authors have suggested that the Beast represents various social injustices, such as exploitation of workers, wealth, the elite, commerce, materialism, and imperialism. Various Christian anarchists, such as Jacques Ellul, have identified the State and political power as the Beast. Other scholars identify the Beast with the Roman empire of the first century AD, but recognize that the Beast may have significance beyond its identification with Rome. For example, Craig R. Koester says "the vision [of the beast] speaks to the imperial context in which Revelation was composed, but it does so with images that go beyond that context, depicting the powers at work in the world in ways that continue to engage readers of subsequent generations." And his comments on the whore of Babylon are more to the point: "The whore [of Babylon] is Rome, yet more than Rome." It "is the Roman imperial world, which in turn represents the world alienated from God." As Stephen Smalley puts it, the beast represents "the powers of evil which lie behind the kingdoms of this world, and which encourage in society, at any moment in history, compromise with the truth and opposition to the justice and mercy of God."
It is distinct from Preterism, Futurism and Historicism in that it does not see any of the prophecies (except in some cases the Second Coming, and Final Judgment) as being fulfilled in a literal, physical, earthly sense either in the past, present or future, and that to interpret the eschatological portions of the Bible in a historical or future-historical fashion is an erroneous understanding.Comparison of Futurist, Preterist and Historicist beliefs{| class"wikitable" style="align:center;"|
|-
! style="width:10%;"|Eschatological Topic
! style"width:30%;"|Futurist belief
! style="width:30%;"|Preterist belief
! style="width:30%;"|Historicist belief
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|Eras of biblical prophesy
|Futurists typically anticipate a future period of time when biblical prophecies will be fulfilled.
|Preterists typically argue that most (Partial Preterism), or all (Full Preterism) biblical prophecies were fulfilled during the earthly ministry of Jesus and the generation immediately preceding it, concluding with the siege and destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD.
|Historicists typically understand the prophecies to be continuous from the times of the prophets to the present day and beyond.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|'The 144,000' <br>Revelation 7
|Various interpretations of a literal number of 144,000, including: 144,000 Evangelical Jews at the end of the world, or 144,000 Christians at the end of the world.
|A symbolic number signifying the saved, representing completeness, perfection (The number of Israel; 12, squared and multiplied by 1,000, representing the infinite = 144,000). This symbolises God's Holy Army, redeemed, purified and complete.
|A symbolic number representing the saved who are able to stand through the events of 6:17.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|Locusts released from the Abyss <br>Revelation 9
|A demonic host released upon the earth at the end of the world.
|A demonic host released upon Israel during the siege of Jerusalem 66–70 AD.
|The Muslim Arab hordes that overran North Africa, the Near East, and Spain during the 6th to 8th centuries.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|Large Army from the Euphrates, an army of 'myriads of myriads' <br> Revelation 9:13–16
|Futurists frequently translate and interpret the Greek phrase 'myriads of myriads' as meaning a 'double myriad', from which they develop the figure of 200 million. Futurists frequently assign this army of 200 million to China, which they believe will attack Israel in the future. Many Bibles employ a Futurist interpretation of the original Greek when they adopt the figure of 200 million.
Others, such as John Walvoord and Tim Lahaye, see these 200 million beings as 200 million demons who are commanded to kill 1/3 of the Earth's population.
|Preterists hold to the original Greek description of a large army consisting of 'myriads of myriads', as a reference to the large pagan army, which would attack Israel during the Siege of Jerusalem from 66 to 70 AD. The source of this pagan army from beyond the Euphrates is a symbolic reference to Israel's history of being attacked and judged by pagan armies from beyond the Euphrates. Some of the Roman units employed during the siege of Jerusalem were assigned from this area.
|The Muslim Arab hordes that overran North Africa, the Near East, and Spain during the 6th to 8th centuries.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|'The Two Witnesses' <br>Revelation 11:1–12
|Two people who will preach in Jerusalem at the end of the world.
|The two witnesses and their miracles symbolize the ministries of Moses and Elijah, who in turn symbolize 'The Law' and 'The Prophets', the Old Testament witnesses to the righteousness of God. When the armies of Rome laid siege to and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, it appeared that the two witnesses had been killed.
|The two witnesses (AKA "two olive trees" and "two candlesticks") are the Old and New Testaments.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|'1260 Days' <br>Revelation 11:3
|A literal 1260 days (3.5 years) at the end of the world during which Jerusalem is controlled by pagan nations.
|A literal 1260 days (3.5 years) which occurred 'at the end of the world' in 70 AD when the apostate worship at the temple in Jerusalem was decisively destroyed at the hands of the pagan Roman armies following a 3.5-year Roman campaign in Judea and Samaria. The two witnesses appeared to be dead for 3.5 years during the siege of Jerusalem but were miraculously resurrected as the Early Church.
|Various interpretations
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|'The Woman and the Dragon' <br>Revelation 12:1–6
|A future conflict between the State of Israel and Satan.
|Symbolic of the Old Covenant Church, the nation of Israel (Woman) giving birth to the Christ child. Satan (the Dragon) was determined to destroy the Christ child. The Woman (the early church), fled Jerusalem before its destruction in 70 AD.
|The Dragon represents Satan and any earthly power he uses. The woman represents God's true church before and after Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. The Woman flees to the desert away from the dominant power of the 1260 years.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|'The Beast out of the Sea' <br>Revelation 13:1–8
|The Anti-Christ, or the empire of the Anti-Christ, persecuting Christians.
|The False Prophet who assists the Anti-Christ.
|The number identifying the future empire of the Anti-Christ, persecuting Christians.
| In Hebrew calculations the total sum of Emperor Nero's name, 'Nero Caesar', equated to 666. The number more broadly symbolises the Roman Empire and its persecution of the early church. The number 666 also symbolises an apostate ruler as King Solomon was, who collected 666 talents of gold annually. <br>1 Kings 10:14
|Various interpretations.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style"text-align:center;"|Armageddon <br>Revelation 16:16
|A future literal battle at Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley, Israel.
|Megiddo is used as a symbol of God's complete victory over His enemies. The battle of Armageddon occurred 2000 years ago when God used the pagan armies of Rome to comprehensively destroy the apostate worship at the temple in Jerusalem. <br>Revelation 16:16 <br>2 Kings 9:27
|A symbolic name concerning the ongoing battle between Jesus and Satan.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|Mystery Babylon <br> The Great Harlot <br>Revelation 17:1–5
|Futurists compose various interpretations for the identity of 'Mystery Babylon' such as the US, the Vatican, or the UN.
|The corrupted city of Jerusalem, who united with pagan nations of the world in their idolatrous practices and participated in persecuting the faithful Old Covenant priests and prophets, and the early church of the New Covenant. <br>Matthew 23:35–37
|A virtuous woman represents God's true church. A whore represents an apostate church. Typically, Mystery Babylon is understood to be the esoteric apostasies, and Great Harlot is understood to be the popular apostasies. Both types of apostasies are already at work, ensnaring the unwary.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|Seven heads and ten horns <br>Revelation 17:9–11
|Futurists compose various interpretations.
One interpretation for the ten horns is an alliance of ten nations that work for the Anti-Christ.
|Various interpretations.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|The Thousand Years <br> The Millennium <br>Revelation 20:1–3
|The Millennium is a literal, future 1,000-year reign of Christ following the destruction of God's enemies.
|The Millennium is the current, ongoing rise of God's Kingdom. The Millennium is a symbolic time frame, not a literal time frame. Preterists believe the Millennium has been ongoing since the earthly ministry and ascension of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and is ongoing today. <br>Daniel 2:34–35
|The time period between Christ's Second Advent and the rapture of all the righteous, both living and formerly dead, from off earth and the third Advent which brings the New Jerusalem and the saints to the planet. While the saved are gone, the planet is inhabited only by Satan and his hosts, for all the wicked are dead.
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style"text-align:center;"|'The Rapture' <br>Revelation 4:1
|The Rapture is a future removal of the faithful Christian church from earth.
|Preterists generally recognize a future 'Second Coming' of Christ, as described in Acts 1:11 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17. However, they distinguish this from Revelation 4:1 which is construed by Futurists as describing a 'Rapture' event that is separate from the 'Second Coming'.
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|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style"text-align:center;"|'The Great Tribulation' <br>Revelation 4:1
|The Abomination that causes desolation is a future system of idolatrous worship based at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
|The Abomination that causes desolation was the pagan armies of Rome destroying the apostate system of worship at the Temple in Jerusalem 2000 years ago.
|
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|'Gog and Magog invasion' <br>Ezekiel 38
|Ezekiel 38 refers to a future invasion of Israel by Russia and its allies, resulting in a miraculous deliverance by God.
|Ezekiel 38 refers to the Maccabees' miraculous defeat of the Seleucids in the 2nd century B.C. As Chilton notes, 'The word chief is, in the Hebrew, rosh, and according to this view, it does not pertain to Russia.
|
|}
Preterism v. Historicism
Expositors of the traditional Protestant interpretation of Revelation known as Historicism have often maintained that Revelation was written in AD 96 and not AD 70. Edward Bishop Elliott, in the Horae Apocalypticae (1862), argues that John wrote the book in exile on Patmos "at the close of the reign of Domitian; that is near the end of the year 95 or beginning of 96". He notes that Domitian was assassinated in September 96. Elliot begins his lengthy review of historical evidence by quoting Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp. Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John. Irenaeus mentions that the Apocalypse was seen "no very long time ago [but] almost in our own age, toward the end of the reign of Domitian". while Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., makes an exegetical and historical argument for the pre-AD 70 composition of Revelation.
Historicism v. Futurism
The division between these interpretations can be somewhat blurred. Most futurists are expecting a rapture of the Church, an antichrist, a Great Tribulation and a second coming of Christ in the near future. But they also accept certain past events, such as the rebirth of the State of Israel and the reunification of Jerusalem as prerequisites to them, in a manner which the earlier historicists have done with other dates. Futurists, who do not normally use the day-year principle, interpret the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9:24 as years, just as historicists do. Most historicists have chosen timelines, from beginning to end, entirely in the past, but some, such as Adam Clarke, have timelines which also commenced with specific past events, but require a future fulfillment. In his commentary on Daniel 8:14 published in 1831, he stated that the 2,300-year period should be calculated from 334 BC, the year Alexander the Great began his conquest of the Persian Empire. His calculation resulted in the year 1966. He seems to have overlooked the fact that there is no "year zero" between BC and AD dates - that is, the year following 1 BC is 1 AD. Thus his calculations should have required an additional year, ending in 1967. He was not anticipating a literal regathering of the Jewish people prior to the second coming of Christ. But the date is of special significance to futurists since it is the year of Jerusalem's capture by Israeli forces during the Six-Day War. His commentary on Daniel 7:25 contains a 1260-year period commencing in 755 AD and ending in 2015. The term subsumes several similar views of the end times, and it stands in contrast to premillennialism and, to a lesser extent, amillennialism.
Postmillennialism holds that Jesus Christ establishes his kingdom on earth through his preaching and redemptive work in the first century and that he equips his church with the gospel, empowers her by the Spirit, and charges her with the Great Commission (Matt 28:19) to disciple all nations. Postmillennialism expects that eventually the vast majority of people living will be saved. Increasing gospel success will gradually produce a time in history prior to Christ's return in which faith, righteousness, peace, and prosperity will prevail in the affairs of men and of nations. After an extensive era of such conditions Jesus Christ will return visibly, bodily, and gloriously, to end history with the general resurrection and the final judgment after which the eternal order follows.
Postmillennialism was a dominant theological belief among American Protestants who promoted reform movements in the 19th and 20th century such as abolitionism and the Social Gospel. Postmillennialism has become one of the key tenets of a movement known as Christian Reconstructionism. It has been criticized by 20th century religious conservatives as an attempt to immanentize the eschaton.
Amillennialism
Amillennialism, in Christian eschatology, involves the rejection of the belief that Jesus will have a literal, thousand-year-long, physical reign on the earth. This rejection contrasts with premillennial and some postmillennial interpretations of [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rev+20 chapter 20] of the Book of Revelation.
The amillennial view regards the "thousand years" mentioned in Revelation 20 as a symbolic number, not as a literal description; amillennialists hold that the millennium has already begun and is identical with the current church age. Amillennialism holds that while Christ's reign during the millennium is spiritual in nature, at the end of the church age, Christ will return in final judgment and establish a permanent reign in the new heaven and new earth.
Many proponents dislike the name "amillennialism" because it emphasizes their differences with premillennialism rather than their beliefs about the millennium. "Amillennial" was actually coined in a pejorative way by those who hold premillennial views. Some proponents also prefer alternate terms such as nunc-millennialism (that is, now-millennialism) or realized millennialism, although these other names have achieved only limited acceptance and usage.
Death and the afterlife
Jewish beliefs at the time of Jesus
There were different schools of thought on the afterlife in Judea during the first century AD. The Sadducees, who recognized only the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) as authoritative, did not believe in an afterlife or any resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees, who accepted the Torah as well as additional scriptures, believed in the resurrection of the dead; it is known to have been a major point of contention between the two groups. The Pharisees based their belief on Biblical passages such as Daniel 12:2 which says: "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."
The intermediate state
Some traditions (notably, the Seventh-day Adventists) teach that the soul sleeps after death and will not awaken until the resurrection of the dead. Others believe the soul goes to an intermediate place where it will live consciously until the resurrection of the dead.
By "soul", Seventh-day Adventist theologians mean the physical person (monism), and that no component of human nature survives death. Therefore, each human will be "recreated" at resurrection. One scripture frequently used to substantiate the assertion that souls experience mortality is found in the Book of Ezekiel: "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4)Purgatory
This alludes to the Catholic belief in a spiritual state known as Purgatory during which souls not condemned to Hell but not completely pure go through a final process of purification before their full acceptance into Heaven.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says:
:Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven—through a purification or immediately—or immediate and everlasting damnation. (Sect. 1022)
Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism do not believe in Purgatory as such, but the Orthodox Church posits a period of continued sanctification after death. While the Eastern Orthodox Church rejects the term purgatory, it acknowledges an intermediate state after death and before final judgment, and offers prayer for the dead. In general, Protestant churches reject the Catholic doctrine of purgatory (although some teach the existence of an intermediate state). The general Protestant view is that the Bible, from which Protestants exclude deuterocanonical books such as 2 Maccabees, contains no overt, explicit discussion of purgatory.
The Great Tribulation
The end comes at an unexpected time
There are many passages in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, which speak of a time of terrible tribulation such as has never been known, a time of natural and human-made disasters on an awesome scale. Jesus said that at the time of his coming, "There will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever will be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened." [Matt 24:21–22]
Furthermore, the Messiah's return and the tribulation that accompanies it will come at a time when people are not expecting it:
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Paul echoes this theme, saying, "For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them."
The abomination of desolation
The abomination of desolation (or desolating sacrilege) is a term found in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Daniel. The term is used by Jesus Christ in the Olivet Discourse, according to both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark. In the Matthew account, Jesus is presented as quoting Daniel explicitly.
: Matthew 24:15–26 (ESV) "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."
: Mark 13:14 (ESV) "But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."
This verse in the Olivet Discourse also occurs in the Gospel of Luke.
: Luke 21:20–21 (ESV) "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains..."
Many biblical scholars conclude that Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 are prophecies after the event about the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 by the Roman general Titus (see Dating of the Gospel of Mark).
Preterist Christian commentators believe that Jesus quoted this prophecy in Mark 13:14 as referring to an event in his "1st century disciples'" immediate future, specifically the pagan Roman forces during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Futurist Christians consider the "Abomination of Desolation" prophecy of Daniel mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 as referring to an event in the end time future, after the removal of the "one who now restrains", when a 7-year peace treaty will be signed between Israel and a world ruler called "the man of lawlessness", or the "Antichrist" affirmed by the writings of the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians.
Other scholars conclude that the Abomination of Desolation refers to the Crucifixion, an attempt by the emperor Hadrian to erect a statue to Jupiter in the Jewish temple, or an attempt by Caligula to have a statue depicting him as Zeus built in the temple.The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
Many interpreters calculate the length of the tribulation at seven years. The key to this understanding is the "seventy weeks prophecy" in the book of Daniel. The Prophecy of Seventy Septets (or literally 'seventy times seven') appears in the angel Gabriel's reply to Daniel, beginning with verse 22 and ending with verse 27 in the ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel, a work included in both the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Bible; as well as the Septuagint. The prophecy is part of both the Jewish account of history and Christian eschatology.
The prophet has a vision of the angel Gabriel, who tells him, "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city (i.e., Israel and Jerusalem)." [Dan 9:24] After making a comparison with events in the history of Israel, many scholars have concluded that each day in the seventy weeks represents a year. The first sixty-nine weeks are interpreted as covering the period until Christ's first coming, but the last week is thought to represent the years of the tribulation which will come at the end of this age, directly preceding the millennial age of peace:
::The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it will be with a flood, and till the end of the war, desolations are determined. Then he will confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week, he will bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations will be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. [Dan 9:26–27]
This is an obscure prophecy, but in combination with other passages, it has been interpreted to mean that the "prince who is to come" will make a seven-year covenant with Israel that will allow the rebuilding of the temple and the reinstitution of sacrifices, but "in the middle of the week", he will break the agreement and set up an idol of himself in the temple and force people to worship it—the "abomination of desolation". Paul writes:
::Let no-one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. [2 Thess 2:3–4]
Rapture
The rapture is an eschatological term used by certain Christians, particularly within branches of North American evangelicalism, referring to an end time event when all Christian believers—living and dead—will rise into Heaven and join Christ. Some adherents believe this event is predicted and described in Paul's First Epistle to the Thessalonians in the Bible, where he uses the Greek harpazo (ἁρπάζω), meaning to snatch away or seize. Though it has been used differently in the past, the term is now often used by certain believers to distinguish this particular event from the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Earth mentioned in Second Thessalonians, Gospel of Matthew, First Corinthians, and Revelation, usually viewing it as preceding the Second Coming and followed by a thousand-year millennial kingdom. Adherents of this perspective are sometimes referred to as premillennialist dispensationalists, but amongst them there are differing viewpoints about the exact timing of the event.
The term "rapture" is especially useful in discussing or disputing the exact timing or the scope of the event, particularly when asserting the "pre-tribulation" view that the rapture will occur before, not during, the Second Coming, with or without an extended Tribulation period. The term is most frequently used among evangelical and fundamentalist Christians in the United States. Other, older uses of "rapture" were simply as a term for any mystical union with God or for eternal life in Heaven with God. These denominations do not believe that a group of people is left behind on earth for an extended Tribulation period after the events of 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Pre-tribulation rapture theology originated in the eighteenth century, with the Puritan preachers Increase Mather and Cotton Mather, and was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further in the United States by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible in the early 20th century. Some, including Grant Jeffrey, maintain that an earlier document called Ephraem or Pseudo-Ephraem already supported a pre-tribulation rapture.The Second Coming
'', Eastern Orthodox icon on the Second Coming of Christ by Georgios Klontzas (c. 1580–1608), Hellenic Institute of Venice, Italy]]
Signs of Christ's return
The Bible states:
::Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." [Acts 1:9–11]
Many, but not all, Christians believe:
# The coming of Christ will be instantaneous and worldwide. "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." ~ Matthew 24:27
# The coming of Christ will be visible to all. "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Matthew 24:30
# The coming of Christ will be audible. "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:31
# The resurrection of the righteous will occur first. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:16
# In one single event, the saved who are alive at Christ's coming will be caught up together with the resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Last Day Counterfeits
In Matthew 24 Jesus states:
::For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. [Matthew 24:21, 24 NKJV]
These false Christs will perform great signs and are no ordinary people "For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." (Revelation 16:14) Satan's angels will also appear as godly clergymen, and Satan will appear as an angel of light. "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." (2 Corinthians 11:13–15)
The Marriage of the Lamb
After Jesus meets his followers "in the air", the marriage of the Lamb takes place: "Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" [Rev 19:7–8]. Christ is represented throughout Revelation as "the Lamb", symbolizing the giving of his life as an atoning sacrifice for the people of the world, just as lambs were sacrificed on the altar for the sins of Israel. His "wife" appears to represent the people of God, for she is dressed in the "righteous acts of the saints". As the marriage takes place, there is a great celebration in heaven which involves a "great multitude" [Rev 19:6].
Resurrection of the dead
Doctrine of the resurrection predates Christianity
The word resurrection comes from the Latin resurrectus, which is the past participle of resurgere, meaning to rise again. Although the doctrine of the resurrection comes to the forefront in the New Testament, it predates the Christian era. There is an apparent reference to the resurrection in the book of Job, where Job says, "I know that my redeemer lives, and that he will stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though... worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I will see God" [Job 19:25–27]. Again, the prophet Daniel writes, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt" [Dan 12:2]. Isaiah says: "Your dead will live. Together with my dead body, they will arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust, for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth will cast out the dead" [Isa. 26:19].
This belief was still common among the Jews in New Testament times, as exemplified by the passage which relates the raising of Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus told Lazarus' sister, Martha, that Lazarus would rise again, she replied, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day" [Jn 11:24]. Also, one of the two main branches of the Jewish religious establishment, the Pharisees, believed in and taught the future resurrection of the body [cf Acts 23:1–8].
Two resurrections
An interpretation of the New Testament is the understanding that there will be two resurrections. Revelation says: "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him a thousand years" [Rev 20:6]. The rest of the dead "did not live again until the thousand years were finished" [Rev 20:5].
Despite this, there are various interpretations:
:According to the premillennial posttribulational position there will two physical resurrections, separated by a literal thousand years (one in the Second Coming along with the Rapture; another after a literal 1,000 year reign).
:According to premillennial pre-tribulationists, there will be three further physical resurrections (one in the Rapture at the beginning of tribulation; another in the Second Coming at the final tribulation; and the last one after a literal 1,000 year reign). They claim that the first resurrection includes the resurrection in the Rapture, and that the resurrection in the Second Coming, the second resurrection, would be after the 1,000 year reign.
:According to premillennial midtribulationists, too, there will be three physical resurrections (one in the rapture at the middle of tribulation; another in the Second Coming at the end of the tribulation; and the last one after a literal 1,000 year reign). And the first resurrection would be the resurrection in the Rapture, and the resurrection in the Second Coming, the second resurrection, would be after the 1,000 year reign.
:According to amillennial position there will are two resurrections. The first resurrection would be in a spiritual sense (the resurrection of the soul), according to Paul and John as participation, right now, in the resurrection of Christ through faith and baptism, according to Colossians 2:12 and Colossians 3:1 as occurring within the millennium interpreted as an indefinite period between the foundation of the Church and the Second Coming of Christ, the second resurrection would be the general resurrection (the resurrection of the body) that would occur at the time of Jesus' return.
The resurrection body
The Gospel authors wrote that our resurrection bodies will be different from those we have now. Jesus said, "In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven" [Mt 22:30]. Paul adds, "So also is the resurrection of the dead: the body... is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body" [1 Co. 15:42–44].
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church the body after resurrection is changed into a spiritual, imperishable body:
Both the righteous and the wicked will rise with immortal bodies. However, only the righteous will rise with four endowments: impassibility (incorruptibility), subtility (spirituality), agility (power), and clarity (glory).
In some ancient traditions, it was held that the person would be resurrected at the same spot where they died and were buried (just as in the case of Jesus' resurrection). For example, in the early medieval biography of St Columba written by Adomnan of Iona, Columba at one point prophesies to a penitent at the monastery on Iona that his resurrection would be in Ireland and not in Iona, and this penitent later died at a monastery in Ireland and was buried there.
Other views
Although Martin Luther personally believed and taught resurrection of the dead in combination with soul sleep, this is not a mainstream teaching of Lutheranism and most Lutherans traditionally believe in resurrection of the body in combination with the immortal soul.
Several churches, such as the Anabaptists and Socinians of the Reformation, then Seventh-day Adventist Church, Christadelphians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and theologians of different traditions reject the idea of the immortality of a non-physical soul as a vestige of Neoplatonism, and other pagan traditions. In this school of thought, the dead remain dead (and do not immediately progress to a Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory) until a physical resurrection of some or all of the dead occurs at the end of time. Some groups, Christadelphians in particular, consider that it is not a universal resurrection, and that at this time of resurrection that the Last Judgment will take place.Armageddon
's Commentary on the Apocalypse (Commentarius in Apocalypsim), J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles]]
Megiddo is mentioned twelve times in the Old Testament, ten times in reference to the ancient city of Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley, and twice with reference to "the plain of Megiddo", most probably simply meaning "the plain next to the city". None of these Old Testament passages describes the city of Megiddo as being associated with any particular prophetic beliefs. The one New Testament reference to the city of Armageddon found in Revelation 16:16 also makes no specific mention of any armies being predicted to one day gather in this city, but instead seems to predict only that "they (will gather) the kings together to .... Armageddon". The text does however seem to imply, based on the text from the earlier passage of Revelation 16:14, that the purpose of this gathering of kings in the "place called Armageddon" is "for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty". Because of the seemingly highly symbolic and even cryptic language of this one New Testament passage, some Christian scholars conclude that Mount Armageddon must be an idealized location. R. J. Rushdoony says, "There are no mountains of Megiddo, only the Plains of Megiddo. This is a deliberate destruction of the vision of any literal reference to the place." Other scholars, including C. C. Torrey, Kline and Jordan argue that the word is derived from the Hebrew moed (), meaning "assembly". Thus, "Armageddon" would mean "Mountain of Assembly," which Jordan says is "a reference to the assembly at Mount Sinai, and to its replacement, Mount Zion."}}
The Millennium
Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for "a thousand years"), or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent), is the belief that a Messianic Age will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and future eternal state of the "World to Come".
Christian millennialism developed out of a Christian interpretation of Jewish apocalypticism. Christian millennialist thinking is primarily based upon the Book of Revelation, specifically 20:1–4, which describes the vision of an angel who descended from heaven with a large chain and a key to a bottomless pit, and captured Satan, imprisoning him for a thousand years:
The Book of Revelation then describes a series of judges who are seated on thrones, as well as his vision of the souls of those who were beheaded for their testimony in favor of Jesus and their rejection of the mark of the beast:
Thus, Revelation characterizes a millennium where Christ and the Father will rule over a theocracy of the righteous. While there are an abundance of biblical references to such a kingdom of God throughout the Old and New Testaments, this is the only reference in the Bible to such a period lasting one thousand years. The literal belief in a thousand-year reign of Christ is a later development in Christianity, as it does not seem to have been present in first century texts.The End of the World and the Last JudgmentSatan released
According to the Bible, the Millennial age of peace all but closes the history of planet Earth. However, the story is not yet finished: "When the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea." [Rev 20:7–8]
There is continuing discussion over the identity of Gog and Magog. In the context of the passage, they seem to equate to something like "east and west". There is a passage in Ezekiel, however, where God says to the prophet, "Set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him." [Ezek 38:2] Gog, in this instance, is the name of a person of the land of Magog, who is ruler ("prince") over the regions of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. Ezekiel says of him: "You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you..." [Ezek 38:2]
Despite this huge show of force, the battle will be short-lived, for Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation all say that this last desperate attempt to destroy the people and the city of God will end in disaster: "I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed. I will rain down on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him: flooding rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone." [Ezek 38:22] Revelation concurs: "Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them." [Rev 20:9] It may be that the images of fire raining down are an ancient vision of modern weapons, others would say a supernatural intervention by God, yet others that they refer to events in history, and some would say they are symbolic of larger ideas and should not be interpreted literally.
The Last Judgment
Following the defeat of Gog, the last judgment begins: "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" [Rev 20:10]. Satan will join the Antichrist and the False Prophet, who were condemned to the lake of fire at the beginning of the Millennium.
Following Satan's consignment to the lake of fire, his followers come up for judgment. This is the "second resurrection", and all those who were not a part of the first resurrection at the coming of Christ now rise up for judgment:
John had earlier written, "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power" [Rev 20:6]. Those who are included in the Resurrection and the Rapture are excluded from the final judgment, and are not subject to the second death. Due to the description of the seat upon which the Lord sits, this final judgment is often referred to as the Great White Throne Judgment.
A decisive factor in the Last Judgement will be the question, if the corporal works of mercy were practiced or not during lifetime. They rate as important acts of charity. Therefore, and according to the biblical sources (Matt 5:31–46), the conjunction of the Last Judgement and the works of mercy is very frequent in the pictorial tradition of Christian art.
New Heaven and New Earth
</ref> Collection]]
<blockquote>But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.</blockquote>
New Jerusalem
The focus turns to one city in particular, the New Jerusalem. Once again, we see the imagery of the marriage: "I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" [Rev 21:2]. In the New Jerusalem, God "will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God..." [Rev 21:3]. As a result, there is "no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." Nor is there a need for the sun to give its light, "for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light" [Rev 21:22–23]. The city will also be a place of great peace and joy, for "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" [Rev 21:4].
Description
The city itself has a large wall with twelve gates in it which are never shut, and which have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on them. Each of the gates is made of a single pearl, and there is an angel standing in each one. The wall also has twelve foundations which are adorned with precious stones, and upon the foundations are written the names of the twelve apostles. The gates and foundations are often interpreted as symbolizing the people of God before and after Christ.
The city and its streets are pure gold, but not like the gold we know, for this gold is described as being like clear glass. The city is square in shape, and is twelve thousand furlongs long and wide (fifteen hundred miles). If these are comparable to earthly measurements, the city will cover an area about half the size of the contiguous United States. The height is the same as the length and breadth, and although this has led most people to conclude that it is shaped like a cube, it could also be a pyramid.
The Tree of Life
, England]]
The city has a river which proceeds "out of the throne of God and of the Lamb". Next to the river is the tree of life, which bears twelve fruits and yields its fruit every month. The last time we saw the tree of life was in the Garden of Eden [Gen 2:9]. God drove Adam and Eve out from the garden, guarding it with cherubim and a flaming sword, because it gave eternal life to those who ate of it In the New Jerusalem, the tree of life reappears, and everyone in the city has access to it. Genesis says that the earth was cursed because of Adam's sin, but the author of John writes that in the New Jerusalem, "there will be no more curse".
The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Baker, 1984) says:
See also
* 1 Maccabees
* 2,300-day prophecy
* Christian views on Hades
* Consistent eschatology
* Daniel Chapter 11
* Daniel's final vision
* The Day of the Lord
* Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
* Four kingdoms of Daniel
* Inaugurated eschatology
* Katechon
* Last Roman Emperor
* List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events
* Messianism
* Millenarianism
* Progressive dispensationalism
* Realized eschatology
* Third Temple
* Unfulfilled Christian religious predictions
* Ussher chronology
References
Category:Christian theology | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.501583 |
5945 | Chicago White Sox | <!--Please use American English and the corresponding "month day, year" format for text and citation template dates and accessdates Refer to "Talk:White Sox#Style of English and date formats" for further details -->
| logo = Chicago White Sox.svg
| current league = American League
| y1 = 1901
| division = Central Division
| y2 = 1994
| past division = West Division
| y5 = 1969
| y6 = 1993
| Uniform = MLB-ALC-CWS-Uniform.png
| retirednumbers =
| colors Black, silver, white<br>
| y3 = 1904
| nicknames = The Sox
* The Chi Sox
* The South Siders
* The Pale Hose
* The Good Guys
* The Black Sox (1919)
| pastnames =
* Chicago White Stockings (–)
* St. Paul Saints (–)
* Sioux City Cornhuskers ()
| ballpark = Rate Field
| y4 = 1991
| pastparks =
* Comiskey Park (–)
** Milwaukee County Stadium (–)
* South Side Park (–)
* Lexington Park (–)
| WS = (3)
| WORLD CHAMPIONS = | | }}
| LEAGUE = AL
| P = (7)
| PENNANTS = | 1901 | 1906 | 1917 | 1919 | 1959 | 2005 }}
| misc1 = WL Pennants (1)
| OTHER PENNANTS =
| DIV = AL West
| DV = (2)
| Division Champs =
| misc5 = AL Central Division titles (4)
| OTHER DIV CHAMPS =
| WC = (1)
| Wild Card =
| misc6 | owner Jerry Reinsdorf
| manager = Will Venable
| gm = Chris Getz
| website =
|uniformlogo=Chicago White Sox Insignia.svg
}}
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The club plays its home games at Rate Field, which is located on Chicago's South Side. They are one of two MLB teams based in Chicago, alongside the National League (NL)’s Chicago Cubs.
The White Sox originated in the Western League, founded as the Sioux City Cornhuskers in 1894, moving to Saint Paul, Minnesota, as the St. Paul Saints, and ultimately relocating to Chicago in 1900. The Chicago White Stockings were one of the American League's eight charter franchises when the AL asserted major league status in 1901. The team, which shortened its name to the White Sox in 1904, originally played their home games at South Side Park before moving to Comiskey Park in 1910, where they played until
1990. They moved into their current home, which was originally also known as Comiskey Park like its predecessor and later carried sponsorship from U.S. Cellular, for the 1991 season.
The White Sox won their first World Series, the 1906 World Series against the Cubs, with a defense-oriented team dubbed "the Hitless Wonders", and later won the 1917 World Series against the New York Giants. Their next appearance, the 1919 World Series, was marred by the Black Sox Scandal in which eight members of the White Sox were found to have conspired with gamblers to fix games and lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. In response, the new Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banned the players from the league for life. The White Sox have only made two World Series appearances since the scandal. The first came in , where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, before they finally won their third championship in against the Houston Astros. The 88 seasons it took the White Sox to win the World Series stands as the longest MLB championship drought in the American League, and the second longest in both leagues, to the Cubs' 108 seasons.
From 1901 to 2024, the White Sox have an overall win-loss record of ().
History
team photo]]
holds the record for lowest career earned run average (ERA), 1.82.]]
The White Sox originated as the Sioux City Cornhuskers of the Western League, a minor league under the parameters of the National Agreement with the National League. In 1894, Charles Comiskey bought the Cornhuskers and moved them to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they became the St. Paul Saints. In 1900, with the approval of Western League president Ban Johnson, Charles Comiskey moved the Saints into his hometown neighborhood of Armour Square, where they became the Chicago White Stockings, the former name of Chicago's National League team, the Orphans (now the Chicago Cubs).
In 1901, the Western League broke the National Agreement and became the new major league American League. The first season in the AL ended with a White Stockings championship. However, that would be the end of the season, as the World Series did not begin until 1903. The franchise, now known as the Chicago White Sox, made its first World Series appearance in 1906, beating the crosstown Cubs in six games.
The White Sox won a third pennant and a second World Series in 1917, beating the New York Giants in six games with help from stars Eddie Cicotte and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. The Sox were heavily favored in the 1919 World Series, but lost to the Cincinnati Reds in eight games. Huge bets on the Reds fueled speculation that the series had been fixed. A criminal investigation went on in the 1920 season, and although all players were acquitted, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned eight of them for life, in what was known as the Black Sox Scandal. This set the franchise back, as they did not win another pennant for 40 years.
The White Sox did not finish in the upper half of the American League again until after founder Charles Comiskey died and passed ownership of the club to his son, J. Louis Comiskey. They finished in the upper half most years between 1936 and 1946, under the leadership of manager Jimmy Dykes, with star shortstop Luke Appling (known as "Ol' Aches and Pains") and pitcher Ted Lyons, who both had their numbers 4 and 16 retired.
After J. Louis Comiskey died in 1939, ownership of the club was passed down to his widow, Grace Comiskey. The club was later passed down to Grace's children Dorothy and Chuck in 1956, with Dorothy selling a majority share to a group led by Bill Veeck after the 1958 season. Veeck was notorious for his promotional stunts, attracting fans to Comiskey Park with the new "exploding scoreboard" and outfield shower. In 1961, Arthur Allyn, Jr. briefly owned the club before selling to his brother John Allyn.
, manager of the "Go-Go Sox"]]
From 1951 to 1967, the White Sox had their longest period of sustained success, scoring a winning record for 17 straight seasons. Known as the "Go-Go White Sox" for their tendency to focus on speed and getting on base versus power hitting, they featured stars such as Minnie Miñoso, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Billy Pierce, and Sherm Lollar. From 1957 to 1965, the Sox were managed by Al López. The Sox finished in the upper half of the American League in eight of his nine seasons, including six years in the top two of the league. In 1959, the White Sox ended the New York Yankees' dominance over the American League, and won their first pennant since the ill-fated 1919 campaign. Despite winning game one of the 1959 World Series 11–0, they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
During the late 1960s and 1970s, the White Sox struggled to win games and attract fans. The team played a total of 20 home games at Milwaukee County Stadium in the 1968 and 1969 seasons. Allyn and Bud Selig agreed to a handshake deal that would give Selig control of the club and move them to Milwaukee, but it was blocked by the American League. Selig instead bought the Seattle Pilots and moved them to Milwaukee, where they would become the Milwaukee Brewers, putting enormous pressure on the American League to place a team in Seattle. A plan was in place for the Sox to move to Seattle and for Charlie Finley to move his Oakland A's to Chicago. However, the city had a renewed interest in the Sox after the 1972 season, and the American League instead added the expansion Seattle Mariners. The 1972 White Sox had the lone successful season of this era, as Dick Allen wound up winning the American League MVP award. Bill Veeck returned as owner of the Sox in 1975, and despite not having much money, they managed to win 90 games in 1977, with a team known as the "South Side Hitmen".
However, the team's fortunes plummeted afterwards, plagued by 90-loss teams and scarred by the notorious 1979 Disco Demolition Night promotion. Veeck was forced to sell the team, rejecting offers from ownership groups intent on moving the club to Denver and eventually agreeing to sell it to Ed DeBartolo, the only prospective owner who promised to keep the White Sox in Chicago. However, DeBartolo was rejected by the owners, and the club was then sold to a group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn. The Reinsdorf era started off well, with the team winning their first division title in 1983, led by manager Tony La Russa and stars Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, Ron Kittle, Harold Baines, and LaMarr Hoyt. During the 1986 season, La Russa was fired by announcer-turned-general manager Ken Harrelson. La Russa went on to manage in six World Series (winning three) with the Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals, ending up in the Hall of Fame as the second-winningest manager of all time.
at the plate in 1986]]
in 1997]]
The White Sox struggled for the rest of the 1980s, as Chicago fought to keep them in town. Reinsdorf wanted to replace the aging Comiskey Park, and sought public funds to do so. When talks stalled, a strong offer was made to move the team to St. Petersburg, Florida. Funding for a new ballpark was approved in an 11th-hour deal by the Illinois State Legislature on June 30, 1988, with the stipulation that it had to be built on the corner of 35th and Shields, across the street from the old ballpark, as opposed to the suburban ballpark the owners had designed. The new ballpark opened in 1991 under the name new Comiskey Park. The park, renamed in 2003 as U.S. Cellular Field and in 2016 as Guaranteed Rate Field, underwent many renovations in the early 2000s to give it a more retro feel. In December 2024, it was renamed Rate Field when Guaranteed Rate rebranded as Rate.
The White Sox were fairly successful in the 1990s and early 2000s, with 12 winning seasons from 1990 to 2005. First baseman Frank Thomas became the face of the franchise, ending his career as the White Sox's all-time leader in runs, doubles, home runs, total bases, and walks. Other major players included Robin Ventura, Ozzie Guillén, Jack McDowell, and Bobby Thigpen. The Sox won the West division in 1993, and were in first place in 1994, when the season was canceled due to the 1994 MLB Strike.
In 2004, Ozzie Guillén was hired as manager of his former team. After finishing second in 2004, the Sox won 99 games and the Central Division title in 2005, behind the work of stars Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle, A. J. Pierzynski, Joe Crede, and Orlando Hernández. They started the playoffs by sweeping the defending champion Boston Red Sox in the ALDS, and beat the Angels in five games to win their first pennant in 46 years, due to four complete games by the White Sox rotation. The White Sox went on to sweep the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series, giving them their first World Championship in 88 years.
Guillén had marginal success during the rest of his tenure, with the Sox winning the Central Division title in 2008 after a one-game playoff with the Minnesota Twins. Guillén left the White Sox after the 2011 season and was replaced by former teammate Robin Ventura. The White Sox finished the 2015 season, their 115th in Chicago, with a 76–86 record, a three-game improvement over 2014. The White Sox recorded their 9,000th win in franchise history by the score of 3–2 against the Detroit Tigers on September 21, 2015. Ventura returned in 2016, with a young core featuring José Abreu, Adam Eaton, José Quintana, and Chris Sale. Ventura resigned after the 2016 season, in which the White Sox finished 78–84. Rick Renteria, the 2016 White Sox bench coach, was promoted to the role of manager.
against the Minnesota Twins for a spot in the 2008 playoffs.]]
Prior to the start of the 2017 season, the White Sox traded Sale to the Boston Red Sox and Eaton to the Washington Nationals for prospects including Yoán Moncada, Lucas Giolito and Michael Kopech, signaling the beginning of a rebuilding period. During the 2017 season, the White Sox continued their rebuild when they made a blockbuster trade with their crosstown rival, the Chicago Cubs, in a swap that featured the Sox sending pitcher José Quintana to the Cubs in exchange for four prospects headlined by outfielder Eloy Jiménez and pitcher Dylan Cease. This was the first trade between the White Sox and Cubs since the 2006 season.
During the 2018 season, relief pitcher Danny Farquhar suffered a brain hemorrhage while he was in the dugout between innings. Farquhar remained out of action for the rest of the season and just recently got medically cleared to return to baseball, despite some doctors doubting that he would make a full recovery. Also occurring during the 2018 season, the White Sox announced that the club would be the first Major League Baseball team to entirely discontinue use of plastic straws, in ordinance with the "Shedd the Straw" campaign by Shedd Aquarium. The White Sox broke an MLB record during their 100-loss campaign of 2018, but broke the single-season strikeout record in only a year after the Milwaukee Brewers broke the record in the 2017 season. On December 3, 2018, head trainer Herm Schneider retired after 40 seasons with the team; his new role will be as an advisor on medical issues pertaining to free agency, the amateur draft and player acquisition. Schneider will also continue to be a resource for the White Sox training department, including both the major and minor league levels.
On August 25, 2020, Lucas Giolito recorded the 19th no-hitter in White Sox history, and the first since Philip Humber's Perfect Game in 2012. Giolito struck out 13 and threw 74 of 101 pitches for strikes. He only allowed one baserunner, which was a walk to Erik González in the fourth inning. In 2020, the White Sox clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2008, with a record 35–25 in the pandemic-shortened season, but lost to the Oakland Athletics in three games during the Wild Card Series. The White Sox also made MLB history by being the first team to go undefeated against left-handed pitching, with a 14–0 record. At the end of the season, Renteria and longtime pitching coach Don Cooper were both fired. Jose Abreu became the 4th different White Sox player to win the AL MVP joining Dick Allen, Nellie Fox, and Frank Thomas. During the 2021 offseason, the White Sox brought back Tony La Russa as their manager for 2021. At the age of 76 when hired, La Russa became the oldest active manager in MLB.
On April 14, 2021, pitching against the Cleveland Indians, Carlos Rodon recorded the team's 20th no-hitter. Rodon retired the first 25 batters he faced and was saved by an incredible play at first base by first baseman Jose Abreu to get the first out in the 9th before hitting Roberto Pérez which was the only baserunner Rodon allowed. Rodon struck out seven and threw 75 of 114 pitches for strikes. On June 6, 2021, the White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 3–0. This also had Tony La Russa winning his 2,764th game as manager passing John McGraw for 2nd on the all-time managerial wins list. On August 12, 2021, the White Sox faced New York Yankees in the first ever Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa. The White Sox won the game 9–8 on a walk-off two-run Home Run by Tim Anderson. The homer was the 15th walk-off home run against the Yankees in White Sox history; the first being Shoeless Joe Jackson on July 20, 1919, whose character featured in the movie Field of Dreams. On September 23, 2021, the White Sox clinched the American League Central Division for the first time since 2008 against the Cleveland Indians.
In 2024, the White Sox tied a 14-game losing streak, then proceeded to have a 21-game losing streak from July 10 to August 5. They became the 7th team all time, and the first since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles to lose 20 consecutive games. On September 1, the White Sox set a new franchise record for losses at 107 following a 2–0 loss to the New York Mets. They are also the first team since the 1965 Mets to have 3 separate 10 or more game losing streaks in one season. On September 27, the White Sox lost their 121st game of the season, surpassing the 1962 Mets for the most losses in modern MLB history.
Ballparks
In the late 1980s, the franchise threatened to relocate to Tampa Bay (as did the San Francisco Giants), but frantic lobbying on the part of the Illinois governor James R. Thompson and state legislature resulted in approval (by one vote) of public funding for a new stadium. Designed primarily as a baseball stadium (as opposed to a "multipurpose" stadium), the new Comiskey Park (redubbed U.S. Cellular Field, often nicknamed "The Cell", in 2003 and Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016 (later renamed to Rate Field following a rebrand in 2024), after mortgage company Guaranteed Rate) was built in a 1960s style, similar to Dodger Stadium and Kauffman Stadium. There were ideas for other stadium designs submitted to bring a more neighborhood feel, but ultimately they were not selected. The park opened in 1991 to positive reaction, with many praising its wide-open concourses, excellent sight lines, and natural grass (unlike other stadiums of the era, such as Rogers Centre in Toronto). The park's inaugural season drew 2,934,154 fans — at the time, an all-time attendance record for any Chicago baseball team.
In recent years, money accrued from the sale of naming rights to the field has been allocated for renovations to make the park more aesthetically appealing and fan-friendly. Notable renovations of early phases included reorientation of the bullpens parallel to the field of play (thus decreasing slightly the formerly symmetrical dimensions of the outfield); filling seats in up to and shortening the outfield wall; ballooning foul-line seat sections out toward the field of play; creating a new multitiered batter's eye, allowing fans to see out through one-way screens from the center-field vantage point, and complete with concession stand and bar-style seating on its "fan deck"; and renovating all concourse areas with brick, historic murals, and new concession stand ornaments to establish a more friendly feel. The stadium's steel and concrete were repainted dark gray and black. In 2016, the scoreboard jumbotron was replaced with a new Mitsubishi Diamondvision HDTV screen.
The top quarter of the upper deck was removed in 2004, and a black wrought-metal roof was placed over it, covering all but the first eight rows of seats. This decreased seating capacity from 47,098 to 40,615; 2005 also had the introduction of the Scout Seats, redesignating (and reupholstering) 200 lower-deck seats behind home plate as an exclusive area, with seat-side waitstaff and a complete restaurant located underneath the concourse. The most significant structural addition besides the new roof was 2005's FUNdamentals Deck, a multitiered structure on the left-field concourse containing batting cages, a small Tee Ball field, speed pitch, and several other children's activities intended to entertain and educate young fans with the help of coaching staff from the Chicago Bulls/Sox Training Academy. This structure was used during the 2005 American League playoffs by ESPN and the Fox Broadcasting Company as a broadcasting platform.
Designed as a seven-phase plan, the renovations were completed before the 2007 season with the seventh and final phase. The most visible renovation in this final phase was replacing the original blue seats with green seats. The upper deck already had new green seats put in before the beginning of the 2006 season. Beginning with the 2007 season, a new luxury-seating section was added in the former press box. This section has amenities similar to those of the Scout Seats section. After the 2007 season, the ballpark continued renovation projects despite the phases being complete. In July 2019, the White Sox extended the netting to the foul pole.
Previous ballparks
The St. Paul Saints first played their games at Lexington Park. When they moved to Chicago's Armour Square neighborhood, they began play at the South Side Park. Previously a cricket ground, the park was located on the north side of 39th Street (now called Pershing Road) between South Wentworth and South Princeton Avenues. Its massive dimensions yielded few home runs, which was to the advantage of the White Sox's Hitless Wonders teams of the early 20th century.
After the 1909 season, the Sox moved five blocks to the north to play in the new Comiskey Park, while the 39th Street grounds became the home of the Chicago American Giants of the Negro leagues. Billed as the Baseball Palace of the World, it originally held 28,000 seats and eventually grew to hold over 50,000. It became known for its many odd features, such as the outdoor shower and the exploding scoreboard. When it closed after the 1990 season, it was the oldest ballpark still in Major League Baseball.
Spring-training ballparks
The White Sox have held spring training in:
* Excelsior Springs, Missouri (1901–1902)
* Mobile, Alabama (1903);
* Marlin Springs, Texas (1904)
* New Orleans (1905–1906)
* Mexico City, Mexico (1907)
* Los Angeles (1908)
* San Francisco (Recreation Park, 1909–1910)
* Mineral Wells, Texas (1911, 1916–1919)
* Waco, Texas (1912, 1920);
* Paso Robles, California (1913–1915)
* Waxahachie, Texas (1921)
* Seguin, Texas (1922–1923)
* Winter Haven, Florida. (1924)
* Shreveport, Louisiana (1925–1928)
* Dallas (1929)
* San Antonio (1930–1932)
* Pasadena, California (1933–1942, 1946–1950)
* French Lick, Indiana (1943–1944)
* Terre Haute, Indiana (1945)
* Palm Springs, California (Palm Springs Stadium, 1951)
* El Centro, California (1952–1953);
* Tampa, Florida (1954–1959, Plant Field, 1954, Al Lopez Field 1955–1959)
* Sarasota, Florida (1960–1997; Payne Park Ed Smith Stadium 1989–97).
* Tucson, Arizona (Tucson Electric Park, 1998–2008, Cactus League, shared with Arizona Diamondbacks)
* Phoenix, Arizona (Camelback Ranch, 2009–present)
On November 19, 2007, the cities of Glendale and Phoenix, Arizona, broke ground on a new Cactus League spring-training facility. Camelback Ranch, the $76 million, two-team facility, is the home of both the White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers for their spring training, featuring state-of-the-art baseball facilities and an over 10,000-seat stadium. The facility is also home to amenities such as 118,000 sq ft. of clubhouse space, 13 full fields, citrus groves, and a large lake and river system stocked with fish running throughout the complex.
Logos and uniforms
Over the years, the White Sox have become noted for many of their uniform innovations and changes. In 1960, they became the first team in the major sports to put players' last names on jerseys for identification purposes.
In 1912, the White Sox debuted a large "S" in a Roman-style font, with a small "O" inside the top loop of the "S" and a small "X" inside the bottom loop. This is the logo associated with the 1917 World Series championship team and the 1919 Black Sox. With a couple of brief interruptions, the dark-blue logo with the large "S" lasted through 1938 (but continued in a modified block style into the 1940s). Through the 1940s, the White Sox team colors were primarily navy blue trimmed with red.
The White Sox logo in the 1950s and 1960s (actually beginning in the 1949 season) was the word "SOX" in Gothic script, diagonally arranged, with the "S" larger than the other two letters. From 1949 through 1963, the primary color was black (trimmed with red after 1951). This is the logo associated with the Go-Go Sox era.
In 1964, the primary color went back to navy blue, and the road uniforms changed from gray to pale blue. In 1971, the team's primary color changed from royal blue to red, with the color of their pinstripes and caps changing to red. The 1971–1975 uniform included red socks.
In 1976, the team's uniforms changed again. The team's primary color changed back from red to navy. The team based their uniforms on a style worn in the early days of the franchise, with white jerseys worn at home, and blue on the road. The team brought back white socks for the last time in team history. The socks featured a different stripe pattern every year. The team also had the option to wear blue or white pants with either jersey. Additionally, the team's "SOX" logo was changed to a modern-looking "SOX" in a bold font, with "CHICAGO" written across the jersey. Finally, the team's logo featured a silhouette of a batter over the words "SOX".
The new uniforms also featured collars and were designed to be worn untucked — both unprecedented. Yet by far, the most unusual wrinkle was the option to wear shorts, which the White Sox did for the first game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals in 1976. The Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League had previously tried the same concept, but it was also poorly received. Apart from aesthetic issues, as a practical matter, shorts are not conducive to sliding, due to the likelihood of significant abrasions.
Upon taking over the team in 1980, new owners Eddie Einhorn and Jerry Reinsdorf announced a contest where fans were invited to create new uniforms for the White Sox. The winning entries, submitted by a fan, had the word "SOX" written across the front of the jersey in the same font as the cap, inside of a large blue stripe trimmed with red. The red and blue stripes were also on the sleeves, and the road jerseys were gray to the home whites. In those jerseys, the White Sox won 99 games and the AL West championship in 1983, the best record in the majors.
After five years, those uniforms were retired and replaced with a more basic uniform that had "White Sox" written across the front in script, with "Chicago" on the front of the road jersey. The cap logo was also changed to a cursive "C", although the batter logo was retained for several years.
For a midseason 1990 game at Comiskey Park, the White Sox appeared once in a uniform based on that of the 1917 White Sox. They then switched their regular uniform style once more. In September, for the final series at the old Comiskey Park, the White Sox rolled out a new logo, a simplified version of the 1949–63 Gothic "SOX" logo. They also introduced a uniform with black pinstripes, also similar to the Go-Go Sox era uniform. The team's primary color changed back to black, this time with silver trim. The team also introduced a new sock logo—a white silhouette of a sock centered inside a white outline of a baseball diamond—which appeared as a sleeve patch on the away uniform until 2010 (switched to the "SOX" logo in 2011), and on the alternate black uniform since 1993. With minor modifications (i.e., occasionally wearing vests, black game jerseys), the White Sox have used this style ever since.
During the 2012 and 2013 seasons, the White Sox wore their throwback uniforms at home every Sunday, starting with the 1972 red-pinstriped throwback jerseys worn during the 2012 season, followed by the 1982–86 uniforms the next season. In the 2014 season, the "Winning Ugly" throwbacks were promoted to full-time alternate status, and are now worn at home on Sundays. In one game during the 2014 season, the Sox paired their throwbacks with a cap featuring the batter logo instead of the wordmark "SOX"; this is currently their batting-practice cap prior to games in the throwback uniforms. After the 2023 season, the Sunday throwback uniforms were quietly taken off the team's uniform rotation.
In 2021, to commemorate the Field of Dreams game, the White Sox wore special uniforms honoring the 1919 team. That same year, the White Sox wore "City Connect" alternate uniforms introduced by Nike, featuring an all-black design with silver pinstripes, and "Southside" wordmark in front.
Awards and accolades
]]
World Series championships
{| class"wikitable sortable" style"text-align:center"
|-
! style=";"|Season
! style=";"|Manager
! style=";"|Regular season record
! style=";"|World Series opponent
! style=";"|World Series record
! class"unsortable" style";"|Ref
|-
| 1906 || Fielder Jones || 93–58 || Chicago Cubs ||4–2 ||
|-
| 1917 || Pants Rowland || 100–54 || New York Giants || 4–2 ||
|-
| 2005 || Ozzie Guillén|| 99–63 || Houston Astros || 4–0 ||
|-
| colspan"7" style";"|3 World Championships
|-
|}
American League championships
Note: American League Championship Series began in 1969
{| class"wikitable sortable" style"text-align:center"
|-
! style=";"|Season
! style=";"|Manager
! style=";"|Regular season record
! style=";"|AL Runner-Up/ALCS opponent
! style=";"|Games ahead/ALCS record
! class"unsortable" style";"|Ref
|-
| 1900 || Charles Comiskey || 82–53 || Milwaukee Brewers || 2.0 ||
|-
|1901 || Clark Griffith || 83–53 || Boston Americans ||4.0 ||
|-
| 1906 || Fielder Jones || 93–58 || New York Highlanders ||3.0 ||
|-
| 1959 || Al López || 94–60 || Cleveland Indians || 5.0 ||
|-
| 2005 || Ozzie Guillén|| 99–63 || Los Angeles Angels || 4–1 ||
*Art Shires 1929
*Luke Appling 1930–1950
*Ozzie Guillén 1990–1997
*Carlton Fisk 1990–1993
*Paul Konerko 2006–2014
Retired numbers
The White Sox have retired a total of 12 jersey numbers: 11 worn by former White Sox and number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.
}}Luis Aparicio's No. 11 was issued at his request for 11-time Gold Glove winner shortstop Omar Vizquel (because No. 13 was used by manager Ozzie Guillén; Vizquel, like Aparicio and Guillen, play(ed) shortstop and all share a common Venezuelan heritage). Vizquel played for team in 2010 and 2011.
Also, Harold Baines had his No. 3 retired in 1989; it has since been 'unretired' 3 times in each of his subsequent returns.
Out of circulation, but not retired
* 6: Since Charley Lau's death in 1984, no White Sox player or coach (except Lau disciple Walt Hriniak, the Chicago White Sox's hitting coach from 1989 to 1995) has worn his No. 6 jersey, although it has not been officially retired.
* 13: Since Ozzie Guillén left as manager of the White Sox, no Sox player or coach has worn his No. 13 jersey, although it is not officially retired.
Baseball Hall of Famers
Ford C. Frick Award recipients
Players and personnel
Roster
Front office and key personnel
, White Sox owner (1959–61, 1975–80) who revolutionized baseball by introducing many innovations in promotion]]
{| class"wikitable sortable" style"text-align:center"
|-
| colspan"6" style";" | Chicago White Sox key personnel
|-
| Chairman || Jerry Reinsdorf
|-
| Senior Executive Vice President|| Howard Pizer
|-
| General Manager|| Chris Getz
|-
|Assistant General Manager
|Jeremy Haber
|-
|Senior Director of Baseball Operations
|Dan Fabian
|-
|Director of Baseball Analytics
|Matt Koenig
|-
|Director of Baseball Operations
|Daniel Zien
|-
| Senior Vice President, Administration|| Tim Buzard
|-
| Senior Vice President, Stadium Operations|| Terry Savarise
|-
| Senior Vice President, Communications|| Scott Reifert
|-
| Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing|| Brooks Boyer
|-
|Vice President, General Counsel
|John Corvino
|-
| Head Groundskeeper|| Roger Bossard
|-
| Spanish Language Interpreter|| Billy Russo
|-
| Public Address Announcer|| Gene Honda
|-
| Organist|| Lori Moreland
|-
|}
*Source:
Culture
Nicknames
The White Sox were originally known as the White Stockings, a reference to the original name of the Chicago Cubs. To fit the name in headlines, local newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune abbreviated the name alternatively to Stox and Sox. Charles Comiskey would officially adopt the White Sox nickname in the club's first years, making them the first team to officially use the "Sox" name. The Chicago White Sox are most prominently nicknamed "the South Siders", based on their particular district within Chicago. Other nicknames include the synonymous "Pale Hose"; "the ChiSox", a combination of "Chicago" and "Sox", used mostly by the national media to differentiate them between the Boston Red Sox (BoSox); and "the Good Guys", a reference to the team's one-time motto "Good guys wear black", coined by broadcaster Ken Harrelson. Most fans and Chicago media refer to the team as simply "the Sox". The Spanish language media sometimes refer to the team as Medias Blancas for "White Socks."
Several individual White Sox teams have received nicknames over the years:
*The 1906 team was known as the Hitless Wonders due to their .230 batting average, worst in the American League. Despite their hitting woes, the Sox would beat the crosstown Cubs for their first world title.
*The 1919 White Sox are known as the Black Sox after eight players were banned from baseball for fixing the 1919 World Series.
*The 1959 White Sox were referred to as the Go-Go White Sox due to their speed-based offense. The period from 1951 to 1967, in which the White Sox had 17 consecutive winning seasons, is sometimes referred to as the Go-Go era.
*The 1977 team was known as the South Side Hitmen as they contended for the division title after finishing last the year before.
*The 1983 White Sox became known as the Winning Ugly White Sox in response to Texas Rangers manager Doug Rader's derisive comments that the White Sox "...weren't playing well. They're winning ugly." The Sox went on to win the 1983 American League West division on September 17.Mascots
From 1961 until 1991, lifelong Chicago resident Andrew Rozdilsky performed as the unofficial yet popular mascot "Andy the Clown" for the White Sox at the original Comiskey Park. Known for his elongated "Come on you White Sox" battle cry, Andy got his start after a group of friends invited him to a Sox game in 1960, where he decided to wear his clown costume and entertain fans in his section. That response was so positive that when he won free 1961 season tickets, he decided to wear his costume to all games. Comiskey Park ushers eventually offered free admission to Rozdilsky. Starting in 1981, the new ownership group led by Jerry Reinsdorf introduced a twosome, called Ribbie and Roobarb, as the official team mascots, and banned Rozdilsky from performing in the lower seating level. Ribbie and Roobarb were very unpopular, as they were seen as an attempt to get rid of the beloved Andy the Clown.
In 1988, the Sox got rid of Ribbie and Roobarb; Andy the Clown was not permitted to perform in the new Comiskey Park when it opened in 1991. In the early 1990s, the White Sox had a cartoon mascot named Waldo the White Sox Wolf that advertised the "Silver and Black Pack", the team's kids' club at the time. The team's current mascot, SouthPaw, was introduced in 2004 to attract young fans.Fight and theme songsNancy Faust became the White Sox organist in 1970, a position she held for 40 years. She was one of the first ballpark organists to play pop music, and became known for her songs playing on the names of opposing players (such as Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" for Pete Incaviglia). Her many years with the White Sox established her as one of the last great stadium organists. Since 2011, Lori Moreland has served as the White Sox organist.
Similar to the Boston Red Sox with "Sweet Caroline" (and two songs named "Tessie"), and the New York Yankees with "Theme from New York, New York", several songs have become associated with the White Sox over the years. They include:
*"Let's Go Go Go White Sox" by Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers – A tribute to the "Go-Go White Sox" of the late 1950s, this song serves as the unofficial fight song of the White Sox. In 2005, scoreboard operator Jeff Szynal found a record of the song and played it for a "Turn Back the Clock" game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom the Sox played in the 1959 World Series. After catcher A. J. Pierzynski hit a walk-off home run, they kept the song around, as the White Sox went on to win the 2005 World Series.
*"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam – Organist Nancy Faust played this song during the 1977 pennant race when a Kansas City Royals pitcher was pulled, and it became an immediate hit with White Sox fans.
*"Sweet Home Chicago" – The Blues Brothers version of this Robert Johnson blues standard is played after White Sox games conclude.
*"Thunderstruck" by AC/DC – One of the most prominent songs for the White Sox player introductions, the team formed a bond with AC/DC's hit song in 2005 and it has since become a staple at White Sox home games. The White Sox front office has tried replacing the song several times in an attempt to "shake things up", but White Sox fans have always showed their displeasure with new songs and have successfully gotten the front office to keep the fan-favorite song.
*"Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey – During the 2005 season, the White Sox adopted the 1981 Journey song as their rally song after catcher A.J. Pierzynski suggested it be played through U.S. Cellular Field's speakers. During the 2005 World Series, the White Sox invited Journey's lead singer, Steve Perry, to Houston and allowed him to celebrate with the team on the field after the series-clinching sweep of the Houston Astros. Perry also performed the song with members of the team during the team's victory parade in Chicago.
*"Don't Stop the Party" by Pitbull – After every White Sox home run at Rate Field, Pitbull's "Don't Stop the Party" played over the loudspeakers.
Rivalries
Crosstown Classic
The Chicago Cubs are the crosstown rivals of the White Sox, a rivalry that some made fun of prior to the White Sox's 2005 title because both of them had extremely long championship droughts. The nature of the rivalry is unique; with the exception of the 1906 World Series, in which the White Sox upset the favored Cubs, the teams never met in an official game until 1997, when interleague play was introduced. In the intervening time, the two teams sometimes met for exhibition games. The White Sox currently led the regular-season series 48–39, winning the last four consecutive seasons. The BP Crosstown Cup was introduced in 2010 and the White Sox won the first three seasons (2010–2012) until the Cubs first won the Cup in 2013 by sweeping the season series. The White Sox won the Cup the next season and retained the Cup the following two years (series was a tie - Cup remains with defending team in the event of a tie). The Cubs took back the Cup in 2017. Two series sweeps have occurred since interleague play began, both by the Cubs in 1998 and 2013.
An example of this volatile rivalry is the game played between the White Sox and the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field on May 20, 2006. White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski was running home on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Brian Anderson and smashed into Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, who was blocking home plate. Pierzynski lost his helmet in the collision, and slapped the plate as he rose. Barrett stopped him, and after exchanging a few words, punched Pierzynski in the face, causing a melee to ensue. Brian Anderson and Cubs first baseman John Mabry got involved in a separate confrontation, although Mabry was later determined to be attempting to be a peacemaker. After 10 minutes of conferring following the fight, the umpires ejected Pierzynski, Barrett, Anderson, and Mabry. As Pierzynski entered his dugout, he pumped his arms, causing the sold-out crowd at U.S. Cellular Field to erupt in cheers. When play resumed, White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi blasted a grand slam to put the White Sox up 5–0 on their way to a 7–0 win over their crosstown rivals. While other major league cities and metropolitan areas have two teams co-exist, all of the others feature at least one team that began playing there in 1961 or later, whereas the White Sox and Cubs have been competing for their city's fans since 1901. Historical
A historical regional rival was the St. Louis Browns. Through the 1953 season, the two teams were located fairly close to each other (including the 1901 season when the Browns were the Milwaukee Brewers), and could have been seen as the American League equivalent of the Cardinals–Cubs rivalry, being that Chicago and St. Louis have for years been connected by the same highway (U.S. Route 66 and now Interstate 55). The rivalry has been somewhat revived at times in the past, involving the Browns' current identity, the Baltimore Orioles, most notably in 1983.
The current Milwaukee Brewers franchise were arguably the White Sox's main and biggest rival, due to the proximity of the two cities (resulting in large numbers of White Sox fans who would regularly be in attendance at the Brewers' former home, Milwaukee County Stadium), and with the teams competing in the same American League division for the 1970 and 1971 seasons and then again from 1994 to 1997. The rivalry has since cooled off, however, when the Brewers moved to the National League in 1998. However, with the start of the 2023 season, all teams will play each other at least once a year, leading to the Brewers-White Sox series to return on a yearly basis.
Divisional
Minnesota Twins
The rivalry between the White Sox and Minnesota Twins developed during the 2000s, as the two teams consistently battled for the AL Central Crown. The Twins won the division in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2009, with the Sox winning in 2000, 2005, and 2008, many of those years their rival was the division runner-up. The teams met in the 2008 American League Central tie-breaker game, which was necessitated by the two clubs finishing the season with identical records. The White Sox won this game 1–0 on a Jim Thome home run. The rivalry re-emerged in the 2020s, with the Twins winning the AL Central in 2020 by a single game over the White Sox and Cleveland Indians, and the Sox and Twins have continued to compete for the division title since that point.
Detroit Tigers
The series between the White Sox and Detroit Tigers is one of the oldest active rivalries in the league today. Both teams joined the American League in 1901 after being charter members of the original Western League. Both have actively played one another annually for over 120 seasons. As is often the case between professional sports teams located Chicago or Detroit; there usually exists a rivalry as such with the Bulls-Pistons rivalry of the NBA. Despite playing one another for over 2,200 games; both teams have yet to meet in the postseason in their 122-year series.Community OutreachIn 1990, then new White Sox owners Eddie Einhorn and Jerry Reinsdorf began Chicago White Sox Charities, a 501(c) (3) charitable organization that is the team's philanthropic arm, donating over $27 million over time to a plethora of Chicago organizations. White Sox Charities began centering on early childhood literacy programs, then expanded to focusing on encouraging high school graduation and college matriculation so the team can monitor its success. It also supports children at risk as well as promotes wellness and health.Home attendanceComiskey Park{| cellpadding"1" style="width:300px; font-size:90%; border:2px solid #33006F;"
|- style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;"
| colspan5 style";"|Home attendance at Comiskey Park
|- style=;"
| Year || Total attendance || Game average || League rank || Ref
|-
| 2000
| 1,947,799
| 24,047
| 20th
|
|-
| 2001
| 1,766,172
| 21,805
| 26th
|
|-
| 2002
| 1,676,911
| 20,703
| 23rd
|
|}
U.S. Cellular Field
{| cellpadding"1" style"width:300px; font-size:90%; border:2px solid #33006F;"
|- style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;"
| colspan5 style";"|Home attendance at U.S. Cellular Field
|- style=;"
| Year || Total attendance || Game average || League rank || Ref
|-
| 2003
| 1,939,524
| 23,945
| 21st
|
|-
| 2004
| 1,930,537
| 23,834
| 21st
|
|-
| 2005
| 2,342,833
| 28,924
| 17th
|
|-
| 2006
| 2,957,414
| 36,511
| 9th
|
|-
| 2007
| 2,684,395
| 33,141
| 15th
|
|-
| 2008
| 2,500,648
| 30,496
| 16th
|
|-
| 2009
| 2,284,163
| 28,200
| 16th
|
|-
| 2010
| 2,194,378
| 27,091
| 17th
|
|-
| 2011
| 2,001,117
| 24,705
| 20th
|
|-
| 2012
| 1,965,955
| 24,271
| 24th
|
|-
| 2013
| 1,768,413
| 21,832
| 24th
|
|-
| 2014
| 1,650,821
| 20,381
| 28th
|
|-
| 2015
| 1,755,810
| 21,677
| 27th
|
|-
| 2016
| 1,746,293
| 21,559
| 26th
|
|}
Rate Field
{| cellpadding"1" style"width:300px; font-size:90%; border:2px solid #33006F;"
|- style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;"
| colspan5 style";"|Home attendance at Rate Field
|- style=;"
| Year || Total attendance || Game average || League rank || Ref
|-
| 2017
| 1,629,470
| 20,117
| 27th
|
|-
| 2018
| 1,608,817
| 19,862
| 25th
|
|-
| 2019
| 1,649,775
| 20,622
| 24th
|
|-
| 2020
| –
| –
| –
|
|-
| 2021
| 1,596,385
| 19,708
| 13th
|
|-
| 2022
| 2,009,359
| 24,087
| 19th
|
|-
| 2023
| 1,669,628
| 20,613
| 24th
|
|}
Broadcasting
Radio
The White Sox did not sell exclusive rights for radio broadcasts from radio's inception until 1944, instead having local stations share rights for games, and after WGN (720) was forced to abdicate their rights to the team in the 1943 after 16 seasons due to children's programming commitments from their network, Mutual. The White Sox first granted exclusive rights in 1944, and bounced between stations until 1952, when they started having all games broadcast on WCFL (1000). Throughout this period of instability, one thing remained constant, the White Sox play-by-play announcer, Bob Elson. Known as the "Commander", Elson was the voice of the Sox from 1929 until his departure from the club in 1970. In 1979, he was the recipient of the Ford Frick Award, and his profile is permanently on display in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
After the 1966 season, radio rights shifted from WCFL to WMAQ (670). An NBC-owned and -operated station until 1988 when Westinghouse Broadcasting purchased it after NBC's withdrawal from radio, it was the home of the Sox until the 1996 season, outside of a team nadir in the early '70s, where it was forced to broker time on suburban La Grange's WTAQ (1300) and Evanston's WEAW-FM (105.1) to have their play-by-play air in some form (though WEAW transmitted from the John Hancock Center, FM radio was not established as a band for sports play-by-play at the time), Caray often broadcast from the stands, sitting at a table set up amid the bleachers. It became a badge of honor among Sox fans to "Buy Harry a beer..." By game's end, one would see a large stack of empty beer cups beside his microphone. This only endeared him to fans that much more. In fact, he started his tradition of leading the fans in the singing of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" with the Sox. Caray, alongside color analyst Jimmy Piersall, was never afraid to criticize the Sox, which angered numerous Sox managers and players, notably Bill Melton and Chuck Tanner. He left to succeed Jack Brickhouse as the voice of the Cubs in 1981, where he became a national icon.
The White Sox shifted through several announcers in the 1980s, before hiring John Rooney as play-by-play announcer in 1989. In 1992, he was paired with color announcer Ed Farmer. In 14 seasons together, the duo became a highly celebrated announcing team, even being ranked by USA Today as the top broadcasting team in the American League. Starting with Rooney and Farmer's fifth season together, Sox games returned to the 1000 AM frequency for the first time in 30 years. By then, it had become the ESPN owned and operated WMVP. The last game on WMVP was game 4 of the 2005 World Series, with the White Sox clinching their first World Series title in 88 years. That also was Rooney's last game with the Sox, as he left to join the radio broadcast team of the St. Louis Cardinals.
In 2006, radio broadcasts returned to 670 AM, this time on the sports radio station WSCR owned by CBS Radio (WSCR took over the 670 frequency in August 2000 as part of a number of shifts among CBS Radio properties to meet market ownership caps). Ed Farmer became the play-by-play man after Rooney left, joined in the booth by Chris Singleton from 2006 to 2007 and then Steve Stone in 2008. In 2009, Darrin Jackson became the color announcer for White Sox radio, where he remains today. Farmer and Jackson were joined by pregame/postgame host Chris Rogney.
The Chicago White Sox Radio Network currently has 18 affiliates in three states. As of recently, White Sox games are also broadcast in Spanish with play-by-play announcer Hector Molina joined in the booth by Billy Russo. Formerly broadcasting on ESPN Deportes Radio via WNUA, games are now broadcast in Spanish on WRTO (1200).
In the 2016 season, the play-by-play rights shifted to Cumulus Media's WLS (890) under a five-year deal, when WSCR acquired the rights to Cubs games after a one-year period on WBBM. However, by all counts, the deal was a disaster for the White Sox, as WLS's declining conservative talk format, associated ratings, and management/personnel issues (including said hosts barely promoting the team and its games), and a signal that is weak in the northern suburbs and into Wisconsin, was not a good fit for the team. Cumulus also had voluminous financial issues, and by the start of 2018, looked to both file Chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructure their play-by-play deals or depart them, both with local teams and nationally through their Westwood One/NFL deal. Ed Farmer died suddenly on April 1, 2020, a long-term battle with polycystic kidney disease, but the team waited to announce his successor due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of the 2020 season going forward. On June 30 with the season's structure announced, Masur was confirmed as Farmer's successor for the season.
Under Nexstar's new management, WGN decided to pursue a thriftier programming direction, and made no moves to renew the deal at the end of the 2020 season. The team thus returned to WMVP (now managed by Good Karma Brands, which also owns Brewers flagship WTMJ) for a multi-year agreement to start with the 2021 season. In a surprising turn of events, WMVP and the team announced on December 4, 2020, that Len Kasper, the longtime television play-by-play voice of the Cubs, would move to the South Side and become the radio play-by-play voice of the White Sox. The agreement has flexibility which allows Kasper to do some television games on NBC Sports Chicago on days when Jason Benetti has other national commitments.
Television
White Sox games appeared sporadically on television throughout the first half of the 20th century, most commonly announced by Jack Brickhouse on WGN-TV (channel 9). Starting in 1968, Jack Drees took play-by-play duties as the Sox were broadcast on WFLD (channel 32). After 1972, Harry Caray (joined by Jimmy Piersall in 1977) began double duty as a TV and radio announcer for the Sox, as broadcasts were moved to channel 44, WSNS-TV, from 1972 to 1980, followed by one year on WGN-TV.
Don Drysdale became the play-by-play announcer in 1982, as the White Sox began splitting their broadcasts between WFLD and the new regional cable television network, Sportsvision. Ahead of its time, Sportsvision had a chance to gain huge profits for the Sox. However, few people would subscribe to the channel after being used to free-to-air broadcasts for many years, along with Sportsvision being stunted by the city of Chicago's wiring for cable television taking much longer than many markets because of it being an area where over-the-air subscription services were still more popular, resulting in the franchise losing around $300,000 a month. While this was going on, every Cubs game was on WGN, with Harry Caray becoming the national icon he never was with the White Sox. The relatively easy near-national access to Cubs games versus Sox games in this era, combined with the popularity of Caray and the Cubs being owned by the Tribune Company, is said by some to be the main cause of the Cubs' advantage in popularity over the Sox.
Three major changes to White Sox broadcasting occurred in 1989-1991: in 1989, with the city finally fully wired for cable service, Sportsvision was replaced by SportsChannel Chicago (itself eventually turning into Fox Sports Net Chicago), which varied over its early years as a premium sports service and basic cable channel. In 1990, over-the-air broadcasts shifted back to WGN. And in 1991, Ken Harrelson became the play-by-play announcer of the White Sox. One of the most polarizing figures in baseball, "Hawk" has been both adored and scorned for his emotive announcing style. His history of calling out umpires has earned him reprimands from the MLB commissioner's office, and he has been said to be the most biased announcer in baseball. However, Harrelson has said that he is proud of being "the biggest homer in baseball", saying that he is a White Sox fan like his viewers. The team moved from FSN Chicago to the newly launched NBC Sports Chicago in March 2005, as Jerry Reinsdorf looked to control the rights for his team rather than sell rights to another party; Reinsdorf holds a 40% interest in the network, with 20% of that interest directly owned by the White Sox corporation.
Previously, White Sox local television broadcasts were split between two channels: the majority of games were broadcast on cable by NBC Sports Chicago, and remaining games were produced by WGN Sports and were broadcast locally on WGN-TV. WGN games were also occasionally picked up by local stations in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. In the past, WGN games were broadcast nationally on the WGN America superstation, but those broadcasts ended after the 2014 season as WGN America began its transition to a standard cable network. WGN Sports-produced White Sox games not carried by WGN-TV were carried by WCIU-TV (channel 26) until the 2015 season, when they moved to MyNetworkTV station WPWR (channel 50). That arrangement ended on September 1, 2016, when WGN became an independent station.
Prior to 2016, the announcers were the same no matter where the games were broadcast: Harrelson provided play-by-play, and Steve Stone provided color analysis since 2009. Games that are broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago feature pregame and postgame shows, hosted by Chuck Garfein with analysis from Bill Melton and occasionally Frank Thomas. In 2016, the team announced an official split of the play-by-play duties, with Harrelson calling road games and the Crosstown Series and Jason Benetti calling home games. In 2017, the team announced that the 2018 season will be Harrelson's final in the booth. He will call 20 games over the course of the season, after which Benetti will take over full-time play-by-play duties.
On January 2, 2019, the White Sox (along with the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks) agreed to an exclusive multiyear deal with NBC Sports Chicago, ending the team's broadcasts on WGN-TV following the 2019 season.
Prior to the 2024 season, the White Sox named John Schriffen as its new lead television play-by-play announcer, after Benetti departed to join the Detroit Tigers broadcast team.Minor league affiliates
The Chicago White Sox farm system consists of six minor league affiliates.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
!scope"col" style""|Class
!scope"col" style""|Team
!scope"col" style""|League
!scope"col" style""|Location
!scope"col" style""|Ballpark
!scope"col" style""|Affiliated
|-
| Triple-A
!scope="row"| Charlotte Knights
| International League
| Charlotte, North Carolina
| Truist Field
| align="right"| 1999
|-
| Double-A
!scope="row"| Birmingham Barons
| Southern League
| Birmingham, Alabama
| Regions Field
| align="right"| 1986
|-
| High-A
!scope="row"| Winston-Salem Dash
| South Atlantic League
| Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| Truist Stadium
| align="right"| 1997
|-
| Single-A
!scope="row"| Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
| Carolina League
| Kannapolis, North Carolina
| Atrium Health Ballpark
| align="right"| 2001
|-
| rowspan=2| Rookie
!scope="row"| ACL White Sox
| Arizona Complex League
| Glendale, Arizona
| Camelback Ranch
| align="right"| 2014
|-
!scope="row"| DSL White Sox
| Dominican Summer League
| Boca Chica, Santo Domingo
| Baseball City Complex
| align="right"| 1999
|}
Silver Chalice subsidiary
Silver Chalice is a digital and media investment subsidiary of the White Sox with Brooks Boyer as CEO.
Silver Chalice was co-founded by Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox executive Brooks Boyer, Jason Coyle and John Burris in 2009. The company first invested in 120 Sports, a digital sports channel, that launched in June 2014.
In May 2023, Sinclair sold its controlling interest in Stadium to Silver Chalice.NotesReferencesExternal links
*
* [http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/ Chicago White Sox] at the Chicago Tribune
}}
;|list1;|list1
<!-- Pennant won prior to the World Series era -->
}}
}}
Category:1900 establishments in Illinois
Category:Baseball teams established in 1900
Category:Baseball teams in Chicago
Category:Cactus League
Category:Major League Baseball teams
Category:Professional baseball teams in Illinois | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_White_Sox | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.595137 |
5946 | Casuistry | by Albert Robida, expressing mockery of his casuist education]]
Casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending abstract rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and jurisprudence. The term is also used pejoratively to criticise the use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in relation to ethical questions (as in sophistry). It has been defined as follows:
<blockquote>Study of cases of conscience and a method of solving conflicts of obligations by applying general principles of ethics, religion, and moral theology to particular and concrete cases of human conduct. This frequently demands an extensive knowledge of natural law and equity, civil law, ecclesiastical precepts, and an exceptional skill in interpreting these various norms of conduct.... </blockquote>
It remains a common method in applied ethics.EtymologyAccording to the Online Etymological Dictionary, the term and its agent noun "casuist", appearing from about 1600, derive from the Latin noun , meaning "case", especially as referring to a "case of conscience". The same source says, "Even in the earliest printed uses the sense was pejorative".HistoryCasuistry dates from at least Aristotle (384–322 BC), yet the peak of casuistry was from 1550 to 1650, when the Society of Jesus (commonly known as the Jesuits) used case-based reasoning, particularly in administering the Sacrament of Penance (or "confession"). The term became pejorative following Blaise Pascal's attack on the misuse of the method in his Provincial Letters (1656–57). The French mathematician, religious philosopher and Jansenist sympathiser attacked priests who used casuistic reasoning in confession to pacify wealthy church donors. Pascal charged that "remorseful" aristocrats could confess a sin one day, re-commit it the next, then generously donate to the church and return to re-confess their sin, confident that they were being assigned a penance in name only. These criticisms darkened casuistry's reputation in the following centuries. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary quotes a 1738 essay by Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke to the effect that casuistry "destroys, by distinctions and exceptions, all morality, and effaces the essential difference between right and wrong, good and evil".
The 20th century saw a revival of interest in casuistry. In their book The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning (1988), Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin argue that it is not casuistry but its abuse that has been a problem; that, properly used, casuistry is powerful reasoning. Jonsen and Toulmin offer casuistry as a method for compromising the contradictory principles of moral absolutism and moral relativism. In addition, the ethical philosophies of utilitarianism (especially preference utilitarianism) and pragmatism have been identified as employing casuistic reasoning.Early modernityThe casuistic method was popular among Catholic thinkers in the early modern period. Casuistic authors include Antonio Escobar y Mendoza, whose Summula casuum conscientiae (1627) enjoyed great success, Thomas Sanchez, Vincenzo Filliucci (Jesuit and penitentiary at St Peter's), Antonino Diana, Paul Laymann (Theologia Moralis, 1625), John Azor (Institutiones Morales, 1600), Etienne Bauny, Louis Cellot, Valerius Reginaldus, and Hermann Busembaum (d. 1668).
The progress of casuistry was interrupted toward the middle of the 17th century by the controversy which arose concerning the doctrine of probabilism, which effectively stated that one could choose to follow a "probable opinion"that is, an opinion supported by a theologian or anothereven if it contradicted a more probable opinion or a quotation from one of the Fathers of the Church.
<section beginAlleged corruption in the Catholic Church transclusion/>Certain kinds of casuistry were criticised by early Protestant theologians, because it was used to justify many of the abuses that they sought to reform. It was famously attacked by the Catholic and Jansenist philosopher Blaise Pascal during the formulary controversy against the Jesuits, in his Provincial Letters, as the use of rhetorics to justify moral laxity, which became identified by the public with Jesuitism; hence the everyday use of the term to mean complex and sophistic reasoning to justify moral laxity. By the mid-18th century, "casuistry" had become a synonym for attractive-sounding, but ultimately false, moral reasoning.<section endAlleged corruption in the Catholic Church transclusion/>
In 1679 Pope Innocent XI publicly condemned sixty-five of the more radical propositions (stricti mentalis), taken chiefly from the writings of Escobar, Suarez and other casuists as propositiones laxorum moralistarum and forbade anyone to teach them under penalty of excommunication. Despite this condemnation by a pope, both Catholicism and Protestantism permit the use of ambiguous statements in specific circumstances.
Later modernity
G. E. Moore dealt with casuistry in chapter 1.4 of his Principia Ethica, in which he claimed that "the defects of casuistry are not defects of principle; no objection can be taken to its aim and object. It has failed only because it is far too difficult a subject to be treated adequately in our present state of knowledge". Furthermore, he asserted that "casuistry is the goal of ethical investigation. It cannot be safely attempted at the beginning of our studies, but only at the end".
Since the 1960s, applied ethics has revived the ideas of casuistry in applying moral reasoning to particular cases in law, bioethics, and business ethics. Its facility for dealing with situations where rules or values conflict with each other has made it a useful approach in professional ethics, and casuistry's reputation has improved somewhat as a result.
Pope Francis, a Jesuit, has criticized casuistry as "the practice of setting general laws on the basis of exceptional cases" in instances where a more holistic approach would be preferred.
See also
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References
Further reading
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* Bliton, Mark J. (1993). The Ethics of Clinical Ethics Consultation: On the Way to Clinical Philosophy (Diss. Vanderbilt)
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* Carney, Bridget Mary. (1993). Modern Casuistry: An Essential But Incomplete Method for Clinical Ethical Decision-Making. (Diss., Graduate Theological Union).
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* Carson, Ronald A. (1988). "Paul Ramsey, Principled Protestant Casuist: A Retrospective." Medical Humanities Review, Vol. 2, pp. 24–35.
* Chidwick, Paula Marjorie (1994). Approaches to Clinical Ethical Decision-Making: Ethical Theory, Casuistry and Consultation. (Diss., U of Guelph)
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* Drane, J.F. (1990). "Methodologies for Clinical Ethics." Bulletin of the Pan American Health Organization, Vol. 24, pp. 394–404.
* Dworkin, R.B. (1994). "Emerging Paradigms in Bioethics: Symposium." Indiana Law Journal, Vol. 69, pp. 945–1122.
* Elliot, Carl (1992). "Solving the Doctor's Dilemma?" New Scientist, Vol. 133, pp. 42–43.
* Emanuel, Ezekiel J. (1991). The Ends of Human Life: Medical Ethics in a Liberal Polity (Cambridge).
* Franklin, James (2001). The Science of Conjecture: Evidence and Probability Before Pascal (Johns Hopkins), ch. 4.
* Gallagher, Lowell (1991). Medusa's Gaze: Casuistry and Conscience in the Renaissance (Stanford)
*
* Green, Bryan S. (1988). Literary Methods and Sociological Theory: Case Studies of Simmel and Weber (Albany)
*
* Houle, Martha Marie (1983). The Fictions of Casuistry and Pascal's Jesuit in "Les Provinciales" (Diss. U California, San Diego)
*
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* Jonsen, Albert R. (1986). "Casuistry" in J.F. Childress and J. Macgvarrie, eds. Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics (Philadelphia)
*
*
* Jonsen, Albert R. and Stephen Toulmin (1988). The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning (California).
* Keenan, James F., S.J. and Thomas A. Shannon. (1995). The Context of Casuistry (Washington).
* Kirk, K. (1936). Conscience and Its Problems, An Introduction to Casuistry (London)
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* Kuczewski, Mark G. (1994). Fragmentation and Consensus in Contemporary Neo-Aristotelian Ethics: A Study in Communitarianism and Casuistry (Diss., Duquesne U).
*
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* Long, Edward LeRoy, junior (1954). Conscience and Compromise: an Approach to Protestant Casuistry (Philadelphia, Penn.: Westminster Press)
*
*
* Mackler, Aaron Leonard. Cases of Judgments in Ethical Reasoning: An Appraisal of Contemporary Casuistry and Holistic Model for the Mutual Support of Norms and Case Judgments (Diss., Georgetown U).
*
*
* McCready, Amy R. (1992). "Milton's Casuistry: The Case of 'The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce.' " Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 22, pp. 393–428.
*
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* Odozor, Paulinus Ikechukwu (1989). Richard A. McCormick and Casuistry: Moral Decision-Making in Conflict Situations (M.A. Thesis, St. Michael's College).
* Pack, Rolland W. (1988). Case Studies and Moral Conclusions: The Philosophical Use of Case Studies in Biomedical Ethics (Diss., Georgetown U).
* Pascal, Blaise (1967). The Provincial Letters (London).
*
* Río Parra, Elena del (2008). Cartografías de la conciencia española en la Edad de Oro (Mexico).
*
* Seiden, Melvin (1990). Measure for Measure: Casuistry and Artistry (Washington).
*
*
* Smith, David H. (1991). "Stories, Values, and Patient Care Decisions." in Charles Conrad, ed. The Ethical Nexus: Values in Organizational Decision Making. (New Jersey).
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* Starr, G. (1971). Defoe and Casuistry (Princeton).
*
* Tallmon, James Michael (2001). "Casuistry" in The Encyclopedia of Rhetoric. Ed. Thomas O. Sloane. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 83–88.
* Tallmon, James Michael (1993). Casuistry and the Quest for Rhetorical Reason: Conceptualizing a Method of Shared Moral Inquiry (Diss., U of Washington).
*
* Taylor, Richard (1984). Good and Evil – A New Direction: A Foreceful Attack on the Rationalist Tradition in Ethics (Buffalo).
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* Toulmin, Stephen (1988). "The Recovery of Practical Philosophy." The American Scholar, Vol. 57, pp. 337–352.
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* Weinstein, Bruce David (1989). The Possibility of Ethical Expertise (Diss. Georgetown U).
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* Wildes, Kevin Wm., S.J. (1993). The View for Somewhere: Moral Judgment in Bioethics (Diss. Rice U).
*
* Zacker, David J. (1991). Reflection and Particulars: Does Casuistry Offer Us Stable Beliefs About Ethics? (M.A. Thesis, Western Michigan U).
*
External links
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060618095059/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-35 Dictionary of the History of Ideas]: "Casuistry"
* [http://www.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/accountancy.html Accountancy as computational casuistics], article on how modern compliance regimes in accountancy and law apply casuistry
* [http://www.thegreatideas.org/apd-casu.html Mortimer Adler's Great Ideas – Casuistry]
* [http://www.jeramyt.org/papers/casuistry.html Summary of casuistry by Jeramy Townsley]
* [http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/part2/casuistry/Casuistry.html Casuistry – Online Guide to Ethics and Moral Philosophy]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160411043635/http://www.she-philosopher.com/library/tallmon.html Casuistry – Oxford Encyclopedia of Rhetoric] catalogued at she-philosopher.com
Category:Scholasticism
Category:Applied ethics
Category:Common law
Category:Legal reasoning
Category:Jurisprudence
Category:Criticism of religion | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casuistry | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.620737 |
5948 | Chinese input method | Several input methods allow the use of Chinese characters with computers. Most allow selection of characters based either on their pronunciation or their graphical shape. Phonetic input methods are easier to learn but are less efficient, while graphical methods allow faster input, but have a steep learning curve.
Other methods allow users to write characters directly via touchscreens, such as those found on mobile phones and tablet computers.
History
thumb|right|An early experimental Chinese radical keyboard using 496 keys for input was developed by researchers of National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, but was never widely used.
Chinese input methods predate the computer. One of the early attempts was an electro-mechanical Chinese typewriter Ming kwai () which was invented by Lin Yutang, a prominent Chinese writer, in the 1940s. It assigned thirty base shapes or strokes to different keys and adopted a new way of categorizing Chinese characters. But the typewriter was not produced commercially and Lin soon found himself deeply in debt.
Before the 1980s, Chinese publishers hired teams of workers and selected a few thousand type pieces from an enormous Chinese character set. Chinese government agencies entered characters using a long, complicated list of Chinese telegraph codes, which assigned different numbers to each character. During the early computer era, Chinese characters were categorized by their radicals or Pinyin romanization, but results were less than satisfactory.
In the 1970s to 1980s, large keyboards with thousands of keys were used to input Chinese. Each key was mapped to several Chinese characters. To type a character, one pressed the character key and then a selection key. There were also experimental "radical keyboards" with dozens to several hundreds keys. Chinese characters were decomposed into "radicals", each of which was represented by a key.
thumb|A typical keyboard layout for the Cangjie method, which is based on the United States keyboard layout.
Chu Bong-Foo invented a common input method in 1976 with his Cangjie input method, which assigns different "roots" to each key on a standard computer keyboard. With this method, for example, the character is assigned to the A key, and 月 is assigned to B. Typing them together will result in the character ("bright").
thumb|An electronic dictionary with Cangjie keyboard
Despite its steeper learning curve, this method remains popular in Chinese communities that use traditional Chinese characters, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan; the method allows very precise input, thus allowing users to type more efficiently and quickly, provided they are familiar with the fairly complicated rules of the method. It was the first method that allowed users to enter more than a hundred Chinese characters per minute. Its popularity is also helped by its omnipresence on traditional Chinese computer systems, since Chu has given up its patent in 1982, stating that it should be part of the cultural asset. Developers of Chinese systems can adopt it freely, and users do not have the hassle of it being absent on devices with Chinese support. Cangjie input programs supporting a large CJK character set have been developed.
All methods have their strengths and weaknesses. The pinyin method can be learned rapidly but its maximum input rate is limited. The Wubi method takes longer to learn, but expert typists can enter text much more rapidly with it than with phonetic methods. However, Wubi is proprietary, and a version of it has become freely available only after its inventor lost a patent lawsuit in 1997.
Due to these complexities, there is no "standard" method.
In mainland China, pinyin methods such as Sogou Pinyin and Google Pinyin are the most popular. In Taiwan, use of Cangjie, Dayi, Boshiamy, and bopomofo predominate; and in Hong Kong and Macau, the Cangjie is most often taught in schools, while a few schools teach CKC Chinese Input System.
Other methods include handwriting recognition, OCR and speech recognition. The computer itself must first be "trained" before the first or second of these methods are used; that is, the new user enters the system in a special "learning mode" so that the system can learn to identify their handwriting or speech patterns. The latter two methods are used less frequently than keyboard-based input methods and suffer from relatively high error rates, especially when used without proper "training", though higher error rates are an acceptable trade-off to many users.
Categories
Phonetic-based
thumb|Interface of a Pinyin input method, showing the need to choose an appropriate word out of a list of options. The word typed is "Wikipedia" in Mandarin Chinese, but the options shown include (from top to bottom) Wikipedia, Uncyclopedia, Wiki, Crisis, and Rules Violation.
The user enters pronunciations that are converted into relevant Chinese characters. The user must select the desired character from homophones, which are common in Chinese. Modern systems, such as Sogou Pinyin and Google Pinyin, predict the desired characters based on context and user preferences. For example, if one enters the sounds jicheng, the software will type (to inherit), but if jichengche is entered, (taxi) will appear.
Various Chinese dialects complicate the system. Phonetic methods are mainly based on standard pinyin, Zhuyin/Bopomofo, and Jyutping in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, respectively. Input methods based on other varieties of Chinese, like Hakka or Minnan, also exist.
While the phonetic system is easy to learn, choosing appropriate Chinese characters slows typing speed. Most users report a typing speed of fifty characters per minute, though some reach over one hundred per minute. With some phonetic IMEs (Input Method Editors), in addition to predictive input based on previous conversions, it is possible for users to create custom dictionary entries for frequently used characters and phrases, potentially lowering the number of characters required to evoke it.
Shuangpin
thumb|upright=1.35|The Microsoft pinyin 2003 shuangpin scheme.
Shuangpin (; ), literally dual spell, is a stenographical phonetic input method based on hanyu pinyin that reduces the number of keystrokes for one Chinese character to two by distributing every vowel and consonant composed of more than one letter to a specific key. In most Shuangpin layout schemes such as Xiaohe, Microsoft 2003 and Ziranma, the most frequently used vowels are placed on the middle layer, reducing the risk of repetitive strain injury.
Shuangpin is supported by a large number of pinyin input software including QQ, Microsoft Bing Pinyin, Sogou Pinyin and Google Pinyin.
Shape-based
thumb|Typing Chinese with the Cangjie input method
Cangjie input method
Simplified Cangjie
Dayi method
Array input method ()
Four-corner method
Stroke count method
Wubi method
Zhengma method
Biaoxingma method
ZYQ method ()
Others
Chinese telegraph code ()
Examples of keyboard layouts
Image:Keyboard layout Zhuyin.svg|A typical keyboard layout for zhuyin on computers, which can be used as an input method
Image:Wubi keyboard.png|A keyboard using the Wubi method
Image:Keyboard layout cangjie.png|A typical keyboard layout for the Cangjie method, which is based on the U.S. keyboard layout. Note the non-standard use of Z as the collision key.
Image:Keyboard layout Dayi.svg|A typical keyboard layout for the Dayi method
Image:Keyboard layout Chinese Traditional.png|Chinese (traditional) keyboard layout, a US keyboard with Zhuyin, Cangjie and Dayi key labels, which can all be used to input Chinese characters into a computer
Software
Microsoft IME
Sogou Pinyin
Google Pinyin
See also
List of input methods for Unix platforms
List of CJK fonts
Chinese language and computers
Japanese language and computers
Japanese input methods
Korean language and computers
Vietnamese language and computers
Han unification
Character amnesia
Chinese character encodings:
Big5
Guobiao code (GB)
Unicode
Telegraph code
Chinese character IT
References
External links
What Does a Chinese Keyboard Look Like?, article by Slate.com
Overview of Input Methods, by Sebastien Bruggeman.
中文輸入法世界 Chinese input method news.
The engineering daring that led to the first Chinese personal computer. With 1,000s of Chinese characters and limited memory, inventors of the Sinotype III had to push the limits of early machines. by Tom Mullaney, June 29, 2021, techcrunch.com
How intensive modding ushered in China’s computer revolution: Early Chinese engineers needed to constantly push against the boundaries of 'alphabetic order,'by Tom Mullaney, October 24, 2021, techcrunch.com
The computer pioneer who built modern China, By Leila McNeill, 19 February 2020, bbc website.
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:CJK input methods
Category:Chinese-language computing | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_input_method | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.631494 |
5950 | Columbus, Ohio | | image_flag = Flag of Columbus, Ohio.svg
| flag_size = 100px
| flag_link = Flag of Columbus, Ohio
| image_seal = Columbus seal.png
| image_blank_emblem = Columbus wordmark.svg
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| subdivision_name1 = Ohio
| subdivision_name2 =
| established_title = Settled
| established_date =
| named_for = Christopher Columbus
| established_title2 | established_date2
| government_type = Mayor–council
| governing_body = Columbus City Council
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Andrew Ginther
| leader_party = D
| leader_title1 = Council members
| leader_name1
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| area_footnotes
| area_total_sq_mi = 226.26
| area_total_km2 = 586.00
| area_land_sq_mi = 220.40
| area_land_km2 = 570.82
| area_water_sq_mi = 5.86
| area_water_km2 = 15.18
| elevation_ft = 791
| elevation_footnotes
| population_metro = 2138926 (US: 32nd)
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| demographics_type2 = GDP
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| demographics2_info1 = $182.088 billion (2023)
| postal_code_type = ZIP Codes
| postal_code =
| area_code_type = Area codes
| area_code = 614 and 380
| website =
| footnotes | timezone EST
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| established_date1 it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest (after Chicago), and the third-most populous U.S. state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas). Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses ten counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2.139 million in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan area entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest metro area in the U.S.
Columbus originated as numerous Native American settlements on the banks of the Scioto River. Franklinton, now a city neighborhood, was the first European settlement, laid out in 1797. The city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and laid out to become the state capital. The city was named for Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Although no reliable history exists as to why Columbus, who had no connection to the city or state of Ohio before the city's founding, was chosen as the name for the city, the book Columbus: The Story of a City indicates a state lawmaker and local resident admired the explorer enough to persuade other lawmakers to name the settlement Columbus. Efforts to remove symbols related to the explorer in the city date to the 1990s. Amid the George Floyd protests in 2020, several petitions pushed for the city to be renamed.
Nicknames for the city have included "the Discovery City", "Arch City", "Cap City", "Cowtown",<!--See Special:Permalink/922394778--> "The Biggest Small Town in America" and "Cbus."
History
Ancient and early history
in Campbell Memorial Park]]
Between 1000 B.C. and 1700 A.D., the Columbus metropolitan area was a center to indigenous cultures known as the Mound Builders, including the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient peoples. Remaining physical evidence of the cultures are their burial mounds and what they contained. Most of Central Ohio's remaining mounds are located outside of Columbus city boundaries, though the Shrum Mound is maintained, now as part of a public park and historic site. The city's Mound Street derives its name from a mound that existed by the intersection of Mound and High Streets. The mound's clay was used in bricks for most of the city's initial brick buildings; many were subsequently used in the Ohio Statehouse. The city's Ohio History Center maintains a collection of artifacts from these cultures.
18th century
of Ohio]]
The area including present-day Columbus once comprised the Ohio Country, under the nominal control of the French colonial empire through the Viceroyalty of New France from 1663 until 1763.
In the 18th century, European traders flocked to the area, attracted by the fur trade. The area was often caught between warring factions, including American Indian and European interests. In the 1740s, Pennsylvania traders overran the territory until the French forcibly evicted them. Fighting for control of the territory in the French and Indian War (1754–1763) became part of the international Seven Years' War (1756–1763). During this period, the region routinely suffered turmoil, massacres and battles. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded the Ohio Country to the British Empire.
Up until the American Revolution, Central Ohio had continuously been the home of numerous indigenous villages. A Mingo village was located at the forks of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, with Shawnee villages to the south and Wyandot and Delaware villages to the north. Colonial militiamen burned down the Mingo village in 1774 during a raid.
Virginia Military District
After the American Revolution, the Virginia Military District became part of the Ohio Country as a territory of Virginia. Colonists from the East Coast moved in, but rather than finding an empty frontier, they encountered people of the Miami, Delaware, Wyandot, Shawnee and Mingo nations, as well as European traders. The tribes resisted expansion by the fledgling United States, leading to years of bitter conflict. The decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers resulted in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which finally opened the way for new settlements. By 1797, a young surveyor from Virginia named Lucas Sullivant had founded a permanent settlement on the west bank of the forks of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. An admirer of Benjamin Franklin, Sullivant chose to name his frontier village "Franklinton." The location was desirable for its proximity to the navigable rivers – but Sullivant was initially foiled when, in 1798, a large flood wiped out the new settlement. He persevered, and the village was rebuilt, though somewhat more inland.
After the Revolution, land comprising parts of Franklin and adjacent counties was set aside by the United States Congress for settlement by Canadians and Nova Scotians who were sympathetic to the colonial cause and had their land and possessions seized by the British government. The Refugee Tract, consisting of , was long and wide, and was claimed by 67 eligible men. The Ohio Statehouse sits on land once contained in the Refugee Tract.
19th century
in 1854]]
After Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, political infighting among prominent Ohio leaders led to the state capital moving from Chillicothe to Zanesville and back again. Desiring to settle on a location, the state legislature considered Franklinton, Dublin, Worthington and Delaware before compromising on a plan to build a new city in the state's center, near major transportation routes, primarily rivers. As well, Franklinton landowners had donated two plots in an effort to convince the state to move its capital there. The two spaces were set to become Capitol Square, including for the Ohio Statehouse and the Ohio Penitentiary. Named in honor of Christopher Columbus, the city was founded on February 14, 1812, on the "High Banks opposite Franklinton at the Forks of the Scioto most known as Wolf's Ridge." At the time, this area was a dense forestland, used only as a hunting ground.
The city was incorporated as a borough on February 10, 1816. Between 1816 and 1817, Jarvis W. Pike served as the first appointed mayor. Although the recent War of 1812 had brought prosperity to the area, the subsequent recession and conflicting claims to the land threatened the new town's success. Early conditions were abysmal, with frequent bouts of fevers, attributed to malaria from the flooding rivers, and an outbreak of cholera in 1833. It led Columbus to create the Board of Health, now part of the Columbus Public Health department. The outbreak, which remained in the city from July to September 1833, killed 100 people.
Columbus was without direct river or trail connections to other Ohio cities, leading to slow initial growth. The National Road reached Columbus from Baltimore in 1831, which complemented the city's new link to the Ohio and Erie Canal, both of which facilitated a population boom.
With a population of 3,500, Columbus was officially chartered as a city on March 3, 1834. On that day, the legislature carried out a special act, which granted legislative authority to the city council and judicial authority to the mayor. Elections were held in April of that year, with voters choosing John Brooks as the first popularly elected mayor. Columbus annexed the then-separate city of Franklinton in 1837.
In 1850, the Columbus and Xenia Railroad became the first railroad into the city, followed by the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad in 1851. The two railroads built a joint Union Station on the east side of High Street just north of Naghten (then called North Public Lane). Rail traffic into Columbus increased: by 1875, eight railroads served Columbus, and the rail companies built a new, more elaborate station. Another cholera outbreak hit Columbus in 1849, prompting the opening of the city's Green Lawn Cemetery. On January 7, 1857, the Ohio Statehouse finally opened after 18 years of construction.
Before the abolition of slavery in the Southern United States in 1863, the Underground Railroad was active in Columbus and was led, in part, by James Preston Poindexter. Poindexter arrived in Columbus in the 1830s and became a Baptist preacher and leader in the city's African-American community until the turn of the century.
During the Civil War, Columbus was a major base for the volunteer Union Army. It housed 26,000 troops and held up to 9,000 Confederate prisoners of war at Camp Chase, at what is now the Hilltop neighborhood of west Columbus. Over 2,000 Confederate soldiers remain buried at the site, making it one of the North's largest Confederate cemeteries.
By virtue of the Morrill Act of 1862, the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College – which eventually became the Ohio State University – was founded in 1870 on the former estate of William and Hannah Neil.
, pictured here in 1898, operated from 1814 to 1966.]]
By the end of the 19th century, Columbus was home to several major manufacturing businesses. The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company was a major supplier of coal mining equipment. The city became known as the "Buggy Capital of the World," thanks to the two dozen buggy factories – notably the Columbus Buggy Company, founded in 1875 by C.D. Firestone. The Columbus Consolidated Brewing Company also rose to prominence during this time and might have achieved even greater success were it not for the Anti-Saloon League in neighboring Westerville.
In the steel industry, a forward-thinking man named Samuel P. Bush presided over the Buckeye Steel Castings Company. Columbus was also a popular location for labor organizations. In 1886, Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor in Druid's Hall on South Fourth Street, and in 1890, the United Mine Workers of America was founded at the old City Hall.
20th century
Columbus earned one of its nicknames, "The Arch City," because of the dozens of wooden arches that spanned High Street at the turn of the 20th century. The arches illuminated the thoroughfare and eventually became the means by which electric power was provided to the new streetcars. The city tore down the arches and replaced them with cluster lights in 1914 but reconstructed them from metal in the Short North neighborhood in 2002 for their unique historical interest.
On March 25, 1913, the Great Flood of 1913 devastated the neighborhood of Franklinton, leaving over 90 people dead and thousands of West Side residents homeless. To prevent flooding, the Army Corps of Engineers recommended widening the Scioto River through downtown, constructing new bridges and building a retaining wall along its banks. With the strength of the post-World War I economy, a construction boom occurred in the 1920s, resulting in a new civic center, the Ohio Theatre, the American Insurance Union Citadel and to the north, a massive new Ohio Stadium. Although the American Professional Football Association was founded in Canton in 1920, its head offices moved to Columbus in 1921 to the New Hayden Building and remained in the city until 1941.
In 1922, the association's name was changed to the National Football League. Nearly a decade later, in 1931, at a convention in the city, the Jehovah's Witnesses took that name by which they are known today.
The effects of the Great Depression were less severe in Columbus, as the city's diversified economy helped it fare better than its Rust Belt neighbors. World War II brought many new jobs and another population surge. This time, most new arrivals were migrants from the "extraordinarily depressed rural areas" of Appalachia, who would soon account for more than a third of Columbus's growing population. In 1948, the Town and Country Shopping Center opened in suburban Whitehall, and it is now regarded as one of the first modern shopping centers in the United States.
The construction of the Interstate Highway System signaled the arrival of rapid suburb development in central Ohio. To protect the city's tax base from this suburbanization, Columbus adopted a policy of linking sewer and water hookups to annexation to the city. By the early 1990s, Columbus had grown to become Ohio's largest city in land area and in population.
Efforts to revitalize downtown Columbus have had some success in recent decades, though like most major American cities, some architectural heritage was lost in the process. In the 1970s, landmarks such as Union Station and the Neil House hotel were razed to construct high-rise offices and big retail space. The PNC Bank building was constructed in 1977, as well as the Nationwide Plaza buildings and other towers that sprouted during this period. The construction of the Greater Columbus Convention Center has brought major conventions and trade shows to the city.
21st century
returned to the Short North in late 2002.]]|220x220px]]The Scioto Mile began development along the riverfront, an area that already had the Miranova Corporate Center and The Condominiums at North Bank Park.
The 2010 United States foreclosure crisis forced the city to purchase numerous foreclosed, vacant properties to renovate or demolish them – at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. In February 2011, Columbus had 6,117 vacant properties, according to city officials.
Since 2010, Columbus has been growing in population and economy; from 2010 to 2017, the city added 164,000 jobs, which ranked second in the United States. In February and March 2020, Columbus reported its first official cases of COVID-19 and declared a state of emergency, with all nonessential businesses closed statewide. There were 69,244 cases of the disease across the city, . Later in 2020, protests over the murder of George Floyd took place in the city from May 28 into August. Columbus and its metro area have experienced growth in the high-tech manufacturing sector, with Intel announcing plans to construct a $20 billion factory and Honda expanding its presence along with LG Energy Solutions with a $4.4 billion battery manufactory facility in Fayette County.
The COVID-19 pandemic muted activity in Columbus, especially in its downtown core, from 2020 to 2022. By late 2022, foot traffic in Downtown Columbus began to exceed pre-pandemic rates; one of the quickest downtown areas to recover in the United States.
On June 23, 2023, ten people were injured in a mass shooting in the city's Short North district.
Ransomware attack
In July 2024, Columbus was subject to a ransomware attack, for which the hacker group Rhysidia took credit. In August 2024, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther claimed that the files obtained by Rhysidia were "unusable" to the thieves due to being either encrypted or corrupted. Ginther's assertion was subsequently shown to be false by security researcher David Leroy Ross (who goes by the alias Connor Goodwolf), who revealed that the files were intact and contained data including names from domestic violence cases and Social Security numbers of crime victims. Columbus then sued Ross for alleged criminal acts, negligence, and civil conversion, as well as taking out a restraining order against Ross, both of which actions were later defended by City Attorney Zach Klein. In response, a number of prominent cybersecurity researchers called on the city to drop the lawsuit.
Neo-Nazi march
On Saturday, November 19th, 2024, about a dozen masked men dressed in black carried red swastika flags in Columbus chanting racial slurs and using pepper spray. The group identified themselves as "Hate Club". Oren Segal, ADL vice-president, said that this might related to the hate group Blood Tribe. "Blood Tribe views itself as the main white supremacist group in Ohio, so ... (the) 'Hate Club' march appears to have been an intentional effort to antagonize them."Geography
The confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers is just northwest of Downtown Columbus. Several smaller tributaries course through the Columbus metropolitan area, including Alum Creek, Big Walnut Creek and Darby Creek. Columbus is considered to have relatively flat topography thanks to a large glacier that covered most of Ohio during the Wisconsin Ice Age. However, there are sizable differences in elevation through the area, with the high point of Franklin County being above sea level near New Albany, and the low point being where the Scioto River leaves the county near Lockbourne.
Several ravines near the rivers and creeks also add variety to the landscape. Tributaries to Alum Creek and the Olentangy River cut through shale, while tributaries to the Scioto River cut through limestone. The numerous rivers and streams beside low-lying areas in Central Ohio contribute to a history of flooding in the region; the most significant was the Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus, Ohio.
The city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Columbus currently has the largest land area of any Ohio city; this is due to Jim Rhodes's tactic to annex suburbs while serving as mayor. As surrounding communities grew or were constructed, they came to require access to waterlines, which was under the sole control of the municipal water system. Rhodes told these communities that if they wanted water, they would have to submit to assimilation into Columbus.Neighborhoods
in Victorian Village]]
Columbus has a wide diversity of neighborhoods with different characters, and is thus sometimes known as a "city of neighborhoods." Some of the most prominent neighborhoods include the Arena District, the Brewery District, Clintonville, Franklinton, German Village, The Short North and Victorian Village. The lowest recorded temperature was , occurring on January 19, 1994. Floods, blizzards and ice storms can also occur from time to time.
Demographics
|footnote1812,<br />1820-2019: U.S. Census
}}
{| class"wikitable sortable collapsible mw-collapsed" style"font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Historical racial composition !! 2020!! 2010 !! 1990
There were 392,041 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 25.1% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 33.7% had a female householder with no spouse present. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26, and the average family size was 3.03.
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!%
|-
|White alone (NH)
|475,897
|466,615
|style='background: #ffffe6; |470,705
|66.89%
|59.29%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |51.97%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|172,750
|217,694
|style='background: #ffffe6; |256,509
|24.28%
|27.66%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |28.32%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|1,858
|1,643
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,632
|0.26%
|0.21%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.18%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|24,386
|31,734
|style='background: #ffffe6; |55,932
|3.43%
|4.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.18%
|-
|Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|326
|462
|style='background: #ffffe6; |325
|0.05%
|0.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|1,824
|2,032
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,369
|0.26%
|0.26%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.59%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|16,958
|22,494
|style='background: #ffffe6; |45,097
|2.38%
|2.86%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.98%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|17,471
|44,359
|style='background: #ffffe6; |70,179
|2.46%
|5.64%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.75%
|-
|Total
|711,470
|787,033
|style='background: #ffffe6; |905,748
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2010 census
In the 2010 United States census, there were 787,033 people, 331,602 households and 176,037 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 370,965 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the city included 815,985 races tallied, as some residents recognized multiple races. The racial makeup was 61.9% White, 29.1% Black or African American, 1% Native American or Alaska Native, 4.6% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 3.2% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.9% of the population.
Population makeup
Columbus historically had a significant population of white people. In 1900, whites made up 93.4% of the population. Although European immigration has declined, the Columbus metropolitan area has recently experienced increases in African, Asian and Latin American immigration, including groups from Mexico, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Somalia and China. While the Asian population is diverse, the city's Hispanic community is mainly made up of Mexican Americans, although there is a notable Puerto Rican population. Many other countries of origin are represented in lesser numbers, largely due to the international draw of Ohio State University. 2008 estimates indicate that roughly 116,000 of the city's residents are foreign-born, accounting for 82% of the new residents between 2000 and 2006 at a rate of 105 per week. The city had the second-largest Somali and Somali American population in the country, as of 2004, as well as the largest expatriate Bhutanese-Nepali population in the world, as of 2018.
Due to its demographics, which include a mix of races and a wide range of incomes, as well as urban, suburban and nearby rural areas, Columbus is considered a "typical" American city, leading retail and restaurant chains to use it as a test market for new products. For similar reasons, the city was chosen as the launch city for the QUBE cable television service.
Columbus has maintained a steady population growth since its establishment. Its slowest growth, from 1850 to 1860, is primarily attributed to the city's cholera epidemic in the 1850s.
According to the 2017 Japanese Direct Investment Survey by the Consulate-General of Japan, Detroit, 838 Japanese nationals lived in Columbus, making it the municipality with the state's second-largest Japanese national population, after Dublin.
Columbus is home to a proportional LGBT community, with an estimated 34,952 gay, lesbian or bisexual residents. The 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) reported an estimated 366,034 households, 32,276 of which were held by unmarried partners. 1,395 of these were female householder and female-partner households, and 1,456 were male householder and male-partner households. Columbus has been rated as one of the best cities in the country for gays and lesbians to live, and also as the most underrated gay city in the country. In July 2012, three years prior to legal same-sex marriage in the United States, the Columbus City Council unanimously passed a domestic partnership registry.
Italian-American community and symbols
, a replica, was docked downtown from 1991 to 2014.]]
Columbus has numerous Italian Americans, with groups including the Columbus Italian Club, Columbus Piave Club and the Abruzzi Club. Italian Village, a neighborhood near Downtown Columbus, has had a prominent Italian American community since the 1890s.
The community has helped promote the influence Christopher Columbus had in drawing European attention to the Americas. The Italian explorer, erroneously credited with the lands' discovery, has been posthumously criticized by historians for initiating colonization and for abuse, enslavement and subjugation of natives. The city's Discovery District and Discovery Bridge are named in reference to Columbus's "discovery" of the Americas; the bridge includes artistic bronze medallions featuring symbols of the explorer. Genoa Park, downtown, is named after Genoa, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus and one of Columbus's sister cities.
The Christopher Columbus Quincentennial Jubilee, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage, was held in the city in 1992. Its organizers spent $95 million on it, creating the horticultural exhibition AmeriFlora '92. The organizers also planned to create a replica Native American village, among other attractions. Local and national native leaders protested the event with a day of mourning, followed by protests and fasts at City Hall. The protests prevented the native village from being exhibited, and annual fasts continued until 1997. A protest also took place during the dedication of the Santa Maria replica, an event held in late 1991 on the day before Columbus Day and in time for the jubilee.
The city has three outdoor statues of the explorer; the statue at City Hall was acquired, delivered and dedicated with the assistance of the Italian American community. Protests in 2017 aimed for this statue to be removed, followed by the city in 2018 ceasing to recognize Columbus Day as a city holiday. During the 2020 George Floyd protests, petitions were created to remove all three statues and rename the city of Columbus.Religion
, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus]]
According to the 2019 American Values Atlas, 26% of Columbus metropolitan area residents are unaffiliated with a religious tradition. 17% of area residents identify as White evangelical Protestants, 14% as White mainline Protestants, 11% as Black Protestants, 11% as White Catholics, 5% as Hispanic Catholics, 3% as other nonwhite Catholics, 2% as other nonwhite Protestants and 2% as Mormons. Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and Latino Protestants each made up 1% of the population, while Jehovah's Witnesses, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Unitarians, and members of New Age or other religions each made up under 0.5% of the population.
Places of worship include Baptist, Evangelical, Greek Orthodox, Latter-day Saints, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Quaker, Roman Catholic, and Unitarian Universalist churches. Columbus also hosts several Islamic mosques, Jewish synagogues, Buddhist centers, Hindu temples and a branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Religious teaching institutions include the Pontifical College Josephinum and several private schools led by Christian organizations.
Economy
, headquarters to American Electric Power]]
Columbus has a generally strong and diverse economy based on education, insurance, banking, fashion, defense, aviation, food, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail and technology. In 2010, it was one of the 10 best big cities in the country, according to Relocate America, a real estate research firm.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the GDP of Columbus in 2019 was $134 billion (~$}} in ).
During the Great Recession between 2007 and 2009, Columbus's economy was not impacted as much as the rest of the country, due to decades of diversification work by long-time corporate residents, business leaders and political leaders. The administration of former mayor Michael B. Coleman continued this work, although the city faced financial turmoil and had to increase taxes, allegedly due in part to fiscal mismanagement. Because Columbus is the state capital, there is a large government presence in the city. Including city, county, state and federal employers, government jobs provide the largest single source of employment within Columbus.
In 2019, the city had six corporations named to the U.S. Fortune 500 list: Alliance Data, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, L Brands, Huntington Bancshares and Cardinal Health in suburban Dublin. Other major employers include schools (e.g., Ohio State University) and hospitals (among others, Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital, which are among the teaching hospitals of the Ohio State University College of Medicine), high-tech research and development such as the Battelle Memorial Institute, information/library companies such as OCLC and Chemical Abstracts Service, steel processing and pressure cylinder manufacturer Worthington Industries, financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Huntington Bancshares, as well as Owens Corning. Fast-food chains Wendy's and White Castle are also headquartered in the Columbus area. Major foreign corporations operating or with divisions in the city include Germany-based Siemens and Roxane Laboratories, Finland-based Vaisala, Tomasco Mulciber Inc., A Y Manufacturing, as well as Switzerland-based ABB and Mettler Toledo. The city also has a significant fashion and retail presence, home to companies such as Big Lots, L Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch, DSW and Express.Food and beverage industry
]]
North Market, a public market and food hall, is located downtown near the Short North. It is the only remaining public market of Columbus's original four marketplaces.
Numerous restaurant chains are based in the Columbus area, including Charleys Philly Steaks, Bibibop Asian Grill, Steak Escape, White Castle, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, Bob Evans Restaurants, Max & Erma's, Damon's Grill, Donatos Pizza and Wendy's. Wendy's, the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain, operated its first store downtown as both a museum and a restaurant until March 2007, when the establishment was closed due to low revenue. The company is presently headquartered outside the city in nearby Dublin. Budweiser has a major brewery located on the north side, just south of I-270 and Worthington. Columbus is also home to many local micro breweries and pubs. Asian frozen food manufacturer Kahiki Foods was located on the east side of Columbus, created during the operation of the Kahiki Supper Club restaurant in Columbus. The food company now operates in the suburb of Gahanna and has been owned by the South Korean-based company CJ CheilJedang since 2018. Wasserstrom Company, a major supplier of equipment and supplies for restaurants, is located on the north side.
Arts and culture
Landmarks
is the city's second-tallest skyscraper.]]
Columbus has over 170 notable buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it also maintains its own register, the Columbus Register of Historic Properties, with 82 entries. The city also maintains four historic districts not listed on its register: German Village, Italian Village, Victorian Village, and the Brewery District.
Construction of the Ohio Statehouse began in 1839 on a plot of land donated by four prominent Columbus landowners. This plot formed Capitol Square, which was not part of the city's original layout. Built of Columbus limestone from the Marble Cliff Quarry Co., the Statehouse stands on foundations deep that were laid by prison labor gangs rumored to have been composed largely of masons jailed for minor infractions.Demolitions and redevelopment
Demolition has been a common trend in Columbus for a long period of time, and continues into the present day. Preservationists and the public have sometimes run into conflict with developers hoping to revitalize an area, and historically with the city and state government, which led programs of urban renewal in the 20th century.
Museums and public art
collects and exhibits American and European modern and contemporary art, folk art, glass art, and photography.]]
Columbus has a wide variety of museums and galleries. Its primary art museum is the Columbus Museum of Art, which operates its main location as well as the Pizzuti Collection, featuring contemporary art. The museum, founded in 1878, focuses on European and American art up to early modernism that includes extraordinary examples of Impressionism, German Expressionism and Cubism. Another prominent art museum in the city is the Wexner Center for the Arts, a contemporary art gallery and research facility operated by the Ohio State University.
The Ohio History Connection is headquartered in Columbus, with its flagship museum, the Ohio History Center, north of downtown. Adjacent to the museum is Ohio Village, a replica of a village around the time of the American Civil War. The Columbus Historical Society also features historical exhibits, which focus more closely on life in Columbus.
(east entrance pictured) features themed, interactive science exhibits.]]
COSI is a large science and children's museum in downtown Columbus. The present building, the former Central High School, was completed in November 1999, opposite downtown on the west bank of the Scioto River. In 2009, Parents magazine named COSI one of the 10 best science centers for families in the country. Other science museums include the Orton Geological Museum and the Museum of Biological Diversity, which are both part of Ohio State University.
The Franklin Park Conservatory is the city's botanical garden, which opened in 1895. It features over 400 species of plants in a large Victorian-style glass greenhouse building that includes rain forest, desert and Himalayan mountain biomes. The conservatory is located just east of Downtown in Franklin Park
Biographical museums include the Thurber House (documenting the life of cartoonist James Thurber), the Jack Nicklaus Museum (documenting the golfer's career, located on the OSU campus) and the Kelton House Museum and Garden, the latter of which being a historic house museum memorializing three generations of the Kelton family, the house's use as a documented station on the Underground Railroad, and overall Victorian life.
The National Veterans Memorial and Museum, which opened in 2018, focuses on the personal stories of military veterans throughout U.S. history. The museum replaced the Franklin County Veterans Memorial, which opened in 1955.
Other notable museums in the city include the Central Ohio Fire Museum, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and the Ohio Craft Museum.
Performing arts
, a National Historic Landmark]]
Columbus is the home of many performing arts institutions including the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Opera Columbus, BalletMet Columbus, the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, CATCO, Columbus Children's Theatre, Shadowbox Live, and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Throughout the summer, the Actors' Theatre of Columbus offers free performances of Shakespearean plays in an open-air amphitheater in Schiller Park in historic German Village.
The Columbus Youth Ballet Academy was founded in the 1980s by ballerina and artistic director Shir Lee Wu, a discovery of Martha Graham. Wu is now the artistic director of the Columbus City Ballet School.
Columbus has several large concert venues, including the Nationwide Arena, Value City Arena, Express Live!, Mershon Auditorium and the Newport Music Hall.
In May 2009, the Lincoln Theatre, formerly a center for Black culture in Columbus, reopened after an extensive restoration. Not far from the Lincoln Theatre is the King Arts Complex, which hosts a variety of cultural events. The city also has several theaters downtown, including the historic Palace Theatre, the Ohio Theatre and the Southern Theatre. Broadway Across America often presents touring Broadway musicals in these larger venues. The Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts houses the Capitol Theatre and three smaller studio theaters, providing a home for resident performing arts companies.
Film
Movies filmed in the Columbus metropolitan area include Teachers in 1984, Tango & Cash in 1989, Little Man Tate in 1991, Air Force One in 1997, Traffic in 2000, Speak in 2004, Bubble in 2005, Liberal Arts in 2012, Parker in 2013, and I Am Wrath in 2016, Aftermath in 2017, They/Them/Us in 2021, and Bones and All in 2022. The 2018 film Ready Player One is set in Columbus, though not filmed in the city.
Sports
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+Columbus professional and major NCAA D1 teams
|-
! Club
! League
! Sport
! Venue (capacity)
! Founded
! Titles
! Average <br /> Attendance
|-
| Ohio State Buckeyes
| align=center | NCAA
| Football
| Ohio Stadium (104,851)
| align=center | 1890
| align=center | 9
| align=center | 105,261
|-
| Columbus Crew
| align=center | MLS
| Soccer
| Lower.com Field (20,371)
| align=center | 1996
| align=center | 3
| align=center | 20,646
|-
| Ohio State Buckeyes
| align=center | NCAA
| Basketball
| Value City Arena (19,000)
| align=center | 1892
| align=center | 1
| align=center | 16,511
|-
| Columbus Blue Jackets
| align=center | NHL
| Ice hockey
| Nationwide Arena (18,500)
| align=center | 2000
| align=center | 0
| align=center | 16,659
|-
| Columbus Clippers
| align=center | IL
| Baseball
| Huntington Park (10,100)
| align=center | 1977
| align=center | 11
| align=center | 9,212
|-
| Columbus Crew 2
| align=center | MLS Next Pro
| Soccer
| Historic Crew Stadium (19,968)
| align=center | 2022
| align=center | 1
| align=center | N/A
|-
|}
, on the campus of Ohio State University, is the 5th-largest non-racing stadium in the world.]]
, home of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets]]
, the current home of the Columbus Crew]]
Professional teams
Columbus hosts two major league professional sports teams: the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL), which play at Nationwide Arena, and the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer (MLS), which play at Lower.com Field. The Crew previously played at Historic Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium built in the United States for a Major League Soccer team. The Crew were one of the original members of MLS and won their first MLS Cup in 2008, a second title in 2020, and a third title in 2023. The Columbus Crew moved into Lower.com Field in the summer of 2021, which will also feature a mixed-use development site named Confluence Village.
The Columbus Clippers, the International League affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, play in Huntington Park, which opened in 2009.
The city was home to the Panhandles/Tigers football team from 1901 to 1926; they are credited with playing in the first NFL game against another NFL opponent. In the late 1990s, the Columbus Quest won the only two championships during American Basketball League's two-and-a-half season existence.
The Ohio Aviators were based in Obetz, Ohio, and began play in the only PRO Rugby season before the league folded.
Since 2023, Columbus has been home to the Columbus Fury women's professional volleyball team, one of seven teams to launch with the Pro Volleyball Federation. The team plays home games at Nationwide Arena.Ohio State BuckeyesColumbus is home to one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate programs, the Ohio State Buckeyes of Ohio State University. The program has placed in the top 10 final standings of the Director's Cup five times since 2000–2001, including No. 3 for the 2002–2003 season and No. 4 for the 2003–2004 season. The university funds 36 varsity teams, consisting of 17 male, 16 female and three co-educational teams. In 2007–2008 and 2008–2009, the program generated the second-most revenue for college programs behind the Texas Longhorns of The University of Texas at Austin.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are a member of the NCAA's Big Ten Conference, and their football team plays home games at Ohio Stadium. The Ohio State–Michigan football game (known colloquially as "The Game") is the final game of the regular season and is played in November each year, alternating between Columbus and Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2000, ESPN ranked the Ohio State–Michigan game as the greatest rivalry in North American sports. Moreover, "Buckeye fever" permeates Columbus culture year-round and forms a major part of Columbus's cultural identity. Former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, an Ohio native who received a master's degree from Ohio State and coached in Columbus, was an Ohio State football fan and major donor to the university who contributed to the construction of the band facility at the renovated Ohio Stadium, which bears his family's name.
During the winter months, the Buckeyes basketball and hockey teams are also major sporting attractions.
Other sports
Columbus has a long history in motorsports, hosting the world's first 24-hour car race at the Columbus Driving Park in 1905, which was organized by the Columbus Auto Club. The Columbus Motor Speedway was built in 1945 and held its first motorcycle race in 1946. In 2010, the Ohio State University student-built Buckeye Bullet 2, a fuel-cell vehicle, set an FIA world speed record for electric vehicles in reaching 303.025 mph, eclipsing the previous record of 302.877 mph.
The annual All American Quarter Horse Congress, the world's largest single-breed horse show, attracts approximately 500,000 visitors to the Ohio Expo Center each October.
Columbus hosts the annual Arnold Sports Festival. Hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the event has grown to eight Olympic sports and 22,000 athletes competing in 80 events.
Westside Barbell, a world-renowned powerlifting gym, is located in Columbus. Its founder, Louie Simmons, is known for his popularization of the "Conjugate Method," while he is also credited with inventing training machines for reverse hyper-extensions and belt squats. Westside Barbell is known for producing multiple world record holders in powerlifting.
The Columbus Bullies were two-time champions of the American Football League (1940–1941). The Columbus Thunderbolts were formed in 1991 for the Arena Football League, and then relocated to Cleveland as the Cleveland Thunderbolts; the Columbus Destroyers were the next team of the AFL, playing from 2004 until the league's demise in 2008 and returned for single season in 2019 until the league folded a second time.
Ohio Roller Derby (formerly Ohio Roller Girls) was founded in Columbus in 2005 and still competes internationally in Women's Flat Track Derby Association play. The team is regularly ranked in the top 60 internationally.
Parks and attractions
, McFerson Commons is home to the Union Station arch.]]
includes nine parks along both banks of the Scioto River between downtown Columbus and Franklinton.]]
nature center at Scioto Audubon Metro Park, the first built close to a major city's downtown]]
Columbus's Recreation and Parks Department oversees about 370 city parks. Also in the area are 19 regional parks and the Metro Parks, which are part of the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District.
These parks include Clintonville's Whetstone Park and the Columbus Park of Roses, a rose garden. The Chadwick Arboretum on Ohio State's campus features a large and varied collection of plants, while its Olentangy River Wetland Research Park is an experimental wetland open to the public. Downtown, the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is represented in topiary at Columbus's Topiary Park. Also near downtown, the Scioto Audubon Metro Park on the Whittier Peninsula opened in 2009 and includes a large Audubon nature center focused on the birdwatching the area is known for.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's collections include lowland gorillas, polar bears, manatees, Siberian tigers, cheetahs and kangaroos. Also in the zoo complex is the Zoombezi Bay water park and amusement park.
Fairs and festivals
is held in late July to early August.]]
Annual festivities in Columbus include the Ohio State Fair – one of the largest state fairs in the country – as well as the Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz & Rib Fest, both of which occur on the downtown riverfront.
In mid-May from 2007 to 2018, Columbus was home to Rock on the Range, which was held at Historic Crew Stadium and marketed as America's biggest rock festival. The festival, which took place on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, has hosted Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot and other notable bands. In May 2019, it was officially replaced by the Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival.
During the first weekend in June, the bars of Columbus's North Market District host the Park Street Festival, which attracts thousands of visitors to a massive party in bars and on the street. June's second-to-last weekend sees one of the Midwest's largest gay pride parades, Columbus Pride, reflecting the city's sizable gay population. During the last weekend of June, Goodale Park hosts ComFest (short for "Community Festival"), an immense three-day music festival marketed as the largest non-commercial festival in the U.S., with art vendors, live music on multiple stages, hundreds of local social and political organizations, body painting and beer.
The city's largest dining event, Restaurant Week Columbus, is held twice a year in mid-January and mid-July. In 2010, more than 40,000 diners went to 40 participating restaurants, and $5,000 (~$}} in ) was donated the Mid-Ohio Foodbank on behalf of sponsors and participating restaurants.
Around the Fourth of July, Columbus hosts Red, White & Boom! on the Scioto riverfront downtown, attracting crowds of over 500,000 people and featuring the largest fireworks display in Ohio.
The Short North is host to the monthly Gallery Hop, which attracts hundreds to the neighborhood's art galleries (which all open their doors to the public until late at night) and street musicians. The Hilltop Bean Dinner is an annual event held on Columbus's West Side that celebrates the city's Civil War heritage near the historic Camp Chase Cemetery. At the end of September, German Village throws an annual Oktoberfest celebration that features German food, beer, music and crafts.
Columbus also hosts many conventions in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, a large convention center on the north edge of downtown. Completed in 1993, the convention center was designed by architect Peter Eisenman, who also designed the Wexner Center.
Shopping
Both of the metropolitan area's major shopping centers are located in Columbus: Easton Town Center and Polaris Fashion Place.
Developer Richard E. Jacobs built the area's first three major shopping malls in the 1960s: Westland, Northland and Eastland. Near Northland Mall was The Continent, an open-air mall in the Northland area, mostly vacant and pending redevelopment. Columbus City Center was built downtown in 1988, alongside the first location of Lazarus; this mall closed in 2009 and was demolished in 2011. Easton Town Center was built in 1999 and Polaris Fashion Place in 2001.
Environment
The City of Columbus has focused on reducing its environmental impact and carbon footprint. In 2020, a citywide ballot measure was approved, giving Columbus an electricity aggregation plan which will supply it with 100% renewable energy by the start of 2023. Its vendor, AEP Energy, plans to construct new wind and solar farms in Ohio to help supply the electricity.<!--water purity and availability, air quality, environmental revitalization (Scioto River and Mile, Olentangy, IBAs, Metro Parks)-->
The largest sources of pollution in the county, as of 2019, are Ohio State University's McCracken Power Plant, the landfill operated by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) and the Anheuser-Busch Columbus Brewery. Anheuser-Busch has a company-wide goal of reducing emissions by 25% by 2025. Ohio State plans to construct a new heat and power plant, also powered by fossil fuels, but set to reduce emissions by about 30%. SWACO manages to capture 75% of its methane emissions to use in producing energy, and is looking to reduce emissions further.
Government
Mayor and city council
]]
The city is administered by a mayor and a nine-member unicameral council elected in two classes every two years to four-year terms at large. Columbus is the largest city in the United States that elects its city council at large as opposed to districts. The mayor appoints the director of safety and the director of public service. The people elect the auditor, municipal court clerk, municipal court judges and city attorney. A charter commission, elected in 1913, submitted a new charter in May 1914, offering a modified federal form, with a number of progressive features, such as nonpartisan ballot, preferential voting, recall of elected officials, the referendum and a small council elected at large. The charter was adopted, effective January 1, 1916. Andrew Ginther has been the mayor of Columbus since 2016.Government offices
As Ohio's capital and the county seat, Columbus hosts numerous federal, state, county and city government offices and courts.
Federal offices include the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse, one of several courts for the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, after moving from 121 E. State St. in 1934. Another federal office, the John W. Bricker Federal Building, has offices for U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, as well as for the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and the Departments of Housing & Urban Development and Agriculture.
The State of Ohio's capitol building, the Ohio Statehouse, is located in the center of downtown on Capitol Square. It houses the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate. It also contains the ceremonial offices of the governor, and state auditor. The Supreme Court, Court of Claims and Judicial Conference are located in the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center downtown by the Scioto River. The building, built in 1933 to house 10 state agencies along with the State Library of Ohio, became the Supreme Court after extensive renovations from 2001 to 2004.
Franklin County operates the Franklin County Government Center, a complex at the southern end of downtown Columbus. The center includes the county's municipal court, common pleas court, correctional center, juvenile detention center and sheriff's office.
Near City Hall, the Michael B. Coleman Government Center holds offices for the departments of building and zoning services, public service, development and public utilities. Also nearby is 77 North Front Street, which holds Columbus's city attorney office, income-tax division, public safety, human resources, civil service and purchasing departments. The structure, built in 1929, was the police headquarters until 1991, and was then dormant until it was given a $34 million renovation from 2011 to 2013.Emergency services and homeland security
, in the city's Civic Center]]
Municipal police duties are performed by the Columbus Division of Police, while emergency medical services (EMS) and fire protection are through the Columbus Division of Fire.
Ohio Homeland Security operates the Strategic Analysis and Information Center (SAIC) fusion center in Columbus's Hilltop neighborhood. The facility is the state's primary public intelligence hub and one of the few in the country that uses state, local, federal and private resources.
Social services and homelessness
Columbus has a history of governmental and nonprofit support for low-income residents and the homeless. Nevertheless, the homelessness rate has steadily risen since at least 2007. Poverty and differences in quality of life have grown, as well; Columbus was noted as the second-most economically segregated large metropolitan area in 2015, in a study by the University of Toronto. It also ranked 45th of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in terms of social mobility, according to a 2015 Harvard University study.
Education
at the Ohio State University]]
Colleges and universities
Columbus is the home of two public colleges: the Ohio State University, one of the largest college campuses in the United States, and Columbus State Community College. In 2009, Ohio State University was ranked No. 19 in the country by U.S. News & World Report on its list of best public universities, and No. 56 overall, scoring in the first tier of schools nationally. Some of Ohio State's graduate school programs placed in the top 5, including No. 5 for both best veterinary programs and best pharmacy programs. The specialty graduate programs of social psychology was ranked No. 2, dispute resolution was No. 5, vocational education was No. 2, and elementary education, secondary teacher education, administration/supervision was No. 5.
Private institutions in Columbus include Capital University Law School, the Columbus College of Art and Design, Fortis College, DeVry University, Ohio Business College, Miami-Jacobs Career College, Ohio Institute of Health Careers, Bradford School and Franklin University, as well as the religious schools Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary, Mount Carmel College of Nursing, Ohio Dominican University, Pontifical College Josephinum and Trinity Lutheran Seminary. Three major suburban schools also have an influence on Columbus's educational landscape: Bexley's Capital University, Westerville's Otterbein University and Delaware's Ohio Wesleyan University.
Primary and secondary schools
was the first middle school in the U.S.]]
Columbus City Schools (CCS) is the largest district in Ohio, with 55,000 pupils. CCS operates 142 elementary, middle and high schools, including a number of magnet schools (which are referred to as alternative schools within the school system).
The suburbs operate their own districts, typically serving students in one or more townships, with districts sometimes crossing municipal boundaries. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus also operates several parochial elementary and high schools. The area's second-largest school district is South-Western City Schools, which encompasses southwestern Franklin County, including a slice of Columbus itself. Other portions of Columbus are zoned to the Dublin, Hilliard, New Albany-Plain, Westerville and Worthington school districts.
There are also several private schools in the area, such as St. Paul's Lutheran School, a K-8 Christian school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Columbus.
Some sources determine that the first kindergarten in the United States was established here by Louisa Frankenberg, a former student of Friedrich Fröbel.
In addition, Indianola Junior High School (now the Graham Elementary and Middle School) became the nation's first junior high school in 1909, helping to bridge the difficult transition from elementary to high school at a time when only 48% of students continued their education after the ninth grade.Libraries
of the Columbus Metropolitan Library system]]
The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) has served central Ohio residents since 1873. The system has 23 locations throughout Central Ohio, with a total collection of 3 million items. This library is one of the country's most-used library systems and is consistently among the top-ranked large city libraries according to Hennen's American Public Library Ratings. CML was rated the No. 1 library system in the nation in 1999, 2005 and 2008. It has been in the top four every year since 1999, when the rankings were first published in the American Libraries magazine, often challenging upstate neighbor Cuyahoga County Public Library for the top spot.
Weekend education
The classes of the Columbus Japanese Language School, a weekend Japanese school, are held in a facility from the school district in Marysville, while the school office is in Worthington. Previously it held classes at facilities in the city of Columbus.Media
, 90-year home to the newspaper]]
Several weekly and daily newspapers serve Columbus and Central Ohio. The major daily newspaper in Columbus is The Columbus Dispatch. There are also neighborhood- or suburb-specific papers, such as the Dispatch Printing Company's ThisWeek Community News, the Columbus Messenger, the Clintonville Spotlight and the Short North Gazette. The Lantern and 1870 serve the Ohio State University community. Alternative arts, culture or politics-oriented papers include ALIVE (formerly the independent Columbus Alive and now owned by the Columbus Dispatch), Columbus Free Press and Columbus Underground (digital-only). The Columbus Magazine, CityScene, 614 Magazine and Columbus Monthly are the city's magazines.
Columbus is the base for 12 television stations and is the 32nd-largest television market as of September 24, 2016. Columbus is also home to the 36th-largest radio market.
Infrastructure
Healthcare
Numerous medical systems operate in Columbus and Central Ohio. These include OhioHealth, which has three hospitals in the city proper: Grant Medical Center, Riverside Methodist Hospital, and Doctors Hospital; Mount Carmel Health System, which has one hospital among other facilities; the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, which has a primary hospital complex and an east campus in Columbus; and Nationwide Children's Hospital, which is an independently operated hospital for pediatric health care. Hospitals in Central Ohio are ranked favorably by the U.S. News & World Report, where numerous hospitals are ranked as among the best in particular fields in the United States. Nationwide Children's is regarded as among the top 10 children's hospitals in the country, according to the report.
Utilities
Numerous utility companies operate in Central Ohio. Within Columbus, power is sourced from Columbus Southern Power, an American Electric Power subsidiary. Natural gas is provided by Columbia Gas of Ohio, while water is sourced from the City of Columbus Division of Water.
Transportation
Local roads, grid and address system
The city's two main corridors since its founding are Broad and High Streets. They both traverse beyond the extent of the city; High Street is the longest in Columbus, running (23.4 across the county), while Broad Street is longer across the county, at .
The city's street plan originates downtown and extends into the old-growth neighborhoods, following a grid pattern with the intersection of High Street (running north–south) and Broad Street (running east–west) at its center. North–south streets run 12 degrees west of due north, parallel to High Street; the avenues (vis. Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, and so on) run 12 degrees off from east–west.
The address system begins its numbering at the intersection of Broad and High, with numbers increasing in magnitude with distance from Broad or High, as well as cardinal directions used alongside street names. Numbered avenues begin with First Avenue, about north of Broad Street, and increase in number as one progresses northward. Numbered streets begin with Second Street, which is two blocks west of High Street, and Third Street, which is a block east of High Street, then progress eastward from there. Even-numbered addresses are on the north and east sides of streets, putting odd addresses on the south and west sides of streets. A difference of 700 house numbers means a distance of about (along the same street). The Main Street Bridge opened on July 30, 2010. The bridge has three lanes for vehicular traffic (one westbound and two eastbound) and another separated lane for pedestrians and bikes. The Rich Street Bridge opened in July 2012 adjacent to the Main Street Bridge, connecting Rich Street on the east side of the river with Town Street on the west. The Lane Avenue Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that opened on November 14, 2003, in the University District. The bridge spans the Olentangy River with three lanes of traffic each way.
Airports
departure level]]
The city's primary airport, John Glenn Columbus International Airport, is on the city's east side. Formerly known as Port Columbus, John Glenn provides service to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Cancun, Mexico (on a seasonal basis), as well as to most domestic destinations, including all the major hubs along with San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Seattle. The airport was a hub for discount carrier Skybus Airlines and continues to be home to NetJets, the world's largest fractional ownership air carrier. According to a 2005 market survey, John Glenn Columbus International Airport attracts about 50% of its passengers from outside of its radius primary service region. It is the 52nd-busiest airport in the United States by total passenger boardings.
Rickenbacker International Airport, in southern Franklin County, is a major cargo facility that is used by the Ohio Air National Guard. Allegiant Air offers nonstop service from Rickenbacker to Florida destinations. Ohio State University Don Scott Airport and Bolton Field are other large general-aviation facilities in the Columbus area.
Aviation history
from 1929 to 1958]]
's Spirit of Columbus, which she piloted in 1964 as the first woman to fly solo around the world, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center]]
In 1907, 14-year-old Cromwell Dixon built the SkyCycle, a pedal-powered blimp, which he flew at Driving Park. Three years later, one of the Wright brothers' exhibition pilots, Phillip Parmalee, conducted the world's first commercial cargo flight when he flew two packages containing 88 kilograms of silk from Dayton to Columbus in a Wright Model B.
Military aviators from Columbus distinguished themselves during World War I. Six Columbus pilots, led by top ace Eddie Rickenbacker, achieved 42 "kills" – a full 10% of all US aerial victories in the war, and more than the aviators of any other American city.
After the war, Port Columbus Airport (now known as John Glenn Columbus International Airport) became the axis of a coordinated rail-to-air transcontinental system that moved passengers from the East Coast to the West. TAT, which later became TWA, provided commercial service, following Charles Lindbergh's promotion of Columbus to the nation for such a hub. Following the failure of a bond levy in 1927 to build the airport, Lindbergh campaigned in the city in 1928, and the next bond levy passed that year.Public transit
's Spring Street Terminal, one of its five transit centers]]
, the city's rail station from 1897 to 1977]]
Columbus maintains a widespread municipal bus service called the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA). The service operates 41 routes with a fleet of 440 buses, serving approximately 19 million passengers per year. COTA operates 23 regular fixed-service routes, 14 express services, a bus rapid transit route, a free downtown circulator, night service, an airport connector and other services. LinkUS, an initiative between COTA, the city, and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, is planning to add more rapid transit to Columbus, with three proposed corridors operating by 2030, and potentially a total of five by 2050.
Intercity bus service is provided at the Columbus Bus Station by Greyhound, Barons Bus Lines, Miller Transportation, GoBus and other carriers.
Columbus does not have passenger rail service. The city's major train station, Union Station, was a stop along Amtrak's National Limited train service until 1977 and was razed in 1979, and the Greater Columbus Convention Center now stands in its place. Until Amtrak's founding in 1971, the Penn Central ran the Cincinnati Limited to Cincinnati to the southwest (in prior years the train continued to New York City to the east); the Ohio State Limited between Cincinnati and Cleveland, with Union Station serving as a major intermediate stop (the train going unnamed between 1967 and 1971); and the Spirit of St. Louis, which ran between St. Louis and New York City until 1971. The station was also a stop along the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New York Central Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Norfolk and Western Railway, the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad. As the city lacks local, commuter or intercity trains, Columbus is now the largest city and metropolitan area in the U.S. without any passenger rail service. Numerous proposals to return rail service have been introduced; currently Amtrak plans to restore service to Columbus by 2035.
Cycling network
bikeshare station in the Arena District]]
Cycling as transportation is steadily increasing in Columbus with its relatively flat terrain, intact urban neighborhoods, large student population and off-road bike paths. The city has put forth the 2012 Bicentennial Bikeways Plan, as well as a move toward a Complete Streets policy. Grassroots efforts such as Bike to Work Week, Consider Biking, Yay Bikes, Third Hand Bicycle Co-op, Franklinton Cycleworks and Cranksters, a local radio program focused on urban cycling, have contributed to cycling as transportation.
Columbus also hosts urban cycling "off-shots" with messenger-style "alleycat" races, as well as unorganized group rides, a monthly Critical Mass ride, bicycle polo, art showings, movie nights and a variety of bicycle-friendly businesses and events throughout the year. All this activity occurs despite Columbus's frequently inclement weather.
The Main Street Bridge, opened in 2010, features a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane separated from traffic.
The city has its own public bicycle system. CoGo Bike Share has a network of about 600 bicycles and 80 docking stations. PBSC Urban Solutions, a company based in Canada, supplies technology and equipment. Bird electric scooters have also been introduced.
Modal share
The city of Columbus has a higher-than-average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 9.8% of Columbus households lacked a car, a number that fell slightly to 9.4% in 2016. The national average was 8.7% in 2016. Columbus averaged 1.55 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.Notable peopleSister citiesColumbus has 10 sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International. Columbus established its first sister city relationship in 1955 with Genoa, Italy. To commemorate this relationship, Columbus received as a gift from the people of Genoa, a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus. The statue overlooked Broad Street in front of Columbus City Hall from 1955 to 2020; it was removed during the George Floyd protests.
List of sister cities:<ref name="sisters"/>
Genoa, Italy (1955)
* Tainan, Taiwan (1980)
* Hefei, China (1988)
* Odense, Denmark (1988)
* Seville, Spain (1988)
* Dresden, Germany (1992)
* Herzliya, Israel (1996)
* Ahmedabad, India (2008)
* Curitiba, Brazil (2014)
* Accra, Ghana (2015)
}}
See also
* Racism in Columbus, Ohio
* USS Columbus, two ships named for the city
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
* A program that features the history of and literary life in Columbus.
}}
Category:1812 establishments in Ohio
Category:Cities in Delaware County, Ohio
Category:Cities in Fairfield County, Ohio
Category:Cities in Franklin County, Ohio
Category:Cities in Ohio
Category:County seats in Ohio
Category:National Road
Category:Planned communities in the United States
Category:Populated places established in 1812
Category:State capitals in the United States | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus,_Ohio | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.745442 |
5951 | Cleveland | | image_flag = Flag of Cleveland, Ohio.svg
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| image_seal = Seal of Cleveland, Ohio.svg
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| nicknames The Forest City<br />(for more, see full list)
| motto Progress & Prosperity
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| established_title = Founded
| established_date =
| established_title2 = Incorporated (village)
| established_date2 =
| established_title3 = Incorporated (city)
| established_date3
| named_for = Moses Cleaveland
| government_type = Strong mayor / Council
| governing_body = Cleveland City Council
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Justin Bibb
| leader_party = D
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| area_footnotes
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| area_total_km2 = 213.62
| area_land_sq_mi = 77.73
| area_land_km2 = 201.33
| area_water_sq_mi = 4.75
| area_water_km2 = 12.29
| elevation_footnotes
| elevation_m | elevation_ft 653
<!-- Population -->
| population_total = 372624
| population_as_of = 2020
| population_est = 362656
| pop_est_as_of = 2023
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| population_footnotes | population_rank 53rd in the United States<br>2nd in Ohio
| population_density_sq_mi = 4793.52
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| population_demonym = Clevelander
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|demographics2_info1 = $139.935 billion (2023)
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}}
Cleveland }} is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States maritime border and lies approximately west of Pennsylvania. Cleveland is the most populous city on Lake Erie, the second-most populous city in Ohio, and the 53rd-most populous city in the U.S. with a population of 372,624 in 2020. The city anchors the Cleveland metropolitan area, the 33rd-largest in the U.S. at 2.18 million residents, as well as the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton combined statistical area with 3.63 million residents.
Cleveland was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve in modern-day Northeast Ohio by General Moses Cleaveland, after whom the city was named. The city's location on the river and the lake shore allowed it to grow into a major commercial and industrial metropolis by the late 19th century, attracting large numbers of immigrants and migrants. It was among the top 10 largest U.S. cities by population for much of the 20th century, a period that saw the development of the city's cultural institutions. By the 1960s, Cleveland's economy began to slow down as manufacturing declined and suburbanization occurred.
Cleveland is a port city, connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Its economy relies on diverse sectors that include higher education, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedicals. The city serves as the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, as well as several major companies. The GDP for the Greater Cleveland MSA was US$138.3 billion in 2022.
Designated as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Cleveland is home to several major cultural institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Public Library, Playhouse Square, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as Case Western Reserve University. Known as "The Forest City" among many other nicknames, Cleveland serves as the center of the Cleveland Metroparks nature reserve system. Cleaveland oversaw the New England–style design of the plan for what would become the modern downtown area, centered on Public Square, before returning to Connecticut, never again to visit Ohio.
The first permanent European settler in Cleveland was Lorenzo Carter, who built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The emerging community served as an important supply post for the U.S. during the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Locals adopted Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry as a civic hero and erected a monument in his honor decades later. Largely through the efforts of the settlement's first lawyer Alfred Kelley, the village of Cleveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814.
Despite the nearby swampy lowlands and harsh winters, the town's waterfront location proved advantageous, giving it access to Great Lakes trade. It grew rapidly after the 1832 completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal. This key link between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes connected Cleveland to the Atlantic Ocean via the Erie Canal and Hudson River, and later via the Saint Lawrence Seaway. That same year, it nearly erupted into open warfare with neighboring Ohio City over a bridge connecting the two communities. Ohio City remained an independent municipality until its annexation by Cleveland in 1854. Cleveland (code-named "Station Hope") was a major stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped African American slaves en route to Canada. The city also served as an important center for the Union during the American Civil War. Decades later, in July 1894, the wartime contributions of those serving the Union from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County would be honored with the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument on Public Square. Growth and expansion The Civil War vaulted Cleveland into the first rank of American manufacturing cities and fueled unprecedented growth. Its prime geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes played an important role in its development as an industrial and commercial center. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in Cleveland, and in 1885, he moved its headquarters to New York City, which had become a center of finance and business.
of Cleveland in 1877]]
Cleveland's economic growth and industrial jobs attracted large waves of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe as well as Ireland. The Cleveland Streetcar Strike of 1899 was one of the more violent instances of labor strife in the city during this period.
By 1910, Cleveland had become known as the "Sixth City" due to its status at the time as the sixth-largest U.S. city. Its automotive companies included Peerless, Chandler, and Winton, maker of the first car driven across the U.S. Other manufacturing industries in Cleveland included steam cars produced by White and electric cars produced by Baker. The city counted major Progressive Era politicians among its leaders, most prominently the populist Mayor Tom L. Johnson, who was responsible for the development of the Cleveland Mall Plan. The era of the City Beautiful movement in Cleveland architecture saw wealthy patrons support the establishment of the city's major cultural institutions. The most prominent among them were the Cleveland Museum of Art, which opened in 1916, and the Cleveland Orchestra, established in 1918.
, Slovene, Polish, and Yiddish, advertising English classes for immigrants in Cleveland]]
In addition to the large immigrant population, African American migrants from the rural South arrived in Cleveland (among other Northeastern and Midwestern cities) as part of the Great Migration for jobs, constitutional rights, and relief from racial discrimination. By 1920, the year in which the Cleveland Indians won their first World Series championship, Cleveland had grown into a densely-populated metropolis of 796,841, making it the fifth-largest city in the nation,
At this time, Cleveland saw the rise of radical labor movements, most prominently the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), in response to the conditions of the largely immigrant and migrant workers. In 1919, the city attracted national attention amid the First Red Scare for the Cleveland May Day Riots, in which local socialist and IWW demonstrators clashed with anti-socialists. The riots occurred during the broader strike wave that swept the U.S. that year.
Cleveland's population continued to grow throughout the Roaring Twenties. The decade saw the establishment of the city's Playhouse Square, and the rise of the risqué Short Vincent. The Bal-Masque balls of the avant-garde Kokoon Arts Club scandalized the city. Jazz came to prominence in Cleveland during this period. Prohibition first took effect in Ohio in May 1919 (although it was not well-enforced in Cleveland), became law with the Volstead Act in 1920, and was eventually repealed nationally by Congress in 1933. The ban on alcohol led to the rise of speakeasies throughout the city and organized crime gangs, such as the Mayfield Road Mob, who smuggled bootleg liquor across Lake Erie from Canada into Cleveland.
and East 9th Street with the Hickox Building in 1918]]
The era of the flapper marked the beginning of the golden age in Downtown Cleveland retail, centered on major department stores Higbee's, Bailey's, the May Company, Taylor's, Halle's, and Sterling Lindner Davis, which collectively represented one of the largest and most fashionable shopping districts in the country, often compared to New York's Fifth Avenue. In 1929, Cleveland hosted the first of many National Air Races, and Amelia Earhart flew to the city from Santa Monica, California in the Women's Air Derby. The Van Sweringen brothers commenced construction of the Terminal Tower skyscraper in 1926 and oversaw it to completion in 1927. By the time the building was dedicated as part of Cleveland Union Terminal in 1930, the city had a population of over 900,000.
and the then-new Cleveland Union Terminal in 1930]]
On December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and declared war on the U.S. Two of the victims of the attack were Cleveland natives – Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd and ensign William Halloran. The attack signaled America's entry into World War II. A major hub of the "Arsenal of Democracy", Cleveland under Mayor Frank Lausche contributed massively to the U.S. war effort as the fifth largest manufacturing center in the nation. During his tenure, Lausche also oversaw the establishment of the Cleveland Transit System, the predecessor to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. Late 20th and early 21st centuries After the war, Cleveland initially experienced an economic boom, and businesses declared the city to be the "best location in the nation". In 1949, the city was named an All-America City for the first time, and in 1950, its population reached 914,808. Additionally, the 1950s saw the rising popularity of a new music genre that local WJW (AM) disc jockey Alan Freed dubbed "rock and roll".
and the Fountain of Eternal Life by Marshall Fredericks]]
However, by the 1960s, Cleveland's economy began to slow down, and residents increasingly sought new housing in the suburbs, reflecting the national trends of suburban growth following federally subsidized highways. Industrial restructuring, particularly in the steel and automotive industries, resulted in the loss of numerous jobs in Cleveland and the region, and the city suffered economically. The burning of the Cuyahoga River in June 1969 brought national attention to the issue of industrial pollution in Cleveland and served as a catalyst for the American environmental movement.
Housing discrimination and redlining against African Americans led to racial unrest in Cleveland and numerous other Northern U.S. cities. In Cleveland, the Hough riots erupted from July 18 to 24, 1966, and the Glenville Shootout took place on July 23, 1968. In November 1967, Cleveland became the first major American city to elect an African American mayor, Carl B. Stokes, who served from 1968 to 1971 and played an instrumental role in restoring the Cuyahoga River.
During the 1970s, Cleveland became known as "Bomb City U.S.A." due to several bombings that shook the city, mostly due to organized crime rivalries. In December 1978, during the turbulent tenure of Dennis Kucinich as mayor, Cleveland became the first major American city since the Great Depression to enter into a financial default on federal loans. The national recession of the early 1980s "further eroded the city's traditional economic base." While unemployment during the period peaked in 1983, Cleveland's rate of 13.8% was higher than the national average due to the closure of several steel production centers.
The city began a gradual economic recovery under Mayor George V. Voinovich in the 1980s. Downtown saw the construction of the Key Tower and 200 Public Square skyscrapers, as well as the development of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex – consisting of Progressive Field and Rocket Arena – and North Coast Harbor, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Browns Stadium, and the Great Lakes Science Center. Although the city emerged from default in 1987,
Nevertheless, by the turn of the 21st century, Cleveland succeeded in developing a more diversified economy and gained a national reputation as a center for healthcare and the arts. The city's downtown and several neighborhoods have experienced significant population growth since 2010, while overall population decline has slowed. Challenges remain for the city, with improvement of city schools, economic development of neighborhoods, and continued efforts to tackle poverty, homelessness, and urban blight being top municipal priorities.
Geography
satellite photograph of Cleveland at night]]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The shore of Lake Erie is above sea level; however, the city lies on a series of irregular bluffs lying roughly parallel to the lake. In Cleveland these bluffs are cut principally by the Cuyahoga River, Big Creek, and Euclid Creek.
The land rises quickly from the lake shore elevation of 569 feet. Public Square, less than inland, sits at an elevation of , and Hopkins Airport, inland from the lake, is at an elevation of .
Cleveland borders several inner-ring and streetcar suburbs.
Completed in 1927 and dedicated in 1930 as part of the Cleveland Union Terminal complex, the Terminal Tower was the tallest building in North America outside New York City until 1964 and the tallest in the city until 1991. It is a prototypical Beaux-Arts skyscraper. The two other major skyscrapers on Public Square, Key Tower (the tallest building in Ohio) and 200 Public Square, combine elements of Art Deco architecture with postmodern designs.
Running east from Public Square through University Circle is Euclid Avenue, which was known as "Millionaires' Row" for its prestige and elegance as a residential street. In the late 1880s, writer Bayard Taylor described it as "the most beautiful street in the world".
Nicknamed Cleveland's "Crystal Palace", the five-story Cleveland Arcade (also known as the Old Arcade) was built in 1890 and renovated in 2001 as a Hyatt Regency Hotel. Another major architectural landmark, the Cleveland Trust Company Building, was completed in 1907 and renovated in 2015 as a downtown Heinen's supermarket. Cleveland's historic ecclesiastical architecture includes the Presbyterian Old Stone Church, the onion domed St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral, and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist along with several other ethnically inspired Catholic churches.
<gallery mode"packed" heights"100">
File:Arcade (48249762776).jpg|Cleveland Arcade, 1890
File:Cleveland Trust Company Building, Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street, Cleveland, OH.jpg|Cleveland Trust Company Building, 1907
File:Palace lobby.jpg|Connor Palace Theatre, 1922
File:Cleveland Skyline (26381354620).jpg|Terminal Tower from Euclid Avenue
File:Grand Foyer, Severance Hall, University Circle, Cleveland, OH - 52992001701.jpg|Grand foyer of Severance Hall, 1931
</gallery>
Neighborhoods
neighborhood at night]]
The Cleveland City Planning Commission has officially designated 34 neighborhoods in Cleveland. Centered on Public Square, Downtown Cleveland is the city's central business district, encompassing a wide range of subdistricts, such as the Nine-Twelve District, the Campus District, the Civic Center, East 4th Street, and Playhouse Square. It also historically included the lively Short Vincent entertainment district. Mixed-use areas, such as the Warehouse District and the Superior Arts District, are occupied by industrial and office buildings as well as restaurants, cafes, and bars.
Clevelanders geographically define themselves in terms of whether they live on the east or west side of the Cuyahoga River. The East Side includes the neighborhoods of Buckeye–Shaker, Buckeye–Woodhill, Central, Collinwood (including Nottingham), Euclid–Green, Fairfax, Glenville, Goodrich–Kirtland Park (including Asiatown), Hough, Kinsman, Lee–Miles (including Lee–Harvard and Lee–Seville), Mount Pleasant, St. Clair–Superior, Union–Miles Park, and University Circle (including Little Italy). The West Side includes the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Centre, Clark–Fulton, Cudell, Detroit–Shoreway, Edgewater, Ohio City, Old Brooklyn, Stockyards, Tremont (including Duck Island), West Boulevard, and the four neighborhoods colloquially known as West Park: Kamm's Corners, Jefferson, Bellaire–Puritas, and Hopkins. The Cuyahoga Valley neighborhood (including Whiskey Island and the Flats) is situated between the East and West Sides, while Broadway–Slavic Village is sometimes referred to as the South Side.
Several neighborhoods have begun to attract the return of the middle class that left the city for the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s. These neighborhoods are on both the West Side (Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit–Shoreway, and Edgewater) and the East Side (Collinwood, Hough, Fairfax, and Little Italy). Much of the growth has been spurred on by attracting creative class members, which has facilitated new residential development and the transformation of old industrial buildings into loft spaces for artists.
Climate
Typical of the Great Lakes region, Cleveland exhibits a continental climate with four distinct seasons, which lies in the humid continental (Köppen Dfa) zone. The climate is transitional with the Cfa humid subtropical climate. Summers are hot and humid, while winters are cold and snowy. East of the mouth of the Cuyahoga, the land elevation rises rapidly in the south. Together with the prevailing winds off Lake Erie, this feature is the principal contributor to the lake-effect snow that is typical in Cleveland (especially on the city's East Side) from mid-November until the surface of the lake freezes, usually in late January or early February. The lake effect causes a relative differential in geographical snowfall totals across the city. On the city's far West Side, the Hopkins neighborhood only reached of snowfall in a season three times since record-keeping for snow began in 1893. By contrast, seasonal totals approaching or exceeding are not uncommon as the city ascends into the Heights on the east, where the region known as the "Snow Belt" begins. Extending from the city's East Side and its suburbs, the Snow Belt reaches up the Lake Erie shore as far as Buffalo.
The all-time record high in Cleveland of was established on June 25, 1988, and the all-time record low of was set on January 19, 1994. On average, July is the warmest month with a mean temperature of , and January, with a mean temperature of , is the coldest. Normal yearly precipitation based on the 30-year average from 1991 to 2020 is . The least precipitation occurs on the western side and directly along the lake, and the most occurs in the eastern suburbs. Parts of Geauga County to the east receive over of liquid precipitation annually.
extremes 1871–present
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 73
| Feb record high F = 77
| Mar record high F = 83
| Apr record high F = 88
| May record high F = 93
| Jun record high F = 104
| Jul record high F = 103
| Aug record high F = 102
| Sep record high F = 101
| Oct record high F = 93
| Nov record high F = 82
| Dec record high F = 77
| year record high F = 104
| Jan avg record high F = 58.9
| Feb avg record high F = 60.8
| Mar avg record high F = 70.8
| Apr avg record high F = 80.3
| May avg record high F = 86.7
| Jun avg record high F = 91.8
| Jul avg record high F = 92.7
| Aug avg record high F = 91.3
| Sep avg record high F = 88.8
| Oct avg record high F = 80.5
| Nov avg record high F = 68.9
| Dec avg record high F = 60.0
| year avg record high F = 93.9
| Jan high F = 35.8
| Feb high F = 38.5
| Mar high F = 47.1
| Apr high F = 60.1
| May high F = 71.1
| Jun high F = 79.8
| Jul high F = 83.7
| Aug high F = 82.0
| Sep high F = 75.6
| Oct high F = 63.7
| Nov high F = 51.3
| Dec high F = 40.4
| year high F = 60.8
| Jan mean F = 29.1
| Feb mean F = 31.1
| Mar mean F = 38.9
| Apr mean F = 50.4
| May mean F = 61.2
| Jun mean F = 70.4
| Jul mean F = 74.5
| Aug mean F = 73.0
| Sep mean F = 66.4
| Oct mean F = 55.1
| Nov mean F = 44.0
| Dec mean F = 34.3
| year mean F = 52.4
| Jan low F = 22.3
| Feb low F = 23.7
| Mar low F = 30.7
| Apr low F = 40.8
| May low F = 51.4
| Jun low F = 61.1
| Jul low F = 65.3
| Aug low F = 63.9
| Sep low F = 57.1
| Oct low F = 46.5
| Nov low F = 36.7
| Dec low F = 28.2
| year low F = 44.0
| Jan avg record low F = 1.3
| Feb avg record low F = 4.0
| Mar avg record low F = 12.2
| Apr avg record low F = 25.9
| May avg record low F = 36.2
| Jun avg record low F = 45.9
| Jul avg record low F = 53.3
| Aug avg record low F = 51.6
| Sep avg record low F = 43.0
| Oct avg record low F = 32.1
| Nov avg record low F = 20.8
| Dec avg record low F = 9.8
| year avg record low F = −2.2
| Jan record low F = −20
| Feb record low F = −17
| Mar record low F = −5
| Apr record low F = 10
| May record low F = 25
| Jun record low F = 31
| Jul record low F = 41
| Aug record low F = 38
| Sep record low F = 32
| Oct record low F = 19
| Nov record low F = 0
| Dec record low F = −15
| year record low F = -20
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 2.99
| Feb precipitation inch = 2.49
| Mar precipitation inch = 3.06
| Apr precipitation inch = 3.75
| May precipitation inch = 3.79
| Jun precipitation inch = 3.83
| Jul precipitation inch = 3.67
| Aug precipitation inch = 3.56
| Sep precipitation inch = 3.93
| Oct precipitation inch = 3.60
| Nov precipitation inch = 3.37
| Dec precipitation inch = 2.99
| year precipitation inch = 41.03
| Jan snow inch = 18.4
| Feb snow inch = 15.1
| Mar snow inch = 10.8
| Apr snow inch = 2.7
| May snow inch = 0.0
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.0
| Oct snow inch = 0.1
| Nov snow inch = 4.5
| Dec snow inch = 12.2
| year snow inch = 63.8
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 17.7
| Feb precipitation days = 14.6
| Mar precipitation days = 14.6
| Apr precipitation days = 14.8
| May precipitation days = 13.4
| Jun precipitation days = 11.5
| Jul precipitation days = 10.7
| Aug precipitation days = 10.3
| Sep precipitation days = 10.1
| Oct precipitation days = 12.1
| Nov precipitation days = 13.1
| Dec precipitation days = 15.6
| year precipitation days = 158.5
| unit snow days = 0.1 in
| Jan snow days = 13.5
| Feb snow days = 10.5
| Mar snow days = 7.2
| Apr snow days = 2.1
| May snow days = 0.1
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.2
| Nov snow days = 3.8
| Dec snow days = 8.4
| year snow days = 45.8
| Jan snow depth inch = 7.5
| Feb snow depth inch = 7.5
| Mar snow depth inch = 5.3
| Apr snow depth inch = 1.1
| May snow depth inch = 0.0
| Jun snow depth inch = 0.0
| Jul snow depth inch = 0.0
| Aug snow depth inch = 0.0
| Sep snow depth inch = 0.0
| Oct snow depth inch = 0.0
| Nov snow depth inch = 1.5
| Dec snow depth inch = 4.5
| year snow depth inch = 10.8
| Jan humidity = 73.3
| Feb humidity = 73.0
| Mar humidity = 70.4
| Apr humidity = 66.1
| May humidity = 67.3
| Jun humidity = 69.0
| Jul humidity = 69.8
| Aug humidity = 73.1
| Sep humidity = 73.7
| Oct humidity = 70.8
| Nov humidity = 71.9
| Dec humidity = 74.1
| year humidity = 71.0
| Jan sun = 101.0
| Feb sun = 122.3
| Mar sun = 167.0
| Apr sun = 216.0
| May sun = 263.6
| Jun sun = 294.6
| Jul sun = 307.2
| Aug sun = 262.2
| Sep sun = 219.0
| Oct sun = 169.5
| Nov sun = 89.8
| Dec sun = 67.8
| year sun | Jan percentsun 34
| Feb percentsun = 41
| Mar percentsun = 45
| Apr percentsun = 54
| May percentsun = 59
| Jun percentsun = 65
| Jul percentsun = 67
| Aug percentsun = 61
| Sep percentsun = 59
| Oct percentsun = 49
| Nov percentsun = 30
| Dec percentsun = 24
| year percentsun = 51
| Jan uv = 2
| Feb uv = 2
| Mar uv = 4
| Apr uv = 6
| May uv = 7
| Jun uv = 9
| Jul uv = 9
| Aug uv = 8
| Sep uv = 6
| Oct uv = 4
| Nov uv = 2
| Dec uv = 1
| source 1 NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961–1990)
| source 2 Weather Atlas (sunshine data)
}}
{| class"wikitable mw-collapsible" style"width:100%;text-align:center;line-height:1.2em;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"
|-
! colspan="14" |Climate data for Cleveland
|-
!Month
!Jan
!Feb
!Mar
!Apr
!May
!Jun
!Jul
!Aug
!Sep
!Oct
!Nov
!Dec
! style="border-left-width:medium" |Year
|-
!Average sea temperature °F (°C)
| style="background:#1010FF;color:#FFFFFF;" |34.0<br />(1.1)
| style="background:#0909FF;color:#FFFFFF;" |33.2<br />(0.6)
| style="background:#0C0CFF;color:#FFFFFF;" |33.5<br />(0.8)
| style="background:#4848FF;color:#FFFFFF;" |40.6<br />(4.8)
| style="background:#9A9AFF;color:#000000;" |50.5<br />(10.3)
| style="background:#FFD344;color:#000000;" |66.5<br />(19.2)
| style="background:#FF6B00;color:#000000;" |76.2<br />(24.5)
| style="background:#FF6900;color:#000000;" |76.3<br />(24.6)
| style="background:#FFA000;color:#000000;" |71.2<br />(21.8)
| style="background:#FAFAFF;color:#000000;" |62.0<br />(16.7)
| style="background:#9A9AFF;color:#000000;" |50.5<br />(10.3)
| style="background:#3D3DFF;color:#FFFFFF;" |39.3<br />(4.1)
| style="background:#ADADFF;color:#000000;border-left-width:medium" |52.8<br />(11.6)
|-
!Mean daily daylight hours
| style="background:#F0F011;color:#000000;" |10.0
| style="background:#F7F722;color:#000000;" |11.0
| style="background:#FFFF33;color:#000000;" |12.0
| style="background:#FFFF44;color:#000000;" |13.0
| style="background:#FFFF66;color:#000000;" |15.0
| style="background:#FFFF66;color:#000000;" |15.0
| style="background:#FFFF66;color:#000000;" |15.0
| style="background:#FFFF55;color:#000000;" |14.0
| style="background:#FFFF33;color:#000000;" |12.0
| style="background:#F7F722;color:#000000;" |11.0
| style="background:#F0F011;color:#000000;" |10.0
| style="background:#E9E900;color:#000000;" |9.0
| style="background:#FFFF37;color:#000000;border-left-width:medium" |12.3
|-
! colspan"14" style"background:#f8f9fa;font-weight:normal;font-size:95%;" |Source: Weather Atlas It was the river fire of June 1969 that spurred the city to action under Mayor Carl B. Stokes, and played a key role in the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and the National Environmental Policy Act later that year.
In addition to continued efforts to improve freshwater and air quality, Cleveland is now exploring renewable energy. The city's two main electrical utilities are FirstEnergy and Cleveland Public Power. Its climate action plan, updated in December 2018, has a 2050 target of 100% renewable power, along with reduction of greenhouse gases to 80% below the 2010 level. In recent decades, Cleveland has been working to address the issue of harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie, fed primarily by agricultural runoff, which have presented new environmental challenges for the city and for northern Ohio.
Demographics
, the racial and ethnic composition of the city was 47.5% African American, 32.1% non-Hispanic white, 13.1% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.2% Native American, and 3.8% from two or more races. Ethnicity
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Cleveland saw a massive influx of immigrants from Ireland, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian, German, Russian, and Ottoman empires, most of whom were attracted by manufacturing jobs. Cleveland has a long-established Jewish community, historically centered on the East Side neighborhoods of Glenville and Kinsman, but now mostly concentrated in East Side suburbs such as Cleveland Heights and Beachwood, location of the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.
The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the South. Between 1910 and 1970, the black population of Cleveland, largely concentrated on the city's East Side, increased significantly as a result of the First and Second Great Migrations. The city's Asian community, centered on historical Asiatown, consists of Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and other groups. Additionally, the city and the county have significant communities of Albanians, Arabs (especially Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians), Armenians, French, Greeks, Iranians, Scots, and West Indians.
Religion
The influx of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries drastically transformed Cleveland's religious landscape. From a homogeneous settlement of New England Protestants, it evolved into a city with a diverse religious composition. The predominant faith among Clevelanders today is Christianity (Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox), with Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist minorities.
Immigration
Within Cleveland, the neighborhoods with the highest foreign-born populations are Asiatown/Goodrich–Kirtland Park (32.7%), Clark–Fulton (26.7%), West Boulevard (18.5%), Brooklyn Centre (17.3%), Downtown (17.2%), University Circle (15.9%, with 20% in Little Italy), and Jefferson (14.3%). Recent waves of immigration have brought new groups to Cleveland, including Ethiopians and South Asians, as well as immigrants from Russia and the former USSR, Southeast Europe (especially Albania), A 2019 study found Cleveland to be the city with the shortest average processing time in the nation for immigrants to become U.S. citizens. The city's annual One World Day in Rockefeller Park includes a naturalization ceremony of new immigrants.
Economy
on East 6th Street]]
Cleveland's location on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie has been key to its growth as a major commercial center. Its downtown building, located on East 6th Street and Superior Avenue, was completed in 1923 by the Cleveland architectural firm Walker and Weeks. The headquarters of the Federal Reserve System's Fourth District, the bank employs 1,000 people and maintains branch offices in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Healthcare Healthcare plays a major role in Cleveland's economy. The city's "Big Three" hospital systems are the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and MetroHealth. The Cleveland Clinic is the largest private employer in the state of Ohio, with a workforce of over 55,000 . It carries the distinction of being one of the best hospital systems in the world. The clinic is led by Croatian-born president and CEO Tomislav Mihaljevic and it is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
University Hospitals includes the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and its Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. Cliff Megerian serves as that system's CEO. MetroHealth on the city's west side is led by president and CEO Christine Alexander-Rager. Formerly known as City Hospital, it operates one of two Level I trauma centers in the city, and has various locations throughout Greater Cleveland.
In 2013, Cleveland's Global Center for Health Innovation opened with of display space for healthcare companies across the world. To take advantage of the proximity of universities and other medical centers in Cleveland, the Veterans Administration moved the region's VA hospital from suburban Brecksville to a new facility in University Circle.
Arts and culture
Theater and performing arts
]]
Cleveland's Playhouse Square is the second largest performing arts center in the U.S. behind New York City's Lincoln Center. It includes the State, Palace, Allen, Hanna, and Ohio theaters. A city with strong traditions in theater and vaudeville, Cleveland has produced many renowned performers, most prominently comedian Bob Hope.
Outside Playhouse Square is Karamu House, the oldest African American theater in the nation, established in 1915. On the West Side, the Gordon Square Arts District in the Detroit–Shoreway neighborhood is the location of the Capitol Theatre, the Near West Theatre, and an Off-Off-Broadway playhouse, the Cleveland Public Theatre. Music
leading the Cleveland Orchestra]]
The Cleveland Orchestra is widely considered one of the world's finest orchestras, and often referred to as the finest in the nation. It is one of the "Big Five" major orchestras in the U.S. The orchestra plays at Severance Hall in University Circle during the winter and at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls during the summer. The city is also home to the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra, the Cleveland Youth Orchestra, the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, and the biennial Cleveland International Piano Competition which has, in the past, often featured the Cleveland Orchestra.
One Playhouse Square, now the headquarters for Cleveland's public broadcasters, was initially used as the broadcast studios of WJW (AM), where disc jockey Alan Freed first popularized the term "rock and roll". Its popularity in the city was so great that Billy Bass, the program director at the WMMS radio station, referred to Cleveland as "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World". From 1974 through 1980, the city hosted the World Series of Rock at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Jazz and R&B have a long history in Cleveland. Many major figures in jazz performed in the city, including Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and Billie Holiday. Legendary pianist Art Tatum regularly played in Cleveland clubs in the 1930s, Prominent jazz artist Noble Sissle was a graduate of Cleveland Central High School, and Artie Shaw worked and performed in Cleveland early in his career.
There is a significant hip hop music scene in Cleveland. In 1997, the Cleveland hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony won a Grammy for their song "Tha Crossroads".
Film and television
, one of the first films made in Cleveland]]
The first film shot in Cleveland was in 1897 by the company of Ohioan Thomas Edison. Before Hollywood became the center for American cinema, filmmaker Samuel Brodsky and playwright Robert McLaughlin operated a film studio at the Andrews mansion on Euclid Avenue (now the WEWS-TV studio). There they produced major silent-era features, such as Dangerous Toys (1921), which are now considered lost. Brodsky also directed the weekly Plain Dealer Screen Magazine that ran in theaters in Cleveland and Ohio from 1917 to 1924.
In the "talkie" era, Cleveland featured in several major studio films, such as Michael Curtiz's pre-Code classic Goodbye Again (1933) with Warren William and Joan Blondell. Players from the 1948 Cleveland Indians appeared in The Kid from Cleveland (1949). Billy Wilder's The Fortune Cookie (1966) was set and filmed in the city and marked the first onscreen pairing of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. Labor struggles in Cleveland were depicted in Native Land (1942), narrated by Paul Robeson, and in Norman Jewison's F.I.S.T. (1978) with Sylvester Stallone. Clevelander Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise (1984) – a deadpan comedy about two New Yorkers who travel to Florida by way of Cleveland – was a favorite of the Cannes Film Festival. Major League (1989) reflected the perennial struggles of the Cleveland Indians, while American Splendor (2003) reflected the life of Cleveland graphic novelist Harvey Pekar. Kill the Irishman (2011) depicted the 1970s turf war between Danny Greene and the Cleveland crime family.
In television, the city is the setting for the popular network sitcom The Drew Carey Show, starring Cleveland native Drew Carey. Hot in Cleveland, a comedy that aired on TV Land, premiered on June 16, 2010, and ran for six seasons until its finale on June 3, 2015. Cleveland Hustles, the CNBC reality show co-created by LeBron James, was filmed in the city. In 1925, Russian Futurist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky came to Cleveland and gave a poetry recitation to the city's ethnic working class, as part of his trip to America. The Cleveland State University Poetry Center serves as an academic center for poetry in the city.
Langston Hughes, preeminent poet of the Harlem Renaissance and child of an itinerant couple, lived in Cleveland as a teenager and attended Central High School in Cleveland in the 1910s. At Central High, the young writer was taught by Helen Maria Chesnutt, daughter of Cleveland-born African American novelist Charles W. Chesnutt. Hughes authored some of his earliest poems, plays, and short stories in Cleveland and contributed to the school newspaper. The African American avant-garde poet Russell Atkins lived in the city as well.
The American modernist poet Hart Crane was born in nearby Garrettsville, Ohio in 1899. His adolescence was divided between Cleveland and Akron before he moved to New York City in 1916. Aside from factory work during World War I, he served as a reporter to The Plain Dealer for a short period, before achieving recognition in the Modernist literary scene. On the Case Western Reserve University campus, a statue of Crane, designed by sculptor William McVey, stands behind the Kelvin Smith Library.
Cleveland was the home of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, who created the comic book character Superman in 1932. Both attended Glenville High School, and their early collaborations resulted in the creation of "The Man of Steel". Harlan Ellison, noted author of speculative fiction, was born in Cleveland in 1934; his family subsequently moved to nearby Painesville, though Ellison moved back to Cleveland in 1949. As a young man, he published a series of short stories appearing in the Cleveland News, and performed in a number of productions for the Cleveland Play House.
Cleveland is the site of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, established by poet and philanthropist Edith Anisfield Wolf in 1935, which recognizes books that have made important contributions to the understanding of racism and human diversity. Presented by the Cleveland Foundation, it remains the only American book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity. Museums and galleries
Cleveland has two main art museums. The Cleveland Museum of Art is a major American art museum, with a collection that includes more than 60,000 works of art ranging from ancient masterpieces to contemporary pieces. The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland showcases established and emerging artists, particularly from the Cleveland area, through hosting and producing temporary exhibitions. Both museums offer free admission to visitors, with the Cleveland Museum of Art declaring their museum free and open "for the benefit of all the people forever."
The I. M. Pei-designed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located on Cleveland's Lake Erie waterfront at North Coast Harbor downtown. Neighboring attractions include Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Steamship Mather Museum, the International Women's Air & Space Museum, and the , a World War II submarine. Designed by architect Levi T. Scofield, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at Public Square is Cleveland's major Civil War memorial and a major attraction in the city. the Cleveland Masonic Temple, and the Children's Museum of Cleveland. A Cleveland holiday attraction, especially for fans of Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story, is the Christmas Story House and Museum in Tremont. Annual events
in Cleveland's Little Italy]]
Cleveland hosts the WinterLand holiday display lighting festival annually at Public Square. The Cleveland International Film Festival has been held in the city since 1977, and the Cleveland Silent Film Festival has been held since 2022. The Cleveland National Air Show, an indirect successor to the National Air Races, has been held at the city's Burke Lakefront Airport since 1964. The Great Lakes Burning River Fest, a two-night music and beer festival at Whiskey Island, has been sponsored by the Great Lakes Brewing Company since 2001.
Many ethnic festivals are held in Cleveland throughout the year. These include the annual Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy, Russian Maslenitsa in Rockefeller Park, the Puerto Rican Parade and Cultural Festival in Clark–Fulton, the Cleveland Asian Festival in Asiatown, the Tremont Greek Fest, and the St. Mary Romanian Festival in West Park. Cleveland also hosts annual Polish Dyngus Day and Slovene Kurentovanje celebrations. The city's annual Saint Patrick's Day parade brings hundreds of thousands to the streets of Downtown. The Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival held each spring at Cleveland State University is the largest Indian classical music and dance festival in the world outside of India. Since 1946, the city has annually marked One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park, celebrating all of its ethnic communities. In addition, the city boasts a vibrant barbecue and soul food scene.
Slyman's Deli on Cleveland's near East Side is notable for its corned beef sandwich, with patrons including former US Presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden. Another celebrated sandwich, the Polish Boy, is a popular street food and Cleveland original frequently sold at downtown hot dog carts and stadium concession stands. Brown stadium mustard is synonymous with Cleveland, especially Bertman Original Ballpark Mustard. Another notable local food item with Depression-era roots is city chicken.
With its blue-collar roots well intact, and plenty of Lake Erie perch and walleye available, the tradition of Friday night fish fries remains alive and thriving in Cleveland, particularly in ethnic parish-based settings, especially during the season of Lent. Clambakes are likewise embedded into the city's culinary culture. For dessert, the Cleveland Cassata Cake is a unique treat invented in the local Italian community and served in Italian establishments throughout the city. Another popular dessert, the locally crafted Russian Tea Biscuit, is common in many Jewish bakeries in Cleveland.
Cleveland is noted in the world of celebrity food culture. Famous local figures include chef Michael Symon and food writer Michael Ruhlman, both of whom achieved local and national attention for their contributions to the culinary world. In 2007, Symon helped gain the spotlight when he was named "The Next Iron Chef" on the Food Network. That same year, Ruhlman collaborated with Anthony Bourdain, to do an episode of his Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations focusing on Cleveland's restaurant scene.
Breweries
Ohio produces the fifth most beer in the U.S., with its largest brewery being Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewing Company. Cleveland has had a long history of brewing, tied to many of its ethnic immigrants, and has reemerged as a regional leader in production. Dozens of breweries exist in the city limits, including large producers such as Market Garden Brewery and Platform Beer Company.
Breweries can be found throughout the city, but the highest concentration is in the Ohio City neighborhood. Cleveland hosts expansions from other countries as well, including the Scottish BrewDog and German Hofbrauhaus. Sports
Cleveland's major professional sports teams are the Cleveland Guardians (Major League Baseball), the Cleveland Browns (National Football League), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association). Other professional teams include the Cleveland Monsters (American Hockey League), the Cleveland Charge (NBA G League), the Cleveland Crunch (Major League Indoor Soccer), Cleveland SC (National Premier Soccer League), and the Cleveland Fusion (Women's Football Alliance). Local sporting venues include Progressive Field, Huntington Bank Field, Rocket Arena, the Wolstein Center, and the Public Auditorium.
Professional
Major League
{| class="wikitable"
!Club
!Sport
!League
!Venue
!Est. in CLE
!Championships<br>
|-
| Cleveland Browns
| Football
| National Football League
| Huntington Bank Field
| 1946
| 8<br>
|-
| Cleveland Cavaliers
| Basketball
| National Basketball Association
| Rocket Arena
| 1970
| 1
|-
| Cleveland Guardians
| Baseball
| Major League Baseball
| Progressive Field
| 1901
| 2
|}
Minor League
{| class="wikitable"
!Club
!Sport
!League
!Venue
!Est. in CLE
!Championships<br>
|-
| Cleveland Charge
| Basketball
| NBA G League
| Public Auditorium
| 2021
| 0
|-
| Cleveland Monsters
| Ice hockey
| American Hockey League
| Rocket Arena
| 2007
| 1
|-
|Cleveland Crunch
|Indoor Soccer
|Major League Indoor Soccer
|Soccer Sportsplex<br>(North Olmsted, Ohio)
|1989
|5<br>
|-
|Cleveland Pro Soccer
|Soccer
|MLS Next Pro
|TBA
|2022
|0
|}
The Cleveland Guardians – known as the Indians from 1915 to 2021 – won the World Series in 1920 and 1948. They also won the American League pennant, making the World Series in the 1954, 1995, 1997, and 2016 seasons. Between 1995 and 2001, Jacobs Field (now known as Progressive Field) sold out 455 consecutive games, a Major League Baseball record until it was broken in 2008.
Historically, the Browns have been among the most successful franchises in American football history, winning eight titles during a short period of time – 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1955, and 1964. The Browns have never played in a Super Bowl, getting close five times by making it to the NFL/AFC Championship Game in 1968, 1969, 1986, 1987, and 1989. Former owner Art Modell's relocation of the Browns after the 1995 season (to Baltimore creating the Ravens), caused tremendous heartbreak and resentment among local fans. Cleveland mayor Michael R. White worked with the NFL and Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to bring back the Browns beginning in the 1999 season, retaining all team history. In Cleveland's earlier football history, the Cleveland Bulldogs won the NFL Championship in 1924, and the Cleveland Rams won the NFL Championship in 1945 before relocating to Los Angeles.
The Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference in 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 but were defeated in the NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs and then by the Golden State Warriors, respectively. The Cavs won the Conference again in 2016 and won their first NBA Championship coming back from a 3–1 deficit, finally defeating the Golden State Warriors. Afterwards, over 1.3 million people attended a parade held in the Cavs' honor on June 22, 2016, in downtown Cleveland. Previously, the Cleveland Rosenblums dominated the original American Basketball League, and the Cleveland Pipers, owned by George Steinbrenner, won the American Basketball League championship in 1962.
The Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League won the 2016 Calder Cup. They were the first Cleveland AHL team to do so since the 1964 Barons. College {| class"wikitable"
!Club
!Sport
!League
!Venue
|-
|Cleveland State Vikings
|19 Varsity<br>(8 men's, 10 women's, 1 co-ed)
||NCAA Division I<br>(Horizon League)
|various – including:<br />Krenzler Field (soccer)<br />Wolstein Center (men's and women's basketball)<br />Woodling Gym (wrestling and volleyball)
|-
|Case Western Reserve Spartans
|17 Varsity<br>(9 men's, 8 women's)
||NCAA Division III<br>(University Athletic Association)
|various – including:<br />DiSanto Field (football, soccer)<br />Veale Athletic Center (men's and women's basketball)
|-
|}
Collegiately, NCAA Division I Cleveland State Vikings have 19 varsity sports, nationally known for their Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team. NCAA Division III Case Western Reserve Spartans have 17 varsity sports, most known for their Case Western Reserve Spartans football team. The headquarters of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) are in Cleveland. The conference stages both its men's and women's basketball tournaments at Rocket Arena. Annual and special events The Cleveland Marathon has been hosted annually since 1978, and a monument commemorating one of Cleveland's most prominent track and field athletes, Jesse Owens, stands at the city's Fort Huntington Park. The second American Chess Congress, a predecessor to the U.S. Championship, was held in Cleveland in 1871, and won by George Henry Mackenzie. The 1921 and 1957 U.S. Open Chess Championships took place in the city, and were won by Edward Lasker and Bobby Fischer, respectively. The Cleveland Open is held annually. In 2014, Cleveland hosted the ninth official Gay Games ceremony. In July 2024, the city hosted the Pan American Masters Games. Parks and recreation
in winter from Edgewater Park]]
Known locally as the "Emerald Necklace", the Olmsted-inspired Cleveland Metroparks encircle Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. The city proper encompasses the Metroparks' Brookside and Lakefront Reservations, as well as significant parts of the Rocky River, Washington, and Euclid Creek Reservations. The Lakefront Reservation, which provides public access to Lake Erie, consists of four parks: Edgewater Park, Whiskey Island–Wendy Park, East 55th Street Marina, and Gordon Park.
Three more parks fall under the jurisdiction of the Euclid Creek Reservation: Euclid Beach, Villa Angela, and Wildwood Marina. Further south, bike and hiking trails in the Brecksville and Bedford Reservations, along with Garfield Park, provide access to trails in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Also included in the Metroparks system is the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, established in 1882. Located in Big Creek Valley, the zoo has one of the largest collections of primates in North America.
In addition to the Metroparks, the Cleveland Public Parks District oversees the city's neighborhood parks, the largest of which is the historic Rockefeller Park. The latter is notable for its late 19th century landmark bridges, the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse, and the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, which celebrate the city's ethnic diversity. In addition, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, located in the historic FirstEnergy Powerhouse in the Flats, is the only independent, free-standing aquarium in the state of Ohio.
Government and politics
]]
Government and courts
Cleveland operates on a mayor–council (strong mayor) form of government, in which the mayor is the chief executive and the city council serves as the legislative branch. City council members are elected from 17 wards to four-year terms. From 1924 to 1931, the city briefly experimented with a council–manager government under William R. Hopkins and Daniel E. Morgan before returning to the mayor–council system.
Cleveland is served by Cleveland Municipal Court, the first municipal court in the state. The city also anchors the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, based at the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse and the historic Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse. The Chief Judge for the Northern District is Sara Elizabeth Lioi and the Clerk of Court is Sandy Opacich. The U.S. Attorney is Carol Skutnik and the U.S. Marshal is Peter Elliott.
Politics
The office of the mayor has been held by Justin Bibb since 2022. Previous mayors include progressive Democrat Tom L. Johnson, World War I-era War Secretary and BakerHostetler founder Newton D. Baker, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harold Hitz Burton, two-term Ohio Governor and Senator Frank J. Lausche, former U.S. Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary Anthony J. Celebrezze, two-term Ohio Governor and Senator George V. Voinovich, former U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and Carl B. Stokes, the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city. Frank G. Jackson was the city's longest-serving mayor.
The President of Cleveland City Council is Blaine Griffin, the council Majority Leader is Kerry McCormack, and the Majority Whip is Jasmin Santana. Patricia Britt serves as the Clerk of Council.
Historically, from the Civil War era to the 1940s, Cleveland had been dominated by the Republican Party, with the notable exceptions of the Johnson and Baker mayoral administrations.
Today Cleveland is a major stronghold for the Democratic Party in Ohio. Although local elections are nonpartisan, Democrats still dominate every level of government.
Cleveland has hosted three Republican national conventions, in 1924, 1936, and 2016. Additionally, the city hosted the Radical Republican convention of 1864. Although Cleveland has not hosted a national convention for the Democrats, it has hosted several national election debates, including the second 1980 U.S. presidential debate, the 2004 U.S. vice presidential debate, one 2008 Democratic primary debate, and the first 2020 U.S. presidential debate. Founded in 1912, the City Club of Cleveland provides a platform for national and local debates and discussions. Known as Cleveland's "Citadel of Free Speech", it is one of the oldest continuous independent free speech and debate forums in the country. Public safety
Police and law enforcement
Like in other major American cities, crime in Cleveland is concentrated in areas with higher rates of poverty and lower access to jobs. In recent decades, the rate of crime in the city, although higher than the national average, experienced a significant decline, following a nationwide trend in falling crime rates. However, as in other major U.S. cities, crime in Cleveland saw an abrupt rise in 2020–21.
Cleveland's law enforcement agency is the Cleveland Division of Police, established in 1866. The division had roughly 1,100 sworn officers as of 2024, covering five police districts. The district system was introduced in the 1930s by Cleveland Public Safety Director Eliot Ness (of the Untouchables), who later ran for mayor of Cleveland in 1947. The Chief of Police is Dorothy A. Todd. In addition, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office is based in Downtown Cleveland at the Justice Center Complex. Fire department
Cleveland is served by the firefighters of the Cleveland Division of Fire, established in 1863. The fire department operates out of 22 active fire stations throughout the city in five battalions. Each Battalion is commanded by a Battalion Chief, who reports to an on-duty Assistant Chief.
The Division of Fire operates a fire apparatus fleet of twenty-two engine companies, eight ladder companies, three tower companies, two task force rescue squad companies, hazardous materials ("haz-mat") unit, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units. The Chief of Department is Anthony Luke. Emergency medical services
Cleveland EMS is operated by the city as its own municipal third-service EMS division. Cleveland EMS is the primary provider of Advanced Life Support and ambulance transport within the city of Cleveland, while Cleveland Fire assists by providing fire response medical care. Although a merger between the fire and EMS departments was proposed in the past, the idea was subsequently abandoned. Military Cleveland serves as headquarters to Coast Guard District 9 and is responsible for all U.S. Coast Guard operations on the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and surrounding states accumulating 6,700 miles of shoreline and 1,500 miles of international shoreline with Canada. It reports up through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Station Cleveland Harbor, located in North Coast Harbor, has a responsibility covering about 550 square miles of the federally navigable waters of Lake Erie, including the Cuyahoga and Rocky rivers, as well as a number of their tributaries. Education
Primary and secondary
Cleveland is served by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. It is the only K–12 district in Ohio under the direct control of the mayor, who appoints a school board. Approximately of Cleveland's Buckeye–Shaker neighborhood is part of the Shaker Heights City School District. The area, which has been a part of the Shaker school district since the 1920s, permits these Cleveland residents to pay the same school taxes as the Shaker residents, as well as vote in the Shaker school board elections.
There are several private and parochial schools in Cleveland. These include Benedictine High School, Cleveland Central Catholic High School, Eleanor Gerson School, St. Ignatius High School, St. Joseph Academy, Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, and St. Martin de Porres.
Colleges and universities
Cleveland is home to a number of colleges and universities. Most prominent among them is Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), a widely recognized research and teaching institution based in University Circle with several major graduate programs.
University Circle also contains the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Downtown Cleveland is home to Cleveland State University, a public research university with eight constituent colleges, and the metropolitan campus of Cuyahoga Community College. Cleveland's suburban universities and colleges include Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, John Carroll University in University Heights, and Ursuline College in Pepper Pike. It holds the Northeast Ohio Broadcast Archives, and the John G. White Special Collection, with the largest chess library in the world and a rare collection of folklore and books on the Middle East and Eurasia. The library's main building was designed by Walker and Weeks and dedicated in 1925, under head librarian Linda Eastman, the first woman to lead a major library system in the U.S. Between 1904 and 1920, 15 libraries built with funds from Andrew Carnegie were opened in the city. Known as the "People's University", the library presently maintains 27 branches. It serves as the headquarters for the CLEVNET library consortium, which includes 47 public library systems in Northeast Ohio.
Media
Print
Cleveland's primary daily newspaper is The Plain Dealer and its associated online publication, Cleveland.com. Defunct major newspapers include the Cleveland Press and the Cleveland News. Additional publications include Cleveland Magazine, a regional culture magazine published monthly; ''Crain's Cleveland Business'', a weekly business newspaper; and Cleveland Scene, a free alternative weekly paper which absorbed its competitor, the Cleveland Free Times, in 2008. The digital Belt Magazine was founded in Cleveland in 2013. Time magazine was published in Cleveland from 1925 to 1927.
Several ethnic publications are based in Cleveland. These include the Call and Post, a weekly newspaper that primarily serves the city's African American community; the Cleveland Jewish News, a weekly Jewish newspaper; the bi-weekly Russian-language Cleveland Russian Magazine; the Mandarin Erie Chinese Journal; La Gazzetta Italiana in English and Italian; the Ohio Irish American News; and the Spanish language Vocero Latino News. TV The Cleveland-area television market is served by 11 full power stations, including WKYC (NBC), WEWS-TV (ABC), WJW (Fox), WDLI-TV (Bounce), WOIO (CBS), WVPX-TV (Ion), WVIZ (PBS), WUAB (CW/RESN), WRLM (TCT), WBNX-TV (independent), and WQHS-DT (Univision). the market, which includes the Akron and Canton areas, was the 19th-largest in the country, as measured by Nielsen Media Research.
The Mike Douglas Show, a nationally syndicated daytime talk show, began in Cleveland in 1961 on KYW-TV (now WKYC), while The Morning Exchange on WEWS-TV served as the model for Good Morning America. Tim Conway and Ernie Anderson first established themselves in Cleveland while working together at KYW-TV and later WJW-TV (now WJW). Anderson both created and performed as the immensely popular Cleveland horror host Ghoulardi on WJW-TV's Shock Theater, and was later succeeded by the long-running late night duo Big Chuck and Lil' John. Another Anderson protégé – Ron Sweed – would become a popular Cleveland late night movie host in his own right as "The Ghoul".
Radio
Cleveland is directly served by 29 full power AM and FM radio stations, 21 of which are licensed to the city. Music stations – which are frequently the highest-rated in the market – include WQAL (hot adult contemporary), WDOK (adult contemporary), WKLV-FM (Christian contemporary - K-Love), WAKS (contemporary hits), WHLK (adult hits), WMJI (classic hits), WMMS (active rock/hot talk), WNCX (classic rock), WNWV (alternative rock), WGAR-FM (country), WZAK (urban adult contemporary), WENZ (mainstream urban), WCLV (classical), and WJMO (Spanish/Tropical). WMMS also serves as the FM flagship for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Guardians, while WNCX is an FM flagship for the Cleveland Browns.
News/talk stations include WHK, WTAM, and WERE. During the Golden Age of Radio, WHK was the first radio station to broadcast in Ohio, and one of the first in the country. WTAM is the AM flagship for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Guardians. Sports stations include WKNR (ESPN), WARF (Fox) and WKRK-FM (Infinity), with WKNR and WKRK-FM serving as co-flagship stations for the Cleveland Browns, and WARF airing the Cleveland Monsters and – though primarily an English language station – Spanish broadcasts of Cleveland Guardians home games. Religious stations include WCCD, WHKW, WCCR, and WCRF.
As the regional NPR affiliate, WKSU serves all of Northeast Ohio (including both the Cleveland and Akron markets). College stations include WBWC (Baldwin Wallace), WCSB (Cleveland State), WJCU (John Carroll), and WRUW-FM (Case Western Reserve). In 1968, Cleveland became the first city in the nation to have a direct rail transit connection linking the city's downtown to its major airport. Like other major cities, the urban density of Cleveland reduces the need for private vehicle ownership. In 2016, 23.7% of Cleveland households lacked a car, while the national average was 8.7%. Cleveland averaged 1.19 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.
Roads
]]
Cleveland's road system consists of numbered streets running roughly north–south, and named avenues, which run roughly east–west. The numbered streets are designated "east" or "west", depending on where they lie in relation to Ontario Street, which bisects Public Square. The two downtown avenues which span the Cuyahoga change names on the west side of the river. Superior Avenue becomes Detroit Avenue on the West Side, and Carnegie Avenue becomes Lorain Avenue. The bridges that make these connections are the Hope Memorial (Lorain–Carnegie) Bridge and the Veterans Memorial (Detroit–Superior) Bridge.
Freeways
Cleveland is served by three two-digit interstate highways – Interstate 71, Interstate 77, and Interstate 90 – and by two three-digit interstates – Interstate 480 and Interstate 490. <!-- Please do not add I-271 here, since it does not run through the City of Cleveland. Instead, please include any relevant information in the Greater Cleveland article. --> Running due east–west through the West Side suburbs, I-90 turns northeast at the junction with I-490, and is known as the Cleveland Inner Belt. The Cleveland Memorial Shoreway carries Ohio State Route 2 along its length, and at varying points carries US 6, US 20 and I-90. At the junction with the Shoreway, I-90 makes a 90-degree turn in the area known as Dead Man's Curve, then continues northeast. The Jennings Freeway (State Route 176) connects I-71 just south of I-90 to I-480.
Airports
Cleveland is a major North American air market, serving 4.93 million people. Cleveland Hopkins is a significant regional air freight hub hosting FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, U.S. Postal Service, and major commercial freight carriers. In addition to Hopkins, Cleveland is served by Burke Lakefront Airport, on the north shore of downtown between Lake Erie and the Shoreway. Burke is primarily a commuter and business airport. Seaport
as seen from Lake Erie]]
The Port of Cleveland, at the Cuyahoga River's mouth, is a major bulk freight and container terminal on Lake Erie, receiving much of the raw materials used by the region's manufacturing industries. The Port of Cleveland is the only container port on the Great Lakes with bi-weekly container service between Cleveland and the Port of Antwerp in Belgium on a Dutch service called the Cleveland-Europe Express. In addition to freight, the Port of Cleveland welcomes regional and international tourists who pass through the city on Great Lakes cruises.
Intercity rail and bus
Cleveland has a long history as a major railroad hub in North America. Today, Amtrak provides service to Cleveland, via the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited routes, which stop at Cleveland Lakefront Station. Additionally, Cleveland hosts several inter-modal freight railroad terminals, for Norfolk Southern, CSX and several smaller companies.
National intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound. Akron Metro, Brunswick Transit Alternative, Laketran, Lorain County Transit, and Medina County Transit provide connecting bus service to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. Geauga County Transit and Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) also offer connecting bus service in their neighboring areas.
International relations
and his wife Anne in Leipzig, East Germany in 1960]]
Cleveland maintains cultural, economic, and educational ties with 28 sister cities around the world. It concluded its first sister city partnership with Lima, Peru, in 1964. In addition, Cleveland hosts the Consulate General of the Republic of Slovenia, which, until Slovene independence in 1991, served as an official consulate for Tito's Yugoslavia. The Cleveland Clinic operates the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi hospital, two outpatient clinics in Toronto, and a hospital campus in London. The Cleveland Council on World Affairs was established in 1923.
Historically, Cleveland industrialist Cyrus S. Eaton, an apprentice of John D. Rockefeller, played a significant role in promoting dialogue between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In October 1915 at Cleveland's Bohemian National Hall, Czech American and Slovak American representatives signed the Cleveland Agreement, calling for the formation of a joint Czech and Slovak state.
{| class"wikitable collapsible" width"100%"
!Sister cities of Cleveland<ref name="CLEsisters" />
|-
|
* Alexandria (Egypt) 1977
* Bahir Dar (Ethiopia) 2004
* Bangalore (India) 1975
* Beit She'an (Israel) 2019
* Brașov (Romania) 1973
* Bratislava (Slovakia) 1990
* Bursa (Turkey) 2023
* Cape Town (South Africa) 2023
* Cleveland (United Kingdom) 1977
* Conakry (Guinea) 1991
* Fier (Albania) 2006
* Gdańsk (Poland) 1990
* Heidenheim an der Brenz (Germany) 1977
* Holon (Israel) 1977
* Ibadan (Nigeria) 1974
* Kigali (Rwanda) 2023
* Klaipėda (Lithuania) 1992
* Lima (Peru) 1964
* Ljubljana (Slovenia) 1975
* Mayo (Ireland) 2003
* Miskolc (Hungary) 1995
* Novi Sad (Serbia) 2023
* Rouen (France) 2008
* Segundo Montes (El Salvador) 1991
* Taipei (Taiwan) 1975
* Tema (Ghana) 2023
* Vicenza (Italy) 2009
* Volgograd (Russia) 1990
|}
See also
* List of people from Cleveland
* List of references to Cleveland in popular culture
* USS Cleveland, 4 ships
Notes
References
Works cited
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External links
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* [http://www.thisiscleveland.com/ Destination Cleveland, official tourism website]
* [https://www.gcpartnership.com/ Greater Cleveland Partnership]
* [http://ech.cwru.edu/ The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History] at Case Western Reserve University
* [https://clevelandhistorical.org/ Cleveland Historical] at Cleveland State University
* [http://www.clevelandmemory.org Cleveland Memory Project] at Cleveland State University
|NortheastErie|EastYoungstown|SoutheastPittsburgh|SouthAkron|SouthwestMansfield|WestToledo|Northwest=Put-In-Bay}}
; Throughout Cuyahoga County
; Throughout North America
|NortheastBuffalo|EastNew York City|SoutheastPittsburgh|SouthCharlotte|SouthwestColumbus|WestChicago|Northwest=Detroit}}
}}
Category:1796 establishments in the Northwest Territory
Category:Cities in Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Category:Cities in Ohio
Category:County seats in Ohio
Category:Inland port cities and towns in Ohio
Category:Ohio populated places on Lake Erie
Category:Populated places established in 1796 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.895034 |
5954 | Callisto | Callisto most commonly refers to:
Callisto (mythology), a nymph
Callisto (moon), a moon of Jupiter
Callisto may also refer to:
Art and entertainment
Callisto series, a sequence of novels by Lin Carter
Callisto, a novel by Torsten Krol
Callisto (comics), a fictional mutant in X-Men
Callisto (Xena), a character on Xena: Warrior Princess
"Callisto" (Xena: Warrior Princess episode)
Callisto family, a fictional family in the Miles from Tomorrowland TV series
Callisto, a toy in the Mattel Major Matt Mason series
Callisto (band), a band from Turku, Finland
People with the name
Callisto Cosulich (1922–2015), Italian film critic, author, journalist and screenwriter
Callisto Pasuwa, Zimbabwean soccer coach
Callisto Piazza (1500–1561), Italian painter
Other uses
Callisto (moth), a genus of moths in the family Gracillariidae
CALLISTO, a reusable test rocket
Callisto Corporation, a software development company
Callisto, a release of version 3.2 of Eclipse
Callisto, an AMD Phenom II processor core
Callisto (organization), a non-profit organization
See also
Calisto (disambiguation)
Kallisto (disambiguation)
Callista (disambiguation)
Callistus (disambiguation)
Castillo (disambiguation)
Category:Feminine given names | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callisto | 2025-04-05T18:27:39.901693 |
5955 | Church of England | | liturgy = 1662 Book of Common Prayer, Common Worship
| orientation Anglican
| polity = Episcopal
| structure | leader_title Supreme Governor
| leader_name = Charles III
| leader_title1 = Primate
| leader_name1 = Stephen Cottrell (acting)
| area = England, Wales (cross-border parishes)<br />Isle of Man<br />Channel Islands<br />Continental Europe<br />Morocco
| headquarters = Church House, Westminster, England
| founded | founder
| separated_from = Roman Catholic Church<br />(1534)
| separations = English Dissenters<br />(1534 onwards)<br />Puritans (17th century)<br />Methodists (18th century)<br />Plymouth Brethren (1820s)<br />Free Church of England (1844)<br />Church of Ireland (1871)<br />Church in Wales (1920)<br />Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (2011)
| congregations | members 26 million (baptised; 2016)
| ministers | missionaries
| primary_schools | secondary_schools
| tax_status | tertiary
| other_names = Anglican Church
| publications | website
| footnotes | associations Anglican Communion<br />Porvoo Communion<br />World Council of Churches
}}
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglican tradition, with foundational doctrines being contained in the Thirty-nine Articles and The Books of Homilies. The Church traces its history to the Christian hierarchy recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain by the 3rd century and to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. Its members are called Anglicans.
In 1534, the Church of England renounced the authority of the Catholic Church under the direction of Henry VIII, beginning the English Reformation. The guiding theologian that shaped Anglican doctrine was the Reformer Thomas Cranmer, who developed the Church of England's liturgical text, the Book of Common Prayer.
In the earlier phase of the English Reformation there were both Catholic and Protestant martyrs. This continued into the later phases, which saw the Penal Laws punish Catholics and nonconforming Protestants. Various factions continued to challenge the leadership and doctrine of the church into the 17th century, which under Charles I veered towards a more Catholic interpretation of the Elizabethan Settlement, especially under Archbishop Laud. Following the victory of the Roundheads in the English Civil War, the Puritan faction dominated and the Book of Common Prayer and episcopacy were abolished. These would be restored under the Stuart Restoration in 1660.
Since the English Reformation, the Church of England has used the English language in the liturgy. As a broad church, the Church of England contains several doctrinal strands: the main traditions are known as Anglo-Catholic, high church, central church, and low church, the latter producing a growing evangelical wing that includes Reformed Anglicanism, with a smaller number of Arminian Anglicans. Tensions between theological conservatives and liberals find expression in debates over the ordination of women and same-sex marriage. The British monarch (currently Charles III) is the supreme governor and the archbishop of Canterbury (vacant since 7 January 2025, after the resignation of Justin Welby) is the most senior cleric. The governing structure of the Church is based on dioceses, each presided over by a bishop. Within each diocese are local parishes. The General Synod of the Church of England is the legislative body for the church and comprises bishops, other clergy and laity. Its measures must be approved by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.HistoryMiddle Ages
is one of the church's 43 cathedrals; many have histories stretching back centuries]]
There is evidence for Christianity in Roman Britain as early as the 3rd century. After the fall of the Roman Empire, England was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons, who were pagans, and the Celtic church was confined to Cornwall and Wales. In 597, Pope Gregory I sent missionaries to England to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons. This mission was led by Augustine, who became the first archbishop of Canterbury. The Church of England considers 597 the start of its formal history.
In Northumbria, Celtic missionaries competed with their Roman counterparts. The Celtic and Roman churches disagreed over the date of Easter, baptismal customs, and the style of tonsure worn by monks. King Oswiu of Northumbria summoned the Synod of Whitby in 664. The king decided Northumbria would follow the Roman tradition because Saint Peter and his successors, the bishops of Rome, hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
By the late Middle Ages, Catholicism was an essential part of English life and culture. The 9,000 parishes covering all of England were overseen by a hierarchy of deaneries, archdeaconries, dioceses led by bishops, and ultimately the pope who presided over the Catholic Church from Rome. Catholicism taught that the contrite person could cooperate with God towards their salvation by performing good works (see synergism). God's grace was given through the seven sacraments. In the Mass, a priest consecrated bread and wine to become the body and blood of Christ through transubstantiation. The church taught that, in the name of the congregation, the priest offered to God the same sacrifice of Christ on the cross that provided atonement for the sins of humanity. The Mass was also an offering of prayer by which the living could help souls in purgatory. While penance removed the guilt attached to sin, Catholicism taught that a penalty still remained. It was believed that most people would end their lives with these penalties unsatisfied and would have to spend time in purgatory. Time in purgatory could be lessened through indulgences and prayers for the dead, which were made possible by the communion of saints.
Reformation
In 1527, Henry VIII was desperate for a male heir and asked Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. When the pope refused, Henry used Parliament to assert royal authority over the English church. In 1533, Parliament passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals, barring legal cases from being appealed outside England. This allowed the Archbishop of Canterbury to annul the marriage without reference to Rome. In November 1534, the Act of Supremacy formally abolished papal authority and declared Henry Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Henry's religious beliefs remained aligned to traditional Catholicism throughout his reign, albeit with reformist aspects in the tradition of Erasmus and firm commitment to royal supremacy. In order to secure royal supremacy over the church, however, Henry allied himself with Protestants, who until that time had been treated as heretics. The main doctrine of the Protestant Reformation was justification by faith alone rather than by good works. The logical outcome of this belief is that the Mass, sacraments, charitable acts, prayers to saints, prayers for the dead, pilgrimage, and the veneration of relics do not mediate divine favour. To believe they can would be superstition at best and idolatry at worst.
Between 1536 and 1540, Henry engaged in the dissolution of the monasteries, which controlled much of the richest land. He disbanded religious houses, appropriated their income, disposed of their assets, and provided pensions for the former residents. The properties were sold to pay for the wars. Historian George W. Bernard argues:
, was the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury and principal compiler of the Book of Common Prayer, Thirty-nine Articles, and Books of Homilies]]
In the reign of Edward VI (1547–1553), the Church of England underwent an extensive theological reformation. Justification by faith was made a central teaching. Government-sanctioned iconoclasm led to the destruction of images and relics. Stained glass, shrines, statues, and roods were defaced or destroyed. Church walls were whitewashed and covered with biblical texts condemning idolatry. The most significant reform in Edward's reign was the adoption of an English liturgy to replace the old Latin rites. Written by the Protestant Reformer Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the 1549 Book of Common Prayer implicitly taught justification by faith, and rejected the Catholic doctrines of transubstantiation and the sacrifice of the Mass. This was followed by a greatly revised 1552 Book of Common Prayer, which propounded a Reformed view of the Lord's Supper (cf. ''Lord's Supper in Reformed theology). Along with The Book of Common Prayer, The Thirty-nine Articles and The Books of Homilies'', assembled through the efforts of the Reformer Thomas Cranmer, became the basis of Anglican doctrine after the English Reformation. Notably, the Act of Settlement 1701, which remains in force today, stipulates that the monarch (who serves as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England) be a Protestant, maintain the Protestant succession, and "join in communion with the Church of England as by law established." The Coronation Oath Act 1688 (reiterated in the Act of Settlement 1701) requires the rising Sovereign to take an oath to maintain "the true Profession of the Gospel and the Protestant Reformed Religion Established by Law" in the United Kingdom. In order to secure his political position, William III of England ended these discussions and the Tudor ideal of encompassing all the people of England in one religious organisation was abandoned. The religious landscape of England assumed its present form, with the Anglican established church occupying the middle ground and Nonconformists continuing their existence outside. One result of the Restoration was the ousting of 2,000 parish ministers who had not been ordained by bishops in the apostolic succession or who had been ordained by ministers in presbyter's orders. Official suspicion and legal restrictions continued well into the 19th century. Roman Catholics, perhaps 5% of the English population (down from 20% in 1600) were grudgingly tolerated, having had little or no official representation after the Pope's excommunication of Queen Elizabeth in 1570, though the Stuarts were sympathetic to them. By the end of 18th century they had dwindled to 1% of the population, mostly amongst upper middle-class gentry, their tenants, and extended families.
Union with the Church of Ireland
By the Fifth Article of the Union with Ireland 1800, the Church of England and Church of Ireland were united into "one Protestant Episcopal church, to be called, the United Church of England and Ireland". Although "the continuance and preservation of the said united church ... [was] deemed and taken to be an essential and fundamental part of the union", the Irish Church Act 1869 separated the Irish part of the church again and disestablished it, the Act coming into effect on 1 January 1871.Overseas developments1624 map of Bermuda, showing St Peter's at centre, left|alt]]
As the English Empire (after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, the British Empire) expanded, English (after 1707, British) colonists and colonial administrators took the established church doctrines and practices together with ordained ministry and formed overseas branches of the Church of England.
The Diocese of Nova Scotia was created on 11 August 1787 by Letters Patent of George III which "erected the Province of Nova Scotia into a bishop's see" and these also named Charles Inglis as first bishop of the see. The diocese was the first Church of England see created outside England and Wales (i.e. the first colonial diocese). At this point, the see covered present-day New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. From 1825 to 1839, it included the nine parishes of Bermuda, subsequently transferred to the Diocese of Newfoundland.
As they developed, beginning with the United States of America, or became sovereign or independent states, many of their churches became separate organisationally, but remained linked to the Church of England through the Anglican Communion. In the provinces that made up Canada, the church operated as the "Church of England in Canada" until 1955 when it became the Anglican Church of Canada.
In Bermuda, the oldest remaining British overseas possession, the first Church of England services were performed by the Reverend Richard Buck, one of the survivors of the 1609 wreck of the Sea Venture which initiated Bermuda's permanent settlement. The nine parishes of the Church of England in Bermuda, each with its own church and glebe land, rarely had more than a pair of ordained ministers to share between them until the 19th century. From 1825 to 1839, Bermuda's parishes were attached to the See of Nova Scotia. Bermuda was then grouped into the new Diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda from 1839. In 1879, the Synod of the Church of England in Bermuda was formed. At the same time, a Diocese of Bermuda became separate from the Diocese of Newfoundland, but both continued to be grouped under the Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda until 1919, when Newfoundland and Bermuda each received its own bishop. The Church of England in Bermuda was renamed in 1978 as the Anglican Church of Bermuda, which is an extra-provincial diocese, with both metropolitan and primatial authority coming directly from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Among its parish churches is St Peter's Church in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of St George's Town, which is the oldest Anglican church outside of the British Isles, and the oldest Protestant church in the New World.
The Church of India, Burma and Ceylon was established in Colonial India, with its first diocese being erected in 1813, the Diocese of Calcutta. Indian bishops were present at the first Lambeth Conference.
The first Anglican missionaries arrived in Nigeria in 1842 and the first Anglican Nigerian was consecrated a bishop in 1864. However, the arrival of a rival group of Anglican missionaries in 1887 led to infighting that slowed the Church's growth. In this large African colony, by 1900 there were only 35,000 Anglicans, about 0.2% of the population. However, by the late 20th century the Church of Nigeria was the fastest growing of all Anglican churches, reaching about 18 percent of the local population by 2000.Continued decline in attendance and church response
, in North Yorkshire; much of the current structure was built in the 14th and 15th centuries]]
Bishop Sarah Mullally has insisted that declining numbers at services should not necessarily be a cause of despair for churches, because people may still encounter God without attending a service in a church; for example hearing the Christian message through social media sites or in a café run as a community project. The Church of England estimates that 35 - 50 million people visit its churches as tourists annually. Additionally, 9.7 million people visit at least one of its churches every year and 1 million students are educated at Church of England schools (which number 4,700). In 2019, an estimated 10 million people visited a cathedral and an additional "1.3 million people visited Westminster Abbey, where 99% of visitors paid / donated for entry". In 2022, the church reported than an estimated 5.7 million people visited a cathedral and 6.8 million visited Westminster Abbey. Nevertheless, the archbishops of Canterbury and York warned in January 2015 that the Church of England would no longer be able to carry on in its current form unless the downward spiral in membership were somehow to be reversed, as typical Sunday attendance had halved to 800,000 in the previous 40 years:
Between 1969 and 2010, almost 1,800 church buildings, roughly 11% of the stock, were closed (so-called "redundant churches"); the majority (70%) in the first half of the period; only 514 being closed between 1990 and 2010. Some active use was being made of about half of the closed churches. By 2019 the rate of closure had steadied at around 20 to 25 per year (0.2%); some being replaced by new places of worship. Additionally, in 2018 the church announced a £27 million growth programme to create 100 new churches.
Low salaries
In 2015 the Church of England admitted that it was embarrassed to be paying staff under the living wage. The Church of England had previously campaigned for all employers to pay this minimum amount. The archbishop of Canterbury acknowledged it was not the only area where the church "fell short of its standards". Impact of COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic had a sizeable effect on church attendance, with attendance in 2020 and 2021 well below that of 2019. By 2022, the first full year without substantial restrictions related to the pandemic, numbers were still notably down on pre-pandemic participation. According to the 2022 release of "Statistics for Mission" by the church, the median size of each church's worshipping community (those who attend in person or online at least once a month) stood at 37 people, with average weekly attendance having declined from 34 to 25; while Easter and Christmas services had seen falls from 51 to 38 and 80 to 56 individuals respectively.
Examples of wider declines across the whole church include: The canon law of the Church of England identifies the Christian scriptures as the source of its doctrine. In addition, doctrine is also derived from the teachings of the Church Fathers and ecumenical councils (as well as the ecumenical creeds) in so far as these agree with scripture. This doctrine is expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal containing the rites for the ordination of deacons, priests, and the consecration of bishops. Richard Hooker's appeal to scripture as the primary source of Christian doctrine, informed by church tradition, and reason, has been influential in hermeneutics.
The Church of England's doctrinal character today is largely the result of the Elizabethan Settlement. The historical development of Anglicanism saw itself as navigating a via media between two forms of Protestantism—Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity—though leaning closer to the latter than the former. The Church of England affirms the protestant reformation principle that scripture contains all things necessary to salvation and is the final arbiter in doctrinal matters. The Thirty-nine Articles are the church's only official confessional statement. The Church of England did retain three orders of ministry and the apostolic succession of bishops, as with the Scandinavian Lutheran Churches (such as the Church of Sweden) and Roman Catholicism. Its identity has thus been described as Reformed and Catholic. This tolerance has allowed Anglicans who emphasise the catholic tradition and others who emphasise the reformed tradition to coexist. The three schools of thought (or parties) in the Church of England are sometimes called high church (or Anglo-Catholic), low church (or evangelical Anglican) and broad church (or liberal). The high church party places importance on the Church of England's continuity with the pre-Reformation Catholic Church, adherence to ancient liturgical usages and the sacerdotal nature of the priesthood. As their name suggests, Anglo-Catholics maintain many traditional catholic practices and liturgical forms. The Catholic tradition, strengthened and reshaped from the 1830s by the Oxford movement, has stressed the importance of the visible Church and its sacraments and the belief that the ministry of bishops, priests and deacons is a sign and instrument of the Church of England's Catholic and apostolic identity. The low church party is more Protestant in both ceremony and theology. It has emphasized the significance of the Protestant aspects of the Church of England's identity, stressing the importance of the authority of Scripture, preaching, justification by faith and personal conversion. The liberal broad church tradition has emphasized the importance of the use of reason in theological exploration. It has stressed the need to develop Christian belief and practice in order to respond creatively to wider advances in human knowledge and understanding and the importance of social and political action in forwarding God's kingdom.Worship and liturgy
, Kent]]
In 1604, James I ordered an English language translation of the Bible known as the King James Version, which was published in 1611 and authorised for use in parishes, although it was not an "official" version per se. The Church of England's official book of liturgy as established in English Law is the 1662 version of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). In the year 2000, the General Synod approved a modern liturgical book, Common Worship, which can be used as an alternative to the BCP. Like its predecessor, the 1980 Alternative Service Book, it differs from the Book of Common Prayer in providing a range of alternative services, mostly in modern language, although it does include some BCP-based forms as well, for example Order Two for Holy Communion. (This is a revision of the BCP service, altering some words and allowing the insertion of some other liturgical texts such as the Agnus Dei before communion.) The Order One rite follows the pattern of more modern liturgical scholarship.
The liturgies are organised according to the traditional liturgical year and the calendar of saints. The sacraments of baptism and the eucharist are generally thought necessary to salvation. Infant baptism is practised. At a later age, individuals baptised as infants receive confirmation by a bishop, at which time they reaffirm the baptismal promises made by their parents or sponsors. The eucharist, consecrated by a thanksgiving prayer including Christ's Words of Institution, is believed to be "a memorial of Christ's once-for-all redemptive acts in which Christ is objectively present and effectually received in faith".
The use of hymns and music in the Church of England has changed dramatically over the centuries. Traditional Choral evensong is a staple of most cathedrals. The style of psalm chanting harks back to the Church of England's pre-reformation roots. During the 18th century, clergy such as Charles Wesley introduced their own styles of worship with poetic hymns.
In the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of the Charismatic Movement significantly altered the worship traditions of numerous Church of England parishes, primarily affecting those of evangelical persuasion. These churches now adopt a contemporary worship form of service, with minimal liturgical or ritual elements, and incorporating contemporary worship music.
Just as the Church of England has a large conservative or "traditionalist" wing, it also has many liberal members and clergy. Approximately one third of clergy "doubt or disbelieve in the physical resurrection". Others, such as Giles Fraser, a contributor to The Guardian, have argued for an allegorical interpretation of the virgin birth of Jesus. The Independent reported in 2014 that, according to a YouGov survey of Church of England clergy, "as many as 16 per cent are unclear about God and two per cent think it is no more than a human construct." Moreover, many congregations are seeker-friendly environments. For example, one report from the Church Mission Society suggested that the church open up "a pagan church where Christianity [is] very much in the centre" to reach out to spiritual people.
The Church of England is launching a project on "gendered language" in Spring 2023 in efforts to "study the ways in which God is referred to and addressed in liturgy and worship".
Women's ministry
Women were appointed as deaconesses from 1861, but they could not function fully as deacons and were not considered ordained clergy. Women have historically been able to serve as lay readers. During the First World War, some women were appointed as lay readers, known as "bishop's messengers", who also led missions and ran churches in the absence of men. After the war, no women were appointed as lay readers until 1969.
Legislation authorising the ordination of women as deacons was passed in 1986 and they were first ordained in 1987. The ordination of women as priests was approved by the General Synod in 1992 and began in 1994. In 2010, for the first time in the history of the Church of England, more women than men were ordained as priests (290 women and 273 men), but in the next two years, ordinations of men again exceeded those of women.
In July 2005, the synod voted to "set in train" the process of allowing the consecration of women as bishops. In February 2006, the synod voted overwhelmingly for the "further exploration" of possible arrangements for parishes that did not want to be directly under the authority of a bishop who is a woman. On 7 July 2008, the synod voted to approve the ordination of women as bishops and rejected moves for alternative episcopal oversight for those who do not accept the ministry of bishops who are women. Actual ordinations of women to the episcopate required further legislation, which was narrowly rejected in a General Synod vote in November 2012. On 20 November 2013, the General Synod voted overwhelmingly in support of a plan to allow the ordination of women as bishops, with 378 in favour, 8 against and 25 abstentions.
On 14 July 2014, the General Synod approved the ordination of women as bishops. The House of Bishops recorded 37 votes in favour, two against with one abstention. The House of Clergy had 162 in favour, 25 against and four abstentions. The House of Laity voted 152 for, 45 against with five abstentions. This legislation had to be approved by the Ecclesiastical Committee of the Parliament before it could be finally implemented at the November 2014 synod. In December 2014, Libby Lane was announced as the first woman to become a bishop in the Church of England. She was consecrated as a bishop in January 2015. In July 2015, Rachel Treweek was the first woman to become a diocesan bishop in the Church of England when she became the Bishop of Gloucester. She and Sarah Mullally, Bishop of Crediton, were the first women to be ordained as bishops at Canterbury Cathedral.
In May 2018, the Diocese of London consecrated Dame Sarah Mullally as the first woman to serve as the Bishop of London. Bishop Sarah Mullally occupies the third most senior position in the Church of England. Mullally has described herself as a feminist and will ordain both men and women to the priesthood. She is also considered by some to be a theological liberal. On women's reproductive rights, Mullally describes herself as pro-choice while also being personally pro-life. On marriage, she supports the current stance of the Church of England that marriage is between a man and a woman, but also said that: "It is a time for us to reflect on our tradition and scripture, and together say how we can offer a response that is about it being inclusive love."
Same-sex unions and LGBT clergy
The Church of England has been discussing same-sex marriages and LGBT clergy. The church holds that marriage is a union of one man with one woman. The church does not allow clergy to perform same-sex marriages, but in February 2023 approved of blessings for same-sex couples following a civil marriage or civil partnership. The church teaches "Same-sex relationships often embody genuine mutuality and fidelity." In January 2023, the Bishops approved "prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God's blessing for same-sex couples." The commended prayers of blessing for same-sex couples, known as "Prayers of Love and Faith," may be used during ordinary church services, and in November 2023 General Synod voted to authorise "standalone" blessings for same-sex couples on a trial basis, while permanent authorisation will require additional steps. The church also officially supports celibate civil partnerships; "We believe that Civil Partnerships still have a place, including for some Christian LGBTI couples who see them as a way of gaining legal recognition of their relationship."
Civil partnerships for clergy have been allowed since 2005, so long as they remain sexually abstinent, and the church extends pensions to clergy in same-sex civil partnerships. In a missive to clergy, the church communicated that "there was a need for committed same-sex couples to be given recognition and 'compassionate attention' from the Church, including special prayers." "There is no prohibition on prayers being said in church or there being a 'service'" after a civil union. After same-sex marriage was legalised, the church sought continued availability of civil unions, saying "The Church of England recognises that same-sex relationships often embody fidelity and mutuality. Civil partnerships enable these Christian virtues to be recognised socially and legally in a proper framework." In 2024, the General Synod voted in support of eventually permitting clergy to enter into civil same-sex marriages.
In 2014, the bishops released guidelines that permit "more informal kind of prayer" for couples. In the guidelines, "gay couples who get married will be able to ask for special prayers in the Church of England after their wedding, the bishops have agreed." The church had decided in 2013 that gay clergy in civil partnerships so long as they remain sexually abstinent could become bishops. "The House [of Bishops] has confirmed that clergy in civil partnerships, and living in accordance with the teaching of the church on human sexuality, can be considered as candidates for the episcopate."
In 2017, the House of Clergy voted against the motion to "take note" of the bishops' report defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Due to passage in all three houses being required, the motion was rejected. After General Synod rejected the motion, the archbishops of Canterbury and York called for "radical new Christian inclusion" that is "based on good, healthy, flourishing relationships, and in a proper 21st century understanding of being human and of being sexual." The church officially opposes "conversion therapy", a practice which attempts to change a gay or lesbian person's sexual orientation, calling it unethical and supports the banning of "conversion therapy" in the UK. The Diocese of Hereford approved a motion calling for the church "to create a set of formal services and prayers to bless those who have had a same-sex marriage or civil partnership." In 2022, "The House [of Bishops] also agreed to the formation of a Pastoral Consultative Group to support and advise dioceses on pastoral responses to circumstances that arise concerning LGBTI+ clergy, ordinands, lay leaders and the lay people in their care."
Regarding transgender issues, the 2017 General Synod voted in favour of a motion saying that transgender people should be "welcomed and affirmed in their parish church". The motion also asked the bishops "to look into special services for transgender people." The bishops initially said "the House notes that the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith, found in Common Worship, is an ideal liturgical rite which trans people can use to mark this moment of personal renewal." The Bishops also authorised services of celebration to mark a gender transition that will be included in formal liturgy. Transgender people may marry in the Church of England after legally making a transition. "Since the Gender Recognition Act 2004, trans people legally confirmed in their gender identity under its provisions are able to marry someone of the opposite sex in their parish church." The church further decided that same-gender couples may remain married when one spouse experiences gender transition provided that the spouses identified as opposite genders at the time of the marriage. Since 2000, the church has allowed priests to undergo gender transition and remain in office. The church has ordained openly transgender clergy since 2005. The Church of England ordained the church's first openly non-binary priest in 2022. In 2023, the Church of England appointed Rachel Mann as the church's first openly trans Archdeacon.
In January 2023, a meeting of the Bishops of the Church of England rejected demands for clergy to conduct same-sex marriages. However, proposals would be put to the General Synod that clergy should be able to hold church blessings for same-sex civil marriages, albeit on a voluntary basis for individual clergy. This comes as the Church continued to be split on same-sex marriages.
In February 2023, ten archbishops of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches released a statement stating that they had broken communion and no longer recognised Justin Welby as "the first among equals" or "primus inter pares" in the Anglican Communion in response to the General Synod's decision to approve the blessing of same-sex couples following a civil marriage or partnership, leading to questions as to the status of the Church of England as the mother church of the international Anglican Communion.
In November 2023, the General Synod narrowly voted to allow church blessings for same-sex couples on a trial basis. In December 2023, the first blessings of same-sex couples began in the Church of England. In 2024, the General Synod voted to support moving forward with "stand-alone" services of blessing for same-sex couples after a civil marriage or civil partnership.Bioethics issuesThe Church of England is generally opposed to abortion but believes "there can be strictly limited conditions under which abortion may be morally preferable to any available alternative". The church also opposes euthanasia. Its official stance is that "While acknowledging the complexity of the issues involved in assisted dying/suicide and voluntary euthanasia, the Church of England is opposed to any change in the law or in medical practice that would make assisted dying/suicide or voluntary euthanasia permissible in law or acceptable in practice." It also states that "Equally, the Church shares the desire to alleviate physical and psychological suffering, but believes that assisted dying/suicide and voluntary euthanasia are not acceptable means of achieving these laudable goals." In 2014, George Carey, a former archbishop of Canterbury, announced that he had changed his stance on euthanasia and now advocated legalising "assisted dying". On embryonic stem-cell research, the church has announced "cautious acceptance to the proposal to produce cytoplasmic hybrid embryos for research".
In the 19th century, English law required the burial of people who had died by suicide to occur only between the hours of 9 p.m. and midnight and without religious rites. The Church of England permitted the use of alternative burial services for people who had died by suicide. In 2017, the Church of England changed its rules to permit the full, standard Christian burial service regardless of whether a person had died by suicide.
Social work
Church Urban Fund
The Church of England set up the Church Urban Fund in the 1980s to tackle poverty and deprivation. It sees poverty as trapping individuals and communities with some people in urgent need, leading to dependency, homelessness, hunger, isolation, low income, mental health problems, social exclusion and violence. They feel that poverty reduces confidence and life expectancy and that people born in poor conditions have difficulty escaping their disadvantaged circumstances.Child povertyIn parts of Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle two-thirds of babies are born to poverty and have poorer life chances, also a life expectancy 15 years lower than babies born in the best-off fortunate communities.
Action on hungerMany prominent people in the Church of England have spoken out against poverty and welfare cuts in the United Kingdom. Twenty-seven bishops are among 43 Christian leaders who signed a letter which urged David Cameron to make sure people have enough to eat.
Thousands of UK citizens use food banks. The church's campaign to end hunger considers this "truly shocking" and called for a national day of fasting on 4 April 2014. This number has remained consistent since 2001 and was cited again in 2013 and 2014. In 2010, the government estimated that there were 24,841,000 baptised members of the Church of England. According to David Voas, conducting research in 2001 at the University of Sheffield, the number of baptised members was expected to decline at a rate of 1 million every five years; their number was reported to have fallen to 20 million in 2022. Due to its status as the established church, in general, anyone may be married, have their children baptised or their funeral in their local parish church, regardless of whether they are baptised or regular churchgoers.
Between 1890 and 2001, churchgoing in the United Kingdom declined steadily. In the years 1968 to 1999, Anglican Sunday church attendances almost halved, from 3.5 percent of the population to 1.9 per cent. By 2014, Sunday church attendances had declined further to 1.4 per cent of the population. One study published in 2008 suggested that if current trends continued, Sunday attendances could fall to 350,000 in 2030 and 87,800 in 2050. The Church of England releases an annual publication, Statistics for Mission, detailing numerous criteria relating to participation with the church. Below is a snapshot of several key metrics from every five years since 2001 (2022 has been used in place of 2021 to avoid the impact of Covid restrictions). Since 2021 Sunday Church attendance has increased, although not to pre-pandemic levels.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Category
!2001
!2006
!2016
!2023
|-
|Worshipping Community
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|1,138,800
|984,000
|1,007,000
|-
|All Age Weekly Attendance
|1,205,000
|1,163,000
|1,050,300
|927,300
|654,000
|693,000
|-
|All Age Sunday Attendance
|1,041,000
|983,000
|858,400
|779,800
|547,000
|574,000
|-
|Easter Attendance
|1,593,000
|1,485,000
|1,378,200
|1,222,700
|861,000
|938,000
|-
|Christmas Attendance
|2,608,000
|2,994,000
|2,641,500
|2,580,000
|1,622,000
|1,961,000
|}
Personnel
In 2020, there were almost 20,000 active clergy serving in the Church of England, including 7,200 retired clergy who continued to serve. In that year, 580 were ordained (330 in stipendiary posts and 250 in self-supporting parochial posts) and a further 580 ordinands began their training. In that year, 33% of those in ordained ministry were female, an increase from the 26% reported in 2016.}}
The British monarch has the constitutional title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The canon law of the Church of England states, "We acknowledge that the King's most excellent Majesty, acting according to the laws of the realm, is the highest power under God in this kingdom, and has supreme authority over all persons in all causes, as well ecclesiastical as civil." In practice this power is often exercised through Parliament and on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Church of Ireland and the Church in Wales separated from the Church of England in 1869 and 1920 respectively and are autonomous churches in the Anglican Communion; Scotland's national church, the Church of Scotland, is Presbyterian, but the Scottish Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion.
In addition to England, the jurisdiction of the Church of England extends to the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and a few parishes in Flintshire, Monmouthshire and Powys in Wales which voted to remain with the Church of England rather than joining the Church in Wales. Expatriate congregations on the continent of Europe have become the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe.
The church is structured as follows (from the lowest level upwards):
is typical of many small English village churches|alt=]]
* Parish is the most local level, often consisting of one church building (a parish church) and community, although many parishes are joining forces in a variety of ways for financial reasons. The parish is looked after by a parish priest who for historical or legal reasons may be called by one of the following offices: vicar, rector, priest in charge, team rector, team vicar. The first, second, fourth and fifth of these may also be known as the 'incumbent'. The running of the parish is the joint responsibility of the incumbent and the parochial church council (PCC), which consists of the parish clergy and elected representatives from the congregation. The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe is not formally divided into parishes.
* There are a number of local churches that do not have a parish. In urban areas there are a number of proprietary chapels (mostly built in the 19th century to cope with urbanisation and growth in population). Also in more recent years there are increasingly church plants and fresh expressions of church, whereby new congregations are planted in locations such as schools or pubs to spread the Gospel of Christ in non-traditional ways.
with the archdeaconries colour-coded]]
* Deanery, e.g., Lewisham or Runnymede. This is the area for which a Rural Dean (or area dean) is responsible. It consists of a number of parishes in a particular district. The rural dean is usually the incumbent of one of the constituent parishes. The parishes each elect lay (non-ordained) representatives to the deanery synod. Deanery synod members each have a vote in the election of representatives to the diocesan synod.
* Archdeaconry, e.g., the seven in the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe. This is the area under the jurisdiction of an archdeacon. It consists of a number of deaneries.
* Diocese, e.g., Diocese of Durham, Diocese of Guildford, Diocese of St Albans. This is the area under the jurisdiction of a diocesan bishop, e.g., the bishops of Durham, Guildford and St Albans, and will have a cathedral. There may be one or more suffragan bishops within the diocese who assist the diocesan bishop in his ministry, e.g., in Guildford diocese, the Bishop of Dorking. In some very large dioceses a legal measure has been enacted to create "episcopal areas", where the diocesan bishop runs one such area himself and appoints "area bishops" to run the other areas as mini-dioceses, legally delegating many of his powers to the area bishops. Dioceses with episcopal areas include London, Chelmsford, Oxford, Chichester, Southwark, and Lichfield. The bishops work with an elected body of lay and ordained representatives, known as the Diocesan Synod, to run the diocese. A diocese is subdivided into a number of archdeaconries.
* Province, i.e., Canterbury or York. This is the area under the jurisdiction of an archbishop, i.e. the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. Decision-making within the province is the responsibility of the General Synod (see also above). A province is subdivided into dioceses.
* Primacy, i.e., Church of England. The Archbishop of York's title of "Primate of England" is essentially honorific and carries with it no powers beyond those inherent in being Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Province of York. The Archbishop of Canterbury, on the other hand, the "Primate of All England", has powers that extend over the whole of England, and also Wales—for example, through his Faculty Office he may grant a "special marriage licence" permitting the parties to marry otherwise than in a church: for example, in a school, college or university chapel; or anywhere, if one of the parties to the intended marriage is in danger of imminent death.Diocesan bishopsThe process of appointing diocesan bishops is complex, due to historical reasons balancing hierarchy against democracy, and is handled by the Crown Nominations Committee which submits names to the Prime Minister (acting on behalf of the Crown) for consideration.Representative bodies
The Church of England has a legislative body, General Synod. This can create two types of legislation, measures and canons. Measures have to be approved but cannot be amended by the British Parliament before receiving royal assent and becoming part of the law of England. Although it is the established church in England only, its measures must be approved by both Houses of Parliament including the non-English members. Canons require Royal Licence and Royal Assent, but form the law of the church, rather than the law of the land.
Another assembly is the Convocation of the English Clergy, which is older than the General Synod and its predecessor the Church Assembly. By the Synodical Government Measure 1969 almost all of the Convocations' functions were transferred to the General Synod. Additionally, there are Diocesan Synods and deanery synods, which are the governing bodies of the divisions of the Church.House of Lords
Of the 42 diocesan archbishops and bishops in the Church of England, 26 are permitted to sit in the House of Lords. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York automatically have seats, as do the bishops of London, Durham and Winchester. The remaining 21 seats are filled in order of seniority by date of consecration. It may take a diocesan bishop a number of years to reach the House of Lords, at which point he or she becomes a Lord Spiritual. The Bishop of Sodor and Man and the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe are not eligible to sit in the House of Lords as their dioceses lie outside the United Kingdom.
Crown Dependencies
Although they are not part of England or the United Kingdom, the Church of England is also the established church in the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The Isle of Man has its own diocese of Sodor and Man, and the Bishop of Sodor and Man is an ex officio member of the legislative council of the Tynwald on the island. Historically the Channel Islands have been under the authority of the Bishop of Winchester, but this authority has temporarily been delegated to the Bishop of Dover since 2015. In Jersey the Dean of Jersey is a non-voting member of the States of Jersey. In Guernsey the Church of England is the established church, although the Dean of Guernsey is not a member of the States of Guernsey.Sex abuse
The 2020 report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse found several cases of sexual abuse within the Church of England, and concluded that the Church did not protect children from sexual abuse, and allowed abusers to hide. The Church spent more effort defending alleged abusers than supporting victims or protecting children and young people. Bishop Peter Ball was convicted in October 2015 on several charges of indecent assault against young adult men.
In June 2023, the Archbishops' Council dismissed the three board members of the Independent Safeguarding Board, which was set up in 2021 "to hold the Church to account, publicly if needs be, for any failings which are preventing good safeguarding from happening". A statement issued by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York referred to there being "no prospect of resolving the disagreement and that it is getting in the way of the vital work of serving victims and survivors". Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves, the two independent members of the board, had complained about interference with their work by the Church. The Bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty, speaking to BBC Radio 4 in connection with the dismissals, said: "I think culturally we are resistant as a church to accountability, to criticism. And therefore I don't entirely trust the church, even though I'm a key part of it and a leader within it, because I see the way the wind blows is always in a particular direction."
On 20 July 2023, it was announced that the archbishops of Canterbury and York had appointed Alexis Jay to provide proposals for an independent system of safeguarding for the Church of England.
In February 2025, the General Synod voted not to make safeguarding the responsibiity of an independent body, to the dismay of many.
In February 2025, the Church of England announced it would take forward the clergy disciplinary measure process against 10 clergy, following the Makin Review of the serial abuser John Smyth.
Funding and finances
Although an established church, the Church of England does not receive any direct government support, except some funding for building work. Donations comprise its largest source of income, and it also relies heavily on the income from its various historic endowments. In 2005, the Church of England had estimated total outgoings of around £900 million.
The Church of England manages an investment portfolio which is worth more than £8 billion.
Online church directories
The Church of England runs A Church Near You, an online directory of churches. A user-edited resource, it currently lists more than 16,000 churches and has 20,000 editors in 42 dioceses. The directory enables parishes to maintain accurate location, contact and event information, which is shared with other websites and mobile apps. The site allows the public to find their local worshipping community, and offers churches free resources, such as hymns, videos and social media graphics.
The Church Heritage Record includes information on over 16,000 church buildings, including architectural history, archaeology, art history, and the surrounding natural environment. It can be searched by elements including church name, diocese, date of construction, footprint size, listing grade, and church type. The types of church identified include:
*Major Parish Church: "some of the most special, significant and well-loved places of worship in England", having "most of all" of the characteristics of being large (over 1,000msq), listed (generally grade I or II*), having "exceptional significance and/or issues necessitating a conservation management plan" and having a local role beyond that of an average parish church. there are 312 such churches in the database. These churches are eligible to join the Major Churches Network.
*Festival Church: a church not used for weekly services but used for occasional services and other events. These churches are eligible to join the Association of Festival Churches. there are 19 such churches in the database.
*CCT Church: a church under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. there are 345 such churches in the database.
*Friendless Church: there are 24 such churches in the database; the Friends of Friendless Churches cares for 60 churches across England and Wales.
See also
* Acts of Supremacy
* Apostolicae curae
* Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
* Anglican Communion sexual abuse cases
* Church Commissioners
* Church of England Newspaper
* Disestablishmentarianism
* Dissolution of the Monasteries
* English Covenant
* English Reformation
* Historical development of Church of England dioceses
* List of archdeacons in the Church of England
* List of bishops in the Church of England
* List of the first 32 women ordained as Church of England priests
* List of the largest Protestant bodies
* Mothers' Union
* Properties and finances of the Church of England
* Ritualism in the Church of England
* Women and the Church
Notes
References
Sources
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* Further reading
* Buchanan, Colin. Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism (2nd ed. 2015) [https://www.amazon.com/Historical-Dictionary-Anglicanism-Dictionaries-Philosophies/dp/1442250151 excerpt]
* Garbett, Cyril, Abp. The Church of England Today. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1953. 128 p.
*Moorman, James. A History of the Church in England. 1 June 1980. Publisher: MOREHOUSE PUBLISHING.
*Hardwick, Joseph. An Anglican British world: The Church of England and the expansion of the settler empire, c. 1790–1860 (Manchester UP, 2014).
* Hodges, J. P. The Nature of the Lion: Elizabeth I and Our Anglican Heritage. London: Faith Press, 1962. 153 pp.
*
* Kirby, James. Historians and the Church of England: Religion and Historical Scholarship, 1870–1920 (2016) online at
* Lawson, Tom. God and War: The Church of England and Armed Conflict in the Twentieth Century (Routledge, 2016).
* Maughan Steven S. Mighty England Do Good: Culture, Faith, Empire, and World in the Foreign Missions of the Church of England, 1850–1915 (2014)
* Picton, Hervé. A Short History of the Church of England: From the Reformation to the Present Day. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015. 180 p.
* Rowlands, John Henry Lewis. Church, State, and Society, 1827–1845: the Attitudes of John Keble, Richard Hurrell Froude, and John Henry Newman. (1989). xi, 262 p.
* Tapsell, Grant. The later Stuart Church, 1660–1714 (2012).
*Milton, Anthony. The Oxford History of Anglicanism, 5 Vols, 2017.
External links
*
* [http://anglicanhistory.org/england/ Historical resources on the Church of England] at anglicanhistory.org
*
* The History Files: [https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/MainChurchesIndex.htm Churches of the British Isles], a gallery of church photos and information
*[https://www.iicsa.org.uk/publications/investigation/anglican-church The Anglican Church Investigation Report] Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, October 2020
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5956 | Circe | <!--
*** WARNING REGARDING CIRCE AS A GODDESS ***
Circe is NOT the goddess of magic/sorcery/*insert magic-related word here* or anything else; while Circe is described as a goddess in some Greek sources, none of these sources mention what she is the goddess of. The idea that Circe is the goddess of a specified thing, such as magic, is a fabrication created by later texts and is not supported by any Greek sources. ANY edits that add text stating that Circe is the goddess of something will be reverted.
Do NOT remove this warning; it will be added back.
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Circe (; |Kírkē}}) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. In most accounts, Circe is described as the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse. Circe was renowned for her vast knowledge of potions and herbs. Through the use of these and a magic wand or staff, she would transform her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals.
The best known of her legends is told in Homer's Odyssey when Odysseus visits her island of Aeaea on the way back from the Trojan War and she changes most of his crew into swine. He manages to persuade her to return them to human shape, lives with her for a year and has sons by her, including Latinus and Telegonus. Her ability to change others into animals is further highlighted by the story of Picus, an Italian king whom she turns into a woodpecker for resisting her advances. Another story tells of her falling in love with the sea-god Glaucus, who prefers the nymph Scylla to her. In revenge, Circe poisoned the water where her rival bathed and turned her into a dreadful monster.
Depictions, even in Classical times, diverged from the detail in Homer's narrative, which was later to be reinterpreted morally as a cautionary story against drunkenness. Early philosophical questions were also raised about whether the change from being a human endowed with reason to being an unreasoning beast might not be preferable after all, and the resulting debate was to have a powerful impact during the Renaissance. Circe was also taken as the archetype of the predatory female. In the eyes of those from a later age, this behaviour made her notorious both as a magician and as a type of sexually free woman. She has been frequently depicted as such in all the arts from the Renaissance down to modern times.
Western paintings established a visual iconography for the figure, but also went for inspiration to other stories concerning Circe that appear in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The episodes of Scylla and Picus added the vice of violent jealousy to her bad qualities and made her a figure of fear as well as of desire.
Classical literature
Family and attributes
By most accounts, she was the daughter of the sun god Helios and Perse, one of the three thousand Oceanid nymphs. In Orphic Argonautica, her mother is called Asterope instead. Her brothers were Aeëtes, keeper of the Golden Fleece and father of Medea, and Perses. Her sister was Pasiphaë, the wife of King Minos and mother of the Minotaur. Other accounts make her and her niece Medea the daughters of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft by Aeëtes, usually said to be her brother instead. She was often confused with Calypso, due to her shifts in behavior and personality, and the association that both of them had with Odysseus.
According to Greek legend, Circe lived on the island of Aeaea. Although Homer is vague when it comes to the island's whereabouts, the early 3rd BC author Apollonius of Rhodes's epic poem Argonautica locates Aeaea somewhere south of Aethalia (Elba), within view of the Tyrrhenian shore (that is, the western coast of Italy). In the same poem, Circe's brother Aeëtes describes how Circe was transferred to Aeaea: "I noted it once after taking a ride in my father Helios' chariot, when he was taking my sister Circe to the western land and we came to the coast of the Tyrrhenian mainland, where she dwells to this day, very far from the Colchian land." A scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius claims that Apollonius is following Hesiod's tradition in making Circe arrive in Aeaea on Helios' chariot, while Valerius Flaccus writes that Circe was borne away by winged dragons. Roman poets associated her with the most ancient traditions of Latium, and made her home to be on the promontory of Circeo.
Homer describes Circe as "a dreadful goddess with lovely hair and human speech". Apollonius writes that she (just like every other descendant of Helios) had flashing golden eyes that shot out rays of light, with the author of Argonautica Orphica noting that she had hair like fiery rays. Ovid's The Cure for Love implies that Circe might have been taught the knowledge of herbs and potions from her mother Perse, who seems to have had similar skills.
Pre-Odyssey
in John William Waterhouse's Circe Invidiosa (1892)|alt=]]
In the Argonautica, Apollonius relates that Circe purified the Argonauts for the murder of Medea's brother Absyrtus, possibly reflecting an early tradition. In this poem, the Argonauts find Circe bathing in salt water; the animals that surround her are not former lovers transformed but primeval "beasts, not resembling the beasts of the wild, nor yet like men in body, but with a medley of limbs." Circe invites Jason, Medea and their crew into her mansion; uttering no words, they show her the still bloody sword they used to cut Absyrtus down, and Circe immediately realizes they have visited her to be purified of murder. She purifies them by slitting the throat of a suckling pig and letting the blood drip on them. Afterwards, Medea tells Circe their tale in great detail, albeit omitting the part of Absyrtus' murder; nevertheless Circe is not fooled, and greatly disapproves of their actions. However, out of pity for the girl, and on account of their kinship, she promises not to be an obstacle on their way, and orders Jason and Medea to leave her island immediately.
The sea-god Glaucus was in love with a beautiful maiden, Scylla, but she spurned his affections no matter how he tried to win her heart. Glaucus went to Circe, and asked her for a magic potion to make Scylla fall in love with him too. But Circe was smitten by Glaucus herself, and fell in love with him. Glaucus did not love her back, and turned down her offer of marriage. Enraged, Circe used her knowledge of herbs and plants to take her revenge; she found the spot where Scylla usually took her bath, and poisoned the water. When Scylla went down to it to bathe, dogs sprang from her thighs and she was transformed into the familiar monster from the Odyssey. In another, similar story, Picus was a Latian king whom Circe turned into a woodpecker. He was the son of Saturn, and a king of Latium. He fell in love and married a nymph, Canens, to whom he was utterly devoted. One day as he was hunting boars, he came upon Circe, who was gathering herbs in the woods. Circe fell immediately in love with him; but Picus, just like Glaucus before him, spurned her and declared that he would remain forever faithful to Canens. Circe, furious, turned Picus into a woodpecker. His wife Canens eventually wasted away in her mourning.
During the war between the gods and the giants, one of the giants, Picolous, fled the battle against the gods and came to Aeaea, Circe's island. He attempted to chase Circe away, only to be killed by Helios, Circe's ally and father. From the blood of the slain giant, a herb came into existence; moly, named thus from the battle (malos) and with a white-coloured flower, either for the white Sun who had killed Picolous or the terrified Circe who turned white; the very plant, which mortals are unable to pluck from the ground, that Hermes would later give to Odysseus in order to defeat Circe. Homer's Odyssey
's Circe (1910)]]
In Homer's Odyssey, an 8th-century BC sequel to his Trojan War epic Iliad, Circe is initially described as a beautiful goddess living in a palace isolated in the midst of a dense wood on her island of Aeaea. Around her home prowl strangely docile lions and wolves. She lures any who land on the island to her home with her lovely singing while weaving on an enormous loom, but later drugs them so that they change shape. One of her Homeric epithets is polypharmakos, "knowing many drugs or charms".
Circe invites the hero Odysseus' crew to a feast of familiar food, a pottage of cheese and meal, sweetened with honey and laced with wine, but also mixed with one of her magical potions that turns them into swine. Only Eurylochus, who suspects treachery, does not go in. He escapes to warn Odysseus and the others who have remained with the ship. Before Odysseus reaches Circe's palace, Hermes, the messenger god sent by the goddess of wisdom Athena, intercepts him and reveals how he might defeat Circe in order to free his crew from their enchantment. Hermes provides Odysseus with moly to protect him from Circe's magic. He also tells Odysseus that he must then draw his sword and act as if he were going to attack her. From there, as Hermes foretold, Circe would ask Odysseus to bed, but Hermes advises caution, for the treacherous goddess could still "unman" him unless he has her swear by the names of the gods that she will not take any further action against him. Following this advice, Odysseus is able to free his men.
After they have all remained on the island for a year, Circe advises Odysseus that he must first visit the Underworld, something a mortal has never yet done, in order to gain knowledge about how to appease the gods, return home safely and recover his kingdom. Circe also advises him on how this might be achieved and furnishes him with the protections he will need and the means to communicate with the dead. On his return, she further advises him about two possible routes home, warning him, however, that both carry great danger. Post-Odyssey
Towards the end of Hesiod's Theogony (c. 700 BC), it is stated that Circe bore Odysseus three sons: Agrius (otherwise unknown); Latinus; and Telegonus, who ruled over the Tyrsenoi, that is the Etruscans. The Telegony, an epic now lost, relates the later history of the last of these. Circe eventually informed her son who his absent father was and, when he set out to find Odysseus, gave him a poisoned spear. When Telegonus arrived in Ithaca, Odysseus was away in Thesprotia, fighting the Brygi. Telegonus began to ravage the island; Odysseus came to defend his land. With the weapon Circe gave him, Telegonus killed his father unknowingly. Telegonus then brought back his father's corpse to Aeaea, together with Penelope and Odysseus' son by her, Telemachus. After burying Odysseus, Circe made the other three immortal.
Circe married Telemachus, and Telegonus married Penelope by the advice of Athena. According to an alternative version depicted in Lycophron's 3rd-century BC poem Alexandra (and John Tzetzes' scholia on it), Circe used magical herbs to bring Odysseus back to life after he had been killed by Telegonus. Odysseus then gave Telemachus to Circe's daughter Cassiphone in marriage. Sometime later, Telemachus had a quarrel with his mother-in-law and killed her; Cassiphone then killed Telemachus to avenge her mother's death. On hearing of this, Odysseus died of grief.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1.72.5) cites Xenagoras, the 2nd-century BC historian, as claiming that Odysseus and Circe had three different sons: Rhomos, Anteias, and Ardeias, who respectively founded three cities called by their names: Rome, Antium, and Ardea. In the later 5th-century CE epic Dionysiaca, its author Nonnus mentions Phaunus, Circe's son by the sea god Poseidon.
Other works
Three ancient plays about Circe have been lost: the work of the tragedian Aeschylus and of the 4th-century BC comic dramatists Ephippus of Athens and Anaxilas. The first told the story of Odysseus' encounter with Circe. Vase paintings from the period suggest that Odysseus' half-transformed animal-men formed the chorus in place of the usual Satyrs. Fragments of Anaxilas also mention the transformation and one of the characters complains of the impossibility of scratching his face now that he is a pig.
The theme of Circe turning men into a variety of animals was elaborated by later writers. In his episodic work The Sorrows of Love (first century BC), Parthenius of Nicaea interpolated another episode into the time that Odysseus was staying with Circe. Pestered by the amorous attentions of King Calchus the Daunian, the sorceress invited him to a drugged dinner that turned him into a pig and then shut him up in her sties. He was only released when his army came searching for him on the condition that he would never set foot on her island again.
Among Latin treatments, Virgil's Aeneid relates how Aeneas skirts the Italian island where Circe dwells and hears the cries of her many male victims, who now number more than the pigs of earlier accounts: ''The roars of lions that refuse the chain, / The grunts of bristled boars, and groans of bears, / And herds of howling wolves that stun the sailors' ears.'' In Ovid's 1st-century poem Metamorphoses, the fourth episode covers Circe's encounter with Ulysses (the Roman name of Odysseus), whereas book 14 covers the stories of Picus and Glaucus.
Plutarch took up the theme in a lively dialogue that was later to have several imitators. Contained in his 1st-century Moralia is the Gryllus episode in which Circe allows Odysseus to interview a fellow Greek turned into a pig. After his interlocutor informs Odysseus that his present existence is preferable to the human, they engage in a philosophical dialogue in which every human value is questioned and beasts are proved to be of superior wisdom and virtue.
Ancient cult
Strabo writes that a tomb-shrine of Circe was attended in one of the Pharmacussae islands, off the coast of Attica, typical for hero-worship. Circe was also venerated in Mount Circeo, in the Italian peninsula, which took its name after her according to ancient legend. Strabo says that Circe had a shrine in the small town, and that the people there kept a bowl they claimed belonged to Odysseus. The promontory is occupied by ruins of a platform attributed with great probability to a temple of Venus or Circe.
Later literature
's De Claris Mulieribus, a catalogue of famous women, from a 1474 edition|alt]]
Giovanni Boccaccio provided a digest of what was known of Circe during the Middle Ages in his De mulieribus claris (Famous Women, 1361–1362). While following the tradition that she lived in Italy, he comments wryly that there are now many more temptresses like her to lead men astray.
There is a very different interpretation of the encounter with Circe in John Gower's long didactic poem Confessio Amantis (1380). Ulysses is depicted as deeper in sorcery and readier of tongue than Circe and through this means he leaves her pregnant with Telegonus. Most of the account deals with the son's later quest for and accidental killing of his father, drawing the moral that only evil can come of the use of sorcery.
The story of Ulysses and Circe was retold as an episode in Georg Rollenhagen's German verse epic, Froschmeuseler (The Frogs and Mice, Magdeburg, 1595). In this 600-page expansion of the pseudo-Homeric Batrachomyomachia, it is related at the court of the mice and takes up sections 5–8 of the first part.
In Lope de Vega's miscellany La Circe – con otras rimas y prosas (1624), the story of her encounter with Ulysses appears as a verse epic in three cantos. This takes its beginning from Homer's account, but it is then embroidered; in particular, Circe's love for Ulysses remains unrequited.
As "Circe's Palace", Nathaniel Hawthorne retold the Homeric account as the third section in his collection of stories from Greek mythology, Tanglewood Tales (1853). The transformed Picus continually appears in this, trying to warn Ulysses, and then Eurylochus, of the danger to be found in the palace, and is rewarded at the end by being given back his human shape. In most accounts Ulysses only demands this for his own men.
In her survey of the Transformations of Circe, Judith Yarnall comments of this figure, who started out as a comparatively minor goddess of unclear origin, that "What we know for certain – what Western literature attests to – is her remarkable staying power…These different versions of Circe's myth can be seen as mirrors, sometimes clouded and sometimes clear, of the fantasies and assumptions of the cultures that produced them." After appearing as just one of the characters that Odysseus encounters on his wandering, "Circe herself, in the twists and turns of her story through the centuries, has gone through far more metamorphoses than those she inflicted on Odysseus's companions."
Reasoning beasts
's fresco of Circe returning Ulysses' followers to human form (c. 1610)|left]]
One of the most enduring literary themes connected with the figure of Circe was her ability to change men into animals. There was much speculation concerning how this could be, whether the human consciousness changed at the same time, and even whether it was a change for the better. The Gryllus dialogue was taken up by another Italian writer, Giovan Battista Gelli, in his La Circe (1549). This is a series of ten philosophical and moral dialogues between Ulysses and the humans transformed into various animals, ranging from an oyster to an elephant, in which Circe sometimes joins. Most argue against changing back; only the last animal, a philosopher in its former existence, wants to. The work was translated into English soon after in 1557 by Henry Iden. Later the English poet Edmund Spenser also made reference to Plutarch's dialogue in the section of his Faerie Queene (1590) based on the Circe episode which appears at the end of Book II. Sir Guyon changes back the victims of Acrasia's erotic frenzy in the Bower of Bliss, most of whom are abashed at their fall from chivalric grace, But one above the rest in speciall, / That had an hog beene late, hight Grille by name, / Repined greatly, and did him miscall, / That had from hoggish forme him brought to naturall.
Two other Italians wrote rather different works that centre on the animal within the human. One was Niccolò Machiavelli in his unfinished long poem, ''L'asino d'oro (The Golden Ass'', 1516). The author meets a beautiful herdswoman surrounded by Circe's herd of beasts. After spending a night of love with him, she explains the characteristics of the animals in her charge: the lions are the brave, the bears are the violent, the wolves are those forever dissatisfied, and so on (Canto 6). In Canto 7 he is introduced to those who experience frustration: a cat that has allowed its prey to escape; an agitated dragon; a fox constantly on the look-out for traps; a dog that bays the moon; Aesop's lion in love that allowed himself to be deprived of his teeth and claws. There are also emblematic satirical portraits of various Florentine personalities. In the eighth and last canto he has a conversation with a pig that, like the Gryllus of Plutarch, does not want to be changed back and condemns human greed, cruelty and conceit.
The other Italian author was the esoteric philosopher Giordano Bruno, who wrote in Latin. His Cantus Circaeus (The Incantation of Circe) was the fourth work on memory and the association of ideas by him to be published in 1582. It contains a series of poetic dialogues, in the first of which, after a long series of incantations to the seven planets of the Hermetic tradition, most humans appear changed into different creatures in the scrying bowl. The sorceress Circe is then asked by her handmaiden Moeris about the type of behaviour with which each is associated. According to Circe, for instance, fireflies are the learned, wise, and illustrious amidst idiots, asses, and obscure men (Question 32). In later sections different characters discuss the use of images in the imagination in order to facilitate use of the art of memory, which is the real aim of the work.
French writers were to take their lead from Gelli in the following century. Antoine Jacob wrote a one-act social comedy in rhyme, Les Bestes raisonnables (The Reasoning Beasts, 1661) which allowed him to satirise contemporary manners. On the isle of Circe, Ulysses encounters an ass that was once a doctor, a lion that had been a valet, a female doe and a horse, all of whom denounce the decadence of the times. The ass sees human asses everywhere, Asses in the town square, asses in the suburbs, / Asses in the provinces, asses proud at court, / Asses browsing in the meadows, military asses trooping, / Asses tripping it at balls, asses in the theatre stalls.'' To drive the point home, in the end it is only the horse, formerly a courtesan, who wants to return to her former state.
The same theme occupies La Fontaine's late fable, "The Companions of Ulysses" (XII.1, 1690), which also echoes Plutarch and Gelli. Once transformed, every animal (which includes a lion, a bear, a wolf and a mole) protests that their lot is better and refuses to be restored to human shape. Charles Dennis shifted this fable to stand at the head of his translation of La Fontaine, Select Fables (1754), but provides his own conclusion that ''When Mortals from the path of Honour stray, / And the strong passions over reason sway, / What are they then but Brutes? / 'Tis vice alone that constitutes / Th'enchanting wand and magic bowl, The exterior form of Man they wear, / But are in fact both Wolf and Bear, / The transformation's in the Soul.
Louis Fuzelier and Marc-Antoine Legrand titled their comic opera of 1718 Les animaux raisonnables''. It had more or less the same scenario transposed into another medium and set to music by Jacques Aubert. Circe, wishing to be rid of the company of Ulysses, agrees to change back his companions, but only the dolphin is willing. The others, who were formerly a corrupt judge (now a wolf), a financier (a pig), an abused wife (a hen), a deceived husband (a bull) and a flibbertigibbet (a linnet), find their present existence more agreeable.
's Ulysses at the Palace of Circe (1667)]]
The Venetian Gasparo Gozzi was another Italian who returned to Gelli for inspiration in the 14 prose ''Dialoghi dell'isola di Circe (Dialogues from Circe's Island'') published as journalistic pieces between 1760 and 1764. In this moral work, the aim of Ulysses in talking to the beasts is to learn more of the human condition. It includes figures from fable (The fox and the crow, XIII) and from myth to illustrate its vision of society at variance. Far from needing the intervention of Circe, the victims find their natural condition as soon as they set foot on the island. The philosopher here is not Gelli's elephant but the bat that retreats from human contact into the darkness, like Bruno's fireflies (VI). The only one who wishes to change in Gozzi's work is the bear, a satirist who had dared to criticize Circe and had been changed as a punishment (IX).
There were two more satirical dramas in later centuries. One modelled on the Gryllus episode in Plutarch occurs as a chapter of Thomas Love Peacock's late novel, Gryll Grange (1861), under the title "Aristophanes in London". Half Greek comedy, half Elizabethan masque, it is acted at the Grange by the novel's characters as a Christmas entertainment. In it Spiritualist mediums raise Circe and Gryllus and try to convince the latter of the superiority of modern times, which he rejects as intellectually and materially regressive. An Italian work drawing on the transformation theme was the comedy by Ettore Romagnoli, La figlia del Sole (The Daughter of the Sun, 1919). Hercules arrives on the island of Circe with his servant Cercopo and has to be rescued by the latter when he too is changed into a pig. But, since the naturally innocent other animals had become corrupted by imitating human vices, the others who had been changed were refused when they begged to be rescued.
Also in England, Austin Dobson engaged more seriously with Homer's account of the transformation of Odysseus' companions when, though Head, face and members bristle into swine, / Still cursed with sense, their mind remains alone. Dobson's "The Prayer of the Swine to Circe" (1640) depicts the horror of being imprisoned in an animal body in this way with the human consciousness unchanged. There appears to be no relief, for only in the final line is it revealed that Odysseus has arrived to free them. But in Matthew Arnold's dramatic poem "The Strayed Reveller" (1849), in which Circe is one of the characters, the power of her potion is differently interpreted. The inner tendencies unlocked by it are not the choice between animal nature and reason but between two types of impersonality, between divine clarity and the poet's participatory and tragic vision of life. In the poem, Circe discovers a youth laid asleep in the portico of her temple by a draught of her ivy-wreathed bowl. On awaking from possession by the poetic frenzy it has induced, he craves for it to be continued.
Sexual politics
With the Renaissance there began to be a reinterpretation of what it was that changed the men, if it was not simply magic. For Socrates, in Classical times, it had been gluttony overcoming their self-control. But for the influential emblematist Andrea Alciato, it was unchastity. In the second edition of his Emblemata (1546), therefore, Circe became the type of the prostitute. His Emblem 76 is titled Cavendum a meretricibus; its accompanying Latin verses mention Picus, Scylla and the companions of Ulysses, and concludes that "Circe with her famous name indicates a whore and any who loves such a one loses his reason". His English imitator Geoffrey Whitney used a variation of Alciato's illustration in his own Choice of Emblemes (1586) but gave it the new title of Homines voluptatibus transformantur, men are transformed by their passions. This explains her appearance in the Nighttown section named after her in James Joyce's novel Ulysses. Written in the form of a stage script, it makes of Circe the brothel madam, Bella Cohen. Bloom, the book's protagonist, fantasizes that she turns into a cruel man-tamer named Mr Bello who makes him get down on all fours and rides him like a horse.
By the 19th century, Circe was ceasing to be a mythical figure. Poets treated her either as an individual or at least as the type of a certain kind of woman. The French poet Albert Glatigny addresses "Circé" in his (1857) and makes of her a voluptuous opium dream, the magnet of masochistic fantasies. Louis-Nicolas Ménard's sonnet in (1876) describes her as enchanting all with her virginal look, but appearance belies the accursed reality. Poets in English were not far behind in this lurid portrayal. Lord de Tabley's "Circe" (1895) is a thing of decadent perversity likened to a tulip, ''A flaunting bloom, naked and undivine... / With freckled cheeks and splotch'd side serpentine, / A gipsy among flowers.
(c. 1630)]]
That central image is echoed by the blood-striped flower of T.S.Eliot's student poem "Circe's Palace" (1909) in the Harvard Advocate. Circe herself does not appear, her character is suggested by what is in the grounds and the beasts in the forest beyond: panthers, pythons, and peacocks that look at us with the eyes of men whom we knew long ago. Rather than a temptress, she has become an emasculatory threat.
Several female poets make Circe stand up for herself, using the soliloquy form to voice the woman's position. The 19th-century English poet Augusta Webster, much of whose writing explored the female condition, has a dramatic monologue in blank verse titled "Circe" in her volume Portraits (1870). There the sorceress anticipates her meeting with Ulysses and his men and insists that she does not turn men into pigs—she merely takes away the disguise that makes them seem human. But any draught, pure water, natural wine, / out of my cup, revealed them to themselves / and to each other. Change? there was no change; / only disguise gone from them unawares. The mythological character of the speaker contributes at a safe remove to the Victorian discourse on women's sexuality by expressing female desire and criticizing the subordinate role given to women in heterosexual politics.
Two American poets also explored feminine psychology in poems ostensibly about the enchantress. Leigh Gordon Giltner's "Circe" was included in her collection The Path of Dreams (1900), the first stanza of which relates the usual story of men turned into swine by her spell. But then a second stanza presents a sensuous portrait of an unnamed woman, very much in the French vein; once more, it concludes, "A Circe's spells transform men into swine". This is no passive victim of male projections but a woman conscious of her sexual power. So too is H.D.'s "Circe", from her collection Hymen (1921). In her soliloquy she reviews the conquests with which she has grown bored, then mourns the one instance when she failed. In not naming Ulysses himself, Doolittle universalises an emotion with which all women might identify. At the end of the century, British poet Carol Ann Duffy wrote a monologue entitled Circe which pictures the goddess addressing an audience of "nereids and nymphs". In this outspoken episode in the war between the sexes, Circe describes the various ways in which all parts of a pig could and should be cooked.
's Circe and Her Lovers in a Landscape (c. 1525)]]
Another indication of the progression in interpreting the Circe figure is given by two poems a century apart, both of which engage with paintings of her. The first is the sonnet that Dante Gabriel Rossetti wrote in response to Edward Burne-Jones' "The Wine of Circe" in his volume Poems (1870). It gives a faithful depiction of the painting's Pre-Raphaelite mannerism but its description of Circe's potion as "distilled of death and shame" also accords with the contemporary (male) identification of Circe with perversity. This is further underlined by his statement (in a letter) that the black panthers there are "images of ruined passion" and by his anticipation at the end of the poem of ''passion's tide-strown shore / Where the disheveled seaweed hates the sea''. The Australian A. D. Hope's "Circe – after the painting by Dosso Dossi", on the other hand, frankly admits humanity's animal inheritance as natural and something in which even Circe shares. In the poem, he links the fading rationality and speech of her lovers to her own animal cries in the act of love.
There remain some poems that bear her name that have more to do with their writers' private preoccupations than with reinterpreting her myth. The link with it in Margaret Atwood's "Circe/Mud Poems", first published in You Are Happy (1974), is more a matter of allusion and is nowhere overtly stated beyond the title. It is a reflection on contemporary gender politics that scarcely needs the disguises of Augusta Webster's. With two other poems by male writers it is much the same: Louis Macneice's, for example, whose "Circe" appeared in his first volume, Poems (London, 1935); or Robert Lowell's, whose "Ulysses and Circe" appeared in his last, Day by Day (New York, 1977). Both poets have appropriated the myth to make a personal statement about their broken relationships.Parallels and sequels
Several Renaissance epics of the 16th century include lascivious sorceresses based on the Circe figure. These generally live in an isolated spot devoted to pleasure, to which lovers are lured and later changed into beasts. They include the following:
* Alcina in the Orlando Furioso (Mad Roland, 1516, 1532) of Ludovico Ariosto, set at the time of Charlemagne. Among its many sub-plots is the episode in which the Saracen champion Ruggiero is taken captive by the sorceress and has to be freed from her magic island.
* The lovers of Filidia in Il Tancredi (1632) by Ascanio Grandi (1567–1647) have been changed into monsters and are liberated by the virtuous Tancred.
* Armida in Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered, 1566–1575, published 1580) is a Saracen sorceress sent by the infernal senate to sow discord among the Crusaders camped before Jerusalem, where she succeeds in changing a party of them into animals. Planning to assassinate the hero, Rinaldo, she falls in love with him instead and creates an enchanted garden where she holds him a lovesick prisoner who has forgotten his former identity.
* Acrasia in Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene, mentioned above, is a seductress of knights and holds them enchanted in her Bower of Bliss.
Later scholarship has identified elements from the character of both Circe and especially her fellow enchantress Medea as contributing to the development of the mediaeval legend of Morgan le Fay. In addition, it has been argued that the fairy Titania in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1600) is an inversion of Circe. Titania (daughter of the Titans) was a title by which the sorceress was known in Classical times. In this case the tables are turned on the character, who is queen of the fairies. She is made to love an ass after, rather than before, he is transformed into his true animal likeness.
's 1815 watercolour of Comus and his animal-headed revellers|alt=|left]]
It has further been suggested that John Milton's Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle (1634) is a sequel to Tempe Restored, a masque in which Circe had figured two years earlier, and that the situation presented there is a reversal of the Greek myth. At the start of the masque, the character Comus is described as the son of Circe by Bacchus, god of wine, and the equal of his mother in enchantment. He too changes travelers into beastly forms that "roll with pleasure in a sensual sty". Having waylaid the heroine and immobilized her on an enchanted chair, he stands over her, wand in hand, and presses on her a magical cup (representing sexual pleasure and intemperance), which she repeatedly refuses, arguing for the virtuousness of temperance and chastity. The picture presented is a mirror image of the Classical story. In place of the witch who easily seduces the men she meets, a male enchanter is resisted by female virtue.
In the 20th century, the Circe episode was to be re-evaluated in two poetic sequels to the Odyssey. In the first of these, Giovanni Pascoli's (The Last Voyage, 1906), the aging hero sets out to rediscover the emotions of his youth by retracing his journey from Troy, only to discover that the island of Eea is deserted. What in his dream of love he had taken for the roaring of lions and Circe's song was now no more than the sound of the sea-wind in autumnal oaks (Cantos 16–17).
This melancholy dispelling of illusion is echoed in The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel (1938) by Nikos Kazantzakis. The fresh voyage in search of new meaning to life recorded there grows out of the hero's initial rejection of his past experiences in the first two sections. The Circe episode is viewed by him as a narrow escape from death of the spirit: With twisted hands and thighs we rolled on burning sands, / a hanging mess of hissing vipers glued in sun!... / Farewell the brilliant voyage, ended! Prow and soul / moored in the muddy port of the contented beast! / O prodigal, much-traveled soul, is this your country? His escape from this mire of sensuality comes one day when the sight of some fishermen, a mother and her baby enjoying the simple comforts of food and drink, recalls him to life, its duties and delights. Where the attempt by Pascoli's hero to recapture the past ended in failure, Kazantzakis' Odysseus, already realising the emptiness of his experiences, journeys into what he hopes will be a fuller future.
Visual representations
Ancient art
Scenes from the Odyssey are common on Greek pottery, the Circe episode among them. The two most common representations have Circe surrounded by the transformed sailors and Odysseus threatening the sorceress with his sword. In the case of the former, the animals are not always boars but also include, for instance, the ram, dog and lion on the 6th-century BC Boston kylix. Often the transformation is only partial, involving the head and perhaps a sprouting tail, while the rest of the body is human. In describing an otherwise obscure 5th-century Greek bronze in the Walters Art Museum that takes the form of a man on all fours with the foreparts of a pig, the commentator asks in what other way could an artist depict someone bewitched other than as a man with an animal head. In these scenes Circe is shown almost invariably stirring the potion with her wand, although the incident as described in Homer has her use the wand only to bewitch the sailors after they have refreshed themselves. One exception is the Berlin amphora on which the seated Circe holds the wand towards a half transformed man.
In the second scene, Odysseus threatens the sorceress with a drawn sword, as Homer describes it. However, he is sometimes depicted carrying spears as well, as in the Athens lekythos, while Homer reports that it was a bow he had slung over his shoulder. In this episode Circe is generally shown in flight, and on the Erlangen lekythos can clearly be seen dropping the bowl and wand behind her. Two curiously primitive wine bowls incorporate the Homeric detail of Circe's handloom, at which the men approaching her palace could hear her singing sweetly as she worked. In the 5th-century skyphos from Boeotia an apparently crippled Odysseus leans on a crutch while a woman with African features holds out a disproportionately large bowl. In the other, a pot-bellied hero brandishes a sword while Circe stirs her potion. Both these may depict the scene as represented in one or other of the comic satyr plays which deal with their encounter. Little remains of these now beyond a few lines by Aeschylus, Ephippus of Athens and Anaxilas. Other vase paintings from the period suggest that Odysseus' half-transformed animal-men formed the chorus in place of the usual satyrs. The reason that it should be a subject of such plays is that wine drinking was often central to their plot. Later writers were to follow Socrates in interpreting the episode as illustrating the dangers of drunkenness.
Other artefacts depicting the story include the chest of Cypselus described in the travelogue by Pausanias. Among its many carvings "there is a grotto and in it a woman sleeping with a man upon a couch. I was of opinion that they were Odysseus and Circe, basing my view upon the number of the handmaidens in front of the grotto and upon what they are doing. For the women are four, and they are engaged on the tasks which Homer mentions in his poetry". The passage in question describes how one of them "threw linen covers over the chairs and spread fine purple fabrics on top. Another drew silver tables up to the chairs, and laid out golden dishes, while a third mixed sweet honeyed wine in a silver bowl, and served it in golden cups. The fourth fetched water and lit a roaring fire beneath a huge cauldron". This suggests a work of considerable detail, while the Etruscan coffin preserved in Orvieto's archaeological museum has only four figures. At the centre Odysseus threatens Circe with drawn sword while an animal headed figure stands on either side, one of them laying his hand familiarly on the hero's shoulder. A bronze mirror relief in the Fitzwilliam Museum is also Etruscan and is inscribed with the names of the characters. There a pig is depicted at Circe's feet, while Odysseus and Elpenor approach her, swords drawn.Portraits in characterDuring the 18th century painters began to portray individual actors in scenes from named plays. There was also a tradition of private performances, with a variety of illustrated works to help with stage properties and costumes. Among these was Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern (1757–1772) which included a copperplate engraving of a crowned Circe in loose dress, holding a goblet aloft in her right hand and a long wand in her left. Evidence of such performances during the following decades is provided by several portraits in character, of which one of the earliest was the pastel by Daniel Gardner (1750–1805) of "Miss Elliot as Circe". The artist had been a pupil of both George Romney and Joshua Reynolds, who themselves were soon to follow his example. On the 1778 engraving based on Gardner's portrait appear the lines from Milton's Comus: The daughter of the Sun, whose charmed cup / Whoever tasted, lost his upright shape / And downward fell into a grovelling swine, in compliment to the charm of this marriageable daughter of a country house. As in the Jefferys' plate, she wears a silver coronet over tumbled dark hair, with a wand in the right hand and a goblet in the left. In hindsight the frank eyes that look directly at the viewer and the rosebud mouth are too innocent for the role Miss Elliot is playing.
The subjects of later paintings impersonating Circe have a history of sexual experience behind them, starting with "Mary Spencer in the character of Circe" by William Caddick, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1780. The subject here was the mistress of the painter George Stubbs. A portrait of "Mrs Nesbitt as Circe" by Reynolds followed in 1781. Though this lady's past was ambiguous, she had connections with those in power and was used by the Government as a secret agent. In the painting she is seated sideways, wearing a white, loose-fitting dress, with a wand in her right hand and a gilded goblet near her left. A monkey is crouching above her in the branches of a tree and a panther fraternizes with the kitten on her knee. While the painting undoubtedly alludes to her reputation, it also places itself within the tradition of dressing up in character.
's portrait of Emma Hamilton as Circe]]
Soon afterwards, the notorious Emma Hamilton was to raise this to an art form, partly by the aid of George Romney's many paintings of her impersonations. Romney's preliminary study of Emma's head and shoulders, at present in the Tate Gallery, with its piled hair, expressive eyes and mouth, is reminiscent of Samuel Gardener's portrait of Miss Elliot. In the full-length "Lady Hamilton as Circe" at Waddesdon Manor, she is placed in a wooded landscape with wolves snarling to her left, although the tiger originally there has now been painted out. Her left arm is raised to cast a spell while the wand points downward in her right. After Emma moved to Naples and joined Lord Hamilton, she developed what she called her "Attitudes" into a more public entertainment. Specially designed, loose-fitting tunics were paired with large shawls or veils as she posed in such a way as to evoke figures from Classical mythology. These developed from mere poses, with the audience guessing the names of the classical characters and scenes that she portrayed, into small, wordless charades.
The tradition of dressing up in character continued into the following centuries. One of the photographic series by Julia Margaret Cameron, a pupil of the painter George Frederic Watts, was of mythical characters, for whom she used the children of friends and servants as models. Young Kate Keown sat for the head of "Circe" in about 1865 and is pictured wearing a grape and vineleaf headdress to suggest the character's use of wine to bring a change in personality. The society portrait photographer Yevonde Middleton, also known as Madame Yevonde, was to use a 1935 aristocratic charity ball as the foundation for her own series of mythological portraits in colour. Its participants were invited to her studio afterwards to pose in their costumes. There Baroness Dacre is pictured as Circe with a leafy headdress about golden ringlets and clasping a large Baroque porcelain goblet.
A decade earlier, the illustrator Charles Edmund Brock extended into the 20th century what is almost a pastiche of the 18th-century conversation piece in his "Circe and the Sirens" (1925). In this the Honourable Edith Chaplin (1878–1959), Marchioness of Londonderry, and her three youngest daughters are pictured in a garden setting grouped about a large pet goat. Three women painters also produced portraits using the convention of the sitter in character. The earliest was Beatrice Offor (1864–1920), whose sitter's part in her 1911 painting of Circe is suggested by the vine-leaf crown in her long dark hair, the snake-twined goblet she carries and the snake bracelet on her left arm. Mary Cecil Allen was of Australian origin but was living in the United States at the time "Miss Audrey Stevenson as Circe" was painted (1930). Though only a head and shoulders sketch, its colouring and execution suggest the sitter's lively personality. Rosemary Valodon (born 1947), from the same country, painted a series of Australian personalities in her goddess series. "Margarita Georgiadis as Circe" (1991) is a triptych, the central panel of which portrays an updated, naked femme fatale reclining in tropical vegetation next to a pig's head.
One painting at least depicts an actress playing the part of Circe. This is Franz von Stuck's striking portrait of Tilla Durieux as Circe (1913). She played this part in a Viennese revival of Calderon's play in 1912 and there is a publicity still of her by Isidor Hirsch in which she is draped across a sofa and wearing an elaborate crown. Her enticing expression and the turn of her head there is almost exactly that of Van Stuck's enchantress as she holds out the poisoned bowl. It suggests the use of certain posed publicity photos in creating the same iconic effect as had paintings in the past. A nearly contemporary example was the 1907 photo of Mme Geneviève Vix as Circe in the light opera by Lucien Hillenacher at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. The posing of the actress and the cropping of the image so as to highlight her luxurious costume demonstrates its ambition to create an effect that goes beyond the merely theatrical. A later example is the still of Silvana Mangano in her part as Circe in the 1954 film Ulysses, which is as cunningly posed for effect.
Musical treatments
Cantata and song
Beside the verse dramas, with their lyrical interludes, on which many operas were based, there were poetic texts which were set as secular cantatas. One of the earliest was Alessandro Stradella's La Circe, in a setting for three voices that bordered on the operatic. It was first performed at Frascati in 1667 to honour Cardinal Leopoldo de Medici and contained references to its surroundings. In the opening recitative, Circe explains that it was her son Telegonus who founded Frascati. The other characters with whom she enters into dialogue are the south wind (Zeffiro) and the local river Algido. In the following century, Antonio Vivaldi's cantata (In the shadow of doubt, RV 678) is set for a single voice and depicts Circe addressing Ulysses. The countertenor part is accompanied by flute, harpsichord, cello, and theorbo and features two recitatives and two arias. The piece is famous for the dialogue created between flute and voice, conjuring the moment of flirtation before the two become lovers.
The most successful treatment of the Ulysses episode in French was Jean-Baptiste Rousseau's poem Circé (1703), that was specifically written to be a cantata. The different verse forms employed allow the piece to be divided by the musicians that set it in order to express a variety of emotions. The poem opens with the abandoned Circe sitting on a high mountain and mourning the departure of Ulysses. The sorceress then calls on the infernal gods and makes a terrible sacrifice: ''A myriad vapours obscure the light, / The stars of the night interrupt their course, / Astonished rivers retreat to their source / And even Death's god trembles in the dark. But though the earth is shaken to its core, Love is not to be commanded in this way and the wintery fields come back to life.
The earliest setting was by Jean-Baptiste Morin in 1706 and was popular for most of the rest of the century. One of its final moralising minuets, (Love won't be forced) was often performed independently and the score reprinted in many song collections. The flautist Michel Blavet arranged the music for this and the poem's final stanza, (In the fields that Winter wastes), for two flutes in 1720. The new setting of the cantata three years later by Francois Collin de Blamont was equally successful and made the name of its nineteen-year-old composer. Originally for voice and bass continuo, it was expanded and considerably revised in 1729, with parts for flute, violin and viol added. Towards the end of the century, the choral setting by Georges Granges de Fontenelle (1769–1819) was equally to bring its young composer fame.
Rousseau's poem was also familiar to composers of other nationalities. Set for mezzo-soprano and full orchestra, it was given almost operatic treatment by the court composer Luigi Cherubini in 1789. Franz Seydelmann set it for soprano and full orchestra in Dresden in 1787 at the request of the Russian ambassador to the Saxon Court, Prince Alexander Belosselsky, who spoke highly of Seydelmann's work. A later setting by Austrian composer Sigismond von Neukomm for soprano and full orchestra (Op. 4, 1810) was judged favorably by French musicologist Jacques Chailley in his 1966 article for the journal .
Recent treatments of the Circe theme include the Irish composer Gerard Victory's radio cantata Circe 1991 (1973–1975), David Gribble's A Threepenny Odyssey, a fifteen-minute cantata for young people which includes the episode on Circe's Isle, and Malcolm Hayes' Odysseus remembers (2003–04), which includes parts for Circe, Anticleia and Tiresias. Gerald Humel's song cycle Circe (1998) grew out of his work on his 1993 ballet with Thomas Höft. The latter subsequently wrote seven poems in German featuring Circe's role as seductress in a new light: here it is to freedom and enlightenment that she tempts her hearers. Another cycle of Seven Songs for High Voice and Piano (2008) by the American composer Martin Hennessey includes the poem "Circe's Power" from Louise Glück's Meadowlands (1997).
There have also been treatments of Circe in popular music, in particular the relation of the Odysseus episode in Friedrich Holländer's song of 1958. In addition, text in Homeric Greek is included in the "Circe's Island" episode in David Bedford's The Odyssey (1976). This was the ancestor of several later electronic suites that reference the Odysseus legend, with "Circe" titles among them, having little other programmatic connection with the myth itself.
Classical ballet and programmatic music
After classical ballet separated from theatrical spectacle into a wordless form in which the story is expressed solely through movement, the subject of Circe was rarely visited. It figured as the first episode of three with mythological themes in (New Shows), staged by Sieur Duplessis le cadet in 1734, but the work was taken off after its third performance and not revived. The choreographer Antoine Pitrot also staged , describing it as a ballet sérieux, heroï-pantomime in 1764. Thereafter there seems to be nothing until the revival of ballet in the 20th century.
In 1963, the American choreographer Martha Graham created her Circe with a score by Alan Hovhaness. Its theme is psychological, representing the battle with animal instincts. The beasts portrayed extend beyond swine and include a goat, a snake, a lion and a deer. The theme has been described as one of "highly charged erotic action", although set in "a world where sexual frustration is rampant". In that same decade Rudolf Brucci composed his Kirka (1967) in Croatia.
There is a Circe episode in John Harbison's Ulysses (Act 1, scene 2, 1983) in which the song of the enchantress is represented by ondes Martenot and tuned percussion. After the sailors of Ullyses are transformed into animals by her spell, a battle of wills follows between Circe and the hero. Though the men are changed back, Ulysses is charmed by her in his turn. In 1993, a full scale treatment of the story followed in Gerald Humel's two-act Circe und Odysseus. Also psychological in intent, it represents Circe's seduction of the restless hero as ultimately unsuccessful. The part played by the geometrical set in its Berlin production was particularly notable.
While operas on the subject of Circe did not cease, they were overtaken for a while by the new musical concept of the symphonic poem which, whilst it does not use a sung text, similarly seeks a union of music and drama. A number of purely musical works fall into this category from the late 19th century onwards, of which one of the first was Heinrich von Herzogenberg's Odysseus (Op.16, 1873). A Wagnerian symphony for large orchestra, dealing with the hero's return from the Trojan war, its third section is titled "Circe's Gardens" (Die Gärten der Circe).
In the 20th century, 's cycle Aus Odysseus Fahrten (''From Odysseus' Voyage'', Op. 6, 1903) was equally programmatic and included the visit to Circe's Isle (Die Insel der Circe) as its second long section. After a depiction of the sea voyage, a bass clarinet passage introduces an ensemble of flute, harp and solo violin over a lightly orchestrated accompaniment, suggesting Circe's seductive attempt to hold Odysseus back from traveling further. Alan Hovhaness' Circe Symphony (No.18, Op. 204a, 1963) is a late example of such programmatic writing. It is, in fact, only a slightly changed version of his ballet music of that year, with the addition of more strings, a second timpanist and celesta.
With the exception of Willem Frederik Bon's prelude for orchestra (1972), most later works have been for a restricted number of instruments. They include Hendrik de Regt's Circe (Op. 44, 1975) for clarinet, violin and piano; Christian Manen's Les Enchantements De Circe (Op. 96, 1975) for bassoon and piano; and Jacques Lenot's Cir(c)é (1986) for oboe d'amore. The German experimental musician Dieter Schnebel's Circe (1988) is a work for harp, the various sections of which are titled Signale (signals), Säuseln (whispers), Verlockungen (enticements), Pein (pain), Schläge (strokes) and Umgarnen (snare), which give some idea of their programmatic intent.
Thea Musgrave's "Circe" for three flutes (1996) was eventually to become the fourth piece in her six-part Voices from the Ancient World for various combinations of flute and percussion (1998). Her note on these explains that their purpose is to "describe some of the personages of ancient Greece" and that Circe was "the enchantress who changed men into beasts". A recent reference is the harpsichordist Fernando De Luca's Sonata II for viola da gamba titled "Circe's Cave" (''L'antro della maga Circe). Opera
* La Circe by Pietro Andrea Ziani, first performed for the birthday of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I in Vienna in 1665.
* Circe, an opera composed by Henri Desmarets in 1694.
* La Circe, a 1779 opera seria'' by Josef Mysliveček.
* Rolf Riehm's 2014 opera Sirenen is based on Homer's account as well as several modern texts related to the meeting of Odysseus and Circe.
Scientific interpretations
In later Christian opinion, Circe was an abominable witch using miraculous powers to evil ends. When the existence of witches came to be questioned, she was reinterpreted as a depressive suffering from delusions.
In botany, the Circaea are plants belonging to the enchanter's nightshade genus. The name was given by botanists in the late 16th century in the belief that this was the herb used by Circe to charm Odysseus' companions. Medical historians have speculated that the transformation to pigs was not intended literally but refers to anticholinergic intoxication with the plant Datura stramonium. Symptoms include amnesia, hallucinations, and delusions. The description of "moly" fits the snowdrop, a flower that contains galantamine, which is a long lasting anticholinesterase and can therefore counteract anticholinergics that are introduced to the body after it has been consumed. – claimed descent from Mamilia, a granddaughter of Odysseus and Circe through Telegonus. One of the most well known of them was Octavius Mamilius (died 498 BC), princeps of Tusculum and son-in-law of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus the seventh and last king of Rome.
* Linnaeus named a genus of the Venus clams (Veneridae) after Circe in 1778 (species Circe scripta (Linnaeus, 1758) and others).
* Her name has been given to 34 Circe, a large, dark main-belt asteroid first sighted in 1855.
* There are a variety of chess variants named Circe in which captured pieces are reborn on their starting positions. The rules for this were formulated in 1968.
* The Circe effect, coined by the enzymologist William Jencks, refers to a scenario where an enzyme lures its substrate towards it through electrostatic forces exhibited by the enzyme molecule before transforming it into a product. Where this takes place, the catalytic velocity (rate of reaction) of the enzyme may be significantly faster than that of others.
In popular culture
Genealogy
See also
* Greek Magical Papyri
* Nostalgie de la boue
* Perimede – a Greek mythological witch.
* Urganda – a figure in Iberian myth often identified as Circe.
References
Bibliography
Ancient
* Hesiod, Theogony, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Homer; The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica; with an English translation by R. C. Seaton. William Heinemann, 1912.
* Apollodorus, Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionidC431BA809CA4DEA22A15DA9C666F3400?docPerseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0022%3atext%3dLibrary Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Vergil, Aeneid. Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0054%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Ovid. Metamorphoses. Translated by A. D. Melville; introduction and notes by E. J. Kenney, Oxford University Press, 2008.
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, [http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae1.html The Myths of Hyginus]. Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, Remedia Amoris in The Love Poems: The Amores, Ars Amatoria and Remedia Amoris, with an English translation by A. S. Kline. 2001. [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Lovepoemshome.php Full text available at poetryintranslation.com].
* Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1–2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0540 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0053 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Plutarch, Moralia. 16 vols. (vol. 13: 13.1 & 13.2, vol. 16: index), transl. by Frank Cole Babbitt (vol. 1–5) et al., series: "Loeb Classical Library" (LCL, vols. 197–499). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press et al., 1927–2004.
* Parthenius of Nicaea, Parthenius of Nicaea: the poetical fragments and the Erōtika pathēmata J.L. Lightfoot, 2000, . Reviewed by Christopher Francese at [https://web.archive.org/web/20100505054018/http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2000/2000-04-14.html The Bryn Mawr Classical Review]
* Lactantius Placidus, Commentarii in Statii Thebaida.
* Strabo, The Geographica, published in Vol. II of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1923.
Modern
* Grimal, Pierre, [https://books.google.com/books?idiOx6de8LUNAC The Dictionary of Classical Mythology], Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, . [https://books.google.com/books?idiOx6de8LUNAC&q=Circe "Circe" p. 104].
* Milton, John, A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle [Comus] line 153 "mother Circe".
* Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?docPerseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DC%3Aentry+group%3D23%3Aentry%3Dcirce-bio-1 "Circe"]. External links
* [https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kirke.html CIRCE on The Theoi Project]
* [http://www.maicar.com/GML/Circe.html CIRCE on Greek Mythology Link]
* [https://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Circe/circe.html CIRCE from greekmythology.com]
* [https://mythopedia.com/topics/circe CIRCE from mythopedia]
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Category:Magic goddesses
Category:Women of Odysseus | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.036627 |
5958 | CPR (disambiguation) | Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure to assist someone who has suffered cardiac arrest.
CPR may also refer to:
Science and technology
Candidate phyla radiation, bacteria precursors.
Certificate Problem Report, a notice to certificate authorities informing them of a reasonable cause to revoke a digital certificate.
Classification of Pharmaco-Therapeutic Referrals, a taxonomy to define situations requiring a referral from pharmacists to physicians
COM port redirection in computing
Competent Persons Report, in Oil and Gas; see Lancaster oilfield
Continuous Plankton Recorder, marine biological monitoring program
Curved planar reconstruction, in computed tomography
Cubase Project Files, work files used in Steinberg Cubase
Cursor Position Report, an ANSI X3.64 escape sequence
Cytochrome P450 reductase, an enzyme
Organizations
American Bar Association Model Code of Professional Responsibility
Center for Performance Research
Centre for Policy Research, a think tank in New Delhi, India
Chicago Project Room, former art gallery in Chicago and Los Angeles
Communist Party of Réunion, in the French département of Réunion
Communist Party of Russia (disambiguation), various meanings
Congress for the Republic, a Tunisian political party
Conservatives for Patients' Rights, a pressure group founded and funded by Rick Scott that argues for private insurance methods to pay for healthcare
Det Centrale Personregister (Civil Registration System), Denmark's nationwide civil registry
Transportation
Canadian Pacific Railway, which served major cities in Canada and the northeastern US between 1881 and 2023
Car plate recognition, or automatic number plate recognition
Casper–Natrona County International Airport (IATA Code), in Casper, Wyoming, US
Cornelius Pass Road, in Oregon, US
Compact Position Reporting, a method of encoding an aircraft's latitude and longitude in ADS-B position messages
Entertainment and music
Chicago Public Radio, former name of WBEZ
Club Penguin Rewritten, 2017 fangame
Colorado Public Radio
CPR (band) or Crosby, Pevar & Raymond, a former rock/jazz band
CPR (album)
Corporate Punishment Records, a record label
CPR (EP), a 2003 EP by Dolour
"CPR", a song by CupcakKe from the album Queen Elizabitch
Other uses
Calendar of the Patent Rolls, a book series translating and summarising the medieval Patent Rolls documents
Challenge Prince Rainier III, top division association football league in Monaco
Chinese People's Republic, another alternate official name for China (UNDP country code CPR)
Civil Procedure Rules, a civil court procedure rules for England and Wales
Common-pool resource, a type of good, including a resource system
Common property regime
Concrete Pavement Restoration, a method used by the International Grooving & Grinding Association
Conditional Prepayment Rate, a measurement for Prepayment of loan
Condominium Property Regime, a type of condominium conversion common in Hawai'i
Construction Products Regulation, Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011
Critique of Pure Reason, a 1781 philosophical work by Immanuel Kant
Corporate political responsibility, a corporate responsibility concept
See also
CPR-1000, a Generation II+ pressurized water reactor
Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR), between California and Utah, US
Carolwood Pacific Railroad (CPRR) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPR_(disambiguation) | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.052391 |
5959 | Canadian Pacific Railway | | logo = Canadian Pacific Railway logo 2014.svg
| system_map = Canadian Pacific System Railmap.PNG
| map_caption = Canadian Pacific 2023 system map (does not include CMQ and some DM&E trackage)
| image = CP 8137 at Chesterton (31292201928).jpg
| image_caption = CP 8137, a rebuilt GE AC4400CWM, in Chesterton, Indiana
| hq_city = Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| marks = CP, CPAA, MILW, SOO, DME, ICE, DH
| locale = Canada and the United States
| start_year = 1881
| end_year = 2023
| successor = Canadian Pacific Kansas City
| gauge
| length
| website =
| parent_company=Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited}}
*
}}
| founded = February 16, 1881
| industry = Rail transport
| successor = CPKC
| hq_location_city = Calgary, Alberta
| hq_location_country = Canada
| area_served = Canada<br />Contiguous United States
| key_people = Andrew Reardon (chairman)<br />Keith Creel (president and CEO)
| revenue =
| revenue_year = 2020
| operating_income =
| income_year = 2020
| net_income =
| net_income_year = 2020
| assets =
| assets_year = 2020
| equity =
| equity_year = 2020
| num_employees = 11,904
| num_employees_year = 2020
| subsid = List of subsidiary railways of the Canadian Pacific Railway, TTX Company, Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway
| website =
| footnotes
}}
The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, known until 2023 as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.
The railway is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. In 2023, the railway owned approximately of track in seven provinces of Canada and into the United States, also served Minneapolis–St. Paul, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, and Albany, New York, in the United States.
The railway was first built between eastern Canada and British Columbia between 1875 and 1885 (connecting with Ottawa Valley and Georgian Bay area lines built earlier), fulfilling a commitment extended to British Columbia when it entered Confederation in 1871; the CPR was Canada's first transcontinental railway. Primarily a freight railway, the CPR was for decades the only practical means of long-distance passenger transport in most regions of Canada and was instrumental in the colonization and development of Western Canada. The CPR became one of the largest and most powerful companies in Canada, a position it held as late as 1975. The company acquired two American lines in 2009: the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) and the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad (IC&E). Also, the company owns the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, a Hammond, Indiana-based terminal railroad along with Conrail Shared Assets Operations. CPR purchased the Kansas City Southern Railway in December 2021 for . On April 14, 2023, KCS became a wholly owned subsidiary of CPR, and both CPR and its subsidiaries began doing business under the name of its parent company, CPKC.
The CPR is publicly traded on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CP. Its U.S. headquarters are in Minneapolis. As of March 30, 2023, the largest shareholder of Canadian Pacific stock exchange is TCI Fund Management Limited, a London-based hedge fund that owns 6% of the company.
History
The creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway was undertaken as the National Dream by the Conservative government of John A. Macdonald, together with mining magnate Alexander Tilloch Galt. As a condition for joining the Canadian Confederation, British Columbia had insisted on a transport link to the East, with the rest of the Confederation. In 1873, Macdonald, among other high-ranking politicians, bribed in the Pacific Scandal, granted contracts to the Canada Pacific Railway Company, which was unrelated to the current company, as opposed to the Inter-Ocean Railway Company, which was thought to have connections to the Northern Pacific Railway Company in the United States. After this scandal, the Conservatives were removed from power, and Alexander Mackenzie, the new Liberal prime minister, ordered construction of the railway under the supervision of the Department of Public Works.
Enabled by the CPR Act of 1874, work began in 1875 on the Lake Superior to Manitoba section of the CPR. The ceremonial sod-turning at Westfort on June 1, 1875, was prominently reported in the June 10 edition of the Toronto Globe. It noted that a crowd of "upwards of 500 ladies and gentlemen" gathered to celebrate the event on the left bank of the Kaministiquia River in the District of Thunder Bay, about four miles upriver from Fort William. Once completed in 1882 with a last spike at Feist Lake, near Vermilion Bay, Ontario, the line was turned over to the newly-minted private Canadian Pacific Railway company. In 1883, the first wheat shipment from Manitoba was transported over this line to the Lakehead (Fort William and Port Arthur) on Lake Superior.
Macdonald would later return as prime minister and adopt a more aggressive construction policy; bonds were floated in London and called for tenders to complete sections of the railway in British Columbia. American contractor Andrew Onderdonk was selected, and his men began construction on May 15, 1880.
In October 1880, a new consortium signed a contract with the Macdonald government, agreeing to build the railway for $25 million in credit and of land. In addition, the government defrayed surveying costs and exempted the railway from property taxes for 20 years.
A beaver was chosen as the railway's logo in honour of Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, who had risen from factor to governor of the Hudson's Bay Company over a lengthy career in the beaver fur trade.
Building the railway, 1881–1886
, 1883]]
Building the railway took over four years. The Canadian Pacific Railway began its westward expansion from Bonfield, Ontario, where the first spike was driven into a sunken railway tie. That was the point where the Canada Central Railway (CCR) extension ended. The CCR started in Brockville and extended to Pembroke. It then followed a westward route along the Ottawa River and continued to Mattawa at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa rivers. It then proceeded to Bonfield.
It was presumed that the railway would travel through the rich "fertile belt" of the North Saskatchewan River Valley and cross the Rocky Mountains via the Yellowhead Pass. However, a more southerly route across the arid Palliser's Triangle in Saskatchewan and via Kicking Horse Pass and down the Field Hill to the Rocky Mountain Trench was chosen.
]]
In 1881, construction progressed at a pace too slow for the railway's officials who, in 1882, hired the renowned railway executive William Cornelius Van Horne to oversee construction. Van Horne stated that he would have of main line built in 1882. Floods delayed the start of the construction season, but over of main line, as well as sidings and branch lines, were built that year.
The Thunder Bay branch (west from Fort William) was completed in June 1882 by the Department of Railways and Canals and turned over to the company in May 1883. By the end of 1883, the railway had reached the Rocky Mountains, just east of Kicking Horse Pass. The treacherous of railway west of Fort William was completed by Purcell & Company, headed by "Canada's wealthiest and greatest railroad contractor," industrialist Hugh Ryan.
]]
Many thousands of navvies worked on the railway. Many were European immigrants. An unknown number of Stoney Nakoda also assisted in track laying and construction work in the Kicking Horse Pass region. In British Columbia, government contractors eventually hired 17,000 workers from China, known as "coolies". After months of hard labour, they could net as little as $16 ($ in adjusted for inflation) Chinese labourers in British Columbia made only between 75 cents and $1.25 a day, paid in rice mats, and not including expenses, leaving barely anything to send home. They did the most dangerous construction jobs, such as working with explosives to clear tunnels through rock. The exact number of Chinese workers who died is unknown, but historians estimate the number is between 600 and 800.
By 1883, railway construction was progressing rapidly, but the CPR was in danger of running out of funds. In response, on January 31, 1884, the government passed the Railway Relief Bill, providing a further $22.5 million in loans to the CPR. The bill received royal assent on March 6, 1884.
In March 1885, the North-West Rebellion broke out in the District of Saskatchewan. Van Horne, in Ottawa at the time, suggested to the government that the CPR could transport troops to Qu'Appelle in the District of Assiniboia in 10 days. Some sections of track were incomplete or had not been used before, but the trip to Winnipeg was made in nine days and the rebellion quickly suppressed. Controversially, the government subsequently reorganized the CPR's debt and provided a further $5 million loan. This money was desperately needed by the CPR. Even with Van Horne's support with moving troops to Qu'Appelle, the government still delayed in giving its support to CPR, due to Macdonald pressuring George Stephen for additional benefits.
On November 7, 1885, the last spike was driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia. Four days earlier, the last spike of the Lake Superior section was driven in just west of Jackfish, Ontario. While the railway was completed four years after the original 1881 deadline, it was completed more than five years ahead of the new date of 1891 that Macdonald gave in 1881.
In Eastern Canada, the CPR had created a network of lines reaching from Quebec City to St. Thomas, Ontario, by 1885 mainly by buying the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa & Occidental Railway from the Quebec government and by creating a new railway company, the Ontario and Quebec Railway (O&Q). It also launched a fleet of Great Lakes ships to link its terminals. Through the O&Q, the CPR had effected purchases and long-term leases of several railways, and built a line between Perth, Ontario, and Toronto (completed on May 5, 1884) to connect these acquisitions. The CPR obtained a 999-year lease on the O&Q on January 4, 1884. In 1895, it acquired a minority interest in the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, giving it a link to New York and the Northeast United States.
, later known as Lord Strathcona, drives the last spike of the CPR, at Craigellachie, November 7, 1885. Completion of the transcontinental railway was a condition of BC's entry into Confederation.]]
1886–1900
The last spike in the CPR was driven on November 7, 1885, by one of its directors, Donald Smith.
By that time, however, the CPR had decided to move its western terminus from Port Moody to Granville, which was renamed "Vancouver" later that year. The first official train destined for Vancouver arrived on May 23, 1887, although the line had already been in use for three months. The CPR quickly became profitable, and all loans from the federal government were repaid years ahead of time. In 1888, a branch line was opened between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie where the CPR connected with the American railway system and its own steamships. That same year, work was started on a line from London, Ontario, to the Canada–US border at Windsor, Ontario. That line opened on June 12, 1890.
The CPR also leased the New Brunswick Railway in 1891 for 991 years, and built the International Railway of Maine, connecting Montreal with Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1889. The connection with Saint John on the Atlantic coast made the CPR the first truly transcontinental railway company in Canada and permitted trans-Atlantic cargo and passenger services to continue year-round when sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence closed the port of Montreal during the winter months. By 1896, competition with the Great Northern Railway for traffic in southern British Columbia forced the CPR to construct a second line across the province, south of the original line. Van Horne, now president of the CPR, asked for government aid, and the government agreed to provide around $3.6 million to construct a railway from Lethbridge, Alberta, through Crowsnest Pass to the south shore of Kootenay Lake, in exchange for the CPR agreeing to reduce freight rates in perpetuity for key commodities shipped in Western Canada. on June 30, 1886]]
The controversial Crowsnest Pass Agreement effectively locked the eastbound rate on grain products and westbound rates on certain "settlers' effects" at the 1897 level. Although temporarily suspended during the First World War, it was not until 1983 that the "Crow Rate" was permanently replaced by the Western Grain Transportation Act, which allowed the gradual increase of grain shipping prices. The Crowsnest Pass line opened on June 18, 1898, and followed a complicated route through the maze of valleys and passes in southern British Columbia, rejoining the original mainline at Hope after crossing the Cascade Mountains via Coquihalla Pass.
The Southern Mainline, generally known as the Kettle Valley Railway in British Columbia, was built in response to the booming mining and smelting economy in southern British Columbia, and the tendency of the local geography to encourage and enable easier access from neighbouring US states than from Vancouver or the rest of Canada, which was viewed to be as much of a threat to national security as it was to the province's control of its own resources. The local passenger service was re-routed to this new southerly line, which connected numerous emergent small cities across the region. Independent railways and subsidiaries that were eventually merged into the CPR in connection with this route were the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway, the Kaslo and Slocan Railway, the Columbia and Kootenay Railway, the Columbia and Western Railway and various others. To transport immigrants, Canadian Pacific developed a fleet of over a thousand Colonist cars, low-budget sleeper cars designed to transport immigrant families from eastern Canadian seaports to the west.1901–1914During the first decade of the 20th century, the CPR continued to build more lines. In 1908, the CPR opened a line connecting Toronto with Sudbury. Several operational improvements were also made to the railway in Western Canada.
On November 3, 1909, the Lethbridge Viaduct over the Oldman River valley at Lethbridge, Alberta, was opened. It is long and, at its maximum, high, making it one of the longest railway bridges in Canada. In 1916, the CPR replaced its line through Rogers Pass, which was prone to avalanches (the most serious of which killed 62 men in 1910) with the Connaught Tunnel, an eight-kilometre-long (5-mile) tunnel under Mount Macdonald that was, at the time of its opening, the longest railway tunnel in the Western Hemisphere.
On January 21, 1910, a passenger train derailed on the CPR line at the Spanish River bridge at Nairn, Ontario (near Sudbury), killing at least 43.
On January 3, 1912, the CPR acquired the Dominion Atlantic Railway, a railway that ran in western Nova Scotia. This acquisition gave the CPR a connection to Halifax, a significant port on the Atlantic Ocean. The CPR acquired the Quebec Central Railway on December 14, 1912.
First World War
During the First World War, CPR put the entire resources of the "world's greatest travel system" at the disposal of the British Empire, not only trains and tracks, but also its ships, shops, hotels, telegraphs and, above all, its people. Aiding the war effort meant transporting and billeting troops; building and supplying arms and munitions; arming, lending and selling ships. Fifty-two CPR ships were pressed into service during World War I, carrying more than a million troops and passengers and four million tons of cargo. Twenty seven survived and returned to CPR. CPR also helped the war effort with money and jobs. CPR made loans and guarantees to the Allies of some $100 million. As a lasting tribute, CPR commissioned three statues and 23 memorial tablets to commemorate the efforts of those who fought and those who died in the war. After the war, the Federal government created Canadian National Railways (CNR, later CN) out of several bankrupt railways that fell into government hands during and after the war. CNR would become the main competitor to the CPR in Canada. In 1923, Henry Worth Thornton replaced David Blyth Hanna becoming the second president of the CNR, and his competition spurred Edward Wentworth Beatty, the first Canadian-born president of the CPR, to action. During this time the railway land grants were formalized.
Great Depression and the Second World War, 1929–1945
, 1935]]
The Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 until 1939, hit many companies heavily. While the CPR was affected, it was not affected to the extent of its rival CNR because it, unlike the CNR, was debt-free. The CPR scaled back on some of its passenger and freight services and stopped issuing dividends to its shareholders after 1932. Hard times led to the creation of new political parties such as the Social Credit movement and the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, as well as popular protest in the form of the On-to-Ottawa Trek.
One highlight of the late 1930s, both for the railway and for Canada, was the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their 1939 royal tour of Canada, the first time that the reigning monarch had visited the country. The CPR and the CNR shared the honours of pulling the royal train across the country, with the CPR undertaking the westbound journey from Quebec City to Vancouver. Later that year, the Second World War began. As it had done in World War I, the CPR devoted much of its resources to the war effort. It retooled its Angus Shops in Montreal to produce Valentine tanks and other armoured vehicles, and transported troops and resources across the country. Additionally, 22 of the CPR's ships went to war, 12 of which were sunk.
1946–1978
logo was used from 1968 to 1987, when it fell out of favour. It was sometimes referred to as the 'Pac-Man' logo, after the popular 1980s video game of the same name.]]
After the Second World War, the transportation industry in Canada changed. Where railways had previously provided almost universal freight and passenger services, cars, trucks and airplanes started to take traffic away from railways. This naturally helped the CPR's air and trucking operations, and the railway's freight operations continued to thrive hauling resource traffic and bulk commodities. However, passenger trains quickly became unprofitable. During the 1950s, the railway introduced new innovations in passenger service. In 1955, it introduced The Canadian, a new luxury transcontinental train. However, in the 1960s, the company started to pull out of passenger services, ending services on many of its branch lines. It also discontinued its secondary transcontinental train The Dominion in 1966, and in 1970, unsuccessfully applied to discontinue The Canadian. For the next eight years, it continued to apply to discontinue the service, and service on The Canadian declined markedly. On October 29, 1978, CP Rail transferred its passenger services to Via Rail, a new federal Crown corporation that is responsible for managing all intercity passenger service formerly handled by both CP Rail and CN. Via eventually took almost all of its passenger trains, including The Canadian, off CP's lines.
In 1968, as part of a corporate reorganization, each of the major operations, including its rail operations, were organized as separate subsidiaries. The name of the railway was changed to CP Rail, and the parent company changed its name to Canadian Pacific Limited in 1971. Its air, express, telecommunications, hotel and real estate holdings were spun off, and ownership of all of the companies transferred to Canadian Pacific Investments. The slogan was: "TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE WORLD". The company discarded its beaver logo, adopting the new Multimark (which, when mirrored by an adjacent "multi-mark" creates a diamond appearance on a globe) that was used – with a different colour background – for each of its operations.
1979–2001
The 1979 Mississauga train derailment
On November 10, 1979, a derailment of a hazardous materials train in Mississauga, Ontario, led to the evacuation of 200,000 people; there were no fatalities. Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion threatened to sue Canadian Pacific for the derailment. Part of the compromise was to accept GO Transit commuter rail service along the Galt Subdivision corridor up to Milton, Ontario. Limited trains ran along the Milton line on weekdays only. Expansions to Cambridge, Ontario may be coming in the future.
In 1984, CP Rail commenced construction of the Mount Macdonald Tunnel to augment the Connaught Tunnel under the Selkirk Mountains. The first revenue train passed through the tunnel in 1988. At 14.7 km (nine miles), it is the longest tunnel in the Americas. During the 1980s, the Soo Line Railroad, in which CP Rail still owned a controlling interest, underwent several changes. It acquired the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway in 1982. Then on February 21, 1985, the Soo Line obtained a controlling interest in the bankrupt Milwaukee Road, merging it into its system on January 1, 1986. Also in 1980, Canadian Pacific bought out the controlling interests of the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway (TH&B) from Conrail and molded it into the Canadian Pacific System, dissolving the TH&B's name from the books in 1985. In 1987, most of CPR's trackage in the Great Lakes region, including much of the original Soo Line, were spun off into a new railway, the Wisconsin Central, which was subsequently purchased by CN. Influenced by the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement of 1989, which liberalized trade between the two nations, the CPR's expansion continued during the early 1990s: CP Rail gained full control of the Soo Line in 1990, adding the "System" to the former's name, and bought the Delaware and Hudson Railway in 1991. These two acquisitions gave CP Rail routes to the major American cities of Chicago (via the Soo Line and Milwaukee Road as part of its historically logical route) and New York City (via the D&H).
During the 1990s, both CP Rail and CN attempted unsuccessfully to buy out the eastern assets of the other, so as to permit further rationalization. In 1996, CP Rail moved its head office from Windsor Station in Montreal to Gulf Canada Square in Calgary and changed its name back to Canadian Pacific Railway.
A new subsidiary company, the St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway, was created to operate its money-losing lines in eastern North America, covering Quebec, Southern and Eastern Ontario, trackage rights to Chicago, Illinois, (on Norfolk Southern lines from Detroit) as well as the Delaware and Hudson Railway in the northeastern United States. However, the new subsidiary, threatened with being sold off and free to innovate, quickly spun off money-losing track to short lines, instituted scheduled freight service, and produced an unexpected turn-around in profitability. On 1 January 2001 the StL&H was formally amalgamated with the CP Rail system.
2001 to 2023
In 2001, the CPR's parent company, Canadian Pacific Limited, spun off its five subsidiaries, including the CPR, into independent companies. In September 2007, CPR announced it was acquiring the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad from London-based Electra Private Equity. The merger was completed as of October 31, 2008.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. trains resumed regular operations on June 1, 2012, after a nine-day strike by some 4,800 locomotive engineers, conductors and traffic controllers who walked off the job on May 23, stalling Canadian freight traffic and costing the economy an estimated (). The strike ended with a government back-to-work bill forcing both sides to come to a binding agreement.
On July 6, 2013, a unit train of crude oil which CP had subcontracted to short-line operator Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway derailed in Lac-Mégantic, killing 47. On August 14, 2013, the Quebec government added the CPR, along with lessor World Fuel Services (WFS), to the list of corporate entities from which it seeks reimbursement for the environmental cleanup of the Lac-Mégantic derailment.
On October 12, 2014, it was reported that Canadian Pacific had tried to enter into a merger with American railway CSX, but was unsuccessful.
In 2015–16 Canadian Pacific sought to merge with American railway Norfolk Southern. and wanted to have a shareholder vote on it. CP ultimately terminated its efforts to merge on April 11, 2016.
On February 4, 2019, a loaded grain train ran away from the siding at Partridge just above the Upper Spiral Tunnel in Kicking Horse Pass. The 112-car grain train with three locomotives derailed into the Kicking Horse River just after the Trans Canada Highway overpass. The three crew members on the lead locomotive were killed. The Canadian Pacific Police Service (CPPS) investigated the fatal derailment. It later came to light that, although Creel said that the RCMP "retain jurisdiction" over the investigation, the RCMP wrote that "it never had jurisdiction because the crash happened on CP property". On January 26, 2020, Canadian current affairs program The Fifth Estate broadcast an episode on the derailment, and the next day the Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) called for the RCMP to investigate as lead investigator Don Crawford said, "There is enough to suspect there's negligence here and it needs to be investigated by the proper authority".
On February 4, 2020, the TSB demoted its lead investigator in the crash probe after his superiors decided these comments were "completely inappropriate". The TSB stated that it "does not share the view of the lead safety investigator". The CPPS say they did a thorough investigation into the actions of the crew, which is now closed and resulted in no charges, while the Alberta Federation of Labour and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference called for an independent police probe.
On November 20, 2019, it was announced that Canadian Pacific would purchase the Central Maine and Quebec Railway from Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors. The line has had a series of different owners since being spun off of the Canadian Pacific in 1995. The first operator was the Canadian American Railroad a division of Iron Road Railways. In 2002 the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic took over operations after CDAC declared bankruptcy. The Central, Maine and Quebec Railway started operations in 2014 after the MMA declared bankruptcy due to the Lac-Mégantic derailment. On this new acquisition, CP CEO Keith Creel remarked that this gives CP a true coast-to-coast network across Canada and an increased presence in New England. On June 4, 2020; Canadian Pacific bought the Central Maine and Quebec.
Merger with Kansas City Southern (2021–2023)
On March 21, 2021, CP announced that it was planning to purchase the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) for US$29 billion. The US Surface Transportation Board (STB) would first have to approve the purchase, which was expected to be completed by the middle of 2022.
However, a competing cash and stock offer was later made by Canadian National Railway (CN) on April 20 at $33.7 billion. On 13 May, KCS announced that they planned to accept the merger offer from CN, but would give CP until May 21 to come up with a higher bid. On May 21, KCS and CN agreed to a merger. However, CN's merger attempt was blocked by a STB ruling in August that the company could not use a voting trust to assume control of KCS, due to concerns about potentially reduced competition in the railroad industry.
On September 12, KCS accepted a new $31 billion offer from CP. Though CP's offer was lower than the offer made by CN, the STB permitted CP to use a voting trust to take control of KCS. That approval came on March 15, 2023, which permitted the railroads to merge as soon as April 14. On April 14, 2023, KCS officially became a subsidiary of CPR, and CPR with its subsidiaries began conducting business under the name of its parent company, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).Freight trains
locomotive in Thunder Bay, Ontario]]
CP 8863 in Campbellville, Ontario]]
, pulls a train through Wisconsin Dells, WI, June 20, 2004.]]
Over half of CP's freight traffic is in grain (24% of 2016 freight revenue), intermodal freight (22%), and coal (10%) and the vast majority of its profits are made in western Canada. A major shift in trade from the Atlantic to the Pacific has caused serious drops in CPR's wheat shipments through Thunder Bay. It also ships chemicals and plastics (12% of 2016 revenue), automotive parts and assembled automobiles (6%), potash (6%), sulphur and other fertilizers (5%), forest products (5%), and various other products (11%). The busiest part of its railway network is along its main line between Calgary and Vancouver. Since 1970, coal has become a major commodity hauled by CPR. Coal is shipped in unit trains from coal mines in the mountains, including Sparwood, British Columbia, to terminals at Roberts Bank and North Vancouver, from where it is then shipped to Japan.
Grain is hauled by the CPR from the prairies to ports at Thunder Bay (the former cities of Fort William and Port Arthur), Quebec City and Vancouver, where it is then shipped overseas. The traditional winter export port was Saint John, New Brunswick, when ice closed the St. Lawrence River. Grain has always been a significant commodity hauled by the CPR; between 1905 and 1909, the CPR double-tracked its section of track between Fort William, Ontario (part of present-day Thunder Bay) and Winnipeg to facilitate grain shipments. For several decades this was the only long stretch of double-track mainline outside of urban areas on the CPR. Today, though the Thunder Bay-Winnipeg section is now single tracked, the CPR still has two long distance double track lines serving rural areas, including a stretch between Kent, British Columbia, and Vancouver which follows the Fraser River into the Coast Mountains, as well as the Canadian Pacific Winchester Sub, a stretch of double track mainline which runs from Smiths Falls, Ontario, through downtown Montreal which runs through many rural farming communities. However, CPR was, as of 2020, partially dismantling the stretch of double track mainline on the Winchester Sub.Passenger trains
The train was the primary mode of long-distance transport in Canada until the 1960s. Among the many types of people who rode CPR trains were new immigrants heading for the prairies, military troops (especially during the two world wars) and upper class tourists. It also custom-built many of its passenger cars at its CPR Angus Shops to be able to meet the demands of the upper class.
liquor store]]
The CPR also had a line of Great Lakes ships integrated into its transcontinental service. From 1884 until 1912, these ships linked Owen Sound on Georgian Bay to Fort William. Following a major fire in December 1911 that destroyed the grain elevator, operations were relocated to a new, larger port created by the CPR at Port McNicoll opening in May 1912. Five ships allowed daily service, and included the S.S. Assiniboia and S.S. Keewatin built in 1907 which remained in use until the end of service. Travellers went by train from Toronto to that Georgian Bay port, then travelled by ship to link with another train at the Lakehead. After World War II, the trains and ships carried automobiles as well as passengers. This service featured what was to become the last boat train in North America. The Steam Boat was a fast, direct connecting train between Toronto and Port McNicoll. The passenger service was discontinued at the end of season in 1965 with one ship, the Assiniboia, carrying on in freight service for two more years before being sold. Planned to be a floating restaurant, "Assiniboia" caught fire during renovations in 1969 and was subsequently scrapped. Meanwhile "Keewatin" which was laid up in 1966 and scheduled to be scrapped, was purchased by RJ and Diane Peterson in 1967 and towed to their marina in Douglas, Michigan to serve as a marine museum. Forty-five years later Skyline International CEO Gil Blutrich purchased "Keewatin" and engaged former crewman Eric Conroy to repatriate "Keewatin" to Port McNicoll and operate her as an historical attraction, which he did in 2012 through 2019. "Keewatin" was closed to visitors in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and did not reopen in Port McNicoll. In 2023 "Keewatin" was donated by Skyline to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, and towed to Hamilton shipyards for restoration before proceeding to Kingston, where it reopened to visitors in 2024.
After the Second World War, passenger traffic declined as automobiles and airplanes became more common, but the CPR continued to innovate in an attempt to keep passenger numbers up. Beginning November 9, 1953, the CPR introduced Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) on many of its lines. Officially called "Dayliners" by the CPR, they were always referred to as Budd Cars by employees. Greatly reduced travel times and reduced costs resulted, which saved service on many lines for a number of years. The CPR went on to acquire the second largest fleet of RDCs totalling 52 cars. Only the Boston and Maine Railroad had more. This CPR fleet also included the rare model RDC-4 (which consisted of a mail section at one end and a baggage section at the other end with no formal passenger section). On April 24, 1955, the CPR introduced a new luxury transcontinental passenger train, The Canadian. The train provided service between Vancouver and Toronto or Montreal (east of Sudbury; the train was in two sections). The train, which operated on an expedited schedule, was pulled by diesel locomotives, and used new, streamlined, stainless steel rolling stock. This service was initially heavily promoted by the company and many images of the train, especially as it traversed the Canadian Rockies, were captured by CPR's official photographer Nicholas Morant. Featured in numerous advertising promotions worldwide, several such images have gained iconic status.
Starting in the 1960s, however, the railway started to discontinue much of its passenger service, particularly on its branch lines. For example, passenger service ended on its line through southern British Columbia and Crowsnest Pass in January 1964, and on its Quebec Central in April 1967, and the transcontinental train The Dominion was dropped in January 1966. On October 29, 1978, CP Rail transferred its passenger services to Via Rail, a new federal Crown corporation that was now responsible for intercity passenger services in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney presided over major cuts in Via Rail service on January 15, 1990. This ended service by The Canadian over CPR rails, and the train was rerouted on the former Super Continental route via Canadian National without a change of name. Where both trains had been daily prior to January 15, 1990, cuts, the surviving Canadian was only a three-times-weekly operation. In October 2012, The Canadian was reduced to twice-weekly for the six-month off-season period, and operates three-times-weekly for only six months a year. In addition to inter-city passenger services, the CPR also provided commuter rail services in Montreal. CP Rail introduced Canada's first bi-level passenger cars here in 1970. On October 1, 1982, the Montreal Urban Community Transit Commission (STCUM) assumed responsibility for the commuter services previously provided by CP Rail. It continues under the Metropolitan Transportation Agency (AMT).
in Vancouver]]
Canadian Pacific Railway operates two commuter services under contract. GO Transit contracts CPR to operate 10 return trips between Milton and central Toronto in Ontario. In Montreal, 59 daily commuter trains run on CPR lines from Lucien-L'Allier Station to Candiac, Hudson and Blainville–Saint-Jérôme on behalf of the AMT. CP no longer operates Vancouver's West Coast Express on behalf of TransLink, a regional transit authority. Bombardier Transportation assumed control of train operations on May 5, 2014. Although CP Rail no longer owns the track nor operates the commuter trains, it handles dispatching of Metra trains on the Milwaukee District/North and Milwaukee District/West Lines in Chicago, on which the CP also provides freight service via trackage rights.
Sleeping, Dining and Parlour Car Department
Sleeping cars were operated by a separate department of the railway that included the dining and parlour cars and aptly named as the Sleeping, Dining and Parlour Car Department. The CPR decided from the very beginning that it would operate its own sleeping cars, unlike railways in the United States that depended upon independent companies that specialized in providing cars and porters, including building the cars themselves. Pullman was long a famous name in this regard; its Pullman porters were legendary. Other early companies included the Wagner Palace Car Company. Bigger-sized berths and more comfortable surroundings were built by order of the CPR's General Manager, William Van Horne, who was a large man himself. Providing and operating their own cars allowed better control of the service provided as well as keeping all of the revenue received, although dining-car services were never profitable. But railway managers realized that those who could afford to travel great distances expected such facilities, and their favourable opinion would bode well to attracting others to Canada and the CPR's trains.
Express
W. C. Van Horne decided from the very beginning that the CPR would retain as much revenue from its various operations as it could. This translated into keeping express, telegraph, sleeping car and other lines of business for themselves, creating separate departments or companies as necessary. This was necessary as the fledgling railway would need all the income it could get, and in addition, he saw some of these ancillary operations such as express and telegraph as being quite profitable. Others such as sleeping and dining cars were kept in order to provide better control over the quality of service being provided to passengers. Hotels were likewise crucial to the CPR's growth by attracting travellers.
Dominion Express Company was formed independently in 1873 before the CPR itself, although train service did not begin until the summer of 1882 at which time it operated over some of track from Rat Portage (Kenora) Ontario west to Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was soon absorbed into the CPR and expanded everywhere the CPR went. It was renamed Canadian Pacific Express Company on September 1, 1926, and the headquarters moved from Winnipeg, to Toronto, and the company also handled the establishment of the first money order system in Canada. It was operated as a separate company with the railway charging them to haul express cars on trains, and was initially highly profitable.
Express operations consisted of separate cars included on existing Canadian Pacific routes, were typically charged on a less-than-carload basis, and transported a wide range of goods, including fresh goods like dairy or flowers, refrigerated goods such as fish, transport of cash and jewellery, livestock with handlers and in some cases goods that took an entire carload, such as automobiles.
The company later expanded to shipping by transport truck. The company eventually became unprofitable, possibly due to competition from trucking companies, was purchased by an employee buyout in 1994 and renamed itself Interlink Systems.Special trainsSilk trainsBetween the 1890s and 1933, the CPR transported raw silk from Vancouver, where it had been shipped from the Orient, to silk mills in New York and New Jersey. A silk train could carry several million dollars' worth of silk, so they had their own armed guards. To avoid train robberies and so minimize insurance costs, they travelled quickly and stopped only to change locomotives and crews, which was often done in under five minutes. The silk trains had right over all other trains; even passenger trains (including the royal train of 1939) would be put in sidings to make the silk trains' trip faster. At the end of World War II, the invention of nylon made silk less valuable, so the silk trains died out.Funeral trains
]]
Funeral trains would carry the remains of important people, such as prime ministers. As the train would pass, mourners would be at certain spots to show respect. Two of the CPR's funeral trains are particularly well-known. On June 10, 1891, the funeral train of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald ran from Ottawa to Kingston, Ontario. The train consisted of five heavily draped passenger cars and was pulled by 4-4-0 No. 283. On September 14, 1915, the funeral train of former CPR president Sir William Cornelius Van Horne ran from Montreal to Joliet, Illinois, pulled by 4-6-2 No. 2213.
Royal trains
and Queen Elizabeth at Hope, British Columbia]]
The CPR ran a number of trains that transported members of the Canadian royal family when they toured the country, taking them through Canada's scenery, forests, and small towns, and enabling people to see and greet them. Their trains were elegantly decorated; some had amenities such as a post office and barber shop. The CPR's most notable royal train was in 1939, when the CPR and the CNR had the honour of carrying King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their coast-to-coast-and-back tour of Canada; one company took the royal couple from Quebec City to Vancouver and the other company took them on the return journey to Halifax. This was the first tour of Canada by its reigning monarch. The steam locomotives used to pull the train included CPR 2850, a Hudson (4-6-4) built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1938, CNR 6400, a U-4-a Northern (4-8-4) and CNR 6028 a U-1-b Mountain (4-8-2) type. They were specially painted royal blue, with the exception of CNR 6028 which was not painted, with silver trim as was the entire train. The locomotives ran across Canada, through 25 changes of crew, without engine failure. The King, somewhat of a railbuff, rode in the cab when possible. After the tour, King George gave the CPR permission to use the term "Royal Hudson" for the CPR locomotives and to display Royal Crowns on their running boards. This applied only to the semi-streamlined locomotives (2820–2864), not the "standard" Hudsons (2800–2819).Better Farming TrainCPR provided the rolling stock for the Better Farming Train which toured rural Saskatchewan between 1914 and 1922 to promote the latest information on agricultural research. It was staffed by the University of Saskatchewan and operating expenses were covered by the Department of Agriculture.
School cars
Between 1927 and the early 1950s, the CPR ran a school car to reach children who lived in Northern Ontario, far from schools. A teacher would travel in a specially designed car to remote areas and would stay to teach in one area for two to three days, then leave for another area. Each car had a blackboard and a few sets of chairs and desks. They also contained miniature libraries and accommodation for the teacher.Silver StreakMajor shooting for the 1976 film Silver Streak, a fictional comedy tale of a murder-ridden train trip from Los Angeles to Chicago, was done on the CPR, mainly in the Alberta area with station footage at Toronto's Union Station. The train set was so lightly disguised as the fictional "AMRoad" that the locomotives and cars still carried their original names and numbers, along with the easily identifiable CP Rail red-striped paint scheme. Most of the cars are still in revenue service on Via Rail Canada; the lead locomotive (CP 4070) and the second unit (CP 4067) were sold to Via Rail and CTCUM respectively.
Holiday Train
Starting in 1999, CP runs a Holiday Train along its main line during the months of November and December. The Holiday Train celebrates the holiday season and collects donations for community food banks and hunger issues. The Holiday Train also provides publicity for CP and a few of its customers. Each train has a box car stage for entertainers who are travelling along with the train.
The train is a freight train, but also pulls vintage passenger cars which are used as lodging/transportation for the crew and entertainers. Only entertainers and CP employees are allowed to board the train aside from a coach car that takes employees and their families from one stop to the next. All donations collected in a community remain in that community for distribution.
There are two Holiday Trains that cover 150 stops in Canada and the United States Northeast and Midwest. Each train is roughly in length with brightly decorated railway cars, including a modified box car that has been turned into a travelling stage for performers. They are each decorated with hundred of thousands of LED Christmas lights. In 2013 to celebrate the program's 15th year, three signature events were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Calgary, Alberta, and Cottage Grove, Minnesota, to further raise awareness for hunger issues.
The trains feature different entertainers each year; in 2016, one train featured Dallas Smith and the Odds, while the other featured Colin James and Kelly Prescott. After its 20th anniversary tour in 2018, which hosted Terri Clark, Sam Roberts Band, The Trews and Willy Porter, the tour reported to have raised more than and collected more than of food since 1999.Royal Canadian PacificOn June 7, 2000, the CPR inaugurated the Royal Canadian Pacific, a luxury excursion service that operates between the months of June and September. It operates along a route from Calgary, through the Columbia Valley in British Columbia, and returning to Calgary via Crowsnest Pass. The trip takes six days and five nights. The train consists of up to eight luxury passenger cars built between 1916 and 1931 and is powered by first-generation diesel locomotives.
Steam train
Empress at Sturtevant, Wisconsin, September 1, 2007]]
In 1998, the CPR repatriated one of its former passenger steam locomotives that had been on static display in the United States following its sale in January 1964, long after the close of the steam era. CPR Hudson 2816 was re-designated Empress 2816 following a 30-month restoration that cost in excess of $1 million. It was subsequently returned to service to promote public relations. It has operated across much of the CPR system, including lines in the U.S. and been used for various charitable purposes; 100% of the money raised goes to the nationwide charity Breakfast for Learning — the CPR bears all of the expenses associated with the operation of the train. 2816 is the subject of Rocky Mountain Express, a 2011 IMAX film which follows the locomotive on an eastbound journey beginning in Vancouver, and which tells the story of the building of the CPR. 2816 has been stored indefinitely since 2012 after CEO E. Hunter Harrison discontinued the steam program.
The locomotive was fired up on November 13, 2020, for a steam test and moved around the Ogden campus yard. At the time, CP had plans to utilize the locomotive only for a special Holiday Train at Home broadcast, after which it was put in storage. However, in mid-2021, CEO Keith Creel announced intentions to bring 2816 back to full operational status, for a tour from their Calgary headquarters to Mexico City, if the merger with Kansas City Southern Railway was approved by the Surface Transportation Board in the United States. Work on the needed overhaul began in earnest in late 2021 for a planned date in 2023. On April 24, 2024, No. 2816 began its Final Spike Steam Tour for the Canadian Pacific Kansas City, running from Calgary to Mexico City.Spirit TrainIn 2008, Canadian Pacific partnered with the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to present a "Spirit Train" tour that featured Olympic-themed events at various stops. Colin James was a headline entertainer. Several stops were met by protesters who argued that the games were slated to take place on stolen indigenous land. CP Canada 150 Train In 2017, CP ran the CP Canada 150 Train from Port Moody to Ottawa to celebrate Canada's 150th year since Confederation. The train stopped in 13 cities along its 3-week summer tour, offering a free block party and concert from Dean Brody, Kelly Prescott and Dallas Arcand. The heritage train drew out thousands to sign the special "Spirit of Tomorrow" car, where children were invited to write their wishes for the future of Canada and send them to Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and daughter Ella-Grace Trudeau also visited the train and rode it from Revelstoke to Calgary.Non-railway servicesHistorically, Canadian Pacific operated several non-railway businesses. In 1971, these businesses were split off into the separate company Canadian Pacific Limited, and in 2001, that company was further split into five companies. CP no longer provides any of these services.Canadian Pacific Telegraphs
The original charter of the CPR granted in 1881 provided for the right to create an electric telegraph and telephone service including charging for it. The telephone had barely been invented but telegraph was well established as a means of communicating quickly across great distances. Being allowed to sell this service meant the railway could offset the costs of constructing and maintaining a pole line along its tracks across vast distances for its own purposes which were largely for dispatching trains. It began doing so in 1882 as the separate Telegraph Department. It would go on to provide a link between the cables under the Atlantic and Pacific oceans when they were completed. Before the CPR line, messages to the west could be sent only via the United States.
Paid for by the word, the telegram was an expensive way to send messages, but they were vital to businesses. An individual receiving a personal telegram was seen as being someone important except for those that transmitted sorrow in the form of death notices. Messengers on bicycles delivered telegrams and picked up a reply in cities. In smaller locations, the local railway station agent would handle this on a commission basis. To speed things, at the local end messages would first be telephoned. In 1931, it became the Communications Department in recognition of the expanding services provided which included telephones lines, news wire, ticker quotations for capital stocks and eventually teleprinters. All were faster than mail and very important to business and the public alike for many decades before mobile phones and computers came along. It was the coming of these newer technologies especially cellular telephones that eventually resulted in the demise of these services even after formation in 1967 of CN-CP Telecommunications in an effort to effect efficiencies through consolidation rather than competition. Deregulation in the 1980s, brought about mergers and the sale of remaining services and facilities.
Canadian Pacific Radio
On January 17, 1930, the CPR applied for licences to operate radio stations in 11 cities from coast-to-coast for the purpose of organising its own radio network in order to compete with the CNR Radio service. The CNR had built a radio network with the aim of promoting itself as well as entertaining its passengers during their travels. The onset of the Great Depression hurt the CPR's financial plan for a rival project and in April they withdrew their applications for stations in all but Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg. CPR did not end up pursuing these applications but instead operated a phantom station in Toronto known as "CPRY," with initials standing for "Canadian Pacific Royal York" which operated out of studios at CP's Royal York Hotel and leased time on CFRB and CKGW. A network of affiliates carried the CPR radio network's broadcasts in the first half of the 1930s, but the takeover of CNR's Radio service by the new Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission removed CPR's need to have a network for competitive reasons and CPR's radio service was discontinued in 1935.
CPR programming included a series of concert broadcasts from Montreal with an orchestra conducted by Douglas Clarke and a series called Concert Orchestra broadcast from the Royal York Hotel featuring conductor Rex Battle, and another series of concerts, this time sponsored by Imperial Oil and featuring conductor Reginald Stewart with a 55-piece orchestra and some of the leading soloists of the day, also performing at the Royal York.
Canadian Pacific Steamships
Steamships played an important part in the history of CP from the very earliest days. During construction of the line in British Columbia even before the private CPR took over from the government contractor, ships were used to bring supplies to the construction sites. Similarly, to reach the isolated area of Superior in northern Ontario ships were used to bring in supplies to the construction work. While this work was going on there was already regular passenger service to the West. Trains operated from Toronto to Owen Sound where CPR steamships connected to Fort William where trains once again operated to reach Winnipeg. Before the CPR was completed the only way to reach the West was through the United States via St. Paul and Winnipeg. This Great Lakes steam ship service continued as an alternative route for many years and was always operated by the railway. Canadian Pacific passenger service on the lakes ended in 1965.
Once the railway was completed to British Columbia, the CPR chartered and soon bought their own passenger steamships as a link to the Orient. These sleek steamships were of the latest design and christened with "Empress" names (e. g., RMS Empress of Britain, Empress of Canada, Empress of Australia, and so forth). Travel to and from the Orient and cargo, especially imported tea and silk, were an important source of revenue, aided by Royal Mail contracts. This was an important part of the All-Red Route linking the various parts of the British Empire.
The other ocean part was the Atlantic service to and from the United Kingdom, which began with acquisition of two existing lines, Beaver Line, owned by Elder Dempster and Allan Lines. These two segments became Canadian Pacific Ocean Services (later, Canadian Pacific Steamships) and operated separately from the various lake services operated in Canada, which were considered to be a direct part of the railway's operations. These trans-ocean routes made it possible to travel from Britain to Hong Kong using only the CPR's ships, trains and hotels. CP's 'Empress' ships became world-famous for their luxury and speed. They had a practical role, too, in transporting immigrants from much of Europe to Canada, especially to populate the vast prairies. They also played an important role in both world wars with many of them being lost to enemy action, including Empress of Britain.
There were also a number of rail ferries operated over the years as well including, between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit from 1890 until 1915. This began with two paddle-wheelers capable of carrying 16 cars. Passenger cars were carried as well as freight. This service ended in 1915 when the CPR made an agreement with the Michigan Central to use their Detroit River tunnel opened in 1910. Pennsylvania-Ontario Transportation Company was formed jointly with the PRR in 1906 to operate a ferry across Lake Erie between Ashtabula, Ohio, and Port Burwell, Ontario, to carry freight cars, mostly of coal, much of it to be burned in CPR steam locomotives. Only one ferry boat was ever operated, Ashtabula, a large vessel which eventually sank in a harbour collision in Ashtabula on September 18, 1958, thus ending the service.
British Columbia Coast Steamships
The Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Service (British Columbia Coast Steamships or BCCS) was established when the CPR acquired in 1901 Canadian Pacific Navigation Company (no relation) and its large fleet of ships that served 72 ports along the coast of British Columbia including on Vancouver Island. Service included the Vancouver-Victoria-Seattle Triangle Route, Gulf Islands, Powell River, as well as Vancouver-Alaska service. BCCS operated a fleet of 14 passenger ships made up of a number of Princess ships, pocket versions of the famous oceangoing Empress ships along with a freighter, three tugs and five railway car barges. Popular with tourists, the Princess ships were famous in their own right especially Princess Marguerite (II) which operated from 1949 until 1985 and was the last coastal liner in operation. The most notorious of the princess ships, however, is Princess Sophia, which sank with no survivors after striking the Vanderbilt Reef in Alaska's Lynn Canal, constituting the largest maritime disaster in the history of the Pacific Northwest. These services continued for many years until changing conditions in the late 1950s brought about their decline and eventual demise at the end of season in 1974. Princess Marguerite was acquired by the province's British Columbia Steamship (1975) Ltd. and continued to operate for a number of years. In 1977 although BCCSS was the legal name, it was rebranded as Coastal Marine Operations (CMO). By 1998 the company was bought by the Washington Marine Group which after purchase was renamed Seaspan Coastal Intermodal Company and then subsequently rebranded in 2011 as Seaspan Ferries Corporation. Passenger service ended in 1981.British Columbia Lake and River ServiceThe Canadian Pacific Railway Lake and River Service (British Columbia Lake and River Service) developed slowly and in spurts of growth. CP began a long history of service in the Kootenays region of southern British Columbia beginning with the purchase in 1897 of the Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company which operated a fleet of steamers and barges on the Arrow Lakes and was merged into the CPR as the CPR Lake and River Service which also served the Arrow Lakes and Columbia River, Kootenay Lake and Kootenai River, Lake Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Slocan Lake, Trout Lake, and Shuswap Lake and the Thompson River/Kamloops Lake.
Canadian Pacific Hotels
To promote tourism and passenger ridership the Canadian Pacific established a series of first class hotels. These hotels became landmarks famous in their own right. They include the Algonquin in St. Andrews, Château Frontenac in Quebec, Royal York in Toronto, Minaki Lodge in Minaki Ontario, Hotel Vancouver, Empress Hotel in Victoria and the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. Several signature hotels were acquired from its competitor Canadian National during the 1980s, including the Jasper Park Lodge. The hotels retain their Canadian Pacific heritage, but are no longer operated by the railway. In 1998, Canadian Pacific Hotels acquired Fairmont Hotels, an American company, becoming Fairmont Hotels and Resorts; the combined corporation operated the historic Canadian properties as well as the Fairmont's U.S. properties until merged with Raffles Hotels and Resorts and Swissôtel in 2006.
Canadian Pacific Air Lines
Canadian Pacific Airlines, also called CP Air, operated from 1942 to 1987 and was the main competitor of Canadian government-owned Air Canada. Based at Vancouver International Airport, it served Canadian and international routes until it was purchased by Pacific Western Airlines which merged PWA and CP Air to create Canadian Airlines.
Locomotives
Steam locomotives
]]
locomotive]]
In the CPR's early years, it made extensive use of American-type 4-4-0 steam locomotives, and such examples of this are the Countess of Dufferin or No. 29. Later, considerable use was also made of the 4-6-0 type for passenger and 2-8-0 type for freight. Starting in the 20th century, the CPR bought and built hundreds of Ten-Wheeler-type 4-6-0s for passenger and freight service and similar quantities of 2-8-0s and 2-10-2s for freight. 2-10-2s were also used in passenger service on mountain routes. The CPR bought hundreds of 4-6-2 Pacifics between 1906 and 1948 with later versions being true dual-purpose passenger and fast-freight locomotives.
, a G-3-c 4-6-2 Pacific-type locomotive built at the CPR's Angus Shops in 1923]]
The CPR built hundreds of its own locomotives at its shops in Montreal, first at the "New Shops", as the DeLorimer shops were commonly referred to, and at the massive Angus Shops that replaced them in 1904. Some of the CPR's best-known locomotives were the 4-6-4 Hudsons. First built in 1929, they began a new era of modern locomotives with capabilities that changed how transcontinental passenger trains ran, eliminating frequent changes en route. The 2800s, as the Hudson type was known, ran from Toronto to Fort William, a distance of , while another lengthy engine district was from Winnipeg to Calgary .
Especially notable were the semi-streamlined H1 class Royal Hudsons, locomotives that were given their name because one of their class hauled the royal train carrying King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on the 1939 royal tour across Canada without change or failure. That locomotive, No. 2850, is preserved in the Exporail exhibit hall of the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec. One of the class, No. 2860, was restored by the British Columbia government and used in excursion service on the British Columbia Railway between 1974 and 1999.
The CPR also made many of their older 2-8-0s, built in the turn of the century, into 2-8-2s.
In 1929, the CPR received its first 2-10-4 Selkirk locomotives, the largest steam locomotives to run in Canada and the British Empire. Named after the Selkirk Mountains where they served, these locomotives were well suited for steep grades. They were regularly used in passenger and freight service. The CPR would own 37 of these locomotives, including number 8000, an experimental high pressure engine. The last steam locomotives that the CPR received, in 1949, were Selkirks, numbered 5930–5935.
Diesel locomotives
circa 1973]]
after track clearance in Bolton, Ontario. It is headed by four GE AC4400CW locomotives (8627, 9615, 8629, and 8609).]]
In 1937, the CPR acquired its first diesel-electric locomotive, a custom-built one-of-a-kind switcher numbered 7000. This locomotive was not successful and was not repeated. Production-model diesels were imported from American Locomotive Company (Alco) starting with five model S-2 yard switchers in 1943 and followed by further orders. In 1949, operations on lines in Vermont were dieselized with Alco FA1 road locomotives (eight A and four B units), five ALCO RS-2 road switchers, three Alco S-2 switchers and three EMD E8 passenger locomotives. In 1948 Montreal Locomotive Works began production of ALCO designs.
In 1949, the CPR acquired 13 Baldwin-designed locomotives from the Canadian Locomotive Company for its isolated Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway and Vancouver Island was quickly dieselized. Following that successful experiment, the CPR started to dieselize its main network. Dieselization was completed 11 years later, with its last steam locomotive running on 6 November 1960. The CPR's first-generation locomotives were mostly made by General Motors Diesel and Montreal Locomotive Works (American Locomotive Company designs), with some made by the Canadian Locomotive Company to Baldwin and Fairbanks Morse designs.
CP was the first railway in North America to pioneer alternating current (AC) traction diesel-electric locomotives in 1984. In 1995, CP turned to GE Transportation for the first production AC traction locomotives in Canada, and now has the highest percentage of AC locomotives in service of all North American Class I railways.
On September 16, 2019, Progress Rail rolled out two SD70ACU rebuilds in Canadian Pacific heritage paint schemes; 7010 wears a Tuscan red and grey paint scheme with script writing, and the 7015 wears a similar paint scheme with block lettering.
, in Nashotah, Wisconsin]]
On November 11, 2019, five SD70ACU units with commemorative military themes were unveiled during CPR's Remembrance Day ceremony. These units are numbered 7020–7023, with 7024 being renumbered to 6644 to commemorate the date of D-Day: June 6, 1944.
In 2021, Canadian Pacific repainted two locomotives orange: ES44AC 8757 which was unveiled for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in September 2021, and ES44AC 8781 to commemorate shipper Hapag-Lloyd.
The fleet includes these types:
Final diesel roster
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Builder !! Model !! Horsepower !! Build date !! Quantity !! Numbers !! Notes
|-
| EMD ||FP9A|| 1750 || 1958 || 1 || 1401 || Acquired 1998, used on the Royal Canadian Pacific
|-
| EMD ||F9B|| 1750 || 1958 || 1 || 1900 || Acquired 1998, used on the RCP
|-
| EMD ||GP20C-ECO|| 2000 || 2012–2014 || 130 || 2200–2329 ||
|-
| EMD/GMD ||GP38AC|| 2000 || 1970–1971 || 21 || 3000–3020 ||
|-
| EMD/GMD ||GP38-2|| 2000 || 1983–1986 || 115 || 3021–3135 ||
|-
|EMD
|GP40-3
|3000
|1966–1968
|2
|4007–4008
|Ex-MILW/SOO
|-
| EMD ||FP9A|| 1750 || 1957 || 2 || 4106–4107 || Acquired 2006, used on the RCP
|-
| EMD ||GP38-2|| 2000 || 1974–1983 || 74 || 4400–4452, 4506–4515 || Acquired 1990, ex-SOO, 4500 series are ex-MILW
|-
|EMD
|GP39-2
|2300
|1978
|1
|4599
|Ex-KCCX/SOO
|-
| EMD ||SD30C-ECO|| 3000 || 2013–2015 || 50 || 5000–5049 ||
|-
| EMD ||SD40-3|| 3000 || 1980–1984 || 10 || 5100–5109 || Rebuilt 2017
|-
| EMD/GMD ||SD40-2|| 3000 || 1972–1984 || 508 || 5565–5879, 5900–6092 ||
|-
| EMD ||SD60|| 3800 || 1989 || 37 || 6221–6257 || Acquired 1990, ex-SOO
|-
| EMD ||SD60M|| 3800 || 1989 || 5 || 6258–6262 || Acquired 1990, ex-SOO
|-
| EMD ||SD60-3|| 3800 || 1989 ||10 || 6300–6309 || Rebuilt 2017, ex-SOO
|-
|EMD
|SD40-2
|3000
|1972–1984
|23
|6601–6623
|Ex-SOO
|-
| EMD ||SD40-2F|| 3000 || 1989 || 10 || 9004, 9010–9011, 9014, 9017, 9020-9024 || Many sold to CMQ. After the purchase of CMQ in June 2020, the remaining SD40-2Fs returned to CP Property.
|-
| EMD ||SD70ACU|| 4300 || 1998–1999 ||60 || 6644, 7000–7023, 7025-7059 || Rebuilt 2019–2020 from SD90MACs, 7010–7019 in heritage paint schemes. 6644, 7020–7023 in five distinct commemorative military paint schemes.
|-
| EMD ||GP38-2|| 2000 || 1972 || 10 || 7303–7312 || Acquired 1991, ex-DH
|-
| GE ||AC4400CWM|| 4400 || 1995–1998 || 262 || 8000–8080, 8100–8199, 8200–8280 || Rebuilt 2017–2021.
|-
| GE ||AC4400CW|| 4400 || 2001–2004 || 173 || 8600–8655, 9700–9740, 9750–9784, 9800–9840 ||
|-
| GE ||ES44AC|| 4400 || 2005–2012 || 291 || 8700–8960, 9350–9379 || 8757 painted into an Every Child Matters livery for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation
|}
Retired diesel roster
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Builder !! Model !! Horsepower !! Build date !! Retirement !! Quantity !! Numbers !! Notes
|-
| GMD ||FP7A|| 1750 || 1951–1953 || 1978 || 24 || 1400–1404, 1416–1434 || Renumbered from 4099 to 4103
|-
| GMD ||FP9A|| 1750 || 1954–1953 || 1978 || 11 || 1405–1415, ||
|-
| EMD ||E8A|| 2250 || 1949 || 1978 || 3 || 1800–1802 || 1800 and 1802 sold to Via Rail
|-
| GMD ||F7B|| 1500 || 1951–1954 || 1978 || 51 || 1900, 1909–1919, 4424–4448, 4459–4462 || Many sold to Via Rail
|-
| GMD ||F9B|| 1750 || 1951–1954 || 1978 || 8 || 1901–1908 || Many sold to Via Rail
|-
| Railpower ||GG20B|| 2000 || 2005–2006 || 2006 || 6 || 1700–1707 || Order cancelled before completion
|-
| Alco/MLW ||FA-1|| 1500 || 1949–1950 || 1977 || 28 || 4000–4027 ||
|-
| MLW ||FA-2|| 1500 || 1951–1953 || 1977 || 20 || 4042–4051, 4084–4093 ||
|-
| CLC ||CPA16-4|| 1600 || 1951–1954 || 1975 || 11 || 4052–4057, 4064–4065, 4104–4105 ||
|-
| CLC ||CFA16-4|| 1600 || 1953 || 1975 || 6 || 4076–4081 ||
|-
| MLW ||FPA-2|| 1500 || 1953 || 1975 || 7 || 4082–4083, 4094–4098 ||
|-
| MLW ||C424|| 2400 || 1963–1966 || 1998 || 51 || 4200–4250 || 4200 originally numbered 8300
|-
| MLW ||M-630|| 3000 || 1968–1970 || 1995 || 37 || 4500–4515, 4550–4581 ||
|-
| MLW ||M-636|| 3600 || 1969–1970 || 1995 || 44 || 4700–4743 ||
|-
| MLW ||M-640|| 4000 || 1971 || 1998 || 1 || 4744 || Rebuilt in 1984 as an AC Traction test unit
|-
| GMD ||GP30|| 2250 || 1963 || 1998 || 2 || 5000–5001 || Originally numbered 8200–8201
|-
| GMD ||GP35|| 2500 || 1964–1966 || 1999 || 23 || 5002–5025 || Some converted to control cabs
|-
| GMD ||SD40|| 3000 || 1966–1967 || 2001 || 65 || 5500–5564 ||
|-
| MLW ||S-3|| 1000 || 1951–1959 || 1984 || 101 || 6500–6600 ||
|-
| MLW ||S-10|| 1000 || 1958 || 1983 || 13 || 6601–6613 ||
|-
| MLW ||S-10|| 660 || 1959 || 1985 || 10 || 6614–6623 ||
|-
| GMD ||SW8|| 800 || 1950–1951 || 1994 || 10 || 6700–6709 ||
|-
| GMD ||SW900|| 900 || 1955 || 1994 || 11 || 6710–6720 || 6711 used as a track mobile
|-
| Alco/MLW ||S-2|| 1000 || 1943–1947 || 1986 || 78 || 7010–7064, 7076–7098 ||
|-
| Baldwin ||DS-4-4-1000|| 1000 || 1948 || 1979 || 11 || 7065–7075 ||
|-
| Baldwin ||DRS-4-4-1000|| 1000 || 1948–1949 || 1979 || 13 || 8000–8012 ||
|-
| MLW ||RS-23|| 1000 || 1959–1960 || 1997 || 35 || 8013–8046 ||
|-
| GMD ||SW1200RS|| 1200 || 1958–1960 || 2012 || 72 || 8100–8171 || Many rebuilt into SW1200RSUs in the 1980s
|-
| Alco/MLW ||RS-2|| 1500 || 1949–1950 || 1983 || 9 || 8400–8408 ||
|-
| GMD ||GP7|| 1500 || 1952 || 2013 || 17 || 8409–8425 || Many rebuilt into GP7Us in the 1980s
|-
| MLW ||RS-3|| 1600 || 1954 || 1983 || 36 || 8426–8461 ||
|-
| GMD ||GP9|| 1750 || 1954–1959 || 2015 || 200 || 8483–8546, 8611–8708, 8801–8839 || Many rebuilt into GP9Us in the 1980s
|-
| MLW ||RS-10|| 1600 || 1956 || 1984 || 65 || 8462–8482, 8557–8600 ||
|-
| CLC ||H-16-44|| 1600 || 1955–1957 || 1976 || 40 || 8547–8556, 8601–8610, 8709–8728 ||
|-
| MLW ||RS-18|| 1800 || 1957–1958 || 1998 || 74 || 8729–8800, 8824 || Many rebuilt into RS18Us in the 1980s
|-
| CLC/FM ||H-24-66|| 2400 || 1955 || 1976 || 21 || 8900–8920 || 8905 Preserved at the Canadian Railway Museum
|-
| MLW ||RSD-17|| 2400 || 1957 || 1995 || 1 || 8921 || Preserved at Elgin County Railway Museum
|-
| GMD ||SD40-2F|| 3000 || 1989 || 2016 || 25 || 9000–9003, 9005–9009, 9012–9013, 9015–9016, 9018–9019 || Scrapped, the rest not numbered here went to Central Maine and Quebec Railway
|-
| Budd ||RDC-3|| 550 || 1953–1956 || 1978 || 5 || 9020–9024 || Many sold to Via Rail
|-
| Budd ||RDC-1|| 550 || 1955–1958 || 1978 || 24 || 9049–9072 || Many sold to Via Rail
|-
| GMD ||SD90MAC|| 4300 || 1998–1999 || 2019 || 61 || 9100–9160 || Rebuilt into SD70ACUs
|-
| Budd ||RDC-2|| 550 || 1951–1956 || 1978 || 23 || 9100–9199 || Many sold to Via Rail
|-
| Budd ||RDC-4|| 550 || 1955–1956 || 1978 || 3 || 9200–9251 || Sold to Via Rail
|-
| Budd ||RDC-5|| 550 || 1955–1956 || 1982 || 8 || 9300–9309 || Many sold to Via Rail
|-
| GMD ||SD90MAC-H|| 6000 || 1998 || 2008 || 4 || 9300–9303 || All have been scrapped
|}
Corporate structure
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited ( ) is a Canadian railway transportation company that operates the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was created in 2001 when the CPR's former parent company, Canadian Pacific Limited, spun off its railway operations. On October 3, 2001, the company's shares began to trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the "CP" symbol. During 2003, the company earned in freight revenue. In October 2008, Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in ''Maclean's''. Later that month, CPR was named one of Alberta's Top Employers, which was reported in both the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal.
Presidents
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Term(s) !! Name
|-
| 1881–1888 || Sir George Stephen United Kingdom/Canada
|-
| 1889–1899 || Sir William Cornelius Van Horne United States/Canada
|-
| 1899–1918 || The Lord Shaughnessy United States/Canada
|-
| 1918–1942 || Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty Canada
|-
| 1942–1947 || D'Alton Corry Coleman Canada
|-
| 1947–1948 || William Neal Canada
|-
| 1948–1955 || William Allen Mather Canada
|-
| 1955–1964, 1966 || Buck Crump Canada
|-
| 1964–1966 || Robert A. Emerson Canada
|-
| 1966–1972 || Ian David Sinclair Canada
|-
| 1972–1981 || Fred Burbidge Canada
|-
| 1981–1984 || William W. Stinson Canada
|-
| 1984–1990 || Russell S. Allison Canada
|-
| 1990–2006 || Robert J. Ritchie Canada
|-
| 2006–2012 || Fred Green Canada
|-
| 2012|| Stephen Tobias (Interim) United States
|-
| 2012–2017 || E. Hunter Harrison United States
|-
| 2017 – 2023 || Keith Creel United States
|}
Major facilities
Canadian Pacific owned a large number of large yards and repair shops across their system, which were used for many operations ranging from intermodal terminals to classification yards. Below are some examples of these.
Hump yards
Hump yards work by using a small hill over which cars are pushed, before being released down a slope and switched automatically into cuts of cars, ready to be made into outbound trains. Many of these yards were closed in 2012 and 2013 under Hunter Harrison's company-wide restructuring; only the St. Paul Yard hump remains open.
* Calgary, Alberta – Alyth Yard; handles 2,200 cars daily (closed)
* Franklin Park, Illinois – Bensenville Yard (closed)
* Montreal, Quebec – St. Luc Yard; active since 1950. Flat switching since the mid-1980s. (closed)
* St. Paul, Minnesota – Pig's Eye Yard / St. Paul Yard
* Toronto, Ontario – Toronto Yard (also known as "Toronto Freight Yard or Agincourt Yard") (closed)
* Winnipeg, Manitoba – Rugby Yard (also known as "Weston Yard") (closed)
Aircraft
As of February 2023, Transport Canada lists the following aircraft in its database and operate as ICAO airline designator CRR, and telephony RAILCAR.
* 1 - Cessna Citation Sovereign (Cessna 680)
* 1 - Bombardier CL-600
Joint partnership
* Toronto Terminal Railways – management team for Toronto's Union Station with Canadian National Railway.
See also
* Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21
* Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402
* Canadian Pacific Building (London)
* Canadian Pacific Building (New York City)
* Canadian Pacific Building (Toronto)
* CPR Festivals
* Facilities of the Canadian Pacific Railway
* History of Chinese immigration to Canada
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
* The Premier's Funeral (11 June 1891). The Woodstock Evening Sentinel Review, p. 1.
*
External links
*
*
* [http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/VQ_P2_18_EN.html CPR, from Sea to Sea: The Scottish Connection] – Historical essay, illustrated with photographs from the CPR Archives and the McCord Museum's Notman Photographic Archives
*
* [http://digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/landingpage/collection/chung The Canadian Pacific Railway inception] – Digital artifacts, archival and graphic material from the UBC Library Digital Collections
* , illustrated account of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Category:Canadian Pacific Railway
Category:Companies based in Calgary
Category:Defunct New York (state) railroads
Category:Defunct New Jersey railroads
Category:Defunct Pennsylvania railroads
Category:Defunct Michigan railroads
Category:Defunct Indiana railroads
Category:Defunct Illinois railroads
Category:Defunct Iowa railroads
Category:Defunct Maine railroads
Category:Defunct Minnesota railroads
Category:Defunct Missouri railroads
Category:Defunct North Dakota railroads
Category:Defunct South Dakota railroads
Category:Defunct Vermont railroads
Category:Defunct Wisconsin railroads
Category:Defunct British Columbia railways
Category:Defunct Alberta railways
Category:Defunct Saskatchewan railways
Category:Defunct Manitoba railways
Category:Defunct Ontario railways
Category:Defunct Quebec railways
Category:Defunct New Brunswick railways
Category:Defunct Nova Scotia railways
Category:Rail lines receiving land grants
Category:Defunct Maryland railroads
Category:Defunct Virginia railroads
Category:Defunct Washington, D.C., railroads
Category:Economy of the Midwestern United States
Category:Former dual-listed companies
Category:1881 in Canada
Category:Standard-gauge railways in Canada
Category:History of transport in Canada
Category:Former defence companies of Canada
Category:Class I railroads in North America
Category:Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Category:Railway companies established in 1881
Category:Canadian companies established in 1881
Category:History of the Rocky Mountains
Category:Railway companies disestablished in 2023
Category:2023 disestablishments in Canada | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.120054 |
5961 | Cognitive psychology | Cognitive Psychology (journal)}}
Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of human mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning.
Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, which held from the 1920s to 1950s that unobservable mental processes were outside the realm of empirical science. This break came as researchers in linguistics and cybernetics, as well as applied psychology, used models of mental processing to explain human behavior.
Work derived from cognitive psychology was integrated into other branches of psychology and various other modern disciplines like cognitive science, linguistics, and economics.
History
Philosophically, ruminations on the human mind and its processes have been around since the times of the ancient Greeks. In 387 BCE, Plato had suggested that the brain was the seat of the mental processes. In 1637, René Descartes posited that humans are born with innate ideas and forwarded the idea of mind-body dualism, which would come to be known as substance dualism (essentially the idea that the mind and the body are two separate substances). From that time, major debates ensued through the 19th century regarding whether human thought was solely experiential (empiricism), or included innate knowledge (nativism). Some of those involved in this debate included George Berkeley and John Locke on the side of empiricism, and Immanuel Kant on the side of nativism.
With the philosophical debate continuing, the mid to late 19th century was a critical time in the development of psychology as a scientific discipline. Two discoveries that would later play substantial roles in cognitive psychology were Paul Broca's discovery of the area of the brain largely responsible for language production, Both areas were subsequently formally named for their founders, and disruptions of an individual's language production or comprehension due to trauma or malformation in these areas have come to commonly be known as Broca's aphasia and Wernicke's aphasia.
From the 1920s to the 1950s, the main approach to psychology was behaviorism. Initially, its adherents viewed mental events such as thoughts, ideas, attention, and consciousness as unobservable, hence outside the realm of a science of psychology. One early pioneer of cognitive psychology, whose work predated much of behaviorist literature, was Carl Jung. Jung introduced the hypothesis of cognitive functions in his 1921 book Psychological Types. Another pioneer of cognitive psychology, who worked outside the boundaries (both intellectual and geographical) of behaviorism, was Jean Piaget. From 1926 to the 1950s and into the 1980s, he studied the thoughts, language, and intelligence of children and adults.
In the mid-20th century, four main influences arose that would inspire and shape cognitive psychology as a formal school of thought:
* With the development of new warfare technology during WWII, the need for a greater understanding of human performance came to prominence. Problems such as how to best train soldiers to use new technology and how to deal with matters of attention while under duress became areas of need for military personnel. Behaviorism provided little if any insight into these matters and it was the work of Donald Broadbent, integrating concepts from human performance research and the recently developed information theory, that forged the way in this area. of behaviorism, and empiricism more generally, initiated what would come to be known as the "cognitive revolution". Inside psychology, in criticism of behaviorism, J. S. Bruner, J. J. Goodnow & G. A. Austin wrote "a study of thinking" in 1956. In 1960, G. A. Miller, E. Galanter and K. Pribram wrote their famous "Plans and the Structure of Behavior". The same year, Bruner and Miller founded the Harvard Center for Cognitive Studies, which institutionalized the revolution and launched the field of cognitive science.
* Formal recognition of the field involved the establishment of research institutions such as George Mandler's Center for Human Information Processing in 1964. Mandler described the origins of cognitive psychology in a 2002 article in the Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences.
Ulric Neisser put the term "cognitive psychology" into common use through his book Cognitive Psychology, published in 1967. Neisser's definition of "cognition" illustrates the then-progressive concept of cognitive processes:
<blockquote>The term "cognition" refers to all processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used. It is concerned with these processes even when they operate in the absence of relevant stimulation, as in images and hallucinations. ... Given such a sweeping definition, it is apparent that cognition is involved in everything a human being might possibly do; that every psychological phenomenon is a cognitive phenomenon. But although cognitive psychology is concerned with all human activity rather than some fraction of it, the concern is from a particular point of view. Other viewpoints are equally legitimate and necessary. Dynamic psychology, which begins with motives rather than with sensory input, is a case in point. Instead of asking how a man's actions and experiences result from what he saw, remembered, or believed, the dynamic psychologist asks how they follow from the subject's goals, needs, or instincts. A key function of attention is to identify irrelevant data and filter it out, enabling significant data to be distributed to the other mental processes. Exogenous control works in a bottom-up manner and is responsible for orienting reflex, and pop-out effects. However, while deep processing does not occur, early sensory processing does. Subjects did notice if the pitch of the unattended message changed or if it ceased altogether, and some even oriented to the unattended message if their name was mentioned.
Working memory
Though working memory is often thought of as just short-term memory, it is more clearly defined as the ability to process and maintain temporary information in a wide range of everyday activities in the face of distraction. The famously known capacity of memory of 7 plus or minus 2 is a combination of both memories in working memory and long-term memory.
One of the classic experiments is by Ebbinghaus, who found the serial position effect where information from the beginning and end of the list of random words were better recalled than those in the center. This primacy and recency effect varies in intensity based on list length.
* Procedural memory is memory for the performance of particular types of action. It is often activated on a subconscious level, or at most requires a minimal amount of conscious effort. Procedural memory includes stimulus-response-type information, which is activated through association with particular tasks, routines, etc. A person is using procedural knowledge when they seemingly "automatically" respond in a particular manner to a particular situation or process. Early psychologists like Edward B. Titchener began to work with perception in their structuralist approach to psychology. Structuralism dealt heavily with trying to reduce human thought (or "consciousness", as Titchener would have called it) into its most basic elements by gaining an understanding of how an individual perceives particular stimuli.
Current perspectives on perception within cognitive psychology tend to focus on particular ways in which the human mind interprets stimuli from the senses and how these interpretations affect behavior. An example of the way in which modern psychologists approach the study of perception is the research being done at the Center for Ecological Study of Perception and Action at the University of Connecticut (CESPA). One study at CESPA concerns ways in which individuals perceive their physical environment and how that influences their navigation through that environment.
Language
Psychologists have had an interest in the cognitive processes involved with language that dates back to the 1870s, when Carl Wernicke proposed a model for the mental processing of language. Current work on language within the field of cognitive psychology varies widely. Cognitive psychologists may study language acquisition, individual components of language formation (like phonemes), how language use is involved in mood, or numerous other related areas.
Significant work has focused on understanding the timing of language acquisition and how it can be used to determine if a child has, or is at risk of, developing a learning disability. A study from 2012 showed that, while this can be an effective strategy, it is important that those making evaluations include all relevant information when making their assessments. Factors such as individual variability, socioeconomic status, short-term and long-term memory capacity, and others must be included in order to make valid assessments.
Much of the current study regarding metacognition within the field of cognitive psychology deals with its application within the area of education. Being able to increase a student's metacognitive abilities has been shown to have a significant impact on their learning and study habits. One key aspect of this concept is the improvement of students' ability to set goals and self-regulate effectively to meet those goals. As a part of this process, it is also important to ensure that students are realistically evaluating their personal degree of knowledge and setting realistic goals (another metacognitive task).
Common phenomena related to metacognition include:
* Déjà Vu: feeling of a repeated experience.
* Cryptomnesia: generating thought believing it is unique but it is actually a memory of a past experience; also known as unconscious plagiarism.
* False Fame Effect: non-famous names can be made to be famous.
* Validity effect: statements seem more valid upon repeated exposure.
* Imagination inflation: imagining an event that did not occur and having increased confidence that it did occur.
Modern perspectives
Modern perspectives on cognitive psychology generally address cognition as a dual process theory, expounded upon by Daniel Kahneman in 2011. Kahneman differentiated the two styles of processing more, calling them intuition and reasoning. Intuition (or system 1), similar to associative reasoning, was determined to be fast and automatic, usually with strong emotional bonds included in the reasoning process. Kahneman said that this kind of reasoning was based on formed habits and very difficult to change or manipulate. Reasoning (or system 2) was slower and much more volatile, being subject to conscious judgments and attitudes. His work in the areas of recognition and treatment of depression has gained worldwide recognition. In his 1987 book titled Cognitive Therapy of Depression, Beck puts forth three salient points with regard to his reasoning for the treatment of depression by means of therapy or therapy and antidepressants versus using a pharmacological-only approach:
<blockquote>1. Despite the prevalent use of antidepressants, the fact remains that not all patients respond to them. Beck cites (in 1987) that only 60 to 65% of patients respond to antidepressants, and recent meta-analyses (a statistical breakdown of multiple studies) show very similar numbers.<br />2. Many of those who do respond to antidepressants end up not taking their medications, for various reasons. They may develop side-effects or have some form of personal objection to taking the drugs.<br />3. Beck posits that the use of psychotropic drugs may lead to an eventual breakdown in the individual's coping mechanisms. His theory is that the person essentially becomes reliant on the medication as a means of improving mood and fails to practice those coping techniques typically practiced by healthy individuals to alleviate the effects of depressive symptoms. By failing to do so, once the patient is weaned off of the antidepressants, they often are unable to cope with normal levels of depressed mood and feel driven to reinstate use of the antidepressants.</blockquote>
Social psychology
Many facets of modern social psychology have roots in research done within the field of cognitive psychology. Social cognition is a specific sub-set of social psychology that concentrates on processes that have been of particular focus within cognitive psychology, specifically applied to human interactions. Gordon B. Moskowitz defines social cognition as "... the study of the mental processes involved in perceiving, attending to, remembering, thinking about, and making sense of the people in our social world".
The development of multiple social information processing (SIP) models has been influential in studies involving aggressive and anti-social behavior. Kenneth Dodge's SIP model is one of, if not the most, empirically supported models relating to aggression. Among his research, Dodge posits that children who possess a greater ability to process social information more often display higher levels of socially acceptable behavior; that the type of social interaction that children have affects their relationships. His model asserts that there are five steps that an individual proceeds through when evaluating interactions with other individuals and that how the person interprets cues is key to their reactionary process.Developmental psychologyMany of the prominent names in the field of developmental psychology base their understanding of development on cognitive models. One of the major paradigms of developmental psychology, the Theory of Mind (ToM), deals specifically with the ability of an individual to effectively understand and attribute cognition to those around them. This concept typically becomes fully apparent in children between the ages of 4 and 6. Essentially, before the child develops ToM, they are unable to understand that those around them can have different thoughts, ideas, or feelings than themselves. The development of ToM is a matter of metacognition, or thinking about one's thoughts. The child must be able to recognize that they have their own thoughts and in turn, that others possess thoughts of their own.
One of the foremost minds with regard to developmental psychology, Jean Piaget, focused much of his attention on cognitive development from birth through adulthood. Though there have been considerable challenges to parts of his stages of cognitive development, they remain a staple in the realm of education. Piaget's concepts and ideas predated the cognitive revolution but inspired a wealth of research in the field of cognitive psychology and many of his principles have been blended with modern theory to synthesize the predominant views of today.
Educational psychology
Modern theories of education have applied many concepts that are focal points of cognitive psychology. Some of the most prominent concepts include:
* Metacognition: Metacognition is a broad concept encompassing all manners of one's thoughts and knowledge about their own thinking. A key area of educational focus in this realm is related to self-monitoring, which relates highly to how well students are able to evaluate their personal knowledge and apply strategies to improve knowledge in areas in which they are lacking.
* Declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge: Declarative knowledge is a person's 'encyclopedic' knowledge base, whereas procedural knowledge is specific knowledge relating to performing particular tasks. The application of these cognitive paradigms to education attempts to augment a student's ability to integrate declarative knowledge into newly learned procedures in an effort to facilitate accelerated learning.Relationship to cognitive scienceCognitive psychology is considered a core aspect of cognitive science, the interdisciplinary study of mind and mental function, including how such functions implemented in brains and machines. Cognitive science, as a unitary field, integrates knowledge, theory and methodology from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and anthropology.
It has been argued that cognitive science has been largely consumed by cognitive psychology, with some scholars even using the terms interchangeably for an example). This largely results from early difficulties integrating the different fields of cognitive science (e.g. psychology and artificial intelligence), with the resulting divergence of terminology, methodology and theoretical approach over time rendering efforts at cohering the disciplines challenging.
There is however disagreement between neuropsychologists and cognitive psychologists. Cognitive psychology has produced models of cognition which are not supported by modern brain science. It is often the case that the advocates of different cognitive models form a dialectic relationship with one another thus affecting empirical research, with researchers siding with their favorite theory. For example, advocates of mental model theory have attempted to find evidence that deductive reasoning is based on image thinking, while the advocates of mental logic theory have tried to prove that it is based on verbal thinking, leading to a disorderly picture of the findings from brain imaging and brain lesion studies. When theoretical claims are put aside, the evidence shows that interaction depends on the type of task tested, whether of visuospatial or linguistical orientation; but that there is also an aspect of reasoning which is not covered by either theory.
Similarly, neurolinguistics has found that it is easier to make sense of brain imaging studies when the theories are left aside. In the field of language cognition research, generative grammar has taken the position that language resides within its private cognitive module, while 'Cognitive Linguistics' goes to the opposite extreme by claiming that language is not an independent function, but operates on general cognitive capacities such as visual processing and motor skills. Consensus in neuropsychology however takes the middle position that, while language is a specialized function, it overlaps or interacts with visual processing. Nonetheless, much of the research in language cognition continues to be divided along the lines of generative grammar and Cognitive Linguistics; and this, again, affects adjacent research fields including language development and language acquisition.
Major research areas
<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
<div style="display:inline-block">
<!-- C -->Categorization
* Induction and acquisition
* Judgement and classification
* Representation and structure
* Similarity
<!-- K -->Knowledge representation
* Dual-coding theories
* Media psychology
* Mental imagery
* Numerical cognition
* Propositional encoding
<!-- L -->Language
* Language acquisition
* Language processing
*
*
</div>
<div style="display:inline-block">
<!-- M -->Memory
* Aging and memory
* Autobiographical memory
* Childhood memory
* Constructive memory
* Emotion and memory
* Episodic memory
* Eyewitness memory
* False memories
* Flashbulb memory
* List of memory biases
* Long-term memory
* Semantic memory
* Short-term memory
* Source-monitoring error
* Spaced repetition
* Working memory
</div>
<div style="display:inline-block">
<!-- P -->Perception
* Attention
* Pattern recognition
* Visual perception
** Form perception
** Object recognition
* Psychophysics
* Time sensation
<!-- T -->Thinking
* Choice (Glasser's theory)
* Concept formation
* Decision-making
* Logic
* Psychology of reasoning
* Problem solving
* Executive functions
</div>
Influential cognitive psychologists
* John R. Anderson
* Alan Baddeley
* David Ausubel
* Albert Bandura
* Frederic Bartlett
* Elizabeth Bates
* Aaron T. Beck
* Robert Bjork
* Paul Bloom
* Gordon H. Bower
* Donald Broadbent
* Jerome Bruner
* Susan Carey
* Noam Chomsky
* Fergus Craik
* Antonio Damasio
* Hermann Ebbinghaus
* Albert Ellis
* K. Anders Ericsson
* William Estes
* Eugene Galanter
* Vittorio Gallese
* Michael Gazzaniga
* Dedre Gentner
* Vittorio Guidano
* Philip Johnson-Laird
* Daniel Kahneman
* Nancy Kanwisher
* Eric Lenneberg
* Alan Leslie
* Willem Levelt
* Elizabeth Loftus
* Alexander Luria
* Brian MacWhinney
* George Mandler
* Jean Matter Mandler
* Ellen Markman
* James McClelland
* George Armitage Miller
* Ulrich Neisser
* Allen Newell
* Allan Paivio
* Seymour Papert
* Jean Piaget
* Steven Pinker
* Michael Posner
* Karl H. Pribram
* Giacomo Rizzolatti
* Henry L. Roediger III
* Eleanor Rosch
* David Rumelhart
* Eleanor Saffran
* Daniel Schacter
* Otto Selz
* Roger Shepard
* Richard Shiffrin
* Herbert A. Simon
* George Sperling
* Robert Sternberg
* Larry Squire
* Saul Sternberg
* Anne Treisman
* Endel Tulving
* Amos Tversky
* Lev Vygotsky
See also
{|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|style="width:20em"|
* Cognition
*
* Connectionism
* Discursive psychology
* Ecological psychology
* Evolutionary psychology
* Fuzzy-trace theory
* Genetic epistemology
* Information processing (psychology)
|
* Intelligent system
* Intertrial priming
* Models of abnormality
* Neurocognitive
* Perceptual control theory
* Personal information management
* Psychological adaptation
* Rubicon model (psychology)
* Situated cognition
* Social cognition
* Water-level task
|}
References
Further reading
*
*
*
* Philip T. Quinlan, Ben Dyson. 2008. Cognitive Psychology. Publisher-Pearson/Prentice Hall. , 9780131298101
* Robert J. Sternberg, Jeffery Scott Mio. 2009. Cognitive Psychology. Publisher-Cengage Learning. , 9780495506294
* Nick Braisby, Angus Gellatly. 2012. Cognitive Psychology. Publisher-Oxford University Press. , 9780199236992
External links
*
*
* [http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Cognitive_psychology Cognitive psychology] article in Scholarpedia
* [https://www.human.cornell.edu/hd/research/labs/lrdm/home Laboratory for Rational Decision Making]
Category:1967 introductions
Category:Behavioural sciences
Category:Cognition | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_psychology | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.151673 |
5962 | Comet | A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or coma surrounding the nucleus, and sometimes a tail of gas and dust gas blown out from the coma. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the outstreaming solar wind plasma acting upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma may be up to 15 times Earth's diameter, while the tail may stretch beyond one astronomical unit. If sufficiently close and bright, a comet may be seen from Earth without the aid of a telescope and can subtend an arc of up to 30° (60 Moons) across the sky. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many cultures and religions.
Comets usually have highly eccentric elliptical orbits, and they have a wide range of orbital periods, ranging from several years to potentially several millions of years. Short-period comets originate in the Kuiper belt or its associated scattered disc, which lie beyond the orbit of Neptune. Long-period comets are thought to originate in the Oort cloud, a spherical cloud of icy bodies extending from outside the Kuiper belt to halfway to the nearest star. Long-period comets are set in motion towards the Sun by gravitational perturbations from passing stars and the galactic tide. Hyperbolic comets may pass once through the inner Solar System before being flung to interstellar space. The appearance of a comet is called an apparition.
Extinct comets that have passed close to the Sun many times have lost nearly all of their volatile ices and dust and may come to resemble small asteroids. Asteroids are thought to have a different origin from comets, having formed inside the orbit of Jupiter rather than in the outer Solar System. However, the discovery of main-belt comets and active centaur minor planets has blurred the distinction between asteroids and comets. In the early 21st century, the discovery of some minor bodies with long-period comet orbits, but characteristics of inner solar system asteroids, were called Manx comets. They are still classified as comets, such as C/2014 S3 (PANSTARRS). Twenty-seven Manx comets were found from 2013 to 2017.
, there are 4,584 known comets. However, this represents a very small fraction of the total potential comet population, as the reservoir of comet-like bodies in the outer Solar System (in the Oort cloud) is about one trillion. Roughly one comet per year is visible to the naked eye, though many of those are faint and unspectacular. Particularly bright examples are called "great comets". Comets have been visited by uncrewed probes such as NASA's Deep Impact, which blasted a crater on Comet Tempel 1 to study its interior, and the European Space Agency's Rosetta, which became the first to land a robotic spacecraft on a comet.
Etymology
that allegedly made an appearance in 729 AD.]]
The word comet'' derives from the Old English from the Latin or . That, in turn, is a romanization of the Greek 'wearing long hair', and the Oxford English Dictionary notes that the term () already meant 'long-haired star, comet' in Greek. was derived from () 'to wear the hair long', which was itself derived from () 'the hair of the head' and was used to mean 'the tail of a comet'.
The astronomical symbol for comets (represented in Unicode) is , consisting of a small disc with three hairlike extensions.
Physical characteristics
Nucleus
as imaged during a spacecraft flyby. The nucleus is about 2 km in length.]]
The solid, core structure of a comet is known as the nucleus. Cometary nuclei are composed of an amalgamation of rock, dust, water ice, and frozen carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and ammonia. As such, they are popularly described as "dirty snowballs" after Fred Whipple's model. Comets with a higher dust content have been called "icy dirtballs". The term "icy dirtballs" arose after observation of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 collision with an "impactor" probe sent by NASA Deep Impact mission in July 2005. Research conducted in 2014 suggests that comets are like "deep fried ice cream", in that their surfaces are formed of dense crystalline ice mixed with organic compounds, while the interior ice is colder and less dense. In 2009, it was confirmed that the amino acid glycine had been found in the comet dust recovered by NASA's Stardust mission. In August 2011, a report, based on NASA studies of meteorites found on Earth, was published suggesting DNA and RNA components (adenine, guanine, and related organic molecules) may have been formed on asteroids and comets.
The outer surfaces of cometary nuclei have a very low albedo, making them among the least reflective objects found in the Solar System. The Giotto space probe found that the nucleus of Halley's Comet (1P/Halley) reflects about four percent of the light that falls on it, and Deep Space 1 discovered that Comet Borrelly's surface reflects less than 3.0%;
Comet nuclei with radii of up to have been observed, but ascertaining their exact size is difficult. The nucleus of 322P/SOHO is probably only in diameter. A lack of smaller comets being detected despite the increased sensitivity of instruments has led some to suggest that there is a real lack of comets smaller than across. Known comets have been estimated to have an average density of . Because of their low mass, comet nuclei do not become spherical under their own gravity and therefore have irregular shapes.
exhibits jets on light side and dark side, stark relief, and is dry.]]
Roughly six percent of the near-Earth asteroids are thought to be the extinct nuclei of comets that no longer experience outgassing, including 14827 Hypnos and 3552 Don Quixote.
Results from the Rosetta and Philae spacecraft show that the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko has no magnetic field, which suggests that magnetism may not have played a role in the early formation of planetesimals. Further, the ALICE spectrograph on Rosetta determined that electrons (within above the comet nucleus) produced from photoionization of water molecules by solar radiation, and not photons from the Sun as thought earlier, are responsible for the degradation of water and carbon dioxide molecules released from the comet nucleus into its coma. Instruments on the Philae lander found at least sixteen organic compounds at the comet's surface, four of which (acetamide, acetone, methyl isocyanate and propionaldehyde) have been detected for the first time on a comet.
{| class"wikitable center" style"text-align: center; width: 530px; margin: 0.1em auto;"
|+Properties of some comets
|-
! width="120" | Name
! width="120" | Dimensions<br />(km)
! width="120" | Density<br />(g/cm<sup>3</sup>)
! width"120" | Mass<br />(kg)
!Refs
|-
| align="left" | Halley's Comet
| 15 × 8 × 8
| 0.6
| 3
|
|-
| align="left" | Tempel 1
| 7.6 × 4.9
| 0.62
| 7.9
|
|-
| align="left" | 19P/Borrelly
| 8 × 4 × 4
| 0.3
| 2.0
|
|-
| align="left" | 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
| 4.1 × 3.3 × 1.8
| 0.47
| 1.0
|
|}
Coma
image of Comet ISON shortly before perihelion.]]
exhibits jets, but has no surface ice.]]
The streams of dust and gas thus released form a huge and extremely thin atmosphere around the comet called the "coma". The force exerted on the coma by the Sun's radiation pressure and solar wind cause an enormous "tail" to form pointing away from the Sun.
The coma is generally made of water and dust, with water making up to 90% of the volatiles that outflow from the nucleus when the comet is within 3 to 4 astronomical units (450,000,000 to 600,000,000 km; 280,000,000 to 370,000,000 mi) of the Sun. The parent molecule is destroyed primarily through photodissociation and to a much smaller extent photoionization, with the solar wind playing a minor role in the destruction of water compared to photochemistry.
Although the solid nucleus of comets is generally less than across, the coma may be thousands or millions of kilometers across, sometimes becoming larger than the Sun. For example, about a month after an outburst in October 2007, comet 17P/Holmes briefly had a tenuous dust atmosphere larger than the Sun. The Great Comet of 1811 had a coma roughly the diameter of the Sun. Even though the coma can become quite large, its size can decrease about the time it crosses the orbit of Mars around from the Sun. Most comets are too faint to be visible without the aid of a telescope, but a few each decade become bright enough to be visible to the naked eye. Occasionally a comet may experience a huge and sudden outburst of gas and dust, during which the size of the coma greatly increases for a period of time. This happened in 2007 to Comet Holmes.
In 1996, comets were found to emit X-rays. This greatly surprised astronomers because X-ray emission is usually associated with very high-temperature bodies. The X-rays are generated by the interaction between comets and the solar wind: when highly charged solar wind ions fly through a cometary atmosphere, they collide with cometary atoms and molecules, "stealing" one or more electrons from the atom in a process called "charge exchange". This exchange or transfer of an electron to the solar wind ion is followed by its de-excitation into the ground state of the ion by the emission of X-rays and far ultraviolet photons.Bow shock
Bow shocks form as a result of the interaction between the solar wind and the cometary ionosphere, which is created by the ionization of gases in the coma. As the comet approaches the Sun, increasing outgassing rates cause the coma to expand, and the sunlight ionizes gases in the coma. When the solar wind passes through this ion coma, the bow shock appears.
The first observations were made in the 1980s and 1990s as several spacecraft flew by comets 21P/Giacobini–Zinner, 1P/Halley, and 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup. It was then found that the bow shocks at comets are wider and more gradual than the sharp planetary bow shocks seen at, for example, Earth. These observations were all made near perihelion when the bow shocks already were fully developed.
The Rosetta spacecraft observed the bow shock at comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko at an early stage of bow shock development when the outgassing increased during the comet's journey toward the Sun. This young bow shock was called the "infant bow shock". The infant bow shock is asymmetric and, relative to the distance to the nucleus, wider than fully developed bow shocks. Tails
In the outer Solar System, comets remain frozen and inactive and are extremely difficult or impossible to detect from Earth due to their small size. Statistical detections of inactive comet nuclei in the Kuiper belt have been reported from observations by the Hubble Space Telescope but these detections have been questioned. As a comet approaches the inner Solar System, solar radiation causes the volatile materials within the comet to vaporize and stream out of the nucleus, carrying dust away with them.
The streams of dust and gas each form their own distinct tail, pointing in slightly different directions. The tail of dust is left behind in the comet's orbit in such a manner that it often forms a curved tail called the type II or dust tail. On occasions—such as when Earth passes through a comet's orbital plane, the antitail, pointing in the opposite direction to the ion and dust tails, may be seen.
, the dust tail, and the ion gas tail formed by solar wind.]]
The observation of antitails contributed significantly to the discovery of solar wind. The ion tail is formed as a result of the ionization by solar ultra-violet radiation of particles in the coma. Once the particles have been ionized, they attain a net positive electrical charge, which in turn gives rise to an "induced magnetosphere" around the comet. The comet and its induced magnetic field form an obstacle to outward flowing solar wind particles. Because the relative orbital speed of the comet and the solar wind is supersonic, a bow shock is formed upstream of the comet in the flow direction of the solar wind. In this bow shock, large concentrations of cometary ions (called "pick-up ions") congregate and act to "load" the solar magnetic field with plasma, such that the field lines "drape" around the comet forming the ion tail.
If the ion tail loading is sufficient, the magnetic field lines are squeezed together to the point where, at some distance along the ion tail, magnetic reconnection occurs. This leads to a "tail disconnection event".
In 2013, ESA scientists reported that the ionosphere of the planet Venus streams outwards in a manner similar to the ion tail seen streaming from a comet under similar conditions."
Jets
]]
Uneven heating can cause newly generated gases to break out of a weak spot on the surface of comet's nucleus, like a geyser. These streams of gas and dust can cause the nucleus to spin, and even split apart. Infrared imaging of Hartley 2 shows such jets exiting and carrying with it dust grains into the coma. Orbital characteristics Most comets are small Solar System bodies with elongated elliptical orbits that take them close to the Sun for a part of their orbit and then out into the further reaches of the Solar System for the remainder. Comets are often classified according to the length of their orbital periods: The longer the period the more elongated the ellipse. Short period
Periodic comets or short-period comets are generally defined as those having orbital periods of less than 200 years. They usually orbit more-or-less in the ecliptic plane in the same direction as the planets. Their orbits typically take them out to the region of the outer planets (Jupiter and beyond) at aphelion; for example, the aphelion of Halley's Comet is a little beyond the orbit of Neptune. Comets whose aphelia are near a major planet's orbit are called its "family". Such families are thought to arise from the planet capturing formerly long-period comets into shorter orbits.
At the shorter orbital period extreme, Encke's Comet has an orbit that does not reach the orbit of Jupiter, and is known as an Encke-type comet. Short-period comets with orbital periods less than 20 years and low inclinations (up to 30 degrees) to the ecliptic are called traditional Jupiter-family comets (JFCs). Those like Halley, with orbital periods of between 20 and 200 years and inclinations extending from zero to more than 90 degrees, are called Halley-type comets (HTCs). there are 73 known Encke-type comets (six of which are classified as Near-earth objects (NEOs)), 106 HTCs (36 of which are NEOs), and 815 JFCs (153 of which are NEOs).
Recently discovered main-belt comets form a distinct class, orbiting in more circular orbits within the asteroid belt.
Because their elliptical orbits frequently take them close to the giant planets, comets are subject to further gravitational perturbations. Short-period comets have a tendency for their aphelia to coincide with a giant planet's semi-major axis, with the JFCs being the largest group.
Based on their orbital characteristics, short-period comets are thought to originate from the centaurs and the Kuiper belt/scattered disc —a disk of objects in the trans-Neptunian region—whereas the source of long-period comets is thought to be the far more distant spherical Oort cloud (after the Dutch astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort who hypothesized its existence). Vast swarms of comet-like bodies are thought to orbit the Sun in these distant regions in roughly circular orbits. Occasionally the gravitational influence of the outer planets (in the case of Kuiper belt objects) or nearby stars (in the case of Oort cloud objects) may throw one of these bodies into an elliptical orbit that takes it inwards toward the Sun to form a visible comet. Unlike the return of periodic comets, whose orbits have been established by previous observations, the appearance of new comets by this mechanism is unpredictable. When flung into the orbit of the sun, and being continuously dragged towards it, tons of matter are stripped from the comets which greatly influence their lifetime; the more stripped, the shorter they live and vice versa.
Long period
(red) and Earth (blue), illustrating the high eccentricity of its orbit and its rapid motion when close to the Sun.]]
Long-period comets have highly eccentric orbits and periods ranging from 200 years to thousands or even millions of years. For example, Comet McNaught had a heliocentric osculating eccentricity of 1.000019 near its perihelion passage epoch in January 2007 but is bound to the Sun with roughly a 92,600-year orbit because the eccentricity drops below 1 as it moves farther from the Sun. The future orbit of a long-period comet is properly obtained when the osculating orbit is computed at an epoch after leaving the planetary region and is calculated with respect to the center of mass of the Solar System. By definition long-period comets remain gravitationally bound to the Sun; those comets that are ejected from the Solar System due to close passes by major planets are no longer properly considered as having "periods". The orbits of long-period comets take them far beyond the outer planets at aphelia, and the plane of their orbits need not lie near the ecliptic. Long-period comets such as C/1999 F1 and C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) can have aphelion distances of nearly with orbital periods estimated around 6 million years.
Single-apparition or non-periodic comets are similar to long-period comets because they have parabolic or slightly hyperbolic trajectories when near perihelion in the inner Solar System. However, gravitational perturbations from giant planets cause their orbits to change. Single-apparition comets have a hyperbolic or parabolic osculating orbit which allows them to permanently exit the Solar System after a single pass of the Sun. The Sun's Hill sphere has an unstable maximum boundary of . Only a few hundred comets have been seen to reach a hyperbolic orbit (e > 1) when near perihelion that using a heliocentric unperturbed two-body best-fit suggests they may escape the Solar System.
, only two objects have been discovered with an eccentricity significantly greater than one: 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov, indicating an origin outside the Solar System. While ʻOumuamua, with an eccentricity of about 1.2, showed no optical signs of cometary activity during its passage through the inner Solar System in October 2017, changes to its trajectory—which suggests outgassing—indicate that it is probably a comet. On the other hand, 2I/Borisov, with an estimated eccentricity of about 3.36, has been observed to have the coma feature of comets, and is considered the first detected interstellar comet. Comet C/1980 E1 had an orbital period of roughly 7.1 million years before the 1982 perihelion passage, but a 1980 encounter with Jupiter accelerated the comet giving it the largest eccentricity (1.057) of any known solar comet with a reasonable observation arc. Comets not expected to return to the inner Solar System include C/1980 E1, C/2000 U5, C/2001 Q4 (NEAT), C/2009 R1, C/1956 R1, and C/2007 F1 (LONEOS).
Some authorities use the term "periodic comet" to refer to any comet with a periodic orbit (that is, all short-period comets plus all long-period comets), whereas others use it to mean exclusively short-period comets.
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|+ Hyperbolic comet discoveries
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! Year !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015 !! 2016 !! 2017 !! 2018 !! 2019 !! 2020
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| 12 || 7 || 8 || 4 || 13 || 10 || 16 || 9 || 16 || 5 || 18 || 10 || 15 || 17
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Oort cloud and Hills cloud
thought to surround the Solar System. Showed with Kuiper Belt and Asteroid Belt for comparison.]]
The Oort cloud is thought to occupy a vast space starting from between to as far as Some estimates place the outer edge at between . The outer cloud is only weakly bound to the Sun and supplies the long-period (and possibly Halley-type) comets that fall to inside the orbit of Neptune. it is seen as a possible source of new comets that resupply the relatively tenuous outer cloud as the latter's numbers are gradually depleted. The Hills cloud explains the continued existence of the Oort cloud after billions of years.
Exocomets
Exocomets beyond the Solar System have been detected and may be common in the Milky Way. The first exocomet system detected was around Beta Pictoris, a very young A-type main-sequence star, in 1987. A total of 11 such exocomet systems have been identified , using the absorption spectrum caused by the large clouds of gas emitted by comets when passing close to their star. After Kepler Space Telescope retired in October 2018, a new telescope called TESS Telescope has taken over Kepler's mission. Since the launch of TESS, astronomers have discovered the transits of comets around the star Beta Pictoris using a light curve from TESS. Since TESS has taken over, astronomers have since been able to better distinguish exocomets with the spectroscopic method. New planets are detected by the white light curve method which is viewed as a symmetrical dip in the charts readings when a planet overshadows its parent star. However, after further evaluation of these light curves, it has been discovered that the asymmetrical patterns of the dips presented are caused by the tail of a comet or of hundreds of comets. Effects of comets ]] Connection to meteor showers As a comet is heated during close passes to the Sun, outgassing of its icy components releases solid debris too large to be swept away by radiation pressure and the solar wind. If Earth's orbit sends it through that trail of debris, which is composed mostly of fine grains of rocky material, there is likely to be a meteor shower as Earth passes through. Denser trails of debris produce quick but intense meteor showers and less dense trails create longer but less intense showers. Typically, the density of the debris trail is related to how long ago the parent comet released the material. The Perseid meteor shower, for example, occurs every year between 9 and 13 August, when Earth passes through the orbit of Comet Swift–Tuttle. Halley's Comet is the source of the Orionid shower in October. Comets and impact on life Many comets and asteroids collided with Earth in its early stages. Many scientists think that comets bombarding the young Earth about 4 billion years ago brought the vast quantities of water that now fill Earth's oceans, or at least a significant portion of it. Others have cast doubt on this idea. The detection of organic molecules, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in significant quantities in comets has led to speculation that comets or meteorites may have brought the precursors of life—or even life itself—to Earth. In 2013 it was suggested that impacts between rocky and icy surfaces, such as comets, had the potential to create the amino acids that make up proteins through shock synthesis. The speed at which the comets entered the atmosphere, combined with the magnitude of energy created after initial contact, allowed smaller molecules to condense into the larger macro-molecules that served as the foundation for life. In 2015, scientists found significant amounts of molecular oxygen in the outgassings of comet 67P, suggesting that the molecule may occur more often than had been thought, and thus less an indicator of life as has been supposed.
It is suspected that comet impacts have, over long timescales, delivered significant quantities of water to Earth's Moon, some of which may have survived as lunar ice. Comet and meteoroid impacts are thought to be responsible for the existence of tektites and australites.Fear of cometsFear of comets as acts of God and signs of impending doom was highest in Europe from AD 1200 to 1650. The year after the Great Comet of 1618, for example, Gotthard Arthusius published a pamphlet stating that it was a sign that the Day of Judgment was near. He listed ten pages of comet-related disasters, including "earthquakes, floods, changes in river courses, hail storms, hot and dry weather, poor harvests, epidemics, war and treason and high prices".
By 1700 most scholars concluded that such events occurred whether a comet was seen or not. Using Edmond Halley's records of comet sightings, however, William Whiston in 1711 wrote that the Great Comet of 1680 had a periodicity of 574 years and was responsible for the worldwide flood in the Book of Genesis, by pouring water on Earth. His announcement revived for another century fear of comets, now as direct threats to the world instead of signs of disasters. Spectroscopic analysis in 1910 found the toxic gas cyanogen in the tail of Halley's Comet, causing panicked buying of gas masks and quack "anti-comet pills" and "anti-comet umbrellas" by the public. Fate of comets Departure (ejection) from Solar System If a comet is traveling fast enough, it may leave the Solar System. Such comets follow the open path of a hyperbola, and as such, they are called hyperbolic comets. Solar comets are only known to be ejected by interacting with another object in the Solar System, such as Jupiter. An example of this is Comet C/1980 E1, which was shifted from an orbit of 7.1 million years around the Sun, to a hyperbolic trajectory, after a 1980 close pass by the planet Jupiter. Interstellar comets such as 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov never orbited the Sun and therefore do not require a 3rd-body interaction to be ejected from the Solar System. Extinction
Jupiter-family comets and long-period comets appear to follow very different fading laws. The JFCs are active over a lifetime of about 10,000 years or ~1,000 orbits whereas long-period comets fade much faster. Only 10% of the long-period comets survive more than 50 passages to small perihelion and only 1% of them survive more than 2,000 passages. Some asteroids in elliptical orbits are now identified as extinct comets. Roughly six percent of the near-Earth asteroids are thought to be extinct comet nuclei. A significant cometary disruption was that of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, which was discovered in 1993. A close encounter in July 1992 had broken it into pieces, and over a period of six days in July 1994, these pieces fell into Jupiter's atmosphere—the first time astronomers had observed a collision between two objects in the Solar System. Other splitting comets include 3D/Biela in 1846 and 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann from 1995 to 2006. Greek historian Ephorus reported that a comet split apart as far back as the winter of 372–373 BC. Comets are suspected of splitting due to thermal stress, internal gas pressure, or impact.
Comets 42P/Neujmin and 53P/Van Biesbroeck appear to be fragments of a parent comet. Numerical integrations have shown that both comets had a rather close approach to Jupiter in January 1850, and that, before 1850, the two orbits were nearly identical. Another group of comets that is the result of fragmentation episodes is the Liller comet family made of C/1988 A1 (Liller), C/1996 Q1 (Tabur), C/2015 F3 (SWAN), C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS), and C/2023 V5 (Leonard).
Some comets have been observed to break up during their perihelion passage, including great comets West and Ikeya–Seki. Biela's Comet was one significant example when it broke into two pieces during its passage through the perihelion in 1846. These two comets were seen separately in 1852, but never again afterward. Instead, spectacular meteor showers were seen in 1872 and 1885 when the comet should have been visible. A minor meteor shower, the Andromedids, occurs annually in November, and it is caused when Earth crosses the orbit of Biela's Comet.
Some comets meet a more spectacular end – either falling into the Sun or colliding with a planet or other body. Collisions between comets and planets or moons were common in the early Solar System: some of the many craters on the Moon, for example, may have been caused by comets. A recent collision of a comet with a planet occurred in July 1994 when Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 broke up into pieces and collided with Jupiter.
Nomenclature
in 1910]]
The names given to comets have followed several different conventions over the past two centuries. Prior to the early 20th century, most comets were referred to by the year when they appeared, sometimes with additional adjectives for particularly bright comets; thus, the "Great Comet of 1680", the "Great Comet of 1882", and the "Great January Comet of 1910".
After Edmond Halley demonstrated that the comets of 1531, 1607, and 1682 were the same body and successfully predicted its return in 1759 by calculating its orbit, that comet became known as Halley's Comet. Similarly, the second and third known periodic comets, Encke's Comet and Biela's Comet, were named after the astronomers who calculated their orbits rather than their original discoverers. Later, periodic comets were usually named after their discoverers, but comets that had appeared only once continued to be referred to by the year of their appearance. For example, in 2019, astronomer Gennadiy Borisov observed a comet that appeared to have originated outside of the solar system; the comet was named 2I/Borisov after him.
History of study
Early observations and thought
From ancient sources, such as Chinese oracle bones, it is known that comets have been noticed by humans for millennia. Until the sixteenth century, comets were usually considered bad omens of deaths of kings or noble men, or coming catastrophes, or even interpreted as attacks by heavenly beings against terrestrial inhabitants.
, unearthed from Mawangdui tomb. The page gives descriptions and illustrations of seven comets, from a total of 29 found in the document (see: historical comet observations in China).]]
Aristotle (384–322 BC) was the first known scientist to use various theories and observational facts to employ a consistent, structured cosmological theory of comets. He believed that comets were atmospheric phenomena, due to the fact that they could appear outside of the zodiac and vary in brightness over the course of a few days. Aristotle's cometary theory arose from his observations and cosmological theory that everything in the cosmos is arranged in a distinct configuration. Part of this configuration was a clear separation between the celestial and terrestrial, believing comets to be strictly associated with the latter. According to Aristotle, comets must be within the sphere of the moon and clearly separated from the heavens. Also in the 4th century BC, Apollonius of Myndus supported the idea that comets moved like the planets. Aristotelian theory on comets continued to be widely accepted throughout the Middle Ages, despite several discoveries from various individuals challenging aspects of it.
In the 1st century AD, Seneca the Younger questioned Aristotle's logic concerning comets. Because of their regular movement and imperviousness to wind, they cannot be atmospheric, and are more permanent than suggested by their brief flashes across the sky.}} He pointed out that only the tails are transparent and thus cloudlike, and argued that there is no reason to confine their orbits to the zodiac. In criticizing Apollonius of Myndus, Seneca argues, "A comet cuts through the upper regions of the universe and then finally becomes visible when it reaches the lowest point of its orbit." While Seneca did not author a substantial theory of his own, his arguments would spark much debate among Aristotle's critics in the 16th and 17th centuries. Pliny observed comets as "human like", often describing their tails with "long hair" or "long beard". His system for classifying comets according to their color and shape was used for centuries.
appeared in 1066, prior to the Battle of Hastings, and is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.]]
There is a claim that an Arab scholar in 1258 noted several recurrent appearances of a comet (or a type of comet), and though it's not clear if he considered it to be a single periodic comet, it might have been a comet with a period of around 63 years.
In 1301, the Italian painter Giotto was the first person to accurately and anatomically portray a comet. In his work Adoration of the Magi, Giotto's depiction of Halley's Comet in the place of the Star of Bethlehem would go unmatched in accuracy until the 19th century and be bested only with the invention of photography.
Astrological interpretations of comets proceeded to take precedence clear into the 15th century, despite the presence of modern scientific astronomy beginning to take root. Comets continued to forewarn of disaster, as seen in the Luzerner Schilling chronicles and in the warnings of Pope Callixtus III.
s of the Great Comet of 1577 in his notebook.]]
In the 16th century, Tycho Brahe and Michael Maestlin demonstrated that comets must exist outside of Earth's atmosphere by measuring the parallax of the Great Comet of 1577. Within the precision of the measurements, this implied the comet must be at least four times more distant than from Earth to the Moon. Based on observations in 1664, Giovanni Borelli recorded the longitudes and latitudes of comets that he observed, and suggested that cometary orbits may be parabolic. Despite being a skilled astronomer, in his 1623 book The Assayer, Galileo Galilei rejected Brahe's theories on the parallax of comets and claimed that they may be a mere optical illusion, despite little personal observation.
Isaac Newton, in his Principia Mathematica of 1687, proved that an object moving under the influence of gravity by an inverse square law must trace out an orbit shaped like one of the conic sections, and he demonstrated how to fit a comet's path through the sky to a parabolic orbit, using the comet of 1680 as an example.
He describes comets as compact and durable solid bodies moving in oblique orbit and their tails as thin streams of vapor emitted by their nuclei, ignited or heated by the Sun. He suspected that comets were the origin of the life-supporting component of air. He pointed out that comets usually appear near the Sun, and therefore most likely orbit it. On their luminosity, he stated, "The comets shine by the Sun's light, which they reflect," with their tails illuminated by "the Sun's light reflected by a smoke arising from [the coma]".
, as shown in Newton's Principia]]
In 1705, Edmond Halley (1656–1742) applied Newton's method to 23 cometary apparitions that had occurred between 1337 and 1698. He noted that three of these, the comets of 1531, 1607, and 1682, had very similar orbital elements, and he was further able to account for the slight differences in their orbits in terms of gravitational perturbation caused by Jupiter and Saturn. Confident that these three apparitions had been three appearances of the same comet, he predicted that it would appear again in 1758–59. Halley's predicted return date was later refined by a team of three French mathematicians: Alexis Clairaut, Joseph Lalande, and Nicole-Reine Lepaute, who predicted the date of the comet's 1759 perihelion to within one month's accuracy. When the comet returned as predicted, it became known as Halley's Comet.
As early as the 18th century, some scientists had made correct hypotheses as to comets' physical composition. In 1755, Immanuel Kant hypothesized in his Universal Natural History that comets were condensed from "primitive matter" beyond the known planets, which is "feebly moved" by gravity, then orbit at arbitrary inclinations, and are partially vaporized by the Sun's heat as they near perihelion. In 1836, the German mathematician Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, after observing streams of vapor during the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, proposed that the jet forces of evaporating material could be great enough to significantly alter a comet's orbit, and he argued that the non-gravitational movements of Encke's Comet resulted from this phenomenon.
In the 19th century, the Astronomical Observatory of Padova was an epicenter in the observational study of comets. Led by Giovanni Santini (1787–1877) and followed by Giuseppe Lorenzoni (1843–1914), this observatory was devoted to classical astronomy, mainly to the new comets and planets orbit calculation, with the goal of compiling a catalog of almost ten thousand stars. Situated in the Northern portion of Italy, observations from this observatory were key in establishing important geodetic, geographic, and astronomical calculations, such as the difference of longitude between Milan and Padua as well as Padua to Fiume. Correspondence within the observatory, particularly between Santini and another astronomer Giuseppe Toaldo, mentioned the importance of comet and planetary orbital observations.
In 1950, Fred Lawrence Whipple proposed that rather than being rocky objects containing some ice, comets were icy objects containing some dust and rock. This "dirty snowball" model soon became accepted and appeared to be supported by the observations of an armada of spacecraft (including the European Space Agency's Giotto probe and the Soviet Union's Vega 1 and Vega 2) that flew through the coma of Halley's Comet in 1986, photographed the nucleus, and observed jets of evaporating material.
On 22 January 2014, ESA scientists reported the detection, for the first definitive time, of water vapor on the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. The detection was made by using the far-infrared abilities of the Herschel Space Observatory. The finding is unexpected because comets, not asteroids, are typically considered to "sprout jets and plumes". According to one of the scientists, "The lines are becoming more and more blurred between comets and asteroids." Spacecraft missions
*The Halley Armada describes the collection of spacecraft missions that visited and/or made observations of Halley's Comet 1980s perihelion. The space shuttle Challenger was intended to do a study of Halley's Comet in 1986, but exploded shortly after being launched.
*Deep Impact. Debate continues about how much ice is in a comet. In 2001, the Deep Space 1 spacecraft obtained high-resolution images of the surface of Comet Borrelly. It was found that the surface of comet Borrelly is hot and dry, with a temperature of between , and extremely dark, suggesting that the ice has been removed by solar heating and maturation, or is hidden by the soot-like material that covers Borrelly. In July 2005, the Deep Impact probe blasted a crater on Comet Tempel 1 to study its interior. The mission yielded results suggesting that the majority of a comet's water ice is below the surface and that these reservoirs feed the jets of vaporized water that form the coma of Tempel 1. Renamed EPOXI, it made a flyby of Comet Hartley 2 on 4 November 2010.
*Ulysses. In 2007, the Ulysses probe unexpectedly passed through the tail of the comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) which was discovered in 2006. Ulysses was launched in 1990 and the intended mission was for Ulysses to orbit around the Sun for further study at all latitudes.
*Stardust. Data from the Stardust mission show that materials retrieved from the tail of Wild 2 were crystalline and could only have been "born in fire", at extremely high temperatures of over . Although comets formed in the outer Solar System, radial mixing of material during the early formation of the Solar System is thought to have redistributed material throughout the proto-planetary disk. As a result, comets contain crystalline grains that formed in the early, hot inner Solar System. This is seen in comet spectra as well as in sample return missions. More recent still, the materials retrieved demonstrate that the "comet dust resembles asteroid materials". These new results have forced scientists to rethink the nature of comets and their distinction from asteroids.
*Rosetta. The Rosetta probe orbited Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko. On 12 November 2014, its lander Philae successfully landed on the comet's surface, the first time a spacecraft has ever landed on such an object in history. Classification Great comets
]]
Approximately once a decade, a comet becomes bright enough to be noticed by a casual observer, leading such comets to be designated as great comets. Broadly speaking, if a comet has a large and active nucleus, will pass close to the Sun, and is not obscured by the Sun as seen from Earth when at its brightest, it has a chance of becoming a great comet. However, Comet Kohoutek in 1973 fulfilled all the criteria and was expected to become spectacular but failed to do so. Comet West, which appeared three years later, had much lower expectations but became an extremely impressive comet.
The Great Comet of 1577 is a well-known example of a great comet. It passed near Earth as a non-periodic comet and was seen by many, including well-known astronomers Tycho Brahe and Taqi ad-Din. Observations of this comet led to several significant findings regarding cometary science, especially for Brahe.
The late 20th century saw a lengthy gap without the appearance of any great comets, followed by the arrival of two in quick succession—Comet Hyakutake in 1996, followed by Hale–Bopp, which reached maximum brightness in 1997 having been discovered two years earlier. The first great comet of the 21st century was C/2006 P1 (McNaught), which became visible to naked eye observers in January 2007. It was the brightest in over 40 years.
Sungrazing comets
A sungrazing comet is a comet that passes extremely close to the Sun at perihelion, generally within a few million kilometers. Although small sungrazers can be completely evaporated during such a close approach to the Sun, larger sungrazers can survive many perihelion passages. However, the strong tidal forces they experience often lead to their fragmentation.
About 90% of the sungrazers observed with SOHO are members of the Kreutz group, which all originate from one giant comet that broke up into many smaller comets during its first passage through the inner Solar System. The remainder contains some sporadic sungrazers, but four other related groups of comets have been identified among them: the Kracht, Kracht 2a, Marsden, and Meyer groups. The Marsden and Kracht groups both appear to be related to Comet 96P/Machholz, which is the parent of two meteor streams, the Quadrantids and the Arietids.
Unusual comets
showing the types of bodies in the Solar System]]
Of the thousands of known comets, some exhibit unusual properties. Comet Encke (2P/Encke) orbits from outside the asteroid belt to just inside the orbit of the planet Mercury whereas the Comet 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann currently travels in a nearly circular orbit entirely between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. 2060 Chiron, whose unstable orbit is between Saturn and Uranus, was originally classified as an asteroid until a faint coma was noticed. Similarly, Comet Shoemaker–Levy 2 was originally designated asteroid .
Largest
The largest known periodic comet is 95P/Chiron at 200 km in diameter that comes to perihelion every 50 years just inside of Saturn's orbit at 8 AU. The largest known Oort cloud comet is suspected of being Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein at ≈150 km that will not come to perihelion until January 2031 just outside of Saturn's orbit at 11 AU. The Comet of 1729 is estimated to have been ≈100 km in diameter and came to perihelion inside of Jupiter's orbit at 4 AU.
Centaurs
Centaurs typically behave with characteristics of both asteroids and comets. Centaurs can be classified as comets such as 60558 Echeclus, and 166P/NEAT. 166P/NEAT was discovered while it exhibited a coma, and so is classified as a comet despite its orbit, and 60558 Echeclus was discovered without a coma but later became active, and was then classified as both a comet and an asteroid (174P/Echeclus). One plan for Cassini involved sending it to a centaur, but NASA decided to destroy it instead. Observation A comet may be discovered photographically using a wide-field telescope or visually with binoculars. However, even without access to optical equipment, it is still possible for the amateur astronomer to discover a sungrazing comet online by downloading images accumulated by some satellite observatories such as SOHO. SOHO's 2000th comet was discovered by Polish amateur astronomer Michał Kusiak on 26 December 2010 and both discoverers of Hale–Bopp used amateur equipment (although Hale was not an amateur).
Lost
A number of periodic comets discovered in earlier decades or previous centuries are now lost comets. Their orbits were never known well enough to predict future appearances or the comets have disintegrated. However, occasionally a "new" comet is discovered, and calculation of its orbit shows it to be an old "lost" comet. An example is Comet 11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR, discovered in 1869 but unobservable after 1908 because of perturbations by Jupiter. It was not found again until accidentally rediscovered by LINEAR in 2001. There are at least 18 comets that fit this category. In popular culture
The depiction of comets in popular culture is firmly rooted in the long Western tradition of seeing comets as harbingers of doom and as omens of world-altering change. Halley's Comet alone has caused a slew of sensationalist publications of all sorts at each of its reappearances. It was especially noted that the birth and death of some notable persons coincided with separate appearances of the comet, such as with writers Mark Twain (who correctly speculated that he'd "go out with the comet" in 1910) whereas the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997 triggered the mass suicide of the Heaven's Gate cult.
In science fiction, the impact of comets has been depicted as a threat overcome by technology and heroism (as in the 1998 films Deep Impact and Armageddon), or as a trigger of global apocalypse (''Lucifer's Hammer, 1979) or zombies (Night of the Comet'', 1984).In literatureThe long-period comet first recorded by Pons in Florence on 15 July 1825 inspired Lydia Sigourney's humorous poem in which all the celestial bodies argue over the comet's appearance and purpose. Gallery <gallery mode"packed" heights="175">
File:Comet_C2020F3_NEOWISE_over_California_desert_landscape.png|Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, July 2020
File:Comet P1 McNaught02 - 23-01-07-edited.jpg|Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) taken from Victoria, Australia 2007
File:Great Comet of 1882.jpg|The Great Comet of 1882 is a member of the Kreutz group
File:Great Comet 1861.jpg|Austrian astronomer Edmund Weiss sketched the Great Comet of 1861
File:X-rays from Hyakutake.jpg|Comet Hyakutake (X-ray, ROSAT satellite)
File:Asteroid P2013 P5 v2.jpg|"Active asteroid" 311P/PANSTARRS with several tails
File:NASA-14090-Comet-C2013A1-SidingSpring-Hubble-20140311.jpg|Comet Siding Spring (Hubble; 11 March 2014)
File:Comets WISE.jpg|Mosaic of 20 comets discovered by the WISE space telescope
File:PIA22419-Neowise-1stFourYearsDataFromDec2013-20180420.gif|NEOWISE – Comets appear in yellow in Neowise's first four years of collecting data (December 2013 to December 2017)
File:Lovejoy-hi1a srem dec12 14.gif|The STEREO solar observatory filmed Comet Lovejoy moving against the solar wind as it approached the Sun in December 2011
File:ITS Impact.gif|View from Deep Impacts impactor in its last moments before hitting Comet Tempel 1, July 4, 2005
</gallery>
;Videos
<gallery mode"packed" heights"175">
File:NASA Developing Comet Harpoon for Sample Return.ogv|NASA is developing a comet harpoon for returning samples to Earth
File:Encke tail rip off.ogg|The STEREO solar observatory filmed Comet Encke temporarily losing its tail, April 20, 2007
</gallery>
See also
* The Big Splash
* Comet vintages
* List of impact craters on Earth
* List of possible impact structures on Earth
* Lists of comets
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
* [https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/small-bodies/comets/overview/ Comets] at NASA's Solar System Exploration
* [http://www.icq.eps.harvard.edu/ International Comet Quarterly] by Harvard University
* [http://smallbodies.ru/en/ Catalogue of the Solar System Small Bodies Orbital Evolution]
* [https://nationalmaglab.org/education/magnet-academy/watch-play/demos/make-a-comet Science Demos: Make a Comet] by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
* [https://bibnum.obspm.fr/exhibits/show/cometes Comets: from myths to reality], exhibition on Paris Observatory digital library
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:Ice
Category:Extraterrestrial water
Category:Concepts in astronomy
Category:Solar System | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.252091 |
5966 | Compost | Humanure (album)}}
Potting compost}}
]]
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and manure. The resulting mixture is rich in plant nutrients and beneficial organisms, such as bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, and fungi. Compost improves soil fertility in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, urban agriculture, and organic farming, reducing dependency on commercial chemical fertilizers. The benefits of compost include providing nutrients to crops as fertilizer, acting as a soil conditioner, increasing the humus or humic acid contents of the soil, and introducing beneficial microbes that help to suppress pathogens in the soil and reduce soil-borne diseases.
At the simplest level, composting requires gathering a mix of green waste (nitrogen-rich materials such as leaves, grass, and food scraps) and brown waste (woody materials rich in carbon, such as stalks, paper, and wood chips). Composting can be a multistep, closely monitored process with measured inputs of water, air, and carbon- and nitrogen-rich materials. The decomposition process is aided by shredding the plant matter, adding water, and ensuring proper aeration by regularly turning the mixture in a process using open piles or windrows. Fungi, earthworms, and other detritivores further break up the organic material. Aerobic bacteria and fungi manage the chemical process by converting the inputs into heat, carbon dioxide, and ammonium ions.
Composting is an important part of waste management, since food and other compostable materials make up about 20% of waste in landfills, and due to anaerobic conditions, these materials take longer to biodegrade in the landfill. Composting offers an environmentally superior alternative to using organic material for landfill because composting reduces methane emissions due to anaerobic conditions, and provides economic and environmental co-benefits. For example, compost can also be used for land and stream reclamation, wetland construction, and landfill cover.
Fundamentals
organic farm in Washington]]
Composting is an aerobic method of decomposing organic solid wastes, so it can be used to recycle organic material. The process involves decomposing organic material into a humus-like material, known as compost, which is a good fertilizer for plants.
Composting organisms require four equally important ingredients to work effectively:
Composting is most efficient with a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of about 25:1. Hot composting focuses on retaining heat to increase the decomposition rate, thus producing compost more quickly. Rapid composting is favored by having a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of about 30 carbon units or less. Above 30, the substrate is nitrogen starved. Below 15, it is likely to outgas a portion of nitrogen as ammonia.
Nearly all dead plant and animal materials have both carbon and nitrogen in different amounts. Fresh grass clippings have an average ratio of about 15:1 and dry autumn leaves about 50:1 depending upon species.
** Thermophilic bacteria do not reproduce and are not active between , yet are found throughout soil. They activate once the mesophilic bacteria have begun to break down organic matter and increase the temperature to their optimal range. Thermophilic bacteria thrive at higher temperatures, reaching in typical mixes. Large-scale composting operations, such as windrow composting, may exceed this temperature, potentially killing beneficial soil microorganisms but also pasteurizing the waste. Physical decomposers * Ants create nests, making the soil more porous and transporting nutrients to different areas of the compost.
# Mesophilic phase: The initial, mesophilic phase is when the decomposition is carried out under moderate temperatures by mesophilic microorganisms. 2 to 8 days
# Thermophilic phase: As the temperature rises, a second, thermophilic phase starts, in which various thermophilic bacteria carry out the decomposition under higher temperatures (.)
# Cooling phase (also called Mesophilic II)
# Maturation phase: As the supply of high-energy compounds dwindles, the temperature starts to decrease.
Semicomposting is the degradation process that handles volumes of organic waste lower than that recommended for composting and therefore does not present a thermophilic stage, because mesophilic microorganisms are the only responsible ones, for the degradation of organic matter.
Hot and cold composting – impact on timing
The time required to compost material relates to the volume of material, the particle size of the inputs (e.g. wood chips break down faster than branches), and the amount of mixing and aeration. Such short processes involve some changes to traditional methods, including smaller, more homogenized particle sizes in the input materials, controlling carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N) at 30:1 or less, and careful monitoring of the moisture level.
Cold composting is a slower process that can take up to a year to complete. It results from smaller piles, including many residential compost piles that receive small amounts of kitchen and garden waste over extended periods. Piles smaller than tend not to reach and maintain high temperatures. Turning is not necessary with cold composting, although a risk exists that parts of the pile may go anaerobic as it becomes compacted or waterlogged.
Pathogen removal
Composting can destroy some pathogens and seeds, by reaching temperatures above .
Dealing with stabilized compost – i.e. composted material in which microorganisms have finished digesting the organic matter and the temperature has reached between – poses very little risk, as these temperatures kill pathogens and even make oocysts unviable. The temperature at which a pathogen dies depends on the pathogen, how long the temperature is maintained (seconds to weeks), and pH.
Compost products such as compost tea and compost extracts have been found to have an inhibitory effect on Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia species, and Pythium debaryanum, plant pathogens that can cause crop diseases. Aerated compost teas are more effective than compost extracts. Compost is a good source of biocontrol agents like B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, and P. chrysogenum that fight plant pathogens.
* Aspergillosis
* Farmer's lung
* Histoplasmosis – a fungus that grows in guano and bird droppings
* Legionnaires' disease
* Paronychia – via infection around the fingernails and toenails
* Tetanus – a central nervous system disease
Oocytes are rendered unviable by temperatures over . Composting at home reduces the amount of green waste being hauled to dumps or composting facilities. The reduced volume of materials being picked up by trucks results in fewer trips, which in turn lowers the overall emissions from the waste-management fleet. Materials that can be composted Potential sources of compostable materials, or feedstocks, include residential, agricultural, and commercial waste streams. Residential food or yard waste can be composted at home, or collected for inclusion in a large-scale municipal composting facility. In some regions, it could also be included in a local or neighborhood composting project.
Organic solid waste
microorganisms.]]
The two broad categories of organic solid waste are green and brown. Green waste is generally considered a source of nitrogen and includes pre- and post-consumer food waste, grass clippings, garden trimmings, and fresh leaves.
Brown waste is a carbon source. Typical examples are dried vegetation and woody material such as fallen leaves, straw, woodchips, limbs, logs, pine needles, sawdust, and wood ash, but not charcoal ash. Products derived from wood such as paper and plain cardboard are also considered carbon sources. Human excreta
Human excreta, sometimes called "humanure" in the composting context, can be added as an input to the composting process since it is a nutrient-rich organic material. Nitrogen, which serves as a building block for important plant amino acids, is found in solid human waste. Phosphorus, which helps plants convert sunlight into energy in the form of ATP, can be found in liquid human waste.
Solid human waste can be collected directly in composting toilets, or indirectly in the form of sewage sludge after it has undergone treatment in a sewage treatment plant. Both processes require capable design, as potential health risks need to be managed. In the case of home composting, a wide range of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and parasitic worms, can be present in feces, and improper processing can pose significant health risks. In the case of large sewage treatment facilities that collect wastewater from a range of residential, commercial and industrial sources, there are additional considerations. The composted sewage sludge, referred to as biosolids, can be contaminated with a variety of metals and pharmaceutical compounds. Insufficient processing of biosolids can also lead to problems when the material is applied to land.
Urine can be put on compost piles or directly used as fertilizer. Adding urine to compost can increase temperatures, so can increase its ability to destroy pathogens and unwanted seeds. Unlike feces, urine does not attract disease-spreading flies (such as houseflies or blowflies), and it does not contain the most hardy of pathogens, such as parasitic worm eggs.
Animal remains
Animal carcasses may be composted as a disposal option. Such material is rich in nitrogen.
Human bodies
Composting technologies
Industrial-scale composting
In-vessel composting
Aerated static-pile composting
Windrow composting
Other systems at household level Hügelkultur (raised garden beds or mounds)
The practice of making raised garden beds or mounds filled with rotting wood is also called in German. It is in effect creating a nurse log that is covered with soil.
Benefits of Hügelkultur garden beds include water retention and warming of soil. Buried wood acts like a sponge as it decomposes, able to capture water and store it for later use by crops planted on top of the bed. Composting toilets
Related technologies
* Vermicompost (also called worm castings, worm humus, worm manure, or worm faeces) is the end product of the breakdown of organic matter by earthworms. These castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than the organic materials before vermicomposting.
* Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae are able to rapidly consume large amounts of organic material and can be used to treat human waste. The resulting compost still contains nutrients and can be used for biogas production, or further traditional composting or vermicomposting
* Bokashi is a fermentation process rather than a decomposition process, and so retains the feedstock's energy, nutrient and carbon contents. There must be sufficient carbohydrate for fermentation to complete and therefore the process is typically applied to food waste, including noncompostable items. Carbohydrate is transformed into lactic acid, which dissociates naturally to form lactate, a biological energy carrier. The preserved result is therefore readily consumed by soil microbes and from there by the entire soil food web, leading to a significant increase in soil organic carbon and turbation. The process completes in weeks and returns soil acidity to normal.
* Co-composting is a technique that processes organic solid waste together with other input materials such as dewatered fecal sludge or sewage sludge. Uses Agriculture and gardeningOn open ground for growing wheat, corn, soybeans, and similar crops, compost can be broadcast across the top of the soil using spreader trucks or spreaders pulled behind a tractor. It is expected that the spread layer is very thin (approximately ) and worked into the soil prior to planting. Application rates of or more are not unusual when trying to rebuild poor soils or control erosion. Due to the extremely high cost of compost per unit of nutrients in the United States, on-farm use is relatively rare since rates over 4 tons/acre may not be affordable. This results from an over-emphasis on "recycling organic matter" than on "sustainable nutrients." In countries such as Germany, where compost distribution and spreading are partially subsidized in the original waste fees, compost is used more frequently on open ground on the premise of nutrient "sustainability".
In plasticulture, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, melons, and other fruits and vegetables are grown under plastic to control temperature, retain moisture and control weeds. Compost may be banded (applied in strips along rows) and worked into the soil prior to bedding and planting, be applied at the same time the beds are constructed and plastic laid down, or used as a top dressing.
Many crops are not seeded directly in the field but are started in seed trays in a greenhouse. When the seedlings reach a certain stage of growth, they are transplanted in the field. Compost may be part of the mix used to grow the seedlings, but is not normally used as the only planting substrate. The particular crop and the seeds' sensitivity to nutrients, salts, etc. dictates the ratio of the blend, and maturity is important to insure that oxygen deprivation will not occur or that no lingering phyto-toxins remain.
Compost can be added to soil, coir, or peat, as a tilth improver, supplying humus and nutrients. It provides a rich growing medium as absorbent material. This material contains moisture and soluble minerals, which provide support and nutrients. Although it is rarely used alone, plants can flourish from mixed soil that includes a mix of compost with other additives such as sand, grit, bark chips, vermiculite, perlite, or clay granules to produce loam. Compost can be tilled directly into the soil or growing medium to boost the level of organic matter and the overall fertility of the soil. Compost that is ready to be used as an additive is dark brown or even black with an earthy smell. and the possible tie up of nitrogen by incompletely decomposed lignin. It is very common to see blends of 20–30% compost used for transplanting seedlings.
Compost can be used to increase plant immunity to diseases and pests. Compost tea Compost tea is made up of extracts of fermented water leached from composted materials. Composts can be either aerated or non-aerated depending on its fermentation process. Compost teas are generally produced from adding compost to water in a ratio of 1:4–1:10, occasionally stirring to release microbes. and soil-borne diseases. Other Compost can also be used for land and stream reclamation, wetland construction, and landfill cover.
The temperatures generated by compost can be used to heat greenhouses, such as by being placed around the outside edges. Regulations There are process and product guidelines in Europe that date to the early 1980s (Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland) and only more recently in the UK and the US. In both these countries, private trade associations within the industry have established loose standards, some say as a stop-gap measure to discourage independent government agencies from establishing tougher consumer-friendly standards. Compost is regulated in Canada and Australia as well.
EPA Class A and B guidelines in the United States were developed solely to manage the processing and beneficial reuse of sludge, also now called biosolids, following the US EPA ban of ocean dumping. About 26 American states now require composts to be processed according to these federal protocols for pathogen and vector control, even though the application to non-sludge materials has not been scientifically tested. An example is that green waste composts are used at much higher rates than sludge composts were ever anticipated to be applied at. U.K guidelines also exist regarding compost quality, as well as Canadian, Australian, and the various European states.
In the United States, some compost manufacturers participate in a testing program offered by a private lobbying organization called the U.S. Composting Council. The USCC was originally established in 1991 by Procter & Gamble to promote composting of disposable diapers, following state mandates to ban diapers in landfills, which caused a national uproar. Ultimately the idea of composting diapers was abandoned, partly since it was not proven scientifically to be possible, and mostly because the concept was a marketing stunt in the first place. After this, composting emphasis shifted back to recycling organic wastes previously destined for landfills. There are no bonafide quality standards in America, but the USCC sells a seal called "Seal of Testing Assurance" (also called "STA"). For a considerable fee, the applicant may display the USCC logo on products, agreeing to volunteer to customers a current laboratory analysis that includes parameters such as nutrients, respiration rate, salt content, pH, and limited other indicators.
Many countries such as Wales and some individual cities such as Seattle and San Francisco require food and yard waste to be sorted for composting (San Francisco Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance).
The USA is the only Western country that does not distinguish sludge-source compost from green-composts, and by default 50% of US states expect composts to comply in some manner with the federal EPA 503 rule promulgated in 1984 for sludge products.
There are health risk concerns about PFASs ("forever chemicals") levels in compost derived from sewage sledge sourced biosolids, and EPA has not set health risk standards for this. The Sierra Club recommends that home gardeners avoid the use of sewage sludge-base fertilizer and compost, in part due to potentially high levels of PFASs. The EPA PFAS Strategic Roadmap initiative, running from 2021 to 2024, will consider the full lifecycle of PFAS including health risks of PFAS in wastewater sludge. History Composting dates back to at least the early Roman Empire and was mentioned as early as Cato the Elder's 160 BCE piece . Traditionally, composting involved piling organic materials until the next planting season, at which time the materials would have decayed enough to be ready for use in the soil. Methodologies for organic composting were part of traditional agricultural systems around the world.
Composting began to modernize somewhat in the 1920s in Europe as a tool for organic farming. The first industrial station for the transformation of urban organic materials into compost was set up in Wels, Austria, in the year 1921. Early proponents of composting in farming include Rudolf Steiner, founder of a farming method called biodynamics, and Annie Francé-Harrar, who was appointed on behalf of the government in Mexico and supported the country in 1950–1958 to set up a large humus organization in the fight against erosion and soil degradation. Sir Albert Howard, who worked extensively in India on sustainable practices,<ref name":7" /> and Lady Eve Balfour were also major proponents of composting. Modern scientific composting was imported to America by the likes of J. I. Rodale – founder of Rodale, Inc. Organic Gardening, and others involved in the organic farming movement.<ref name":7" />
See also
* Carbon farming
* Human composting
* Organic farming
* Permaculture
* Semicomposting
* Soil science
* Sustainable agriculture
* Terra preta
* Vermicompost
* Waste sorting
* Zero waste
Related lists
* List of composting systems
* List of environment topics
* List of sustainable agriculture topics
* List of organic gardening and farming topics
References
Category:Organic fertilizers
Category:Waste management
Category:Gardening aids
Category:Sanitation
Category:Soil improvers
Category:Soil
Category:Sustainable food system
Category:Biodegradable waste management
Category:Permaculture | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.289223 |
5970 | Capitol | Capital}}
Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to:
Places and buildings
Legislative building
* United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C.
* National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá
* Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela
* National Capitol of Cuba, in Havana, Cuba
* Capitol of Palau, in Ngerulmud
* List of legislative buildings
* List of state and territorial capitols in the United States
United States
* Capitol Technology University, formerly Capitol College, Laurel, Maryland
* Capitol Butte, a mountain in Arizona
* Capitol Reef National Park, a National Park in Utah
* The Capitol (Fayetteville, North Carolina), a department store
* Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia), a historic building that housed the House of Burgesses of the Colony of Virginia 1705–1779
Elsewhere
* Capitoline Hill, a hill in Rome, Italy
* Capitole de Toulouse, a historic building in Toulouse, France
* The Capitol (Hong Kong), a private housing estate in China
Arts, entertainment and media
* Capitol (board game), a Roman-themed board game
* Capitol (The Hunger Games trilogy), a fictional city in The Hunger Games novels
* Capitol (TV series), a US soap opera
* Capitol (short story collection), a book by Orson Scott Card
* Capitol Broadcasting Center, Philippine broadcasting company
* Capitol Broadcasting Company, American media company
* Capitol Records, a US record label
* The Capitols, a soul trio based in Detroit, Michigan, US
Sport
United States
* Capitol Wrestling Corporation, a predecessor organization to World Wrestling Entertainment
* Bismarck Capitols, a sem-pro ice hockey team in Bismarck, North Dakota, in the Southwest Hockey League
* Des Moines Capitols, a minor league professional ice hockey team from Des Moines, Iowa, in the International Hockey League
* Harlingen Capitols, a minor league professional baseball team from Harlingen, Texas
* Harrisburg Capitols, a minor league American football team from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the Atlantic Coast Football League
* Harrisburg Capitols, a professional basketball team from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the Eastern Professional Basketball League; the successor of the Harrisburg Senators
* Hartford Capitols, a professional basketball team from Hartford, Connecticut, in the Eastern Professional Basketball League
* Indianapolis Capitols, a professional American football team from Indianapolis, Indiana, in the Continental Football League
* Lincoln Capitols, an indoor arena football (American gridiron) team from Lincoln, Nebraska, in the Indoor Football League
* Madison Capitols, a top-tier junior ice hockey team in Middleton, Wisconsin, in the United States Hockey League
* Sacramento Capitols, a professional American football team from Sacramento, California, in the Continental Football League
* Springfield Capitols, an ice hockey team from Springfield, Illinois, in the All-American Hockey League
<!--* Tallahassee Capitals, a Class-D minor league professional baseball team from Tallahassee, Florida, in the Georgia–Florida League (Tallahassee Capitols not listed as alternative name)-->
* Washington Capitols, a professional ice hockey team from District of Columbia, in the National Hockey League
* Wisconsin Capitols, a junior ice hockey team in Madison, Wisconsin, in the United States Hockey League
Transportation
* Capitol Air, originally Capitol International Airways, a 1946–1984 American airline
* Capitol Corridor, a passenger train route in California, US, former name Capitols
* Chevrolet Series AA Capitol, an American automobile
Other uses
* Capitouls or capitols, historic chief magistrates of Toulouse, France
See also
* Capitol Hill, a neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
* Le Capitole (train), a former express train between Paris and Toulouse, France
* Capitolium, the temple for the Capitoline Triad in many cities of the Roman Empire
*
*
*
* Capital (disambiguation)
* Capitol Center (disambiguation)
* Capitol City (disambiguation)
* Capitol Hill (disambiguation), a number of districts in the United States and Canada
* Capitol station (disambiguation)
* Capitol Theater (disambiguation), a number of former and current cinemas or theatres located throughout the world
* Old Capitol (disambiguation) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.294963 |
5973 | Cinema | Cinema may refer to:
Film
Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image
Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
Filmmaking, the process of making a film
Movie theater (US), called a cinema elsewhere, a building in which films are shown
Music
Bands
Cinema (band), a band formed in 1982 by ex-Yes members Alan White & Chris Squire
The Cinema, an American indie pop band
Albums
Cinema (Andrea Bocelli album), released 2015
Cinema (The Cat Empire album), released 2010
Cinema (Elaine Paige album), released 1984
Cinema (Nazareth album), or the title song, released 1986
Cinema, a 2009 album by Brazilian band Cachorro Grande
Cinema, a 1990 album by English musician Ice MC (Ian Campbell), or the title song
Cinema, a 2004 album by Portuguese musician Rodrigo Leão
Cinema, a 2010 album by Karsh Kale
Cinema, a 2021 album by The Marías
Songs
"Cinema" (Yes song), 1983
"Cinema" (Benny Benassi song), 2011
"Cinema" (Samuel and Francesca Michielin song), 2021
"Cinema", a song by CIX, 2021
"Cinema", a song by Harry Styles from Harry's House
"Cinema", a song by Stray Kids from Mixtape: Dominate
"Cinéma", a song by Paola del Medico, Swiss entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980
"Cinema 1", "Cinema 2" and "Cinema 3" by Brockhampton from Saturation III
"Cinema", a commissioned song produced by Ayase
Labels
Cinema (record label), a short-lived electronic record label distributed by Capitol Records
See also
Cinematograph, an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms
Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
Home cinema, a home entertainment audio-visual system that aims to replicate the experience of a movie theater
Scinema, an Australian film festival
Sinema (disambiguation) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.298501 |
5974 | Corundum | Conundrum}}
m)<br/>H-M symbol: ( 2/m)
| symmetry = (No. 167)
| unit cell 4.75 Å}}, 12.982 Å}}; 6}}
| color = Colorless, gray, golden-brown, brown; purple, pink to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet; may be color zoned, asteriated mainly grey and brown
| habit = Steep bipyramidal, tabular, prismatic, rhombohedral crystals, massive or granular
| twinning = Polysynthetic twinning common
| cleavage = None – parting in 3 directions
| tenacity = Brittle
| fracture = Conchoidal to uneven
| mohs 9 (defining mineral)
| luster = Adamantine to vitreous
| refractive }} 1.767–1.772}} <br/>}} 1.759–1.763}}
| opticalprop = Uniaxial (−)
| pleochroism = None
| streak = Colorless
| diaphaneity = Transparent, translucent to opaque
| gravity = 3.95–4.10
| melt =
| fusibility = Infusible
| diagnostic | solubility Insoluble
| other = May fluoresce or phosphoresce under UV light
| alteration = May alter to mica on surfaces causing a decrease in hardness
| references
| var1 Sapphire|var1text Any color except red
| var2 Ruby |var2text Red
| var3 Emery |var3text Black granular corundum intimately mixed with magnetite, hematite, or hercynite
}}
Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium. Corundum has two primary gem varieties: ruby and sapphire. Rubies are red due to the presence of chromium, and sapphires exhibit a range of colors depending on what transition metal is present.
Because of corundum's hardness (pure corundum is defined to have 9.0 on the Mohs scale), it can scratch almost all other minerals. It is commonly used as an abrasive on sandpaper and on large tools used in machining metals, plastics, and wood. Emery, a variety of corundum with no value as a gemstone, is commonly used as an abrasive. It is a black granular form of corundum, in which the mineral is intimately mixed with magnetite, hematite, or hercynite.Geology and occurrence, size about ]]
Corundum occurs as a mineral in mica schist, gneiss, and some marbles in metamorphic terranes. It also occurs in low-silica igneous syenite and nepheline syenite intrusives. Other occurrences are as masses adjacent to ultramafic intrusives, associated with lamprophyre dikes and as large crystals in pegmatites. The record has since been surpassed by certain synthetic boules.
Corundum for abrasives is mined in Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, and India. Historically it was mined from deposits associated with dunites in North Carolina, US, and from a nepheline syenite in Craigmont, Ontario.
Synthetic corundum
* In 1837, Marc Antoine Gaudin made the first synthetic rubies by reacting alumina at a high temperature with a small amount of chromium as a colourant.
* In 1847, J. J. Ebelmen made white synthetic sapphires by reacting alumina in boric acid.
* In 1877, Frenic and Freil made crystal corundum from which small stones could be cut. Frimy and Auguste Verneuil manufactured artificial ruby by fusing and with a little chromium at temperatures above .
* In 1903, Verneuil announced that he could produce synthetic rubies on a commercial scale using this flame fusion process.
The Verneuil process allows the production of flawless single-crystal sapphire and ruby gems of much larger size than normally found in nature. It is also possible to grow gem-quality synthetic corundum by flux-growth and hydrothermal synthesis. Because of the simplicity of the methods involved in corundum synthesis, large quantities of these crystals have become available on the market at a fraction of the cost of natural stones.
Synthetic corundum has a lower environmental impact than natural corundum by avoiding destructive mining and conserving resources. However, its production is energy-intensive, contributing to carbon emissions if fossil fuels are used, and involves chemicals that can pose risks.
Apart from ornamental uses, synthetic corundum is also used to produce mechanical parts (tubes, rods, bearings, and other machined parts), scratch-resistant optics, scratch-resistant watch crystals, instrument windows for satellites and spacecraft (because of its transparency in the ultraviolet to infrared range), and laser components. For example, the KAGRA gravitational wave detector's main mirrors are sapphires, and Advanced LIGO considered sapphire mirrors. Corundum has also found use in the development of ceramic armour thanks to its high hardiness.Structure and physical propertiesCorundum crystallizes with trigonal symmetry in the space group and has the lattice parameters 4.75 Å}} and 12.982 Å}} at standard conditions. The unit cell contains six formula units.
The toughness of corundum is sensitive to surface roughness and crystallographic orientation. It may be 6–7 MPa·m for synthetic crystals,
In the lattice of corundum, the oxygen atoms form a slightly distorted hexagonal close packing, in which two-thirds of the octahedral sites between the oxygen ions are occupied by aluminium ions. The absence of aluminium ions from one of the three sites breaks the symmetry of the hexagonal close packing, reducing the space group symmetry to and the crystal class to trigonal. The structure of corundum is sometimes described as a pseudohexagonal structure.
The Young's modulus of corundum (sapphire) has been reported by many different sources with values varying between 300 and 500 GPa, but a commonly cited value used for calculations is 345 GPa. The Young's modulus is temperature dependent, and has been reported in the [0001] direction as 435 GPa at 323 K and 386 GPa at 1,273 K. and the bulk modulus is 240 GPa.
The hardness of corundum measured by indentation at low loads of 1-2 N has been reported as 22-23 GPa in major crystallographic planes: (0001) (basal plane), (100) (rhombohedral plane), (110) (prismatic plane), and (102). The hardness can drop significantly under high indentation loads. The drop with respect to load varies with the crystallographic plane due to the difference in crack resistance and propagation between directions. One extreme case is seen in the (0001) plane, where the hardness under high load (~1 kN) is nearly half the value under low load (1-2 N).
Structure type
Because of its prevalence, corundum has also become the name of a major structure type (corundum type) found in various binary and ternary compounds.See also
* Aluminium oxynitride
* Gemstone
* Spinel – natural and synthetic mineral often mistaken for corundum
References
Category:Abrasives
Category:Aluminium minerals
Category:Corundum varieties
Category:Hematite group
Category:Industrial minerals
Category:Luminescent minerals
Category:Oxide minerals
Category:Polymorphism (materials science)
Category:Superhard materials
Category:Trigonal minerals
Category:Minerals in space group 167 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corundum | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.313532 |
5976 | Capoeira | and savate
| related arts Danmyé<br>knocking and kicking<br>Breakdancing
| meaning Forest clearing
| famous_pract = See notable practitioners
}}
Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality.
It is known for its acrobatic and complex manoeuvres, often involving hands on the ground and inverted kicks. It emphasizes flowing movements rather than fixed stances; the ginga, a rocking step, is usually the focal point of the technique. Though often said to be a martial art disguised as a dance, capoeira served not only as a form of self defense, but also as a way to maintain spirituality and culture.
Capoeira has been practiced among Black Brazilians for centuries. The date of its creation is unknown, but it was first mentioned in a judicial document under the name Capoeiragem in 1789, as "the gravest of crimes". In the 19th century, a street fighting style called capoeira carioca was developed. It was repeatedly outlawed and its performers persecuted, and it was declared totally illegal and banned in 1890. In the early 1930s, Mestre Bimba reformed traditional capoeira and developed the capoeira regional style. The government came to see capoeira as a socially acceptable sport. In 1941, Mestre Pastinha later founded his school where he cultivated the traditional capoeira Angola, distinguishing it from reformed capoeira and the "national sport" approach.
In the late 1970s, trailblazers such as Mestre Acordeon started bringing capoeira to the US and Europe, helping the art become internationally recognized and practiced. On 26 November 2014, capoeira was granted a special protected status as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
Martial arts from the African diaspora similar to capoeira include knocking and kicking from the Sea Islands, and ladya from Martinique, both of which likely originate from Engolo.
Name
In the past, many participants used the name angola or the term brincar de angola ("playing angola") for this art. In a narrower sense, capoeiragem meant a set of fighting skills. The term jogo de capoeira (capoeira game) is used to describe the art in the performative context.
Although debated, the most widely accepted origin of the word capoeira comes from the Tupi words ''ka'a ("forest") paũ ("round"), referring to the areas of low vegetation in the Brazilian interior where fugitive slaves would hide.
History
, c. 1824. Painting depicting an illegal capoeira-like game in Rio de Janeiro.]]
, by Rugendas. "The scene is set in a clearing surrounded by tropical vegetation and palm trees, corresponding precisely to the space called capoeira'' in Brazil."]]
In the past, some participants used the name angola or the term brincar de angola ("playing angola") for this art. In formal documents, capoeira was known as "capoeiragem", with a practitioner being known as a "capoeira". Gradually, the art became known as capoeira with a practitioner being called a capoeirista. Still, some authors believe there were more ancestors besides engolo. However, at the core of capoeira we find techniques developed in engolo, including crescent kicks, push kicks, sweeps, handstands, cartwheels, evasions and even the iconic Meia lua de compasso, scorpion kick and L-kick.
Modern capoeira comes from Bahia, and was codified by mestre Bimba and mestre Pastinha, in regional and angola style. Despite their significant differences, both mestres introduced major innovations — they moved training and rodas away from the street, instituted the academia, prescribed uniforms, started to teach women and presented capoeira to a broader audiences.
Techniques
Capoeira is a fast and versatile martial art that is historically focused on fighting when outnumbered or at a technological disadvantage. The style emphasizes using the lower body to kick, sweep and take down their aggressors, using the upper body to assist those movements and occasionally attack as well. It features a series of complex positions and body postures that are meant to get chained in an uninterrupted flow, to strike, dodge and move without breaking motion, conferring the style with a characteristic unpredictability and versatility.
The ginga (literally "rocking back and forth"; "to swing") is the fundamental movement in capoeira, important both for attacking and defending oneself. It has two main objectives: one is to keep the capoeirista in a state of constant motion, preventing them from being a still and easy target; and the other, using also fakes and feints, is to mislead, fool or trick the opponent, leaving them open to attack.
The attacks in the capoeira should be done when opportunity arises, and though they can be preceded by feints or pokes, they must be precise and decisive, like a direct kick to the head, face or a vital body part, or a strong takedown. Most capoeira attacks are made with the legs, like direct or swirling kicks, rasteiras (leg sweeps), tesouras or knee strikes. Elbow strikes, punches and other forms of takedowns complete the main list. The head strike is a very important counter-attack move.
The defense is based on the principle of non-resistance, meaning avoiding an attack using evasive moves instead of blocking it. Avoids are called esquivas, which depend on the direction of the attack and intention of the defender, and can be done standing or with a hand leaning on the floor. A block should only be made when the esquiva is completely non-viable. This fighting strategy allows quick and unpredictable counterattacks, the ability to focus on more than one adversary and to face empty-handed an armed adversary.
A series of rolls and acrobatics (like the cartwheels called aú or the transitional position called negativa) allows the capoeirista to quickly overcome a takedown or a loss of balance, and to position themselves around the aggressor to lay up for an attack. It is this combination of attacks, defense and mobility that gives capoeira its perceived "fluidity" and choreography-like style.
Weapons
Through most of its history in Brazil, capoeira commonly featured weapons and weapon training, given its street fighting nature. Capoeiristas usually carried knives and bladed weapons with them, and the berimbau could be used to conceal those inside, or even to turn itself into a weapon by attaching a blade to its tip.}} The knife or razor was used in street rodas and/or against openly hostile opponents, and would be drawn quickly to stab or slash. Other hiding places for the weapons included hats and umbrellas.}}
Mestre Bimba included in his teachings a curso de especialização or "specialization course", in which the pupils would be taught defenses against knives and guns, as well as the usage of knife, straight razor, scythe, club, chanfolo (double-edged dagger), facão (facón or machete) and tira-teima (cane sword).
This weapon training is almost completely absent in current capoeira teachings, but some groups still practice the use of razors for ceremonial usage in the rodas.
As a game
In Bantu culture, the Nkhumbi term ochimama encapsulates the overlapping meanings of game, dance, and tradition. This overlap is also found in Afro-Brazilian folklore, where many similar forms of expression are called brincadeiras (games). The game does not focus on knocking down or defeating opponents, but rather on body dialogue and highlighting skills.Roda
, Brazil)]]
The roda (pronounced ) is a circle formed by capoeiristas and capoeira musical instruments, where every participant sings the typical songs and claps their hands following the music. Two capoeiristas enter the roda and play the game according to the style required by the musical rhythm. The game finishes when one of the musicians holding a berimbau determines it, when one of the capoeiristas decides to leave or call the end of the game, or when another capoeirista interrupts the game to start playing, either with one of the current players or with another capoeirista.
In a roda every cultural aspect of capoeira is present, not only the martial side. Aerial acrobatics are common in a presentation roda, while not seen as often in a more serious one. Takedowns, on the other hand, are common in a serious roda but rarely seen in presentations.Batizado
The batizado (lit. baptism) is a ceremonial roda where new students will get recognized as capoeiristas and earn their first graduation. Also more experienced students may go up in rank, depending on their skills and capoeira culture. In Mestre Bimba's Capoeira Regional, batizado was the first time a new student would play capoeira following the sound of the berimbau.
Students enter the roda against a high-ranked capoeirista (such as a teacher or master) and normally the game ends with the student being taken down. In some cases the more experienced capoeirista can judge the takedown unnecessary. Following the batizado the new graduation, generally in the form of a cord, is given.
Traditionally, the batizado is the moment when the new practitioner gets or formalizes their apelido (nickname). This tradition was created back when capoeira practice was considered a crime. To avoid having problems with the law, capoeiristas would present themselves in the capoeira community only by their nicknames.
Chamada
Chamada means 'call' and can happen at any time during a roda where the rhythm angola is being played. It happens when one player, usually the more advanced one, calls their opponent to a dance-like ritual. The opponent then approaches the caller and meets them to walk side by side. After it both resume normal play.
While it may seem like a break time or a dance, the chamada is actually both a trap and a test, as the caller is just watching to see if the opponent will let his guard down so she can perform a takedown or a strike. It is a critical situation, because both players are vulnerable due to the close proximity and potential for a surprise attack. It's also a tool for experienced practitioners and masters of the art to test a student's awareness and demonstrate when the student left herself open to attack.
The use of the chamada can result in a highly developed sense of awareness and helps practitioners learn the subtleties of anticipating another person's hidden intentions. The chamada can be very simple, consisting solely of the basic elements, or the ritual can be quite elaborate including a competitive dialogue of trickery, or even theatric embellishments.
Music
Music is integral to capoeira. It sets the tempo and style of game that is to be played within the roda. Typically the music is formed by instruments and singing. Rhythms (toques), controlled by a typical instrument called berimbau, differ from very slow to very fast, depending on the style of the roda.Instruments
s a reco- reco and a pandeiro]]
Capoeira instruments are disposed in a row called bateria. It is traditionally formed by three berimbaus, two pandeiros, three atabaques, one agogô and one ganzá, but this format may vary depending on the capoeira group's traditions or the roda style. (https://draculinho.wordpress.com/tag/brazil/)
The berimbau is the leading instrument, determining the tempo and style of the music and game played. Two low-pitch berimbaus (called berra-boi and médio) form the base and a high-pitch berimbau (called viola) makes variations and improvisations. The other instruments must follow the berimbau's rhythm, free to vary and improvise a little, depending upon the capoeira group's musical style.
As the capoeiristas change their playing style significantly following the toque of the berimbau, which sets the game's speed, style and aggressiveness, it is truly the music that drives a capoeira game. Songs Many of the songs are sung in a call and response format while others are in the form of a narrative. Capoeiristas sing about a wide variety of subjects. Some songs are about history or stories of famous capoeiristas. Other songs attempt to inspire players to play better. Some songs are about what is going on within the roda. Sometimes the songs are about life or love lost. Others have lighthearted and playful lyrics.
There are four basic kinds of songs in capoeira, the Ladaínha, Chula, Corrido and Quadra. The Ladaínha is a narrative solo sung only at the beginning of a roda, often by a mestre (master) or most respected capoeirista present. The solo is followed by a louvação, a call and response pattern that usually thanks God and one's master, among other things. Each call is usually repeated word-for-word by the responders. The Chula is a song where the singer part is much bigger than the chorus response, usually eight singer verses for one chorus response, but the proportion may vary. The Corrido is a song where the singer part and the chorus response are equal, normally two verses by two responses. Finally, the Quadra is a song where the same verse is repeated four times, either three singer verses followed by one chorus response, or one verse and one response.
Capoeira songs can talk about virtually anything, being it about a historical fact, a famous capoeirista, trivial life facts, hidden messages for players, anything. Improvisation is very important also, while singing a song the main singer can change the music's lyrics, telling something that's happening in or outside the roda.
Philosophy
Malícia (malice)
|Mestre Pastinha}}
The basic term of capoeira philosophy is malícia (malice). One aspect of malicia consists of deceiving the opponent into thinking that you are going to execute a certain move when in fact you are going to do something completely different. There is an example of malicia of Besouro who once fell to the ground during a game, crying like a woman and begging for mercy. Mestre João Pequeno claimed that he teaches his students how to play capoeira, but they should learn malícia for themselves since it cannot be taught.
The meaning of malícia in capoeira has expanded over time to cunning, suspicion, alertness, readiness, flexibility, and adaptation. Basically, it is the capacity to understand someone's intentions and making use of this understanding to misdirect someone as to your next move. In the contemporary capoeira, this is done good-naturedly, contrary to what the word may suggest.
A popular Brazilian saying, "Malandro demais se atrapalha" means that when one tries to be too clever or smart, instead of confusing his opponent, he confuses himself.SpiritualitySpirituality in capoeira is shaped under the influence of various African beliefs. Some important concepts of candomblé, such as dendé and axé, which refer to different conceptions of energy, have become common among capoeiristas.
Bantu culture
, 1630.]]
Dr Maya Talmon-Chvaicer suggests that capoeira should be explained in Bantu terms. For the African slaves, capoeira was a social expression that incorporated all the basic African elements: circle, dance, music, rituals and symbols. It also contains all the ingredients of a game from the Kongolese perspective: a means to train and prepare for life, providing the experience needed to strengthen the body and the soul.
Within the Bantu culture, the circle carries profound symbolism.
A major means of communication with the ancestors is music. Musical instruments play a pivotal role in bridging the realms of the living, the deceased, and the gods. This explains why African dances customarily commence by paying homage to the primary instrument, often through kneeling or bowing before it. This practice of appeasement and seeking divine assistance from the gods is mirrored in the capoeira tradition of kneeling before the berimbau during the ladainha.
One of the capoeira ritual is performing the "au" at the beginning of the game. This act symbolizes a profound transition in Kongolese religion, where touching the ground with hands while feet are up in the air signifies the player crosses over to other worlds.
Capoeira has been additionally shaped by the cosmic worldview of candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion that has engaged with various manifestations of natural energies. The capoeira player in past usually had his orixá or santo (patron saint) as Ogum (the Warrior) or Oxóssi (the Hunter).
Mandinga (magic)
|Mestre Pastinha}}
Capoeira holds a core of mandinga, which can be translated as a magic, sorcery, witchcraft. Mandinga suggests an understanding of fundamental natural forces and their utilization through magic rituals to some extent. In the past, capoeiristas used protective amulets and performed specific rituals to ensure their safety. Same players "do their mandinga" before the game by drawing magical symbols on the ground with their fingers.
Some magic elements in capoeira are clear and familiar, while others have become obscure over time. Folklorist Edison Carneiro noted that the ladainha, sung before entering the capoeira circle, invokes the gods, adding a touch of mysticism to the ritual. Actions like touching the ground symbolize drawing signs in the dust, and gestures such as kissing hands, crossing oneself, and prayer are reminders of long-forgotten traditions, the Bantus' prayer for divine blessings, aid, and bravery in battle.
Mandinga is also a certain esthetic, where the game is expressive and sometimes theatrical, especially in the Angola style. An advanced capoeira player is sometimes referred to as a mandingueiro, someone who embodies mandinga.
The roots of the term mandingueiro would be a person who had the magic ability to avoid harm due to protection from the Orixás. Alternately the word mandinga originates from the name of Mandinka people.
Styles
|Nestor Capoeira}}
Determining styles in capoeira is difficult, since there was never a unity in the original capoeira, or a teaching method before the decade of 1920. However, a division between two styles and a sub-style is widely accepted.
The base of capoeira regional is the original capoeira without many of the aspects that were impractical in a real fight, with less subterfuge and more objectivity. Training focuses mainly on attack, dodging and counter-attack, giving high importance to precision and discipline. Bimba also added a few moves from other arts, notably the batuque, an old street fight game invented by his father. Use of jumps or aerial acrobatics stay to a minimum, since one of its foundations is always keeping at least one hand or foot firmly attached to the ground.
Capoeira Regional also introduced the first ranking method in capoeira. Regional had three levels: calouro (freshman), formado (graduated) and formado especializado (specialist). After 1964, when a student completed a course, a special celebration ceremony occurred, ending with the teacher tying a silk scarf around the capoeirista's neck.
The traditions of roda and capoeira game were kept, being used to put into use what was learned during training. The disposition of musical instruments, however, was changed, being made by a single berimbau and two pandeiros.
The Luta Regional Baiana soon became popular, finally changing capoeira's bad image. Mestre Bimba made many presentations of his new style, but the best known was the one made at 1953 to Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas, where the president would say: "A Capoeira é o único esporte verdadeiramente nacional" (Capoeira is the only truly national sport).
Capoeira carioca
Capoeira carioca was a street fighting version of capoeira that existed in Rio de Janeiro during the 19th century, used by gangs. In capoeira carioca, all available means were used, including various types of weapons, such as knives, straight razors, clubs and machetes. Capoeira from this period is also known as capoeiragem. The widespread violent capoeira practice in Rio led to a nationwide ban on capoeira. After the ban in 1890 and the subsequent mass arrests of capoeira gang members, this version of capoeira is generally extinct.
The main reformators and proponents of this fighting-oriented capoeira were Mestre Sinhozinho and Mestre Zuma.
Capoeira Contemporânea
Capoeira flourished in the city of São Paulo since the 1960s. Mestre Suassuna was prominent figure throughout this period. Mestre Canjiquinha played important role in shaping the capoeira style that began to emerge in São Paulo during the 1960s. This evolving style, which emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, drew from both Regional and Angola styles while maintaining its distinct characteristics. The majority of modern practitioners affirm to be neither Angola nor Regional, emphasizing that "there is only one capoeira".
This new capoeira incorporated not only berimbaus and pandeiros but also atabaque and agogô into its musical ensemble. In contrast to Bimba's preference for quadras, these modern rodas typically commenced with ladainhas. The games in these rodas often featured a fast and upright style, even though they might start with an Angola toque and a slower game.
Nowadays the label Contemporânea applies to any capoeira group who don't follow Regional or Angola styles, even the ones who mix capoeira with other martial arts. Some notable groups whose style cannot be described as either Angola or Regional but rather "a style of their own", include Senzala de Santos, Cordão de Ouro and Abada. In the case of Cordão de Ouro, the style may be described as "Miudinho", a low and fast-paced game, while in Senzala de Santos the style may described simply as "Senzala de Santos", an elegant, playful combination of Angola and Regional.
Ranks
Because of its origin, capoeira never had unity or a general agreement. Ranking or graduating system follows the same path, as there never existed a ranking system accepted by most of the masters. That means graduation style varies depending on the group's traditions. The most common modern system uses colored ropes, called corda or cordão, tied around the waist. Some masters use different systems, or even no system at all. In a substantial number of groups (mainly of the Angola school) there is no visible ranking system. There can still be several ranks: student, treinel, professor, contra-mestre and mestre, but often no cordas (belts).
There are many entities (leagues, federations and association) with their own graduation system. The most usual is the system of the Confederação Brasileira de Capoeira (Brazilian Capoeira Confederation), which adopts ropes using the colors of the Brazilian flag, green, yellow, blue and white. However, the Confederação Brasileira de Capoeira is not widely accepted as the capoeira's main representative.
Brazilian Capoeira Confederation system
Source:<ref name":1" /> Children's system (3 to 14 years)
* 1st stage: Iniciante (Beginner) - No color
* 2nd stage: Batizado (Baptized) - Green/Light Grey
* 3rd stage: Graduado (Graduated) - Yellow/Light Grey
* 4th stage: Adaptado (Adept) - Blue/Light Grey
* 5th stage: Intermediário (Intermediary) - Green/YellowLight Grey
* 6th stage: Avançado (Advanced) - Green/Blue/Light Grey
* 7th stage: Estagiário (Trainee) - Yellow/Green/Blue/Light Grey
Adult system (above 15)
* 8th stage: Iniciante (Beginner) - No color
* 9th stage: Batizado (Baptized) - Green
* 10th stage: Graduado (Graduated) - Yellow
* 11th stage: Adaptado (Adept) - Blue
* 12th stage: Intermediário (Intermediary) - Green
* 13th stage: Avançado (Advanced) - Green/Blue
* 14th stage: Estagiário (Trainee) - Yellow/Blue
Instructors' system
* 15th stage: Formado (Graduated) - Yellow/Green/Blue
* 16th stage: Monitor (Monitor) - White/Green
* 17th stage: Instrutor (Instructor) - White/Yellow
* 18th stage: Contramestre (Foreman) - White/Blue
* 19th stage: Mestre (Master) - White
ABADÁ - Capoeira system
Many Capoeira schools use a system taken from Abadá-Capoeira.
ABADÁ has a graduated cord system using colors that refer symbolically to nature and reflect the level of practice. The cord system does not so much reflect the practitioner's level of skill as much as their progress on their individual path as a member of the ABADÁ community. The cord system as outlined by Arte Capoeira Center – ABADÁ Capoeira is as follows.
Adult Graduation System
{| class="wikitable"
!Title/Level
!
!Cord Color
!Basic Responsibilities
|-
|Beginner
|
|Corda Crua
(Natural Cord)
|natural cord student
|-
|Student
Aluno/a
|
|Corda Crua-Amarela
(Natural-Yellow Cord)
|transformation
|-
|
|
|Corda Amarela
(Yellow Cord)
|The Gold
The yellow cord signifies the value of apprenticeship.
|-
|
|
|Corda Amarela-Laranja
(Yellow-Orange Cord)
|transformation
|-
|
|
|Corda Laranja
|The Sun
The orange cord reflects the awakening of the apprentice's consciousness.
|-
|
|
|Corda Laranja-Azul
(Orange-Blue Cord)
|transformation
|-
|Graduado/a
|
|Corda Azul
(Blue Cord)
|The Sea
The blue cord indicates the apprentice's awareness of the immense path ahead.
|-
|
|
|Corda Azul-Verde
(Blue-Green Cord)
|transformation
|-
|
|
|Corda Verde
(Green Cord)
|The Forest—the world’s lungs
The green cord signifies the consolidation of apprenticeship. It provides the base on which ABADÁ-Capoeira is built.
|-
|
|
|Corda Verde-Roxa
(Green-Purple Cord)
|transformation
|-
|Instrutor/a
|
|Corda Roxa
(Purple Cord)
|The Amethyst
The purple cord signals that the capoeirista has begun to overcome the physical, psychological, and spiritual pain of learning capoeira and defending its ideals.
|-
|
|
|Corda Roxa-Marrom
(Purple-Brown Cord)
|transformation
|-
|Professor/a
|
|Corda Marrom
(Brown Cord)
|The Chameleon
The brown cord represents the constant transformation that characterizes the group's style.
|-
|
|
|Corda Marrom-Vermelha
(Brown-Red Cord)
|transformation
|-
|Mestrando/a
|
|Corda Vermelha
(Red Cord)
|The Ruby
The red cord symbolizes justice. At this level, the capoeirista acquires an understanding of responsibility; he or she is expected to strive for justice in conducting his work and making her decisions.
|-
|Mestre
|
|Corda Vermelha-Branca
(Red-White Cord)
|transformation
In this graduation the Capoeirista tries to develop their potential in order to concentrate and maintain ABADÁ's ideals. It is a phase of transformation, because the Mestre is preparing to obtain the highest graduation in ABADÁ's system. In order to achieve Grão-Mestre, it is necessary to make decisions with precision, honesty and above all with wisdom and impartiality.
|-
|Mestre
|
|Corda Branca
(White Cord)
|The Diamond
The "Diamond" is the hardest and most resilient mineral. It reflects all colors and all colors are united in white.
|}
Related activities
Even though those activities are strongly associated with capoeira, they have different meanings and origins.
Samba de roda
Performed by many capoeira groups, samba de roda is a traditional Brazilian dance and musical form that has been associated with capoeira for many decades. The orchestra is composed by pandeiro, atabaque, berimbau-viola (high pitch berimbau), chocalho, accompanied by singing and clapping. Samba de roda is considered one of the primitive forms of modern Samba.
Maculelê
Originally the Maculelê is believed to have been an indigenous armed fighting style, using two sticks or a machete. Nowadays it's a folkloric dance practiced with heavy Brazilian percussion. Many capoeira groups include Maculelê in their presentations.
Puxada de rede
Puxada de Rede is a Brazilian folkloric theatrical play, seen in many capoeira performances. It is based on a traditional Brazilian legend involving the loss of a fisherman in a seafaring accident.
Combat capoeira and MMA
|Nanico, the boxer and capoeira teacher}}
against Keegan Marshall.]]
Combat capoeira, often referred to as rough capoeira (capoeira dura), places a primary emphasis on combat. It is commonly observed in ring competitions and street rodas, and sometimes even in graduations within certain groups.
Several capoeira fighters have gained national reputation, including Mestre King Kong from Salvador, Mestre Maurão from São Paulo, and King from Rio de Janeiro (formerly associated with Abadá). They advocate for capoeiristas to be skilled in playing intense games to ensure that the art retains its combat effectiveness.
Capoeira fights have, on occasion, resulted in severe injuries and even fatalities, as seen in Petrópolis in 1996. The most suitable context for combat-focused capoeira appears to be the ring, where predetermined fighting rules provide clarity. In the tradition of Ciriaco, Sinhozinho, Bimba, and Arthur Emídio, contemporary capoeira fighters have expanded their training by incorporating various martial arts disciplines, including ju-jitsu, boxing, and taekwondo.
Even Brazilian mixed martial arts champions like Marco Ruas acknowledge the significance of capoeira in their training. The use of capoeira techniques in free-style competitions shows to what extent the art still provides essential fighting skills. Notable practitioners
<!--Avoid vanity edits, as they quallify as COI. Category suffices beyond short list-->
<!--No fictional examples here-->
* Besouro Mangangá
* Anibal Burlamaqui
* Mestre Sinhozinho
* Mestre Bimba
* Mestre Pastinha
* Mestre Waldemar
* Mestre Gato Preto
* Mestre Cobrinha Verde
* Mestre João Grande
* Mestre João Pereira dos Santos
* Mestre Norival Moreira de Oliveira
* Mestre Moraes
* Mestre Cobra Mansa
* Junior dos Santos
* Wesley Snipes
* Mark Dacascos
* Anderson Silva
* Lateef Crowder dos Santos
* Jose Aldo
See also
* History of capoeira
* Capoeira in popular culture
* Engolo
* Capoeira Angola
* Capoeira carioca
* Moraingy
Literature
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
<!-- Avoid links with self promotion and indiscriminate publicity (See :en:Wikipedia:Criteria_for_inclusion#Self_promotion_and_indiscriminate_publicity) -->
* [https://dendearts.com/list-of-fundamental-capoeira-movements/ List of fundamental capoeira movements]
* [https://capoeirahistory.com/ Capoeira history]
* [https://capoeiralyrics.info/ Capoeira lyrics]
Category:Brazilian martial arts
Category:War dances
Category:Theatrical combat
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:Culture of Brazil
Category:Afro-Brazilian culture
Category:African diaspora martial arts | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.375864 |
5980 | Carbon sink | ) (grey bars on the left) add them. Since the 1850s, there are more carbon sources than sinks and therefore the carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is rising.]]A carbon sink is a natural or artificial carbon sequestration process that "removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere". Soil is an important carbon storage medium. Much of the organic carbon retained in the soil of agricultural areas has been depleted due to intensive farming. Blue carbon designates carbon that is fixed via certain marine ecosystems. Coastal blue carbon includes mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses. These make up a majority of ocean plant life and store large quantities of carbon. Deep blue carbon is located in international waters and includes carbon contained in "continental shelf waters, deep-sea waters and the sea floor beneath them".
For climate change mitigation purposes, the maintenance and enhancement of natural carbon sinks, mainly soils and forests, is important. In the past, human practices like deforestation and industrial agriculture have depleted natural carbon sinks. This kind of land use change has been one of the causes of climate change.
Definition
In the context of climate change and in particular mitigation, a sink is defined as "Any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere".
In the case of non- greenhouse gases, sinks need not store the gas. Instead they can break it down into substances that have a reduced effect on global warming. For example, nitrous oxide can be reduced to harmless N<sub>2</sub>.
Related terms are "carbon pool, reservoir, sequestration, source and uptake". A carbon pool is all the places where carbon can be stored (for example the atmosphere, oceans, soil, plants, and fossil fuels).
* Photosynthesis by terrestrial plants with grass and trees allows them to serve as carbon sinks during growing seasons.
* Absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans via solubility and biological pumps.
Artificial carbon sinks are those that store carbon in building materials or deep underground (geologic carbon sequestration). No major artificial systems remove carbon from the atmosphere on a large scale yet.
Public awareness of the significance of sinks has grown since passage of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which promotes their use as a form of carbon offset.
Natural carbon sinks
shows the movement of carbon between land, atmosphere, soil and oceans in billions of tons of carbon per year. Yellow numbers are natural fluxes, red are human contributions in billions of tons of carbon per year. White numbers indicate stored carbon.]]
Soils
Soils represent a short to long-term carbon storage medium and contain more carbon than all terrestrial vegetation and the atmosphere combined. Plant litter and other biomass including charcoal accumulates as organic matter in soils, and is degraded by chemical weathering and biological degradation. More recalcitrant organic carbon polymers such as cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin, aliphatic compounds, waxes and terpenoids are collectively retained as humus.
Organic matter tends to accumulate in litter and soils of colder regions such as the boreal forests of North America and the Taiga of Russia. Leaf litter and humus are rapidly oxidized and poorly retained in sub-tropical and tropical climate conditions due to high temperatures and extensive leaching by rainfall. Areas, where shifting cultivation or slash and burn agriculture are practiced, are generally only fertile for two to three years before they are abandoned. These tropical jungles are similar to coral reefs in that they are highly efficient at conserving and circulating necessary nutrients, which explains their lushness in a nutrient desert.
Grasslands contribute to soil organic matter, stored mainly in their extensive fibrous root mats. Due in part to the climatic conditions of these regions (e.g., cooler temperatures and semi-arid to arid conditions), these soils can accumulate significant quantities of organic matter. This can vary based on rainfall, the length of the winter season, and the frequency of naturally occurring lightning-induced grass-fires. While these fires release carbon dioxide, they improve the quality of the grasslands overall, in turn increasing the amount of carbon retained in the humic material. They also deposit carbon directly into the soil in the form of biochar that does not significantly degrade back to carbon dioxide.
Much organic carbon retained in many agricultural areas worldwide has been severely depleted due to intensive farming practices. Since the 1850s, a large proportion of the world's grasslands have been tilled and converted to croplands, allowing the rapid oxidation of large quantities of soil organic carbon. Methods that significantly enhance carbon sequestration in soil are called carbon farming. They include for example no-till farming, residue mulching, cover cropping, and crop rotation. Forests
Deep ocean, tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses
Enhancing natural carbon sinks
Purpose in the context of climate change
Carbon sequestration techniques in oceans
To enhance carbon sequestration processes in oceans the following technologies have been proposed but none have achieved large scale application so far: Seaweed farming, ocean fertilisation, artificial upwelling, basalt storage, mineralization and deep sea sediments, adding bases to neutralize acids. The idea of direct deep-sea carbon dioxide injection has been abandoned. Artificial carbon sinks Geologic carbon sequestration Wooden buildings
, one of the tallest timber buildings, at its opening 2019]]
Broad-base adoption of mass timber and their role in substituting steel and concrete in new mid-rise construction projects over the next few decades has the potential to turn timber buildings into carbon sinks, as they store the carbon dioxide taken up from the air by trees that are harvested and used as mass timber.<ref name"Churkina-2020"/> This could result in storing between 10 million tons of carbon per year in the lowest scenario and close to 700 million tons in the highest scenario. For this to happen, the harvested forests would need to be sustainably managed and wood from demolished timber buildings would need to be reused or preserved on land in various forms.<ref name"Churkina-2020"/>
See also
*Carbon budget
*Forest management
* Reforestation
References
Category:Carbon dioxide
Category:Carbon dioxide removal
Category:Photosynthesis
Category:Gas technologies | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sink | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.389622 |
5981 | Charles Tupper | | image = Sir charles tupper (cropped).jpg
| alt | caption Tupper in 1896
| order = 6th
| office = Prime Minister of Canada
| term =
| monarch = Victoria
| governor_general = The Earl of Aberdeen
| predecessor = Mackenzie Bowell
| successor = Wilfrid Laurier
| order2 | office2 Leader of the Official Opposition
| term_start2 = July 11, 1896
| term_end2 = February 5, 1901
| predecessor2 = Wilfrid Laurier
| successor2 = Robert Borden
| office3 = Secretary of State for Canada
| term3 =
| primeminister3 =
| predecessor3 = Walter Humphries Montague
| successor3 = Richard William Scott
| office4 = Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
| term_start4 = May 30, 1883
| term_end4 = January 15, 1896
| primeminister4 =
| predecessor4 = Alexander Tilloch Galt
| successor4 = Donald Smith
| office5 = Minister of Finance and Receiver General
| primeminister5 = John A. Macdonald
| term_start5 = January 27, 1887
| term_end5 = May 22, 1888
| predecessor5 = Archibald McLelan
| successor5 = George Eulas Foster
| office6 = Member of Parliament for Cape Breton
| term_start6 = 1896
| term_end6 = 1900
| predecessor6 = David MacKeen
| successor6 = Alexander Johnston
| office7 = Member of Parliament for Cumberland
| term_start8 = September 20, 1867
| term_end8 = May 1884
| predecessor8 = New Constituency
| successor8 = Charles James Townshend
| term_start7 = 1887
| term_end7 = 1888
| predecessor7 = Charles James Townshend
| successor7 = Arthur Rupert Dickey
| office9 = Premier of Nova Scotia
| term_start9 = May 11, 1864
| term_end9 = July 3, 1867
| predecessor9 = James William Johnston
| successor9 = Hiram Blanchard
| lieutenant_governor9 =
| birth_name = Charles Tupper, Jr.
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Amherst, Nova Scotia
| death_date =
| death_place = Bexleyheath, England
| resting_place = St. John's Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
| resting_place_coordinates | citizenship British subject
| nationality = Canadian
| party = Conservative
| otherparty = <!--For additional political affiliations-->
| spouse
| partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| relations | children
| parents | residence
| alma_mater = University of Edinburgh Medical School (1843)
| known_for | cabinet
| committees | portfolio
| awards = Order of St Michael and St George
| signature = Charles Tupper Signature.svg
| signature_alt | website
| footnotes | profession Physician
}}
<!--Before putting The Right Honourable in front of his name please read Wikipedia:Manual of Style (biographies)#Honorific prefixes-->
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He briefly served as the Canadian prime minister, from seven days after parliament had been dissolved, until he resigned on July 8, 1896, following his party's loss in the 1896 Canadian federal election. He is the only medical doctor to have ever held the office of prime minister of Canada, and his 69-day tenure as prime minister is the shortest in Canadian history.
Tupper was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, to the Rev. Charles Tupper and Miriam Lockhart. He was educated at Horton Academy, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, graduating MD in 1843. By the age of 22 he had handled 116 obstetric cases. He practiced medicine periodically throughout his political career (and served as the first president of the Canadian Medical Association). He entered Nova Scotian politics in 1855 as a protégé of James William Johnston. During Johnston's tenure as premier of Nova Scotia in 1857–1859 and 1863–1864, Tupper served as provincial secretary. Tupper replaced Johnston as premier in 1864. As premier, he established public education in Nova Scotia and expanded Nova Scotia's railway network in order to promote industry.
By 1860, Tupper supported a union of all the colonies of British North America. Believing that immediate union of all the colonies was impossible, in 1864, he proposed a Maritime Union. However, representatives of the Province of Canada asked to be allowed to attend the meeting in Charlottetown scheduled to discuss Maritime Union in order to present a proposal for a wider union, and the Charlottetown Conference thus became the first of the three conferences that secured Canadian Confederation. Tupper also represented Nova Scotia at the other two conferences, the Quebec Conference (1864) and the London Conference of 1866. In Nova Scotia, Tupper organized a Confederation Party to combat the activities of the Anti-Confederation Party organized by Joseph Howe and successfully led Nova Scotia into Confederation.
Following the passage of the British North America Act in 1867, Tupper resigned as premier of Nova Scotia and began a career in federal politics. He held multiple cabinet positions under Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, including President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada (1870–1872), Minister of Inland Revenue (1872–1873), Minister of Customs (1873–1874), Minister of Public Works (1878–1879), and Minister of Railways and Canals (1879–1884). Initially groomed as Macdonald's successor, Tupper had a falling-out with Macdonald, and by the early 1880s, he asked Macdonald to appoint him as Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Tupper took up his post in London in 1883, and would remain High Commissioner until 1895, although in 1887–1888, he served as Minister of Finance without relinquishing the High Commissionership.
In 1895, the government of Mackenzie Bowell floundered over the Manitoba Schools Question; as a result, several leading members of the Conservative Party of Canada demanded the return of Tupper to serve as prime minister. Tupper accepted this invitation and returned to Canada, becoming prime minister in May 1896. Just before he was sworn in as prime minister, the 1896 federal election was called, in which his party lost to Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberals. Tupper served as leader of the Opposition from July 1896 until he resigned in February 1901, just months after his second defeat at the polls in 1900. He returned to London, England, where he lived until his death in 1915 and was buried back in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was the last surviving Canadian father of Confederation. In 2016, he was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Early life, 1821–1855
Charles Tupper Jr. was born on July 2, 1821, in Amherst, Nova Scotia, to Charles Tupper Sr. and Miriam Lowe, Lockhart. He was a descendant of Richard Warren, a Mayflower Pilgrim who signed the Mayflower Compact. Charles Tupper Sr. (1794–1881) was the co-pastor of the local Baptist church. He had been ordained as a Baptist minister in 1817, and was editor of Baptist Magazine 1832–1836. He was an accomplished Biblical scholar, and published Scriptural Baptism (Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1850) and Expository Notes on the Syriac Version of the Scriptures.
Beginning in 1837, at age 16, Tupper attended Horton Academy in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, where he learned Latin, Greek, and some French.</blockquote>
In 1883, Tupper convinced William Ewart Gladstone's government to exempt Canadian cattle from the general British ban on importing American cattle by demonstrating that Canadian cattle were free of disease. He was the last of the original Fathers of Confederation to die, and had lived the longest life of any Canadian prime minister, at 94 years, four months.
Mount Tupper in the Canadian Rockies and the Sir Charles Tupper Building in Ottawa are named for him. The Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building is the central building of the Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Facility naming
*Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia
* [https://sct.hrce.ca/ Sir Charles Tupper School in Halifax]
* Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building at the Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University
* Sir Charles Tupper Building in Ottawa
References
Further reading
*Johanna Bertin, Sir Charles Tupper: The Bully for Any Great Cause (2006)
*
*Jock Murray and Janet Murray, Sir Charles Tupper: Fighting Doctor to Father of Confederation (1998)
*Robert Page, Tupper’s Last Hurrah: The Years as Opposition Leader, 1896–1900 in The West and the Nation: Essays in Honour of W. L. Morton, ed. Carl Berger and Ramsay Cook (1976)
*K. M. McLaughlin, Race, Religion and Politics: The Election of 1896 in Canada, PhD thesis, University of Toronto (1974)
*D. H. Tait, The Role of Charles Tupper in Nova Scotian Politics, 1855–1870, M.A. thesis, Dalhousie University (1962)
*A. W. MacIntosh, The career of Sir Charles Tupper in Canada, 1864–1900 (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Toronto, 1960)
*H. [W.] Charlesworth, Candid chronicler: leaves from the note book of a Canadian journalist (Toronto, 1925)
*J. W. Longley, Sir Charles Tupper (Toronto, 1916)
*The Life and Letters of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Tupper, Bart., K.C.M.G., ed. E. M. Saunders, 2 vols. (1916)
*E. M. Saunders, Three premiers of Nova Scotia ... (Toronto, 1909)
External links
*
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071218225008/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2420-e.html Biography from Library and Archives Canada website]
*[http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/2/4/h4-3150-e.html Sir Charles Tupper] – Library and Archives Canada
*[http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?appfonandcol&id105103&lang=eng Sir Charles Tupper fonds] at Library and Archives Canada
*[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC537260/ "The Life of Sir Charles Tupper" from the June 1939 edition of the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association]
*[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1928408/ The Right Hon. Sir Charles Tupper, P.C., G.C.M.G., C.B., LL.D., M.D., 1821–1915 from the June 12, 1965, edition of the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association]
*[http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/a_sirjohn.cfm Sir John and Sir Charles, or The Secrets of the Syndicate] – an 1881 Shakespearean satire on Macdonald and Tupper's roles in awarding George Stephen's syndicate control of the Canadian Pacific Railway
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070529172816/http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/pm/Tupper_E.asp Tupper's grave site]
*[http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/SirCharlesTupper-CanadianHistory.htm Sir Charles Tupper Prime Minister of Canada (1896)] – The Quebec History Encyclopedia
Category:1821 births
Category:1915 deaths
Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School
Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Category:Canadian Baptists
Category:Canadian baronets
Category:High commissioners of Canada to the United Kingdom
Category:Ministers of finance of Canada
Category:Ministers of railways and canals of Canada
Category:Physicians from Nova Scotia
Category:Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:Fathers of Confederation
Category:Canadian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:Leaders of the opposition (Canada)
Category:Leaders of the Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)
Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia
Category:Canadian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
Category:Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs
Category:People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
Category:People of New England Planter descent
Category:Colony of Nova Scotia people
Category:Premiers of Nova Scotia
Category:Prime ministers of Canada
Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Category:Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
Category:Nova Scotia political party leaders
Category:19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada
Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada
Category:19th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Tupper | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.415811 |
5985 | Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission | | preceding1 = Board of Broadcast Governors
| jurisdiction = Government of Canada
| headquarters = Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
| minister1_name = Pascale St-Onge
| minister1_pfo = Minister of Canadian Heritage
| chief1_name = Vicky Eatrides
| chief1_position =
| parent_department = Canadian Heritage
| website =
| footnotes
}}
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunications. It was created in 1976 when it took over responsibility for regulating telecommunication carriers. Prior to 1976, it was known as the Canadian Radio and Television Commission, which was established in 1968 by the Parliament of Canada to replace the Board of Broadcast Governors. Its headquarters is located in the Central Building (Édifice central) of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière in Gatineau, Quebec. History
The CRTC was originally known as the Canadian Radio-Television Commission. In 1976, jurisdiction over telecommunications services, most of which were then delivered by monopoly common carriers (for example, telephone companies), was transferred to it from the Canadian Transport Commission although the abbreviation CRTC remained the same.
On the telecom side, the CRTC originally regulated only privately held common carriers:
* BC Tel (merged with Telus), which served British Columbia, in which a U.S. company (GTE) held a substantial stake
* Bell Canada, which served much of Ontario and Quebec, and the eastern part of the Northwest Territories (now Nunavut)
* telephone operations owned by crown corporation Canadian National Railways in Newfoundland (Terra Nova Tel), the Northwest Territories, Yukon and northern B.C. (the latter three being Northwestel).
Other telephone companies, many of which were publicly owned and entirely within a province's borders, were regulated by provincial authorities until court rulings during the 1990s affirmed federal jurisdiction over the sector, which also included some fifty small independent incumbents, most of them in Ontario and Quebec. Notable in this group were:
* Newfoundland Telephone
* Maritime Telegraph and Telephone
* Island Telephone (Island Tel)
* New Brunswick Telephone (NBTel)
* Manitoba Telephone System (MTS)
* SaskTel
* Alberta Government Telephones (AGT)
* Northern Telephone (Ontario)
* Télébec
* municipal telephone services in Prince Rupert, B.C. (CityWest) and Thunder Bay (Tbaytel)
Organisational structure
The CRTC is run by up to 13 full-time members (including the chairman, the vice-chairman of broadcasting, and the vice-chairman of telecommunications) appointed by the Cabinet for renewable terms of up to five years. However, unlike the more directly political appointees of the American Federal Communications Commission, the CRTC is an arms-length regulatory body with more autonomous authority over telecommunications. For example, the CRTC's decisions rely more on a judiciary process relying on evidence submitted during public consultations, rather than along party lines as the American FCC is prone to do.
The CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) assists in developing information, procedures and guidelines for the CRTC's regulatory activities.
Chairs of the CRTC
*1968–1975 – Pierre Juneau
*1975–1977 – Harry J. Boyle
*1977–1979 – Pierre Camu
*1980–1983 – John Meisel
*1983–1989 – André Bureau
*1990–1996 – Keith Spicer
*1996–2001 – Françoise Bertrand
*2001–2002 – David Colville (interim)
*2002–2006 – Charles Dalfen
*2007–2012 – Konrad von Finckenstein
*2012 – Leonard Katz (interim)
*2012–2017 – Jean-Pierre Blais
*2017–2023 – Ian Scott
*2023–present – Vicky Eatrides
Related legislation
* Accurate News and Information Act
* Bell Canada Act
* Broadcasting Act, 1991
* Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act
* Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 – USA
* Telecommunications Act
* Online Streaming Act
Jurisdiction
The CRTC regulates all Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications activities and enforces rules it creates to carry out the policies assigned to it; the best-known of these is probably the Canadian content rules. The CRTC reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Canadian Heritage, which is responsible for the Broadcasting Act, and has an informal relationship with Industry Canada, which is responsible for the Telecommunications Act. Provisions in these two acts, along with less-formal instructions issued by the federal cabinet known as orders-in-council, represent the bulk of the CRTC's jurisdiction.
In many cases, such as the cabinet-directed prohibition on foreign ownership for broadcasters and the legislated principle of the predominance of Canadian content, these acts and orders often leave the CRTC less room to change policy than critics sometimes suggest, and the result is that the commission is often the lightning rod for policy criticism that could arguably be better directed at the government itself.
Complaints against broadcasters, such as concerns around offensive programming, are dealt with by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC), an independent broadcast industry association, rather than by the CRTC, although CBSC decisions can be appealed to the CRTC if necessary. However, the CRTC is also sometimes erroneously criticized for CBSC decisions — for example, the CRTC was erroneously criticized for the CBSC's decisions pertaining to the airing of Howard Stern's terrestrial radio show in Canada in the late 1990s, as well as the CBSC's controversial ruling on the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing".
The commission is not fully equivalent to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which has additional powers over technical matters, in broadcasting and other aspects of communications, in that country. In Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (formerly Industry Canada) is responsible for allocating frequencies and call signs, managing the broadcast spectrum, and regulating other technical issues such as interference with electronics equipment.
Regulation of broadcast distributors
The CRTC has in the past regulated the prices cable television broadcast distributors are allowed to charge. In most major markets, however, prices are no longer regulated due to increased competition for broadcast distribution from satellite television.
The CRTC also regulates which channels broadcast distributors must or may offer. Per the Broadcasting Act the commission also gives priority to Canadian signals—many non-Canadian channels which compete with Canadian channels are thus not approved for distribution in Canada. The CRTC argues that allowing free trade in television stations would overwhelm the smaller Canadian market, preventing it from upholding its responsibility to foster a national conversation. Some people, however, consider this tantamount to censorship.
The CRTC's simultaneous substitution rules require that when a Canadian network licenses a television show from a US network and shows it in the same time slot, upon request by the Canadian broadcaster, Canadian broadcast distributors must replace the show on the US channel with the broadcast of the Canadian channel, along with any overlays and commercials.
As ''Grey's Anatomy is on ABC, but is carried in Canada on CTV at the same time, for instance, the cable, satellite, or other broadcast distributor must send the CTV feed over the signal of the carried ABC affiliate, even where the ABC version is somehow different, particularly commercials. (These rules are not intended to apply in case of differing episodes'' of the same series; this difference may not always be communicated to distributors, although this is rather rare.) Viewers via home antenna who receive both American and Canadian networks on their personal sets are not affected by sim-sub.
The goal of this policy is to create a market in which Canadian networks can realize revenue through advertising sales in spite of their inability to match the rates that the much larger American networks can afford to pay for syndicated programming. This policy is also why Canadian viewers do not see American advertisements during the Super Bowl, even when tuning into one of the many American networks carried on Canadian televisions.
The CRTC also regulates radio in Canada, including community radio, where the CRTC requires that at least 15% of each station's output must be locally produced spoken word content.
Regulation of the Internet
In a major May 1999 decision on "New Media", the CRTC held that under the Broadcasting Act the CRTC had jurisdiction over certain content communicated over the Internet including audio and video, but excluding content that is primarily alphanumeric such as emails and most webpages. It also issued an exemption order committing to a policy of non-interference.
In May 2011, in response to the increase presence of Over-the-Top (OTT) programming, the CRTC put a call out to the public to provide input on the impact OTT programming is having on Canadian content and existing broadcasting subscriptions through satellite and cable.
On October 5, 2011, the CRTC released their findings that included consultations with stakeholders from the telecommunication industry, media producers, and cultural leaders among others. The evidence was inconclusive, suggesting that an increased availability of OTT options is not having a negative impact on the availability or diversity of Canadian content, one of the key policy mandates of the CRTC, nor are there signs that there has been a significant decline of television subscriptions through cable or satellite. However, given the rapid progress in the industry they are working on a more in depth study to be concluded in May 2012.
The CRTC does not directly regulate rates, quality of service issues, or business practices for Internet service providers. However, the CRTC does continually monitor the sector and associated trends. To handle complains, the CRTC was ordered by the Government of Canada to create an independent, industry-funded agency to resolve complaints from consumers and small business retail telecom customers. In July 2007, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) opened its doors.
Third Party ISP Access refers to a ruling forcing Cable operators (MSO) to offer Internet access to third party resellers.
Regulation of telecommunications services
The commission currently has some jurisdiction over the provision of local landline telephone service in Canada. This is largely limited to the major incumbent carriers, such as Bell Canada and Telus, for traditional landline service (but not Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)). It has begun the gradual deregulation of such services where, in the commission's opinion, a sufficient level of competition exists.
The CRTC is sometimes blamed for the current state of the mobile phone industry in Canada, in which there are only three national mobile network operators – Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility, and Rogers Wireless – as well as a handful of MVNOs operating on these networks. In fact, the commission has very little to do with the regulation of mobile phone service, outside of "undue preference" issues (for example, a carrier offering a superior rate or service to some subscribers and not others without a good reason).
It does not regulate service rates, service quality, or other business practices, and commission approval is not necessary for wireless provider sales or mergers as in the broadcasting industry. Moreover, it does not deal with the availability of spectrum for mobile phone service, which is part of the Industry Canada mandate, nor the maintenance of competition, which is largely the responsibility of The Competition Bureau. Transfers of ownership/foreign ownership
Any transfer of more than 30% of the ownership of a broadcasting licence (including cable/satellite distribution licences) requires advance approval of the commission. One condition normally taken into account in such a decision is the level of foreign ownership; federal regulations require that Canadian citizens ultimately own a majority of a broadcast licence. Usually this takes the form of a public process, where interested parties can express their concerns and sometimes including a public hearing, followed by a commission decision.
While landline and mobile telephone providers must also be majority-owned by Canadians under the federal Telecommunications Act, the CRTC is not responsible for enforcement of this provision. In fact, the commission does not require licences at all for telephone companies, and CRTC approval is therefore not generally required for the sale of a telephone company, unless said company also owns a broadcast licence.
Notable decisions
Since 1987, the CRTC has been involved in several notable decisions, some of which led to controversy and debate.
Milestone Radio
Milestone Radio: In two separate rounds of licence hearings in the 1990s, the CRTC rejected applications by Milestone Radio to launch a radio station in Toronto which would have been Canada's first urban music station; in both cases, the CRTC instead granted licences to stations that duplicated formats already offered by other stations in the Toronto market. The decision has been widely cited as one of the single most significant reasons why Canadian hip hop had difficulty establishing its commercial viability throughout the 1990s. The CRTC finally granted a licence to Milestone in 2000, after a cabinet order-in-council directed the commission to license two new radio stations that reflected the cultural diversity of the Toronto market, and CFXJ-FM launched in 2001.
Satellite radio
Satellite radio: In June 2005, the CRTC outraged some Canadian cultural nationalists (such as the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting) and labour unions by licensing two companies, Canadian Satellite Radio and Sirius Canada to offer satellite radio services in Canada. The two companies are in partnership with American firms XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio respectively, and in accordance with the CRTC decision will only need to offer ten percent Canadian content. The CRTC contends that this low level of Canadian content, particularly when compared to the 35% rule on local radio stations, was necessary because unlicensed U.S. receivers were already flooding into the country, so that enforcing a ban on these receivers would be nearly impossible (see below).
This explanation did not satisfy cultural nationalists, who demanded that the federal cabinet overturn the decision and mandate a minimum of 35% Canadian content. Supporters of the decision argue that satellite radio can only be feasibly set up as a continental system, and trying to impose 35% Canadian content across North America is quite unrealistic. They also argue that satellite radio will boost Canadian culture by giving vital exposure to independent artists, instead of concentrating just on the country's stars, and point to the CRTC's successful extraction of promises to program 10% Canadian content on satellite services already operational in the United States as important concessions. Despite popular perception that the CRTC banned Sirius Canada from broadcasting Howard Stern's program, this is not the case. Sirius Canada in fact initially chose not to air Stern based on the possibility of a future issue with the CRTC, although the company reversed its decision and began offering Howard Stern in 2006. 2008 Ottawa radio licence 2008 Ottawa radio licences: On November 21, 2008, federal Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages James Moore issued a statement calling on the CRTC to review its approval of two new radio stations, Frank Torres' CIDG-FM and Astral Media's CJOT-FM, which it had licensed in August 2008 to serve the Ottawa-Gatineau radio market. Moore asked the commission to assess whether the francophone population of the Ottawa-Gatineau area was sufficiently well-served by existing French radio services, and to consider licensing one or more of the French language applications, which included a Christian music station, a community radio station and a campus radio station for the Université du Québec en Outaouais, in addition to or instead of the approved stations. The review ultimately identified a viable frequency for a third station, and CJFO-FM launched in 2010.
Bell Canada usage-based Internet billing
Bell Canada usage-based billing: On October 28, 2010, the CRTC handed down its final decision on how wholesale customers can be billed by large network owners. Under the plan which starts within 90 days, Bell will be able to charge wholesale service providers a flat monthly fee to connect to its network, and for a set monthly usage limit per each ISP customer the ISP has. Beyond that set limit, individual users will be charged per gigabyte, depending on the speed of their connections.
Customers using the fastest connections of five megabits per second, for example, will have a monthly allotment of 60 GB, beyond which Bell will charge $1.12 per GB to a maximum of $22.50. If a customer uses more than 300 GB a month, Bell will also be able to implement an additional charge of 75 cents per gigabyte. In May 2010, the CRTC ruled that Bell could not implement its usage-based billing system until all of its own retail customers had been moved off older, unlimited downloading plans. The requirement would have meant that Bell would have to move its oldest and most loyal customers.
The CRTC also added that Bell would be required to offer to wholesale ISPs the same usage insurance plan it sells to retail customers. Bell appealed both requirements, citing that the rules do not apply to cable companies and that they constituted proactive rate regulation by the CRTC, which goes against government official policy direction that the regulator only intervene in markets after a competitive problem has been proven. In Thursday's decision, the CRTC rescinded both requirements, thereby giving Bell the go-ahead to implement usage-based billing. This ruling according to Teksavvy handcuffs the competitive market. This has been asked by Stephen Harper and Parliament to have the decision reviewed. According to a tweet by Industry Minister Tony Clement, unless the CRTC reverses this decision, the government will use its override power to reverse the decision.
Reception of non-Canadian services
While an exact number has not been determined, thousands of Canadians have purchased and used what they contend to be grey market radio and television services, licensed in the United States but not in Canada. Users of these unlicensed services contend that they are not directly breaking any laws by simply using the equipment. The equipment is usually purchased from an American supplier (although some merchants have attempted to set up shop in Canada) and the services are billed to an American postal address. The advent of online billing and the easy availability of credit card services has made it relatively easy for almost anyone to maintain an account in good standing, regardless of where they actually live.
Sec. 9(1)(c) of the Radiocommunication Act creates a prohibition against all decoding of encrypted programming signals, followed by an exception where authorization is received from the person holding the lawful right in Canada to transmit and authorize decoding of the signal. This means receiving the encrypted programming of DishNetwork or DirecTV, even with a grey market subscription, may be construed as unlawful (this remains an unresolved Constitutional issue).
Notwithstanding, possession of DishNetwork or DirecTV equipment is not unlawful as provided by The Radiocommuncation Act Section 4(1)(b), which states:
"No person shall, except under and in accordance with a radio authorization, install, operate or possess radio apparatus, other than (b)a radio apparatus that is capable only of the reception of broadcasting and that is not a distribution undertaking. (radio apparatus" means a device or combination of devices intended for, or capable of being used for, radiocommunication)."
Satellite radio poses a more complicated problem for the CRTC. While an unlicensed satellite dish can often be identified easily, satellite radio receivers are much more compact and can rarely be easily identified, at least not without flagrantly violating provisions against unreasonable search and seizure in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Some observers argued that this influenced the CRTC's June 2005 decision to ease Canadian content restrictions on satellite radio (see above).
See also
* List of telecommunications regulatory bodies
* Demographics of Canada
* Category A services
* Category B services
* Canadian Independent Telephone Association
* CPAC (TV channel)
* Electronic Communications Convention
* Fee-for-carriage
* Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
* Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
* International Telecommunication Union
* Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL)
* Music of Canada (Internet broadcasting)
* Ontario Telecommunications Association
* Ontario Telephone Service Commission
* Régie des télécommunications du Québec
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*[http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-68-1150/arts_entertainment/canadian_content/ CBC Digital Archives – Ruling the Airwaves: The CRTC and Canadian Content]
Category:Federal departments and agencies of Canada
Category:1968 establishments in Canada
Category:Communications authorities
Category:Organizations established in 1968
Category:Mass media regulation in Canada
Category:Telecommunications regulatory authorities
Category:Department of Canadian Heritage
Category:Organizations based in Gatineau | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Radio-television_and_Telecommunications_Commission | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.435295 |
5986 | Con | Con or CON may refer to:
Places
Commonwealth of Nations, or CON, an association of primarily former British colonies
Concord Municipal Airport (IATA airport code CON), a public-use airport in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States
Cornwall, England, Chapman code CON
Arts, entertainment, and media
Con (TV series), a television show about confidence trickery
Con Air, a 1997 American action crime film
Naruto: Clash of Ninja, or CON, a 3D cel-shaded fighting game
The Chronicles of Narnia, or CON, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis
Brands and enterprises
Consolidated Edison, also called Con Edison or ConEd
Continental Oil
Language
Con language
Constructed language
Other uses
Con
Con (name)
Confidence trick, also known as con, scam, or flim flam; con is also a person who perpetrates a confidence trick
Conn (nautical), also spelled con, the command of movement of a ship at sea
Consider (MUD), the ability to evaluate an opponent in MUDs
Contact lens, in Hong Kong English
Convention (meeting)
Fan convention, e.g. "Comic-Con"
Convict, as in con, a person who has been convicted of a crime, or ex-con, a person who has completed their prison sentence
Convicted felon, a person who has been convicted of a felony crime in a court of law
Con, a musical term meaning "with" borrowed from Italian (see Italian musical terms used in English)
Con, Kakao Friends characters
CON
Certificate of Need, or CON
Commander of the Order of the Niger, or CON
Cornwall, county in England, Chapman code
CON, a name not allowed for folders in Microsoft Windows, see List of Easter eggs in Microsoft products#Microsoft Windows.
See also
Conn (disambiguation)
Conning (disambiguation)
Conrad (name)
Conservative Party (disambiguation)
Consol (disambiguation)
Consolidated (disambiguation)
Consolidation (disambiguation)
Constantine (disambiguation)
Contra (disambiguation)
Contrary (disambiguation)
Counter (disambiguation)
Khan (disambiguation)
Kon (disambiguation)
Qon
Pro (disambiguation)
Anti (disambiguation) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Con | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.439460 |
5987 | Coal | }}
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is a type of fossil fuel, formed when dead plant matter decays into peat which is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years. Vast deposits of coal originate in former wetlands called coal forests that covered much of the Earth's tropical land areas during the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and Permian times.
Coal is used primarily as a fuel. While coal has been known and used for thousands of years, its usage was limited until the Industrial Revolution. With the invention of the steam engine, coal consumption increased. In 2020, coal supplied about a quarter of the world's primary energy and over a third of its electricity. Some iron and steel-making and other industrial processes burn coal.
The extraction and burning of coal damages the environment, causing premature death and illness, and it is the largest anthropogenic source of carbon dioxide contributing to climate change. Fourteen billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted by burning coal in 2020, which is 40% of total fossil fuel emissions As part of worldwide energy transition, many countries have reduced or eliminated their use of coal power. The United Nations Secretary General asked governments to stop building new coal plants by 2020.
Global coal use was 8.3 billion tonnes in 2022, and is set to remain at record levels in 2023. To meet the Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming below coal use needs to halve from 2020 to 2030, and "phasing down" coal was agreed upon in the Glasgow Climate Pact.
The largest consumer and importer of coal in 2020 was China, which accounts for almost half the world's annual coal production, followed by India with about a tenth. Indonesia and Australia export the most, followed by Russia.EtymologyThe word originally took the form col in Old English, from reconstructed Proto-Germanic *kula(n), from Proto-Indo-European root *g(e)u-lo- "live coal". Germanic cognates include the Old Frisian , Middle Dutch , Dutch , Old High German , German and Old Norse . Irish is also a cognate via the Indo-European root. in low-lying areas. In these wetlands, the process of coalification began when dead plant matter was protected from oxidation, usually by mud or acidic water, and was converted into peat. The resulting peat bogs, which trapped immense amounts of carbon, were eventually deeply buried by sediments. Then, over millions of years, the heat and pressure of deep burial caused the loss of water, methane and carbon dioxide and increased the proportion of carbon. The grade of coal produced depended on the maximum pressure and temperature reached, with lignite (also called "brown coal") produced under relatively mild conditions, and sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, or anthracite coal (also called "hard coal" or "black coal") produced in turn with increasing temperature and pressure.
Of the factors involved in coalification, temperature is much more important than either pressure or time of burial. Subbituminous coal can form at temperatures as low as while anthracite requires a temperature of at least .
Although coal is known from most geologic periods, 90% of all coal beds were deposited in the Carboniferous and Permian periods. Paradoxically, this was during the Late Paleozoic icehouse, a time of global glaciation. However, the drop in global sea level accompanying the glaciation exposed continental shelves that had previously been submerged, and to these were added wide river deltas produced by increased erosion due to the drop in base level. These widespread areas of wetlands provided ideal conditions for coal formation. The rapid formation of coal ended with the coal gap in the Permian–Triassic extinction event, where coal is rare.
Favorable geography alone does not explain the extensive Carboniferous coal beds. Other factors contributing to rapid coal deposition were high oxygen levels, above 30%, that promoted intense wildfires and formation of charcoal that was all but indigestible by decomposing organisms; high carbon dioxide levels that promoted plant growth; and the nature of Carboniferous forests, which included lycophyte trees whose determinate growth meant that carbon was not tied up in heartwood of living trees for long periods.
One theory suggested that about 360 million years ago, some plants evolved the ability to produce lignin, a complex polymer that made their cellulose stems much harder and more woody. The ability to produce lignin led to the evolution of the first trees. But bacteria and fungi did not immediately evolve the ability to decompose lignin, so the wood did not fully decay but became buried under sediment, eventually turning into coal. About 300 million years ago, mushrooms and other fungi developed this ability, ending the main coal-formation period of earth's history. Although some authors pointed at some evidence of lignin degradation during the Carboniferous, and suggested that climatic and tectonic factors were a more plausible explanation, reconstruction of ancestral enzymes by phylogenetic analysis corroborated a hypothesis that lignin degrading enzymes appeared in fungi approximately 200 MYa.
One likely tectonic factor was the Central Pangean Mountains, an enormous range running along the equator that reached its greatest elevation near this time. Climate modeling suggests that the Central Pangean Mountains contributed to the deposition of vast quantities of coal in the late Carboniferous. The mountains created an area of year-round heavy precipitation, with no dry season typical of a monsoon climate. This is necessary for the preservation of peat in coal swamps.
Coal is known from Precambrian strata, which predate land plants. This coal is presumed to have originated from residues of algae.
Sometimes coal seams (also known as coal beds) are interbedded with other sediments in a cyclothem. Cyclothems are thought to have their origin in glacial cycles that produced fluctuations in sea level, which alternately exposed and then flooded large areas of continental shelf.
Chemistry of coalification
The woody tissue of plants is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Modern peat is mostly lignin, with a content of cellulose and hemicellulose ranging from 5% to 40%. Various other organic compounds, such as waxes and nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds, are also present. Lignin has a weight composition of about 54% carbon, 6% hydrogen, and 30% oxygen, while cellulose has a weight composition of about 44% carbon, 6% hydrogen, and 49% oxygen. Bituminous coal has a composition of about 84.4% carbon, 5.4% hydrogen, 6.7% oxygen, 1.7% nitrogen, and 1.8% sulfur, on a weight basis. The low oxygen content of coal shows that coalification removed most of the oxygen and much of the hydrogen a process called carbonization.
Carbonization proceeds primarily by dehydration, decarboxylation, and demethanation. Dehydration removes water molecules from the maturing coal via reactions such as
:2 R–OH → R–O–R + H<sub>2</sub>O
Decarboxylation removes carbon dioxide from the maturing coal: The effect of decarboxylation is to reduce the percentage of oxygen, while demethanation reduces the percentage of hydrogen. Dehydration does both, and (together with demethanation) reduces the saturation of the carbon backbone (increasing the number of double bonds between carbon).
As carbonization proceeds, aliphatic compounds convert to aromatic compounds. Similarly, aromatic rings fuse into polyaromatic compounds (linked rings of carbon atoms). The structure increasingly resembles graphene, the structural element of graphite.
Chemical changes are accompanied by physical changes, such as decrease in average pore size.MaceralsMacerals are coalified plant parts that retain the morphology and some properties of the original plant. In many coals, individual macerals can be identified visually. Some macerals include: Maturation of bituminous coal is characterized by bitumenization, in which part of the coal is converted to bitumen, a hydrocarbon-rich gel. Maturation to anthracite is characterized by debitumenization (from demethanation) and the increasing tendency of the anthracite to break with a conchoidal fracture, similar to the way thick glass breaks.
Types
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As geological processes apply pressure to dead biotic material over time, under suitable conditions, its metamorphic grade or rank increases successively into:
* Peat, a precursor of coal
* Lignite, or brown coal, the lowest rank of coal, most harmful to health when burned, The classification of coal is generally based on the content of volatiles. However the most important distinction is between thermal coal (also known as steam coal), which is burnt to generate electricity via steam; and metallurgical coal (also known as coking coal), which is burnt at high temperature to make steel.
Hilt's law is a geological observation that (within a small area) the deeper the coal is found, the higher its rank (or grade). It applies if the thermal gradient is entirely vertical; however, metamorphism may cause lateral changes of rank, irrespective of depth. For example, some of the coal seams of the Madrid, New Mexico coal field were partially converted to anthracite by contact metamorphism from an igneous sill while the remainder of the seams remained as bituminous coal.History
The earliest recognized use is from the Shenyang area of China where by 4000 BC Neolithic inhabitants had begun carving ornaments from black lignite. Coal from the Fushun mine in northeastern China was used to smelt copper as early as 1000 BC. Marco Polo, the Italian who traveled to China in the 13th century, described coal as "black stones ... which burn like logs", and said coal was so plentiful, people could take three hot baths a week. In Europe, the earliest reference to the use of coal as fuel is from the geological treatise On Stones (Lap. 16) by the Greek scientist Theophrastus (c. 371–287 BC):
Outcrop coal was used in Britain during the Bronze Age (3000–2000 BC), where it formed part of funeral pyres. In Roman Britain, with the exception of two modern fields, "the Romans were exploiting coals in all the major coalfields in England and Wales by the end of the second century AD". Evidence of trade in coal, dated to about AD 200, has been found at the Roman settlement at Heronbridge, near Chester; and in the Fenlands of East Anglia, where coal from the Midlands was transported via the Car Dyke for use in drying grain. Coal cinders have been found in the hearths of villas and Roman forts, particularly in Northumberland, dated to around AD 400. In the west of England, contemporary writers described the wonder of a permanent brazier of coal on the altar of Minerva at Aquae Sulis (modern day Bath), although in fact easily accessible surface coal from what became the Somerset coalfield was in common use in quite lowly dwellings locally. Evidence of coal's use for iron-working in the city during the Roman period has been found. In Eschweiler, Rhineland, deposits of bituminous coal were used by the Romans for the smelting of iron ore. Coal came to be referred to as "seacoal" in the 13th century; the wharf where the material arrived in London was known as Seacoal Lane, so identified in a charter of King Henry III granted in 1253. Initially, the name was given because much coal was found on the shore, having fallen from the exposed coal seams on cliffs above or washed out of underwater coal outcrops, In 1257–1259, coal from Newcastle upon Tyne was shipped to London for the smiths and lime-burners building Westminster Abbey.
These easily accessible sources had largely become exhausted (or could not meet the growing demand) by the 13th century, when underground extraction by shaft mining or adits was developed. Historian Ruth Goodman has traced the socioeconomic effects of that switch and its later spread throughout Britain In 1947 there were some 750,000 miners in Britain, but the last deep coal mine in the UK closed in 2015.
A grade between bituminous coal and anthracite was once known as "steam coal" as it was widely used as a fuel for steam locomotives. In this specialized use, it is sometimes known as "sea coal" in the United States. Small "steam coal", also called dry small steam nuts (DSSN), was used as a fuel for domestic water heating.
Coal played an important role in industry in the 19th and 20th century. The predecessor of the European Union, the European Coal and Steel Community, was based on the trading of this commodity.
Coal continues to arrive on beaches around the world from both natural erosion of exposed coal seams and windswept spills from cargo ships. Many homes in such areas gather this coal as a significant, and sometimes primary, source of home heating fuel.
Composition
Coal is a mixture of diverse organic compounds and polymers. Several kinds exist, with variable dark colors and composition. Young coals (brown coal, lignite) are not completely black. The two main black coals are bituminous, which is more abundant, and anthracite. The type of coal with the highest percentage of carbon in its chemical composition is anthracite, followed by bituminous, then lignite, and finally brown coal. The fuel value of coal varies in the same order. Some anthracite deposits contain pure carbon in the form of graphite.
For bituminous coal, the elemental composition on a dry, ash-free basis of 84.4% carbon, 5.4% hydrogen, 6.7% oxygen, 1.7% nitrogen, and 1.8% sulfur, on a weight basis.
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Of particular interest is the sulfur content of coal, which can vary from less than 1% to as much as 4%. Most of the sulfur and most of the nitrogen is incorporated into the organic fraction in the form of organosulfur compounds and organonitrogen compounds. This sulfur and nitrogen are strongly bound within the hydrocarbon matrix. These elements are released as SO<sub>2</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub> upon combustion. They cannot be removed, economically at least, otherwise. Some coals contain inorganic sulfur, mainly in the form of iron pyrite (FeS<sub>2</sub>). Being a dense mineral, it can be removed from coal by mechanical means, e.g. by froth flotation. Some sulfate occurs in coal, especially weathered samples. It is not volatilized and can be removed by washing.
Minor components include:
{| class=wikitable
|+ Average content
! Substance !! Content
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| Mercury (Hg)
|alignright|
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| Arsenic (As)
|alignright|
|-
| Selenium (Se)
|alignright|
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As minerals, Hg, As, and Se are not problematic to the environment, especially since they are only trace components. They become however mobile (volatile or water-soluble) when these minerals are combusted.
Uses
Most coal is used as fuel. 27.6% of world energy was supplied by coal in 2017 and Asia used almost three-quarters of it. Other large-scale applications also exist. The energy density of coal is roughly 24 megajoules per kilogram (approximately 6.7 kilowatt-hours per kg). For a coal power plant with a 40% efficiency, it takes an estimated of coal to power a 100 W lightbulb for one year.Electricity generation
near Helper, Utah, US]]
pushing coal in Ljubljana Power Station, Slovenia]]
In 2022, 68% of global coal use was used for electricity generation. The furnace heat converts boiler water to steam, which is then used to spin turbines which turn generators and create electricity. The thermodynamic efficiency of this process varies between about 25% and 50% depending on the pre-combustion treatment, turbine technology (e.g. supercritical steam generator) and the age of the plant.
A few integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants have been built, which burn coal more efficiently. Instead of pulverizing the coal and burning it directly as fuel in the steam-generating boiler, the coal is gasified to create syngas, which is burned in a gas turbine to produce electricity (just like natural gas is burned in a turbine). Hot exhaust gases from the turbine are used to raise steam in a heat recovery steam generator which powers a supplemental steam turbine. The overall plant efficiency when used to provide combined heat and power can reach as much as 94%. IGCC power plants emit less local pollution than conventional pulverized coal-fueled plants. Other ways to use coal are as coal-water slurry fuel (CWS), which was developed in the Soviet Union, or in an MHD topping cycle. However these are not widely used due to lack of profit.
In 2017 38% of the world's electricity came from coal, the same percentage as 30 years previously. In 2018 global installed capacity was 2TW (of which 1TW is in China) which was 30% of total electricity generation capacity. The most dependent major country is South Africa, with over 80% of its electricity generated by coal; but China alone generates more than half of the world's coal-generated electricity. Efforts around the world to reduce the use of coal have led some regions to switch to natural gas and renewable energy. In 2018 coal-fired power station capacity factor averaged 51%, that is they operated for about half their available operating hours.
Coke
plant in Wales, United Kingdom]]
Coke is a solid carbonaceous residue that is used in manufacturing steel and other iron-containing products. Coke is made when metallurgical coal (also known as coking coal) is baked in an oven without oxygen at temperatures as high as 1,000 °C, driving off the volatile constituents and fusing together the fixed carbon and residual ash. Metallurgical coke is used as a fuel and as a reducing agent in smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. The carbon monoxide produced by its combustion reduces hematite (an iron oxide) to iron.
:
Pig iron, which is too rich in dissolved carbon, is also produced.
The coke must be strong enough to resist the weight of overburden in the blast furnace, which is why coking coal is so important in making steel using the conventional route. Coke from coal is grey, hard, and porous and has a heating value of 29.6 MJ/kg. Some coke-making processes produce byproducts, including coal tar, ammonia, light oils, and coal gas.
Petroleum coke (petcoke) is the solid residue obtained in oil refining, which resembles coke but contains too many impurities to be useful in metallurgical applications.
Production of chemicals
Chemicals have been produced from coal since the 1950s. Coal can be used as a feedstock in the production of a wide range of chemical fertilizers and other chemical products. The main route to these products was coal gasification to produce syngas. Primary chemicals that are produced directly from the syngas include methanol, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, which are the chemical building blocks from which a whole spectrum of derivative chemicals are manufactured, including olefins, acetic acid, formaldehyde, ammonia, urea, and others. The versatility of syngas as a precursor to primary chemicals and high-value derivative products provides the option of using coal to produce a wide range of commodities. In the 21st century, however, the use of coal bed methane is becoming more important.
Because the slate of chemical products that can be made via coal gasification can in general also use feedstocks derived from natural gas and petroleum, the chemical industry tends to use whatever feedstocks are most cost-effective. Therefore, interest in using coal tended to increase for higher oil and natural gas prices and during periods of high global economic growth that might have strained oil and gas production.
Coal to chemical processes require substantial quantities of water. Much coal to chemical production is in China where coal dependent provinces such as Shanxi are struggling to control its pollution.
Liquefaction
Coal can be converted directly into synthetic fuels equivalent to gasoline or diesel by hydrogenation or carbonization. Coal liquefaction emits more carbon dioxide than liquid fuel production from crude oil. Mixing in biomass and using carbon capture and storage (CCS) would emit slightly less than the oil process but at a high cost. State owned China Energy Investment runs a coal liquefaction plant and plans to build 2 more.
Coal liquefaction may also refer to the cargo hazard when shipping coal.
Gasification
Coal gasification, as part of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) coal-fired power station, is used to produce syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H<sub>2</sub>) gas to fire gas turbines to produce electricity. Syngas can also be converted into transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, through the Fischer–Tropsch process; alternatively, syngas can be converted into methanol, which can be blended into fuel directly or converted to gasoline via the methanol to gasoline process. Gasification combined with Fischer–Tropsch technology was used by the Sasol chemical company of South Africa to make chemicals and motor vehicle fuels from coal.
During gasification, the coal is mixed with oxygen and steam while also being heated and pressurized. During the reaction, oxygen and water molecules oxidize the coal into carbon monoxide (CO), while also releasing hydrogen gas (H<sub>2</sub>). This used to be done in underground coal mines, and also to make town gas, which was piped to customers to burn for illumination, heating, and cooking.
: 3C (as Coal) + O<sub>2</sub> + H<sub>2</sub>O → H<sub>2</sub> + 3CO
If the refiner wants to produce gasoline, the syngas is routed into a Fischer–Tropsch reaction. This is known as indirect coal liquefaction. If hydrogen is the desired end-product, however, the syngas is fed into the water gas shift reaction, where more hydrogen is liberated:
: CO + H<sub>2</sub>O → CO<sub>2</sub> + H<sub>2</sub>
Coal industry
Mining
region in 1974]]
About 8,000 Mt of coal are produced annually, about 90% of which is hard coal and 10% lignite. just over half is from underground mines. The coal mining industry employs almost 2.7 million workers. More accidents occur during underground mining than surface mining. Not all countries publish mining accident statistics so worldwide figures are uncertain, but it is thought that most deaths occur in coal mining accidents in China: in 2017 there were 375 coal mining related deaths in China. Most coal mined is thermal coal (also called steam coal as it is used to make steam to generate electricity) but metallurgical coal (also called "metcoal" or "coking coal" as it is used to make coke to make iron) accounts for 10% to 15% of global coal use.
As a traded commodity
, 1895]]
China mines almost half the world's coal, followed by India with about a tenth. At 471 Mt and a 34% share of global exports, Indonesia was the largest exporter by volume in 2022, followed by Australia with 344 Mt and Russia with 224 Mt. Other major exporters of coal are the United States, South Africa, Colombia, and Canada. and much higher than the price of thermal coal because metallurgical coal must be lower in sulfur and requires more cleaning. Coal futures contracts provide coal producers and the electric power industry an important tool for hedging and risk management.
In some countries, new onshore wind or solar generation already costs less than coal power from existing plants.
However, for China this is forecast for the early 2020s and for southeast Asia not until the late 2020s. In India, building new plants is uneconomic and, despite being subsidized, existing plants are losing market share to renewables.
In many countries in the Global North, there is a move away from the use of coal and former mine sites are being used as a tourist attraction.
Market trends
In 2022, China used 4520 Mt of coal, comprising more than half of global coal consumption. India, the European Union, and the United States, were the next largest consumers of coal, using 1162, 461, and 455 Mt respectively. Over the past decade, China has almost always accounted for the lion's share of the global growth in coal demand. Therefore, international market trends depend on Chinese energy policy.
Although the government effort to reduce air pollution in China means that the global long-term trend is to burn less coal, the short and medium term trends may differ, in part due to Chinese financing of new coal-fired power plants in other countries.]]
The use of coal as fuel causes health problems and deaths. The mining and processing of coal causes air and water pollution. Coal-powered plants emit nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate pollution, and heavy metals, which adversely affect human health. mostly in India and China.
Burning coal is a major contributor to sulfur dioxide emissions, which creates PM2.5 particulates, the most dangerous form of air pollution.
Coal smokestack emissions cause asthma, strokes, reduced intelligence, artery blockages, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, mercury poisoning, arterial occlusion, and lung cancer.
Annual health costs in Europe from use of coal to generate electricity are estimated at up to €43 billion.
In China, early deaths due to air pollution coal plants have been estimated at 200 per GW-year, however they may be higher around power plants where scrubbers are not used or lower if they are far from cities. Improvements to China's air quality and human health would grow with more stringent climate policies, mainly because the country's energy is so heavily reliant on coal. And there would be a net economic benefit.
A 2017 study in the Economic Journal found that for Britain during the period 1851–1860, "a one standard deviation increase in coal use raised infant mortality by 6–8% and that industrial coal use explains roughly one-third of the urban mortality penalty observed during this period."
Breathing in coal dust causes coalworker's pneumoconiosis or "black lung", so called because the coal dust literally turns the lungs black. In the US alone, it is estimated that 1,500 former employees of the coal industry die every year from the effects of breathing in coal mine dust.
Huge amounts of coal ash and other waste is produced annually. Use of coal generates hundreds of millions of tons of ash and other waste products every year. These include fly ash, bottom ash, and flue-gas desulfurization sludge, that contain mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic, and other heavy metals, along with non-metals such as selenium.
Around 10% of coal is ash. Coal ash is hazardous and toxic to human beings and some other living things. Coal ash contains the radioactive elements uranium and thorium. Coal ash and other solid combustion byproducts are stored locally and escape in various ways that expose those living near coal plants to radiation and environmental toxics.Damage to the environment
coal fly ash slurry spill taken the day after the event]]
Coal mining, coal combustion wastes, and flue gas are causing major environmental damage.
Water systems are affected by coal mining. For example, the mining of coal affects groundwater and water table levels and acidity. Spills of fly ash, such as the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill, can also contaminate land and waterways, and destroy homes. Power stations that burn coal also consume large quantities of water. This can affect the flows of rivers, and has consequential impacts on other land uses. In areas of water scarcity, such as the Thar Desert in Pakistan, coal mining and coal power plants contribute to the depletion of water resources.
One of the earliest known impacts of coal on the water cycle was acid rain. In 2014, approximately 100 Tg/S of sulfur dioxide (SO<sub>2</sub>) was released, over half of which was from burning coal. After release, the sulfur dioxide is oxidized to H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> which scatters solar radiation, hence its increase in the atmosphere exerts a cooling effect on the climate. This beneficially masks some of the warming caused by increased greenhouse gases. However, the sulfur is precipitated out of the atmosphere as acid rain in a matter of weeks, whereas carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Release of SO<sub>2</sub> also contributes to the widespread acidification of ecosystems.
Disused coal mines can also cause issues. Subsidence can occur above tunnels, causing damage to infrastructure or cropland. Coal mining can also cause long lasting fires, and it has been estimated that thousands of coal seam fires are burning at any given time. For example, Brennender Berg has been burning since 1668, and is still burning in the 21st century.
The production of coke from coal produces ammonia, coal tar, and gaseous compounds as byproducts which if discharged to land, air or waterways can pollute the environment. The Whyalla steelworks is one example of a coke producing facility where liquid ammonia was discharged to the marine environment.
Climate change
) of long-lived greenhouse gases has nearly doubled in 40 years, with carbon dioxide being the dominant driver of global warming.]]
The largest and most long-term effect of coal use is the release of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes climate change. Coal-fired power plants were the single largest contributor to the growth in global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in 2018, 40% of the total fossil fuel emissions, and more than a quarter of total emissions.
In 2016 world gross carbon dioxide emissions from coal usage were 14.5 gigatonnes. For every megawatt-hour generated, coal-fired electric power generation emits around a tonne of carbon dioxide, which is double the approximately 500 kg of carbon dioxide released by a natural gas-fired electric plant. The emission intensity of coal varies with type and generator technology and exceeds 1200 g per kWh in some countries. In 2013, the head of the UN climate agency advised that most of the world's coal reserves should be left in the ground to avoid catastrophic global warming. To keep global warming below 1.5 °C or 2 °C hundreds, or possibly thousands, of coal-fired power plants will need to be retired early.
Underground fires
Thousands of coal fires are burning around the world. Those burning underground can be difficult to locate and many cannot be extinguished. Fires can cause the ground above to subside, their combustion gases are dangerous to life, and breaking out to the surface can initiate surface wildfires. Coal seams can be set on fire by spontaneous combustion or contact with a mine fire or surface fire. Lightning strikes are an important source of ignition. The coal continues to burn slowly back into the seam until oxygen (air) can no longer reach the flame front. A grass fire in a coal area can set dozens of coal seams on fire. Coal fires in China burn an estimated 120 million tons of coal a year, emitting 360 million metric tons of CO<sub>2</sub>, amounting to 2–3% of the annual worldwide production of CO<sub>2</sub> from fossil fuels.Pollution mitigation and carbon capture
]]
Systems and technologies exist to mitigate the health and environmental impact of burning coal for energy.
Precombustion treatment
Refined coal is the product of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals such as sub-bituminous and lignite (brown) coals. It is one form of several precombustion treatments and processes for coal that alter coal's characteristics before it is burned. Thermal efficiency improvements are achievable by improved pre-drying (especially relevant with high-moisture fuel such as lignite or biomass). The goals of precombustion coal technologies are to increase efficiency and reduce emissions when the coal is burned. Precombustion technology can sometimes be used as a supplement to postcombustion technologies to control emissions from coal-fueled boilers. Post combustion approaches Post combustion approaches to mitigate pollution include flue-gas desulfurization, selective catalytic reduction, electrostatic precipitators, and fly ash reduction. Carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be used to capture carbon dioxide from the flue gas of coal power plants and bury it securely in an underground reservoir. Between 1972 and 2017, plans were made to add CCS to enough coal and gas power plants to sequester 161 million tonnes of per year, but by 2021 98% of these plans had failed. Cost, the absence of measures to address long-term liability for stored CO<sub>2</sub>, and limited social acceptability have all contributed to project cancellations. As of 2024, CCS is in operation at only four coal power plants and one gas power plant worldwide.
"Clean coal" and "abated coal"
, coal lumps are portrayed as characters singing carols with names like "Frosty the Coalman."|alt=Cartoon of seven lumps of coal in Christmas-themed attire, standing in an open doorway with songbooks, singing. A banner says "The Clean Coal Carolers". |left]]
Since the mid-1980s, the term "clean coal" has been widely used with various meanings. Initially, "clean coal technology" referred to scrubbers and catalytic converters that reduced the pollutants that cause acid rain. The scope then expanded to include reduction of other pollutants such as mercury. Without a clear definition, is possible for fossil fuel use to be called "abated" if it uses CCS only in a minimal fashion, such as capturing only 30% of the emissions from a plant.EconomicsIn 2018 was invested in coal supply but almost all for sustaining production levels rather than opening new mines.
In the long term coal and oil could cost the world trillions of dollars per year. Coal alone may cost Australia billions, whereas costs to some smaller companies or cities could be on the scale of millions of dollars. The economies most damaged by coal (via climate change) may be India and the US as they are the countries with the highest social cost of carbon. Bank loans to finance coal are a risk to the Indian economy. Coal pollution costs the each year. Measures to cut air pollution benefit individuals financially and the economies of countries such as China.
Subsidies
Subsidies for coal in 2021 have been estimated at , not including electricity subsidies, and are expected to rise in 2022. G20 countries provide at least but they include in domestic and international public finance, in fiscal support, and in state-owned enterprise (SOE) investments per year. As of 2018, government funding for new coal power plants was supplied by Exim Bank of China, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Indian public sector banks. Coal in Kazakhstan was the main recipient of coal consumption subsidies totalling US$2 billion in 2017. Coal in Turkey benefited from substantial subsidies in 2021.Stranded assetsSome coal-fired power stations could become stranded assets, for example China Energy Investment, the world's largest power company, risks losing half its capital. As of 2021 this may be helping to cause a carbon bubble which could cause financial instability if it bursts.
Politics
Countries building or financing new coal-fired power stations, such as China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and Bangladesh, face mounting international criticism for obstructing the aims of the Paris Agreement. In 2019, the Pacific Island nations (in particular Vanuatu and Fiji) criticized Australia for failing to cut their emissions at a faster rate than they were, citing concerns about coastal inundation and erosion. In May 2021, the G7 members agreed to end new direct government support for international coal power generation.
caused by climate change in Australia]]
Cultural usage
Coal is the official state mineral of Kentucky, and the official state rock of Utah and West Virginia. These US states have a historic link to coal mining.
Some cultures hold that children who misbehave will receive only a lump of coal from Santa Claus for Christmas in their stockings instead of presents.
It is also customary and considered lucky in Scotland to give coal as a gift on New Year's Day. This occurs as part of first-footing and represents warmth for the year to come.See also
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* (stratigraphic unit)
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* Épinac coal mine
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
* [https://coaltransitions.org/ Coal Transitions]
* [https://www.iea.org/fuels-and-technologies/coal Coal – International Energy Agency]
* [https://coalexit.org/ CoalExit]
* [https://euracoal.eu/ European Association for Coal and Lignite]
* [http://www.worldcoal.com/ Coal news and industry magazine]
* [https://globalenergymonitor.org/projects/global-coal-plant-tracker/ Global Coal Plant Tracker]
* [https://energyandcleanair.org/ Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air]
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Category:Coal mining
Category:Economic geology
Category:Fuels
Category:Sedimentary rocks
Category:Solid fuels
Category:Fossil fuels | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.528624 |
5992 | Traditional Chinese medicine | | ci =
| altname | order ts
| hangul = 중의학
| hanja = 中醫學
| rr = jung'uihak
| mr = chung'ŭihak
| shinjitai = 漢方
| hiragana = かんぽう
| revhep = Kanpō
| kunrei = Kanpô
| hn =
| qn =
}}
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence of effectiveness or logical mechanism of action.<!--This sentence has been extensively discussed, and should not be removed without gaining consensus for the removal on the talkpage first--> In the early twentieth century, Chinese cultural and political modernizers worked to eliminate traditional practices as backward and unscientific. Traditional practitioners then selected elements of philosophy and practice and organized them into what they called "Chinese medicine". In the 1950s, the Chinese government sought to revive traditional medicine (including legalizing previously banned practices) and sponsored the integration of TCM and Western medicine, and in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, promoted TCM as inexpensive and popular. The creation of modern TCM was largely spearheaded by Mao Zedong, despite the fact that, according to The Private Life of Chairman Mao, he did not believe in its effectiveness. and Compendium of Materia Medica, a sixteenth-century encyclopedic work, and includes various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, cupping therapy, gua sha, massage (tui na), bonesetter (die-da), exercise (qigong), and dietary therapy. TCM is widely used in the Sinosphere. One of the basic tenets is that the body's qi is circulating through channels called meridians having branches connected to bodily organs and functions. The Chinese authorities have engaged in attempts to crack down on illegal TCM-related wildlife smuggling. Ancient history
is a pharmaceutical text written by Li Shizhen (1518–1593) during the Ming dynasty of China. This edition was published in 1593.]]
1340s, Yuan dynasty). This image from Shisi jingfahui (Expression of the Fourteen Meridians).'' (Tokyo: Suharaya Heisuke kanko, Kyoho gan 1716).]]
Scholars in the history of medicine in China distinguish its doctrines and practice from those of present-day TCM. J. A. Jewell and S. M. Hillier state that the term "Traditional Chinese Medicine" became an established term due to the work of Dr. Kan-Wen Ma, a Western-trained medical doctor who was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and immigrated to Britain, joining the University of London's Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine.
The doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in books such as the ''Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon and the Treatise on Cold Damage, as well as in cosmological notions such as yin–yang and the five phases. The Compendium of Materia Medica'' dates back to around 1,100 BCE when only a few dozen drugs were described. By the end of the 16th century, the number of drugs documented had reached close to 1,900. And by the end of the last century, published records of CMM had reached 12,800 drugs." Starting in the 1950s, these precepts were standardized in the People's Republic of China, including attempts to integrate them with modern notions of anatomy and pathology. In the 1950s, the Chinese government promoted a systematized form of TCM. Though the Shang did not have a concept of "medicine" as distinct from other health practices, their oracular inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells refer to illnesses that affected the Shang royal family: eye disorders, toothaches, bloated abdomen, and such. Shang elites usually attributed them to curses sent by their ancestors. There is currently no evidence that the Shang nobility used herbal remedies. This being said, most historians now make a distinction between medical lancing (or bloodletting) and acupuncture in the narrower sense of using metal needles to attempt to treat illnesses by stimulating points along circulation channels ("meridians") in accordance with beliefs related to the circulation of "Qi". The earliest evidence for acupuncture in this sense dates to the second or first century BCE. Han dynasty The ''Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon (Huangdi Neijing), the oldest received work of Chinese medical theory, was compiled during the Han dynasty around the first century BCE on the basis of shorter texts from different medical lineages. Written in the form of dialogues between the legendary Yellow Emperor and his ministers, it offers explanations on the relation between humans, their environment, and the cosmos, on the contents of the body, on human vitality and pathology, on the symptoms of illness, and on how to make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions in light of all these factors. it was the first medical work to combine Yinyang and the Five Phases with drug therapy.
Nanjing or "Classic of Difficult Issues", originally called "The Yellow Emperor Eighty-one Nan Jing", ascribed to Bian Que in the eastern Han dynasty. This book was compiled in the form of question-and-answer explanations. A total of 81 questions have been discussed. Therefore, it is also called "Eighty-One Nan". The book is based on basic theory and has also analyzed some disease certificates. Questions one to twenty-two is about pulse study, questions twenty-three to twenty-nine is about meridian study, questions thirty to forty-seven is related to urgent illnesses, questions forty-eight to sixty-one is related to serious diseases, questions sixty-two to sixty-eight is related to acupuncture points, and questions sixty-nine to eighty-one is related to the needlepoint methods. Most of the pharmacological theories and compatibility rules and the proposed "seven emotions and harmony" principle have played a role in the practice of medicine for thousands of years.
Post-Han dynasty
In the centuries that followed, several shorter books tried to summarize or systematize the contents of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. The Canon of Problems (probably second century CE) tried to reconcile divergent doctrines from the Inner Canon and developed a complete medical system centered on needling therapy.
Prominent medical scholars of the post-Han period included Tao Hongjing (456–536), Sun Simiao of the Sui and Tang dynasties, Zhang Jiegu (–1234), and Li Shizhen (1518–1593). <!-- Wu Jian a robber known for being dissected -->
Modern history
Chinese communities under Colonial rule
Chinese communities living in colonial port cities were influenced by the diverse cultures they encountered, which also led to evolving understandings of medical practices where Chinese forms of medicine were combined with Western medical knowledge. For example, the Tung Wah Hospital was established in Hong Kong in 1869 based on the widespread rejection of Western medicine for pre-existing medical practices, although Western medicine would still be practiced in the hospital alongside Chinese medicinal practices. The Tung Wah Hospital was likely connected to another Chinese medical institution, the Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital of Singapore, which had previous community links to Tung Wah, was established for similar reasons and also provided both Western and Chinese medical care. By 1935, English-language newspapers in Colonial Singapore already used the term "Traditional Chinese Medicine" to label Chinese ethnic medical practices.
People's Republic
In 1950, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chairman Mao Zedong announced support of traditional Chinese medicine; this was despite the fact that Mao did not personally believe in and did not use TCM, according to his personal physician Li Zhisui.
During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) the CCP and the government emphasized modernity, cultural identity and China's social and economic reconstruction and contrasted them to the colonial and feudal past. The government established a grassroots health care system as a step in the search for a new national identity and tried to revitalize traditional medicine and made large investments in traditional medicine to try to develop affordable medical care and public health facilities. The Ministry of Health directed health care throughout China and established primary care units. Chinese physicians trained in Western medicine were required to learn traditional medicine, while traditional healers received training in modern methods. This strategy aimed to integrate modern medical concepts and methods and revitalize appropriate aspects of traditional medicine. Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine was re-created in response to Western medicine. Nathan Sivin's 1987 translation of Revised Outline of Chinese Medicine: For Western-medicine practioners to learn Chinese medicine (; 1972) serves as a good, though outdated, example of this principle in practice.
The State Intellectual Property Office (now known as CNIPA) established a database of patents granted for traditional Chinese medicine.
In the second decade of the twenty-first century, Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping strongly supported TCM, calling it a "gem". As of May 2011, in order to promote TCM worldwide, China had signed TCM partnership agreements with over 70 countries. His government pushed to increase its use and the number of TCM-trained doctors and announced that students of TCM would no longer be required to pass examinations in Western medicine. Chinese scientists and researchers, however, expressed concern that TCM training and therapies would receive equal support with Western medicine. They also criticized a reduction in government testing and regulation of the production of TCMs, some of which were toxic. Government censors have removed Internet posts that question TCM. In 2020 Beijing drafted a local regulation outlawing criticism of TCM. According to Caixin, the regulation was later passed with the provision outlawing criticism of TCM removed. Hong Kong ) needed.}}
At the beginning of Hong Kong's opening up, Western medicine was not yet popular, and Western medicine doctors were mostly foreigners; local residents mostly relied on Chinese medicine practitioners. In 1841, the British government of Hong Kong issued an announcement pledging to govern Hong Kong residents in accordance with all the original rituals, customs and private legal property rights. As traditional Chinese medicine had always been used in China, the use of traditional Chinese medicine was not regulated.
The establishment in 1870 of the Tung Wah Hospital was the first use of Chinese medicine for the treatment in Chinese hospitals providing free medical services. As the promotion of Western medicine by the British government started from 1940, Western medicine started being popular among Hong Kong population. In 1959, Hong Kong had researched the use of traditional Chinese medicine to replace Western medicine.
Historiography of Chinese medicine
Historians have noted two key aspects of Chinese medical history: understanding conceptual differences when translating the term , and observing the history from the perspective of cosmology rather than biology.
In Chinese classical texts, the term is the closest historical translation to the English word "body" because it sometimes refers to the physical human body in terms of being weighed or measured, but the term is to be understood as an "ensemble of functions" encompassing both the human psyche and emotions. This concept of the human body is opposed to the European duality of a separate mind and body. and that the traditional principles of acupuncture are deeply flawed. "Acupuncture points and meridians are not a reality", the review continued, but "merely the product of an ancient Chinese philosophy". In June 2019, the World Health Organization included traditional Chinese medicine in a global diagnostic compendium, but a spokesman said this was "not an endorsement of the scientific validity of any Traditional Medicine practice or the efficacy of any Traditional Medicine intervention."
A 2012 review of cost-effectiveness research for TCM found that studies had low levels of evidence, with no beneficial outcomes.
There are concerns over a number of potentially toxic plants, animal parts, and mineral Chinese compounds, There are additional concerns over the illegal trade and transport of endangered species including rhinoceroses and tigers, and the welfare of specially farmed animals, including bears.Philosophical backgroundTraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a broad range of medicine practices sharing common concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage (), exercise (), and dietary therapy. It is primarily used as a complementary alternative medicine approach. which was later absorbed by Daoism. Philosophical texts influenced TCM, mostly by being grounded in the same theories of qi, yin-yang and wuxing and microcosm-macrocosm analogies.Yin and yang
Yin and yang are ancient Chinese deductive reasoning concepts used within Chinese medical diagnosis which can be traced back to the Shang dynasty (1600–1100 BCE). They represent two abstract and complementary aspects that every phenomenon in the universe can be divided into. Thus, yin and yang of the body are seen as phenomena whose lack (or over-abundance) comes with characteristic symptom combinations:
* Yin vacuity (also termed "vacuity-heat"): heat sensations, possible sweating at night, insomnia, dry pharynx, dry mouth, dark urine, and a "fine" and rapid pulse.
* Yang vacuity ("vacuity-cold"): aversion to cold, cold limbs, bright white complexion, long voidings of clear urine, diarrhea, pale and enlarged tongue, and a slightly weak, slow and fine pulse.
| Liver || Heart || Spleen || Lung || Kidney
|-
! Fu Organ
| iris || inner/outer corner of the eye || upper and lower lid || sclera || pupil
|}
Strict rules are identified to apply to the relationships between the Five Phases in terms of sequence, of acting on each other, of counteraction, etc. All these aspects of Five Phases theory constitute the basis of the zàng-fǔ concept, and thus have great influence regarding the TCM model of the body.Model of the body
TCM "holds that the body's vital energy (chi or qi) circulates through channels, called meridians, that have branches connected to bodily organs and functions."
The primary functional entities used by traditional Chinese medicine are qì, xuě, the five zàng organs, the six fǔ organs, and the meridians which extend through the organ systems. These are all theoretically interconnected: each zàng organ is paired with a fǔ organ, which are nourished by the blood and concentrate qi for a particular function, with meridians being extensions of those functional systems throughout the body.
Concepts of the body and of disease used in TCM are pseudoscientific, similar to Mediterranean humoral theory. TCM's model of the body is characterized as full of pseudoscience. Some practitioners no longer consider yin and yang and the idea of an energy flow to apply. Scientific investigation has not found any histological or physiological evidence for traditional Chinese concepts such as qi, meridians, and acupuncture points. It is a generally held belief within the acupuncture community that acupuncture points and meridians structures are special conduits for electrical signals but no research has established any consistent anatomical structure or function for either acupuncture points or meridians. The scientific evidence for the anatomical existence of either meridians or acupuncture points is not compelling. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch writes that, "TCM theory and practice are not based upon the body of knowledge related to health, disease, and health care that has been widely accepted by the scientific community. TCM practitioners disagree among themselves about how to diagnose patients and which treatments should go with which diagnoses. Even if they could agree, the TCM theories are so nebulous that no amount of scientific study will enable TCM to offer rational care."
Qi
Qi is a polysemous word that traditional Chinese medicine distinguishes as being able to transform into many different qualities of qi ().
# Actuation () – of all physical processes in the body, especially the circulation of all body fluids such as blood in their vessels. This includes actuation of the functions of the zang-fu organs and meridians.
# Warming () – the body, especially the limbs.
# Defense () – against Exogenous Pathogenic Factors
# Containment () – of body fluids, i.e., keeping blood, sweat, urine, semen, etc. from leakage or excessive emission.
# Inter-transformationel () – of food, drink, and breath into qi, xue (blood), and jinye ("fluids"), and/or transformation of all of the latter into each other.
A lack of qi will be characterized especially by pale complexion, lassitude of spirit, lack of strength, spontaneous sweating, laziness to speak, non-digestion of food, shortness of breath (especially on exertion), and a pale and enlarged tongue. The latter is called weiqi (); its main function is defence and it has pronounced yang nature. Its concept is, nevertheless, defined by its functions: nourishing all parts and tissues of the body, safeguarding an adequate degree of moisture, and sustaining and soothing both consciousness and sleep.JinyeClosely related to xuě are the jinye (, usually translated as "body fluids"), and just like xuě they are considered to be yin in nature, and defined first and foremost by the functions of nurturing and moisturizing the different structures of the body. Their other functions are to harmonize yin and yang, and to help with the secretion of waste products.
Jinye are ultimately extracted from food and drink, and constitute the raw material for the production of xuě; conversely, xuě can also be transformed into jinye.
Zangfu
The zangfu () are the collective name of eleven entities (similar to organs) that constitute the centre piece of TCM's systematization of bodily functions. The term zang refers to the five considered to be yin in nature – Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney – while fu refers to the six associated with yang – Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Gallbladder, Urinary Bladder, Stomach and San Jiao. Despite having the names of organs, they are only loosely tied to (rudimentary) anatomical assumptions. Instead, they are primarily understood to be certain "functions" of the body. The fǔ organs' main purpose is merely to transmit and digest () substances such as waste and food.
Since their concept was developed on the basis of Wǔ Xíng philosophy, each zàng is paired with a fǔ, and each zàng-fǔ pair is assigned to one of five elemental qualities (i.e., the Five Elements or Five Phases). These correspondences are stipulated as:
* Fire () Heart () and Small Intestine () (and, secondarily, Sānjiaō [, "Triple Burner"] and Pericardium [])
* Earth () Spleen () and Stomach ()
* Metal () Lung () and Large Intestine ()
* Water () Kidney () and Bladder ()
* Wood () Liver () and Gallbladder ()
The zàng-fǔ are also connected to the twelve standard meridians – each yang meridian is attached to a fǔ organ, and five of the yin meridians are attached to a zàng.Jing-luo
(c. 1368–1644)|200px]]
The meridians (, ) are believed to be channels running from the zàng-fǔ in the interior (, ) of the body to the limbs and joints ("the surface" [, ]), transporting qi and xuĕ. TCM identifies 12 "regular" and 8 "extraordinary" meridians; There's also a number of less customary channels branching from the "regular" meridians. In traditional China, as in many other cultures, the health and medicine of female bodies was less understood than that of male bodies. Women's bodies were often secondary to male bodies, since women were thought of as the weaker, sicklier sex.
In clinical encounters, women and men were treated differently. Diagnosing women was not as simple as diagnosing men. First, when a woman fell ill, an appropriate adult man was to call the doctor and remain present during the examination, for the woman could not be left alone with the doctor. The physician would discuss the female's problems and diagnosis only through the male. However, in certain cases, when a woman dealt with complications of pregnancy or birth, older women assumed the role of the formal authority. Men in these situations would not have much power to interfere. being the most challenging. Doctors used a medical doll known as a Doctor's lady, on which female patients could indicate the location of their symptoms.
Cheng Maoxian (b. 1581), who practiced medicine in Yangzhou, described the difficulties doctors had with the norm of female modesty. One of his case studies was that of Fan Jisuo's teenage daughter, who could not be diagnosed because she was unwilling to speak about her symptoms, since the illness involved discharge from her intimate areas. As Cheng describes, there were four standard methods of diagnosis – looking, asking, listening and smelling and touching (for pulse-taking). To maintain some form of modesty, women would often stay hidden behind curtains and screens. The doctor was allowed to touch enough of her body to complete his examination, often just the pulse taking. This would lead to situations where the symptoms and the doctor's diagnosis did not agree and the doctor would have to ask to view more of the patient.
These social and cultural beliefs were often barriers to learning more about female health, with women themselves often being the most formidable barrier. Women were often uncomfortable talking about their illnesses, especially in front of the male chaperones that attended medical examinations. Yin and yang ruled the body, the body being a microcosm of the universe and the earth. In addition, gender in the body was understood as homologous, the two genders operating in synchronization. Yin and yang concepts were applied to the feminine and masculine aspects of all bodies, implying that the differences between men and women begin at the level of this energy flow. According to Bequeathed Writings of Master Chu the male's yang pulse movement follows an ascending path in "compliance [with cosmic direction] so that the cycle of circulation in the body and the Vital Gate are felt...The female's yin pulse movement follows a defending path against the direction of cosmic influences, so that the nadir and the Gate of Life are felt at the inch position of the left hand". In sum, classical medicine marked yin and yang as high and low on bodies which in turn would be labeled normal or abnormal and gendered either male or female.
As in other cultures, fertility and menstruation dominate female health concerns. Women were often silent about suspected pregnancy, which led to many men not knowing that their wife or daughter was pregnant until complications arrived. Complications through the misdiagnosis and the woman's reluctance to speak often led to medically induced abortions. Cheng, Furth wrote, "was unapologetic about endangering a fetus when pregnancy risked a mother's well being". With these tools, the baby was born, cleaned, and swaddled; however, the mother was then immediately the focus of the doctor to replenish her qi. This process was followed up by a month check-in with the physician, a practice known as zuo yuezi''.
Infertility
Infertility, not very well understood, posed serious social and cultural repercussions. The seventh-century scholar Sun Simiao is often quoted: "those who have prescriptions for women's distinctiveness take their differences of pregnancy, childbirth and [internal] bursting injuries as their basis." For example, depending on tongue and pulse conditions, a TCM practitioner might diagnose bleeding from the mouth and nose as: "Liver fire rushes upwards and scorches the Lung, injuring the blood vessels and giving rise to reckless pouring of blood from the mouth and nose." He might then go on to prescribe treatments designed to clear heat or supplement the Lung.Disease entitiesIn TCM, a disease has two aspects: "bìng" and "zhèng". The former is often translated as "disease entity",
Since therapy will not be chosen according to the disease entity but according to the pattern, two people with the same disease entity but different patterns will receive different therapy. (compare with typical examples of patterns). The concrete pattern identified should account for all the symptoms a person has.
Six Excesses
The Six Excesses (, or "Six Pernicious Influences"; or slow pulse. In a concurrent exterior pattern, excess is characterized by the absence of sweating. pattern discrimination can include considerations regarding the disease cause; this is called (, "disease-cause pattern discrimination"). These are grouped into what is known as the "Four pillars" of diagnosis, which are Inspection, Auscultation/ Olfaction, Inquiry, and Palpation ().
* Inspection focuses on the face and particularly on the tongue, including analysis of the tongue size, shape, tension, color and coating, and the absence or presence of teeth marks around the edge.
* Auscultation refers to listening for particular sounds (such as wheezing).
* Olfaction refers to attending to body odor.
* Inquiry focuses on the "seven inquiries", which involve asking the person about the regularity, severity, or other characteristics of: chills, fever, perspiration, appetite, thirst, taste, defecation, urination, pain, sleep, menses, leukorrhea.
* Palpation which includes feeling the body for tender A-shi points, and the palpation of the wrist pulses as well as various other pulses, and palpation of the abdomen.
Tongue and pulse
Examination of the tongue and the pulse are among the principal diagnostic methods in TCM. Details of the tongue, including shape, size, color, texture, cracks, teeth marks, as well as tongue coating are all considered as part of tongue diagnosis. Various regions of the tongue's surface are believed to correspond to the zàng-fŭ organs. For example, redness on the tip of the tongue might indicate heat in the Heart, while redness on the sides of the tongue might indicate heat in the Liver.
Pulse palpation involves measuring the pulse both at a superficial and at a deep level at three different locations on the radial artery (Cun, Guan, Chi, located two fingerbreadths from the wrist crease, one fingerbreadth from the wrist crease, and right at the wrist crease, respectively, usually palpated with the index, middle and ring finger) of each arm, for a total of twelve pulses, all of which are thought to correspond with certain zàng-fŭ. The pulse is examined for several characteristics including rhythm, strength and volume, and described with qualities like "floating, slippery, bolstering-like, feeble, thready and quick"; each of these qualities indicates certain disease patterns. Learning TCM pulse diagnosis can take several years.
Herbal medicine
(), ginseng, Luo Han Guo, turtle shell underbelly (plastron), and dried curled snakes.]]
in a "crush cage" on Huizhou Farm, China]]
s are extensively used in traditional medicine in China and elsewhere. Thus, the term "medicinal" (instead of herb) may be used. A 2019 review of traditional herbal treatments found they are widely used but lacking in scientific evidence, and urged a more rigorous approach by which genuinely useful medicinals might be identified. Plant elements and extracts are by far the most common elements used. In the classic Handbook of Traditional Drugs from 1941, 517 drugs were listed – out of these, 45 were animal parts, and 30 were minerals. hornet nests, leeches, and scorpion. Other examples of animal parts include horn of the antelope or buffalo, deer antlers, testicles and penis bone of the dog, and snake bile.
Some compounds can include the parts of endangered species, including tiger bones and rhinoceros horn
which is used for many ailments (though not as an aphrodisiac as is commonly misunderstood in the West).
The black market in rhinoceros horns (driven not just by TCM but also unrelated status-seeking) has reduced the world's rhino population by more than 90 percent over the past 40 years.
Concerns have also arisen over the use of pangolin scales, turtle plastron, seahorses, and the gill plates of mobula and manta rays.
Poachers hunt restricted or endangered species to supply the black market with TCM products. There is no scientific evidence of efficacy for tiger medicines.
Since TCM recognizes bear bile as a treatment compound, more than 12,000 asiatic black bears are held in bear farms. The bile is extracted through a permanent hole in the abdomen leading to the gall bladder, which can cause severe pain. This can lead to bears trying to kill themselves. As of 2012, approximately 10,000 bears are farmed in China for their bile. As of March 2020 bear bile as ingredient of Tan Re Qing injection remains on the list of remedies recommended for treatment of "severe cases" of COVID-19 by National Health Commission of China and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The deer penis is believed to have therapeutic benefits according to traditional Chinese medicine. Tiger parts from poached animals include tiger penis, believed to improve virility, and tiger eyes. The illegal trade for tiger parts in China has driven the species to near-extinction because of its popularity in traditional medicine. Shark fin soup is traditionally regarded in Chinese medicine as beneficial for health in East Asia, and its status as an elite dish has led to huge demand with the increase of affluence in China, devastating shark populations. The shark fins have been a part of traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Shark finning is banned in many countries, but the trade is thriving in Hong Kong and China, where the fins are part of shark fin soup, a dish considered a delicacy, and used in some types of traditional Chinese medicine.
The tortoise (freshwater turtle, guiban) and turtle (Chinese softshell turtle, biejia) species used in traditional Chinese medicine are raised on farms, while restrictions are made on the accumulation and export of other endangered species. However, issues concerning the overexploitation of Asian turtles in China have not been completely solved. Finally, although not an endangered species, sharp rises in exports of donkeys and donkey hide from Africa to China to make the traditional remedy ejiao have prompted export restrictions by some African countries.Human body parts
(Ziheche () is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Human placenta has been used an ingredient in certain traditional Chinese medicines, including using dried human placenta, known as "Ziheche", to treat infertility, impotence and other conditions. The consumption of the human placenta is a potential source of infection.Efficacy
there were not enough good-quality trials of herbal therapies to allow their effectiveness to be determined. A high percentage of relevant studies on traditional Chinese medicine are in Chinese databases. Fifty percent of systematic reviews on TCM did not search Chinese databases, which could lead to a bias in the results. Many systematic reviews of TCM interventions published in Chinese journals are incomplete, some contained errors or were misleading. The herbs recommended by traditional Chinese practitioners in the US are unregulated.
* A 2013 review found the data too weak to support use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
* A 2013 review found the research on the benefit and safety of CHM for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss is of poor quality and cannot be relied upon to support their use.
* A 2013 Cochrane review found inconclusive evidence that CHM reduces the severity of eczema.
* The traditional medicine ginger, which has shown anti-inflammatory properties in laboratory experiments, has been used to treat rheumatism, headache and digestive and respiratory issues, though there is no firm evidence supporting these uses.
* A 2012 Cochrane review found no difference in mortality rate among 640 SARS patients when Chinese herbs were used alongside Western medicine versus Western medicine exclusively, although they concluded some herbs may have improved symptoms and decreased corticosteroid doses.
* A 2012 Cochrane review found insufficient evidence to support the use of TCM for people with adhesive small bowel obstruction.
* A 2011 review found low quality evidence that suggests CHM improves the symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome.
* A 2011 Cochrane review found inconclusive evidence to support the use of TCM herbal medicines for treatment of hypercholesterolemia.
* A 2011 Cochrane review did not find improvement in fasting C-peptide when compared to insulin treatment for latent autoimmune diabetes in adults after 3 months. It is important to highlight that the studies available to be included in this review presented considerable flaws in quality and design.
* A 2010 review found TCM seems to be effective for the treatment of fibromyalgia but the findings were of insufficient methodological rigor.
* A 2008 Cochrane review found promising evidence for the use of Chinese herbal medicine in relieving painful menstruation, but the trials assessed were of such low methodological quality that no conclusion could be drawn about the remedies' suitability as a recommendable treatment option.
* Turmeric has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to treat various conditions.
* A 2005 Cochrane review found insufficient evidence for the use of CHM in HIV-infected people and people with AIDS.
* A 2010 Cochrane review found insufficient evidence to support the use of Traditional Chinese Herbal Products (THCP) in the treatment of angina.
* A 2010 Cochrane review found no evidence supporting the use of TCHM for stopping bleeding from haemorrhoids. There was some weak evidence of pain relief.Drug research
, traditionally used to treat fever, has been found to have antimalarial properties.
There had been success in the 1970s, however, with the development of the antimalarial drug artemisinin, which is a processed extract of Artemisia annua, a herb traditionally used as a fever treatment. Artemisia annua has been used by Chinese herbalists in traditional Chinese medicines for 2,000 years. In 1596, Li Shizhen recommended tea made from qinghao specifically to treat malaria symptoms in his Compendium of Materia Medica. Researcher Tu Youyou discovered that a low-temperature extraction process could isolate an effective antimalarial substance from the plant. The extracted substance, once subject to detoxification and purification processes, is a usable antimalarial drug For her work on malaria, Tu received the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Despite global efforts in combating malaria, it remains a large burden for the population.
Also in the 1970s Chinese researcher Zhang TingDong and colleagues investigated the potential use of the traditionally used substance arsenic trioxide to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Building on his work, research both in China and the West eventually led to the development of the drug Trisenox, which was approved for leukemia treatment by the FDA in 2000.
Huperzine A, an extract from the herb, Huperzia serrata, is under preliminary research as a possible therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease, but poor methodological quality of the research restricts conclusions about its effectiveness.
Ephedrine in its natural form, known as má huáng () in TCM, has been documented in China since the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) as an antiasthmatic and stimulant. In 1885, the chemical synthesis of ephedrine was first accomplished by Japanese organic chemist Nagai Nagayoshi based on his research on Japanese and Chinese traditional herbal medicines
Pien tze huang was first documented in the Ming dynasty.
Cost-effectiveness
A 2012 systematic review found there is a lack of available cost-effectiveness evidence in TCM.
Safety
thumb|right|upright|Galena (lead ore) is part of historical TCM.
From the earliest records regarding the use of compounds to today, the toxicity of certain substances has been described in all Chinese materiae medicae. For most compounds, efficacy and toxicity testing are based on traditional knowledge rather than laboratory analysis. The toxicity in some cases could be confirmed by modern research (i.e., in scorpion); in some cases it could not (i.e., in Curculigo). Botanical misidentification of plants can cause toxic reactions in humans. Traditional herbal medicines are sometimes contaminated with toxic heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium, which inflict serious health risks to consumers. Also, adulteration of some herbal medicine preparations with conventional drugs which may cause serious adverse effects, such as corticosteroids, phenylbutazone, phenytoin, and glibenclamide, has been reported.
Substances known to be potentially dangerous include Aconitum, the Chinese beetle (Mylabris phalerata), certain fungi, Aristolochia, and cinnabar. Asbestos ore (Actinolite, Yang Qi Shi, 阳起石) is used to treat impotence in TCM. Due to galena's (litharge, lead(II) oxide) high lead content, it is known to be toxic. Lead, mercury, arsenic, copper, cadmium, and thallium have been detected in TCM products sold in the U.S. and China.
To avoid its toxic adverse effects Xanthium sibiricum must be processed. A 2013 review suggested that although the antimalarial herb Artemisia annua may not cause hepatotoxicity, haematotoxicity, or hyperlipidemia, it should be used cautiously during pregnancy due to a potential risk of embryotoxicity at a high dose.
However, many adverse reactions are due to misuse or abuse of Chinese medicine.
The harvesting of guano from bat caves (yemingsha) brings workers into close contact with these animals, increasing the risk of zoonosis. The Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli has identified dozens of SARS-like coronaviruses in samples of bat droppings.Acupuncture and moxibustion
Acupuncture is the insertion of needles into superficial structures of the body (skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscles) – usually at acupuncture points (acupoints) – and their subsequent manipulation; this aims at influencing the flow of qi. According to TCM it relieves pain and treats (and prevents) various diseases. The US FDA classifies single-use acupuncture needles as Class II medical devices, under CFR 21.
Acupuncture is often accompanied by moxibustion – the Chinese characters for acupuncture () literally meaning "acupuncture-moxibustion" – which involves burning mugwort on or near the skin at an acupuncture point. According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that moxibustion is effective in preventing or treating cancer or any other disease".
In electroacupuncture, an electric current is applied to the needles once they are inserted, to further stimulate the respective acupuncture points.
A recent historian of Chinese medicine remarked that it is "nicely ironic that the specialty of acupuncture – arguably the most questionable part of their medical heritage for most Chinese at the start of the twentieth century – has become the most marketable aspect of Chinese medicine." She found that acupuncture as we know it today has hardly been in existence for sixty years. Moreover, the fine, filiform needle we think of as the acupuncture needle today was not widely used a century ago. Present day acupuncture was developed in the 1930s and put into wide practice only as late as the 1960s.Efficacy
A 2013 editorial in the American journal Anesthesia and Analgesia stated that acupuncture studies produced inconsistent results, (i.e. acupuncture relieved pain in some conditions but had no effect in other very similar conditions) which suggests the presence of false positive results. These may be caused by factors like biased study design, poor blinding, and the classification of electrified needles (a type of TENS) as a form of acupuncture. The inability to find consistent results despite more than 3,000 studies, the editorial continued, suggests that the treatment seems to be a placebo effect and the existing equivocal positive results are the type of noise one expects to see after a large number of studies are performed on an inert therapy. The editorial concluded that the best controlled studies showed a clear pattern, in which the outcome does not rely upon needle location or even needle insertion, and since "these variables are those that define acupuncture, the only sensible conclusion is that acupuncture does not work."
According to the US NIH National Cancer Institute, a review of 17,922 patients reported that real acupuncture relieved muscle and joint pain, caused by aromatase inhibitors, much better than sham acupuncture. Regarding cancer patients, the review hypothesized that acupuncture may cause physical responses in nerve cells, the pituitary gland, and the brain – releasing proteins, hormones, and chemicals that are proposed to affect blood pressure, body temperature, immune activity, and endorphin release. Commenting on this meta-analysis, both Edzard Ernst and David Colquhoun said the results were of negligible clinical significance.
A 2011 overview of Cochrane reviews found evidence that suggests acupuncture is effective for some but not all kinds of pain. A 2010 systematic review found that there is evidence "that acupuncture provides a short-term clinically relevant effect when compared with a waiting list control or when acupuncture is added to another intervention" in the treatment of chronic low back pain. Two review articles discussing the effectiveness of acupuncture, from 2008 and 2009, have concluded that there is not enough evidence to conclude that it is effective beyond the placebo effect.
Acupuncture is generally safe when administered using Clean Needle Technique (CNT). Severe adverse effects, including very rarely death (five case reports), have been reported.
Tui na
Tui na () is a form of massage, based on the assumptions of TCM, from which shiatsu is thought to have evolved. Techniques employed may include thumb presses, rubbing, percussion, and assisted stretching.
Qigong
Qìgōng () is a TCM system of exercise and meditation that combines regulated breathing, slow movement, and focused awareness, purportedly to cultivate and balance qi. One branch of qigong is qigong massage, in which the practitioner combines massage techniques with awareness of the acupuncture channels and points.
Qi is air, breath, energy, or primordial life source that is neither matter or spirit. While Gong is a skillful movement, work, or exercise of the qi.
Forms
* Neigong: introspective and meditative
* Waigong: external energy and motion
* Donggong: dynamic or active
* Jinggong: tranquil or passive When combined with massage oil, the cups can be slid around the back, offering "reverse-pressure massage".Gua sha
Gua sha () is abrading the skin with pieces of smooth jade, bone, animal tusks or horns or smooth stones; until red spots then bruising cover the area to which it is done. It is believed that this treatment is for almost any ailment. The red spots and bruising take three to ten days to heal, there is often some soreness in the area that has been treated. Die-da
Diē-dǎ () or Dit Da, is a traditional Chinese bone-setting technique, usually practiced by martial artists who know aspects of Chinese medicine that apply to the treatment of trauma and injuries such as bone fractures, sprains, and bruises. Some of these specialists may also use or recommend other disciplines of Chinese medical therapies if serious injury is involved. Such practice of bone-setting () is not common in the West. Chinese food therapy
The concepts yin and yang are associated with different classes of foods, and tradition considers it important to consume them in a balanced fashion. However, there is no scientific evidence supporting such claims, nor their implied notions.
Regulations
Many governments have enacted laws to regulate TCM practice.
Australia
From 1 July 2012 Chinese medicine practitioners must be registered under the national registration and accreditation scheme with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia and meet the Board's Registration Standards, to practice in Australia.
Canada
TCM is regulated in five provinces in Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland & Labrador. China (mainland) The National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine was created in 1949, which then absorbed existing TCM management in 1986 with major changes in 1998.
China's National People's Congress Standing Committee passed the country's first law on TCM in 2016, which came into effect on 1 July 2017. The new law standardized TCM certifications by requiring TCM practitioners to (i) pass exams administered by provincial-level TCM authorities, and (ii) obtain recommendations from two certified practitioners. TCM products and services can be advertised only with approval from the local TCM authority.
Ready-to-use TCM preparations, also known as Chinese patent medicines, are regulated by the National Medical Products Administration (and its predecessor CFDA) similar to preparations used in modern medicine since 1984. The barrier for entry, however, is much lower than medications based on modern/non-TCM principles; the rules allow for omitting clinical testing in a variety of circumstances. As of 2025, the latest (2020) rules allow a simplified procedure for preparations derived from an approved list of "classic prescriptions".
The government-run healthcare system covers a number of TCM procedures and preparations. In 2021, a total of 7114.5 billion yuan went into healthcare, amounting for 6.59% of the year's national GDP. Of these, 1111.5 billion yuan went into covering costs associated with TCM preparations (0.97% of national GDP), with 592.4 billion yuan covering the actual medications.
Hong Kong
During British rule, Chinese medicine practitioners in Hong Kong were not recognized as "medical doctors", which means they could not issue prescription drugs, give injections, etc. However, TCM practitioners could register and operate TCM as "herbalists". The Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong was established in 1999. It regulates the compounds and professional standards for TCM practitioners. All TCM practitioners in Hong Kong are required to register with the council. The eligibility for registration includes a recognised 5-year university degree of TCM, a 30-week minimum supervised clinical internship, and passing the licensing exam.
Currently, the approved Chinese medicine institutions are HKU, CUHK and HKBU.
Macau
The Portuguese Macau government seldom interfered in the affairs of Chinese society, including with regard to regulations on the practice of TCM. There were a few TCM pharmacies in Macau during the colonial period. In 1994, the Portuguese Macau government published Decree-Law no. 53/94/M that officially started to regulate the TCM market. After the sovereign handover, the Macau S.A.R. government also published regulations on the practice of TCM. In 2000, Macau University of Science and Technology and Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine established the Macau College of Traditional Chinese Medicine to offer a degree course in Chinese medicine.
In 2022, a new law regulating TCM, Law no. 11/2021, came into effect. The same law also repealed Decree-Law no. 53/94/M. Indonesia All traditional medicines, including TCM, are regulated by Indonesian Minister of Health Regulation of 2013 on traditional medicine. Traditional medicine license (Surat Izin Pengobatan Tradisional – SIPT) is granted to the practitioners whose methods are recognized as safe and may benefit health. The TCM clinics are registered but there is no explicit regulation for it. The only TCM method which is accepted by medical logic and is empirically proofed is acupuncture. The acupuncturists can get SIPT and participate in health care facilities.
Korea
Under the Medical Service Act (), an oriental medical doctor, whose obligation is to administer oriental medical treatment and provide guidance for health based on oriental medicine, shall be treated in the same manner as a medical doctor or dentist.
The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine is the top research center of TCM in Korea.
Malaysia
The Traditional and Complementary Medicine Bill was passed by parliament in 2012 establishing the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Council to register and regulate traditional and complementary medicine practitioners, including TCM practitioners as well as other traditional and complementary medicine practitioners such as those in traditional Malay medicine and traditional Indian medicine. Netherlands
companies in the Netherlands.]]
There are no specific regulations in the Netherlands on TCM; TCM is neither prohibited nor recognised by the government of the Netherlands. Chinese herbs as well as Chinese herbal products that are used in TCM are classified as foods and food supplements, and these Chinese herbs can be imported into the Netherlands as well as marketed as such without any type registration or notification to the government. New Zealand Although there are no regulatory standards for the practice of TCM in New Zealand, in the year 1990, acupuncture was included in the Governmental Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) Act. This inclusion granted qualified and professionally registered acupuncturists to provide subsidised care and treatment to citizens, residents, and temporary visitors for work or sports related injuries that occurred within and upon the land of New Zealand. The two bodies for the regulation of acupuncture and attainment of ACC treatment provider status in New Zealand are Acupuncture NZ and The New Zealand Acupuncture Standards Authority.
Singapore
The TCM Practitioners Act was passed by Parliament in 2000 and the TCM Practitioners Board was established in 2001 as a statutory board under the Ministry of Health, to register and regulate TCM practitioners. The requirements for registration include possession of a diploma or degree from a TCM educational institution/university on a gazetted list, either structured TCM clinical training at an approved local TCM educational institution or foreign TCM registration together with supervised TCM clinical attachment/practice at an approved local TCM clinic, and upon meeting these requirements, passing the Singapore TCM Physicians Registration Examination (STRE) conducted by the TCM Practitioners Board.
In 2024, Nanyang Technological University will offer the four-year Bachelor of Chinese Medicine programme, which is the first local programme accredited by the Ministry of Health. Taiwan In Taiwan, TCM practitioners are physicians and are regulated by the Physicians Act. They possess the authority to independently diagnose medical conditions, issue prescriptions, dispense Traditional Chinese Medicine, and prescribe a variety of diagnostic tests including X-rays, ECG, and blood and urine test.
Under current law, those who wish to qualify for the Chinese medicine exam must have obtained a 7-year university degree in TCM.
The National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, established in 1963, is the largest Chinese herbal medicine research center in Taiwan. United States As of July 2012, only six states lack legislation to regulate the professional practice of TCM: Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. In 1976, California established an Acupuncture Board and became the first state licensing professional acupuncturists.
See also
* Compendium of Materia Medica
* Huangdi Neijing
* American Journal of Chinese Medicine
* The body in traditional Chinese medicine
* Capsicum plaster
* Chinese classic herbal formula
* Chinese food therapy
* Chinese herbology
* Chinese Ophthalmology
* Chinese patent medicine
* Guizhentang Pharmaceutical company
* Hallucinogenic plants in Chinese herbals
* HIV/AIDS and traditional Chinese medicine
* Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine
* Hua Tuo
* Li Shizhen
* List of branches of alternative medicine
* List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
* List of traditional Chinese medicines
* Medicinal mushrooms
* Pharmacognosy
* Public health in the People's Republic of China
* Qingdai
* Qiu Li Gao
* Snake farm
* Sun Simiao
* Tao Hongjing
* Taoist diet
* Traditional Korean medicine
* Traditional Mongolian medicine
* Traditional Vietnamese medicine
* Traditional Tibetan medicine
* Traditional Indian medicine
* Turtle farming
* Xingqi (circulating breath)
* Zhang Jiegu
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
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* Review of Liu Lihong Classical Chinese Medicine (below). Also free online at China File [https://www.chinafile.com/library/nyrb-china-archive/chinese-medicine-covid-wards Chinese Medicine in Covid Wards] .
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Further reading
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* Shows early use of Chinese medicine not always perceived as "Chinese."
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* [https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/84638 Online Open Access]. 51 articles on history of Chinese medicine; called "impressive and essential" for latest scholarship and trustworthy bibliographic sources. "[http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=59052 (Review)] H-Sci-Med-Tech, July 2023.
* McGrew, Roderick. Encyclopedia of Medical History (1985), brief history on pp. 56–59
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External links
* [http://libproject.hkbu.edu.hk/was40/search?langen&channelid1288 Medicinal Plant Images Database]—School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University
* [http://libproject.hkbu.edu.hk/was40/search?channelid=44273 Chinese Medicine Specimen Database]—School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University
* [http://www.association.quebec.aqtn.ca/files/scientific-literary-review-traditional-chinese-medicine-tcm.pdf Literary Review Compilation on Traditional Chinese Medicine], PDF, 133 pages; compiled by the Association Québécoise des Thérapeutes Naturels (AQTN)
Category:Alternative medicine
Category:Pharmacy in China
Category:Pseudoscience | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.667676 |
5993 | Chemical bond | thumb|300x300px|Covalent bonding of two hydrogen atoms to form a hydrogen molecule, . In (a) the two nuclei are surrounded by a cloud of two electrons in the bonding orbital that holds the molecule together. (b) shows hydrogen's antibonding orbital, which is higher in energy and is normally not occupied by any electrons.
A chemical bond is the association of atoms or ions to form molecules, crystals, and other structures. The bond may result from the electrostatic force between oppositely charged ions as in ionic bonds or through the sharing of electrons as in covalent bonds, or some combination of these effects. Chemical bonds are described as having different strengths: there are "strong bonds" or "primary bonds" such as covalent, ionic and metallic bonds, and "weak bonds" or "secondary bonds" such as dipole–dipole interactions, the London dispersion force, and hydrogen bonding.
Since opposite electric charges attract, the negatively charged electrons surrounding the nucleus and the positively charged protons within a nucleus attract each other. Electrons shared between two nuclei will be attracted to both of them. "Constructive quantum mechanical wavefunction interference" stabilizes the paired nuclei (see Theories of chemical bonding). Bonded nuclei maintain an optimal distance (the bond distance) balancing attractive and repulsive effects explained quantitatively by quantum theory.
The atoms in molecules, crystals, metals and other forms of matter are held together by chemical bonds, which determine the structure and properties of matter.
All bonds can be described by quantum theory, but, in practice, simplified rules and other theories allow chemists to predict the strength, directionality, and polarity of bonds. The octet rule and VSEPR theory are examples. More sophisticated theories are valence bond theory, which includes orbital hybridization and resonance, and molecular orbital theory which includes the linear combination of atomic orbitals and ligand field theory. Electrostatics are used to describe bond polarities and the effects they have on chemical substances.
Overview of main types of chemical bonds
A chemical bond is an attraction between atoms. This attraction may be seen as the result of different behaviors of the outermost or valence electrons of atoms. These behaviors merge into each other seamlessly in various circumstances, so that there is no clear line to be drawn between them. However it remains useful and customary to differentiate between different types of bond, which result in different properties of condensed matter.
In the simplest view of a covalent bond, one or more electrons (often a pair of electrons) are drawn into the space between the two atomic nuclei. Energy is released by bond formation. This is not as a result of reduction in potential energy, because the attraction of the two electrons to the two protons is offset by the electron-electron and proton-proton repulsions. Instead, the release of energy (and hence stability of the bond) arises from the reduction in kinetic energy due to the electrons being in a more spatially distributed (i.e. longer de Broglie wavelength) orbital compared with each electron being confined closer to its respective nucleus. These bonds exist between two particular identifiable atoms and have a direction in space, allowing them to be shown as single connecting lines between atoms in drawings, or modeled as sticks between spheres in models.
In a polar covalent bond, one or more electrons are unequally shared between two nuclei. Covalent bonds often result in the formation of small collections of better-connected atoms called molecules, which in solids and liquids are bound to other molecules by forces that are often much weaker than the covalent bonds that hold the molecules internally together. Such weak intermolecular bonds give organic molecular substances, such as waxes and oils, their soft bulk character, and their low melting points (in liquids, molecules must cease most structured or oriented contact with each other). When covalent bonds link long chains of atoms in large molecules, however (as in polymers such as nylon), or when covalent bonds extend in networks through solids that are not composed of discrete molecules (such as diamond or quartz or the silicate minerals in many types of rock) then the structures that result may be both strong and tough, at least in the direction oriented correctly with networks of covalent bonds. Also, the melting points of such covalent polymers and networks increase greatly.
In a simplified view of an ionic bond, the bonding electron is not shared at all, but transferred. In this type of bond, the outer atomic orbital of one atom has a vacancy which allows the addition of one or more electrons. These newly added electrons potentially occupy a lower energy-state (effectively closer to more nuclear charge) than they experience in a different atom. Thus, one nucleus offers a more tightly bound position to an electron than does another nucleus, with the result that one atom may transfer an electron to the other. This transfer causes one atom to assume a net positive charge, and the other to assume a net negative charge. The bond then results from electrostatic attraction between the positive and negatively charged ions. Ionic bonds may be seen as extreme examples of polarization in covalent bonds. Often, such bonds have no particular orientation in space, since they result from equal electrostatic attraction of each ion to all ions around them. Ionic bonds are strong (and thus ionic substances require high temperatures to melt) but also brittle, since the forces between ions are short-range and do not easily bridge cracks and fractures. This type of bond gives rise to the physical characteristics of crystals of classic mineral salts, such as table salt.
A less often mentioned type of bonding is metallic bonding. In this type of bonding, each atom in a metal donates one or more electrons to a "sea" of electrons that reside between many metal atoms. In this sea, each electron is free (by virtue of its wave nature) to be associated with a great many atoms at once. The bond results because the metal atoms become somewhat positively charged due to loss of their electrons while the electrons remain attracted to many atoms, without being part of any given atom. Metallic bonding may be seen as an extreme example of delocalization of electrons over a large system of covalent bonds, in which every atom participates. This type of bonding is often very strong (resulting in the tensile strength of metals). However, metallic bonding is more collective in nature than other types, and so they allow metal crystals to more easily deform, because they are composed of atoms attracted to each other, but not in any particularly-oriented ways. This results in the malleability of metals. The cloud of electrons in metallic bonding causes the characteristically good electrical and thermal conductivity of metals, and also their shiny lustre that reflects most frequencies of white light.
History
300px|thumb|right|Examples of Lewis dot diagrams used to represent electrons in the chemical bonds between atoms, here showing carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). Lewis diagrams were developed in 1916 by Gilbert N. Lewis to describe chemical bonding and are still widely used today. Each line segment or pair of dots represents a pair of electrons. Pairs located between atoms represent bonds.
Early speculations about the nature of the chemical bond, from as early as the 12th century, supposed that certain types of chemical species were joined by a type of chemical affinity. In 1704, Sir Isaac Newton famously outlined his atomic bonding theory, in "Query 31" of his Opticks, whereby atoms attach to each other by some "force". Specifically, after acknowledging the various popular theories in vogue at the time, of how atoms were reasoned to attach to each other, i.e. "hooked atoms", "glued together by rest", or "stuck together by conspiring motions", Newton states that he would rather infer from their cohesion, that "particles attract one another by some force, which in immediate contact is exceedingly strong, at small distances performs the chemical operations, and reaches not far from the particles with any sensible effect."
In 1819, on the heels of the invention of the voltaic pile, Jöns Jakob Berzelius developed a theory of chemical combination stressing the electronegative and electropositive characters of the combining atoms. By the mid 19th century, Edward Frankland, F.A. Kekulé, A.S. Couper, Alexander Butlerov, and Hermann Kolbe, building on the theory of radicals, developed the theory of valency, originally called "combining power", in which compounds were joined owing to an attraction of positive and negative poles. In 1904, Richard Abegg proposed his rule that the difference between the maximum and minimum valencies of an element is often eight. At this point, valency was still an empirical number based only on chemical properties.
However the nature of the atom became clearer with Ernest Rutherford's 1911 discovery that of an atomic nucleus surrounded by electrons in which he quoted Nagaoka rejected Thomson's model on the grounds that opposite charges are impenetrable. In 1904, Nagaoka proposed an alternative planetary model of the atom in which a positively charged center is surrounded by a number of revolving electrons, in the manner of Saturn and its rings.
Nagaoka's model made two predictions:
a very massive atomic center (in analogy to a very massive planet)
electrons revolving around the nucleus, bound by electrostatic forces (in analogy to the rings revolving around Saturn, bound by gravitational forces.)
Rutherford mentions Nagaoka's model in his 1911 paper in which the atomic nucleus is proposed.
At the 1911 Solvay Conference, in the discussion of what could regulate energy differences between atoms, Max Planck stated: "The intermediaries could be the electrons." These nuclear models suggested that electrons determine chemical behavior.
Next came Niels Bohr's 1913 model of a nuclear atom with electron orbits. In 1916, chemist Gilbert N. Lewis developed the concept of electron-pair bonds, in which two atoms may share one to six electrons, thus forming the single electron bond, a single bond, a double bond, or a triple bond; in Lewis's own words, "An electron may form a part of the shell of two different atoms and cannot be said to belong to either one exclusively."
Also in 1916, Walther Kossel put forward a theory similar to Lewis' only his model assumed complete transfers of electrons between atoms, and was thus a model of ionic bonding. Both Lewis and Kossel structured their bonding models on that of Abegg's rule (1904).
Niels Bohr also proposed a model of the chemical bond in 1913. According to his model for a diatomic molecule, the electrons of the atoms of the molecule form a rotating ring whose plane is perpendicular to the axis of the molecule and equidistant from the atomic nuclei. The dynamic equilibrium of the molecular system is achieved through the balance of forces between the forces of attraction of nuclei to the plane of the ring of electrons and the forces of mutual repulsion of the nuclei. The Bohr model of the chemical bond took into account the Coulomb repulsion – the electrons in the ring are at the maximum distance from each other.
In 1927, the first mathematically complete quantum description of a simple chemical bond, i.e. that produced by one electron in the hydrogen molecular ion, H2+, was derived by the Danish physicist Øyvind Burrau. This work showed that the quantum approach to chemical bonds could be fundamentally and quantitatively correct, but the mathematical methods used could not be extended to molecules containing more than one electron. A more practical, albeit less quantitative, approach was put forward in the same year by Walter Heitler and Fritz London. The Heitler–London method forms the basis of what is now called valence bond theory. In 1929, the linear combination of atomic orbitals molecular orbital method (LCAO) approximation was introduced by Sir John Lennard-Jones, who also suggested methods to derive electronic structures of molecules of F2 (fluorine) and O2 (oxygen) molecules, from basic quantum principles. This molecular orbital theory represented a covalent bond as an orbital formed by combining the quantum mechanical Schrödinger atomic orbitals which had been hypothesized for electrons in single atoms. The equations for bonding electrons in multi-electron atoms could not be solved to mathematical perfection (i.e., analytically), but approximations for them still gave many good qualitative predictions and results. Most quantitative calculations in modern quantum chemistry use either valence bond or molecular orbital theory as a starting point, although a third approach, density functional theory, has become increasingly popular in recent years.
In 1933, H. H. James and A. S. Coolidge carried out a calculation on the dihydrogen molecule that, unlike all previous calculation which used functions only of the distance of the electron from the atomic nucleus, used functions which also explicitly added the distance between the two electrons. With up to 13 adjustable parameters they obtained a result very close to the experimental result for the dissociation energy. Later extensions have used up to 54 parameters and gave excellent agreement with experiments. This calculation convinced the scientific community that quantum theory could give agreement with experiment. However this approach has none of the physical pictures of the valence bond and molecular orbital theories and is difficult to extend to larger molecules.
Bonds in chemical formulas
Because atoms and molecules are three-dimensional, it is difficult to use a single method to indicate orbitals and bonds. In molecular formulas the chemical bonds (binding orbitals) between atoms are indicated in different ways depending on the type of discussion. Sometimes, some details are neglected. For example, in organic chemistry one is sometimes concerned only with the functional group of the molecule. Thus, the molecular formula of ethanol may be written in conformational form, three-dimensional form, full two-dimensional form (indicating every bond with no three-dimensional directions), compressed two-dimensional form (CH3–CH2–OH), by separating the functional group from another part of the molecule (C2H5OH), or by its atomic constituents (C2H6O), according to what is discussed. Sometimes, even the non-bonding valence shell electrons (with the two-dimensional approximate directions) are marked, e.g. for elemental carbon .'C'. Some chemists may also mark the respective orbitals, e.g. the hypothetical ethene−4 anion (\/C=C/\ −4) indicating the possibility of bond formation.
Strong chemical bonds
Typical bond lengths in pmand bond energies in kJ/mol.Bond lengths can be converted to Åby division by 100 (1 Å 100 pm). Bond Length(pm) Energy(kJ/mol) H — Hydrogen H–H 74 436 H–O 96 467 H–F 92 568 H–Cl 127 432 C — Carbon C–H 109 413 C–C 154 347 C–C 151 C–C≡ 147C–C148 CC 134 614 C≡C 120 839 C–N 147 308 C–O 143 358 CO 745 C≡O 1,072 C–F 134 488 C–Cl 177 330 N — Nitrogen N–H 101 391 N–N 145 170 N≡N 110 945 O — Oxygen O–O 148 146 OO 121 495 F, Cl, Br, I — Halogens F–F 142 158 Cl–Cl 199 243 Br–H 141 366 Br–Br 228 193 I–H 161 298 I–I 267 151
Strong chemical bonds are the intramolecular forces that hold atoms together in molecules. A strong chemical bond is formed from the transfer or sharing of electrons between atomic centers and relies on the electrostatic attraction between the protons in nuclei and the electrons in the orbitals.
The types of strong bond differ due to the difference in electronegativity of the constituent elements. Electronegativity is the tendency for an atom of a given chemical element to attract shared electrons when forming a chemical bond, where the higher the associated electronegativity then the more it attracts electrons. Electronegativity serves as a simple way to quantitatively estimate the bond energy, which characterizes a bond along the continuous scale from covalent to ionic bonding. A large difference in electronegativity leads to more polar (ionic) character in the bond.
Ionic bond
thumb|left|Crystal structure of sodium chloride (NaCl) with sodium cations () in and chloride anions () in . The yellow stipples represent the electrostatic force between the ions of opposite charge.
Ionic bonding is a type of electrostatic interaction between atoms that have a large electronegativity difference. There is no precise value that distinguishes ionic from covalent bonding, but an electronegativity difference of over 1.7 is likely to be ionic while a difference of less than 1.7 is likely to be covalent. Ionic bonding leads to separate positive and negative ions. Ionic charges are commonly between −3e to +3e. Ionic bonding commonly occurs in metal salts such as sodium chloride (table salt). A typical feature of ionic bonds is that the species form into ionic crystals, in which no ion is specifically paired with any single other ion in a specific directional bond. Rather, each species of ion is surrounded by ions of the opposite charge, and the spacing between it and each of the oppositely charged ions near it is the same for all surrounding atoms of the same type. It is thus no longer possible to associate an ion with any specific other single ionized atom near it. This is a situation unlike that in covalent crystals, where covalent bonds between specific atoms are still discernible from the shorter distances between them, as measured via such techniques as X-ray diffraction.
Ionic crystals may contain a mixture of covalent and ionic species, as for example salts of complex acids such as sodium cyanide, NaCN. X-ray diffraction shows that in NaCN, for example, the bonds between sodium cations (Na+) and the cyanide anions (CN−) are ionic, with no sodium ion associated with any particular cyanide. However, the bonds between the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) atoms in cyanide are of the covalent type, so that each carbon is strongly bound to just one nitrogen, to which it is physically much closer than it is to other carbons or nitrogens in a sodium cyanide crystal.
When such crystals are melted into liquids, the ionic bonds are broken first because they are non-directional and allow the charged species to move freely. Similarly, when such salts dissolve into water, the ionic bonds are typically broken by the interaction with water but the covalent bonds continue to hold. For example, in solution, the cyanide ions, still bound together as single CN− ions, move independently through the solution, as do sodium ions, as Na+. In water, charged ions move apart because each of them are more strongly attracted to a number of water molecules than to each other. The attraction between ions and water molecules in such solutions is due to a type of weak dipole-dipole type chemical bond. In melted ionic compounds, the ions continue to be attracted to each other, but not in any ordered or crystalline way.
Covalent bond
thumb|left|160px|Non-polar covalent bonds in methane (CH4). The Lewis structure shows electrons shared between C and H atoms.
Covalent bonding is a common type of bonding in which two or more atoms share valence electrons more or less equally. The simplest and most common type is a single bond in which two atoms share two electrons. Other types include the double bond, the triple bond, one- and three-electron bonds, the three-center two-electron bond and three-center four-electron bond.
In non-polar covalent bonds, the electronegativity difference between the bonded atoms is small, typically 0 to 0.3. Bonds within most organic compounds are described as covalent. The figure shows methane (CH4), in which each hydrogen forms a covalent bond with the carbon. See sigma bonds and pi bonds for LCAO descriptions of such bonding.
Molecules that are formed primarily from non-polar covalent bonds are often immiscible in water or other polar solvents, but much more soluble in non-polar solvents such as hexane.
A polar covalent bond is a covalent bond with a significant ionic character. This means that the two shared electrons are closer to one of the atoms than the other, creating an imbalance of charge. Such bonds occur between two atoms with moderately different electronegativities and give rise to dipole–dipole interactions. The electronegativity difference between the two atoms in these bonds is 0.3 to 1.7.
Single and multiple bonds
A single bond between two atoms corresponds to the sharing of one pair of electrons. The Hydrogen (H) atom has one valence electron. Two Hydrogen atoms can then form a molecule, held together by the shared pair of electrons. Each H atom now has the noble gas electron configuration of helium (He). The pair of shared electrons forms a single covalent bond. The electron density of these two bonding electrons in the region between the two atoms increases from the density of two non-interacting H atoms.
thumb|right|Two p-orbitals forming a pi-bond.
A double bond has two shared pairs of electrons, one in a sigma bond and one in a pi bond with electron density concentrated on two opposite sides of the internuclear axis. A triple bond consists of three shared electron pairs, forming one sigma and two pi bonds. An example is nitrogen. Quadruple and higher bonds are very rare and occur only between certain transition metal atoms.
Coordinate covalent bond (dipolar bond)
thumb|left|Adduct of ammonia and boron trifluoride
A coordinate covalent bond is a covalent bond in which the two shared bonding electrons are from the same one of the atoms involved in the bond. For example, boron trifluoride (BF3) and ammonia (NH3) form an adduct or coordination complex F3B←NH3 with a B–N bond in which a lone pair of electrons on N is shared with an empty atomic orbital on B. BF3 with an empty orbital is described as an electron pair acceptor or Lewis acid, while NH3 with a lone pair that can be shared is described as an electron-pair donor or Lewis base. The electrons are shared roughly equally between the atoms in contrast to ionic bonding. Such bonding is shown by an arrow pointing to the Lewis acid. (In the Figure, solid lines are bonds in the plane of the diagram, wedged bonds point towards the observer, and dashed bonds point away from the observer.)
Transition metal complexes are generally bound by coordinate covalent bonds. For example, the ion Ag+ reacts as a Lewis acid with two molecules of the Lewis base NH3 to form the complex ion Ag(NH3)2+, which has two Ag←N coordinate covalent bonds.
Metallic bonding
In metallic bonding, bonding electrons are delocalized over a lattice of atoms. By contrast, in ionic compounds, the locations of the binding electrons and their charges are static. The free movement or delocalization of bonding electrons leads to classical metallic properties such as luster (surface light reflectivity), electrical and thermal conductivity, ductility, and high tensile strength.
Intermolecular bonding
There are several types of weak bonds that can be formed between two or more molecules which are not covalently bound. Intermolecular forces cause molecules to attract or repel each other. Often, these forces influence physical characteristics (such as the melting point) of a substance.
Van der Waals forces are interactions between closed-shell molecules. They include both Coulombic interactions between partial charges in polar molecules, and Pauli repulsions between closed electrons shells.
Keesom forces are the forces between the permanent dipoles of two polar molecules. London dispersion forces are the forces between induced dipoles of different molecules. There can also be an interaction between a permanent dipole in one molecule and an induced dipole in another molecule.
Hydrogen bonds of the form A--H•••B occur when A and B are two highly electronegative atoms (usually N, O or F) such that A forms a highly polar covalent bond with H so that H has a partial positive charge, and B has a lone pair of electrons which is attracted to this partial positive charge and forms a hydrogen bond. Hydrogen bonds are responsible for the high boiling points of water and ammonia with respect to their heavier analogues. In some cases a similar halogen bond can be formed by a halogen atom located between two electronegative atoms on different molecules.
At short distances, repulsive forces between atoms also become important.
Theories of chemical bonding
In the (unrealistic) limit of "pure" ionic bonding, electrons are perfectly localized on one of the two atoms in the bond. Such bonds can be understood by classical physics. The force between the atoms depends on isotropic continuum electrostatic potentials. The magnitude of the force is in simple proportion to the product of the two ionic charges according to Coulomb's law.
Covalent bonds are better understood by valence bond (VB) theory or molecular orbital (MO) theory. The properties of the atoms involved can be understood using concepts such as oxidation number, formal charge, and electronegativity. The electron density within a bond is not assigned to individual atoms, but is instead delocalized between atoms. In valence bond theory, bonding is conceptualized as being built up from electron pairs that are localized and shared by two atoms via the overlap of atomic orbitals. The concepts of orbital hybridization and resonance augment this basic notion of the electron pair bond. In molecular orbital theory, bonding is viewed as being delocalized and apportioned in orbitals that extend throughout the molecule and are adapted to its symmetry properties, typically by considering linear combinations of atomic orbitals (LCAO). Valence bond theory is more chemically intuitive by being spatially localized, allowing attention to be focused on the parts of the molecule undergoing chemical change. In contrast, molecular orbitals are more "natural" from a quantum mechanical point of view, with orbital energies being physically significant and directly linked to experimental ionization energies from photoelectron spectroscopy. Consequently, valence bond theory and molecular orbital theory are often viewed as competing but complementary frameworks that offer different insights into chemical systems. As approaches for electronic structure theory, both MO and VB methods can give approximations to any desired level of accuracy, at least in principle. However, at lower levels, the approximations differ, and one approach may be better suited for computations involving a particular system or property than the other.
Unlike the spherically symmetrical Coulombic forces in pure ionic bonds, covalent bonds are generally directed and anisotropic. These are often classified based on their symmetry with respect to a molecular plane as sigma bonds and pi bonds. In the general case, atoms form bonds that are intermediate between ionic and covalent, depending on the relative electronegativity of the atoms involved. Bonds of this type are known as polar covalent bonds.
References
External links
W. Locke (1997). Introduction to Molecular Orbital Theory. Retrieved May 18, 2005.
Carl R. Nave (2005). HyperPhysics. Retrieved May 18, 2005.
Linus Pauling and the Nature of the Chemical Bond: A Documentary History. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
Category:Quantum chemistry | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_bond | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.712511 |
5995 | Cell | Cell most often refers to:
Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network
Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization
Electrochemical cell, a device used to convert chemical energy to electrical energy
Prison cell, a room used to hold people in prisons
Cell may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional entities
Cell (comics), a Marvel comic book character
Cell (Dragon Ball), a character in the manga series Dragon Ball
Literature
Cell (novel), a 2006 horror novel by Stephen King
"Cells", poem, about a hungover soldier in gaol, by Rudyard Kipling
The Cell (play), an Australian play by Robert Wales
Music
Cell (music), a small rhythmic and melodic design that can be isolated, or can make up one part of a thematic context
Cell (American band)
Cell (Japanese band)
Cell (album), a 2004 album by Plastic Tree
Cells, a 1998 album by Cex
Cells, a 2012 album by Fake Blood
"Cells", an art song composed by G. F. Cobb and named after the poem by Kipling
"Cells", a song by Bloem de Ligny
"Cells", a song by The Servant
The Cells, an American rock band
"The Cell" (song), a 2006 song by Jandek
Other arts, entertainment, and media
The Cell (film), a 2000 psychological thriller film starring Jennifer Lopez
Cell (film), a 2016 film based on the Stephen King novel
Animation cel, a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation
"The Cell" (The Vampire Diaries), an episode of the TV series The Vampire Diaries
"The Cell" (The Walking Dead), a 2016 television episode of The Walking Dead
The Cell (BBC Four), Adam Rutherford's 3-part documentary series that aired on BBC Four
The Cell, the original title of the TV series Sleeper Cell
Groups of people
Cell, a group of people in a cell group, a form of Christian church organization
Cellular organizational structure, such as in business management
Rooms
Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery with only a few monks or nuns
Science, mathematics, and technology
Computing and telecommunications
Cell (EDA), a term used in an electronic circuit design schematics
Cell (microprocessor), a microprocessor architecture developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM
Cell, a unit in a database table or spreadsheet, formed by the intersection of a row and a column
Cell, in wireless local area networking standards (including Wi-Fi), a wireless connection within a limited area, referred to as a cell or Basic Service Set
Cell, a fixed-length data frame used in the Asynchronous Transfer Mode protocol
Cell (network), area of radio coverage in a cellular network
Memory cell (computing), the basic unit of (volatile or non-volatile) computer memory
Mathematics
Cell (geometry), a three-dimensional element, part of a higher-dimensional object
Cell, an element of an abstract cell complex
Cell, a basic unit of a cellular automaton
Cell, an element of a CW complex
Cell, a k-face of a simplicial complex
Other uses in science and technology
Cell (journal), a scientific journal
Fuel cell, a device used to convert chemical energy from a fuel like hydrogen to electricity
Galvanic cell or voltaic cell, a particular kind of electrochemical cell
Photodetector, or photo cell, a sensor which detects light
Solar cell, a component of photovoltaic systems used to convert the energy of light into electricity
Storm cell, the smallest unit of a storm-producing system
See also
CEL (disambiguation)
Cellular (disambiguation)
Macrocell | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.717067 |
5999 | Climate | Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological variables that are commonly measured are temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, and precipitation. In a broader sense, climate is the state of the components of the climate system, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere and biosphere and the interactions between them.
Climates can be classified according to the average and typical variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most widely used classification scheme is the Köppen climate classification. The Thornthwaite system, in use since 1948, incorporates evapotranspiration along with temperature and precipitation information and is used in studying biological diversity and how climate change affects it. The major classifications in Thornthwaite's climate classification are microthermal, mesothermal, and megathermal. Finally, the Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region.
Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates. Paleoclimatologists seek to explain climate variations for all parts of the Earth during any given geologic period, beginning with the time of the Earth's formation. Since very few direct observations of climate were available before the 19th century, paleoclimates are inferred from proxy variables. They include non-biotic evidence—such as sediments found in lake beds and ice cores—and biotic evidence—such as tree rings and coral. Climate models are mathematical models of past, present, and future climates. Climate change may occur over long and short timescales due to various factors. Recent warming is discussed in terms of global warming, which results in redistributions of biota. For example, as climate scientist Lesley Ann Hughes has written: "a 3 °C [5 °F] change in mean annual temperature corresponds to a shift in isotherms of approximately in latitude (in the temperate zone) or in elevation. Therefore, species are expected to move upwards in elevation or towards the poles in latitude in response to shifting climate zones."DefinitionClimate () is commonly defined as the weather averaged over a long period. The standard averaging period is 30 years, but other periods may be used depending on the purpose. Climate also includes statistics other than the average, such as the magnitudes of day-to-day or year-to-year variations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001 glossary definition is as follows:
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) describes "climate normals" as "reference points used by climatologists to compare current climatological trends to that of the past or what is considered typical. A climate normal is defined as the arithmetic average of a climate element (e.g. temperature) over a 30-year period. A 30-year period is used as it is long enough to filter out any interannual variation or anomalies such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation, but also short enough to be able to show longer climatic trends."
The WMO originated from the International Meteorological Organization which set up a technical commission for climatology in 1929. At its 1934 Wiesbaden meeting, the technical commission designated the thirty-year period from 1901 to 1930 as the reference time frame for climatological standard normals. In 1982, the WMO agreed to update climate normals, and these were subsequently completed on the basis of climate data from 1 January 1961 to 31 December 1990. The 1961–1990 climate normals serve as the baseline reference period. The next set of climate normals to be published by WMO is from 1991 to 2010. Aside from collecting from the most common atmospheric variables (air temperature, pressure, precipitation and wind), other variables such as humidity, visibility, cloud amount, solar radiation, soil temperature, pan evaporation rate, days with thunder and days with hail are also collected to measure change in climate conditions.
The difference between climate and weather is usefully summarized by the popular phrase "Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get." Over historical time spans, there are a number of nearly constant variables that determine climate, including latitude, altitude, proportion of land to water, and proximity to oceans and mountains. All of these variables change only over periods of millions of years due to processes such as plate tectonics. Other climate determinants are more dynamic: the thermohaline circulation of the ocean leads to a 5 °C (9 °F) warming of the northern Atlantic Ocean compared to other ocean basins. Other ocean currents redistribute heat between land and water on a more regional scale. The density and type of vegetation coverage affects solar heat absorption, water retention, and rainfall on a regional level. Alterations in the quantity of atmospheric greenhouse gases (particularly carbon dioxide and methane) determines the amount of solar energy retained by the planet, leading to global warming or global cooling. The variables which determine climate are numerous and the interactions complex, but there is general agreement that the broad outlines are understood, at least insofar as the determinants of historical climate change are concerned.
Climate classification
s]]
Climate classifications are systems that categorize the world's climates. A climate classification may correlate closely with a biome classification, as climate is a major influence on life in a region. One of the most used is the Köppen climate classification scheme first developed in 1899.
There are several ways to classify climates into similar regimes. Originally, climes were defined in Ancient Greece to describe the weather depending upon a location's latitude. Modern climate classification methods can be broadly divided into genetic methods, which focus on the causes of climate, and empiric methods, which focus on the effects of climate. Examples of genetic classification include methods based on the relative frequency of different air mass types or locations within synoptic weather disturbances. Examples of empiric classifications include climate zones defined by plant hardiness, evapotranspiration, or more generally the Köppen climate classification which was originally designed to identify the climates associated with certain biomes. A common shortcoming of these classification schemes is that they produce distinct boundaries between the zones they define, rather than the gradual transition of climate properties more common in nature.RecordPaleoclimatology
Paleoclimatology is the study of past climate over a great period of the Earth's history. It uses evidence with different time scales (from decades to millennia) from ice sheets, tree rings, sediments, pollen, coral, and rocks to determine the past state of the climate. It demonstrates periods of stability and periods of change and can indicate whether changes follow patterns such as regular cycles.
Modern
Details of the modern climate record are known through the taking of measurements from such weather instruments as thermometers, barometers, and anemometers during the past few centuries. The instruments used to study weather over the modern time scale, their observation frequency, their known error, their immediate environment, and their exposure have changed over the years, which must be considered when studying the climate of centuries past. Long-term modern climate records skew towards population centres and affluent countries. Since the 1960s, the launch of satellites allow records to be gathered on a global scale, including areas with little to no human presence, such as the Arctic region and oceans.
Climate variability
Climate variability is the term to describe variations in the mean state and other characteristics of climate (such as chances or possibility of extreme weather, etc.) "on all spatial and temporal scales beyond that of individual weather events." Some of the variability does not appear to be caused systematically and occurs at random times. Such variability is called random variability or noise. On the other hand, periodic variability occurs relatively regularly and in distinct modes of variability or climate patterns.
There are close correlations between Earth's climate oscillations and astronomical factors (barycenter changes, solar variation, cosmic ray flux, cloud albedo feedback, Milankovic cycles), and modes of heat distribution between the ocean-atmosphere climate system. In some cases, current, historical and paleoclimatological natural oscillations may be masked by significant volcanic eruptions, impact events, irregularities in climate proxy data, positive feedback processes or anthropogenic emissions of substances such as greenhouse gases.
Over the years, the definitions of climate variability and the related term climate change have shifted. While the term climate change now implies change that is both long-term and of human causation, in the 1960s the word climate change was used for what we now describe as climate variability, that is, climatic inconsistencies and anomalies.Climate change
Climate change is the variation in global or regional climates over time. It reflects changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes can be caused by processes internal to the Earth, external forces (e.g. variations in sunlight intensity) or human activities, as found recently. Scientists have identified Earth's Energy Imbalance (EEI) to be a fundamental metric of the status of global change.
In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, the term "climate change" often refers only to changes in modern climate, including the rise in average surface temperature known as global warming. In some cases, the term is also used with a presumption of human causation, as in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC uses "climate variability" for non-human caused variations.
Earth has undergone periodic climate shifts in the past, including four major ice ages. These consist of glacial periods where conditions are colder than normal, separated by interglacial periods. The accumulation of snow and ice during a glacial period increases the surface albedo, reflecting more of the Sun's energy into space and maintaining a lower atmospheric temperature. Increases in greenhouse gases, such as by volcanic activity, can increase the global temperature and produce an interglacial period. Suggested causes of ice age periods include the positions of the continents, variations in the Earth's orbit, changes in the solar output, and volcanism. However, these naturally caused changes in climate occur on a much slower time scale than the present rate of change which is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases by human activities.
According to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, average global air temperature has passed 1.5C of warming the period from February 2023 to January 2024.Climate modelsClimate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions and transfer of radiative energy between the atmosphere, oceans, land surface and ice through a series of physics equations. They are used for a variety of purposes, from the study of the dynamics of the weather and climate system to projections of future climate. All climate models balance, or very nearly balance, incoming energy as short wave (including visible) electromagnetic radiation to the Earth with outgoing energy as long wave (infrared) electromagnetic radiation from the Earth. Any imbalance results in a change in the average temperature of the Earth.
Climate models are available on different resolutions ranging from >100 km to 1 km. High resolutions in global climate models require significant computational resources, and so only a few global datasets exist. Global climate models can be dynamically or statistically downscaled to regional climate models to analyze impacts of climate change on a local scale. Examples are ICON or mechanistically downscaled data such as CHELSA (Climatologies at high resolution for the earth's land surface areas).
The most talked-about applications of these models in recent years have been their use to infer the consequences of increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, primarily carbon dioxide (see greenhouse gas). These models predict an upward trend in the global mean surface temperature, with the most rapid increase in temperature being projected for the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
Models can range from relatively simple to quite complex. Simple radiant heat transfer models treat the Earth as a single point and average outgoing energy. This can be expanded vertically (as in radiative-convective models), or horizontally. Finally, more complex (coupled) atmosphere–ocean–sea ice global climate models discretise and solve the full equations for mass and energy transfer and radiant exchange.
See also
* Climate inertia
* Climate Prediction Center
* Climatic map
* Climograph
* Ecosystem
* Effect of Sun angle on climate
* Greenhouse effect
* List of climate scientists
* List of weather records
* Microclimate
* National Climatic Data Center
* Outline of meteorology
* Tectonic–climatic interaction
References
Sources
* <!-- ipcc:20200215 -->
|author=IPCC
|author-link=IPCC
|year=2013
|title=Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis
|series=Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
|display-editors=4
|editor1-first=T. F.
|editor1-last=Stocker
|editor2-first=D.
|editor2-last=Qin
|editor3-first=G.-K.
|editor3-last=Plattner
|editor4-first=M.
|editor4-last=Tignor
|editor5-first=S. K.
|editor5-last=Allen
|editor6-first=J.
|editor6-last=Boschung
|editor7-first=A.
|editor7-last=Nauels
|editor8-first=Y.
|editor8-last=Xia
|editor9-first=V.
|editor9-last=Bex
|editor10-first=P. M.
|editor10-last=Midgley
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|place=Cambridge, UK & New York
|isbn=978-1-107-05799-9 <!-- ISBN in printed source is incorrect. -->
|url=http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_ALL_FINAL.pdf
|access-date=2022-09-05
|archive-date=2019-09-25
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925154911/http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_ALL_FINAL.pdf
|url-status=live
}}. [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/ AR5 Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis – IPCC]
**
|chapter=Annex III: Glossary
|chapter-url=https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/WG1AR5_AnnexIII_FINAL.pdf
|year=2013
|author=IPCC
|author-link=IPCC
|title=
|access-date=2022-09-05
|archive-date=2019-03-13
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313232733/https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/WG1AR5_AnnexIII_FINAL.pdf
|url-status=live
}}
*
**
|chapter=Annex II: Glossary
|chapter-url=https://archive.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/AR5_SYR_FINAL_Annexes.pdf
|year=2014
|author=IPCC
|author-link=IPCC
|title=
|access-date=2022-09-05
|archive-date=2022-07-18
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718055704/https://archive.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/AR5_SYR_FINAL_Annexes.pdf
|url-status=live
}}
* |titleCh. 3: Detection and Attribution of Climate Change |urlhttps://science2017.globalchange.gov/downloads/CSSR_Ch3_Detection_and_Attribution.pdf |year2017 |last1Knutson |first1T. |last2Kossin |first2J.P. |last3Mears |first3C. |last4Perlwitz |first4J. |last5Wehner |first5M.F |editor-first1D.J |editor-first2D.W |editor-first3K.A |editor-first4D.J |editor-first5B.C |editor-first6T.K |editor-last1Wuebbles |editor-last2Fahey |editor-last3Hibbard |editor-last4Dokken |editor-last5Stewart |editor-last6Maycock |doi10.7930/J01834ND |access-date2022-09-05 |archive-date2022-09-20 |archive-urlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20220920163347/https://science2017.globalchange.gov/downloads/CSSR_Ch3_Detection_and_Attribution.pdf |url-status=live }}
*
Further reading
*
* [http://img.kb.dk/tidsskriftdk/pdf/gto/gto_0048-PDF/gto_0048_69887.pdf Reumert, Johannes: "Vahls climatic divisions. An explanation"] (Geografisk Tidsskrift, Band 48; 1946)
* [http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2012/4/the-study-of-climate-on-alien-worlds The Study of Climate on Alien Worlds; Characterizing atmospheres beyond our Solar System is now within our reach] Kevin Heng July–August 2012 American Scientist
External links
* [http://www.climate.gov NOAA Climate Services Portal]
* [http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/ NOAA State of the Climate]
* [https://climate.nasa.gov/ NASA's Climate change and global warming portal]
* [https://www.climateprediction.net/ Climate Prediction Project]
* [http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/climate.html Climate index and mode information] – Arctic
* [http://www.climate-charts.com/index.html Climate: Data and charts for world and US locations]
* [http://www.ipcc-data.org IPCC Data Distribution Centre] – Climate data and guidance on use.
* [http://historicalclimatology.com HistoricalClimatology.com] – Past, present and future climates – 2013.
* [http://www.globalclimatemonitor.org Globalclimatemonitor] – Contains climatic information from 1901.
* [https://climatecharts.net/ ClimateCharts] – Webapplication to generate climate charts for recent and historical data.
* [http://www.emdat.be/ International Disaster Database]
* [http://www.cop21paris.org/ Paris Climate Conference]
}}
Category:Meteorological concepts
* | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.737388 |
6000 | History of the Comoros | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
The history of the Comoros extends back to about 800–1000 AD when the archipelago was first inhabited. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups and sultanates throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975. }}
Early inhabitants
There is uncertainty about the early population of Comoros. According to one study of early crops, the islands may have been settled first by South East Asian sailors the same way Madagascar was.
across the Indo-Pacific]]
This influx of Austronesian sailors, who had earlier settled nearby Madagascar, arrived in the 8th to 13 centuries CE. They are the source for the earliest archeological evidence of farming in the islands. Crops from archeological sites in Sima are predominantly rice strains of both indica and japonica varieties from Southeast Asia, as well as various other Asian crops like mung bean and cotton. Only a minority of the examined crops were African-derived, like finger millet, African sorghum, and cowpea. The Comoros are believed to be the first site of contact and subsequent admixture between African and Asian populations (earlier than Madagascar). Comorians today still display at most 20% Austronesian admixture.
From around the 15th century AD, Shirazi slave traders established trading ports and brought in slaves from the mainland. In the 16th century, social changes on the East African coast probably linked to the arrival of the Portuguese saw the arrival of a number of Arabs of Hadrami who established alliances with the Shirazis and founded several royal clans.
Over the centuries, the Comoros have been settled by a succession of diverse groups from the coast of Africa, the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia and Madagascar.
Europeans
]]
Portuguese explorers first visited the archipelago in 1505.
Apart from a visit by the French Parmentier brothers in 1529, for much of the 16th century the only Europeans to visit the islands were Portuguese. British and Dutch ships began arriving around the start of the 17th century and the island of Ndzwani soon became a major supply point on the route to the East Indies. Ndzwani was generally ruled by a single sultan, who occasionally attempted to extend his authority to Mayotte and Mwali; Ngazidja was more fragmented, on occasion being divided into as many as 12 small kingdoms.
Sir James Lancaster's voyage to the Indian Ocean in 1591 was the first attempt by the English to break into the spice trade, which was dominated by the Portuguese. Only one of his four ships made it back from the Indies on that voyage, and that one with a decimated crew of 5 men and a boy. Lancaster himself was marooned by a cyclone on the Comoros. Many of his crew were speared to death by angry islanders although Lancaster found his way home in 1594. (Dalrymple W. 2019; Bloomsbury Publishing ).
Both the British and the French turned their attention to the Comoros islands in the middle of the 19th century. The French finally acquired the islands through a cunning mixture of strategies, including the policy of "divide and conquer", chequebook politics and a serendipitous affair between a sultana and a French trader that was put to good use by the French, who kept control of the islands, quelling unrest and the occasional uprising.
William Sunley, a planter and British Consul from 1848 to 1866, was an influence on Anjouan.
French Comoros
France's presence in the western Indian Ocean dates to the early 17th century. The French established a settlement in southern Madagascar in 1634 and occupied the islands of Réunion and Rodrigues; in 1715 France claimed Mauritius (), and in 1756 Seychelles. Mahore offered a suitable site for port facilities, and its acquisition was justified by de Hell on the grounds that if France did not act, Britain would occupy the island.
Although France had established a foothold in Comoros, the acquisition of the other islands proceeded fitfully.
On September 25, 1942, British forces landed in the Comoros, occupying them until October 13, 1946.
In 1946 the Comoro Islands became an overseas department of France with representation in the French National Assembly. The following year, the islands' administrative ties to Madagascar were severed; Comoros established its own customs regime in 1952. and the mercenaries were given key positions in government.
In two referendums, in December 1974 and February 1976, the population of Mayotte voted against independence from France (by 63.8% and 99.4% respectively). Mayotte thus remains under French administration, and the Comorian Government has effective control over only Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli.
Later, French settlers, French-owned companies, and Arab merchants established a plantation-based economy that now uses about one-third of the land for export crops.
Abdallah regime
In 1978, president Ali Soilih, who had a firm anti-French line, was killed and Ahmed Abdallah came to power. Under the reign of Abdallah, Denard was commander of the Presidential Guard (PG) and de facto ruler of the country. He was trained, supported and funded by the white regimes in South Africa (SA) and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in return for permission to set up a secret listening post on the islands. South-African agents kept an ear on the important ANC bases in Lusaka and Dar es Salaam and watched the war in Mozambique, in which SA played an active role. The Comoros were also used for the evasion of arms sanctions.
When in 1981 François Mitterrand was elected president Denard lost the support of the French intelligence service, but he managed to strengthen the link between SA and the Comoros. Besides the military, Denard established his own company SOGECOM, for both the security and construction, and seemed to profit by the arrangement. Between 1985 and 1987 the relationship of the PG with the local Comorians became worse.
At the end of the 1980s the South Africans did not wish to continue to support the mercenary regime and France was in agreement. Also President Abdallah wanted the mercenaries to leave. Their response was a (third) coup resulting in the death of President Abdallah, in which Denard and his men were probably involved. South Africa and the French government subsequently forced Denard and his mercenaries to leave the islands in 1989.
1989–1996
Said Mohamed Djohar became president. His time in office was turbulent, including an impeachment attempt in 1991 and a coup attempt in 1992.
On September 28, 1995 Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries took over the Comoros islands in a coup (named operation Kaskari by the mercenaries) against President Djohar. France immediately and severely denounced the coup, and backed by the 1978 defense agreement with the Comoros, President Jacques Chirac ordered his special forces to retake the island. Bob Denard began to take measures to stop the coming invasion. A new presidential guard was created. Strong points armed with heavy machine guns were set up around the island, particularly around the island's two airports.
On October 3, 1995, 11 p.m., the French deployed 600 men against a force of 33 mercenaries and a 300-man dissident force. Denard however ordered his mercenaries not to fight. Within 7 hours the airports at Iconi and Hahaya and the French Embassy in Moroni were secured. By 3:00 p.m. the next day Bob Denard and his mercenaries had surrendered. This (response) operation, codenamed Azalée, was remarkable, because there were no casualties, and just in seven days, plans were drawn up and soldiers were deployed. Denard was taken to France and jailed. Prime minister Caambi El-Yachourtu became acting president until Djohar returned from exile in January, 1996. In March 1996, following presidential elections, Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim, a member of the civilian government that Denard had tried to set up in October 1995, became president. On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crashed near a beach on the island after it was hijacked and ran out of fuel killing 125 people and leaving 50 survivors.
Secession of Anjouan and Mohéli
In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Mohéli declared their independence from the Comoros. A subsequent attempt by the government to re-establish control over the rebellious islands by force failed, and presently the African Union is brokering negotiations to effect a reconciliation. This process is largely complete, at least in theory. According to some sources, Mohéli did return to government control in 1998. In 1999, Anjouan had internal conflicts and on August 1 of that year, the 80-year-old first president Foundi Abdallah Ibrahim resigned, transferring power to a national coordinator, Said Abeid. The government was overthrown in a coup by army and navy officers on August 9, 2001. Mohamed Bacar soon rose to leadership of the junta that took over and by the end of the month he was the leader of the country. Despite two coup attempts in the following three months, including one by Abeid, Bacar's government remained in power, and was apparently more willing to negotiate with the Comoros. Presidential elections were held for all of the Comoros in 2002, and presidents have been chosen for all three islands as well, which have become a confederation. Most notably, Mohammed Bacar was elected for a 5-year term as president of Anjouan. Grande Comore had experienced troubles of its own in the late 1990s, when President Taki died on November 6, 1998. Colonel Azali Assoumani became president following a military coup in 1999. There have been several coup attempts since, but he gained firm control of the country after stepping down temporarily and winning a presidential election in 2002.
In May 2006, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi was elected from the island of Anjouan to be the president of the Union of the Comoros. He is a Sunni cleric who studied in the Sudan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. He is nicknamed "Ayatollah" due to his time in Iran and his penchant for turbans. Sambi was sentenced to life in imprisonment in the Comoros passport sales scandal.2007–2008 Anjouan crisis Azali Assoumani in power since 2016 Azali Assoumani is a former army officer, first came to power in a coup in 1999. Then he won presidency in 2002 election, having power until 2006. After ten years, he was elected again in 2016 election. In March 2019, he was re-elected in the elections opposition claimed to be full of irregularities.
Before the 2019 election president Azali Assoumani had arranged a constitutional referendum in 2018 that approved extending the presidential mandate from one five-year term to two. The opposition had boycotted the referendum.
In January 2020, his party The Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC) won 20 out of 24 parliamentary seats in the parliamentary election.
On 18 February 2023 the Comoros assumed the presidency of the African Union. In January 2024, President Azali Assoumani was re-elected with 63% of the vote in the disputed presidential election.
See also
*List of heads of state of the Comoros
*List of heads of government of the Comoros
*History of Africa
*History of Southern Africa
*Politics of the Comoros
Footnotes
References
*
Attribution:
*}}
Further reading
* Walker, Iain. Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros (Oxford University Press, 2019) [https://networks.h-net.org/node/28765/reviews/6531443/wynne-jones-walker-islands-cosmopolitan-sea-history-comoros online review].
* Wright, Henry T., et al. "Early seafarers of the Comoro Islands: The Dembeni phase of the IXth-Xth centuries AD." AZANIA: Journal of the British Institute in Eastern Africa 19.1 (1984): 13–59.
External links
*
Category:History of Southern Africa by country | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Comoros | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.746869 |
6001 | Geography of the Comoros | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands aligned along a northwest–southeast axis at the north end of the Mozambique Channel, between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Still widely known by their French names, the islands officially have been called by their Swahili names by the Comorian government. They are Grande Comore (Njazidja), Mohéli (Mwali), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Mayotte (Mahoré). The islands' distance from each other—Grande Comore is some 200 kilometers from Mayotte, forty kilometers from Mohéli, and eighty kilometers from Anjouan—along with a lack of good harbor facilities, make transportation and communication difficult. Comoros are sunny islands.
Details
The islands have a total land area of 2,236 square kilometers (including Mayotte), and claim territorial waters of 320 square kilometers. Mount Karthala (2316 m) on Grande Comore is an active volcano. From April 17 to 19, 2005, the volcano began spewing ash and gas, forcing as many as 10,000 people to flee. Comoros is located within the Somali Plate.
Grande Comore
Grande Comore is the largest island, sixty-seven kilometers long and twenty-seven kilometers wide, with a total area of 1,146 square kilometers. The most recently formed of the four islands in the archipelago, it is also of volcanic origin. Two volcanoes form the island's most prominent topographic features: La Grille in the north, with an elevation of 1,000 meters, is extinct and largely eroded; Kartala in the south, rising to a height of 2,361 meters, last erupted in 1977. A plateau averaging 600 to 700 meters high connects the two mountains. Because Grande Comore is geologically a relatively new island, its soil is thin and rocky and cannot hold water. As a result, water from the island's heavy rainfall must be stored in catchment tanks. There are no coral reefs along the coast, and the island lacks a good harbor for ships. One of the largest remnants of the Comoros' once-extensive rain forests is on the slopes of Kartala. The national capital has been at Moroni since 1962.
Anjouan
Anjouan, triangular shaped and forty kilometers from apex to base, has an area of 424 square kilometers. Three mountain chains — Sima, Nioumakele, and Jimilime—emanate from a central peak, Mtingui (1,575 m), giving the island its distinctive shape. Older than Grande Comore, Anjouan has deeper soil cover, but overcultivation has caused serious erosion. A coral reef lies close to shore; the island's capital of Mutsamudu is also its main port.
Mohéli
Mohéli is thirty kilometers long and twelve kilometers wide, with an area of 290 square kilometers. It is the smallest of the four islands and has a central mountain chain reaching 860 meters at its highest. Like Grande Comore, it retains stands of rain forest. Mohéli's capital is Fomboni.
Mayotte
Mayotte, geologically the oldest of the four islands, is thirty-nine kilometers long and twenty-two kilometers wide, totaling 375 square kilometers, and its highest points are between 500 and 600 meters above sea level. Because of greater weathering of the volcanic rock, the soil is relatively rich in some areas. A well-developed coral reef that encircles much of the island ensures protection for ships and a habitat for fish. Dzaoudzi, capital of the Comoros until 1962 and now Mayotte's administrative center, is situated on a rocky outcropping off the east shore of the main island. Dzaoudzi is linked by a causeway to le Pamanzi, which at ten kilometers in area is the largest of several islets adjacent to Mayotte. Islets are also scattered in the coastal waters of Mayotte just as in Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli.
Flora and fauna
Comorian waters are the habitat of the coelacanth, a rare fish with limblike fins and a cartilaginous skeleton, the fossil remains of which date as far back as 400 million years and which was once thought to have become extinct about 70 million years ago. A live specimen was caught in 1938 off southern Africa; other coelacanths have since been found in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands.
Several mammals are unique to the islands themselves. Livingstone's fruit bat, although plentiful when discovered by explorer David Livingstone in 1863, has been reduced to a population of about 120, entirely on Anjouan. The world's largest bat, the jet-black Livingstone fruit bat has a wingspan of nearly two meters. A British preservation group sent an expedition to the Comoros in 1992 to bring some of the bats to Britain to establish a breeding population.
A hybrid of the common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus) originally from Madagascar, was introduced by humans prior to European colonization and is found on Mayotte. The mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz), also introduced from Madagascar by humans, can be found on the islands of Mohéli and Anjouan.
22 species of bird are unique to the archipelago and 17 of these are restricted to the Union of the Comoros. These include the Karthala scops-owl, Anjouan scops-owl and Humblot's flycatcher.
Partly in response to international pressures, Comorians in the 1990s have become more concerned about the environment. Steps are being taken not only to preserve the rare fauna, but also to counteract degradation of the environment, especially on densely populated Anjouan. Specifically, to minimize the cutting down of trees for fuel, kerosene is being subsidized, and efforts are being made to replace the loss of the forest cover caused by ylang-ylang distillation for perfume. The Community Development Support Fund, sponsored by the International Development Association (IDA, a World Bank affiliate) and the Comorian government, is working to improve water supply on the islands as well.
Climate
The climate is marine tropical, with two seasons: hot and humid from November to April, the result of the northeastern monsoon, and a cooler, drier season the rest of the year. Average monthly temperatures range from along the coasts. Although the average annual precipitation is , water is a scarce commodity in many parts of the Comoros. Mohéli and Mayotte possess streams and other natural sources of water, but Grande Comore and Anjouan, whose mountainous landscapes retain water poorly, are almost devoid of naturally occurring running water. Cyclones, occurring during the hot and wet season, can cause extensive damage, especially in coastal areas. On the average, at least twice each decade houses, farms, and harbor facilities are devastated by these great storms.Tropical cyclones
Due to their low latitude, the islands are rarely affected by tropical cyclones. However, several cyclones have had damaging and deadly effects. Cyclones in December 1905 and again in December 1906 led to a famine that killed 490 people between August 1905 and January 1906. A tropical cyclone in 1950 killed 585 people while moving through Anjouan and Moheli, injuring 70,000 others. The cyclone left 40,000 people homeless, and also caused ₣3.5 worth of damage to crops and infrastructure.Weather
Extreme points
This is a list of the extreme points of the Comoros, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. This list excludes the French-administered island of Mayotte which is claimed by the Comorian government.
* Northernmost point – unnamed headland north-west of Bangoua Kouni, Grande Comore
* Easternmost point – unnamed peninsula east of Domoni, Anjouan
* Southernmost point - unnamed headland on Ile Canzouni, Mohéli
* Westernmost point - unnamed headland west of Iconi, Grande Comore
Statistics
Area:
2,235 km<sup>2</sup>
Coastline:
340 km
Climate:
tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)
Terrain:
volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills
Elevation extremes:
<br/>lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m
<br/>highest point:
Karthala 2,360 m
Natural resources:
fish
Land use:
<br/>arable land:
47.29%
<br/>permanent crops:
29.55%
<br/>other:
23.16% (2012 est.)
Irrigated land:
1.3 km<sup>2</sup> (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
1.2 km<sup>3</sup> (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
<br/>total:
0.01 km<sup>3</sup>/yr (48%/5%/47%)
<br/>per capital:
16.86 m<sup>3</sup>/yr (1999)
Natural hazards:
cyclones possible during rainy season (December to April); volcanic activity on Grand Comore
Environmental - current issues:
soil degradation and erosion results from crop cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation
References
Literature cited
*
*
* | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Comoros | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.754042 |
6002 | Demographics of the Comoros | , fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates]]
The Comorians () inhabiting Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli (86% of the population) share African-Arab origins. Islam is the dominant religion, and Quranic schools for children reinforce its influence. Although Islamic culture is firmly established throughout, a small minority are Christian.
The most common language is Comorian, related to Swahili. French and Arabic also are spoken. About 89% of the population is literate.
The Comoros have had eight censuses since World War II:
* 1951
* 1956
* 1958-09-07: 183,133
* 1966-07-06
* Note: in 1974 Mayotte was removed from the Comoros
* 1980-09-15: 335,150
* 1991-09-15: 446,817
* 2003-09-15: 575,660
* 2017-12-15: 758,316
The latest official estimate (for 1 July 2020) is 897,219.
Population density figures conceal a great disparity between the republic's most crowded island, Nzwani, which had a density of 772 persons per square kilometer in 2017; Njazidja, which had a density of 331 persons per square kilometer in 2017; and Mwali, where the 2017 population density figure was 178 persons per square kilometer.
By comparison, estimates of the population density per square kilometer of the Indian Ocean's other island microstates ranged from 241 (Seychelles) to 690 (Maldives) in 1993. Given the rugged terrain of Njazidja and Nzwani, and the dedication of extensive tracts to agriculture on all three islands, population pressures on the Comoros are becoming increasingly critical.
The age structure of the population of the Comoros is similar to that of many developing countries, in that the republic has a very large proportion of young people. In 1989, 46.4 percent of the population was under fifteen years of age, an above-average proportion even for sub-Saharan Africa. The population's rate of growth was a relatively high 3.5 percent per annum in the mid-1980s, up substantially from 2.0 percent in the mid-1970s and 2.1 percent in the mid-1960s.
In 1983 the Abdallah regime borrowed US$2.85 million from the International Development Association to devise a national family planning program. However, Islamic reservations about contraception made forthright advocacy and implementation of birth control programs politically hazardous, and consequently little was done in the way of public policy.
The Comorian population has become increasingly urbanized in recent years. In 1991 the percentage of Comorians residing in cities and towns of more than 5,000 persons was about 30 percent, up from 25 percent in 1985 and 23 percent in 1980. The Comoros' largest cities were the capital, Moroni, with about 30,000 people, and the port city of Mutsamudu, on the island of Nzwani, with about 20,000 people.
Migration among the various islands is important. Natives of Nzwani have settled in significant numbers on less crowded Mwali, causing some social tensions, and many Nzwani also migrate to Maore. In 1977 Maore expelled peasants from Ngazidja and Nzwani who had recently settled in large numbers on the island. Some were allowed to reenter starting in 1981 but solely as migrant labor.
The number of Comorians living abroad has been estimated at between 80,000 and 100,000; during the colonial period, most of them lived in Tanzania, Madagascar, and other parts of Southeast Africa. The number of Comorians residing in Madagascar was drastically reduced after anti-Comorian rioting in December 1976 in Mahajanga, in which at least 1,400 Comorians were killed. As many as 17,000 Comorians left Madagascar to seek refuge in their native land in 1977 alone. About 100,000 Comorians live in France; many of them had gone there for a university education and never returned. Small numbers of Indians, Malagasy, South Africans, and Europeans (mostly French) live on the islands and play an important role in the economy. Most French left after independence in 1975.
Some Persian Gulf countries started buying Comorian citizenship for their stateless Bedoon residents and deporting them to Comoros.
Population
, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands.]]
UN population projections
Vital statistics
Statistics :
{| class"wikitable" style"text-align: right;"
|-
! width=100|Period
! width=100|Live births per year
! width=100|Deaths per year
! width=100|Natural change per year
! width=50|CBR*
! width=50|CDR*
! width=50|NC*
! width=50|TFR*
! width=50|IMR*
|-
| 1950–1955 || 8 000|| 4 000|| 4 000||46.8||24.0||22.8||6.00||178
|-
| 1955–1960 || 9 000|| 4 000|| 5 000||48.9||22.9||26.0||6.60||167
|-
| 1960–1965 || 10 000|| 4 000|| 6 000||48.0||20.8||27.2||6.91||154
|-
| 1965–1970 || 11 000|| 4 000|| 6 000||46.8||18.9||27.9||7.05||141
|-
| 1970–1975 || 12 000|| 4 000|| 8 000||46.8||16.9||29.8||7.05||127
|-
| 1975–1980 || 14 000|| 5 000|| 10 000||47.9||15.6||32.3||7.05||116
|-
| 1980–1985 || 17 000|| 5 000|| 12 000||48.6||14.3||34.4||7.05||106
|-
| 1985–1990 || 16 000|| 5 000|| 11 000||39.6||12.1||27.5||6.00||95
|-
| 1990–1995 || 17 000|| 5 000|| 12 000||36.6||11.0||25.6||5.30||89
|-
| 1995–2000 || 20 000|| 6 000|| 15 000||38.6||10.6||28.0||5.30||83
|-
| 2000–2005 || 24 000|| 6 000|| 18 000||40.2||10.1||30.0||5.30||78
|-
| 2005–2010 || 27 000|| 7 000|| 20 000||39.0||9.4||29.5||5.08||72
|-
|align"left" colspan"9" | * <small> CBR crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR crude death rate (per 1000); NC natural change (per 1000); IMR infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)</small>
|}
Demographic and Health Surveys
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan=2| Year
! colspan=2| Total
! colspan=2| Urban
! colspan=2| Rural
|-
! CBR !! TFR
! CBR !! TFR
! CBR !! TFR
|-
| 1996
| style="text-align:right;"| 33.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.1 (3.7)
| style="text-align:right;"| 28.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.1 (3.1)
| style="text-align:right;"| 35.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.5 (4.0)
|-
| 2012
| style="text-align:right;"| 32.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.3 (3.2)
| style="text-align:right;"| 27.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.5 (2.5)
| style="text-align:right;"| 34.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.8 (3.5)
|-
|}
Structure of the population (DHS 2012) (Males 11 088, Females 12 284 = 23 373) :
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="80pt"|Age Group
! width="80pt"|Male (%)
! width="80pt"|Female (%)
! width="80pt"|Total (%)
|-
| align="right" | 0–4
| align="right" | 15.5
| align="right" | 13.6
| align="right" | 14.5
|-
| align="right" | 5–9
| align="right" | 15.0
| align="right" | 13.8
| align="right" | 14.4
|-
| align="right" | 10–14
| align="right" | 13.9
| align="right" | 11.8
| align="right" | 12.8
|-
| align="right" | 15–19
| align="right" | 10.1
| align="right" | 11.2
| align="right" | 10.7
|-
| align="right" | 20–24
| align="right" | 6.8
| align="right" | 8.6
| align="right" | 7.8
|-
| align="right" | 25–29
| align="right" | 5.4
| align="right" | 7.8
| align="right" | 6.7
|-
| align="right" | 30–34
| align="right" | 5.8
| align="right" | 6.5
| align="right" | 6.2
|-
| align="right" | 35–39
| align="right" | 6.0
| align="right" | 5.4
| align="right" | 5.7
|-
| align="right" | 40–44
| align="right" | 4.5
| align="right" | 4.0
| align="right" | 4.2
|-
| align="right" | 45–49
| align="right" | 3.2
| align="right" | 2.5
| align="right" | 2.9
|-
| align="right" | 50–54
| align="right" | 2.9
| align="right" | 4.9
| align="right" | 3.9
|-
| align="right" | 55–59
| align="right" | 1.7
| align="right" | 2.2
| align="right" | 2.0
|-
| align="right" | 60–64
| align="right" | 3.3
| align="right" | 2.6
| align="right" | 2.9
|-
| align="right" | 65–69
| align="right" | 1.5
| align="right" | 1.3
| align="right" | 1.4
|-
| align="right" | 70–74
| align="right" | 2.3
| align="right" | 1.7
| align="right" | 2.0
|-
| align="right" | 75–79
| align="right" | 0.8
| align="right" | 0.8
| align="right" | 0.8
|-
| align="right" | 80+
| align="right" | 1.2
| align="right" | 1.3
| align="right" | 1.3
|-
| align="right" | Unknown
| align="right" | 0.1
| align="right" | 0.1
| align="right" | 0.1
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="50"|Age group
! width="80pt"|Male (%)
! width="80"|Female (%)
! width="80"|Total (%)
|-
| align="right" | 0–14
| align="right" | 44.4
| align="right" | 39.2
| align="right" | 41.7
|-
| align="right" | 15–64
| align="right" | 49.7
| align="right" | 55.6
| align="right" | 52.7
|-
| align="right" | 65+
| align="right" | 5.8
| align="right" | 5.1
| align="right" | 5.5
|-
|}
Fertility data as of 2012 (DHS Program):
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="width:100pt;"| Region
! style="width:100pt;"| Total fertility rate
! style="width:100pt;"| Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant
! style="width:100pt;"| Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
|-
| Mohéli || 5.0 || 6.8 || 6.3
|-
| Anjouan || 5.2 || 6.7 || 5.8
|-
| Grande Comore || 3.5 || 6.5 || 4.6
|}
Languages
:Arabic (official), French (official), Comorian (official)Religion
Sunni Muslim 98%, other (including Shia Muslim, Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant) 2%
note: Sunni Islam is the state religion
See also
* Demographics of Mayotte
* Islam in the Comoros
References
Attribution:
Category:Society of the Comoros | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Comoros | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.772165 |
6003 | Politics of the Comoros | The Politics of the Union of the Comoros take place in a framework of a unitary presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The precolonial legacies of the sultanates linger while the political situation in Comoros has been extremely fluid since the country's independence in 1975, subject to the volatility of coups and political insurrection.
As of 2008, Comoros and Mauritania were considered by US-based organization Freedom House as the only real “electoral democracies” of the Arab World.Precolonial and colonial political structuresSultanates in the late nineteenth century used a cyclic age system and hierarchical lineage membership to provide the foundation for participation in the political process. In the capital, "the sultan was assisted by his ministers and by a madjelis, an advisory council composed of elders, whom he consulted regularly". Apart from local administration, the age system was used to include the population in decision making, depending on the scope of the decision being made. For example, the elders of the island of Njazidja held considerable influence on the authority of the sultan. French colonial administration was based on a misconception that the sultanates operated as absolute monarchs: district boundaries were the same as the sultanates', multiple new taxes forced men into wage labor on colonial plantations and was reinforced through a compulsory public labor system that had little effect on infrastructure. The political groups previously known simply as the 'green' and 'white' party became the Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Comorien (RDPC) and the Union Démocratique des Comores (UDC), headed by Sayyid Muhammad Cheikh and Sayyid Ibrahim. Members from both parties later merged to form OUDZIMA under the leadership of first president Ahmad Abdallah while dissidents from both created UMMA under the leadership of future president Ali Soilih.
Prince Said Ibrahim took power in 1970 but was democratically elected out of office in 1972 in favor of former French senator Ahmed Abdallah. President Abdallah declared independence for all islands, except Mayotte which remained under French administration, in 1975. The threat of renewed socioeconomic marginalization following the transfer of the capital to Ngazidja in 1962, more than social or cultural differences, underlay the island's subsequent rejection of independence.
Before the 2019 election president Azali Assoumani had arranged a constitutional referendum in 2018 that approved extending the presidential mandate from one five-year term to two. The opposition had boycotted the referendum.
In January 2020, his party The Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC) won 20 out of 24 parliamentary seats in the parliamentary election.
On 18 February 2023 the Comoros assumed the presidency of the African Union. In January 2024, President Azali Assoumani was re-elected with 63% of the vote in the disputed presidential election.
The Comoros Islands have experienced five different constitutions.
First Constitution: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros, 1978-1989
A referendum took place on May 16, 2009, to decide whether to cut down the government's unwieldy political bureaucracy. 52.7% of those eligible voted, and 93.8% of votes were cast in approval of the referendum. The referendum would cause each island's president to become a governor and the ministers to become councilors.Autonomous islandsThe constitution gives Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli the right to govern most of their own affairs with their own presidents, except the activities assigned to the Union of the Comoros like foreign Policy, defense, nationality, banking and others. Comoros considers Mayotte, an overseas department of France, to be part of its territory, with an autonomous status
As of 2011, the three autonomous islands are subdivided into 16 prefectures, 54 communes, and 318 villes or villages.
Executive branch
|President
|Azali Assoumani
|
|26 May 2016
|}
The federal presidency is rotated between the islands' presidents.
The Union of the Comoros abolished the position of Prime Minister in 2002. The position of Vice-President of the Comoros was used 2002–2019.
Legislative branch
The Assembly of the Union has 33 seats, 24 elected in single seat constituencies and 9 representatives of the regional assemblies.
Judicial branch
The Supreme Court or Cour Supreme, has two members appointed by the president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one by the Council of each island, and former presidents of the republic.
Political parties and elections
International organization participation
The Comoros are member of the ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AMF, African Union, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), United Nations, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WMO.
See also
*ISO 3166-2:KM
References
External links
* | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Comoros | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.780200 |
6005 | Telecommunications in the Comoros | <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
}}
In large part thanks to international aid programs, Moroni has international telecommunications service. Telephone service, however, is largely limited to the islands' few towns.
Overview
Telephones – main lines in use:
5,000 (1995)
Telephones – mobile cellular:
0 (1995)
Telephone system:
sparse system of microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communication stations
<br>domestic:
HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay<br>
CMDA mobile network (Huri, operated by Comores Telecom)
<br>international:
HF radiotelephone communications to Madagascar and Réunion
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios:
90,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
0 (1998)
Televisions:
1,000 (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (1999)
Country code (Top-level domain): .km
Special projects
In October 2011 the State of Qatar launched a special program for the construction of a wireless network to interconnect the three islands of the archipelago, by means of low cost, repeatable technology. The project has been developed by Qatar University and Politecnico di Torino, under the supervision of prof. Mazen Hasna and prof. Daniele Trinchero, with a major participation of local actors (Comorian Government, NRTIC, University of the Comoros). The project has been referred as an example of technology transfer and Sustainable Inclusion in developing countries
External links
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070615054547/http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_km.shtml GSM World page on the Comoros]
*[http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Comoros PanAfriL10n page on the Comoros]
References | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_Comoros | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.781791 |
6006 | Transport in the Comoros | There are a number of systems of transport in the Comoros. The Comoros possesses of road, of which are paved. It has three seaports: Fomboni, Moroni and Moutsamoudou, but does not have a merchant marine, and no longer has any railway network. It has four airports, all with paved runways, one with runways over long, with the others having runways shorter than .
The isolation of the Comoros had made air traffic a major means of transportation. One of President Abdallah's accomplishments was to make the Comoros more accessible by air. During his administration, he negotiated agreements to initiate or enhance commercial air links with Tanzania and Madagascar. The Djohar regime reached an agreement in 1990 to link Moroni and Brussels by air. By the early 1990s, commercial flights connected the Comoros with France, Mauritius, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and Madagascar. The national airline was Air Comores. Daily flights linked the three main islands, and air service was also available to Mahoré; each island had airstrips. In 1986 the republic received a grant from the French government's CCCE to renovate and expand Hahaya airport, near Moroni. Because of the absence of scheduled sea transport between the islands, nearly all interisland passenger traffic is by air.
More than 99% of freight is transported by sea. Both Moroni on Njazidja and Mutsamudu on Nzwani have artificial harbors. There is also a harbor at Fomboni, on Mwali. Despite extensive internationally financed programs to upgrade the harbors at Moroni and Mutsamudu, by the early 1990s only Mutsamudu was operational as a deepwater facility. Its harbor could accommodate vessels of up to eleven meters' draught. At Moroni, ocean-going vessels typically lie offshore and are loaded or unloaded by smaller craft, a costly and sometimes dangerous procedure. Most freight continues to be sent to Tanzania, Kenya, Reunion, or Madagascar for transshipment to the Comoros. Use of Comoran ports is further restricted by the threat of cyclones from December through March. The privately operated Comoran Navigation Company (Société Comorienne de Navigation) is based in Moroni, and provides services to Madagascar.
Roads serve the coastal areas, rather than the interior, and the mountainous terrain makes surface travel difficult.
See also
History of rail transport in the Comoros
References
Much of the material in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_the_Comoros | 2025-04-05T18:27:40.783690 |
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