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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Giolitti | Antonio Giolitti | Antonio Giolitti (12 February 1915 – 8 February 2010) was an Italian politician and cabinet member. He was the grandson of Giovanni Giolitti, the well-known liberal statesman of the pre-fascist period who served as Prime Minister of Italy five times.
== Biography ==
Giolitti was born in Rome. He joined the Italian Communist Party (Italian: Partito Comunista Italiano, or PCI) in 1940 and was arrested and tried by the fascist regime but acquitted, for his associations with them.
In the spring of 1943 Giolitti resumed his clandestine activities for the Communist Party, contacting numerous military and political personalities, in order to plan the overthrow of the fascist regime. During the Italian Resistance in World War II, Giolitti was seriously wounded in combat. He was sent to France to recover, and was not able to return to Italy until after the end of the conflict.
After the war, Giolitti was involved in much political activity: he was junior minister to the foreign minister for Ferruccio Parri's government, communist deputy to the Constituent Assembly, elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the list of PCI in 1948 and 1953. In 1957 he left the Communist Party after the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian uprising and the Manifesto of the 101. He then joined the Italian Socialist Party.
Antonio Giolitti was a minister in several Italian governments. He was Minister for the Budget from 1963 to 1964, from 1969 to 1972 and from 1973 to 1974 in the governments led, respectively, by Aldo Moro, Mariano Rumor and Emilio Colombo. In this capacity he inspired the Italian economic planning. From 1977 to 1985, he was a member of the Executive Commission of the European Economic Community in Brussels, and responsible for Regional Policy.
In 1987, Giolitti left the Italian Socialist Party for disagreements with its leader Bettino Craxi. He then returned to the Italian Communist Party (PCI) as an independent candidate and he was elected to the Italian Senate. At the end of the parliamentary term, he withdrew from active politics.
Antonio Giolitti has written political texts and, in 1992, he published a book with his memoirs.
He also participated actively to the Italian cultural activity. In his youth, he was an advisor to the publisher Giulio Einaudi. He collaborated with several cultural magazines, including Lettera Internazionale.
In 2006, he was awarded the Cavaliere di Gran Croce, the highest honour bestowed by the President of the Italian Republic. He died in Rome on 8 February 2010.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giblet_Gravy | Giblet Gravy | Giblet Gravy is the fourth album by jazz/soul guitarist George Benson.
== Track listing ==
== Personnel ==
=== Musicians ===
George Benson – guitar
Albertine Robinson, Eileen Gilbert, Lois Winter – vocals
Eric Gale – guitar, tracks 2, 4, 5, 7
Carl Lynch – guitar, track 1
Herbie Hancock – piano, tracks 3, 6, 9–12
Ron Carter – bass guitar, tracks 1, 3, 6–12
Bob Cranshaw – bass guitar, tracks 2, 4–5
Billy Cobham – drums
Johnny Pacheco – congas, tambourine
Pepper Adams – baritone saxophone, tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7–8
Ernie Royal – trumpet, tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7–8
Snooky Young – trumpet, tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7–8
Jimmy Owens – trumpet, flugelhorn, tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7–8
Alan Raph – bass trombone, tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7–8
Tom McIntosh – arranger, conductor, tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7–8
=== Technical ===
Esmond Edwards – producer
Val Valentin – engineer
Daniel Kramer – cover photography
Acy R. Lehman – art direction
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Tree,_New_York | Palm Tree, New York | Palm Tree is a town coterminous with the village of Kiryas Joel, inhabited by the Satmar Hasidic community, and the municipality to which it belonged, Monroe. The population of Palm Tree was 32,954 at the 2020 census.
== History ==
The town of Palm Tree, which comprises the entirety of the village of Kiryas Joel, was officially created on January 1, 2019.
Palm Tree had undergone numerous geographic and name changes prior to its incorporation as an independent town in 2019. Until 1764, the area was part of an enlarged Goshen. Goshen was then divided into two parts, with Palm Tree becoming part of Cornwall. By 1799 Cornwall was also divided, with Palm Tree joining present-day Monroe, Woodbury, and Tuxedo to become the town of Cheesekook. This name was changed to Smithfield (or Southfield) and in 1808 became Monroe supposedly in honor of James Monroe; others believe Monroe was named for a local family.
In 1974, the Satmar rebbe Joel Teitelbaum started the Kiryas Joel community, and in 1976 the community was incorporated as the village of Kiryas Joel in remembrance of the Rebbe, as a semi-rural retreat for his Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based community. Over time, the need to annex additional land in order to accommodate Kiryas Joel's burgeoning population created zoning conflicts with the town of Monroe, that eventually led to a referendum which passed overwhelmingly on November 7, 2017, that resulted in an split from Monroe and the creation of the town of Palm Tree, coterminous with the limits of the village of Kiryas Joel.
On June 14, 2018, special legislation was passed that moved up the target date by one year. The bill was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 1. The town became official on January 1, 2019, with officials elected in November 2018 being sworn in on that date. No candidates ran for town justice in either the 2018 or 2019 elections; however, two non-resident lawyers were elected as town justices in the November 2019 elections as part of a write-in campaign supported by the leadership of the majority faction of the town's community; while normally New York law requires town justices to be residents of the town, the town's laws were amended to permit the town justices to be non-residents. In the same election, residents voted for a single consolidated town-village government, to be governed as a village rather than a town.
== Etymology ==
Palm Tree was chosen as the new town's name as it is a calque of Teitelbaum, the surname of the rebbes of Satmar. It means "date palm" - formed from teitel (date) and baum (tree).
== Geography ==
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2), and only a very small portion of the area (a small duck pond called "Forest Road Lake" in the center of the town) is covered with water.
== Demographics ==
Palm Tree began with a 2019 founding population of 26,905 people, but since it has the same boundaries as its coterminous village of Kiryas Joel, its demographics from before its incorporation as a town is also known.
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,138 people, 2,229 households, and 2,137 families residing in the village. The population density was 11,962.2 inhabitants per square mile (4,618.6/km2). There were 2,233 housing units, at an average density of 2,033.2 units per square mile (785.0 units/km2). The racial make-up of the village was 99.02% White, 0.21% African American, 0.02% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.
Kiryas Joel has the highest percentage of people who reported Hungarian ancestry in the United States, as 18.9% of the population reported Hungarian ancestry in 2000. 3% of the residents of Kiryas Joel were Israeli, 2% Romanian, 1% Polish, and 1% European.
The 2000 census also reported that 6.3% of village residents spoke only English at home, one of the lowest such percentages in the United States. 91.5% of residents spoke Yiddish at home, while 2.3% spoke Hebrew. Of the Yiddish-speaking population in 2000, 46% spoke English "not well" or "not at all". Overall, including those who primarily spoke Hebrew and European languages, as well as primary Yiddish speakers, 46% of Kiryas Joel residents speak English "not well" or "not at all".
There were 2,229 households, out of which 79.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 93.2% were married couples living together, 1.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.1% were non-families. 2.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 5.74, and the average family size was 5.84. In the village, the population was very young, with 57.5% under the age of 18, 17.2% from 18 to 24, 16.5% from 25 to 44, 7.2% from 45 to 64, and 1.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 15 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.0 males.
The village abides by strict Jewish customs, and its welcome sign (installed in 2010) asks visitors to dress conservatively and to "maintain gender separation in all public areas". However, "the signs [say] nothing about consequences for violating these guidelines – because there are no consequences."
== See also ==
Kaser, New York − a majority Hasidic village in neighboring Rockland County.
New Square, New York − a majority Hasidic village in a neighboring Rockland County.
Hasidic Judaism
== Notes ==
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Indian_Premier_League_final#:~:text=0-,Dwayne%20Bravo,2,-9.00 | 2015 Indian Premier League final | The 2015 Indian Premier League final was a day/night Twenty20 cricket match between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings, played on 24 May 2015, at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. It was held to determine the winner of the 2015 season of the Indian Premier League, the annual professional Twenty20 tournament in India. It was the third time these two teams met in the final, having previously played each other in the 2010 and 2013 finals.
Mumbai defeated Chennai by 41 runs to win their second IPL title, playing in their third IPL final. Their previous IPL victory had come at the same venue against the same opposition in 2013. Chennai were playing their sixth IPL final, attempting to win their third title. Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma was awarded man of the match for his innings of 50. The final was sold out, with a final attendance of around 67,000 people.
== Road to the final ==
=== Group stage ===
Chennai and Mumbai were ranked first and second respectively on the league table. Apart from a defeat to the Rajasthan Royals, Chennai had a successful first half of the league stage, having won six out of seven matches. They suffered a loss of form in the remaining seven games of the second half in which they managed three wins and finished at the top of the table with 18 points. During the league stage, Chennai successfully defended low totals like 150, 134 and 148. Chennai bowlers Dwayne Bravo and Ashish Nehra produced consistent bowling performances throughout the tournament, with the former holding on to the Purple Cap for most wickets during the season. Chennai's most prolific batsman of the season Brendon McCullum had to depart for England on national duty at the conclusion of the league stage.
Mumbai began the season with five defeats in their first six matches, including four on the trot at the start of the season. At this time, their opener Aaron Finch was ruled out of the tournament with an injury, after which Mumbai found success with their new opening combination of Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons. They averaged more than 50 for the first wicket, making them the best opening pair of the tournament. Mitchell McClenaghan replaced national teammate Corey Anderson in the playing eleven, after the latter suffered a tournament-ending injury, and formed a formidable bowling attack with Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh. Mumbai went on to win seven of their last eight matches, including five wins in succession, to take the second spot on the league table.
==== Group stage series ====
In the two group stage matches between Mumbai and Chennai, both teams lost at home. In the first meeting at Mumbai, Mumbai initially struggled and were 57 for 4 in the tenth over before captain Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard scored half-centuries and shared a partnership of 75 runs in 33 balls to lift the team to a total of 183 for 7. Chennai started strongly in the run-chase with a 109-run opening stand between McCullum and Dwayne Smith. McCullum was dismissed for 46 and soon Smith followed with 62. Suresh Raina then came up with an unbeaten 43 to take Chennai to a six-wicket win. In their second encounter, Chennai could put up a total of 158 for 5 mainly due Pawan Negi's innings of 36 off 17 balls and an unbeaten 39 by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Mumbai were at a strong position of 84 for no loss at the end of their first 10 overs, but were reduced to 86 for 3 after 12. They lost Rohit Sharma in the 18th over and were left with 30 runs to score from the last two overs. Hardik Pandya struck three sixes in the 19th over which yielded 25 runs. Mumbai then sealed the win six wickets and four balls to spare. This was Mumbai's fifth consecutive win of the season and Chennai's first defeat at the Chepauk since 2013.
=== Playoff stage ===
The playoff stage is played according to the page playoff system and provided Chennai and Mumbai, being the top- and second-ranked teams, with two ways of qualifying for the Final. They first faced each other in Qualifier 1 where the winners would qualify for the Final. The losers of Qualifier 1 would play against the winners of the Eliminator in Qualifier 2, the winners of which would also qualify for the Final.
In Qualifier 1, Mumbai won the toss and chose to bat first. Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma said the track looked good to bat first and get runs on board, while Dhoni said he wished to bowl first and believed his team could chase down totals. Mumbai's innings began steady with a 90-run opening partnership between Patel and Simmons which ended when Patel was dismissed for 35. After Simmons fell for a 51-ball 65 in the 14th over, Pollard arrived at the crease with the score reading 113 for 2. Even as wickets were falling at the other end, Pollard struck one four and five sixes in his innings of 41 which came off just 17 balls. Mumbai posted a total of 187 for 6 in their 20 overs. Chennai's run-chase started with Smith being dismissed for a duck by Malinga in the first over. They lost the wicket of Michael Hussey in the sixth over and the score read 46/2. Raina and Faf du Plessis then steadied the innings taking Chennai past 80 in the tenth over. In the 11th over, Harbhajan Singh dismissed Raina and Dhoni off consecutive balls. Following this, Chennai started losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 162.
Qualifier 2 was played between Chennai and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first expecting dew to play a part in the latter stages of the match, while Bangalore captain Virat Kohli wanted to bat first on what he believed was a dry pitch. Bangalore innings started off slowly and R Ashwin was introduced into the attack early with Chris Gayle at the crease. Nehra struck twice in the fifth over picking up the wickets of Kohli and AB de Villiers. After losing another wicket, Bangalore steadied the innings with a 44-run partnership between Gayle and Dinesh Karthik. In the 14th over, Gayle struck two consecutive sixes but, was dismissed caught and bowled by Raina, trying to hit a third. Sarfaraz Khan then played a useful innings of 31 from 21 balls and lifted Bangalore's total to 139 for 8 in 20 overs. In reply, Chennai lost the wicket of Smith early in their innings. In the tenth over, Yuzvendra Chahal claimed the wickets of du Plessis and Raina and the score read 61 for 3. Dhoni then joined Hussey at the crease and the pair put on 47 runs for the fourth wicket, before Hussey was dismissed for 56. Towards the end, Chennai lost three wickets within six balls, but managed to win the match off the penultimate ball of the innings with a single from Ashwin.
== Match ==
=== Background ===
The Final was played at the neutral venue of Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The 2013 Final between these two teams was also played at this venue where Mumbai had defeated Chennai by 23 runs to win their first IPL title. This was the seventh encounter between these two teams in the knockout/playoff stage of IPL, with Chennai leading 4–2 in such matches prior to this game.
Chennai had the tournament's leading wicket-taker Dwayne Bravo in their ranks but were without their best batsman of the season Brendon McCullum, who was playing for New Zealand in England. Mumbai's leading run-scorer Lendl Simmons was 90 runs behind the Orange Cap holder, while their leading bowler Lasith Malinga was two wickets behind Bravo on the Purple Cap list.
=== Report ===
The toss was won by Chennai who chose to bowl first. Their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni described the pitch as being dry and predicted it would stay the same throughout the match. Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma said he wanted to bat first and post a good total to defend. Both teams were unchanged from their respective previous matches.
Mumbai's innings began with opener Parthiv Patel being dismissed run out for a duck in the first over. Rohit Sharma then joined Lendl Simmons at the crease and started aggressively, scoring 16 runs from the second over by Mohit Sharma. The duo of Simmons and Sharma continued to attack the Super Kings bowlers with the former reaching his sixth half-century of the season. Dwayne Bravo was introduced into the attack in the 12th over and Sharma was dismissed soon after completing his fifty which had come off just 24 balls. Dwayne Smith then claimed the wicket of Simmons in the first ball of the following over, which was also Smith's first ball of the season. Mumbai were at 120 for 3 in the 13th over, before Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu struck boundaries at regular intervals, with the former striking three sixes and a four in the 17th over by Ashish Nehra. Their partnership had reached 71 runs in less than seven overs before Mohit Sharma dismissed Pollard off the final ball of the 19th over. Mumbai lost Hardik Pandya for a duck in the final over, but were able to post 202 for 5 by the end of their innings. This was the second 200-plus total in an IPL final.
Chennai's run-chase got off to a slow start as Smith was struggling to time the ball. Mitchell McClenaghan dismissed Michael Hussey in the fifth over for 4. Suresh Raina then arrived at the crease and Smith started to score boundaries. Their partnership had reached 66 runs and was broken when Harbhajan Singh dismissed Smith for 57 in the 12th over. Harbhajan got the wicket Raina in his next over, after which Chennai lost a wicket in each of their following five overs with the required run rate increasing after every over. McClenaghan and Lasith Malinga bowled economically in each of their four overs and had figures of 3 for 25 and 2 for 25 respectively. Ravindra Jadeja and Mohit Sharma added 24 runs for the ninth wicket but their 20 overs ended 41 runs short of the target.
=== Summary ===
It was Mumbai's second IPL title, making them the third team after the Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders to have won the IPL title more than once. Rohit Sharma was awarded man of the match for his 26-ball 50. With 26 wickets in the tournament, Bravo finished as the leading wicket-taker and won the Purple Cap for the second time after the 2013 season. Mumbai won a prize money of ₹15 crore for becoming the champions, while runners-up Chennai were awarded ₹10 crore. Chennai also won the Fair Play Award, while Mumbai were at the bottom of this table.
== Scorecard ==
Toss: Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Fall of wickets: 1–1 (Patel, 0.5 ov), 2–120 (Sharma, 11.6 ov), 3–120 (Simmons, 12.1 ov), 4–191 (Pollard, 18.5 ov), 5–191 (Pandya, 19.2 ov)
Fall of wickets: 1–22 (Hussey, 4.4 ov), 2–88 (Smith, 11.5 ov), 3–99 (Raina, 13.3 ov), 4–108 (Bravo, 14.3 ov), 5–124 (Dhoni, 15.5 ov), 6–125 (du Plessis, 16.2 ov), 7–134 (Negi, 17.3 ov), 8–137 (Ashwin, 18.2 ov)
== See also ==
Chennai Super Kings–Mumbai Indians rivalry
== References ==
== External links ==
Match scorecard on official IPL website |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_Lectureship_Prize#:~:text=1914%3A%20Svante%20Arrhenius | Faraday Lectureship Prize | The Faraday Lectureship Prize, previously known simply as the Faraday Lectureship, is awarded once every two years (approximately) by the Royal Society of Chemistry for "exceptional contributions to physical or theoretical chemistry". Named after Michael Faraday, the first Faraday Lecture was given in 1869, two years after Faraday's death, by Jean-Baptiste Dumas. As of 2009, the prize was worth £5000, with the recipient also receiving a medal and a certificate. As the name suggests, the recipient also gives a public lecture describing their work.
== Winners ==
Source: RSC
== See also ==
List of chemistry awards
== References ==
== External links ==
Event data as RDF |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicki_Draves#:~:text=Draves%20was%20inducted%20into%20the,City%20College%20of%20San%20Francisco. | Vicki Draves | Victoria Manalo Draves (née Manalo; December 31, 1924 – April 11, 2010) was a Filipino American competitive diver who won gold medals in both platform and springboard diving at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Draves became the first woman to be awarded gold medals for both the ten-meter platform and the three-meter springboard. In a pioneering achievement, she was the first American woman to win two gold medals in diving, and the first Asian American to win Olympic gold medals. She was born in San Francisco.
== Early life and education ==
Manalo was born in the South-of-Market district of San Francisco to Philippine chef and musician Teofilo Manalo and English maid Gertrude Taylor. Her parents met and married in San Francisco. She grew up with her parents, her twin sister Connie, her older sister Frankie, and a younger brother, Sonny, who died as a child. Manalo couldn't afford to take swimming lessons until she was 10 years old and took summer swimming lessons from the Red Cross, paying five cents for admission to a pool in the Mission District. Draves played badminton, basketball, and softball in high school. She graduated from Commerce High School on Van Ness Avenue in 1942 and worked a temporary civil service job in the Army Port Surgeon's office to add to the family's meager income.
== Career ==
Manalo was introduced to diving at age 16 by Jack Lavery. It was Lavery who introduced her to Phil Patterson, swimming coach of the Fairmont Hotel Swimming and Diving Club. Due to racial discrimination and prejudice for being a Filipino, she changed her name to Vicki Taylor to be accepted in Patterson's school. Patterson's military stint during World War II caused Manalo to stop diving for a year. She instead found a job at the Presidio military base. Manalo later joined the swimming program at the Crystal Plunge in North Beach headed by Charlie Sava and was assigned Jimmy Hughes as her diving coach. Her 50–100 dive after-school practices continued even to her enrollment at San Francisco Junior College (now City College of San Francisco). At age 19, Coach Hughes guided her to a third-place finish in her first national AAU diving competition at the Indiana national meet in 1943.
At the 1944 national AAU championships, the men's 1942 platform champion, Sammy Lee, befriended her and introduced her to his coaching friend, Lyle Draves, who ran the swimming and diving program at the prestigious Athens Athletic Club in Oakland. Manalo then started training with Lyle Draves, adding platform diving to her springboard diving repertoire. Lyle Draves left the San Francisco Bay Area for Los Angeles in disgust at the racism in the Fairmont Hotel Swimming and Diving Club. Manalo commuted to Los Angeles, and placed second and third at the Outdoor Nationals. In 1945, on the death of her father, she returned to her old job as a secretary in the Army Port Surgeon's office in San Francisco.
When the war ended, Manalo finally moved to Southern California for good. She married her coach on July 12, 1946, and won the National Tower Diving Championship (10 meter platform), in 1946, 1947 and 1948. Prior to competing in the 1948 Olympics, Draves won a total of five United States diving championships. Despite not finishing first in either springboard or platform events of the Olympic trials in Detroit, Draves made the team.
On August 3, 1948, she won her first springboard title in the London Summer Olympics. Draves followed up that win with the gold medal in the 10-meter platform on Aug. 6, becoming the first woman to win both titles.
After her Olympic victory, the Manalo-Draves couple visited the Philippines for the first time upon the invitation from the Manila Jaycees. The 29-day visit to the Philippines had them staying in a Malacañang Palace suite and visiting her father's relatives in Orani, Bataan, where he was born. She gave platform diving exhibitions at the Rizal Stadium and in other Philippine venues, and also for Philippine president Elpidio Quirino. Draves appeared in a Life layout in 1949, being named one of the magazine's top two U.S. athletes at the 1948 Olympics.
Draves turned professional after the Olympics, joining Larry Crosby's "Rhapsody in Swimtime" aquatic show for her pro debut at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1948. She also performed in the L.A. Coliseum with headliner Esther Williams and the General Motors convention in Detroit. In 1949 and 1950, Draves toured the U.S., Canada, and Europe with Buster Crabbe's "Aqua Parade". After performing regularly in the Coachella Valley's El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs and at the Shadow Mountain Resort & Club in Palm Desert, Draves retired from diving. In 1949, Al Sheehan recruited Callen to perform as part of the Aqua Follies, a water ballet show including diving acts.
After starting a family in the early 1950s in Glendale, Draves and her husband operated a swimming and diving training program at Indian Springs in Montrose and later moved the program to Encino. They continued to reside in Tarzana for 35 years, raising their four sons – David, Jeffery, Dale and Kim – to be skilled divers. Draves worked as a secretary while her husband remained a coach and swimming director.
== Later life and death ==
In the mid-1960s, Draves was an advocate for the Filipino Education Center when the second wave of Filipino immigrants came to America and largely settled in the South of Market district.
In 1968, she joined sprinter Jesse Owens, football player Tommy Harmon and race car driver Sam Hanks at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas to help raise $700,000 for the City of Hope National Medical Center.
=== Honors ===
Draves was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1969.
In 2005, Draves was selected for the year's Most Outstanding Alumnus of City College of San Francisco. On May 27, 2005, she received her award and spoke at the commencement ceremonies of City College at the SF Masonic Auditorium. She received a resounding ovation from the 2000 graduating students in attendance. In the same year, she was acknowledged as one of Los Angeles Athletics Club's outstanding athletes.
In October 2006, a two-acre park (one acre per gold medal) in San Francisco was named Victoria Manalo Draves Park in her honor. It was on the same site, on Folsom and Sherman streets, where she had formerly attended Franklin Elementary School, four blocks from where she was born and raised.
Draves and her husband moved to Palm Springs, California in 1995. She died on April 11, 2010, aged 85, from pancreatic cancer aggravated by pneumonia.
== Legacy ==
On August 3, 2020, Draves was honored with a Google Doodle in recognition of her achievements.
== See also ==
List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Hyung-chan, Kim (1999). Distinguished Asian Americans : a biographical dictionary. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313289026.
Draves, Vicki; Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. (1999). An Olympian's oral history : Vicki Draves, 1948 Olympic Games, diving. Los Angeles: Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. OCLC 45944250.
== External links ==
Media related to Vicki Draves at Wikimedia Commons |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_and_L_Building | L and L Building | The L and L Building is a historic two-story building in Billings, Montana. It was designed in the Italianate style, and built in 1893-1896 by Sam and Yee Quong Lee, two brothers who were born in China and emigrated to the United States in 1865. It housed a dry goods store, a restaurant, and a
lodging house until the late 1910s, when the first floor was remodelled as a saloon and a liquor store. It later housed the Arcade Bar, which became known as "an eyesore and a gathering spot for the city's criminal underbelly," The bar closed temporarily after it was raided by the police, who arrested a bartender and two customers on marijuana charges in January 1993, and it closed down in May 1994. The building was refurbished in 2004–2006. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 19, 2008.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Shaka_International_Airport#:~:text=The%20airport%20name%20was%20approved%20by%20the%20South%20African%20Geographical%20Names%20Council%20on%2014%20January%202010 | King Shaka International Airport | King Shaka International Airport (IATA: DUR, ICAO: FALE), abbreviated KSIA, is the primary international airport serving Durban, South Africa. It is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km (22 mi) north of the city centre of Durban. The airport opened its doors to passengers on May 1, 2010, 41 days before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It replaced Durban International Airport (ICAO: FADN) and uses the same IATA airport code. The airport was designed by Osmond Lange Architects and Planners and cost R 6,800,000,000 (about US$900 million).
Although the larger airport was built to grow the area's international services, it is also a key airport for domestic services throughout South Africa, serving the "Golden Triangle" between Cape Town International Airport, O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and KSIA itself with seven passenger and two cargo airlines offering domestic air services.
The airport forms part of the Dube TradePort, which will additionally consist of a trade zone linked to the airport's cargo terminal, facilities to support the airport such as nearby offices and transit accommodations for tourists, an integrated agricultural export zone, and an IT platform.
The largest aircraft KSIA currently has scheduled services for is the Boeing 777-300ER, with Emirates operating Dubai–Durban, although KSIA's runway length and terminal can handle the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, and smaller Boeing 747. In September 2015, during the World Routes Conference, which was held in Durban (the first time on African soil), Turkish Airlines announced a new international service to Istanbul and Qatar Airways announced the commencement of service to Doha in December of that year.
On 27 January 2014, an Airbus A380-841 of British Airways landed at KSIA becoming the first A380 to do so. The aircraft was being used for training and operated many flights in and out of the airport until February 4, 2014. The aircraft also returned for further pilot training between 29 August and 1 September of the same year.
== History ==
=== Project conception and initial construction ===
King Shaka International Airport was conceptualized when the limitations of Durban International Airport became apparent. The airport's 2,400 m (7,874 ft) runway was too short to allow large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 to operate intercontinental routes out of Durban, and the resulting decrease in international air traffic caused Durban to become marginalized compared to Johannesburg and Cape Town. Upgrading Durban International Airport was considered, but a study published in 2007 found that the existing airport would still have serious constraints and would reach its maximum potential by 2025, after which there would be no choice but to develop KSIA. It was also found that it would be 95% more expensive to operate Durban International Airport to its full potential and only then develop KSIA, than it would be to develop KSIA immediately. However, disputes between Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and the Dube Trade port firm (which is backed by the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial government) stalled the project until national transport minister Jeff Radebe intervened to jump-start the project in 2004.
The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium (led by Group Five and Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon) and the Indiza consortium (led by Grinaker-LTA). Both consortiums pre-qualified for the tender in April 2006; however, the tender was awarded to the Illembe consortium, with the Indiza consortium not being considered for failing to meet certain tender requirements. The Indiza group appealed the decision, claiming that the correct tender process had not been followed and that their bid had been unfairly excluded; However, their legal challenge was dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court in February 2007.
The final obstacle was a delay in the approval of the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The EIA was eventually approved in August 2007; conditions attached were the appointment of an environmental control officer, issues of access from the nearby N2 motorway, and fauna and flora issues; in particular, the impact of construction and airport operations on a nearby colony of barn swallows.
Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA. Construction progressed steadily throughout the next two years, with operational testing of the airport beginning in December 2009. The airport handled its first commercial flights on 1 May 2010. Despite the high construction costs, the airport was designed without a viewing deck or travellators.
It was unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport would be now that the KSIA was complete. It was originally expected that the airport would be decommissioned and the site (in a prime industrial area) would be redeveloped, possibly as a dug-out port serving nearby automotive assembly and component factories; however, such plans have been put on hold. The Durban International Airport eventually became defunct.
British Airways inaugurated a direct link to London's Heathrow Airport in October 2018. It said in December 2020 that it had suspended the service because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
==== Naming process ====
Despite wide expectations that the airport would be named "King Shaka International Airport" (Shaka was the leader of the Zulu nation in the early 19th century), it emerged in October 2009 that the airport needed to undergo a formal naming process. The former premier of KZN, S'bu Ndebele, described the naming process as urgent, stating that "pilots cannot fly to a place with no name". Public hearings on the naming of the airport began at the beginning of November 2009, with most attendees favoring "King Shaka International Airport" as the new airport's name.
On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport. The airport name was approved by the South African Geographical Names Council on 14 January 2010, and became official on 2 February 2010 when the Minister of Arts and Culture gave final approval to the name.
== Future ==
KSIA is currently building two new heavy-class remote gates, which will be named Foxtrot Aprons. Taxiway Bravo is also being extended and will connect to the runway north of the Taxiway Hotel.
As of March 2010, information on future development at KSIA is scarce and conflicting. Long-term master plans published on the Dube Trade Port website show projected phases of development in the future. However, images of future development posted on an internet forum indicate five phases of development, with each phase to be developed based on annual passenger volumes reaching certain levels. Both sources of information agree that the airport would have two parallel runways, with the passenger terminal building having an estimated capacity of 45 million passengers per year in the future.
== Location ==
The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km (22 mi) north of Durban. The airport precinct is bordered by the M43 road to the north, the Mdloti River to the south, the R102 road to the west, and the N2 freeway to the east.
Neighboring communities are Cotton lands and the LIV village at Hazelmere Dam Wall to the west, oThongathi to the northwest, Verulam to the southwest, and eMdloti to the southeast. Notable communities further away are uMhlanga to the south and Ballito to the north. These communities are generally opposed to the airport because of noise concerns, recommendations for mitigation of which were made in the project's Environmental Impact Report.
=== Mount Moreland barn swallows ===
Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km (1.6 mi) south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European barn swallow. The roughly 250 m2 (299 sq yd) reed bed where the birds roost is directly underneath the approach path to runway 06. When the construction of the airport was announced, there were fears that the reed bed would have to be destroyed due to the perceived threat of bird strikes, creating concern amongst environmentalists.
As a result, a study into the risks of bird strikes at KSIA was commissioned, with special attention being paid to the barn swallows at Mount Moreland. The study showed that the early morning dispersals of swallows generally happen before any scheduled arrivals or departures (earlier than 06:00), and the late afternoon swarms take place below the airport approach path, with only 5% of the birds protruding up into the path for a very short time (around 10 minutes). It was also noted that larger bird species, flying at higher altitudes, would pose more of a risk to aircraft than swallows, such species already being a risk at Durban International Airport. The study concluded that it would be possible for the airport and swallows to coexist. Proposed risk mitigation measures included curtailing flight movements during the afternoon swarm, setting the glide slope approach to Runway 06 to 3.2 or 3.5 degrees rather than the standard 3 degrees (to stay above the birds), and the installation of a radar system that would monitor bird movements and be integrated into the operational plan of the airport.
In response to the study, ACSA contracted De-Tect Inc. to install a radar system that would monitor all bird activity around KSIA, notifying air traffic controllers of any dangers to aircraft. The radar system arrived in January 2009 and started collecting data to be used when the airport became operational.
== Terminals ==
=== Passenger terminal ===
The passenger terminal is located at the southern end of the airport and is split into two levels: arrivals are handled on the lower floor and departures on the upper floor. With a total floor area of 102,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft), the terminal is capable of handling 7.5 million passengers per year.
The check-in concourse, located on the upper floor, contains 72 check-in counters and 18 self-service kiosks, as well as ticket offices for the various airlines operating out of the airport. Passengers pass through separate domestic and international security checkpoints before proceeding to the departure lounges and boarding gates. The airport has 34 aircraft parking bays and 16 jet bridges. Four of the jet bridges (gates A20-A23) can be combined into groups of two to handle Code F aircraft (e.g., an Airbus A380) or can be used separately to handle four Code C aircraft (e.g., an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737). The remainder are capable of handling one Code C aircraft each.
The arrivals area is located on the lower floor, with a baggage reclaim hall containing five conveyors that can be allocated for domestic and international use. Most of the airport's retail shops are also located on the lower floor, as is a piazza area immediately outside the terminal building. Including shops in the departure lounges, the airport has 52 retail outlets and 6,500 m2 (70,000 sq ft) of retail space.
The terminal does not have a public viewing deck, which has attracted public criticism. There are, however, vantage points on the elevated departures drop-off-road, as well as elsewhere in the airport precinct. The International Terminal is located to the left of the airport and has two A380-800 docking bays in which four A330s can be parked.
=== Cargo terminal ===
The cargo terminal is located to the north of the passenger terminal and is in the approximate centre of the airport precinct. The cargo terminal has an initial size of 15,000 m2 (160,000 sq ft) and an initial capacity of 150,000 metric tons (165,000 short tons) of cargo per year. A long-term expansion could see the cargo terminal expand to a size of 100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft) and a capacity of 1,000,000 metric tons (1,100,000 short tons) of cargo per year. In August 2009, Worldwide Flight Services was given a five-year contract to operate the cargo terminal.
The cargo terminal forms one component of the Dube Trade Port's Trade Zone Precinct, which is, additionally, home to trade and logistics warehousing as well as cargo and light industry activities that require quick access to air cargo services, and covers an area of 36 hectares (89 acres). In February 2013, Shree Property Holdings agreed to build a 60,000 m2 (650,000 sq ft) facility in the Dube Trade Zone and an additional 15,000 m2 (160,000 sq ft) facility. Samsung is to build a TV Production Plant at The Dube Trade Port by the end of 2014; the estimated cost over three years will be $20 million, thus increasing the production from 500 000 flat screens to 1 million.
One of the objectives of the cargo terminal is to recapture local air freight traffic from JNB. It is estimated that KwaZulu-Natal produces approximately 25,000 metric tons (27,600 short tons) of air cargo a year, which is currently transported by road to Johannesburg. The airport also has the advantage of sea level operation as opposed to Johannesburg's high altitude and is also near the Port of Durban, the busiest seaport in the Southern Hemisphere. The cargo terminal will initially have two Code F stands (capable of accommodating large aircraft, like the freighter variants of the Boeing 747-8), which can be expanded to ten stands in the long term.
== Airlines and destinations ==
=== Passenger ===
1This flight operates via Maputo. However, this carrier does not have rights to transport passengers solely between Durban and Maputo.
2This flight operates via Johannesburg. However, this carrier does not have rights to transport passengers solely between Durban and Johannesburg.
=== Cargo ===
== Traffic and statistics ==
King Shaka International Airport handled 5.04 million passengers in the 2024–2025 financial year, with the majority (4.7 million) being domestic passengers, 324,919 being international, and a small percentage of traffic being classified as "unscheduled". 40,935 aircraft traffic movements were recorded; the majority again being domestic services. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel resulted in passenger numbers plummeting: only 1,5 million passengers were recorded during the 2020-2021 financial year; a decrease of 75.4%. International travel was hardest hit, with a decrease in international passenger numbers of 94.4% recorded.
The statistics place King Shaka International Airport as the third busiest airport in South Africa, behind both OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport.
The following tables list passenger and air traffic statistics for King Shaka International Airport as published by Airports Company South Africa. Statistics run between April and March the following year.
Notes:
^1 Statistics for 2010–2011 include operations at Durban International Airport up to and including 30 April 2010. Comparisons are made with the previous reporting period's statistics at Durban International Airport.
== Ground transport ==
=== Road ===
The airport is accessible from both the N2 freeway and the alternative R102 road, with the M65 linking the N2 at exit 195 and the R102 between Verulam and oThongathi (Tongaat) with the airport. The M65 does not continue from the N2 interchange to the coastal M4 highway, necessitating M4 traffic to divert to the N2 using either the M27 if approaching from the south, or the M43 (Ushukela Drive) if approaching from the north; however, the airport's Environmental Impact Assessment recommended that the M65 should be extended to the M4 in the future should traffic volumes rise to the point where this would become necessary. Another notable road in the vicinity of the airport is the R614 from the Albert Falls and Wartburg areas, which terminates at the R102 in the northern outskirts of oThongathi; users of the R614 access the airport via the R102.
The majority of routes to and from the airport via the N2 involve payment of a toll: traffic leaving the airport to the south (the direction of Durban) must pass through the La Mercy Ramp Plaza located at the interchange of the N2 and M65, while traffic arriving at and leaving the airport from the north (the direction of Ballito/KwaDukuza) must pass through the mainline of oThongathi Toll Plaza located at the interchange of the N2 and M43. Motorists arriving from the south along the N2 are not tolled, and the R102 acts as an untolled alternative route. The N2 S from the airport can lead to the M4 S in uMhlanga, which leads directly into the city.
The airport contains 6,500 public parking bays, both in a short-term parkade and in a shaded medium-term parking area. Public road transport is provided by airport shuttle buses and metered taxis, which have been allocated their own pick-up and drop-off area adjacent to the terminal entrance to the international arrivals area.
=== Rail link ===
The main railway line heading north from Durban along the North Coast runs close to the R102. Direct rail access was provided for in the master plans, and is expected to be constructed after 2010 as part of the second phase of construction. In 2014, talks of a new high-speed monorail between the city and the airport were put forward, with an expected start to construction set for 2017.
In late 2024, it was announced that the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality was planning a feasibility study for a tram-light rail system between the Durban city centre and the airport, while an exclusive rail link was still under consideration. The tram-light rail system feasibility study was cancelled in June 2025 by the municipality due to no acceptable tenders being received.
== Accidents and incidents ==
On 13 August 2009, a privately owned Yakovlev Yak-18T (registration ZU-BHR) performed an emergency landing on the then unfinished runway due to a fuel contamination issue, becoming the first aircraft to land at KSIA.
On 5 August 2012, a 1time Airline McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (registration ZS-OPZ) operating flight T6-653 from Durban to Cape Town International Airport suffered an engine failure to the right-hand engine on the initial climb out of Durban. The crew successfully returned to Durban on the remaining engine with no injuries reported. Debris from the failed engine caused the runway to be closed for 3 hours, resulting in numerous flight delays.
On 29 August 2016, A Qatar Airways Boeing 787-8, registration A7-BDB performing flight QR-1367 from Doha to Durban via Johannesburg, was on approach to Durban's runway 06 when a bird impacted the nose of the aircraft. The aircraft continued to make a safe landing on the runway. The aircraft remained on the ground for 31 hours.
== Accolades ==
2011 – 3rd Best Airport in Africa of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International
2012 – 2nd Best Airport in Africa of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International
2013 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling under 5 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2014 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2014 – 2nd Best Airport in World Handling under 5 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2014 – 3rd Best Domestic Airport in World of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2015 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling under 5 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2015 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2015 – 3rd Best Domestic Airport in World of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2015 – 4th Best Regional Airport in World of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2015 – 2nd Best Airport in Africa of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International
2016 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2016 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling under 5 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2016 – 2nd Best Airport in Africa of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International
2017 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2017 – 2nd Best Airport in World Handling between 5 & 10 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2017 – 1st Best Airport Staff in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2018 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2018 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling between 5 & 10 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2019 – 2nd Best Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2019 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling between 5 & 10 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Award
2019 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2019 – 1st Best Airport Staff in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2025 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
== References ==
== External links ==
Media related to King Shaka International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
King Shaka International Airport page on the ACSA website
Dube Tradeport Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Melville_Broughton#:~:text=Joseph%20Melville%20Broughton%20Jr.,office%20approximately%20two%20months%20later. | J. Melville Broughton | Joseph Melville Broughton Jr. (November 17, 1888 – March 6, 1949) was an American politician who served as the 60th governor of North Carolina from 1941 to 1945. He later briefly served as a United States senator from January 3, 1949, until his death in office approximately two months later.
== Early life and education ==
Broughton was born on November 17, 1888, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He graduated from Wake Forest College, where he also played football, in 1910. Broughton attended Harvard Law School then worked as a school principal and journalist before actively entering the legal profession.
== Political career ==
He served in the North Carolina Senate from 1927 to 1929. He later served one term as governor from 1941 to 1945. Identified with progressive politics, as characterized by his support of the social justice legislation of the Roosevelt Administration, a number of reforms were carried out during his term as governor. One of his major legacies was the extension of the public school term from six to nine months.
The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources describes Broughton as the typical white moderate of the time. Broughton advocated for the improvement of the lives of African Americans, such as equalizing the salaries of black and white teachers and improving their housing. In one instance, Broughton even helped stop a lynching and then punish the leaders of the mob.
In August 1941, Broughton deployed the North Carolina National Guard to protect Cy Winstead, a black man accused of raping a white woman, after Winstead was nearly lynched in Roxboro, North Carolina. Afterwards, Broughton had the police investigate the mobs, expressing interest in punishing the ringleaders. Ten white men was charged. To local shock, five of the men, Coy Harris, A.P. Spriggs, P.I. Holt, Johnny Holt, and Willie Aiken were found guilty on April 24, 1942. A jury acquitted them of the more serious charge of inciting to riot, but found them guilty of unlawful assembly for an unlawful purpose, a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison. Harris and Spriggs were each sentenced to 18 months in the county jail, while the other three were sentenced to 12 months in the county jail. The jury had recommended mercy for the Colt brothers, whereas Aiken was the only defendant who did not deny his guilt. The verdict shocked the public, which had been sympathetic to the mob. In June 1942, 2,000 people submitted a petition demanding the parole or pardon of those convicted. Harris, Spriggs, P.L. Holt, and Aiken were paroled on July 23, 1942. Johnny Holt was denied parole since he was the prime suspect in a robbery in California. He was paroled some time between then and 1943, and all six men were discharged from parole in September 1943. Winstead himself later pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit rape and was sentenced to two and a half years to five years in prison. In February 1943, the Person County chapter of the NAACP petitioned for his parole, expressing doubt over Winstead's guilt. However, Winstead refused to apply for parole, finding the conditions to be too strict.
Nevertheless, Broughton resisted threats to segregation. In 1942, he urged African Americans not to start making demands at home as a result of World War II:
"Negroes are ill-advised if they take the position they are for victory in this war if something is to be done for them. Negroes should put their full energy into the war effort, for failure means slavery of the worst sort for white and Negro alike. The man or woman who uses this emergency as a means of stirring up strife between the races is not a friend to either race and is not a good American."
In 1943, Broughton wrote, "We believe in a policy of purity and high standard as to both races and we recognize the principle that race distinction does not imply race discrimination." He spurned criticism from the NAACP and claimed that racism had no impact on North Carolina's judicial system.
Broughton was among twelve nominated at the 1944 Democratic National Convention to serve as Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in the presidential election that year.
== Tenure in Senate ==
In 1948, Broughton was elected to the United States Senate, after defeating William B. Umstead, an appointed incumbent, in the Democratic primary. In November, Broughton won both a special election to complete the Senate term and an election for a full term. He took office on December 31, 1948, but his service in the Senate was brief.
Appearing healthy, Broughton suddenly collapsed from a heart attack and died in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 1949. Governor W. Kerr Scott appointed Frank Porter Graham to fill his vacant office until the next election.
== Family ==
Joseph Melville Broughton, Jr. was the son of Joseph Melville Broughton and Sallie Harris. He married Alice Willson in 1916, they had four children. He was the nephew of Needham B. Broughton and a first cousin of Carrie Lougee Broughton. He was also a first cousin of medical doctor and Baptist minister Len G. Broughton. Broughton and his wife lived in the Jolly-Broughton House, a Georgian Revival mansion located in Raleigh's Hayes Barton Historic District, before and after living in the North Carolina Executive Mansion. He was interred at Montlawn Memorial Park in Raleigh.
== Legacy ==
In 1959, the State Hospital at Morganton for psychiatric patients was renamed Broughton Hospital in his memory. In addition, Broughton Hall at North Carolina State University was named in his honor.
He was a member of Civitan International.
== See also ==
List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)
== References ==
=== Works cited ===
Eamon, Tom (2014). The Making of a Southern Democracy: North Carolina Politics from Kerr Scott to Pat McCrory. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9781469606972. - View profile at Google Books
== External links ==
United States Congress. "BROUGHTON, Joseph Melville (id: B000894)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. at Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
National Governors Association biography
North Carolina Historical Marker Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
NCPedia - Joseph Melville Broughton |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Juv%C3%A9nal_Habyarimana_and_Cyprien_Ntaryamira | Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira | On the evening of 6 April 1994, the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutu, was shot down with surface-to-air missiles as their jet prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda; both were killed. The assassination set in motion the Rwandan genocide, one of the bloodiest events of the late 20th century.
Responsibility for the attack is disputed. Most theories propose as suspects either the Tutsi rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) or government-aligned Hutu Power followers opposed to negotiation with the RPF.
== Background ==
In 1990, the Rwandan Civil War began when the Rwandan Patriotic Front, dominated by the Tutsi ethnic group, invaded northern Rwanda from Uganda. Most of the RPF fighters were either refugees or the sons of refugees who had fled ethnic purges by the Hutu government during the Rwandan revolution. The attempt to overthrow the government failed, though the RPF was able to maintain control of a border region. As it became clear that the war had reached a stalemate, the sides began peace negotiations in May 1992, which resulted in the signing in August 1993 of the Arusha Accords to create a power-sharing government.
The war radicalized the internal opposition. The RPF's show of force intensified support for the "Hutu Power" ideology. Hutu Power portrayed the RPF as an alien force intent on reinstating the Tutsi monarchy and enslaving the Hutus, a prospect which must be resisted at all costs. This ideology was embraced most wholeheartedly by the Coalition for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) who advocated racist principles known as the Hutu Ten Commandments. This political force led to the collapse of the first Habyarimana government in July 1993, when Prime Minister Dismas Nsengiyaremye criticized the president in writing for delaying a peace agreement. Habyarimana, a member of the MRND political party, dismissed Nsengiyarmye and appointed 'Madame' Agathe Uwilingiyimana, who was perceived to be less sympathetic to the RPF, in his stead. The main opposition parties refused to support Madame Agathe's appointment, each splitting into two factions: one calling for the unwavering defense of Hutu Power and the other, labeled "moderate", that sought a negotiated settlement to the war. As Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana was unable to form a coalition government, ratification of the Arusha Accords was impossible. The most extreme of the Hutu parties, the CDR, which openly called for ethnic cleansing of the Tutsi, was entirely unrepresented in the Accords.
The security situation deteriorated throughout 1993. Armed Hutu militias attacked Tutsis throughout the country, while high-ranking adherents of Hutu Power began to consider how the security forces might be turned to genocide. In February 1994, Roméo Dallaire, the head of the military force attached to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), which had been sent to observe the implementation of the Arusha Accords, informed his superiors, "Time does seem to be running out for political discussions, as any spark on the security side could have catastrophic consequences."
In the United Nations Security Council, early April 1994 saw a sharp disagreement between the United States and the non-permanent members of the council over UNAMIR. Despite a classified February Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analysis predicting half a million deaths if the Arusha process failed, the U.S. was attempting to reduce its international commitments in the wake of the Somalia debacle and lobbied to end the mission. A compromise extending UNAMIR's mandate for three more months was finally reached on the evening of Tuesday, 5 April. Meanwhile, Habyarimana was finishing regional travel. On 4 April, he had flown to Zaire to meet with president Mobutu Sese Seko and on 6 April flew to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for a one-day regional summit for heads of state convened by Tanzanian President Ali Hassan Mwinyi. For the return trip, Habyarimana offered to take Saleh Tambwe, Tanzania's Ambassador to Rwanda, with him back to Rwanda. He then extended the offer to President of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira. Ntaryamira accepted, preferring Habyarimana's faster Dassault Falcon 50 to his own transport. Several Burundian ministers joined the president on the flight. As a result of this new arrangement, Tambwe was not brought onboard to make room for the Burundian entourage.
According to interim Prime Minister Jean Kambanda's testimony to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), President Mobutu of neighboring Zaire (now DRC) had warned Habyarimana not to go to Dar es Salaam on 6 April. Mobutu reportedly said this warning had come from a very senior official in the Élysée Palace in Paris. There was a link between this warning, said Mobutu, and the subsequent suicide in the Élysée of François de Grossouvre, a senior high-ranking official who was working for President François Mitterrand and who killed himself on 7 April after learning about the downing of the Falcon.
== Missile attack ==
Shortly before 8:20 pm local time (18:20 UTC), the presidential jet circled once around Kigali International Airport before coming in for final approach in clear skies. A weekly flight by a Belgian C-130 Hercules carrying UNAMIR troops returning from leave had been scheduled to land before the presidential jet, but was waved off to give the president priority.
A surface-to-air missile struck one of the wings of the Dassault Falcon, then a second missile hit its tail. The plane erupted into flames in mid-air before crashing into the garden of the presidential palace, exploding on impact. The plane carried three French crew and nine passengers.
The attack was witnessed by numerous people. One of two Belgian officers in the garden of a house in Kanombe, the district in which the airport is located, saw and heard the first missile climb into the sky, saw a red flash in the sky and heard an aircraft engine stopping, followed by another missile. He immediately called Major de Saint-Quentin, part of the French team attached to the Rwandan para-commando battalion (Commandos de recherche et d'action en profondeur), who advised him to organize protection for his Belgian comrades. Similarly, another Belgian officer stationed in an unused airport control tower saw the lights of an approaching aircraft, a light traveling upward from the ground and the aircraft lights going out. This was followed by a second light rising from the same place as the first and the plane turning into a falling ball of fire. This officer immediately radioed his company commander, who confirmed with the operational control tower that the plane was the presidential aircraft.
A Rwandan soldier in the military camp in Kanombe recalled:
You know, its engine sound was different from other planes; that is, the president's engine's sound ... We were looking towards where the plane was coming from, and we saw a projectile and we saw a ball of flame or flash and we saw the plane go down; and I saw it. I was the leader of the bloc so I asked the soldiers to get up and I told them "Get up because Kinani [a Kinyarwanda nickname for Habyarimana meaning 'famous' or 'invincible'] has been shot down." They told me, "You are lying." I said, "It's true." So I opened my wardrobe, I put on my uniform and I heard the bugle sound.
A Rwandan officer cadet at the airport who was listening to the Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines heard the announcer state that the presidential jet was coming in to land. The spoken broadcast stopped suddenly in favor of a selection of classical music.
=== Victims ===
All twelve aboard the Falcon were killed. They were:
Juvénal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda
Cyprien Ntaryamira, President of Burundi
Bernard Ciza, Burundian Minister of Public Works
Cyriaque Simbizi, Burundian Minister of Communication
Major General Déogratias Nsabimana, Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army
Major Thaddée Bagaragaza, responsible for the maison militaire of the Rwandan president
Colonel Elie Sagatwa, member of the special secretariat of the Rwandan president, Chief of the Military Cabinet of the Rwandan president
Juvénal Renzaho, foreign affairs advisor to the Rwandan president
Dr. Emmanuel Akingeneye, personal physician to the Rwandan president
French aircraft crew:
Jacky Héraud (pilot)
Jean-Pierre Minaberry (co-pilot)
Jean-Michel Perrine (flight engineer)
== Immediate reaction ==
=== Rwanda ===
Chaos ensued on the ground. Presidential Guards, who had been waiting to escort the president home from the airport, threatened people with their weapons. Twenty Belgian peacekeepers who had been stationed along the perimeter of the airport were surrounded by the Presidential Guard and some were disarmed. The airport was closed and the circling Belgian Hercules was diverted to Nairobi.
In Camp Kanombe the bugle call immediately after the crash was taken by soldiers to mean that the Rwandan Patriotic Front had attacked the camp. The soldiers rushed to their units' armories to equip themselves. Soldiers of the paracommando brigade Commandos de recherche et d'action en profondeur assembled on the parade ground at around 9:00 pm while members of other units gathered elsewhere in the camp. At least one witness stated that about an hour after the crash there was the sound of gunfire in Kanombe. Munitions explosions at Camp Kanombe were also initially reported.
The senior officer for the Kigali operational zone called the Ministry of Defence with the news. Defence Minister Augustin Bizimana was out of the country, and the officer who took the call failed to reach Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, the director of the office of the minister of defence, who was apparently at a reception given by UNAMIR's Bangladeshi officers.
The news of the crash, initially reported as an explosion of UNAMIR's ammunition dump, was quickly relayed to UNAMIR Force Commander Dallaire. He ordered UNAMIR Kigali sector commander Luc Marchal to send a patrol to the crash site. Numerous people began calling UNAMIR seeking information, including Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and Lando Ndasingwa. Uwilingiyimana informed Dallaire that she was trying to gather her cabinet but many ministers were afraid to leave their families. She also reported that all of the hardline ministers had disappeared. Dallaire asked the prime minister if she could confirm that it was the president's plane that had crashed, and called UNAMIR political head Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh to inform him of developments. Uwilingiyimana called back to confirm that it was the president's jet and he was presumed to be on board. She also asked for UNAMIR help in regaining control of the political situation, as she was legally next in the line of succession, but some moderate ministers allied to her had already begun fleeing their homes, fearing for their safety.
At 9:18 pm, Presidential Guards whom a UNAMIR report described as "nervous and dangerous" established a roadblock near the Hotel Méridien. Several other roadblocks had been set up prior to the attack as part of security preparations for Habyarimana's arrival. The patrol of UNAMIR Belgian soldiers sent to investigate the crash site was stopped at a Presidential Guards roadblock at 9:35 pm, disarmed and sent to the airport.
The para-commando brigade was ordered to collect bodies from the crash site and UN peacekeepers were prevented from accessing the site. Akingeneye was quickly recovered, but most of the corpses were damaged beyond immediate recognition. Habyarimana was identified lying in a flowerbed at about 21:30 on 6 April, while Ntaryamira was recognised at about 03:00 on 7 April. One Rwandan advisor was identified after his wife told the search party what clothes he had been wearing. The last to be identified were those of the French aircrew, discovered at dawn outside of the palace gardens. The bodies were taken into the Presidential Palace living room. Plans were initially made to take them to the hospital, but the renewal of conflict made this difficult and instead the two presidents' bodies were stored in a freezer at a nearby army barracks. Two French soldiers arrived at the crash and asked to be given the flight data recorder once it was recovered. The whereabouts of the flight data recorder were later unknown. The French military contacted Dallaire and offered to investigate the crash, which Dallaire refused immediately.
A Rwandan colonel who called the army command about 40 minutes after the crash was told that there was no confirmation that the president was dead. About half an hour later, roughly 9:30, the situation was still confused at army command, though it appeared clear that the presidential aircraft had exploded and had probably been hit by a missile. News arrived that Major-General Déogratias Nsabimana, the army chief of staff, had been on the plane. The officers present realized that they would have to appoint a new chief of staff in order to clarify the chain of command and began a meeting to decide whom to appoint. Col. Bagosora joined them soon afterward. At about 10:00 pm, Ephrem Rwabalinda, the government liaison officer to UNAMIR, called Dallaire to inform him that a crisis committee was about to meet. After informing his superiors in New York City of the situation, Dallaire went to attend the meeting, where he found Bagosora in charge.
=== Burundi ===
Observers feared that President Ntaryamira's death would lead to widespread violence in Burundi, as had happened when his predecessor, Melchior Ndadaye, was assassinated during a coup attempt in October 1993. However, unlike in Rwanda, the situation in Burundi remained peaceful. The Burundian government declared that the plane crash was caused by an accident and President of the National Assembly Sylvestre Ntibantunganya made a broadcast on television, flanked by the minister of defence and the army chief of staff, appealing for calm. Several hundred Tutsis marched through the capital to celebrate the deaths of the presidents. Diplomats reported that most Burundians believed that the assassination targeted Habyarimana, not Ntaryamira. On 16 April a requiem mass was held for Ntaryamira at the Regina Mundi Cathedral in Bujumbura, attended by thousands of people, and he and his two ministers were subsequently buried in a state funeral. Ntibantunganya succeeded Ntaryamira as President of Burundi. He believed that Ntaryamira's death was "by the facts of circumstance" and that he was not targeted.
=== International ===
In response to the assassination, President Mwinyi declared three days of national mourning in Tanzania and sent messages of condolence to the Rwandan government, Burundian government, and the deceased presidents' families. He wrote in his memoirs that the Tanzanian government was "shocked" by the downing of the plane. A group of about 70 Rwandans and Burundians at the New Mwanza Hotel celebrated the assassination, leading Prime Minister John Malecela to order their arrest. This action was countermanded by the attorney general, who stated that their actions were not illegal.
A mourning period was also set up in Zaire.
President of the UN Security Council Colin Keating appealed for peace in Rwanda and Burundi and sent condolences to the families of the late presidents.
== Aftermath ==
At some point following the 6 April assassination, Juvenal Habyarimana's remains were obtained by president Mobutu of Zaire and stored in a private mausoleum in Gbadolite, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). Mobutu promised Habyarimana's family that his body would eventually be given a proper burial in Rwanda. On 12 May 1997, as Laurent-Désiré Kabila's ADFL rebels were advancing on Gbadolite, Mobutu had the remains flown by cargo plane to Kinshasa where they waited on the tarmac of N'djili Airport for three days. On 16 May, the day before Mobutu fled Zaire, Habyarimana's remains were cremated under the supervision of an Indian Hindu leader. The Hindu leader's presence reflected the need to cremate the body and Mobutu's insistence some form of religious ceremony was performed rather than Habyarimana's own religion.
== Investigations ==
=== Launch site ===
Two prominent investigations, which have been internationally recognized, have identified the Kanombe barracks as the likely source of the missile. In 2010, the "Mutsinzi Report" carried out by Rwandan officials in collaboration with British ballistics experts from the Royal Military Academy, identified a small area, which included a portion of the airport, the Kanombe camp, and a small area near the presidential residence, as the launch site. In January 2012, a French report was made public with similar findings.
Despite these reports, some have continued to cast doubt on this conclusion. These uncertainties stem from immediate assessments of the situation. French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière had led an inquiry in 2004 which accused the RPF of shooting down the plane from Masaka Hill, but it was found to be based on the testimonies of witnesses who were not regarded as credible. A Belgian inquiry in 1994 concluded that the missile had been fired from Masaka Hill, but that "it would have been virtually impossible for a rebel soldier to have reached Masaka carrying missiles." The base was controlled by FAR forces, including the Presidential Guard and the para-commando battalion, and the Anti-Aircraft Battalion (LAA) were also based there. This report was widely reported to exonerate the RPF, although it did not actually do that, according to Filip Reyntjens.
=== Responsibility ===
While initial suspicion fell upon the Hutu extremists who carried out the subsequent genocide, there have been several reports since 2000 stating that the attack was carried out by the RPF on the orders of Paul Kagame, who went on to become president of Rwanda. All such evidence is heavily disputed and many academics, as well as the United Nations, have refrained from issuing a definitive finding. Mark Doyle, a BBC News correspondent who reported from Kigali through the 1994 genocide, noted in 2006 that the identities of the assassins "could turn out to be one of the great mysteries of the late 20th century."
A now-declassified US Department of State intelligence report from 7 April 1994 reports an unidentified source telling the US ambassador in Rwanda that "rogue Hutu elements of the military—possibly the elite presidential guard—were responsible for shooting down the plane." This conclusion was supported by other U.S. agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, which reported on 9 May that "It is believed that the plane crash [...] was actually an assassination conducted by Hutu military hardliners.". Philip Gourevitch, in his 1998 book on the genocide, framed the thinking of the time:
Although Habyarimana's assassins have never been positively identified, suspicion has focused on the extremists in his entourage—notably the semiretired Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, an intimate of Madame Habyarimana, and a charter member of the akazu and its death squads, who said in January 1993 that he was preparing an apocalypse.
The 1997 report of the Belgian Senate stated that there was not enough information to determine specifics about the assassination. A 1998 report by the National Assembly of France posited two probable explanations. One is that the attack was carried out by groups of Hutu extremists, distressed by the advancement of negotiations with the RPF, the political and military adversary of the current regime, while the other is that it was the responsibility of the RPF, frustrated at the lack of progress in the Arusha Accords. Among the other hypotheses that were examined is one that implicates the French military, although there is no clear motive for a French attack on the Rwandan government. The 1998 French report made no determination between the two dominant theories. A 2000 report by the Organisation of African Unity does not attempt to determine responsibility.
A January 2000 article in the National Post reported that Louise Arbour, the chief prosecutor for the ICTR, had terminated an investigation into the shootdown after three Tutsi informants came forward in 1997 with detailed accusations against Paul Kagame and the RPF, claiming that they had been members of an "elite strike team" responsible for the downing. One of the three whistleblowers was Jean-Pierre Mugabe, who issued a declaration on the shootdown in April 2000. Following the National Post's article, a three-page memorandum written by investigator Michael Hourigan was sent to the ICTR where defense attorneys had requested it. Hourigan later stated that investigation into the shootdown had been clearly within his mandate and that he was "astounded" when Arbour made an about-face and told him it was not. This sequence of events was confirmed by Hourigan's boss, Jim Lyons, a former FBI agent who headed the so-called National Investigative Team. Lyons believes Arbour was acting on orders to shut down the investigation. An investigation by Luc Reydams concluded that there was no evidence of such orders. Reydams argued that the decision to shut down the investigation was "based on an assessment of the concrete conditions at the time" and that "any responsible Prosecutor would have concluded that pursuing the investigation would be futile and dangerous."
Arbour later stated that "It was my decision and my decision alone". According to Arbour, the OTP in Kigali was in a very difficult situation at the time:
We did not want to invest substantial resources only to have a judge refuse to confirm an indictment for lack of jurisdiction. I was not persuaded that the shooting down of the plane would in law constitute a war crime or a crime against humanity. It would be difficult to construe it as an act of genocide unless it was perpetrated by the leaders of the genocide to act as a trigger for the mass mobilization that followed. The situation was different fifteen years later. With all the high profile RPF defections and incriminating statements, it might have been possible to mount a case. [....] From a legal angle, it is not so much the shooting down of the plane that is of interest, but allegations of actions by the RPF that would have constituted crimes against humanity during the period of time (1994) over which the tribunal had jurisdiction. During my time at ICTR, we always assumed that this work would have to be done, but that we would have to be very cautious about how to proceed, preferably by working from outside the country. I understand however that from a historical perspective, the shooting of the plane will continue to be a great focus of speculation if there is no closure.
In 1998, the French anti-terrorist magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière opened an investigation into the shootdown on behalf of the families of the French aircraft crew. On the basis of hundreds of interviews, Bruguière concluded that the assassination had been carried out on the orders of Paul Kagame, and issued arrest warrants against nine of Kagame's aides in 2006. In protest, Rwanda broke diplomatic relations with France. In November 2008 the German government implemented the first of these European warrants by arresting Rose Kabuye, Kagame's chief of protocol, upon her arrival in Frankfurt.
One of Bruguière's witnesses was Abdul Ruzibiza, a former lieutenant in the RPF who claimed that he was part of a cell that carried out the assassination with shoulder-fired SA-16 missiles. Days after the substance of Bruguière's report was leaked in 2004, Ruzibaza published his testimony in a press release, detailing his account and further accusing the RPF of starting the conflict, prolonging the genocide, carrying out widespread atrocities during the genocide and political repression. The former RPF officer published a book in 2005 with his account (Rwanda. L'histoire secrete), and testified under oath before the ICTR in 2006. The scholar René Lemarchand wrote about the book that "The careful marshalling of the evidence, the remarkably precise information concerning who did what, where, and when, the author's familiarity with the operational code of the RPF, leave few doubts in the reader's mind about Kagame's responsibility in triggering the event that led to the bloodshed." In November 2008 Ruzibiza suddenly claimed he had invented everything, but some months before his death in 2010, Ruzibiza explained that his retraction "is linked to my personal security and that of other witnesses". Yet Ruzubiza now changed his story by saying that he did not personally participate in the downing of the plane, but rather knew someone who did.
Linda Melvern wrote that Bruguière's evidence "was very sparse, and that some of it, concerning the alleged anti-aircraft missiles used to down the presidential jet, had already been rejected by a French Parliamentary enquiry." A 2007 article by Colette Braeckman in Le Monde Diplomatique strongly questions the reliability of Judge Bruguière's report and suggests the direct involvement of French military personnel acting for or with the Presidential Guard of the Rwanda governmental forces in the missile attack on the aircraft. In a 2007 interview with the BBC, Kagame said he would co-operate with an impartial inquiry "carried out by a judge who had nothing to do with Rwanda or France". The BBC concluded, "Whether any judge would want to take on such a task is quite another matter."
Paul Rusesabagina, a Rwandan of mixed Hutu and Tutsi origin whose life-saving efforts was the basis of the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, has supported the allegation that Kagame and the RPF were behind the plane downing, and wrote in November 2006 that it "defies logic" that the UN Security Council had not ordered an investigation, as it had done following the far less consequential assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005.
In February 2008, a 182-page indictment and international arrest warrants were issued against 40 current or former high-ranking Rwandan military officials of the Rwandan Patriotic Army/Rwandan Defence Forces by the Spanish Investigative Judge Fernando Andreu of the Audiencia Nacional. They were charged with a number of serious crimes between 1990 and 2002, including the shootdown of Habyarimana's plane. Unlike the French judicial enquiry, Andreu's indictment was in part based on the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Kagame also ordered the formation of a commission of Rwandans that was "charged with assembling proof of the involvement of France in the genocide". The commission issued its report to Kagame in November 2007 and its head, Jean de Dieu Mucyo, stated that the commission would now "wait for President Kagame to declare whether the inquiry was valid".
In January 2010, the Rwandan government released the "Report of the Investigation into the Causes and Circumstances of and Responsibility for the Attack of 06/04/1994 Against The Falcon 50 Rwandan Presidential Aeroplane Registration Number 9XR-NN," known as the Mutsinzi Report. The multivolume report implicates proponents of Hutu Power in the attack. Philip Gourevitch noted "two months ago, on the day after Rwanda's admission to the Commonwealth, France and Rwanda reestablished normal diplomatic relations. Before that happened, of course, the Rwandans had shared the about-to-be-released Mutsinzi report with the French. The normalization of relations amounts to France's acceptance of the report's conclusions."
== Legacy ==
Ntaryamira's death is commemorated by the Burundian government on 6 April of each year. The death of the Burundian president and two of his ministers in the plane shootdown has generally been overshadowed in public memory by Habyarimana's death and the subsequent Rwandan genocide.
== See also ==
List of heads of state and government who died in aviation accidents and incidents
List of heads of state and government who were assassinated or executed
List of political conspiracies
List of unsolved murders (1980–1999)
== Notes ==
== References ==
== Sources ==
Dallaire, Roméo; Beardsley, Brent (2003). Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-1487-5.
Gaillard, Philippe; Barrada, Hamid (28 April 1994). "Le récit en direct de la famille Habyarimana". Jeune Afrique (in French). No. 1738. pp. 12–19.
Mamdani, Mahmood (2001). When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-10280-5.
Melvern, Linda (2004). Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide. New York: Verso. ISBN 0-312-30486-2.
== External links ==
Video Animation of the Crash - Synopsis of findings from Rwanda's Mutsinzi Report: Government of Rwanda Media Guide to the Committee of Experts Investigation of 6 April 1994 Crash of President Habyarimana's Dassault Falcon-50 Aircraft
Reyntjens, Filip (2020). "The RPF did it : a fresh look at the 1994 plane attack that ignited genocide in Rwanda - University of Antwerp". Working Papers. Institute of Development Policy and Management. ISSN 2294-8643. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghulam_Nabi_Wani | Ghulam Nabi Wani | Ghulam Nabi Wani Sogami (O2 January 1916 - 23 July 1981) was an Indian politician from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He was the grandfather of Nasir Aslam Wani. Born in Sogam Lolab, Wani represented the Lolab Valley constituency of Kupwara district, as an MLA from 1951 to 1977.
== Ministry ==
Sogami was a Minister in Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad's Cabinet. He was a Cabinet Minister for Forests, Industries & Commerce, and Rural Development.
Sogami died in the Rajbagh neighborhood of Srinagar, India on 23 July, 1981.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokernag | Kokernag | Kokernag (Urdu pronunciation: [koːkərnɑːɡ] ; Kashmiri pronunciation: [kɔkarnaːɡ]) is a sub-district, town and a notified area committee in the Breng Valley (also known as the Golden Crown of Kashmir) of Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The place is known for its botanical gardens, pristine freshwater springs, and rainbow trout farm. It is 25.3 km from Anantnag District via NH244. It is one of the most popular weekend getaways from the state capital of Srinagar.
== Etymology ==
The etymology of the word 'Kokernag' (Kashmiri: کۄکرناگ) is controversial and there are various theories, none of which has any conclusive historical proof. One theory is that the name derives from the two words koker and nag. Koker has been taken from a Kashmiri word for chicken, while nag has been taken from a Sanskrit word for springs. The springs gush out of the base of a thickly wooded hill from where it divides into channels, which resembles the claw-foot of a hen, hence the name. A second theory is that Koker means 'fowl' and nag means 'serpent'. Yet another theory is that the word Kokernag originates from Koh (Mountain) kan (from or under) nag (spring).
Kokernag is known also as Breng Kokernag, the name given by poet and scholar Shiekh ul Alam. He said "kokernag breng chu sunsund preng" which means that "Kokernag is crown of gold". Kokernag is also mentioned in Ain Akbari, wherein it has been mentioned that the water of Kokernag satisfies both hunger and thirst and it is also a remedy for indigestion.
== Geography ==
Kokernag is at an altitude of approximately 2,000 m above sea level. Towns situated around Kokernag are Wangam, Devalgam, Hangalgund, Nagam, Sagam, Zalengam, Magam, and Soaf Shali. The total area of the Kokernag trout farm is about 400 kanals, of which 129 kanals are for gardens and area.
=== Climate ===
== Economy ==
It is known for its trout streams and the largest fresh water spring in Kashmir. The trout hatchery department has constructed pools in series in which trout is reared. The Trout Fish Farming Project Kokernag through European Economic Community Assistance was established in 1984 and serves as the mother unit for production of quality Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout. Under the extension program of this project, 59 trout rearing units/hatcheries have been established in almost all the districts of the state, including Leh and Kargil. More new trout rearing units are also coming up. The trout is made readily available to the common man at all the rearing units of the department, including a special sale outlet at Gagribal.
The state's first rural mart has been set up in Kokernag to promote and market the handicraft products manufactured by the local women self help groups, by NABARD.
== Demographics ==
According to the 2011 India census, Kokernag had a population of 6,553. Males constitute 68% of the population and females constitute 32% of the population. Kokernag has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 77%, female literacy is 33%. In Kokernag, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.
== Transportation ==
=== Road ===
Kokernag is situated at a distance of about 25 km from Anantnag on the right side of NH 244. The easiest and most comfortable means of transportation is to hire a Sumo at Anantnag. One can also catch a local bus that is easily available in Anantnag and head towards Kokernag. It takes about one hour to reach Kokernag.
=== Rail ===
The nearest railway station is Anantnag railway station on the 119 km long Kashmir Railway that runs from Baramulla to Banihal. It lies at a distance of 30 km from Kokernag.
=== Air ===
The nearest airport is Srinagar International Airport, located 85 kilometres from Kokernag.
== See also ==
Jammu and Kashmir
Anantnag
Bijbehara
Kishtwar
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_Progress | Century of Progress | A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), celebrated the city's centennial. Designed largely in Art Deco style, the theme of the fair was technological innovation, and its motto was "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms", trumpeting the message that science and American life were wedded. Its architectural symbol was the Sky Ride, a transporter bridge perpendicular to the shore on which one could ride from one side of the fair to the other.
One description of the fair noted that the world, "then still mired in the malaise of the Great Depression, could glimpse a happier not-too-distant future, all driven by innovation in science and technology". Fair visitors saw the latest wonders in rail travel, automobiles, architecture and even cigarette-smoking robots. The exposition "emphasized technology and progress, a utopia, or perfect world, founded on democracy and manufacturing."
== Context ==
A Century of Progress was organized as an Illinois nonprofit corporation in January 1928 for the purpose of planning and hosting a World's Fair in Chicago in 1934. City officials designated three and a half miles of newly reclaimed land along the shore of Lake Michigan between 12th and 39th streets on the Near South Side for the fairgrounds. Held on a 427 acres (1.73 km2) portion of Burnham Park, the $37,500,000 (equal to $910,893,316 today) exposition was formally opened on May 27, 1933, by U.S. Postmaster General James Farley at a four-hour ceremony at Soldier Field. The fair's opening night began with a nod to the heavens. Lights were automatically activated when the rays of the star Arcturus were detected. The star was chosen as its light had started its journey at about the time of the previous Chicago world's fair—the World's Columbian Exposition—in 1893. The rays were focused on photoelectric cells in a series of astronomical observatories and then transformed into electrical energy which was transmitted to Chicago.
== Exhibits ==
The fair buildings were multi-colored, to create a "Rainbow City" as compared to the "White City" of Chicago's earlier World's Columbian Exposition. The buildings generally followed Moderne architecture in contrast to the neoclassical themes used at the 1893 fair. One famous feature of the fair were the performances of fan dancer Sally Rand. Hal Pearl then known as "Chicago's Youngest Organist" and later "The King of the Organ" was the official organist of the fair. Mary Ann McArdle and her sister Isabel (from the UK) performed Irish Dancing. Other popular exhibits were the various auto manufacturers, the Midway (filled with nightclubs such as the Old Morocco, where future stars Judy Garland, the Cook Family Singers, and the Andrews Sisters performed), and a recreation of important scenes from Chicago's history. The fair also contained exhibits that may seem shocking to modern audiences, including offensive portrayals of African Americans, a "Midget City" complete with "sixty Lilliputians", and an exhibition of incubators containing real babies.
The fair included an exhibit on the history of Chicago. In the planning stages, several African American groups from the city's newly growing population campaigned for Jean Baptiste Point du Sable to be honored at the fair. At the time, few Chicagoans had even heard of Point du Sable, and the fair's organizers presented the 1803 construction of Fort Dearborn as the city's historical beginning. The campaign was successful, and a replica of Point du Sable's cabin was presented as part of the "background of the history of Chicago". Also on display was the "Lincoln Group" of reconstructions of buildings associated with the biography of Abraham Lincoln, including his birth cabin, the Lincoln-Berry General Store, the Chicago Wigwam (in reduced scale), and the Rutledge Tavern which served as a restaurant.
Admiral Byrd's polar expedition ship the City of New York was visited by President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he came to the fair on October 2, 1933. The City was on show for the full length of the exhibition.
One of the highlights of the 1933 World's Fair was the arrival of the German airship Graf Zeppelin on October 26, 1933. After circling Lake Michigan near the exposition for two hours, Commander Hugo Eckener landed the 776-foot airship at the nearby Curtiss-Wright Airport in Glenview. It remained on the ground for twenty-five minutes (from 1 to 1:25 pm) then took off ahead of an approaching weather front, bound for Akron, Ohio.
The "dream cars" which American automobile manufacturers exhibited at the fair included Rollston bodywork on a Duesenberg chassis, and was called the Twenty Grand ultra-luxury sedan; Cadillac's introduction of its V-16 limousine; Nash's exhibit had a variation on the vertical (i.e., paternoster lift) parking garage—all the cars were new Nashes; Lincoln presented its rear-engined "concept car" precursor to the Lincoln-Zephyr, which went on the market in 1936 with a front engine; Pierce-Arrow presented its modernistic Pierce Silver Arrow for which it used the byline "Suddenly it's 1940!" But it was Packard which won the best of show with the reintroduction of the Packard Twelve.
An enduring exhibit was the 1933 Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition that demonstrated modern home convenience and creative practical new building materials and techniques with twelve model homes sponsored by several corporations affiliated with home decor and construction.
Marine artist Hilda Goldblatt Gorenstein painted twelve murals for the Navy's exhibit in the Federal Building for the fair. The frieze was composed of twelve murals depicting the influence of sea power on America, beginning with the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 when sea power first reached America and carrying through World War I. Another set of murals, painted for the Ohio State Exhibit by William Mark Young, was relocated afterwards to the Ohio Statehouse. Young also painted scenes of the exhibition buildings.
The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held at Comiskey Park (home of the Chicago White Sox) in conjunction with the fair.
In May 1934, the Union Pacific Railroad exhibited its first streamlined train, the M-10000, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad its famous Zephyr which, on May 26, made a record-breaking dawn-to-dusk run from Denver, Colorado, to Chicago in 13 hours and 5 minutes, called the "Dawn-to-Dusk Dash". To cap its record-breaking speed run, the Zephyr arrived dramatically on-stage at the fair's "Wings of a Century" transportation pageant. The two trains launched an era of industrial streamlining. Both trains later went into successful revenue service, the Union Pacific's as the City of Salina, and the Burlington Zephyr as the first Pioneer Zephyr. The Zephyr is now on exhibit at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.
Frank Buck furnished a wild animal exhibit, Frank Buck's Jungle Camp. Over two million people visited Buck's reproduction of the camp he and his native assistants lived in while collecting animals in Asia. After the fair closed, Buck moved the camp to a compound he had created at Amityville, New York.
== Architecture ==
Planning for the design of the Exposition began over five years prior to Opening Day. According to an official resolution, decisions regarding the site layout and the architectural style of the exposition were relegated to an architectural commission, which was led by Paul Cret and Raymond Hood. Local architects on the committee included Edward Bennett, John Holabird, and Hubert Burnham. Frank Lloyd Wright was specifically left off the commission due to his inability to work well with others, but did go on to produce three conceptual schemes for the fair. Members of this committee ended up designing most of the large, thematic exhibition pavilions.
From the beginning, the commission members shared a belief that the buildings should not reinterpret past architectural forms – as had been done at earlier fairs, such as Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition—but should instead reflect new, modern ideas, as well as suggest future architectural developments. Because the fairgrounds was on new man-made land that was owned by the state and not the city, the land was initially free from Chicago's strict building codes, which allowed the architects to explore new materials and building techniques. This allowed the design and construction of a wide array of experimental buildings, that eventually included large general exhibition halls, such as the Hall of Science (Paul Cret) and the Federal Building (Bennet, Burnham, and Holabird); corporate pavilions, including the General Motors Building (Albert Kahn) and the Sears Pavilion (Nimmons, Carr, and Wright); futuristic model houses, most popular was the twelve-sided House of Tomorrow (George Frederick Keck); as well as progressive foreign pavilions, including the Italian Pavilion (Mario de Renzi and Adalberto Libera); and historic and ethnic entertainment venues, such as the Belgian Village (Burnham Brothers with Alfons De Rijdt), and the Streets of Paris (Andrew Rebori and John W. Root) where fan dancer Sally Rand performed. These buildings were constructed out of five-ply Douglas fir plywood, ribbed-metal siding, and prefabricated boards such as Masonite, Sheetrock, Maizewood, as well as other new man-made materials. The exhibited buildings were windowless (but cheerfully lighted) buildings. Structural advances also filled the fairgrounds. These included the earliest catenary roof constructed in the United States, which roofed the dome of the Travel and Transport Building (Bennet, Burnham and Holabird) and the first thin shell concrete roof in the United States, on the small, multi-vaulted Brook Hill Farm Dairy built for the 1934 season of the fair.
== Later history ==
=== Amoebic dysentery outbreak ===
From June to November 1933, there was an outbreak of amoebic dysentery associated with the fair. There were more than a thousand cases, resulting in 98 deaths. Joel Connolly of the Chicago Bureau of Sanitary Engineering brought the outbreak to an end when he found that defective plumbing permitted sewage to contaminate drinking water in two hotels.
=== Extension ===
Originally, the fair was scheduled only to run until November 12, 1933, but it was so successful that it was opened again to run from May 26 to October 31, 1934. The fair was financed through the sale of memberships, which allowed purchases of a certain number of admissions once the park was open. More than $800,000 (equal to $18,803,980 today) was raised in this manner as the country was in the Great Depression. A $10 million bond was issued on October 28, 1929, the day before the stock market crashed. By the time the fair closed in 1933, half of these notes had been retired, with the entire debt paid by the time the fair closed in 1934. For the first time in American history, an international fair had paid for itself. In its two years, it had attracted 48,769,227 visitors. According to James Truslow Adams's Dictionary of American History, during the 170 days beginning May 27, 1933, there were 22,565,859 paid admissions; during the 163 days beginning May 26, 1934, there were 16,486,377; a total of 39,052,236.
== Legacy ==
Much of the fair site is now home to Northerly Island park (since the closing of Meigs Field) and McCormick Place. The Balbo Monument, given to Chicago by Benito Mussolini to honor General Italo Balbo's 1933 trans-Atlantic flight, still stands near Soldier Field. The city added a third red star to its flag in 1933 to commemorate the Century of Progress Exposition (the Fair is now represented by the fourth of four stars on the flag). In conjunction with the fair, Chicago's Italian-American community raised funds and donated a statue of Genoese navigator and explorer Christopher Columbus. It was placed at the south end of Grant Park, near the site of the fair.
The Polish Museum of America possesses the painting of Pulaski at Savannah by Stanisław Kaczor-Batowski, which was exhibited at the Century of Progress fair and where it won first place. After the close of the fair, the painting went on display at The Art Institute of Chicago where it was unveiled by Eleanor Roosevelt on July 10, 1934. The painting was on display at the Art Institute until its purchase by the Polish Women's Alliance on the museum's behalf.
The U.S. Post Office Department issued a special fifty-cent Air Mail postage stamp, (Scott catalogue number C-18) to commemorate the visit of the German airship depicting (l to r) the fair's Federal Building, the Graf Zeppelin in flight, and its home hangar in Friedrichshafen, Germany. This stamp is informally known as the Baby Zep to distinguish it from the much more valuable 1930 Graf Zeppelin stamps (C13–15). Separate from this issue, for the Fair the Post Office also printed 1 and 3 cent commemorative postage stamps, showing respectively Fort Dearborn and the modernistic Federal Building. These were also printed in separate souvenir sheets as blocks of 25 (catalog listings 728–31). In 1935 the sheets were reprinted (Scott 766–67).
From October 2010 through September 2011, the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. opened an exhibition titled Designing Tomorrow: America's World's Fairs of the 1930s. This exhibition prominently featured the Century of Progress fair in Chicago.
=== In popular culture ===
Nelson Algren's 1935 novel Somebody in Boots features the Chicago World's Fair of 1933–34, with the Century of Progress being described as "the brief city sprung out of the prairie and falling again into dust."
In Tennessee Williams's 1944 play, The Glass Menagerie, set during the final years of the Great Depression, Laura Wingfield's "gentleman caller", Jim O'Conner, recalls his recent trip to the Century of Progress and how the Hall of Science exhibit gave its attendees a vision of a better America that was just around the corner.
Jean Shepherd wrote about attending the Century of Progress as a boy in the 1966 book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash
Roy J. Snell, author of books for boys and girls, used Chicago, the building of the Fair site, the Fair itself -including the Sky Ride – and then certain portions of the Fair after it closed in several of his books. Publisher, Reilly & Lee. Books now in Public Domain.
Beverly Gray at the World's Fair, originally the sixth book in Clair Blank's Beverly Gray series, was published in 1935 and is set at the Century of Progress. The book was dropped when the series changed publishers due to fears that readers would find it dated, and has since become a sought after volume by collectors of the series.
In True Detective, the 1983 private eye novel by Max Allan Collins, and the first to feature his long-running character Nate Heller, Heller is hired as a security consultant by the Fair, and a good deal of the novel is set there. The suspenseful action climax takes place at the Fair. The novel went on to win the Shamus from the Private Eye Writers of America for Best Novel.
Brief footage of the fairground sideshows is used in the 1933 film Hoop-La, the plot of which revolves around the fair. It was the last film made by Clara Bow. Also shown is a panorama of the Century of Progress concourse.
In her novel The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand describes a world fair named The March of the Centuries. Despite having taken place in 1936, The March of the Centuries bears a striking similarity to the Century of Progress exposition: it, too, is designed by a group of architects; architect Howard Roark was initially invited but later denied opportunity to participate in planning (as his prototype Frank Lloyd Wright was left off the commission), the fair opened in May. Rand described the fair as "a ghastly flop" and mentioned that its only attraction was "somebody named Juanita Fay who danced with a live peacock as sole garment" (a description clearly based on Sally Rand's performance).
In Neal Stephenson's 2024 novel Polostan, the main character works as a shoe model and salesperson for a shop on the fairway that fits shoes using an X-ray machine. She sees the arrival of the Decennial Air Cruise and events in Soldier's Field.
=== Resources ===
The major archive for the Century of Progress International Exposition, including the official records from the event and the papers of Lenox Lohr, general manager of the fair, are housed in Special Collections at the University of Illinois, Chicago. A collection of materials including images is held by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago. The Century of Progress Collection includes photographs, guidebooks, brochures, maps, architectural drawings, and souvenir items. Specific collections with material include the Chicago Architects Oral History Project; the Daniel H. Burnham Jr. and Hubert Burnham Papers; Edward H. Bennett Collection; Voorhees, Gmelin, and Walker photographs.
== Gallery ==
== See also ==
List of world expositions
List of world's fairs
Century of Negro Progress Exhibition
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website of the BIE
1933/1934 Chicago World's Fair website
Chicago World's Fair: A Century of Progress International Exposition – 1933/34 in Postcards
Panoramic photograph of Century of Progress (from Library of Congress website)
Website dedicated to the 1933–1934 Century of Progress
Interactive map of the Century of Progress Fair
Photographs of Graf Zeppelin over Chicago
Century of progress Brownie camera on www.BROWNIE.camera
1933 Century of Progress Digital Collection from the University of Chicago
Burnham, Beaux-Arts, Plan of Chicago, & Fairs
Chicago Art Deco Society
Florida Pavilion – Chicago World's Fair 1933
A Century of Progress Records at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Century of Progress images from University of Illinois at Chicago digital collections
History Detectives . Investigations – Sideshow Babies | PBS
"The Miracle of Light at the World's Fair" Popular Mechanics, October 1934, pp. 497–512
"Three Little Maids draw a crowd of 10,000 at Chicago's World's Fair", Chicago Tribune, October 1933 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necocl%C3%AD#:~:text=One%20of%20Colombia's%20oldest%20towns,aviation%20airport%2C%20without%20scheduled%20flights. | Necoclí | Necoclí is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia. Located on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Urabá, it is part of the Urabá Antioquia sub-region. The population is predominantly Afro-Colombian.
It was founded as a Spanish city called San Sebastián de Buena Vista. One of Colombia's oldest towns, it was founded in 1509 by Pedro de Heredia, who died in 1555.
Some early reports of the town can be found in chapter 9 of Pedro Cieza de León's Crónica del Perú (1553).
Necoclí Airport is a general aviation airport, without scheduled flights. Buses link the town with Cartagena, the department capital of Medellín, and other points. There are scheduled launches to two towns without road access, Capurganá and Acandí, across the gulf and near the Panamanian border.
== 2021 deluge of Haitian migrants ==
The town is as close to Panama as one can get by road from the south, and serves as an impromptu staging ground for migrants attempting to cross the Gulf of Urabá to Capurganá, and from there by hiking through the Darién Gap into Panama, en route to the United States. While the population of Necoclí is about 20,000, about 25,000 migrants, 75% of which were Haitian, passed through Necoclí between January and August, 2021. The number of migrants arriving exceeded the capacity of the ferries across the Gulf of Urabá, causing extended waits for a free seat. In August 2021 there were some 10,000 migrants sleeping in hostels, churches, or on the beach. The town's water system collapsed, unable to handle the increased load. The mayor proclaimed a state of emergency ("calamidad pública").
== Demographics ==
Total population: 42,281 hab. (2018)
Urban Population: 21,995
Rural Population: 20,326
Literacy: 76.8% (2005)
Urban area: 88.6%
Rural area: 73.1%
=== Ethnography ===
According to the figures presented by DANE in the 2005 census, the ethnographic composition of the municipality is:
Afro-descendants (59.0%).
Mestizos and whites (37.5%).
Indigenous (3.5%).
== Climate ==
Necoclí has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) with moderate rainfall from January to March and heavy rainfall in the remaining months.
== See also ==
Acandí
Capurganá
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Oquendo B., Catalina (March 7, 2007). "Necoclí, la tierra a donde llegaron los conquistadores". El Tiempo (Colombia). Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Bard | Ellen Bard | Ellen M. Bard (January 11, 1949 – October 28, 2009) was an American politician serving as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Bard was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated from Pomona College in 1971. She also earned a M.S. degree from the Boston University School of Public Communication in 1972 and another M.S. from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1980. Bard was also a Marshall Scholar.
She was elected to represent Ward 7 on the Abington Township Board of Commissioners in 1990.
In 1994, after one term as a Township Commissioner, she was elected to represent the 153rd legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. During her tenure there, she has had 17 bills signed into law. During her legislative career, she was known for advocating on behalf of the Abington School District and for her work on energy and environmental issues, including her service as Chair of the Task Force on a 21st Century Energy Policy for Pennsylvania.
She left her PA House seat to run for Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district, losing the Republican primary to Melissa Brown, who went on to lose to Allyson Schwartz.
In May 2009, after her diagnosis with pancreatic cancer, she and her husband moved from Jenkintown to San Francisco to be near their daughter. She died in October 2009.
== References ==
== External links ==
Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Ellen M. Bard (Republican) at the Wayback Machine (archived February 4, 2004) official PA House profile (archived)
Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus - Ellen Bard at the Wayback Machine (archive index) - official Party website (archived) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trials_of_Mana | Trials of Mana | Trials of Mana, also known by its Japanese title Seiken Densetsu 3, is a 1995 action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the sequel to the 1993 game Secret of Mana, and is the third installment in the Mana series. Set in a high fantasy world, the game follows three heroes as they attempt to claim the legendary Mana Sword and prevent the Benevodons from being unleashed and destroying the world. It features three main plotlines and six different possible main characters, each with their own storylines, and allows two players to play simultaneously. Trials of Mana builds on the gameplay of its predecessor with multiple enhancements, including the use of a time progression system with transitions from day to night and weekday to weekday in game time, and a wide range of character classes to choose from, which provides each character with an exclusive set of skills and status progression.
The game was designed by series creator Koichi Ishii, directed by veteran Square designer Hiromichi Tanaka, and produced by Tetsuhisa Tsuruzono. Artwork was produced by manga and anime artist Nobuteru Yūki, while the music was composed by Secret of Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta. Although the game was only released in Japan at the time, English-speaking players had been able to play Trials of Mana due to an unofficial English fan translation released in 1999.
Trials of Mana received critical acclaim from reviewers, who praised the graphics as among the best ever made for the Super Famicom and the gameplay as an improved version of its predecessor's. The plot received mixed reviews by critics, who found the overlapping stories to be interesting and to enhance replayability, but the characters and plotlines themselves to be flat and clichéd. Overall, the game is considered by some critics to be a Super Famicom classic.
In June 2017, the game was included in the Seiken Densetsu Collection release for the Nintendo Switch in Japan; the collection was released in June 2019 in North America and the PAL region as Collection of Mana with Seiken Densetsu 3 titled Trials of Mana. A 3D remake of the same name was announced alongside it, and released worldwide in April 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The remake was released for Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
== Gameplay ==
Trials of Mana has similar gameplay to its predecessor, Secret of Mana. Like many other role-playing games of the 16-bit era, the game displays a top-down perspective, in which the three player characters navigate the terrain and fight off hostile creatures. Control may be passed between each of the characters at any time; the companions not currently selected are controlled by artificial intelligence. The game may be played simultaneously by two players, as opposed to the three of Secret of Mana. There are six possible player characters. At the beginning of the game, the player chooses which three of them will be playable and which one they will start with; the other two playable characters will join the party when met. The remaining three characters act as non-playable characters (NPCs) when encountered.
Each character can use one type of weapon, in addition to magical spells. The effectiveness of spells depends on the magical ability of the character and the element of the spell in relation to the enemy. When in battle mode, attacking monsters fills a gauge that allows the player to use character-specific special attacks. Upon collecting enough experience points in battle, each character can increase in level to gain improved character statistics such as strength and evasion. Options such as changing equipment, casting spells, or checking status are performed by cycling through the game's Ring Commands—a circular menu which hovers over the controlled party member. The game is paused whenever the Ring Command menu is activated. Within the Ring, the player has nine slots for storing items; additional items can be placed into item storage, which is inaccessible in combat.
Character level progression is coordinated by the player, as a choice is given as to which statistic to raise by a point at every level up. A "class" system is also present. Once a character reaches level 18, the player can visit one of several Mana Stones located throughout the game and choose to upgrade them to one of two classes for each character—either a class aligned to "Light" or a class aligned to "Dark"—which provides a different set of skills and different improvements to character statistics. A second class change may be optionally performed at level 38, again split between a light and a dark choice, if the player has obtained a required rare item for the target class. The class changes do not affect the plot of the game, only gameplay.
Trials of Mana also employs a calendar function into its gameplay. A week cycles much more quickly than an actual one, with a day passing in a matter of minutes. Each day of the week is represented by a different elemental spirit. On that spirit's day, magic of that element will be slightly stronger. An in-game day is also divided into day and night. Certain events only happen during certain times of day, such as a nighttime-only black market selling particularly rare items. Enemies encountered in the field also change during certain time periods, and some may be sleeping if the characters approach them at night. In addition, the character Kevin transforms into a werewolf when he fights at night, greatly increasing his attack power. Using an inn's services allows the player to "skip" the game's clock to that day's evening, or the following morning.
== Story ==
=== Setting ===
The story takes place in a fictional world where Mana represents an ethereal, but finite, energy source. Some time in the past, the Mana Goddess created the game's world by forging the powerful Sword of Mana and defeating eight monsters of destruction, the Benevodons—"God Beasts" in earlier translations—with it, sealing them within eight Mana Stones, before turning herself into the Mana Tree and falling asleep. The game is set at a time when Mana starts to fade and peace has ended, as several people plot to unleash the Benevodons from the stones so as to gain ultimate power. The game is not a direct sequel to the events in Secret of Mana; according to series creator Koichi Ishii in 2006, the Mana games do not take place in exactly the same world, and characters or elements that appear in different games are best considered alternate versions of each other. Instead, the connections between each title are more abstract than story-based. Despite this statement, the 2007 game Heroes of Mana is a direct prequel to Trials of Mana, taking place 19 years before the latter's story.
=== Characters ===
The characters (and their individual stories) are grouped into three main sub-plots. Duran and Angela oppose the Crimson Wizard and the Dragon Lord, Hawkeye and Riesz oppose Belladonna and the Dark Majesty, Kevin and Charlotte oppose Goremand and the Masked Mage. The main storyline is determined by the first character chosen, though there is significantly more character interaction and dialogue if the other member of the pair is also in the party.
Duran is an orphaned mercenary swordsman of Valsena, Kingdom of the Plains. His father, Loki the Golden Knight, was lost in battle with the Dragon Emperor, and his mother died of sickness soon after. One night, Duran is on guard duty at the castle of Valsena when the Crimson Wizard attacks the castle and murders several soldiers. Duran confronts him, only to be defeated easily and left for dead. After recovering, he vows to become the best swordsman in the world and to exact his revenge upon the Crimson Wizard.
Angela is the princess of the ice-covered Magic Kingdom of Altena, though she herself has little to no potential in magic unlike everyone else in the kingdom. Her mother, Queen Valda uses her magic to keep the citadel in Altena in a perpetual Spring, but the spell weakens as Mana starts to fade. To power the spell, she and her assistant the Crimson Wizard decide to invade other nations to claim their Mana Stones, though the spell to use the Stone is fatal to the caster. When the Queen tries to force Angela to use it after deeming her useless for her lack of magic, she flees from Altena and strives to become a powerful mage so that her mother would accept her again.
Kevin is the half-human prince of Ferolia. His father, Gauser the Beast King, is sick of the treatment of his people by "normal" humans. His desired revenge is made possible by the appearance of Goremand, who shows the king his abilities by forcing Kevin to awaken his werewolf abilities by killing Kevin's best friend. When Kevin confronts the Beast King on this act and the King's plans to invade the human Holy City Wendel, Kevin is thrown out of the kingdom and swears revenge. He also seeks to find a way to bring Karl back to life and learn the fate of his human mother.
Charlotte is the half-elf granddaughter of the Priest of Light in Wendel. An orphan, she is looked after by a fellow cleric, Heath. Feeling an evil influence in nearby Jadd, the Priest of Light sends Heath to investigate, but Charlotte follows to witness Goremand abduct Heath, so she decides to go out on a journey to save him.
Hawkeye is a member of a guild of noble thieves based in the desert Sand Fortress of Nevarl. The guild's leader, Lord Flamekhan, suddenly and uncharacteristically declares Nevarl to be a kingdom. Hawkeye decides to confront Flamekhan about it, only to discover he is being controlled by the witch Isabella. Isabella kills Eagle, Flamekhan's son and Hawkeye's friend, framing Hawkeye for his death and forcing him to flee.
Riesz is the princess of the mountainous Wind Kingdom of Laurent and captain of its Amazon army. Two mysterious ninjas from Nevarl trick her younger brother Elliott into turning off Laurent's protective winds and kidnap him. With the winds gone, Nevarl attacks Laurent with a cloud of sleep powder and kills its king. Devastated, Riesz makes her escape and seeks out to find her lost brother.
=== Plot ===
The story begins in a different place for each playable character. With the exception of Charlotte, the main character is soon told (or otherwise decides) to seek the advice of the Priest of Light in the Holy City Wendel. They arrive at the city of Jadd soon after the Beastmen have invaded. Due to the Beastmen's werewolf powers, they are able to make an escape by night. The main character—now including Charlotte—on the way to Wendel stays overnight in Astoria where they are woken by a bright light. Following it, it reveals itself to be a Faerie from the Sanctuary of Mana, exhausted by her journey. Out of desperation, the Faerie chooses the main character to be her host and tells them to get to Wendel. There, while they explain their grievances to the Priest of Light, the Faerie interrupts and explains that the Mana Tree is dying, and that the Sanctuary is in danger. The Priest explains that if the Tree dies, the Benevodons will reawaken and destroy the world. He goes on to explain further that, because the Faerie has chosen the main character as its host, they must travel to the Sanctuary to draw the Sword of Mana from the foot of the Mana Tree. They can then restore peace to the world, and have their wishes granted by the Mana Goddess if the sword is drawn before the Tree dies. A great deal of power is needed to open the gate to the Sanctuary. The Faerie does not have the strength to do it, and the ancient spell which would do so by unlocking the power in the Mana Stones also takes the caster's life. The Stones' guarding elemental spirits, however, will to be able to open the gate if their powers are combined.
After journeying across the world to get the spirits, meeting the other two members of the party, thwarting the invasion attempts of Nevarl and Altena, discovering the powers of the Fire and Water Mana Stones, and learning the disappearance of the Mana Stone of Darkness along the way, the main character tries to open the gate to the Sanctuary of Mana with the spirits' assistance. The first attempt fails, but the second succeeds; the Faerie realizes that it was opened because someone else released the power from all the Mana Stones. The characters travel into the Sanctuary and the main character claims the Mana Sword. It is then discovered that the main character's adversaries—the Crimson Wizard and the Darkshine Knight for Angela and Duran; Malocchio and Isabella for Riesz and Hawkeye; or Goremand and a mind-controlled Heath, for Kevin and Charlotte—have defeated the other two sets of primary enemies. The remaining adversaries capture the Faerie and will only release her in exchange for the Mana Sword. The trade is made, and once the enemy receives the Sword, the Mana Stones shatter and the Benevodons are released.
The characters must then defeat the Benevodons before they can gather and destroy the world. However, after doing this they realize killing the Benevodons has given more power to their main enemy, who were their own personal enemies were working for—the Dragon Lord for Duran and Angela, the Dark Majesty for Hawkeye and Riesz, and the Masked Mage for Kevin and Charlotte. The already powerful villain absorbs the power of the Sword of Mana and the Benevodons in order to become a god, but is halted by the Mana Goddess blocking some of its power. After defeating the villain's minions, the characters go and defeat their main enemy, but are unable to stop him from destroying the Mana Tree and eliminating all Mana from the world. The Faerie then fuses with what is left of the Mana Tree; she will be reborn as the Mana Goddess in a thousand years, but until then Mana will not exist in the world. As the game ends, the characters go back to their own homelands.
== Development ==
Seiken Densetsu 3 was designed by series creator Koichi Ishii. The game was directed by Hiromichi Tanaka and produced by Tetsuhisa Tsuruzono. Tanaka had previously worked on several titles for Square, including as a designer on the first three Final Fantasy titles. Manga and anime artist Nobuteru Yūki was responsible for the character concept artwork, based on designs by Ishii. Production began in 1993, beginning with a lengthy period of trial-and-error where several prototype designs were created and scrapped. As the next generation of console hardware was close to release, the team were unable to "prolong" production or keep its existence quiet as they had done with Secret of Mana. The team also had difficulties keeping staff, as many were being brought into the teams of other Super Famicom titles such as Chrono Trigger and Romancing SaGa 3 to get them finished. Programmers in particular were in demand, and Tanaka remembered "fighting" with Hironobu Sakaguchi for staff. A downloadable demo saw a limited release on July 1, 1995, for the Super Famicom's Satellaview broadcast peripheral.
The original intent was for a "continuation" of Secret of Mana, but the team ultimately scrapped all they had produced for the previous game and built Trials of Mana from scratch to become a more action-oriented title. The team wanted to get as close as possible to 3D graphics, with the design and background teams working in tandem to create multiple graphical layers. Some cut content from Secret of Mana, particularly monster designs, was reused for Trials of Mana. The final product was very large, with the team pushing the Super Famicom cartridge to capacity. A part cut from Trials of Mana before release was the end boss in the volcano dungeon; while planned from the outset, the team were short on time and so had to drop it.
The theme of the game is "independence". Ishii explained this as meaning he wanted the characters to have a sense of camaraderie through sharing each other's problems. The story kept a light tone, mostly due to Tanaka's insistence and Yūki's artwork. Each character was designed around both gameplay and narrative archetypes, providing players with variety and having quirks related to how they were raised. Duran was portrayed as a typical serious heroic figure, with Hawkeye being his direct opposite. Kevin was included as the team wanted a transforming character. Charlotte was compared to Popoi from Secret of Mana, as she had a cheerful demeanour despite a dark past. Angela appears selfish and brash due to the neglect from her mother, while Riesz's narrative focuses on her "brother complex" due to losing her own mother at a young age. The artwork was designed to emulate a picture book more than anything realistic, emphasised with the use of soft colors. Much of the basic narrative was conceived by Tanaka, though due to hardware limitations and production time, the amount of variation between individual storylines was limited.
=== Localization ===
During the game's development and after its release in Japan on September 30, 1995, Seiken Densetsu 3 became known abroad as Secret of Mana 2, though a preview in Next Generation in August 1995 called it by its original name, despite still stating it to be a sequel to Secret of Mana. The preview noted the six characters, calendar system, and a game world "three to four times" the size of the previous game, though it also reported that the game would be playable by three players, not two. Square stated in a 1995 issue of its North American newsletter that they planned to release the game during the second half of the year. A second preview in Next Generation in February 1996, calling the game Secret of Mana 2, stated that the game's North American release had been canceled by Square's American branch due to programming bugs that they deemed impossible to fix in a timely manner.
Before 2019, Seiken Densetsu 3 was not released outside Japan. Retro Gamer stated in 2011 that localizing the game for North America or Europe "would have cost a fortune", and that the rise of the competing PlayStation and Sega Saturn consoles diminished the benefits of spending so much on a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game. Another proposed reason was lackluster sales of Secret of Mana overseas. Nintendo Power, a few months after Seiken Densetsu 3 was released in Japan, said that the probability of a North American release for the game was low due to issues of "a technical nature" and that it would have been far too costly to produce at the time. This is further supported by Brian Fehdrau, lead programmer for Square's contemporary game Secret of Evermore, who mentioned that Seiken Densetsu 3 had some software bugs, hindering its likelihood of being certified for release by Nintendo of America without extensive work. In 2020, series producer Masaru Oyamada revealed that the size of the game meant there was no spare capacity on the cartridge for localization data.
There was an apparent misconception among video game fans that the SNES title Secret of Evermore was released in lieu of an English language version of Seiken Densetsu 3 in 1995. Secret of Evermore was developed by a new team at Square's office in Redmond, Washington called Square Soft. According to Fehdrau, no one who worked on the Evermore project would have been involved in a translation of Seiken Densetsu 3; the Redmond team was specifically hired to create Evermore. In 1999, a fan translation project for Seiken Densetsu 3 led by Neill Corlett was successfully completed and made available on the internet as an unofficial patch, which could be applied to ROMs of the game when played with an emulator or played on a Super NES console with a development kit or backup device.
Following the Japanese release of the Seiken Densetsu Collection, a compilation of the first three games of the Mana series, for the Nintendo Switch on June 1, 2017, staff at Square Enix became aware of overseas interest for the compilation. During the development for the upcoming remake, members of Square Enix's Western teams suggested that the original title be made available as well. In order to localize the game, a revisiting of the original development environment for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was done, which required assistance from Nintendo. There was little trouble with localizing the title due to the expanded storage capacities of the Switch. Work on localizing the game to English and other European languages took about a year. Ishii requested that the title include a word with the number "3" in it for the remake. Square Enix decided on "Trials of Mana" because it referred to the trials of the protagonists, only three of six characters could be selected evolving into "triangle stories", and it included the prefix "tri" bearing the number "3" in accordance with Ishii's wishes. The localized game, now titled Trials of Mana, was finally brought overseas as part of the Collection of Mana, which was released on June 11, 2019, in North America and the PAL region.
=== Music ===
The score for Seiken Densetsu 3 was composed by Hiroki Kikuta, who had previously composed the music for Secret of Mana as his first video game score. Kikuta performed the sound selection, editing, effect design, and data encoding himself. Just as he did for Secret of Mana, Kikuta spent nearly 24 hours a day in his office, alternating between composing and editing to create a soundtrack that would be, according to him, "immersive" and "three-dimensional". Similarly, rather than use premade MIDI samples of instruments like most game music composers of the time, Kikuta made his own MIDI samples that matched the hardware capabilities of the Super Famicom so that he would know exactly how the pieces would sound on the system's hardware instead of having to deal with audio hardware differences between the original MIDI sampler and the SNES. The soundtrack's music has been described by Freddie W. of RPGFan as "bouncy, energetic, flowing, and serene", and is noted for its use of piano and drums. He further called it a "more refined and matured" version of the Secret of Mana soundtrack.
The 1995 soundtrack album Seiken Densetsu 3 Original Sound Version collects 60 tracks of music from Seiken Densetsu 3. It was published by NTT Publishing, and republished by Square Enix in 2004. The main theme from Secret of Mana, "Angel's Fear", is also featured in Seiken Densetsu 3 as a part of "Where Angels Fear to Tread". In addition to the original soundtrack album, an arranged album of music from Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 was produced in 1993 as Secret of Mana+. The music in the album was all composed and arranged by Kikuta. Secret of Mana+ contains a single track, titled "Secret of Mana", that incorporates themes from the music of both Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3, which was still under development at the time. The style of the album has been described by critics as "experimental", using "strange sounds" such as waterfalls, bird calls, cell phone sounds, and "typing" sounds. Secret of Mana+ was originally published by NTT Publishing/Square, and was reprinted by NTT Publishing in 1995 and 2004.
The track "Meridian Child" from the original soundtrack was performed by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra for the fifth Orchestral Game Concert in 1996. "Meridian Child" was again performed on February 6, 2011, when the Eminence Symphony Orchestra played a concert in Tokyo as part of the Game Music Laboratory concert series as a tribute to the music of Kenji Ito and Hiroki Kikuta. One of the companion books of sheet music for the Mana series, the first edition of Seiken Densetsu Best Collection Piano Solo Sheet Music, included pieces from Seiken Densetsu 3, rewritten by Asako Niwa as beginning to intermediate level piano solos, though intended to sound like the originals.
== Reception ==
Due to its Japanese exclusivity at the time, most of the English-language reviews for Trials of Mana were published years after the initial release. One contemporary English-language review was in 1995 in GameFan, which covered import games and rated the game highly. The Japanese Famitsu review also rated the game highly, though slightly lower than Secret of Mana. The Brazilian SuperGamePower magazine also gave it a positive contemporary review, noting it as having some of the best graphics of any game on the SNES. Critics have also rated the game highly in retrospective reviews, published mostly after the release of the fan translation patch in 2000. The graphics were praised; a review from 1UP.com called the game "absolutely gorgeous", which they attributed to its position towards the end of the era of 2D SNES games, but before developers tried to start working with prerendered 3D graphics. A review by Chris Parsons of RPGamer agreed, terming the graphics "awesome" and positively comparing some of the effects to PlayStation RPGs, which the Cubed3 review by Adam Riley did as well. A preview by Next Generation written after the release of the game in Japan stated that the detailed graphics "puts just about every other recent 32-bit RPG to shame", while the review by Corbie Dillard of Nintendo Life also noted the game as one of the best graphically on the SNES and called out the unique visual styles of each area in the game as of particular note. The game's music was also generally praised; Nintendo Life's Dillard called it "spectacular from start to finish", while Cubed3's Riley said it was "one of the most sonically pleasing out of the whole SNES lifetime" and RPGamer's Parsons said that "a wonderful job was done in the composition of the music". The Next Generation preview praised both the quality of the soundtrack and the musical continuity from the Secret of Mana soundtrack.
The gameplay was highly rated by most reviewers, though the combat system had detractors. Dillard of Nintendo Life felt that the gameplay was as good as that of Secret of Mana and it had "a much more strategic feel to it". The 1UP.com and Cubed3 reviews also brought up the day and time system as interesting additions, though the 1UP.com reviewer felt that the combat was not "quite as tight" as in Secret of Mana. The Next Generation preview, while acknowledging that several flaws in the Secret of Mana combat system had been corrected and praising the boss battles, felt that the computer-controlled characters showed no sense of tactics, resulting in a free-for-all. A review by JeuxVideo.com also noted several improvements in the combat system over the prior game, but felt that battles could turn into a chaotic mass of attacks and numbers. Parsons of RPGamer also called out the Ring system as being flawed, as he found it frustrating that the menu could not be brought up while a character was performing an action, making boss battles hectic and difficult. The JeuxVideo.com reviewer also took issue with this restriction.
The plot received mixed reviews; while several reviewers praised the system of choosing different main characters, especially its effect on replayability, Cubed3's Riley felt that it meant that the story "can be quite confusing". Parsons noted that the interactions with the characters that were not chosen often left plot holes, as their motivations were not explained. The Famitsu review praised the replayability of the branching narrative. The Next Generation preview, while praising the multiple storylines as an innovation in the genre, felt that it had been attached to a "magic-and-monsters fantasy-formula" plot. The 1UP.com reviewer agreed, saying that the plot was not "too terribly engaging", suffering from clichés and flat characters.
Nintendo Life's Dillard stated that it was "easily one of the best RPGs to come out of the 16-bit era", while the 1UP.com reviewer said that if it had been officially translated into English it "very likely would have become a fondly remembered classic".
== Remake ==
A remake of the game, released under the official localized title, was announced at E3 2019 for a worldwide release for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC in early 2020. It was released worldwide on April 24 of that year, with a version for Xbox Series X/S released in 2024. Beginning production in 2017, the remake was produced with the aim of staying true to the original while reimagining it using 3D graphics and with an expanded, modernized gameplay system. The remake cut the multiplayer feature from the game.
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
Archived Seiken Densetsu 3 site at archive.today (archived January 24, 1997) (in Japanese) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Marie_Presley | Lisa Marie Presley | Lisa Marie Presley (February 1, 1968 – January 12, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter. She was the daughter of singer and actor Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley, as well as the sole heir to her father's estate after her grandfather and great-grandmother died. She was also known for being the first wife of Michael Jackson, from 1994 to 1996. Her musical career consisted of three studio albums: To Whom It May Concern (2003), Now What (2005) and Storm & Grace (2012), with To Whom It May Concern being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Presley also released non-album singles, including duets with her father using archival recordings.
Her memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, was released posthumously in October 2024.
== Early life ==
Lisa Marie Presley was born on February 1, 1968, the only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, nine months to the day after her parents' wedding. After her parents divorced, she lived with her mother in Los Angeles, and frequently stayed with her father Elvis at Graceland in Memphis.
Presley's parents separated when she was four years old. When her father died in August 1977, nine-year-old Lisa Marie became joint heiress to his estate with her 61-year-old grandfather, Vernon Presley, and her 87-year-old great-grandmother Minnie Mae (Hood) Presley. Through Vernon, Lisa Marie was a descendant of the Harrison family of Virginia. Upon the deaths of her grandfather in 1979 and her great-grandmother in 1980, she became Elvis' sole heir; on her 25th birthday in 1993, she inherited the estate, which had grown to an estimated $100 million. Presley sold 85 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2004.
In the late 1970s, a year or two after her father's death, she attended her first rock concert when she saw Queen at The Forum in Inglewood, California. She gave Freddie Mercury a scarf of her father's after the show, and expressed her love of theatrics.
Shortly after her father's death, her mother began dating the actor Michael Edwards. In an interview with Playboy in 2003, Presley said Edwards would enter her room intoxicated and was sexually inappropriate with her. In From Here to the Great Unknown, Presley repeated this allegation and stated that Edwards sexually assaulted her starting in 1978.
She has a half-brother, Navarone Garibaldi, from her mother's 22-year relationship with Marco Garibaldi.
Presley made a video of "Don't Cry Daddy" as a posthumous duet with her father in 1997. This video was presented on August 16, 1997, at the tribute concert that marked the 20th anniversary of Elvis' death. The video contains Elvis' original vocal to which new instrumentation and Lisa Marie's vocals were added.
== Career ==
=== 2003–2005: To Whom It May Concern ===
Presley released her debut album, To Whom It May Concern, on April 8, 2003. It reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified gold in June 2003. Presley wrote all the lyrics (except "The Road Between", which was co-written with Gus Black) and co-wrote every melody. To promote it, she presented a concert in the UK. The album's first single, "Lights Out", reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 chart and No. 16 on the UK charts. Presley collaborated with Billy Corgan for a co-written track called "Savior", which was included as the B-side. In his review of the album, the Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn wrote that it had "a stark, uncompromising tone" and that "Presley's gutsy blues-edged voice has a distinctive flair".
Pat Benatar and Presley performed at VH1 Divas Duets, a concert to benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 22, 2003, in Las Vegas. Together they sang Benatar's hit "Heartbreaker", which Presley frequently performed at her own concerts on tours afterward. Also in 2003, Presley contributed a recording of "Silent Night" for the NBC Holiday Collection, Sounds of the Season.
=== 2005–2012: Now What and further singles ===
Presley's second album, Now What, was released on April 5, 2005, and reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Presley co-wrote 10 songs,which she received credit for, and recorded covers of Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" (the album's first single, which hit No. 36 on the Billboard 100 AC singles chart), and the Ramones' "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow". The song "Idiot" is a jab towards different men in her life. Unlike her first album, Now What included a Parental Advisory sticker. Presley covered Blue Öyster Cult's "Burnin' for You" as a B-side. Pink made a guest appearance on the track "Shine". The video for "Dirty Laundry" was directed by Patrick Hoelck and singer George Michael made a cameo appearance in it.
Too Tough to Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone, a documentary about Johnny Ramone of the rock group the Ramones, was released in 2006. Directed by Mandy Stein, the film shows Deborah Harry, the Dickies, X, Eddie Vedder, Presley, and Red Hot Chili Peppers as they stage a benefit concert to celebrate the Ramones' 30th anniversary and raise money for Cancer research.
Presley appeared in the music video for Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down" in 2006. Rick Rubin produced the record and Tony Kaye directed the video which featured multiple celebrities and won a 2008 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.
Her single "In the Ghetto" was released in August 2007 as a virtual duet with her father, who had originally recorded the song in 1969. It was released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of her father's death. The video, simultaneously released with the single, reached No. 1 on the iTunes sales and No. 16 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles chart. The proceeds from the single benefited a new Presley Place Transitional Housing Campus in New Orleans. Presley appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to perform the song with the Harlem Gospel Choir, using vintage footage of her father.
Presley joined singer Richard Hawley on stage in London in October 2009. She sang vocals on a song the pair had been working on called "Weary". Hawley wanted to help Presley relaunch her music career, and the two embarked on a songwriting partnership in which she wrote the lyrics and Hawley the music. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Presley said that she was currently recording a new album in London, which was due to be released in 2011.
=== 2012–2018: Storm & Grace and final releases ===
Her third album, Storm & Grace, was released on May 15, 2012. She said: "It's much more of a rootsy record, organic record, than my previous work." It is produced by Oscar and Grammy winner T Bone Burnett. AllMusic described the album as "a stronger, more mature, and more effective work than one might have expected" and noted "Presley is finally developing a musical personality that truly suits her". Spinner.com described it as "the strongest album of her career" and Entertainment Weekly praised the "smoky, spooky" single "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". T-Bone Burnett said of collaborating with Presley on Storm & Grace (2012): "When songs from Lisa Marie Presley showed up at my door, I was curious. I wondered what the daughter of an American revolutionary music artist had to say. What I heard was honest, raw, unaffected and soulful. I thought her father would be proud of her. The more I listened to the songs, the deeper an artist I found her to be. Listening beyond the media static, Lisa Marie Presley is a Southern American folk music artist of great value."
In 2018, Presley was featured on the title track of the compilation "Where No One Stands Alone", a collection of her father's gospel songs, which sold over 300 million copies. The song was reworked into a duet between Presley and her father. A music video for the song was released in which Presley is incorporated into scenes of her and her father.
=== Memoir ===
Prior to her death, Presley had recorded audio tapes for a memoir. Her daughter, Riley Keough, completed writing the details on the tapes in book form following her mother's death. In addition to preparing the memoir, Riley narrated its audiobook version, which includes “Never-before-heard recollections” through Presley's voice. The cover of the memoir, titled From Here to the Great Unknown features a photo of a young Presley with her father on the cover. Presley and her daughter Riley are both credited as the book's authors. From Here to the Great Unknown was released on October 8, 2024, through Random House.
== Charity work and humanitarian efforts ==
Presley Charitable Foundation (PCF) was formed by Presley in 2007. It was reincorporated from Presley Charitable Foundation to The Presley Foundation Inc. on November 10, 2022, and registered as a public benefit and grantmaking foundation on February 13, 2023. In 2001, Presley Place opened to its first residents. Presley Place provides homeless families with up to one year of rent-free housing, child day care, career and financial counseling, family management guidance, and other tools to help them break the cycle of poverty and regain self-esteem and independence. It is also funded by the PCF the Elvis Presley Music Room, where the children of Presley Place and others enjoy access to musical instruments and instruction and participate in special related programs. Her father's foundation The EPCF created the Elvis Presley Endowed Scholarship Fund at the College of Communication & Fine Arts at the University of Memphis to assist students majoring in areas of the arts.
Presley joined Oprah Winfrey and her Angel Network and was active in the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and surrounding areas. Presley gave a helping hand in Memphis, Tennessee. "I'm here", she said, "because I definitely needed to do something, and it just so happens this is where I'm from. I'm going to do everything I can. People need help—this is a huge catastrophe and everyone needs to stand up." Her first stop was a food bank, where, with the help of FedEx and Kroger, Presley loaded a truck with groceries. Then it was time for a pit stop at Target for toiletries and clothes. "I thought I was going to grab a couple things at the store", Presley said, "and I ended up filling up a truck. I went a little crazy."
Presley's final destination was the Grand Casino Convention Center in Mississippi to distribute the supplies to people who had lost everything. One evacuee said, "I really appreciate everything Ms. Presley is doing for us. We have nothing, so we're very grateful for everything she's doing." In 2011 Presley became a patron of the Dream Factory, a charity based in Hainault, London.
=== Grammy Foundation ===
Presley was involved with the Grammy Foundation's Gold Grammy Signature Schools program, which recognizes top US public high schools that are making an outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year. On October 22, 2005, Presley presented a special award to Isaac Hayes at the Memphis Recording Academy Honors. A host of hometown stars gathered to see Presley, Justin Timberlake, Isaac Hayes, and David Porter honored by the Memphis chapter of the Recording Academy. Presley and music producer Jimmy Jam presented the award to Hayes.
On November 11, 2005, Presley participated in a Grammy SoundCheck at LA's House of Blues, during which she and other industry professionals met with a group of music students to discuss career opportunities available to them within the music industry.
== Awards and honors ==
On June 24, 2011, Presley was officially honored by the governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam, who proclaimed a day of recognition for her charitable efforts. Two days later, she was issued a Certificate of Proclamation by the mayor of New Orleans, Mitchell J. Landrieu, in recognition of her dedication and contributions to the city. She also received a proclamation from the city of Memphis on June 28, 2011, for her philanthropy there.
== Personal life ==
In 2005, Presley allowed the public a brief look into her personal life, appearing in the TV movie Elvis by the Presleys.
Between 2010 and 2016, Presley lived in a 15th-century manor house in Rotherfield, East Sussex, England, 15 miles east of Saint Hill Manor, the British headquarters of the Church of Scientology.
Presley publicly acknowledged her struggle with opioid addiction. She penned a foreword for a book titled United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain (2019); in the foreword, she stated that she was prescribed opioids following the birth of her twin daughters in 2008 and became dependent upon them. She had been using opioids again in the weeks prior to her death on January 12, 2023.
=== Marriages and divorces ===
==== Danny Keough ====
On October 3, 1988, Presley married Chicago-born musician/actor Danny Keough at the Scientology Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles. They had dated for three years previously. Their honeymoon was upon a cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology. After an early abortion that Presley later claimed was "the stupidest thing she has ever done," the couple had two children: a daughter, Riley Keough (born May 29, 1989, at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California), and a son, Benjamin Storm Keough (born October 21, 1992, at Humana Women's Hospital in Tampa, Florida). Benjamin was delivered according to a Church of Scientology practice called "Silent birth".
Presley obtained a quickie divorce in the Dominican Republic on May 6, 1994. Later that year, Keough considered seeking custody of their two children due to child molestation charges against Michael Jackson, whom Presley married after their divorce.
In a 2003 interview with The Commercial Appeal, Presley commented on reports that she and Keough were planning to remarry: "Danny is my best friend, always has been, always will be. I love him unconditionally, but we are not together. It's not like that." Keough and Presley became closer again after Presley divorced Michael Jackson.
In 2005, Danny Keough was a bass guitar player in Presley's band, and also served as her musical mentor. Presley still regarded him as a close friend, and he lived in the guest house on Presley's property. Presley described her relationship with Keough after they separated: "I don't know how, but we've managed to stay close. There's others that I have pain or betrayal associated with that I won't have anything to do with. But he and I had a special thing. Unconditional." Presley told People in 2005 that she and Danny Keough were like brother and sister. In addition, Presley commented on her relationship with Keough: "Ultimately this is a good message to send out to people: You don't have to put your crap on your kids even if you are not together. You can still be civilized." Presley remained close friends with Danny Keough until her death in 2023 at the age of 54.
Presley's daughter, Riley, married Ben Smith-Petersen in 2015. In 2022, their daughter Tupelo, Presley's grandchild, was born.
Benjamin Keough died on July 12, 2020, at the age of 27 in Calabasas, California, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office listed his death as a suicide. Presley was distraught by her son's death, and was never the same afterward.
==== Michael Jackson ====
On May 26, 1994, 20 days after her divorce from Keough, Presley married singer Michael Jackson. Keough's younger brother Thomas Keough was an official witness at Presley's wedding to Jackson. They had first met in 1974 when a six-year-old Presley attended his concert at the Sahara Tahoe. According to a friend of Presley's, "their adult friendship began in November 1992 in L.A." Regarding alleged sexual abuse by Jackson, Presley explained, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong, and that he was wrongly accused and, yes, I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it." Shortly afterwards, she successfully persuaded Jackson to settle the allegations out of court and go into rehabilitation to recover. Presley appeared in Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" video in June 1995, directed by Wayne Isham.
In January 1996, citing irreconcilable differences, Presley filed for divorce, according to legal papers. Jackson's make-up artist, Karen Faye, later claimed that Jackson had originally planned to file for divorce first and had relented after Presley begged him not to. The following day, Jackson discovered that Presley had filed for divorce herself. In an October 2010 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Presley revealed that she and Jackson had attempted to reconcile intermittently for four years following their divorce and that she had traveled to different parts of the world to be with him. After Jackson's death in 2009 at the age of 50, Presley was reported to have "felt shattered".
Presley clarified some points about her relationship with Michael Jackson during her 2010 interview with Oprah Winfrey. Talking about the years she was with him after their divorce, she stated: "We again, were going to get back together, we spent four more years after we’d divorced getting back together and breaking up and talking about getting back together and breaking up." During the same interview she also said about Jackson: "I felt like I just always wanted to be around him, always wanted to be part of – I felt so high. I’ve never felt like that around another human being..." Presley said she was the last person standing over Michael's casket: "Well, most people had left and I was the last one standing over him. I didn’t want to leave him."
In 2014, Lisa Marie Presley said in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald: "With MJ [Michael Jackson], unfortunately, too much happened, too much got between us. There was a very deep strong love there; intense. But people got in the way, on my end and his end. We had so many people telling us what to do and intercepting and speaking on behalf of the other. Had it been just he and I, towards the end, I don't think we would have divorced." In her 2024 published memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, Presley states, "I've never been that happy again", referring to her time with Jackson.
==== John Oszajca ====
In May 1999, Presley met musician John Oszajca and got engaged to him two days before Christmas. She broke off the engagement in March 2001, some five months after meeting Nicolas Cage at a party.
==== Nicolas Cage ====
Presley's third marriage was to Nicolas Cage, whom she had met while in a relationship with Oszajca. They married in Kamuela, Hawaii, on August 10, 2002, and Cage filed for divorce 107 days later on November 25, 2002. The divorce was finalized on May 24, 2004.
==== Michael Lockwood ====
On January 22, 2006, in Kyoto, Japan, Presley married for a fourth time, to Michael Lockwood, her guitarist, music producer, and director. Danny Keough served as best man at the wedding. In March 2008, Presley announced that she was pregnant. Her husband was a first-time father. On October 7, 2008, Presley gave birth to fraternal twin girls Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood, via Caesarean section, at Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California. The couple had a home in England at Coes Manor, Rotherfield, East Sussex, where Presley enjoyed life out of the limelight.
In 2016, Presley filed for divorce from Lockwood after ten years of marriage. In February 2017, the couple's children were placed in the temporary care of Priscilla Presley after Lisa Presley alleged she found inappropriate images of children on Lockwood's personal computer in a divorce court filing challenging Lockwood's request for spousal support. The Beverly Hills Police Department investigated the allegations, examining over 80 electronic devices, and found no criminal activity and referred the matter to investigators in Tennessee. Later in 2017, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations closed its investigation of the allegations made by Presley, citing no evidence of a crime. The divorce was finalized on May 26, 2021.
=== Scientology ===
Presley, along with friend and fellow Memphian and Scientologist Isaac Hayes, opened the Literacy, Education and Ability Program (LEAP) in October 1997. LEAP is run by Applied Scholastics, a group run by Scientologists.
For her efforts to help US children learn study skills, Presley received the Humanitarian Award from the Church of Scientology-supported World Literacy Crusade on January 5, 2002. Presley received her award from Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, and Yolanda King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. World Literacy Crusade is regarded by critics as a front group for the Church of Scientology. On September 26 of that same year, Presley addressed a US congressional hearing in opposition to the use of medication in treating ADHD, stating: "I have spoken to children who have been forced to take a cocaine-like stimulant to control their behavior. I have shared their sense of sheer desperation. Children have been wrenched from their family's care simply because their parents favored an alternative, drug-free approach to addressing educational and behavioral problems. The psychotropic drugging of millions of children has to stop." Addressing the committee as the International Spokesperson for Children's Rights, for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a group run by Scientologists, Presley expressed her view that parents should be informed about alternatives to drugs so they may "make an informed choice about their child's educational and medical needs".
Presley left Scientology in 2014, though she had been experiencing growing discontent with the organization as early as 2008.
== Elvis Presley estate ==
After Elvis Presley's death at Graceland on August 16, 1977, his will appointed his father, Vernon Presley, executor and trustee. The beneficiaries of the trust were Vernon, Elvis's grandmother Minnie Mae Presley, and Lisa Marie, whose inheritance was to be held in trust until her 25th birthday. After Vernon Presley's death in 1979, Elvis's former wife Priscilla Presley was named as one of three trustees in his will; the others were the National Bank of Commerce in Memphis and Joseph Hanks, who had been the Presleys' accountant. With Minnie Mae Presley's death in 1980, Lisa Marie became the only surviving beneficiary.
In 1993, Presley inherited her father's estate on her 25th birthday, which, thanks largely to the stewardship of her mother, had grown to an estimated $100 million.
In 1998, Presley became more closely involved in the management of the Elvis Presley Trust and its business entity, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. and until February 2005 she was owner and chairman of the board, when she sold 85 percent of the estate's business holdings to CKX, Inc., excluding Graceland itself and the property within it.
Following Presley's death, her three daughters were expected to inherit Graceland. However, her mother Priscilla challenged a 2016 amendment that Presley had made to her estate, removing Priscilla as trustee and naming her two oldest children. One of these two, Presley's son Benjamin, died by suicide in 2020, leaving Riley as sole trustee.
On August 16, 2024, Missouri woman Lisa Jeanine Findley was arrested for a scheme which involved, among other things, using a fraudulent claim about Presley owing money in order to illegally force the sale of Graceland. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs, Findley "allegedly fabricated loan documents" on which she "forged the signatures of Elvis Presley’s daughter and a Florida State notary public. Findley then allegedly filed a false creditor’s claim with the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles, and a fake deed of trust with the Shelby County Register’s Office in Memphis" and "allegedly published a fraudulent foreclosure notice."
One person involved with the Graceland foreclosure scheme previously acknowledged to the New York Times in May 2024 that the scheme involved a ring of identity thieves based in Nigeria making a claim that Presley owed $2.8 million to Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC. However, Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC was not a real company, and the identity thieves made a habit of using forgeries of recently deceased people in order to make money through fraud schemes. As a prominent figure in facilitating the scheme to force the sale of Graceland from Presley's family, Findley "posed as three different individuals" affiliated with the "fictitious private lender" in order to falsely accuse Presley of borrowing $3.8 million from Naussany Investments in 2018. The loan documents purportedly signed by Presley had purportedly been acknowledged before Kimberly L. Philbrick, a Florida notary public. However, Philbrick sided with Riley Keough in her lawsuit against Naussany, stating in an affidavit, “I have never met Lisa Marie Presley, nor have I ever notarized a document signed by Lisa Marie Presley. ... I do not know why my signature appears on this document.”
=== "Elvis Through His Daughter's Eyes" exhibit ===
In February 2012, Presley opened a new exhibit, "Elvis ... Through His Daughter's Eyes". It is included in the Graceland VIP Tour and features 200 items assembled by Presley and the Graceland Archives staff.
The personal exhibit looks at Presley's experience of growing up with a famous father. Home movies, toys, and rarely seen family mementos are among the items on display.
=== Aircraft Lisa Marie ===
In November 1975, her father named one of his private aircraft, a converted Convair 880 jet, after her. He spent more than $1 million refurbishing it to use as his main transport while on tour. The Lisa Marie and one of his other planes, Hound Dog II, are on exhibit at Graceland.
== Death ==
On January 12, 2023, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Presley suffered cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California. Emergency responders administered CPR, and she regained a pulse before being transported to West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles. She died later that day at the age of 54. According to the autopsy report, Presley died from a small bowel obstruction caused by complications of a prior bariatric surgery. A toxicology analysis found opioids in her system, but they were not considered a factor in her death.
Her last public appearance had been two days earlier at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, which she attended with her mother. Hundreds attended Presley's public memorial service that was held at Graceland on January 22, and more than 1.5 million people watched the service via live stream. Presley was interred in the Graceland Meditation Garden, next to her son Benjamin and adjacent to her father Elvis.
Among those in attendance (some of whom provided spoken and/or musical tribute) included her mother; surviving children; family friend Jerry Schilling; former Memphis mayor A. C. Wharton; Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose; The Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan; Sarah, Duchess of York; gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers; singer Alanis Morissette; and both the director and star of Elvis, respectively, Baz Luhrmann and Austin Butler.
On the CBS primetime special The Presleys: Elvis, Lisa Marie and Riley, which aired on October 8, 2024, Presley's daughter Riley Keough provided Oprah Winfrey with details about Presley's final years, with the loss of her son Benjamin revealed to have resulted in her losing the will to keep living.
=== Allegations against Priscilla Presley ===
In August 2025, Priscilla Presley's former business partners Brigette Kruse and Kevin Fialko filed a lawsuit claiming that Priscilla "pulled the plug" on her daughter's life support with the intent to "regain control" of Elvis' family trust. It has been acknowledged that soon after Lisa Marie's death, Priscilla sued Lisa Marie's daughter Riley Keough for control of the trust. The lawsuit further alleged that Priscilla "ignored" Lisa Marie's ongoing health issues and also "exploited" her death with the intent to "regain control over Elvis Presley’s legacy and assets." An amended complaint included a personal letter from Riley to her grandmother Priscilla, stating that Lisa Marie had planned to sue Priscilla shortly before her death, but was dissuaded by Riley.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
=== Singles ===
== Tours ==
S.O.B. Tour (2003–2004)
Now What Tour (2005–2006)
Storm & Grace Tour (2012–2014)
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2004). The Magic and the Madness. Terra Alta, WV: Headline. ISBN 0-330-42005-4.
Finstad, Suzanne (2006). Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. Terra Alta, WV: Headline. ISBN 978-0-307-33695-8.
== External links ==
Official website (last archive)
Lisa Marie Presley at AllMusic
Lisa Marie Presley discography at Discogs
Lisa Marie Presley at IMDb |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Netrebko#:~:text=In%20February%202008%2C%20she%20was%20named%20People's%20Artist%20of%20Russia. | Anna Netrebko | Anna Yuryevna Netrebko (Russian: Анна Юрьевна Нетребко; born 18 September 1971) is a Russian operatic soprano who has performed at the Salzburg Festival, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera and La Scala.
Discovered and promoted by Valery Gergiev, she began her career at the Mariinsky Theatre, collaborating with the conductor in the theater and performances elsewhere. She was noticed globally after playing Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the 2002 Salzburg Festival. She had been known for her rendition of lyric and coloratura soprano roles, yet later proceeded into heavier 19th-century romantic roles, such as Leonora in Il trovatore and the role of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Since 2016, she has turned her focus to verismo repertoire.
She has been an exclusive artist for Deutsche Grammophon since 2003. She has won multiple Echo Klassik Awards, and was included on the Time 100 list in 2007. She was named a People's Artist of Russia in 2008, and an Austrian Kammersängerin in 2017.
== Early life and training ==
Netrebko was born in Krasnodar in a family of Kuban Cossack background. While studying at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Netrebko worked as a janitor at Saint Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre. Later when she auditioned for the theatre, conductor Valery Gergiev, recognizing her from her prior work, subsequently became her vocal mentor.
== Career ==
=== Early career (1994–2001) ===
Under Gergiev's guidance, in 1994 Netrebko made her operatic stage debut at the Mariinsky at age 22 as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro despite initially being billed as Barbarina. In the same year, she also performed as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with the Riga Independent Opera Avangarda Akadēmija under conductor David Milnes. She subsequently became associated with the Mariinsky Theatre.
In autumn 1995, Netrebko made her American debut with Lyudmila at the San Francisco Opera. Following this successful performance, she was enrolled in the Merola Opera Program in summer 1996 and became a frequent guest singer in San Francisco in the next seasons, performing in L'elisir d'amore (Adina), Betrothal in a Monastery, Idomeneo (Ilia), La bohème (Musetta), The Tsar's Bride (Marfa), Don Giovanni (Zerlina), Falstaff (Nannetta). In 1998, she performed Lyudmila when the Mariinsky production of the opera was presented at the Metropolitan Opera House, and made Salzburg Festival debut in Parsifal conducted by Gergiev. She sang her first Violetta in Verdi's La traviata in the same year in Saint Petersburg, and her first Amina in La sonnambula the following year. In October 1999, she performed Gilda in Rigoletto at the Washington National Opera.
=== Rise to fame (2002–2010) ===
Netrebko made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera company in February 2002, as Natasha in the Met premiere of Prokofiev's War and Peace, and performed as Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Her international breakthrough came in August 2002, when she sang Donna Anna in Don Giovanni conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Salzburg Festival, where she would be particularly associated. In September 2002, she returned to the Royal Opera for Servilia in La clemenza di Tito, and in next two seasons for Don Giovanni and Rigoletto. She then returned to Washington National Opera for Ilia in Idomeneo. In 2003, she made her Vienna State Opera and Bavarian State Opera debuts, both with Violetta in La traviata. In November 2003, she made her Los Angeles Opera debut with Lucia di Lammermoor, and would return in 2005 for Roméo et Juliette and in 2006 for Manon.
In February 2004, she returned to Vienna for Don Giovanni, and was subsequently invited as the guest performer at the Vienna Opera Ball, where she returned in 2007. She then starred in a Japan tour of La bohème in Robert Carsen's staging as Musetta conducted by Seiji Ozawa, and subsequently returned to San Francisco Opera in the same role. After withdrawing from two engagements, citing exhaustion, she returned to scene in November in Metropolitan Opera's La bohème as Musetta. In summer 2005, she starred in the premiere of Willy Decker's new staging of La traviata in Salzburg, conducted by Carlo Rizzi. In December 2005, she sang Gilda in Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera, and was featured in the premiere of Otto Schenk's new production of Don Pasquale and Japan tour of Don Giovanni in the same season.
In 2006, she sang Susanna in the new Claus Guth production of The Marriage of Figaro in Salzburg.
She sang Elvira in I puritani at the Metropolitan Opera in January 2007, and on 30 May 2007, Netrebko made her Carnegie Hall debut with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, which was originally scheduled on 2 March 2006 but she postponed due to not feeling artistically ready. She then performed Donna Anna at Covent Garden, but withdrew from some performances due to illness. She appeared at the Last Night of the Proms on 8 September of that year where she performed excerpts from La sonnambula and Giuditta, and the lied "Morgen!" by Richard Strauss with Joshua Bell. In the fall of 2007 she reprised her role as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera.
In December 2007 Netrebko was invited to honor Martin Scorsese at the 30th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, performing the aria "O mio babbino caro".In January 2008 she performed Violetta at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to triumphant acclaim on the opening night, opposite Jonas Kaufmann and Dmitri Hvorostovsky in performances conducted by Maurizio Benini. However, she cancelled three subsequent performances due to suffering a bronchial condition. In May 2008, she made her Paris Opera debut in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Opéra Bastille, with Joyce DiDonato as Romeo. In her first performance after her maternity leave, Netrebko sang Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor when it opened at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on 14 January 2009, in a production from the Scottish Opera led by John Doyle. She then sang the same role in January and February 2009 at the Metropolitan Opera. Netrebko appeared as Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Royal Opera House in Spring 2009, and as Violetta in La traviata in June 2009 at the San Francisco Opera.
She presented the Deutscher Medienpreis 2009 to Chancellor Angela Merkel and sang Strauss' "Cäcilie" at the ceremony in Baden-Baden on 9 February 2010.
Through April and May 2010, she made a series of appearances at the Vienna State Opera in La bohème, Carmen, Manon. Originally scheduled in I puritani as well, she cancelled the appearance citing illness. She starred in Laurent Pelly's new Manon production at the Royal Opera, and sang Juliette at the Salzburg Festival. In October 2010, she returned to New York's Metropolitan Opera for Norina in Don Pasquale, the matinee performance on 13 November of which was broadcast nationwide by PBS.
=== Heavier roles (2011–2022) ===
On 2 April 2011, she sang the title role of Gaetano Donizetti's Anna Bolena at the Vienna State Opera for a sold-out premiere there, and the repeat performance on 5 April 2011 was broadcast live to cinemas around the world. On 7 December 2011, she opened the new season at La Scala in Milan, making her house debut, as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She has the distinction of being invited to appear in three consecutive opening night new productions at the Metropolitan Opera: Anna Bolena in 2011, L'elisir d'amore in 2012, and Eugene Onegin in 2013. Her performance as Lady Macbeth in the Metropolitan's 2014 fall season's production of Macbeth, a revival of Adrian Noble's 2007 production, drew critical praise and demonstrated her voice is still expanding in range and volume. She continued her expansion into heavier Verdi roles at the Met the following year, singing the role of Leonora in Il trovatore to acclaim from both critics and audiences.
She participated in the gala concert inaugurating the Mariinsky Theatre Second Stage on 2 May 2013. She was invited to perform the Olympic Anthem, in Russian, at the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
In April 2016, Netrebko announced her withdrawal from productions of Bellini's Norma at the Royal Opera House's 2016/17 season and the Metropolitan Opera's 2017/18 season due to the change in her voice. The vacancies were filled respectively by Sonya Yoncheva and Sondra Radvanovsky.
She then made her debut as Elsa in Lohengrin at the Semperoper in Dresden, and then went to Saint Petersburg for the same role at the Mariinsky Theatre.
She made several role debuts in 2017, including the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur at Mariinsky Theatre in June, the title role of Aida at Salzburg Festival in August, and Maddalena in Andrea Chénier at La Scala in December. In 2018, she debuted as Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in April and performed at the Summer Night Concert Schönbrunn on 31 May.
In 2018, she performed in both gala concerts at the Red Square on 13 June and at the Bolshoi Theatre on 14 July, respectively commemorating the opening and closing of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 8 September 2018 she took part in the inauguration gala concert of Zaryadye Concert Hall in Moscow, which was streamed on Medici.tv. In February 2019, she opened the 2019 Vienna Opera Ball. She was featured in the opening ceremony of 2019 European Games in Minsk on 21 June and inaugurated the first concert season of the Congress Hall at the Yekaterinburg Expo on 30 August 2019.
In June 2020, Netrebko performed highlights from Verdi's Don Carlo in reduced concert form at the Semperoper as part of its "Aufklang!" series which reopened the theatre after the first COVID-19 lockdown in Germany. She went on debuting at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples for semi-staged Tosca with Yusif Eyvazov and Ludovic Tézier. In September 2020 she had to self-isolate after her co-star in Don Carlo at the Bolshoi Theatre, Ildar Abdrazakov, was tested positive for COVID-19. She was soon hospitalized in Moscow, being treated for COVID-19-related pneumonia for about a week.
=== Boycott, March 2022 ===
On 26 February 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Netrebko released a statement in which she voiced her opposition to the war but disagreed with forcing one to voice one's political opinion. Despite her statement, she faced pressure from performance institutions for failing to distance herself from Russian president Vladimir Putin. On 1 March 2022, she said she would "retire from concert life until further notice". Immediately prior to this announcement, she withdrew from opera productions in Milan and Zürich, while the Bavarian State Opera cancelled existing engagements with both her and Valery Gergiev. Two days later, the Metropolitan Opera removed her from the upcoming Turandot, replacing her with the Ukrainian Liudmyla Monastyrska in the title role, and from Don Carlos in the 2023 season. The Berlin State Opera and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden also cancelled her appearances, with the latter not ruling out future cooperation. Finn McRedmond of The Irish Times said that such a "wholesale boycott of Russia" would be "a dangerous departure from Western values".
On 30 March 2022, Netrebko released another statement where she announced plans to resume her public performances from May 2022, and repeated her condemnation of the war in Ukraine, distancing herself from Putin.
I expressly condemn the war on Ukraine and my thoughts are with the victims of this war and their families. My position is clear. I am not a member of any political party nor am I allied with any leader of Russia. I acknowledge and regret that past actions or statements of mine could have been misinterpreted. In fact, I have met President Putin only a handful of times in my entire life, most notably on the occasion of receiving awards in recognition of my art or at the Olympics opening ceremony. I have otherwise never received any financial support from the Russian Government, and live and am a tax resident in Austria. I love my homeland of Russia and only seek peace and unity through my art. After taking my announced break, I will resume performing in late May, initially in Europe.
Netrebko was denounced as a traitor of Russia after her second statement, with her Russian performances cancelled and a Duma deputy suggesting that she resign from her Russian titles. Berlin State Opera manager Matthias Schulz later announced that he had been contacting Netrebko about performances scheduled in 2023.
In June 2022, Netrebko filed a labor grievance against the Met with the assistance of the American Guild of Musical Artists. In March 2023, an arbitrator ordered the Met to pay her over $200,000 for the cancelled performances while she pay a $30,000 penalty for making "highly inappropriate" statements following the invasion.
=== Later career ===
In April 2022, Netrebko stepped in for Maria Agresta in Manon Lescaut at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Her solo concerts in May 2022 at the Philharmonie de Paris and La Scala were described by the press as "triumphant". During summer 2022, she sang Aida and Turandot at the Arena di Verona with critical acclaim. In September 2022, she opened the 2022/23 season of the Vienna State Opera, singing Mimi in La bohème. Her attendance was met with mostly applause and boos from some protesters.
In June 2023, she opened the 100th edition of Arena di Verona Festival as Aida from Verdi. On 24 July 2023, she made her debuts at the Théâtre Antique d'Orange, closing the Chorégies d'Orange festival with a Verdi Gala also featuring Yusif Eyvazov and conducted by Michelangelo Mazza.
In May 2024, Netrebko performed Puccini's Turandot at the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden in a new production of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden with stage direction and scenic design by Daniela Kerck. A reviewer from the Frankfurter Rundschau wrote that her heavy soprano was precise in all registers, with a velvety middle range, and her acting responsive to the story-line.
=== Use of face-darkening makeup ===
Netrebko has often performed the titular character in Aida, an Ethiopian princess, with face-darkening makeup, including her role debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2017, and at the Metropolitan Opera in 2018—despite the opera company's 2015 pledge to eliminate the use of face-darkening makeup in its productions. In June 2019 she defended such choice in the comments under her Instagram post for a performance.
In July 2022, Netrebko and the Arena di Verona Festival faced heavy criticism for performing in blackface, following the release of publicity photos for a performance of Aida. Subsequently, American soprano Angel Blue canceled her upcoming performances of La traviata at the Festival, citing the company's insistence on maintaining the practice. Blue's cancellation initiated heated discussion. Yusif Eyvazov called Blue's decision "disgusting," while mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry offered a conciliatory perspective.
Other notable singers to have publicly spoken out against the use of blackface in Opera include the mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton who named Netrebko directly, and Stephanie Blythe, who suggested an abstention from performing operas that have typically featured white singers made up to appear as other ethnicities.
Responding to the controversy surrounding blackface, the Arena di Verona Festival claimed it is "very hard to change" the production to avoid the use of blackface (this staging dates from 2002). The Festival also stated that when Blue signed her contract for La traviata, this staging of Aida was already planned and she should already have known that blackface was to be used.
== Other activities ==
Netrebko serves as an honorary director of the Russian Children's Welfare Society and has featured in several editions of "Petroushka Ball", the major fund raiser of the charity. In 2007, she was announced to be an ambassador for SOS Children's Villages in Austria, and a sponsor for the Tomilino village in Russia. She has been supporting the association "projekt Anna - Kinderhilfe Kaliningrad e.V." since 2005, and became its patron in 2008. In May 2012, she and her then-partner Erwin Schrott jointly founded the charitable foundation "Anna Netrebko and Erwin Schrott 4 Kids", aiming to promote education, art, culture and youth welfare.
Netrebko made a cameo appearance as herself in the 2004 film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
She has worn several designs by Austrian fashion designer Irina Vitjaz, who is a close friend of hers.
=== Political activity and relationship with Vladimir Putin ===
As of 2022, there has been a debate over her association with Russian president Vladimir Putin. In 2012 she appeared on a list of 499 celebrities endorsing Putin in the 2012 Russian presidential election alongside Valery Gergiev and Denis Matsuev. She later explained this as a gesture of recognition of Putin's support for the arts. After a blogger published that she also appeared on a declaration of support for Putin in 2018 she stated several times that she did not sign this declaration, that her name was kept from the 2012 list without her approval and that she did not even participate in the vote.
In 2011, she rejected claims that she and Putin had formerly been romantically involved, though she jokingly said "I'd have loved to have been ... he's a very attractive man. Such a strong, male energy."
In December 2014, she gave a ₽1,000,000 cheque to Oleg Tsaryov saying she was donating to the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, and posed alongside him with a flag of Novorossiya, a self-proclaimed confederation in Ukraine. Tsaryov is one of the individuals sanctioned by the European Union for his role in the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. Netrebko said in a statement, "I want to make clear, however, that this donation is not a political act."
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Netrebko has held varying public stances. In late February, she said on social media that she opposed the invasion, but subsequently described people who forced her to express her political position as "human s***s" who "are as evil as blind aggressors." After her second statement on 30 March 2022, where she repeated her condemnation of the war in Ukraine, distancing herself from Putin. The Putin-controlled Russian Duma denounced her a traitor to her nation.
Since January 2023, she was among the public figures who were sanctioned by the Government of Ukraine.
On 15 May 2025, about 100 Vitsche Berlin supporters demonstrated outside the Berlin State Opera to condemn performances by Anna Netrebko in light of her ties to the Kremlin.
== Public image ==
Time magazine placed her on its Time 100 list in 2007. She was named one of the Beautiful People in 2013 by Paper.
== Personal life ==
Netrebko applied for Austrian citizenship in Vienna in March 2006. In response to the backlash in her native country, she cited the cumbersome and humiliating process of obtaining visas as a Russian citizen for her many performances abroad as the main reason for the decision. In late July, the Council of Ministers approved the application for her "special merits", despite the fact that she neither spoke German nor lived in Austria.
Netrebko started a relationship with Italian bass-baritone Simone Alberghini when they met during performances of Rigoletto at the Washington National Opera in 1999. She announced their engagement but did not consider marrying due to a busy schedule. In May 2007 their relationship was confirmed as ended.
In December 2007, Netrebko became engaged to Uruguayan bass-baritone Erwin Schrott, whom she first met during a collaboration in 2003. In April 2008, she announced their marriage, but their wedding never in fact took place. Their son, Tiago Aruã, was born on 5 September 2008 in Vienna. On 25 November 2013, the couple announced their separation, after several months of leading largely separate lives.
In February 2014, during rehearsals for a staging of Manon Lescaut in Rome, Netrebko began a relationship with Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov, her co-star in that opera. Five months later, the couple announced their engagement. They married in Vienna on 29 December 2015. Their official wedding ceremony took place at the Palais Coburg, and the following celebration at the Gartenpalais Liechtenstein welcomed 180 guests in attendance, including Plácido Domingo. Netrebko announced their separation on 26 June 2024.
Netrebko has apartments in Saint Petersburg, Vienna, and New York City. In 2008, upon her pregnancy, she looked for a new residence in Vienna. That year, she purchased and renovated a penthouse apartment at Franziskanerplatz. The renovation was not finished and she still lived in her original apartment by 2010. The building was evacuated in February 2010 due to acute danger of collapsing and only reopened two months later. In November 2009, she moved into a new apartment above Lincoln Square, Manhattan, where she combined two units for additional space.
== Awards and honors ==
=== Musical awards ===
Netrebko won 2006 Bambi Award in the classical music category. She was awarded the "World Star" of the BraVo International Professional Music Awards 2018.
She won the 2007 Singer of the Year and the 2008 Female Artist of Year in the Classical Brit Awards. She was identified by the journal Musical America as "a genuine superstar for the 21st century" and was named Musician of the Year for 2008. Netrebko was one of the recipients of Leading Ladies Award 2012 awarded by Madonna magazine. She received another Leading Ladies Award in the category of Culture in 2016. She was presented an Opera News Award in April 2016.
Netrebko won the "Female Singer of the Year" (Sängerin des Jahres) in the 2014 and 2016 Echo Klassik Award. She was awarded "Best Vocalist in Classical Music" at the Russian National Music Awards in 2016, 2017 and 2018. She won the Best Female Singer in the 2017 International Opera Awards. On 26 October 2018, the Metropolitan Opera Guild honored her on its annual luncheon. In 2020 she was awarded the Swedish Polar Music Prize and the Victoire d'honneur in the Victoires de la musique classique.
In September 2022, she received an "Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis" as Best Female Leading Role for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth” in Wiener Staatsoper.
=== State honors and others ===
In 2004, Netrebko was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation. In February 2008, she was named People's Artist of Russia. In May 2018, she received the Order of Friendship from the Azerbaijani president. In February 2017, the Austrian government named her Kammersängerin.
On 18 September 2021, Netrebko celebrated her 50th birthday with a concert held in the Kremlin in Moscow. The concert featured friends and stars as Eyvazov, Rolando Villazon, Plácido Domingo or Michael Volle. Putin congratulated from afar through Dmitri Peskov, because he had been exposed to Corona cases. Part of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Arithmetic of Good charity fund, which helps orphans.
Asteroid 31104 Annanetrebko was named in her honor. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 31 January 2018 (M.P.C. 108697).
== Recordings ==
== Opera roles ==
== Notes ==
== References ==
== See also ==
Teodor Currentzis, Russian Greek conductor
== External links ==
Official website
Reviews, articles, photos and future schedules for Anna Netrebko from The Opera Critic
Profile of Netrebko, The New York Times
Interview with Anna Netrebko on Opera Lively
Anna Netrebko at IMDb
Interview with Anna Netrebko, Stephen Costello, Peter Gelb on Anna Bolena, Charlie Rose, 10 October 2011
Anna Netrebko at IMDb |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sherman#:~:text=Early%20Work%20of%20Cindy%20Sherman,1975%2D1995%20(Paperback). | Cindy Sherman | Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters.
Her breakthrough work is often considered to be the collection Untitled Film Stills, a series of 70 black-and-white photographs of herself evoking typical female roles in performance media (especially arthouse films and popular B-movies).
== Early life and education ==
Sherman was born in 1954, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, the youngest of the five children of Dorothy and Charles Sherman. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to the township of Huntington, Long Island. Her father worked as an engineer for Grumman Aircraft. Her mother taught reading to children with learning difficulties. Sherman has described her mother as good to a fault, and her father as strict and cruel. She was raised Episcopalian.
In 1972, Sherman enrolled in the visual arts department at Buffalo State University, where she majored in painting. During this time, she began to explore the ideas which became a hallmark of her work: She dressed herself as different characters, cobbled together from thrift-store clothing. Frustrated with what she saw as the limitations of painting as a medium of art, she abandoned it and took up photography. "[T]here was nothing more to say [through painting]", she recalled. "I was meticulously copying other art, and then I realized I could just use a camera and put my time into an idea instead." Sherman has said about this time:
"One of the reasons I started photographing myself was that supposedly in the spring one of my teachers would take the class out to a place near Buffalo where there were waterfalls and everybody romps around without clothes on and takes pictures of each other. I thought, 'Oh, I don't want to do this. But if we're going to have to go to the woods I better deal with it early.' Luckily we never had to do that." She spent the remainder of her college education focused on photography. Though Sherman had failed a required photography class as a freshman, she repeated the course with Barbara Jo Revelle, whom she credited with introducing her to conceptual art and other contemporary forms. At college she met Robert Longo, a fellow artist who encouraged her to record her process of "dolling up" for parties. This was the beginning of her Untitled Film Stills series.
In 1974, together with Longo, Charles Clough and Nancy Dwyer, she created Hallwalls, an arts center intended as a space that would accommodate artists from diverse backgrounds. Sherman was also exposed to the contemporary art exhibited at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the two Buffalo campuses of the SUNY school system, Media Studies Buffalo, and the Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Arts, and Artpark, in nearby Lewiston, N.Y.
It was in Buffalo that Sherman encountered the photo-based conceptual works of artists Hannah Wilke, Eleanor Antin, and Adrian Piper. Along with artists like Laurie Simmons, Louise Lawler, and Barbara Kruger, Sherman is considered to be part of the Pictures Generation. She graduated with a BA in 1976.
== Photography ==
Sherman works in series, typically photographing herself in a range of costumes. To create her photographs, Sherman shoots alone in her studio, assuming multiple roles as author, director, make-up artist, hairstylist, wardrobe mistress, and model.
=== Early work ===
Bus Riders (1976–2000) is a series of photographs that feature the artist as a variety of meticulously observed characters. The photographs were shot in 1976 for the Bus Authority for display on a bus. Sherman used costumes and make-up, including blackface, to transform her identity for each image, and the cutout characters were lined up along the bus's advertising strip. Some critiques say that this work showed insensitivity to race through the use of blackface makeup while others state that it was rather with the intention of exposing racism embedded in society. The American theatre critic Margo Jefferson has written, "[The African-American figures] all have nearly the same features, too, while Ms. Sherman is able to give the white characters she impersonates a real range of skin tones and facial features. This didn't look like irony to me. It looked like a stale visual myth that was still in good working order."
Other early works involved cutout figures, such as the Murder Mystery and Play of Selves.
In her landmark photograph series Untitled Film Stills, (1977–80), Sherman appears as B-movie and film noir actresses. When asked if she considers herself to be acting in her photographs, Sherman said, "I never thought I was acting. When I became involved with close-ups I needed more information in the expression. I couldn't depend on background or atmosphere. I wanted the story to come from the face. Somehow the acting just happened."
Many of Sherman's photo series, like the 1981 Centerfolds, call attention to stereotypes of women in society, films, television and magazines. When talking about one of her centerfold pictures Sherman stated, "In content I wanted a man opening up the magazine suddenly look at it with an expectation of something lascivious and then feel like the violator that they would be looking at this woman who is perhaps a victim. I didn't think of them as victims at the time... Obviously I'm trying to make someone feel bad for having a certain expectation".
She explained to The New York Times in 1990, "I feel I'm anonymous in my work. When I look at the pictures, I never see myself; they aren't self-portraits. Sometimes I disappear." She describes her process as intuitive, and that she responds to elements of a setting such as light, mood, location, and costume, and will continue to change external elements until she finds what she wants. She has said of her process, "I think of becoming a different person. I look into a mirror next to the camera...it's trance-like. By staring into it I try to become that character through the lens ... When I see what I want, my intuition takes over—both in the 'acting' and in the editing. Seeing that other person that's up there, that's what I want. It's like magic."
=== Untitled Film Stills ===
The series Untitled Film Stills (1977–1980), with which Cindy Sherman achieved international recognition, consists of 69 black-and-white photographs. The artist poses in different roles (librarians, hillbillies, and seductresses), and settings (streets, yards, pools, beaches, and interiors), producing a result reminiscent of stills typical of Italian neorealism or American film noir of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Sherman avoided putting titles on the images in order to preserve their ambiguity. She would often pose her heroines as alone, expressionless, and in private. An overarching characteristic of her heroines were those that did not follow conventional ideas of marriage and family; they were rebellious women who either died as that or who were later tamed by society. In this series, the gaze seems to come from another subject – "usually a man" – to highlight the concept of the male gaze.
Modest in scale compared to Sherman's later cibachrome photographs, they are all 8 1/2 by 11 inches, each displayed in identical, simple black frames.
Sherman used her own possessions as props, or sometimes borrowed, as in Untitled Film Still #11 in which the doggy pillow belongs to a friend. The shots were also largely taken in her own apartment.
The Untitled Film Stills fall into several distinct groups:
The first six are grainy and slightly out of focus (e.g. Untitled #4).
The next group was taken in 1978 at Robert Longo's family beach house on the north fork of Long Island. (Sherman met Longo in 1976 and began a relationship with him)
Later in 1978, Sherman began taking shots in outdoor locations around the city. E.g. Untitled Film Still #21
Sherman later returned to her apartment, preferring to work from home. She created her version of a Sophia Loren character from the movie Two Women. (E.g. Untitled Film Still #35 (1979))
She took several photographs in the series while preparing for a road trip to Arizona with her parents. Untitled Film Still#48 (1979), also known as The Hitchhiker, was shot by Sherman's father at sunset one evening during the trip.
The remainder of the series was shot around New York, like Untitled #54, often featuring a blonde victim typical of film noir.
The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan purchased the series for an estimated $1 million in 1995.
Untitled Film Still #21 was listed as one of the 100 influential photographs by TIME Magazine.
=== 1980s ===
In addition to her film stills, Sherman has appropriated a number of other visual forms—the centerfold, fashion photograph, historical portrait, and soft-core sex image. These and other series, like the 1980s Fairy Tales and Disasters sequence, were shown for the first time at the Metro Pictures Gallery in New York City.
It was with her series Rear Screen Projections, 1980, that Sherman switched from black-and-white to color and to clearly larger formats. Centerfolds/Horizontals, 1981, are inspired by the center spreads in fashion and pornographic magazines. The twelve (24 by 48 inches) photographs were initially commissioned — but not used — by Artforum's Editor in Chief Ingrid Sischy for an artist's section in the magazine. She poses either on the floor or in bed, usually recumbent and often supine. About her aims with the self-portraits, Sherman has said: "Some of them I'd hope would seem very psychological. While I'm working I might feel as tormented as the person I'm portraying."
In 1982, Sherman began her Pink Robes series which includes Untitled #97, #98, #99 and #100.
In Fairy Tales, 1985, and Disasters, 1986–1989, Cindy Sherman uses visible prostheses and mannequins for the first time. Provoked by the 1989 NEA funding controversy involving photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, as well as the way Jeff Koons modeled his porn star wife in his "Made in Heaven" series, Sherman produced the Sex series in 1989. For once she removed herself from the shots, as these photographs featured pieced-together medical dummies in flagrante delicto.
Between 1989 and 1990, Sherman made 35 large, color photographs restaging the settings of various European portrait paintings of the fifteenth through early 19th centuries under the title History Portraits.
Rear Screen Projections
Rear Screen Projections is a series of photographs created by Cindy Sherman in 1980. This particular body of work features herself as the model in each image, posing in front of various rear-projected landscape scenes. Sherman appears in various guises, often described as "hitchhiker" or "runaway" types. The use of rear-projected images creates a sense of artifice and theatricality, as Sherman's character seems to be placed within, but not truly a part of, the depicted landscape. The settings range from mundane roadside scenes to more exotic, dreamlike vistas.
The series is seen as a continuation of themes explored in Sherman's earlier work Untitled Film Stills (1977-1980), particularly the exploration of female stereotypes and the construction of identity through photography. However, Rear Screen Projections differs in its overt use of artifice, drawing attention to the constructed nature of the image.
This body of work is considered a significant series in Sherman's oeuvre, bridging her early work with her later, more elaborate series. It's recognized for its innovative use of rear projection and its continued exploration of themes of identity, representation, and the constructed nature of reality. [11] The series has been influential on subsequent generations of photographers and artists working with constructed photography and staged self-portraiture.
Fairy Tales
Fairy Tales is a series of photographs created by Cindy Sherman in 1985. The series marks a significant departure from her earlier work, such as the Untitled Film Stills, in its overt engagement with grotesque and abject imagery.
In Fairy Tales, Sherman transforms herself into a cast of disturbing and often repulsive characters, drawing inspiration from classic fairy tales, though not illustrating specific narratives. The photographs feature Sherman in elaborate costumes and makeup, often surrounded by decaying props, discarded objects, and unsettling environments. The images evoke a sense of decay, horror, and psychological distress, subverting the traditional, idealized representations of fairy tale characters.
The series is characterized by its use of vivid color, theatrical staging, and a focus on the grotesque. Sherman employs prosthetics, masks, and other theatrical devices to create monstrous and deformed figures, challenging conventional notions of beauty and femininity.
=== 1990s ===
==== Sex Pictures ====
Sherman uses prosthetic limbs and mannequins to create her Sex Pictures series (1992). Hal Foster, an American art critic, describes Sherman's Sex Pictures in his article Obscene, Abject, Traumatic as "[i]n this scheme of things the impulse to erode the subject and to tear at the screen has driven Sherman [...] to her recent work, where it is obliterated by the gaze."
Reviewer Jerry Saltz told New York magazine that Sherman's work is "[f]ashioned from dismembered and recombined mannequins, some adorned with pubic hair, one posed with a tampon in vagina, another with sausages being excreted from vulva, this was anti-porn porn, the unsexiest sex pictures ever made, visions of feigning, fighting, perversion. ... Today, I think of Cindy Sherman as an artist who only gets better."
Greg Fallis of Utata Tribal Photography describes Sherman's Sex Pictures series and her work as follows: "With her Sex Pictures, Sherman posed medical prostheses in sexualized positions, recreating—and strangely modifying—pornography. An example of this can be seen in her work entitled Untitled,#264. Sherman displays herself with a body made of prosthetic. Her face is the only part of her that shows but is covered by a gas mask meant to emphasize the parts of the female body that tend to be over-sexualized.
=== Society Portraits ===
The Society Portraits is a series of photographs created by Cindy Sherman in 2008. The series features Sherman posing as wealthy, older women.
In Society Portraits, Sherman embodies a range of aging, affluent women. The portraits are characterized by their elaborate costumes, styled hair, and heavy makeup. The women are often adorned with jewelry and designer clothing, and posed in luxurious, though somewhat sterile, settings. Despite the trappings of wealth, the portraits often convey a sense of loneliness, vulnerability, and anxiety. Sherman employs digital manipulation in this series, enhancing wrinkles, sagging skin, and other signs of aging, contributing to the overall effect of unease.
=== 2000s ===
Between 2003 and 2004, Sherman produced the Clowns cycle, where the use of digital photography enabled her to create chromatically garish backdrops and montages of numerous characters. Set against opulent backdrops and presented in ornate frames, the characters in Sherman's 2008 untitled Society Portraits are not based on specific women, but the artist has made them look entirely familiar in their struggle with the standards of beauty that prevail in a youth- and status-obsessed culture.
Her exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 2012 also presented a photographic mural (2010–11) accompanied by films selected by Sherman. In this mural, she photoshopped her face with a decorative backdrop to transform herself into a fictitious environment. Along with other characters, Sherman toys with the idea of reality and fantasy together. Based on a 32-page insert Sherman did for POP using vintage clothes from Chanel's archive, a more recent series of large-scale pictures from 2012 depict outsized enigmatic female figures standing in striking isolation before ominous painterly landscapes the artist had photographed in Iceland during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull and on the isle of Capri.
In 2017, she collaborated on a "selfie" project with W Magazine that was based on the concept of the "plandid", or "the planned candid photograph". Sherman utilized a variety of photo-correction apps to create her Instagram portraits.
From 2019 she showed self-portraits executed as tapestries by a Belgian workshop.
=== Fashion ===
Sherman's career has also included several fashion series, including designs for Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Marc Jacobs. In 1983, fashion designer and retailer Dianne Benson commissioned her to create a series of advertisements for her store, Dianne B., that appeared in several issues of Interview magazine. Untitled #122 from this collection was especially iconic; by working to deemphasise the clothing, she played with the conventions of fashion photography popular at this time. Sherman also created photographs for an editorial in Harper's Bazaar in 1993. In 1994, she produced the Post Card Series for Comme des Garçons for the brand's autumn/winter 1994–95 collections in collaboration with Rei Kawakubo.
In 2006, Sherman created a series of fashion advertisements for designer Marc Jacobs. The advertisements themselves were photographed by Juergen Teller and released as a monograph by Rizzoli. For Balenciaga, Sherman created the six-image series Cindy Sherman: Untitled (Balenciaga) in 2008; they were first shown to the public in 2010. Also in 2010, Sherman collaborated with Anna Hu on a design for a piece of jewelry. She returned to working with Teller on Marc Jacobs' Spring/Summer 2024 campaign.
== Music and films ==
In the early 1990s, Sherman worked with Minneapolis band Babes in Toyland, providing photographs for covers for the albums Fontanelle and Painkillers, creating a stage backdrop used in live concerts, and acting in the promotional video for the song "Bruise Violet." She also worked as a film director.
Sherman moved from photographs to film with her movie Office Killer in 1997, starring Jeanne Tripplehorn, Molly Ringwald and Carol Kane. Dorine, played by Carol Kane, is a stand-in for Sherman. They have a shared interest in arranging bodies, like a puppeteer, in diorama-like scenes. According to author Dahlia Schweitzer, Office Killer is full of unexpected characters and plot twists. Schweitzer considers the film to be a comedy, horror, melodrama, noir, feminist statement, and an art piece. Echoing similar grisly and gory elements as her Untitled Horror series, the film includes several artistically executed murder scenes. Office Killer grossed $37,446 and received generally poor reviews, which called the film "crude" and "laugh-free." In a review for The New York Times, art critic Roberta Smith states that the film lacks the artist's usual finesse and is a retrospective of her work – "a fascinating if lumpish bit of Shermaniana." Movie critic colleague to Roberta Smith, Stephen Holden, called the film "sadly inept."
Later, she had a cameo role in John Waters' film Pecker, and also appeared in The Feature in 2008, starring ex-husband Michel Auder, which won a New Vision Award.
In 2009, Paul Hasegawa-Overacker and Tom Donahue completed a feature documentary, Guest of Cindy Sherman, about the former's relationship with Sherman. She was initially supportive, but later opposed the project.
In the catalog essay by Philipp Kaiser for Sherman's 2016 exhibition at the Metro Pictures Gallery, he mentioned six short films that Sherman made while in college, and how they were the precursors that eventually led to Office Killer being created. The catalog also includes a conversation between Sherman and the director of the exhibit, Sofia Coppola, in which Sherman admits that she may star in an upcoming film project.
== Exhibitions ==
Sherman's first solo show in New York was presented at a noncommercial space The Kitchen in 1980. When the Metro Pictures Gallery opened later that year, Sherman's photographs were the first show. "Untitled Film Stills" were shown first at the non-profit gallery Artists Space where Sherman was working as a receptionist. Her first solo exhibitions in France were presented by Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris.
Sherman has since participated in many international events, including SITE Santa Fe (2004); the Venice Biennale (1982, 1995); and five Whitney Biennials. In addition to numerous group exhibitions, Sherman's work was the subject of solo exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (1982), Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (1987), Kunsthalle Basel (1991), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. (1995), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1998), the Serpentine Gallery in London and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (2003), and Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin (2007), among others. Major traveling retrospectives of Sherman's work have been organized by the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen in Rotterdam (1996); the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1997), which was sponsored by Madonna; and Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, Louisiana Museum for Moderne Kunst, Denmark, and Jeu de Paume in Paris (2006–2007). In 2009, Sherman was included in the seminal show "The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 2012, the Museum of Modern Art mounted Cindy Sherman, a show that chronicled Sherman's work from the mid-1970s on and include more than 170 photographs. The exhibition travelled to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. In 2013, Sherman was invited to organize a show within that year's Venice Biennale.
In 2016, after a sabbatical from her studio which was spent "coming to terms with health issues and getting older," Sherman produced and staged her first photo gallery in five years. The series, "The Imitation of Life," named after a 1959 melodrama by Douglas Sirk, tackles aging by presenting Sherman in highly stylized glamour portraits inspired by the divas of old Hollywood, such as Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, and Ruby Keeler. The series was exhibited in 2016 at the Metro Pictures Gallery in New York City, and also at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles. In 2017 it was shown at the Spruth Magers gallery in Berlin, Germany, and at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio.
In 2019, the National Portrait Gallery, London, organized a major retrospective of Sherman's works from the mid-1970s to the present. In 2024, at the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Sherman's first exhibition in Greece was held, gathering together over a hundred of her early works.
In 2024, Cindy Sherman exhibited Tapestries at Fotografiska Stockholm, presenting a series of tapestries based on her digitally altered Instagram selfies, marking her first major exploration of this medium.
== Feminism ==
In Sherman's Imitation of Life series of 2016 she poses, in vintage costume and theatrical makeup, as a variety of ageing actress-like women.
When writing about Sherman's "Film Stills" in the journal October, the scholar Douglas Crimp states that Sherman's work is "a hybrid of photography and performance art that reveals femininity to be an effect of representation."
However, Sherman does not consider her work or herself to be feminist, stating "The work is what it is and hopefully it's seen as feminist work, or feminist-advised work, but I'm not going to go around espousing theoretical bullshit about feminist stuff."
Many scholars emphasize the relationship Cindy Sherman's work has with the concept of the gaze. In particular, scholars like Laura Mulvey have analyzed Sherman's Untitled series in relation to the male gaze. In a 1991 essay on Sherman, Mulvey states that ″the accouterments of the feminine struggle to conform to a facade of desirability haunt Sherman's iconography,″ which functions as a parody of different voyeurisms captured by the camera.
Others question whether this confrontation with the male gaze and a feminine struggle was an intentional consideration of Sherman's, and whether this intentionality is important in considering the feminist standpoint of Sherman's photography.
Sherman herself has identified an uncertainty toward the Untitled series' relationship with the male gaze. In a 1991 interview with David Brittain in Creative Camera, Sherman said that "I didn't really analyze it at the time as far as knowing that I was commenting upon some feminist issue. The theories weren't there at all... But now I can look back on some of them, and I think some of them are a little blatantly obvious, too much like the original pin-up pictures of those times, so I have mixed feelings about them now as a whole series."
In addition to questions of the gaze, Sherman's work is also given feminist analysis in the context of abjection. Scholars like Hal Foster and Laura Mulvey interpret Sherman's use of the abject via the grotesque in 1980s projects like Vomit Pictures as de-fetishizing the female body.
Scholar Michele Meager interprets Sherman as having been "crowned a resistant celebrity" to feminist theory.
== Art market ==
In 2010, Sherman's nearly six foot tall chromogenic color print Untitled#153 (1985), featuring the artist as a mud-caked corpse, was sold by Phillips de Pury & Company for $2.7 million, near the $3 million high estimate. In 2011, a print of Untitled#96 fetched $3.89 million at Christie's, making it the most expensive photograph at that time.
Sherman was represented by Metro Pictures for 40 years and also by Sprüth Magers before moving to Hauser & Wirth in 2021.
In April 2023, Phillips NY auctioned the 159 cm x 359 cm sized-Untitled #546 (2010) for a well above-estimate $355,600.
== Influence on contemporary artists ==
Sherman's work is often credited as a major influence for contemporary portrait photographers. One such photographer is Ryan Trecartin, who manipulates themes of identity in his videos and photography. Her influence stretches to artists in other art mediums, including painter Lisa Yuskavage, visual artist Jillian Mayer, and performance artist Tracey Ullman.
In April 2014, actor and artist James Franco exhibited a series of photographs at the Pace Gallery called New Film Stills, in which Franco restaged twenty-nine images from Sherman's Untitled Film Stills. The exhibit garnered mainly negative reviews, calling Franco's appropriations 'sophomoric,' 'sexist,' and 'embarrassingly clueless.'
== Personal life ==
Sherman lived with artist Robert Longo, from 1974 to 1980, who also included her in his 'Men in the Cities' series of photographs. She married director Michel Auder in 1984, making her stepmother to Auder's daughter, Alexandra, and her half-sister Gaby Hoffmann. They divorced in 1999. She was then in a 5-year relationship with Paul Hasegawa-Overacker, creator of a documentary film about Sherman. From 2007 to 2011, she had a relationship with the artist David Byrne.
Between 1991 and 2005, Sherman lived in a fifth-floor co-op loft at 84 Mercer Street in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood; she later sold it to actor Hank Azaria. She bought two floors in a 10-story condo building overlooking the Hudson River in West Soho, and currently uses one as her apartment and the other as her studio and office.
For many years, Sherman spent her summers in the Catskill Mountains. In 2000, she bought songwriter Marvin Hamlisch's 4,200-square-foot house on 0.4 acre in Sag Harbor for $1.5 million. She later acquired a 19th-century home on a ten-acre waterfront property on Accabonac Harbor in East Hampton, New York.
Sherman has expressed contempt for social media platforms, calling them "so vulgar." However, she maintains an active Instagram account featuring her selfies.
== Industry and advocacy work ==
Sherman serves on the artistic advisory committee of the New York City-based Stephen Petronio Company and on the Artists Committee of the Americans for the Arts. Along with David Byrne, she was a member of Portugal's Estoril Film Festival's jury in 2009.
In 2012, she joined Yoko Ono and nearly 150 fellow artists in the founding of Artists Against Fracking, a group in opposition to hydraulic fracturing to remove gas from underground deposits.
In 2023, Sherman served on the jury that chose Sarah Lucas as first winner of the New Museum's $400,000 Hostetler/Wrigley Sculpture Award.
Ahead of the 2024 United States presidential election, Sherman was one of 165 leading contemporary artists who contributed pieces to Artists for Kamala, an online sale with all proceeds raised going directly to Kamala Harris' campaign.
== Publications ==
Inverted Odysseys: Claude Cahun, Maya Deren, Cindy Sherman. MIT Press, 1999. Edited by Shelley Rice. ISBN 0-262-68106-4.
Essential, The: Cindy Sherman. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1999. ISBN 0-8109-5808-2.
Cindy Sherman: Retrospective (Paperback). Thames & Hudson, 2000. By Amanda Cruz and Elizabeth A. T. Smith. ISBN 0-500-27987-X.
In Real Life: Six Women Photographers. Holiday House, 2000. By Leslie Sills, et al. ISBN 0-8234-1498-1.
Early Work of Cindy Sherman. Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, 2001 ISBN 0-9654020-3-7.
Cindy Sherman: Photographic Works 1975-1995 (Paperback). Schirmer/Mosel, 2002. By Elisabeth Bronfen, et al. ISBN 3-88814-809-X.
Cindy Sherman: The Complete Untitled Film Stills. Museum of Modern Art, 2003. ISBN 0-87070-507-5.
Cindy Sherman: Centerfolds. Skarstedt Fine Art, 2004. ISBN 0-9709090-2-0.
Cindy Sherman: Working Girl. St. Louis, Missouri: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 2006. ISBN 978-0-9712195-8-8.
Cindy Sherman. The MIT Press, 2006. Edited by Johanna Burton. ISBN 0-262-52463-5.
Cindy Sherman: A Play of Selves. Hatje Cantz, 2007. ISBN 978-3-7757-1942-1.
Cindy Sherman. Museum of Modern Art, 2012. ISBN 0870708120.
Cindy Sherman: Untitled Horrors. Hatje Cantz, 2013. ISBN 978-3-7757-3487-5.
Cindy Sherman's Office Killer: Another Kind of Monster. Intellect Books, 2014. By Dahlia Schweitzer. ISBN 1841507075.
== Films ==
Cindy Sherman [videorecording] : Transformations. by Paul Tschinkel; Marc H Miller; Sarah Berry; Stan Harrison; Cindy Sherman; Helen Winer; Peter Schjeldahl; Inner-Tube Video. 2002, 28 minutes, Color. NY: Inner-Tube Video.
== Artistic Style ==
Cindy Sherman’s artistic style is rooted in conceptual photography and explores the construction of identity, gender, and social roles through self-portraiture.She often assumes multiple characters in her work, using costumes, makeup, and props to transform herself, challenging traditional representations of women in media and popular culture. Her early work, such as the Untitled Film Stills series, is characterized by cinematic references and the portrayal of archetypal female figures, highlighting the influence of visual culture on individual identity.In later series, Sherman experimented with digital manipulation and grotesque imagery to question notions of beauty, fame, and social perception.
Sherman’s style is widely recognized for its critical approach to representation, blending realism with theatricality, and making the viewer aware of the artificiality inherent in images.
== Awards and other recognition ==
1981: Artist-in-residence, Light Work, Syracuse, New York
1994: Larry Aldrich Foundation Award
1995: MacArthur Fellowship
1997: Wolfgang Hahn Prize
1999: Hasselblad Award from the Hasselblad Foundation
2001: National Arts Award
2003: American Academy of Arts and Sciences Award
2005: Guild Hall Academy of the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Arts
2009: Jewish Museum's Man Ray Award
2009: International Artist Award from Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, Colorado.
2010: Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Arts, London
2012: Roswitha Haftmann Prize
2012: Honored by actor Steve Martin at the 10th anniversary Gala in the Garden at the Hammer Museum
2012: Sherman was among the artists whose works were given as trophies to the filmmakers of winning pictures in the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival's jury competitions
2013: Honorary doctorate degree from the Royal College of Art, London
2017: Induction into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum
2020: Wolf Prize in Art
2024: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, presented by Awards Council member Jeff Koons
== Collections ==
Works by Sherman are held in the following collections:
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
The Broad, Los Angeles, CA
Jewish Museum (Manhattan), New York, NY
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI
Menil Collection, Houston, TX
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Tate Modern, Bankside, London
== See also ==
Self-portraiture
Blackface in contemporary art
Laurel Nakadate
List of most expensive photographs
Nikki S. Lee
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Kelly, Michael, "Danto and Krauss on Cindy Sherman". In: M. A. Holly & K. Moxey (eds.), Art History, Aesthetics, Visual Studies. Massachusetts: Clark Art Institute, 2002.
Grosenick, Uta; Riemschneider, Burkhard, eds. (2005). Art Now (25th anniversary ed.). Köln: Taschen. pp. 288–291. ISBN 9783822840931. OCLC 191239335.
Hoban, Phoebe, "The Cindy Sherman Effect". Artnews.com. 2012.
== External links ==
Video on Untitled Film Stills and mass media representations |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwell_O%27Connor#:~:text=Chadwell%20O'Connor%20(October%209,Awards%20in%201975%20and%201992. | Chadwell O'Connor | Chadwell O'Connor (October 9, 1914 – September 5, 2007) was an American inventor and steam engine enthusiast. He is most remembered as the inventor of an improved fluid-damped tripod head, for which he won Academy Awards in 1975 and 1992.
== Early life and education ==
Chadwell O'Connor came from a distinguished family. His father, Johnson O'Connor was a well-known psychometrician and pioneer in the study of aptitude testing. His mother died when he was young and his father remarried the MIT-trained architect and educator Eleanor Manning. The family lived in Boston and O'Connor often accompanied his father to his work at the General Electric factory in Lynn, Massachusetts where he acquired an interest in engineering. O'Connor attended the Stevens Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Shortly after graduating, World War II broke out and O'Connor joined Douglas Aircraft where he was in charge of expediting aircraft production and repair, a vital part of the war effort.
== Steam enthusiast ==
After the war, O'Connor joined Pasadena Power and Light as chief engineer. O'Connor had been interested in steam engines since he was a boy and he applied this knowledge at the power company to improve power production and incineration. In 1974, he used this experience to develop the O'Connor Rotary Combustor that burned municipal garbage to create steam for power generation. The first pilot plant was built in Japan, and in 1980 a production facility was built in Gallatin, Tennessee, that burned 200 short tons (179 long tons; 181 t) a day of municipal waste. This technology was spun out of O'Connor's company, O'Connor Engineering, to a separate company that was later purchased by Westinghouse.
O'Connor had long been fascinated with steam locomotives which he recognized were a dying breed and began photographing them. He later became involved in the refurbishment and reproduction of classic steam locomotives, and owned a 1891 0-4-0 locomotive from 1952-1967. He and his company, O'Connor Engineering Laboratories, recreated the drawings and reproduced copies of the Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific Jupiter locomotives that met for the driving of the Golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah. These reproductions are used in recreations of the event and have been operating at the Golden Spike National Historic Site since 10 May 1979. Disney animator and steam-engine-owner Ward Kimball painted the artwork on the No. 119. In later years, O'Connor maintained his own steamboat which he would fire up and tool around the harbor in Newport Beach, California.
In the 1990s the O'Connors donated one of their steam engines to the Minnesota Transportation Museum for the restoration of the streetcar steamboat Minnehaha. Minnehaha was brought back into service as a working museum in 1996. Through the O'Connors' generosity people are still able to experience a historic steamboat cruise on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, where they can learn about and see a working steam engine.
== The fluid head ==
O'Connor's fascination with photographing steam locomotives led to his best known invention, an improved tripod fluid head with counterbalance and adjustable drag. As he tried photographing moving trains, he became annoyed by the jerkiness of the pictures. To solve this problem he developed a silicone-filled platform that interfaced between the tripod and the camera to allow smooth panning and tilting of the camera. He still viewed this as a hobby and shot more than 100,000 feet of film on the waning days of steam locomotives. One day in 1952, while filming near Glendale, California, he met Walt Disney, who was also a steam enthusiast. Disney was so impressed with the tripod head that he asked if O'Connor could make more for him. O'Connor agreed but said it would take time as he built them in his garage.
At the time, Disney was shooting one of his first nature studies, The Living Desert, and needed a way to shoot moving animals smoothly. The O'Connor head was so successful that Disney immediately ordered 10 more. This film won the first Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 1953. O'Connor founded a part-time business in 1952 to make the heads and by 1969 it was so successful that he left the power company to work full-time on camera heads and steam engines at O'Connor Engineering. O'Connor and Disney maintained a lifelong friendship and business relationship. O'Connor designed the power systems for the steam launches and paddlewheelers at Disney World in Florida.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented O'Connor with a Scientific and Engineering Award (Class II) in 1975 and an Award of Merit in 1992 for the concept and engineering of a fluid-damped camera-head for motion picture photography. In his lifetime, O'Connor received 29 US patents.
== Death ==
Chadwell O’Connor died on September 5, 2007.
== See also ==
Eric Miller, Fluid Head Inventor & Patent Holder
Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Roger E. Broggie
== References ==
== External links ==
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Golden Spike National Historic Site
OConnor Engineering
Replica Jupiter and 119 Locomotives
The Industry Loses Chadwell O'Connor
Chad O'Connor, A Steam Driven Man |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._N._Sinha#:~:text=Sinha,-Article&text=Lal%20Narayan%20Sinha%20was%20a,1972%20until%205%20April%201977. | L. N. Sinha | Lal Narayan Sinha was a lawyer who served as the Attorney General of India between 9 August 1979 and 8 August 1983, and as the Solicitor General of India from 17 July 1972 until 5 April 1977. He was educated at Patna Law College, Patna University.
Sinha was the first Attorney General to represent a private party during their term in office. Before becoming the Solicitor General of India, he was the Advocate General of Bihar for several years.
== Family and early life ==
His son Lalit Mohan Sharma became the Chief Justice of India. His grandson Justice Partha Sarthy currently serves as a Judge in the Patna High Court.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ila_Pant#:~:text=Ila%20Pant%20was%20born%20in,Uttarakhand%20)%20on%2010%20March%201938. | Ila Pant | Ila Pant (born 10 March 1938) is an Indian politician who was a Member of Parliament in 12th Lok Sabha from Nainital constituency of Uttar Pradesh (now part of Uttarakhand). She was married to former minister K. C. Pant.
== Personal life and family ==
Ila Pant was born in Nainital district (Uttarakhand) on 10 March 1938. She is the daughter of Shobha and Govind Ballabh Pande. She graduated from the University of Allahabad with a Bachelor of Arts degree. On 20 June 1957, she married the politician Krishna Chandra Pant from Uttarakhand Brahmin family. The couple has two sons.
== Politics ==
Ila Pant's father-in-law Govind Ballabh Pant was one of the major architect of modern India and a senior Indian National Congress leader, and her husband went on to become a minister as well. She won the 1998 general election as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, winning 38.52% of the votes in the Nainital constituency. She defeated the former Chief Minister and Congress leader Narayan Dutt Tiwari by a margin of 15,557 votes.
During 1998-99, she served as a member of the Committee on External Affairs and of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs.
She has also served on the Board of Governors of the Pant Nagar University, and as a Secretary of the G.B. Pant Memorial Society in New Delhi.
== References ==
== External links ==
Biographical Sketch - Member of Parliament 12th Lok Sabha
Interview of K. C. Pant |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Schaefer | Vincent Schaefer | Vincent Joseph Schaefer (July 4, 1906 – July 25, 1993) was an American chemist and meteorologist who developed cloud seeding. On November 13, 1946, while a researcher at the General Electric Research Laboratory, Schaefer modified clouds in the Berkshire Mountains by seeding them with dry ice. While he was self-taught and never completed high school, he was issued 14 patents.
== Personal life ==
Vincent J. Schaefer was the oldest son of Peter Aloysius Schaefer and Rose Agnes (Holtslag) Schaefer. He had two younger brothers, Paul and Carl, and two younger sisters, Gertrude and Margaret.
The Schaefer family lived in Schenectady, New York, and due to his mother's health, starting in 1921 the family made summer trips to the Adirondack Mountains. Vincent Schaefer had a lifelong association with the Adirondacks, as well as interests in hiking, natural history, and archeology. In his youth he was the founder of a local tribe of the Lone Scouts and with some of his tribe mates wrote and printed a tribe paper called "Archaeological Research." Schaefer credited this publication with his introduction to many prominent individuals in the Schenectady area, including Dr. Willis Rodney Whitney of the General Electric Research Laboratory.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Schaefer built up his personal library on natural history, science, and his other areas of interest and read a great deal. He also organized groups with those who shared his many interests — the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club in 1929, the Van Epps-Hartley Chapter of the New York Archaeological Association in 1931, and the Schenectady Wintersport Club (which established snow trains to ski slopes in the Adirondacks) in 1933–34. In 1931 Schaefer began work on creating the Long Path of New York (a hiking trail beginning near New York City and ending at Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks). During this period Schaefer also created adult education programs on natural history topics which gave him opportunities to speak in the community. Through these many activities Schaefer continued to expand his acquaintances, including John S. Apperson, an engineer at General Electric and a devout conservationist of the Adirondacks. Apperson introduced Schaefer to Irving Langmuir, a scientist at the GE Research Laboratory who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1932 for his work in surface chemistry. Among other things, Langmuir shared Schaefer's love of skiing and the outdoors.
During his retirement, Schaefer worked with photographer John Day on A Field Guide to the Atmosphere (1981), a publication in the Peterson Field Guide series. In addition to continuing his consulting work, Schaefer was in a position to devote much more of his time to some of his lifelong interests such as environmental issues, natural and local history. This included the writing of numerous articles and the delivering of many presentations concerning the natural environment of upstate New York and the human impact on it. He also devoted much of his time to the fight for the preservation of many wilderness areas and parks, such as the Mohonk Preserve, Vroman's Nose, and the Great Flats Aquifer. Schaefer's long-term interest in Dutch barns made it possible for him to assume the editorship of Dutch Barn Miscellany for a time and to build a scale model of a Dutch barn. He also did a lot of research on the original settler families of the Schenectady and Mohawk Valley areas. During his retirement, Schaefer reflected on his extraordinary life preparing timelines, an unpublished autobiography, and indexes to some of his research notebooks and film collections. Schaefer also attended to the disposition of his papers and library. He also worked on a project he entitled "Ancient Windows of the Earth." This involved the slicing of rocks thinly so as to create a translucent effect. When he mounted such pieces on lampshades or other objects, it created a stained-glass window effect from natural rock highlighting the rock's geologic history. As part of this project, Schaefer designed and built a 6' diameter window in memory of his parents for the Saint James Church in North Creek in the Adirondacks.
Schaefer married Lois Perret on July 27, 1935. Until their deaths they lived on Schermerhorn Road in Schenectady, in a house Schaefer built with his brothers, which they called Woestyne South. Woestyne North was the name the Schaefers gave to their camp in the Adirondacks. The Schaefers had three children, Susan, Katherine, and James.
== Professional career ==
=== General Electric ===
In 1922, Schaefer's parents asked him to leave high school and go to work to supplement the family income. On the advice of his maternal uncles, Schaefer joined a four-year apprentice machinist course at General Electric. During the second year of his apprenticeship, Schaefer was granted a one-month leave to accompany Dr. Arthur C. Parker, New York State Archaeologist, on an expedition to central New York. As Schaefer was concluding the apprentice course in 1926 he was assigned to work at the machine shop at the General Electric Research Laboratory, where he worked for a year as a journeyman toolmaker.
Somewhat discouraged by the work of a toolmaker, Schaefer sought to satisfy a desire to work outdoors and to travel by joining, initially through a correspondence course, the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery in Kent, Ohio, in 1927. After a brief period working in Michigan, Schaefer asked to be transferred back to the Schenectady area and for a while worked as an independent landscape gardener. Upon the advice of Robert Palmer, Superintendent of the GE Research Laboratory, in 1929 Schaefer declined an opportunity to enter into a partnership for a plant nursery and instead rejoined the machine shop at the Research Laboratory, this time as a model maker.
At the Research Laboratory machine shop, Schaefer built equipment for Langmuir and his research associate, Katharine B. Blodgett. In 1932, Langmuir asked Schaefer to become his research assistant. Schaefer accepted and in 1933 began his research work with Langmuir, Blodgett, Whitney, and others at the Research Lab and throughout the General Electric organization. With Langmuir, Blodgett and others as well as by himself, Schaefer published many reports on the areas he studied, which included surface chemistry techniques, electron microscope techniques, polarization, the affinity of ice for various surfaces, protein and other monolayers, studies of protein films, television tube brightness, and submicroscopic particulates. An example of Scaefer's lasting contribution to surface science is the description in 1938 of a technique developed by him and Langmuir (later known as the Langmuir–Schaefer method) for the controlled transfer of a monolayer to a substrate, a modification of the Langmuir–Blodgett method.
After his promotion to research associate in 1938, Schaefer continued to work closely with Langmuir on the many projects Langmuir obtained through his involvement on national advisory committees, particularly related to military matters in the years immediately before and during the Second World War. This work included research on gas mask filtration of smokes, submarine detection with binaural sound, and the formation of artificial fogs using smoke generators—a project which reached fruition at Vrooman's Nose in the Schoharie Valley with a demonstration for military observers.
During his years as Langmuir's assistant, Langmuir allowed and encouraged Schaefer to carry on his own research projects. As an example of this, in 1940, Schaefer became known in his own right for the development of a method to make replicas of individual snowflakes using a thin plastic coating. This discovery brought him national publicity in popular magazines and an abundance of correspondence from individuals, including many students, seeking to replicate his procedure.
In 1943, the focus of Schaefer's and Langmuir's research shifted to precipitation static, aircraft icing, ice nuclei, and cloud physics, and many of their experiments were carried out at Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire. In the summer of 1946, Schaefer found his experimental "cold box" too warm for some laboratory tests he wanted to perform. Determined to get on with his work, he located some "dry ice" (solid CO2) and placed it into the bottom of the "cold box." Creating a cloud with his breath he observed a sudden and heretofore unseen bluish haze that suddenly turned into millions of microscopic ice crystals that dazzled him in the strobe lit chamber. He had stumbled onto the very principle that was hidden in all previous experiments—the stimulating effect of a sudden change in heat/cold, humidity, in supercooled water spontaneously producing billions of ice nuclei. Through scores of repeated experiments he quickly developed a method to "seed" supercooled clouds with dry ice.
In November 1946, Schaefer conducted a successful field test seeding a natural cloud by airplane—with dramatic ice and snow effect. The resulting publicity brought an abundance of new correspondence, this time from people and businesses making requests for snow and water as well as scientists around the world also working on weather modification to change local weather conditions for the better. Schaefer's discovery also led to debates over the appropriateness of tampering with nature through cloud seeding. In addition, the successful field test enabled Langmuir to obtain federal funding to support additional research in cloud seeding and weather modification by the GE Research Laboratory. Schaefer was coordinator of the laboratory portion of Project Cirrus while the Air Force and Navy supplied the aircraft and pilots to carry out field tests and to collect the data used at the Research Laboratory. Field tests were conducted in the Schenectady area as well as in Puerto Rico and New Mexico.
When the military pilots working on Project Cirrus were assigned to duties in connection with the Korean War, GE recommended that Project Cirrus be discontinued after comprehensive reports were prepared of the project and the discoveries made. The final Project Cirrus report was issued in March 1953.
=== Munitalp Foundation ===
While Project Cirrus was winding down, Schaefer was approached by Vernon Crudge on behalf of the trustees of the Munitalp Foundation to work on Munitalp's meteorological research program. For a time, Schaefer worked for both the Research Laboratory and Munitalp, and in 1954 he left the Research Laboratory to become the Director of Research of Munitalp. At Munitalp, Schaefer worked with the U.S. Forest Service at the Priest River Experimental Forest in northern Idaho with Harry T. Gisborne, noted fire researcher, on Project Skyfire, a program to determine the uses of cloud seeding to affect the patterns of lightning in thunderstorms (and the resulting forest fires started by lightning). Project Skyfire had its roots in an association between the Forest Service and Schaefer begun in the early days of Project Cirrus. While at Munitalp Schaefer also worked on developing a mobile atmospheric research laboratory and time-lapse films of clouds. Schaefer left Munitalp in 1958, turning down an offer to move with the Foundation to Kenya, but he remained an adviser to Munitalp for several years after that.
=== Scientific education ===
After leaving Munitalp, Schaefer's career turned towards scientific education, and let him put his belief in the power of experimentation and observation over book-learning into practice. He worked with the American Meteorological Society and Natural Science Foundation on an educational film program and to develop the Natural Sciences Institute summer programs which gave high school students the opportunity to work with scientists and on their own to do field research and experimentation. From 1959 to 1961, Schaefer was director of the Atmospheric Science Center at the Loomis School in Connecticut.
During the 1970s, he organized and led annual winter expeditions for 8-10 research scientists to Yellowstone National Park where massive amounts of supercooled clouds were produced by the many geysers, including Old Faithful. There at negative 20-50 Fahrenheit conditions enabled the assembled researchers to perform numerous experiments using dry ice, silver iodide to convert the supercooled water to ice crystals at ground level. Temperature and ice crystal formations allowed first-hand observation of the full range of halo and corona optical effects.
=== Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC), University at Albany, State University of New York ===
From 1962 to 1968, the NSI program was continued with Schaefer's directorship under the auspices of the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) at the State University of New York at Albany (as the University at Albany, State University of New York was then known). During this period, Schaefer also continued his consulting work for many companies, government agencies, and universities. These consulting activities spanned most of Schaefer's career, and extended beyond his retirement from ASRC in 1976.
Schaefer helped found ASRC in 1960 and served as its Director of Research until 1966 when he became Director. Schaefer brought highly qualified atmospheric science researchers to ASRC, many of whom he had met through his work at GE and Munitalp. Bernard Vonnegut, Raymond Falconer and Duncan Blanchard were all veterans of Project Cirrus who joined Schaefer at ASRC. During his years at ASRC, in addition to the NSI summer programs, Schaefer led annual research expeditions to Yellowstone National Park for atmospheric scientists to work in the outdoor laboratory it provided each January. In the 1970s, Schaefer's own research interests focused on solar energy, aerosols, gases, air quality, and pollution particles in the atmosphere. His work in some of these areas culminated in a three-part report on Air Quality on the Global Scale in 1978. In addition, during the 1970s, Schaefer was an instructor in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Chautauqua short courses for science teachers.
== Publications (selected) ==
The presence of ozone, nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide and ammonia in the atmosphere, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, 1978.
The air quality patterns of aerosols on the global scale, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, 1976.
Hailstorms and hailstones of the western Great Plains, Smithsonian Institution, 1961.
The possibilities of modifying lightning storms in the northern Rockies, Northern Rocky Mountain Forest & Range Experiment Station, 1949.
Heat requirements for instruments and airfoils during icing storms on Mt. Washington, General Electric Research Laboratory, 1946.
The Use of high speed model propellers for studying de-icing coatings at the Mt. Washington Observatory, General Electric Research Laboratory, 1946.
The Liquid water content of summer clouds on the summit of Mt. Washington, General Electric Research Laboratory, 1946.
The Preparation and use of water sensitive coatings for sampling cloud particles, General Electric Research Laboratory, 1946.
A Heated, vaned pitot tube and a recorder for measuring air speed under severe icing conditions, General Electric Research Laboratory, 1946.
Fossilizing snowflakes, 1941.
Serendipity in Science: Twenty Years at Langmuir University, An Autobiography by Vincent J Schaefer, ScD, Compiled and Edited by Don Rittner, Square Circle Press, Voorheesville, NY 2013
(405 pages, 15 Chapters, illustrations and B/W photographs)
== Patents ==
U.S. patent 2,108,616 Filed Apr 12, 1935-"Treatment of Materials"
U.S. patent 2,264,892 Filed Dec 6, 1954-"Coating for Electric Devices"
U.S. patent 2,352,976 Filed Apr 12, 1941-"Light-Dividing Element"
U.S. patent 2,374,310 Filed Jun 27, 1941-"Method of Producing Solids of Desired Configuration"
U.S. patent 2,374,311 Filed Jun 21, 1944-"Cathode Ray Tube"
U.S. patent 2,437,963 Filed Mar 24, 1943-"Method and Apparatus for Producing Aerosols"(with Irving Langmuir)
U.S. patent 2,492,768 Filed Sep 18, 1947-"Cloud Moisture Meter"
U.S. patent 2,493,745 Filed Nov 5, 1947-"Method of Making Electrical Indicators of Mechanical Expansion"(with Katharine Blodgett)
U.S. patent 2,527,230 Filed Jan 21, 1948-"Method of Crystal Formation and Precipitation"(with Bernard Vonnegut)
U.S. patent 2,532,822 Filed Nov 18, 1947-"Electrical Moisture Meter"
U.S. patent 2,570,867 Filed Jan 29, 1948-"Method of Crystal Formation and Precipitation"
U.S. patent 2,589,983 Filed Nov 5, 1947-"Electrical Indicator of Mechanical Expansion"(with Katharine Blodgett)
U.S. patent 2,721,495 Filed Mar 6, 1952-"Method and Apparatus for Detecting Minute Crystal Forming Particles"
U.S. patent 2,924,535 Filed Dec 6, 1954-"Method of Depositing a Silver Film"
== References ==
Our History, GE Global Research. Accessed February 14, 2006
Weather Services in the US: 1644-1970, National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office.
<Serendipity in Science: Twenty Years at Langmuir University, and autobiography (1993), Compiled and Edited by Don Rittner, Square Circle Press, Voorheesville, NY>
== External links ==
Finding Aid for the Papers of Vincent J. Schaefer, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives Archived 2013-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, University at Albany Libraries.
Weather Modification: The Physical basis for Cloud Seeding
Manipulating the weather, CBC. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi%C8%99tea_Mare | Viștea Mare | Viștea Mare (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈviʃte̯a ˈmare]) is a mountain peak in the Făgăraș Mountains of the Southern Carpathians of Brașov County in Romania. With an elevation of 2,527 metres (8,291 ft), it is the third highest peak in Romania after Moldoveanu Peak (2,544 m) and Negoiu Peak (2,535 m).
== External links ==
Vistea Mare Peak and many other photos from the Romanian Carpathians Archived 2009-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
(in Romanian and English) Salvamontvictoria.com |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Derby-Lewis#:~:text=and%20meritorious%20service.-,Community%20and%20political%20history,of%20the%20Johannesburg%20Mini%2DCouncil. | Clive Derby-Lewis | Clive John Derby-Lewis (22 January 1936 – 3 November 2016) was a South African politician, who was involved first in the National Party and then, while serving as a member of parliament, in the Conservative Party. In 1993, he was convicted of conspiracy to murder South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani and sentenced to death, a sentence which was later reduced to life imprisonment. Derby-Lewis was described as a "right-wing extremist" by The Daily Telegraph; and as someone who "even by South African standards ... has acquired over the years a reputation as a rabid racist" by journalist and South Africa commentator John Carlin.
He was repeatedly denied parole after he began applying in 2010, after objections from the Hani family. After his parole was declined a number of times, his appeal was taken to court where the judge granted him medical parole on 29 May 2015. He was released from prison in June 2015 after serving 22 years, due to terminal lung cancer. He died from the disease on 3 November 2016.
== Background ==
Derby-Lewis, who was born in Cape Town, was a South African with German and Scots ancestry. He grew up in Kimberley and was educated at the then-Christian Brothers' College. He articled as a chartered accountant and worked for both an accounting firm and an oil company; he also became an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at Blessed Sacrament Church in Johannesburg before he left the Catholic Church in the early 1980s. He later joined the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk (English: Afrikaans Protestant Church), notable as a staunch supporter of Apartheid.
He spent nineteen years as a volunteer in the South African Citizen Force and became the youngest ever commanding officer of the Witwatersrand Rifles Regiment, affiliated with the Cameronians. He was awarded the John Chard Medal for long and meritorious service.
== Community and political history ==
Derby-Lewis joined the National Party and became a town councillor for Bedfordview (1972–1977), Deputy Mayor (1973–1974) and ultimately Mayor (1974–1975), and was made a Freeman of the Johannesburg Mini-Council. He served as the member representing Edenvale, Gauteng, on the Transvaal Provincial Council (1972–1981) where he spent several years as the National Party spokesman for Education and Hospital Services. He also served on the boards of numerous other bodies including hospitals, primary and high schools, and a school for physically challenged children.
Through his involvement in politics, he met Gaye Derby-Lewis, a former nun originally from Australia. They married in 1986. This was his second marriage. Derby-Lewis had three children from his first marriage.
== Parliamentary history ==
Derby-Lewis was a founder member of the Conservative Party at the time of its split from the National Party in 1982, due to a softening of the government's apartheid policies of racial segregation. He was a member of the new party's General Council and Parliamentary Caucus until 1993. He also served on the Transvaal Party Council, in addition to the council's Information and Financial Committee.
Following his unsuccessful election bid in the Krugersdorp constituency, Derby-Lewis was nominated as a member of parliament in 1987 (after the then constitution allowed for political parties to nominate members to the House of Assembly, in addition to their elected representatives). Derby-Lewis served on a number of parliamentary committees. He also represented the Conservative Party on the Standing Committees of Parliament dealing with the Provincial Affairs of Natal, as well as Trade and Commerce.
When the Conservative Party became the Official Opposition he was appointed Chief Spokesman on Economic Affairs, Technology and Mineral Affairs. He was the only member of the Conservative Party Parliamentary Caucus to have served in all four levels of government in South Africa.
During his tenure in Parliament, Derby-Lewis and others in the Conservative Party were staunchly opposed by the anti-apartheid Progressive Federal Party. In March 1988, Derby-Lewis was described by opposition leader Harry Schwarz as the "biggest racist in Parliament".
Derby-Lewis lost his seat after the 1989 election, and was subsequently appointed to the State President's Council, an advisory group, where he served as a member of the Economic Affairs and the Amenities Committees.
He visited London twice in an official Conservative Party of South Africa delegation, including that of June 1989, which included their leader, Dr. Andries Treurnicht and Natal party chief Carl Werth. About that time he joined the London-based Western Goals Institute as an honorary Vice-President, and was one of their delegation to the 22nd World Anti-Communist League Conference in Brussels in July 1990.
During his political career Derby-Lewis had a long history of racially inflammatory remarks, a number of which were considered off-putting even by his Conservative Party colleagues who themselves favoured a racially divided South Africa. In 1989 he claimed in Parliament that "If AIDS stops Black population growth it will be like Father Christmas." He was also overheard in 1989 remarking "What a pity" in response to a report by a minister that an aircraft had had to brake to avoid a black man on the runway at Johannesburg's airport (he later apologised, alleging that the comment had just "slipped out"). Commenting on this, Andries Beyers (a senior Conservative Party official at the time) said: "I think sometimes he became an embarrassment to us. He was very, very hardline. He had a calling to bring English-speakers to the CP, but his personal style put them off."
== Assassination of Chris Hani ==
After the arrest of Janusz Waluś, a Polish immigrant to South Africa, for the assassination on 10 April 1993 of Chris Hani (general secretary of the South African Communist Party and leader of the African National Congress's military wing), it appeared that Derby-Lewis was involved. He had abetted Waluś and had aided him by delivering him the gun used in the assassination. A list of senior ANC and South African Communist Party figures had been developed allegedly by Arthur Kemp and included Nelson Mandela and Joe Slovo.
In October 1993, Derby-Lewis was convicted of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to death for his role in the assassination. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment when capital punishment was outlawed in 1995. Derby-Lewis confessed his role in the assassination in his application to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for amnesty. He said the assassination was encouraged or sanctioned by senior leaders of the Conservative Party. In his defence, Derby-Lewis said that he was acting "in defence of my people, who were threatened with a Communist take-over." He added that his Christian faith within the Afrikaanse Protestant Church was central to his decision: "As a Christian, my first duty is to the Almighty God before everything else. We were fighting against communism, and communism is the vehicle of the Antichrist."
The amnesty application was denied in April 1999. In 2000, the Cape High Court dismissed an application by Derby-Lewis and Waluś to overturn the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's decision.
Derby-Lewis applied in June 2010 for parole, on the grounds that he was over 70, and was entitled to parole in terms of South African law for having served more than 15 years in prison. The following November, Derby-Lewis's lawyer reported that Derby-Lewis was receiving treatment for skin cancer and prostate cancer, hypertension, and for a gangrenous spot in his leg.
On three further occasions (2011, 2013, and 2015) Derby-Lewis was denied medical parole. According to his representative advocate Roelof du Plessis: "The recommendation of the medical parole advisory board refers to a stage 3b cancer of the right lung with probable or inconclusive spread to the left adrenal glands, is inoperable and there is marginal response to concurrent chemo and radiotherapy with poor prognostic features". He died in November 2016.
== References ==
== External links ==
Media related to Clive Derby-Lewis at Wikimedia Commons |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Blitzkrieg#:~:text=Baron%20Blitzkrieg%20later%20joined%20the,of%20a%20similar%2Dthemed%20speedster. | Baron Blitzkrieg | Baron Blitzkrieg is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
== Publication history ==
The character (also known as Baron Reiter and simply the Baron) was created by Gerry Conway and Don Heck, and first appeared in World's Finest Comics #246 (September 1977).
== Fictional character biography ==
Baron Reiter was originally a vicious German army officer during World War II who was blinded and disfigured when a concentration camp prisoner threw a bottle in his face. German scientists experimented on the Nazi which restored his sight, but not his appearance. Nonetheless, he is given superhuman strength, invulnerability, optical energy beams, and the ability to fly. While he can initially manifest each of these abilities one at a time, he underwent training to incorporate these abilities together.
Baron Blitzkrieg's first several appearances were antagonistic encounters with Wonder Woman and Superman. Afterwards, Blitzkrieg was a frequent opponent of the All-Star Squadron; brainwashing Commander Steel, confronting with Hourman which resulted in Red Bee's death, conspiring with Zyklon to use the Liberty Bell to destroy Philadelphia before bring defeated by the original Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick and Jay Garrick / Flash, trying to stay hidden in Jamaica, and being a benefactor of Axis Amerika.
The Baron is the leader of Shadowspire, conspiring with Vandal Savage's Symbolix organization in experimental research behind Damage, and an assassination attempt which is foiled by Deathstroke.
During the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Baron Blitzkrieg joins the Secret Society of Super Villains. He is killed by Superboy-Prime during the Battle of Metropolis.
During the "Blackest Night" storyline, Baron Blitzkrieg's corpse is entombed below the Hall of Justice and later revived as a Black Lantern.
Baron Blitzkrieg appears in a flashback in JSA (vol. 2). During the 1940s, he led Gudra the Valkyrie, Horned Owl, Zyklon, and Nazi soldiers in a bid to steal the Spear of Destiny, only to be thwarted by the Justice Society of America and the Blackhawks.
== Powers and abilities ==
Baron Blitzkrieg has enhanced strength, agility and endurance. Additionally, he wore body armor that offered some protection from physical attacks and possesses heat vision and the ability to fly, and also could travel between Earth-2 and Earth-X.
== Other versions ==
In the alternate Flashpoint timeline, Baron Blitzkrieg makes a minor appearance in which he is killed by Frankenstein.
== In other media ==
Baron Reiter appears in flashbacks depicted in the fourth season of Arrow, portrayed by Jimmy Akingbola. This version is an African individual who grew up in a small village until bandits destroyed it. Though Reiter survived, the event traumatized him and he vowed to never feel that powerless again. After becoming a mercenary and founding Shadowspire, he led them in occupying Lian Yu to find a magical artifact called the Khushu Idol and enslaved people to harvest "Slam" drugs as a front. After A.R.G.U.S. sent Oliver Queen to Lian Yu to infiltrate Shadowspire and uncover Reiter's intentions, he joined forces with a slave named Taiana Venediktov to find a map leading to the idol. Despite finding it, hiding it in a cave system, and detonating the entrance, Reiter found the idol regardless and sacrificed two of his men to gain power from it, acquiring superhuman strength and telekinesis. He subsequently fought Queen and Taiana until the former killed him.
Blitzkrieg appears in Freedom Fighters: The Ray, voiced by Scott Whyte. This version is a male speedster from Earth-X and a member of the New Reichsmen.
== See also ==
List of Wonder Woman enemies
== References ==
== External links ==
Baron Blitzkrieg on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Argentina | Supreme Court of Argentina | The Supreme Court of Argentina (Spanish: Corte Suprema de Argentina), officially the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Spanish: Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación, CSJN), is the highest court of law of the Argentine Nation. It was inaugurated on 15 January 1863. During much of the 20th century, it and the Argentine judicial system in general lacked autonomy from the executive power. It was reformed in 2003 by the decree 222/03.
The Supreme Court functions as a last resort tribunal. Its rulings cannot be appealed. It also decides on cases dealing with the interpretation of the constitution (for example, it can overturn a law passed by Congress if deems it unconstitutional).
The members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President with the agreement of at least two-thirds of the present Senate members in a session convened for that purpose, and can only be removed by an impeachment process called juicio político ("political trial"), initiated by the Chamber of Deputies and carried out by the Senate, exclusively on grounds of improper behaviour.
== Headquarters ==
The Supreme Court of Argentina is headquartered in the Palacio de Justicia, in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of San Nicolás (the surrounding area is commonly known as "Tribunales" due to the palace's location). The building was designed by French architect Norbert Maillart in 1906, and initially inaugurated in 1910. Subsequent works, both logistical and aesthetic, continued until 1942, and among its most noteworthy monuments are Justice, by Rogelio Yrurtia, and José de San Martín, by Luis Perlotti.
== History ==
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Court was composed of five magistrates. Following the 1930 military coup by José Félix Uriburu, which initiated the Infamous Decade, the five justices recognized the new authorities and officialized the rupture of constitutional order, thus beginning a precedent which would affect much of Argentina's history.
During Juan Perón's presidency, the Supreme Court approved decrees which had not been voted by the Congress. In 1947, after the conservative phase of the military rule, General Juan Perón initiated a trial against three of the Supreme Court judges, and the fourth one resigned. Thus, only one of the preceding judges remained in place. From 1946 to 1955, the judicial system in general was in agreement with the Justicialist official policies.
Following the 1955 catholic-nationalist Revolución Libertadora, the five magistrates of the Supreme Court were deposed by the military in power. When the constitutional government of Arturo Frondizi (UCRI) came to power in 1958, three judges resigned. During Frondizi's term, the number of judges of the Supreme Court was increased, while all Peronist judges of the judicial system were removed.
In 1963, the following democratic government, of Arturo Illia (UCRP), also attempted to increase the numerical composition of the Supreme Court. The military coup of Juan Carlos Onganía (known as Revolución Argentina) deposed Illia before implementation of the reform. As soon as the military came to power, they pressured the Supreme Court judges to resign. The latter renounced their offices only a short time before return of the constitutional order in 1973.
An ad hoc tribunal was formed on 24 May 1973. The five new judges were all Peronists, and none of them came from the judicial family, nor had followed a career in courts. Following the March 1976 military coup, the military junta attempted to depose all the Supreme Court magistrates. The latter accepted the imposition of an act formulating the objectives of the so-called "National Reorganization Process", which culminated in state illegal repression and in the disappearances of 30,000 people.
After Carlos Menem's election as president, the Argentine judicial system was the target of much pressure from the executive power. In 1989, Menem expanded Argentina's highest court from five to nine members, and chose the four new justices. The Senate approved Menem's choice on 19 April 1990, during a secret parliamentary session which lasted seven minutes and to which the opposition was not invited. The resignation of judge Bacqué insured an "absolute majority" for Menemism.
=== The Supreme Court since 1994 and the 2003 reform ===
The 1994 constitutional reform slightly changed the mode of nomination of the justices: although they were still proposed by the executive power and approved by the Senate, an absolute majority was no longer needed, 2/3 of the votes of the present members of parliament being sufficient for approval. It also introduced amparo, hábeas corpus and hábeas data.
In the 2000s, since the interim presidency of Eduardo Duhalde and especially during the term of Néstor Kirchner which started in 2003, all members of Menem's "majority" have either been removed or resigned. Dr. Antonio Boggiano, the last of these, was removed on 29 September 2005. Not all justices were replaced, so there were still two vacancies.
The amicus curiae process, allowing third parties to a case to depose a written text before the Court to defend general interest, was then formalized. The process was used in 2001, when Spanish justice sent an international arrest warrant for responsibles of human rights violations in Argentina. An NGO then deposed a text, as third party, before the Argentine court, setting forth the judicial arguments needed to either extradite or judge suspects of human rights violations (an alternative known as subsidiary universal jurisdiction).
This change was an important phase in the 2005 ruling which stated that crimes of forced disappearances were crimes against humanity (Caso Simon). Two years earlier, the Congress had declared the amnesty laws (1986 Ley de Punto Final and 1987 Ley de Obediencia Debida) unconstitutional, thus opening up the way for the trials of suspects of human rights violations during the dictatorship.
Another important reform took place in 2003. Effectively, since 19 June 2003, by presidential decree, candidates for a seat in the Supreme Court must be presented by the Executive Branch for consideration. The nominees' resumes must be made public and announced by the Ministry of Justice, and can be discussed in the media and elsewhere by NGOs, professional law associations, academic and human rights groups, and all citizens in general. After three months, the President, with this advice, can then choose to present the nominee to the Argentine Senate, which must decide on the nomination, needing at least a two-thirds majority for a positive vote.
Furthermore, on 2 July 2003, the Senate approved a reform which forced its Commission to publicize its choices regarding confirmation of the nominations of magistrates of the judicial system and of the public ministry.
Finally, following a colloquium organized by the CELS NGO, Chief Justice Petracchi agreed to publish the Court's decisions.
At times, most recently near the end of 2006, several justices complained that the President's delay in appointing the two vacancies in the Court was problematic, because a nominally nine-member Court needs a majority of five to sign consensual decisions, and demanded that either replacements be appointed for former justices Augusto Belluscio and Antonio Boggiano (as required by law), or that Congress pass a law reducing the Court to seven justices (thus reducing the majority to four).
==== Nazi Propaganda Discoveries ====
In May 2025, while searching its archives for historical documents to assist in the creation of a national museum, the court found materials associated with the Nazi regime, intended to be used to spread fascist ideology in Argentina and across South America.
On 20 June 1941, 83 packages sent from the German Embassy in Tokyo aboard the Japanese Steamship Nan-a-Maru arrived in Buenos Aires. The German diplomatic mission to the country requested the release of the materials, claiming they contained "personal belongings", but the packages were held by the Customs and Ports Division indefinitely. Upon discovery of the documents, Supreme Court President Horacio Rosatti ordered their retention for historical analysis and preservation.
=== List of presidents ===
== Current justices ==
The current composition of the Supreme Court is as follows:
== Assessment ==
The Argentine Supreme Court has historically played an active role in shaping national policy, engaging with key political, social, and institutional issues through its decisions. Rather than acting solely as a neutral interpreter of the law, the Court has taken positions that influence legislative and societal developments. Notable examples include its early protection of property rights amid inflation and its support for divorce prior to the enactment of relevant legislation. In the landmark 1961 Manzanares case, the Court affirmed that judges contribute to the creation of justice alongside lawmakers. Legal philosopher Carlos Santiago Nino further emphasized the judiciary's role in safeguarding democratic procedures and ensuring the fair distribution of justice. During the 1980s, the Supreme Court played a pivotal role in the reestablishment of democracy and the restoration of institutional order following the country's return to civilian rule.
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
Case law of the Supreme Court of Argentina
Ministry of Justice
Argentine President's First 100 Days Break From 30 Years of Business-As-Usual – The renewal process sponsored by the Kirchner administration.
Argentina gets first female Chief Justice – NDTV.com, 29 June 2004.
The new Supreme Court member – Buenos Aires Herald. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Moissan | Henri Moissan | Ferdinand Frédéric Henri Moissan (French pronunciation: [fɛʁdinɑ̃ fʁedeʁik ɑ̃ʁi mwasɑ̃]; 28 September 1852 – 20 February 1907) was a French chemist and pharmacist who won the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in isolating fluorine from its compounds. Among his other contributions, Moissan discovered moissanite and contributed to the development of the electric arc furnace. Moissan was one of the original members of the International Atomic Weights Committee.
== Biography ==
=== Early life and education ===
Moissan was born in Paris on 28 September 1852, the son of a minor officer of the Eastern Railway Company, Francis Ferdinand Moissan, and a seamstress, Joséphine Améraldine (née Mitel). In 1864 they moved to Meaux, where he attended the local school. During this time, Moissan became an apprentice clockmaker. However, in 1870, Moissan and his family moved back to Paris due to war against Prussia. Moissan was unable to receive the grade universitaire necessary to attend university. After spending a year in the army, he enrolled at the Ecole Superieure de Pharmacie de Paris..He was of Jewish descent and practiced the Catholic faith.
=== Scientific career ===
Moissan became a trainee in pharmacy in 1871 and in 1872 he began working for a chemist in Paris, where he was able to save a person poisoned with arsenic. He decided to study chemistry and began first in the laboratory of Edmond Frémy at the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle, and later in that of Pierre Paul Dehérain at the École Pratique des Haute Études. Dehérain persuaded him to pursue an academic career. He passed the baccalauréat, which was necessary to study at university, in 1874 after an earlier failed attempt. He also became qualified as first-class pharmacist at the École Supérieure de Pharmacie in 1879, and received his doctoral degree there in 1880.
He soon climbed through the ranks of the School of Pharmacy, and was appointed Assistant Lecturer, Senior Demonstrator, and finally Professor of Toxicology by 1886. He took the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry in 1899. The following year, he succeeded Louis Joseph Troost as Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the Sorbonne. During his time in Paris he became a friend of the chemist Alexandre Léon Étard and the botanist Vasque.
His marriage, to Léonie Lugan, took place in 1882. They had a son in 1885, named Louis Ferdinand Henri.
=== Death ===
Moissan died suddenly in Paris in February 1907, shortly after his return from receiving the Nobel Prize in Stockholm. His death was attributed to an acute case of appendicitis, however, there is speculation that repeated exposure to fluorine and carbon monoxide also contributed to his death.
=== Awards and honors ===
During his extensive career, Moissan authored more than three hundred publications, won the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the first isolation of fluorine, in addition to the Prix Lucaze, the Davy Medal, the Hofmann Medal, and the Elliott Cresson Medal. He was elected fellow of the Royal Society and The Chemical Society of London, served on the International Atomic Weights Committee and made a commandeur in the Légion d'honneur.
He was elected to honorary membership of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 1892 described as Professor at the Ecole
Supérieure de Pharmacie. 7, Rue Vauguelin, Paris.
== Research ==
Moissan published his first scientific paper, about carbon dioxide and oxygen metabolism in plants, with Dehérain in 1874. He left plant physiology and then turned towards inorganic chemistry; subsequently his research on pyrophoric iron was well received by the two most prominent French inorganic chemists of that time, Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville and Jules Henri Debray. After Moissan received his Ph.D. on cyanogen and its reactions to form cyanures in 1880, his friend Landrine offered him a position at an analytic laboratory.
=== Isolation of fluorine ===
During the 1880s, Moissan focused on fluorine chemistry and especially the production of fluorine itself. The existence of the element had been well known for many years, but all attempts to isolate it had failed, and some experimenters had died in the attempt.
He had no laboratory of his own, but borrowed lab space from others, including Charles Friedel. There he had access to a strong battery consisting of 90 Bunsen cells which made it possible to observe a gas produced by the electrolysis of molten arsenic trichloride; the gas was reabsorbed by the arsenic trichloride.
Moissan eventually succeeded in isolating fluorine in 1886 by the electrolysis of a solution of potassium hydrogen difluoride (KHF2) in liquid hydrogen fluoride (HF). The mixture was necessary because hydrogen fluoride is a nonconductor. The device was built with platinum-iridium electrodes in a platinum holder and the apparatus was cooled to −50 °C. The result was the complete separation of the hydrogen produced at the negative electrode from the fluorine produced at the positive one, first achieved on 26 June 1886. This remains the current standard method for commercial fluorine production. The French Academy of Science sent three representatives, Marcellin Berthelot, Henri Debray, and Edmond Frémy, to verify the results, but Moissan was unable to reproduce them, owing to the absence from the hydrogen fluoride of traces of potassium fluoride present in the previous experiments. After resolving the problem and demonstrating the production of fluorine several times, he was awarded a prize of 10,000 francs. For the first successful isolation, he was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Following his grand achievement, his research focused on characterizing fluorine's chemistry. He discovered numerous fluorine compounds, such as (together with Paul Lebeau) sulfur hexafluoride in 1901.
==== Further studies ====
Moissan contributed to the development of the electric arc furnace, which opened several paths to developing and preparing new compounds, and attempted to use pressure to produce synthetic diamonds from the more common form of carbon. He also used the furnace to synthesize the borides and carbides of numerous elements. Calcium carbide was a noticeable accomplishment as this paved the way for the development of the chemistry of acetylene. In 1893, Moissan began studying fragments of a meteorite found in Meteor Crater near Diablo Canyon in Arizona. In these fragments he discovered minute quantities of a new mineral and, after extensive research, Moissan concluded that this mineral was made of silicon carbide. In 1905, this mineral was named moissanite, in his honor. In 1903 Moissan was elected member of the International Atomic Weights Committee where he served until his death.
== Footnotes ==
== See also ==
List of Jewish Nobel laureates
Tracy Hall - Researchers of Synthetic Diamonds
== References ==
== Further reading ==
== External links ==
Henri Moissan on Nobelprize.org
Scientific genealogy
Books and letters by Henri Moissan in Europeana |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._McKee | Robert A. McKee | Robert McKee (born May 7, 1949) is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, having represented District 2A, which covers part of Washington County. McKee was first elected into office in 1994 when he defeated Democrat Richard E. Roulette. In 1998 he ran unopposed. In 2002, he defeated Peter E. Perini Sr. with 75% of the vote and in 2006, he again ran unopposed, out-matching the write-ins with 99.2% of the vote.
== Education ==
Delegate Robert McKee graduated from South Hagerstown High School. After finishing high school he attended Hagerstown Junior College, where he received his Associates of Arts Degree in 1969. He then transferred to Lynchburg College where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in political science in 1971. Later, he attended Frostburg State University where graduated with his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in 1991.
== Career ==
McKee has been active in his community since graduating from college. He served as a Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1971 to 1977. He served as the executive director of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Washington County, Maryland. He was selected to be a delegate to the Republican Party National Convention in 1972. As a member of the Hagerstown Jaycees, he was the Chaplain from 1978 to 1984.
McKee was the Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Lincolnshire School from 1980 to 1984. He was the President of the Little League of Halfway from 1980 to 1985, and again from 1992 to 1994. Simultaneously, he was the Treasurer of the Washington County Mental Health Association from 1980 to 1987 and Secretary of the Antietam Exchange Club since 1984. Finally, he was Secretary of Parent and Child Center Advisory Committee from 1985 to 1988.
He has received several awards including the Carey Brewer Alumni Award from Lynchburg College, in 1986.
=== Controversy ===
McKee resigned from the House of Delegates on February 15, 2008, after members of the cyber crime unit searched McKee's home, removing a personal computer and other undisclosed items, during a child pornography investigation. McKee's replacement was Republican Andrew A. Serafini.
McKee pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on September 5, 2008, and was sentenced to a 37-month term, which will be followed by lifetime supervised probation. U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles Jr. also ordered McKee to register as a sex offender.
=== Legislative notes ===
voted against the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 (HB359)
voted against in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in 2007 (HB6)[1]
voted against the Healthy Air Act in 2006 (SB154)[2]
voted for slots in 2005 (HB1361)[3]
voted for electric deregulation in 1999 (HB870) [4]
== Election results ==
2006 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 2A
Voters to choose one:
2002 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 2A
Voters to choose one:
1998 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 2A
Voters to choose one:
1994 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 2A
Voters to choose one:
== References and notes ==
== External links ==
http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa12269.html |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_D._Ralph | Leon D. Ralph | Leon Douglas Ralph (August 20, 1932 – February 6, 2007) was an American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1967 to 1976. He died on February 6, 2007, in Long Beach, California, at age 74.
== References ==
== External links ==
Join California Leon D. Ralph |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_72_names_on_the_Eiffel_Tower | List of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower | On the Eiffel Tower, 72 names of French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians are engraved in recognition of their contributions. Gustave Eiffel chose this "invocation of science" because of his concern over the protests against the tower, and chose names of those who had distinguished themselves since 1789. The engravings are found on the sides of the tower under the first balcony, in letters about 60 cm (24 in) tall, and were originally painted in gold. The engraving was painted over at the beginning of the 20th century and restored in 1986–87 by Société Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, the company that the city of Paris contracts to operate the Tower. The repainting of 2010–11 restored the letters to their original gold colour. There are also names of the engineers who helped build the Tower and design its architecture on a plaque on the top of the Tower, where a laboratory was built as well.
== List ==
=== Location ===
The list is split in four parts (one for each side of the tower). The sides have been named after the parts of Paris that each side faces:
The North-East side (also known as La Bourdonnais side)
The South-East side (also known as the Military School side)
The South-West side (also known as the Grenelle side)
The North West side (also known as the Trocadéro side)
=== Names ===
In the table below are all the names on the four sides.
== Criticism ==
=== Women ===
The list contains no women. The list has been criticized for excluding the name of Sophie Germain, a noted French mathematician whose work on the theory of elasticity was used in the construction of the tower itself. In 1913, John Augustine Zahm suggested that Germain was excluded because she was a woman.
=== Hydraulic engineers and scholars ===
Fourteen hydraulic engineers and scholars are listed on the Eiffel Tower. Eiffel acknowledged most of the leading scientists in the field. Henri Philibert Gaspard Darcy is missing; some of his work did not come into wide use until the 20th century. Also missing are Antoine Chézy, who was less famous; Joseph Valentin Boussinesq, who was early in his career at the time; and mathematician Évariste Galois. Other famous French mathematicians are missing from the list: Joseph Liouville and Charles Hermite.
== Notes ==
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Barral, Georges (1892). Le Panthéon scientifique de la tour Eiffel: histoire des origines de la construction de la Tour (in French). Savine. Reprinted as Barral, Georges (2013). Le Panthéon scientifique de la tour Eiffel: histoire des origines de la construction de la Tour (in French). Hachette Livre. ISBN 978-2-01-285936-4.
== External links ==
Media related to 72 names on the Eiffel Tower at Wikimedia Commons
Paris streets named for the 72 scientists |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hlengiwe_Mkhize | Hlengiwe Mkhize | Hlengiwe Buhle Mkhize (6 September 1952 – 16 September 2021) was a South African politician who served as Minister of Higher Education and Training and Minister of Home Affairs under President Jacob Zuma. A member of the National Assembly and national executive since May 2009, she was Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities when she died in September 2021.
Mkhize trained in clinical psychology and spent over a decade in academia at the University of Zululand and University of the Witwatersrand, until in 1995 she was appointed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She chaired the commission's Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee. She went on to serve as South African Ambassador to the Netherlands from 2005 to 2008 before she was elected to the National Assembly in the 2009 general election.
Between 2009 and 2017, Mkhize served Zuma's administration as a deputy minister in four different portfolios: she was Deputy Minister of Correctional Services from 2009 to 2010, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training from 2010 to 2012, Deputy Minister of Economic Development from 2012 to 2014, and Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services from 2014 to 2017. After that, she was promoted to Zuma's second-term cabinet, first as Minister of Home Affairs in 2017 and then as Minister of Higher Education and Training from 2017 to 2018. In February 2018, she was sacked by Zuma's successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, and she retreated briefly to the chairmanship of the Portfolio Committee on Communications. She was appointed to her deputy ministerial position in the Presidency after the 2019 general election.
A longserving member of the African National Congress (ANC), Mkhize was the national treasurer of the ANC Women's League from July 2008 to August 2015. She was a member of the party's National Executive Committee from December 2017 until her death.
== Early life and education ==
Mkhize was born on 6 September 1952. In 1976, she completed a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, social work, and sociology from the University of Zululand, where she was involved in student activism. She went on to complete two postgraduate degrees at the University of Natal: an Honours in psychology in 1978, and a Master's in clinical psychology in 1981.
== Career in academia and activism ==
Mkhize spent over a decade in academia: she was a senior lecturer at the University of Zululand from 1984 to 1990 and then a senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand from 1990 to 1995. During that period, she was also a visiting professor at the University of Illinois and University of Mississippi.
After leaving teaching, she held a series of varied posts in civil society and non-profit organisations. Most notably, from 1995 to 2003, she was a commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the chairperson of the commission's Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee. She also established the National Children and Violence Trust, worked as a reparations officer in the President's Fund in the Ministry of Justice, chaired the board of the South African branch of Transparency International, and chaired the council of the University of Zululand. Mkhize also had various business interests; by the time that she joined the government in 2009, she was a director in 15 private companies, including Aerosud.
Through much of her career in civil society, Mkhize was also an active member of the African National Congress (ANC), the post-apartheid governing party. From 1991 to 2004, she served continuously as a member of the executive of her local ANC branch – from 1991 to 1995 in Diepsloot; from 1995 to 2000 in Sandton; and from 2001 to 2004 in Havana City, Fourways, where she was branch secretary as well as chairperson of the local ANC Women's League.
=== Ambassador to the Netherlands: 2005–2008 ===
In 2005, President Thabo Mbeki appointed Mkhize as South African Ambassador to the Netherlands, a post she held until 2008. In this capacity, she chaired the executive council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons during the early 2000s and was vice-president of the Member States at the International Criminal Court from 2006 to 2008.
=== Treasurer of the ANC Women's League: 2008–2015 ===
On 6 July 2008 in Bloemfontein, Mkhize was elected as National Treasurer of the ANC Women's League. She served under Angie Motshekga, who was elected as league president at the same elective conference. She remained in the treasury for a single extended term, which lasted until August 2015 due to delays in holding the next elective conference. She said that she raised more than R40-million in funds for the ANC Women's League during her tenure. In 2015, she did not stand for re-election, and she was succeeded as treasurer by Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
== Career in government ==
=== Deputy Minister: 2009–2017 ===
She was first elected to the National Assembly of South Africa in the April 2009 general election, representing the ANC. She served in the assembly until her death in 2021, gaining re-election in 2014 and 2019. In addition, after the 2009 election, she was appointed as a deputy minister under the cabinet of newly elected President Jacob Zuma, who named her as Deputy Minister of Correctional Services under Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Mkhize was viewed as a political supporter and ally of Zuma.
In a reshuffle announced on 31 October 2010, Mkhize was appointed as Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, under Minister Blade Nzimande. She served in that position until 12 June 2012, when she was appointed to succeed Enoch Godongwana as Deputy Minister of Economic Development under Minister Ebrahim Patel. Finally, in her fourth and final deputy ministerial position in Zuma's administration, she was appointed as Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services when that portfolio was established after the 2014 general election.
=== Minister of Home Affairs: 2017 ===
Late on 30 March 2017, Zuma announced another cabinet reshuffle in which Mkhize was promoted to his second-term cabinet, succeeding Malusi Gigaba as Minister of Home Affairs. Early in her tenure as minister, Mkhize attracted media attention for defending her predecessor's controversial decision to grant South African citizenship to members of the Gupta family, a decision that critics claimed amounted to unfair preferential treatment. Also controversial was Mkhize's decision to place Mkuseli Apleni, the director-general of the Department of Home Affairs, on precautionary suspension. Apleni said that she did not have proper grounds for the suspension and threatened to sue the ministry, while the Select Committee on Social Services raised its own doubts about the decision.
=== Minister of Higher Education and Training: 2017–2018 ===
Mkhize spent less than a year in the home affairs portfolio before, on 17 October 2017, she was appointed as Minister of Higher Education and Training, succeeding her former boss, Blade Nzimande. While she was serving in this office, Mkhize attended the ANC's 54th National Conference, at which she was elected to a five-year term as a member of the party's National Executive Committee. By number of votes received, she was ranked 73rd of the committee's 80 ordinary members.
=== Portfolio committees: 2018–2019 ===
On 26 February 2018, Mkhize was sacked from the cabinet by Cyril Ramaphosa, who had recently succeeded Zuma as president. She was replaced by Naledi Pandor and retreated to the backbenches of the National Assembly, where she spent several months as an ordinary member of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education and Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation. On 6 November 2018, she was elected to chair the Portfolio Committee on Communications after the former chairperson, Humphrey Maxegwana, became chair of the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interest. She remained in the chair until after the May 2019 general election.
=== Deputy Minister in the Presidency: 2019–2021 ===
Pursuant to the 2019 general election, Ramaphosa appointed Mkhize as Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. She deputised Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. She served in the office until her death in 2021, making her last parliamentary appearance on 19 August 2021 when she cast her vote to elect Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as the Speaker of the National Assembly.
== Personal life and death ==
Mkhize was diagnosed with lung cancer in March 2017, and she was hospitalised on 31 August 2021. She died in hospital in Johannesburg on 16 December 2021, aged 69. President Ramaphosa granted her an official funeral.
She was married to Pat Mkhize. They had four children – three daughters and a son – and a grandson. She was also the chairperson of the June and Andrew Mlangeni Foundation.
== References ==
== External links ==
Hlengiwe Mkhize at People's Assembly
Memorial service livestream at SABC News |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KEEY-FM | KEEY-FM | KEEY-FM (102.1 MHz, "K102") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul radio market and Western Wisconsin. It broadcasts a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studios and offices are on Utica Avenue South in St. Louis Park. KEEY-FM carries two syndicated programs from co-owned Premiere Networks: CMT Nights with Cody Alan, heard overnight, and The Bobby Bones Show, heard Sunday evenings.
KEEY-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. The transmitter is on Ramby Avenue in Shoreview, near Interstate 694. KEEY-FM broadcasts using HD Radio technology; the HD3 subchannel simulcasts the Hmong language format originating on WIXK (1590 AM); the HD3 sub-channel feeds FM translator K294AM (106.7 MHz).
== History ==
=== KSTP-FM ===
The 102.1 FM frequency was originally home to KSTP-FM, which launched in 1947. The station was the FM counterpart of Hubbard Broadcasting's AM 1500 KSTP. However, few people owned FM radios in those days, and management was doubtful the station could become profitable. Hubbard shut down the original KSTP-FM in 1952, and the license was cancelled. The current KSTP-FM was re-established in 1965 on its present-day 94.5 MHz frequency.
=== WMIN-FM ===
The owners of WMIN (1400 AM) relaunched the station on October 1, 1967. It originally had the WMIN-FM call sign and it simulcast the AM station. It became KEEY ("Key") in 1968, ending the simulcast.
The FM station programmed Drake-Chenault's automated "Hit Parade '68", an adult contemporary format with no disc jockeys. Drake's promotional materials indicated it was targeted to the 18-49 age group, for "those people who may not like Top 40 as a steady diet, and those who are not particularly fond of some of the outdated MOR stations".
=== K102 ===
In 1971, KEEY-FM switched to beautiful music, along with its AM sister station of the same name. The FM station was later co-owned with another AM station, WDGY. KEEY-FM played quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental cover versions of popular songs, along with some Broadway and Hollywood show tunes.
KEEY-FM and WDGY switched to the current country music format in late 1982 as "K102." KEEY-FM quickly became a dominant force in the market. In 2000, the station was acquired by AMFM, Inc., a forerunner of today's iHeartMedia, Inc.
=== Awards ===
K102 was named "Major Market Station of the Year" by the Country Music Association in 2005 while being programmed by Gregg Swedberg. In 2010, K102 was the Academy Of Country Music's "Major Market Station of the Year." In 2012, The K102 Wake-up Crew with Donna and Muss won the CMA award in the "Major Market Personalities" category. The station and its personalities have been nominated many times for CMA and ACM awards.
In 2007, the station was nominated for the top 25 markets Country music Radio & Records magazine station of the year award. Other nominees included WUSN Chicago, KYGO-FM Denver, WYCD Detroit, WXTU Philadelphia, and KSON-FM San Diego.
== HD Radio ==
On April 25, 2006, iHeartMedia (then known as Clear Channel Communications) announced that KEEY-FM would broadcast an HD Radio signal. KEEY-FM's HD2 signal, known as "K*102 New", carried a format focusing on new hits from today's and up-and-coming country music stars. Formerly during Christmas time, KEEY-HD2 carried KQQL's classic hits format when that co-owned station switched to all Christmas music.
In November 2018, KEEY-FM launched an HD3 sub-channel carrying a soft adult contemporary format known as "The Breeze", as well as relaunching and rebranding KEEY-FM HD2 as "The Wolf 102.1 HD2".
In May 2019, KEEY-HD2 reverted to its previous "K102 New" branding. Competitor country station KMNB now calls itself "102.9 The Wolf."
In August 2019, KEEY-FM HD2's Country music format was replaced with Christian Contemporary music from iHeart's "UP!" network.
As of April 2021, the "Breeze" programming that was airing on KEEY-HD3 moved to the HD2 sub-channel. The HD3 sub-channel was then flipped to a simulcast of Hmong language WIXK, and became the new relay for FM translator K294AM (106.7 MHz, licensed to West St. Paul).
== References ==
== External links ==
K102 KEEY-FM official website
Facility details for Facility ID 59967 (KEEY-FM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
KEEY-FM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
Radiotapes.com Featuring an aircheck of KEEY's Hit Parade '71, an aircheck when the station programmed Beautiful Music in 1976 plus airchecks and videos of other Minneapolis/St. Paul radio stations dating back to 1924 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Huron,_Michigan#:~:text=Port%20Huron%20is%20a%20city,28%2C983%20at%20the%202020%20census. | Port Huron, Michigan | Port Huron is a city in and the county seat of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously.
Port Huron is located along the source of the St. Clair River at the southern end of Lake Huron. The city is along the Canada–United States border and directly across the river from Sarnia, Ontario. The two cities are connected by the Blue Water Bridge at the eastern terminus of Interstate 69/Interstate 94. Port Huron has the easternmost point of land in the state of Michigan and is also one of the northernmost areas included in the Detroit–Warren–Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area (Metro Detroit).
== History ==
This area was long occupied by the Ojibwa people. French colonists had a temporary trading post and fort at this site in the 17th century.
In 1814, following the War of 1812, the United States established Fort Gratiot at the base of Lake Huron. A community developed around it. The early 19th century was the first time a settlement developed here with a permanent European-American population. In the 19th century, the United States established an Ojibwa reservation in part of what is now Port Huron, in exchange for their cession of lands under treaty for European-American settlement. But in 1836, under Indian Removal, the US forced the Ojibwa to move west of the Mississippi River and resettle in what are now the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota.
In 1857, Port Huron became incorporated. Its population grew rapidly after the 1850s due a high rate of immigration: workers leaving poverty, famine, and revolutions in Europe were attracted to the successful shipbuilding and lumber industries in Michigan. These industries supported development around the Great Lakes and in the Midwest. In 1859 the city had a total of 4,031 residents; some 1,855, or 46%, were foreign-born or their children (first-generation Americans).
By 1870, Port Huron's population exceeded that of surrounding villages. In 1871, the State Supreme Court designated Port Huron as the county seat of St. Clair County.
On October 8, 1871, the city, as well as places north in Sanilac and Huron counties, burned in the Port Huron Fire of 1871. A series of other fires leveled Holland and Manistee, as well as Peshtigo, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois on the same day. The Thumb Fire that occurred a decade later, also engulfed Port Huron.
In 1895 the village of Fort Gratiot, in the vicinity of the former Fort Gratiot, was annexed by the city of Port Huron.
The following historic sites have been recognized by the State of Michigan through its historic marker program.
Fort St. Joseph. The fort was built in 1686 by the French explorer Duluth. This fort was the second European settlement in lower Michigan. This post guarded the upper end of the St. Clair River, the vital waterway joining Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Intended by the French to bar English traders from the upper lakes, the fort in 1687 was the base of a garrison of French and Indian allies. In 1688 the French abandoned this fort. The site was incorporated into Fort Gratiot in 1814. A park has been established at the former site of the fort.
Fort Gratiot Light. The Fort Gratiot Lighthouse was built in 1829 to replace a tower destroyed by a storm. In the 1860s workers extended the tower to its present height of 84 feet (26 m). The light, automated in 1933, continues to guide shipping on Lake Huron into the narrow and swift-flowing St. Clair River. It was the first lighthouse established in the State of Michigan.
Lightship Huron. From 1935 until 1970, the Huron was stationed in southern Lake Huron to mark dangerous shoals. After 1940 the Huron was the only lightship operating on the Great Lakes. Retired from Coast Guard Service in 1970, she was presented to the City of Port Huron in 1971.
Grand Trunk Railway Depot. The depot, which is now part of the Port Huron Museum, is where 12-year-old Thomas Edison departed daily on the Port Huron–Detroit run. In 1859, the railroad's first year of operation, Edison convinced the railroad company to let him sell newspapers and confections on the daily trips. He became so successful that he soon placed two newsboys on other Grand Trunks running to Detroit. He made enough money to support himself and to buy chemicals and other experimental materials.
Port Huron Public Library. In 1902 the city of Port Huron secured money from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to erect a municipal library and arranged for matching operating funds. In 1904, a grand Beaux-Arts-style structure was built at a cost of $45,000. At its dedication, Melvil Dewey, creator of a widely used book classification system, delivered the opening address. The Port Huron Public Library served in its original capacity for over sixty years. In 1967, a larger public library was constructed. The following year the former library was renovated and re-opened as the Port Huron Museum of Arts and History. An addition was constructed in 1988.
Harrington Hotel. The hotel opened in 1896 and is a blend of Romanesque, Classical and Queen Anne architecture. The hotel closed in 1986, but a group of investors bought the structure that same year to convert it into housing for senior citizens. The Harrington Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Grand Trunk Western Railroad Tunnel. The tunnel was opened in 1891 and links Port Huron with Canada. This international submarine railway tunnel was the first international tunnel in the world. The tunnel's total length is 6,025 feet (1,836 m), with 2,290 feet (700 m) underwater. The tunnel operations were electrified in 1908; half a century later they were converted to use diesel fuel. Tracks were lowered in 1949 to accommodate larger freight cars. During World War I, a plot to blast the tunnel was foiled. A new tunnel has since been opened.
The city was hit by a violent F4 tornado on May 21, 1953, damaging or destroying over 400 structures, killing two, and injuring 68.
The city received the All-America City Award in 1955 and 2005.
In June 1962, the Port Huron Statement, a New Left manifesto, was adopted at a convention of the Students for a Democratic Society. The convention did not take place within the actual city limits of Port Huron, but instead was held at a United Auto Workers retreat north of the city (now part of Lakeport State Park). A historical marker will be erected on the site in 2025.
Port Huron is the only site in Michigan where a lynching of an African-American man took place. On May 27, 1889, in the early morning, a mob of white men stormed the county jail to capture 23-year-old Albert Martin. A mixed-race man, he was accused of attacking a woman. They hanged him from the 7th Street Bridge. A memorial was installed in 2018 at the site, recounting Martin's history. The city collaborated with the Equal Justice Initiative on this memorialization.
On November 11, 2017, veterans from around the country, such as Dave Norris, Clitus Schuyler, and Lou Ann Dubuque, joined together at a cemetery in Port Huron to share the significance of Veterans Day.
In April 2023, the Pere Marquette Railway bascule bridge was demolished after a nearly decade long battle between preservationists and the Port Huron Yacht Club. Built in 1931, the structure was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and was one of only six similar bridges remaining in the US.
=== Historic photographs ===
== Geography ==
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.26 square miles (31.75 km2), of which 8.08 square miles (20.93 km2) is land and 4.18 square miles (10.83 km2) is water. The city is considered to be part of the Thumb area of East-Central Michigan, also called the Blue Water Area. The easternmost point (on land) of Michigan can be found in Port Huron, near the site of the Municipal Office Center and the wastewater treatment plant. The Black River divides the city in half, snaking through Port Huron and emptying into the St. Clair River near Downtown.
=== Climate ===
Port Huron has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfa) with hot summers, cold winters, and rain or snow in all months of the year.
== Demographics ==
Port Huron is the largest city in the Thumb area, and is a center of industry and trade for the region.
=== 2010 census ===
As of the census of 2010, there were 30,184 people, 12,177 households, and 7,311 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,735.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,442.3/km2). There were 13,871 housing units at an average density of 1,716.7 per square mile (662.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.0% White, 9.1% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 5.4% of the population.
There were 12,177 households, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.5% were married couples living together, 19.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.03.
The median age in the city was 35.8 years. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 25.2% were from 45 to 64; and 13.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.
== Culture ==
The Port Huron Museum is a series of four museums, namely:
Carnegie Center (Port Huron Museum)
Huron Lightship
Thomas Edison Depot Museum
Fort Gratiot Lighthouse
The Great Lakes Maritime Center offers opportunities to learn about the history of the Great Lakes. Freighters pass within 100 feet (30 m) of the glass windows, and there is an underwater live camera feed.
The Desmond District Demons is a horror film festival, held at the end of October annually. The festival focuses on elevating the horror genre, hosting independent film screenings alongside a Dark Arts Exhibition showcasing local artists.
The Black River Film Society is a community focused on cultivating the areas independent film screenings and host regular film related events, such as premiering Stockholm (2018 film) in Michigan, Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story and Sincerely Brenda.
The School for Strings presents over 50 concerts each year with its Fiddle Club, Faculty, and Student Ensembles. It provides music education across the area.
Each year, the Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race is held, with a starting point in Port Huron north of the Blue Water Bridge. The race finishes at Mackinac Island, crossing Lake Huron. It is considered by some boaters to be a companion to the longer Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac.
The Port Huron Civic Theatre began in 1956 by a group of theater lovers. Since 1983, it has used McMorran Place for its productions.
The Blue Water Film Festival (2010–2014) was held in the fall, which had notables such as Chris Gore, Sid Haig, Curtis Armstrong, Timothy Busfield, Loni Love, Dave Coulier.
The main branch of the St. Clair County Library is located in downtown Port Huron. The library contains more than 285,300 books, nearly 200 magazine subscriptions, and over 22,700 books on tape, books on compact disc, music compact discs, cassettes, and videos.
The International Symphony Orchestra of Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan perform events at McMorran Place, Port Huron Northern Theatre and Temple Baptist Church in Sarnia.
Encompassing over 100 homes and buildings, the Olde Town Historic District is Port Huron's first and only residential historic district. The Olde Town Historic Neighborhood Association is an organization working to preserve historic architecture in Port Huron. They have hosted an annual historic home tour, flower plantings and beautification and neighborhood Christmas decorations.
The Welkin Base Ball Club is Port Huron's historic vintage base ball team. Modeled on Port Huron's first baseball club from 1867, the Welkin Base Ball Club re-creates the time of baseball's roots.
=== Pop culture ===
A reference to the Port Huron Statement was made in the Coen Brothers film The Big Lebowski.
In 2009, the TV show Criminal Minds used Port Huron and Detroit as locations for an episode involving crossing the border into Ontario.
== Sports ==
Port Huron has had a strong tradition of minor league hockey for many years.
The Port Huron Flags played in the original International Hockey League from 1962 to 1981, winning three Turner Cup championships in 1966, 1971 and 1972. Its leading career scorers were Ken Gribbons, who played most of his career in the IHL; Bob McCammon, a lifelong IHLer who went on to be a National Hockey League coach with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Vancouver Canucks; Bill LeCaine and Larry Gould, who played a handful of NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks, respectively.
Legendary NHL hockey broadcaster Mike Emrick started his career doing play-by-play hockey for the Flags on AM 1450 WHLS in the mid 1970s. Emrick would go on to broadcast Olympic hockey games and Stanley Cup playoffs for NBC Sports, and is a frequent guest contributor to sister station WPHM.
Port Huron was also represented in the Colonial Hockey League (also operating under the names United Hockey League and International Hockey League), with franchises from 1996 until the league folded in 2010. Originally called the Border Cats, the team was renamed the Beacons in 2002, the Flags in 2005 and the Icehawks in 2007. Among the more notable players were Bob McKillop, Jason Firth, Tab Lardner and Brent Gretzky.
The Port Huron Fighting Falcons of the junior North American Hockey League played at McMorran Place, beginning in 2010 until 2013. The team moved to Connellsville, PA for the 2014 season. The team's name was changed to the Keystone Ice Miners.
Port Huron is also home to the Port Huron Prowlers of the Federal Prospects Hockey League.
The Port Huron Pirates indoor football team dominated the Great Lakes Indoor Football League up until their departure to Flint, MI. McMorran Arena once again hosted indoor football with the Port Huron Predators of the Continental Indoor Football League in 2011. The Predators failed to finish the 2011 season, and were replaced in 2012 by the Port Huron Patriots who also participated in the CIFL.
== Parks ==
The City of Port Huron owns and operates 17 waterfront areas containing 102 acres (0.4 km2) and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of water frontage. This includes three public beaches and six parks with picnic facilities. The city also has nine scenic turnout sites containing over 250 parking spaces. Port Huron operates the largest municipal marina system in the state and has five separate locations for boat mooring.
The city has 14 public parks, 4 smaller-sized “tot” parks, 19 playgrounds (City owned), 9 playgrounds (School owned), 33 tennis courts, including 16 at schools and 6 indoors, 3 public beaches, 4 public swimming pools, 1 community center, and 1 public parkway.
== Government ==
The city government is organized under a council–manager government form. The City Council is responsible for appointing a city manager, who is the chief administrative officer of the city. The manager supervises the administrative affairs of the city and carries out the policies established by the City Council. As the Chief Administrative Officer, the City Manager is responsible for the organization of the administrative branch and has the power to appoint and remove administrative officers who are responsible for the operation of departments which carry out specific functions. The City Council consists of seven elected officials—a mayor and six council members. Beginning with the 2011 election, citizens voted separately for Mayor and Council. Council members will serve staggered four-year terms and the mayor will serve a two-year term. The city levies an income tax of 1 percent on residents and 0.5 percent on nonresidents.
The current mayor is Anita Ashford, who was elected in November 2024 to her first two year term after defeating eight term incumbent Pauline Repp.
Port Huron lies in the 64th State House District and is represented by Republican Joseph G. Pavlov. In the State Senate, Port Huron is represented by Dan Lauwers in the 25th State Senate District.
Federally, Port Huron is part of Michigan's 9th Congressional District, represented by Republican Lisa McClain, elected in 2022.
=== Backyard chicken-keeping ===
In early 2025, residents of Port Huron, Michigan, initiated efforts to legalize the keeping of backyard chickens within city limits. Advocates highlighted concerns about food insecurity, noting that approximately one in twelve families in Port Huron struggle with access to nutritious food. They argued that allowing residents to raise chickens could provide a sustainable source of protein and foster community resilience through the sharing of surplus eggs.
On March 10, 2025, the Port Huron City Council discussed a proposal to amend local ordinances to permit residents to keep up to five hens on properties of at least a quarter-acre. Advocates emphasized benefits such as enhanced sustainability, reduced reliance on external food supply chains, and alignment with practices in other Michigan cities like Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor. The proposal included stipulations to address concerns about noise and animal welfare, such as prohibiting roosters and collaborating with the St. Clair County Humane Society to manage complaints.
The ordinance amendment was formally introduced on April 14, 2025, with the City Council voting 6–1 in favor. The proposed regulations specify that hens must be confined in a backyard coop with at least one square foot per bird, accompanied by an enclosed run no larger than eight by eight feet. Coops must be situated at least ten feet from property lines and twenty feet from neighboring residences. The ordinance also mandates daily feeding and watering, regular cleaning to prevent vermin and insect infestations, and prohibits keeping hens inside residences, porches, or attached garages.
These developments in Port Huron reflect a broader trend in Michigan toward supporting urban agriculture and self-sufficiency. State Representative Jim DeSana reintroduced legislation in February 2025 aimed at easing zoning restrictions for backyard chickens, proposing that residents with at least a quarter-acre of residential property be allowed to keep up to five hens per quarter-acre, with a maximum of twenty-five hens. The legislation seeks to bolster food security and reduce grocery expenses for families.
== Education ==
High schools
Port Huron Northern High School
Port Huron High School
Harrison Center
Colleges
St. Clair County Community College
== Economy ==
=== Industry ===
Some of Port Huron's earliest industries were related to the agriculture and forest products industry.
Lumbering in the Port Huron region seems to have started on the Black River about 1827. It quickly became the center of the lumbering industry for the region, in which logs from further north in The Thumb could be floated downriver. The continued need to supply Port Huron's sawmills with fresh timber lead to the development the Port Huron and Northwestern Railroad and fueled the city's booming shipbuilding industry.
A large grain elevator was located on the St. Clair River just north of the current Municipal Office Center. A bean dock was located on the St. Clair River, where dry edible beans from points north in the Thumb were loaded into ships. The dock operated as the Port Huron Terminal Company. Currently the bean dock is used as an event venue.
==== Chicory ====
Port Huron was also a national leader in the chicory coffee substitute industry. Future Congressman Henry McMorran in 1902 started Port Huron's chicory processing plant, located on the Black River near 12th Avenue. A second chicory plant operated at 3rd and Court Streets in Port Huron, which would later be purchased by McMorran's son. The roadside weed which grew in areas of the Thumb and Saginaw Valleys was brought to Port Huron for processing and then shipped worldwide. Chicory was commonly used as a coffee substitute especially in wartime.
==== Munitions ====
Wartime also brought another industry to Port Huron: the Mueller Metals Company, which built a factory in Port Huron in 1917. The plant primarily made shell casings for World War I. The factory was originally owned by the Mueller Co., and since has been spun off into its own entity called Mueller Industries. The Port Huron Factory is still in operation, located on Lapeer Road on the city's west side, where they produce a variety of valves and fittings.
==== Shipbuilding ====
Jenks Shipbuilding Company was founded in 1889, renamed in 1903 as Port Huron Shipbuilding and ceased operations sometime after 1908. The shipyard was found on the north bank of the Black River between Erie Street and Quay Street which is now a parking area for Bowl O Drome and Port Huron Kayak Launch.
Ships built by Jenks include:
SS Henry Steinbrenner - 1901 bulk freighter, lost in a storm on Lake Superior
SS John B. Cowle - 1902 bulk freighter
MS Normac - 1902 former fireboat and floating restaurant
SS Eastland - 1902 passenger vessel, capsized in Chicago in the worst maritime disaster on the Great Lakes.
==== Steam Tractors ====
The Upton Manufacturing Company moved to Port Huron and began building steam tractors in 1890 under the name of the Port Huron Engine and Thresher Company. The company made steam traction engines, agricultural machinery, and even construction equipment. Over 6,000 total units were built in Port Huron before the factory closed in 1920.
==== Gas and Oil ====
The discovery of oil in nearby Petrolia, Ontario sparked an era of oil speculation, and lead to Michigan's first commercial oil well being drilled in Port Huron in 1886. A total of 21 wells were drilled in the city by 1910, with "small amounts of oil and gas" discovered. Though not much oil was produced in these wells, it did lead to further exploration throughout St. Clair County and Mid-Michigan.
==== Paper making ====
There were two paper mills in Port Huron. The first was the Michigan Sulphite Fibre Company, later Port Huron Sulphite and Paper Company, which opened in 1888 and manufacturing paper clothing at a factory in along the Black River. The company later transitioned to more specialty types of paper, and was sold to the E. B. Eddy Company in 1987, which was acquired by Domtar in 1998. The mill specialized in papers for the medical and food service industries.
Adjacent to the Domtar Mill is the site of the former Acheson Colloids Company. Dr. Edward Acheson in 1908 founded the company, which made a variety of chemical and carbon-based products. The carbon manufactured by Acheson would be used to produce carbon paper at the adjacent Port Huron Paper Company, under the Huron Copysette brand. The factory was purchased by Henkel and closed in 2010. However, Henkel continues to manufacture ink and carbon products using the Acheson name.
Dunn Sulphite Paper Co. was erected upon the shores of Lake Huron in 1924, just north of the Blue Water Bridge. It too was a specialty paper mill and was owned by the Dunn Family of Port Huron for the first quarter-century of operation. After a series of sales to larger corporations, including the James River Corporation, the mill was purchased by a private equity firm in 2003 which re-instated the Dunn name. The Dunn Paper mill closed in 2022, and the remaining Dunn mills were renamed BiOrigin Specialty Products.
Domtar closed the Port Huron mill in 2021. It was announced in 2025 that the former Domtar Mill was sold and would restart production on one if its paper machines under the ownership of Legacy Paper Group.
==== Cement ====
The Peerless Cement Company operated a cement plant just south of the Blue Water Bridge from 1924 to 1973. The waterfront site is now the location of the Edison Inn and Blue Water Convention Center.
==== Automotive ====
The Havers Motor Car Company produced cars in Port Huron from 1911 until 1914 in buildings previously used by the Port Huron Engine and Thresher Company.
A variety of factories related to the automotive industry occupy Port Huron's Industrial Park on the city's south side. Many of these produce plastic components for vehicles.
=== Healthcare ===
Port Huron is served by two acute care facilities, McLaren Port Huron (formerly known as Port Huron Hospital), and Lake Huron Medical Center (formerly known as St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Port Huron).
McLaren Health Care Corporation, a nonprofit managed care health care organization based in Flint, purchased the former Port Huron Hospital and began operating the 186-bed facility as Mclaren Port Huron in May 2014.
Lake Huron Medical Center, is a 144-bed facility operated by Ontario, California based Prime Healthcare Services. The for-profit company purchased the former St. Joseph Mercy Port Huron hospital in September 2015 from Trinity Healthcare. Upon completion of the sale, the formerly non-profit Catholic institution converted to a for-profit entity.
=== Finance ===
CF Bancorp, a bank holding company for Citizens Federal Bank, was based in Port Huron. It was closed by regulators in April 2010 after it suffered from bank failure in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
There are currently four banks with a total of seven branches in the city containing $563 million in deposits, which are, in order of local deposit market share: JPMorgan Chase (2 branches), Huntington Bancshares (3 branches), Eastern Michigan Bank (1 branch), and Northstar Bank (1 branch).
=== Utilities ===
Port Huron's first utility was the Port Huron Gas Light Company, established on April 2, 1970. It was the first of its kind in the city, and one of the first public utilities in the State of Michigan. The "Gas Works" were located on River Street (Now Quay Street) near the 7th Street Bridge where gas was manufactured from coal.
This was soon followed by the establishment of the Excelsior Electric Company in 1884. The company was the first in St. Clair County and one of the earliest in the United States. Electricity was generated at a power plant located on East Water Street near the mouth of the Black River. Both companies would later become absorbed into the Detroit Edison company.
The gas business was later spun off into the Southeastern Michigan Gas Company in 1950. Now known as SEMCO, the gas company is still headquartered in Port Huron and serves customers throughout The Thumb area of Michigan, in the Albion and Battle Creek areas of Southwest Michigan, and in some communities of the Upper Peninsula.
== Media ==
=== Radio ===
The first station to sign on in Port Huron was WAFD, which stood for We Are Ford Dealers. The station was owned by the Albert B. Parfet Company, a local Ford car dealership. WAFD signed on March 4, 1925, and signed off in 1926, with plans to relocate the station to Detroit.
WHLS, coinciding with the opening of the Blue Water Bridge, signed on in 1938. It was founded by Harold Leroy Stevens and Fred Knorr. John Wismer became part owner of the station in 1952. He would later launch the first cable television system in Port Huron and WSAQ in 1983. Wismer died in 1999. WHLS remains the longest continually operated station in the region.
The Times Herald launched its own radio station in 1947 known as WTTH. That station would later become WPHM, and was bought by Lee Hanson in 1986. WPHM got FM sister station WBTI in 1992. Wismer and Hanson were direct competitors until they were both bought by Bob Liggett's Radio First in 2000.
Radio First owns and operates five radio stations in the region while Port Huron Family Radio is the licensee of sole station WGRT. Non-commercial stations include WRSX (an affiliate of Michigan Public and NPR), high school station WORW, and religious broadcasters WNFA and WNFR.
=== Newspaper ===
The Times Herald, a daily local newspaper serving St Clair County and Sanilac counties. It is owned by Gannett, which also owns the Detroit Free Press and USA Today.
Daily editions of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News are also available throughout the area.
=== Broadcast television ===
St. Clair County lies in the Detroit television market. Channels available on Comcast are as follows:
== Transportation ==
=== Major highways ===
Two Interstates terminate at the Port Huron-to-Sarnia Blue Water Bridge, and they meet Highway 402.
I-69 enters the area from the west, coming from Lansing and Flint, terminating at the approach to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, along with I-94. On the Canadian side of the border, in Sarnia, Ontario, the route heads easterly designated as Highway 402. (Once fully completed, the mainline of I-69 will span from the U.S.–Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, to the U.S.–Canada border in Port Huron, Michigan.)
I-94 enters the Port Huron area from the southwest, having traversed the entire Metro Detroit region, and, along with I-69, terminates at the approach to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. On the Canadian side of the border, in Sarnia, Ontario, the route heads easterly designated as Highway 402.
BL I-69
BL I-94
M-25 follows the Lake Huron/Saginaw Bay shoreline, beginning in Bay City and ending in at junction with I-94/I-69, and BL I-94/BL I-69 on the north side of the city.
M-29 begins at BL I-94 in Marysville just south of the city and continues southerly.
M-136 runs west from M-25 to M-19.
=== Mass transit ===
The Blue Water Area Transit system, created in 1976, includes eight routes in the Port Huron area. Blue Water Transit operates the Blue Water Trolley, which provides a one-hour tour of various local points of interest. Recently, Blue Water Area Transit received a grant from the state to buy new buses for a route between the Port Huron hub and New Baltimore about 30 miles (48 km) south. Commuters could take an express bus traveling down I-94 and get off at the 23 Mile Road SMART Bus stop. At the same time, another bus will travel down M-25 and M-29 and pick up commuters in Marysville, Saint Clair and Algonac before ending up at the same stop on 23 Mile Road. This new system will help people in St. Clair County travel through Metro Detroit.
=== Rail ===
Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail service on the Blue Water route from Chicago to Port Huron (Amtrak station).
Two class one freight railroads operate in Port Huron – Canadian National Railway (CN) and CSX Transportation (CSXT) with international connections via the St. Clair Tunnel.
Via Rail train service from Toronto to Sarnia (part of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor) is also available; however, this train does not cross the river, requiring passengers to make arrangements for road travel to Port Huron.
=== Airports ===
St. Clair County International Airport is a public airport located five miles (8 km) southwest of the central business district.
== Notable people ==
Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856–1931), inventor of carborundum
Emma Eliza Bower (1852–1937) physician, club-woman, and newspaper owner, publisher, editor
Burt D. Cady, politician
Jack Campbell, hockey player
Ezra C. Carleton, mayor and congressman
Robert Hardy Cleland, judge
Omar D. Conger, senator for Michigan
Deepchord, electronic music producer
Thomas Edison (1847–1931), inventor and entrepreneur, moved to Port Huron in 1854
Elizabeth Farrand, author and librarian
Shawn Faulkner, football player
Eugene Fechet, army officer
Otto Fetting, religious leader
Obadiah Gardner, senator for Maine
Jim Gosger, baseball player
Dorothy Henry, illustrator, cartoonist, painter
Bill Hogg, baseball pitcher
Herbert W. Kalmbach, attorney for President Richard Nixon
Fred Lamlein, baseball player
Michael Mallory, author
Steve Mazur, guitarist
William McColl, clarinetist
Robert J. McIntosh, politician and pilot
Terry McMillan, author
Henry McMorran, businessman and congressman
Marko Mitchell, football wide receiver
Colleen Moore, silent movie era actress
John Morrow, football center
Jason Motte, baseball pitcher
Robert C. Odle Jr., lawyer
Clifford Patrick O'Sullivan, judge
Dick Van Raaphorst, football placekicker
Kevin Rivers, tech businessman and songwriter
Mary Alma Ryan, Catholic nun and superior of the school that became Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
Frank Secory, baseball player and umpire
Frederick C. Sherman, admiral
Annah May Soule (1859–1905), professor at Mount Holyoke College
Nina Spalding Stevens (1876–1959), museum director
Sara Stokes, singer
Dennis Sullivan, mathematician
John Swainson (1925–1994), Governor of Michigan and a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
Stephan Thernstrom, professor and author
Harold Sines Vance, businessman and government official
Kris Vernarsky, hockey player
Felix Watts, inventor
Harry Wismer, broadcaster and sports team owner
James Kamsickas, businessman
== See also ==
Port Huron Statement
Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm
Blue Water River Walk
That Certain Feeling
== References ==
== External links ==
City of Port Huron
== Surrounding communities == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Aslan | Reza Aslan | Reza Aslan (Persian: رضا اصلان, IPA: [ˈɾezɒː æsˈlɒːn]; born May 3, 1972) is an Iranian-American scholar of sociology, writer, and television host. A convert to evangelical Christianity from Shia Islam as a youth, Aslan eventually reverted to Islam but continued to write about Christianity. He has written four books on religion: No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, God: A Human History and in 2022 An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville.
Aslan has worked for television, including a documentary series exploring world religions on CNN called Believer, and served as an executive producer on the HBO drama series The Leftovers. Aslan is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the International Qur'anic Studies Association. He is a professor of creative writing at University of California, Riverside, and a board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).
== Background ==
Aslan's family came to the United States from Tehran in 1979, fleeing the Iranian Revolution. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Aslan says that he "spent the 1980s pretending to be Mexican" due to the amount of discrimination faced by Iranian Americans. He attended Del Mar High School in San Jose, and graduated class of 1990. In the early 1990s, Aslan taught courses at De La Salle High School in Concord, California.
Aslan holds a B.A. in religious studies from Santa Clara University, a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) from Harvard Divinity School, a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in fiction writing from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His 2009 dissertation, "Global Jihadism as a Transnational Social Movement: A Theoretical Framework", discusses contemporary Muslim political activism.
In August 2000, while serving as the Truman Capote Fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Aslan was a visiting faculty member in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Iowa.
Aslan was the 2012–13 Wallerstein Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Drew University Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict.
An Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2012 to 2013, he is also a member of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. He has served as Legislative Assistant for the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington D.C., and was elected President of Harvard's Chapter of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. Aslan also serves on the board of directors of the Ploughshares Fund, which gives grants for peace and security issues, PEN Center USA, a writer's advocacy group, and he serves on the national advisory board of The Markaz (formerly the Levantine Cultural Center), a program to promote peace between Americans and the Arab/Muslim world. He also serves on the board of trustees for the Chicago Theological Seminary and is on the advisory board of the Yale Humanist Community.
=== Religious views ===
Aslan was born into a Twelver Shia Muslim family. He converted to evangelical Christianity at the age of 15, and converted back to Islam the summer before attending Harvard. Aslan completed his Harvard degree in 1999. In 2005, The Guardian called him "a Shia by persuasion". In a 2013 interview with WNYC host Brian Lehrer, Aslan said: "I'm definitely a Muslim and Sufism is the tradition within Islam that I most closely adhere to." In a 2013 article in The Washington Post, Aslan stated: "It's not [that] I think Islam is correct and Christianity is incorrect. It's that all religions are nothing more than a language made up of symbols and metaphors to help an individual explain faith." In 2014, in an interview with Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks, Aslan described Islam as:
a man-made institution. It's a set of symbols and metaphors that provides a language for which to express what is inexpressible, and that is faith. It's symbols and metaphors that I prefer, but it's not more right or more wrong than any other symbols and metaphors. It's a language; that's all it is.
== Career ==
=== Writing ===
Aslan has published four books, edited two anthologies, and frequently writes for different media outlets.
==== Books ====
===== No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam =====
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam is a non-fiction book published in 2005. The book describes the history of Islam and argues for a liberal interpretation of the Islamic religion. It blames Western imperialism and self-serving misinterpretations of Islamic law by past scholars for the current controversies within Islam, challenging the "Clash of Civilizations" thesis.
===== How to Win a Cosmic War (a.k.a. Beyond Fundamentalism) =====
In 2009, Aslan published his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of Terror. The next year, it was re-released in paperback as Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization. The book is both a study of the ideology fueling Al Qaeda, the Taliban and like-minded militants throughout the Muslim world, and an exploration of religious violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Aslan argues that the United States is fighting a similar war by infusing the war on terror with its religiously polarizing rhetoric. This war, he asserts, cannot be won.
Aslan refers to Al Qaeda's jihad against the West as "a cosmic war", distinct from holy war, in which rival religious groups are engaged in an earthly battle for material goals. "A cosmic war is like a ritual drama in which participants act out on earth a battle they believe is actually taking place in the heavens." American rhetoric of "war on terrorism", Aslan says, is in precise "cosmic dualism" to Al Qaeda's jihad. Aslan distinguishes Islamism and Jihadism. Islamists have legitimate goals and can be negotiated with, unlike Jihadists, who dream of an idealized past of a pan-Islamic, borderless "religious communalism". Aslan's prescription for winning the cosmic war is not to fight but to engage moderate Islamic political forces in the democratic process. "Throughout the Middle East, whenever moderate Islamist parties have been allowed to participate in the political process, popular support for more extremist groups has diminished."
The New Yorker called Beyond Fundamentalism a "thoughtful analysis of America's War on Terror". The Washington Post added that it "offers a very persuasive argument for the best way to counter jihadism."
===== Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth =====
Aslan's book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (2013) is an historical account of the life of Jesus, which analyzes the various religious perspectives on Jesus, as well as the creation of Christianity. In the book, Aslan argues that Jesus was a political, rebellious, and eschatological Jew whose proclamation of the coming kingdom of God was a call for regime change to end Roman hegemony over Roman Judea and end a corrupt and oppressive aristocratic priesthood.
===== God: A Human History =====
In this book, published by Random House in 2017, Aslan explains in an accessible scholarly style the history of religion and a theory of why and how humans started thinking about supernatural beings and eventually God.
===== An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville =====
On October 11, 2022, W. W. Norton & Company published Aslan's book about Howard Baskerville. Kirkus Reviews called it "an intriguing read that breathes life into a pivotal moment of Persian/Iranian history".
==== Other writing ====
Aslan has written articles for The Daily Beast as a contributing editor. He has also written for various newspapers and periodicals, including the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Washington Post, Slate, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The Nation, and The Christian Science Monitor.
=== Work as editor ===
Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, an anthology he edited and published, appeared in 2011. In collaboration with Words Without Borders, Aslan worked with a team of three regional editors and seventy-seven translators, amassing a collection of nearly 200 pieces originally written in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Turkish, many presented in English for the first time.
Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalities, Contentions, and Complexities (2011) co-edited with Abraham's Vision founder Aaron J. Hahn Tapper, is a collection of essays exploring contemporary Jewish–Muslim relations in the United States and the distinct ways in which these two communities interact with one another in that context.
=== Business ventures ===
==== Aslan Media ====
Aslan founded Aslan Media, a media platform offering alternative coverage of the Middle East and its global diaspora communities.
==== BoomGen Studios ====
In 2006, Aslan partnered with Iranian American cinematographer and producer Mahyad Tousi to create BoomGen Studios, a studio and production company focused on bringing stories from and about the Middle East to American audiences. Projects that they consulted on include National Geographic's Amreeka; Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and the Broadway adaptation of Aladdin; the Weinstein Company's Miral; Relativity Media's Desert Dancer; Fork Films' The Trials of Spring; Jon Stewart's directorial debut Rosewater; and 2014 Oscar-nominated documentary The Square.
===== Of Kings and Prophets =====
In January 2015, BoomGen announced that ABC picked up its biblical epic, Of Kings and Prophets, a dramatic retelling of the central story in the Hebrew Bible: the story of King David from shepherd to king. The series followed an ensemble of characters, including Saul and David, the successive Kings of Israel, their families, and their political rivals. Of Kings and Prophets was set in the Kingdom of Israel but filmed in Cape Town, South Africa. Aslan, Tousi, and Jason Reed served as executive producers on the show.
==== TV projects ====
===== The Leftovers =====
In 2015, Aslan joined the popular HBO series The Leftovers as a consulting producer for both its second and third seasons. In addition to helping craft the show's foundation, Aslan was integral to shaping protagonist Kevin Garvey's season two character arc.
===== Rough Draft =====
In March 2016, cable network Ovation premiered Rough Draft with Reza Aslan, a fast-paced and timely talk show featuring Aslan conversing with critically acclaimed authors and writers in film, TV, and journalism.
===== Believer =====
In 2015, Aslan began production on the "spiritual travel series" Believer, a documentary series that follows Aslan as he immerses himself and experiences various religious traditions internationally, focusing on sects considered fringe and disreputable by larger religions. The program, which Aslan compared to Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown was part of CNN's original programming lineup and premiered in March 2017.
The first episode focused on the Aghori sect of Hinduism. Aslan was accused of sensationalism and anti-Hinduism when Aslan ate part of a human brain while meeting Aghori sadhus. The United States India Political Action Committee said in a statement that "[w]ith multiple reports of hate-fueled attacks against people of Indian origin from across the U.S., the show characterizes Hinduism as cannibalistic, which is a bizarre way of looking at the third largest religion in the world." Vamsee Juluri, professor of media studies at the University of San Francisco, described the episode as "reckless, racist, and anti-immigrant", while Aseem Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation accused Aslan of being "poorly informed", circulating "common stereotypical misconceptions" about Hinduism and indulging in "religion porn" "to grab ratings", with the "most clichéd, spurious conflations of the Hindu religion with the caste system".
US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard compared the show to "touring a zoo". The show has also been criticized for saying that Varanasi was called "the city of the dead", calling the immersion of ashes "dumping", presenting the Aghors as an exception in their struggle against the caste system, and claims he misunderstood the distinction between Varna and Jāti, and the notion of God in Hinduism. The organizations American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) and the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) have also both questioned why Aslan's show does not cover Islam, his own religion. Aslan said that he had planned to cover the Ashura festival in Pakistan but abandoned the plan because of insurance costs. He pledged to cover Islam if Believer had a second series. On June 9, 2017, CNN announced that it had "decided to not move forward with production" on Aslan's Believer series after his anti-Trump tweets were criticized because of vulgar language used shortly before June 9, 2017.
Aslan defended the episode in a Facebook post.
===== Allah in the Family =====
Aslan (along with Andrew Reich) wrote a sitcom pilot titled "Allah in the Family" based on his experiences as an Iranian immigrant growing up in Oklahoma. ABC bought the pilot but it has yet to go into production.
==== Remarks about President Trump ====
After the 2017 London Bridge attack, Aslan took to Twitter to call President Donald Trump "a piece of shit" and a "man-baby" for his response to the attack. On June 9, 2017, in response to his remarks, CNN decided to cut ties with Aslan and announced they would not move forward with season two of the Believer series. Aslan said of the cancellation, "I am not a journalist. I am a social commentator and scholar. And so I agree with CNN that it is best that we part ways."
=== Other media appearances ===
Aslan has made numerous appearances on TV and radio, including National Public Radio (NPR), Spirited Debate on Fox News, PBS, The Rachel Maddow Show, Meet the Press, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Anderson Cooper 360°, Hardball, Nightline, Real Time with Bill Maher, Fareed Zakaria GPS, and ABC Australia's Big Ideas.
==== 2013 Fox News interview ====
On July 26, 2013, Aslan was interviewed on Spirited Debate, a Fox News webcast by Chief Religion Correspondent Lauren Green about his book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Green was "unsatisfied with Aslan's credentials," and she pressed Aslan, questioning why a Muslim would write about Jesus. Aslan answered, "Because it's my job as an academic. I am a professor of religion, including the New Testament. That's what I do for a living." The interview lasted about ten minutes and focused "on Aslan's background more than the actual contents of the book." The video clip of the interview went viral within days and the book, which was up to that point selling "steadily", appeared at the 4th place on The New York Times print hardcover best-seller list. By late July 2013, it was topping the U.S. best-seller list on Amazon.
Following Aslan's interview with Fox News, Elizabeth Castelli, professor of religion at Barnard College, Columbia University, reported a sense of outrage in academia, writing "Those of us in the academic field of religious studies, especially biblical scholars and historians of early Christianity, found the whole business deeply cringe-worthy. The Fox News interview was not just embarrassing but downright offensive. The anti-Muslim bias of Fox is well-documented and is bad enough, whatever the specific context. For scholars of religion, Green's conflation of the academic study of religion with personal religious identification is a familiar misunderstanding."
Despite Elizabeth Castelli's dismissal of Fox News for questioning Aslan as a religious scholar, as she acknowledged Aslan could claim as a scholar of "history-of-religions", she dismissed his claims of being a historian. She wrote "History of religions is ... a particular disciplinary approach... often associated in the United States with the University of Chicago and the University of California at Santa Barbara, where Aslan earned his PhD in sociology. To the extent that he did coursework in the UCSB Religious Studies department, he can certainly lay claim ... But his claims are more grandiose than that and are based on his repeated public statements that he speaks with authority as a historian. He has therefore reasonably opened himself to criticism." The Atlantic concurred with Prof. Castelli's acknowledgment of Aslan's religious credentials.
In The Washington Post, the journalist Manuel Roig-Franzia concurred with Prof. Castelli's critique of Aslan's historian credentials, noting that Aslan's university does not offer degrees in the history or the sociology of religion and writing that Aslan "boasts of academic laurels he does not have." However, he quoted Aslan's dissertation adviser, Mark Juergensmeyer, who acknowledged that their departments "don't have a degree in sociology of religions as such" but said that he "doesn't have a problem with Aslan's characterization of his doctorate, noting ... [Aslan] did most of his course work in religion" and his arrangement of getting Aslan out of the religious studies department into the sociology department "was undertaken to get Aslan out of time-consuming required language courses". The Philadelphia Inquirer also noted UCSB "is famous for its interdisciplinary program—students tailor their studies around a topic, not a department. They choose a department only for the diploma."
=== Academia ===
He is a professor of creative writing at University of California, Riverside and a board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).
=== Professional membership ===
Aslan is a sitting member of the advisory board for the National Iranian American Council. In 2015 as a member of the group, he joined with 73 other "prominent International Relations and Middle East scholars" in signing a statement of support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an international agreement regarding the Iranian nuclear program.
== Political analysis ==
=== Analysis of War on Terrorism ===
Aslan refers to Al Qaeda's jihad against the West as "a cosmic war", distinct from holy war, in which rival religious groups are engaged in an earthly battle for material goals. "A cosmic war is like a ritual drama in which participants act out on earth a battle they believe is actually taking place in the heavens." American rhetoric of "war on terrorism", Aslan says, opposes Al Qaeda's jihad within this very structure of "cosmic dualism". Aslan draws a distinction between Islamism and Jihadism. Islamists have legitimate goals and can be negotiated with, unlike Jihadists, who dream of an idealized past of a pan-Islamic, borderless "religious communalism". Aslan's prescription for winning the cosmic war is not to fight but to engage moderate Islamic political forces in the democratic process. "Throughout the Middle East, whenever moderate Islamist parties have been allowed to participate in the political process, popular support for more extremist groups has diminished."
=== Protection of religious freedom ===
Aslan has argued for religious freedom and protection for religious minorities throughout the Middle East. He has called for Iran to protect and stop the "horrific human rights abuses" against its Baháʼí community. Aslan has also said that the persecution and displacement of Middle Eastern Christian communities "is nothing less than a regional religious cleansing that will soon prove to be a historic disaster for Christians and Muslims alike."
=== Criticism of New Atheism ===
In a 2014 interview, Aslan criticized the "armchair atheism" of atheists like Sam Harris and Bill Maher who lack formal training in the study of religion, and who, in Aslan's opinion, are therefore unable to effectively comment on how it shapes human behavior. Aslan has also called Richard Dawkins a "buffoon, embarrassing himself every day." He contrasts New Atheists with the "philosophical atheism" of earlier thinkers who "were experts in religion, and so they were able to offer critiques of it that came from a place of knowledge, from a sophistication of education, of research."
On September 29, 2014, Antonia Blumberg in The Huffington Post stated that Aslan, on CNN, "criticized comedian Bill Maher for characterizing female genital mutilation as an 'Islamic problem,' in addition to making several other sweeping generalizations about the faith." Aslan was reported as saying "To say 'Muslim countries', as though Pakistan and Turkey are the same ... it's frankly, and I use this word seriously, stupid!" His criticism was not just of Maher but of how Muslims are portrayed in mainstream media. Prachi Gupta, in Salon, wrote that Aslan believed that the U.S. was partnering with Saudi Arabia while simultaneously condemning ISIS.
On October 8, 2014, The New York Times published an article by Aslan, "Bill Maher Isn't the Only One Who Misunderstands Religion". In it, Aslan wrote, "Bill Maher is right to condemn religious practices that violate fundamental human rights. Religious communities must do more to counter extremist interpretations of their faith. But failing to recognize that religion is embedded in culture—and making a blanket judgment about the world's second-largest religion—is simply bigotry."
In The New Republic, Eric Sasson took issue with Aslan's claim in the CNN interview that men and women are treated equally in Indonesia and Turkey due to the countries having elected female leaders, pointing out that the Human Rights Watch reported a "significant rollback" of women's rights in both countries. Sasson also challenged Aslan's claim that female genital mutilation is a problem only in central Africa, saying that it's also an issue in the predominantly Muslim country of Malaysia. The television and radio host David Pakman also cast doubt on some of Aslan's claims from the interview. Sam Harris criticized Aslan for blaming individuals rather than Islam as a whole for violence in the Muslim world, calling his approach "post-modernist nonsense."
== Personal life ==
Aslan and his ex-fiancée, journalist Amanda Fortini, ended their engagement in 2008. He married entrepreneur and author Jessica Jackley, a Christian, in 2011, forming an interfaith family. They have three sons. His aunt is the Iranian-American pop singer Leila Forouhar. Aslan is a fan of the professional football team the Las Vegas Raiders.
== Awards and honors ==
2014 Intersections Honoree, Intersections International
2013 Media Bridge-Builder Award, Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
2013 Peter J. Gomes Memorial Honor, Harvard Divinity School
2012 East–West Media Award, The Levantine Center
== Publications ==
"The Struggle for Islam's Soul", in Will Marshall (ed.), With All Our Might: A Progressive Strategy for Defeating Jihadism and Defending Liberty, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006.
"Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization", Penguin Random House, 2010.
"From Here to Mullahcracy", in Lila Azam Zanganeh (ed.), My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices, Beacon Press, 2006.
"Losing the War", in Gilbert H. Muller (ed.), The New World Reader, CUNY Press, 2010.
How to Win a Cosmic War, published in paperback as Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized Age, Random House, 2010.
Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East (editor), W. W. Norton, 2011.
Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalities, Contentions, and Complexities (co-editor), Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, Random House, 2013.
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2012.
God: A Human History, Random House, 2017.
A Kid's Book About Israel and Palestine, A Kids Co., 2024.
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
Reza Aslan at IMDb
Appearances on C-SPAN |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahlagha_Mallah | Mahlagha Mallah | Mahlagha Mallah (Persian: مهلقا ملاح; 21 September 1917 – 8 November 2021) was an Iranian environmental activist and librarian, who founded the Women's Society Against Environmental Pollution. She was referred to as the "Mother of Iran's Environment".
== Early life ==
Mallah was born on 21 September 1917, in a caravanserai close to Now Kandeh, whilst her parents were travelling to Mashhad on a pilgrimage. Her mother Khadijeh Afzal Vaziri, and her grandmother Bibi Khanoom Astarabadi, were both women's rights activists in Iran. Her father, Aghabzorg Mallah, worked for the government and lived in several cities. At age 17, Mallah married Hossein Abolhasani.
== Education and career ==
After studying philosophy, social sciences and sociology at the University of Tehran, Mallah was awarded an MA in social sciences in 1958. In 1966, she moved to Paris to study for a PhD at the University of the Sorbonne, where she graduated in 1968. During her time in Paris, she also studied librarianship at the National Library of France.
After graduation, Mallah returned to Iran and began work as a librarian at the Psychology Research Institute Library at the University of Tehran. It was only after her retirement from librarianship that Mallah and her husband began their environmental campaigning.
== Activism ==
Mallah's interest in environmental activism was fostered growing up as her mother, Khadijeh Afzal Vaziri, was an environmentalist too. However her interest grew when she was working as a librarian and, in 1973, read a book on pollution in order to understand how to catalogue it.
After Mallah retired in 1977, she began work researching pollution in Tehran, and started by visiting houses and knocking on people's doors to talk to them about pollution and other environmental issues. She founded the organisation the Women's Society Against Environmental Pollution, which was the first non-governmental environmental organisation in Iran. It was founded in 1993 and registered with the Ministry of the Interior in 1995. As a campaigning organisation, by 2012 it had become the largest environmental group in Iran. It has branches in 14 Iranian cities and has enabled over 25,000 families to recycle. In 2011, it was reputedly the most popular environmental group in the country.
In 2009, the Society published a report entitled "Water Rights" and stressed the urgent need for the conservation of wetland habitats in Iran. This includes work in the Zayandeh Rud region.
== Awards ==
Personality of the Year – "Natural Heritage and Environment" (2010)
== Legacy ==
As a result of her activism, Mallah became known as the "Mother of Iran's Environment". She has been described as an ecofeminist, since her outlook on environmental issues emphasises that women need to be central in any kind of environmentalism.
The 2015 documentary All My Trees, directed by Rakhshān Banietemad, featured Mallah's life story.
Mallah died on 8 November 2021, at the age of 104.
== References ==
== External links ==
Archive audio: Interview with Mallah
Video: Mahlagha Mallah – 8: The people of Iran have become less attentive towards the environment |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su._Thirunavukkarasar | Su. Thirunavukkarasar | Subburaman Thirunavukkarasar (born 13 July 1949) is an Indian politician. He was the State President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee from 2016 to 2019 and former secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) of the Indian National Congress (INC) party. His introduction to politics in 1977 was facilitated by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. G. Ramachandran. Ramachandran founded the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in 1972 and was facing his first elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election in 1977. He identified Thirunavukkarasar, a lawyer by profession, to contest the Aranthangi assembly constituency. Thirunavukkarasar won the seat, aged 27, and was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He continued in that capacity till 1980. Subsequently, he served as Tamil Nadu state minister from 1980 to 1987 in the MGR cabinet, holding portfolios that included Industries, Housing Board, Excise and Handlooms. Later, he became a member of the Lok Sabha – the lower house of the Parliament of India – when he won the erstwhile Pudukottai Lok Sabha constituency. He served as Union Minister of state for shipping and later for telecommunications and information technology.
Thirunavukkarasar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a brief period and was also a member of the Rajya Sabha – the upper house of the Parliament of India – from the state of Madhya Pradesh. He is a Member of Parliament, representing Tiruchirappalli constituency in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's Parliament).
== Early life ==
S. Thirunavukkarasar was born in Theeyathoor, Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu on 13 July 1949. He did his M.A., B.L. at Madras University, Chennai and Venkateshwara University, Tirupathi.
== Career ==
Thirunavukkarasar was elected from Aranthangi legislative assembly constituency at each election from 1977 to 1996. He resigned his seat on 15 October 1999, he started Anna Puratchi Thalaivar Thamilga Munnetra Kazhagam with K. K. S. S. R. Ramachandran in 1991 which made alliance with T. Rajendar's Thayaga Marlumarchi Kazhagam won 2 seats under that party symbol. But, it merged with AIADMK in 1996.
He later started a new party called MGR Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in 1996 due to a rift with Jayalalitha, in the legislative assembly elections in Tamil Nadu 2001 MGR ADMK had put up three candidates (supported by NDA), out of whom two were elected. The party received 129 474 votes and in 2002 MGR ADMK merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).He won the Pudukottai Lok Sabha Constituency in 1999 and was Union minister of state for Shipping and later, Communication and Information Technology till 2004.
He was appointed the secretary of the AICC by the INC president, Sonia Gandhi. Currently, as AICC secretary, he is responsible for Telangana and participated in the selection of Jana Reddy as leader of the opposition. Thirunavukkarasar was invited to inaugurate the Tamil Nadu chapter of Indian National Congress Overseas in New York, US.
== Achievements as State Minister (Tamil Nadu) ==
Thirunavukkarasar was the Industries, Handlooms and Commercial tax minister in the Ramachandran cabinet while simultaneously being the deputy speaker of the assembly. He established Tamil Nadu Magnesite Limited (TANMAG) and Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited (TAMIN) to further exploration of mineral resources in the state. Thirunavukkarasar also established several State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOTs). Several paper and sugar mills were established by Thirunavukkarasar.
Believing in human resource development through education, he established schools, arts and science college and polytechnics in the 1980s. He also built small dams in rivers and started hospitals and primary health centers. These were done while there was hardly any awareness about water storage and health care.
== Minister in the Government of India ==
As shipping minister, Thirunavukkarasar considered maritime education as necessary for the shipping industry. He emphasised the importance of technology and scientific training and encouraged the National Institute of Port Management to train more personnel. He also inaugurated new premises for Academy of Maritime Education and Training (AMET).
== Congress relationship ==
When Sonia Gandhi took over the presidency of Congress Party in 1998. In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, MGRADMK founded by Thirunavukkarasar aligned with the Congress to face the polls.
Thirunavukkarasar contested the Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency when several Congress stalwarts refused to contest the election. Recently in the year 2017 he was appointed the State President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and has in the past served as the secretary of the All India Congress Committee from 2010 to 2017.
== Electoral Career ==
=== Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Elections Contested ===
=== Lok Sabha Elections Contested ===
=== Rajya Sabha Elections Contested ===
== Film career ==
Thirunavukkarasar briefly worked as film distributor. He scripted and produced the film Maruthu Pandi (1990) and appeared in lead role in Agni Paarvai (1992).
Maruthu Pandi (1990)
Agni Paarvai (1992)
== Personal life ==
Su. Thirunavukkarasar married Jayanthi in 1978. They have three sons and two daughters.
== References ==
3. http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?203657
4. http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980305/06450164.html
5. http://www.rediff.com/news/may/21aiadmk.htm
6. http://www.rediff.com/%0D%0Anews/1998/feb/20second.htm
7. https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19980302-sonia-gandhis-election-campaign-it-is-a-spectacle-from-start-to-end-825855-1998-03-01
7. http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19970606/15750193.html
8. https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19850215-while-mgr-recuperates-in-us-aiadmk-heads-for-a-split-jayalalitha-gets-a-rude-shock-769775-2013-11-25
== External links ==
Profile on Rajya Sabha website |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_Fields#Production | Chip Fields | Chip Fields is an American singer, actress, television director, and producer who has appeared in popular films, television series, and Broadway theatre. She is best known for portraying Linella Gordon, the abusive birth mother of Penny Gordon Woods (played by Janet Jackson), in a four–episode story arc (1977) of the 1970s sitcom Good Times.
== Early life and career ==
Fields began her career as a singer. She joined Ronnie Spector as a Ronette in 1973 and recorded two singles for Buddah Records.
Fields began her acting career as an extra in the 1974 film Claudine. She has had numerous supporting roles and guest appearances on television. She played an unwed mother opposite Patty Weaver in the NBC television soap opera, Days of Our Lives. Also during the 1970s, she played the abusive birth mother of Millicent "Penny" Gordon Woods (Janet Jackson) on the sitcom Good Times.
From 1978 to 1979, she played Rita Conway in the short-lived The Amazing Spider-Man TV series. Rita Conway was J. Jonah Jameson's secretary, the same function as the black Glory Grant from the 1970s comics. She also appeared in What's Happening!!, Hill Street Blues, T. J. Hooker, Roc, Kirk (a short-lived sitcom starring Kirk Cameron), The Wayans Bros., and The Parkers. She played the role of "Laverne", mother to the character "Regine" (played by Kim Fields) on Living Single.
Fields was a consultant for The Parkers, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Living Single, and was a dialogue coach for the film, Menace II Society. She also directed episodes of the popular UPN sitcoms, One on One, All of Us, Girlfriends, The Parkers, as well as episodes of Romeo!, Just Jordan, Hannah Montana, Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns.
== Discography ==
1973 (as Ronnie and the Ronettes) – "Go Out and Get It" b/w "Lover, Lover" (Buddha 384)
1974 (as Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes) – "I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine" b/w "I Wonder What He's Doing" (Buddha 408)
== Filmography ==
=== Acting ===
==== Film ====
==== Television ====
=== Production ===
==== Film ====
==== Television ====
== References ==
== External links ==
Chip Fields at IMDb
Chip Fields at the Internet Broadway Database |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_binding | Ski binding | A ski binding is a device that connects a ski boot to the ski. Before the 1933 invention of ski lifts, skiers went uphill and down and cross-country on the same gear. As ski lifts became more prevalent, skis—and their bindings—became increasingly specialized, differentiated between alpine (downhill) and Nordic (cross-country, Telemark, and ski jumping) styles of skiing. Until the point of divergence in the mid-20th century, bindings held the toe of a flexible, leather boot against the ski and allowed the heel to rise off the ski, typically with a form of strap or cable around the heel.
To address injuries resulting from falls while skiing downhill on such equipment, ski bindings emerged with the ability to release the toe of the boot sideways, in early models, and to release the boot forward and aft, in later models. Downhill ski bindings became standardized to fit plastic ski boots and incorporated a built-in brake that drags in the snow after the ski detaches from the boot.
Cross-country ski bindings evolved from being simple, bent-metal attachment plates with pins, which held a square-toed leather boot toe under a wire bale, to becoming standardized systems that held a plastic boot, attached to a bar in a recess in the boot's toe.
Back-country, jumping, and alpine touring ski bindings incorporate features found in alpine and Nordic bindings.
== History ==
Prior to the 1840s, ski bindings were a leather strap fastened over the toe of the boot, similar to those used for snowshoes.
=== Norheim—ca. 1850 ===
Sondre Norheim demonstrated telemark skiing before 1866, and the Open Christiania turn in 1868, both made possible with a binding design which dated back to the late 1840s. This added a loop of twisted birch roots that ran from the existing birch root toe loops around the boot heels and back. This allowed the heel to lift as before, for walking and gliding, but better held the boots to the skis allowing greater control. This enabled Norheim to control the skis with his feet and legs, replacing the former technique of dragging a large pole in the snow on one side or the other to drag the skier in that direction. This control led to the development of the telemark and stem christie ski turns.
=== Huitfeldt—1894 ===
Starting in 1894, Fritz R. Huitfeldt invented a binding with a secure toe iron which allowed the heel to move freely and evolved through the 1930s as the standard design. His innovations included:
Adding vertical metal brackets on either side of the ski to hold the ski boot (1894), augmented in 1897 by passing the iron bracket through a rectangular hole from one side of the ski to the other, before bending up the tabs.
Passing toe straps through the rectangular hole and providing a buckle over the top of the boots, attached to the brackets and firmly bind the boot in place.
Passing a strap over the free heel, augmented in 1904 with a cam lever substitute for the buckle over the heel, called the "Hoyer-Ellefsen toggle".
Skiers wishing to affix their heel to the ski, employed a "long-thong" strap. Further innovations included:
Mathias Zdarsky's development of a ski binding that replaced the heel strap with a long metal plate under the sole of the boot, hinged at the front to allow the heel to rise, in the early 1900s. The heel was held to the plate by a short strap attaching at the back.
Marius Eriksen's 1920 introduction of pre-formed plates that were screwed on top of the ski.
Guido Ruege's 1929 invention of the Kandahar binding, which incorporated a front-throw lever that tightened the heel cable past the ski-mounted toe brackets and became known as the cable binding.
=== Rottefella—1927 ===
The Rottefella binding was developed in 1927 by Bror With. "Rottefella" means "rat trap" in Norwegian. A bent, pressed-metal plate had three or four pins that stuck into the toe of a square-toed boot, which was clamped down with a metal bail. After victories at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, the binding remained the standard type for cross-country skiing through much of the century and continues as the Nordic Norm, manufactured by Rottefella and other companies.
=== Cable—1929 ===
The introduction of the cable binding allowed the Christie turn to become a standard on downhill runs, and to further support this style of skiing the Swiss racer Guido Reuge in 1929 invented a cable binding with steel clips below the boot heel to enable clamping the heel down for downhill portions. He named the product "Kandahar" for the international Kandahar Cup ski races. In use in alpine races, the Kandahar binding led to serious leg injuries, and by 1939 experimentation began in earnest on bindings that would release the boot in a fall.
=== Saf-Ski—1937 ===
Hjalmar Hvam broke his leg skiing, and while recuperating from surgery, invented the Saf-Ski toe binding in 1937, which he later sold under the slogan "Hvoom with Hvam". This was a metal clip with a pyramidal top that fit into a slot cut into the sole of the ski boot. When the boot was rotated forward, the slot on the toe eventually rose above the metal pyramid, allowing the toe to release from the ski. The system was considered with suspicion by professional skiers, especially when Olaf Rodegaard released during a race. However, Rodegaard credited the release with saving him from a broken leg. In the post-war era, Hvam sold several thousand pairs of Saf-Skis, in an era when alpine skiing was in its infancy. Hvam continued to sell the Saf-Ski into the 1960s, but in 1966 his insurance rates increased so dramatically that he was forced from the market.
=== Look Nevada—1950 ===
The introduction of the Look Nevada in 1950 represented a significant advance in ski bindings. The Nevada held the toe centred over the ski using two metal fingers shaped into an upside-down V. The fingers were pivoted to allow motion to the sides, and centred with a spring. During a fall, sideways torsion could overcome the force of the spring and allow the boot to release directly to the side. This design was quickly copied by other vendors, notably Marker, and had the first real impact on the dominance of the fixed-toe bindings. By the late 1950s, there were about 35 different release toe bindings on the US market, most of which used a normal Kandahar-style heel cable.
=== Cubco—1950 ===
The first modern heel-and-toe binding for alpine skiing was the Cubco binding, first introduced in 1950 but not popular until about 1960. A heel-release binding faced the problem that there was no obvious place to attach to on the heel, so the Cubco solved this by screwing small metal clips into the sole of the boot. This also eliminated the changes in performance as the sole of the boot wore down, or the geometry of the sole changed as the boot wore into the skier's foot.
=== Heel-release—1960s ===
Marker introduced the Rotomat, which gripped onto the sole where it extended past the heel, and Look quickly followed suit with their Grand Prix design. By the mid-1960s, release bindings that worked on both the heel and the toe were common, and by the late 1960s, the cable binding had disappeared from alpine skiing.
=== Plate systems—1970s ===
One problem with 1960s release bindings was that the boots were not standardized, and a binding that worked well on one boot might be dangerous on another, or might become dangerous over time as the boot shifted about. This led to the introduction of plate bindings, which used a metal plate firmly clipped to the sole of the boot, and bindings that clamped onto the plate. The plate could be easily removed for walking about. Plate bindings were popular in the US in the 1970s, notably the BURT Retractable Bindings and Spademan binding, but never caught on in any major way in Europe. As more and more of the alpine skiing market came under control of European companies, the plate bindings disappeared, in spite of their excellent safety records.
=== Standardized plastic boot-compatible systems—1970s ===
The disappearance of the plate and alternate systems was due to a combination of factors, notably the introduction of standardized hard plastic boots. Plastic was first introduced by Lange as a way of improving existing leather designs. As the new material spread through the industry, the sole piece was standardized to allow toe-and-heel bindings to clip on. Plastic had the advantages of being much firmer than leather, not changing shape over time, and having predictable friction characteristics wet or dry.The new boots and bindings could be easily adapted to any ski for any skier. Injury rates from alpine skiing began to fall with the gradual introduction of the Teflon anti-friction pad around 1972.
== Alpine ==
Alpine ski bindings have two functions: 1) Retaining the ski boot on the ski, 2) Releasing the ski boot from the ski in case of a fall to prevent injury to the skier. The retention function typically involves stepping into the binding toe-first and pressing down with the heel of the ski boot, which causes a latch to engage the heel. The release function has two principal axes of operation: forwards and back along the ski and torsionally, rotating over the top of the ski. Bindings allow a certain amount of flexure of the boot position before they release under pressure during a fall.
Each binding is set for a DIN value that determines how readily it will release in case of a fall, based on the parameters of the skier's height, weight, age, and ability (rated from one for beginner to three for an advanced skier). A snow brake prevents the ski from moving while it is not attached to a boot. Major manufacturers of alpine ski bindings include:
Atomic, (also branded "Ess") pioneered the adjustable binding platform, forwards and back.
Geze, which pioneered upward release of the toe, in case of a backwards fall.
Look, which pioneered a turntable for the heel.
Marker, which pioneered the toe-piece "twin-cam" articulation for releasing a boot sideways.
Salomon, which pioneered the use of composite plastics in bindings.
Tyrolia, which introduced the "flex" attachment system, using pins on the binding that engage holes in the boot.
=== Alpine touring ===
An alpine touring (or randonee) binding allows the skier to have the heel of the ski boot free and the toe of the ski boot in the binding when using Nordic skiing techniques for ski touring, and to have both the heel and the toe of the ski boot in the binding when using alpine skiing techniques to descend the mountain. Most touring bindings are designed for ski boots falling under one of two ISO specifications:
ISO 5355:2019, for traditional alpine boots. In this variation the pivot is located in the front of the binding.
ISO 9523:2015, for boots in which the pivot is formed at the boot / binding interface.
The two setups are typically incompatible in that the principle by which they affix the boot to the ski is different. "Tech" bindings engage the ski boot with pins, which hold the toe down and engage with the heel in downhill mode. Approximately 50% of ski boots have the necessary inserts. "Frame" bindings function similarly to regular alpine bindings, gripping a welt in the heel of the boot in downhill mode.
Manufacturers of alpine touring bindings include: Atomic/Salomon, Black Diamond, Dynafit, Fritschi, Genuine Guide Gear, and Marker.
== Nordic ==
Starting in the last half of the twentieth century, three standards for cross-country and telemark ski bindings emerged: The 75-mm Nordic Norm (NN), the Salomon Nordic System (SNS), and the New Nordic Norm (NNN). Ski jumping bindings are specialized to the sport. Companies that manufacture nordic bindings include Alpina, Fischer, Madshus, Rossignol, and Rottefella.
=== Nordic systems—1970s ===
Adidas explored an alternative to the Nordic Norm binding in 1975 with a tab protruding from the boot that was clamped down in a narrow plastic binding. Salomon produced a ski boot with a metal loop, protruding from the toe of the boot, which was clamped in its binding. This was followed with the 1979 Salomon Nordic System binding system, which attached to a bar embedded in a slot in the toe of the ski boot. This binding configuration was emulated by Rottefella and other manufacturers as the New Nordic Norm.
=== Nordic Norm (NN) ===
The incorporation of flexible plastics into ski boot soles allowed them to be strong torsionally and side-to-side, while retaining lengthwise flexibility and allowing the heel to rise as without the need for a cable about the heel. The Rottefella binding became standardized as the 75-mm, three-pin, Nordic Norm binding, which was widespread by the 1970s.
=== Salomon Nordic System (SNS) ===
The Salomon Nordic System (SNS) cross-country ski binding was the first integrated boot-binding system for cross-country skis, followed by the New Nordic Norm. The first generation (SNS) employed a looped bar protruding from the sole of the ski boot. Subsequent generations engage a bar recessed in the toe of the boot and incorporate a single, thick ridge along the binding plate. The variants included:
SNS: Attaches to a U-shaped metal bar protruding from the front of the boot
SNS Profil: Attaches to a recessed metal bar in the toe of the boot.
SNS Pilot: Adds a recess for a second metal bar on the boot to enhance side-to-side control.
SNS X-Adventure: Stronger design used for back-country skiing (also referred to as SNS–BC).
Pilot boots can be used with Profil bindings (Equipe models and similar, with a groove for the second Pilot axle), but Profil boots cannot be used with Pilot bindings due to the wider guide ridge of the latter.
Amer Sports offered SNS under their Salomon and Atomic brands.
In 2007, Fischer abandoned SNS and switched entirely to NIS format of the NNN system.
=== New Nordic Norm (NNN) ===
Rottefella's NNN (New Nordic Norm) cross-country ski binding has a bar in the toe of the boot hooked into a corresponding latch in the binding. Bindings are offered in several configurations, classical and skating, touring and racing. Second-generation bindings are not compatible with first-generation designs. This system is the basis for movable and integrated binding plates that include the Nordic Integrated System, the Turnamic, and Prolink.
A heavy-duty, wider version, NNN–BC, is designed for back-country skiing.
==== Nordic Integrated System (NIS) ====
The Nordic Integrated System (NIS), introduced in 2005 by Rossignol, Madshus, Rottefella, and Alpina, incorporates an NNN-compatible toe attachment into an integrated binding plate on the top of the ski to which the bindings attach, allowing adjustment in the field with a metallic NIS key. The initial design of the plate used a movable insert for position adjustment, using a tool. A refinement allows for movement of the position of the binding on the plate with a locking knob, while wearing the skis. NIS skis allow installation of non-NIS bindings.
==== Turnamic (IFP) ====
In 2016, Fischer and Rossignol introduced a new "integrated fixation plate" (IFP) binding, which allows tool-less adjustment of the NNN-compatible binding position. The Turnamic binding uses step-in locking for the boot, and the lock closes or opens by turning the lever to the side.
==== Prolink ====
With the decline in sales of its SNS systems, Salomon introduced its NNN-compatible Prolink system in 2016.
=== New Telemark Norm (NTN) ===
In 2007, Rottefella introduced the New Telemark Norm binding featuring lateral release, adjustability, and a freely pivoting toe attachment.
=== Ski jumping ===
Ski jumping bindings attach to the toe of square-toed plastic boots that extend above the ankles; they allow for the boot heel to rise off the skis. They are designed to release the boot, in case of a fall.
== References ==
== External links ==
Media related to Ski bindings at Wikimedia Commons |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Balance#:~:text=The%20company%20had%20started%20its%20soccer%20business%20through%20its%20subsidiary%20Warrior%20Sports%20in%202012%2C%20punctuated%20by%20a%20%2440%2Dmillion%2Da%2Dyear%20sponsorship%20deal%20with%20Liverpool%20F.C.%2C%20but%20made%20the%20move%20to%20rebrand%20based%20on%20the%20global%20reach%20of%20the%20parent%20brand. | New Balance | New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), doing business as New Balance, is an American multinational footwear and apparel corporation. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, New Balance was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company.
New Balance maintains a manufacturing presence in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom for the European market, where it produces some of its popular models. New Balance claims to differentiate its products with technical features, such as blended gel inserts, heel counters and a greater selection of sizes, particularly for very narrow or very wide widths. The company is privately held and totaled $6.5 billion in revenue in 2023.
== History ==
=== 20th century ===
In 1906, William J. Riley, an Irish immigrant, founded the New Balance Arch Support Company in the Boston area, manufacturing arch supports and other accessories designed to improve shoe fit. His first product, a flexible arch support, was designed with three support points to provide greater balance and comfort in the shoe. It is believed that Riley came up with the name "New Balance" by observing chickens in his yard and demonstrated the way his arch supports worked by keeping a chicken foot on his office desk. He explained to customers that the chicken's three-pronged foot resulted in perfect balance. In 1927, Riley hired Arthur Hall to be a salesman. In 1934, Hall became a business partner. The company later did business under the name New Balance Athletic Shoe Company. As New Balance slowly established itself as a niche business in the 1930s, baseball players and track and field athletes sought the company out for its specialty footwear.
In 1956, Hall sold the business to his daughter Eleanor and her husband Paul Kidd. Eleanor and Paul Kidd continued to sell mainly arch supports until 1960, when they designed and manufactured the "Trackster", the first running shoe to come in varying widths. The Trackster gained popularity through YMCA programs in which it became the unofficial shoe. College track teams such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University and Boston University adopted the Trackster for their cross-country teams, soon to be followed by other colleges and private high schools around the country. Marketing was mostly word-of-mouth or through local sports fairs.
Sales languished until 1972, when 28-year-old Jim Davis bought the company, feeling that "leisure-time products would be a high-growth market." At the time, the company consisted of six people making 30 pairs of shoes daily and selling products primarily through mail-order with a few U.S. retailers. The Boston area became a center for the running boom of the 1970s, and the product line expanded and sales grew rapidly. The company opened a UK factory in Workington in 1982, which relocated to Flimby in 1991.
=== 21st century ===
In 2001, New Balance purchased canvas sneaker company PF Flyers and re-launched the brand in 2003. In February 2004, the company purchased Warren, Michigan-based Warrior Lacrosse, now Warrior Sports. In 2011 New Balance placed its Aravon, Cobb Hill, and Dunham brands under its Drydock Footwear affiliate. In 2015, New Balance's parent, together with Berkshire Partners, bought the Rockport shoe company from the Adidas Group and combined it with Drydock Footwear under the name The Rockport Group, now with the Aravon, Cobb Hill, Dunham, and Rockport brands. In 2018, The Rockport Group went into bankruptcy and was sold.
In February 2015, New Balance announced its entry into the global soccer (association football) market. The company had started its soccer business through its subsidiary Warrior Sports in 2012, punctuated by a $40-million-a-year sponsorship deal with Liverpool F.C., but made the move to rebrand based on the global reach of the parent brand. Later on, the UK High Court rejected the legal filling of New Balance against the Liverpool's UK£70 million+ kit deal with Nike, which come into force in January 2020 and staggered the Manchester United deal with Adidas for £75 million annually.
During 2016, New Balance opposed the Trans Pacific Partnership and condemned the Obama administration's support for it, arguing that it would hurt its domestic shoe manufacturing (while Nike, which does not manufacture in the US, supported the TPP). Matt Lebretton, the company's Vice President of public affairs said in April 2016 "I would say that when Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump all agree on something, then it has to be given a closer look; and they all agree that TPP is not the right policy." After Donald Trump won the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Lebretton told a reporter, "The Obama administration turned a deaf ear to us [about trade] and frankly, with President-elect Trump, we feel things are going to move in the right direction." Some news outlets reported that an ad hoc boycott campaign was created out of an interpretation of Lebretton's remarks as supportive of Trump. Owner and Chairman Davis donated almost $400,000 to the Trump Victory Committee in September 2016.
In December 2018, Chief Commercial Officer Joe Preston succeeded Rob DeMartini as New Balance's president. In March 2020, the company announced that it would be converting some of its manufacturing facilities in New England to produce face masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April 2021, Teddy Santis, founder of lifestyle brand Aimé Leon Dore, was named creative director of New Balance's premium sneaker line.
== Products and operations ==
New Balance manufactures a range of shoes and apparel. It maintains a manufacturing presence in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom for the European market, where it produces some of its most popular models such as the 990 series—in contrast to its competitors, which often manufacture exclusively outside the United States and Europe. As a result, New Balance shoes tend to be more expensive than those of many other manufacturers. To offset this pricing difference, New Balance claims to differentiate its products with technical features, such as blended gel inserts, heel counters and a greater selection of sizes, particularly for very narrow or very wide widths. Between 1992 and 2019, the company made approximately $69 billion in profit. In 2017, New Balance's facility in Flimby, England was producing 28,000 pairs of shoes a week, 5 percent of the New Balance shoes sold in the European market.
== Sponsorships and collaborations ==
New Balance sponsors a variety of sports teams, leagues and individuals. Sponsorships include the New York Road Runners, which organizes the New York City Marathon; the National Basketball Association (NBA); major league baseball teams the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox; and Team Ireland at the Rio 2016 Olympics. It has sponsored football national and club teams worldwide, US and European athletics teams, and individual athletes in basketball, baseball, cricket, cycling, tennis, rugby, lacrosse, motorsports, and skateboarding.
The company has launched products in collaboration with apparel company Aimé Leon Dore, NBA star Kawhi Leonard, and British fashion designer Paul Smith.
In 2025, New Balance released a limited-edition line of Japan-made cotton T-shirts in collaboration with Shohei Ohtani, celebrating craftsmanship and the athlete’s cultural roots.
On 1 December 2025, New Balance was named as the on-and-off field apparel supplier for the incoming National Rugby League (Australia) club, the Perth Bears, which will enter the league in 2027. The Bears are the first NRL club to partner with the global sports brand.
== New Balance Foundation ==
The New Balance Foundation was established in 1981. The foundation donates to national and Boston-based charitable organizations, and groups that support children and families with a focus on health, nutrition, education and physical activity.
== Sustainability ==
New Balance committed to the Science Based Targets initiative, the United Nations' emissions reduction plan that seeks to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius. The brand also aims to reach 100% renewable electricity for its operations by 2025. In February 2024, New Balance introduced its resale program 'Reconsidered'. According to this plan, pre-worn shoes are sold on New Balance's online store in a new section of the website.
== Toning footwear ==
In 2011, a class action lawsuit was filed against New Balance alleging that the company's toning footwear touts unproven benefits. In support of its claim of false advertising, it cited a University of Wisconsin–La Crosse research study on toning shoes that was funded and published by the American Council on Exercise.
Researchers studying rival toning shoes made by Skechers and Reebok reported that there were no "statistically significant increases in either exercise response or muscle activation" as a result of wearing the toning shoes. There was no statistically significant difference between participants wearing special "toning shoes" and controls wearing normal sneakers. The researchers concluded that there is "simply no evidence to support the claims that these shoes will help wearers exercise more intensely, burn more calories or improve muscle strength and tone." However, it was noted that "These shoes may be encouraging a fair number of people who probably wouldn't put on a normal pair of walking shoes and go out and walk." In August 2012, New Balance agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle false advertising claims.
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
FTC "Complying with the Made In the USA Standard" site
FAQ answer on New Balance UK manufacturing Archived January 8, 2019, at the Wayback Machine |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoberta_Mench%C3%BA | Rigoberta Menchú | Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Spanish: [riɣoˈβeɾta menˈtʃu]; born 9 January 1959) is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and to promoting Indigenous rights internationally.
She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1996, and received the Prince of Asturias Award in 1998. She is the subject of the testimonial biography I, Rigoberta Menchú (1983) and author of the autobiographical work, Crossing Borders (1998). Menchú founded the country's first indigenous political party, Winaq, and ran as its candidate for president of Guatemala in the 2007 and 2011 presidential elections.
== Personal life ==
Rigoberta Menchú was born to a poor Indigenous family of K'iche' Maya descent in Laj Chimel, a rural area in the north-central Guatemalan department of El Quiché. Her family was one of many Indigenous families who could not sustain themselves on the small pieces of land they were left with after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. Menchú's mother began her career as a midwife at age sixteen and continued to practice using traditional medicinal plants until she was murdered at age 43. Her father was a prominent activist for the rights of Indigenous farmers in Guatemala. Both of her parents regularly attended Catholic church, but her mother remained connected to her Maya spirituality and identity. She believes in many teachings of the Catholic Church, but her mother's Maya influence also taught Menchú the importance of living in harmony with nature and retaining her Maya culture. Menchú considers herself to be the perfect mix of both her parents.
In 1979–80, Menchú's brother, Patrocinio, and mother, Juana Tum Kótoja, were kidnapped, brutally tortured and murdered by the Guatemalan Army. Her father, Vicente Menchú Perez, died in the 1980 Burning of the Spanish Embassy, which occurred after urban guerrillas took hostages and were attacked by government security forces. In January 2015, Pedro García Arredondo, a former police commander of the Guatemalan Army who later served as the chief of the now defunct National Police (Policía Nacional, PN), was convicted of attempted murder and crimes against humanity for his role in the embassy attack; Arrendondo was also previously convicted in 2012 of ordering the enforced disappearance of agronomy student Édgar Enrique Sáenz Calito during the country's long-running internal armed conflict.
In 1984, Menchú's other brother, Victor, was shot to death after he surrendered to the Guatemalan Army, was threatened by soldiers, and tried to escape.
In 1995, Menchú married Ángel Canil, a Guatemalan, in a Mayan ceremony. They had a Catholic wedding in January 1998; at that time they also buried their son Tz'unun ("hummingbird" in K’iche’ Maya), who had died after being born prematurely in December. They adopted a son, Mash Nahual Ja' ("Spirit of Water").
Menchú featured prominently in the 1983 documentary When the Mountains Tremble, directed by Newton Thomas Sigel and Pamela Yates.
She lives with her family in the municipality of San Pedro Jocopilas, Quiché Department, northwest of Guatemala City, in the heartland of the Kʼicheʼ people.
== Connections to the Guatemalan civil war ==
Following military coups that started with the CIA-orchestrated removal of President Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954, the Cuban revolution of 1959, and the Che Guevara's commitment to create as many Vietnams as he could, the U.S. moved to condone and often support authoritarian rule in the name of national security. The Guatemalan Civil War lasted from 1962 to 1996 and was provoked by social, economic, and political inequality. An estimated 250,000 people were assassinated, including 50,000 desaparecidos, and hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals, either at the hands of the armed forces or the militarized civilians knows as Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil (Civil Defense Patrols). This made people nervous since arming civilians, let alone Indigenous peoples, was not a very common occurrence in Guatemala and was, in fact, illegal according to the country's constitution.
Massacres of Indigenous men, women, and children in Guatemala began in May 1978, culminating in 1982. By 1981 the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was reporting on the indiscriminate killing of civilians in rural areas, government soldiers being "forced to fire at anything that moved". In 1982 the CIA reported several villages being burned to the ground while Guatemalan commanding officers were "expected to give no quarter to combats and non-combats alike".
These inequalities were most impactful on marginalized populations, especially indigenous communities. To maintain order, the state implemented forceful measures that often, violated human rights. This ultimately led to mass genocide, disappearances, and displacement of indigenous populations. 83% of victims were later identified as Mayan, indicating that a majority of human rights violated were those of the Indigenous communities of Guatemala. These events had a deep impact on Menchú and her family and were the root cause of her activism in Indigenous rights.
== Guatemalan activism ==
From a young age, Menchú was active alongside her father. Together they advocated for the rights of Indigenous farmers through the Committee for Peasant Unity. Menchú often faced discrimination for wanting to join her male family members in the fight for justice, but she was inspired by her mother to continue making space for herself. Menchú believes that the roots of Indigenous oppression in Guatemala stem from issues of exploitation and colonial land ownership, and in her early activism focused on defending her people from colonial exploitation.
After leaving school, Menchú worked as an activist campaigning against human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan Army during the country's civil war, which lasted from 1960 to 1996. Many of the human rights violations that occurred during the war targeted Indigenous peoples. Women were targets of physical and sexual violence at the hands of the military.
In 1981, Menchú was exiled and escaped to Mexico where she found refuge in the home of a Catholic bishop in Chiapas. Menchú continued to organize resistance to oppression in Guatemala and organize the struggle for Indigenous rights by co-founding the United Republic of Guatemalan Opposition. Tens of thousands of people, mostly indigenous Maya people, fled to Mexico from 1982 to 1984 at the height of Guatemala's 36-year civil war.
A year later, in 1982, she narrated a book about her life, titled Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia (My Name is Rigoberta Menchú, and this is how my Awareness was Born), to Venezuelan author and anthropologist Elizabeth Burgos. The book was translated into five other languages including English and French. Menchú's work made her an international icon at the time of the ongoing conflict in Guatemala and brought attention to the suffering of Indigenous peoples under an oppressive government regime.
Menchú served as the Presidential Goodwill Ambassador for the 1996 Peace Accords in Guatemala. That same year she received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Boston.
After the Guatemalan Civil War ended, Menchú campaigned to have Guatemalan political and military establishment members tried in Spanish courts. In 1999, she filed a complaint before a court in Spain because prosecutions of civil-war era crimes in Guatemala was practically impossible. These attempts stalled as the Spanish courts determined that the plaintiffs had not yet exhausted all possibilities of seeking justice through the legal system of Guatemala. On 23 December 2006, Spain called for the extradition from Guatemala of seven former members of Guatemala's government, including Efraín Ríos Montt and Óscar Mejía, on charges of genocide and torture. Spain's highest court ruled that cases of genocide committed abroad could be judged in Spain, even if no Spanish citizens were involved. In addition to the deaths of Spanish citizens, the most serious charges include genocide against the Maya people of Guatemala.
=== Politics ===
In 2005, Menchú joined the Guatemalan federal government as goodwill ambassador for the National Peace Accords. Menchú faced opposition and discrimination. In April 2005, five Guatemalan politicians would be convicted for hurling racial epithets at Menchú. Court rulings would also uphold the right to wear indigenous dresses and practice Mayan spirituality.
On 12 February 2007, Menchú announced that she would form an Indigenous political party called Encuentro por Guatemala and that she would stand in the 2007 presidential election. She was the first Maya, Indigenous woman to ever run in a Guatemalan election. In the 2007 election, Menchú was defeated in the first round, receiving three percent of the vote.
In 2009, Menchú became involved in the newly founded party Winaq. Menchú was a candidate for the 2011 presidential election, but lost in the first round, winning three percent of the vote again. Although Menchú was not elected, Winaq succeeded in becoming the first Indigenous political party of Guatemala.
== International activism ==
At the peak of state counterinsurgency, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal: Session on Guatemala (PPT-SG), held in Madrid in 1983, was the first of its kind for Central America. The tribunal looked at evidence going back to the CIA-backed coup that ousted democratically elected president Jacobo Árbenz in 1954; although its focus was on the massacres, scorched earth policies, forced disappearances, torture, and killings taking place at the time under General Efraín Ríos Montt. Menchú was included in the five-day tribunal, that included twenty-two testifiers, and shared how her mother was used as bait as an effort to trap her children:
According to the testimony of a cousin, who [also] tortured my mother and even looked after her corpse for four months on the mountainside, my mother was tortured for about twelve days. They changed her Maya dress for a military uniform, they cut her hair, and for twelve days she was cruelly tortured . . . [doctors were brought to resuscitate her], and they began again with the same tortures, they started raping her again. . . . Little by little my mother lost her will to live. When she was again about to die, they took her to a ravine about fifteen minutes away from Uspantán, they dumped her, still alive, among the vegetation. The military guarded her permanently for four months. My mother died slowly, she was eaten by animals, by buzzards, until only the largest bones of her body remained. The military let no one draw near. (TPP 1984, 43)
Almost thirty years later, the First Tribunal of Consciousness Against Sexual Violence Toward Women took place in Guatemala City in 2010. The 1983 PPT-SG did not acknowledge the rape of women, particularly Maya women, during the armed conflict testifiers spoke; but it would take another twenty-seven years for sexual violence to be fully recognized in an ethical tribunal, and thirty-three years for it to be legally condemned in 2016 in the Sepur Zarco case. The trial and conviction of Jose Efrain Rios Montt in Guatemala in 2013 demonstrates that 15 years later, it is possible to convict a former head of state of crimes against humanity. Guatemala became the first Latin America country to place a former president on trial for genocide, being charged for the killing and disappearance of 70,000 people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands.
In 1996, Menchú was appointed as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of her activism for the rights of Indigenous people. In this capacity, she acted as a spokesperson for the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples (1995–2004), where she worked to improve international collaboration on issues such as environment, education, health care, and human rights for Indigenous peoples. In 2015, Menchú met with the general director of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, in order to solidify relations between Guatemala and the organization.
Since 2003, Menchú has become involved in the Indigenous pharmaceutical industry as president of "Salud para Todos" ("Health for All") and the company "Farmacias Similares," with the goal of offering low-cost generic medicines. As president of this organization, Menchú has received pushback from large pharmaceutical companies due to her desire to shorten the patent life of certain AIDS and cancer drugs to increase their availability and affordability.
In 2006, Menchú was one of the founders of the Nobel Women's Initiative along with sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire. These six women, representing North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, decided to bring together their experiences in a united effort for peace, justice and equality. It is the goal of the Nobel Women's Initiative to help strengthen women's rights around the world.
Menchú is a member of PeaceJam, an organization whose mission is to use Nobel Peace Laureates as mentors and models for young people and provide a way for these Laureates to share their knowledge, passions, and experience. She travels around the world speaking to youth through PeaceJam conferences. She has also been a member of the Foundation Chirac's honor committee since the foundation was launched in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac in order to promote world peace.
Menchú has continued her activism by continuing to raise awareness for issues including political and economic inequality and climate change.
== Legacy ==
=== Awards and honors ===
1992 Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy and social justice work for the indigenous peoples of Latin America
1992 UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador position for her advocacy for the indigenous peoples of Guatemala
Menchú was the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize at the time, and the first indigenous people recipient.
1996 Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for her authorship and advocacy for the indigenous peoples of Guatemala
1998 Prince of Asturias Prize for improving the condition of women and the communities they serve. (Jointly with 6 other women.)
1999 asteroid 9481 Menchú was named in her honor (M.P.C. 34354)
2010 Order of the Aztec Eagle for services provided for Mexico
2018 Spendlove Prize for her advocacy for minority groups
In 2022, the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, located in Pessac, gave her name to its newly built library in her honor.
=== Publications ===
I, Rigoberta Menchú (1983)
This book, also titled My Name is Rigoberta Menchú and that's how my Conscience was Born, was dictated by Menchú and transcribed by Elizabeth Burgos
Crossing Borders (1998)
Enkelin der Maya [Daughter of the Maya] (1999)
The Girl from Chimel (2005) with Dante Liano, illustrated by Domi
The Honey Jar (2006) with Dante Liano, illustrated by Domi
The Secret Legacy (2008) with Dante Liano, illustrated by Domi
K'aslemalil-Vivir. El caminar de Rigoberta Menchú Tum en el Tiempo (2012)
== Testimony controversy ==
More than a decade after the publication of I, Rigoberta Menchú, anthropologist David Stoll investigated Menchú's story and claimed that Menchú changed some elements about her life, family, and village to meet the publicity needs of the guerrilla movement. Stoll acknowledged the violence against the Maya civilians in his book, Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of all Poor Guatemalans, but believed the guerillas were responsible for the army's atrocities. The controversy caused by Stoll's book received widespread coverage in the US press of the time; thus the New York Times highlighted a few claims in her book contradicted by other sources:
A younger brother whom Ms. Menchu says she saw die of starvation never existed, while a second, whose suffering she says she and her parents were forced to watch as he was being burned alive by army troops, was killed in entirely different circumstances when the family was not present. Contrary to Ms. Menchu's assertion in the first page of her book that I never went to school and could not speak Spanish or read or write until shortly before she dictated the text of I, Rigoberta Menchu, she in fact received the equivalent of a middle-school education as a scholarship student at two prestigious private boarding schools operated by Roman Catholic nuns.
Many authors have defended Menchú, and attributed the controversy to different interpretations of the testimonio genre. Menchú herself states, "I'd like to stress that it's not only my life, it's also the testimony of my people." An error in Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of all Poor Guatemalans is Stoll's representation of the massacre at the Spanish embassy in Guatemala in 1980 as a self-immolation coordinated by student and indigenous leaders of the peasant protesters occupying the embassy; investigators in 1981 reported on the massacre and the La Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico (Commission for the Historical Clarification-CEH) and published findings concluding that the army carried out a premeditated firebombing of the embassy.
Later, a declassified CIA document form late February 1982 states that in mid-February 1982 the Guatemalan army reinforced its existing forces and launched a "sweep operation in the Ixil Triangle; and commanding officers of the units involved had been instructed to destroy all towns and villages which were cooperating in the Guerilla Army of the Poor (EGP) and eliminate all sources of resistance." This was a fallacy recently repeated in the Times Literary Supplement by Ilan Stavans in his review of Stoll's book. Some scholars have stated that, despite its factual and historical inaccuracies, Menchú's testimony remains relevant for the ways in which it depicts the life of an Indigenous Guatemalan during the civil war.
The Nobel Committee dismissed calls to revoke Menchú's Nobel Prize, in spite of Stoll's allegations regarding Menchú. Geir Lundestad, the secretary of the committee, stated that Menchú's prize was awarded because of her advocacy and social justice work, not because of her testimony, and that she had committed no observable wrongdoing.
According to Mark Horowitz, William Yaworsky, and Kenneth Kickham, the controversy about Stoll's account of Menchu is one of the three most divisive episodes in recent American anthropological history, along with controversies about the truthfulness of Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa and Napoleon Chagnon's representation of violence among the Yanomami.
== See also ==
List of civil rights leaders
List of peace activists
List of female Nobel laureates
List of feminists
== References ==
== Bibliography ==
Ament, Gail. "Recent Maya Incursions into Guatemalan Literary Historiography". Literary Cultures of Latin America: A Comparative History. Eds. Mario J. Valdés & Djelal Kadir. 3 Vols. Vol 1: Configurations of Literary Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004: I: 216–215.
Arias, Arturo. "After the Rigoberta Menchú Controversy: Lessons Learned About the Nature of Subalternity and the Specifics of the Indigenous Subject" MLN 117.2 (2002): 481–505.
Beverley, John. "The Real Thing (Our Rigoberta)" Modern Language Quarterly 57:2 (June 1996): 129–235.
Brittin, Alice A. "Close Encounters of the Third World Kind: Rigoberta Menchu and Elisabeth Burgos's Me llamo Rigoberta Menchu". Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 22, No. 4, Redefining Democracy: Cuba and Chiapas (Autumn, 1995), pp. 100–114.
De Valdés, María Elena. "The Discourse of the Other: Testimonio and the Fiction of the Maya." Bulletin of Hispanic Studies (Liverpool), LXXIII (1996): 79–90.
Feal, Rosemary Geisdorfer. "Women Writers into the Mainstream: Contemporary Latin American Narrative". Philosophy and Literature in Latin America. Eds. Jorge J.E. Gracia and Mireya Camurati. New York: State University of New York, 1989. An overview of women in contemporary Latin American letters.
Golden, Tim. "Guatemalan Indian Wins the Nobel Peace Prize": New York Times (17 October 1992): p. A1, A5.
Golden, Tim. "Guatemalan to Fight on With Nobel as Trumpet": New York Times (19 October 1992): p. A5.
Gossen, Gary H. "Rigoberta Menchu and Her Epic Narrative". Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 26, No. 6, If Truth Be Told: A Forum on David Stoll's "Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans" (Nov., 1999), pp. 64–69.
Gray Díaz, Nancy. "Indian Women Writers of Spanish America". Spanish American Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Source Book. Ed. Diane E. Marting. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988
Millay, Amy Nauss. Voices from the Fuente Viva: The Effect of Orality in Twentieth-Century Spanish American Narrative. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 2005.
Logan, Kathleen. "Personal Testimony: Latin American Women Telling Their Lives". Latin American Research Review 32.1 (1997): 199–211. Review Essay.
Nelan, Bruce W. "Striking Against Racism". Time 140:61 (26 October 1992): p. 61.
Stanford, Victoria. "Between Rigoberta Menchu and La Violencia: Deconstructing David Stoll's History of Guatemala" Latin American Perspectives 26.6, If Truth Be Told: A Forum on David Stoll's "Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans" (Nov., 1999), pp. 38–46.
---. "From I, Rigoberta to the Commissioning of Truth Maya Women and the Reshaping of Guatemalan History". Cultural Critique 47 (2001) 16–53.
Sommer, Doris. "Rigoberta's Secrets" Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 18, No. 3, Voices of the Voiceless in Testimonial Literature, Part I. (Summer, 1991), pp. 32–50.
Stoll, David "Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans" (Westview Press, 1999)
---. "Slaps and Embraces: A Rhetoric of Particularism". The Latin American Subaltern Studies Reader. Ed. Iliana Rodríguez. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001.
Wise, R. Todd. "Native American Testimonio: The Shared Vision of Black Elk and Rigoberta Menchú". In Christianity and Literature, Volume 45, Issue No.1 (Autumn 1995).
Zimmerman, Marc. "Rigoberta Menchú After the Nobel: From Militant Narrative to Postmodern Politics". The Latin American Subaltern Studies Reader. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001.
== External links ==
Rigoberta Menchú Tum on Nobelprize.org
Salon.com: Rigoberta Menchú meets the press
"Peace Prize Winner Admits Discrepancies", AP story in New York Times, 12 February 1999 (Subscription only.)
"Spain may judge Guatemala abuses", BBC News, 5 October 2005
"Anthropologist Challenges Veracity of Multicultural Icon" – The Chronicle of Higher Education. (Subscription only.)
Rigoberta Menchu at UMass Boston. on YouTube
Sound recording of Elizabeth Burgos-Debray interviewing Rigoberta Menchu.
Appearances on C-SPAN |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
The agency's main goal is the protection of public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability in the US and worldwide. The CDC focuses national attention on developing and applying disease control and prevention. It especially focuses its attention on infectious disease, food borne pathogens, environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention, and educational activities designed to improve the health of United States citizens. The CDC also conducts research and provides information on non-infectious diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, and is a founding member of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes.
As part of the announced 2025 HHS reorganization, CDC is planned to be reoriented towards infectious disease programs. It is planned to absorb the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, while the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is planned to move into the new Administration for a Healthy America.
== History ==
=== Establishment ===
The Communicable Disease Center was founded July 1, 1946, as the successor to the World War II Malaria Control in War Areas program of the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities.
Preceding its founding, organizations with global influence in malaria control were the Malaria Commission of the League of Nations and the Rockefeller Foundation. The Rockefeller Foundation greatly supported malaria control, sought to have the governments take over some of its efforts, and collaborated with the agency.
The new agency was a branch of the U.S. Public Health Service and Atlanta was chosen as the location because malaria was endemic in the Southern United States. The agency changed names before adopting the name Communicable Disease Center in 1946. Offices were located on the sixth floor of the Volunteer Building on Peachtree Street.
With a budget at the time of about $1 million, 59 percent of its personnel were engaged in mosquito abatement and habitat control with the objective of control and eradication of malaria in the United States.
Among its 369 employees, the main jobs at CDC were originally entomology and engineering. In CDC's initial years, more than six and a half million homes were sprayed, mostly with DDT. In 1946, there were only seven medical officers on duty and an early organization chart was drawn. Under Joseph Walter Mountin, the CDC continued to be an advocate for public health issues and pushed to extend its responsibilities to many other communicable diseases.
In 1947, the CDC made a token payment of $10 to Emory University for 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land on Clifton Road in DeKalb County, still the home of CDC headquarters as of 2025. CDC employees collected the money to make the purchase. The benefactor behind the "gift" was Robert W. Woodruff, chairman of the board of the Coca-Cola Company. Woodruff had a long-time interest in malaria control, which had been a problem in areas where he went hunting. The same year, the PHS transferred its San Francisco based plague laboratory into the CDC as the Epidemiology Division, and a new Veterinary Diseases Division was established.
The CDC inherited the Tuskegee syphilis experiment from its predecessor, the U.S. Public Health Service. In the study, which lasted from 1932 to 1972, a group of Black men (nearly 400 of whom had syphilis) were studied to learn more about the disease. The disease was left untreated in the men, who had not given their informed consent to serve as research subjects.
=== Growth ===
In 1951, Chief Epidemiologist Alexander Langmuir's warnings of potential biological warfare during the Korean War spurred the creation of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) as a two-year postgraduate training program in epidemiology. The success of the EIS program led to the launch of Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP) in 1980, training more than 18,000 disease detectives in over 80 countries. In 2020, FETP celebrated the 40th anniversary of the CDC's support for Thailand's Field Epidemiology Training Program. Thailand was the first FETP site created outside of North America and is found in numerous countries, reflecting CDC's influence in promoting this model internationally. The Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET) has graduated 950 students.
The mission of the CDC expanded beyond its original focus on malaria to include sexually transmitted diseases when the Venereal Disease Division of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) was transferred to the CDC in 1957. Shortly thereafter, Tuberculosis Control was transferred (in 1960) to the CDC from PHS, and then in 1963 the Immunization program was established.
It became the National Communicable Disease Center effective July 1, 1967, and the Center for Disease Control on June 24, 1970. At the end of the Public Health Service reorganizations of 1966–1973, it was promoted to being a principal operating agency of PHS.
=== 1980–2018 ===
The organization was renamed to the plural Centers for Disease Control effective October 14, 1980, as the modern organization of having multiple constituent centers was established. By 1990, it had four centers formed in the 1980s: the Center for Infectious Diseases, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, and the Center for Prevention Services; as well as two centers that had been absorbed by CDC from outside: the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in 1973, and the National Center for Health Statistics in 1987.
An act of the United States Congress appended the words "and Prevention" to the name effective October 27, 1992. However, Congress directed that the initialism CDC be retained because of its name recognition. Since the 1990s, the CDC focus has broadened to include chronic diseases, disabilities, injury control, workplace hazards, environmental health threats, and terrorism preparedness. CDC combats emerging diseases and other health risks, including birth defects, West Nile virus, obesity, avian, swine, and pandemic flu, E. coli, and bioterrorism, to name a few. The organization would also prove to be an important factor in preventing the abuse of penicillin. In May 1994 the CDC admitted having sent samples of communicable diseases to the Iraqi government from 1984 through 1989 which were subsequently repurposed for biological warfare, including Botulinum toxin, West Nile virus, Yersinia pestis and Dengue fever virus.
In 1992, Mark L. Rosenberg and five CDC colleagues founded the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, with an annual budget of approximately $260,000. They focused on "identifying causes of firearm deaths, and methods to prevent them". Their first report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1993 entitled "Guns are a Risk Factor for Homicide in the Home", reported "mere presence of a gun in a home increased the risk of a firearm-related death by 2.7 percent, and suicide fivefold – a "huge" increase". In response, the National Rifle Association of America launched a "campaign to shut down the Injury Center". Two conservative pro-gun groups, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership and Doctors for Integrity and Policy Research joined the pro-gun effort, and, by 1995, politicians also supported the pro-gun initiative. In 1996, Jay Dickey (R) Arkansas introduced the Dickey Amendment stating "none of the funds available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control" as a rider in the 1996 appropriations bill. Advocates for gun control opposed the amendment and continued to try to overturn it after it was passed. In 1997, "Congress re-directed all of the money for gun research to the study of traumatic brain injury." David Satcher, CDC head 1993–98 advocated for firearms research.
On April 21, 2005, then–CDC director Julie Gerberding formally announced the reorganization of CDC to "confront the challenges of 21st-century health threats". She established four coordinating centers. In 2009 the Obama administration re-evaluated this change and ordered them cut as an unnecessary management layer.
On May 16, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's blog published an article instructing the public on what to do to prepare for a zombie invasion. While the article did not claim that such a scenario was possible, it did use the popular culture appeal as a means of urging citizens to prepare for all potential hazards, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods.
According to David Daigle, the associate director for communications, public health preparedness and response, the idea arose when his team was discussing their upcoming hurricane-information campaign and Daigle mused that "we say pretty much the same things every year, in the same way, and I just wonder how many people are paying attention." A social-media employee mentioned that the subject of zombies had come up a lot on Twitter when she had been tweeting about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and radiation. The team realized that a campaign like this would most likely reach a different audience from the one that normally pays attention to hurricane-preparedness warnings and went to work on the zombie campaign, launching it right before hurricane season began. "The whole idea was, if you're prepared for a zombie apocalypse, you're prepared for pretty much anything," said Daigle.
Once the blog article was posted, the CDC announced an open contest for YouTube submissions of the most creative and effective videos covering preparedness for a zombie apocalypse (or apocalypse of any kind), to be judged by the "CDC Zombie Task Force". Submissions were open until October 11, 2011. They also released a zombie-themed graphic novella available on their website. Zombie-themed educational materials for teachers are available on the site.
In 2013, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee asking them "to support at least $10 million within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in FY 2014 along with sufficient new taxes at the National Institutes of Health to support research into the causes and prevention of violence. Furthermore, we urge Members to oppose any efforts to reduce, eliminate, or condition CDC funding related to violence prevention research." Congress maintained the ban in subsequent budgets. In 2016 over a dozen "public health insiders, including current and former CDC senior leaders" told The Trace interviewers that CDC senior leaders took a cautious stance in their interpretation of the Dickey Amendment and that they could do more but were afraid of political and personal retribution.
As of 2013, the CDC's Biosafety Level 4 laboratories were among the few that exist in the world. They included one of only two official repositories of smallpox in the world, with the other one located at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in the Russian Federation. In 2014, the CDC revealed they had discovered several misplaced smallpox samples while their lab workers were "potentially infected" with anthrax.
The city of Atlanta annexed the property of the CDC headquarters effective January 1, 2018, as a part of the city's largest annexation within a period of 65 years; the Atlanta City Council had voted to do so the prior December. The CDC and Emory University had requested that the Atlanta city government annex the area, paving the way for a MARTA expansion through the Emory campus, funded by city tax dollars. The headquarters were located in an unincorporated area, statistically in the Druid Hills census-designated place.
=== COVID-19 ===
The CDC has been widely criticized for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, CDC director Rochelle Walensky acknowledged "some pretty dramatic, pretty public mistakes, from testing to data to communications", based on the findings of an internal examination.
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was discovered in the U.S. on January 20, 2020. However, widespread COVID-19 testing in the United States was effectively stalled until February 28, when federal officials revised a faulty CDC test, and days afterward, when the Food and Drug Administration began loosening rules that had restricted other labs from developing tests. In February 2020, as the CDC's early coronavirus test malfunctioned nationwide, CDC Director Robert R. Redfield reassured fellow officials on the White House Coronavirus Task Force that the problem would be quickly solved, according to White House officials. It took about three weeks to sort out the failed test kits, which may have been contaminated during their processing in a CDC lab. Later investigations by the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services found that the CDC had violated its own protocols in developing its tests. In November 2020, NPR reported that an internal review document they obtained revealed that the CDC was aware that the first batch of tests which were issued in early January had a chance of being wrong 33 percent of the time, but they released them anyway.
In May 2020, The Atlantic reported that the CDC was conflating the results of two different types of coronavirus tests – tests that diagnose current coronavirus infections, and tests that measure whether someone has ever had the virus. The magazine said this distorted several important metrics, provided the country with an inaccurate picture of the state of the pandemic, and overstated the country's testing ability.
In July 2020, the Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the CDC and instead send all COVID-19 patient information to a database at the Department of Health and Human Services. Some health experts opposed the order and warned that the data might become politicized or withheld from the public. On July 15, the CDC alarmed health care groups by temporarily removing COVID-19 dashboards from its website. It restored the data a day later.
In August 2020, the CDC recommended that people showing no COVID-19 symptoms do not need testing. The new guidelines alarmed many public health experts. The guidelines were crafted by the White House Coronavirus Task Force without the sign-off of Anthony Fauci of the NIH. Objections by other experts at the CDC went unheard. Officials said that a CDC document in July arguing for "the importance of reopening schools" was also crafted outside the CDC. On August 16, the chief of staff, Kyle McGowan, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, resigned from the agency. The testing guidelines were reversed on September 18, 2020, after public controversy.
In September 2020, the CDC drafted an order requiring masks on all public transportation in the United States, but the White House Coronavirus Task Force blocked the order, refusing to discuss it, according to two federal health officials.
In October 2020, it was disclosed that White House advisers had repeatedly altered the writings of CDC scientists about COVID-19, including recommendations on church choirs, social distancing in bars and restaurants, and summaries of public-health reports.
In the lead up to 2020 Thanksgiving, the CDC advised Americans not to travel for the holiday saying, "It's not a requirement. It's a recommendation for the American public to consider." The White House coronavirus task force had its first public briefing in months on that date but travel was not mentioned.
The New York Times later concluded that the CDC's decisions to "ben[d] to political pressure from the Trump White House to alter key public health guidance or withhold it from the public [...] cost it a measure of public trust that experts say it still has not recaptured" as of 2022.
In May 2021, following criticism by scientists, the CDC updated its COVID-19 guidance to acknowledge airborne transmission of COVID-19, after having previously claimed that the majority of infections occurred via "close contact, not airborne transmission".
In December 2021, following a request from the CEO of Delta Air Lines, CDC shortened its recommended isolation period for asymptomatic individuals infected with COVID-19 from 10 days to five.
Until 2022, the CDC withheld critical data about COVID-19 vaccine boosters, hospitalizations and wastewater data.
On June 10, 2022, the Biden Administration ordered the CDC to remove the COVID-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the United States.
==== Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report modifications ====
During the pandemic, the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) came under pressure from political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to modify its reporting so as not to conflict with what Trump was saying about the pandemic.
Starting in June 2020, Michael Caputo, the HHS assistant secretary for public affairs, and his chief advisor Paul Alexander tried to delay, suppress, change, and retroactively edit MMR releases about the effectiveness of potential treatments for COVID-19, the transmissibility of the virus, and other issues where the president had taken a public stance. Alexander tried unsuccessfully to get personal approval of all issues of MMWR before they went out.
Caputo claimed this oversight was necessary because MMWR reports were being tainted by "political content"; he demanded to know the political leanings of the scientists who reported that hydroxychloroquine had little benefit as a treatment while Trump was saying the opposite. In emails Alexander accused CDC scientists of attempting to "hurt the president" and writing "hit pieces on the administration".
In October 2020, emails obtained by Politico showed that Alexander requested multiple alterations in a report. The published alterations included a title being changed from "Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults" to "Persons." One current and two former CDC officials who reviewed the email exchanges said they were troubled by the "intervention to alter scientific reports viewed as untouchable prior to the Trump administration" that "appeared to minimize the risks of the coronavirus to children by making the report's focus on children less clear."
==== Trust in the CDC after COVID-19 ====
A poll conducted in September 2020 found that nearly 8 in 10 Americans trusted the CDC, a decrease from 87 percent in April 2020. Another poll showed an even larger drop in trust with the results dropping 16 percentage points. By January 2022, according to an NBC News poll, only 44% of Americans trusted the CDC compared to 69% at the beginning of the pandemic. As the trustworthiness eroded, so too did the information it disseminates. The diminishing level of trust in the CDC and the information releases also incited "vaccine hesitancy" with the result that "just 53 percent of Americans said they would be somewhat or extremely likely to get a vaccine."
In September 2020, amid the accusations and the faltering image of the CDC, the agency's leadership was called into question. Former acting director at the CDC, Richard Besser, said of Redfield that "I find it concerning that the CDC director has not been outspoken when there have been instances of clear political interference in the interpretation of science." In addition, Mark Rosenberg, the first director of CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, also questioned Redfield's leadership and his lack of defense of the science.
Historically, the CDC has not been a political agency; however, the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifically the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic, resulted in a "dangerous shift" according to a previous CDC director and others. Four previous directors claim that the agency's voice was "muted for political reasons." Politicization of the agency has continued into the Biden administration as COVID-19 guidance is contradicted by State guidance and the agency is criticized as "CDC's credibility is eroding".
In 2021, the CDC, then under the leadership of the Biden administration, received criticism for its mixed messaging surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, mask-wearing guidance, and the state of the pandemic.
On August 17, 2022, Walensky said the CDC would make drastic changes in the wake of mistakes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She outlined an overhaul of how the CDC would analyze and share data and how they would communicate information to the general public. In her statement to all CDC employees, she said: "For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations." Based on the findings of an internal report, Walensky concluded that "The CDC must refocus itself on public health needs, respond much faster to emergencies and outbreaks of disease, and provide information in a way that ordinary people and state and local health authorities can understand and put to use" (as summarized by the New York Times).
=== Second Trump administration ===
In January 2025, it was reported that a CDC official had ordered all CDC staff to stop working with the World Health Organization. Around January 31, 2025, several CDC websites, pages, and datasets related to HIV and STI prevention, LGBT and youth health became unavailable for viewing after the agency was ordered to comply with Donald Trump's executive order to remove all material of "diversity, equity, and inclusion" and "gender identity". Also in January 2025, due to a pause in communications imposed by the second Trump administration at federal health agencies, publication of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) was halted, the first time that had happened since its inception in 1960. The president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) called the pause in publication a "disaster." Attempts to halt publication had been made by the first Trump administration after MMWR published information about COVID-19 that "conflicted with messaging from the White House." The pause in communications also caused the cancellation of a meeting between the CDC and IDSA about threats to public health regarding the H5N1 influenza virus.
On February 1, 2025, the CDC ordered its scientists to retract any not yet published research they had produced which included any of the following banned terms: "Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female". Larry Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Center on Global Health Law, said that the directive amounted to censorship of not only government employees, but private citizens as well. For example, if the lead author of a submitted paper works for the CDC and withdraws their name from the submission, that kills the submission even if coauthors who are private scientists remain on it. Other censored topics include DEI, climate change, and HIV.
Following extensive public backlash, some, but not all, of the removed pages were reinstated. The CDC's censorship led to many researchers and journalists to preserve databases themselves, with many removed articles being uploaded to archival sites such as the Internet Archive.
On February 4, Doctors for America filed a federal lawsuit against the CDC, Food and Drug Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services, asking the removed websites to be put back online. On February 11, a judge ordered removed pages to be restored temporarily while the suit is being considered, citing doctors who said the removed materials were "vital for real-time clinical decision-making".
On February 14, 2025, around 1,300 CDC employees were laid off by the administration, which included all first-year officers of the Epidemic Intelligence Service. The cuts also terminated 16 of the 24 Laboratory Leadership Service program fellows, a program designed for early-career lab scientists to address laboratory testing shortcomings of the CDC. In the following month, the Trump administration quietly withdrew its CDC director nominee, Dave Weldon, just minutes before his scheduled Senate confirmation hearing on March 13.
In April 2025, it was reported that among the reductions is the elimination of the Freedom of Information Act team, the Division of Violence Prevention, laboratories involved in testing for antibiotic resistance, and the team responsible for determining recalls of hazardous infant products. Additional cuts affect the technology branch of the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, which includes software engineers and computer scientists supporting the centre established during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve disease outbreak prediction.
In August 2025, over 600 CDC employees were laid off and a number of programs completely dismantled, including "[m]aternal and child health services, oral health programs, and the CDC's long-running Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS)." Experts have criticized the mass layoffs under Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for creating dangerous gaps in public health. VACS, for instance, has played an essential role in gathering high-quality, actionable data used to assess and mitigate violent harm against children, with such harm being estimated as affecting half of all children worldwide.
==== 2025 headquarters shooting ====
On August 8, 2025, 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw, Georgia, attacked the CDC's Roybal Campus in Atlanta, Georgia. White attempted to enter the headquarters, but was thwarted by security. White then drove across the street to a CVS Pharmacy where he barricaded himself inside on the second floor, and fired at the campus with a rifle, striking four CDC buildings on multiple floors over 180 times, breaking about 150 windows and piercing some of the blast-resistant windows; authorities recovered more than 500 shell casings and five firearms after the shooting. 33-year-old David Rose, a DeKalb County Police Department officer, was fatally wounded by White as he arrived on the scene. Officers entered the pharmacy and found White dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
White is believed to have been motivated by distrust in vaccines, and believed the COVID-19 vaccine had made him depressed and suicidal. He had reached out for mental health assistance for weeks before the attack. Fired But Fighting, a group of laid-off CDC employees, blamed the attack on the anti-vaccine rhetoric of members of the Trump administration, saying that Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., "is directly responsible for the villainization of CDC's workforce through his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety". A union representing CDC employees called on both the CDC and the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services to denounce vaccine misinformation, and said that the attack was a result of compounding misinformation and obloquy towards science and health officials. While Kennedy Jr. had reached out to CDC staff and said "no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others", Jerome Adams, a former surgeon general, described Kennedy Jr.'s response as "tepid" and that Kennedy Jr. must do more given his past "inflammatory rhetoric". On August 11, Kennedy Jr. toured the Roybal Campus with deputy secretary Jim O'Neill and CDC director Susan Monarez, but did not speak with the media during the visit, although he did meet privately with Rose's widow. A day later, in an interview with Scripps News, when Kennedy Jr. was asked if he had a message for CDC employees concerned about the consequences of misinformation about vaccines, he said political violence was "wrong" and claimed not enough was known about White's motives yet to draw conclusions before criticizing the government's previous vaccination efforts as "overreaching" and that the government had said "things that are not always true" in order to get people vaccinated. Trump did not respond to the shooting of the police officer.
White's father spoke in an interview with WANF, saying that he and his wife were watching a cable television network in their Kennesaw home when the phone rang. He picked up the phone and attempted to have a normal conversation with his son. White spoke to his father, "I'm gonna shoot up the CDC", before hanging up afterward. The couple immediately changed their channel to one of the Atlanta stations, where his father saw the unmistakable image of his car at the scene.
==== 2025 advisory committee purge and leadership dispute ====
On May 14, 2025, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that lawyer Matthew Buzzelli was acting CDC director, though it was not listed on the CDC website.
In June 2025, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and—with one exception—appointed members who are either anti-vaccine activists or who lack expertise in vaccines.
Susan Monarez was confirmed as CDC head on July 31, 2025, but on August 27, it was announced on X (formerly Twitter) that she had been fired. Monarez disputed the legality of the firing, as it had not been carried out by the president, and it had been falsely reported that she had resigned. The president later officially carried out the firing. Monarez was fired after refusing to rubber stamp what were expected to be unscientific recommendations from ACIP and to fire senior staff vaccine experts. The next day, the Trump administration announced the selection of Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O'Neill as a replacement.
Following news of Monarez's ouster, at least four other CDC senior officials announced their resignations:
Debra Houry, Chief Medical Officer
Demetre Daskalakis, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Daniel Jernigan, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Jennifer Layden, Director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, which contains the National Center for Health Statistics
Dozens of CDC employees walked out of headquarters and protested in support of Monarez and the departing officials.
== Organization ==
The CDC is organized into centers, institutes, and offices (CIOs), with each organizational unit implementing the agency's activities in a particular area of expertise while also providing intra-agency support and resource-sharing for cross-cutting issues and specific health threats.
As of the most recent reorganization in February 2023, the CIOs are:
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Division of Global Migration Health
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
National Center for Environmental Health / Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Public Health Infrastructure Center
Global Health Center
Immediate Office of the Director
Chief of Staff
Office of the Chief Operating Officer
Office of Policy, Performance, and Evaluation
Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Workplace Equity
Office of Communications
Office of Health Equity
Office of Science
CDC Washington Office
Office of Laboratory Science and Safety
Office of Readiness and Response
Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics
Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology
National Center for Health Statistics
The Office of Public Health Preparedness was created during the 2001 anthrax attacks shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Its purpose was to coordinate among the government the response to a range of biological terrorism threats.
=== Locations ===
Most CDC centers are located in the Atlanta metropolitan area, where it has three major campuses:
The Chamblee Campus in Chamblee, Georgia, opened in 1946, inheriting the site and buildings of Lawson General Hospital immediately adjacent to but not part of Naval Air Station Atlanta. Although it was initially planned to be shut down when the Roybal Campus opened, it was found that the latter was not suitable for live animal facilities. The buildings were slowly replaced with modern buildings over time.
The Roybal Campus in Atlanta is the largest, named in honor of the late representative Edward R. Roybal. It was originally called the Clifton Road Campus. Although its land was donated by adjacent Emory University in 1947, it did not open until 1960. Its Building 18, which opened in 2005, contains the premier BSL4 laboratory in the United States.
The Lawrenceville Campus in Lawrenceville, Georgia, was acquired with the intent of being a destination for Chamblee's animal facilities if that campus was shut down. It was first developed in the early 1960s.
A few of the centers are based in or operate other domestic locations:
The National Center for Health Statistics is primarily located in Hyattsville, Maryland, with a branch in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's primary locations are Cincinnati, Morgantown, Pittsburgh, Spokane, and Washington, D.C., with branches in Denver, Anchorage, and Atlanta.
The CDC Washington Office is based in Washington, D.C.
Two divisions of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases are based outside Atlanta: the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, with a branch in San Juan, Puerto Rico; while the Arctic Investigations Program is based in Anchorage. In addition, the Division of Global Migration Health operates quarantine facilities in 20 cities in the U.S.
== Budget ==
The CDC budget for fiscal year 2024 is $11.581 billion.
== Workforce ==
As of 2021, CDC staff numbered approximately 15,000 personnel (including 6,000 contractors and 840 United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers) in 170 occupations. Eighty percent held bachelor's degrees or higher; almost half had advanced degrees (a master's degree or a doctorate such as a PhD, D.O., or M.D.).
Common CDC job titles include engineer, entomologist, epidemiologist, biologist, physician, veterinarian, behavioral scientist, nurse, medical technologist, economist, public health advisor, health communicator, toxicologist, chemist, computer scientist, and statistician. The CDC also operates a number of notable training and fellowship programs, including those indicated below.
=== Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) ===
The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is composed of "boots-on-the-ground disease detectives" who investigate public health problems domestically and globally. When called upon by a governmental body, EIS officers may embark on short-term epidemiological assistance assignments, or "Epi-Aids", to provide technical expertise in containing and investigating disease outbreaks. The EIS program is a model for the international Field Epidemiology Training Program.
=== Public Health Associates Program ===
The CDC also operates the Public Health Associate Program (PHAP), a two-year paid fellowship for recent college graduates to work in public health agencies all over the United States. PHAP was founded in 2007 and currently has 159 associates in 34 states.
== Leadership ==
The director of the CDC is a position that currently requires Senate confirmation. The director serves at the pleasure of the president and may be fired at any time. The CDC director concurrently serves as the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Prior to January 20, 2025, it was a Senior Executive Service position that could be filled either by a career employee, or as a political appointment that does not require Senate confirmation, with the latter method typically being used. The change to requiring Senate confirmation was due to a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
Twenty directors have served the CDC or its predecessor agencies, including three who have served during the Trump administration (including Anne Schuchat who twice served as acting director) and three who have served during the Carter administration (including one acting director not shown here). Two served under Bill Clinton, but only one under the Nixon to Ford terms.
=== List of directors ===
The following persons have served as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or chief of the Communicable Disease Center):
== Datasets and survey systems ==
CDC Scientific Data, Surveillance, Health Statistics, and Laboratory Information.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the world's largest, ongoing telephone health-survey system.
Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), a surveillance system on maternal and infant health with telephone and mail questionnaires in English and Spanish in 50 US jurisdictions.
Mortality Medical Data System.
Abortion statistics in the United States
CDC WONDER (Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research)
Data systems of the National Center for Health Statistics
== Areas of focus ==
=== Communicable diseases ===
The CDC's programs address more than 400 diseases, health threats, and conditions that are major causes of death, disease, and disability. The CDC's website has information on various infectious (and noninfectious) diseases, including smallpox, measles, and others.
==== Influenza ====
The CDC targets the transmission of influenza, including the H1N1 swine flu, and launched websites to educate people about hygiene.
==== Division of Select Agents and Toxins ====
Within the division are two programs: the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) and the Import Permit Program. The FSAP is run jointly with an office within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, regulating agents that can cause disease in humans, animals, and plants. The Import Permit Program regulates the importation of "infectious biological materials."
The CDC runs a program that protects the public from rare and dangerous substances such as anthrax and the Ebola virus. The program, called the Federal Select Agent Program, calls for inspections of labs in the U.S. that work with dangerous pathogens.
During the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the CDC helped coordinate the return of two infected American aid workers for treatment at Emory University Hospital, the home of a special unit to handle highly infectious diseases.
As a response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Congress passed a Continuing Appropriations Resolution allocating $30,000,000 towards CDC's efforts to fight the virus.
=== Non-communicable diseases ===
The CDC also works on non-communicable diseases, including chronic diseases caused by obesity, physical inactivity and tobacco-use. The work of the Division for Cancer Prevention and Control, led from 2010 by Lisa C. Richardson, is also within this remit.
=== Antibiotic resistance ===
The CDC implemented their National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria as a measure against the spread of antibiotic resistance in the United States. This initiative has a budget of $161 million and includes the development of the Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network.
=== Global health ===
Globally, the CDC works with other organizations to address global health challenges and contain disease threats at their source. They work with many international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as ministries of health and other groups on the front lines of outbreaks. The agency maintains staff in more than 60 countries, including some from the U.S. but more from the countries in which they operate. The agency's global divisions include the Division of Global HIV and TB (DGHT), the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM), the Division of Global Health Protection (DGHP), and the Global Immunization Division (GID).
The CDC has been working with the WHO to implement the International Health Regulations (IHR), an agreement between 196 countries to prevent, control, and report on the international spread of disease, through initiatives including the Global Disease Detection Program (GDD).
The CDC has also been involved in implementing the U.S. global health initiatives President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and President's Malaria Initiative.
=== Travelers' health ===
The CDC collects and publishes health information for travelers in a comprehensive book, CDC Health Information for International Travel, which is commonly known as the "yellow book." The book is available online and in print as a new edition every other year and includes current travel health guidelines, vaccine recommendations, and information on specific travel destinations. The CDC also issues travel health notices on its website, consisting of three levels:
"Watch": Level 1 (practice usual precautions)
"Alert": Level 2 (practice enhanced precautions)
"Warning": Level 3 (avoid nonessential travel)
=== Vaccine safety ===
The CDC uses a number of tools to monitor the safety of vaccines. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a national vaccine safety surveillance program run by CDC and the FDA. "VAERS detects possible safety issues with U.S. vaccines by collecting information about adverse events (possible side effects or health problems) after vaccination." The CDC's Safety Information by Vaccine page provides a list of the latest safety information, side effects, and answers to common questions about CDC recommended vaccines.
The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) works with a network of healthcare organizations to share data on vaccine safety and adverse events. The Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) project is a network of vaccine experts and health centers that research and assist the CDC in the area of vaccine safety.
CDC also runs a program called V-safe, a smartphone web application that allows COVID-19 vaccine recipients to be surveyed in detail about their health in response to getting the shot.
=== CDC revises stance on autism and vaccines ===
Under the leadership of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC website on "Autism and Vaccines" was radically changed from its earlier September 2025 version to a new version on November 19, 2025.
In an interview, Kennedy reportedly said that "he personally instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to abandon its longstanding position that vaccines do not cause autism — a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
Numerous sources commented on the change.
FactCheck.org wrote that the change was not evidence-based and quoted David S. Mandell, a psychiatry professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and director of the Penn Center for Mental Health:
"As any scientist knows, you can't 'prove' the lack of association. You conduct related studies, over and over, until the bulk of evidence finds no association."
He added: The "CDC page is the equivalent of 'you haven't proven that ghosts don't exist' or perhaps more to the point, 'you haven't proven that driving during pregnancy doesn't cause autism, so pregnant women should stop driving.'"
The Washington Post wrote:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has repudiated its past insistence that vaccines do not cause autism after decades of fighting misinformation linking the two, blindsiding career staff and delighting anti-vaccine activists.
The agency's website on vaccines and autism, updated Wednesday, now makes several false claims about a connection, echoing longtime rhetoric from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a lengthy history of disparaging vaccines and linking them to autism.
The New York Times wrote:
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website that previously said that vaccines do not cause autism walked back that statement, contradicting the agency's previous efforts to fight misinformation about a connection between the two.
The agency's webpage on vaccines and autism, updated on Wednesday, now repeats the skepticism that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voiced about the safety of vaccines, though dozens of scientific studies have failed to find evidence of a link.
Many medical associations and journals have issued statements and protests against the changes:
American Academy of Pediatrics
Autism Science Foundation
American Public Health Association, the largest professional organization of public health professionals in the United States, represents numerous organizations and more than 25,000 members worldwide
Infectious Diseases Society of America (and HIV Medicine Association, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists)
American Medical Association
The BMJ
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
== CDC Foundation ==
The CDC Foundation operates independently from CDC as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the State of Georgia. The creation of the foundation was authorized by section 399F of the Public Health Service Act to support the mission of CDC in partnership with the private sector, including organizations, foundations, businesses, educational groups, and individuals. From 1995 to 2022, the foundation raised over $1.6 billion and launched more than 1,200 health programs. Bill Cosby formerly served as a member of the foundation's Board of Directors, continuing as an honorary member after completing his term.
The foundation engages in research projects and health programs in more than 160 countries every year, including in focus areas such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, emergency response, and infectious diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, Ebola, rotavirus, and COVID-19.
EmPOWERED Health Program: Launched in November 2019 with funding from Amgen, the program works to empower cancer patients to become actively involved in the decision making around their treatments.
Fries Prize for Improving Health: An annual prize first awarded in 1992 that "recognizes an individual who has made major accomplishments in health improvement and with the general criteria of the greatest good for the greatest number".
In 2015, BMJ associate editor Jeanne Lenzer raised concerns that the CDC's recommendations and publications may be influenced by donations received through the foundation, which includes pharmaceutical companies.
== Publications ==
CDC publications
State of CDC report
CDC Programs in Brief
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Emerging Infectious Diseases (monthly journal)
Preventing Chronic Disease
Vital statistics
== See also ==
Gun violence in the United States
Haddon Matrix
List of national public health agencies
Safe Kids Worldwide
=== CDC Departments ===
ATSDR – CDC department
NIOSH – CDC department
N95 respirator – regulated by NIOSH
Division of Industrial Hygiene – predecessor to NIOSH
=== Other US Executive Departments ===
MSHA – co-regulator of respirators prior to 1998
Bureau of Mines – predecessor to MSHA
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
OSHA
== References ==
=== Citations ===
=== Sources ===
== Further reading ==
Editorial (May 16, 2020). "Reviving the US CDC". The Lancet. 395 (10236): 1521. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31140-5. PMC 7255307. PMID 32416772.
Etheridge, Elizabeth W. (1992). Sentinel for Health: A History of the Centers for Disease Control. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-07107-0.
Meyerson, Beth E.; Martich, Frederick A.; Naehr, Gerald P. (2008). Ready to Go: The History and Contributions of U.S. Public Health Advisors. Research Triangle Park, NC: American Social Health Association. ISBN 978-0-615-20383-6. OCLC 244483702.
Stobbe, Mike (2014). Surgeon General's Warning: How Politics Crippled the Nation's Doctor. Berkeley: Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-27229-3.
== External links ==
Official website
CDC in the Federal Register
CDC-Wide Activities and Program Support account on USAspending.gov
CDC Online Newsroom
CDC Public Health Image Library
CDC Global Communications Center
CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory – Atlanta, Georgia (archived July 3, 2008)
CDC WONDER online databases.
Vaccine Safety Monitoring Systems and Methods (CDC) a slide deck presented at October 2019 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hamburg#:~:text=She%20also%20worked%20as%20a,Medicine%20from%201986%20to%201990. | Margaret Hamburg | Margaret Ann "Peggy" Hamburg (born July 12, 1955, Chicago, Illinois) is an American physician and public health administrator, who is serving as the chair of the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and co-chair of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). She served as the 21st Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from May 2009 to April 2015.
== Early life and education ==
Hamburg is the daughter of Beatrix Hamburg and David A. Hamburg, both physicians. Her mother was the first self-identified African-American woman to be accepted at Vassar College and to earn a degree from the Yale University School of Medicine. Her father is President Emeritus of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and also served as the president of the AAAS in 1984.
Hamburg graduated from Harvard College in 1977 and earned her M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1983. She completed her medical residency training at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine.
Hamburg is married to Peter Fitzhugh Brown, a computer scientist and artificial intelligence expert. The couple were married on May 23, 1992. Brown is the chief executive officer of Renaissance Technologies. Renaissance Technologies employees were collectively the top donors to President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and collectively the third largest donors to Hillary Clinton, giving $15.5 million and $16.5 million respectively. The couple has two children together.
Hamburg was ranked on the list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women three times—ranking 21st in 2011, 61st in 2012, and 59th in 2013.
== Career ==
Following her medical training, Hamburg moved to Washington, D.C., to begin her career in public service. She served in several roles, beginning with a position in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the US Department of Health and Human Services. She also worked as a clinical instructor for Georgetown University School of Medicine from 1986 to 1990.
From May 1989 to May 1990, she worked as assistant director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health under Anthony Fauci. In this position, she participated in HIV/AIDS policy development and research.
In 1991, Hamburg was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she served for six years, working first for Mayor David Dinkins and then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. During her tenure, she worked on improved services for women and children, a needle-exchange program to reduce HIV transmission, a program to curtail the resurgence and spread of tuberculosis, and the nation's first public health bioterrorism preparedness program.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed Hamburg as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She served in this policy role until 2001 when she became the founding Vice President for Biological Programs and later the Senior Scientist for the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a foundation created by Ted Turner dedicated to reducing the threat to public safety from nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. In that role, Hamburg spearheaded efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to both naturally occurring and deliberately caused biological threats. She worked on reforms to reduce the dangers associated with modern bioterrorism and infectious diseases such as pandemic influenza.
In June 2001, Hamburg participated in the Operation Dark Winter exercise at Andrews Air Force Base simulating a bioterrorism event involving weaponized smallpox.
Hamburg is a member of the Medical Advisory Team for the Sidwell Friends School, where she also served on the board of trustees from 2004 to 2009. On July 13, 2005, she was announced as an advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
=== U.S. Food and Drug Administration ===
Hamburg was nominated by President Barack Obama in March 2009 to become Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and was unanimously confirmed in May 2009. As FDA Commissioner she was known for advancing regulatory science, streamlining and modernizing FDA's regulatory pathways, and globalization of the agency, as well as the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (2009), the Food Safety Modernization Act (2011), and a review of the system for the evaluation and approval of medical devices.
Hamburg was the longest-serving FDA commissioner since David A. Kessler, as well as the second woman to hold the position. She served at the FDA until her resignation on March 28, 2015.
During Hamburg's tenure at the FDA, the agency was criticized for speeding approvals at the expense of safety, while some industry voices indicated the pace was "justified". The FDA, under Hamburg's leadership approved 51 drugs in 2014 alone, which was noted as being "most in more than 20 years" to which Hamburg attributes to "innovative approaches".
=== National Academy of Medicine ===
In April 2015 Hamburg was appointed Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Medicine. In December 2016, Hamburg was named president-elect for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She served a three-year term as an officer and member of the executive committee of the AAAS Board of Directors beginning in February 2017.
In 2018, she participated in the Clade X pandemic exercise that modelled a fictional parainfluenza bioterrorism attack designed to reduce the global population. She played the role of Secretary of Health and Human Services. The event was held by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Hamburg joined the board of directors for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in 2018.
In 2020, Hamburg participated in the strategic framework development for the Grand Challenge on Climate Change, Human Health, & Equity. Other notable participants included Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance, Jeremy Farrar of Wellcome Trust, and representatives from the National Institutes of Health, Rockefeller Foundation, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, ExxonMobil, University of Hong Kong, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, World Health Organization, African Development Bank, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and numerous universities.
Additionally, Hamburg was appointed by the Council on Foreign Relations to serve on its Independent Task Force on Improving Pandemic Preparedness, co-chaired by Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Frances Fragos Townsend. That year, she also served on the CSIS-LSHTM High-Level Panel on Vaccine Confidence and Misinformation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, co-chaired by Heidi Larson and J. Stephen Morrison.
Hamburg participated in a tabletop exercise at the March 2021 Munich Security Conference modelling a fictional international outbreak of monkeypox. The exercise was led by the Nuclear Threat Initiative and funded by Open Philanthropy. In the exercise scenario, the hypothetical outbreak was set to begin on May 15, 2022. On May 18, 2022, a real confirmed case of monkeypox was reported in an American traveller who had recently travelled to Canada.
== Awards and recognition ==
Hamburg is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American College of Physicians, as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Academy of Medicine, where she now serves as Foreign Secretary.
Hamburg has received numerous awards, among them the National Consumers League's Trumpeter Award in 2011 and the National Center for Health Research's 2011 Health Research Policy Hero Award. She has also received the American College of Clinical Pharmacology's (ACCP) Nathaniel T. Kwit Memorial Distinguished Service Award, the New York Academy of Medicine Medal for Distinguished Contributions in Health Policy, the Radcliffe Alumnae Award and the American Lung Association's Breath of Life Award. Hamburg was the 2017 recipient of the FDAAA's Harvey W. Wiley Lecture Award for Outstanding Leadership in Advancing Public Health.
She is a distinguished senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and holds several Honorary Degrees.
Forbes named her as one of the world's 100 most powerful women multiple times, most recently in 2014 (#51).
In 2022, Hamburg was awarded the AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize which honors individuals' groundbreaking work in the areas of public service, scientific achievement or notable services to community.
== Other activities ==
=== Corporate boards ===
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, member of the board of directors (since 2018)
=== Non-profit organizations ===
American Museum of Natural History, member of the board of trustees
AmfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, member of the board of directors (former)
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, member of the Global Health Scientific Advisory Committee
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, commissioner
Broad Institute, member of the board of directors
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Member of the Commission on Strengthening America's Health Security (since 2017)
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), chair of the Joint Coordinating Group (–2023)
Commonwealth Fund, member of the board of directors
Centre of Regulatory Excellence (CoRE), Duke–NUS Medical School, member of the advisory board
Department of Global Health, University of Washington, member of the external advisory board
GAVI Alliance, member of the board
Harvard Medical School, member of the board of fellows
Harvard University, member of the global advisory council
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), member of the board of directors
Simons Foundation, member of the scientific advisory board for the Autism Research Initiative
Urban Institute, member of the board of trustees
Wellcome Trust, member of the Strategic Advisory Board on Vaccines and Drug-resistant Infections
World Dementia Council, member of the board
Hamburg formerly served on the boards of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Rockefeller University, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Conservation International and Henry Schein Inc. She has participated as a member of the Central Intelligence Agency's Intelligence Science Board.
She is also a member of the National Advisory Council for the COVID Collaborative.
Hamburg is affiliated with the World Economic Forum. On April 6, 2021, she participated as a speaker at a WEF event titled "The Next Frontier: Synthetic Biology".
== Legal issues ==
In 2016, Hamburg, her husband, Johnson & Johnson, and others were named in a lawsuit by Larry Klayman, who has since been suspended from practicing law in DC. The suit was dismissed with prejudice in 2017 by a District of Columbia federal judge.
== In Popular Culture ==
Hamburg is the subject of an R. Crumb comic strip entitled "Deep State Woman" that appears in his 2025 book Tales of Paranoia
== Selected publications ==
== References ==
== External links ==
FDA Biography
FORA.tv videos
Margaret Hamburg on LinkedIn
Personal Bio
Appearances on C-SPAN |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thabo_Makgoba | Thabo Makgoba | Thabo Cecil Makgoba KStJ (born 15 December 1960) is the South African Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. He had served before as bishop of Grahamstown.
== Biography ==
Makgoba graduated from Orlando High, Soweto, and completed his BSc degree at Wits University before going to St Paul's College, Grahamstown, to study for the Anglican ministry. He married Lungelwa Manona. Since then he obtained an MEd degree in Educational Psychology at Wits, where he also lectured part-time from 1993 to 1996. He was made bishop of Queenstown (a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Grahamstown) on 25 May 2002 and became the diocesan bishop of Grahamstown (in Makhanda) in 2004.
Until he moved to the Diocese of Grahamstown as bishop suffragan, Makgoba's ministry had been spent in the Diocese of Johannesburg, first as a curate at St Mary's Cathedral, Johannesburg, and then as the Anglican chaplain at Wits University. After that he was made rector of St Alban's Church, Ferrairasdorp, Johannesburg, and later of Christ the King, Sophiatown. He became archdeacon of Sophiatown in 1999. He became archbishop of Cape Town on 31 December 2007, the youngest person ever to be elected to this position. He was a Procter Fellow of the Episcopal Divinity School in the United States in 2008.
As of 2012, Makgoba is currently the chancellor of the University of the Western Cape.
Makgoba graduated with a PhD degree from the University of Cape Town in December 2009. He was awarded the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Scholarship to study for his doctorate. He is also an Associate at the Allan Gray School for Values at UCT.
== Views ==
Makgoba believes that 'We must each ask, "Who is my neighbour?" and then treat every individual and our whole global community in ways that uphold the sanctity of life, the dignity of humanity in all our differences, and the integrity of creation. These are our touchstones as we follow God's call for social justice here and now.'
Makgoba is open to discussions on the orthodox Anglican stance on homosexuality. The Anglican Diocese of Cape Town, after a Synod held in Cape Town, on 20–22 August 2009, passed a resolution calling the Anglican Church in Southern Africa bishops to give pastoral guidelines for homosexual couples living in "covenanted partnerships". At the same time, it was approved an amendment for the resolution which provided that the guidelines "due regard of the mind of the Anglican Communion." Makgoba stated that the resolution was "an important first step to saying: 'Lord, how do we do ministry in this context?' I'm a developmental person. I don't believe in big bangs. If you throw a little pebble into water, it sends out concentric circles and hopefully that way change comes from that." He also said that "South Africa has laws that approve a civil union in this context, but not in the other countries within our province. In central Africa and north Africa, both the Anglican Church and the state say 'no'" and "The reason for this resolution was because we have these parishioners, and the law provides for them to be in that state, so how do we pastorally respond to that?"
In 2016 Makgoba stated he was "pained" after a church synod rejected a proposal to allow bishops to license gay and lesbian clergy who are in same sex civil marriages to minister in parishes and rejected a motion to provide for prayers of blessing to be offered for those in same sex civil marriages. After the synod, which covered churches from Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, St Helena, and Swaziland, Makgoba advised "our lesbian sisters and gay brothers: I was deeply pained by the outcome of the debate". In 2023, after the Synod of bishops rejected a proposal to bless same-sex unions, the bishops voted for Makgoba's proposal to draft prayers that can be said pastorally with same-sex couples. In 2024, Makgoba supported the blessing of same-sex couples in civil unions and spoke in favour of two such proposals at the Provincial Synod; after the Synod rejected the two proposals, Makgoba said, "I had hoped that we would take a decision to incorporate all God's people, regardless of their sexuality."
== Political statements ==
Like his predecessors, he has used his position to make political statements about current affairs. In October 2009, he supported Bishop Rubin Phillip's condemnation of the violence at Kennedy Road informal settlement in which a local militia "acted with the support of the local ANC structures".
== Awards ==
Cross of St Augustine in 2008, the second highest international award for outstanding service to the Anglican Communion, by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Seven honorary doctorates in divinity, from the General Theological Seminary (2009) and Huron University College ( 2013). Sewanee: The University of the South (2015). Honorary doctorate in literature from Witwatersrand University (2016). Received the Chancellor's medal University of Pretoria (2015). Honorary doctorate in Divinity University of Stellenbosch (2018). Honorary degree in divinity from Amherst College (2019). Honorary degree in divinity from Berkeley Divinity School (2021).
Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of Saint John
== Works ==
Faith and Courage- Praying with Nelson Mandela (2018)
Workplace Spirituality (2012)
Connectedness (2005)
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
The Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Development Trust
Public blog |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuwakot_District | Nuwakot District | Nuwakot District (Nepali: नुवाकोट जिल्ला), a part of Bagmati Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Bidur as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,121 km2 (433 sq mi) and had a population of 288,478 in 2001 and 277,471 in 2011.
The district contains places of historical significance such as the town of Nuwakot, and the village of Devighat (the death place of Prithvi Narayan Shah) located at the confluence of the Tadi and Trishuli Rivers. Kakani is popular among Nepalese people as a touristic place and picnic spot.
== Etymology ==
The name 'Nuwakot' is composed of two words 'nawa' and 'kort'. Nawa' means nine in Nepali and 'kort' means sacred religious sites on top of hills. Accordingly, the district has nine hills on which various deities are said to dwell and watch over and protect Nuwakot. This has led to Nuwakot often being referred to as the "City of Nine Hills". The Gorkhali king Prithivi Narayan Shah invaded Nuwakot, which was under the rule of Jaya Prakash Malla, and made Nuwakot the capital of his kingdom.
== Geography and climate ==
== Demographics ==
At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Nuwakot District had a population of 263,391. 7.22% of the population is under 5 years of age. It has a literacy rate of 69.07% and a sex ratio of 1042 females per 1000 males. 94,451 (35.86%) lived in municipalities.
Ethnicity wise: Hill Janjatis were the largest group, making up 54% of the population. Tamangs were the largest Hill Janjati group, making up 43% of the population, with smaller populations of Rai, Magar and Gurung people. Khas are the second largest group, making up 37% of the population. Newars were the third largest group, making up 7% of the population.
At the time of the 2021 census, 51.01% of the population spoke Nepali, 40.78% Tamang, 3.28% Nepal Bhasha, 1.11% Danuwar and 0.97% Rai as their first language. In 2011, 54.5% of the population spoke Nepali as their first language.
== Administration ==
The district consists of 12 municipalities, out of which two are urban municipalities and ten are rural municipalities. These are as follows:
Bidur Municipality
Belkotgadhi Municipality
Kakani Rural Municipality
Panchakanya Rural Municipality
Likhu Rural Municipality
Dupcheshwar Rural Municipality
Shivapuri Rural Municipality
Tadi Rural Municipality
Suryagadhi Rural Municipality
Tarkeshwar Rural Municipality
Kispang Rural Municipality
Myagang Rural Municipality
== Economy ==
Nuwakot, being a hilly area with very less plains, most of the areas are still undeveloped. In last few years, huge changes are observable. The city areas are provided with schools, colleges, hospitals and the road infrastructure is also developed. Two hydro power stations are currently in operation, and from 2020 the first part of the biggest solar power station (Nuwakot Solar Power Station) was consented to the electric grid of Nepal. People are dependent on agriculture, teaching, foreign economy, livestock farming, business, hotels, Agro Tourism, Eco-Tourism and Khadya Bank, etc.
== Special Economic Zone ==
Jiling is recognized as an SEZ Area where business flourishes and there is an intent to grow business and economy of Nuwakot. NEPAL KHADYA BANK LTD. has established at Kashitar to serve farmers in Food Security, Food Banking, Grain Storage, Supply and Distribution.
== See ==
Nuwakot, Bagmati : A seven-storey palace lies on the top of Bidur Municipality. Views of Nuwakot can be observed from the spot.
Trishuli River : One of the major river of Saptagandaki passes right through mid area of Nuwakot.
Kakani : A gateway from Kathmandu to Nuwakot. A common place for observing sunset and the mountains.
Devighat : Near the union of Trishuli and Suryamati (Tadi) river lies devighat. This place is historically important. The death place of the great king Prithvi Narayan Shah lies here.
Kashitar : One of the major place where people work in Eco Tourism, Agri Tourism and Food Security.
== Religious places ==
Nuwakot, being mainly Hindu by religion, has many historically as well as religiously important places.
Bhairabi Temple
Jalpa devi Temple
Dupcheshwar Mahadev Temple
Chimteshor Mahadev
Bandevi Temple
Panchakanya Temple
Indra Kamala Temple
Baghabhairam Temple
Uttargaya Dhama
Shree Bachchhala Devi Temple
Sundaradevi Satatale Temple
Kali Pokhari Mahadev Temple
Trishuli Ram Mandir
Dudhelama mai Temple
SuryaGadhi Temple
Buddish Stupa
Indrakamala Mai Temple is a religious and cultural place in Nuwakot district, which is 18 km far from Bidur the headquarter of Nuwakot and 8 km from Kakani Rural Municipality Office. It lies in the Kakani Rural Municipality ward number -8 under Bagmati province. It is surrounded with natural greenery and located at the beach of the three gorges where thousands of devotees come for worshiping god Indrakamala basically in Dashain. It is believed to achieved aims and desires after worshiping.
== See also ==
Nuwakot, Bagmati
Bidur
Kakani
== Notable people ==
Ram Sharan Mahat
Arjun Narasingha KC
Prakash Chandra Lohani
Mahendra Bahadur Pandey
Kedar Narsingh KC
Anjali Lama
Narayan Prasad Khatiwada
Kishor Nepal
Ramraja Shrestha
Suman Bikram Pandey
== References ==
"Districts of Nepal". Statoids. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goat_Amalthea_with_the_Infant_Jupiter_and_a_Faun | The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun | The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun is the earliest known work by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Produced sometime between 1609 and 1615, the sculpture is now in the Borghese Collection at the Galleria Borghese in Rome.
== Background ==
According to Filippo Baldinucci, even before Pietro Bernini moved his family from Naples to Rome, eight-year-old Gian Lorenzo created a "small marble head of a child that was the marvel of everyone". Throughout his teenage years, he produced numerous images containing putti, chubby male children usually nude and sometimes winged. Distinct from cherubim, who represent the second order of angels, these putti figures were secular and presented a non-religious passion.
Of the three surviving marble groups of putti that can be attributed to Bernini, The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun is the only one that is approximately dateable. In 1615, a carpenter was paid for providing a wooden pedestal for the sculpture group. Some writers date the work as early as 1609, based on stylistic grounds and an interpretation of the 1615 pedestal invoice indicating that the base was a replacement.
== Description ==
The sculpture shows Amalthea as a goat, the infant god Jupiter, and an infant Faun.
== See also ==
List of works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
== References ==
Notes
Bibliography
== External links ==
Web Gallery of Art
Media related to Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun by Bernini at Wikimedia Commons |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hunt#:~:text=Hunt%20is%20tied%20with%20former,U.S.%20history%20at%205%2C838%20days. | Jim Hunt | James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.
Hunt is tied with former Ohio governor Jim Rhodes for the sixth-longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,838 days. He is also the father of current North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt.
Many credit Hunt and his leadership example being a major reason why, in contrast to many ex-Confederate and border states, North Carolina's Democratic Party has managed to stay relevant in state politics from Ronald Reagan's presidency through 2024.
== Early life ==
Hunt was born on May 16, 1937, in Greensboro, North Carolina to James Baxter Hunt, a soil conservationist, and Elsie Brame Hunt, a schoolteacher. When he was a child, the family moved to a farm outside of Wilson, North Carolina. He was raised in the Free Will Baptist Church but later converted to Presbyterianism.
He is a graduate of North Carolina State College, now known as North Carolina State University, with a B.S. in agricultural education and a M.S. in agricultural economics. During his undergraduate career, Hunt was involved in Student Government. He was the second student to serve two terms as Student Body President of NC State. His master's thesis was about economic analysis of different tobacco production techniques. In 1964, he received a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He went on to serve as the president of the Young Democratic Clubs of North Carolina, now known as the Young Democrats of North Carolina.
== Political career ==
From 1964 to 1966, Hunt was a Ford Foundation economic advisor in Nepal. After working on several state and national campaigns for Democratic candidates and attending several Democratic conventions as a delegate, in addition to his work with the North Carolina Young Democratic Clubs, in 1972 he ran successfully for lieutenant governor. He was sworn in on January 5, 1973. With the election of James Holshouser as governor in 1972—the first Republican to win the office in decades—the Democratic majority in the General Assembly was compelled to raise the stature of the office of the lieutenant governor. It raised the job's salary from $5,000 to $30,000 per year, increased the office operating budget, and expanded its staff from two to five.
Hunt was first sworn in as Governor of North Carolina on January 8, 1977. He is the only Governor of North Carolina to have been elected to four terms. He was first elected governor in 1976 over Republican David Flaherty and was re-elected in 1980, defeating I. Beverly Lake. Hunt supported a constitutional change during his first term that allowed him to be the first North Carolina governor to run for a second consecutive term.
In 1981 Hunt chaired the Hunt Commission, named after himself, which established superdelegates in the Democratic National Convention.
In 1984 he lost a bitterly contested race for the Senate seat held by Jesse Helms, and left elective politics for eight years. He returned in 1992 and defeated Republican lieutenant governor and Hardee's executive Jim Gardner to win the governorship. Hunt was re-elected by a large margin over future US Congressman Robin Hayes in 1996. He left office in January 2001, and was replaced by Attorney General Mike Easley.
=== Actions and political views ===
In the 1970s Governor Hunt was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and, with his wife Carolyn, he urged its approval by the state legislature (which failed to ratify it by two votes) and appointed Betty Ray McCain as his chief lobbyist for the amendment. Hunt was an early proponent of teaching standards and early childhood education, gaining national recognition for the Smart Start program for pre-kindergarteners. In his book, First in America: An Education Governor Challenges North Carolina, Hunt says that under testing and accountability measures he put into place test scores went up. He says 56% of students were proficient in 1994 compared with 70% in the year 2000. He says without testing students slip through the cracks and face a "limited future" (p. 55). In 2000 he was mentioned as a possible Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States or Education Secretary for Al Gore had Gore been successful in the 2000 presidential race. 2004 Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry was likewise considering Hunt for Secretary of Education had he won, and he was considered a candidate to be Barack Obama's Secretary of Education.
Hunt served on the Carnegie Task Force, which created the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and more recently on the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
As governor, Hunt was involved in a variety of efforts to promote technology and technology-based economic development, including the establishment of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He was also very successful at recruiting business to his state.
Hunt was key actor in the trial of the Wilmington Ten. By the late 1970s, their case had gained international attention and was viewed as an embarrassment to the US and North Carolina in particular. CBS had broadcast a 60 Minute piece about the case that suggested that the evidence against the ten had been fabricated. In January 1978, following the higher courts' refusal to dismiss these charges, Hunt decided to reduce their sentencing of 20–25 years to 13–17 years rather than pardon and free them. Many black North Carolinian politicians at the time disapproved of Hunt's decision but the general mentality at the time was that "right now blacks have nowhere else to turn" so there was no organized opposition movement. Howard Nathaniel Lee, however, refused to resign from his appointed role as cabinet secretary, as a form of protest against Hunt.
Hunt was criticized for allowing Darryl Hunt (no relation known) to remain in prison for 20 years after the wrongfully convicted Winston-Salem man was exonerated by exculpatory DNA evidence which pointed to another perpetrator. Darryl Hunt was pardoned by the succeeding governor, Mike Easley. During his terms in office Hunt oversaw 13 executions (two during his first period in office, 11 during his second), including the first post-Furman execution of a female (Velma Barfield) and the first post-Furman execution in North Carolina (James W. Hutchins).
Hunt was a proponent of North Carolina's tobacco industry, even after the negative health effects of tobacco use became clear. When Reagan Administration Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop accused the tobacco industry of directing advertising at children and threatening human lives, Hunt called for his impeachment.
== Retirement ==
Hunt founded and is chair emeritus of the Institute for Emerging Issues at N.C. State University in Raleigh. In 2001 Hunt founded the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership & Policy Foundation, Inc., commonly known as The Hunt Institute. The organization's mission is to secure America's future through quality education, and is dedicated to empowering governors, policymakers, and other educational leaders in the development and implementation of comprehensive strategies for the transformation of public education.
== Personal life ==
Hunt has been married to Carolyn Leonard Hunt since 1958 and they have a son (James Baxter Hunt III) and three daughters (including former State Senator and current Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina Rachel Hunt).
== Electoral history ==
=== 1972 North Carolina Lt. Gubernatorial Election ===
=== 1976 North Carolina Gubernatorial Election ===
=== 1980 North Carolina Gubernatorial Election ===
=== 1984 North Carolina Senatorial Election ===
=== 1992 North Carolina Gubernatorial Election ===
=== 1996 North Carolina Gubernatorial Election ===
Jim Hunt ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
== Legacy ==
The following are named for Governor Hunt:
James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership & Policy Foundation, Inc.
James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University Centennial Campus
James B. Hunt High School in Wilson County, North Carolina
James B. Hunt Jr. Residence Hall at North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
James B. Hunt Horse Complex at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds is used year-round for horse shows and other agricultural exhibitions.
The M/V Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. is the primary ferry on the Currituck Sound route, making daily runs between Currituck and Knotts Island, operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division
Hunt Hall (dormitory) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
An authorized biography of Hunt, authored by former press secretary Gary Pearce, was released in the fall of 2010.
In 2024, daughter Rachel, who since 2018 served in both the North Carolina House and the North Carolina Senate, would succeed her father in being elected to a North Carolina statewide office when she was elected Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina; in addition, Rachel was also the first Democrat to get elected Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina since 2008.
== See also ==
List of North Carolina Governors
== References ==
== Works cited ==
Cheney, John L. Jr., ed. (1981). North Carolina Government, 1585-1979 : A Narrative and Statistical History (revised ed.). Raleigh: North Carolina Secretary of State. OCLC 1290270510.
Coble, Ran (April 1989). "The Lieutenant Governorship in North Carolina : An Office in Transition" (PDF). N.C. Insight. N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. pp. 157–165.
== Further reading ==
Grimsley, Wayne. James B. Hunt: A North Carolina Progressive (2003) scholarly biography
== External links ==
News & Observer profile
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC Biography
UNC-TV: Biographical Conversations with James B. Hunt, Jr.
Guide to the James B. Hunt Papers 1971-1997, 2012
Past Winners of Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education
Oral History Interviews with James B. Hunt [1], [2], [3] from Oral Histories of the American South
James B. Hunt Political Campaign Audiovisual Material, 1980–1997
Appearances on C-SPAN |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_the_Dickason_children#:~:text=On%2016%20September%202021%2C%20Lauren,home%20in%20Timaru%2C%20New%20Zealand. | Murders of the Dickason children | On 16 September 2021, Lauren Anne Dickason, a South African immigrant, murdered her three daughters, 6-year-old Liané, and 2-year-old twins Maya and Karla at her home in Timaru, New Zealand. After admitting to killing her children, she went on trial, denying that it was murder, but instead pleaded insanity or infanticide. She was found guilty of murdering her three children on 16 August 2023, and was sentenced on 26 June 2024 to 18 years in prison.
== Lauren Dickason ==
=== Early life and career ===
Lauren Dickason is the daughter of Malcolm and Wendy Fawkes. Dickason attended a boarding school in Pretoria, South Africa. From the age of 15, Dickason experienced depression and anxiety. She also had post-natal depression. She later studied medicine at the University of Cape Town, completing her degree in 2004 and becoming a doctor. Dickason subsequently completed her rural health practice in Pretoria, where she met her husband Graham Dickason, an orthopaedic surgeon, in 2005. The couple married in 2006.
=== Children and mental health issues ===
Lauren Dickason experienced multiple fertility struggles. To have children, she had 17 rounds of IVF, and needed donor eggs. In 2013, she had her first child, named Sarah, who had to be born after 18 weeks of pregnancy. She died shortly after. Dickason did not return to work following Sarah's death and became a part-time surgeon assistant to Graham.
Dickason had three further children: Liané (who was six years old at the time of her death) and twins Maya and Karla (who were two years old at the time of their deaths). Liané was born in September 2014 while Karla and Maya were born in November 2018. Following the birth of the twins, the Dickasons enlisted the services of a nanny named Maria Mendy Sibanyoni, who worked for the family between November 2018 and May 2020.
Dickason was diagnosed with a "major depression order with underlying anxiety" in 2015, that was linked to postpartum depression caused by the loss of Sarah. Dickason reportedly experienced flashbacks of the loss of her child, sleep difficulties, crying, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, restlessness, detached feelings, and intrusive thoughts. Dickason experienced anxiety and depression leading up to and following the birth of her twin daughters, which was caused by Karla's cleft palate.
In May 2019, Dickason saw a psychiatrist after experiencing homicidal thoughts towards her children. This episode had been triggered after she and her nanny struggled with putting her twins to bed. Dickason has spoken about Karla being a difficult child, saying that Karla lashed out often, slapped and bit her. Dickason said that her children were "never enough".
=== Emigration to New Zealand ===
In 2019 the Dickason family decided to emigrate to New Zealand. They had planned to move in August 2020, but their migration plans were delayed by the global COVID-19 pandemic and immigration issues. Though Dickason experienced episodes of depression and suicidal thoughts during the pandemic, her mood improved between late 2020 and June 2021. The Crown claimed she experienced a remission for at least two months. Dickason also participated in a wellness programme.
Without consulting her doctor, Dickason had stopped taking her antidepressant medication in March 2021 but subsequently resumed her medication regime in August 2021. In July 2021, Dickason's mental health deteriorated during the 2021 South African unrest triggered by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. Dickason feared for the safety of her children and kept them at home. During that period, Dickason experienced thoughts about harming and killing her children. Dickason confided in her husband Graham, who reacted with anger and convinced her to resume her antidepressant medication. Dickason continued to experience homicidal thoughts following a foot surgery but did not disclose them since she feared it would affect their immigration plans. That same month, Graham's essential skills work visa was approved by Immigration New Zealand.
In July 2021, one of Dickason's friends also sent her a TikTok video where a mother recites a poem named "Mom needs a minute", about the struggles of raising her children and the "chaos inside of her brain". Dickason responded by saying "Awesome xxx, that's exactly how I feel". Over the following months, Dickason searched the Internet for different methods on how to overdose her children. In August 2021, Dickason experienced thoughts about using cable ties to asphyxiate her children after witnessing her husband and the girls playing with cable ties in the family garage. The incident occurred two weeks before the family emigrated to New Zealand. Dickason became withdrawn and communicated less, and cried frequently. During testimony, her mother Wendy recalled that Dickason's mental health had deteriorated during that period and she had experienced significant weight loss.
Following two weeks in managed isolation, the Dickason family arrived in Timaru on 11 September 2021, five days before the children died. Dickason was unhappy during her time in Timaru, taking issue with the appearance of the town's residents and describing local rental accommodation as "small, disgusting and creepy." She feared that her children would be the target of cyberbullying when they became older and likened the treatment of indigenous Māori people to Apartheid in South Africa. These issues led her to regret emigrating to New Zealand. According to defence experts, Dickason became fixated on these issues to the point that they became delusions reinforced by her depression.
== Deaths ==
The children were murdered on the night of 16 September 2021. On the day of the killings,
Karla and Maya had attended their first day at preschool while Liané had attended her second day at Timaru Christian School. After picking up her daughters on the day of the killing, Karla threw a tantrum in the car. Later, the family visited the local botanical gardens. During that trip, Dickason alleged that a group of girls had warned her that a boy in the park was photographing her children, which led her to believe that New Zealand was as dangerous as South Africa. That same day, Dickason had thoughts of "brutally killing" the children by means of sedating them and cutting their femoral arteries.
That night, Graham Dickason went out with colleagues, leaving Lauren alone with her children. During a subsequent police interview, Lauren Dickason told detectives that the children [on that night] "were being wild again, jumping on the couches, not listening to what I'm trying to tell them..." She also told police that "something just triggered me" on the night of the children's killing. According to Newshub, Dickason had told investigators that she had been triggered by an Immigration NZ request for more medical information about Kayla's cleft palate and her own mental health, as well as her feeling that she did not have the strength to make the children's school lunches.
After gathering the children in a bedroom, she told them they were going to make necklaces with cable ties and tricked them into wearing the ties around their necks. Dickason said she told her children "Mummy's very sick and is going to die. I can't leave you behind because I don't know who’s going to look after you." Dickason then asphyxiated the children, starting with Kayla and then Liané and Maya. Dickason told police officers that Kayla had been "really horrible" to her recently and that Liané had fought back. She recalled that "the oldest one was very angry and she wants to know why I'm doing this to them because I'm the best mum and she loves me."
Since the children were still breathing, Dickason then smothered them with a towel and their blankets. Afterwards, she tried to commit suicide with a knife and by pills. The bodies were discovered in their beds by Graham after coming back home from the work event. Graham also confronted a distraught Dickason, who told him it was "too late" before falling into a catatonic state.
== Police investigation and legal proceedings ==
At 10 pm on 16 September 2021, Police in Timaru responded to a call by neighbours Karen and Brad Cowper, who responded to a distraught Graham. At the house, Police found the three dead children and Lauren Dickason, who was hospitalised in stable condition. Police were also joined by Graham's work colleague Mark Cvitanich and his wife Cathy, who had responded to Graham's phone call. Cvitanich had also called the Police and emergency services. Dickason was taken to Timaru Hospital.
On 17 September, Police interviewed Dickason, who admitted to killing her three children. Later that day, Detective Inspector Scott Anderson confirmed that Police had arrested a 40-year-old woman about the deaths of the three dead children. Anderson said the children's deaths were an isolated incident and that Police were not seeking anyone else.
On 18 September, Dickason appeared in the Timaru District Court and was later remanded to a forensic psychiatric ward at Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital. She was later placed in a hospital psychiatric unit. At Hillmorton Hospital, she was interviewed by five forensic psychiatrists and psychologists for 53 hours. Three of them, Susan Hatters-Friedman, Justin Barry-Walsh and Ghazi Metoui, believed she was severely mentally unwell and could claim a defence based on insanity or infanticide. The two others, Erik Monasterio and Simone McLeavey believed that Dickason killed her children out of anger and control, including not wanting to let another woman parent her children if she either died and Graham remarried.
On 5 October 2021, Dickason's lawyer Kerryn Beaton QC sought an extended remand for her client at Hillmorton hospital. Dickason had been scheduled to appear at the Timaru High Court that day but her appearance had been delayed due to an impending mental health assessment. On 15 October, Beaton told a court hearing in Christchurch that Dickason would plead not guilty to three charges of murder. Dickason was unable to attend the court hearing since she was ill. Beaton sought further remand for Dickason to Hillmorton hospital until her next appearance, which was not opposed by Crown prosecutor Andrew McRae. A trial date for March 2023 was set in Timaru.
== Trial ==
=== Opening arguments ===
The trial of Lauren Dickason commenced on 17 July 2023 at the Christchurch High Court. Judge Cameron Mander presided over the trial while Andrew McRae served as Crown prosecutor. McRae delivered his opening address and detailed the circumstances of the children's deaths and Dickason's attempted suicide. Defence lawyer Anne Toohey also outlined the defence's opening arguments. While the Crown has argued that Dickason murdered her children because she resented the impact they had on her marriage, Dickason has not pleaded guilty to murder due to insanity or infanticide.
=== Trial evidence ===
In addition to testimony from Graham Dickason, emergency responders, and the children's teachers, the Crown also utilised digital forensic evidence and Dickason's police interview following the children's deaths.
On 26 July, the Crown rested its case. Defence counsel Toohey delivered her opening address to the jury, arguing that the defendant's decision to kill her children was "spontaneous" because Dickason believed that her and the children's lives were not worth living and "that they were all better off dead." In addition to the defendant's mother Wendy Fawkes, the defence also relied on three expert witnesses: the forensic and reproductive psychiatrist Dr Susan Hatters-Friedman, forensic psychiatrist Dr Justin Barry-Walsh and forensic psychologist Ghazi Metoui. The prosecution also called upon two expert witnesses: Canterbury District Health Board clinical director and psychiatrist Dr Erik Monasterio and Hillmorton Hospital consultant psychiatrist Dr Simone McLeavey.
=== Closing arguments ===
On 11 August, McRae gave the closing address for the trial. The Crown said that Dickason knew that what she was doing was morally wrong (there was no altruistic motive), and that the key drivers of the killing was "anger and control". McRae said that "this is a trial by jury, not a trial by experts", stating that the defence experts who assessed Dickason did not do it during the time of the killing, whereas the Crown did. The Crown also said that defence experts ignored "crucial information". Dickason provided inconsistent accounts of what happened for explanations months apart. The Crown said that the post partum depression had remitted, and that it was at best a minimal contributor. The Crown said that the evidence provided by the defence experts should be treated with "great caution" as Dickason reported killing Karla first on multiple occasions because she had been misbehaving, such as biting and scratching her. The defence, however, said that Karla was killed first because she was the closest to Dickason. When asked whether she thinks the killings were a result of her postpartum depression, she answered "no", and that the idea for killing "just popped up", although the Crown later said "We knew the thoughts didn’t just pop into her head".
The closing address of the defence started at around 2:30 pm. The address mentioned Dickason's 16 rounds of IVF, that the family moved to New Zealand in order to provide a better life for the children and that the world was dangerous for her children, that Dickason had postpartum depression after the births of her twins, that her mental health made her very unwell, and that Dickason's husband did not understand her illness, that Dickason was "reliable and consistent" when talking to experts. They said that she was not asked by police why she killed her children, and that Dickason "didn't tell anyone that she killed them out of anger". The defence also said that Dickason's brother, sister or close family members could have given context about her life.
=== Deliberations and verdict ===
On the fifth week, Justice Mander summed up the case. He talked about the Police interview on the day after the deaths of the children, and then told the jury to not let emotion change their ideas, in particular sympathy, prejudice, and others caused by media attention. He mentioned that there were no disputes about Dickason causing the deaths of the children, and that the question is whether it was murder, infanticide or insanity due to the undisputed unbalance of Dickason's mind at the time. He also summarised the evidence given by the experts assessing Dickason's health.
On 16 August 2023, Dickason was found guilty of murdering her children in the Christchurch High Court. Following 15 hours of deliberation, the jury reached a majority verdict (11-1) to convict Dickason of three counts of murder. The majority of jurors rejected her partial defence of infanticide and defence of insanity, and accepted the Crown's argument that Dickason "acted methodically, purposefully and even clinically out of anger and control" when she killed her three children. Dickason stood motionless in the dock as the verdict was delivered. She wept as she was led out of court. Both of Dickason's lawyers and several members of the jury wept following the verdict. Justice Mander remanded her to Hillmorton Hospital until her sentencing date, stating that she was under a compulsory treatment order that made prison inappropriate. Mander has also sought expert reports on Dickason's mental state and an appropriate sentence.
Following the verdict, Dickason's parents Malcolm and Wendy Fawkes issued a statement blaming postpartum depression for taking the lives of their grandchildren Lianè, Karla and Maya. They also stated there were "no winners in this tragedy" and urged greater awareness of the effects of postpartum depression.
=== Sentencing ===
The judge asked to determine the length and type of sentence following a mental health assessment of Dickason. The Sentencing Act presumes that murder would result in life imprisonment unless it would be "manifestly unjust to do so". The decision on whether Dickason will go to jail or the psychiatric unit of Hillmorton Hospital has not yet been decided. Dickason will not be extradited to her home country of South Africa.
In early September 2023, Dickason's sentencing date was set for 19 December 2023. It was later postponed to 2024 as this date became vacated. On 14 February the date was set to 20 March. It was later rescheduled to 26 June due to delays caused by determining whether she should serve her sentence in prison or be detained as a special patient under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. Until 26 June, she will be staying in Hillmorton Hospital.
She was sentenced on 26 June 2024 to 18 years in prison, as three concurrent determinate sentences of 18 years. She was not given a minimum term of imprisonment, and will be kept in a mental health hospital until she is deemed mentally fit for prison. When the sentence was delivered, Dickason was silent and had no reaction. During the sentencing, victim impact statements from Dickason's family members including Graham and both paternal and maternal relatives were read.
Dickason has been served with a deportation order that will take effect upon her release from prison.
=== Appeal ===
In early August 2024, it was reported that Dickason's legal team had lodged an appeal against her conviction in the New Zealand Court of Appeal on 23 July. The grounds for the appeal have not yet been disclosed. If successful, a second trial could be held.
=== Cost ===
The New Zealand government granted $709,000 for Dickason's defence in the trial. This included $153,970 for three psychiatric or psychological reports, $71,062.50 on a forensic psychologist, $58,700.81 for expert witnesses, $39,945.78 for "other payments" or disbursements for the witnesses, $6,367.50 on a private investigator, $9,480 on computer forensics, and $3,000 on "expert legal opinion".
Dickason's legal team spent 1714.25 hours working on her defence. Crown Solicitor Andrew McRae spent 732.5 hours.
== Responses ==
=== Memorials ===
On 18 September 2021, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) announced that it would help the Dickason family's relatives travel to New Zealand and secure a place in managed isolation per the country's COVID-19 quarantine requirements at the time. The Dickasons' former nanny Mari Sibanyoni also expressed shock and grief after learning of the children's deaths.
On 23 September 2021, a candelight vigil was held in Timaru's Queen Street in honour of the victims Lianne, Maya, and Karla Dickason. Graham also read a letter expressing forgiveness for his wife, honouring the memory of his late children, and thanking friends and family in New Zealand, South Africa, and elsewhere. A similar service was held in Pretoria in honour of the children. Graham subsequently returned to South Africa in December 2021.
The Dickasons' former Timaru neighbours Rob and Jade Whaley also built a memorial garden in honour of the Dickason children, with a tree called the Angel Dickason tree. Three white stones were also placed at the base of the tree in memory of the girls.
=== Responses to trial and verdict ===
The Independent Online's Jehran Naidoo compared Dickason to the American mother Andrea Yates, who was acquitted of murdering her five children by reason of insanity following a lengthy legal battle. Naidoo noted that both women suffered from mental illness and post-partum depression, had experienced previous miscarriages, had professionally-accomplished husbands, and killed their children while their husbands were away from home.
In mid August 2023, the jury's verdict was welcomed by Mayor of Timaru Nigel Bowen, who said "the guilty verdicts put the full stop in the story of a very dark time for the town." Bowen encouraged people to check on others in the community, stating "that mental health was something still kept in the shadows." Judge Mander also thanked the jury for their services. Lead investigator Detective Inspector Scott Anderson, local chaplan Alan Cummings, and South Canterbury Chief Medical Officer Dr Ben Pearson also extended sympathies to the victims' families and welcomed the trial verdict as a form of closure.
New Zealand current affairs bloggers David Farrar and Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury labelled the guilty verdict as justice for Dickason's deceased children.
=== Support for Lauren Dickason ===
Following her conviction, supporters of Dickason established a Facebook support group called "Support for Lauren Dickason," which attracted a thousand members including her father Malcolm Fawkes. The group was started in July 2022, has over 1,900 members from multiple countries, and is composed mostly of women, with its spokesperson saying that the verdict has caused "Women's voices [to be] silenced." These supporters have announced plans to organise a march and picnic in Christchurch in November 2023. They intend to walk from the justice precinct to the Christchurch's Botanic Gardens with T-shirts with printings reading "support not silence" and holding sunflowers, the symbol of the support group. A picnic in support of Maternal Mental Health will be held in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens following the walk. In addition, another supporter named Tanya Parker organised a petition urging Judge Mander to consider postpartum depression as a factor in sentencing Dickason, and for the legal profession to recognise postpartum depression as a public health crisis. The group also created a 370–page book of supportive letters titled 'Lauren: Our love and support'. It was sent to Lauren on the day of the second year anniversary of the children's deaths.
In early October, The Press reported that Dickason penned a letter to her supporters thanking them for "your love" during a "difficult time." The letter revealed that she had also made three teddy bears from her late daughters' clothing. In that letter, Dickason also stated that she could never forgive herself for "what happened." In response to media publicity, Hillmorton Hospital authorities restricted Dickason's communications, banning her from sending or receiving letters while awaiting sentencing for her murder convictions. They were later lifted, allowing Lauren to receive letters from her supporters again.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Fritz#:~:text=Fritz%20made%20the%20third%20round%20at%20the%20Australian%20Open%2C%20losing%20to%20Roger%20Federer%20in%203%20sets. | Taylor Fritz | Taylor Harry Fritz (born 28 October 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 by the ATP, achieved on 18 November 2024 and a best doubles ranking of No. 104, achieved on 26 July 2021. Fritz has won ten ATP Tour singles titles, including a Masters 1000 title at the 2022 Indian Wells Open, and was a finalist at the 2024 US Open and at the 2024 ATP Finals.
Fritz won a junior major singles title at the 2015 US Open, and was the runner-up in junior singles at the 2015 French Open. He reached his first ATP Tour final in only his third career event, the 2016 Memphis Open.
== Early life and background ==
Fritz was born the youngest of three boys to Kathy May, a former top-10 WTA player, and Guy Henry Fritz, who also played professional tennis and was named US Olympic Development Coach of the Year 2016. They divorced when he was 18.
Through his mother, Fritz is the great-great-grandson of David May, founder of The May Department Stores Company, which merged with Macy's.
Fritz has two older maternal half-brothers, Chris and Kyle. His uncle, Harry Fritz, also played professional tennis and competed in, and won, the longest Davis Cup match of all time (by number of games). His aunt, Laura Fritz, was a competitive swimmer reaching a top-5 in the world ranking in the 100 freestyle as well as a member of the world record relay team in the 400 X4 freestyle.
Fritz grew up with his brothers in Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego metropolitan area. He attended Torrey Pines High School, where he won the CIF singles title in the San Diego section as a freshman. A few months into his sophomore year, he switched to an online high school to play full-time ITF junior events.
== Junior career ==
Fritz did not play any ITF events until he was 15, when he competed in a low-level Grade-4 tournament in March 2013 in Clairemont near where he grew up. He would not play another event until the 2013 Junior US Open, at which point he began to compete regularly on the ITF Circuit shortly before turning 16. Within the next year, he made it to the semifinals at the 2014 Junior Wimbledon tournament. He then won his first Grade A tournament at the 2014 Osaka Mayor's Cup.
In 2015, Fritz reached at least the quarterfinal of all four junior Grand Slam tournaments, including the final at the French Open where he lost to Tommy Paul, and the final at the US Open where he defeated Paul. This major success helped him finish the year as the number-one-ranked boy's junior tennis player, for which he was named the 2015 ITF Junior World Champion. He was the first American to hold this title since Donald Young in 2005 and Andy Roddick in 2000.
== Professional career ==
=== 2015: ATP debut ===
Fritz played his first ATP Tour tournament at Nottingham, where he received a wild card and won his first ATP match against Pablo Carreño Busta.
In September 2015, Fritz turned pro after winning the Junior US Open. He quickly rose from the 600s into the top 250 of the ATP rankings by becoming the 9th player at age 17 to win multiple Challenger Tour titles – doing so in back-to-back weeks. The others to accomplish that feat include Top 20 players Bernard Tomic, Tomáš Berdych, Richard Gasquet, and Juan Martín del Potro as well as Number 1 overall players Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
=== 2016: Top 100 and ATP Tour final ===
After he lost in the final of his last tournament of 2015, Fritz reached a final again in his first tournament of 2016, this time winning against top-100 player Dudi Sela at Happy Valley to catapult to a ranking in the 150s. In the following week, he made it through Australian Open Qualifying to reach his first main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, where he would lose in the 1st round to fellow American Jack Sock in five sets.
Fritz was awarded a wildcard into his first ATP 250 tournament of 2016 at Memphis and knocked off the second-seeded Steve Johnson, who at No. 29 was the highest ranked player Fritz had ever defeated. With his victory over Ričardas Berankis in the semifinal, he became the youngest American to reach an ATP final since Michael Chang in 1988, and also the second-fastest American ever to reach an ATP final, doing so in just his third career ATP tournament. John Isner is the only American that was able to reach an ATP final faster. Fritz would lose in the final to three-time defending champion and top-10 player Kei Nishikori. In February, Fritz cracked the top 100 for the first time by reaching the quarterfinals in Acapulco at his first career ATP 500 event.
Fritz's grass-court season was highlighted by a close three-set loss to Roger Federer at Stuttgart. He would end up peaking in the rankings at No. 53 towards the end of the summer. At the US Open, Fritz drew Jack Sock in the first round of a major for the second time this year, again losing in five sets.
To cap off the year, Fritz won the ATP Star of Tomorrow for being the youngest player in the top 100, having just turned 19.
=== 2017: First major win ===
Fritz was able to achieve his first victory over a top-10 ATP player at Indian Wells, defeating sixth seed Marin Čilić in the second round. Fritz struggled through the first half of the year with injury problems and ended up skipping the clay court season to focus on recovering. He returned to form in the summer with quarterfinals at Los Cabos and Winston-Salem. In his seventh grand slam appearance, Fritz won his first match at a major tournament by knocking out Marcos Baghdatis at the US Open before losing in the second round to Dominic Thiem.
=== 2018: Top 50 debut ===
After finishing 2017 just outside the top 100, Fritz had a good start to the 2018 season, reaching two Challenger finals in January. He returned to the Top 100 of the ATP rankings by reaching the final in New Caledonia, though he lost there to Noah Rubin. Following a loss in qualifying at the Australian Open, he then won his first Challenger title in two years at the inaugural event in Newport Beach, not too far from his current residence in Palos Verdes.
He continued his strong start by making it to the fourth round at Indian Wells, his first round of 16-appearance at a Masters event.
Fritz kicked off the clay-court season with a semifinals appearance at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, the best result on clay of his career thus far. In the tournament, he upset Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock before losing to Steve Johnson. This helped him get back to No. 66 in the world.
At the US Open, Fritz reached his first Grand Slam third round, defeating Mischa Zverev and Jason Kubler, before losing to 9th-seeded Dominic Thiem in four sets.
Earlier in the season, Fritz began working with Paul Annacone, who helped him reach a career-high ranking of world No. 47 on November 5, 2018.
=== 2019: Top 25, first ATP title ===
Fritz made the third round at the Australian Open, losing to Roger Federer in 3 sets. Fritz then went on to win the Challenger at Newport Beach, California; he defeated Brayden Schnur of Canada in the final, in straight sets. In June, Fritz won his first ATP Tour title at the Eastbourne International by defeating Sam Querrey in straight sets. In the first round of Wimbledon, Fritz defeated Tomáš Berdych in straight sets, before losing to Jan-Lennard Struff in four sets. At the US Open, Fritz was seeded 26th, his first-ever Grand Slam seeding. However, in the first round, he lost to Feliciano López.
Fritz represented Team World in the third annual Laver Cup, held in Geneva. In his first singles match, he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Fritz bounced back on the final day of play in defeating Dominic Thiem. At the Swiss Indoors, Fritz defeated 2nd-seeded Alexander Zverev in the first round in straight sets. After achieving a career-high ranking of world No. 25 on August 5, 2019, Fritz ended the year ranked No. 32 in the world.
=== 2020: First ATP 500 final ===
Fritz began his season at the inaugural 2020 ATP Cup, representing Team USA. He went 1–2 in the singles competition, as Team USA was sent out of the tournament in the round-robin stage.
At the Australian Open, Fritz reached the third round, posting a five-set victory over Kevin Anderson. He was then defeated by eventual finalist Dominic Thiem.
Fritz reached his first ATP 500 final in Acapulco, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. However, his runner-up showing propelled him to a new career-high ranking of world No. 24 on March 2, 2020.
At the US Open, Fritz was seeded 19th. He defeated Dominik Koepfer in four sets and then beat Gilles Simon in the second round before losing to Denis Shapovalov in the third round in five sets.
At the French Open, Fritz was seeded 27th. He defeated Tomáš Macháč in five sets and Radu Albot in straight sets before losing to Lorenzo Sonego in the third round in straight sets. The match against Sonego had the longest tie-break in French Open history, with Fritz losing the tie-break 17–19.
=== 2021: Indian Wells semifinal, American No. 1 ===
Fritz started his 2021 season at the first edition of the Murray River Open. Seeded sixth, he made it to the third round, where he lost to Jérémy Chardy. Seeded 27th at the Australian Open, he reached the third round where he was defeated by top seed, eight-time champion, and eventual champion, Novak Djokovic, in five sets, despite coming back from two sets to love down.
In Doha, Fritz reached the semifinals beating Lorenzo Sonego, sixth seed David Goffin, and fourth seed Denis Shapovalov. He ended up losing in the semifinals to Nikoloz Basilashvili. Seeded 15th at the Dubai Championships, he got revenge on Basilashvili, defeating him in the second round in three sets. He was beaten in the third round by second seed Andrey Rublev. Seeded 22nd at the Miami Open, he reached the fourth round where he lost to 32nd seed Alexander Bublik. Despite this loss, this was his best showing at this Masters 1000 event and only his second fourth round in a Masters 1000 tournament in his career.
Fritz dropped again out of the top 30 on May 10, 2021, following first-round losses at Monte-Carlo and Madrid. This drop in the rankings also marked the first time no American men players were in the Top 30 in the near half-century of computerized tennis rankings. At the 2021 French Open, Fritz was seeded 30th. He defeated João Sousa in the first round in straight sets. In the second round, Fritz suffered a torn meniscus during his 4-set loss to Dominik Koepfer. Following this, Fritz said he hoped to be back in time for the 2021 Wimbledon Championships following surgery. Fritz would end up returning in time to play Wimbledon and proceeded to make the third round, where he lost to Alexander Zverev.
At the 2021 BNP Paribas Open he earned his first top 10 win in 2 years by beating world No. 7 and 5th seed Matteo Berrettini to reach the second fourth round at a Masters 1000 of the year and only the third in his career. It was his first win against a Top-10 opponent in 2021 and the seventh of his career. Fritz then beat 10th seed Jannik Sinner to advance to his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal. There, he saved 2 match points to earn his biggest win of the year, beating world No. 4 and 3rd seed Alexander Zverev to reach his first Masters 1000 semifinal, where he lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili.
At the 2021 St. Petersburg Open, Fritz turned 24, and won against countryman Tommy Paul. He would end up making the final, where he lost to Marin Čilić.
Fritz made his second Masters 1000 quarterfinal at the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters, where he beat Lorenzo Sonego, 5th seed and world No. 6 Andrey Rublev for his third Top-10 win of the year, and 10th seed and Indian Wells champion Cameron Norrie. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. With this successful run he reached a new career-high ranking in the top 25 at world No. 23 and became the No. 1 American player in singles on November 8, 2021.
Fritz ended the year ranked 23.
=== 2022: Indian Wells title, world No. 8 ===
Fritz started his 2022 season by representing the U.S. at the ATP Cup. The U.S. was in Group C alongside Canada, Great Britain, and Germany. He defeated Félix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, but lost to Alexander Zverev of Germany. The U.S. ended fourth in Group C. Seeded 20th at the Australian Open, Fritz reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time after defeating 15th seed, Roberto Bautista Agut, in the third round in five sets. He fell in the fourth round to fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets. As a result, he made his debut in the top 20 of the singles rankings on January 31.
As the top seed at the first edition of the Dallas Open, Fritz made it to the quarterfinals where he was eliminated by seventh seed and compatriot, Marcos Giron. Seeded seventh in Acapulco, he lost in the second round to qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka. Representing the U.S. in the Davis Cup tie against Colombia, Fritz played one match and beat Alejandro González. In the end, the U.S. beat Colombia 4–0 to make up for Colombia defeating them last year.
Seeded 20th in Indian Wells, Fritz became the first American to reach the final at the event since John Isner in 2012 by beating 29th seed, Alex de Minaur, in the fourth round, Miomir Kecmanović in the quarterfinals, and seventh seed, Andrey Rublev, in the semifinals. He then defeated fourth seed, three-time champion, and the then-21 grand slam champion Rafael Nadal in the final in straight sets, claiming his maiden Masters 1000 title, his second career ATP title overall, and snapping Nadal's 20-match winning streak. It was also his first win over a member of the Big Three in nine career matches. It marked the first time an American man had won the Indian Wells title since Andre Agassi in 2001. Fritz made his top 15 debut with his victory, reaching a career-high ranking of no. 13 in the world. Seeded 11th at the Miami Open, Fritz entered the tournament wanting to complete the Sunshine Double. However, he failed to do after losing to in the fourth round to Miomir Kecmanović in three sets.
Fritz started his clay-court season at the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas. Seeded second, he reached the quarterfinals where he lost to fifth seed and 2019 champion, Cristian Garín. Seeded 10th at the Monte-Carlo Masters, he lost in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Fritz missed the Madrid Open and Italian Open due to a left foot injury. Seeded 13th at the French Open, he was beaten in the second round by qualifier Bernabé Zapata Miralles.
Fritz began his grass-court season at the Libéma Open. Seeded third, he suffered a second-round upset at the hands of Dutch wildcard and eventual champion, Tim van Rijthoven. Seeded fourth at the Queen's Club Championships, he was ousted from the tournament in the first round by British wildcard Jack Draper. Seeded third at the Eastbourne International, he beat sixth seed and defending champion, Alex de Minaur, in the semifinals to reach the final here at this event for the first time since 2019 when he won the title. He defeated compatriot Maxime Cressy in the final to win his third ATP Tour title, and second in Eastbourne. Seeded 11th at Wimbledon, he defeated Alex Molčan and qualifier Jason Kubler in the third and fourth rounds respectively to reach his first Major quarterfinal. In the quarterfinals, he pushed world No. 4, second seed, and two-time champion Rafael Nadal to five sets, but ended up losing the match in a fifth-set tiebreak.
Fritz's American swing began in Washington, where he was the third seed. After beating Alexei Popyrin in straight sets, he retired against Dan Evans in the third round due to the heat, despite having a match point in the second set. At the Canada Masters, he beat Andy Murray and Frances Tiafoe before losing again to Evans in three sets. In Cincinnati, Fritz reached the quarterfinals after beating Sebastián Báez, Nick Kyrgios and sixth seed and world No. 8 Andrey Rublev. He lost to world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals. At the US Open he suffered a shocking first round defeat against first time qualifier compatriot Brandon Holt. This was also Holt's first career win on the ATP Tour.
Fritz withdrew from the Korea Open due to COVID-19, however he reached his second ATP 500 tour-level final in Tokyo where, as the third seed, he beat James Duckworth, Hiroki Moriya, received a walkover from 5th seed Nick Kyrgios and beat 7th seed Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals. As a result, he entered the top 10 for the first time in his career. He defeated Frances Tiafoe in straight sets in the final where he became the first American champion since Pete Sampras in 1996. He reached a new career-high ranking of World No. 8 on October 10, 2022, becoming the first American to crack the Top 10 since Jack Sock in 2017.
At the Paris Masters, he won against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round before losing in the second round to French wildcard player Gilles Simon in a three tight-set match that lasted 3 hours and 5 minutes. As a result, he did not qualify for the 2022 ATP Finals but became in line as first alternate. On November 5, with Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawal after an abdominal injury, Fritz qualified for the 2022 ATP Finals, the first American to participate since John Isner in 2018. In the round robin stage, he defeated top seed and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal on his debut. It was his first win over a top-3 player. He then lost to third seeded Casper Ruud but won against Félix Auger-Aliassime to book his spot in the semifinals, the first American since Jack Sock in 2017 to reach this level. It was his 45th tour level win for the season. He lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
Fritz finished the year ranked inside the top-10 for the first time in his career, at world No. 9.
=== 2023: United Cup champion, world No. 5 ===
Fritz started the season at the inaugural 2023 United Cup, as the No. 1 American male player, where the United States team became champion, defeating Italy in the final. Next, at the Australian Open, he lost in the second round to wildcard Alexei Popyrin. Fritz saved a match point against him in the fourth set to make it two sets each, but lost a hard-fought match lasting more than four hours.
At the 2023 Dallas Open he reached the semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Wu Yibing. As a result, he reached a new career high ranking of world No. 7, becoming the highest ranked American since Mardy Fish in 2011. The following week, as the top seed, he reached back-to-back semifinals at the 2023 Delray Beach Open. Next he defeated Mackenzie McDonald to reach his first ATP final of the season and tenth overall. In the final, he defeated Miomir Kecmanović for his fifth ATP Tour title. As a result, he moved to world No. 5 in the rankings on February 27, 2023.
At the Mexican Open he defeated sixth seed Frances Tiafoe to reach his third straight semifinal.
Next he lost to seventh seed and compatriot Tommy Paul in an epic match lasting three and a half hours, setting the record for the longest match in the 30-year history of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
In Indian Wells and in Miami he reached back-to-back quarterfinals defeating 30th seed Sebastián Báez, Márton Fucsovics, and 24th seed Denis Shapovalov, seventh seed Holger Rune en route respectively.
In Monte Carlo he reached his third consecutive Masters quarterfinal defeating Stan Wawrinka and Jiří Lehečka. He went one step further defeating two-time defending champion and second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the semifinals recording his 200th win. He became the first American in 20 years to reach the semifinals at this Masters since Vince Spadea. In the semifinals, Fritz lost in three sets to eventual winner Andrey Rublev after winning the first set.
Seeded second at the 2023 BMW Open he again reached the semifinals with wins over Márton Fucsovics and Dominic Thiem. In Madrid he lost to Zhizhen Zhang in the fourth round after Zhang saved three match points to reach the quarterfinals. In Rome he lost in the second round to qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.
He won his sixth title at the 2023 Atlanta Open, defeating Aleksandar Vukic.
At the US Open he reached the quarterfinals for the first time at this Major but lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
At the 2023 Japan Open Tennis Championships where he was the defending champion he lost to world No. 215 wildcard Shintaro Mochizuki after being a set up and serving at 5–2 in the third set for the match.
Seeded fifth in Basel, Fritz lost to world No. 83 Alexander Shevchenko after having 15 break points opportunities he missed, in a close to 3 hours match with three tiebreaks. In Paris he withdrew before the second round due to injury and put an early end of the season, although potentially still filling in as an alternate at the 2023 ATP Finals.
=== 2024: US Open finals, Olympic bronze ===
He reached his first quarterfinal at the Australian Open defeating seventh seed and previous year runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets.
He successfully defended his Delray Beach title with a win over compatriot and close friend Tommy Paul.
At the 2024 Miami Open he lost in the second round to qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild, having received a bye at the tournament.
He had a successful start of the clay season, at the Bavarian International Tennis Championships in Munich, where he reached his first clay court final with a win over Cristian Garín and regained the American No. 1 ranking.
At the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open he reached his second clay Masters quarterfinal and tenth overall, with wins over Luciano Darderi, 18th seed Sebastián Báez, and eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz, his second top 10 career win on clay. He defeated 21st seed Francisco Cerúndolo, for his 250th career win making him the sixth man born in 1995 or later to reach that milestone. He became the first American man to reach the semifinals of Madrid since it switched to clay in 2009 and the third after Andre Agassi and Robby Ginepri. At the next Masters, the 2024 Italian Open, he reached back-to-back quarterfinals defeating wildcard Fabio Fognini, compatriot and 24th seed Sebastian Korda and eight seed Grigor Dimitrov, becoming the first American man to reach the quarterfinals or better of all three clay court Masters tournaments. It was also the first time multiple American players (with Tommy Paul) reached the quarterfinals in singles in Rome since 2008. At the 2024 French Open he reached the fourth round of a clay Major for the first time with a five-set win over Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Seeded third, he reached the Paris Olympics semifinals with Tommy Paul, and won the bronze medal defeating the duo from Czechia, Tomáš Macháč and Adam Pavlásek.
Seeded 12th at the US Open, Fritz reached his first Grand Slam semifinal defeating Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Matteo Berrettini, Francisco Comesaña, world No. 8 Casper Ruud and world No. 4 Alexander Zverev, his first two consecutive top 10 wins in a Major. He became the first American since Andre Agassi in 2001 to reach the fourth round at each of the Grand Slam events in the same season. By reaching the semifinals, he set up an all-American matchup with Frances Tiafoe, who won later in the day, the first at a Grand Slam since 2005 at the US Open, when Andre Agassi and Robby Ginepri met. Fritz won the match in five sets to reach his first Grand Slam final. However, he lost in the final to Jannik Sinner in straight sets. He faced tough times after his loss. With a mix of humor and sincerity, Fritz admitted in an interview on the Nothing Major podcast that the aftermath of the loss was tough to handle, revealing that it took a toll on him emotionally.
In November at the ATP Finals, Fritz reached the semifinals after recording two wins and one loss in the group stages, beating Daniil Medvedev and Alex De Minaur. He then defeated Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals to make his first final at the end-of-season event. In doing so, Fritz became the first American to reach the championship match at the ATP Finals since James Blake in 2006. He lost the final to Jannik Sinner in straight sets. Despite the defeat, Fritz ended the season with a new career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 on November 18.
=== 2025: Two ATP titles, Wimbledon semis ===
Opening the year as a career high No. 4 in the world rankings, Fritz wasted no time getting off to a hot start in 2025. He opened the year helping the United States take home a United Cup title, their second in three years. In the tournament he won 4 of his 5 matches, notching wins over Borna Coric, Zhizhen Zhang, Tomas Machac, and Hubert Hurkacz. Fritz entered the 2025 Australian Open as the 4th seed, and cruised through his first two matches, dropping just 8 games in his first two matches against Jenson Brooksby and Christian Garin. However he struggled in his third round match against Gael Monfils, ultimately losing in 4 sets. This marked his earliest exit at a Grand Slam since the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Following two disappointing early exits in Delray Beach and Dallas, Fritz entered Indian Wells trying to recapture his win in 2022. Fritz made the fourth round for the 5th straight time, ultimately losing to eventual champion Jack Draper in straight sets.
Fritz entered the Miami Open as the third seed, trying to capture his second ATP 1000 title. Fritz found himself in the quarterfinals for the second time after wins against Lorenzo Sonego, Denis Shapovalov, and Adam Walton. In his quarterfinal match he competed against big server Matteo Berrettini and won in three sets, clinching his first semifinal at the tournament. In the semifinal, Fritz lost a close three set match to eventual champion, Jakub Menšík.
During the 2025 grass season, Fritz won two titles. The first was the BOSS Open, which he claimed after a fifth straight victory over home hope Alexander Zverev. Then he won a fourth title at the Eastbourne International, defeating Jenson Brooksby in the final. At Wimbledon, Fritz defeated Karen Khachanov to reach the semifinals for the first time in that tournament, becoming the first American man to do so since John Isner in 2018. He would ultimately lose to two-time defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in four sets.
At the US Open, Fritz reached the quarterfinals where he lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets.
Fritz reached the final at the 2025 Japan Open in Tokyo , where he lost to world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who took his revenge following his loss at the 2025 Laver Cup, where team World beat team Europe.
At the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters he reached the third round recording his 50th win of the season, becoming the first American in 20 years to reach the milestone and to do it in three consecutive seasons (54 in 2023, 53 in 2024) since Andy Roddick.
== Sponsorships ==
Starting in early 2024, Fritz wears Hugo Boss clothing on court- before this he had a clothing sponsorship with Nike. He uses ASICS Gel-Resolution tennis shoes and a pro stock Head Radical MP tennis racquet.
Fritz has other miscellaneous partnerships with various companies such as Motorola, sleep accessory brand Eight Sleep, La Roche Posay, and perhaps most famously, he has a deal with Chipotle Mexican Grill.
== Playing style ==
Fritz is an offensive baseliner. Fritz's groundstrokes are powerful and penetrating, and can force errors out of his opponents, or outright end points as winners. His most powerful and consistent stroke is his forehand, and he possesses a strong backhand as well, that is flatter and lower bouncing. Although he is not as comfortable at the net, he has immensely improved his net game and movement since he first began his career.
Standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 metres) tall, Fritz has a dominant serve that can reach 149 miles per hour (240 km/h), and solid groundstrokes off both wings. Fritz utilizes an almost full-western grip on his forehand bordering on Hawaiian, which is a defining aspect of his style. One of Fritz's defining strengths is his ability to hit sharp angle cross-court shots on both the backhand and forehand sides. He also has a good topspin lob.
== Personal life ==
Fritz has a son, Jordan (born in 2017), with former pro tennis player Raquel Pedraza to whom he was married from 2016 to 2019.
Fritz is an avid World of Warcraft and Rust player and enjoys online gaming. Fritz occasionally live streams his video game play on his Twitch channel under the name TaylorFritz97.
Since June 2020, Fritz has been in a relationship with fashion influencer Morgan Riddle.
=== Television and film ===
Fritz appeared in the tennis docuseries Break Point, which premiered on Netflix on January 13, 2023 and ended in 2024.
== World TeamTennis ==
Fritz has played three seasons with World TeamTennis, making his debut in 2015 with the San Diego Aviators. He has since played another two seasons for the Aviators, in 2018 and 2019. Fritz joined the Philadelphia Freedoms during the 2020 WTT season at The Greenbrier. The Freedoms advanced to the WTT Playoffs as the No. 1 seed, but ultimately fell to the New York Empire in the semifinal. Fritz was named the WTT 2020 Male MVP.
== Career statistics ==
=== Grand Slam singles performance timeline ===
Current through the 2025 US Open.
=== Grand Slam tournaments ===
==== Singles: 1 (runner-up) ====
=== Year-end championship (ATP Finals) ===
==== Singles: 1 (runner-up) ====
=== ATP 1000 tournaments ===
==== Singles: 1 (title) ====
=== Summer Olympics ===
==== Doubles: 1 (bronze medal) ====
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Taylor Fritz at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Taylor Fritz at the International Tennis Federation
Taylor Fritz at the Davis Cup (archived former page)
Taylor Fritz at Team USA
Taylor Fritz at IMDb |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans#:~:text=In%20August%202020%2C%20scientists%20reported,International%20Space%20Station%20(ISS). | Deinococcus radiodurans | Deinococcus radiodurans is a bacterium, an extremophile and one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. It can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, and acid, and therefore is known as a polyextremophile. The Guinness Book Of World Records listed it in January 1998 as the world's most radiation-resistant bacterium or lifeform.
Several bacteria of comparable radioresistance are known, including some species of the genus Chroococcidiopsis (phylum cyanobacteria) and some species of Rubrobacter (phylum Actinomycetota); among the archaea, the species Thermococcus gammatolerans shows comparable radioresistance.
== Name and classification ==
The genus name Deinococcus comes from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós), meaning "terrible", and κόκκος (kókkos), meaning "berry". The specific epithet radiodurans comes from radius and durare, meaning "radiation" and "surviving" respectively. The species was formerly called Micrococcus radiodurans. As a consequence of its hardiness, it has been nicknamed "Conan the Bacterium", in reference to Conan the Barbarian.
Initially, it was placed in the genus Micrococcus. After evaluation of ribosomal RNA sequences and other evidence, it was placed in its own genus Deinococcus, which is closely related to the genus Thermus.
Deinococcus is one genus of three in the order Deinococcales. D. radiodurans is the type species of this genus, and the best studied member. All known members of the genus are radioresistant: D. proteolyticus, D. radiopugnans, D. radiophilus, D. grandis, D. indicus, D. frigens, D. saxicola, D. marmoris, D. deserti, D. geothermalis, and D. murrayi; the latter two are also thermophilic.
== History ==
D. radiodurans was discovered in 1956 by Arthur Anderson at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in Corvallis, Oregon. Experiments were being performed to determine whether canned food could be sterilized using high doses of gamma radiation. A tin of meat was exposed to a dose of radiation that was thought to kill all known forms of life, but the meat subsequently spoiled, and D. radiodurans was isolated.
The complete DNA sequence of D. radiodurans was published in 1999 by The Institute for Genomic Research. A detailed annotation and analysis of the genome appeared in 2001. The genome is found in four parts: two chromosomes sized 2.65 Mbp and 412 kbp, one megaplasmid of 177 kbp, and one regular-sized plasmid of 46 kbp. The sequenced strain was ATCC BAA-816.
In August 2020, scientists reported that bacteria from Earth, particularly Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria, were found to survive for three years in outer space, based on studies conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). These findings support the notion of panspermia, the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe, distributed in various ways, including space dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, planetoids, or contaminated spacecraft.
== Description ==
D. radiodurans is a rather large, spherical bacterium, with a diameter of 1.5 to 3.5 μm. Four cells normally stick together, forming a tetrad. The bacteria are easily cultured and do not appear to cause disease. Under controlled growth conditions, cells of dimer, tetramer, and even multimer morphologies can be obtained. Colonies are smooth, convex, and pink to red in color. The cells stain Gram positive, although its cell envelope is unusual and is reminiscent of the cell walls of Gram negative bacteria.
Deinococcus radiodurans does not form endospores and is nonmotile. It is an obligate aerobic chemoorganoheterotroph, i.e., it uses oxygen to derive energy from organic compounds in its environment. It is often found in habitats rich in organic materials, such as sewage, meat, feces, or, soil, but has also been isolated from medical instruments, room dust, textiles, and dried foods.
It is extremely resistant to ionizing radiation, ultraviolet light, desiccation, and oxidizing and electrophilic agents.
PCR assays and Fluorescent in Situ Hybridization (FISH) techniques can be used to test for D. radiodurans in nature.
Its genome consists of two circular chromosomes, one 2.65 million base pairs long and the other 412,000 base pairs long, as well as a megaplasmid of 177,000 base pairs and a plasmid of 46,000 base pairs. It has approximately 3,195 genes. In its stationary phase, each bacterial cell contains four copies of this genome; when rapidly multiplying, each bacterium contains 8-10 copies of the genome.
== Ionizing-radiation resistance ==
Deinococcus radiodurans is capable of withstanding an acute dose of 5,000 grays (Gy), or 500,000 rad, of ionizing radiation with almost no loss of viability, and an acute dose of 12,000 grays with 10% survivability. A dose of 5,000 Gy is estimated to introduce several dozens double-strand breaks (DSBs) into the organism's DNA: given the estimated rate of 0.005 DSB/Gy/Mbp, the approximately 3.2 Mbp bacterial genome should have received 80 DSBs if it was haploid. For comparison, a chest X-ray or Apollo mission involves about 1 mGy, 5 Gy can kill a human, 200–800 Gy will kill E. coli, and more than 4,000 Gy will kill the radiation-resistant tardigrade.
=== Mechanisms of ionizing-radiation resistance ===
==== DNA structure ====
Deinococcus accomplishes its resistance to radiation by having multiple copies of its genome. Scanning electron microscopy analysis has shown that DNA in D. radiodurans is organized into tightly packed toroids, which may facilitate DNA repair.
==== DNA repair ====
Deinococcus radiodurans has a unique quality in which it can repair both single- and double-stranded DNA. When damage is apparent to the cell, it brings the damaged DNA into a compartmental ring-like structure where the DNA is repaired, and then is able to fuse the nucleoids from the outside of the compartment with the damaged DNA.
Deinococcus usually repairs breaks in its chromosomes within 12–24 hours by a 2-step process.
First, D. radiodurans reconnects some chromosome fragments by a process called single-stranded annealing. This is facilitated having multiple copies of the genome, and as few as two copies can perform annealing. Partially overlapping fragments are then used for synthesis of homologous regions through a moving D-loop that can continue extension until the fragments find complementary partner strands.
In the second step, multiple proteins mend double-strand breaks through homologous recombination. RecA performs chromosomal crossover across multiple copies of the (possibly partial) genome to generate complete copies.
Deinococcus radiodurans is capable of genetic transformation, a process by which DNA derived from one cell can be taken up by another cell and integrated into the recipient genome by homologous recombination. This may help if the DNA in a single cell is insufficient for repair into a complete chromosome. Natural genetic transformation under stressful conditions in D. radiodurans is associated with repair of DNA damage. When DNA damages (e.g. pyrimidine dimers) are introduced into donor DNA by UV irradiation, the recipient cells efficiently repair the damages in the transforming DNA, as they do in cellular DNA, when the cells themselves are irradiated.
==== Additional protective mechanisms ====
Michael Daly has suggested the bacterium uses manganese complexes as antioxidants to protect itself against radiation damage. In 2007 his team showed that high intracellular levels of manganese(II) in D. radiodurans protect proteins from being oxidized by radiation, and they proposed the idea that "protein, rather than DNA, is the principal target of the biological action of [ionizing radiation] in sensitive bacteria, and extreme resistance in Mn-accumulating bacteria is based on protein protection".
In 2016, Massimiliano Peana et al. reported a spectroscopic study through NMR, EPR, and ESI-MS techniques on the Mn(II) interaction with two peptides, DP1 (DEHGTAVMLK) and DP2 (THMVLAKGED), whose amino acid composition was selected to include the majority of the most prevalent amino acids present in a Deinococcus radiodurans bacterium cell-free extract that contains components capable of conferring extreme resistance to ionizing radiation.
In 2018, M. Peana and C. Chasapis reported by a combined approach of bioinformatic strategies based on structural data and annotation, the Mn(II)-binding proteins encoded by the genome of DR and proposed a model for Manganese interaction with DR proteome network involved in ROS response and defense.
In 2009, nitric oxide was reported to play an important role in the bacteria's recovery from radiation exposure: the gas is required for division and proliferation after DNA damage has been repaired. A gene was described that increases nitric oxide production after UV radiation, and in the absence of this gene, the bacteria were still able to repair DNA damage, but would not grow.
A few more mechanisms (LEA and SDBC) are described in the following section.
=== Evolution of ionizing-radiation resistance ===
A persistent question regarding D. radiodurans is how such a high degree of radioresistance could evolve. Natural background radiation levels are very low—in most places, on the order of 0.4 mGy per year, and the highest known background radiation, near Ramsar, Iran, is only 260 mGy per year. With naturally occurring background radiation levels so low, organisms evolving mechanisms specifically to ward off the effects of high radiation are unlikely. In the distant geological past, higher background radiation existed both due to more primordial radionuclides not yet having decayed and due to effects of things like the natural nuclear fission reactors at Oklo, Gabon, which were active some 1.7 billion years ago. However, even if adaptations to such conditions did evolve during that time, genetic drift would almost certainly have eliminated them if they provided no (other) evolutionary benefit.
A team of Russian and American scientists proposed that the radioresistance of D. radiodurans had a Martian origin. They suggested that evolution of the microorganism could have taken place on the Martian surface until it was delivered to Earth on a meteorite. However, apart from its resistance to radiation, Deinococcus is genetically and biochemically very similar to other terrestrial life forms, arguing against a unique extraterrestrial origin.
Valerie Mattimore of Louisiana State University has suggested the radioresistance of D. radiodurans is simply a side effect of a mechanism for dealing with prolonged cellular desiccation (dryness). To support this hypothesis, she performed an experiment in which she demonstrated that mutant strains of D. radiodurans that are highly susceptible to damage from ionizing radiation are also highly susceptible to damage from prolonged desiccation, while the wild-type strain is resistant to both. It was also shown that desiccation induces double-stranded DNA breaks with patterns similar to extreme ionizing radiation. In addition to DNA repair, D. radiodurans use LEA proteins (Late Embryogenesis Abundant proteins) expression to protect against desiccation.
In this context, also the robust cell envelope of D. radiodurans through its main protein complex, the S-layer Deinoxanthin Binding Complex (SDBC), strongly contributes to both physiological functions and its extreme radioresistance. In fact, this protein complex acts as a shield against electromagnetic stress, as in the case of ionizing radiation exposure, but also stabilizes the cell envelope against possible consequent high temperatures and desiccation.
== Applications ==
Deinococcus radiodurans has been shown to have a great potential to be used in different fields of investigation. Not only has D. radiodurans been genetically modified for bioremediation applications, but also it has been discovered that it could perform a major role in biomedical research and in nanotechnology.
Bioremediation refers to any process that uses microorganisms, fungi, plants, or the enzymes derived from them, to return an environment altered by contaminants to its natural condition. Large areas of soils, sediments, and groundwater are contaminated with radionuclides, heavy metals, and toxic solvents. There are microorganisms that are able to decontaminate soils with heavy metals by immobilizing them, but in the case of nuclear waste, ionizing radiation limits the amount of microorganisms that can be useful. In this sense, D. radiodurans, due to its characteristics, can be used for the treatment of nuclear energy waste. Deinococcus radiodurans has been genetically engineered to consume and digest solvents and heavy metals in these radioactive environments. The mercuric reductase gene has been cloned from Escherichia coli into Deinococcus to detoxify the ionic mercury residue frequently found in radioactive waste generated from nuclear weapons manufacture. Those researchers developed a strain of Deinococcus that could detoxify both mercury and toluene in mixed radioactive wastes. Moreover, a gene encoding a non-specific acid phosphatase from Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi, and the alkaline phosphatase gene from Sphingomonas have been introduced in strains of D. radiodurans for the bioprecipitation of uranium in acid and alkaline solutions, respectively.
In the biomedical field, Deinococcus radiodurans could be used as a model to study the processes that lead to aging and cancer. The main causes of these physiological changes are related to the damage in DNA, RNA, and proteins resulting from oxidative stress, the weakening of antioxidant defense, and the inability of repair mechanisms to deal with the damage originated by reactive oxygen species, also known as ROS. To this extent, D. radiodurans mechanisms of protection against oxidative damage and of DNA reparation could be the starting points in research aimed to develop medical procedures to prevent aging and cancer. Some lines of investigation are focused on the application of D. radiodurans antioxidant systems in human cells to prevent ROS damaging and the study of the development of resistance to radiation in tumoral cells.
A nanotechnological application of D. radiodurans in the synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles has also been described. Whereas chemical and physical methods to produce these nanoparticles are expensive and generate a huge amount of pollutants, biosynthetic processes represent an ecofriendly and cheaper alternative. The importance of these nanoparticles relies on their medical applications as they have been demonstrated to exhibit activity against pathogenic bacteria, antifouling effects, and cytotoxicity to tumoral cells.
Moreover, there are other uncommon applications of Deinococcus radiodurans. The Craig Venter Institute has used a system derived from the rapid DNA repair mechanisms of D. radiodurans to assemble synthetic DNA fragments into chromosomes, with the ultimate goal of producing a synthetic organism they call Mycoplasma laboratorium. In 2003, U.S. scientists demonstrated D. radiodurans could be used as a means of information storage that might survive a nuclear catastrophe. They translated the song "It's a Small World" into a series of DNA segments 150 base pairs long, inserted these into the bacteria, and were able to retrieve them without errors 100 bacterial generations later.
== Clues for future search of extremophile microbial life on Mars ==
When cultured and exposed to ionizing radiations in liquid media, Deinococcus radiodurans could survive up to 25 kGy. Horne et al. (2022) have studied the effects of desiccation and freezing on the microbial survivability to ionizing radiations considering the feasibility studies to return Martian subsurface soil samples for microbial characterization and for determining the most favorable landing sites of a future robotic exploration mission. They found that the desiccated and frozen cells could resist to a 5.6 higher radiation dose: up to 140 kGy. They calculated that this could correspond to a theoretical survival time of 280 million years at a depth of 33 feet (10 m) below the Mars surface. However, this time scale is too short to allow microbial survival at a depth accessible to a rover equipped with a drilling system below the Martian surface when compared to the moment when liquid water disappeared from the Martian surface (2 – 2.5 billion years ago). Nevertheless, Horne et al. (2022) consider the hypothesis that meteorite impacts could have dispersed Martian soil and heated locally the subsurface during the geological history of Mars, heating sporadically from time to time the local environment, melting the frozen ice and giving perhaps a chance to a hypothetical distant Martian extremophile resembling its terrestrial cousin Deinococcus radiodurans to grow again for short moment before to rapidly become again frozen and dormant for millions of years. So, for returning subsurface soil samples from Mars for microbial characterization with a potentially "successful" mission like the European Rosalind Franklin rover, it would be necessary to target a relatively young impact crater to increase the chances of discovering dormant extremophile micro-organisms surviving in the dry and frozen Martian subsurface environment relatively protected from the lethal ionizing radiations.
== See also ==
Extremophiles
List of sequenced bacterial genomes
Pyrococcus
Radiosynthesis (metabolism)
Radiotrophic fungus
Thermococcus gammatolerans
== References ==
== External links ==
Media related to Deinococcus radiodurans at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Deinococcus radiodurans at Wikispecies
Microbe of the Week page from the University of Missouri-Rolla
Taxonomy of Deinococcus
Deinococcus radiodurans Genome Page
"Meet Conan the Bacterium – Humble microbe could become 'The Accidental (Space) Tourist'"
Deinococcus-Thermus: Adaptations to "nearly out of this world" environments – Tree of Life project
Type strain of Deinococcus radiodurans at BacDive – the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
KEGG Genome: Deinococcus radiodurans |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Kharlan#2023%E2%80%93present;_World_Championships | Olga Kharlan | Olha Hennadiivna Kharlan (Ukrainian: Ольга Геннадіївна Харлан; born 4 September 1990), also known as Olga Kharlan, is a Ukrainian sabre fencer. She is a four-time individual women’s world sabre champion, six-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated Ukrainian Olympian in history. She has been ranked #1 in the world in women's sabre for five seasons: 2012–2013, 2013–2014, 2017–2018, 2019–2020 and 2020–2021.
Kharlan is also a two-time team world sabre champion, six-time individual European champion, and two-time team European champion. A five-time Olympian, she is a 2008 and 2024 team Olympic champion, 2016 team Olympic silver medalist, and three-time individual Olympic bronze medalist. Kharlan competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Kharlan was inducted into the International Fencing Federation (FIE) Hall of Fame in 2016. She briefly pursued a political career during the early 2010s.
Competing at the 2023 World Fencing Championships in Milan, on 27 July 2023, a key ranking event for Olympic qualifying, Kharlan defeated Russian Anna Smirnova 15–7. After her defeat, Smirnova extended her hand to Kharlan, who in turn extended her sabre in an offer to the Russian to tap blades. Kharlan said her choice of salute was meant as a sign of respect for her opponent, while still acknowledging the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. After a long delay, during which Smirnova protested, sat on the strip for 45 minutes and refused to move, Kharlan was ultimately black-carded and eliminated from the championship by FIE officials. The Ukrainian delegation filed an appeal. The following day, in order to compensate Kharlan for her loss of an opportunity to earn Olympic qualifying points in the individual world championship and for the humiliation of the prior day's disqualification, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced that the IOC would automatically qualify her for the 2024 Summer Olympics. In addition - after consultation with the IOC - the FIE reluctantly reversed its decision barring her from the competition, opening up the opportunity for her to compete in the team world championships. However, since the individual competition had already concluded at that point, the FIE's reversal came too late to allow Kharlan to pursue her fifth world individual championship.
== Personal life ==
Kharlan was born in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Her father was a sailing and swimming coach, and taught her to swim when she was still a baby. He also moonlighted as a construction worker and a cab driver. Her mother worked as a painter and plasterer.
Kharlan's first interest was samba, cha-cha, and ballroom dancing, but the lessons were too expensive for her parents. When she was 10, her godfather, sabre coach Anatoly Shlikar, suggested that she take up fencing, where the lessons were free; she settled on the sabre as her weapon a year into training. For the first two years that she fenced, because she could not afford her own equipment, she borrowed the shoes, sabre, and fencing attire of others. She came under the training of Artem Skorokhod, who remained her coach as of 2014. Her first success was the national Junior title, which she won when she was only 13 years old, against teenagers up to five years older.
Kharlan was educated at the Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding in Mykolaiv. She married fellow Ukrainian sabre fencer Dmytro Boiko in 2014. They later divorced. She is married to Italian Olympic sabre fencer Luigi Samele, and they live in Bologna, Italy.
== Fencing career ==
=== Early years ===
Kharlan joined the Ukrainian national team at the age of 14, in 2005. Her first medal in an international competition was a bronze medal in the 2005 Junior World Championships in Linz, Austria. She also took a silver medal in the team event. That same year, she reached the quarter-finals in the 2005 European Fencing Championships in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary, despite still being a cadet. She won four consecutive junior world titles from 2007-10. She placed second in the 2006 European Seniors Fencing Championship in İzmir, Turkey, after a close 14–15 defeat against Russia's Sofiya Velikaya. In 2006–07, she ranked 2nd in the world in women's junior sabre.
At the age of 17 Kharlan competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In the team event, Ukraine made their way to the final, where they met China. Kharlan contributed more than half her three-woman team's touches and proved decisive in the last bout, breaking a tie to score the last touch against 2002 world champion Tan Xue for a 45–44 team victory, helping Ukraine win the gold medal.
In the 2008–09 season Kharlan won the gold medal at the 2009 European Fencing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, both in the individual event and the team event, in which Ukraine overcame Russia. At the 2009 World Fencing Championships in Antalya, she once again made her way to the final, only to be stopped by American two-time Olympic champion Mariel Zagunis. She was described as "one of the most precocious talents in this category. She is already steady and consistent, but above all she is the star of the future." In the team event, she and Ukraine defeated France in the final to come away with the gold medal. For this performance Kharlan and her team were named respectively sportswoman and team of the year at the Ukrainian Heroes of Sports Year ceremony held in April 2010. In 2008–09, she was ranked 2nd in the world in women's sabre.
In the 2009–10 season Kharlan won her fourth Junior World Championship in a row, equaling the record established by French épée fencer Jacques Brodin in the 1960s. She is however the only fencer to have claimed these consecutive golds both in the individual and team events. She was defeated in the quarter-finals of the 2010 European Fencing Championships and did not earn a medal. In the team event Ukraine won gold, after beating Russia once again in the final. In 2009–10, she was ranked 2nd in the world in women's sabre.
She won a gold medal in individual sabre at the 2011 Universiade in Shenzhen, China, and also won a gold medal in individual sabre at the 2011 European Fencing Championships in Sheffield, England. In 2010–11, Kharlan was ranked 3rd in the world in women's sabre.
=== 2012–15; World championships and European championships ===
Kharlan was offered Russian citizenship and an opportunity to compete for Russia in 2012, but refused. In 2011–12, she was again ranked 3rd in the world in women's sabre. She won a bronze medal in individual sabre at the 2012 London Olympics.
In the 2013 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Kharlan won her first world individual championship. She made her way to the final after defeating reigning South Korean Olympic champion Kim Ji-yeon in a tight 15–14 bout. She took an early 8–1 lead in the bout against Yekaterina Dyachenko of Russia, who managed to get back to 12–12. Kharlan then struck three hits in a row to win her first individual World title. In the team event Ukraine once again met Russia in the final. After a very tight match Kharlan managed a comeback in the last leg and received her second gold medal in the competition. She also won a gold medal in individual sabre at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan, Russia. She finished the season No.1 in world rankings for the first time in her career, and she was inducted into the hall of fame of the International Fencing Federation (Fédération Internationale d'Escrime; FIE).
In the 2013–14 season Kharlan won four World Cups out of seven competitions in which she took part. At the 2014 European Fencing Championships in Strasbourg, France, she earned her fourth European gold medal in a row and the fifth of her career after defeating Dyachenko again in the final. In the team event she had to rescue her team against underdogs Spain in the quarter-finals, scraping a 45–43 victory, but could not prevent a 45–30 defeat at the hands of France. Kharlan's contribution proved once again decisive in the match against Poland, and Ukraine came away with a bronze medal.
In March 2014, Ukrainian fencers boycotted the Moscow World Cup tournament in response to the killing of a Ukrainian soldier in the Simferopol incident. In July 2014, however, they took part in the 2014 World Fencing Championships in Russia.
In the 2014 World Fencing Championships in Kazan, Russia, Kharlan won her second individual world championship title in a row, after prevailing 15–12 over No. 2 seed Zagunis. In the team event, Ukraine was defeated 44–45 by the United States, and met Italy for third place. Again Kharlan came back in the last leg to help her team win a bronze medal. She finished the season No.1 in world rankings for the second year in a row.
In 2014–15, she was ranked 2nd in the world in women's sabre.
=== 2016–22; Olympic Games and world championship ===
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she bested French competitor Manon Brunet for the bronze medal, with a score of 15–10, and in the team competition she won a silver medal. She won both an individual bronze medal and a team bronze medal in the 2016 European Fencing Championships in Toruń, Poland. In 2015–16, Kharlan was ranked 3rd in the world in women's sabre.
In the 2017 World Fencing Championships in Leipzig, Germany, she won an individual gold medal. Kharlan won a team silver medal in the 2018 European Fencing Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia. In 2017–18, she was ranked first in the world in women's sabre.
At the 2019 World Fencing Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Kharlan won 15–14 against Russia's Sofya Velikaya in the women’s sabre finals; it was Kharlan’s sixth world championship title. She won a gold individual medal in the 2019 European Fencing Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany. In 2018–19, she was ranked 2nd in the world in women's sabre.
At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Kharlan lost to China's Yang Hengyu in the first round. In 2019–20, she was ranked first in the world in women's sabre.
In 2020–21, she was ranked first in the world in women's sabre for the fifth time in her career. Kharlan won a team bronze medal in the 2022 European Fencing Championships in Antalya, Turkey.
=== 2023–present; World Championships ===
==== Disqualification ====
On 27 July 2023, Kharlan competed in the 2023 World Fencing Championships in Milan, Italy, a key ranking event for Olympic qualifying. She fenced against the Russian Anna Smirnova. In the bout, Kharlan defeated Smirnova 15–7. At the time, and since March 2020 (and reconfirmed by FIE public notices in July 2020, September 2020, and January 2021; and reconfirmed as being the FIE rule in 2023 by British Fencing), by public written notice the FIE had replaced its previous handshake requirement with a "salute" by the opposing fencers, and written in its public notice that handshakes were "suspended until further notice". The fencers then came to the center of the strip and Smirnova extended her hand to Kharlan, who in turn extended her saber in an offer to the Russian to tap blades; the accepted alternative since mandatory handshaking was suspended. This took place against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kharlan said her choice of salute was meant as a sign of respect for her opponent, while still acknowledging the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. She said: I proposed the salute with the blade, she didn’t want to do it and the referee told me I could leave, and after that I warmed up for the next bout, then ... they said they wanted to talk to me. I was informed that I had received the black card, but I don’t think it was the referee. The referee’s decision – he continued – was not to give the black card. It is very cruel even towards him, it is very cruel for everyone. The system, this Federation, it’s killing everyone, even the referees. Kharlan said that FIE interim president Emmanuel Katsiadakis, who had succeeded Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov as head of the FIE in 2022, had assured her the day prior that it was "possible" not to shake hands, and to instead offer a touch of her blade. She said: "I thought I had his word, to be safe, but apparently, no." Kharlan then walked away, while Smirnova refused to leave the piste and made a 45-minute long sit-down protest. This was followed by Kharlan being disqualified by FIE officials. Disqualification in the individual saber competition meant not only that she was knocked out of the individual competition, but that Kharlan was barred as well from competing for Team Ukraine in the world championship team fencing competition. Furthermore, it meant that her ability to qualify for the Olympics was jeopardized, because she had lost the opportunity to earn qualifying points at the world championships.. Kharlan said: "when I heard that they wanted to disqualify me it killed me so much that I was screaming in pain."
==== Reaction ====
Russian Olympic fencer Konstantin Lokhanov, who has denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in reaction to it has defected to the United States, said in a New York Times interview that he thought the Russian fencer might have set a trap for Kharlan, to seek her disqualification. Lokhanov said that on the one hand, the FIE had rules about shaking hands. On the other hand, he noted, the tapping of weapon blades -- in lieu of a handshake -- was the accepted acknowledgment of an opponent during the pandemic, and is still considered suitable by many fencers. Lokhanov said: "I support Olha. In my opinion she made the right decision. I understand why she made it. But I don’t see any reason why this Russian woman had to make that drama. She could have just touched blades; the bout was over.”
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina, a Wimbledon 2023 semi-finalist who has refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents during the ongoing invasion, voiced support for Kharlan as well. "Why don't Russians respect our position?" she asked. She called on the FIE to follow the Women's Tennis Association's lead; it has supported Svitolina's decision to not shake hands with Russians or Belarusians after matches. She said "I think the other sports federations should do the same. They should respect our decision, and the decision of our country as well.” Svitolina called the FIE’s disqualification “disrespectful” towards Ukrainians.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social media: "I urge [FIE] to restore Kharlan’s rights and allow her to compete." Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, called the FIE decision "absolutely shameful," and posted a photo on his Twitter feed which appeared to show the Russian fencer smiling and flashing the victory sign with a Russian soldier, writing: "The photo features ... the Russian fencer.... As you can see, she openly admires the Russian army.... The [FIE] disqualified the Ukrainian representative for not shaking hands with the Russian." Kharlan said "This federation will never change."
The Ukrainian Fencing Federation (NFFU) president said: "We fully support Olha Kharlan in this situation... We will appeal this decision because the referee who judged this match did not give directly a black card or disqualify her. It was only later that the underhanded games began and this disqualification appeared, already after the next opponent was determined, already after a judge for the next competition was determined."
==== Retraction ====
The following day President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach sent a letter to Kharlan in which he expressed empathy for her, and wrote that in light of the situation she was being guaranteed a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The same day, the FIE—"after consultation with the IOC"—reversed itself and reinstated Kharlan at the 2023 World Fencing Championships, which since the individual competition had concluded was too late to allow her to pursue her fifth world individual championship, but which allowed her to take part in the team sabre competition. At the same time, the FIE still defended its decision to punish her, insisting it had been right to do so, writing: "The FIE stands fully behind the penalty, which, after a thorough review, is in complete accordance and compliance with its official rules and associated penalties."
Stanislav Pozdnyakov, head of the Russian Olympic Committee, railed against what he called the "duplicity" of the IOC and accused it of picking a side in a political conflict.
American author Charlie Pierce wrote: "Both Olga Kharlan and Konstantin Lokhanov were warmly applauded for their stands in defense of Ukraine, and there certainly will be more of this as the 2024 Olympics approach."
==== 2024 Summer Olympics ====
Kharlan defeated South Korea's Choi Se-bin in the women's sabre individual bronze medal bout on 29 July, winning Ukraine's first medal at Paris 2024. She dedicated her bronze medal victory to the Ukrainian soldiers and athletes killed by Russia. With this medal won she became the first Ukrainian female Olympic participant to have won medals at four different Olympics Games.
Kharlan became the most awarded Olympian from Ukraine, surpassing swimmer Yana Klochkova, when she and her teammates made the final of the women's team sabre. The team defeated South Korea, mostly because of Kharlan's 22 touches scored, and won Ukraine's first gold medal of the 2024 Summer Olympics. The sabre that she used in the Olympics was subsequently auctioned off at a value of Hr 10 million ($242,000) to raise funds for the Ukrainian war effort and was bought by FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv.
===== Position on the participation of Russians who profess their opposition to the war in the Olympics =====
Kharlan said in August 2023 that Russian athletes who explicitly state their opposition to Russia's war against Ukraine have every reason to be allowed to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. She noted: "There are [Russian] athletes who speak out publicly, saying they are against the war. I believe that they can participate because they said that, and they are also helping Ukraine.”
== Honors and awards ==
Kharlan was inducted in the hall of fame of the International Fencing Federation (Fédération Internationale d'Escrime; FIE).
Kharlan was awarded the Orders of Princess Olga (first, second, and third class), and the Ukrainian Orders of Merit (first, second, and third class).
On 21 August 2024, Kharlan was awarded the National Legend of Ukraine.
On 23 August 2024, Kharlan was awarded the Order of Liberty.
She was also awarded the title of Ukrainian Honoured Master of Sport.
Kharlan was named sportswoman of the year at the 2009, 2014, 2016, and 2017 Ukrainian Heroes of Sports Year awards.
In 2008, 18-year-old Kharlan and Ukrainian women's sabre team teammates Olena Khomrova and Olga Zhovnir took part in a revealing shoot for the front cover of Ukrainian men's magazine XXL, a magazine similar to America’s Maxim. As of 2012, it was the top search result for her name.
In 2020, a Barbie doll inspired by Kharlan was launched as part of the Barbie “Role Models” series, a collection of dolls portraying 40 famous women from all over the world. In August 2023, Kharlan put the Barbie doll of her, the only copy in the world, up for auction on eBay, to raise money for a rehabilitation clinic for Ukrainian military personnel who suffered in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
== Medal record ==
=== Olympic Games ===
=== World Championships ===
=== European Championships ===
=== Grand Prix ===
== Political career ==
In the 2010 Ukrainian local elections, Kharlan was elected a member of the Mykolaiv City Council for Party of Regions, despite living in Kyiv. She was often absent during its sessions due to her fencing commitments. She stood for election to the Ukrainian Parliament in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but due to her being in 194th place on the list of Party of Regions she was not elected. Kharlan left the Party of Regions faction in the Mykolaiv City Council in March 2014. In May 2014, she was a candidate for the Party of Greens of Ukraine in the Kyiv local election, but the party did not manage to overcome the 3% election threshold, and thus did not win any seats in the Kyiv City Council. The website of the Party of Greens of Ukraine said Kharlan was third on its election list in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election.
=== Opposition to Russia ===
During the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine, Kharlan spoke out for a united Ukraine.
On 17 March 2023, the World Fencing Federation (FIE) forced Team USA athletes competing at the South Korea Fencing World Cup to remove ribbons featuring the colours of the Ukrainian flag from their hands. Kharlan fiercely protested FIE's decision.
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Olga Kharlan at the International Fencing Federation
Olga Kharlan at the European Fencing Confederation (archive)
Olga Kharlan at Olympics.comOlga Kharlan at Olympic.org (archived)
Olha Kharlan at Olympedia
Olha Kharlan at InterSportStats
Fencer Olga Kharlan dreams of gold at London 2012
Olga Kharlan on Instagram |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adore_Delano | Adore Delano | Adore Delano (formerly Dani Noriega; born September 29, 1989) is an American drag queen, singer-songwriter, and television personality. She first appeared as a contestant on the seventh season of American Idol in 2008 before competing on RuPaul's Drag Race season 6 (2014) and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 2 (2016). She has recorded and released three studio albums: Till Death Do Us Party (2014), After Party (2016), Whatever (2017), and one EP Dirty Laundry (2021).
== Early life ==
Delano was born in Glendora, California on September 29, 1989, to Bonnie Pimentel Noriega. She was raised in Azusa, California, where she attended Sierra High School, a continuation school for at-risk teenagers.
== Career ==
=== 2007–2009: American Idol and early work ===
When Delano was cast for American Idol, she had been living as a transgender woman. She detransitioned in order to become a contestant. She competed on the seventh season of the show in 2007, and reached the semi-finals. The season was broadcast from January to May 2008. Delano gained a reputation among viewers for her flamboyant personality and sassy rapport with the judges. A comment she directed toward judge Simon Cowell went viral.
After watching Delano on Idol, Rosie O'Donnell invited her to perform on her R Family Vacations cruise. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres invited Delano to be a guest on her show.
Following American Idol, Delano became a YouTube personality. On her channel, she performed skits in drag under the names Adore Delano and Angel Baby. In June 2009, she released the music video for the song "24/7," featuring sister Diamonique.
=== 2010–present: RuPaul's Drag Race and albums ===
After seeing RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Raven perform at the nightclub Micky's in West Hollywood, Delano was inspired to enter a drag competition at the club, which she won. She began performing as Adore Delano in Southern California. Along with other RuPaul's Drag Race contestants, she walked the Marco Marco runway for Los Angeles Fashion Week in 2013. In December 2013, Logo TV announced her as one of 14 drag queens who would be competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. She had previously competed for the season 5 fan-vote, ultimately losing to Penny Tration. Adore Delano eventually went on to win three challenges and made it to the final three. With Courtney Act, she finished as runner-up to season winner Bianca Del Rio.
Following the finale of Drag Race, Adore Delano released the single "DTF" on May 20, 2014, as the lead single from her debut album Till Death Do Us Party. The album was released on June 3, 2014, charting at number three on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart, 11 on the US Independent Albums chart, and number fifty-nine on the Billboard 200. She released music videos for the majority of its tracks, including "I Adore U", which peaked at 49 on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs. In November 2014, Adore Delano announced that a second album was in the works with an anticipated 2015 release date.
Adore Delano's album After Party was set for release March 11, 2016. "Dynamite", the first single, was released on February 26, 2016; "Take Me There", the second single, was released on March 10, 2016; and the "I.C.U.", was released on September 1, 2016. Adore was one of 10 contestants on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. She chose to leave the show in the second episode for personal reasons. Whatever, her third studio album, was released on August 18, 2017.
On April 4, 2017, Delano filed a lawsuit against Producer Entertainment Group, her former management company, alleging that Delano had earned $2.5 million over the past three years, but only about $300,000 was actually paid. P.E.G. counter-sued in January 2018, alleging Delano owed the company $180,000 in management fees. The suit was dismissed by a judge who awarded no money to either party.
In 2019, Adore Delano appeared as a guest for the first challenge in the premiere of season 11 of Drag Race. In June 2019, a panel of judges from New York magazine placed her sixth on its list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former Drag Race contestants. In August, she was featured on the cover of Gay Times. In December 2019, she joined the cast of the fourth season of Ex on the Beach.
== Personal life ==
Delano came out as bisexual at age 12, then as gay. In a 2012 interview, she said she is not opposed to dating women. From 2017 to 2023, Delano identified as non-binary and used any pronouns. Delano said that "gender isn't a real thing … it's just something they came up with to categorize and control people".
Delano came out as transgender in 2023. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she explained that after detransitioning in order to appear on American Idol, she attempted to mollify her feelings about her gender identity by living as a woman through Adore. In a coming-out video she posted to Instagram on July 26, 2023, she exclaimed that she "could not do it anymore", and revealed that she was transgender. She said that she had been taking estrogen for about three months, and that she had scheduled a gender-affirming surgery for the following November.
On December 1, 2024, Delano announced that she was in a relationship with Sasha Allen, who was a contestant on season 21 of the reality television series The Voice.
She has been sober since 2021.
== Discography ==
Till Death Do Us Party (2014)
After Party (2016)
Whatever (2017)
== Tours ==
Headlining
Till Death Do Us Party Tour (2014–2015)
After Party Tour (2016–2017)
Birthday Tour (2017)
Whatever Tour (2018)
Time Hop Party Tour (2018)
A Pizza Me Tour (2019)
The Beautiful Idiots Tour (2020)
Dirty Laundry Tour (2021)
Party Your World Tour (2022–2023)
Co-headlining act
Battle of the Seasons 2015 Condragulations Tour (2015) (with RuPaul's Drag Race Cast)
Battle of the Seasons 2016 Extravaganza Tour (2016) (with RuPaul's Drag Race Cast)
ABCD Tour (2018) (with Bianca Del Rio, Courtney Act, and Darienne Lake)
Heels of Hell Tour (2019)
The Annual Halloween Sickening Ball Australia (2020)
Promotional
After Party UK Promo Tour (2016)
The Ghost of Ohio United Kingdom Tour – opening for Andy Black (2019)
== Awards and nominations ==
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Web series ===
=== Music videos ===
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
Adore Delano at IMDb
Adore Delano discography at Discogs |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platinum_(Miranda_Lambert_album) | Platinum (Miranda Lambert album) | Platinum is the fifth studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Miranda Lambert. It was released on June 3, 2014, by RCA Nashville.
Lambert wrote or co-wrote eight of the album's 16 tracks while working with a host of session musicians and songwriters, as well as guest performers Little Big Town, The Time Jumpers, and Carrie Underwood. The album was produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf.
Platinum debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming Lambert's first to top the chart, while selling 180,000 copies in its first week. It received widespread critical acclaim and earned Lambert a Grammy Award for Best Country Album as well as a CMA Award and ACM Award in the same category. The album was certified platinum for sales of one million copies in the United States.
== Writing and recording ==
Lambert wrote or co-wrote eight of the album's 16 tracks. The album features collaborations with Little Big Town ("Smokin' and Drinkin'") and The Time Jumpers ("All That's Left"), as well as a duet with Carrie Underwood on "Somethin' Bad". It was recorded in sessions at Cyclops Sound in Los Angeles, Dave's Room in Hollywood, and the Nashville-based studios Ronnie's Place, Ben's Studio, Sound Stage Studios, St. Charles Studio, and The House.
== Release and promotion ==
Platinum was released by RCA Nashville on June 3, 2014. It debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts while selling 180,000 copies in the United States, becoming the highest first-sales week of Lambert's career. It was also her first album to reach the top of the Billboard 200, and marked her fifth consecutive number-one debut on the Top Country Albums, making her the first artist in the history of the chart to start her career with five number-one albums. It debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart with first-week sales of 9,300 copies. On February 1, 2016, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). By September 2016, the album had sold 850,000 copies in the US.
Four singles were released in promotion of the album: the lead single "Automatic", the top-20 hit "Little Red Wagon", "Smokin' and Drinkin'", and "Somethin' Bad". Lambert debut the latter song with Underwood at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014, and performed it again on June 4, during the CMT Music Awards. In support of Platinum, she embarked on a concert tour of North America in mid 2014, featuring Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett as her opening acts.
== Critical reception ==
Platinum was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 11 reviews.
In a review published by Cuepoint, Robert Christgau hailed Platinum as the year's most daring and consummate big-budget record, featuring "apolitical de facto feminism at its countriest". The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica found it "vivacious, clever and slickly rowdy", showing Lambert had finally become "a sophisticated radical, a wry country feminist and an artist learning to experiment widely but also with less abrasion". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic said the record was shrewdly produced with Lambert's attempts at modern pop songs sequenced ahead of the more authentic country material, while Will Hermes wrote in Rolling Stone that Lambert incorporated both traditional and alternative elements from country into her homespun, feminine perspective. Spin magazine's Dan Hyman was less enthusiastic, singling out the collaborations on "Smokin' and Drinkin'" and "Something Bad" as contrived appeals to pop audiences on what was an otherwise consistent and carefully crafted record.
At the end of 2014, Platinum was voted the 12th-best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice. Christgau, the poll's creator, named it the year's second best record in his year-end list for The Barnes & Noble Review. The album was also ranked fifth and nineteenth best by Rolling Stone and Spin, respectively. At the 2014 CMA Awards, it won in the "Album of the Year" category. It also earned Lambert the Best Country Album award at the 57th Grammy Awards in 2015.
== Track listing ==
== Personnel ==
=== Musicians ===
=== Production ===
== Charts ==
== Certifications ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Platinum at Discogs (list of releases) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michaela_H%C3%BCbschle#:~:text=After%20attending%20school%20in%20her,She%20graduated%20with%20a%20BA. | Michaela Hübschle | Michaela Hübschle (born 21 September 1950 as Michaela Kuntze in Otjiwarongo) is a Namibian politician and former Deputy Minister for Prisons and Correctional Services.
== Education and profession ==
After attending school in her hometown, Hübschle studied at the University of Pretoria in South Africa from 1970 to 1973. She graduated with a BA. She then worked as a translator for the German embassy in Pretoria until 1976. Hübschle then travelled to the Federal Republic of Germany and was active in the local environmental movement. In 1984, she returned to the South West Africa at that time and worked on various projects in Katutura, a township in Windhoek.
Since 2000, Hübschle has been the chairman of the Criminals Return Into Society (CRIS), founded by her, which has been called Change since August 2009. The association is committed to start-up and life support for former prisoners and in the area of vocational support. It also organizes the Gildehaus, an informal forum for leading personalities from government and politics.
== Political career ==
Hübschle was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia and from 1990 to 2000 for the SWAPO deputies of the National Assembly. In 1995, Hübschle was appointed Deputy Minister for Prisons and Correctional Services. She held this office until 2000. During her term, she applied the AIDS prevention program for free condoms for prisoners of conscience. This view, however, did not prevail in the government, as it was seen as supporting homosexuality.
For the parliamentary elections in 2000, Hübschle was not recruited as a candidate after criticizing the abuse of prisoners in the context of the Caprivi conflict the previous year. In addition, she had called for the SWAPO leadership to apologize for the abuse of prisoners during the liberation struggle.
In a 2007 article co-authored with the SWAPO politician Shapua Kaukungua, Hübschle accused the party leadership of a defective party-internal democracy and interventions in regional and local elections. In the parliamentary elections in 2009, Hübschle broke with SWAPO and ran for the oppositing Rally for Democracy and Progress (Namibia) (RDP), whose central committee she is a member of. However, she did not succeed in entering parliament.
== Personal life ==
Hübschle's parents were the German-Namibian farmer Eberhard Kuntze and the author Lisa Kuntze. Hübschle was married to the former head of the Namibian veterinary authority, Dr. Otto Hübschle, who died in 2008 at the age of 62. They had two children.
== References ==
Who's who of Southern Africa. Ken Donaldson, Johannesburg 1992, OCLC 7083249, S.549 (online in Google Book Search)
Graham Hopwood: Guide to Namibian Politics. 2nd edition. Namibia Institute for Democracy, Windhoek 2007. ISBN 99916-797-5-8 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorne_Warneke#:~:text=After%20a%20career%20spanning%2050%20years%2C%20Warneke%20retired%20in%202017. | Lorne Warneke | Lorne Baird Warneke (November 16, 1942 – August 28, 2020) was an Alberta-based psychiatrist and advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ people in Canada. He founded the first Canadian gender identity clinic at Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta.
== Life ==
Warneke was born in Alberta, Canada on November 16, 1942 to John and Ester Warneke. The family moved to Leedale, a hamlet in central Alberta, and settled on a farm there for the duration of Warneke's childhood. Warneke had one sibling, his sister, Diane Lorna Warneke.
After graduating high school, Warneke attended the University of Alberta and obtained a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Zoology in 1963. He then attended medical school at the same university, graduating in 1967. Warneke was introduced to psychiatry in his final two years of medical school.
Although he grew up knowing he was gay, Warneke did not come out until he was in his 40's. Warneke went on to marry John Chan. The two remained partners for 24 years until Warneke's death in 2020.
== Career ==
Warneke began his career as a psychiatrist at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital, a Catholic hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. He went on to become a Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta in the Department of Psychiatry.
Warneke specialized in working with patients who had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). His interest in OCD began while spending an extra year training at Maudsley Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in London, England. After returning to Canada, Warneke treated many patients with severe OCD and continued to use his expertise of OCD for the duration of his career, writing literature reviews, case studies, book reviews, and letters to the editor on the topic.
=== 2SLGBTQ+ activism ===
Throughout his career, Warneke focused on working with and advocating for 2SLGBTQ+, especially transgender, patients. In 1984, Alberta Health Services agreed to cover sex reassignment surgery for three patients after lobbying by Warneke and others. Later, in 1996, Warneke founded a gender identity clinic at Gray Nuns Community Hospital. The gender clinic was the first of its kind in Canada. Due to the hospital's policies and pervasive attitudes at the time, Warneke was unable to advertise the existence of the gender clinic and he faced hostility from many within the organization. Additionally, Warneke trained Psychiatry Residents while a Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta, ensuring future generations of psychiatrists were aware of the nuances of providing gender-affirming care to transgender patients.
Warneke and Dr. Ian T. Kroll, a psychiatrist based in Calgary who also advocated for 2SLGBTQ+ rights, chastised the Alberta government for neglecting to enshrine gay rights in legislation in a 1995 article. Around the same time, Warneke gave testimony as an expert witness for Vriend v Alberta, a landmark legal case for 2SLGBTQ+ rights in Canada.
For the second National Trans Awareness Week in May 2005, Warneke delivered a presentation on trans issues to attendees of the associated film festival and symposium.
In 2009, the Alberta government made the decision to stop covering sex reassignment surgery as a cost-saving measure for the province. Warneke lobbied against this decision but this caught the ire of the Covenant Health Board, the governing body of Catholic health institutions in Alberta like the Grey Nuns Hospital where Warneke worked. The Board attempted to prevent him from seeing transgender patients as helping them change their bodies went against the Catholic values of the Board. In spite of administrative disapproval, Warneke continued to see transgender patients. A "phase-out program" for sex reassignment surgery was announced in 2010 as a transitional measure but the procedure was fully relisted as a provincially funded healthcare service in 2012.
== Retirement and legacy ==
After a career spanning 50 years, Warneke retired in 2017. John Chan, Warneke's husband, noted how difficult the decision to retire was for the psychiatrist as "he really struggled leaving behind all the people who still needed his help." Soon after retiring, the University of Alberta presented Warneke with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Although Warneke spent much of his retirement enjoying his hobbies, he never stopped advocating for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, contributing various letters and op-eds about topics like conversion therapy to the Edmonton Journal.
On August 28, 2020, Warneke died after complications related to a fall in his home. In honour of Warneke's life and career, John Chan donated a money to memorialize a bench at the Grey Nuns Hospital. The bench was dedicated on October 5, 2022. In July 2023, Chan established the Dr. Lorne Baird Warneke LGBTQ2S+ Resident Endowment to financially support residents in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta "dedicated to continuing Warneke's legacy of care and advocacy".
== Bibliography ==
Warneke, Lorne B. (1978). Human sexuality and sexual dysfunction. Edmonton, Alberta. OCLC Number 15840747
Warneke, Lorne B, Otto, William, Gill, David M. (1980). Notes in clinical psychiatry. Edmonton, Alberta. OCLC Number 15893520
Warneke, Lorne B, Otto, William, Gill, David M, Knowles, Alan. (1984). Clinical notes in psychiatry (2nd ed.). Edmonton, Alberta. OCLC Number 70463772
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System | Global Positioning System | The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where signal quality permits. It does not require the user to transmit any data, and operates independently of any telephone or Internet reception, though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the GPS positioning information. It provides critical positioning capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. Although the United States government created, controls, and maintains the GPS system, it is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.
== Overview ==
The GPS project was started by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973. The prototype spacecraft was launched in 1978 and the full constellation of 24 satellites became operational in 1993. After Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down when it mistakenly entered Soviet airspace, President Ronald Reagan determined that the GPS system would be made available for civilian use as of 1988; however, initially this civilian use was limited to an average accuracy of 100 meters (330 ft) by use of Selective Availability (SA), a deliberate error introduced into the GPS data that military receivers could correct for.
As civilian GPS usage grew, there was increasing pressure to remove this error. The SA system was temporarily disabled during the Gulf War, as a shortage of military GPS units meant that many US soldiers were using civilian GPS units sent from home. In the 1990s, Differential GPS systems from the US Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, and similar agencies in other countries began to broadcast local GPS corrections, reducing the effect of both SA degradation and atmospheric effects (that military receivers also corrected for). The U.S. military had also developed methods to perform local GPS jamming, meaning that the ability to globally degrade the system was no longer necessary. As a result, United States President Bill Clinton signed a bill ordering that Selective Availability be disabled on May 1, 2000; and, in 2007, the US government announced that the next generation of GPS satellites would not include the feature.
Advances in technology and new demands on the existing system have led to efforts to modernize the GPS and implement the next generation of GPS Block III satellites and Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) which was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 2000. When Selective Availability was discontinued, GPS was accurate to about 5 meters (16 ft). GPS receivers that use the L5 band have much higher accuracy of 30 centimeters (12 in), while those for high-end applications such as engineering and land surveying are accurate to within 2 cm (3⁄4 in) and can even provide sub-millimeter accuracy with long-term measurements. Consumer devices such as smartphones can be accurate to 4.9 m (16 ft) or better when used with assistive services like Wi-Fi positioning.
As of July 2023, 18 GPS satellites broadcast L5 signals, which are considered pre-operational prior to being broadcast by a full complement of 24 satellites in 2027.
== History ==
The GPS project was launched in the United States in 1973 to overcome the limitations of previous navigation systems, combining ideas from several predecessors, including classified engineering design studies from the 1960s. The U.S. Department of Defense developed the system, which originally used 24 satellites, for use by the United States military, and became fully operational in 1993. Civilian use was allowed from the 1980s. Roger L. Easton of the Naval Research Laboratory, Ivan A. Getting of The Aerospace Corporation, and Bradford Parkinson of the Applied Physics Laboratory are credited with inventing it. The work of Gladys West on the creation of the mathematical geodetic Earth model is credited as instrumental in the development of computational techniques for detecting satellite positions with the precision needed for GPS.
The design of GPS is based partly on similar ground-based radio-navigation systems, such as LORAN and the Decca Navigator System, developed in the early 1940s. In 1955, Friedwardt Winterberg proposed a test of general relativity—detecting time slowing in a strong gravitational field using accurate atomic clocks placed in orbit inside artificial satellites. Special and general relativity predicted that the clocks on GPS satellites, as observed by those on Earth, run 38 microseconds faster per day than those on the Earth. The design of GPS corrects for this difference; because without doing so, GPS calculated positions would accumulate errors of up to 10 kilometers per day (6 mi/d).
=== Predecessors ===
When the Soviet Union launched its first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1) in 1957, two American physicists, William Guier and George Weiffenbach, at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) monitored its radio transmissions. Within hours they realized that, because of the Doppler effect, they could pinpoint where the satellite was along its orbit. The Director of the APL gave them access to their UNIVAC I computer to perform the heavy calculations required.
Early the next year, Frank McClure, the deputy director of the APL, asked Guier and Weiffenbach to investigate the inverse problem: pinpointing the user's location, given the satellite's. (At the time, the Navy was developing the submarine-launched Polaris missile, which required them to know the submarine's location.) This led them and APL to develop the TRANSIT system. In 1959, ARPA (renamed DARPA in 1972) also played a role in TRANSIT.
TRANSIT was first successfully tested in 1960. It used a constellation of five satellites and could provide a navigational fix approximately once per hour. In 1967, the U.S. Navy developed the Timation satellite, which proved the feasibility of placing accurate clocks in space, a technology required for GPS.
In the 1970s, the ground-based OMEGA navigation system, based on phase comparison of signal transmission from pairs of stations, became the first worldwide radio navigation system. Limitations of these systems drove the need for a more universal navigation solution with greater accuracy.
Although there were wide needs for accurate navigation in military and civilian sectors, almost none of those was seen as justification for the billions of dollars it would cost in research, development, deployment, and operation of a constellation of navigation satellites. During the Cold War arms race, the nuclear threat to the existence of the United States was the one need that did justify this cost in the view of the United States Congress. This deterrent effect is why GPS was funded. It is also the reason for the ultra-secrecy at that time. The nuclear triad consisted of the United States Navy's submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) along with United States Air Force (USAF) strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Considered vital to the nuclear deterrence posture, accurate determination of the SLBM launch position was a force multiplier.
Precise navigation would enable United States ballistic missile submarines to get an accurate fix of their positions before they launched their SLBMs. The USAF, with two-thirds of the nuclear triad, also had requirements for a more accurate and reliable navigation system. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force were developing their own technologies in parallel to solve what was essentially the same problem. To increase the survivability of ICBMs, there was a proposal to use mobile launch platforms (comparable to the Soviet SS-24 and SS-25) and so the need to fix the launch position had similarity to the SLBM situation.
In 1960, the Air Force proposed a radio-navigation system called MOSAIC (MObile System for Accurate ICBM Control) that was essentially a 3-D LORAN System. A follow-on study, Project 57, was performed in 1963 and it was "in this study that the GPS concept was born". That same year, the concept was pursued as Project 621B, which had "many of the attributes that you now see in GPS" and promised increased accuracy for U.S. Air Force bombers as well as ICBMs.
Updates from the Navy TRANSIT system were too slow for the high speeds of Air Force operation. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) continued making advances with their Timation (Time Navigation) satellites, first launched in 1967, second launched in 1969, with the third in 1974 carrying the first atomic clock into orbit and the fourth launched in 1977.
Another important predecessor to GPS came from a different branch of the United States military. In 1964, the United States Army orbited its first Sequential Collation of Range (SECOR) satellite used for geodetic surveying. The SECOR system included three ground-based transmitters at known locations that would send signals to the satellite transponder in orbit. A fourth ground-based station, at an undetermined position, could then use those signals to fix its location precisely. The last SECOR satellite was launched in 1969.
=== Development ===
With these parallel developments in the 1960s, it was realized that a superior system could be developed by synthesizing the best technologies from 621B, Transit, Timation, and SECOR in a multi-service program. Satellite orbital position errors, induced by variations in the gravity field and radar refraction among others, had to be resolved. A team led by Harold L. Jury of Pan Am Aerospace Division in Florida from 1970 to 1973, used real-time data assimilation and recursive estimation to do so, reducing systematic and residual errors to a manageable level to permit accurate navigation.
During Labor Day weekend in 1973, a meeting of about twelve military officers at the Pentagon discussed the creation of a Defense Navigation Satellite System (DNSS). It was at this meeting that the real synthesis that became GPS was created. Later that year, the DNSS program was named Navstar. Navstar is often erroneously considered an acronym for "NAVigation System using Timing And Ranging" but was never considered as such by the GPS Joint Program Office (TRW may have once advocated for a different navigational system that used that acronym). With the individual satellites being associated with the name Navstar (as with the predecessors Transit and Timation), a more fully encompassing name was used to identify the constellation of Navstar satellites, Navstar-GPS. Ten "Block I" prototype satellites were launched between 1978 and 1985 (an additional unit was destroyed in a launch failure).
The effect of the ionosphere on radio transmission was investigated in a geophysics laboratory of Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory, renamed to Air Force Geophysical Research Lab (AFGRL) in 1974. AFGRL developed the Klobuchar model for computing ionospheric corrections to GPS location. Of note is work done by Australian space scientist Elizabeth Essex-Cohen at AFGRL in 1974. She was concerned with the curving of the paths of radio waves (atmospheric refraction) traversing the ionosphere from NavSTAR satellites.
After Korean Air Lines Flight 007, a Boeing 747 carrying 269 people, was shot down by a Soviet interceptor aircraft after straying in prohibited airspace because of navigational errors, in the vicinity of Sakhalin and Moneron Islands, President Ronald Reagan issued a directive making GPS freely available for civilian use, once it was sufficiently developed, as a common good. The first Block II satellite was launched on February 14, 1989, and the 24th satellite was launched in 1994. The GPS program cost at this point, not including the cost of the user equipment but including the costs of the satellite launches, has been estimated at US$5 billion (equivalent to $11 billion in 2024).
Initially, the highest-quality signal was reserved for military use, and the signal available for civilian use was intentionally degraded, in a policy known as Selective Availability. This changed on May 1, 2000, with U.S. President Bill Clinton signing a policy directive to turn off Selective Availability to provide the same accuracy to civilians that was afforded to the military. The directive was proposed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, William Perry, in view of the widespread growth of differential GPS services by private industry to improve civilian accuracy. Moreover, the U.S. military was developing technologies to deny GPS service to potential adversaries on a regional basis. Selective Availability was removed from the GPS architecture beginning with GPS-III.
Since its deployment, the U.S. has implemented several improvements to the GPS service, including new signals for civil use and increased accuracy and integrity for all users, all the while maintaining compatibility with existing GPS equipment. Modernization of the satellite system has been an ongoing initiative by the U.S. Department of Defense through a series of satellite acquisitions to meet the growing needs of the military, civilians, and the commercial market. As of early 2015, high-quality Standard Positioning Service (SPS) GPS receivers provided horizontal accuracy of better than 3.5 meters (11 ft), although many factors such as receiver and antenna quality and atmospheric issues can affect this accuracy.
GPS is owned and operated by the United States government as a national resource. The Department of Defense is the steward of GPS. The Interagency GPS Executive Board (IGEB) oversaw GPS policy matters from 1996 to 2004. After that, the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee was established by presidential directive in 2004 to advise and coordinate federal departments and agencies on matters concerning the GPS and related systems. The executive committee is chaired jointly by the Deputy Secretaries of Defense and Transportation. Its membership includes equivalent-level officials from the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and NASA. Components of the executive office of the president participate as observers to the executive committee, and the FCC chairman participates as a liaison.
The U.S. Department of Defense is required by law to "maintain a Standard Positioning Service (as defined in the federal radio navigation plan and the standard positioning service signal specification) that will be available on a continuous, worldwide basis" and "develop measures to prevent hostile use of GPS and its augmentations without unduly disrupting or degrading civilian uses".
=== Timeline and modernization ===
In 1972, the U.S. Air Force Central Inertial Guidance Test Facility (Holloman Air Force Base) conducted developmental flight tests of four prototype GPS receivers in a Y configuration over White Sands Missile Range, using ground-based pseudo-satellites.
In 1978, the first experimental Block-I GPS satellite was launched.
In 1983, after Soviet Union interceptor aircraft shot down the civilian airliner KAL 007 that strayed into prohibited airspace because of navigational errors, killing all 269 people on board, U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that GPS would be made available for civilian uses once it was completed, although it had been publicly known as early as 1979, that the CA code (Coarse/Acquisition code) would be available to civilian users.
By 1985, ten more experimental Block-I satellites had been launched to validate the concept.
Beginning in 1988, command and control of these satellites was moved from Onizuka AFS, California to the 2nd Satellite Control Squadron (2SCS) located at Schriever Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
On February 14, 1989, the first modern Block-II satellite was launched.
The Gulf War from 1990 to 1991 was the first conflict in which the military widely used GPS.
In 1991, DARPA's project to create a miniature GPS receiver successfully ended, replacing the previous 16 kg (35 lb) military receivers with a 1.25 kg (2.8 lb) all-digital handheld GPS receiver.
In 1991, TomTom, a Dutch sat-nav manufacturer, was founded.
In 1992, the 2nd Space Wing, which originally managed the system, was inactivated and replaced by the 50th Space Wing.
By December 1993, GPS achieved initial operational capability (IOC), with a full constellation (24 satellites) available and providing the Standard Positioning Service (SPS).
Full Operational Capability (FOC) was declared by Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) in April 1995, signifying full availability of the military's secure Precise Positioning Service (PPS).
In 1996, recognizing the importance of GPS to civilian users as well as military users, U.S. President Bill Clinton issued a policy directive declaring GPS a dual-use system and establishing an Interagency GPS Executive Board to manage it as a national asset.
In 1998, United States Vice President Al Gore announced plans to upgrade GPS with two new civilian signals for enhanced user accuracy and reliability, particularly with respect to aviation safety, and in 2000 the United States Congress authorized the effort, referring to it as GPS III.
On May 2, 2000 "Selective Availability" was discontinued as a result of the 1996 executive order, allowing civilian users to receive a non-degraded signal globally.
In 2004, the United States government signed an agreement with the European Community establishing cooperation related to GPS and Europe's Galileo system.
In 2004, United States President George W. Bush updated the national policy and replaced the executive board with the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing.
In November 2004, Qualcomm announced successful tests of assisted GPS for mobile phones.
In 2005, the first modernized GPS satellite was launched and began transmitting a second civilian signal (L2C) for enhanced user performance.
On September 14, 2007, the aging mainframe-based Ground segment Control System was transferred to the new Architecture Evolution Plan.
On May 19, 2009, the United States Government Accountability Office issued a report warning that some GPS satellites could fail as soon as 2010.
On May 21, 2009, the Air Force Space Command allayed fears of GPS failure, saying: "There's only a small risk we will not continue to exceed our performance standard."
On January 11, 2010, an update of ground control systems caused a software incompatibility with 8,000 to 10,000 military receivers manufactured by a division of Trimble Navigation Limited of Sunnyvale, California.
On February 25, 2010, the U.S. Air Force awarded the contract to Raytheon Company to develop the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) to improve accuracy and availability of GPS navigation signals, and serve as a critical part of GPS modernization.
July 24, 2020, operation of the GPS constellation is transferred to the newly established U.S. Space Force as part of its establishment.
On October 13, 2023, the Space Force activated PNT Delta (Provisional) to manage US navigation warfare assets. 2SOPS and GPS operations were realigned under this new Delta.
=== Awards ===
On February 10, 1993, the National Aeronautic Association selected the GPS Team as winners of the 1992 Robert J. Collier Trophy, the US's most prestigious aviation award. This team combines researchers from the Naval Research Laboratory, the U.S. Air Force, the Aerospace Corporation, Rockwell International Corporation, and IBM Federal Systems Company. The citation honors them "for the most significant development for safe and efficient navigation and surveillance of air and spacecraft since the introduction of radio navigation 50 years ago".
Two GPS developers received the National Academy of Engineering Charles Stark Draper Prize for 2003:
Ivan Getting, emeritus president of The Aerospace Corporation and an engineer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, established the basis for GPS, improving on the World War II land-based radio system called LORAN (Long-range Radio Aid to Navigation).
Bradford Parkinson, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, conceived the present satellite-based system in the early 1960s and developed it in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force. Parkinson served twenty-one years in the Air Force, from 1957 to 1978, and retired with the rank of colonel.
GPS developer Roger L. Easton received the National Medal of Technology on February 13, 2006. Francis X. Kane (Col. USAF, ret.) was inducted into the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame at Lackland A.F.B., San Antonio, Texas, March 2, 2010, for his role in space technology development and the engineering design concept of GPS conducted as part of Project 621B. In 1998, GPS technology was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame.
On October 4, 2011, the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) awarded the Global Positioning System (GPS) its 60th Anniversary Award, nominated by IAF member, the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The IAF Honors and Awards Committee recognized the uniqueness of the GPS program and the exemplary role it has played in building international collaboration for the benefit of humanity. On December 6, 2018, Gladys West was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame in recognition of her work on an extremely accurate geodetic Earth model, which was ultimately used to determine the orbit of the GPS constellation. On February 12, 2019, four founding members of the project were awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering with the chair of the awarding board stating: "Engineering is the foundation of civilisation; ...They've re-written, in a major way, the infrastructure of our world."
== Principles ==
The GPS satellites carry very stable atomic clocks that are synchronized with one another and with the reference atomic clocks at the ground control stations; any drift of the clocks aboard the satellites from the reference time maintained on the ground stations is corrected regularly. Since the speed of radio waves (speed of light) is constant and independent of the satellite speed, the time delay between when the satellite transmits a signal and the ground station receives it is proportional to the distance from the satellite to the ground station. With the distance information collected from multiple ground stations, the location coordinates of any satellite at any time can be calculated with great precision.
Each GPS satellite carries an accurate record of its own position and time, and broadcasts that data continuously. Based on data received from multiple GPS satellites, an end user's GPS receiver can calculate its own four-dimensional position in spacetime; However, at a minimum, four satellites must be in view of the receiver for it to compute four unknown quantities (three position coordinates and the deviation of its own clock from satellite time).
=== More detailed description ===
Each GPS satellite continually broadcasts a signal (carrier wave with modulation) that includes:
A pseudorandom code (sequence of ones and zeros) that is known to the receiver. By time-aligning a receiver-generated version and the receiver-measured version of the code, the time of arrival (TOA) of a defined point in the code sequence, called an epoch, can be found in the receiver clock time scale
A message that includes the time of transmission (TOT) of the code epoch (in GPS time scale) and the satellite position at that time
Conceptually, the receiver measures the TOAs (according to its own clock) of four satellite signals. From the TOAs and the TOTs, the receiver forms four time of flight (TOF) values, which are (given the speed of light) approximately equivalent to receiver-satellite ranges plus time difference between the receiver and GPS satellites multiplied by speed of light, which are called pseudo-ranges. The receiver then computes its three-dimensional position and clock deviation from the four TOFs.
In practice the receiver position (in three dimensional Cartesian coordinates with origin at the Earth's center) and the offset of the receiver clock relative to the GPS time are computed simultaneously, using the navigation equations to process the TOFs.
The receiver's Earth-centered solution location is usually converted to latitude, longitude and height relative to an ellipsoidal Earth model. The height may then be further converted to height relative to the geoid, which is essentially mean sea level. These coordinates may be displayed, such as on a moving map display, or recorded or used by some other system, such as a vehicle guidance system.
As of 2025, these core principles are being enhanced by the ongoing modernization of the GPS constellation with the introduction of GPS III and GPS IIIF satellites. These next-generation satellites feature more advanced atomic clocks for even greater timekeeping accuracy and broadcast more powerful, secure, and interoperable signals (such as L1C, L2C, and L5). This improves the precision of the time-of-flight (TOF) measurements and provides better resistance to signal interference, enhancing the reliability of the position calculation for all users.
=== User-satellite geometry ===
Although usually not formed explicitly in the receiver processing, the conceptual time differences of arrival (TDOAs) define the measurement geometry. Each TDOA corresponds to a hyperboloid of revolution (see Multilateration). The line connecting the two satellites involved (and its extensions) forms the axis of the hyperboloid. The receiver is located at the point where three hyperboloids intersect.
It is sometimes incorrectly said that the user location is at the intersection of three spheres. While simpler to visualize, this is the case only if the receiver has a clock synchronized with the satellite clocks (i.e., the receiver measures true ranges to the satellites rather than range differences). There are marked performance benefits to the user carrying a clock synchronized with the satellites. Foremost is that only three satellites are needed to compute a position solution. If it were an essential part of the GPS concept that all users needed to carry a synchronized clock, a smaller number of satellites could be deployed, but the cost and complexity of the user equipment would increase.
=== Receiver in continuous operation ===
The description above is representative of a receiver start-up situation. Most receivers have a track algorithm, sometimes called a tracker, that combines sets of satellite measurements collected at different times—in effect, taking advantage of the fact that successive receiver positions are usually close to each other. After a set of measurements is processed, the tracker predicts the receiver location corresponding to the next set of satellite measurements. When the new measurements are collected, the receiver uses a weighting scheme to combine the new measurements with the tracker prediction. In general, a tracker can (a) improve receiver position and time accuracy, (b) reject bad measurements, and (c) estimate receiver speed and direction.
The disadvantage of a tracker is that changes in speed or direction can be computed only with a delay, and that derived direction becomes inaccurate when the distance traveled between two position measurements drops below or near the random error of position measurement. GPS units can use measurements of the Doppler shift of the signals received to compute velocity accurately. More advanced navigation systems use additional sensors like a compass or an inertial navigation system to complement GPS.
=== Non-navigation applications ===
GPS requires four or more satellites to be visible for accurate navigation. The solution of the navigation equations gives the position of the receiver along with the difference between the time kept by the receiver's on-board clock and the true time-of-day, thereby eliminating the need for a more precise and possibly impractical receiver based clock. Applications for GPS such as time transfer, traffic signal timing, and synchronization of cell phone base stations, make use of this cheap and highly accurate timing. Some GPS applications use this time for display, or, other than for the basic position calculations, do not use it at all.
Although four satellites are required for normal operation, fewer apply in special cases. If one variable is already known, a receiver can determine its position using only three satellites. For example, a ship on the open ocean usually has a known elevation close to 0m, and the elevation of an aircraft may be known. Some GPS receivers may use additional clues or assumptions such as reusing the last known altitude, dead reckoning, inertial navigation, or including information from the vehicle computer, to give a (possibly degraded) position when fewer than four satellites are visible.
== Structure ==
The current GPS consists of three major segments. These are the space segment, a control segment, and a user segment. The U.S. Space Force develops, maintains, and operates the space and control segments. GPS satellites broadcast signals from space, and each GPS receiver uses these signals to calculate its three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) and the current time.
=== Space segment ===
The space segment (SS) is composed of 24 to 32 satellites, or Space Vehicles (SV), in medium Earth orbit, and also includes the payload adapters to the boosters required to launch them into orbit. The GPS design originally called for 24 SVs, eight each in three approximately circular orbits, but this was modified to six orbital planes with four satellites each. The six orbit planes have approximately 55° inclination (tilt relative to the Earth's equator) and are separated by 60° right ascension of the ascending node (angle along the equator from a reference point to the orbit's intersection). The orbital period is one-half of a sidereal day, about 11 hours and 58 minutes, so that the satellites pass over the same locations or almost the same locations every day. The orbits are arranged so that at least six satellites are always within line of sight from everywhere on the Earth's surface (see animation at right). The result of this objective is that the four satellites are not evenly spaced (90°) apart within each orbit. In general terms, the angular difference between satellites in each orbit is 30°, 105°, 120°, and 105° apart, which sum to 360°.
Orbiting at an altitude of approximately 20,200 km (12,600 mi); orbital radius of approximately 26,600 km (16,500 mi), each SV makes two complete orbits each sidereal day, repeating the same ground track each day. This was very helpful during development because even with only four satellites, correct alignment means all four are visible from one spot for a few hours each day. For military operations, the ground track repeat can be used to ensure good coverage in combat zones.
As of February 2019, there are 31 satellites in the GPS constellation, 27 of which are in use at a given time with the rest allocated as stand-bys. A 32nd was launched in 2018, but as of July 2019 is still in evaluation. More decommissioned satellites are in orbit and available as spares. The additional satellites improve the precision of GPS receiver calculations by providing redundant measurements. With the increased number of satellites, the constellation was changed to a nonuniform arrangement. Such an arrangement was shown to improve accuracy but also improves reliability and availability of the system, relative to a uniform system, when multiple satellites fail. With the expanded constellation, nine satellites are usually visible at any time from any point on the Earth with a clear horizon, ensuring considerable redundancy over the minimum four satellites needed for a position.
=== Control segment ===
The control segment (CS) is composed of:
a master control station (MCS),
an alternative master control station,
four dedicated ground antennas, and
six dedicated monitor stations.
The MCS can also access Satellite Control Network (SCN) ground antennas (for additional command and control capability) and NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) monitor stations. The flight paths of the satellites are tracked by dedicated U.S. Space Force monitoring stations in Hawaii, Kwajalein Atoll, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia, Colorado Springs, Colorado and Cape Canaveral, Florida, along with shared NGA monitor stations operated in England, Argentina, Ecuador, Bahrain, Australia and Washington, DC. The tracking information is sent to the MCS at Schriever Space Force Base 25 km (16 mi) ESE of Colorado Springs, which is operated by the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS) of the U.S. Space Force. Then 2 SOPS contacts each GPS satellite regularly with a navigational update using dedicated or shared (AFSCN) ground antennas (GPS dedicated ground antennas are located at Kwajalein, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia, and Cape Canaveral). These updates synchronize the atomic clocks on board the satellites to within a few nanoseconds of each other, and adjust the ephemeris of each satellite's internal orbital model. The updates are created by a Kalman filter that uses inputs from the ground monitoring stations, space weather information, and various other inputs.
When a satellite's orbit is being adjusted, the satellite is marked unhealthy, so receivers do not use it. After the maneuver, engineers track the new orbit from the ground, upload the new ephemeris, and mark the satellite healthy again. The operation control segment (OCS) currently serves as the control segment of record. It provides the operational capability that supports GPS users and keeps the GPS operational and performing within specification.
OCS replaced the 1970s-era mainframe computer at Schriever Air Force Base in September 2007. After installation, the system helped enable upgrades and provide a foundation for a new security architecture that supported U.S. armed forces.
OCS will continue to be the ground control system of record until the new segment, Next Generation GPS Operation Control System (OCX), is fully developed and functional. The U.S. Department of Defense has claimed that the new capabilities provided by OCX will be the cornerstone for enhancing GPS's mission capabilities, enabling U.S. Space Force to enhance GPS operational services to U.S. combat forces, civil partners and domestic and international users. The GPS OCX program also will reduce cost, schedule and technical risk. It is designed to provide 50% sustainment cost savings through efficient software architecture and Performance-Based Logistics. In addition, GPS OCX is expected to cost millions of dollars less than the cost to upgrade OCS while providing four times the capability.
The GPS OCX program represents a critical part of GPS modernization and provides information assurance improvements over the current GPS OCS program.
OCX will have the ability to control and manage GPS legacy satellites as well as the next generation of GPS III satellites, while enabling the full array of military signals.
Built on a flexible architecture that can rapidly adapt to changing needs of GPS users allowing immediate access to GPS data and constellation status through secure, accurate and reliable information.
Provides the warfighter with more secure, actionable and predictive information to enhance situational awareness.
Enables new modernized signals (L1C, L2C, and L5) and has M-code capability, which the legacy system is unable to do.
Provides significant information assurance improvements over the current program including detecting and preventing cyber attacks, while isolating, containing and operating during such attacks.
Supports higher volume near real-time command and control capabilities and abilities.
On September 14, 2011, the U.S. Air Force announced the completion of GPS OCX Preliminary Design Review and confirmed that the OCX program is ready for the next phase of development. The GPS OCX program missed major milestones and pushed its launch into 2021, 5 years past the original deadline. According to the Government Accounting Office in 2019, the 2021 deadline looked shaky.
The project remained delayed in 2023, and was (as of June 2023) 73% over its original estimated budget. In late 2023, Frank Calvelli, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisitions and integration, stated that the project was estimated to go live some time during the summer of 2024.
The US Space Force accepted delivery of OCX Blocks I and II from contractor RTX on July 1, 2025, over 8 years behind schedule and roughly $4 billion over budget due to its monolithic development and constant feature creep while in process. If current Government Accountability Office estimates hold, the new system will enter service in December 2025.
OCX Block 3F is currently in development to enable command and control of GPS IIIF satellites, currently slated to begin launching in 2027.
=== User segment ===
The user segment (US) is composed of hundreds of thousands of U.S. and allied military users of the secure GPS Precise Positioning Service, and tens of millions of civil, commercial and scientific users of the Standard Positioning Service. In general, GPS receivers are composed of an antenna, tuned to the frequencies transmitted by the satellites, receiver-processors, and a highly stable clock (often a crystal oscillator). They may also include a display for providing location and speed information to the user.
GPS receivers may include an input for differential corrections, using the RTCM SC-104 format. This is typically in the form of an RS-232 port at 4,800 bit/s speed. Data is actually sent at a much lower rate, which limits the accuracy of the signal sent using RTCM. Receivers with internal DGPS receivers can outperform those using external RTCM data. As of 2006, even low-cost units commonly include Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) receivers.
Many GPS receivers can relay position data to a PC or other device using the NMEA 0183 protocol. Although this protocol is officially defined by the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA), references to this protocol have been compiled from public records, allowing open source tools like gpsd to read the protocol without violating intellectual property laws. Other proprietary protocols exist as well, such as the SiRF and MTK protocols. Receivers can interface with other devices using methods including a serial connection, USB, or Bluetooth.
== Applications ==
While originally a military project, GPS is considered a dual-use technology, meaning it has significant civilian applications as well.
GPS has become a widely deployed and useful tool for commerce, scientific uses, tracking, and surveillance. GPS's accurate time facilitates everyday activities such as banking, mobile phone operations, and even the control of power grids by allowing well synchronized hand-off switching.
=== Civilian ===
Many civilian applications use one or more of GPS's three basic components: absolute location, relative movement, and time transfer.
Amateur radio: clock synchronization required for several digital modes such as FT8, FT4 and JS8; also used with APRS for position reporting; is often critical during emergency and disaster communications support.
Atmosphere: studying the troposphere delays (recovery of the water vapor content) and ionosphere delays (recovery of the number of free electrons). Recovery of Earth surface displacements due to the atmospheric pressure loading.
Astronomy: both positional and clock synchronization data is used in astrometry and celestial mechanics and precise orbit determination. GPS is also used in both amateur astronomy with small telescopes as well as by professional observatories for finding extrasolar planets.
Automated vehicle: applying precise vehicle location, coupled with highly detailed maps, provides the context needed for cars and trucks to function without a human driver.
Cartography: both civilian and military cartographers use GPS extensively.
Cellular telephony: clock synchronization enables time transfer, which is critical for synchronizing its spreading codes with other base stations to facilitate inter-cell handoff and support hybrid GPS/cellular position detection for mobile emergency calls and other applications. The first handsets with integrated GPS launched in the late 1990s. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandated the feature in either the handset or in the towers (for use in triangulation) in 2002 so emergency services could locate 911 callers. Third-party software developers later gained access to GPS APIs from Nextel upon launch, followed by Sprint in 2006, and Verizon soon thereafter.
Clock synchronization: the accuracy of GPS time signals (±10 ns) is second only to the atomic clocks they are based on, and is used in applications such as GPS disciplined oscillators.
Disaster relief/emergency services: many emergency services depend upon GPS for location and timing capabilities.
GPS-equipped radiosondes and dropsondes: measure and calculate the atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction up to 27 km (89,000 ft) from the Earth's surface.
Radio occultation for weather and atmospheric science applications.
Fleet tracking: used to identify, locate and maintain contact reports with one or more fleet vehicles in real-time.
Geodesy: determination of Earth orientation parameters including the daily and sub-daily polar motion, and length-of-day variabilities, Earth's center-of-mass – geocenter motion, and low-degree gravity field parameters.
Geofencing: vehicle tracking systems, person tracking systems, and pet tracking systems use GPS to locate devices that are attached to or carried by a person, vehicle, or pet. The application can provide continuous tracking and send notifications if the target leaves a designated (or "fenced-in") area.
Geotagging: applies location coordinates to digital objects such as photographs (in Exif data) and other documents for purposes such as creating map overlays with devices like Nikon GP-1.
GPS aircraft tracking
GPS for mining: the use of RTK GPS has significantly improved several mining operations such as drilling, shoveling, vehicle tracking, and surveying. RTK GPS provides centimeter-level positioning accuracy.
GPS data mining: It is possible to aggregate GPS data from multiple users to understand movement patterns, common trajectories and interesting locations. GPS data is today used in transportation and disaster engineering to forecast mobility in normal and evacuation situations (e.g., hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes).
GPS tours: location determines what content to display; for instance, information about an approaching point of interest.
Mental health: tracking mental health functioning and sociability.
Navigation: navigators value digitally precise velocity and orientation measurements, as well as precise positions in real-time with a support of orbit and clock corrections.
Orbit determination of low-orbiting satellites with GPS receiver installed on board, such as GOCE, GRACE, Jason-1, Jason-2, TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X, CHAMP, Sentinel-3, and some cubesats, e.g., CubETH.
Phasor measurements: GPS enables highly accurate timestamping of power system measurements, making it possible to compute phasors.
Recreation: for example, Geocaching, Geodashing, GPS drawing, waymarking, and other kinds of location based mobile games such as Pokémon Go.
Reference frames: realization and densification of the terrestrial reference frames in the framework of Global Geodetic Observing System. Co-location in space between Satellite laser ranging and microwave observations for deriving global geodetic parameters.
Robotics: self-navigating, autonomous robots using GPS sensors, which calculate latitude, longitude, time, speed, and heading.
Sport: used in football and rugby for the control and analysis of the training load.
Surveying: surveyors use absolute locations to make maps and determine property boundaries.
Tectonics: GPS enables direct fault motion measurement of earthquakes. Between earthquakes GPS can be used to measure crustal motion and deformation to estimate seismic strain buildup for creating seismic hazard maps.
Telematics: GPS technology integrated with computers and mobile communications technology in automotive navigation systems.
==== Restrictions on civilian use ====
The U.S. government controls the export of some civilian receivers. All GPS receivers capable of functioning above 60,000 ft (18 km) above sea level and 1,000 kn (500 m/s; 2,000 km/h; 1,000 mph), or designed or modified for use with unmanned missiles and aircraft, are classified as munitions (weapons)—which means they require State Department export licenses. This rule applies even to otherwise purely civilian units that only receive the L1 frequency and the C/A (Coarse/Acquisition) code.
Disabling operation above these limits exempts the receiver from classification as a munition. Vendor interpretations differ. The rule refers to operation at both the target altitude and speed, but some receivers stop operating even when stationary. This has caused problems with some amateur radio balloon launches that regularly reach 30 km (100,000 feet). These limits only apply to units or components exported from the United States. A growing trade in various components exists, including GPS units from other countries. These are expressly sold as ITAR-free.
=== Military ===
As of 2009, military GPS applications include:
Navigation: Soldiers use GPS to find objectives, even in the dark or in unfamiliar territory, and to coordinate troop and supply movement. In the United States armed forces, commanders use the Commander's Digital Assistant and lower ranks use the Soldier Digital Assistant.
Frequency-Hopping Radio Clock Coordination: Military radio systems using frequency hopping modes, such as SINCGARS and HAVEQUICK, require all radios within a network to have the same time input to their internal clocks (+/-4 seconds in the case of SINCGARS) to be on the correct frequency at a given time. Military GPS receivers, such as the Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR) and Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR), are used by radio operators within a radio network to properly input an accurate time to said radios internal clock. More modern military radios have internal GPS receivers that synchronize the internal clock automatically.
Target tracking: Various military weapons systems use GPS to track potential ground and air targets before flagging them as hostile. These weapon systems pass target coordinates to precision-guided munitions to allow them to engage targets accurately. Military aircraft, particularly in air-to-ground roles, use GPS to find targets.
Missile and projectile guidance: GPS allows accurate targeting of various military weapons including ICBMs, cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions and artillery shells. Embedded GPS receivers able to withstand accelerations of 12,000 g or about 118 km/s2 (260,000 mph/s) have been developed for use in 155-millimeter (6.1 in) howitzer shells.
Search and rescue.
Reconnaissance: Patrol movement can be managed more closely.
GPS satellites carry a set of nuclear detonation detectors consisting of an optical sensor called a bhangmeter, an X-ray sensor, a dosimeter, and an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) sensor (W-sensor), that form a major portion of the United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System. General William Shelton has stated that future satellites may drop this feature to save money.
GPS type navigation was first used in war in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, before GPS was fully developed in 1995, to assist Coalition Forces to navigate and perform maneuvers in the war. The war also demonstrated the vulnerability of GPS to being jammed, when Iraqi forces installed jamming devices on likely targets that emitted radio noise, disrupting reception of the weak GPS signal.
GPS's vulnerability to jamming is a threat that continues to grow as jamming equipment and experience grows. GPS signals have been reported to have been jammed many times over the years for military purposes. Russia seems to have several objectives for this approach, such as intimidating neighbors while undermining confidence in their reliance on American systems, promoting their GLONASS alternative, disrupting Western military exercises, and protecting assets from drones. China uses jamming to discourage US surveillance aircraft near the contested Spratly Islands. North Korea has mounted several major jamming operations near its border with South Korea and offshore, disrupting flights, shipping and fishing operations. Iranian Armed Forces disrupted the civilian airliner plane Flight PS752's GPS when it shot down the aircraft.
In the Russo-Ukrainian War, GPS-guided munitions provided to Ukraine by NATO countries experienced significant failure rates as a result of Russian electronic warfare. Excalibur artillery shells efficiency rate hitting targets dropped from 70% to 6% as Russia adapted its electronic warfare activities.
=== Timekeeping ===
==== Leap seconds ====
While most clocks derive their time from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the atomic clocks on the satellites are set to GPS time. The difference is that GPS time is not corrected to match the rotation of the Earth, so it does not contain new leap seconds or other corrections that are periodically added to UTC. GPS time was set to match UTC in 1980, but has since diverged. The lack of corrections means that GPS time remains at a constant offset with International Atomic Time (TAI) (TAI – GPS = 19 seconds). Periodic corrections are performed to the on-board clocks to keep them synchronized with ground clocks.
The GPS navigation message includes the difference between GPS time and UTC. As of January 2017, GPS time is 18 seconds ahead of UTC because of the leap second added to UTC on December 31, 2016. Receivers subtract this offset from GPS time to calculate UTC and specific time zone values. New GPS units may not show the correct UTC time until after receiving the UTC offset message. The GPS-UTC offset field can accommodate 255 leap seconds (eight bits).
==== Accuracy ====
GPS time is theoretically accurate to about 14 nanoseconds, due to the clock drift relative to International Atomic Time that the atomic clocks in GPS transmitters experience. Most receivers lose some accuracy in their interpretation of the signals and are only accurate to about 100 nanoseconds.
==== Relativistic corrections ====
The GPS implements two major corrections to its time signals for relativistic effects: one for relative velocity of satellite and receiver, using the special theory of relativity, and one for the difference in gravitational potential between satellite and receiver, using general relativity. The acceleration of the satellite could also be computed independently as a correction, depending on purpose, but normally the effect is already dealt with in the first two corrections.
==== Format ====
As opposed to the year, month, and day format of the Gregorian calendar, the GPS date is expressed as a week number and a seconds-into-week number. The week number is transmitted as a ten-bit field in the C/A and P(Y) navigation messages, and so it becomes zero again every 1,024 weeks (19.6 years). GPS week zero started at 00:00:00 UTC (00:00:19 TAI) on January 6, 1980, and the week number became zero again for the first time at 23:59:47 UTC on August 21, 1999 (00:00:19 TAI on August 22, 1999). It happened the second time at 23:59:42 UTC on April 6, 2019. To determine the current Gregorian date, a GPS receiver must be provided with the approximate date (to within 3,584 days) to correctly translate the GPS date signal. To address this concern in the future the modernized GPS civil navigation (CNAV) message will use a 13-bit field that only repeats every 8,192 weeks (157 years), thus lasting until 2137 (157 years after GPS week zero).
== Communication ==
The navigational signals transmitted by GPS satellites encode a variety of information including satellite positions, the state of the internal clocks, and the health of the network. These signals are transmitted on two separate carrier frequencies that are common to all satellites in the network. Two different encodings are used: a public encoding that enables lower resolution navigation, and an encrypted encoding used by the U.S. military.
=== Message format ===
Each GPS satellite continuously broadcasts a navigation message on L1 (C/A and P/Y) and L2 (P/Y) frequencies at a rate of 50 bits per second (see bitrate). Each complete message takes 750 seconds (12+1⁄2 minutes) to complete. The message structure has a basic format of a 1500-bit-long frame made up of five subframes, each subframe being 300 bits (6 seconds) long. Subframes 4 and 5 are subcommutated 25 times each, so that a complete data message requires the transmission of 25 full frames. Each subframe consists of ten words, each 30 bits long. Thus, with 300 bits in a subframe times 5 subframes in a frame times 25 frames in a message, each message is 37,500 bits long. At a transmission rate of 50-bit/s, this gives 750 seconds to transmit an entire almanac message (GPS). Each 30-second frame begins precisely on the minute or half-minute as indicated by the atomic clock on each satellite.
The first subframe of each frame encodes the week number and the time within the week, as well as the data about the health of the satellite. The second and the third subframes contain the ephemeris – the precise orbital parameters for the satellite. The fourth and fifth subframes contain the almanac, which contains coarse orbit and status information for up to 32 satellites in the constellation as well as data related to error correction. Thus, to obtain an accurate satellite location from this transmitted message, the receiver must demodulate the message from each satellite it includes in its solution for 18 to 30 seconds. To collect all transmitted almanacs, the receiver must demodulate the message for 732 to 750 seconds or 12+1⁄2 minutes.
All satellites broadcast at the same frequencies, encoding signals using unique code-division multiple access (CDMA) so receivers can distinguish individual satellites from each other. The system uses two distinct CDMA encoding types: the coarse/acquisition (C/A) code, which is accessible by the general public, and the precise (P(Y)) code, which is encrypted so that only the U.S. military and other NATO nations who have been given access to the encryption code can access it.
The ephemeris is updated every 2 hours and is sufficiently stable for 4 hours, with provisions for updates every 6 hours or longer in non-nominal conditions. The almanac is updated typically every 24 hours. Additionally, data for a few weeks following is uploaded in case of transmission updates that delay data upload.
=== Satellite frequencies ===
All satellites broadcast at the same two frequencies, 1.57542 GHz (L1 signal) and 1.2276 GHz (L2 signal). The satellite network uses a CDMA spread-spectrum technique where the low-bitrate message data is encoded with a high-rate pseudo-random (PRN) sequence that is different for each satellite. The receiver must be aware of the PRN codes for each satellite to reconstruct the actual message data. The C/A code, for civilian use, transmits data at 1.023 million chips per second, whereas the P code, for U.S. military use, transmits at 10.23 million chips per second. The actual internal reference of the satellites is 10.22999999543 MHz to compensate for relativistic effects that make observers on the Earth perceive a different time reference with respect to the transmitters in orbit. The L1 carrier is modulated by both the C/A and P codes, while the L2 carrier is only modulated by the P code. The P code can be encrypted as a so-called P(Y) code that is only available to military equipment with a proper decryption key. Both the C/A and P(Y) codes impart the precise time-of-day to the user.
The L3 signal at a frequency of 1.38105 GHz is used to transmit data from the satellites to ground stations. This data is used by the United States Nuclear Detonation (NUDET) Detection System (USNDS) to detect, locate, and report nuclear detonations (NUDETs) in the Earth's atmosphere and near space. One usage is the enforcement of nuclear test ban treaties.
The L4 band at 1.379913 GHz is being studied for additional ionospheric correction.
The L5 frequency band at 1.17645 GHz was added in the process of GPS modernization. This frequency falls into an internationally protected range for aeronautical navigation, promising little or no interference under all circumstances. The first Block IIF satellite that provides this signal was launched in May 2010. On February 5, 2016, the 12th and final Block IIF satellite was launched. The L5 consists of two carrier components that are in phase quadrature with each other. Each carrier component is bi-phase shift key (BPSK) modulated by a separate bit train. "L5, the third civil GPS signal, will eventually support safety-of-life applications for aviation and provide improved availability and accuracy."
In 2011, a conditional waiver was granted to LightSquared to operate a terrestrial broadband service near the L1 band. Although LightSquared had applied for a license to operate in the 1525 to 1559 band as early as 2003 and it was put out for public comment, the FCC asked LightSquared to form a study group with the GPS community to test GPS receivers and identify issues that might arise due to the larger signal power from the LightSquared terrestrial network. The GPS community had not objected to the LightSquared (formerly MSV and SkyTerra) applications until November 2010, when LightSquared applied for a modification to its Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) authorization. This filing (SAT-MOD-20101118-00239) amounted to a request to run several orders of magnitude more power in the same frequency band for terrestrial base stations, essentially repurposing what was supposed to be a "quiet neighborhood" for signals from space as the equivalent of a cellular network. Testing in the first half of 2011 has demonstrated that the effects from the lower 10 MHz of spectrum are minimal to GPS devices (less than 1% of the total GPS devices are affected). The upper 10 MHz intended for use by LightSquared may have some effect on GPS devices. There is some concern that this may seriously degrade the GPS signal for many consumer uses. Aviation Week magazine reports that the latest testing (June 2011) confirms "significant jamming" of GPS by LightSquared's system.
=== Demodulation and decoding ===
Because all of the satellite signals are modulated onto the same L1 carrier frequency, the signals must be separated after demodulation. This is done by assigning each satellite a unique binary sequence known as a Gold code. The signals are decoded after demodulation using addition of the Gold codes corresponding to the satellites monitored by the receiver.
If the almanac information has previously been acquired, the receiver picks the satellites to listen for by their PRNs, unique numbers in the range 1 through 32. If the almanac information is not in memory, the receiver enters a search mode until a lock is obtained on one of the satellites. To obtain a lock, it is necessary that there be an unobstructed line of sight from the receiver to the satellite. The receiver can then acquire the almanac and determine the satellites it should listen for. As it detects each satellite's signal, it identifies it by its distinct C/A code pattern. There can be a delay of up to 30 seconds before the first estimate of position because of the need to read the ephemeris data.
Processing of the navigation message enables the determination of the time of transmission and the satellite position at this time. For more information see Demodulation and Decoding, Advanced.
== Navigation equations ==
=== Problem statement ===
The receiver uses messages received from satellites to determine the satellite positions and time sent. The x, y, and z components of satellite position and the time sent (s) are designated as [xi, yi, zi, si] where the subscript i denotes the satellite and has the value 1, 2, ..., n, where n ≥ 4. When the time of message reception indicated by the on-board receiver clock is
t
~
i
{\displaystyle {\tilde {t}}_{i}}
, the true reception time is
t
i
=
t
~
i
−
b
{\displaystyle t_{i}={\tilde {t}}_{i}-b}
, where b is the receiver's clock bias from the much more accurate GPS clocks employed by the satellites. The receiver clock bias is the same for all received satellite signals (assuming the satellite clocks are all perfectly synchronized). The message's transit time is
t
~
i
−
b
−
s
i
{\displaystyle {\tilde {t}}_{i}-b-s_{i}}
, where si is the satellite time. Assuming the message traveled at the speed of light, c, the distance traveled is
(
t
~
i
−
b
−
s
i
)
c
{\displaystyle \left({\tilde {t}}_{i}-b-s_{i}\right)c}
.
For n satellites, the equations to satisfy are:
d
i
=
(
t
~
i
−
b
−
s
i
)
c
,
i
=
1
,
2
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n
{\displaystyle d_{i}=\left({\tilde {t}}_{i}-b-s_{i}\right)c,\;i=1,2,\dots ,n}
where di is the geometric distance or range between receiver and satellite i (the values without subscripts are the x, y, and z components of receiver position):
d
i
=
(
x
−
x
i
)
2
+
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y
−
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+
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2
{\displaystyle d_{i}={\sqrt {(x-x_{i})^{2}+(y-y_{i})^{2}+(z-z_{i})^{2}}}}
Defining pseudoranges as
p
i
=
(
t
~
i
−
s
i
)
c
{\displaystyle p_{i}=\left({\tilde {t}}_{i}-s_{i}\right)c}
, we see they are biased versions of the true range:
p
i
=
d
i
+
b
c
,
i
=
1
,
2
,
.
.
.
,
n
{\displaystyle p_{i}=d_{i}+bc,\;i=1,2,...,n}
.
Since the equations have four unknowns [x, y, z, b]—the three components of GPS receiver position and the clock bias—signals from at least four satellites are necessary to attempt solving these equations. They can be solved by algebraic or numerical methods. Existence and uniqueness of GPS solutions are discussed by Abell and Chaffee. When n is greater than four, this system is overdetermined and a fitting method must be used.
The amount of error in the results varies with the received satellites' locations in the sky, since certain configurations (when the received satellites are close together in the sky) cause larger errors. Receivers usually calculate a running estimate of the error in the calculated position. This is done by multiplying the basic resolution of the receiver by quantities called the geometric dilution of position (GDOP) factors, calculated from the relative sky directions of the satellites used. The receiver location is expressed in a specific coordinate system, such as latitude and longitude using the WGS 84 geodetic datum or a country-specific system.
=== Geometric interpretation ===
The GPS equations can be solved by numerical and analytical methods. Geometrical interpretations can enhance the understanding of these solution methods.
==== Spheres ====
The measured ranges, called pseudoranges, contain clock errors. In a simplified idealization in which the ranges are synchronized, these true ranges represent the radii of spheres, each centered on one of the transmitting satellites. The solution for the position of the receiver is then at the intersection of the surfaces of these spheres; see trilateration (more generally, true-range multilateration). Signals from at minimum three satellites are required, and their three spheres would typically intersect at two points. One of the points is the location of the receiver, and the other moves rapidly in successive measurements and would not usually be on Earth's surface.
In practice, there are many sources of inaccuracy besides clock bias, including random errors as well as the potential for precision loss from subtracting numbers close to each other if the centers of the spheres are relatively close together. This means that the position calculated from three satellites alone is unlikely to be accurate enough. Data from more satellites can help because of the tendency for random errors to cancel out and also by giving a larger spread between the sphere centers. But at the same time, more spheres will not generally intersect at one point. Therefore, a near intersection gets computed, typically via least squares. The more signals available, the better the approximation is likely to be.
==== Hyperboloids ====
If the pseudorange between the receiver and satellite i and the pseudorange between the receiver and satellite j are subtracted, pi − pj, the common receiver clock bias (b) cancels out, resulting in a difference of distances di − dj. The locus of points having a constant difference in distance to two points (here, two satellites) is a hyperbola on a plane and a hyperboloid of revolution (more specifically, a two-sheeted hyperboloid) in 3D space (see Multilateration). Thus, from four pseudorange measurements, the receiver can be placed at the intersection of the surfaces of three hyperboloids each with foci at a pair of satellites. With additional satellites, the multiple intersections are not necessarily unique, and a best-fitting solution is sought instead.
==== Inscribed sphere ====
The receiver position can be interpreted as the center of an inscribed sphere (insphere) of radius bc, given by the receiver clock bias b (scaled by the speed of light c). The insphere location is such that it touches other spheres. The circumscribing spheres are centered at the GPS satellites, whose radii equal the measured pseudoranges pi. This configuration is distinct from the one described above, in which the spheres' radii were the unbiased or geometric ranges di.
==== Hypercones ====
The clock in the receiver is usually not of the same quality as the ones in the satellites and will not be accurately synchronized to them. This produces pseudoranges with large differences compared to the true distances to the satellites. Therefore, in practice, the time difference between the receiver clock and the satellite time is defined as an unknown clock bias b. The equations are then solved simultaneously for the receiver position and the clock bias. The solution space [x, y, z, b] can be seen as a four-dimensional spacetime, and signals from at minimum four satellites are needed. In that case each of the equations describes a hypercone (or spherical cone), with the cusp located at the satellite, and the base a sphere around the satellite. The receiver is at the intersection of four or more of such hypercones.
=== Solution methods ===
==== Least squares ====
When more than four satellites are available, the calculation can use the four best, or more than four simultaneously (up to all visible satellites), depending on the number of receiver channels, processing capability, and geometric dilution of precision (GDOP).
Using more than four involves an over-determined system of equations with no unique solution; such a system can be solved by a least-squares or weighted least squares method.
(
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y
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=
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{\displaystyle \left({\hat {x}},{\hat {y}},{\hat {z}},{\hat {b}}\right)={\underset {\left(x,y,z,b\right)}{\arg \min }}\sum _{i}\left({\sqrt {(x-x_{i})^{2}+(y-y_{i})^{2}+(z-z_{i})^{2}}}+bc-p_{i}\right)^{2}}
==== Iterative ====
Both the equations for four satellites, or the least squares equations for more than four, are non-linear and need special solution methods. A common approach is by iteration on a linearized form of the equations, such as the Gauss–Newton algorithm.
The GPS was initially developed assuming use of a numerical least-squares solution method—i.e., before closed-form solutions were found.
==== Closed-form ====
One closed-form solution to the above set of equations was developed by S. Bancroft. Its properties are well known; in particular, proponents claim it is superior in low-GDOP situations, compared to iterative least squares methods.
Bancroft's method is algebraic, as opposed to numerical, and can be used for four or more satellites. When four satellites are used, the key steps are inversion of a 4x4 matrix and solution of a single-variable quadratic equation. Bancroft's method provides one or two solutions for the unknown quantities. When there are two (usually the case), only one is a near-Earth sensible solution.
When a receiver uses more than four satellites for a solution, Bancroft uses the generalized inverse (i.e., the pseudoinverse) to find a solution. A case has been made that iterative methods, such as the Gauss–Newton algorithm approach for solving over-determined non-linear least squares problems, generally provide more accurate solutions.
Leick et al. (2015) states that "Bancroft's (1985) solution is a very early, if not the first, closed-form solution."
Other closed-form solutions were published afterwards, although their adoption in practice is unclear.
=== Error sources and analysis ===
GPS error analysis examines error sources in GPS results and the expected size of those errors. GPS makes corrections for receiver clock errors and other effects, but some residual errors remain uncorrected. Error sources include signal arrival time measurements, numerical calculations, atmospheric effects (ionospheric/tropospheric delays), ephemeris and clock data, multipath signals, and natural and artificial interference. Magnitude of residual errors from these sources depends on geometric dilution of precision. Artificial errors may result from jamming devices and threaten ships and aircraft or from intentional signal degradation through selective availability, which limited accuracy to ≈ 6–12 m (20–40 ft), but has been switched off since May 1, 2000.
== Accuracy enhancement and surveying ==
== Regulatory spectrum issues concerning GPS receivers ==
In the United States, GPS receivers are regulated under the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Part 15 rules. As indicated in the manuals of GPS-enabled devices sold in the United States, as a Part 15 device, it "must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation". With respect to GPS devices in particular, the FCC states that GPS receiver manufacturers "must use receivers that reasonably discriminate against reception of signals outside their allocated spectrum". For the last 30 years, GPS receivers have operated next to the Mobile Satellite Service band, and have discriminated against reception of mobile satellite services, such as Inmarsat, without any issue.
The spectrum allocated for GPS L1 use by the FCC is 1559 to 1610 MHz, while the spectrum allocated for satellite-to-ground use owned by LightSquared is the Mobile Satellite Service band. Since 1996, the FCC has authorized licensed use of the spectrum neighboring the GPS band of 1525 to 1559 MHz to the Virginia company LightSquared. On March 1, 2001, the FCC received an application from LightSquared's predecessor, Motient Services, to use their allocated frequencies for an integrated satellite-terrestrial service. In 2002, the U.S. GPS Industry Council came to an out-of-band-emissions (OOBE) agreement with LightSquared to prevent transmissions from LightSquared's ground-based stations from emitting transmissions into the neighboring GPS band of 1559 to 1610 MHz. In 2004, the FCC adopted the OOBE agreement in its authorization for LightSquared to deploy a ground-based network ancillary to their satellite system – known as the Ancillary Tower Components (ATCs) – "We will authorize MSS ATC subject to conditions that ensure that the added terrestrial component remains ancillary to the principal MSS offering. We do not intend, nor will we permit, the terrestrial component to become a stand-alone service." This authorization was reviewed and approved by the U.S. Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee, which includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Department of the Interior, and U.S. Department of Transportation.
In January 2011, the FCC conditionally authorized LightSquared's wholesale customers—such as Best Buy, Sharp, and C Spire—to only purchase an integrated satellite-ground-based service from LightSquared and re-sell that integrated service on devices that are equipped to only use the ground-based signal using LightSquared's allocated frequencies of 1525 to 1559 MHz. In December 2010, GPS receiver manufacturers expressed concerns to the FCC that LightSquared's signal would interfere with GPS receiver devices although the FCC's policy considerations leading up to the January 2011 order did not pertain to any proposed changes to the maximum number of ground-based LightSquared stations or the maximum power at which these stations could operate. The January 2011 order makes final authorization contingent upon studies of GPS interference issues carried out by a LightSquared led working group along with GPS industry and Federal agency participation. On February 14, 2012, the FCC initiated proceedings to vacate LightSquared's Conditional Waiver Order based on the NTIA's conclusion that there was currently no practical way to mitigate potential GPS interference.
GPS receiver manufacturers design GPS receivers to use spectrum beyond the GPS-allocated band. In some cases, GPS receivers are designed to use up to 400 MHz of spectrum in either direction of the L1 frequency of 1575.42 MHz, because mobile satellite services in those regions are broadcasting from space to ground, and at power levels commensurate with mobile satellite services. As regulated under the FCC's Part 15 rules, GPS receivers are not warranted protection from signals outside GPS-allocated spectrum. This is why GPS operates next to the Mobile Satellite Service band, and also why the Mobile Satellite Service band operates next to GPS. The symbiotic relationship of spectrum allocation ensures that users of both bands are able to operate cooperatively and freely.
The FCC adopted rules in February 2003 that allowed Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) licensees such as LightSquared to construct a small number of ancillary ground-based towers in their licensed spectrum to "promote more efficient use of terrestrial wireless spectrum". In those 2003 rules, the FCC stated: "As a preliminary matter, terrestrial [Commercial Mobile Radio Service ('CMRS')] and MSS ATC are expected to have different prices, coverage, product acceptance and distribution; therefore, the two services appear, at best, to be imperfect substitutes for one another that would be operating in predominantly different market segments ... MSS ATC is unlikely to compete directly with terrestrial CMRS for the same customer base...". In 2004, the FCC clarified that the ground-based towers would be ancillary, noting: "We will authorize MSS ATC subject to conditions that ensure that the added terrestrial component remains ancillary to the principal MSS offering. We do not intend, nor will we permit, the terrestrial component to become a stand-alone service." In July 2010, the FCC stated that it expected LightSquared to use its authority to offer an integrated satellite-terrestrial service to "provide mobile broadband services similar to those provided by terrestrial mobile providers and enhance competition in the mobile broadband sector". GPS receiver manufacturers have argued that LightSquared's licensed spectrum of 1525 to 1559 MHz was never envisioned as being used for high-speed wireless broadband based on the 2003 and 2004 FCC ATC rulings making clear that the Ancillary Tower Component (ATC) would be, in fact, ancillary to the primary satellite component. To build public support of efforts to continue the 2004 FCC authorization of LightSquared's ancillary terrestrial component vs. a simple ground-based LTE service in the Mobile Satellite Service band, GPS receiver manufacturer Trimble Navigation Ltd. formed the "Coalition To Save Our GPS".
The FCC and LightSquared have each made public commitments to solve the GPS interference issue before the network is allowed to operate. According to Chris Dancy of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, airline pilots with the type of systems that would be affected "may go off course and not even realize it". The problems could also affect the Federal Aviation Administration upgrade to the air traffic control system, United States Defense Department guidance, and local emergency services including 911.
On February 14, 2012, the FCC moved to bar LightSquared's planned national broadband network after being informed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the federal agency that coordinates spectrum uses for the military and other federal government entities, that "there is no practical way to mitigate potential interference at this time". LightSquared is challenging the FCC's action.
== Similar systems ==
Following the United States's deployment of GPS, other countries have also developed their own satellite navigation systems. These systems include:
The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) was developed at the same time as GPS, but suffered from incomplete coverage of the globe until the mid-2000s. GLONASS reception in addition to GPS can be combined in a receiver thereby allowing for additional satellites available to enable faster position fixes and improved accuracy, to within two meters (6.6 ft). In October 2011, the full orbital constellation of 24 satellites enabled full global coverage. The GLONASS satellites' designs have undergone several upgrades, with the latest version, GLONASS-K2, launched in 2023.
China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System began global services in 2018 and finished its full deployment in 2020. It consists of satellites in three different orbits, including 24 satellites in medium-circle orbits (covering the world), 3 satellites in inclined geosynchronous orbits (covering the Asia-Pacific region), and 3 satellites in geostationary orbits (covering China).
The Galileo navigation satellite system, a global system being developed by the European Union and other partner countries, began operation in 2016, and has been fully deployed by 2020. In November 2018, the FCC approved use of Galileo in the US. As of September 2024, there are 25 launched satellites that operate in the constellation. It is expected that the next generation of satellites will begin to become operational after 2026 to replace the first generation, which can then be used for backup capabilities.
Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) is a GPS satellite-based augmentation system to enhance GPS's accuracy in Asia-Oceania, with satellite navigation independent of GPS scheduled for 2023.
The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (Operational name 'NavIC', Navigation with Indian Constellation), deployed by India.
== Backup system ==
In the event of adverse space weather or the deployment of an anti-satellite weapon against GPS, the United States has no terrestrial backup system. The potential cost of such an event to the U.S. economy is estimated at $1 billion per day. The LORAN-C system was turned off in North America in 2010 and Europe in 2015. eLoran is proposed as an American terrestrial backup system, but as of 2024 has not received approval or funding.
China continues to operate LORAN-C transmitters, and Russia has a similar system called CHAYKA ("Seagull").
== See also ==
== Notes ==
== References ==
== Further reading ==
"NAVSTAR GPS User Equipment Introduction" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. September 1996. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
Parkinson; Spilker (1996). The global positioning system. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ISBN 978-1-56347-106-3.
Mendizabal, Jaizki; Berenguer, Roc; Melendez, Juan (2009). GPS and Galileo. McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-159869-9.
Bowditch, Nathaniel (2002). The American Practical Navigator – Chapter 11 Satellite Navigation . United States government.
Global Positioning System. Open Courseware from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012.
Milner, Greg (2016). Pinpoint: How GPS is Changing Technology, Culture, and Our Minds. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-08912-7.
== External links ==
FAA GPS FAQ
GPS.gov – General public education website created by the U.S. Government |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_McClurkin#:~:text=McClurkin%20has%20a%20son%2C%20Matthew,new%20jack%20swing%20group%20Abstrac. | Donnie McClurkin | Donald Andrew McClurkin Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel singer and minister. He has won three Grammy Awards, ten Stellar Awards, two BET Awards, two Soul Train Awards, one Dove Award and one NAACP Image Awards. He is one of the top selling gospel artists, selling over 13 million albums. Variety dubbed McClurkin as a "Reigning King of Urban Gospel".
== Early life ==
McClurkin was born in Copiague, New York. When he was eight years old, his two-year-old brother was hit and killed by a speeding driver, which generated family turmoil. Shortly thereafter, McClurkin was a victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of his great uncle and, years later, by his great uncle's son. Two of his sisters dealt with substance abuse, and that's when the young McClurkin found solace in going to church and also through an aunt who sang background vocals with gospel musician Andraé Crouch.
By the time he was a teenager, he had formed the McClurkin Singers and later formed the New York Restoration Choir, with recordings as early as 1975. He released three albums with the New York Restoration Choir before departing to launch a solo career.
== Ministry ==
He was hired as an associate minister at Marvin Winans' Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan, in 1989. McClurkin served as an assistant to Winans for over a decade.
In 1991, a sharp pain and swelling, followed by internal bleeding, led, he says, to his diagnosis with leukemia. The doctor recommended immediate treatment, but McClurkin, who was then 31, decided instead to take his own advice. "I tell people to believe that God will save you," he says, "[and] I had to turn around and practice the very thing that I preached."
He was ordained and sent out by Marvin Winans in 2001 to establish Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport, New York, where he is senior pastor.
== Music ==
A friendship with a Warner Alliance executive resulted in his signing to the label for his 1996 self-titled LP, with producers Bill Maxwell, Mark Kibble of Take 6, Cedric and Victor Caldwell plus Andraé Crouch. The disc, which featured the perennially popular "Stand," went gold shortly after being publicly lauded by Oprah Winfrey. At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, he won in the category Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for "Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs." McClurkin is best known for his hit songs "Stand" and "We Fall Down," which were played in heavy rotation on both Gospel and Urban radio. His three solo albums have topped the Billboard Charts
Dovetailing off the success of his near double platinum selling album, "Live in London and More," McClurkin released "Psalms,Hymns and Spiritual Songs" in 2005 and "We All Are One: Live In Detroit" in 2009, which also topped Billboard charts across various musical genres.
In 2014, McClurkin released "Duets" a collaborative album that features artists like Mary Mary’s Erica and Tina Campbell, Fred Hammond, John P. Kee, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Tramaine Hawkins, Israel Houghton and Tye Tribbett. The album debuted at No. 45 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on the Gospel Billboard charts. This was followed by his 2016 album, "The Journey," which debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. It marked his seventh solo release and features live performances of some of his classics like “Speak to My Heart,” "Great Is Your Mercy," "Stand," and “That’s What I Believe.” His last recorded album is "A Different Song", which was released in 2019 and debuted at No. 2 on the Gospel Billboard charts.
McClurkin's love for people and desire to share gospel music globally is the reason he includes a language medley—Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and Dutch — in most live performances.
== Radio and television ==
Tom Versen and Tony Sisti of T&T Creative signed McClurkin to a radio syndication deal with advertising giant Dial Global Local and syndicator Gary Bernstein. T&T Creative provided a mobile recording studio in Pastor Donnie's church that he can also take on the road. He is quoted as saying, "As much as I love music and singing, I really love doing radio and the direct feedback I get from my listeners all over the country. I never thought I would be having this much fun doing radio, and I could touch and impact so many beautiful people."[19]
In 2009, he also broadcast his own television series, Perfecting Your Faith, on cable television. His television appearances include Good Morning America, CBS’s The Early Show, The View, Girlfriends and The Parkers. He has also been featured in such films as The Gospel and The Fighting Temptations. He played a Single man or a church pastor.
== Personal life ==
McClurkin, in 2002, told a Christian website that, due to sexual abuse and porn, he had struggled with homosexuality. "McClurkin believes he "turned" gay because of childhood molestation and traumatic exposure to pornography but was able to reverse his orientation through "will and prayer." He also said that he had rejected that "lifestyle": "I’ve been through this and have experienced God’s power to change my lifestyle. I am delivered, and I know God can deliver others, too."
McClurkin's listing as a headlining performer for then-Senator Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign stirred controversy because of his views on homosexuality. As a result, McClurkin was removed from the performance roster but he still performed at one of the concerts. In August 2013, McClurkin was disinvited from the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom as his ex-gay status was seen as disruptive. In 2015 he spoke out against same-sex marriage in response to the U.S. Supreme Court making it legal nationwide.
McClurkin has a son, Matthew, born in 2000. McClurkin is also related to singer Marsha McClurkin of the short-lived new jack swing group Abstrac.
In 2018, McClurkin survived a serious road accident after he lost consciousness while driving.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
=== Live albums ===
=== Compilations ===
=== Singles ===
==== As a lead artist ====
==== As a featured artist ====
== Videography ==
Live in London and More... (VHS) (2001)
Again (VHS) (2004)
Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs (VHS) (2005)
Music Videos
"Stand"
"We Fall Down"
"The Prayer" (with Yolanda Adams)
"Ooh Child" (with Kirk Franklin)
"I Need You"
== Filmography ==
Film
1998: The Prince of Egypt (wrote and sang "I Am" & "Humanity")
2003: The Fighting Temptations
2004: Apollo at 70: A Hot Night in Harlem
2004: The Donnie McClurkin Story: From Darkness to Light
2005: The Gospel
Television
2001: Girlfriends (TV show)- Season 2 Ep 7 “Trick or Truth”
2002: The Parkers (TV show)- Season 3 Ep 16 “Make a Joyful Noise”
2002: 17th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards – co-host
2004: 19th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards – co-host
2005: 20th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards – co-host
2006: 21st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards – co-host
2006: An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Stevie Wonder (documentary)
2009: 24th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards – co-host
2010–15: BET's Sunday Best – judge
2010: 25th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards – host
== Awards and nominations ==
=== BET Awards ===
The BET Awards are awarded annually by the Black Entertainment Television network. McClurkin has received 2 awards from 5 nominations.
=== Dove Awards ===
The Dove Awards are awarded annually by the Gospel Music Association. McClurkin has won 4 awards from 13 nominations.
=== Grammy Awards ===
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. McClutkin has won 3 awards from 5 nominations.
=== Soul Train Awards ===
The Soul Train Music Awards are awarded annually. McClurkin has received 2 awards from 5 nominations.
=== Stellar Awards ===
The Stellar Awards are awarded annually by SAGMA. McClurkin has received 12 awards from 24 nominations.
=== Miscellaneous honors ===
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
The Donnie McClurkin Show: radio broadcast
Exclusive Interview on BlackGospel.com (October 2008): Interview
Música de Donnie McClurkin |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henriette_Wienecke#Biography | Henriette Wienecke | Sigrid Ingeborg Henriette Wienecke née Stadfeldt ( March 13, 1819 – April 18, 1907) was a Norwegian-Danish composer. She produced over 140 psalms and musical pieces.
== Biography ==
Wienecke was born in Frederikshald, Norway to Asgeir Johnson Stadfeldt (1786-1831) and Anna Bruun Tordenskjold (1781-1848).
Wienecke moved to Oslo with her mother after the death of her father, and in 1834 married her singing teacher, Friedrich Ferdinand Wienecke (1809-1877), who was employed by the Christiania Theater; the couple had one daughter, who died as an infant. Wienecke wanted to become an actress, but her husband did not consider it suitable for a person of her social class. She did, however, take piano lessons. The couple moved, with her mother, to Copenhagen in 1839, where both Friedrich and Henriette unsuccessfully tried to get jobs at the Royal Theater. In 1840, she moved permanently to Copenhagen with her mother and husband.
In 1848, after having lost her mother, she retired from social life, had a religious conversion, and started to compose psalms, and songs based on texts by Hans Christian Andersen and others. She and her husband became followers of N.F.S. Grundtvig and Nicolai Gottlieb Blædel (1816-1879), and hosted bible studies and religious concerts in their home.
She died at Gentofte, Denmark.
== Works ==
=== Theatre ===
Fader Vor (Our Father; text by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock; music by Wienecke)
== Vocal ==
Aftensang (Evening Song)
Arne's Song (text by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson; music by Wienecke)
Compositions for Voice and Piano (2 Volumes containing134 songs)
Dannebrogslied (Flag of Denmark Song)
De Tvende Draaker (The Second Dragon)
God, My God
Gud Tilgive Dig (God Forgive You)
Hvidtfeld
Koenig Christian
Maria Magdalene (text by H. H. Nyegaard; music by Wienecke)
Min Lille Fugl (My Little Bird)
Se Jeg Vil Sende Min Engel (I Will Send My Angel)
Sorg (Grief; text by P. E. Benzon; music by Wienecke)
To Psalmer (Psalms; arranged for 4 voices and for voice and piano)
Tre Psalmer (Three Hymns)
Vinterfuglen (Winter Bird)
== References ==
This article was initially translated from the Danish Wikipedia. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Burlando | Claudio Burlando | Claudio Burlando (born 27 April 1954, in Genoa) is an Italian politician, and was President of Liguria, until 31 March 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and a former Democrats of the Left member.
== Career ==
After graduating with a degree in electronic engineering, in the eighties he worked as a researcher for the company Elsag-Bailey. He became interested in politics from a young age, adhering to the Italian Communist Party with which he took his first steps in politics and he held the first public office, becoming secretary of the federation Genoese party from 1989 to 1990.
He later joined the Democratic Party of the Left, with which he was elected to Parliament and has held the position of national coordinator of local authorities (1994-1996) and the Democrats of the Left, of which he was chief economist from 1998 to 2000. With the Communist Party, he became councilor (1981-1993) and Commissioner for Transport (1983-1985). He was deputy mayor of Genoa (1990-1992, during the tenure of Romano Merlo). From 3 December 1992 to 19 May 1993 he was Mayor of Genoa.
In 1996 he was elected Member of the PDS and in the same year, appointed by Romano Prodi as Minister of Transport and Navigation. Two years after, Massimo D'Alema appointed him a member of the budget committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
On 14 October 2007 he was elected to the Constituent National Democratic Party, a political project in which he personally participated since its first design and was a member of the committee that drafted the Manifesto of Values.
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website Archived 23 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
Profile at Italian Chamber of Deputies |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Kesey | Ken Kesey | Kenneth Elton Kesey (; September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s.
Kesey was born in La Junta, Colorado, and grew up in Springfield, Oregon, graduating from the University of Oregon in 1957. He began writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1960 after completing a graduate fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University; the novel was an immediate commercial and critical success when published two years later. During this period, Kesey was used by the CIA (supposedly without his knowledge) in the Project MKULTRA involving hallucinogenic drugs (including mescaline and LSD), which was done to try to make people insane to put them under the control of interrogators.
After One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was published, Kesey moved to nearby La Honda, California, and began hosting "happenings" with former colleagues from Stanford, bohemian and literary figures including Neal Cassady and other friends, who became collectively known as the Merry Pranksters. As documented in Tom Wolfe's 1968 New Journalism book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, some of the parties were promoted to the public as Acid Tests, and integrated the consumption of LSD with multimedia performances. He mentored the Grateful Dead, who were the Acid Tests' house band, and continued to exert a profound influence upon the group throughout their career.
Kesey's second novel, Sometimes a Great Notion, was a commercial success that polarized some critics and readers upon its release in 1964. An epic account of the vicissitudes of an Oregon logging family that aspired to the modernist grandeur of William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha saga, Kesey regarded it as his magnum opus.
In 1965, after being arrested for marijuana possession and faking suicide, Kesey was imprisoned for five months. Shortly thereafter, he returned home to the Willamette Valley and settled in Pleasant Hill, Oregon, where he maintained a secluded, family-oriented lifestyle for the rest of his life. In addition to teaching at the University of Oregon—an experience that culminated in Caverns (1989), a collaborative novel by Kesey and his graduate workshop students under the pseudonym "O.U. Levon"—he continued to regularly contribute fiction and reportage to such publications as Esquire, Rolling Stone, Oui, Running, and The Whole Earth Catalog; various iterations of these pieces were collected in Kesey's Garage Sale (1973) and Demon Box (1986).
Between 1974 and 1980, Kesey published six issues of Spit in the Ocean, a literary magazine that featured excerpts from an unfinished novel (Seven Prayers by Grandma Whittier, an account of Kesey's grandmother's struggle with Alzheimer's disease) and contributions from writers including Margo St. James, Kate Millett, Stewart Brand, Saul-Paul Sirag, Jack Sarfatti, Paul Krassner and William S. Burroughs. After a third novel (Sailor Song) was released to lukewarm reviews in 1992, he reunited with the Merry Pranksters and began publishing works on the Internet until ill health (including a stroke) curtailed his activities.
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Kesey was born in 1935 in La Junta, Colorado, to dairy farmers Geneva (née Smith) and Frederick A. Kesey. When Kesey was 10 years old, the family moved to Springfield, Oregon in 1946. Kesey was a champion wrestler in high school and college in the 174-pound (79 kg) weight division. During high school, Kesey almost qualified to be on the Olympic team; however, a serious shoulder injury halted his wrestling career. He graduated from Springfield High School in 1953. An avid reader and filmgoer, the young Kesey took John Wayne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Zane Grey as his role models (later naming a son Zane) and toyed with magic, ventriloquism and hypnotism.
While attending the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication in neighboring Eugene in 1956, Kesey eloped with his high-school sweetheart, Oregon State College student Norma "Faye" Haxby, whom he had met in seventh grade. According to Kesey, "Without Faye, I would have been swept overboard by notoriety and weird, dope-fueled ideas and flower-child girls with beamy eyes and bulbous breasts." Married until his death, they had three children: Jed, Zane and Shannon. Additionally, with Faye's approval, Kesey fathered a daughter, Sunshine Kesey, with fellow Merry Prankster Carolyn "Mountain Girl" Adams. Born in 1966, Sunshine was raised by Adams and her stepfather, Jerry Garcia.
Kesey had a football scholarship for his first year, but switched to the University of Oregon wrestling team as a better fit for his build. After posting a .885 winning percentage in the 1956–57 season, he received the Fred Low Scholarship for outstanding Northwest wrestler. In 1957, Kesey was second in his weight class at the Pacific Coast intercollegiate competition. He remains in the top 10 of Oregon Wrestling's all-time winning percentage.
A member of Beta Theta Pi throughout his studies, Kesey graduated from the University of Oregon with a BA in speech and communication in 1957. Increasingly disengaged by the playwriting and screenwriting courses that comprised much of his major, he began to take literature classes in the second half of his collegiate career with James B. Hall, a cosmopolitan alumnus of the Iowa Writers' Workshop who had previously taught at Cornell University and later served as provost of College V at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Hall took on Kesey as his protégé and cultivated his interest in literary fiction, introducing Kesey (whose reading interests were hitherto confined to science fiction) to the works of Ernest Hemingway and other paragons of literary modernism. After the last of several brief summer sojourns as a struggling actor in Los Angeles, Kesey published his first short story ("First Sunday of September") in the Northwest Review and successfully applied to the highly selective Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship for the 1958–59 academic year.
Unbeknownst to Kesey, who applied at Hall's request, the maverick literary critic Leslie Fiedler (then based at the University of Montana) successfully importuned the regional fellowship committee to select the "rough-hewn" Kesey alongside more traditional fellows from Reed College and other elite institutions. Because he lacked the prerequisites to work toward a traditional master's degree in English as a communications major, Kesey elected to enroll in the non-degree program at Stanford University's Creative Writing Center that fall. While studying and working in the Stanford milieu over the next five years, most of them spent as a resident of Perry Lane (a historically bohemian enclave next to the university golf course), he developed intimate lifelong friendships with fellow writers Ken Babbs, Larry McMurtry, Wendell Berry, Ed McClanahan, Gurney Norman and Robert Stone.
During his initial fellowship year, Kesey frequently clashed with center director Wallace Stegner, who regarded him as "a sort of highly talented illiterate" and rejected Kesey's application for a departmental Stegner Fellowship before permitting his attendance as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. Reinforcing these perceptions, Stegner's deputy Richard Scowcroft later recalled that "neither Wally nor I thought he had a particularly important talent." According to Stone, Stegner "saw Kesey... as a threat to civilization and intellectualism and sobriety" and continued to reject Kesey's Stegner Fellowship applications for the 1959–60 and 1960–61 terms.
Nevertheless, Kesey received the prestigious $2,000 Harper-Saxton Prize for his first novel in progress (the oft-rejected Zoo) and audited the graduate writing seminar—a courtesy nominally accorded to former Stegner Fellows, although Kesey only secured his place by falsely claiming to Scowcroft that his colleague (on sabbatical through 1960) "had said that he could attend classes for free"—through the 1960–61 term. The course was initially taught that year by Viking Press editorial consultant and Lost Generation eminence grise Malcolm Cowley, who was "always glad to see" Kesey and fellow auditor Tillie Olsen. Cowley was succeeded the following quarter by the Irish short-story specialist Frank O'Connor; frequent spats between O'Connor and Kesey ultimately precipitated his departure from the class. While under Cowley's tutelage, he began to draft and workshop a manuscript that evolved into One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Reflecting upon this period in a 1999 interview with Robert K. Elder, Kesey recalled, "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a hippie."
=== Experimentation with psychedelic drugs ===
At the invitation of Perry Lane neighbor and Stanford psychology graduate student Vic Lovell, Kesey was tricked into volunteering to take part in what turned out to be a CIA-financed study under the aegis of Project MKULTRA, a highly secret military program, at the Menlo Park Veterans' Hospital, where he worked as a night aide. The project studied the effects of hallucinogens and other psychoactive drugs, particularly LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, cocaine, AMT, and DMT. Kesey wrote many detailed accounts of his experiences with these drugs, both during the study and in the years of private drug use that followed.
Kesey's role as a medical guinea pig, as well as his stint working at the Veterans' Administration hospital, inspired One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The book's success, as well as the demolition of the Perry Lane cabins in August 1963, allowed him to move to a log house in La Honda, California, a rustic hamlet in the Santa Cruz Mountains 15 miles southwest of Stanford University. He frequently entertained friends and many others with parties he called "Acid Tests", involving music (including Kesey's favorite band, the Grateful Dead), black lights, fluorescent paint, strobe lights, LSD, and other psychedelic effects. These parties were described in some of Allen Ginsberg's poems and served as the basis for Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, an early exemplar of the nonfiction novel. Other firsthand accounts of the Acid Tests appear in Living with the Dead by Rock Scully and David Dalton, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs by Hunter S. Thompson and the 1967 Hells Angels memoir Freewheelin Frank: Secretary of the Angels (Frank Reynolds; ghostwritten by Michael McClure).
=== One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ===
While enrolled at the University of Oregon in 1957, Kesey wrote End of Autumn; according to Rick Dogson, the novel "focused on the exploitation of college athletes by telling the tale of a football lineman who was having second thoughts about the game". Kesey came to regard the unpublished work as juvenilia, but an excerpt served as his Stanford Creative Writing Center application sample.
During his Woodrow Wilson Fellowship year, Kesey wrote Zoo, a novel about beatniks living in the North Beach community of San Francisco, but it was never published.
The inspiration for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest came while Kesey was working the night shift with Gordon Lish at the Menlo Park Veterans' Hospital. There, Kesey often spent time talking to the patients, sometimes under the influence of the hallucinogenic drugs he had volunteered to experiment with. He did not believe these patients were insane, but rather that society had pushed them out because they did not fit conventional ideas of how people were supposed to act and behave. Published under Cowley's guidance in 1962, the novel was an immediate success; in 1963, it was adapted into a successful stage play by Dale Wasserman, and in 1975, Miloš Forman directed a screen adaptation, which won the "Big Five" Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), Best Director (Forman) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman).
Kesey originally was involved in the film, but left two weeks into production. He claimed never to have seen the movie because of a dispute over the $20,000 he was initially paid for the film rights. Kesey loathed that, unlike the book, the film was not narrated by Chief Bromden, and he disagreed with Jack Nicholson's casting as Randle McMurphy (he wanted Gene Hackman). Despite this, Faye Kesey has said that her husband was generally supportive of the film and pleased that it was made.
=== Merry Pranksters ===
When the 1964 publication of his second novel, Sometimes a Great Notion, required his presence in New York, Kesey, Neal Cassady, and others in a group of friends they called the Merry Pranksters took a cross-country trip in a school bus nicknamed Furthur. This trip, described in Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (and later in Kesey's unproduced screenplay, The Furthur Inquiry), was the group's attempt to create art out of everyday life and to experience roadway America while high on LSD. In an interview after arriving in New York, Kesey said, "The sense of communication in this country has damn near atrophied. But we found as we went along it got easier to make contact with people. If people could just understand it is possible to be different without being a threat." A huge amount of footage was filmed on 16 mm film during the trip, which remained largely unseen until the release of Alex Gibney and Alison Elwood's 2011 film Magic Trip.
After the bus trip, the Pranksters threw parties they called Acid Tests around the San Francisco Bay Area from 1965 to 1966. Many of the Pranksters lived at Kesey's residence in La Honda. In New York, Cassady introduced Kesey to Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, who turned them on to Timothy Leary. Sometimes a Great Notion inspired a 1970 film starring and directed by Paul Newman; it was nominated for two Academy Awards, and in 1972 was the first film shown by the new television network HBO, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
In 1965, Kesey was arrested in La Honda for marijuana possession. In an attempt to mislead police, he faked suicide by having friends leave his truck on a cliffside road near Eureka, along with an elaborate suicide note written by the Pranksters. Kesey fled to Mexico in the back of a friend's car. He returned to the U.S. eight months later. On January 17, 1966, Kesey was sentenced to six months at the San Mateo County jail in Redwood City, California. Two nights later, he was arrested again, this time with Carolyn Adams, while smoking marijuana on the rooftop of Stewart Brand's Telegraph Hill home in San Francisco. On his release, he moved back to the family farm in Pleasant Hill, Oregon, in the Willamette Valley, where he spent the rest of his life. He wrote many articles, books (mostly collections of his articles), and short stories during that time.
=== Death of son ===
On January 23, 1984, Kesey's 20-year-old son Jed, a wrestler for the University of Oregon, suffered severe head injuries on the way to Pullman, Washington, when the team's loaned van crashed after sliding off an icy highway. Two days later at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, he was declared brain dead and his parents gave permission for his organs to be donated.
Jed's death deeply affected Kesey, who later called Jed a victim of policies that had starved the team of funding. He wrote to Senator Mark Hatfield: And I began to get mad, Senator. I had finally found where the blame must be laid: that the money we are spending for national defense is not defending us from the villains real and near, the awful villains of ignorance, and cancer, and heart disease and highway death. How many school buses could be outfitted with seatbelts with the money spent for one of those 16-inch shells?
At a Grateful Dead concert soon after the death of promoter Bill Graham, Kesey delivered a eulogy, mentioning that Graham had donated $1,000 toward a memorial to Jed atop Mount Pisgah, near the Kesey home in Pleasant Hill. In 1988, Kesey donated $33,395 toward the purchase of a proper bus for the school's wrestling team.
=== Final years ===
Kesey was diagnosed with diabetes in 1992. In 1994, he toured with members of the Merry Pranksters, performing a musical play he wrote about the millennium called Twister: A Ritual Reality. Many old and new friends and family showed up to support the Pranksters on this tour, which took them from Seattle's Bumbershoot all along the West Coast, including a sold-out two-night run at The Fillmore in San Francisco to Boulder, Colorado, where they coaxed the Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg into performing with them.
Kesey mainly kept to his home life in Pleasant Hill, preferring to make artistic contributions on the Internet or holding ritualistic revivals in the spirit of the Acid Test. In the Grateful Dead DVD The Closing of Winterland (2003) documenting the New Year's 1978/1979 concert at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, Kesey is featured in a between-set interview.
On August 14, 1997, Kesey and his Pranksters attended a Phish concert in Darien Lake, New York. Kesey and the Pranksters appeared onstage with the band and performed a dance-trance-jam session involving several characters from The Wizard of Oz and Frankenstein.
In June 2001, Kesey was the keynote speaker at The Evergreen State College's commencement ceremony. His last major work was an essay for Rolling Stone magazine calling for peace in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
=== Death ===
In 1997, health problems began to weaken Kesey, starting with a stroke that year. On October 25, 2001, Kesey had surgery at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene on his liver to remove a tumor; he did not recover and died of complications several weeks later on November 10 at age 66. After a public service in Eugene, his body was brought back to his farm and buried next to his son Jed.
=== Legacy ===
The film Gerry (2002) is dedicated to Kesey.
Kesey Square is in downtown Eugene, Oregon.
== Works ==
This is a selected list of Kesey's better-known works.
Kesey, Ken (1962). One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. New York: Viking Press. OCLC 895037361.ISBN 978-0-451-16396-7.
Kesey, Ken (1964). Sometimes a Great Notion : a novel. New York: Penguin Books. OCLC 813638027. ISBN 978-0-14-004529-1.
Kesey, Ken (1973). Kesey's Garage Sale. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-670-41268-6. OCLC 899072134. A collection of essays
Kesey, Ken (1986). Demon Box. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-008530-3. OCLC 911911149. A collection of essays and short stories
Levon, O. U. (1990). Caverns : a novel. Introduction by Ken Kesey. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-012208-4. OCLC 20131987. "O.U. Levon" spelled backwards produces "novel U.O" This book was jointly written by a creative writing class taught by Kesey at the University of Oregon (U.O.).
Kesey, Ken (1990). The Further Inquiry. photographs by Ron Bevirt. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-83174-6. OCLC 20758816. A play / photographic record
Kesey, Ken (1990). Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear. illustrated by Barry Moser. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-81136-6. OCLC 21339755. A children's book
Kesey, Ken (1992). Sailor Song. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-83521-8. OCLC 25411564. A novel
Kesey, Ken; Babbs, Ken (1994). Last Go Round. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-84883-6. OCLC 28548975. A Western genre novel
Kesey, Ken; Babbs, Ken (1994). Twister: A Ritual Reality in Three-Quarters Plus Overtime if Necessary. OCLC 74813266, 39040348. A play
Kesey, Ken (2003). Kesey's Jail Journal : Cut the M************ Loose. Introduction by Ed McClanahan. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-87693-8. OCLC 52134654. An expansion of the 1967 journals that Kesey kept while incarcerated.
== See also ==
Summer of Love
Wavy Gravy
== Footnotes ==
== Further reading ==
Ronald Gregg Billingsley, The Artistry of Ken Kesey. PhD dissertation. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon, 1971.
Dedria Bryfonski, Mental illness in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010.
Rick Dodgson, It's All Kind of Magic: The Young Ken Kesey. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2013.
Robert Faggen, "Ken Kesey, The Art of Fiction No. 136", The Paris Review, Spring 1994.
Barry H. Leeds, Ken Kesey. New York: F. Ungar Publishing Co., 1981.
Dennis McNally, A Long Strange Trip: the Inside History of the Grateful Dead. Broadway Books, 2002.
Tim Owen, "Remembering Ken Kesey", Cosmik Debris Magazine, November 10, 2001.
M. Gilbert Porter, The Art of Grit: Ken Kesey's Fiction. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1982.
Elaine B Safer, The contemporary American Comic Epic: The Novels of Barth, Pynchon, Gaddis, and Kesey. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1988.
Peter Swirski, "You're Not in Canada until You Can Hear the Loons Crying; or, Voting, People's Power and Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest", in Swirski, American Utopia and Social Engineering in Literature, Social Thought, and Political History. New York: Routledge, 2011.
Stephen L. Tanner, Ken Kesey. Boston, MA: Twayne, 1983.
== External links ==
Works by Ken Kesey at Open Library
Bruce Carnes, Ken Kesey Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Western Writers Series Digital Editions at Boise State University
Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters
Ken Kesey at Find a Grave
Article on Ken Kesey lecture at Virginia Commonwealth University, Feb. 20, 1990
Ken Kesey Archived July 7, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Documentary produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting
Chip Brown, "Ken Kesey Kisses No Ass" Esquire Magazine; September 1992
Ken Kesey On Misconceptions Of Counterculture, NPR's Fresh Air; August 12, 2011
Ken Kesey papers at the University of Oregon
"The Time I Snuck Into Ken Kesey's Fiction Class" (Lidia Yuknavitch,2017) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawnee_Slopes,_Calgary#:~:text=In%20the%20City%20of%20Calgary%27s%202012%20municipal%20census%2C%20Shawnee%20Slopes%20had%20a%20population%20of%201%2C565 | Shawnee Slopes, Calgary | Shawnee Slopes is a residential neighbourhood in the southwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is bounded to the south by James McKevitt Road, to the east by Macleod Trail, to the north by Fish Creek Provincial Park and to the west by Evergreen Street SW.
It was named for the Shawnee native people. Shawnee Slopes is represented in the Calgary City Council by the Ward 13 councillors.
== Shawnee Slopes Golf Course ==
The Shawnee Slopes Golf Course was developed in the center of the community and was primary amenity for residents and the general public. On 13 June 2011, it was announced that the golf course would permanently close to the public on 2 October 2011. In February 2013, the city council approved the redevelopment of the golf course lands to add 1,400 homes to the community. This community is closely connected with the first-built, the northern section of the neighbouring Evergreen community. Shawnee and this part of Evergreen share the same community association, while the rest of Evergreen is independent.
== Demographics ==
In the City of Calgary's 2012 municipal census, Shawnee Slopes had a population of 1,565 living in 866 dwellings, a 2.4% increase from its 2011 population of 1,529. With a land area of 1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,300/km2 (3,380/sq mi) in 2012.
Residents had a median household income of $106,379 in 2005, with 3.4% of the residents living in low income households. In 2006, 26.9% of residents were immigrants. 12.9% of the buildings were condominiums or apartments and 1.6% of the housing was used for renting.
== Crime ==
== See also ==
List of neighbourhoods in Calgary
== References ==
== External links ==
Shawnee Slopes-Evergreen Community news
Shawnee Slopes-Evergreen Community Association
Shawnee Park Development |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Jude%27s_Church,_Birmingham | St Jude's Church, Birmingham | St Jude's Church, Birmingham was a parish church in the Church of England in Birmingham.
== History ==
The parish was formed in August 1846 from parts of the parishes of St Martin in the Bull Ring and St Philip's. Building of the church started in Hill Street in 1850 when Henry Pepys, Bishop of Worcester laid the foundation stone on 14 August. He subsequently consecrated the church on 26 July 1851. The building was of brick in the Early English style designed by Orford and Nash, consisting of a chancel, nave and aisles.
In 1861, the church opened St Jude's Schools, also on Hill Street.
A restoration project was undertaken in 1879.
In 1905, the Society of the Precious Blood was started when Mother Millicent Mary SPB (formerly Millicent Taylor) took her vows in the church.
Depopulation of the city centre resulted in declining attendance. The church eventually closed and was subsequently demolished in 1971. The site on Hill Street is now occupied by the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre, built in 1975.
== Organ ==
The church was equipped with a pipe organ by Edward James Bossward dating from 1867. It was opened on 19 May 1867 and had 13 stops. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
For over 40 years, until the church closed in 1971, the organist was Lawrence Briggs, grandfather of the organist and composer David Briggs. Upon closure, the organ was transferred to Clayesmore School in Dorset, and then moved to St Michael and All Angels Church, Exeter in 2013.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mascarin_Peak#:~:text=Mascarin%20Peak%20is%20South%20Africa's,du%20Fresne's%20frigate%20Le%20Mascarin. | Mascarin Peak | Mascarin Peak (until 2003 called State President Swart Peak), is the highest mountain on Marion Island, with a height of 1,230 metres (4,040 ft). Marion Island is the largest island of the Prince Edward Islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean. The islands belong to South Africa and are administered by the South African National Antarctic Programme. Mascarin Peak is ranked 37th by topographic isolation.
Mascarin Peak is South Africa's only active volcano. The last eruption occurred in 2004. Renamed in 2003 after Marion du Fresne's frigate Le Mascarin.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Hartness_Flanders#Biographical | Helen Hartness Flanders | Helen Hartness Flanders (May 19, 1890 – May 23, 1972), a native of the U.S. state of Vermont, was an internationally recognized ballad collector and an authority on the folk music found in New England and the British Isles. At the initiative of the Vermont Commission on Country Life, Flanders commenced a three-decade career capturing traditional songs that were sung in New England—songs that, in many cases, traced their origin to the British Isles. The timing of her life work was critical, coming as it did when people were turning away from traditional music in favor of listening to the radio. Today her nearly 4,500 field recordings, transcriptions and analyses are housed at the Flanders Ballad Collection at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont and have been a resource for scholars and folk singers since the establishment of the collection in 1941.
== Biographical ==
Flanders was born in Springfield, Vermont. Her father was James Hartness, inventor, industrialist, and one-term Governor of Vermont, who headed the Jones and Lamson Machine Tool Company in that town. She graduated from the Dana Hall School in 1909, where she sang in the glee club and was a member of the school French club. In 1911 she married Ralph Flanders, a noted American mechanical engineer, industrialist and Republican U.S. Senator (1946–1959) from Vermont. She and her husband maintained homes in Springfield and Washington, D.C. where they entertained friends who included Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Robert Frost. They had three children: Elizabeth, (born in 1912), Anna (also known as Nancy—born in 1918), and James (born in 1923). Elizabeth helped her mother from time to time with collecting and transcribing tunes. In addition to her writings on traditional ballads, Flanders published two small volumes of poetry and one children's play. She traveled with her husband to the British Isles, Europe and Australia on various occasions.
== Ballad and folk song collecting ==
=== Background ===
In 1930, Vermont Governor John E. Weeks invited Flanders to join the Committee on Traditions and Ideals of the Vermont Commission on Country Life. That committee asked her to collect Vermont folk songs, which were passed along orally from one person to another. In the 1930s, people in New England were turning to music on the radio; as a result, interest in traditional songs was on the wane. Flanders understood that unless these songs were collected and recorded for posterity, they would die along with the people who sang them. What began as a committee assignment became not just a hobby, but a passion. She continued collecting for three decades.
=== Collection methodology ===
The availability of portable recording devices was key to Flanders's ability to collect music from singers in remote parts of New England. Initially, she recorded on wax cylinders; then from 1939 to 1949, on aluminum and acetate discs; and in later years, on reel-to-reel tapes. On occasions when electricity was not available in a singer's home, Flanders plugged a recorder into the cigarette lighter of her car.
Flanders expanded her quest throughout New England and to New York State. The singers that she found came from all walks of life; the majority of them were elderly. Flanders made field recordings with George Brown in 1930, then with the occasional help of Phillips Barry between 1931 and 1937, and with Alan Lomax in 1939. From 1940–1958 Flanders continued to collect, but Marguerite Olney was responsible for major contributions both in the collection management and in the field.
Between 1930 and 1939, Flanders focused mostly on collecting Child ballads. This explains the proportionately large number of those ballads on cylinders. Of the 150 recordings made on disc with Alan Lomax, there were songs, stories and fiddle tunes. Over time, the scope of the field recordings would include religious songs, children's songs, 19th-century American popular songs, dance tunes, as well as folktales.
George Brown, his mother, Alice Brown, Phillips Barry, Marguerite Olney and Elizabeth Flanders Ballard all made musical transcriptions of songs for Flanders's publications. An index of all the field recordings (collected between 1930 and 1958) was published in 1983.
=== The collection and its significance ===
In 1941 when there was no longer enough space to store the collection in Flanders's home, she donated it to Middlebury College in Vermont. Today the Flanders Ballad Collection is housed in Special Collections and includes not only her papers but nearly 4,500 field recordings. Copies of these recordings are also available at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress and at Harvard University. The American Folklife Center also has files of Flanders's correspondence.
Flanders demonstrated that when songs migrated from the British Isles or Europe, the texts would sometimes undergo changes as singers inserted details from their life in the new world. For example, the "Yorkshire Bite" became the "New Hampshire Bite." Many of the stories in these ballads and folksongs describe aspects of life in New England and Colonial history.
In recognition of her accomplishments as a ballad collector, Middlebury College awarded Flanders an honorary Master of Arts in 1942. She was a member of the National Committee of the National Folk Festival Association and vice president of the Folksong Society of the Northeast. In 1966, the Vermont House of Representatives added Flanders's name to the state's Roll of Distinction in the Arts.
== Legacy ==
=== Promoting an interest in traditional ballads ===
Flanders was the author of eight books on ballads and folk music; she also wrote pamphlets, newspaper and magazine articles, and two books of poetry. She wrote a regular column on ballads for the Springfield Sunday Union and Republican (Massachusetts) during the 1930s.
=== Performers of traditional ballads ===
Through their concerts and recordings, numerous folksingers have promoted interest in the Flanders Ballad Collection. Foremost among these is ballad singer Margaret MacArthur (1928–2006) who moved to Vermont in the late 1940s. During their ten-year friendship, Flanders encouraged her singing and gave her copies of the field recordings. Although also a collector of traditional songs in New England, MacArthur was especially known in the United States and abroad for her repertoire (and many recordings) of songs derived from the Flanders Collection. In recent years, Vermonter Deborah Flanders has performed and recorded songs collected by her great-aunt Helen.
=== Flanders Ballad Collection at Middlebury College ===
The Flanders Ballad Collection at Middlebury College is organized, as follows:
Materials related to field collecting, 1930-1958: The original field recordings consist of 254 wax cylinders. Those recorded on discs comprise the largest body with a variety of songs, a few interviews and stories. Flanders made 77 discs with Alan Lomax, which are catalogued in the Library of Congress. There are 60 discs that contain songs recorded in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine between 1940 and 1947; and 61 that contain fiddle and dance music from all the New England states (16 collected with Alan Lomax); nine discs of fife music made in Massachusetts; and from the 1950s, approximately 55 tapes made on a reel-to-reel recorder.
Manuscript and typescript materials derived directly from field research, 1930-60: Flanders and Marguerite Olney subdivided song texts into the following categories: Child ballads (89 titles), 635 other British song titles (broadsides and others), and 593 American titles. Among these, there were 114 "stage songs" (British and American popular songs from the 19th-early 20th centuries), 73 religious titles and 122 children's songs.
Correspondence, publication materials, lectures and exhibits derived largely from field work, 1931-1967: including Flanders's correspondence with scholars, articles about her collecting experiences; information about ballad lectures given over a 30-year period throughout New England and in the Washington, D.C. area.
Supporting materials not directly related to field work, 1930-1960: original manuscripts, copybooks, and miscellaneous sheets which contain over 300 songs and tunes—including ballads, broadsides, fiddle and fife tunes which were transcribed between the 18th and the early 20th centuries.
Collection administration, 1940-1967: papers relating to the general operation of the collection.
Personal papers, 1941-65: a limited number personal notes from friends of Helen Flanders and photographs of members of the Flanders family.
== References ==
== Bibliography ==
Flanders, Helen Hartness (1934). A Garland of Green Mountain Song. Northfield, Vt.: Vermont Commission on Country Life.
Flanders, Helen Hartness (1934). Gypsy Daisy came over the hills. Springfield, Vt.: Springfield Printing Corporation.
Flanders, Helen Hartness (1927). Looking out of Jimmie. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co.
Flanders, Helen Hartness; Brown, George (1932). Vermont Folk-Songs & Ballads. Brattleboro, Vt.: Stephen Daye Press.
Flanders, Helen Hartness (June 1939). "The quest for Vermont ballads". Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society. VII (2): 53–72.
Flanders, Helen Hartness (1937). Country Songs of Vermont. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.
Flanders, Helen Hartness (June 1939). "Index of ballads and folk-songs in the Archive of Vermont Folk-Songs at Smiley Manse, Springfield, Vermont". Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society. VII (2): 73–97.
Flanders, Helen Hartness; Ballard, E.F.; Brown, G.; Barry, P. (1939). The New Green Mountain Songster: Traditional Folk Songs of Vermont. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Flanders, Helen Hartness; Olney, Marguerite (1953). Ballads Migrant in New England. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Young.
Flanders, Helen Hartness (1960–1965). Ancient Ballads Traditionally Sung in New England, Volumes 1-4. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
== Further reading ==
Johnson, Sally (Spring 1991). "Helen Hartness Flanders Preserved Vermont's Folk Music Traditions". Vermont Life.
Seigel, Nancy-Jean (Fall–Winter 2003). "Helen Hartness Flanders, the Green Mountain Songcatcher". Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore. 29. Archived from the original on March 18, 2004.
Seigel, Nancy-Jean (Spring 2001). "Field Days in the Flanders Collection". Folklife Center News, Library of Congress: 13–16.
Seigel, Nancy-Jean (Winter 1999). "Ballad Collector from New England". English Dance and Song Magazine: 6–7.
Noble, June; Noble, William (June 1978). "Vermont's first Lady of Folk Songs". Yankee Magazine: 95–177.
Bergman, Vonda (1954-12-26). "She Is a Ballad Hunter". The Washington Post and Times-Herald. Washington, D.C.: F16.
McNair, Marie (1948-01-16). "Mrs. Flanders to Speak On Her Hobby, Old Songs". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. pp. C1.
== External links ==
Works by or about Helen Hartness Flanders at the Internet Archive
Helen Hartness Flanders ballad collection at Middlebury College. Includes field recordings by Helen Hartness Flanders, personal photographs, and collected broadsheets. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breng_Valley#:~:text=Breng%20Valley%20(The%20Golden%20Crown,tributary%20of%20famous%20Jhelum%20River. | Breng Valley | Breng Valley (The Golden Crown of Kashmir) is located in Anantnag district in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is named after the rivulet Brengi which is a tributary of famous Jhelum River. The valley spans over 40 km on either side of Brengi and Kokernag is the center of the valley where famous Kokernag Garden is located. The valley has been praised by the Kashmiri Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-u-din Wali as Breng Gov Sonsun Preng, i.e. Breng Valley is a Golden Crown.The breng valley is situated on the banks of river brengi, the right bank tributary of Jhelum. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides that form the part of pir panjal range . The brengi valley provides the routes to wardwan valley in addition to kishtwar via margan top and sinthon top respectively.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_E._Huffman | Harry E. Huffman | Harry E. Huffman (1883–1969) was an American movie theater owner and manager. Originally a pharmacist in Denver, Colorado, he began purchasing movie theaters after seeing a motion picture for the first time and foreseeing their potential cultural impact. In 1921, he purchased the movie theater next to his drugstore, and went on to own most of the major movie theaters in Denver at one time or another, earning him the nickname "Mr. Movies". He briefly owned a radio station and television station. He has been described as "the most powerful single voice in the development of popular entertainment and culture in Denver during the first-half of the 20th century". His home, a two-story mansion that he named Shangri-La, was a replica of the fictional monastery seen in the 1937 film Lost Horizon. The home was a fixture on the city's social scene as Huffman and his wife hosted lavish parties there for prominent guests from the business and entertainment worlds.
== Career ==
Harry E. Huffman was originally a pharmacist who owned a drugstore on West Colfax Avenue in Denver. After seeing a movie for the first time, he foresaw the potential cultural impact of the medium and purchased the Bide-a-Wee Theater, a nickelodeon theater adjacent to his store. With an eye to increasing his pharmacy trade, he combined the two businesses. For years, his store clerks were expected to perform the songs in the silent films playing at the theater.
In spring 1921, Huffman bought the Thompson Theater from a local grocer and renamed it the Bluebird Theater. At that point, he stopped actively managing his pharmacy business in favor of theater management. He acquired two more theaters before building, in 1926, the Aladdin Theater on East Colfax Avenue. The Aladdin became one of the city's prominent first-run theaters. The design of the four-story, $750,000 structure topped with an onion dome was inspired by the Taj Mahal. Interior ornamentation included "arabesques, muqarnas, ogee arches, and geometric tiling". The ceiling of the 911-seat auditorium was embedded with thousands of tiny colored lights. The theater was the fourth in the United States to install the Vitaphone sound system; Huffman was the first theater owner to negotiate a contract with Vitaphone. The Jazz Singer, the first feature film with sound, premiered in Denver at the Aladdin.
By 1933, Huffman owned seven theaters: the Bide-a-Wee, the Bluebird, the Aladdin, the America, the Colorado, the Rialto, and the Orpheum. He co-founded a marketing promotion called "Bank Night" to increase attendance during the Great Depression. The promotion involved a weekly drawing for cash and other prizes, which attracted thousands of paying customers. Hundreds more non-moviegoers stood outside the theaters to listen to the names of the winners being broadcast over a loudspeaker system. In the early 1940s, Huffman's theaters participated in the sale of war bonds.
By 1937, Huffman was simultaneously operating nine theaters, most of them in the downtown area. That year, he merged his seven owned theaters with five theaters owned by Fox to create the Fox-Intermountain Theater Corporation. He served as general manager for the new movie theater chain until 1950.
In 1950, Huffman bought the KLZ radio station. He next opened the KLZ-TV (now KMGH-TV) television station in 1953. In 1954, he sold both licenses to the LTF Broadcasting Corporation, a division of Time Inc., for more than $3.5 million.
== Memberships and affiliations ==
In 1930, Huffman became a member of the board of directors of American National Bank. He later served as president of the Denver Aviation and Vacation Exposition, and was a founder of the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau, serving as its president for 13 years.
During World War II, Huffman was a member of the Governor's Committee for Public Health. He was "specifically influential in educating the public on eye problems". He himself was affected with glaucoma.
== Residence ==
In the mid-1930s, Huffman purchased a 5-acre (2.0 ha) tract of land located outside the city on which to construct a private residence. He tapped Denver architect Raymond Harry Ervin to design a replica of the monastery seen in the 1937 film Lost Horizon. The Streamline Moderne mansion was called Shangri-La. The mansion became a fixture on Denver's social scene as Huffman and his wife Christine hosted lavish parties for prominent guests from the business and entertainment worlds.
== Personal life ==
Huffman considered the number 13 lucky. A 1947 Denver Post column noted that Huffman "was born on the 13th day of the month, became engaged on the 13th, contracted for purchases of several Denver cinemas on the 13th, and made his first loan, of $1,300, on the 13th. His car license begins with 13, his house is surrounded by 13 acres on country road 13, is complete with 13 rooms, and bears the number of 13 Leets Dale Drive".
Huffman died in 1969.
== References ==
== Sources ==
Bretz, James (2005). Mansions of Denver: The Vintage Years 1870–1938. Pruett Publishing. ISBN 9780871089373.
Leonard, Stephen J.; Noel, Thomas Jacob (1990). Denver: Mining camp to metropolis. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 9780870811852.
Noel, Thomas Jacob; Norgren, Barbara S. (1987). Denver: The city beautiful and its architects, 1893–1941. Historic Denver. ISBN 9780914248040.
Siegel, Susan (2006). A Resource Guide to the Golden Age of Radio: Special Collections, Bibliography and the Internet. Book Hunter Press. ISBN 9781891379048.
Western Folklore. Vol. 6. California Folklore Society. 1947.
== External links ==
Photos of Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Huffman The Denver Post Archive |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bader_Award#:~:text=The%20Bader%20Award%20is%20a%20prize%20for%20organic%20chemistry%20awarded%20annually%20by%20the%20Royal%20Society%20of%20Chemistry%20since%201989. | Bader Award | The Bader Award is a prize for organic chemistry awarded annually by the Royal Society of Chemistry since 1989. The winner, who receives £2,000 and a medal, gives a lecture tour in the UK.
== Winners ==
Source:
== See also ==
List of chemistry awards
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidhu_Moose_Wala#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20he%20released%20his,on%20the%20UK%20Singles%20Chart. | Sidhu Moose Wala | Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu (11 June 1993 – 29 May 2022), known professionally as Sidhu Moose Wala, was an Indian singer and rapper. He worked predominantly in Punjabi-language music and cinema. Moose Wala is considered to be one of the most influential and successful Punjabi rappers of all time and to many, among the greatest Indian musicians of his generation.
In 2020, Moose Wala was named by The Guardian among 50 up and coming artists. He also became the first Punjabi and Indian singer to perform at Wireless Festival and won four awards at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards.
Moose Wala rose to mainstream popularity with his track "So High". In 2018, he released his debut album PBX 1, which peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. His singles "47" and "Mera Na" were ranked on the UK Singles Chart.
Born in Moosa, Punjab, Moose Wala began his career in 2016 as a songwriter for the song "License" by Ninja, and as lead artist in 2017 with Gurlez Akhtar for a duet song, "G Wagon". Following his debut, he collaborated with Brown Boyz for various tracks. Moose Wala's tracks peaked on the UK Asian Music chart. His song "Bambiha Bole" was among the top five on the Global YouTube music chart. In 2021, he released Moosetape, tracks from which charted globally including on the Billboard Global 200, Billboard Global Excl. US, Canadian Hot 100, UK Asian, and New Zealand Hot charts. He has the most number-one singles on the Billboard India Songs chart. It became the first Indian album to have more than 1 billion streams on Spotify.
In 2021, Moose Wala joined the Indian National Congress (INC) political party and unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election for Mansa.
He was shot dead by unidentified assailants on 29 May 2022; a Canada-based gangster, known as Goldy Brar and a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, claimed responsibility for the killing, which the police said was the culmination of an inter-gang rivalry. On 23 June 2022, his first posthumous single, "SYL", was released.
Moose Wala's lyrics and themes promoting gun culture and violence were often seen as controversial in India. Subsequently, he had faced legal challenges for his support of gun culture and his inflammatory lyrics.
== Early life ==
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu was born in the village of Moosa in the Mansa district of Punjab, India to Balkaur Singh and his mother is Charan Kaur, members of the Jat Sikh community.
Moose Wala studied at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 2016. He admired and was influenced by rapper Tupac Shakur. He started listening to hip-hop music as a student in sixth grade, and was trained in music by Harvinder Bittu in Ludhiana. According to statements he made while campaigning, he chose Sidhu Moose Wala (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਧੂ ਮੂਸੇ ਵਾਲਾ, lit. 'Sidhu from Moosa') for his stage name as a tribute to his home village of Moosa.
After graduation, Moose Wala moved to Brampton, Ontario, Canada, as an international student. While living there he studied at Humber College.
== Career ==
=== 2017–2018: Rise to fame ===
Moose Wala released his first song "G Wagon" in 2017 while living in Brampton. Later that year, he had his breakthrough with the song "So High", a gangster rap with music producer Byg Byrd. The song won him the 2017 Best Lyricist award at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards. Following this, he joined Brown Boys Records along with Sunny Malton and Byg Byrd.
He began to perform live shows in India in 2018, and performed numerous shows in Canada. He continued his success with singles like "Issa Jatt", "It's All About You", and "Just Listen". In May 2018, he released the single "Tochan", followed by "Famous" which entered the UK Asian Top 40 Chart.
At the 2018 PTC Punjabi Music Awards, he was nominated for the Best New Age Sensation award for "Issa Jatt". In August 2018, he released his first film soundtrack song, "Dollar", for the film Dakuaan Da Munda.
Following various successful songs with music publisher Humble Music, he began releasing songs independently in 2018, starting with "Warning Shots", a diss track targeting Karan Aujla's track "Lafaafe".
In October 2018, he released his debut album PBX 1 under T-Series, in the pop music genre with hip-hop influences. The album charted on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, and won the Best Album Award at the 2019 Brit Asia TV Music Awards. The album was followed by the release of most of his tracks under his own label, as well as tracks from other artists.
=== 2019–2022: Established singer ===
In February 2019 Moose Wala released "Legend" under his own record label, and it won the Brit Asia TV Kuflink Best Track of the Year Award that year.In the same month, he released "Chosen" and "Outlaw", and in April, he released "East Side Flow", which was followed by "Mafia Style" with Aman Hayer. In June, his concert at the Surrey Music Festival was cancelled due to security concerns stemming from violence at his previous performances.
In August, he collaborated with Bohemia on "Same Beef", which was a huge hit. In September, he released two film soundtrack songs: "Dogar" for Teri Meri Jodi and "Jatti Jeone Morh Wargi", featuring Sonam Bajwa, for Ardab Mutiyaran. In October, he released "47", featuring British rappers Mist and Stefflon Don, which entered the top 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted on the New Zealand top 40 singles chart.
In 2019, Spotify included him in its list of the most popular artists in Punjab, along with Maninder Buttar and Karan Aujla.
In January 2020, Moose Wala was featured along with Nseeb on Prem Dhillon's track "Old Skool". The song was followed by "Tibeyan Da Putt", which topped the iTunes charts and was ranked at number 8 on the Apple Music charts in India. His second studio album, Snitches Get Stitches, was released under his own label in May 2020. That same month, he released the single "Dear Mama" on his mother's birthday.
In June 2020, he collaborated with Amrit Maan on the song "Bambiha Bole". whose music video was viewed over ten million times within twenty-four hours. The song reached number one in India and entered the top 50 in Canada and New Zealand on the Apple Music charts.It topped the UK Asian chart and also entered the top 5 of the Global YouTube charts. On 31 August 2020, he officially launched his record label, 5911 Records.In September 2020, he released "Game" with Shooter Kahlon. It was his first song to appear on the Canadian Hot 100 chart by Billboard. Also, "Game" is the most commented Indian song on YouTube with over 5 million comments.
In May 2021, Moose Wala released his third studio album, Moosetape. The album charted on the New Zealand Top 40 Albums chart by Recorded Music NZ. Singles from the album charted on various international charts including the Billboard Global 200, Canadian Hot 100, and New Zealand Hot Singles charts. On 12 September 2021, he performed at the Wireless Festival in London with Mist. Moose Wala was the first Indian singer to perform at this festival.
In April 2022, Moose Wala released the EP No Name featuring AR Paisley, Mr. Capone-E and Sunny Malton, The EP performed well on various music charts. It reached number 50 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and the song "Never Fold" debuted at number 92 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. The songs also charted internationally. In New Zealand, "Never Fold" peaked at number 19, while "0 to 100" and "Love Sick" reached numbers 34 and 39, respectively. In the UK, "Never Fold" topped the Punjabi chart at number 4, followed by "0-100" at number 9 and "Everybody Hurts" at number 10.
Before his death, Sidhu Moose Wala released two songs, "The Last Ride" and "Levels". "Levels" was his last song, released in May 2022. These songs made it to the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart. "The Last Ride" reached number 26 and "Levels" reached number 32. Additionally, both songs appeared on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart, with "The Last Ride" at number 103 and "Levels" at number 195.
=== Posthumous Releases ===
In June 2022, his single "SYL" (a reference to the Satluj Yamuna link canal) posthumously peaked at 27 on the Canadian Hot 100, 81 in Australia, 3 in India, and 200 on the Global Excl. US chart.
In April 2023, Sidhu's unreleased song "Mera Na", a collaboration with Burna Boy, was released posthumously. The song charted on several international music charts. In Canada, it peaked at number 14 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart on 22 April 2023. Globally, the song reached number 102 on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart. In New Zealand, it peaked at number 2 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart. In the UK, the song reached number 87 on the UK Singles Chart and number 27 on the UK Indie Singles Chart.
"Chorni", a collaboration with Divine, was released in July 2023 and went on to chart on several international music charts. The song achieved notable success, peaking at number 27 on the Canada Hot 100 chart and number 7 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart. Another song, "Watch Out", a collaboration with Sikander Kahlon, was released in November 2023, which also gained significant traction, reaching number 33 on the Canada Hot 100 chart, number 11 on the New Zealand Hot Singles Chart, and number 3 on the UK Asian Chart.
Sidhu's song "Drippy", a collaboration with AR Paisley, was released in February 2024. The song charted on several international music charts. In Canada, it peaked at number 9 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. Globally, the song reached number 152 on the Billboard Global Excluding US chart. In New Zealand, it peaked at number 11 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart and number 1 on the UK Asian Singles Chart.
Sidhu released another titled "410" in collaboration with Sunny Malton in April 2024. He also collaborated with Fredo and Steel Banglez on a song released in August 2023. Both songs charted on the Canada Hot 100, New Zealand, and UK music charts.
=== Acting ===
Moose Wala made his debut in Punjabi cinema with the film Yes I Am Student under his own production company Jatt Life Studios. The film was directed by Tarnvir Singh Jagpal and written by Gill Raunta. In 2019, Moose Wala appeared in Teri Meri Jodi. In June 2020, he announced another film titled Gunah. On 22 August 2021, he released the teaser of his upcoming movie, Moosa Jatt, starring Sweetaj Brar and directed by Tru Makers. On 24 August 2021, he announced his new film Jattan Da Munda Gaun Lagya, directed by Amberdeep Singh, which was set for release on 18 March 2022.
== Public Image ==
Sidhu Moose Wala's public image was complex. As a celebrated music icon, he was admired for his unique style and authenticity. However, his lyrics often sparked controversy, with critics accusing him of promoting violence. Despite this, Sidhu Moose Wala remained steadfast and defended his views, subsequently earning a strong following and leaving a lasting impact on Punjabi music. Raja Kumari called Sidhu Moose Wala her "Gentle Giant", stating, "He played a huge role in popularizing Punjabi music and creating opportunities for female artists like me." Honey Singh credited Sidhu Moose Wala for taking Punjabi Music to the global stage.
Badshah called Sidhu Moose Wala a legend, noting his legacy and decision to remain connected to his community roots despite achieving global success.
== Personal life ==
=== Family ===
Sidhu Moose Wala lived in his home village Moosa, which his fans often visited to meet him. He was very attached to his grandmother and kept his hair long at her request, a practice considered very important in Sikhism. In contrast, his father was unable to keep his hair due to an accident. On 17 March 2024, two years after his death, Sidhu's parents had a second son via in vitro fertilisation.
=== Feuds ===
Moose Wala had a rivalry with Karan Aujla; both have replied to each other through songs, on social media, and in live performances. Both have also been criticised for songs promoting violence. In an interview their mutual colleague Elly Mangat disclosed that the dispute between them began when Moose Wala's video targeting Aujla in his song was leaked to Aujla's management, and they threatened to attack Moose Wala. Following the incident, both started targeting each other on social media. The rivalry was resolved temporarily until Aujla released a diss track, "Lafaafe", which Moose Wala responded to with "Warning Shots". Aujla in an interview stated that he did not write the track "Lafaafe" and did not reveal anything about their rivalry, but praised Moose Wala's work. After his death, Aujla paid tribute with the song "Maa".
=== Legal issues and controversies ===
At the time of his death, Moose Wala was facing criminal charges for promoting gun culture and violence. Two of the charges were related to obscene scenes.
In May 2020, two videos featuring him went viral on social media: one showed him training to use an AK-47 with assistance from police officers, and the other showed him using a personal pistol. The six officers who had assisted him were suspended following the incident. On 19 May, he was booked under two sections of the Arms Act. The police began conducting raids to find Moose Wala, but he hid to evade arrest. On 2 June, the Barnala District Court rejected a plea for anticipatory bail for Moose Wala and five accused officers.
On 6 June 2020, Moose Wala was fined by police in Nabha because his car windows were tinted darker than what was permissible, and he was allowed to leave despite being wanted on outstanding charges; he incorrectly told the officers that he was already out on bail. In July, he joined the police investigation and was granted regular bail. That month, he released a single titled "Sanju", comparing himself to actor Sanjay Dutt, who was also arrested under the Arms Act. Indian sport shooter Avneet Sidhu criticised the song and called out Moose Wala for promoting gun culture. The next day, a case was registered against him for releasing the song. In an interview, Moose Wala alleged that he was being deliberately targeted by some news channels and lawyers.
=== References to Mai Bhago ===
In September 2019, his song "Jatti Jeone Morh Wargi" was deemed inappropriate by Sikh leaders for using the name of Mai Bhago, a 17th-century Sikh warrior woman. Sikh delegations and Akali Dal leaders demanded a ban on the song, subsequently lodging complaints against Moose Wala in Mansa and Bathinda. Moose Wala later apologised on social media and in March 2020 appeared before the Sikh religious body Akal Takht in a hearing over the incident.
=== References to Khalistan movement ===
In December 2020, Moose Wala released the single "Panjab: My Motherland" in support of the Indian farmers protest against the 2020 Indian agriculture acts, which featured clips of orthodox Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and speeches made by Khalistan supporter Bharpur Singh Balbir in the late 1980s. In an interview Moose Wala said that Khalistan means a 'pure place' (Hindi: पवित्र-स्थान), like it was under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, where people of all religions lived in harmony. Similarly Sidhu clarified in the interview that Khalistan, to him, means the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, not a separate country. He emphasised that he is an Indian citizen, living in India, and has a deep connection to the country.
== Politics ==
Moose Wala actively campaigned for his mother, Charan Kaur, who won the sarpanch election for Moosa in December 2018.
On 3 December 2021, Moose Wala joined the INC to contest the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. Nazar Singh Manshahia, the INC assemblyman from Mansa, revolted and opposed Moose Wala's candidacy. Obtaining only 20.52% votes from the Mansa constituency, Moose Wala lost to the Aam Aadmi Party's Vijay Singla by a margin of 63,323 votes.
During the 2022 election, a case under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code was filed against Moose Wala for his violation of the election code of conduct. He had held a door-to-door campaign in Mansa after the campaigning deadline.
On 11 April 2022, Moose Wala released a song titled "Scapegoat", in which he laments his failure in the 2022 elections. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed that Moose Wala insinuated through his song that the voters of Punjab were gadara (Punjabi: ਗੱਦਾਰ, lit. 'traitors') for electing the AAP. They also claimed that his song perpetuated the INC's "anti-Punjab" mentality and demanded an answer from the party's state unit president, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, on whether he endorsed Moose Wala's views.
=== Electoral results ===
== Assassination ==
Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in his car on 29 May 2022 in Jawaharke village of Mansa at age of 28. According to police, Lawrence Bishnoi's gang initially claimed responsibility for the murder in an unverified Facebook post, which Bishnoi denied making, and he was being held by the Punjab Police as of June 2022 and was considered the "mastermind" of the murder by officials.
According to police, at around 5:10 pm, Moose Wala left his house with his cousin Gurpreet Singh and neighbour Gurwinder Singh. Moose Wala was driving his black Mahindra Thar SUV to his aunt's house in Barnala. At 5:30 pm when the SUV reached Jawaharke, two other cars intercepted and blocked it. Thirty rounds were fired during the incident, which also injured two other men. Moose Wala fired back at the attackers using his pistol. After the shootout, the attackers left the scene. His father took Moose Wala to the civil hospital in Mansa, where he was declared dead.
Moose Wala was among the 424 people whose police security was reduced or entirely removed the day before, in preparation for the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, leaving him with two commandos instead of the earlier four. At the time of the incident, Moose Wala was travelling in his private car accompanied by two others instead of his bullet-proof vehicle with the commandos. According to his friends, Moose Wala did not take his security along with him, as his Thar SUV could not accommodate five people.
=== Aftermath ===
According to police, the Bishnoi gang claimed they killed Moose Wala to avenge the murder of an Akali leader, Vicky Middukhera, in 2021. Moose Wala's aide was purported by the Bishnoi gang of having a role in the killing of Middukhera, though there is no legal evidence to support this. Canadian gangster of Punjabi origin Satinder Singh a.k.a. Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for the murder. Brar, a close associate of Bishnoi, claimed that his "Punjab module" carried out the shooting. Both Brar and Bishnoi have criminal cases against them in India. The Punjab Police later confirmed Bishnoi's involvement.
According to the police report, Moose Wala's father revealed that Moose Wala had been receiving death threats from gangsters for extortion purposes, a statement corroborated by singer Mika Singh.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned the murder. Calling Moose Wala "a cultural icon of Punjab", he expressed shock and grief about his death and condoled the aggrieved family. Mann ordered an investigation into why Moose Wala's security was reduced by the Punjab Police two days prior. He also announced the setting up of a judicial commission headed by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to investigate the killing. Numerous celebrities offered their condolences on social media.
Police found bullets from an AN-94 Russian assault rifle and a pistol at the spot of the killing. Police had detained six suspects of the incident from the state of Uttarakhand. On 30 May, one of the murder suspects was detained by the Punjab Police while he was hiding among the pilgrims of Gurudwara Shri Hemkund Sahib.
On 30 May, the Delhi unit of the INC staged a protest near AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's residence holding the AAP-ruled Government of Punjab responsible for the incident, blaming their decision to curtail Moose Wala's security cover.
His autopsy was carried out by five doctors, and the event was videographed. According to post mortem reports, Moose Wala received 19 bullet injuries, and he died within 15 minutes of being shot due to the wounds.
Moose Wala was cremated in his ancestral village on 31 May. His last rites were performed on his farmland.
On 3 June, Bishnoi allegedly admitted to being involved in the murder and that he had a rivalry with Moose Wala. On 8 June, a bhog ceremony was arranged in Mansa. On 3 July, Ankit Sirsa was arrested by Delhi police for being one of the shooters involved in the killing. On 20 July, gangsters Manpreet Mannu and Jagrup Rupa, suspected of involvement in Moose Wala's killing, were gunned down by the Punjab Police. On 26 July, India TV reported that Punjab Police arrested the last absconding shooter, Deepak Mundi. However, The Indian Express reported that he was arrested on 11 September near the Bengal-Nepal border.
=== Politics ===
Before the Sangrur Lok Sabha by-election in 2022, the INC had used pictures of Moose Wala in its election song. The family of Moose Wala made a public appeal to political parties and individuals, asking them to not use his name for political or personal motives. The move was also criticised by the Aam Aadmi Party.
== Legacy and remembrance ==
On 3 June 2022, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced the construction of a cancer hospital and sports stadium in remembrance of Moose Wala.
On 8 June 2022, the Brampton, Canada city council passed a motion to commission a giant mural which would be painted by a local artist and to plant a tree in the singer's honour. In June 2023, the mural was finished.
In June 2022, a turban-tying competition was organised by the Shri Guru Ram Dass welfare society in Amritsar in his memory, due to him being a turban-wearing Sikh.
Punjabi language singer Prem Dhillon released a tribute song, "Ain't died in vain", dedicated to Moose Wala on 16 June 2022. Posthumously, on his 29th birthday, Moose Wala received a tribute from his fans when the billboards of New York City's Times Square were used to play his songs.
Garry Sandhu released the tribute song "Jigar Da Tota", dedicated to Moose Wala.
On 5 June 2022, two murals in California, USA were made in tribute of Moose Wala. Rapper Bohemia also visited them and broke down in tears after an emotional tribute.
On 17 June 2022, Canadian rapper Drake played two of Moose Wala's singles "295" & "G-Shit" from Moosetape in remembrance on his debut radio show Table for One on Sound42. Drake later launched a t-shirt collection to honour Moose Wala, wearing one at a concert in Canada on 28 July.
On 25 July 2022, Punjabi Virsa, a Pakistan-based literary society, honoured Moose Wala with the Waris Shah International Award.
In November 2022, Nigerian artist Burna Boy met with Moose Wala's parents for their blessings and offered his condolences. Burna and music producer Steel Banglez honoured them with a portrait of their son made from crystals. Burna also paid tribute to Moose Wala previously, when he broke down on stage while giving a tribute to the late singer.
Sunny Malton, who was formerly in the Punjabi group Brown Boys with Moose Wala, released a tribute song "Letter to Sidhu" in November 2022.
In April 2023, the third posthumous release from Moose Wala, titled "Mera Na", was unveiled in advance of the one-year anniversary of his passing. The song, which features Burna Boy and Steel Banglez, was composed by the latter and quickly gained millions of plays.
In May 2023, award-winning British rapper Tion Wayne released the song "Healing" which paid tribute to the late Moose Wala. It features Moose Wala's father (Balkaur Singh Sidhu), his 5911 Tractor and his village of Moosa. Wayne had previously collaborated with Moose Wala on the song "Celebrity Killer" in 2022.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
PBX 1 (2018)
Snitches Get Stitches (2020)
Moosetape (2021)
=== Extended play ===
No Name (2022)
Moose Print (2025)
== Filmography ==
=== Actor ===
== Tours ==
Brown Boys Tour/PBX 1 Tour (2018–2019)
Solo New Zealand/Italy/India Live Shows (2019–2020)
Back to Business World Tour with Sunny Malton (2022–2023)
Rebel (24 August 2018)
== See also ==
List of murdered hip hop musicians
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Sidhu Moose Wala at AllMusic
Sidhu Moose Wala discography at Discogs
Sidhu Moose Wala at IMDb |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donjuan_Triumphant | Donjuan Triumphant | Donjuan Triumphant (foaled 24 March 2013) is an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who excelled over sprint distances. He was rated one of the best two-year-olds in Europe when he won three of his eight races including the Rockingham Stakes and the Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte. He failed to win in the following year but ran second in both the Temple Stakes and the Prix Maurice de Gheest. After changing stables as a four-year-old he won the 32Red Gold Cup in 2017 and the Wentworth Stakes in 2018. In 2019 he was beaten in his first six starts but recorded his biggest win on his final racecourse appearance when he took the British Champions Sprint Stakes.
== Background ==
Donjuan Triumphant is a bay stallion with no white markings bred in Ireland by Patrick Cosgrove & Dream Ahead Syndicate. As a foal in November 2013 he was consigned by Kilcarn Park to Goffs sale and was bought for €58,000 by the Lynn Lodge Stud. He returned to the Goffs sales ring as a yearling but failed to reach his reserve price. In early 2015, the two-year-old colt was entered in the Tattersalls "breeze-up" sale (in which the horses are publicly galloped before being auctioned) and was bought for 30,000 guineas by Middleham Park Racing. He was sent into training with Richard Fahey at Malton, North Yorkshire. His name is a reference to the fictional opera written by the title character in the novel The Phantom of the Opera.
He was from the first crop of foals sired by Dream Ahead, an outstanding sprinter from the Godolphin Arabian sire-line whose wins included the Prix Morny, Middle Park Stakes, July Cup, Haydock Sprint Cup and Prix de la Forêt. As a breeding stallion, his other progeny have included Glass Slippers, Dream of Dreams and Al Wukair (Prix Jacques Le Marois). Donjuan Triumphant' dam Mathuna showed modest racing ability, winning on her debut, but failing to repeat that success in eight subsequent starts. She was descended from the Mariella who won the Premio Roma and was a half-sister to Sagaro.
== Racing career ==
=== 2015: two-year-old season ===
Donjuan Triumphant made his racecourse debut in a maiden race over six furlongs at Redcar Racecourse on 20 June 2015 in which he started at odds of 4/1 and finished second of the eight runners, beaten a head by Receding Waves. He then sustained similarly narrow defeats in maidens at Ayr and Carlisle in July before being beaten a short head by Receding Waves in a nursery (a handicap race for juveniles) at Haydock Park on 5 September. Two weeks later the colt started at odds of 4/1 in an eighteen-runner nursery at Ayr in which he was ridden by the apprentice jockey Jack Garritty and recorded his first victory as he took the lead a furlong out and drew away to win "readily" by three and a quarter lengths.
At York Racecourse on 10 October Donjuan Triumphant was stepped up in class for the Listed Rockingham Stakes and was made the 9/4 favourite against seven opponents. With Garritty again in the saddle he tracked the leaders before producing a strong late run to take the lead 50 yards from the finish and won by one and a half lengths from Dhamaan. Six days after his win at York the colt was sent to France to contest the Group 2 Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte over 1200 metres on soft ground in which he was partnered by Alexis Badel. He went off the 10.5/1 fifth choice in a seven-runner field which also included Smash Williams (Round Tower Stakes), Log Out Island (Two-Year-Old Trophy) and Yakaba (Prix d'Arenberg). After being restrained in the early stages, Donjuan Triumphant took the lead 200 metres from the finish and pulled clear in the final stages to win by five and a half lengths. Middleham Park Racing's representative Ian Alexander said "He has really improved in his last three runs, going from strength to strength, and that was a great performance... The soft ground was an unknown factor, but when Alexis pressed the button he flew."
On his final run of the year Donjuan Triumphant returned to France and started favourite for the Critérium International over 1400 metres at Saint-Cloud Racecourse on 1 November, but never looked likely to win and finished fourth behind Johannes Vermeer, Stormy Antarctic and Attendu.
In the official European classification of two-year-olds for 2015, Donjuan Triumphant was given a rating of 115, nine pounds behind the top-ranked Air Force Blue, making him the tenth best juvenile of the season.
=== 2016: three-year-old season ===
Donjuan Triumphant began his second season by finishing second to the filly Quiet Reflection in the Temple Stakes at Haydock on 28 May and then ran unplaced behind the same filly in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in June. On 7 August he was sent to France for the third time and produced his best run of the season as he finished second to Signs of Blessing in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest over 1300 metres at Deauville Racecourse making steady progress in the last 300 metres without ever seriously challenging the winner. In his next two races he made little impact as he finished towards the rear of the field behind Quiet Reflection in the Haydock Sprint Cup and The Tin Man in the British Champions Sprint Stakes. Towards the end of the year the colt was campaigned in minor races on synthetic tracks, finishing third in minor events at Kempton and Lingfield in November and second in a stakes race at Chelmsford on 22 December.
=== 2017: four-year-old season ===
Before the start of the 2017 Donjuan Triumphant was bought privately by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and transferred to the stable of Andrew Balding at Kingsclere in Hampshire. He was officially owned by Abudiencia Co Ltd until switching to Srivaddhanaprabha's King Power Racing in July of that and carried their blue and white colours for the rest of his track career.
In April the horse finished unplaced on the polytrack at Lingfield and third in the King Richard III Stakes at Leicester Racecourse before returning from a lengthy absence to finish ninth under a weight of 131 pounds in the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood Racecourse on 7 August. A month later Donjuan Triumphant was ridden by P. J. McDonald in a minor race over seven furlongs at Haydock and recorded his first win since 2015 as he led from the start and came home one and a quarter lengths in front of his five opponents. He was scheduled to contest the Ayr Gold Cup at Ayr Racecourse at on 23 September but when the Scottish track was found to be unraceable because of waterlogging the race was transferred to Haydock and run a week later. With McDonald in the saddle he went off at odds of 13/2 in a seventeen-runner field, carrying top weight of 136 pounds. He started slowly but made ground steadily in the last quarter mile, caught the leader Stake Acclaim in the final strides, and won by a short head.
On 21 October Donjuan Triumphant was moved back up to Group 1 class for the British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot but made little impact and finished eighth of the twelve runners behind Librisa Breeze.
=== 2018: five-year-old season ===
After beginning his fourth campaign on polytrack, finishing fifth at Kempton in January and at Southwell Racecourse in March, Donjuan Triumphant returned to the turf in April and finished runner-up to Emmaus in his second attempt to win the King Richard III Stakes. He continued to be campaigned over seven furlongs on his next two starts and finished a close fourth to Sir Dancealot in the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood before coming home last of the nine runners behind Expert Eye in the City of York Stakes at York in August. When dropped back to six furlongs he showed improved form against top class sprinters, finishing fourth to The Tin Man in the Haydock Sprint Cup and third to Sands of Mali in the British Champions Sprint Stakes.
A week after Donjuan Triumphant's defeat at Ascot Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was killed in the 2018 Leicester helicopter crash. On 10 November on soft ground at Doncaster Racecourse the horse was dropped to Listed class for the Wentworth Stakes, in which he was ridden by James Doyle and started the 2/1 favourite against thirteen opponents. After being in contention from the start he took second place a furlong found and caught the leader Hey Jonesey in the final strides to win by a head. Andrew Balding commented on the death of the owner, saying "It puts horse racing and the triviality of other things in life into perspective" before saying of the winner "He really loves this ground. The punters thought he had a really good chance today, and he's just so tough."
=== 2019: six-year-old season ===
In all of his races as a six-year-old Donjuan Triumphant was ridden by Silvestre de Sousa who usually employed front-running tactics. The horse began his campaign by finishing last of six behind Hey Gaman in his third attempt in the Richard III Stakes and then ran second to Brando in the Clyde Stakes at Hamilton Park in June. In July he finished fourth to German horse Waldpfad in the Hackwood Stakes at Newbury Racecourse and then finished eighth of nine behind Sir Dancealot in the Lennox Stakes. In August at Newbury he finished sixth of seven behind Glorious Journey in the Hungerford Stakes after leading until the final furlong. The Bengough Stakes at Ascot on 5 October saw a change of tactics as the horse was restrained in the early stages before finishing strongly to take second place behind the favourite Cape Byron.
Two weeks after his second place in the Bengough Stakes, Donjuan Triumphant made his fourth attempt to win the British Champions Sprint Stakes and started a 33/1 outsider in a seventeen-runner field. Advertise and One Master started joint-favourites while the other contenders included Hello Youmzain, Cape Byron, The Tin Man, Sands of Mali, Librisa Breeze, Brando and Mabs Cross. After racing in mid-division Donjuan Triumphant was repeatedly hampered as he struggled to obtain a clear run in the last quarter mile before making a strong late run to take the lead 75 yards from the finish and win by a length from One Master. After the race Balding said "I'm just so thrilled. He was the first one 'The Chairman' (Srivaddhanaprabha) ever bought, and he'd be so proud of him right now. I'm just so pleased to get a Group 1 for King Power and for a horse like this that has been knocking on the door for so long. He's due to go to stud in France now, and I hope he has a long and happy life."
In the 2019 World's Best Racehorse Rankings Donjuan Triumphant was given a rating of 118, making him the 78th best racehorse in the world.
== Stud career ==
Donjuan Triumphant was retired at the end of 2019 and began his career as a breeding stallion at the Haras de la Barbottiere, Sablé-sur-Sarthe in 2020 at a fee of €4,000.
== Pedigree ==
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gy%C3%B6rgy_Luk%C3%A1cs#:~:text=During%20the%20Hungarian%20Soviet%20Republic,%2C%20we%20have%20to%20use%22. | György Lukács | György Lukács (born Bernát György Löwinger; Hungarian: Szegedi Lukács György; German: Georg Bernard Lukács; 13 April 1885 – 4 June 1971) was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher, literary historian, literary critic, and aesthetician. He was one of the founders of Western Marxism, an interpretive tradition that departed from the Soviet Marxist ideological orthodoxy. He developed the theory of reification, and contributed to Marxist theory with developments of Karl Marx's theory of class consciousness. He was also a philosopher of Leninism. He ideologically developed and organised Vladimir Lenin's pragmatic revolutionary practices into the formal philosophy of vanguard-party revolution.
Lukács was especially influential as a critic due to his theoretical developments of literary realism and of the novel as a literary genre. In 1919, he was appointed the Hungarian Minister of Culture of the government of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic (March–August 1919). Lukács has been described as the preeminent Marxist intellectual of the Stalinist era, though assessing his legacy can be difficult as Lukács seemed both to support Stalinism as the embodiment of Marxist thought, and yet also to champion a return to pre-Stalinist Marxism.
== Life and politics ==
Lukács was born Bernát György Löwinger in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, to the investment banker József Löwinger (later Szegedi Lukács József; 1855–1928) and his wife Adele Wertheimer (Wertheimer Adél; 1860–1917), who were a wealthy Jewish family. He had a brother and sister. He and his family converted to Lutheranism in 1907.
His father was knighted by the empire and received a baronial title, making Lukács a baron as well through inheritance. As a writer, he published under the names Georg Lukács and György Lukács. Lukács participated in intellectual circles in Budapest, Berlin, Florence and Heidelberg. He received his doctorate in economic and political sciences (Dr. rer. oec.) in 1906 from the Royal Hungarian University of Kolozsvár. In 1909, he completed his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Budapest under the direction of Zsolt Beöthy.
=== Pre-Marxist period ===
Whilst at university in Budapest, Lukács was part of socialist intellectual circles through which he met Ervin Szabó, an anarcho-syndicalist who introduced him to the works of Georges Sorel (1847–1922), the French proponent of revolutionary syndicalism. In that period, Lukács's intellectual perspectives were modernist and anti-positivist. From 1904 to 1908, he was part of a theatre troupe that produced modernist, psychologically realistic plays by Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, and Gerhart Hauptmann.
Between 1906 and 1909 while in his early twenties, he worked on his 1,000 page A modern dráma fejlődésének története (English: History of the Development of the Modern Drama). It was published in Hungary in 1911. He was dismayed when it won a prize in 1908 because he did not think the jury was fit to judge it.
Lukács spent much time in Germany, and studied at the University of Berlin from 1906 to 1907, during which time he made the acquaintance of the philosopher Georg Simmel. Later in 1913 whilst in Heidelberg, he befriended Max Weber, Emil Lask, Ernst Bloch, and Stefan George. The idealist system to which Lukács subscribed at this time was intellectually indebted to neo-Kantianism (then the dominant philosophy in German universities) and to Plato, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Søren Kierkegaard, Wilhelm Dilthey, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. In that period, he published Soul and Form (Die Seele und die Formen, Berlin, 1911; tr. 1974) and The Theory of the Novel (1916/1920; tr. 1971).
After the beginning of the First World War, Lukács was exempted from military service. In 1914, he married the Russian political activist Jelena Grabenko.
In 1915, Lukács returned to Budapest, where he was the leader of the "Sunday Circle", an intellectual salon. Its concerns were the cultural themes that arose from the existential works of Dostoyevsky, which thematically aligned with Lukács's interests in his last years at Heidelberg. As a salon, the Sunday Circle sponsored cultural events whose participants included literary and musical avant-garde figures, such as Karl Mannheim, the composer Béla Bartók, Béla Balázs, Arnold Hauser, Zoltán Kodály and Karl Polanyi; some of them also attended the weekly salons. In 1918, the last year of the First World War (1914–1918), the Sunday Circle became divided. They dissolved the salon because of their divergent politics; several of the leading members accompanied Lukács into the Communist Party of Hungary.
=== Pivot to communism ===
In the aftermath of the First World War and the Russian Revolution of 1917, Lukács rethought his ideas. He became a committed Marxist in this period and joined the fledgling Communist Party of Hungary in 1918. Up until at least September 1918, he had intended to emigrate to Germany, but after being rejected from a habilitation in Heidelberg, he wrote on 16 December that he had already decided to pursue a political career in Hungary instead. Lukács later wrote that he was persuaded to this course by Béla Kun. The last publication of Lukács' pre-Marxist period was "Bolshevism as a Moral Problem", a rejection of Bolshevism on ethical grounds that he apparently reversed within days.
=== Communist leader ===
As part of the government of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic, Lukács was made People's Commissar for Education and Culture (he was deputy to the Commissar for Education Zsigmond Kunfi).
It is said by József Nádass that Lukács was giving a lecture entitled "Old Culture and New Culture" to a packed hall when the republic was proclaimed, which was interrupted due to the revolution.
During the Hungarian Soviet Republic, Lukács was a theoretician of the Hungarian version of the red terror. In an article in the Népszava, 15 April 1919, he wrote that "The possession of the power of the state is also a moment for the destruction of the oppressing classes. A moment, we have to use". Lukács later became a commissar of the Fifth Division of the Hungarian Red Army, in which capacity he ordered the execution of eight of his own soldiers in Poroszló, in May 1919, which he later admitted in an interview.
After the Hungarian Soviet Republic was defeated, Lukács was ordered by Kun to remain behind with Ottó Korvin, when the rest of the leadership evacuated. Lukács and Korvin's mission was to clandestinely reorganize the communist movement, but this proved to be impossible. Lukács went into hiding, with the help of photographer Olga Máté. After Korvin's capture in 1919, Lukács fled from Hungary to Vienna. He was arrested but was saved from extradition due to a group of writers including Thomas and Heinrich Mann. Thomas Mann later based the character Naphta on Lukács in his novel The Magic Mountain.
He married his second wife, Gertrúd Bortstieber in 1919 in Vienna, a fellow member of the Hungarian Communist Party.
Around the 1920s, while Antonio Gramsci was also in Vienna, though they did not meet each other, Lukács met a fellow communist, Victor Serge, and began to develop Leninist ideas in the field of philosophy. His major works in this period were the essays collected in his magnum opus History and Class Consciousness (Geschichte und Klassenbewußtsein, Berlin, 1923). Although these essays display signs of what Vladimir Lenin referred to as "left communism" (with later Leninists calling it "ultra-leftism"), they provided Leninism with a substantive philosophical basis. In July 1924, Grigory Zinoviev attacked this book along with the work of Karl Korsch at the Fifth Comintern Congress.
In 1925, shortly after Lenin's death, Lukács published in Vienna the short study Lenin: A Study in the Unity of His Thought (Lenin: Studie über den Zusammenhang seiner Gedanken). In 1925, he published a critical review of Nikolai Bukharin's manual of historical materialism.
As a Hungarian exile, he remained active on the left wing of the Hungarian Communist Party, and was opposed to the Moscow-backed programme of Béla Kun. His "Blum theses" of 1928 called for the overthrow of the counter-revolutionary regime of Admiral Horthy in Hungary by a strategy similar to the Popular Fronts that arose in the 1930s. He advocated a "democratic dictatorship" of the proletariat and peasantry as a transitional stage leading to the dictatorship of the proletariat. After Lukács's strategy was condemned by the Comintern, he retreated from active politics into theoretical work.
Lukács left Vienna in 1929, first for Berlin, then for Budapest.
=== Under Stalin and Rákosi ===
In 1930, while residing in Budapest, Lukács was summoned to Moscow. This coincided with the signing of a Viennese police order for his expulsion. Leaving their children to attend their studies, Lukács and his wife went to Moscow in March 1930. Soon after his arrival, Lukács was "prevented" from leaving and assigned to work alongside David Riazanov ("in the basement") at the Marx–Engels Institute.
Lukács returned to Berlin in 1931 and in 1933 he once again left Berlin for Moscow to attend the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. During this time, Lukács first came into contact with the unpublished works of the young Marx.
Lukács survived the purges of the Great Terror, but he and his wife were not permitted to leave the Soviet Union until after the Second World War. Shortly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on June 29, 1941 Lukács was arrested by the NKVD, but released on August 26. He was then evacuated to Tashkent with a group of German-speaking writers, where he and Johannes Becher became friends. There is much debate among historians concerning the extent to which Lukács accepted Stalinism at this period.
In 1945, Lukács and his wife returned to Hungary. As a member of the Hungarian Communist Party, he took part in establishing the new Hungarian government. From 1945 Lukács was a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Between 1945 and 1946, he strongly criticised non-communist philosophers and writers. Lukács has been accused of playing an "administrative" (legal-bureaucratic) role in the removal of independent and non-communist intellectuals such as Béla Hamvas, István Bibó, Lajos Prohászka, and Károly Kerényi from Hungarian academic life. Between 1946 and 1953, many non-communist intellectuals, including Bibó, were imprisoned or forced into menial work or manual labour.
Lukács's personal aesthetic and political positions on culture were always that socialist culture would eventually triumph in terms of quality. He thought it should play out in terms of competing cultures, not by "administrative" measures. In 1948–49, Lukács's position for cultural tolerance was smashed in a "Lukács purge," when Mátyás Rákosi turned his famous salami tactics on the Hungarian Working People's Party.
In the mid-1950s, Lukács was reintegrated into party life. The party used him to help purge the Hungarian Writers' Union in 1955–1956. Tamás Aczél and Tibor Méray (former Secretaries of the Hungarian Writers' Union) both believe that Lukács participated grudgingly, and cite Lukács's leaving the presidium and the meeting at the first break as evidence of this reluctance.
=== De-Stalinisation ===
In 1956, Lukács became a minister of the brief communist revolutionary government led by Imre Nagy, which opposed the Soviet Union. At this time, Lukács's daughter led a short-lived party of communist revolutionary youth. Lukács's position on the 1956 revolution was that the Hungarian Communist Party would need to retreat into a coalition government of socialists and slowly rebuild its credibility with the Hungarian people. While a minister in Nagy's revolutionary government, Lukács also participated in trying to reform the Hungarian Communist Party on a new basis. This party, the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, was rapidly co-opted by János Kádár after 4 November 1956.
During the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Lukács was present at debates of the anti-party and revolutionary communist Petőfi Society while remaining part of the party apparatus. During the revolution, as mentioned in Budapest Diary, Lukács argued for a new Soviet-aligned communist party. In Lukács's view, the new party could win social leadership only by persuasion instead of force. Lukács envisioned an alliance between the dissident communist Hungarian Revolutionary Youth Party, the revolutionary Hungarian Social Democratic Party and his own Soviet-aligned party as a very junior partner.
Following the defeat of the Revolution, Lukács was deported to the Socialist Republic of Romania with the rest of Nagy's government. Unlike Nagy, he avoided execution, albeit narrowly. Due to his role in Nagy's government, he was no longer trusted by the party apparatus. Lukács's followers were indicted for political crimes throughout the 1960s and '70s, and a number fled to the West. Lukács's books The Young Hegel (Der junge Hegel, Zurich, 1948) and The Destruction of Reason (Die Zerstörung der Vernunft, Berlin, 1954) have been used to argue that Lukács was covertly critical of Stalinism as a distortion of Marxism. In this reading, these two works are attempts to reconcile the idealism of Hegelian-dialectics with the dialectical materialism of Marx and Engels, and position Stalinism as a philosophy of irrationalism.
He returned to Budapest in 1957. Lukács publicly abandoned his positions of 1956 and engaged in self-criticism. Having abandoned his earlier positions, Lukács remained loyal to the Communist Party until his death in 1971. In his last years, following the uprisings in France and Czechoslovakia in 1968, Lukács became more publicly critical of the Soviet Union and the Hungarian Communist Party.
In an interview just before his death, Lukács remarked:
Without a genuine general theory of society and its movement, one does not get away from Stalinism. Stalin was a great tactician... But Stalin, unfortunately, was not a Marxist... The essence of Stalinism lies in placing tactics before strategy, practice above theory... The bureaucracy generated by Stalinism is a tremendous evil. Society is suffocated by it. Everything becomes unreal, nominalistic. People see no design, no strategic aim, and do not move..." Thus Lukács concludes "we must learn to connect the great decisions of popular political power with personal needs, those of individuals.
== Work ==
=== History and Class Consciousness ===
Written between 1919 and 1922 and published in 1923, Lukács's collection of essays History and Class Consciousness contributed to debates concerning Marxism and its relation to sociology, politics and philosophy. With this work, Lukács initiated the current of thought that came to be known as "Western Marxism". At Lukács' direction, there was no reprinting in his lifetime, making it rare and hard to acquire before 1968. Its return to prominence was aided by the social movements of the 1960s.
The most important essay in Lukács's book introduces the concept of "reification". In capitalist societies, human properties, relations and actions are transformed into properties, relations and actions of human-produced things, which become independent of them and govern their life. These human-created things are then imagined to be originally independent of the human. Moreover, human beings are transformed into thing-like beings that do not behave in a human way but according to the laws of the thing-world. This essay is notable for reconstructing aspects of Marx's theory of alienation before the publication of the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 — the work in which Marx most clearly expounds the theory.
Lukács also develops the Marxist theory of class consciousness - the distinction between the objective situation of a class and that class's subjective awareness of this situation. Lukács proffers a view of a class as an "historical imputed subject". An empirically existing class can successfully act only when it becomes conscious of its historical situation, i.e. when it transforms from a "class in itself" to a "class for itself". Lukács's theory of class consciousness has been influential within the sociology of knowledge.
In his later career, Lukács repudiated the ideas of History and Class Consciousness, in particular the belief in the proletariat as a "subject-object of history" (1960 Postface to French translation). As late as 1925–1926, he still defended these ideas, in an unfinished manuscript, which he called Tailism and the Dialectic. It was not published until 1996 in Hungarian and English in 2000 under the title A Defence of History and Class Consciousness.
==== What is Orthodox Marxism? ====
Lukács argues that methodology is the only thing that distinguishes Marxism: even if all its substantive propositions were rejected, it would remain valid because of its distinctive method:
Orthodox Marxism, therefore, does not imply the uncritical acceptance of the results of Marx's investigations. It is not the 'belief' in this or that thesis, nor the exegesis of a 'sacred' book. On the contrary, orthodoxy refers exclusively to method. It is the scientific conviction that dialectical materialism is the road to truth and that its methods can be developed, expanded and deepened only along the lines laid down by its founders.
He criticises Marxist revisionism by calling for the return to this Marxist method, which is fundamentally dialectical materialism. Lukács conceives "revisionism" as inherent to the Marxist theory, insofar as dialectical materialism is, according to him, the product of class struggle:
For this reason the task of orthodox Marxism, its victory over Revisionism and utopianism can never mean the defeat, once and for all, of false tendencies. It is an ever-renewed struggle against the insidious effects of bourgeois ideology on the thought of the proletariat. Marxist orthodoxy is no guardian of traditions, it is the eternally vigilant prophet proclaiming the relation between the tasks of the immediate present and the totality of the historical process.
According to him, "The premise of dialectical materialism is, we recall: 'It is not men's consciousness that determines their existence, but on the contrary, their social existence that determines their consciousness.' ...Only when the core of existence stands revealed as a social process can existence be seen as the product, albeit the hitherto unconscious product, of human activity." (§5). In line with Marx's thought, he criticises the individualist bourgeois philosophy of the subject, which founds itself on the voluntary and conscious subject. Against this ideology, he asserts the primacy of social relations. Existence – and thus the world – is the product of human activity; but this can be seen only if the primacy of social process on individual consciousness is accepted. Lukács does not restrain human liberty for sociological determinism: to the contrary, this production of existence is the possibility of praxis.
He conceives the problem in the relationship between theory and practice. Lukács quotes Marx's words: "It is not enough that thought should seek to realise itself; reality must also strive towards thought." How does the thought of intellectuals relate to class struggle, if theory is not simply to lag behind history, as it is in Hegel's philosophy of history ("Minerva always comes at the dusk of night...")? Lukács criticises Friedrich Engels's Anti-Dühring, saying that he "does not even mention the most vital interaction, namely the dialectical relation between subject and object in the historical process, let alone give it the prominence it deserves." This dialectical relation between subject and object is the basis of Lukács's critique of Immanuel Kant's epistemology, according to which the subject is the exterior, universal and contemplating subject, separated from the object.
For Lukács, "ideology" is a projection of the class consciousness of the bourgeoisie, which functions to prevent the proletariat from attaining consciousness of its revolutionary position. Ideology determines the "form of objectivity", thus the very structure of knowledge. According to Lukács, real science must attain the "concrete totality" through which only it is possible to think the current form of objectivity as a historical period. Thus, the so-called eternal "laws" of economics are dismissed as the ideological illusion projected by the current form of objectivity ("What is Orthodoxical Marxism?", §3). He also writes: "It is only when the core of being has shown itself as social becoming, that the being itself can appear as a product, so far unconscious, of human activity, and this activity, in turn, as the decisive element of the transformation of being." ("What is Orthodoxical Marxism?", §5) Finally, "orthodoxical Marxism" is not defined as an interpretation of Capital as if it were the Bible or an embrace of "Marxist thesis", but as fidelity to the "Marxist method", dialectics.
==== Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat ====
Drawing from the insights of Max Weber and Georg Simmel, Lukács introduces the concept of reification to describe the mystified consciousness of capitalist society, where human relations and activities are objectified as commodities. This idea builds on Marx's analysis of "commodity fetishism" in Capital. Under capitalism, human qualities are subordinated to the demands of production and exchange, reducing individuals to mere units of labor power. Rationalization — manifesting in legal systems, technology, and labor organization — fragments human activity and diminishes individuality. This specialization creates a society where holistic understanding becomes impossible, and bourgeois philosophy reinforces this fragmentation by prioritizing calculable, empirical facts over any unifying vision of reality.
For Lukács, bourgeois rationalism, with its reliance on abstract mathematics and calculability, excludes any meaningful engagement with the whole. It either confines itself to empirical reality or ventures into utopian speculation, neither of which can address the systemic contradictions of capitalism. The idealist dialectic, in its attempt to restore unity by emphasizing the subject’s creativity, fails to grasp the revolutionary potential of human praxis.
Reification cannot be overcome within the limits of bourgeois consciousness. Only the proletariat, through its unique position as both a commodity and the creator of social reality, can grasp the totality of the social mechanism. When the proletariat achieves class consciousness, it recognizes and rebels against the pervasive reification of social life. This awakening is not mere awareness but a revolutionary act that liberates humanity from objectification. For the proletariat, truth is not a passive reflection of an external reality but part of a historical process of emancipation.
Lukács saw the destruction of society as a proper solution to the "cultural contradiction of the epoch". In 1969, he cited:“Even though my ideas were confused from a theoretical point of view, I saw the revolutionary destruction of society as the one and only solution to the cultural contradictions of the epoch. Such a worldwide overturning of values cannot take place without the annihilation of the old values.
=== Literary and aesthetic work ===
In addition to his standing as a Marxist political thinker, Lukács was an influential literary critic of the twentieth century. His important work in literary criticism began early in his career, with The Theory of the Novel, a seminal work in literary theory and the theory of genre. The book is a history of the novel as a form, and an investigation into its distinct characteristics. In The Theory of the Novel, he coins the term "transcendental homelessness", which he defines as the "longing of all souls for the place in which they once belonged, and the 'nostalgia… for utopian perfection, a nostalgia that feels itself and its desires to be the only true reality'". Lukács maintains that "the novel is the necessary epic form of our time."
Lukács later repudiated The Theory of the Novel, writing a lengthy introduction that described it as erroneous, but nonetheless containing a "romantic anti-capitalism" which would later develop into Marxism. (This introduction also contains his famous dismissal of Theodor Adorno and others in Western Marxism as having taken up residence in the "Grand Hotel Abyss".)
Lukács's later literary criticism includes the well-known essay "Kafka or Thomas Mann?", in which Lukács argues for the work of Thomas Mann as a superior attempt to deal with the condition of modernity, and criticises Franz Kafka's brand of modernism. Lukács steadfastly opposed the formal innovations of modernist writers like Kafka, James Joyce, and Samuel Beckett, preferring the traditional aesthetic of realism.
During his time in Moscow in the 1930s, Lukács worked on Marxist views of aesthetics while belonging to the group around an influential Moscow magazine "The Literary Critic" (Literaturny Kritik). The editor of this magazine, Mikhail Lifshitz, was an important Soviet author on aesthetics. Lifshitz's views were very similar to Lukács's insofar as both argued for the value of traditional art; despite the drastic difference in age (Lifschitz was much younger), both Lifschitz and Lukács indicated that their working relationship at that time was a collaboration of equals. Lukács contributed frequently to this magazine, which was also followed by Marxist art theoreticians around the world through various translations published by the Soviet government.
The collaboration between Lifschitz and Lukács resulted in the formation of an informal circle of the like-minded Marxist intellectuals connected to the journal Literaturnyi Kritik [The Literary Critic], published monthly starting in the summer of 1933 by the Organisational Committee of the Writers' Union. ... A group of thinkers formed around Lifschitz, Lukács and Andrei Platonov; they were concerned with articulating the aesthetical views of Marx and creating a kind of Marxist aesthetics that had not yet been properly formulated.
Lukács famously argued for the revolutionary character of the novels of Sir Walter Scott and Honoré de Balzac. Lukács felt that both authors' nostalgic, pro-aristocratic politics allowed them accurate and critical stances because of their opposition (albeit reactionary) to the rising bourgeoisie. This view was expressed in his later book The Historical Novel (published in Russian in 1937, then in Hungarian in 1947), as well as in his essay "Realism in the Balance" (1938).
The Historical Novel is probably Lukács's most influential work of literary history. In it, he traces the development of the genre of historical fiction. While prior to 1789, he argues, people's consciousness of history was relatively underdeveloped, the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars that followed brought about a realisation of the constantly changing, evolving character of human existence. This new historical consciousness was reflected in the work of Sir Walter Scott, whose novels use 'representative' or 'typical' characters to dramatise major social conflicts and historical transformations, for example, the dissolution of feudal society in the Scottish Highlands and the entrenchment of mercantile capitalism. Lukács argues that Scott's new brand of historical realism was taken up by Balzac and Tolstoy, and enabled novelists to depict contemporary social life not as a static drama of fixed, universal types, but rather as a moment of history, constantly changing, open to the potential of revolutionary transformation. For this reason, he sees these authors as progressive and their work as potentially radical, despite their own personal conservative politics.
For Lukács, this historical realist tradition began to give way after the 1848 revolutions, when the bourgeoisie ceased to be a progressive force and their role as agents of history was usurped by the proletariat. After this time, historical realism begins to sicken and lose its concern with social life as inescapably historical. He illustrates this point by comparing Flaubert's historical novel Salammbô to that of the earlier realists. For him, Flaubert's work marks a turning away from relevant social issues and an elevation of style over substance. Why he does not discuss Sentimental Education, a novel much more overtly concerned with recent historical developments, is not clear. For much of his life Lukács promoted a return to the realist tradition that he believed had reached its height with Balzac and Scott, and bemoaned the supposed neglect of history that characterised modernism.
The Historical Novel has been hugely influential in subsequent critical studies of historical fiction, and no serious analyst of the genre fails to engage at some level with Lukács's arguments.
==== Critical and socialist realism ====
Lukács defined realistic literature as literature capable of relating human life to the totality. He distinguishes between two forms of realism, critical and socialist. Lukács argued that it was precisely the desire for a realistic depiction of life that enabled politically reactionary writers such as Balzac, Walter Scott and Tolstoy to produce great, timeless and socially progressive works. According to Lukács, there is a contradiction between worldview and talent among such writers. He greatly valued the comments made in that direction by Lenin on Tolstoy and especially by Engels on Balzac, where Engels describes the "triumph of realism":
Balzac boldly exposed the contradiction of nascent capitalist society and hence his observation of reality constantly clashed with his political prejudices. But as an honest artist he always depicted only what he himself saw, learned and underwent, concerning himself not at all whether his-true-to-life description of the things he saw contradicted his pet ideas.
Critical realists include writers who could not rise to the communist worldview, but despite this, tried to truthfully reflect the conflicts of the era, not content with the direct description of single events. A great story speaks through individual human destinies in their work. Such writers are not naturalists, allegorists and metaphysicians. They do not flee from the world into the isolated human soul and do not seek to raise its experiences to the rank of timeless, eternal and irresistible properties of human nature. Balzac, Tolstoy, Anatole France, Romain Rolland, George Bernard Shaw, Lion Feuchtwanger and Thomas Mann are the brightest writers from the gallery of critical realists.
Lukács notes that realistic art is usually found either in highly developed countries or in countries undergoing a period of rapid socio-economic development, yet it is possible that backward countries often give rise to advanced literature precisely because of their backwardness, which they seek to overcome by artistic means. Lukács (together with Lifshitz) polemicized against the "vulgar sociological" thesis then dominant in Soviet literary criticism. The "vulgar sociologists" (associated with the former RAPP) prioritized class origin as the most important determinant for an artist and his work, categorizing artists and artistic genres as "feudal", "bourgeois", "petty-bourgeois" etc. Lukács and Lifshitz sought to prove that such great artists as Dante, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Goethe or Tolstoy were able to rise above their class worldview by grasping the dialectic of individual and society in its totality and depicting their relations truthfully.
All modernist art – avant-garde, naturalism, expressionism, surrealism, etc. – is the opposite of realism. This is decadent art, examples of which are the works of Kafka, Joyce, Musil, Beckett, etc. The main shortcoming of modernism, which predicts its inevitable defeat, is the inability to perceive the totality and carry out the act of mediation. One cannot blame the writer for describing loneliness, but one must show it in such a way that it is clear to everyone: human loneliness is an inevitable consequence of capitalist social relations. Whereas in Kafka, we meet with "ontological solitariness", depicted as a permanent situation of man and a universal value. In this regard, Kafka stops at the description of the phenomenon, given directly; he is not able to rise to the totality, which alone can reveal the meaning of loneliness. Therefore, Kafka acts like the naturalists. In order for the image of chaos, confusion and fear of the modern world and man to be realistic, the writer must show the social roots that generate all these phenomena. And if, like Joyce, one depicts the spiritual world and the sense of time of a person in a state of absolute decay, without bothering to search for reasons and prospects for a way out, then the writer gives a false image of the world, and his works must be recognized as immature.
So, modernism is deprived of a historical perspective, tying the person to positions and situations that are not really historically and socially determined. Modernism transforms such situations into transcendental qualities. The great images of great literature, Achilles and Werther, Oedipus and Tom Joad, Antigone and Anna Karenina, are social beings, for Aristotle already noted that man is a social being. And the heroes of modernist literature are torn out of their ties with society and history. Narrative becomes purely "subjective", the animal in man is opposed to the social in him, which corresponds to Heidegger's denial and condemnation of society as something impersonal. He wrote:
Literary and art history is a mass graveyard where many artists of talent rest in deserved oblivion because they neither sought nor found any association to the problems of advancing humanity and did not set themselves on the right side in the vital struggle between health and decay.
Barbara Stackman maintains that, for Lukács, decadents are decadent not because they depict illness and decay, but because they do not recognize the existence of health, of the social sphere that would reunite the alienated writer to the progressive forces of history. Sickness, then, is a reactionary mode of insertion into the class struggle; sickness, writes Lukács, "produces a complete overturning of values." Though "sick art" may have its dialectical moment in the sun (Lukács cites only Antigone as an example where that which is declining may even appear as human greatness and purity), it is destined for the dust heap of history, while "healthy art" is a "reflection of the lasting truth of human relationships."
On the other hand, socialist realism is recognized as the highest stage in the development of literature:
The prospect of socialist realism is, of course, the struggle for socialism. Socialist realism differs from critical realism not only in that it is based on a specific socialist perspective, but also in that it uses this perspective to describe from within the forces that work in favor of socialism. Critical realists have more than once described the political struggle of our time and depicted heroes – socialists and communists. But only socialist realists describe such heroes from the inside, thus identifying them with the forces of progress. The greatness of socialist realism lies in the fact that the historical totality, directed towards communism, becomes clear as daylight in any fragment of a given work.
In 1938, in his work Realism in the Balance, a polemic against Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin, Bertolt Brecht and Theodor Adorno, Lukács explained the lack of modernism in the Soviet Union in this way:
The more the domination of the proletariat strengthened, the more deeply and comprehensively socialism penetrated the economy of the Soviet Union, the wider and deeper the cultural revolution embraced the working masses, the stronger and more hopelessly "avant-garde" art was pushed out by an ever more conscious realism. The decline of expressionism is ultimately a consequence of the maturity of the revolutionary masses.
No less typical is his article "Propaganda or Partisanship?", in which he polemicizes against the definition of socialist art as "tendentious." Literature, in his opinion, should not be biased, but only "party-spirited" in the essence of taking the side of the class that is objectively progressive in the given historical moment. Tendentious literature eclectically connects "pure art" with politically alien elements brought in from outside. But such a program, which Franz Mehring once defended, means "the primacy of form over content" and contrasts the aesthetic and political elements of the work. This understanding of art, Lukács says, is Trotskyist.
Lukács' defense of socialist realism contained a critique of Stalinism and a condemnation of most of the party-propagandistic Soviet literature of the 1930s and 1940s (which was based on Andrei Zhdanov's doctrine of "conflictless art" and which Lukács dismissively called "illustrative" literature) as a distortion of true socialist realism. He acknowledged that Stalinism suffered from a lack of "mediation" in the field of cultural policy. Instead of describing the real conflicts of the life of a socialist society, Stalinist literature turned into bare schemes and abstractions, describing the general truths of theory and in no way "mediating" them with images taken from reality. The specificity of art was forgotten, and it turned into an instrument of agitation. Schematic optimism has spread in place of the historical. The heroes did not represent any of the typical qualities of the new society. Lenin's article "Party Organization and Party Literature", which, as Nadezhda Krupskaya said, dealt only with political literature, turned into a rule of artistic activity and its evaluation.
Despite all this criticism, Lukács never changed his basic conviction: socialist realism represents a "fundamentally" and "historically" higher stage in the development of art than all its predecessors.
The most surprising product of Lukács' discourse on socialist realism is his articles on Alexander Solzhenitsyn, whom he considered to be the greatest "plebeian realist" writer of the twentieth century. Lukács welcomed the appearance of the writer's short stories and novellas as the first sign of the renaissance of socialist realism, since Solzhenitsyn, in describing camp life in A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, depicts everyday events as a symbol of an entire era. Nor is Solzhenitsyn a naturalist, since he refers the events described to the socio-historical totality and does not seek to restore capitalism in Russia. According to Lukács, Solzhenitsyn criticizes Stalinism from a plebeian, and not from a communist point of view. And if he does not overcome this weakness, then his artistic talent will decrease.
=== Ontology of social being ===
Later in life, Lukács undertook a major exposition on the ontology of social being, which has been partly published in English in three volumes. The work is a systematic treatment of dialectical philosophy in its materialist form.
== Bibliography ==
History and Class Consciousness (1972). ISBN 0-262-62020-0.
The Theory of the Novel (1974). ISBN 0-262-62027-8.
Lenin: A Study in the Unity of His Thought (1998). ISBN 1-85984-174-0.
A Defense of History and Class Consciousness (2000). ISBN 1-85984-747-1.
The culture of people's democracy : Hungarian essays on literature, art, and democratic transition, 1945-1948 (2013). ISBN 9789004217270
== See also ==
Lajos Jánossy, Lukács's adopted son
Marx's notebooks on the history of technology
== Notes ==
== References ==
=== Sources ===
== Further reading ==
Fekete, Eva and Karadi, Eva (ed.), Gyorgy Lukacs : his life in pictures and documents. Budapest : Corvina Kiado, 1981.
Furner, James. "Commodity Form Philosophy," in Marx on Capitalism: The Interaction-Recognition-Antinomy Thesis. (Leiden: Brill, 2018). pp. 85–128.
Gerhardt, Christina. "Georg Lukács," The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, 1500 to the Present. 8 vols. Ed. Immanuel Ness (Malden: Blackwell, 2009). 2135–2137.
Hohendahl, Peter Uwe. "The Scholar, The Intellectual, And The Essay: Weber, Lukács, Adorno, And Postwar Germany," German Quarterly 70.3 (1997): 217–231.
Hohendahl, Peter Uwe "Art Work And Modernity: The Legacy of Georg Lukács," New German Critique: An Interdisciplinary Journal of German Studies 42.(1987): 33–49.
Hohendahl, Peter Uwe, and Blackwell Jeanine. "Georg Lukács in the GDR: On Recent Developments in Literary Theory," New German Critique: An Interdisciplinary Journal of German Studies 12.(1977): 169–174.
Holz, Hans Heinz (et al.), Conversations with Lukács, Cambridge, Mass : MIT Press, 1974.
Jameson, Fredric. Marxism and Form: Twentieth-century Dialectical Theories of Literature. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1972.
Jay, Martin, Marxism and totality : the adventures of a concept from Lukács to Habermas, Berkeley : University of California Press, 1984.
Kadarkay, Arpad (ed.), The Lukács reader. Oxford : Blackwell, 1995.
Marcus, Judith and Tar, Zoltan (ed.), Georg Lukacs : selected correspondence, 1902-1920 : dialogues with Weber, Simmel, Buber, Mannheim, and others. New York : Columbia University Press, 1986.
Morgan, W. John, 'Political Commissar and Cultural Critic: Georg Lukács'. Chapter 6 in Morgan, W. John, Communists on Education and Culture 1848–1948, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, pp. 83–102. ISBN 0-333-48586-6
Morgan, W. John, ‘Georg Lukács: cultural policy, Stalinism, and the Communist International.’ International Journal of Cultural Policy, 12 (3), 2006, pp. 257–271.
Stern, L. "George Lukacs: An Intellectual Portrait," Dissent, vol. 5, no. 2 (Spring 1958), pp. 162–173.
== External links ==
Works by György Lukács at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about György Lukács at the Internet Archive
Georg Lukács Archive, Marxists website
Guide to Literary Theory Archived 1 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine, Johns Hopkins University Press
Georg Lukács, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Petri Liukkonen. "György Lukács". Books and Writers.
Bendl Júlia, "Lukács György élete a századfordulótól 1918-ig"
Lukács and Imre Lakatos
Hungarian biography
Georg Lukács Archive, Libertarian Communist Library
Múlt-kor Történelmi portál (Past-Age Historic Portal): Lukács György was born 120 years ago (in Hungarian)
Levee Blanc, "Georg Lukács: The Antinomies of Melancholy", Other Voices, Vol.1 no.1, 1998.
Michael J. Thompson, "Lukacs Revisited" New Politics, 2001, Issue 30
Realism in the Balance |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations#History | United Nations | The United Nations (UN) is a global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the articulated mission of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among states, to promote international cooperation, and to serve as a centre for harmonizing the actions of states in achieving those goals.
The United Nations headquarters is located in New York City, with several other offices located in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and The Hague. The UN comprises six principal organizations: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, the Secretariat, and the Trusteeship Council which, together with several specialized agencies and related agencies, make up the United Nations System. There are in total 193 member states and 2 observer states.
The UN has primarily focused on economic and social development, particularly during the wave of decolonization in the mid-20th century. The UN has been recognized as a leader of peace and human development, with many officers and agencies having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but has also been criticized for perceived ineffectiveness, bias, and corruption.
== History ==
=== Background (pre-1941) ===
In the century prior to the UN's creation, several international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross were formed to ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and strife.
During World War I, several major leaders, especially U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, advocated for a world body to guarantee peace. The winners of the war, the Allies, met to decide on formal peace terms at the Paris Peace Conference. The League of Nations was approved and started operations, but the United States never joined. On 10 January 1920, the League of Nations formally came into being when the Covenant of the League of Nations, ratified by 42 nations in 1919, took effect. The League Council acted as an executive body directing the Assembly's business. It began with four permanent members—the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Japan.
After some limited successes and failures during the 1920s, the League proved ineffective in the 1930s, as it failed to act against the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1933. Forty nations voted for Japan to withdraw from Manchuria but Japan voted against it and walked out of the League instead of withdrawing from Manchuria. It also failed to act against the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, after the appeal for international intervention by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I at Geneva in 1936 went with no avail, including when calls for economic sanctions against Italy failed. Italy and other nations left the League.
When World War II broke out in 1939, the League effectively closed down.
=== Declarations by the Allies of World War II (1941–1944) ===
The first step towards the establishment of the United Nations was the Inter-Allied Conference in London that led to the Declaration of St James's Palace on 12 June 1941. By August 1941, American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had drafted the Atlantic Charter; which defined goals for the post-war world. At the subsequent meeting of the Inter-Allied Council in London on 24 September 1941, the eight governments in exile of countries under Axis occupation, together with the Soviet Union and representatives of the Free French Forces, unanimously adopted adherence to the common principles of policy set forth by Britain and the United States.
Roosevelt and Churchill met at the White House in December 1941 for the Arcadia Conference. Roosevelt is considered a founder of the UN, and coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries. Churchill accepted it, noting its use by Lord Byron. The text of the Declaration by United Nations was drafted on 29 December 1941, by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Harry Hopkins. It incorporated Soviet suggestions but included no role for France. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, which Stalin approved after Roosevelt insisted.
Roosevelt's idea of the "Four Powers", refers to the four major Allied countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China, emerged in the Declaration by the United Nations. On New Year's Day 1942, Roosevelt, Churchill, the Soviet Union's former Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov, and the Chinese Premier T. V. Soong signed the "Declaration by United Nations", and the next day the representatives of twenty-two other nations added their signatures. During the war, the United Nations became the official term for the Allies. In order to join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis powers.
The October 1943 Moscow Conference resulted in the Moscow Declarations, including the Four Power Declaration on General Security. This declaration was signed by the Allied Big Four—the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and China—and aimed for the creation "at the earliest possible date of a general international organization". This was the first public announcement that a new international organization was being contemplated to replace the League of Nations. The Tehran Conference followed shortly afterwards at which Roosevelt, Churchill and Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, met and discussed the idea of a post-war international organization.
The new international organization was formulated and negotiated amongst the delegations from the Allied Big Four at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference from 21 September to 7 October 1944. They agreed on proposals for the aims, structure and functioning of the new organization. It took the conference at Yalta in February 1945, and further negotiations with the Soviet Union, before all the issues were resolved.
=== Founding (1945) ===
By 1 March 1945, 21 additional states had signed the Declaration by the United Nations. After months of planning, the UN Conference on International Organization opened in San Francisco on 25 April 1945. It was attended by 50 nations' governments and a number of non-governmental organizations. The delegations of the Big Four chaired the plenary meetings. Previously, Churchill had urged Roosevelt to restore France to its status of a major power after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. The drafting of the Charter of the United Nations was completed over the following two months, and it was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. The UN officially came into existence at 20:07 (UTC) on 24 October 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and China — and by a majority of the other 46 nations.
The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, and the Security Council took place in London beginning in January 1946. Debates began at once, covering topical issues such as the presence of Russian troops in Iranian Azerbaijan and British forces in Greece. British diplomat Gladwyn Jebb served as interim secretary-general.
The General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN. Construction began on 14 September 1948 and the facility was completed on 9 October 1952. The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was the first elected UN secretary-general.
=== Cold War (1947–1991) ===
Though the UN's primary mandate was peacekeeping, the division between the United States and the Soviet Union often paralysed the organization; generally allowing it to intervene only in conflicts distant from the Cold War. Two notable exceptions were a Security Council resolution on 7 July 1950 authorizing a US-led coalition to repel the North Korean invasion of South Korea, passed in the absence of the Soviet Union, and the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953.
On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly approved Resolution 181, a proposal to partition British Mandatory Palestine into two states, a Jewish state and an Arab state, with Jerusalem placed under international status. The Partition plan passed 33–13 with 10 abstentions and one absent. The plan was accepted by the Jews and rejected by the Arabs of Palestine and the Arab states leading to civil war. Following the declaration of the State of Israel on 15 May 1948, the surrounding Arab armies invaded Palestine, beginning the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Two years later, Ralph Bunche, a UN official, negotiated an armistice to the resulting conflict, with the Security Council deciding that "an armistice shall be established in all sectors of Palestine". On 7 November 1956, the first UN peacekeeping force was established to end the Suez Crisis; however, the UN was unable to intervene against the Soviet Union's simultaneous invasion of Hungary, following the country's revolution.
On 14 July 1960, the UN established the United Nations Operation in the Congo (or UNOC), the largest military force of its early decades, to bring order to Katanga, restoring it to the control of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by 11 May 1964. While travelling to meet rebel leader Moise Tshombe during the conflict, Dag Hammarskjöld, often named as one of the UN's most effective secretaries-general, died in a plane crash. Months later he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1964, Hammarskjöld's successor, U Thant, deployed the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, which would become one of the UN's longest-running peacekeeping missions.
With the spread of decolonization in the 1960s, the UN's membership shot up due to an influx of newly independent nations. In 1960 alone, 17 new states joined the UN, 16 of them from Africa. On 25 October 1971, with opposition from the United States, but with the support of many Third World nations, the People's Republic of China was given the Chinese seat on the Security Council in place of the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan). The vote was widely seen as a sign of waning American influence in the organization. Third World nations organized themselves into the Group of 77 under the leadership of Algeria, which briefly became a dominant power at the UN. On 10 November 1975, a bloc comprising the Soviet Union and Third World nations passed a resolution, over strenuous American and Israeli opposition, declaring Zionism to be a form of racism. The resolution was repealed on 16 December 1991, shortly after the end of the Cold War.
With an increasing Third World presence and the failure of UN mediation in conflicts in the Middle East, Vietnam, and Kashmir, the UN increasingly shifted its attention to its secondary goals of economic development and cultural exchange. By the 1970s, the UN budget for social and economic development was far greater than its peacekeeping budget.
=== Post-Cold War (1991–present) ===
After the Cold War, the UN saw a radical expansion in its peacekeeping duties, taking on more missions in five years than it had in the previous four decades. Between 1988 and 2000, the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled, and the peacekeeping budget increased more than tenfold. The UN negotiated an end to the Salvadoran Civil War, launched a successful peacekeeping mission in Namibia, and oversaw democratic elections in post-apartheid South Africa and post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia. In 1991, the UN authorized a US-led coalition that repulsed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Brian Urquhart, the under-secretary-general of the UN from 1971 to 1985, later described the hopes raised by these successes as a "false renaissance" for the organization, given the more troubled missions that followed.
Beginning in the last decades of the Cold War, critics of the UN condemned the organization for perceived mismanagement and corruption. In 1984, American President Ronald Reagan withdrew the United States' funding from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (or UNESCO) over allegations of mismanagement, followed by the United Kingdom and Singapore. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the secretary-general from 1992 to 1996, initiated a reform of the Secretariat, somewhat reducing the size of the organization. His successor, Kofi Annan, initiated further management reforms in the face of threats from the US to withhold its UN dues.
Though the UN Charter had been written primarily to prevent aggression by one nation against another, in the early 1990s the UN faced several simultaneous, serious crises within Somalia, Haiti, Mozambique, and the nations that previously made up Yugoslavia. The UN mission in Somalia was widely viewed as a failure after the United States' withdrawal following casualties in the Battle of Mogadishu. The UN mission to Bosnia faced worldwide ridicule for its indecisive and confused mission in the face of ethnic cleansing. In 1994, the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda failed to intervene in the Rwandan genocide amidst indecision in the Security Council.
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, international interventions authorized by the UN took a wider variety of forms. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 authorized the NATO-led Kosovo Force beginning in 1999. The UN mission in the Sierra Leone Civil War was supplemented by a British military intervention. The invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was overseen by NATO. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq despite failing to pass a UN Security Council resolution for authorization, prompting a new round of questioning of the UN's effectiveness.
Under the eighth secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, the UN intervened with peacekeepers in crises such as the War in Darfur in Sudan and the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and sent observers and chemical weapons inspectors to the Syrian Civil War. In 2013, an internal review of UN actions in the final battles of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009 concluded that the organization had suffered a "systemic failure". In 2010, the organization suffered the worst loss of life in its history, when 101 personnel died in the Haiti earthquake. Acting under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 in 2011, NATO countries intervened in the First Libyan Civil War.
The Millennium Summit was held in 2000 to discuss the UN's role in the 21st century. The three-day meeting was the largest gathering of world leaders in history, and it culminated in the adoption by all member states of the Millennium Development Goals (or MDGs), a commitment to achieve international development in areas such as poverty reduction, gender equality and public health. Progress towards these goals, which were to be met by 2015, was ultimately uneven. The 2005 World Summit reaffirmed the UN's focus on promoting development, peacekeeping, human rights and global security. The Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) were launched in 2015 to succeed the Millennium Development Goals.
In addition to addressing global challenges, the UN has sought to improve its accountability and democratic legitimacy by engaging more with civil society and fostering a global constituency. In an effort to enhance transparency, in 2016 the organization held its first public debate between candidates for secretary-general. On 1 January 2017, Portuguese diplomat António Guterres, who had previously served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, became the ninth secretary-general. Guterres has highlighted several key goals for his administration, including an emphasis on diplomacy for preventing conflicts, more effective peacekeeping efforts, and streamlining the organization to be more responsive and versatile to international needs.
On 13 June 2019, the UN signed a Strategic Partnership Framework with the World Economic Forum in order to "jointly accelerate" the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Throughout most of its history, the UN has faced funding issues. However they have become severe since 2020, and in 2025, the UN began facing a financial crisis resulting from delays in member state due payments and refusal to pay the amount the UN charges. A major problem is that the United States, the largest contributor, has a law in place since 1994 where it will not pay more than 25% of total UN Peacekeeping fees, however it is currently assessed 27%. Additionally the US and the second largest contributor, China often delay their payments in order to influence the UN on topics such as the Gaza war and Persecution of Uyghurs in China. Other countries have begun to follow suit, triggering a financial crisis. On 19 May 2025, only 61 countries paid their dues on time and in full. The crisis is causing massive budget cuts within the UN, with the UN warning that millions of lives are being put at risk.
== Structure ==
The United Nations is part of the broader UN System, which includes an extensive network of institutions and entities. Central to the organization are five principal organs established by the UN Charter: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice and the UN Secretariat. A sixth principal organ, the Trusteeship Council, suspended its operations on 1 November 1994 upon the independence of Palau; the last remaining UN trustee territory.
Four of the five principal organs are located at the main UN Headquarters in New York City, while the International Court of Justice is seated in The Hague. Most other major agencies are based in the UN offices at Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi, and additional UN institutions are located throughout the world. The six official languages of the UN, used in intergovernmental meetings and documents, are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. On the basis of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, the UN and its agencies are immune from the laws of the countries where they operate, safeguarding the UN's impartiality with regard to host and member countries.
Below the six organs are, in the words of the author Linda Fasulo, "an amazing collection of entities and organizations, some of which are actually older than the UN itself and operate with almost complete independence from it". These include specialized agencies, research and training institutions, programmes and funds and other UN entities.
All organizations in the UN system obey the Noblemaire principle, which calls for salaries that will attract and retain citizens of countries where compensation is highest, and which ensures equal pay for work of equal value regardless of the employee's nationality. In practice, the International Civil Service Commission, which governs the conditions of UN personnel, takes reference to the highest-paying national civil service. Staff salaries are subject to an internal tax that is administered by the UN organizations.
=== General Assembly ===
The General Assembly is the primary deliberative assembly of the UN. Composed of all UN member states, the assembly gathers at annual sessions at the General Assembly Hall, but emergency sessions can be summoned. The assembly is led by a president, elected by the member states on a rotating regional basis, and 21 vice-presidents. The first session convened on 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall in London and comprised representatives of 51 nations.
When the General Assembly decides on seminal questions such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, a two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required. All other questions are decided by a majority vote. Each member has one vote. Apart from the approval of budgetary matters, resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security that are under consideration by the Security Council.
Draft resolutions can be forwarded to the General Assembly by its six main committees:
First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)
Second Committee (Economic and Financial)
Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural)
Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization)
Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary)
Sixth Committee (Legal)
As well as by the following two committees:
General Committee – a supervisory committee consisting of the assembly's president, vice-presidents, and committee heads
Credentials Committee – responsible for determining the credentials of each member nation's UN representatives
=== Security Council ===
The Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security among nations. While other organs of the UN can only make recommendations to member states, the Security Council has the power to make binding decisions that member states have agreed to carry out, under the terms of Charter Article 25. The decisions of the council are known as United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The Security Council is made up of fifteen member states: five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and ten non-permanent members (Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia, as of 2025). The five permanent members hold veto power over UN resolutions, allowing a permanent member to block adoption of a resolution, though not debate. The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms, with five members elected each year by the General Assembly on a regional basis. The presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically each month.
=== UN Secretariat ===
The UN Secretariat carries out the day-to-day duties required to operate and maintain the UN system. It is composed of tens of thousands of international civil servants worldwide and headed by the secretary-general, who is assisted by the deputy secretary-general. The Secretariat's duties include providing information and facilities needed by UN bodies for their meetings and carrying out tasks as directed by the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and other UN bodies.
The secretary-general acts as the spokesperson and leader of the UN. The position is defined in the UN Charter as the organization's chief administrative officer. Article 99 of the charter states that the secretary-general can bring to the Security Council's attention "any matter which in their opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security", a phrase that secretaries-general since Trygve Lie have interpreted as giving the position broad scope for action on the world stage. The office has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to global issues.
The secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly, after being recommended by the Security Council, where the permanent members have veto power. There are no specific criteria for the post, but over the years it has become accepted that the position shall be held for one or two terms of five years. The current secretary-general is António Guterres of Portugal, who replaced Ban Ki-moon in 2017.
=== International Court of Justice ===
The International Court of Justice (or ICJ), sometimes known as the World Court, is the primary judicial organ of the UN. It is the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice and occupies the body's former headquarters in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, making it the only principal organ not based in New York City. The ICJ's main function is adjudicating disputes among nations. Examples of issues they have heard include war crimes, violations of state sovereignty and ethnic cleansing. The court can also be called upon by other UN organs to provide advisory opinions on matters of international law. All UN member states are parties to the ICJ Statute, which forms an integral part of the UN Charter, and non-members may also become parties. The ICJ's rulings are binding upon parties and, along with its advisory opinions, serve as sources of international law. The court is composed of 15 judges appointed to nine-year terms by the General Assembly. Every sitting judge must be from a different nation.
=== Economic and Social Council ===
The Economic and Social Council (or the ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social co-operation and development. It was established to serve as the UN's primary forum for global issues and is the largest and most complex UN body. The ECOSOC's functions include gathering data, conducting studies and advising and making recommendations to member states. Its work is carried out primarily by subsidiary bodies focused on a wide variety of topics. These include the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which advises UN agencies on issues relating to indigenous peoples, the United Nations Forum on Forests, which coordinates and promotes sustainable forest management, the United Nations Statistical Commission, which co-ordinates information-gathering efforts between agencies, and the Commission on Sustainable Development, which co-ordinates efforts between UN agencies and NGOs working towards sustainable development. ECOSOC may also grant consultative status to non-governmental organizations. As of April 2021 almost 5,600 organizations have this status.
=== Specialized agencies ===
The UN Charter stipulates that each primary organ of the United Nations can establish various specialized agencies to fulfill its duties. Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other through the coordinating machinery of the Economic and Social Council. Each was integrated into the UN system through an agreement with the UN under UN Charter article 57. There are fifteen specialized agencies, which perform functions as diverse as facilitating international travel, preventing and addressing pandemics, and promoting economic development.
=== Funds, programmes, and other bodies ===
The United Nations system includes a myriad of autonomous, separately administered funds, programmes, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary bodies. Each of these entities have their own area of work, governance structure, and budgets such as the World Trade Organization (or the WTO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (or the IAEA), operate independently of the UN but maintain formal partnership agreements. The UN performs much of its humanitarian work through these institutions, such as preventing famine and malnutrition (the World Food Programme), protecting vulnerable and displaced people (the UNHCR), and combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic (the UNAIDS).
== Membership ==
All the world's undisputed independent states are members of the United Nations. South Sudan, which joined 14 July 2011, is the most recent addition, bringing a total of 193 UN member states. The UN Charter outlines the membership rules:
Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states that accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. Chapter II, Article 4.
In addition, there are two non-member observer states: the Holy See and Palestine. The Cook Islands and Niue, both states in free association with New Zealand, are full members of several UN specialized agencies and have had their "full treaty-making capacity" recognized by the Secretariat.
Indonesia was the first and the only nation that attempted to withdraw its membership from the United Nations, in protest to the election of Malaysia as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 1965 during conflict between the two countries. After forming CONEFO as a short-lived rival to the UN, Indonesia resumed its membership in 1966.
=== Group of 77 ===
The Group of 77 (or the G77) at the UN is a loose coalition of developing nations that is designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the UN. Seventy-seven nations founded the organization, but by November 2013 the organization had since expanded to 133 member countries. The group was founded 15 June 1964 by the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" issued at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (or the UNCTAD). The group held its first major meeting in Algiers in 1967, where it adopted the Charter of Algiers and established the basis for permanent institutional structures. With the adoption of the New International Economic Order by developing countries in the 1970s, the work of the G77 spread throughout the UN system. Similar groupings of developing states also operate in other UN agencies, such as the Group of 24 (or the G-24), which operates in the IMF on monetary affairs.
== Objectives ==
The overarching strategy of the United Nations is captured in the United Nations Common Agenda.
=== Peacekeeping and security ===
The UN, after approval by the Security Council, sends peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Since the UN does not maintain its own military, peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states. These soldiers are sometimes nicknamed "Blue Helmets" because they wear distinctive blue helmets. Peacekeeping forces as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.
The UN has carried out 71 peacekeeping operations since 1947, and As of April 2021, over 88,000 peacekeeping personnel from 121 nations have been deployed on missions. The largest is the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (or UNMISS), which has close to 19,200 uniformed personnel, and the smallest, the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (or UNMOGIP), consists of 113 civilians and experts charged with monitoring the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir. UN peacekeepers with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (or UNTSO) have been stationed in the Middle East since 1948, the longest-running active peacekeeping mission.
A study by the RAND Corporation in 2005 found the UN to be successful in two-thirds of its peacekeeping efforts. It compared efforts at nation-building by the UN to those of the United States and found that 87.5% of UN cases are at peace, as compared with 50% of U.S. cases at peace. Also in 2005, the Human Security Report documented a decline in the number of wars, genocides, and human rights abuses since the end of the Cold War, and presented evidence, albeit circumstantial, that international activism – mostly spearheaded by the UN – has been the main cause of the decline in armed conflict. Situations in which the UN has not only acted to keep the peace but also intervened include the Korean War and the authorization of intervention in Iraq after the Gulf War. Further studies published between 2008 and 2021 determined UN peacekeeping operations to be more effective at ensuring long-lasting peace and minimizing civilian casualties.
The UN has also drawn criticism for perceived failures. In many cases, member states have shown reluctance to achieve or enforce Security Council resolutions. Disagreements in the Security Council about military action and intervention are seen as having failed to prevent the Bangladesh genocide in 1971, the Cambodian genocide in the 1970s, and the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Similarly, UN inaction is blamed for failing to either prevent the Srebrenica massacre or complete the peacekeeping operations during the Somali Civil War. UN peacekeepers have also been accused of child rape, soliciting prostitutes, and sexual abuse during various peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Sudan, Burundi, and Côte d'Ivoire. Scientists cited UN peacekeepers from Nepal as the source of the 2010s Haiti cholera outbreak, which killed more than 8,000 people.
In addition to peacekeeping, the UN is also active in encouraging disarmament. Regulation of armaments was included in the writing of the UN Charter in 1945 and was envisioned as a way of limiting the use of human and economic resources for their creation. The advent of nuclear weapons came only weeks after the signing of the charter, resulting in the first resolution of the first General Assembly meeting calling for specific proposals for "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction". The UN has been involved with arms-limitation treaties such as the Outer Space Treaty, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Seabed Arms Control Treaty, the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Ottawa Treaty. Three UN bodies oversee arms proliferation issues: the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission. Additionally, many peacekeeping missions focus on disarmament: several operations in West Africa disarmed roughly 250,000 former combatants and secured tens of thousands of weapons and millions of munitions.
=== Human rights ===
One of the UN's primary purposes is "promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion", and member states pledge to undertake "joint and separate action" to protect these rights.
In 1948, the General Assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted by a committee headed by American diplomat and activist Eleanor Roosevelt, and including the French lawyer René Cassin. The document proclaims basic civil, political and economic rights common to all human beings, though its effectiveness towards achieving these ends has been disputed since its drafting. The Declaration serves as a "common standard of achievement for all people and all nations" rather than a legally binding document, but it has become the basis of two binding treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In practice, the UN is unable to take significant action against human rights abuses without a Security Council resolution, though it does substantial work in investigating and reporting abuses.
In 1979, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; followed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. With the end of the Cold War, the push for human rights action took on new impetus. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was formed in 1993 to oversee human rights issues for the UN, following the recommendation of that year's World Conference on Human Rights. Jacques Fomerand, a scholar of the UN, describes the organization's mandate as "broad and vague", with only "meagre" resources to carry it out. In 2006, it was replaced by a Human Rights Council consisting of 47 nations. Also in 2006, the General Assembly passed a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and in 2011 it passed its first resolution recognizing the rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other UN bodies responsible for women's rights issues include the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, one of three bodies with a mandate to oversee issues related to indigenous peoples, held its first session in 2002.
=== Economic development and humanitarian assistance ===
Another primary purpose of the UN is "to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian character". Numerous bodies have been created to work towards this goal, primarily under the authority of the General Assembly and the ECOSOC. In 2000, the 192 UN member states agreed to achieve eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals were launched in 2015 to succeed the Millennium Development Goals. The SDGs have an associated financing framework called the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
The UN Development Programme (or the UNDP), an organization for grant-based technical assistance, is one of the leading bodies in the field of international development. The organization also publishes the UN Human Development Index, a comparative measure ranking countries by poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy, and other factors. The Food and Agriculture Organization (or the FAO) promotes agricultural development and food security. The United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created in 1946 to aid European children after the Second World War and expanded its mission to provide aid around the world and to uphold the convention on the Rights of the Child.
The World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (or the IMF) are independent, specialized agencies and observers within the UN framework. They were initially formed separately from the UN through the Bretton Woods Agreement. The World Bank provides loans for international development, while the IMF promotes international economic co-operation and gives emergency loans to indebted countries.
The World Health Organization (or WHO), which focuses on international health issues and disease eradication, is another of the UN's largest agencies. In 1980, the agency announced that the eradication of smallpox had been completed. In subsequent decades, WHO eradicated polio, river blindness, and leprosy. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (or UNAIDS) coordinated the organization's response to the AIDS epidemic. The UN Population Fund, which also dedicates part of its resources to combating HIV, is the world's largest source of funding for reproductive health and family planning services.
Along with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the UN takes a leading role in coordinating emergency relief. The World Food Programme (or the WFP) provides food aid in response to famine, natural disasters, and armed conflict. The organization feeds an average of 90 million people in 80 nations per year. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (or the UNHCR) works to protect the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and stateless people. The UNHCR and the WFP programmes are funded by voluntary contributions from governments, corporations, and individuals, though the UNHCR's administrative costs are paid for by the UN's primary budget.
=== Environment and climate ===
Beginning with the formation of the UN Environmental Programme (or the UNEP) in 1972, the UN has made environmental issues a prominent part of its agenda. A lack of success in the first two decades of UN work in this area led to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992; which sought to give new impetus to these efforts. In 1988, the UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (or the WMO), another UN organization, established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which assesses and reports on research on global warming. The UN-sponsored Kyoto Protocol set legally binding emissions reduction targets for ratifying states.
=== Other global issues ===
Since the UN's creation, over 80 colonies have attained independence. The General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960 with no votes against but abstentions from all major colonial powers. The UN works towards decolonization through groups including the UN Committee on Decolonization. The committee lists seventeen remaining "non-self-governing territories", the largest and most populous of which is the Western Sahara.
The UN also declares and co-ordinates international observances that bring awareness to issues of international interest or concern; examples include World Tuberculosis Day, Earth Day, and the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Starting in 2023, the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies has organized an annual UN Open Source Week to facilitate collaborative and international technological projects, AI policies, and governance.
== Funding ==
The UN budget for 2024 was $3.59 billion, not including additional resources donated by members, such as peacekeeping forces. Including specialized agencies of the UN, the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination reports total expenses of $67.4 billion in 2022 for 43 United Nations entities.
The UN is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. The General Assembly approves the regular budget and determines the assessment for each member. This is broadly based on the relative capacity of each nation to pay, as measured by its gross national income (or GNI), with adjustments for external debt and low per capita income.
The Assembly has established the principle that the UN should not be unduly dependent on any one member to finance its operations. Thus, there is a "ceiling" rate, setting the maximum amount that any member can be assessed for the regular budget. In December 2000, the Assembly revised the scale of assessments in response to pressure from the United States. As part of that revision, the regular budget ceiling was reduced from 25% to 22%. For the least developed countries (or LDCs), a ceiling rate of 0.01% is applied. In addition to the ceiling rates, the minimum amount assessed to any member nation (or "floor" rate) is set at 0.001% of the UN budget ($31,000 for the two-year budget 2021–2022).
A large share of the UN's expenditure addresses its core mission of peace and security, and this budget is assessed separately from the main organizational budget. The peacekeeping budget for the 2021–2022 fiscal year is $6.38 billion, supporting 66,839 personnel deployed in 12 missions worldwide. UN peace operations are funded by assessments, using a formula derived from the regular funding scale that includes a weighted surcharge for the five permanent Security Council members, who must approve all peacekeeping operations. This surcharge serves to offset discounted peacekeeping assessment rates for less developed countries. The largest contributors to the UN peacekeeping budget for 2023–2024 are: the United States (26.94%), China (18.68%), Japan (8.03%), Germany (6.11%), the United Kingdom (5.35%), France (5.28%), Italy (3.18%), Canada (2.62%), South Korea (2.57%) and Russia (2.28%).
Special UN programmes not included in the regular budget, such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme, are financed by voluntary contributions from member governments, corporations, and private individuals.
== Assessments and reviews ==
Several studies have examined the Security Council's responsiveness to armed conflict. Findings suggests that the council is more likely to meet and deliberate on conflicts that are more intense and have led to more humanitarian suffering, but that its responsiveness is also shaped by the political interests of member states and in particular of the permanent members.
UN peacekeeping missions are assessed to be generally successful. A book looking at 47 peace operations by Virginia Page Fortna of Columbia University found that UN-led conflict resolution usually resulted in long-term peace.
Political scientists Hanne Fjelde, Lisa Hultman and Desiree Nilsson of Uppsala University studied twenty years of data on peacekeeping missions, concluding that they were more effective at reducing civilian casualties than counterterrorism operations by nation states.
Georgetown University professor Lise Howard postulates that UN peacekeeping operations are more effective due to their emphasis on "verbal persuasion, financial inducements and coercion short of offensive military force, including surveillance and arrest", which are likelier to change the behavior of warring parties.
British historian Paul Kennedy states that while the organization has suffered some major setbacks, "when all its aspects are considered, the UN has brought great benefits to our generation and will bring benefits to our children's and grandchildren's generations as well."
In 2012, then French President François Hollande stated that "France trusts the United Nations. She knows that no state, no matter how powerful, can solve urgent problems, fight for development and bring an end to all crises. France wants the UN to be the centre of global governance". In his 1953 address to the United States Committee for United Nations Day, American President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed his view that, for all its flaws, "the United Nations represents man's best organized hope to substitute the conference table for the battlefield".
Jacques Fomerand, a professor in political sciences, writes that the "accomplishments of the United Nations in the last 60 years are impressive in their own terms. Progress in human development during the 20th century has been dramatic, and the UN and its agencies have certainly helped the world become a more hospitable and livable place for millions".
Reviewing the first 50 years of the UN's history, the author Stanley Meisler writes that "the United Nations never fulfilled the hopes of its founders, but it accomplished a great deal nevertheless", citing its role in decolonization and its many successful peacekeeping efforts.
== Awards ==
A number of agencies and individuals associated with the UN have won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their work. Two secretaries-general, Dag Hammarskjöld and Kofi Annan, were each awarded the prize; as were Ralph Bunche, a UN negotiator, René Cassin, a contributor to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the American Secretary of State Cordell Hull for his role in the organization's founding. Lester B. Pearson, the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs, was awarded the prize in 1957 for his role in organizing the UN's first peacekeeping force to resolve the Suez Crisis.
UNICEF won the prize in 1965, the International Labour Organization in 1969, the UN Peacekeeping Forces in 1988, the International Atomic Energy Agency (which reports to the UN) in 2005, and the UN-supported Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2013. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded the prize in 1954 and 1981, becoming one of only two recipients to win the prize twice. The UN as a whole was awarded the prize in 2001, sharing it with Annan. In 2007, the IPCC received the prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."
On March 21, 2025, the joint Universities of Leuven and Louvain (Belgium) awarded the UNO an honorary degree which was given in the hands of António Guterres.
== Criticism ==
=== Role ===
In a sometimes-misquoted statement, American President George W. Bush stated in February 2003—referring to UN uncertainty towards Iraqi provocations under the Saddam Hussein regime—that "free nations will not allow the UN to fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant debating society."
In 2020, former American President Barack Obama, in his memoir A Promised Land noted, "In the middle of the Cold War, the chances of reaching any consensus had been slim, which is why the UN had stood idle as Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary or U.S. planes dropped napalm on the Vietnamese countryside. Even after the Cold War, divisions within the Security Council continued to hamstring the UN's ability to tackle problems. Its member states lacked either the means or the collective will to reconstruct failing states like Somalia, or prevent an ethnic slaughter in places like Sri Lanka."
Since its founding, there have been many calls for reform of the UN but little consensus on how to do so. Some want the UN to play a greater or more effective role in world affairs, while others want its role reduced to humanitarian work.
=== Representation and structure ===
Core features of the UN apparatus, such as the veto privileges of some nations in the Security Council, are often described as fundamentally undemocratic, contrary to the UN mission, and a main cause of inaction on genocides and crimes against humanity.
Jacques Fomerand state that the most enduring divide in views of the UN is "the North–South split" between richer Northern nations and developing Southern nations. Southern nations tend to favour a more empowered UN with a stronger General Assembly, allowing them a greater voice in world affairs, while Northern nations prefer an economically laissez-faire UN that focuses on transnational threats such as terrorism.
There have been numerous calls for the UN Security Council's membership to be increased, for different ways of electing the UN's secretary-general, and for a UN Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA).
=== Exclusion of nations ===
After World War II, the French Committee of National Liberation was late to be recognized by the United States as the government of France, and so the country was initially excluded from the conferences that created the new organization. Future French president Charles de Gaulle criticized the UN, famously calling it a machin (contraption), and was not convinced that a global security alliance would help maintain world peace, preferring direct defence treaties between countries.
Following the Chinese Civil War, the government of China was disputed between the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party. After the foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949, the government of the Republic of China (ROC) retreated to the island of Taiwan, continuing to claim that it was the sole government of China. After the civil war, the United Nations continued recognizing the ROC as the official government of China. In 1971, amid growing debate over the representation of the Chinese people on the mainland, the General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing the PRC as "the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations." Critics allege that this position reflects a failure of the organization's development goals and guidelines, and it garnered renewed scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Taiwan was denied membership into the World Health Organization despite its relatively effective response to the virus. Support for Taiwan's inclusion in the UN remains challenged by the People's Republic of China, which claims the territories controlled by Taiwan as their own territory.
=== Independence ===
Throughout the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union repeatedly accused the UN of favouring the other. In 1950, the Soviet Union boycotted the organization in protest to China's seat at the UN Security Council being given to the anti-communist Republic of China. Three years later, the Soviets effectively forced the resignation of UN Secretary-General Trygve Lie by refusing to acknowledge his administration due to his support of the Korean War.
Ironically, the United States had simultaneously scrutinized the UN for employing communists and Soviet sympathizers, following a high-profile accusation that Alger Hiss, an American who had taken part in the establishment of the UN, had been a Soviet spy. American Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that the UN Secretariat under Secretary-General Lie harboured American communists, leading to further pressure that the UN chief resign. The United States saw nascent opposition to the UN in the 1960s, particularly amongst conservatives, with groups such as the John Birch Society stating that the organization was an instrument for communism. Popular opposition to the UN was expressed through bumper stickers and signs with slogans such as "Get the U.S. out of the U.N. and the U.N. out of the U.S.!" and "You can't spell communism without U.N."
=== National sovereignty ===
In the United States, there were concerns about supposed threats to national sovereignty, most notably promoted by the John Birch Society, which mounted a nationwide campaign in opposition to the UN during the 1960s.
Beginning in the 1990s, the same concern appeared with the American Sovereignty Restoration Act, which has been introduced multiple times in the United States Congress. In 1997, an amendment containing the bill received a floor vote, with 54 representatives voting in favour. The 2007 version of the bill (H.R. 1146) was authored by U.S. Representative Ron Paul, to effect the United States' withdrawal from the United Nations. It would repeal various laws pertaining to the UN, terminate authorization for funds to be spent on the UN, terminate UN presence on American property, and withdraw diplomatic immunity for UN employees. It would provide up to two years for the United States to withdraw. The Yale Law Journal cited the Act as proof that "the United States's complaints against the United Nations have intensified." The most recent iteration, As of 2022, is H.R.7806, introduced by Mike D. Rogers.
=== Alleged pro-Palestinian bias ===
The UN's attention to Israel's treatment of Palestinians has been considered excessive by Israeli diplomat Dore Gold and pro-Israeli individuals and organisations such as British scholar Robert S. Wistrich, American legal scholar Alan Dershowitz, Australian politician Mark Dreyfus, and the Anti-Defamation League. The UNHRC has likewise been accused of anti-Israel bias by Ex-President of the United States George W. Bush, who complained that the Council focused too much attention on Israel and not enough on adversaries of the US such as Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran.
American state lawmakers have proposed legislation to block various UN programs deemed to threaten U.S. sovereignty. In 2023, Tennessee enacted legislation to block the implementation of programs "originating in, or traceable to, the United Nations or a subsidiary entity of the United Nations," including Agenda 21 and the 2030 Agenda. In her confirmation hearing before the Senate panel to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Elise Stefanik, described the UN's attitude toward Israel as "anti-semitic".
=== Effectiveness ===
According to international relations scholar Edward Luck, the United States has preferred a feeble United Nations in major projects undertaken by the organization to forestall UN interference with, or resistance to, American policies. "The last thing the U.S. wants is an independent UN throwing its weight around", Luck said. Similarly, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Daniel Patrick Moynihan explained that "The Department of State desired that the United Nations prove utterly ineffective in whatever measures it undertook. The task was given to me, and I carried it forward with not inconsiderable success."
In 1994, former special representative of the secretary-general of the UN to Somalia Mohamed Sahnoun published Somalia: The Missed Opportunities, a book in which he analyses the reasons for the failure of the 1992 UN intervention in Somalia. Sahnoun claims that between the start of the Somali civil war in 1988 and the fall of the Siad Barre regime in January 1991, the UN missed at least three opportunities to prevent major human tragedies. When the UN tried to provide humanitarian assistance, they were totally outperformed by NGOs, whose competence and dedication sharply contrasted with the UN's excessive caution and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Sahnoun warned that if radical reform were not undertaken, then the UN would continue to respond to such crises with inept improvisation.
Beyond specific instances or areas of alleged ineffectiveness, some scholars debate the overall effectiveness of the UN. Adherents to the realist school of international relations take a pessimistic position, arguing that the UN is not an effective organization because it is dominated and constrained by great powers. Liberal scholars counter that it is an effective organization because it has proved capable of solving many problems by working around the restrictions imposed by powerful member states. The UN is generally considered by scholars to be more effective in realms such as public health, and humanitarian assistance. The ineffectiveness of enforcing territorial integrity in the 21st century have led to debate on possible re-emergence of the right of conquest.
=== Inefficiency and corruption ===
Critics have also accused the UN of bureaucratic inefficiency, waste, and corruption. In 1976, the General Assembly established the Joint Inspection Unit to seek out inefficiencies within the UN system. During the 1990s, the United States withheld dues citing inefficiency and only started repayment on the condition that a major reforms initiative be introduced. In 1994, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (or the OIOS) was established by the General Assembly to serve as an efficiency watchdog.
In 2004, the UN faced accusations that its recently ended Oil-for-Food Programme — in which Iraq had been allowed to trade oil for basic needs to relieve the pressure of sanctions — had suffered from widespread corruption, including billions of dollars of kickbacks. An independent inquiry created by the UN found that many of its officials had been involved in the scheme, and raised significant questions about the role of Kojo Annan, the son of Kofi Annan.
== Hymn to the United Nations ==
On the request of then United Nations Secretary-General U Thant, a Hymn to the United Nations was performed on the occasion of its 26th anniversary, on 24 October 1971, by Pau Casals, the lyrics to which were penned by the poet W. H. Auden.
Thant first approached Casals, who was a personal friend, looking to create a hymn to peace and hoping for the song to be based on the preamble of the Charter of the United Nations. Thant later commissioned Auden to write the poem after Casals requested one to set to music. Auden completed his work in three days time. The finished work, scored for chorus and orchestra, takes approximately seven minutes to play. However, there were never any plans to adopt the song as the organization's official anthem.
== See also ==
== Notes ==
== References ==
=== Citations ===
=== Bibliography ===
== Further reading ==
== External links ==
Official websites
Official website
The United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC)
United Nations Volunteers
United Nations Documentation Research Guide
Multilingualism at the United Nations
Works by or about United Nations at the Internet Archive
Works by United Nations at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
United Nations on Nobelprize.org |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_See_You_(Breaking_Bad) | I See You (Breaking Bad) | "I See You" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 28th overall episode of the series. Written by Gennifer Hutchison and directed by Colin Bucksey, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 9, 2010. The episode's title is a play on "ICU", the intensive care unit of a hospital.
== Plot ==
As Jesse Pinkman is leaving the hospital after Hank Schrader's attack on him, he sees Hank being admitted in critical condition with four gunshot wounds. Jesse smiles to himself as Skinny Pete picks him up, satisfied at the karmic justice.
Walter White tells a confused and upset Gale Boetticher that they are not working well together and he is being replaced. Jesse then shows up at that moment, much to Walt's dismay, and displays his uncouth and unprofessional personality as he admires the lab, which confuses Gale even further, realizing that this is his replacement. As he leaves, Victor reminds Walt to not fall behind on their weekly quota.
Jesse informs Walt about Hank's condition, and Walt immediately leaves for the hospital. Walt catches up with his family while Steve Gomez and George Merkert explain to him that two Cartel hitmen (Leonel and Marco Salamanca) made an attempt on Hank's life. Gomez expresses astonishment that Hank was able to take down both of the assassins without his gun, and this prompts Marie Schrader to question why Hank did not have his gun on him. Merkert explains that Hank had to turn it in following his suspension due to the assault on Jesse. Marie lashes out at both of them, blaming them for leaving Hank defenseless and not backing him up when he needed them most. She also pins blame on Walt, believing that Hank would never have crossed paths with Jesse if Walt had never "bought marijuana" from him.
Leonel, his legs now amputated, is being treated in the same hospital as Hank. When Gomez and Walt go to view him from the other side of his door, Leonel recognizes Walt and angrily crawls towards him before eventually being hoisted back to his bed. Walt is startled by this and realizes that he might have been their intended target.
Gus Fring receives a call from Juan Bolsa. The attempted hit on a DEA agent has prompted the Mexican government to crack down on the Cartel and for the border to be monitored with more scrutiny, forcing him to lie low in Mexico. Bolsa is suspicious that Gus was the one who orchestrated the hit, as Marco and Leonel would not have attacked a DEA agent without approval. He tells Gus that he intends to get the truth from Leonel as to who permitted them to act.
Walt spends the next few days at the hospital while Jesse remains at the lab, waiting for him to return so that they can resume cooking to meet their quota. Walt eventually receives a call from Gus to check in on their progress. Not wanting to give any information that might reveal that his brother-in-law is a DEA agent, Walt lies about why they are falling behind, saying that Gale has set them back significantly, and to make up for it, he promises to produce 400 pounds (180 kg) of meth next week. Gus agrees to this.
Walt is horrified when Gus suddenly shows up at the hospital, bringing free food from Los Pollos Hermanos as a show of his support for the DEA. Gus meets the rest of Walt's family and relates to the time when he first met Hank, revealing to Walt that Gus already knew that his brother-in-law was in the DEA. Walt speaks privately with Gus, assuring him that Hank is not a problem for their business. Gus subtly tells him that Leonel will not be a problem anymore. As he leaves, Leonel suddenly goes into cardiac arrest and dies. Mike Ehrmantraut is then shown disposing of a syringe and leaving unnoticed, the whole appearance of Gus a distraction for him to do his job, and Gomez celebrates.
Later that night, Gus receives another call from Bolsa, whose house is now surrounded by Mexican federales. With Leonel now dead, Bolsa is convinced that Gus is behind all of this, and he vows that the Cartel will seek retaliation against him, but is interrupted by the federales. His bodyguards investigate and are brought down by gunfire. As Bolsa attempts to escape, he is shot to death.
== Production ==
The episode was written by Gennifer Hutchison, and directed by Colin Bucksey; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 9, 2010.
== Reception ==
=== Critical reception ===
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club noted "this episode is all about the organization now employing Walter — its long reach and ruthless ambition" but criticized the hospital scene as "spouting cliches." Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a 9.4/10 rating, calling it "a great episode about the emotional debris left in the wake of last week's amazing melee."
In 2019, The Ringer ranked "I See You" 47th out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes. Vulture ranked it 61st overall.
=== Viewership ===
The episode's original broadcast was viewed by 1.78 million people, which was an increase from the 1.52 million of the previous episode, "One Minute".
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
"I See You" at the official Breaking Bad site
"I See You" at IMDb |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalinga_Prize | Kalinga Prize | The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is an award given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in presenting scientific ideas to lay people. It was created in 1952, following a donation from Biju Patnaik, Founder President of the Kalinga Foundation Trust in India.
== Background ==
The recipient of this annual award must have demonstrated – during a brilliant career as writer, editor, lecturer, film producer, radio/television programme director or presenter – talent in interpreting science and technology for the public. The recipient should have striven to emphasize the international importance of science and technology and the contribution they make to improving public welfare, enriching the cultural heritage of nations, and solving problems facing humanity. Many past prize winners have been scientists, while others have been trained in journalism or have been educators or writers.
Each member state is entitled to nominate a single candidate, through its National Commission for UNESCO, on the recommendation of the national associations for the advancement of science or other science associations, or national associations of science writers or science journalists. Applications from individuals are not accepted.
The laureate is selected by the Director-General of UNESCO upon the recommendation of a four-member jury designated by him. Three members of the jury from different countries of the world are designated on the basis of equitable geographical distribution and the fourth on the recommendation of the Kalinga Foundation Trust.
The Kalinga Prize is awarded during the Celebration of the World Science Day in odd years (2003, 2005, etc.) and in New Delhi, India, in even years. Under the terms of the Prize, the recipient receives forty thousand dollars (US$40,000) and a UNESCO Albert Einstein Silver Medal. The recipient is also awarded the Ruchi Ram Sahni Chair, introduced by the Government of India in 2001 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kalinga Prize. As holder of the Ruchi Ram Sahni Chair, the winner travels to India for a period of two to four weeks as the guest of the Government of India. The Chair also comprises a token honorarium of US$5,000. In the years when the award ceremony take place during the celebration of the World Science Day, the recipient travels to the city where the science day is being celebrated (2003 in Budapest) as the guest of UNESCO. In the years when it is awarded in New Delhi, the recipient is invited, as the guest of the Kalinga Foundation Trust, to undertake a brief lecture tour in India. For this reason, it is preferable that the recipient be proficient in English.
Each National Commission for UNESCO proposes a candidate only on the recommendation of the national associations for the advancement of science or other science associations, or national associations of science writers or scientific journalists.
The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is administered by the Science Analysis and Policies Division of UNESCO.
== Kalinga Prize laureates ==
Source: UNESCO
== Statistics ==
By 2021 the prize had been awarded to 71 people from 26 countries:
== Kalinga Samman ==
From 2010, the Kalinga Foundation Trust instituted a state level prize under the name Kalinga Samman for Popularization of Science. The award will be presented annually to an eminent scientist and science litterateur from the state of Odisha for outstanding contribution for popularization of science among the public.
=== Kalinga Samman laureates ===
Source: Kalinga Samman
== See also ==
Public awareness of science
Popularization of science
Science journalism
Physics Outreach
List of general science and technology awards
List of science communication awards
== References ==
== External links ==
"Kalinga Foundation Trust: List of Kalinga Prize Laureates". kalingafoundationtrust.com. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
"Laureates". UNESCO. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
"UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science". Retrieved December 17, 2023. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safa_Kadal#:~:text=The%20word%20kadal%20means%20bridge,reign%20of%20Mughal%20emperor%20Aurangzeb. | Safa Kadal | Safa Kadal (Urdu pronunciation: [səfɑː kəd̪əl] ; Kashmiri pronunciation: [safaː kəd̪ɨl]), also spelled Safakadal is an old neighborhood in the city of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The word kadal means bridge in Kashmiri. The Jhelum river flows under the eponymous Safa Kadal bridge which was constructed by Saif Khan during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. An important Hindu temple in the locale, the Ram Mandir, was set to be renovated in January of 2022. It was vandalised in 1990.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psygnosis#:~:text=Psygnosis%20Limited%20(%2Fs%C9%AA%C9%A1%CB%88n%C9%99%CA%8A.,Wavertree%20Technology%20Park%20in%20Liverpool. | Psygnosis | Psygnosis Limited (; known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Hetherington, Jonathan Ellis, and David Lawson, the company initially became known for well-received games on the Atari ST and Amiga. In 1993, it became a wholly owned subsidiary and first-party developer of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and began developing games for the original PlayStation. It later became a part of SCE Worldwide Studios. The company was the oldest and second largest development house within the company. The company is best known for creating the Wipeout, Formula One and Colony Wars series.
Reports of Studio Liverpool's closure surfaced on 22 August 2012, with Edge quoting staff tweets. Staff members were told the news by Michael Denny, vice president of Sony Worldwide Studios Europe. Sony said that the Liverpool site would remain in operation, as it was still home to many Sony Departments. At the time of its closure, it employed roughly 100 people comprising two development teams. Mick Hocking oversaw Studio Liverpool's operations as its last Group Studio Director, a position he continued to hold within Evolution Studios.
Psygnosis still exists as a legal entity under Sony and continues to make legal filings, but has had no developers since 2012. In December 2021, Sony renewed Psygnosis' logo and trademarks despite not using the Psygnosis branding since 2000, though this is thought to be standard filing practice as trademarks last for a decade in the United States and Sony had previously filed renewal applications in 2011 as well.
== History ==
Psygnosis was the eventual successor of the defunct 8-bit software house Imagine Software, where Lawson was one of the founders and Hetherington was financial director. Finchspeed, a company created by the directors, attempted to acquire the assets of the failing company but this was unsuccessful and the remains of Imagine, including their much-hyped but never completed "megagames", were sold by the receivers. While the name and trademarks were bought by Ocean Software, Sinclair Research paid a rumoured £100,000 for the rights to Bandersnatch and contracted a new company set up by Hetherington and Lawson, Fire Iron, to produce the game for the Sinclair QL for release in early 1985.
Sinclair withdrew funding from Fire Iron in early 1985, and Psygnosis, which became a limited company under United Kingdom company law in July 1985, revealed their first title Brataccas, which featured many of the concepts originally intended for Bandersnatch, at the 1985 Personal Computer World show in September.
The name of another Imagine Megagame (the proposed but never developed Psyclapse) was later used by Psygnosis as an alternative label for some of its releases, such as Ballistix and Captain Fizz Meets The Blaster-Trons.
The box artwork was very distinctive with a black background and fantasy artwork by Roger Dean bordered in red. This style was maintained for the better part of 10 years. For the next few years, Psygnosis' releases contained increasingly improved graphics, but were marred by similarly difficult gameplay and control methods. The original company headquarters were located at the Port of Liverpool Building at the Pier Head in Liverpool, but soon moved to Century Buildings in Liverpool's Brunswick Business Park, and later moved down the road to South Harrington Building by the docks.
Although Psygnosis primarily became a game publisher, some games were developed fully or partly in-house. During the early days, artists were employed full-time at the headquarters, offering third-party developers, who were often just single programmers, a high-quality art resource. This allowed Psygnosis to maintain high graphical standards across the board. The original artists were Garvan Corbett, Jeff Bramfitt, Colin Rushby and Jim Bowers, with Neil Thompson joining a little later.
Obliterator, released in 1988, contained an opening animation by Jim Bowers. This short scene would pave the way for increasingly sophisticated intro animations, starting with 2D hand drawn sequences, and progressing into FMV and 3D rendered movies created with Sculpt 4D on the Amiga. Eventually, Psygnosis would buy Silicon Graphics workstations for the sole purpose of creating these animations.
While most game companies of the mid-to-late 1980s (including Psygnosis) were releasing identical games on both the Amiga and Atari ST, Psygnosis started to use the full potential of the Amiga's more powerful hardware to produce technically stunning games, with the landmark title Shadow of the Beast bringing the company its greatest success so far in 1989. Its multi-layered parallax scrolling and music were highly advanced for the time and as such led to the game being used as a showcase demonstration for the Amiga in many computer shops.
Psygnosis consolidated its fame after publishing the DMA Design Lemmings game franchise: debuting in 1991 on the Amiga, Lemmings was ported to a plethora of different computer and video game platforms, generating many sequels and variations of its concept through the years. Microcosm, a game that appeared on the FM Towns, Amiga CD32, and 3DO furthered the company's reputation for games with excellent graphics.
Psygnosis also created the "Face-Off" games in the Nickelodeon 1992 television game show, Nick Arcade, such as "Post Haste", "Jet Jocks" and "Battle of the Bands".
In 1993 the company was acquired by Sony Electronic Publishing. The acquisition cost Sony £20 million. In preparation for the September 1995 introduction of Sony's PlayStation console in Western markets, Psygnosis started creating games using the PlayStation as primary reference hardware. Among the most famous creations of this period were Wipeout, G-Police, and the Colony Wars series, some of which were ported to PC and to other platforms. The PlayStation marked a turning point in Psygnosis's game design, moving away from the prerendered graphics and limited gameplay that the company had become associated with. This was a successful period for the company; in the 1995–96 financial year, Psygnosis games accounted for 40% of all video games sales in Europe.
The acquisition was rewarding for Sony in another aspect: development kits for PlayStation consoles. As it had previously published PSY-Q development kits for various consoles by SN Systems, Psygnosis arranged for them to create a development system for the PS based on cheap PC hardware. Sony evaluated the system during CES in January 1994 and decided to adopt it.
As Psygnosis expanded after the Sony buyout, another satellite office was opened in Century Building with later offices opening in Stroud, London, Chester, Paris, Germany, and Foster City in California (as the Customer Support & Marketing with software development done in San Francisco), now the home of Sony Computer Entertainment America. The company headquarters has resided at Wavertree Technology Park since 1995.
The Stroud studio was opened in November 1993 in order to attract disgruntled MicroProse employees. Staff grew from initially about 50 to about 70 in 1997. Among the titles created at Stroud are Overboard! and G-Police. The Wheelhouse—its publishing name—was closed in 2000 as part of the Sony Computer Entertainment takeover of Psygnosis. Some members joined Bristol-based Rage Software, but faced a similar demise a number of years later.
Despite being owned by Sony, Psygnosis retained a degree of independence from its parent company during this period and continued to develop and publish titles for other platforms, including the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64. This caused friction between Psygnosis and Sony, and in 1996 Sony engaged SBC Warburg's services in finding a buyer for Psygnosis. However, though bids reportedly went as high as $300 million (more than ten times what Sony paid for the company just three years before), after six months Sony rescinded its decision to sell Psygnosis. Relations between the two companies had improved during this time, and Sony became reconciled to Psygnosis releasing games for competing platforms. Shortly after, Psygnosis took over distribution of its own titles, a task that Sony had been handling following the buyout.
=== Studio Camden ===
Psygnosis had a subsidiary studio at Camden Town which developed Blast Radius, Kingsley's Adventure and Team Buddies. It was moved to Sony as a separate studio named SCEE Studio Camden and released Dropship: United Peace Force before being merged with Team Soho into London Studio.
=== As Studio Liverpool ===
In 1999, a process to consolidate Psygnosis into Sony Computer Entertainment was underway, resulting in the bulk of Psygnosis' sales, marketing and PR staff being made redundant and the development teams reporting directly into Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's president of software development. To reflect this, in 2000, the Psygnosis brand was dropped in favour of SCE Studio Liverpool. During the year, as its American division was shut down, Midway Home Entertainment acquired the remaining titles of Psygnosis' PlayStation lineup.
The newly named SCE Studio Liverpool released its first title, Formula One 2001, in 2001. The game was also the studio's first release on the PlayStation 2, and the first entry in the Formula One series after taking over from developer Studio 33. From 2001 to 2007, Studio Liverpool released eight instalments in the series between the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. However, Sony Computer Entertainment's exclusive licence with the Formula One Group expired, without renewal, before the 2007 season, marking the end of any further Formula One series instalments from the developer.
Studio Liverpool also developed Wipeout Fusion, the first of two instalments of the series on the PlayStation 2, released in 2002. Next they developed Wipeout Pure for the PlayStation Portable, which launched alongside the handheld in 2005 to significant acclaim, with many media outlets heralding it a return to glory for the series. They followed up with the sequel Wipeout Pulse in 2007 which was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and released in Europe.
In 2008 it released Wipeout HD, a downloadable title for the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network service, consisting of various courses taken from both Wipeout Pure and Wipeout Pulse remade in high definition. An expansion pack for Wipeout HD named Wipeout HD Fury is available at PlayStation Network, including new game modes, new tracks, new music and new ship skins/models. In 2007, a copy of Manhunt 2 was leaked online prior to its release by an employee from the Sony Europe Liverpool office.
On 29 January 2010, Sony made a public statement on its restructuring of Studio Liverpool. The closure of Studio Liverpool was announced on 22 August 2012. In a press release, Sony stated that after an assessment of all European studios, it had decided to close Studio Liverpool. Sony said that the Liverpool site would remain in operation, as it is home to a number of Sony Worldwide Studios and SCEE Departments.
Eurogamer was told by an unnamed source that, at the time of its closure, Studio Liverpool was working on two PlayStation 4 launch titles. One was a Wipeout title described as "dramatically different"; the other was a motion capture-based game along the lines of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.
== Spin-off studios ==
In 2013 a number of former Studio Liverpool employees formed two new studios: Firesprite, which worked on the visuals of The Playroom for the PlayStation 4, and Playrise Digital, who had success with their Table Top Racing games. In September 2021, Sony acquired Firesprite.
== XDev ==
XDev, Sony's external development studio, is responsible for managing the development of titles at developers that are outside of Sony's own developer group. It has won 14 British Academy (BAFTA) video game awards and AIAS awards for LittleBigPlanet, 3 BAFTA awards for the Buzz! series and Develop Industry Excellence Awards for MotorStorm and Buzz!.
== Games ==
=== Games developed or published as Psygnosis ===
=== Games developed as SCE Studio Liverpool ===
== See also ==
London Studio
Guerrilla Cambridge
Evolution Studios
Bigbig Studios
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 31 January 2013)
Psygnosis discography at Discogs |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Lang_(artist)#cite_note-13 | Helmut Lang (artist) | Helmut Lang (born 10 March 1956) is an Austrian artist and former fashion designer and mentor who lives and works in New York and on Long Island.
== Career ==
In 1986, Lang showed his first Helmut Lang runway collection in Paris at Centre Georges Pompidou. His first Helmut men's collection debuted in 1987 and a decade later he moved his label from Vienna to New York.
Lang used unconventional materials such as rubber, feathers and metallic fabrics and redefined the silhouette of the 1990s and early 2000s. He broke away from the runway show-as-spectacle in the height of the 1980s opulence and was the first to stream his collection online in 1998.
Lang's brand was known for its utilitarian, minimalist aesthetic, as well as for his prestige range of denim.
In 1999, Lang sold a 51% stake in his company to the Prada Group, with Prada running distribution and manufacturing and Lang controlling design and advertising. Afterwards, Prada developed a line of Helmut Lang accessories such as shoes, belts and bags, and opened Helmut Lang stores in Hong Kong and Singapore. Sales under the Prada Group fell from $100 million in 1999 to $37 million in 2003. The brand's decision to cancel the licensing for an external company to manufacture and market its profitable range of Helmut Lang Jeans was cited as one of the reasons for its loss in revenue. In 2005 he left his label and retired from fashion. He has since been based in New York City and on Long Island as a practicing artist. In 2006, Prada sold the Helmut Lang brand to Link Theory Holdings.
Lang has collaborated with artists Jenny Holzer and Louise Bourgeois. His recent works explore abstract sculptural forms and physical arrangements beyond the limitations of the human body. Lang had his first solo art exhibition ALLES GLEICH SCHWER at the Kestnergesellschaft in Hannover in 2008 and has since presented solo exhibitions internationally. Lang has published excerpts from his ongoing art projects Long Island Diaries [8] and The Selective Memory Series [9] in a number of publications, such as Purple, BUTT Magazine [10], Fanzine 137 [11], Visionaire and most recently The Travel Almanac [12].
== Work ==
This timeline outlines Helmut Lang's work in fashion and art up until 2021.
Solo Exhibitions
Group Exhibitions
== Helmut Lang fashion 1977–2005 ==
This timeline outlines the developments in Lang's fashion as well significant attributes of key collections.
1977
Opens made-to-measure studio in Vienna.
1980–84
Development of signature collections and made-to-measure service in Vienna.
1986
First presentation in Paris. Shown off the Paris fashion calendar as part of the exhibition "Vienne 1880–1939: L'Apocalypse Joyeuse" at The Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou.
1987
Introduction of the first Helmut Lang Men's collection. Women and Men's collections are shown together on the Paris fashion calendar. Men's silhouette marked the return of the narrow and tailored suit shown with the white shirt, black tie, and made-to-measure shoes.
1988
Rejects the structure of the traditional fashion show. Introduces the concept of “Séance de Travail.”
1990
Introduces layering of transparent fabrics in new materials and textures. New approach towards the treatment of these.
Introduction of Helmut Lang footwear
1991
Introduces wet looks, thermal fabrics, paper dresses and Native American influences.
1992
Introduces extremely shiny fabrics and textures. Thermal leathers, technical fabrics, padded clothing and body-conscious shapes.
1993
A/W '93–'94. Street style / haute couture presented in wool knits, pure cashmere and velvet. Trademark slit and slashed sleeves first introduced.
S/S '94. Introduces cuffed pants, holographic fabrics, holographic sterling silver jeans, lacquered silks, phantom prints, apron dresses, colored tuxedo stripes, stretch daytime smoking coats, raw denim and customized silk dresses. Introduces hand-sprayed shoes and customized dancing shoes.
First separate Men's presentation. Men's S/S '94 shown as part of the Paris fashion calendar.
Begins collaboration with Juergen Teller on backstage documentation and advertising.
Lang accepted a professorship at 'Modeklasse', the famous department of fashion design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
1994
A/W '94–'95. Latex-bounded lace, lacquered silks, smoking coats and suits, nylon veil dresses, airbrushed silks and slash geometric patterns on candy-colored fabrics. Introduced reflective fabrics and nude as staple color.
First show presented at 17 Rue Commines.
S/S '95. "Hawaiian techno,” high-tech and air-tech. New nylon fabrics introduced.
1995
A/W '95–'96. “Couture customized”, camel and tweeds, bra holsters, chiffon and faille. Introduces two-color bloc paneling.
Introduction of Helmut Lang underwear.
S/S '96. New take on lace for men and women, delicate materials, electro vibe, visible bras, apron belts and contrast layering.
1996
A/W '96–'97. Techno jungle, covered sequins, floral patterns, cargo styles, Japanese Obi style tops and evening dresses. Introduces signature uniform outerwear. Presented with gold blanked covered audience.
Introduction of Helmut Lang Jeans, featuring khakis, chinos, denims, work wear, casual wear, functionals and protective wear.
S/S '97. Introduction of sashes, festive and ceremonial wear, dislodged lingerie, tuxedo accessories and colored denim.
1997
A/W '97–'98. Shift toward luxury with the use of classic and pure materials. Reintroduction of fine cashmeres, blended wools and silks. Introduction of funnel neck coats and pleated skirts. Silk tulle, cummerbunds and silk down coated duvet wraps. Definition of new Helmut Lang style with made-to-measure finishing.
Second separate Men's presentation. Men's S/S 98 collection shown as part of the New York fashion calendar.
S/S '98. Introduction of A-line skirt and dresses. Usage of crinoline and pleats. Reintroduction of the classic white T-shirt. For men, introduction of the urban utilitarian. Vintage, painted and sanded denim. Introduction of fold-out clothes.
Introduction of “accessoire vêtements.”.
Starts collaboration with Jenny Holzer on all Helmut Lang stores. [13]
1998
Relocates company from Vienna to New York. First fashion house to make a transcontinental move.
Presentation of the A/W '98–'99 collection over the Internet. First-ever Internet-based fashion show. Launch of helmutlang.com.’’
Moves the presentation venue from Paris to New York, beginning with the A/W '98–'99 collection.
Introduction of Helmut Lang Eyewear.
Helmut Lang advertises on New York taxi rooftops. ‘’First fashion house to use this advertising channel’’. Features photography by Robert Mapplethorpe and Bruce Weber.
A/W '98–'99. Luxury sportswear translated to luxury eveningwear. Couture-sportwear, volume and silk-furs. Introduction of the signature parka and burnt denim.
For the S/S '99 collection, Helmut Lang moves the presentation ahead of the European schedule (from November to September), having the impact of shifting the entire fashion calendar.’’
S/S '99. Utilitarian motorbike pants and arm bags. Flower and phantom prints, washed silver platinum leathers, silk feather coats and peasant looks. Introduction of extensions as major detail.
1999
A/W '99–'00. Introduction of interior strap extensions. Introduction of shearing and colored leathers. Pure sterling silver fabrics and anti-stress materials. Introduction of the neck-rest.
S/S '00. Electric colors, training gear attributes translated into haute couture cuts and fabric, silk organza, feather detailing and transparent layering.
Introduction of an extended luxury bag and shoe collection.
Introduction of the signature industrial rubber band as functional part of accessories and shoes.
2000
A/W '00–'01. Monochromatic uniforms.[14]
S/S '01. Entomologic and marine biological structures. Austrian “Dirndl” influences, sharp strap compositions and lace-up. [15]
Launch of Helmut Lang fragrance, Men and Women. Collaboration with Jenny Holzer on fragrance advertising.
2001
A/W '01–'02. Opaque and sheer contrasts, luxury materials, organza and leather trim details.
S/S '02. Block panels, patent leather, leopard print silk, fold prints, architectural construction, organza layering and Viennese crochet. Introduction of accessory holsters and fragment pieces,
2002
A/W '02–'03. Structured layering, re-worked fisherman knits, monochromatic and metal blocks, combined scarf-tops and further incorporation of movement. [16]
Moves the presentation of collections back to Paris. Separate Men's presentations through 2004. Women's presentations continues to be shown together with men's.
S/S '03. Surf references, Montauk-inspired, bright Day-Glo colors, bubble-wrap plastic, high contrast compositions, abstracted wetsuit bands, surf tails, cutouts, inside out made-to-measure trousers, laundry bag pattern, zipper surf couture, zipper smoking stripes and rubber signal prints. [17]
Limited-edition silver choker by Louise Bourgeois. [18]
Opens made-to-measure studio in New York.
2003
A/W '03–'04. “Urban Warrior” vernacular, aviation fragmented pieces, magnetic flaps, petaled organza, layering as clothing extension, interchangeable and modular pieces, one leg smoking chap and parachute holsters. Introduction of chaps for men and women. Introduction of cashmere and fleece fused material.[19]
Collaboration with Louise Bourgeois in the creation of limited-edition pieces. [20]
Music by Brigitte Cornand featuring vocals by Louise Bourgeois [21]
S/S 04. “Dragonfly,” cut outs, battered metal, extended fragment accessories, ornamental pouches, hand wraps, wide color palette, entomologia and urban cowboy references.
Introduction of metallic patent leather in clothing and accessories. [22]
2004
A/W 04-05. Eastern European influences, colored shearing, horsehair, copper leather, Hungarian pleats, French maid look, cummerbund tops, drapée holsters, skirt capes, French lace and Russian bark pattern. Introduction of made-to-measure evening dresses.[23]
Collaboration with Louise Bourgeois in the creation of limited edition pieces. [24]
S/S 05. Maritime, rope and knot detailing, bathing suit trompe l’oeil waist. 1000 eye / pearl pieces, fishtails and sailor pant tuxedos. Introduction of elastic seersucker.[25]
== Collections ==
Helmut Lang's works are part of the following collections:
Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens
Fashion Museum, Bath, United Kingdom
Groninger Museum, Groninger, The Netherlands
LACMA, Los Angeles
MAK, Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria [26]
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
MOMU, Antwerp, Belgium [27]
Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Paris
Musée Galliera, Paris
Museo de la Moda, Santiago, Chile [28]
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, USA
SONS, Kruishoutem, Belgium [29]
The Arts Center, Melbourne, Australia [30]
The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway
== Architecture projects ==
Original Helmut Lang stores (until 2005)
All of the original Helmut Lang stores have been closed. The last one to close was the Paris location in late 2005. Most of the art-inspired stores had been designed by Lang in collaboration with Gluckman Mayner Architects of New York.
1995
Helmut Lang Munich, Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße, 3, 80333, Munich, Germany.
Helmut Lang Milan, Via St. Andrea, 14, 20212, Milan, Italy.
1997
Helmut Lang Vienna, Seilergasse, 6, 1010, Vienna, Austria.
Helmut Lang New York, Worldwide Flagship Store, 80 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012.
Helmut Lang Headquarters, 80 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012, USA.
2000
Helmut Lang Paris, Store-within-a-store, Printemps, 64 Bld. Haussman, 75451, Paris, France.
Helmut Lang Hong Kong, Store-within-a-store, 228–230 Landmark Central, Hong Kong.
Helmut Lang Singapore, Store-within-a-store, 9 Scott Road #02-10/11/12/13, Pacific Plaza, 228210, Singapore.
Helmut Lang Aichi, Store-within-a-store, Nagoya Mitsukoshi, Mitsukoshi Nagoya Sakae 2F, 3–5–1 Sakae, Naka-ku Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Helmut Lang Tokyo, Store-within-a-store, Isetan Shinjuku Men, Isetan Shinjuku Men's-Kan 3F, 3–14–1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Helmut Lang Tokyo, Store-within-a-store, Isetan Shinjuku Women, Isetan Shinjuku Annex Building 4F, 3–14–1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Helmut Lang Tokyo, Store-within-a-store, Shibuya Seibu Men, Seibu Shibuya Annex B 1F/4F, 21–1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya, Tokyo.
Helmut Lang Tokyo, Store-within-a-store, Shibuya Seibu Women, Seibu Shibuya Annex B 1F/4F, 21–1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya.
Helmut Lang Seoul, Store-within-a-store, 2F, Shinsegae Department Store Kangnam Branch, 19–3 Banpo-dong, Seocho-ku, Seoul.
Helmut Lang Kobe, Dainichi-Akashicho Building 18, Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo, Japan.
Helmut Lang Parfums New York, 81 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012.
2002
Helmut Lang Studio, 142 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012.
Helmut Lang Made-to-Measure New York, 142 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012.
2003
Helmut Lang Paris, 219 Rue Saint-Honore, 75001, Paris.
Helmut Lang Milan (new location), Via della Spiga, 11, Milan, 20121.
== Fragrance Projects ==
Four different scents were created by Lang in cooperation with Procter & Gamble, all of which were discontinued with the 2005 closing of the brand.
Helmut Lang (Women's) – 2000
Helmut Lang Pour Homme (Men's) – 2001
Helmut Lang Velviona (women's and men's) – limited release available exclusively at New York store – 2001
Helmut Lang Cuiron (men's) – 2002
== Awards ==
CFDA, Best International Designer of the Year, 1996.
VH-1/Vogue Award, Best Menswear Designer of the Year, 1997.
Fine Arts of Vienna, 1997.
Pitti Immagine Award, Best Designer of the Nineties, 1998.
New York Magazine Best Designer of the Year Award, 1998.
I.D. Magazine, Design Distinction Award for Environments, 1998.
NYC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects: Award for Interiors, 1998.
Business Week/Architectural Record Award, 1999.
The American Institute of Architects, Award for Interior Architecture, 1999.
CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year, 2000.
GQ Designer of the Year, 2004.
Fashion Group International,“The Imagineers of Our Time" Award, 2004.
LEAD Award, 2005.
Austrian Decoration for Science and Art, 2009
== Bibliography ==
Key interviews
Armstrong, Annie. “'There is No Plan B’: Helmut Lang on Turning His Fashion Archive into Sculpture." artnews.com (ARTnews). 19 September 2019.
Belcove, Julie L. “From Fashion to Art: Helmut Lang’s Second Act." wsj.com (WSJ.). 6 January 2015.
Borrelli-Persson, Laird. “'No Regrets.' Helmut Lang Speaks About His 'Living Archive' Intervention at the MAK in Vienna and His Work in Fashion." vogue.com (Vogue). 26 February 2020.
Bourgeois, Louise, "Louise Bourgeois on...Helmut Lang," Wallpaper. October 2008.
Frankel, Susannah, "Helmut Lang," AnOther Magazine. September 2010. [31]
Gavin, Francesca. “A Rare Interview with Helmut Lang." anothermag.com (AnOther Magazine). 20 September 2019.
McGrath, Charles. “A Seamless Transition From Fashion to Art." The New York Times. 1 May 2012.
Obrist, Hans-Ulrich, "Helmut Lang," The Observer, November 2008. [32]
Petronio, Ezra, "Front Row." Self Service. June 2010. [33]
Porter, Charlie. "Helmut Lang." i-D. August 2008. [34]
Solway, Diane. "Helmut Lang." W. October 2008. [35] Archived 13 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
Thompson, Allese. “500 Words: Helmut Lang." artforum.com (Artforum). 16 January 2015.
Wakefield, Neville. "Conversation Between Helmut Lang and Neville Wakefield." absolut.com/helmutlang. September 2008. [36]
Wakefield, Neville. “Helmut Lang”. The Journal. January 2007.[37]
== References ==
== External links ==
Helmut Lang Studio web site
hl-art web site
Helmut Lang at FMD |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Kanellakis_Award | Paris Kanellakis Award | The Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award is granted yearly by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) to honor "specific theoretical accomplishments that have had a significant and demonstrable effect on the practice of computing". It was instituted in 1996, in memory of Paris C. Kanellakis, a computer scientist who died with his immediate family in an airplane crash in South America in 1995 (American Airlines Flight 965). The award is accompanied by a prize of $10,000 and is endowed by contributions from Kanellakis's parents, with additional financial support provided by four ACM Special Interest Groups (SIGACT, SIGDA, SIGMOD, and SIGPLAN), the ACM SIG Projects Fund, and individual contributions.
== Winners ==
== See also ==
List of computer science awards
== References ==
== External links ==
Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award on the ACM website.
The Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award Committee on the ACM website. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiraitu_Murungi | Kiraitu Murungi | Kìraitū Mūrungi (born 1 January 1952) is a Kenyan politician, lawyer, and civil rights advocate. He is the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya. He has previously held roles including Governor of Meru County, Senator for Meru, and was a long-serving Member of Parliament for South Imenti Constituency. Over his extensive political career, he has also served as a Cabinet Minister and been instrumental in advocating for social justice and democratic reforms in Kenya.
== Early life ==
Kìraitū Mūrungi was born on 1 January 1952 in Kionyo Village, Meru District. He attended Kionyo Primary School, then Chuka High School, and Alliance High School. Murungi earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nairobi in 1977 and later an LLM from the same university in 1982. In 1991, he completed a second LLM at Harvard Law School, where he studied during his exile in the United States.
== Career ==
=== Legal and advocacy work ===
Before entering politics, Mūrungi was a partner in a law firm he co-founded with Gibson Kamau Kuria and Aaron Ringera. The firm handled significant cases, notably representing political prisoners detained during Daniel arap Moi's presidency. Murungi became well known for his work in human rights and social justice, including representing Wanyiri Kihoro against the Kenyan government. His commitment to democratic reform continued during his time in exile, where he supported efforts for multi-party democracy in Kenya.
=== Political career ===
Mūrungi entered politics in the early 1990s, joining the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) and later the Democratic Party (DP) as he advocated for multi-party democracy. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for South Imenti in 1992 and held this seat until 2013, aligning himself with reformist leaders and later joining the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) in 2002. He held various cabinet roles, including Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and later Minister of Energy.
In 2013, Mūrungi became the Senator for Meru County, representing the county in the Kenyan Senate. In 2017, he successfully ran for Governor of Meru County under the Jubilee Party and served a five-year term.
After his term as governor, Mūrungi was appointed Chairman of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya in 2023, where he has been tasked with overseeing the strategic direction of Kenya’s national petroleum interests.
== Controversies ==
Mūrungi's political career has been marked by some controversies. In 2005, he faced criticism for a remark perceived as trivializing both corruption and gender violence, for which he later apologized. Mūrungi was also implicated in the Anglo Leasing Scandal, an infamous corruption case in Kenya. In 2006, John Githongo, former Governance and Ethics Permanent Secretary, released recordings alleging that Mūrungi attempted to obstruct investigations. Although he denied the accusations, he resigned from his cabinet post to allow further investigation, later returning to his position as Minister of Energy.
== Legacy and personal life ==
Mūrungi has been described as a visionary leader and social organizer who has significantly contributed to the development of South Imenti Constituency. He is married to Priscilla Mūrungi, and they have four children. Known for his resilience, Mūrungi has had a profound influence on Kenyan politics and governance, particularly in his advocacy for democratic reforms.
== See also ==
Corruption in Kenya
John Githongo
== References ==
== External links ==
Archived profile on Parliament of Kenya website
Meru County profile |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayaz_A._Malik#Awards_and_honors | Fayaz A. Malik | Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Malik is an Indian pharmacologist, cancer biologist and a scientist at the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He is known for his studies on investigating the regulatory mechanisms of Cancer Stem Cells during tumor metastasis. His studies also involve the identification of signaling networks conferring resistance to current anti-cancer therapies. His discovery of new anticancer agents holds a number of patents for the processes he has developed. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Biosciences, in 2014.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India awarded him the Swaranajayanti Fellowship, one of the prestigious Fellowship awards, for his advanced research in cancer biology, in 2013-14. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research felicitated him with CSIR-Young Scientist Award (CSIR-YSA) in 2009. In 2010 Government of Jammu and Kashmir also awarded him with Young Scientist Award in Biological Sciences.
== Biography ==
Fayaz Malik, after securing a master's degree in biotechnology and a PhD,. He started his career by joining the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research where he is a senior scientist of the Cancer Research and Drug Discovery group. His major research focus remains to understand the critical regulatory biological mechanisms predisposed to the failure of current therapies, acquired resistance, and the onset of metastasis by exploring cellular catabolic machinery and regulatory networks of Cancer Stem Cells in subtypes of breast cancer. He has also developed many processes for which he holds the patents. His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles and Google Scholar, an online repository of scientific articles has listed 70 of them. Besides, he has contributed chapters to books published by others. He has also participated in various seminars and conferences to give invited speeches.
== Awards and honors ==
Malik received the Young Scientist of Year Award from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in 2009 and Young Scientist Awards from Jammu and Kashmir Government in 2010 The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards in 2014. Malik has been bestowed with several other international awards and fellowships in various conferences and workshops.
== Selected bibliography ==
=== Research Articles ===
Korkaya, Hasan; Kim, Gwang-il; Davis, April; Malik, Fayaz; Henry, N. Lynn; Ithimakin, Suthinee; Quraishi, Ahmed A.; Tawakkol, Nader; D'Angelo, Rosemarie; Paulson, Amanda K.; Chung, Susan; Luther, Tahra; Paholak, Hayley J.; Liu, Suling; Hassan, Khaled A.; Zen, Qin; Clouthier, Shawn G.; Wicha, Max S. (August 2012). "Activation of an IL6 Inflammatory Loop Mediates Trastuzumab Resistance in HER2+ Breast Cancer by Expanding the Cancer Stem Cell Population". Molecular Cell. 47 (4): 570–584. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2012.06.014. PMC 3432419. PMID 22819326.
Kim, G; Ouzounova, M; Quraishi, A A; Davis, A; Tawakkol, N; Clouthier, S G; Malik, F; Paulson, A K; D'Angelo, R C (17 February 2014). "SOCS3-mediated regulation of inflammatory cytokines in PTEN and p53 inactivated triple negative breast cancer model". Oncogene. 34 (6): 671–680. doi:10.1038/onc.2014.4. PMC 4285772. PMID 24531711.
Pathania, Anup S.; Guru, Santosh K.; Kumar, Suresh; Kumar, Ashok; Ahmad, Masroor; Bhushan, Shashi; Sharma, Parduman R.; Mahajan, Priya; Shah, Bhahwal A.; Sharma, Simmi; Nargotra, Amit; Vishwakarma, Ram; Korkaya, Hasan; Malik, Fayaz (29 September 2016). "Interplay between cell cycle and autophagy induced by boswellic acid analog". Scientific Reports. 6 (1) 33146. Bibcode:2016NatSR...633146P. doi:10.1038/srep33146. PMC 5041107. PMID 27680387.
Ithimakin, S.; Day, K. C.; Malik, F.; Zen, Q.; Dawsey, S. J.; Bersano-Begey, T. F.; Quraishi, A. A.; Ignatoski, K. W.; Daignault, S.; Davis, A.; Hall, C. L.; Palanisamy, N.; Heath, A. N.; Tawakkol, N.; Luther, T. K.; Clouthier, S. G.; Chadwick, W. A.; Day, M. L.; Kleer, C. G.; Thomas, D. G.; Hayes, D. F.; Korkaya, H.; Wicha, M. S. (26 February 2013). "HER2 Drives Luminal Breast Cancer Stem Cells in the Absence of HER2 Amplification: Implications for Efficacy of Adjuvant Trastuzumab". Cancer Research. 73 (5): 1635–1646. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-3349. PMC 3600586. PMID 23442322.
Pathania, Anup S; Wani, Zahoor A; Guru, Santosh K; Kumar, Suresh; Bhushan, Shashi; Korkaya, Hasan; Seals, Darren F; Kumar, Ajay; Mondhe, Dilip M; Ahmed, Zabeer; Chandan, Bal K; Malik, Fayaz (2015). "The anti-angiogenic and cytotoxic effects of the boswellic acid analog BA145 are potentiated by autophagy inhibitors". Molecular Cancer. 14 (1): 6. doi:10.1186/1476-4598-14-6. PMC 4509694. PMID 25608686.
Wadhwa, Bhumika; Makhdoomi, Ubaid; Vishwakarma, Ram; Malik, Fayaz (July 2017). "Protein kinase B". Anti-Cancer Drugs. 28 (6): 569–580. doi:10.1097/CAD.0000000000000496. PMID 28379898. S2CID 52887047.
Kumar, S.; Guru, S K; Pathania, A S; Kumar, A.; Bhushan, S.; Malik, F. (1 October 2013). "Autophagy triggered by magnolol derivative negatively regulates angiogenesis". Cell Death & Disease. 4 (10): e889. doi:10.1038/cddis.2013.399. PMC 3920944. PMID 24176847.
Pathania, Anup Singh; Guru, Santosh Kumar; Verma, M.K.; Sharma, Chetna; Abdullah, Sheikh Tasduq; Malik, Fayaz; Chandra, Suresh; Katoch, Meenu; Bhushan, Shashi (2013). "Disruption of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling cascade and induction of apoptosis in HL-60 cells by an essential oil from Monarda citriodora". Food and Chemical Toxicology. 62: 246–254. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.08.037. PMID 23994707.
Ke, Jia; Zhao, Zhiju; Hong, Su-Hyung; Bai, Shoumin; He, Zhen; Malik, Fayaz; Xu, Jiahui; Zhou, Lei; Chen, Weilong; Martin-Trevino, Rachel; Wu, Xiaojian; Lan, Ping; Yi, Yongju; Ginestier, Christophe; Ibarra, Ingrid; Shang, Li; McDermott, Sean; Luther, Tahra; Clouthier, Shawn G.; Wicha, Max S.; Liu, Suling (4 February 2015). "Role of microRNA221 in regulating normal mammary epithelial hierarchy and breast cancer stem-like cells". Oncotarget. 6 (6): 3709–21. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.2888. PMC 4414148. PMID 25686829.
Malik, Fayaz; Korkaya, Hasan; Clouthier, Shawn G.; Wicha, Max S. (12 October 2012). "Breast Cancer Heterogeneity: Need to Review Current Treatment Strategies". Current Breast Cancer Reports. 4 (4): 225–231. doi:10.1007/s12609-012-0093-5. S2CID 72596197.
Guru, Santosh Kumar; Pathania, Anup Singh; Kumar, Suresh; Ramesh, Deshidi; Kumar, Manjeet; Rana, Satiander; Kumar, Ajay; Malik, Fayaz; Sharma, P. R.; Chandan, B. K.; Jaglan, Sundeep; Sharma, J. P.; Shah, Bhahwal Ali; Tasduq, Sheikh Abdullah; Lattoo, Surrinder K.; Faruk, Abdul; Saxena, A. K.; Vishwakarma, R. A.; Bhushan, Shashi (15 July 2015). "Secalonic Acid-D Represses HIF1α/VEGF-Mediated Angiogenesis by Regulating the Akt/mTOR/p70S6K Signaling Cascade". Cancer Research. 75 (14): 2886–2896. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-2312. PMID 25977334.
Khajuria, Anamika; Gupta, Amit; Singh, Surjeet; Malik, Fayaz; Singh, Jaswant; Suri, K.A.; Satti, N.K.; Qazi, G.N.; Srinivas, V.K. (2007). "RLJ-NE-299A: A new plant based vaccine adjuvant". Vaccine. 25 (14): 2706–2715. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.06.036. PMID 16872726.
=== Books/Chapters ===
Malik, Fayaz; Korkaya, Hasan; Clouthier, Shawn G.; Wicha, Max S. (2015). "Regulation of Breast Cancer Stem Cells by Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Metastatic Niche". Principles of Stem Cell Biology and Cancer. pp. 123–143. doi:10.1002/9781118670613.ch7. ISBN 978-1-118-67061-3.
Pathania, Anup S.; Makhdoomi, Ubaid S.; Malik, Fayaz A. (2017). "Genetic and Epigenetic Regulation of Autophagy in Cancer". Genome Analysis and Human Health. pp. 1–29. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-4298-0_1. ISBN 978-981-10-4297-3.
Korkaya, Hasan; Malik, Fayaz (2013). "Breast Cancer Stem Cells: Responsible for Therapeutic Resistance and Relapse?". Breast Cancer Metastasis and Drug Resistance. pp. 385–398. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-5647-6_21. ISBN 978-1-4614-5646-9.
Jaswant, Singh; Malik, Fayaz; Qazi, G. N. (2008). "Protective role of tea against cancer and infectious diseases through immune activation". In Jain, N. K.; Weisburger, John; Maqsood, Siddiqi (eds.). Economic crisis in tea industry: strategies for scientific management. Houston: Studium Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-933699-37-0.
== See also ==
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Malik, Fayaz (26 October 2015). "Five year journey at CSIR-IIIM". India BioScience. Retrieved 2018-05-14. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morris_Kern | David Morris Kern | David Morris Kern (August 4, 1909 – May 3, 2013) was an American pharmacist and businessman. Kern developed and co-invented Orajel, a topical medication applied to relieve pain from toothaches and mouth sores.
Kern was born in 1909 in Manhattan and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy. Kern began his career as a pharmacist. He then became a salesperson for Norwich Warner Pharmaceuticals (now part of Procter & Gamble).
Kern, together with his brother and two business partners, acquired a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. According to his family, Kern sought to create an oral medication to relieve tooth pain for teething babies soon after acquiring the manufacturing center. Together with the collaboration a chemistry professor, Kern created and developed Orajel to relieve toothaches. The over-the-counter gel was later used to alleviate mouth sores as well. In 1961, Kern sold the Orajel and the rest of his company to Del Laboratories.
He retired the pharmaceutical industry when he was 62 years old. He then focused on managing the financial affairs of his family. Kern and his wife moved to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area during the 1990s.
Kern died in a nursing facility in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on May 3, 2013, at the age of 103. His wife, Rose Ziedenweber Kern, whom he had been married to for sixty-five years, died in 2001.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikti_Mach%27ay | Tikti Mach'ay | Tikti Mach'ay (Quechua tikti wart, mach'ay cave, "wart cave", Hispanicized spelling Tictimachay) is a mountain in the Andes of Peru, about 5,000 metres (16,404 ft) high. It is situated in the Lima Region, Huarochiri Province, Chicla District. Tikti Mach'ay is near the Antikuna mountain pass, southeast of the peak of Yuraqqucha, northeast of Jirish Mach'ay and west of Waqraqucha. Tiktiqucha lies at its feet.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sosoliso_Airlines_Flight_1145#:~:text=The%20first%20officer%20was%20Gerad,a%20result%20of%20'satisfying'. | Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 | Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 (SO1145/OSL1145) was a scheduled Nigerian domestic passenger flight from Nigeria's capital of Abuja (ABV) to Port Harcourt (PHC). At about 14:08 local time (13:08 UTC) on 10 December 2005, Flight 1145 from Abuja crash-landed at Port Harcourt International Airport. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 with 110 people on board, slammed into the ground and burst into flames. Immediately after the crash, seven survivors were recovered and taken to hospitals, but only two people survived.
It was the second air disaster to occur in Nigeria in less than three months, after Bellview Airlines Flight 210, which crashed on 22 October 2005 for reasons unknown, killing all 117 people on board. It was the company's first and only fatal accident.
Investigation into the crash by Nigeria's Accident Investigation Bureau concluded that the crash was attributed to the pilot's decision to keep descending on the airport even though the aircraft had passed the minimum decision altitude. The pilots decided to go-around while they were in wind shear condition. This decision was also too late as they still had not configured the aircraft for a go-around and their altitude was already too low.
== Aircraft ==
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the flight was manufactured in 1972, with 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A engines, and the serial number 47562/685. It became registered in Nigeria on 12 June 2003. The aircraft was owned by JAT Airways, and operated by Sosoliso Airlines Ltd. The aircraft certificate was released on 17 March 2005 and would have been due to another check on 27 June 2006. The aircraft was described as airworthy at the time of the accident.
== Passengers and crews ==
Flight 1145 was carrying 103 passengers and 7 crew members. The majority of those on board were children aged between 12 - 16 years old who were travelling home for Christmas holiday. Among the passengers were about sixty secondary school students from Loyola Jesuit College in the Federal Capital Territory region of Nigeria. At first, Loyola Jesuit College students from Port Harcourt traveled between school and their homes via buses using the roads. Rising crime along roads during the 1990s, however, made parents believe that road travel was too dangerous. In 2001, when Sosoliso Airlines began services between Port Harcourt and Abuja, parents placed their children on the flights.
Also on the flight were two volunteers for Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders, one of whom was an American and the other was a French citizen, en route to work in Port Harcourt, as well as televangelist Bimbo Odukoya, pastor of the Fountain of Life Church. The National President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Uche Marcus Okoro who was returning from a union meeting, was also on the passenger list.
The captain was Benjamin Adebayo, a 48-year-old Nigerian with a total flying experience of 10,050 hours with 1,900 of them on the DC-9. He had his last simulator training at Pan Am International Flight Academy in Miami on 7 July 2005. The first officer was Gerald Andan, a 33-year-old Ghanaian with a total flying experience of 920 hours which 670 hours were on the type. He had his last simulator training in August 2005 with a result of 'satisfying'. The flight was supposed to be his last, after doubting the safety of the airline.
== Crash ==
Flight 1145 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Nigeria's capital Abuja to Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State. The aircraft departed from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 12:25 p.m with 103 passengers and 7 crew members, with Captain Adebayo (48) as the pilot who was in control of the aircraft and First Officer Andan (33) as his co-pilot. The flight was uneventful until its final approach in Port Harcourt.
About 140 kilometres (90 mi) from the airport, the aircraft contacted controller for initial descent clearance and was cleared by controller to descent to 4,900 metres (16,000 ft). The aircraft continued its descent until 13:00, when the crew asked the controller for the weather condition at the airport. The controller told the crews that there was no precipitation and that there were scattered cumulonimbus clouds in the area. The crew acknowledged the report and continued their descent.
At 11 kilometres (6 nmi) from the airport, on 13:04 p.m, the aircraft had been established on the glide-slope. At this time, the aircraft had entered adverse weather condition with headwind and tailwind. The flight crews then requested clearance to land at Runway 21. The controller then contacted Flight 1145 and advised that there was a possibility of rain in the airport. The controller then cleared the aircraft to land at Runway 21, but warned the pilots that the runway could be slightly wet, indicating that hydroplaning was a possibility. The flight crews then acknowledged this message.
Flight 1145 then descended until it had passed the decision altitude of 307 feet (94 m). As the rain intensified, the visibility deteriorated. The unlit runway further aggravated the situation. Unable to make out the unlit runway through the rain, Captain Adebayo called for a go around (missed approach) at an altitude of about 200 feet (61 m) or approximately 120 feet (37 m) above the ground. This call was made about 100 feet (30 m) below the decision altitude. His decision, however, was too late as Flight 1145 was already too low for a go-around. The "TOO LOW-GEAR" warning then sounded and the flight crews tried to add more thrust. The flight crews had not managed to prepare the aircraft's configuration in a timely manner and the aircraft kept descending.
The DC-9 then slammed onto the grass strip between the runway and the taxiway. It then slid and struck a concrete drainage culvert located near the runway. The collision then disintegrated the aircraft. The tail section was immediately destroyed and the engine was lodged into the drainage. As it broke up, the fuel spilled and the aircraft burst into flames. The fuselage and the cockpit, now in flames, continued to slide for few hundreds metres before it finally came to rest on the taxiway.
=== Immediate aftermath ===
Of the 103 passengers and 7 crew members there were only two survivors, although seven survivors were initially rescued. Many passengers survived the initial impact but died in the resulting fire. Other passengers later died from their injuries. Port Harcourt Airport had one fire truck and no ambulances. None of 7 crew members survived the crash. Out of the 60 teenagers from Ignatius Loyola Jesuit College; a boarding school located in Abuja, 59 were killed, with Kechi Okwuchi being the only survivor from her school. Kechi was treated at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa and at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, Texas, United States. The other survivor was Bunmi Amusan who survived with 40% burns on her body.
== Investigation ==
=== Weather ===
Weather data was obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and from satellite imagery that were provided by Boeing. The data suggested that at 13:00 p.m, a sea breeze front, possibly reinforced by an outflow, pushed inland in the vicinity of Port Harcourt. This condition caused a rapidly deteriorating visibility during Flight 1145's approach to the airport. The leading edge of the boundary, in theory, also could have caused an abrupt increase in wind speed and significant changes on the direction of the wind, which would produce wind shear.
According to the AIB, the weather information was not relayed to the flight crews in a correct manner. The controller did not relay the wind speed and the possibility of a thunderstorm in the area. Had the controller relayed the information properly, the crew would have prepared the aircraft according to the said weather condition. The controller should have asked the crews to be vigilant on the prevailing wind condition. However, the controller had only cleared the aircraft to land and to exercise caution on the wet runway.
Further investigation revealed that Sosoliso Airlines didn't include wind shear recognition and recovery into its simulator training program.
=== Flight recorder analysis ===
As the flight recorders were retrieved by investigators, it was revealed that both flight recorders had been damaged by the impact forces and post-impact fire. The recorders were later taken to the United Kingdom for further analysis by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
The flight data recorder revealed that during Flight 1145's final approach the aircraft had passed the decision altitude of Port Harcourt Airport. The decision altitude is the exact altitude where pilots need to find the runway by visual reference until a certain point where the pilot decides to make a call for a go-around when visual contact with the runway has not been established. Flight 1145 leveled off at an altitude of 204 feet (62 m), which was below the minimum decision altitude of 307 feet (94 m). The airspeed then decreased to 145 knots and the aircraft kept descending even lower than 204 feet (62 m). A few seconds later, there was an increase of speed to 151 knots, indicating that the flight crews had decided to initiate a go-around. As the aircraft had descended well below 204 feet (62 m), the crew was unable to recover the aircraft as the altitude was too low. The data then ceased functioning when the aircraft speed was at 160 knots.
The cockpit voice recorder revealed that Captain Adebayo had called for a go-around approximately 16 seconds before the crash. As he called for a go-around, the flight crews added thrust and then tried to retract the gear and the flaps. As the flaps had not been completely retracted and the gears were not in its correct position, the "TOO LOW-GEAR" warning sounded.
According to the correct procedures for a missed approach, the flight crews should have set the take-off thrust, retracted the flaps to 15 degree and retracted the landing gear until a positive rate of climb had been established. The flight crews did try to follow the procedure, however the low altitude of Flight 1145, added by the bad weather condition at the time, prevented the flight crews to conduct a proper missed approach procedure. Flight 1145 was flying slightly above its stall speed and the windshear condition caused the airspeed to decrease. As such, the aircraft didn't climb in a timely manner and ultimately crashed onto the ground.
=== Other factors ===
There were several other findings that were included as contributing factors in the crash of Flight 1145.
The presence of a drainage culvert near an operating runway poses serious risks to other aircraft during the landing and take-off phase, particularly to aircraft that accidentally veer off of the runway. In the case of Flight 1145, the DC-9 exploded immediately after it had struck a drainage culvert located about 70 meters to the left of Runway 21. The report implied that there could be more survivors had the DC-9 not impacted the culvert.
Investigators also noted that the runway was only lit at certain conditions i.e at night, on request by pilots or during bad weather in the area. This was due to the unstable power supply from the Nigerian National Grid and the lack of resources and funds to maintain the lighting in the airport.
=== Conclusion ===
The final report was published on 26 July 2006. The Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau concluded that the probable cause of the crash was due to the crew's decision to continue the approach beyond the Decision Altitude without having the runway in sight. The adverse weather condition was listed as a contributing factor.
The Nigerian AIB recommended that wind shear recognition and recovery should be made compulsory into pilot's initial and recurrent simulator training. This was not applied in a timely manner and resulted in another airliner crash a year later in Abuja which was caused by wind shear.
== Aftermath ==
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandates that each family of an air crash victim is entitled to only 3 million naira or US$18,157 from the airline. In January 2009 Harold Demuren, the director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said that the families of the air crash victims would be compensated and that Sosoliso had already paid $2.3 million into an escrow account to compensate the families.
Pope Benedict XVI sent condolences to the families of victims and offered prayers for relief workers at the site of the accident.
In response to the crash, then-Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo cut short his visit to Portugal and vowed to overhaul the country's aviation sector and to "plug loopholes" of the aviation safety in Nigeria. A crisis meeting was later called and some senior air officials were suspended from their job.
=== Legacy ===
Andy and Ify Ilabor, the parents of crash victims Chuka, Nkem, and Busonma "Buso" Ilabor, started a foundation called the Ilabor Angels to assist orphans and AIDS victims.
Loyola Jesuit College dedicated a Memorial Hall to the deceased students. A Concerned Students Club was also created after the crash to discuss and reflect on the issues within Nigeria, and the school founded the Jesuit Memorial College in 2013 and Loyola Academy in 2014 which focus on providing education to lower income families.
== See also ==
ADC Airlines Flight 053
Bhoja Air Flight 213
Flydubai Flight 981
TransAsia Airways Flight 222
== References ==
== External links ==
"Final report on the accident to Sosoliso Airlines DC 9-32 aircraft registered 5N – BFD at Port Harcourt International Airport on 10th December 2005" (PDF). Nigerian Federal Ministry of Aviation. 20 July 2006. FMA/AIPB/424. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2012. (Alternate, Archive of Alternate Alternate #2)
"Jet crashes in flames in Nigeria". Associated Press. 10 December 2005. Archived from the original on 13 December 2005.
"Nigeria jet crash leaves 103 dead". BBC News. 10 December 2005.
"Toll rises in Nigerian air crash". Agence France-Presse. 10 December 2005. Archived from the original on 13 December 2005.
"Nigerian plane crash kills 103: official". Reuters. 10 December 2005.
"As Death Stalks a Nation's Air Space... 103 Die in P/Harcourt Crash". This Day. 10 December 2005. Archived from the original on 14 December 2005.
"Plane 'struck by lightning'". News24. 10 December 2005. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005.
"At least 103 dead in jet crash". News Corporation. 11 December 2005. Archived from the original on 13 December 2005.
Passenger manifest Archived 17 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine
"NATURAL DISASTER CAUSE OF SOSOLISO CRASH." (Archive) Sosoliso Airlines. 21 April 2006.
Statement on Sosoliso Airlines Crash. Boeing (Archive) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_Inc. | Canon Inc. | Canon Inc. (Japanese: キヤノン株式会社; Hepburn: Kyanon kabushiki gaisha) is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, specializing in optical, imaging, and industrial products, such as lenses, cameras, medical equipment, scanners, printers, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Canon has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the TOPIX Core 30 and Nikkei 225 indexes. It used to have a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
== Name ==
The company was originally named Seikikōgaku kenkyūsho (Japanese: 精機光学研究所, lit. 'Precision Optical Laboratory'). In 1934, it produced the Kwanon, a prototype for Japan's first-ever 35mm camera with a focal-plane-based shutter. In 1947, the company name was changed to Canon Camera Co., Inc., shortened to Canon Inc. in 1969. The name Canon comes from Buddhist bodhisattva Kannon (Japanese: 観音, lit. 'Guanyin'), previously transliterated as Kuanyin, Kwannon, or Kwanon in English.
== History ==
=== 1933–1970 ===
The origins of Canon date back to the founding of Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan in 1933 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda. It became the company Precision Optical Instruments, Co., Ltd. in 1937. During its early years, the company did not have any facilities to produce its own optical glass, and its first cameras incorporated Nikkor lenses from Nippon Kogaku K.K. (later, the Nikon Corporation).
Between 1933 and 1936, 'The Kwanon', a copy of the Leica design, Japan's first 35 mm focal-plane-shutter camera, was developed in prototype form. In 1940, Canon developed Japan's first indirect X-ray camera. Canon introduced a field zoom lens for television broadcasting in 1958, and in 1959 introduced the Reflex Zoom 8 and the Canonflex.
In 1961, Canon introduced the Rangefinder camera, Canon 7, and 50mm 1:0.95 lens in a special bayonet mount. In 1964, Canon introduced the 'Canola 130', the first Japanese made 10-key calculator, a substantial improvement on the design of the British Bell Punch company, which introduced the first fully electronic calculator two years earlier with the Sumlock Anita Mark 8 unit. In 1965, Canon introduced the Canon Pellix, a single lens reflex (SLR) camera with a semi-transparent stationary mirror which enabled the taking of pictures through the mirror.
=== 1970–2009 ===
In 1971, Canon introduced the Canon F-1, a high-end SLR camera, and the FD lens range. In 1976, Canon launched the Canon AE-1, the world's first camera with an embedded micro-computer.
Canon introduced their Inkjet printer using bubble-jet technology in 1985, one year after Hewlett-Packard. In 1987, Canon introduced their Canon Electro-Optical System (EOS), named after the goddess of the dawn, along with the Canon EOS 650 autofocus SLR camera. Also in 1987, the Canon Foundation was established. In 1988, Canon introduced 'Kyosei philosophy'. The EOS 1 Flagship Professional SLR line was launched in 1989. In the same year the EOS RT, the world's first AF SLR with a fixed, semi-transparent pellicle mirror, was unveiled.
In 1992, Canon launched the Canon EOS 5, the first-ever camera with eye-controlled AF, and the PowerShot 600, its first digital camera. In 1995, Canon introduced the first commercially available SLR lens with internal image stabilization, Canon EF 75-300mm lens f/4-5.6 IS USM. The Canon EOS-RS was the world's fastest AF SLR camera with a continuous shooting speed of 10 frame/s at the time. Based on the EOS-1N, the EOS-1N RS had a fixed, semi-transparent pellicle mirror with a hard coat. In 1996, Canon introduced a pocket-sized digital camera with the Advanced Photo System, named ELPH in America and IXUS in Europe. Canon entered the digital video camcorder market in 1997.
In 2004, Canon introduced the XEED SX50 LCD projector. Canon introduced its first high-definition camcorder in 2005.
In November 2009, Canon made a €730 million (US$1.1 billion) all-cash offer for the Dutch printer maker Océ. Canon had acquired majority ownership of Océ by March 2010, and completed the acquisition of 100% of shares in Océ by the end of 2011.
=== 2010–2019 ===
In 2010, Canon acquired Tereck Office Solutions, Inc. On 16 March 2010, Canon announced that it was seeking to acquire a new .canon generic top-level domain, acquiring it in February 2015 and using it for the first time on its global website in May 2016.
In the third quarter of 2012, Canon's global market share for printers, copiers and multifunction devices was 20.90%. In early 2013, Canon USA moved into a new US$500 million headquarters in Melville, New York.
In February 2014, Canon announced it would acquire Texas-based Molecular Imprints Inc., a developer of nanoprint lithography systems, for an amount speculated to be around US$98 million. On 13 June 2014, Canon announced it had acquired Danish IP Surveillance VMS software company Milestone Systems. Milestone provides open-platform software to allow video management from various vendors in a single interface; therefore the company will operate as a separate entity.
On 10 February 2015, Canon announced that it had intentions to buy Swedish Security Camera maker Axis Communications for US$2.83 billion. On 23 February 2015, Axis Communications reacted to this news and confirmed that it had received a purchase proposal from Canon. The purchase was effectively completed in April 2015. On 24 April 2015, Canon Europe announced it had acquired the London-based family photo sharing startup Lifecake. In November 2015, in an effort to avoid the selling of gray-market camera gear, Canon USA filed litigation against a number of camera gear retailers. Retailers include Get It Digital, All New Shop and F&E Trading.
In March 2016, Canon acquired Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation for US$5.9 billion. On 28 March 2017, Canon Europe announced it had acquired the London-based printing startup Kite. On 2 April 2019, Canon introduces two new UHDgc 2/3-inch Portable Zoom Lenses designed For 4K UHD Broadcast Cameras.
=== Since 2020 ===
In July 2020, Canon recorded its first ever quarterly loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, Fujitsu announced that it would provide Canon with a Fujitsu Supercomputer PRIMEHPC FX1000 unit, to assist with its no-prototype development manufacturing initiative. In December 2020, Canon concluded its photographic-equipment print-ad series named "Wildlife as Canon Sees It". This series of ads began in 1981 in National Geographic magazine.
In October 2023, Canon introduced its new nanoimprint lithography manufacturing systems, which it claims are simpler and more affordable than ASML's extreme ultraviolet lithography systems. The system prints the desired circuit pattern onto the silicon wafer bypassing photolithography and can produce circuits equivalent to 5 nm scale.
== Products ==
Canon's products include cameras (including compact digital camera, video camera, film SLR and digital SLR), camcorders, lenses, broadcasting equipment and solutions (such as free viewpoint solution), professional displays, projectors, manufacturing equipment (including photolithography equipment such as steppers, scanners), printers, photocopiers, image scanners, digital microfilm scanners, fax machines, binoculars, microscopes, medical equipment (including diagnostic systems such as ultrasound, X-ray, CT and MRI scanners and ophthalmic equipment), CCTV solutions, image sensors, calculators, high precision positioning and measurement devices (such as rotary encoders), custom optical components, handy terminals, mixed reality systems, software, and space satellites.
=== Digital cameras ===
Canon has been manufacturing and distributing digital cameras since 1984, starting with the RC-701. The RC series was followed by the PowerShot and Digital IXUS series of digital cameras. Canon also developed the EOS series of digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLR) which includes high-end professional models.
Due to consumers switching from compact cameras to smartphones, Canon's Q1 2013 operating profit fell 34 percent year-on-year.
=== Flash units ===
Canon produces a range of high-output flash units for its DSLR cameras, including the 270EX II, 320EX, 430EX II, 430EX III-RT, 470EX-AI, 580EX, 580EX II, 600EX-RT, 600EXII-RT, EL-1, and EL-5 Speedlites. Canon also produces macro flash units, including the Macro Twin Lite and the Macro Ring Lite.
=== Camcorders ===
=== CMOS image sensor ===
Canon designs and manufactures CMOS image sensors in-house for its imaging products and it has three dedicated fabs in Japan. In 2016, Canon, the fifth-largest image sensor manufacturer in the world, decided to start selling the sensors to other companies. However, it does not plan to sell smartphone image sensors to focus on the niche markets such as industrial and space observation.
Although Canon had withdrawn from the so-called 'pixel count race' in the 2000s, it has been on the cutting edge as to the image sensor resolution in recent years. A demo of a 250MP image sensor was revealed in 2015 and reported to be launched in 2020. In 2018, Canon launched a 120MP image sensor as a part of its latest B2B offerings.
=== Printers ===
For many years, Canon was the principal maker of the print engines found in industry-standard laser printers. The first models of Apple LaserWriter and the equivalent products made by HP used the Canon LBP-CX engine. The next models (LaserWriter II series, LaserJet II series) used the Canon LBP-SX engine. Later models used the Canon LBP-LX, LBP-EX, LBP-PX engines and many other Canon print engines.
Following Canon's acquisition of the Dutch digital printing manufacturer Océ in 2010, Canon continued to develop and manufacture printing systems, initially under the Océ brand name. On 1 January 2020 the company Océ was officially renamed Canon Production Printing.
Canon has been sued over intentionally designing all-in-one printers that cannot scan when the printer is low on ink. Canon settled the lawsuit in 2023 without admitting guilt.
=== Digital copiers ===
Canon's largest division in terms of revenue is its multifunction copier division. Canon distributes its consumer and home office imageCLASS line though retail outlets and professional-grade imageRUNNER series through subsidiary Canon Solutions America and independent distributors. The professional-grade series ranges from small table tops to large digital presses.
=== Scanners ===
Canon manufactures a wide range of flatbed scanners, film scanners and document scanners for home and business use, including the Canon CanoScan 8800F. Some of its scanners employ LED inDirect Exposure (LiDE) technology, such that USB port is sufficient to power the scanner, and no additional power is required.
Current printers use the proprietary BJNP protocol (USB over IP port 8611).
=== Calculators ===
Canon produced a range of calculators in various applications, including handheld calculators, desktop calculators, printing calculators and scientific calculators. One model was the 1964 Canola 130. It had 13 digits, a result of marketing research. The reason for the odd number of figures was based on selling it to the Japanese central bank. Given the low value of the Japanese Yen, 13 digits was a requirement of the banks.
The calculator was built by germanium transistors and the display was a light pipe which gave an odd format.
=== Projectors ===
Canon produces a range of projectors.
=== Presenters ===
Canon offers a range of wireless presenters, from advanced green laser presenters with back-lit screen display to basic red laser presentation clickers.
=== Virtual reality headset ===
Canon is developing a prototype virtual reality headset (Canon VR). The headset offers a wider viewing angle (120°) than other VR devices but requires handles rather than a head strap. The headset is not yet available on the market. As of 2020, Canon produces and sells high-end AR (augmented reality) headsets for enterprise users.
=== Manufacturing equipment ===
Canon is one of the world's top producers of semiconductor and display manufacturing equipment. Its subsidiary Canon Tokki dominates the market of material deposition equipment, and instruments for manufacturing OLED displays. Canon is also the leading manufacturer of display photolithography equipment and one of the top 3 in the semiconductor lithography machine market. Once a leader of semiconductor lithography along with Nikon, it has been dwarfed by ASML, and as of 2017 its share in the overall market was less than 5%.
== Discontinued products ==
=== Computers ===
Canon introduced two MSX home computer models in 1983, the V-10 and the V-20. Both offered just the minimum range of the MSX standards without any additional features. The V-20 was able to receive shooting data from the T90 Canon camera with the Data Memory Back T90 expansion.
Canon also sold a Canon AS100 PC for which you could get a color or monochrome display computer, shortly after the release of the IBM PC. It was based on the Intel 8088 processor and used CP/M or MS-DOS. Options included an 8 MB hard drive.
== Operations ==
As of 2020, Canon is organized into four principal business segments:
The Office Business Unit (the products of which include copying machines, digital production printers, large format inkjet printers, laser printers and multi-function devices)
The Imaging System Business Unit (the products of which include broadcasting equipment, calculators, compact digital cameras, digital SLR cameras, digital video camcorders, image scanners, interchangeable lenses, inkjet multifunction printers and single function inkjet printers)
The Medical System Business Unit (the products of which include a broad range of medical equipment, such as ophthalmic equipment, CT, ultrasound scanners, and MRI)
The Industry and Others Business Unit (the products of which include computers, handy terminals, magnetic heads, micromotors, flat panel display lithography equipment, semiconductor lithography equipment, and network cameras)
Canon Inc. has 383 subsidiaries as of 31 June 2017. The number includes second-generation subsidiaries, for example, Canon IT Solutions Inc.
Canon's world headquarters is located at 30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo 146–8501, Japan. Canon has regional headquarters in America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Japan, Asia and Oceania (including Australia & New Zealand). Canon Europe has two principal subsidiaries: Canon Europa NV (based in Amstelveen, Netherlands) and Canon Europe Ltd. (based in Uxbridge, UK).
On 26 December 2003, Canon Inc. announced restructuring plans for three domestic Canon Group companies. The restructuring involved the merger of two companies and the spinning off of one.
Canon generated total revenues of US$45,608 million in 2011, of which 53.9% was by the Office Business Unit, 36.9% by the Consumer Business Unit and 11.8% by the Industry and Others Business Unit. In the same year, 31.3% of revenues were generated in Europe, 27.0% in the Americas, 22.2% in Asia and Oceania (excl. Japan) and 19.5% in Japan.
Canon invested a total of US$3,946 million in research and development in 2011, equivalent to 8.7% of sales. In 2011, Canon was granted 2,813 patents in the United States, the third-highest number of any company (after IBM and Samsung Electronics).
== Environmental record ==
A report by the environmental organization Clean Air-Cool Planet puts Canon at the top of a list of 56 companies the survey conducted on climate-friendly companies.
Canon has also launched three new calculators in Europe, called "Green Calculators", which are produced in part from recycled Canon copiers.
The Canon Group has an environmental charter which looks at "offering products with a lower environmental burden through improvements in resource efficiency, while eliminating anti-social activities that threaten the health and safety of mankind and the environment". In 2020, Canon joined WIPO GREEN as an official partner in an effort to address climate change.
=== Spreading global warming skepticism ===
While Canon's head office is committed to preventing global warming, its subsidiary, The Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS), has appointed anthropogenic global warming skeptic Taishi Sugiyama as its research director, and has been disseminating anthropogenic global warming skepticism and anti-renewable energy theories. When contacted by The Guardian, Canon responded that the Canon Institute for Global Studies is not a business of the company and that it is not in a position to comment on the institute's activities or research. However, CIGS was established in 2017 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Canon Inc. and its chairman is Canon's CEO. This has been protested by the corporate watchdog group Action Speaks Louder and photographers in a “Cameras Don't Lie” contest.
== Charitable activities ==
In 2008, Canon donated financial support to help the estimated 5 million people displaced by the earthquake that hit China's Sichuan province in May 2008. RMB 1 million was donated to the Red Cross Society of China shortly after the earthquake. Canon Inc., Japan, soon followed with a donation of RMB 10 million.
== Sponsorships ==
In 1983, Canon came as the first title sponsors of the English football league The Football League, which was named The Canon League from 1983 to 1986, when the sponsorship was taken over by the Today newspaper. Canon also sponsored Italian football club Hellas Verona FC between 1982 and 1986 including during the 1984–85 Serie A which they won.
From 1967 to 2003 Canon sponsored the Greater Hartford Open, now Travelers Championship. In Formula One, Canon sponsored Williams between 1985 and 1993, while they won World Drivers Championships for Nelson Piquet (1987), Nigel Mansell (1992) and Alain Prost (1993) and Four World Constructors Championships (1986, 1987, 1992, 1993). In the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix, Canon sponsored Brawn GP. Between 1994 and 1997 they also sponsored the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Since 2006, Canon has been helping the Red Cross provide support to 13 Red Cross National Societies across Europe, with focus on youth projects. Support from Canon includes financial contributions and donations of imaging equipment, including cameras, copying machines and digital radiography devices, as well as volunteer activities.
Canon Europe has been a partner of World Press Photo for 16 years. World Press Photo promotes the professional standards in photography; organises the largest international contest for professional photojournalists; and acts as a worldwide platform for press photography.
Canon Asia sponsored many competitions such as Canon Photomarathon and reality TV show Photo Face-Off. The latter is a reality TV show in which professional photographer Justin Mott is the judge and competes against amateur photographers. Mott started filming season 3 in April 2016 and that season aired at the end of that same year.
== See also ==
Canon Open
Nikon
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
Business data for Canon Inc.: |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan#Opening_schools_of_dance | Isadora Duncan | Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American-born dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance and performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Born and raised in California, she lived and danced in Western Europe, the U.S., and Soviet Russia from the age of 22. She died when her scarf became entangled in the wheel and axle of the car in which she was travelling in Nice, France.
== Early life ==
Angela Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, the youngest of the four children of Joseph Charles Duncan (1819–1898), a banker, mining engineer and connoisseur of the arts, and Mary Isadora Gray (1849–1922). Her brothers were Augustin Duncan and Raymond Duncan; her sister, Elizabeth Duncan, was also a dancer. Soon after Isadora's birth, her father was investigated and charged following the collapse of the family’s bank, which coincided with a larger reorganization of San Francisco’s finances, a period of crushing reversals and closing of silver mines. Although the jury voted for his acquittal, Isadora's mother (angered over his infidelities as well as the financial scandal) divorced him, and from then on the family struggled with poverty. Joseph Duncan, along with his third wife and their daughter, died in 1898 when the British passenger steamer SS Mohegan ran aground off the coast of Cornwall.
After her parents' divorce, Isadora's mother moved with her family to Oakland, California, where she worked as a seamstress and piano teacher. Isadora attended school from the ages of six to ten, but she dropped out, having found it constricting. She and her three siblings earned money by teaching dance to local children.
In 1896, Duncan became part of Augustin Daly's theater company in New York, but she soon became disillusioned with the form and craved a different environment with less of a hierarchy.
== Work ==
Duncan's novel approach to dance had been evident since the classes she had taught as a teenager, where she "followed [her] fantasy and improvised, teaching any pretty thing that came into [her] head". A desire to travel brought her to Chicago, where she auditioned for many theater companies, finally finding a place in Augustin Daly's company. This took her to New York City where her unique vision of dance clashed with the popular pantomimes of theater companies. While in New York, Duncan also took some classes with Marie Bonfanti but was quickly disappointed by ballet routine.
Feeling unhappy and unappreciated in America, Duncan moved to London in 1898. She performed in the drawing rooms of the wealthy, taking inspiration from the Greek vases and bas-reliefs in the British Museum. The earnings from these engagements enabled her to rent a studio, allowing her to develop her work and create larger performances for the stage. From London, she traveled to Paris, where she was inspired by the Louvre and the Exposition Universelle of 1900 and danced in the salons of Marguerite de Saint-Marceaux and Princesse Edmond de Polignac. In France, as elsewhere, Duncan delighted her audience.
In 1902, Loie Fuller invited Duncan to tour with her. This took Duncan all over Europe as she created new works using her innovative technique, which emphasized natural movement in contrast to the rigidity of traditional ballet. She spent most of the rest of her life touring Europe and the Americas in this fashion. Despite mixed reaction from critics, Duncan became quite popular for her distinctive style and inspired many visual artists, such as Antoine Bourdelle, Dame Laura Knight, Auguste Rodin, Arnold Rönnebeck, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, and Abraham Walkowitz, to create works based on her.
In 1910, Duncan met the occultist Aleister Crowley at a party, an episode recounted by Crowley in his Confessions. He refers to Duncan as "Lavinia King", and used the same invented name for her in his 1929 novel Moonchild (written in 1917). Crowley wrote of Duncan that she "has this gift of gesture in a very high degree. Let the reader study her dancing, if possible in private than in public, and learn the superb 'unconsciousness' – which is magical consciousness – with which she suits the action to the melody." Crowley was, in fact, more attracted to Duncan's bohemian companion Mary Dempsey (a.k.a. Mary D'Este or Desti), with whom he had an affair. Desti had come to Paris in 1901 where she soon met Duncan, and the two became inseparable. Desti, who also appeared in Moonchild (as "Lisa la Giuffria") and became a member of Crowley's occult order, later wrote a memoir of her experiences with Duncan.
In 1911, the French fashion designer Paul Poiret rented a mansion – Pavillon du Butard in La Celle-Saint-Cloud – and threw lavish parties, including one of the more famous grandes fêtes, La fête de Bacchus on June 20, 1912, re-creating the Bacchanalia hosted by Louis XIV at Versailles. Isadora Duncan, wearing a Greek evening gown designed by Poiret, danced on tables among 300 guests; 900 bottles of champagne were consumed until the first light of day.
=== Opening schools of dance ===
Duncan disliked the commercial aspects of public performance, such as touring and contracts, because she felt they distracted her from her real mission, namely the creation of beauty and the education of the young. To achieve her mission, she opened schools to teach young girls her philosophy of dance. The first was established in 1904 in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany. This institution was in existence for three years and was the birthplace of the "Isadorables" (Anna, Maria-Theresa, Irma, (Gretel), Lisa, and Erika), Duncan optimistically dreamed her school would train “thousands of young dancing maidens” in non-professional community dance. It was a boarding school that in addition to a regular education, also taught dance but the students were not expected or even encouraged to be professional dancers. Duncan did not legally adopt all six girls as is commonly believed. Nevertheless, three of them (Irma, Anna and Lisa) would use the Duncan surname for the rest of their lives. After about a decade in Berlin, Duncan established a school in Paris that soon closed because of the outbreak of World War I.
In 1914, Duncan moved to the United States and transferred her school there. A townhouse on Gramercy Park in New York was provided for its use, and its studio was nearby, on the northeast corner of 23rd Street and Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue South). Otto Kahn, the head of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., gave Duncan use of the very modern Century Theatre at West 60th Street and Central Park West for her performances and productions, which included a staging of Oedipus Rex that involved almost all of Duncan's extended entourage and friends. During her time in New York, Duncan posed for studies by the photographer Arnold Genthe.
Duncan had planned to leave the United States in 1915 aboard the RMS Lusitania on its ill-fated voyage, but historians believe her financial situation at the time drove her to choose a more modest crossing. In 1921, Duncan's leftist sympathies took her to the Soviet Union, where she founded a school in Moscow. However, the Soviet government's failure to follow through on promises to support her work caused her to return in 1924 to the West and leave the school to her protégée and adopted daughter, German-born Irma Doretta Henrietta Erih-Grimm Duncan (1897—1977). In 1924, Duncan composed a dance routine called Varshavianka to the tune of the Polish revolutionary song known in English as Whirlwinds of Danger.
== Philosophy and technique ==
Breaking with convention, Duncan imagined she had traced dance to its roots as a sacred art. She developed from this notion a style of free and natural movements inspired by the classical Greek arts, folk dances, social dances, nature, and natural forces, as well as an approach to the new American athleticism which included skipping, running, jumping, leaping, and tossing. Duncan wrote of American dancing: "let them come forth with great strides, leaps and bounds, with lifted forehead and far-spread arms, to dance." Her focus on natural movement emphasized steps, such as skipping, outside of codified ballet technique.
Duncan also cited the sea as an early inspiration for her movement, and she believed movement originated from the solar plexus. Duncan placed an emphasis on "evolutionary" dance motion, insisting that each movement was born from the one that preceded it, that each movement gave rise to the next, and so on in organic succession. It is this philosophy and new dance technique that garnered Duncan the title of the creator of modern dance.
Duncan's philosophy of dance moved away from rigid ballet technique and towards what she perceived as natural movement. She said that in order to restore dance to a high art form instead of merely entertainment, she strove to connect emotions and movement: "I spent long days and nights in the studio seeking that dance which might be the divine expression of the human spirit through the medium of the body's movement." She believed dance was meant to encircle all that life had to offer—joy and sadness. Duncan took inspiration from ancient Greece and combined it with a passion for freedom of movement. This is exemplified in her revolutionary costume of a white Greek tunic and bare feet. Inspired by Greek forms, her tunics also allowed a freedom of movement that corseted ballet costumes and pointe shoes did not. Costumes were not the only inspiration Duncan took from Greece: she was also inspired by ancient Greek art, and utilized some of its forms in her movement (as shown on photos).
== Personal life ==
=== Children ===
Duncan bore three children, all out of wedlock. Deirdre Beatrice was born September 24, 1906. Her father was theatre designer Gordon Craig. Patrick Augustus was born May 1, 1910, fathered by Paris Singer, one of the many sons of sewing machine magnate Isaac Singer. Deirdre and Patrick both died by drowning in 1913; while out on a car ride with their nanny, the automobile accidentally went into the River Seine. Following this tragedy, Duncan spent several months on the Greek island of Corfu with her brother and sister, then several weeks at the Viareggio seaside resort in Italy with actress Eleonora Duse.
In her autobiography, Duncan relates that in her deep despair over the deaths of her children, she begged a young Italian stranger, the sculptor Romano Romanelli, to sleep with her because she was desperate for another child. She gave birth to a son on August 13, 1914, but he died shortly after birth.
=== Relationships ===
When Duncan stayed at the Viareggio seaside resort with Eleonora Duse, Duse had just left a relationship with the rebellious and epicene young feminist Lina Poletti. This fueled speculation as to the nature of Duncan and Duse's relationship, but there has never been any indication that the two were involved romantically.
Duncan was loving by nature and was close to her mother, siblings and all of her male and female friends. Later on, in 1921, after the end of the Russian Revolution, Duncan moved to Moscow, where she met the poet Sergei Yesenin, who was eighteen years her junior. On May 2, 1922, they officially married, and Duncan took Soviet citizenship. After that Yesenin accompanied her on a tour of Europe and the United States. However, the marriage was brief as they grew apart while getting to know each other. In May 1923, Yesenin returned to Moscow. Two years later he was found dead in an apparent suicide.
Duncan also had a relationship with the poet and playwright Mercedes de Acosta, as documented in numerous revealing letters they wrote to each other. In one, Duncan wrote, "Mercedes, lead me with your little strong hands and I will follow you – to the top of a mountain. To the end of the world. Wherever you wish."
However, the claim of a purported relationship made after Duncan’s death by de Acosta (a controversial figure for her alleged relations) is in dispute. Friends and relatives of Duncan believed her claim is false based on forged letters and done for publicity’s sake. In addition, Lily Dikovskaya, one of Duncan’s students from her Moscow School, wrote in In Isadora’s Steps that Duncan “was focused on higher things”.
=== Later years ===
By the late 1920s, Duncan, in her late 40s, was depressed by the deaths of her three young children. She spent her final years financially struggling, moving between Paris and the Mediterranean, running up debts at hotels. Her autobiography My Life was published in 1927 shortly after her death. The Australian composer Percy Grainger called it a "life-enriching masterpiece."
In his book Isadora, An Intimate Portrait, Sewell Stokes, who met Duncan in the last years of her life, described her extravagant waywardness. In a reminiscent sketch, Zelda Fitzgerald wrote how she and her husband, author F. Scott Fitzgerald, sat in a Paris cafe watching a somewhat drunken Duncan. He would speak of how memorable it was, but all that Zelda recalled was that while all eyes were watching Duncan, she was able to steal the salt and pepper shakers from the table.
== Death ==
On September 14, 1927, in Nice, France, Duncan was a passenger in an Amilcar CGSS automobile owned by Benoît Falchetto, a French-Italian mechanic. She wore a long, flowing, hand-painted silk scarf, created by the Russian-born artist Roman Chatov, a gift from her friend Mary Desti, the mother of American filmmaker Preston Sturges. Desti, who saw Duncan off, had asked her to wear a cape in the open-air vehicle because of the cold weather, but she would agree to wear only the scarf. As they departed, she reportedly said to Desti and some companions, "Adieu, mes amis. Je vais à la gloire! " ("Farewell, my friends. I go to glory!"); but according to the American novelist Glenway Wescott, Desti later told him that Duncan's actual parting words were, "Je vais à l'amour" ("I am off to love"). Desti considered this embarrassing, as it suggested that she and Falchetto were going to her hotel for a tryst.
Her silk scarf, draped around her neck, became entangled in the wheel well around the open-spoked wheels and rear axle, pulling her from the open car and breaking her neck. Desti said she called out to warn Duncan about the scarf almost immediately after the car left. Desti took Duncan to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
As The New York Times noted in its obituary, Duncan "met a tragic death at Nice on the Riviera". "According to dispatches from Nice, Duncan was hurled in an extraordinary manner from an open automobile in which she was riding and instantly killed by the force of her fall to the stone pavement." Other sources noted that she was almost decapitated by the sudden tightening of the scarf around her neck. The accident gave rise to Gertrude Stein's remark that "affectations can be dangerous". At the time of her death, Duncan was a Soviet citizen. Her will was the first of a Soviet citizen to undergo probate in the U.S.
Duncan was cremated, and her ashes were placed next to those of her children in the columbarium at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. On the headstone of her grave is inscribed École du Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris ("Ballet School of the Opera of Paris").
== Works ==
Duncan, Isadora (1927) "My Life" New York City: Boni & Liveright OCLC 738636
Project Gutenberg Canada #941 HTML HTML zipped Text Text zipped EPUB
My Life at Faded Page (Canada) : text, HTML, EPUB, .mobi, PDF, HTML .zip
Duncan, Isadora; Cheney, Sheldon (ed.) The Art of the Dance. New York: Theater Arts, 1928. ISBN 0-87830-005-8
Works by Isadora Duncan at Faded Page (Canada)
Works by Isadora Duncan at Open Library
== Legacy ==
Duncan is known as "The Mother of Dance". While her schools in Europe did not last long, Duncan's work had an impact on the art and her style is still danced based upon the instruction of Maria-Theresa Duncan, Anna Duncan, and Irma Duncan, three of her six pupils. Through her sister, Elizabeth, Duncan's approach was adopted by Jarmila Jeřábková from Prague where her legacy persists. By 1913 she was already being celebrated. When the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was built, Duncan's likeness was carved in its bas-relief over the entrance by sculptor Antoine Bourdelle and included in painted murals of the nine muses by Maurice Denis in the auditorium. In 1987, she was inducted into the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame.
Anna, Lisa, Theresa and Irma, pupils of Isadora Duncan's first school, carried on the aesthetic and pedagogical principles of Isadora's work in New York and Paris. Choreographer and dancer Julia Levien was also instrumental in furthering Duncan's work through the formation of the Duncan Dance Guild in the 1950s and the establishment of the Duncan Centenary Company in 1977.
Another means by which Duncan's dance techniques were carried forth was in the formation of the Isadora Duncan Heritage Society, by Mignon Garland, who had been taught dance by two of Duncan's key students. Garland was such a fan that she later lived in a building erected at the same site and address as Duncan, attached a commemorative plaque near the entrance, which is still there as of 2016. Garland also succeeded in having San Francisco rename an alley on the same block from Adelaide Place to Isadora Duncan Lane.
In medicine, the Isadora Duncan Syndrome refers to injury or death consequent to entanglement of neckwear with a wheel or other machinery.
== Photo gallery ==
== In popular culture ==
Duncan has attracted literary and artistic attention from the 1920s to the present, in novels, film, ballet, theatre, music, and poetry.
In literature, Duncan is portrayed in:
Aleister Crowley's Moonchild (as 'Lavinia King'), published in 1923.
Upton Sinclair's World's End (1940) and Between Two Worlds (1941), the first two novels in his Pulitzer Prize winning Lanny Budd series.
Amelia Gray's novel Isadora (2017).
A Series of Unfortunate Events, in which two characters are named after her, Isadora Quagmire and Duncan Quagmire.
The poem Fever 103 by Sylvia Plath, in which the speaker alludes to Isadora's scarves.
Among the films and television shows featuring Duncan are:
In 1965, a youthful Isadora Duncan was portrayed by Kathy Garver in the television show Death Valley Days.
The 1966 BBC biopic by Kenneth Russell, Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World, which was introduced by Duncan's biographer, Sewell Stokes, Duncan was played by Vivian Pickles.
The 1968 film Isadora, nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, stars Vanessa Redgrave as Duncan. The film was based in part of Duncan's autobiography. Redgrave was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Duncan.
In 1976, Saturday Night Live parodied Isadora Duncan in a Great Moments in Herstory sketch during Season 1, Episode 15. Hosted by Jill Clayburgh, the skit featured Clayburgh as Duncan and Gilda Radner in a comedic retelling of the dancer’s tragic demise, exaggerating the absurdity of her fatal scarf accident.
Archival footage of Duncan was used in the 1985 popular documentary That's Dancing!.
A 1989 documentary, Isadora Duncan: Movement from the Soul, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1989 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2016, Lily-Rose Depp portrayed Duncan in The Dancer, a French biographical musical drama of dancer Loie Fuller.
In the 2025 animated dramatic comedy Long Story Short the dog belonging to Shira and Kendra is named the Undeniable Isadora Duncan
Ballets based on Duncan include:
In 1976 Frederick Ashton created a short ballet entitled Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan on Lynn Seymour, in which "Ashton fused Duncan's style with an imprint of his own"; Marie Rambert claimed after seeing it that it was exactly as she remembered Duncan dancing.
In 1981, she was the subject of a ballet, Isadora, written and choreographed by the Royal Ballet's Kenneth MacMillan, and performed at Covent Garden.
On the theatre stage, Duncan is portrayed in:
A 1991 stage play When She Danced by Martin Sherman about Duncan's later years, won the Evening Standard Award for Vanessa Redgrave as Best Actress.
Duncan is featured in music in:
Celia Cruz recorded a track titled Isadora Duncan with the Fania All-Stars for the album Cross Over released in 1979.
Rock musician Vic Chesnutt included a song about Duncan on his debut album Little.
The Magnetic Fields song "Jeremy" on their second album The Wayward Bus refers to Duncan and her "impossibly long white scarves."
Post-hardcore band Burden of a Day's 2009 album Oneonethousand features a track titled "Isadora Duncan". The lyrics include references to a letter Duncan wrote to poet Mercedes de Acosta and her reported last words of "Je vais à l'amour."
== See also ==
Dancer in a Café—Painting by Jean Metzinger
Isidora, sometimes spelled Isadora
List of barefooters
List of dancers
Women in dance
== Notes ==
== References ==
== Bibliography ==
De Fina, Pamela. Maria Theresa: Divine Being, Guided by a Higher Order. Pittsburgh: Dorrance, 2003. ISBN 0-8059-4960-7
About Duncan's adopted daughter; Pamela De Fina, student and protégée of Maria Theresa Duncan from 1979 to 1987 in New York City, received original choreography, which is held at the New York Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
Duncan, Anna. Anna Duncan: In the footsteps of Isadora. Stockholm: Dansmuseet, 1995. ISBN 91-630-3782-3
Duncan, Doralee; Pratl, Carol and Splatt, Cynthia (eds.) Life Into Art. Isadora Duncan and Her World. Foreword by Agnes de Mille. Text by Cynthia Splatt. Hardcover. 199 pages. W. W. Norton & Company, 1993. ISBN 0-393-03507-7
Duncan, Irma. The Technique of Isadora Duncan. Illustrated. Photographs by Hans V. Briesex. Posed by Isadora, Irma and the Duncan pupils. Austria: Karl Piller, 1937. ISBN 0-87127-028-5
Kurth, Peter. Isadora: A Sensational Life. Little Brown, 2001. ISBN 0-316-50726-1
Levien, Julia. Duncan Dance: A Guide for Young People Ages Six to Sixteen. Illustrated. Dance Horizons, 1994. ISBN 0-87127-198-2
Peter, Frank-Manuel (ed.) Isadora & Elizabeth Duncan in Germany. Cologne: Wienand Verlag, 2000. ISBN 3-87909-645-7
Savinio, Alberto. Isadora Duncan, in Narrate, uomini, la vostra storia. Bompiani,1942, Adelphi, 1984.
Schanke, Robert That Furious Lesbian: The Story of Mercedes de Acosta. Carbondale, Ill: Southern Illinois Press, 2003.
Stokes, Sewell. Isadora, an Intimate Portrait. New York: Brentanno's Ltd, 1928.
Sturges, Preston; Sturges, Sandy (adapt. & ed.) (1991), Preston Sturges on Preston Sturges, Boston: Faber & Faber, ISBN 0-571-16425-0
== Further reading ==
Daly, Ann. Done into Dance: Isadora Duncan in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.
"Atlas F1 historical research forum about the Amilcar debate". The AUTOSPORT Forums. 2002-07-21. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
== External links ==
Media related to Isadora Duncan at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Isadora Duncan at Wikiquote
Archival collections
"Images related to Isadora Duncan". NYPL Digital Gallery.
Isadora Duncan Library of Congress image galleries
Finding Aid for the Howard Holtzman Collection on Isadora Duncan ca. 1878–1990 (Collection 1729) UCLA Library Special Collections, Los Angeles, California.
Digitized manuscripts from the Howard Holtzman Collection on Isadora Duncan, ca 1878–1990 (Collection 1729) hosted by the UCLA Digital Library.
Guide to the Isadora Duncan Dance Programs and Ephemera. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Guide to the Mary Desti Collection on Isadora Duncan, 1901–1930. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Isadora Duncan pandect – by Alkis Raftis, Dora Stratou Dance Theater
Organizations
Isadora Duncan International Institute, Inc.
Isadora Duncan Archive - by Duncan practitioners.
Isadora Duncan International Symposium Archived 2019-06-03 at the Wayback Machine
Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, Inc.
Isadora Duncan Heritage Society Japan Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
isadoraNOW Foundation
Dances By Isadora, Inc.
Dance Visions NY, Inc.
Other
Isadora Duncan biographer's page, Peter Kurth
1921 passport photo (flickr.com)
Isadora Duncan: Dancing with Russians Archived 2014-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
Isadora Duncan (bio) - Diablo Dance Theatre
"Isadora Duncan's Birthplace". Waymarking.com., 501 Taylor, San Francisco |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack%C3%A9e_Harry | Jackée Harry | Jacqueline Yvonne "Jackée" Harry (born August 14, 1956) is an American actress, comedian, and television personality. She starred as Sandra Clark, the nemesis of Mary Jenkins (played by Marla Gibbs), on the NBC sitcom 227 (1985–1990), and as Lisa Landry on the ABC/The WB sitcom Sister, Sister (1994–1999). Harry was the first African-American to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
She also starred in the 1992 film Ladybugs opposite Rodney Dangerfield. Since March 2021, she has played Paulina Price on the NBC/Peacock soap opera Days of Our Lives.
== Biography ==
=== Early life and education ===
Harry was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1956 to an Afro-Trinidadian mother and African American father and raised in Harlem, New York. She began studying acting at the High School of the Performing Arts in midtown Manhattan in New York City. Harry graduated from Long Island University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and worked as a teacher of American history at Brooklyn Technical High School for two years before beginning a career on the New York stage.
=== Career ===
==== Theater ====
In 1978, Harry made her Broadway debut in A Broadway Musical. Throughout the 1980s she starred in numerous productions both on and off Broadway and in national touring productions. In 1994, Harry made her return to the theater by starring as Billie Holiday in the play Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. Following that stage production, she fulfilled the role of "madam who runs a bordello" in the Broadway musical The Boys from Syracuse. In the mid 2000s, she appeared in stage productions of The Sunshine Boys, Damn Yankees, and A Christmas Carol. She also toured nationally in JD Lawrence's The Clean Up Woman.
==== Television ====
Harry made her television acting debut in 1983 on Another World as Lily Mason, a role she continued until 1986. In 1984, she made her motion pictures debuts with bit parts in Moscow on the Hudson and The Cotton Club. In 1985, Harry began a co-starring role as Sandra Clark on the NBC sitcom 227. Her mother, Flossie, celebrated her getting the role but died before the show started airing. During the series' run, Harry and Marla Gibbs began feuding privately over who was the series' lead. They have since reconciled and collaborated on a number of projects. Her performance on 227 inspired NBC producers to create a television pilot for her entitled Jackée. Although the pilot episode was a success with audiences, the series did not last and the episode is now shown as an episode of 227.
After leaving 227 in 1989, Harry starred opposite Oprah Winfrey in The Women of Brewster Place, an adaptation of Gloria Naylor's novel of the same name. In 1990, she headlined an NBC comedy pilot from Witt/Thomas titled We'll Take Manhattan; it aired as a summer special that year, but did not make it to series. In late 1991, she joined the cast of The Royal Family after the star, Redd Foxx, unexpectedly died. She starred opposite two-time 227 guest-star Della Reese, but the series faltered in the ratings and was not renewed for a second season. In 1992, she starred as the assistant coach in Ladybugs. Harry served as a guest panelist on the 2000 revival of To Tell the Truth and appeared on the second season of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club 2 in 2005. From 1994 until 1999, Harry played Lisa Landry, the adoptive mother of Tia Mowry's character, on the sitcom Sister, Sister.
She had a recurring role as Vanessa on the UPN/The CW series Everybody Hates Chris and had a recurring role on the BET Series Let's Stay Together. From 2012 to 2015, she starred in Byron Allen's sitcom The First Family. In 2013, she appeared in the pilot episode of the Disney sitcom Girl Meets World, as well as the episodes "Girl Meets Crazy Hat" and "Girl Meets Demolition". That same year, she also joined Gibbs in the movie Forbidden Woman. In 2014, she made a guest appearance on Instant Mom as her character Lisa Landry. She appeared in the 2 Broke Girls episode "And the Sax Problem" in 2016, as Earl's (Garrett Morris) ex-girlfriend.
On December 8, 2020, during an appearance on Today, Harry announced that she was set to join the cast of the soap opera Days of Our Lives. Harry was cast as Paulina Price. When the series was renewed for two additional seasons in 2021, Harry was placed on contract with the series. On July 25, 2021, she appeared on Celebrity Family Feud.
Harry guest starred in The Neighborhood season 7, playing Tina's stepmother, Loretta, in the episode "Welcome to the Wicked Stepmother," where Tina's father visits and she discovers he has age-related impairments.
== Personal life ==
Harry has one child and was once married to arranger and conductor Jerry Jemmott. In 1996, Harry married Elgin Charles Williams; they later divorced in 2003. During their marriage, Harry and Williams adopted a son, Frank, in 1997.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
== Awards and nominations ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
Jackée Harry at IMDb
Jackée Harry at the Internet Broadway Database
Jackée Harry at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._H._Raza#:~:text=He%20moved%20to%20Damoh%20(also,from%20Government%20High%20School%2C%20Damoh. | S. H. Raza | Sayed Haider Raza (22 February 1922 – 23 July 2016) was an Indian painter who lived and worked in France for most of his career. Born on 22 February 1922 in Kakkaiya (District Mandla), Central Provinces, British India (present-day Madhya Pradesh), Raza moved to France in 1950, marrying the French artist Janine Mongillat in 1959. Following her death from cancer in 2002, Raza returned to India in 2010, where he would live until his death on 28 July 2016.
Having maintained strong ties with India throughout his career, Raza was an acclaimed for his art both there and in France. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1981, Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Academi in 1984, Padma Bhushan in 2007, and Padma Vibhushan in 2013. He was conferred with the Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour) on 14 July 2015.
His seminal work Saurashtra sold for ₹16.42 crore ($3,486,965) at a Christie's auction in 2010.
== Early life and education ==
Sayed Haider Raza was born in Kakkaiya, Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh, to Sayed Mohammed Razi, the Deputy Forest Ranger of the district and Tahira Begum. It was here where he spent his early years, completed primary education, and took to drawing at the age of 12. He moved to Damoh (also in Madhya Pradesh) at 13; where he completed his high school education from Government High School, Damoh.
After high school, he studied further at the Nagpur School of Art, Nagpur (1939–43), followed by Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai (1943–47), before moving to France in October 1950 to study at the École Nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSB-A), Paris (1950-1953) on a Government of France scholarship. After his studies, he traveled across Europe, and continued to live and exhibit his work in Paris. He was later awarded the Prix de la critique in Paris in 1956, becoming the first non-French artist to receive the honor.
== Art career ==
=== Early career ===
Sayed Haider Raza, had his first solo show when he was 24 in 1946 at Bombay Art Society Salon, and was awarded the Silver Medal of the society.
His work evolved from painting expressionistic landscapes to abstract ones. From his fluent watercolours of landscapes and townscapes executed in the early 1940s, he moved toward a more expressive language, painting landscapes of the mind.
Raza carefully crafted his career to become an inspiration to two generations of artists. The year of 1947 proved to be a very important year for him. First, his mother died. Then, he co-founded the revolutionary Bombay Progressive Artists' Group (PAG) (1947–1956) along with K. H. Ara and F. N. Souza. This group set out to break free from the influences of European realism in Indian art and bring Indian inner vision (Antar gyan) into the art. The group had its first show in 1948. A revolutionary amount of art was created by the people in this group from 1940 to 1990. Raza's father died the same year his mother had died in Mandla. The majority of his four brothers and sister, migrated to Pakistan, after the partition of India. In the early years, the group continued its close rapport. Krishen Khanna speaks of the first exhibition Raza, Akbar Padamsee and F. N. Souza mounted together at the Gallery Cruz in Paris. "Souza and Padamsee painted in a quasi-modern fashion. Raza, however, made a throwback to the Mughal period, creating jewel-like watercolours, with the pigment rubbed in with a shell. He was vastly successful and acquired by important collectors."
Once in France, he continued to experiment with currents of Western Modernism, moving from Expressionist modes towards greater abstraction and eventually incorporating elements of Tantrism from Indian scriptures. Whereas his fellow contemporaries dealt with more figural subjects, Raza chose to focus on landscapes in the 1940s and 50s, inspired in part by a move to France. In 1956, he was awarded the prestigious Prix de la Critique, this was a monumental award to the art scene in India.
In 1962, he became a visiting lecturer at the University of California in Berkeley, USA. Raza was initially enamored of the bucolic countryside of rural France. Eglise is part of a series which captures the rolling terrain and quaint village architecture of this region. Showing a tumultuous church engulfed by an inky blue night sky, Raza uses gestural brushstrokes and a heavily impasto-ed application of paint, stylistic devices which hint at his later 1970s abstractions.
=== The "Bindu" and beyond ===
By the 1970s Raza had grown increasingly unhappy and restless with his own work and wanted to find a new direction and deeper authenticity in his work, and move away from what he called the 'plastic art'. His trips to India, especially to caves of Ajanta - Ellora, followed by those to Varanasi, Gujarat and Rajasthan, made him realize his role and study Indian culture more closely, the result was "Bindu", which signified his rebirth as a painter. The Bindu came forth in 1980, and took his work deeper and brought in, his new-found Indian vision and Indian ethnography. One of the reasons he attributes to the origin of the "Bindu", have been his elementary school teacher, who on finding him lacking adequate concentration, drew a dot on the blackboard and asked him to concentrate on it. The "Bindu" is related to Indian philosophy of being the point of all creation. The reason this interested Raza so much is because he was looking for new inspiration for his art and this created a new point of creation for himself.
After the introduction of "BUNDU" (a point or the source of energy), he added newer dimensions to his thematic oeuvre in the following decades, with the inclusion of themes around the Tribhuj (Triangle), which bolstered Indian concepts of space and time, as well as that of "prakriti-purusha" (the cosmic substance and the energy or the spirit respectively), his transformation from an expressionist to a master of abstraction and profundity, was complete. His multiple works of art with the bindu is what truly tied him to his Indian roots and culture. This art created a sense of pride for his culture. The bindu is now widely regarded as a trademark for Raza and he said in 2010 that "It's the centre of my life".
Raza abandoned the expressionistic landscape for a geometric abstraction and the "Bindu". Raza perceived the Bindu as the center of creation and existence progressing towards forms and color as well as energy, sound, space and time.
His work took another leap in 2000, when he began to express his increasingly deepened insights and thoughts on Indian spiritual, and created works around the Kundalini, Nagas, and the Mahabharat.
== Public contributions ==
For the promotion of art among Indian youth, he established the Raza Foundation in India which gives the Annual Raza Foundation Award to young artists in India.
The Raza Foundation in France, based in the artist village of Gorbio, runs the Estate of Sayed Haider Raza.
== Later years and death ==
In 2011, a few years after the death of his wife, S.H. Raza decided to move back from France to New Delhi, where he continued to work several hours a day up until his death on 22 July 2016, at the age of 94, in New Delhi. His last wish being laid to rest in his hometown Mandla beside his father's grave was fulfilled. He was buried in Mandla city's kabristan.
== Awards ==
1946: Silver Medal, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai
1948: Gold Medal, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai
1956: Prix de la critique, Paris
1981: Padma Shri; the Government of India
1984: Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
1992–1993: Kalidas Samman, Government of Madhya Pradesh
2004: Lalit Kala Ratna Puraskar, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi
2007: Padma Bhushan; the Government of India
2013: Padma Vibhushan; the Government of India
2013: one of the greatest living global Indian legends ... NDTV INDIA
2014: D. Litt (Honoris Causa), Indira Kala Sangit Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, Chhattisgarh
2015: Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur (the Legion of Honour); Republic of France
2015: D. Litt (Honoris Causa), Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh
== Solo exhibitions ==
2016; Nirantar, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata
2015: Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris, "Raza: Paintings"
2015: Akar Prakar, Kolkata, "Aarambh – Raza at 93"
2015: Art Musings, Mumbai, "Aarambh @ 93: Solo Show of SH Raza"
2014: Grosvenor Vadehra, London, "SH Raza – Pyaas"
2014: Sovereign FZE, Dubai, "Raza: Paysage, Select Works 1950s – 1970s"
2014: Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, "SH Raza - Parikrama – Around Gandhi"
2013: Akar Prakar, Kolkata, "Shabd- bindu – A show of recent works by SH Raza & poetry by Ashok Vajpeyi"
2013: Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Antardhwani"
2012: ICIA, The Art Trust, Mumbai, "SH Raza – Solo Show"
2012: Art Musings, Mumbai, "SH Raza: Vistaar"
2012: Grosvenor Gallery, London, "Bindu Vistaar"
2011: Vadehra Art Gallery & Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, "SH Raza, Punaraagman"
2010: Flora Jansem Gallery, Raza Ceramiques, Paris
2010: Galerie Patrice Trigano, Paris, "Sayed Haider Raza, Œuvres 1950-2001"
2010: Akar Prakar Art Gallery, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Jaipur, Delhi, INDIA in 2010
2010: Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Recent Works – SH Raza"
2008: Art Alive Art Gallery, Delhi, India in 2008
Exhibition Magnificent Seven at Art Alive Gallery
2007: Ayran Art Gallery, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hong Kong, "SH Raza - Celebrating 85 Years of living Legend"
2007: RL Fine ARTS, New York, "SH Raza: Master of Colors – Selected Works"
2007: The Arts Trust at the ICIA, Mumbai, "SH Raza- Solo Show"
2007: National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, "Swati – S.H. Raza"
2006: TAO Art Gallery, Mumbai, "Rang Ras – S.H. Raza"
2006: RL Fine Arts, New York, SH Raza: Selected Works
2006: Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Raza"
2006: Hong Kong, Aryan Art Gallery, "Raza: Metamorphosis"
2005: Aryan Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Raza – Recent Works"
2005: Saffronart & Berkeley Square Gallery, London & New York, "SH Raza: Summer 2005"
2004: Art Musings, Mumbai, "SH Raza"
2003: Berlin, The Fine Art Resource, "SH Raza: Paintings from 1996 to 2003"
2001: Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Mindscapes: The Sacred Search: a select collection of works from 1951- 2002 by Raza"
1999: Gallery 54, New York, "Raza"
1997: Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal
1997: Jehangir Art Gallery Mumbai
1997: National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.
1997: Vadhera Art Gallery & Chemould Gallery, Bhopal, Mumbai & New Delhi, "Raza: Avartan 1991-1996"
1994: The Art Rental Corporate, Group Michael Ferrier, Échirolles, Grenoble
1992: Jehangir Nicholson Museum, National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai
1992: Courses Arts Lalouvesc, France
1991: Gallery Eterso, Cannes, "Bindu ou la quête de l'essentiel", 28 June – 17 August
1991: Palais de Carnolès, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Menton, "Raza: Rétrospective 1952-1991"
1991: Chemould Gallery, Bombay, "Raza Anthology 1980-1990"
1988: Chemould Gallery, Bombay; Koloritten Galleri, Stavanger, Norway
1987: The Head of the artist, Grenoble
1985: Galerie Pierre Parat, Paris
1984: Chemould Gallery, Bombay
1982: Gallery Loeb, Bern, Switzerland; Gallery JY Noblet, Grenoble
1980: Galleriet, Oslo
1976: Mumbai, Gallery Chemould at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Raza, 26 February – 1 March 1976.
1975: Sanremo, Galleria Matuzia, Raza, 4 – 31 October 1975.
1969: Paris, Galerie Lara Vincy, Raza: Peintures Recentes, 27 November 1969 – 5 January 1970.
1968: Bombay, Gallery Chemould, Raza, 15 – 27 April 1968.
1968: Toronto, Gallery Dresdnere, Raza – Recent Oil Paintings, 25 October – 9 November 1968.
1968: Cologne, Dom Galerie, Sayed Haider Raza, 26 March – 4 May 1968.
1967: Paris, Galerie Lara Vincy, 1967.
1966: Düsseldorf, Tecta Galerie, Raza – Paris: 25 Oil Paintings from 1962- 1966, 6 October – 10 November 1966.
1963 Cologne, Dom Galerie, Raza, June – July 1963.
1964: Paris, Galerie Lara Vincy, Raza: Peintures récentes, 18 November 1964 – 10 January 1965.
1962: Galerie Dresdnere, Montreal
1962: Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris, Raza, 15 July 1962.
1961: Paris, Galerie Lara Vincy, Raza, 19 April- 18 May 1961.
1960: Montreal, Galerie Dresdnere, Autumn 1960.
1959: Montreal, Galerie Dresdnere, Raza: Peintures et Gouaches, 5th – 19th MAY 1959.
1958: Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris, "Raza - Prix de la Critique 1956. Peintures et gouaches" (April–May)
1956: Galerie Saint-Placide, Paris, "Raza"
1950: Charles Petrat's Institute of foreign Languages, Mumbai (September)
1950: The IFL International Centre, Bombay, "SH Raza: Farewell Exhibition of Paintings" (September)
1948: Exhibition Hall, New Delhi, "Raza: 100 paintings of Kashmir", organised by Rudolf Von Leyden, (September)
1947: Bombay Art Society, "Raza's Watercolour Landscapes", (November)
1946: First solo exhibition at the Bombay Art Society Salon
== Selected Biennales ==
1956: Venice Biennale, Italy.
1957: Biennale 57, Pavillon de Marsan, Paris, France.
1958: Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil.
1958: Biennale, Brussels, Belgium.
1958: Biennale of Young Contemporary Painters, Bruges, Belgium.
1958: Venice Biennale, Italy.
1961: Biennale of Tokyo, Japan.
1962: Salon Comparaisons, Paris, France.
1963: Biennale du Maroc, Rabat, Morocco.
1964: Biennale de Menton, France.
1966: Biennale de Menton, France.
1966: Salon Comparaisons, Paris.
1968: Biennale de Menton, France.
1972: Biennale de Menton, France.
1976: Biennale de Menton, France.
1978: Biennale de Menton, France.
1986: Bienal de la Habana, Havana,
== Further reading ==
S.H Raza, by Soufiane Bensabra, Les Éditions de la Différence, Paris, 2020
"Yet Again: Nine New Essays on Raza", by Ashok Vajpeyi, Mapin Publishing Pvt, Ahmedabad, India, 2015.
"SH Raza: The Journey of a Master", published by Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2014.
"Understanding Raza: Many Ways of Looking at a Master", Ashok Vajpeyi (ed.), Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2013.
"My Dear: Letters Between Sayed Haider Raza & Krishen Khanna", Ashok Vajpeyi, The Raza Correspondence, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2013.
"SH Raza: Vistaar", by Ranjit Hoskote, Ashok Vajpeyi, Yashodhara Dalmia and Avni Doshi, Afterimage Publishing, Mumbai, 2012.
"Mandalas", by Olivier Germain-Thomas, Art Alive Gallery, 2009 (originally published in French by Éditions Albin Michel, Paris, 2004)
Raza by Alain Bonfand, Les Éditions de la Différence, Paris, 2008. (French and English Edition. Lithographs Estampes - Éditions de La Différence edited by Éditions de la Différence, Paris)
A Life in Art: S.H. Raza, by Ashok Vajpeyi, Art Alive Masters Series Books, New Delhi, 2007
Raza: A Life in Art, by Ashok Vajpeyi, 2007, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi. ISBN 978-81-901844-4-1.
Passion....Life and Art of Raza, by Sayed Haider Raza, Ashok Vajpeyi (Ed.). 2005, Rajkamal Books. ISBN 81-267-1040-3.
"Atma Ka Taap", by Rajkamal Prakashan, S.H. Raza et Ashok Vajpeyi, New Delhi, 2004.
"Raza. An Introduction to his Painting", by Michel Imbert, Rainbow Publishers, Noida, 2003.
"Raza: Text-Interview-Poetry, Ravi Kumar" by ashok Vajpeyi, New Delhi, 2002.
Bindu: Space and time in Raza's vision, by Geeti Sen. Media Transasia, 1997. ISBN 962-7024-06-6.
Jacques Lassaigne, "Raza", in Cimaise, n°79, Paris, January–February–March 1967
== References ==
== External links ==
The Raza Foundation
Profile on AstaGuru
Documentary produced by NDTV
Interview with Sansad TV (in Hindi) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Girl_(band) | Machine Girl (band) | Machine Girl (sometimes stylized as machin3gir1) is an American electronic music project created in 2012 by Matt Stephenson (also known as DJ Chaotic Ugly) on Long Island, New York. In 2015, the project became a duo, with Stephenson recruiting percussionist Sean Kelly to play live drums. Lucy Caputi joined in 2024 as a live guitarist and official member of the band.
In 2022, Machine Girl composed the original soundtrack for the video game Neon White, coming in two parts—"The Wicked Heart" and "The Burn That Cures"—in link with the scenario of the game. It was well received.
== Style and themes ==
In an interview with Revolver magazine, Stephenson defined Machine Girl as "fucked-up electronic punk" and stated that they did not like the "industrial" tag for being "very goth, and very black and white" considering the project "a lot more colorful". Kerrang! listed them as one of the "bands expanding the definition of hardcore", and described the project as "a particularly punky and ferocious breed of the electronic sub-genre breakcore that could easily pass for hardcore when they rip it live". Pitchfork defined their style as "relentlessly smashing together bits of punk, grindcore, rave, industrial, and more" and "unpredictable and dangerous, full of animalistic rage and uncontrollable energy".
The project is named after the 2008 Japanese film The Machine Girl, which they occasionally sampled on their 2014 album WLFGRL.
== Other projects ==
Stephenson is also a member of the electronic duo Prolaps with Bonnie Baxter from Kill Alters. Originally collaborating together on the track "Vomit" from ...Because I'm Young Arrogant and Hate Everything You Stand For, they began releasing music in 2020.
== Members ==
Matthew Stephenson – production, bass guitar, vocals (2012–present)
Sean Kelly – drums (2015–present)
Lucy Caputi – guitar (2024–present)
== Discography ==
== Music videos ==
In 2013, Machine Girl began releasing self-directed videos to their YouTube channel. This began with the unfinished song "~*•°•.[g0o∂]_[∫3º¥].•°•*~", the video for which was released on December 20, 2013. Their next upload was on February 7, 2014, when they uploaded a video for the song "Ginger Claps", 9 days before their debut album WLFGRL was released.
On November 4, 2014, Machine Girl posted a video titled "___________DJPH11252014". This video acted as an advertisement for a DJ performance at a venue titled "DJ PHANTASY CLUB", featuring sets by ABSRDST, Doss, DV-i, Ducky, Machine Girl, Ligaments, Legion, and The Magick Report. Notably, the beginning of the video contains a snippet of an early mix of the song "Loop Version", which would eventually be released on their 2018 album The Ugly Art.
On July 31, 2015, Machine Girl published two videos titled "HEAVEN MIX" and "HELL MIX", respectively. These two videos contained visuals by Videopunks, and included snippets of each side of their sophomore album Gemini.
The next official music video to be uploaded to the channel was for their song "Bitten Twice", released May 16, 2017. It was followed by a video for the song "Sad Claps", released on June 12, 2017.
While continuing to upload visualisers for various projects (including ...Because I'm Young Arrogant and Hate Everything You Stand For (September 24, 2017), MRK90 MIX VOL 1 (December 17, 2017) and The Ugly Art (October 14, 2018)), the next music video to be published premiered on August 28, 2020 for the song "Fully In It", featuring a stop motion animation by Ellie Thatcher.
On November 15, 2020, Machine Girl posted a video titled "GLOBAL FANDEMIC [MACHINE GIRL SET @ A2B2 NIGHT OF FIRE]", a live performance as part of a 24 hour virtual music festival hosted by Andy Morin of a2b2. The video consisted of Matt performing over fan-submitted visualisers, and contained almost entirely unreleased songs as well as a shortened version of their song "Athoth A Go!! Go!!" with a different bassline. The video also contained an early demo of their song "Just Because You Can", which would eventually be released on their 2024 album MG Ultra.
A visualiser for the album Guilted Hexitation by Prolaps (a project containing Matthew Stephenson of Machine Girl and Bonnie Baxter of Kill Alters) was posted to the Machine Girl channel on January 3, 2021, titled "PROLAPS 2021 GUILTED HEXITATION". The video was shot by Nicos Kennedy and edited by Lana Evoli. This was followed by a visualiser for their album Ultra Cycle Pt. 1: Vernal Birth, which premiered March 21, 2021, featuring visuals by Lucid Interval. A video for their album Ultra Cycle Pt. 2: Estival Growth followed on June 22, 2021, featuring visuals by N3T4.
On August 28, 2024, Machine Girl released an official music video for their single, "Until I Die", from the album, MG Ultra. The video was directed by Bryan M. Ferguson. Another official music video from the same album followed a week later, this one being for the song "Motherfather". Despite bearing similarity to AI generated art, this video was confirmed to not have any AI generated assets in it, as stated by its director, John Lee. On October 4, 2024, they released a music video for the song "Psychic Attack", the final track of the album MG Ultra. Two months later, on December 13, 2024, Machine Girl released another music video for "Ass2Mars", another MG Ultra song, which was directed by Sandy Loaf. A video for the track "Grindhouse", another track from MG Ultra, premiered on January 1, 2025. The video was directed, filmed and edited by Sydney Villacortabuer, and features scenes of a fight taking place at a supernatural party.
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
Machine Girl at Bandcamp
Machine Girl at Facebook
Machine Girl discography at MusicBrainz
Machine Girl discography at Discogs |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Shaka_International_Airport | King Shaka International Airport | King Shaka International Airport (IATA: DUR, ICAO: FALE), abbreviated KSIA, is the primary international airport serving Durban, South Africa. It is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km (22 mi) north of the city centre of Durban. The airport opened its doors to passengers on May 1, 2010, 41 days before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It replaced Durban International Airport (ICAO: FADN) and uses the same IATA airport code. The airport was designed by Osmond Lange Architects and Planners and cost R 6,800,000,000 (about US$900 million).
Although the larger airport was built to grow the area's international services, it is also a key airport for domestic services throughout South Africa, serving the "Golden Triangle" between Cape Town International Airport, O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and KSIA itself with seven passenger and two cargo airlines offering domestic air services.
The airport forms part of the Dube TradePort, which will additionally consist of a trade zone linked to the airport's cargo terminal, facilities to support the airport such as nearby offices and transit accommodations for tourists, an integrated agricultural export zone, and an IT platform.
The largest aircraft KSIA currently has scheduled services for is the Boeing 777-300ER, with Emirates operating Dubai–Durban, although KSIA's runway length and terminal can handle the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, and smaller Boeing 747. In September 2015, during the World Routes Conference, which was held in Durban (the first time on African soil), Turkish Airlines announced a new international service to Istanbul and Qatar Airways announced the commencement of service to Doha in December of that year.
On 27 January 2014, an Airbus A380-841 of British Airways landed at KSIA becoming the first A380 to do so. The aircraft was being used for training and operated many flights in and out of the airport until February 4, 2014. The aircraft also returned for further pilot training between 29 August and 1 September of the same year.
== History ==
=== Project conception and initial construction ===
King Shaka International Airport was conceptualized when the limitations of Durban International Airport became apparent. The airport's 2,400 m (7,874 ft) runway was too short to allow large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 to operate intercontinental routes out of Durban, and the resulting decrease in international air traffic caused Durban to become marginalized compared to Johannesburg and Cape Town. Upgrading Durban International Airport was considered, but a study published in 2007 found that the existing airport would still have serious constraints and would reach its maximum potential by 2025, after which there would be no choice but to develop KSIA. It was also found that it would be 95% more expensive to operate Durban International Airport to its full potential and only then develop KSIA, than it would be to develop KSIA immediately. However, disputes between Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and the Dube Trade port firm (which is backed by the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial government) stalled the project until national transport minister Jeff Radebe intervened to jump-start the project in 2004.
The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium (led by Group Five and Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon) and the Indiza consortium (led by Grinaker-LTA). Both consortiums pre-qualified for the tender in April 2006; however, the tender was awarded to the Illembe consortium, with the Indiza consortium not being considered for failing to meet certain tender requirements. The Indiza group appealed the decision, claiming that the correct tender process had not been followed and that their bid had been unfairly excluded; However, their legal challenge was dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court in February 2007.
The final obstacle was a delay in the approval of the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The EIA was eventually approved in August 2007; conditions attached were the appointment of an environmental control officer, issues of access from the nearby N2 motorway, and fauna and flora issues; in particular, the impact of construction and airport operations on a nearby colony of barn swallows.
Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA. Construction progressed steadily throughout the next two years, with operational testing of the airport beginning in December 2009. The airport handled its first commercial flights on 1 May 2010. Despite the high construction costs, the airport was designed without a viewing deck or travellators.
It was unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport would be now that the KSIA was complete. It was originally expected that the airport would be decommissioned and the site (in a prime industrial area) would be redeveloped, possibly as a dug-out port serving nearby automotive assembly and component factories; however, such plans have been put on hold. The Durban International Airport eventually became defunct.
British Airways inaugurated a direct link to London's Heathrow Airport in October 2018. It said in December 2020 that it had suspended the service because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
==== Naming process ====
Despite wide expectations that the airport would be named "King Shaka International Airport" (Shaka was the leader of the Zulu nation in the early 19th century), it emerged in October 2009 that the airport needed to undergo a formal naming process. The former premier of KZN, S'bu Ndebele, described the naming process as urgent, stating that "pilots cannot fly to a place with no name". Public hearings on the naming of the airport began at the beginning of November 2009, with most attendees favoring "King Shaka International Airport" as the new airport's name.
On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport. The airport name was approved by the South African Geographical Names Council on 14 January 2010, and became official on 2 February 2010 when the Minister of Arts and Culture gave final approval to the name.
== Future ==
KSIA is currently building two new heavy-class remote gates, which will be named Foxtrot Aprons. Taxiway Bravo is also being extended and will connect to the runway north of the Taxiway Hotel.
As of March 2010, information on future development at KSIA is scarce and conflicting. Long-term master plans published on the Dube Trade Port website show projected phases of development in the future. However, images of future development posted on an internet forum indicate five phases of development, with each phase to be developed based on annual passenger volumes reaching certain levels. Both sources of information agree that the airport would have two parallel runways, with the passenger terminal building having an estimated capacity of 45 million passengers per year in the future.
== Location ==
The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km (22 mi) north of Durban. The airport precinct is bordered by the M43 road to the north, the Mdloti River to the south, the R102 road to the west, and the N2 freeway to the east.
Neighboring communities are Cotton lands and the LIV village at Hazelmere Dam Wall to the west, oThongathi to the northwest, Verulam to the southwest, and eMdloti to the southeast. Notable communities further away are uMhlanga to the south and Ballito to the north. These communities are generally opposed to the airport because of noise concerns, recommendations for mitigation of which were made in the project's Environmental Impact Report.
=== Mount Moreland barn swallows ===
Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km (1.6 mi) south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European barn swallow. The roughly 250 m2 (299 sq yd) reed bed where the birds roost is directly underneath the approach path to runway 06. When the construction of the airport was announced, there were fears that the reed bed would have to be destroyed due to the perceived threat of bird strikes, creating concern amongst environmentalists.
As a result, a study into the risks of bird strikes at KSIA was commissioned, with special attention being paid to the barn swallows at Mount Moreland. The study showed that the early morning dispersals of swallows generally happen before any scheduled arrivals or departures (earlier than 06:00), and the late afternoon swarms take place below the airport approach path, with only 5% of the birds protruding up into the path for a very short time (around 10 minutes). It was also noted that larger bird species, flying at higher altitudes, would pose more of a risk to aircraft than swallows, such species already being a risk at Durban International Airport. The study concluded that it would be possible for the airport and swallows to coexist. Proposed risk mitigation measures included curtailing flight movements during the afternoon swarm, setting the glide slope approach to Runway 06 to 3.2 or 3.5 degrees rather than the standard 3 degrees (to stay above the birds), and the installation of a radar system that would monitor bird movements and be integrated into the operational plan of the airport.
In response to the study, ACSA contracted De-Tect Inc. to install a radar system that would monitor all bird activity around KSIA, notifying air traffic controllers of any dangers to aircraft. The radar system arrived in January 2009 and started collecting data to be used when the airport became operational.
== Terminals ==
=== Passenger terminal ===
The passenger terminal is located at the southern end of the airport and is split into two levels: arrivals are handled on the lower floor and departures on the upper floor. With a total floor area of 102,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft), the terminal is capable of handling 7.5 million passengers per year.
The check-in concourse, located on the upper floor, contains 72 check-in counters and 18 self-service kiosks, as well as ticket offices for the various airlines operating out of the airport. Passengers pass through separate domestic and international security checkpoints before proceeding to the departure lounges and boarding gates. The airport has 34 aircraft parking bays and 16 jet bridges. Four of the jet bridges (gates A20-A23) can be combined into groups of two to handle Code F aircraft (e.g., an Airbus A380) or can be used separately to handle four Code C aircraft (e.g., an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737). The remainder are capable of handling one Code C aircraft each.
The arrivals area is located on the lower floor, with a baggage reclaim hall containing five conveyors that can be allocated for domestic and international use. Most of the airport's retail shops are also located on the lower floor, as is a piazza area immediately outside the terminal building. Including shops in the departure lounges, the airport has 52 retail outlets and 6,500 m2 (70,000 sq ft) of retail space.
The terminal does not have a public viewing deck, which has attracted public criticism. There are, however, vantage points on the elevated departures drop-off-road, as well as elsewhere in the airport precinct. The International Terminal is located to the left of the airport and has two A380-800 docking bays in which four A330s can be parked.
=== Cargo terminal ===
The cargo terminal is located to the north of the passenger terminal and is in the approximate centre of the airport precinct. The cargo terminal has an initial size of 15,000 m2 (160,000 sq ft) and an initial capacity of 150,000 metric tons (165,000 short tons) of cargo per year. A long-term expansion could see the cargo terminal expand to a size of 100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft) and a capacity of 1,000,000 metric tons (1,100,000 short tons) of cargo per year. In August 2009, Worldwide Flight Services was given a five-year contract to operate the cargo terminal.
The cargo terminal forms one component of the Dube Trade Port's Trade Zone Precinct, which is, additionally, home to trade and logistics warehousing as well as cargo and light industry activities that require quick access to air cargo services, and covers an area of 36 hectares (89 acres). In February 2013, Shree Property Holdings agreed to build a 60,000 m2 (650,000 sq ft) facility in the Dube Trade Zone and an additional 15,000 m2 (160,000 sq ft) facility. Samsung is to build a TV Production Plant at The Dube Trade Port by the end of 2014; the estimated cost over three years will be $20 million, thus increasing the production from 500 000 flat screens to 1 million.
One of the objectives of the cargo terminal is to recapture local air freight traffic from JNB. It is estimated that KwaZulu-Natal produces approximately 25,000 metric tons (27,600 short tons) of air cargo a year, which is currently transported by road to Johannesburg. The airport also has the advantage of sea level operation as opposed to Johannesburg's high altitude and is also near the Port of Durban, the busiest seaport in the Southern Hemisphere. The cargo terminal will initially have two Code F stands (capable of accommodating large aircraft, like the freighter variants of the Boeing 747-8), which can be expanded to ten stands in the long term.
== Airlines and destinations ==
=== Passenger ===
1This flight operates via Maputo. However, this carrier does not have rights to transport passengers solely between Durban and Maputo.
2This flight operates via Johannesburg. However, this carrier does not have rights to transport passengers solely between Durban and Johannesburg.
=== Cargo ===
== Traffic and statistics ==
King Shaka International Airport handled 5.04 million passengers in the 2024–2025 financial year, with the majority (4.7 million) being domestic passengers, 324,919 being international, and a small percentage of traffic being classified as "unscheduled". 40,935 aircraft traffic movements were recorded; the majority again being domestic services. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel resulted in passenger numbers plummeting: only 1,5 million passengers were recorded during the 2020-2021 financial year; a decrease of 75.4%. International travel was hardest hit, with a decrease in international passenger numbers of 94.4% recorded.
The statistics place King Shaka International Airport as the third busiest airport in South Africa, behind both OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport.
The following tables list passenger and air traffic statistics for King Shaka International Airport as published by Airports Company South Africa. Statistics run between April and March the following year.
Notes:
^1 Statistics for 2010–2011 include operations at Durban International Airport up to and including 30 April 2010. Comparisons are made with the previous reporting period's statistics at Durban International Airport.
== Ground transport ==
=== Road ===
The airport is accessible from both the N2 freeway and the alternative R102 road, with the M65 linking the N2 at exit 195 and the R102 between Verulam and oThongathi (Tongaat) with the airport. The M65 does not continue from the N2 interchange to the coastal M4 highway, necessitating M4 traffic to divert to the N2 using either the M27 if approaching from the south, or the M43 (Ushukela Drive) if approaching from the north; however, the airport's Environmental Impact Assessment recommended that the M65 should be extended to the M4 in the future should traffic volumes rise to the point where this would become necessary. Another notable road in the vicinity of the airport is the R614 from the Albert Falls and Wartburg areas, which terminates at the R102 in the northern outskirts of oThongathi; users of the R614 access the airport via the R102.
The majority of routes to and from the airport via the N2 involve payment of a toll: traffic leaving the airport to the south (the direction of Durban) must pass through the La Mercy Ramp Plaza located at the interchange of the N2 and M65, while traffic arriving at and leaving the airport from the north (the direction of Ballito/KwaDukuza) must pass through the mainline of oThongathi Toll Plaza located at the interchange of the N2 and M43. Motorists arriving from the south along the N2 are not tolled, and the R102 acts as an untolled alternative route. The N2 S from the airport can lead to the M4 S in uMhlanga, which leads directly into the city.
The airport contains 6,500 public parking bays, both in a short-term parkade and in a shaded medium-term parking area. Public road transport is provided by airport shuttle buses and metered taxis, which have been allocated their own pick-up and drop-off area adjacent to the terminal entrance to the international arrivals area.
=== Rail link ===
The main railway line heading north from Durban along the North Coast runs close to the R102. Direct rail access was provided for in the master plans, and is expected to be constructed after 2010 as part of the second phase of construction. In 2014, talks of a new high-speed monorail between the city and the airport were put forward, with an expected start to construction set for 2017.
In late 2024, it was announced that the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality was planning a feasibility study for a tram-light rail system between the Durban city centre and the airport, while an exclusive rail link was still under consideration. The tram-light rail system feasibility study was cancelled in June 2025 by the municipality due to no acceptable tenders being received.
== Accidents and incidents ==
On 13 August 2009, a privately owned Yakovlev Yak-18T (registration ZU-BHR) performed an emergency landing on the then unfinished runway due to a fuel contamination issue, becoming the first aircraft to land at KSIA.
On 5 August 2012, a 1time Airline McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (registration ZS-OPZ) operating flight T6-653 from Durban to Cape Town International Airport suffered an engine failure to the right-hand engine on the initial climb out of Durban. The crew successfully returned to Durban on the remaining engine with no injuries reported. Debris from the failed engine caused the runway to be closed for 3 hours, resulting in numerous flight delays.
On 29 August 2016, A Qatar Airways Boeing 787-8, registration A7-BDB performing flight QR-1367 from Doha to Durban via Johannesburg, was on approach to Durban's runway 06 when a bird impacted the nose of the aircraft. The aircraft continued to make a safe landing on the runway. The aircraft remained on the ground for 31 hours.
== Accolades ==
2011 – 3rd Best Airport in Africa of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International
2012 – 2nd Best Airport in Africa of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International
2013 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling under 5 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2014 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2014 – 2nd Best Airport in World Handling under 5 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2014 – 3rd Best Domestic Airport in World of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2015 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling under 5 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards by Skytrax
2015 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2015 – 3rd Best Domestic Airport in World of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2015 – 4th Best Regional Airport in World of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2015 – 2nd Best Airport in Africa of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International
2016 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2016 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling under 5 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2016 – 2nd Best Airport in Africa of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International
2017 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2017 – 2nd Best Airport in World Handling between 5 & 10 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2017 – 1st Best Airport Staff in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2018 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2018 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling between 5 & 10 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2019 – 2nd Best Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2019 – 1st Best Airport in World Handling between 5 & 10 Million Passengers of the Skytrax World Airports Award
2019 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2019 – 1st Best Airport Staff in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
2025 – 1st Best Regional Airport in Africa of the Skytrax World Airports Awards
== References ==
== External links ==
Media related to King Shaka International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
King Shaka International Airport page on the ACSA website
Dube Tradeport Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe | Giraffe | The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Traditionally, giraffes have been thought of as one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into four extant species, with seven subspecies, which can be distinguished morphologically by their fur coat patterns. Six valid extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
The giraffe's distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, horn-like ossicones, and spotted coat patterns. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other ground-based herbivores cannot reach. Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males but are gregarious and may gather in large groups. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", combat bouts where the neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for rearing the young.
The giraffe has intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for its peculiar appearance and has often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. It is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable to extinction. It has been extirpated from many parts of its former range. Giraffes are still found in many national parks and game reserves, but estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.
== Etymology ==
The name "giraffe" has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word zirāfah (زِرَافَةْ), of an ultimately unclear Sub-Saharan African language origin. The Middle English and early Modern English spellings, jarraf and ziraph, derive from the Arabic form-based Spanish and Portuguese girafa. The modern English form developed around 1600 from the French girafe.
"Camelopard" () is an archaic English name for the giraffe; it derives from the Ancient Greek καμηλοπάρδαλις (kamēlopárdalis), from κάμηλος (kámēlos), "camel", and πάρδαλις (párdalis), "leopard", referring to its camel-like shape and leopard-like colouration.
== Taxonomy ==
=== Evolution ===
The giraffe is one of only two living genera of the family Giraffidae in the order Artiodactyla, the other being the okapi. They are ruminants of the clade Pecora, along with Antilocapridae (pronghorns), Cervidae (deer), Bovidae (cattle, antelope, goats and sheep) and Moschidae (musk deer). A 2019 genome study (cladogram below) finds that Giraffidae are a sister taxon to Antilocapridae, with an estimated split of over 20 million years ago.
The family Giraffidae was once much more extensive, with over 10 fossil genera described. The elongation of the neck appears to have started early in the giraffe lineage. Comparisons between giraffes and their ancient relatives suggest vertebrae close to the skull lengthened earlier, followed by lengthening of vertebrae further down. One early giraffid ancestor was Canthumeryx, which has been dated variously to have lived 25 to 20 million years ago, 17–15 mya or 18–14.3 mya and whose deposits have been found in Libya. This animal resembled an antelope and had a medium-sized, lightly built body. Giraffokeryx appeared 15–12 mya on the Indian subcontinent and resembled an okapi or a small giraffe, and had a longer neck and similar ossicones. Giraffokeryx may have shared a clade with more massively built giraffids like Sivatherium and Bramatherium.
Giraffids like Palaeotragus, Shansitherium and Samotherium appeared 14 mya and lived throughout Africa and Eurasia. These animals had broader skulls with reduced frontal cavities. Paleotragus resembled the okapi and may have been its ancestor. Others find that the okapi lineage diverged earlier, before Giraffokeryx. Samotherium was a particularly important transitional fossil in the giraffe lineage, as the length and structure of its cervical vertebrae were between those of a modern giraffe and an okapi, and its neck posture was likely similar to the former's. Bohlinia, which first appeared in southeastern Europe and lived 9–7 mya, was likely a direct ancestor of the giraffe. Bohlinia closely resembled modern giraffes, having a long neck and legs and similar ossicones and dentition.
Bohlinia colonised China and northern India and produced the Giraffa, which, around 7 million years ago, reached Africa. Climate changes led to the extinction of the Asian giraffes, while the African giraffes survived and radiated into new species. Living giraffes appear to have arisen around 1 million years ago in eastern Africa during the Pleistocene. Some biologists suggest the modern giraffes descended from G. jumae; others find G. gracilis a more likely candidate. G. jumae was larger and more robust, while G. gracilis was smaller and more slender.
The changes from extensive forests to more open habitats, which began 8 mya, are believed to be the main driver for the evolution of giraffes. During this time, tropical plants disappeared and were replaced by arid C4 plants, and a dry savannah emerged across eastern and northern Africa and western India. Some researchers have hypothesised that this new habitat, coupled with a different diet, including acacia species, may have exposed giraffe ancestors to toxins that caused higher mutation rates and a higher rate of evolution. The coat patterns of modern giraffes may also have coincided with these habitat changes. Asian giraffes are hypothesised to have had more okapi-like colourations.
The giraffe genome is around 2.9 billion base pairs in length, compared to the 3.3 billion base pairs of the okapi. Of the proteins in giraffe and okapi genes, 19.4% are identical. The divergence of giraffe and okapi lineages dates to around 11.5 mya. A small group of regulatory genes in the giraffe appears responsible for the animal's height and associated circulatory adaptations.
=== Species and subspecies ===
Carl Linnaeus originally classified living giraffes as one species in 1758. He gave it the binomial name Cervus camelopardalis. Mathurin Jacques Brisson coined the generic name Giraffa in 1762. During the 1900s, various taxonomies with two or three species were proposed. A 2007 study on the genetics of giraffes using mitochondrial DNA suggested at least six lineages could be recognised as species. A 2011 study using detailed analyses of the morphology of giraffes, and application of the phylogenetic species concept, described eight species of living giraffes. A 2016 study also concluded that living giraffes consist of multiple species. The researchers suggested the existence of four species, which have not exchanged genetic information between each other for one to two million years.
A 2020 study showed that, depending on the method chosen, different taxonomic hypotheses recognizing from two to six species can be considered for the genus Giraffa. That study also found that multi-species coalescent methods can lead to taxonomic over-splitting, as those methods delimit geographic structures rather than species. The three-species hypothesis, which recognises G. camelopardalis, G. giraffa, and G. tippelskirchi, is highly supported by phylogenetic analyses and also corroborated by most population genetic and multi-species coalescent analyses. A 2021 whole genome sequencing study suggests the existence of four distinct species and seven subspecies, which was supported by a 2024 study of cranial morphology. A 2024 study found a higher amount of ancient gene flow than expected between populations.
The cladogram below shows the phylogenetic relationship between the four species and seven subspecies based on a 2021 genome analysis. The eight lineages correspond to eight traditional subspecies in the one-species hypothesis. The Rothschild giraffe is subsumed into G. camelopardalis camelopardalis.
The following table compares the different hypotheses for giraffe species. The description column shows the traditional nine subspecies in the one-species hypothesis.
The first extinct species to be described was Giraffa sivalensis from Pakistan, the holotype of which was reevaluated as a vertebra of separate species within the genus that was initially described as a fossil of the living giraffe. Another extinct species Giraffa punjabiensis is known from Pakistan. Four other valid extinct species of Giraffa known from Africa are Giraffa gracilis, Giraffa jumae, Giraffa pygmaea and Giraffa stillei. "G." pomeli from Algeria and Tunisia is not a species of Giraffinae, but a species of Palaeotraginae related to Mitilanotherium.
== Anatomy ==
Fully grown giraffes stand 4.3–5.7 m (14–19 ft) tall, with males taller than females. The average weight is 1,192 kg (2,628 lb) for an adult male and 828 kg (1,825 lb) for an adult female. Despite its long neck and legs, its body is relatively short. The skin is mostly gray or tan, and can reach a thickness of 20 mm (0.79 in). The 80–100 cm (31–39 in) long tail ends in a long, dark tuft of hair and is used as a defense against insects.
The coat has dark blotches or patches, which can be orange, chestnut, brown, or nearly black, surrounded by light hair, usually white or cream coloured. Male giraffes become darker as they grow old. The coat pattern has been claimed to serve as camouflage in the light and shade patterns of savannah woodlands. When standing among trees and bushes, they are hard to see at even a few metres distance. However, adult giraffes move about to gain the best view of an approaching predator, relying on their size and ability to defend themselves rather than on camouflage, which may be more important for calves. Each giraffe has a unique coat pattern. Calves inherit some coat pattern traits from their mothers, and variation in some spot traits is correlated with calf survival. The skin under the blotches may regulate the animal's body temperature, being sites for complex blood vessel systems and large sweat glands. Spotless or solid-colour giraffes are very rare, but have been observed.
The fur may give the animal chemical defense, as its parasite repellents give it a characteristic scent. At least 11 main aromatic chemicals are in the fur, although indole and 3-methylindole are responsible for most of the smell. Because males have a stronger odour than females, it may also have a sexual function.
=== Head ===
Both sexes have prominent horn-like structures called ossicones, which can reach 13.5 cm (5.3 in). They are formed from ossified cartilage, covered in skin, and fused to the skull at the parietal bones. Being vascularised, the ossicones may have a role in thermoregulation, and are used in combat between males. Appearance is a reliable guide to the sex or age of a giraffe: the ossicones of females and young are thin and display tufts of hair on top, whereas those of adult males tend to be bald and knobbed on top. A lump, which is more prominent in males, emerges in the middle of the skull. Males develop calcium deposits that form bumps on their skulls as they age. Multiple sinuses lighten a giraffe's skull. However, as males age, their skulls become heavier and more club-like, helping them become more dominant in combat. The occipital condyles at the bottom of the skull allow the animal to tip its head over 90 degrees and grab food on the branches directly above them with the tongue.
With eyes located on the sides of the head, the giraffe has a broad visual field from its great height. Compared to other ungulates, giraffe vision is more binocular and the eyes are larger with a greater retinal surface area. Giraffes may see in colour, and their senses of hearing and smell are sharp. The ears are movable. The nostrils are slit-shaped, possibly to withstand blowing sand. The giraffe's tongue is about 45 cm (18 in) long. It is black, perhaps to protect against sunburn, and can grasp foliage and delicately pick off leaves. The upper lip is flexible and hairy to protect against sharp prickles. The upper jaw has a hard palate instead of front teeth. The molars and premolars are wide with low crowns on the surface.
=== Neck ===
The giraffe has an extremely elongated neck, which can be up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) in length. Along the neck is a mane made of short, erect hairs. The neck typically rests at an angle of 50–60 degrees, though juveniles are closer to 70 degrees. The long neck results from a disproportionate lengthening of the cervical vertebrae, not from the addition of more vertebrae. Each cervical vertebra is over 28 cm (11 in) long. They comprise 52–54 per cent of the length of the giraffe's vertebral column, compared with the 27–33 percent typical of similar large ungulates, including the giraffe's closest living relative, the okapi. This elongation largely takes place after birth, perhaps because giraffe mothers would have a difficult time giving birth to young with the same neck proportions as adults. The giraffe's head and neck are held up by large muscles and a nuchal ligament, which are anchored by long thoracic vertebrae spines, giving them a hump.
The giraffe's neck vertebrae have ball and socket joints. The point of articulation between the cervical and thoracic vertebrae of giraffes is shifted to lie between the first and second thoracic vertebrae (T1 and T2), unlike in most other ruminants, where the articulation is between the seventh cervical vertebra (C7) and T1. This allows C7 to contribute directly to increased neck length and has given rise to the suggestion that T1 is actually C8, and that giraffes have added an extra cervical vertebra. However, this proposition is not generally accepted, as T1 has other morphological features, such as an articulating rib, deemed diagnostic of thoracic vertebrae, and because exceptions to the mammalian limit of seven cervical vertebrae are generally characterised by increased neurological anomalies and maladies.
There are several hypotheses regarding the evolutionary origin and maintenance of elongation in giraffe necks. Charles Darwin originally suggested the "competing browsers hypothesis", which has been challenged only recently. It suggests that competitive pressure from smaller browsers, like kudu, steenbok and impala, encouraged the elongation of the neck, as it enabled giraffes to reach food that competitors could not. This advantage is real, as giraffes can and do feed up to 4.5 m (15 ft) high, while even quite large competitors, such as kudu, can feed up to only about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high. There is also research suggesting that browsing competition is intense at lower levels, and giraffes feed more efficiently (gaining more leaf biomass with each mouthful) high in the canopy. However, scientists disagree about just how much time giraffes spend feeding at levels beyond the reach of other browsers, and a 2010 study found that adult giraffes with longer necks actually suffered higher mortality rates under drought conditions than their shorter-necked counterparts. This study suggests that maintaining a longer neck requires more nutrients, which puts longer-necked giraffes at risk during a food shortage.
Another theory, the sexual selection hypothesis, proposes that long necks evolved as a secondary sexual characteristic, giving males an advantage in "necking" contests to establish dominance and obtain access to sexually receptive females. In support of this theory, some studies have stated that necks are longer and heavier for males than females of the same age, and that males do not employ other forms of combat. However, a 2024 study found that, while males have thicker necks, females actually have proportionally longer ones, which is likely because of their greater need to find more food to sustain themselves and their dependent young. It has also been proposed that the neck serves to give the animal greater vigilance.
=== Legs, locomotion and posture ===
The front legs tend to be longer than the hind legs, and males have proportionally longer front legs than females, which gives them better support when swinging their necks during fights. The leg bones lack first, second and fifth metapodials. It appears that a suspensory ligament allows the lanky legs to support the animal's great weight. The hooves of large male giraffes reach 31 cm × 23 cm (12.2 in × 9.1 in) in diameter. The fetlock of the leg is low to the ground, allowing the hoof to better support the animal's weight. Giraffes lack dewclaws and interdigital glands. While the pelvis is relatively short, the ilium has stretched-out crests.
A giraffe has only two gaits: walking and galloping. Walking is done by moving the legs on one side of the body, then doing the same on the other side. When galloping, the hind legs move around the front legs before the latter move forward, and the tail will curl up. The movements of the head and neck provide balance and control momentum while galloping. The giraffe can reach a sprint speed of up to 60 km/h (37 mph), and can sustain 50 km/h (31 mph) for several kilometres. Giraffes would probably not be competent swimmers as their long legs would be highly cumbersome in the water, although they might be able to float. When swimming, the thorax would be weighed down by the front legs, making it difficult for the animal to move its neck and legs in harmony or keep its head above the water's surface.
A giraffe rests by lying with its body on top of its folded legs. To lie down, the animal kneels on its front legs and then lowers the rest of its body. To get back up, it first gets on its front knees and positions its backside on top of its hindlegs. It then pulls the backside upwards, and the front legs stand straight up again. At each stage, the animal swings its head for balance. If the giraffe wants to reach down to drink, it either spreads its front legs or bends its knees. Studies in captivity found the giraffe sleeps intermittently around 4.6 hours per day, mostly at night. It usually sleeps lying down; however, standing sleeps have been recorded, particularly in older individuals. Intermittent short "deep sleep" phases while lying are characterised by the giraffe bending its neck backwards and resting its head on the hip or thigh, a position believed to indicate paradoxical sleep.
=== Internal systems ===
In mammals, the left recurrent laryngeal nerve is longer than the right; in the giraffe, it is over 30 cm (12 in) longer. These nerves are longer in the giraffe than in any other living animal; the left nerve is over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long. Each nerve cell in this path begins in the brainstem and passes down the neck along the vagus nerve, then branches off into the recurrent laryngeal nerve which passes back up the neck to the larynx. Thus, these nerve cells have a length of nearly 5 m (16 ft) in the largest giraffes. Despite its long neck and large skull, the brain of the giraffe is typical for an ungulate. Evaporative heat loss in the nasal passages keep the giraffe's brain cool. The shape of the skeleton gives the giraffe a small lung volume relative to its mass. Its long neck gives it a large amount of dead space, though this is limited by its narrow windpipe. The giraffe also has a high tidal volume, so the balance of dead space and tidal volume is much the same as other mammals. The animal can still provide enough oxygen for its tissues, and it can increase its respiratory rate and oxygen diffusion when running.
The giraffe's circulatory system has several adaptations to compensate for its great height. Its 11 kg (25 lb) and 60 cm (2 ft) heart must generate approximately double the blood pressure required for a human to maintain blood flow to the brain. As such, the wall of the heart can be as thick as 7.5 cm (3.0 in). Giraffes have relatively high heart rates for their size, at 150 beats per minute. When the animal lowers its head, the blood rushes down fairly unopposed and a rete mirabile in the upper neck, with its large cross-sectional area, prevents excess blood flow to the brain. When it raises again, the blood vessels constrict and push blood into the brain so the animal does not faint. The jugular veins contain several (most commonly seven) valves to prevent blood flowing back into the head from the inferior vena cava and right atrium while the head is lowered. Conversely, the blood vessels in the lower legs are under great pressure because of the weight of fluid pressing down on them. To solve this problem, the skin of the lower legs is thick and tight, preventing too much blood from pouring into them.
Giraffes have oesophageal muscles that are strong enough to allow regurgitation of food from the stomach up the neck and into the mouth for rumination. They have four-chambered stomachs, which are adapted to their specialized diet. The intestines of an adult giraffe measure more than 70 m (230 ft) in length and have a relatively small ratio of small to large intestine. The giraffe has a small, compact liver. In fetuses there may be a small gallbladder that vanishes before birth.
== Behaviour and ecology ==
=== Habitat and feeding ===
Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and open woodlands. They prefer areas dominated by Acacieae, Commiphora, Combretum and Terminalia trees over Brachystegia which are more densely spaced. The Angolan giraffe can be found in desert environments. Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring those of the subfamily Acacieae and the genera Commiphora and Terminalia, which are important sources of calcium and protein to sustain the giraffe's growth rate. They also feed on shrubs, grass and fruit. A giraffe eats around 34 kg (75 lb) of plant matter daily. When stressed, giraffes may chew on large branches, stripping them of bark. Giraffes are also recorded to chew old bones.
During the wet season, food is abundant and giraffes are more spread out, while during the dry season, they gather around the remaining evergreen trees and bushes. Mothers tend to feed in open areas, presumably to make it easier to detect predators, although this may reduce their feeding efficiency. As a ruminant, the giraffe first chews its food, then swallows it for processing and then visibly passes the half-digested cud up the neck and back into the mouth to chew again. The giraffe requires less food than many other herbivores because the foliage it eats has more concentrated nutrients and it has a more efficient digestive system. The animal's faeces come in the form of small pellets. When it has access to water, a giraffe will go no more than three days without drinking.
Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving "waistlines" to particularly tall trees. Feeding is at its highest during the first and last hours of daytime. Between these hours, giraffes mostly stand and ruminate. Rumination is the dominant activity during the night, when it is mostly done lying down.
=== Social life ===
Giraffes usually form groups that vary in size and composition according to ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors. Traditionally, the composition of these groups had been described as open and ever-changing. For research purposes, a "group" has been defined as "a collection of individuals that are less than a kilometre apart and moving in the same general direction". More recent studies have found that giraffes have long-lasting social groups or cliques based on kinship, sex or other factors, and these groups regularly associate with other groups in larger communities or sub-communities within a fission–fusion society. Proximity to humans can disrupt social arrangements. Masai giraffes in Tanzania sort themselves into different subpopulations of 60–90 adult females with overlapping ranges, each of which differ in reproductive rates and calf mortality. Dispersal is male biased, and can include spatial and/or social dispersal. Adult female subpopulations are connected by males into super communities of around 300 animals.
The number of giraffes in a group can range from one up to 66 individuals. Giraffe groups tend to be sex-segregated although mixed-sex groups made of adult females and young males also occur. Female groups may be matrilineally related. Generally, females are more selective than males when deciding which individuals of the same sex they associate with. Particularly stable giraffe groups are those made of mothers and their young, which can last weeks or months. Young males also form groups and will engage in playfights. However, as they get older, males become more solitary but may also associate in pairs or with female groups. Giraffes are not territorial, but they have home ranges that vary according to rainfall and proximity to human settlements. Male giraffes occasionally roam far from areas that they normally frequent.
Early biologists suggested giraffes were mute and unable to create enough air flow to vibrate their vocal folds. This has been proved to the contrary; they have been recorded to communicate using snorts, sneezes, coughs, snores, hisses, bursts, moans, grunts, growls and flute-like sounds. During courtship, males emit loud coughs. Females call their young by bellowing. Calves will emit bleats, mooing and mewing sounds. Snorting and hissing is associated with vigilance. During nighttime, giraffes appear to hum to each other. There is some evidence that giraffes use Helmholtz resonance to create infrasound. They also communicate with body language. Dominant males display to other males with an erect posture; holding the chin and head up while walking stiffly and displaying their side. The less dominant show submissiveness by dropping the head and ears, lowering the chin and fleeing.
=== Reproduction and parental care ===
Reproduction in giraffes is broadly polygamous: a few older males mate with the fertile females. Females can reproduce throughout the year and experience oestrus cycling approximately every 15 days. Female giraffes in oestrus are dispersed over space and time, so reproductive adult males adopt a strategy of roaming among female groups to seek mating opportunities, with periodic hormone-induced rutting behaviour approximately every two weeks. Males prefer young adult females over juveniles and older adults.
Male giraffes assess female fertility by tasting the female's urine to detect oestrus, in a multi-step process known as the flehmen response. Once an oestrous female is detected, the male will attempt to court her. When courting, dominant males will keep subordinate ones at bay. A courting male may lick a female's tail, lay his head and neck on her body or nudge her with his ossicones. During copulation, the male stands on his hind legs with his head held up and his front legs resting on the female's sides.
Giraffe gestation lasts 400–460 days, after which a single calf is normally born, although twins occur on rare occasions. The mother gives birth standing up. The calf emerges head and front legs first, having broken through the fetal membranes, and falls to the ground, severing the umbilical cord. A newborn giraffe is 1.7–2 m (5 ft 7 in – 6 ft 7 in) tall. Within a few hours of birth, the calf can run around and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old. However, for the first one to three weeks, it spends most of its time hiding, its coat pattern providing camouflage. The ossicones, which have lain flat in the womb, raise up in a few days.
Mothers with calves will gather in nursery herds, moving or browsing together. Mothers in such a group may sometimes leave their calves with one female while they forage and drink elsewhere. This is known as a "calving pool". Calves are at risk of predation, and a mother giraffe will stand over them and kick at an approaching predator. Females watching calving pools will only alert their own young if they detect a disturbance, although the others will take notice and follow. Allo-sucking, where a calf will suckle a female other than its mother, has been recorded in both wild and captive giraffes. Calves first ruminate at four to six months and stop nursing at six to eight months. Young may not reach independence until they are 14 months old. Females are able to reproduce at four years of age, while spermatogenesis in males begins at three to four years of age. Males must wait until they are at least seven years old to gain the opportunity to mate.
=== Necking ===
Male giraffes use their necks as weapons in combat, a behaviour known as "necking". Necking is used to establish dominance, and males that win necking bouts have greater reproductive success. This behaviour occurs at low or high intensity. In low-intensity necking, the combatants rub and lean on each other. The male that can keep itself more upright wins the bout. In high-intensity necking, the combatants will spread their front legs and swing their necks at each other, attempting to land blows with their ossicones. The contestants will try to dodge each other's blows and then prepare to counter. The power of a blow depends on the weight of the skull and the arc of the swing. A necking duel can last more than half an hour, depending on how well matched the combatants are. Although most fights do not lead to serious injury, there have been records of broken jaws, broken necks, and even deaths.
After a duel, it is common for two male giraffes to caress and court each other. Such interactions between males have been found to be more frequent than heterosexual coupling. In one study, up to 94 percent of observed mounting incidents took place between males. The proportion of same-sex activities varied from 30 to 75 percent. Only one percent of same-sex mounting incidents occurred between females.
=== Mortality and health ===
Giraffes have high adult survival probability, and an unusually long lifespan compared to other ruminants, up to 38 years. Adult female survival is significantly correlated with the number of social associations. Because of their size, eyesight and powerful kicks, adult giraffes are mostly safe from predation, with lions being their only major threats. Calves are much more vulnerable than adults and are also preyed on by leopards, spotted hyenas and wild dogs. A quarter to a half of giraffe calves reach adulthood. Calf survival varies according to the season of birth, with calves born during the dry season having higher survival rates.
The local, seasonal presence of large herds of migratory wildebeests and zebras reduces predation pressure on giraffe calves and increases their survival probability. In turn, it has been suggested that other ungulates may benefit from associating with giraffes, as their height allows them to spot predators from further away. Zebras were found to assess predation risk by watching giraffes and spend less time looking around when giraffes are present.
Some parasites feed on giraffes. They are often hosts for ticks, especially in the area around the genitals, which have thinner skin than other areas. Tick species that commonly feed on giraffes are those of genera Hyalomma, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus. Red-billed and yellow-billed oxpeckers clean giraffes of ticks and alert them to danger. Giraffes host numerous species of internal parasites and are susceptible to various diseases. They were victims of the (now eradicated) viral illness rinderpest. Giraffes can also suffer from a skin disorder, which comes in the form of wrinkles, lesions or raw fissures. As much as 79% of giraffes have symptoms of the disease in Ruaha National Park, but it did not cause mortality in Tarangire and is less prevalent in areas with fertile soils.
== Human relations ==
=== Cultural significance ===
With its lanky build and spotted coat, the giraffe has been a source of fascination throughout human history, and its image is widespread in culture. It has represented flexibility, far-sightedness, femininity, fragility, passivity, grace, beauty and the continent of Africa itself.
Giraffes were depicted in art throughout the African continent,. The Kiffians were responsible for a life-size rock engraving of two giraffes, dated 8,000 years ago, that has been called the "world's largest rock art petroglyph". Judging from evidence including incised clay pots, archaeologists now believe that, in the ancient Kushite societies located in Nubia, or what is now northern Sudan, giraffes may have featured in popular religion and women's religion, though not in elite or royal religion, and may have also had a connection to beliefs about the sun. The Tugen people of modern Kenya used the giraffe to depict their god Mda. The Egyptians gave the giraffe its own hieroglyph; 'sr' in Old Egyptian and 'mmy' in later periods. How the giraffe got its height has been the subject of various African folktales.
Giraffes have a presence in modern Western culture. Salvador Dalí depicted them with burning manes in some surrealist paintings. Dali considered the giraffe to be a masculine symbol. A flaming giraffe was meant to be a "masculine cosmic apocalyptic monster". Several children's books feature the giraffe, including David A. Ufer's The Giraffe Who Was Afraid of Heights, Giles Andreae's Giraffes Can't Dance and Roald Dahl's The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. Giraffes have appeared in animated films as minor characters in Disney's Dumbo and The Lion King, and in more prominent roles in The Wild and the Madagascar films. Sophie the Giraffe has been a popular teether since 1961. Another famous fictional giraffe is the Toys "R" Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe.
The giraffe has also been used for some scientific experiments and discoveries. Scientists have used the properties of giraffe skin as a model for astronaut and fighter pilot suits because the people in these professions are in danger of passing out if blood rushes to their legs. Computer scientists have modeled the coat patterns of several subspecies using reaction–diffusion mechanisms. The constellation of Camelopardalis, introduced in the 17th century, depicts a giraffe. The Tswana people of Botswana traditionally see the constellation Crux as two giraffes—Acrux and Mimosa forming a male, and Gacrux and Delta Crucis forming the female.
=== Captivity ===
The Egyptians were among the earliest people to keep giraffes in captivity and shipped them around the Mediterranean. The giraffe was among the many animals collected and displayed by the Romans. The first one in Rome was brought in by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the housing of giraffes in Europe declined. During the Middle Ages, giraffes were known to Europeans through contact with the Arabs, who revered the giraffe for its peculiar appearance.
Individual captive giraffes were given celebrity status throughout history. In 1414, a giraffe from Malindi was taken to China by explorer Zheng He and placed in a Ming dynasty zoo. The animal was a source of fascination for the Chinese people, who associated it with the mythical Qilin. The Medici giraffe was a giraffe presented to Lorenzo de' Medici in 1486. It caused a great stir on its arrival in Florence. Zarafa, another famous giraffe, was brought from Egypt to Paris in the early 19th century as a gift for Charles X of France. A sensation, the giraffe was the subject of numerous memorabilia or "giraffanalia".
Giraffes have become popular attractions in modern zoos, though keeping them is difficult as they prefer large areas and need to eat large amounts of browse. Captive giraffes in North America and Europe appear to have a higher mortality rate than in the wild, the most common causes being poor husbandry, nutrition, and management. Giraffes in zoos display stereotypical behaviours, particularly the licking of inanimate objects and pacing. Zookeepers may offer various activities to stimulate giraffes, including training them to take food from visitors. Stables for giraffes are built particularly high to accommodate their height.
=== Exploitation ===
Giraffes were probably common targets for hunters throughout Africa. Different parts of their bodies were used for different purposes. Their meat was used for food. The tail hairs were flyswatters, bracelets, necklaces, and threads. Shields, sandals, and drums were made using the skin, and the strings of musical instruments were from the tendons. In Buganda, the smoke of burning giraffe skin was traditionally used to treat nosebleeds. The Humr people of Kordofan consume the drink Umm Nyolokh, which is prepared from the liver and bone marrow of giraffes. Richard Rudgley hypothesised that Umm Nyolokh might contain DMT. The drink is said to cause hallucinations of giraffes, believed to be the giraffes' ghosts, by the Humr.
== Conservation status ==
In 2016, giraffes were assessed as Vulnerable from a conservation perspective by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In 1985, it was estimated there were 155,000 giraffes in the wild. This declined to over 140,000 in 1999. Estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. The Masai and reticulated subspecies are endangered, and the Rothschild subspecies is near threatened. The Nubian subspecies is critically endangered. In 2025, the IUCN currently accepted four species of giraffe with seven subspecies.
The primary causes for giraffe population declines are habitat loss and direct killing for bushmeat markets. Giraffes have been extirpated from much of their historic range, including Eritrea, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal. They may also have disappeared from Angola, Mali, and Nigeria, but have been introduced to Rwanda and Eswatini. As of 2010, there were more than 1,600 in captivity at Species360-registered zoos. Habitat destruction has hurt the giraffe. In the Sahel, the need for firewood and grazing room for livestock has led to deforestation. Normally, giraffes can coexist with livestock, since they avoid direct competition by feeding above them. In 2017, severe droughts in northern Kenya led to increased tensions over land and the killing of wildlife by herders, with giraffe populations being particularly hit.
Protected areas like national parks provide important habitat and anti-poaching protection to giraffe populations. Community-based conservation efforts outside national parks are also effective at protecting giraffes and their habitats. Private game reserves have contributed to the preservation of giraffe populations in eastern and southern Africa. The giraffe is a protected species in most of its range. It is the national animal of Tanzania, and is protected by law, and unauthorised killing can result in imprisonment. The UN-backed Convention of Migratory Species selected giraffes for protection in 2017. In 2019, giraffes were listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means international trade including in parts/derivatives is regulated.
Translocations are sometimes used to augment or re-establish diminished or extirpated populations, but these activities are risky and difficult to undertake using the best practices of extensive pre- and post-translocation studies and ensuring a viable founding population. Aerial survey is the most common method of monitoring giraffe population trends in the vast roadless tracts of African landscapes, but aerial methods are known to undercount giraffes. Ground-based survey methods are more accurate and can be used in conjunction with aerial surveys to make accurate estimates of population sizes and trends.
== See also ==
Fauna of Africa
Giraffe Centre
Giraffe Manor - hotel in Nairobi with giraffes
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_D._Flood | Henry D. Flood | Henry De La Warr Flood (September 2, 1865 – December 8, 1921) was a representative from the Commonwealth of Virginia to the United States House of Representatives, brother of U.S. Representative Joel West Flood and uncle of U.S. Senator Harry Flood Byrd.
== Early and family life ==
Flood was born September 2, 1865, in "Eldon" in Appomattox County, Virginia, to former Virginia state senator and CSA Major Joel Walker Flood (1839–1916), and his first wife, the former Ella Faulkner (1844–1885). He had an elder sister, Eleanor Bolling Flood Byrd (1864–1957), and a younger half-brother Joel West Flood (1894–1964). Flood attended public schools in Appomattox and Richmond, Virginia. He received his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University and his law degree from the University of Virginia.
On April 18, 1914, the middle-aged bachelor married Anna Florence Portner (1888–1966), daughter of German beer brewer and inventor Robert Portner. They married at All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C., followed by a reception at the Pan American Union Building. His young namesake Henry D. Flood III died in 1920, the year of his birth, as had their daughter Anna Portner Flood in 1916. Their children Bolling Byrd Flood (1915–2000) and Eleanor Faulkner Flood Schoellkopf (1917–1975) survived their parents.
== Career ==
Flood was admitted to the bar in 1886 and commenced practice in Appomattox, Virginia. He was elected Commonwealth's Attorney for Appomattox County in 1891, 1895, and 1899.
Voters also elected Flood as Appomattox County's delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates from 1887 to 1891 (a part-time position). He served as member of the Senate of Virginia from 1891 to 1903. He was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Fifty-fifth Congress.
Flood was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-seventh and to the ten succeeding Congresses and served until his death (March 4, 1901 – December 8, 1921). In his first term, he proposed creation of what ultimately became Shenandoah National Park more than a decade after his death, due to the efforts of his nephew Harry F. Byrd, who became one of Virginia's U.S. Senators in 1933.
Flood served as chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (Sixty-second through Sixty-fifth Congresses), Committee on Territories (Sixty-second Congress).
In 1911, he was responsible for the Flood amendment to the enabling act for New Mexico statehood, which provided for a simple majority to ratify amendments to the New Mexico Constitution. In 1917, he helped to bring the United States into World War I as the author of the resolutions declaring a state of war to exist between the United States and Germany and Austria-Hungary.
== Death and legacy ==
Henry died on December 8, 1921, in Washington, D.C.
He was interred in a mausoleum on the courthouse green at Appomattox, Virginia; the courthouse is located in the Appomattox Historic District.
== See also ==
List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)
== References ==
United States Congress. "Henry D. Flood (id: F000210)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
== External links ==
Henry D. Flood at Find a Grave
Henry D. Flood, late a representative from Virginia, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1924
This article incorporates public domain material from Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Federal government of the United States. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohinder_Amarnath#:~:text=In%20his%20book%20%22Idols%22%2C,world)%20batting%20against%20Jeff%20Thomson. | Mohinder Amarnath | Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj (born 24 September 1950) is a former Indian cricketer and cricket analyst. He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. Mohinder was the vice captain of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, where he was the player of the final. He was also a part of the Indian squad which won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket.
Mohinder is commonly mentioned by players and cricket pundits as the best Indian batsman against express pace. In 2009, he received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour Indian board can bestow on a former player.
== Early life ==
Mohinder was born on 24 September 1950 in Patiala as the second eldest son of Lala Amarnath and Kailash Kumari. His elder brother, Surinder is a former international cricketer while his younger brother Rajinder is a former first-class cricketer. He also has two sisters, Kamala and Dolly.
== Education ==
Mohinder Amarnath did his schooling at MB High School Mandir Marg Delhi. He went to SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University for his graduation.
== Career ==
Mohinder made his debut against Australia at Chennai in December 1969,
as a quick-bowling all rounder. At his peak he was a top order batsman who mainly played at No. 3 for India, and was both an attacking and defensive batsmen who reinvented himself several times over the course of his career. He was also handy with the ball, bowling swingers and cutters with great skill and control. He had a unique run-up where he slowed down as he reached the bowling crease. Behind his seemingly lethargic demeanor were nerves of steel.
Mohinder Amarnath played 69 Tests scoring 4,378 runs at a batting average of 42.50, with 11 hundreds and 24 fifties, and claimed 32 wickets at a bowling average of 55.68 apiece. In 85 One Day Internationals, he scored 1,924 runs at an average of 30.53 and a highest score of 102 n.o. and claimed 46 wickets at 42.84 apiece.
== Accolades ==
Fiery fast bowlers Imran Khan of Pakistan and Malcolm Marshall of West Indies have praised his batsmanship, courage and ability to endure and master pain. In 1982–83 Mohinder played 11 Test matches against Pakistan (5) and the West Indies (6) and scored over 1000 runs in the two series.
In his book "Idols", Indian legend and compatriot Sunil Gavaskar described Mohinder Amarnath as the finest batsman in the world.
Mohinder made his first test century at Perth at the WACA (the fastest and bounciest wicket in the world) batting against Jeff Thomson. He followed this test century with another 10 more against top class fast bowling.
Imran Khan regarded Mohinder so highly that in his book "All Round View" he went on record to say that in the 1982–83 season, Mohinder was quite simply the best batsman in the world. Imran further went on to state that Mohinder should have played non-stop for India right from his debut in 1969 to the time he retired. (After his debut series in 1969, he had to wait until 1975 to make it into the team).
== 1982–83 series in Pakistan ==
This series saw Imran Khan at his lethal best, supported by the canny Sarfraz Nawaz. In match after match India crumbled against the fiery pace of Pakistan, losing the Second, third and fourth tests 3–0 . Imran Khan who took 40 wickets in the series was jointly awarded "Man of the Series" with Mohinder Amarnath. The catastrophic series for India hastened the end of the career of master batsman Gundappa Viswanath. Mohinder Amarnath was the sole saving grace for the Indian batting line-up for the series as a whole. (An aside – Sunil Gavaskar carried his bat in one innings of the series. Sunil Gavaskar scored 434 runs ).
== 1983 World Cup Performance ==
Mohinder Amarnath is noted for his performance in the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He was awarded "Man of the Match" in the final and semi-final, playing a star role in leading India to their first ever One Day International title and first World Cup win.
In the semi-final against England his accurate seam bowling fetched him the top-order wickets of David Gower and Mike Gatting. He gave away only 27 runs in his 12 overs, for an average of a miserly 2.25 an over, the lowest among all Indian bowlers. Returning to bat, he scored 46 runs to give India a solid foundation. He was named the Man of the Match.
In the final, India batted first against the West Indies which arguably boasted the world's best bowling attack comprising Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner. India did not fare well, with the entire team being dismissed for a paltry score of 183 in 54.4 overs, well short of the allotted 60 overs. Amarnath's calm and composed batting against West Indian fast bowling gave the Indian innings some much needed stability. He occupied the crease for the longest period (80 balls) and scored 26 runs. Though normally in limited over matches a long stint at the crease is not necessarily a good thing, given that India did not last the entire 60 overs Amarnath's innings gave the batsmen at the other end the opportunity to score. Krishnamachari Srikkanth top-scored with 38 runs, followed by Sandeep Patil (27 runs). After the poor batting performance India's chances were deemed almost non-existent. However, the Indian bowling exploited the weather and pitch conditions, conducive for swing bowling perfectly to bowl out the West Indies for just 140, thus winning the finals by 43 runs. Amarnath and Madan Lal were the joint highest wicket takers with 3 wickets each. As he had been in the semi-final, Amarnath was once again the most economical bowler, conceding only 12 runs in his 7 overs for an average of 1.71 per over. Again, just like the semi-final, Amarnath was declared the Man of the Match. Amarnath also had the distinction of bagging the match winning wicket. As the vice-captain of the team, he held the World Cup aloft in a famous photograph along with his captain and friend, Indian cricketing legend Kapil Dev.
== Trials and tribulations ==
Except for the period 1982–83, Mohinder never held a steady place in the Indian Test side and would frequently get dropped. Mohinder is known as the Comeback Man of Indian Cricket. During his two decades at the top, he was dropped from the Indian side on several occasions and each time he fought his way back with sterling performances, playing excellent domestic cricket and making it hard for the national selectors to ignore him.
He was well known for his batting technique, temperament and skill. He even experimented with a side-on batting stance, where one foot was placed at an angle to the crease, giving the body had a more open stance with a better view of the bowler.
== Character and Courage ==
Amarnath was noted for his personality, courage and determination. West Indian cricketing great Vivian Richards called him "one of the nicest men to have ever played the game" and former Australian Test opening batsman David Boon said "Concede didn't seem to be in his vocabulary".
Gideon Haigh writing in The Age says: "In an era replete with fast bowling and unrestricted in use of the bouncer, he never stopped hooking – despite many incentives to do so. He received a hairline fracture of the skull from Richard Hadlee, was knocked unconscious by Imran Khan, had teeth knocked out by Malcolm Marshall and was hit in the jaw so painfully by Jeff Thomson in Perth that he could eat only ice cream for lunch. 'What separated Jimmy from the others,' Michael Holding said, 'was his great ability to withstand pain . . . A fast bowler knows when a batsman is in pain. But Jimmy would stand up and continue.' ".
In the Bridgetown Test during India's tour of the West Indies in 1982–83, Amarnath had to retire for stitches after being hit on the head. On returning to the game, he faced one of history's most lethal fast bowlers Michael Holding. It was a given that Holding would try to intimidate Amarnath by bowling a bouncer, and indeed he did so. While most would expect that a batsman in such a situation would do the prudent thing and duck, instead Amarnath stood his ground and hooked the ball to the boundary. However the West Indies bowling attack comprising Malcolm Marshall at his best, Michael Holding, Winston Davis and Wayne Daniel would wreak their most lethal vengeance upon Amarnath during their 1983/84 tour of India by restricting him to only 1 run in six innings, during which Holding scalped Amarnath three times for a duck. Amarnath had scores of 0,0,0,1,0,0 and was hence dropped just months after his career-high success at the 1983 World Cup.
He played an important role in famous chase in Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1976 tour. He made 85 in the second innings taking India to the brink of historic win.
Amarnath was noted for his conflicts with the Indian cricketing political establishment, famously having called the selectors a "bunch of jokers". This often resulted in his exclusion from the Indian team also.
== Trivia ==
Mohinder had some unique dismissals. He is the only Indian who has been dismissed on handling the ball. He was dismissed on 9 February 1986 also making him the first one to be dismissed for handling the ball in One-Day Internationals. He is also the only Indian to be dismissed for obstructing the field in One-Day Internationals. He has also been dismissed 'hit wicket'.
He is the only International Cricketer in the world to be given out both for handling the ball and obstructing the field in his career
He displayed the unique superstition of carrying a red handkerchief visibly in his trouser pocket while batting.
== Cricket Coaching ==
Mohinder Amarnath presented a popular weekly cricket coaching TV programme in the late 80s/early 90s. The program went by the name of 'Cricket with Mohinder Amarnath'. It featured technique presentation and discussion with guest speakers who were mostly Indian national team members at the time. It had a decent following among the youth of that time who were hooked to cricket especially after Reliance Cup was held in India in 1987, given that the program was available on the national channel Doordarshan thus taking cricket to the masses. The title song of this program 'Khel hi hain hamara jeevan...' was very catchy. Young Sachin Tendulkar, at 15 years old, was interviewed by Amarnath for the program. Sachin was playing wonderfully in the domestic leagues, and was showing enormous potential. After a year, he was inducted into the Indian team for the Pakistan tour.
== Personal life ==
Mohinder Amarnath is married to Inderjit Amarnath, and they have one daughter.
== In popular culture ==
The 2021 Hindi film 83, based on India's 1983 World Cup victory, features Saqib Saleem as Amarnath, and Amarnath himself as his father, Lala. Amarnath also played the role of a cricket coach to Saleem's character, Viraj Sharma, in the 2016 film Dishoom.
== Filmography ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Mohinder Amarnath at ESPNcricinfo |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Different_World_(Alan_Walker_album) | Different World (Alan Walker album) | Different World is the debut studio album by Norwegian DJ and record producer Alan Walker. It was released on 14 December 2018 through MER Musikk and Sony Music Entertainment and includes his successful 2015 single "Faded". The album also succeeds a trilogy of releases leading up to the album, entitled World of Walker, which consisted of the singles "All Falls Down", "Darkside" and "Diamond Heart". The album was also nominated for Top Dance/Electronic Albums at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards.
== Background ==
Featuring artists such as Steve Aoki, Noah Cyrus, and Digital Farm Animals, the album is noted for its mixture of "recognizable releases" such as "Faded" with "new material" such as "Lost Control". Walker said of the album "It's an incredible feeling to be able to release my debut album, Different World. These last years were absolutely surreal, and I certainly never imagined it would get to that point when I started. very different for me. It's something I've worked on for some time, and I'm super excited to finally share with the world and hear the reaction of my fans!" A campaign for the album was launched, titled "#CreateADifferentWorld". It is to raise awareness regarding the theme of climate change.
== Singles ==
The album's first single, "Faded", features uncredited Naustdal pop singer Iselin Solheim and was released on 3 December 2015. The single reached number one in the annual charts in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, was nominated for British Single of the Year at the 2017 Brit Awards and won Årets Låt (Song of the Year) at the Spellemannprisen.
The second single, "Sing Me to Sleep", also featuring Iselin Solheim as "Faded", was released on June 3, 2016. The song reached number one in Norway and number one on the iTunes charts in seven countries.
"Alone", featuring uncredited singer Noonie Bao, was released as the third single on December 2, 2016. The single charted on several international charts and reached number one on the Norwegian Singles Chart.
"All Falls Down", featuring Noah Cyrus and Digital Farm Animals, was released as the fourth single from the album on 27 October 2017. The single peaked at number one on the Norwegian Singles Chart and the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
"Darkside", a song featuring Antiguan-German singer-songwriter Au/Ra and Norwegian singer Tomine Harket, was released as the fifth single on 27 July 2018. The song was also released with a remix by Dutch DJ Afrojack, which reached number 1 on the Norwegian charts and number 10 on the Swedish charts.
The single "Diamond Heart", featuring Swedish singer-songwriter Sophia Somajo, was released as the sixth single on September 28, 2018. Two remixes have been officially released, one by Syn Cole and one by Dzeko. The song's music video was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2019 Berlin Music Video Awards.
The song "Different World", featuring American singer Sofia Carson, Norwegian music producer K-391 and Chinese music producer Corsak, was released as the album's lead single on November 30, 2018. The song was released to coincide with a campaign entitled "#CreateADifferentWorld" and features Walker speaking about the importance of climate change. The song reached number 31 in the Norwegian charts.
== Critical reception ==
Dancing Astronaut wrote that the album "extends the fullest portrait of his distinctive sound" and described it as "a tightly threaded collection of songs, which articulates Walker's sonic artistry." Billboard described it as "turning bleating synth melodies into sing-alongs, melts warm Caribbean rhythms with hardstyle booms, and electrifies the dance floor as much as it aims for radio readiness." Manuel Probst of German music site Dance-Charts says, "Alan Walker's typical sound design runs through Different World like a common thread, creating a special atmosphere with its melancholy melodies. I am creating it. Even though the superstar stays true to his style, his attention to detail allows him to constantly change and give each song his own unique touch". Marit Johansen Jegthaug of NRK P3 said: "There are too few new songs and the album is poorly structured. It lacks variety, dramaturgy, something that would distinguish it from the stagnant singles with a clear distinction between old and new and all over the place". Tor Martin Bøe of Verdens Gang gave the album a "die throw" rating of 3 out of 6, describing it as "manic and gloomy" and stating that "the dark sense of abandonment feels almost tacked on". Anjali Raguraman of The Straits Times described it as a "cinematic, vocals-driven album" and said that "it feels like Walker has played it safe by sticking to what he is familiar with".
== Commercial performance ==
At the time of Billboard's 2019 mid-year report, the album had logged 93,000 equivalent album sales in the United States and "Faded" had amassed 192,396,000 streams.
== Track listing ==
Notes
^[a] signifies a co-producer
^[c] signifies a vocal producer
"Intro" features background vocals from Emelie Hollow and Anna-Marie Kimber.
"Sing Me to Sleep" features uncredited vocals from Iselin Solheim.
"Alone" features uncredited vocals from Noonie Bao.
"Faded" features uncredited vocals from Iselin Solheim.
"The Spectre" features uncredited vocals from Jesper Borgen.
== Charts ==
== Certifications ==
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_Cycling_Federation | Pakistan Cycling Federation | The Pakistan Cycling Federation is the national governing body of cycle racing in Pakistan. It was established in 1947 and is currently based in Peshawar.
SYED AZHAR ALI SHAH President, and Muhammad Haroon General is the General Secretary of the PCF.
The recent elections within PCF have provided a much-needed resolution to the federation’s 13-year-long dispute. Under the leadership of newly elected President SYED AZHAR ALI SHAH and General Secretary MUHAMMAD HAROON GENERAL, the PCF is determined to restore Pakistan’s cycling glory.
The newly elected officials are:
President: SYED AZHAR ALI SHAH
General Secretary: MUHAMMAD HAROON GERNERAL
History
The Pakistan Cycling Federation was formed in 1947 after the independence of Pakistan. It organized the inaugural National Cycling Championship in 1948 at the time of National Games in Karachi, which were declared open by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan. Jinnah was also the first honorary president of the Pakistan Cycling Federation.
Affiliations
The Pakistan Cycling Federation is affiliated with:
Union Cycliste Internationale in 1952
|title=Union Cycliste Internationale}}</ref>
Asian Cycling Confederation
Pakistan Sports Board
Major events
PCF organizes events like:
Tour de Pakistan
Tour De Khunjrab
Tour of Islamabad
Tour De Galyat
References
== External links ==
Official Site |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Prandtl | Ludwig Prandtl | Ludwig Prandtl (German pronunciation: [ˈluːtvɪç ˈpʁantl̩]; 4 February 1875 – 15 August 1953) was a German fluid dynamicist, physicist and aerospace scientist. He was a pioneer in the development of rigorous systematic mathematical analyses which he used for underlying the science of aerodynamics, which have come to form the basis of the applied science of aeronautical engineering. In the 1920s, he developed the mathematical basis for the fundamental principles of subsonic aerodynamics in particular; and in general up to and including transonic velocities. His studies identified the boundary layer, thin-airfoils, and lifting-line theories. The Prandtl number was named after him.
== Early years ==
Prandtl was born in Freising, near Munich, on 4 February 1875. His mother suffered from a lengthy illness and, as a result, Ludwig spent more time with his father, a professor of engineering. His father also encouraged him to observe nature and think about his observations.
Prandtl entered the Technische Hochschule Munich in 1894 and graduated with a Ph.D. under guidance of Professor August Foeppl in six years. His thesis was "On Tilting Phenomena, an Example of Unstable Elastic Equilibrium" (1900),
After university, Prandtl went to work in the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg to improve a suction device for shavings removal in the manufacturing process. While working there, he discovered that the suction tube did not work because the lines of flow separated from the walls of the tube, so the expected pressure rise in the sharply-divergent tube never occurred. This phenomenon had been previously noted by Daniel Bernoulli in a similar hydraulic case. Prandtl recalled that this discovery led to the reasoning behind his boundary-layer approach to resistance in slightly-viscous fluids.
== Later years ==
In 1901 Prandtl became a professor of fluid mechanics at the technical school in Hannover, later the Technical University Hannover and then the University of Hannover. It was here that he developed many of his most important theories. On August 8, 1904, he delivered a groundbreaking paper, Über Flüssigkeitsbewegung bei sehr kleiner Reibung (On the Motion of Fluids in Very Little Friction), at the Third International Mathematics Congress in Heidelberg. In this paper, he described the boundary layer and its importance for drag and streamlining. The paper also described flow separation as a result of the boundary layer, clearly explaining the concept of stall for the first time. Several of his students made attempts at closed-form solutions, but failed, and in the end the approximation contained in his original paper remains in widespread use.
The effect of the paper was so great that Prandtl would succeed Hans Lorenz as director of the Institute for Technical Physics at the University of Göttingen later in the year. In 1907, during his time at Göttingen, Prandtl was tasked with establishing a new facility for model studies of motorized airships called Motorluftschiffmodell-Versuchsanstalt (MVA), later the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt (AVA) in 1919. The facility was focused on wind tunnel measurements of airship models with the goal of shapes with minimal air resistance. During WWI, it was used as a large research establishment with many tasks including lift and drag on airfoils, aerodynamics of bombs, and cavitation on submarine propeller blades. In 1925, the university spun off his research arm to create the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Flow Research (now the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization).
Due to the complexity of Prandtl's boundary layer ideas in his 1904 paper, the spread of the concept was initially slow. Many people failed to adopt the idea due to lack of understanding. There was a halt on new boundary layer discoveries until 1908 when two of his students at Gottingen, Blasius and Boltze, released their dissertations on the boundary layer. Blasius' dissertation explained what happened with the boundary layer when a flat plate comes in parallel contact with a uniform stream. Boltze's research was similar to Blasius' but applied Prandtl's theory to spherical shapes instead of flat objects. Prandtl expanded upon the ideas in his student's dissertations to include a thermal boundary layer associated with heat transfer.
There would be three more papers from Gottingen researchers regarding the boundary layer released by 1914. Due to similar reasons to Prandtl's 1904 paper, these first 7 papers on the boundary layer would be slow to spread outside of Gottingen. Partially due to World War I, there would be a lack of papers published regarding the boundary layer until another of Prandtl's students, Theodore Von Karman, published a paper in 1921 on the momentum integral equation across the boundary layer.
Following earlier leads by Frederick Lanchester from 1902–1907, Prandtl worked with Albert Betz and Max Munk on the problem of a useful mathematical tool for examining lift from "real world" wings. The results were published in 1918–1919, known as the Lanchester–Prandtl wing theory. He also made specific additions to study cambered airfoils, like those on World War I aircraft, and published a simplified thin-airfoil theory for these designs. This work led to the realization that on any wing of finite length, wing-tip effects became very important to the overall performance and characterization of the wing. Considerable work was included on the nature of induced drag and wingtip vortices, which had previously been ignored. Prandtl showed that an elliptical spanwise lift distribution is the most efficient, giving the minimum induced drag for the given span. These tools enabled aircraft designers to make meaningful theoretical studies of their aircraft before they were built.
Prandtl later extended his theory to describe a bell-like lift distribution, reducing the loads near the tip of the wings by washing out the wing tips until negative downwash was obtained, which gave the minimum induced drag for any given wing structural weight. However, this new lift distribution drew less interest than the elliptical distribution and was initially ignored in most practical aircraft designs. This concept has been rediscovered by other researchers and has become increasingly important (see also the Prandtl-D experimental aircraft).
Prandtl and his student Theodor Meyer developed the first theories of supersonic shock waves and flow in 1908. The Prandtl–Meyer expansion fans allowed for the construction of supersonic wind tunnels. He had little time to work on the problem further until the 1920s, when he worked with Adolf Busemann and created a method for designing a supersonic nozzle in 1929. Today, all supersonic wind tunnels and rocket nozzles are designed using the same method. A full development of supersonics would have to wait for the work of Theodore von Kármán, a student of Prandtl at Göttingen.
Prandtl developed the concept of "circulation" which proved to be particularly important for the hydrodynamics of ship propellers. He did most of the experimental work at his lab in Göttingen from 1910-1918 with his assistant Albert Betz and student Max Munk. Most of his discoveries related to circulation would be kept secret from the western world until after World War I.
Prior to World War I, the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians (GDNÄ) was the only opportunity for applied mathematicians, physicists, and engineers in German speaking countries to discuss. In 1920, they met in Bad Nauheim and came to the conclusion that there was a need for a new umbrella for applied sciences due to their experience during the war. In the same year, physicists primarily from industrial laboratories formed a new society called the German Physical Society (DGTP). In September 1921, the two societies held a meeting with the German Mathematical Society (DMV) in Jena. In its first volume, ZAMM (Journal of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics) stated that this meeting "for the first time, applied mathematics and mechanics was coming to its own to a larger extent" This journal advertised the common goals of Prandtl, Theodore von Kármán, Richard von Mises, and Hans Reissner.
On top of the foundation of ZAMM, the GAMM (International Association of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics) was also formed due to the joint efforts of Prandtl and his peers. After these initial meetings of GAMM, it became clear that there was now a new international community of mathematicians, "scientific engineers", and physicists.
Other work examined the problem of compressibility at high subsonic speeds, known as the Prandtl–Glauert correction. This became very useful during World War II as aircraft began approaching supersonic speeds for the first time. He also worked on meteorology, plasticity and structural mechanics. He also made significant contributions to the field of tribology.
Following Prandtl's investigation into instabilities from 1921-1929, he then moved to exploring developed turbulence. This was also being investigated by Kármán, resulting in a race to formulate a solution for the velocity profile in developed turbulence. Regarding the professional rivalry that started between the two, Kármán commented: “I came to realize that ever since I had come to Aachen my old professor and I were in a kind of world competition. The competition was gentlemanly, of course. But it was first-class rivalry nonetheless, a kind of Olympic games, between Prandtl and me, and beyond that between Göttingen and Aachen. The ‘playing field’ was the Congress of Applied Mechanics. Our ‘ball’ was the search for a universal law of turbulence.” Around 1930, the race ended in a draw as both men concluded that the inverse square of skin friction was related to the logarithmic value of the product of Reynold's number and skin friction as seen below where k and C are constants.
Prandtl and von Kármán's work on the boundary was influential and adopted by aerodynamic and hydrodynamic experts around the world after WWI. In May 1932, the International Conference on Hydromechanical Problems of Ship Propulsion was held in Hamburg. Günther Kempf showcased a number of experiments at the conference which confirmed many of the theoretical discoveries of von Kármán and Prandtl.
== Prandtl and the Third Reich ==
After Hitler's rise to power and the establishment of the Third Reich, Prandtl continued his role as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. During this period, the Nazi air ministry, led by Hermann Göring, often used Prandtl's international reputation as a scientist to promote Germany's scientific agenda. Prandtl appears to have happily served as an ambassador for the Nazi regime, writing in 1937 to a NACA representative "I believe that Fascism in Italy and National Socialism in Germany represent very good beginnings of new thinking and economics." Prandtl's support for the regime is apparent in his letters to G. I. Taylor and his wife in 1938 and 1939. Referring to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews, Prandtl wrote "The struggle, which Germany unfortunately had to fight against the Jews, was necessary for its self-preservation." Prandtl also claimed that "If there will be war, the guilt to have caused it by political measures is this time unequivocally on the side of England."
As a member of the German Physical Society (DPG), Prandtl assisted Carl Ramsauer in drafting the DPG Petition in 1941. The DPG Petition would be published in 1942 and argued that physics in Germany was falling behind that of the United States due to rejection of "Jewish Physics" (relativity and quantum theory) from German physicists. After publication of the DPG Petition, the belief of "German Physics" superiority deteriorated to allow for German students to study these new fields in school.
== Publications ==
Paul Peter Ewald, Theodor Pöschl, Ludwig Prandtl; authorized translation by J. Dougall and W.M. Deans The Physics of Solids and Fluids: With Recent Developments Blackie and Son (1930).
Tietjens, Oskar Karl Gustav; Prandtl, Ludwig (1957). Fundamentals of Hydro- and Aeromechanics. Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-60374-2. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Prandtl, Ludwig (1952). Essentials of fluid dynamics: With applications to hydraulics aeronautics, meteorology, and other subjects. Hafner. ISBN 9780028503301. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
== Death and afterwards ==
Prandtl worked at Göttingen until he died on 15 August 1953. His work in fluid dynamics is still used today in many areas of aerodynamics and chemical engineering. He is often referred to as the father of modern aerodynamics.
The crater Prandtl on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.
The Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring is awarded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt in his honor for outstanding contribution in the field of aerospace engineering.
In 1992, Prandtl was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.
== Notable students ==
== See also ==
Tesla turbine
Particle image velocimetry
Wind tunnel
Subsonic and transonic wind tunnel
Pitot tube
Prandtl's one-seventh-power law
NASA research aircraft, Prandtl-D (Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Lower Drag) and Prandtl-M (Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars), both backronyms honoring Prandtl
== References ==
== External links ==
Ludwig Prandtl at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
Ludwig Prandtl's Biography in German, ISBN 3-938616-34-2, 258 pages
Ludwig Prandtl's Biography in English, ISBN 978-3-86395-160-3, 265 pages
Ludwig Prandtl's Boundary Layer
Video recording of the E. Bodenschatz's lecture on life and work of Ludwig Prandtl |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Baker_Asvat | Abu Baker Asvat | Abu Baker Asvat (/ɑsfat/) (23 February 1943 – 27 January 1989), also known as Abu Asvat
or Abu nicknamed Hurley was a South African medical doctor who practised in Soweto in the 1970s and 1980s. A founding member of Azapo, Asvat was the head of its health secretariat, and involved in initiatives aimed at improving the health of rural black South Africans during Apartheid.
In 1989, Asvat was shot dead in his clinic, and he died in the arms of his nurse, Albertina Sisulu. His death has been linked to that of Stompie Seipei four weeks earlier, with allegations that Winnie Mandela (whose personal physician Asvat was) paid for his murder as part of a cover-up of Seipei's killing, being presented to South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
== Early life and family ==
Asvat was born in Fietas into Gujarati Indian family. His father was a migrant shopkeeper, and he had two brothers. After attending the local high school, Asvat travelled to South Asia for his tertiary education, spending time in East Pakistan and West Pakistan, completing his medical studies in Karachi. While in Karachi, Asvat was involved in the student politics, founded a student organisation affiliated to the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), and hosted its cadres en route to China.
Asvat married his wife Zorah in 1977, and they had three children.
== Soweto surgery ==
After returning to South Africa when he completed his studies, Asvat obtained a post at Johannesburg's Coronation Hospital (now Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital). He became increasingly politicised when observing the racism of the white senior staff, segregated facilities, and racially unequal pay and conditions. He was fired after he confronted a white pharmaceutical representative who refused to speak to black doctors.
Asvat took over a small surgery in Soweto from his brother, and soon established a thriving practice, often treating more than 100 patients a day, often on a pro bono basis. During the 1976 Soweto Uprising, Asvat treated numerous children who were shot by the police, and his surgery was guarded by residents of a nearby squatter camp. His activities made him known in political circles, and he soon came to be called "the people's doctor" in Soweto. Asvat also opened a creche and soup kitchen for residents of Soweto's informal settlements. In contrast to other township doctors, Asvat projected a humble image, and insisted on patients calling him "Abu". He used the methods of the Brazilian radical educationalist Paolo Freire to guide his work with grassroots communities.
== Black consciousness movement ==
Asvat was drawn to the black consciousness movement in the aftermath of the 1976 uprising, which represented the only above-ground resistance movement in Soweto, at the time, and he was attracted to Steve Biko's conception of blackness. He was an important link between Lenasia, the Indian township that he lived in, and neighbouring Soweto, discarding the racial and social taboos of the time. Asvat was beaten, and had his life threatened by a Special Branch policeman in 1978, as part of an ongoing campaign of harassment. Although committed to the Black Consciousness movement he was known to be non-sectarian and worked with a wide range of anti-apartheid forces.
Asvat received the first annual human rights award from The Indicator, a newspaper based in Lenasia. He emphasized in his speech, "Let us have social mingling. Let Soweto swarm Lenasia. Let Eldorado Park swarm Lenasia. Let Lenasia swarm Eldorado Park. Let Lenasia swarm Soweto. Then we will have put into practice what we preach. We can't wait until liberation because once liberation is on it is not going to be easy to mend the injustice and the oppression that this harsh system has done to the people in this country. We've got to start now in practical terms."
== Cricket ==
Asvat, a keen cricketer, was involved in the desegregation of the sport in the Transvaal. He played for a team called The Crescents in Lenasia.
He initially embraced an attempt by Ali Bacher in the late 1970s to allow black teams to compete at white grounds ("Normal Cricket"), however, he became disillusioned after realising that facilities at white cricket venues remained racially segregated. He co-founded the Transvaal Cricket Board (TCB), which rejected Bacher's "multi-racial" approach to the sport, which the TCB saw as perpetuating the racial divisions of apartheid, and instead embraced a "non-racial" vision, which rejected Apartheid racial divisions. The TCB organised successful boycotts against Normal Cricket initiatives, and the TCB league grew under Asvat's leadership.
Asvat voluntarily stepped down as leader of the TCB in 1981, but remained a cricketer for the rest of his life, playing for the Crescents, and organising a junior league in the late 1980s.
== Azapo Health Secretariat ==
In 1982, Azapo created the Community Health Awareness Project (Chap). As part of this initiative, Asvat and others would travel throughout South Africa on weekends, towing medically equipped caravans funded by Asvat, providing healthcare to neglected non-urban areas, sometimes treating between 150 and 500 patients in a weekend, and providing health lectures to groups of up to 6 000 people.
In 1984, as part of this project, he compiled a 20 page manual on basic healthcare. Thousands of copies were distributed, in English, Sotho, Northern Sotho and Zulu. He also worked with the Black Allied Mining and Construction Workers Union (BAMWCU) to expose conditions in South Africa's asbestos mining towns, where children played in exposed mine dumps, and asbestosis was common in mineworkers.
Asvat and his associates also traveled to the Vaal Triangle during unrest in there in 1984, to treat those hurt in the violence, and to document injuries inflicted by the apartheid security forces.
By the mid-1980s, Asvat was commonly quoted in major newspapers, and became a prominent voice in the anti-apartheid movement on health issues. In 1988, he criticised the apartheid government's handling of the emerging AIDS epidemic. He also had a regular column in The Sowetan where he answered readers' health questions.
== 1980s ==
Asvat hired anti-apartheid activist Albertina Sisulu to work as his nurse, in 1984. Sisulu was the wife of then-imprisoned ANC leader Walter Sisulu and a co-president of the United Democratic Front (UDF). Sisulu was unable to practice as a nurse due to banning orders placed on her by the apartheid government, however Asvat employed her, paid her when she was detained by the apartheid security forces, and allowed her to visit her husband at Robben Island frequently. Despite sharp political differences between the UDF and AZAPO, that erupted into violence-resulting in many deaths and injuries-Albertina Sisulu and Asvat continued working together, and treated casualties from both sides of the conflict.
Asvat became involved in the plight of Soweto squatters, and would rush into Soweto at night in order to assist those whose shacks were under threat by the Soweto Town Council (a structure created by the apartheid government), and the West Rand Administration Board (WRAB). His actions brought him into increasing conflict with these bodies. He would often arrange emergency alternative shelter in Lenasia, and would, occasionally feed or house displaced persons in his own home.
Asvat was elected president of the newly formed Lenasia-based People’s Education Committee (PEC), despite his Black Consciousness ideology differing from the pro-ANC views of the rest of the organisation. The PEC aimed to enable black youths to be educated after township schooling was severely disrupted in the aftermath of the 1976 riots. Among the programmes of the PEC, was a campaign to get black African children admitted to House of Delegates-run segregated Indian schools. This campaign attained some success, and by 1990, 15% of students in Lenasia came from the surrounding African areas.
During the 1986 State of Emergency in South Africa, and with Asvat underground, an attempt was made by unknown forces to fire-bomb his home in Lenasia. Eight months later, Asvat survived an attempted stabbing by two assailants at his surgery, where he was slightly wounded in the face. Albertina Sisulu raised the alarm with neighbours, while Asvat fended an assailant off. Asvat's wife was also routinely harassed by special branch police at home.
In 1988, a gunman pulled a weapon on Asvat, but fled when a patient entered the room. Also in 1988, the authorities decided to develop the squatter camp where Asvat's practice was situated in the "Chicken Farm" area of Soweto. However, Asvat refused to move, unless alternative accommodations were provided for his practice. He and Albertina Sisulu continued working in the practice, even when the authorities cut power to his surgery. Asvat eventually moved his practice to Rockville in Soweto, where he continued to be harassed by the Security Police.
== Murder ==
On the afternoon of 27 January 1989, two men arrived at Asvat's surgery, claiming to need treatment. Once admitted to the surgery by Albertina Sisulu, they drew a firearm and shot Asvat twice, killing him. Sisulu sat next to him as he died, as she waited for an ambulance, later telling Asvat's relatives that "My son died in my hands".
In the period immediately before the murder, Asvat became uncharacteristically fearful, and the night before his death, he drove home on a flat tyre, telling his wife that he thought that an unspecified 'they' were trying to set him up for attack. He appeared to be extremely distracted the night before his death, and made two attempts to see his lawyers the next morning.
Investigations into Asvat's murder led to two suspects, Zakhele Mbatha and Thulani Dlamini. They were sentenced to death, with the motive being described as robbery (the sentences were commuted following the abolition of the death penalty in South Africa). However, Asvat's family found that no money had been taken, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the police were negligent in hastily ascribing a motive of robbery to the attack, and for failing to thoroughly investigate the attack.
Within days of Asvat's killing, rumours began to circulate linking his death to Winnie Mandela. Asvat and Winnie Mandela had first made contact during one of Asvat's rural clinics in Brandfort, where she had been banished by the apartheid government. Asvat and Winnie Mandela established a soup kitchen and clinic, and he assumed responsibility for her care, with Asvat sometimes driving to Brandfort in the middle of the night to treat her. Mandela would regularly dine with the Asvat family after she returned to Soweto from Brandfort, and attended parties at the Asvat home.
Soon after Asvat's murder, Winnie Mandela gave an interview to a Sunday newspaper claiming that he was killed because he could corroborate (baseless) allegations that Methodist minister Paul Verryn had molested Stompie Seipei. However, media sources soon began to report on rumours that Asvat had been killed at the behest of Winnie Mandela, as he had examined the boy, and insisted that he be taken to hospital due to the severity of his injuries following the assaults by Mandela's security detail, thus making Asvat's death part of an alleged cover-up orchestrated by Winnie Mandela. In 2018 a new biography of Winnie Mandela by Fred Bridgland argued that she was behind the murder of Asvat.
The reasoning behind the Paul Verryn allegations allegedly came about after Kenny Kgase, one of four boys taken from minister Paul Verryn's manse and brought to Winnie Mandela's Diepkloof house by her Mandela United Football Club, escaped from Mandela's home in the absence of a guard and fled to the Methodist Church regional headquarters in Johannesburg. Once minister Paul Verryn arrived, he took Kgase to see a doctor, Martin Connell, who after treating extensive injuries, sheltered Kgase for a few weeks. Kgase told Verryn of the horrible state he had seen Stompie and how he had vanished from Winnie Mandela's house.
Thabiso Mono, another one of the kidnapped boys, said that Winnie Mandela had accused him and the others of allowing Paul Verryn to sleep with them, as well as accused Stompie Seipei of being a police informant. He recounted being beaten by Winnie and the United Football Club Guard.
Winnie Mandela ordered Katiza Cebekhulu to file a police report accusing Paul Verryn of molesting the kidnapped boys. In order to officially file a report, a certificate from a doctor who examined the boys was required. At Dr. Asvat's clinic, Cebekhulu stated "I made out Winnie shouting: ‘If you don’t cooperate, I’ll deal with you!" Cebekhulu and Winnie left without Dr. Asvat providing a medical certificate, which Cebekhulu said angered Winnie.
Years after the police report, Cebekhulu said he was ordered to show two youths, Zakhele Cyril Mbatha and Thulani Nicholas Dlamini, the location of Dr. Asvat's workplace.
=== Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) ===
One of Winnie Mandela's supporters, Katiza Cebekhulu, testified at the TRC that he had witnessed a "volcanic row" between Mandela and Asvat, after Asvat refused to back Mandela's (baseless) charges that Verryn had sodomised boys. The hearings were later adjourned amid claims by TRC lawyers that witnesses were intimidated on Winnie Mandela's orders.
Mbatha and Dlamini both claimed in testimony to the TRC that Winnie Mandela had paid them R20,000 (equivalent to $8,000 at the time), and that she provided them with a gun to kill Asvat. Both also claimed to have been intimidated by Mandela prior to testifying at the TRC. Mbatha also claimed that he had immediately implicated Mandela in the murder, but was forced by police to change his confession to the attack being a robbery, due to torture. It emerged that Dlamini's 1989 confession implicated Winnie Mandela, but it was not presented by the police to the court trying Mbatha and Dlamini, with the police justifying the suppression by arguing that the confession was "at odds" with their investigation. A group of men in combat fatigues associated with Winnie Mandela were accused by Mbata's lawyers of attempting to intimidate his family during a TRC hearing. Winnie Mandela's lawyer exposed inconsistencies in their testimony.
When Albertina Sisulu testified, she failed to corroborate an appointment card that would have placed Winnie Mandela at the surgery on the morning of the killing, claiming to have forgotten much about the day of the murder. When it was hinted at by a TRC commissioner that Sisulu did not want to be remembered in history as having implicated a comrade, she denied this.
One of the kidnapped boys, Thabiso Mono, when asked if he knew that Winnie Mandela had claimed to be in Brandfort on the day of the assaults on the boys, stated "I saw her. She was the person assaulting us with fists and hitting us with sjamboks."
During her own testimony to the commission, Madikizela-Mandela denied the allegations.
The final report of the TRC stated that the Commission was unable to verify the allegations implicating Winnie Mandela in the murder of Asvat, and criticised the police for too quickly jumping to the conclusion that the motive for the murder was robbery, and for not investigating the apparent connection between Cebekhulu and Dlamini's accounts of the killings, and it referred to Mbatha and Dlamini's (the murderers) testimonies as not being credible.
=== Subsequent developments ===
In January 2018, prior to Winnie Mandela's death, ANC MP Mandla Mandela, Nelson Mandela's grandson by his first wife, Evelyn Mase, called for Winnie Mandela's role in the Asvat and Sepei murders to be probed.
== Funeral ==
Asvat was buried in accordance with Muslim rites the day after he was murdered. Thousands of people, both African, and Indian, attended his funeral at Avalon Cemetery, and marchers in the funeral procession toyi-toyied and had sung struggle songs on arrival at his home prior to the funeral procession. Apartheid police who attempted to seize Azapo banners were driven off by Lenasia residents, and many women were present at his burial.
== Legacy ==
The section of the R554 road linking Soweto to Lenasia was renamed Abu Baker Asvat Drive by the post-apartheid government. A junior cricket tournament was instituted in Asvat's memory, in 2002. He was awarded the Order of Luthuli in Silver by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2021.
== References ==
== External links ==
Winnie Mandela and the people's doctor
'Winnie hired me to kill Dr Asvat'
Transcript of TRC testimony of Ebrahim Asvat and Albertina Sisulu |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eger_V._Murphree#:~:text=From%201947%20to%201962%20he,The%20E.%20V. | Eger V. Murphree | Eger Vaughan Murphree (November 3, 1898 – October 29, 1962) was an American chemist, best known for his co-invention of the process of fluid catalytic cracking.
== Biography ==
Murphree was born on November 3, 1898, in Bayonne, New Jersey, moving as a child to Kentucky. He graduated from Kentucky University with degrees in chemistry and mathematics in 1920, and a master's degree in chemistry in 1921. Murphree played college football as Kentucky as a tackle and was captain of the 1920 Kentucky Wildcats football team.
After teaching physics and math and coaching football for a year at Paris High School in Paris, Illinois, Murphree spent several years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a staff assistant and research associate in the Chemical Engineering Department. In 1930, he joined what was then Standard Oil of New Jersey.
During the Second World War Murphree was a member of the committee that organized the Manhattan Project and was widely recognized as a leader in the fields of synthetic toluene, butadiene and hydrocarbon synthesis, fluid cat cracking, fluid hydroforming, and fluid coking.
He was also involved in the early Manhattan Project as a member of the S-1 Section. Murphree was head of the centrifuge project (soon abandoned) and overall engineer for the Manhattan Project in June 1942. He struck Deputy District Engineer Kenneth Nichols as "more like the industrial engineers I was accustomed to dealing with. He was stable, conservative, thorough and precise". He was to have been on the Lewis Committee reviewing the entire project in November 1942, but was sick. He (and James Conant) disagreed with the committee recommendation to build only a small electromagnetic plant, and a full-size plant was built. In the 1950s he served in the Defense Department on scheduling missiles and coordinating the programs of the three services (as Nichols had done earlier).
From 1947 to 1962 he served as Vice President of research and engineering Standard Oil of New Jersey, the company later known as Exxon.
Among his awards were the Perkin Medal in 1950 and the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) Medal in 1953. The E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry awarded annually by the American Chemical Society is named in his honor.
Murphree died on October 29, 1962, at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey of coronary thrombosis.
== Legacy ==
Murphree was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1999.
== References ==
== External links ==
Eger V. Murphree
U.S. patent 2,451,804 Method of and Apparatus for Contacting Solids and Gases, October 19, 1948
Eger V. Murphree—Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1900 | June 1900 | The following events occurred in June 1900:
== June 1, 1900 (Friday) ==
In South Africa, the city of Pretoria surrendered to British troops under Lord Roberts.
Workers began the actual count for the 1900 United States census. In New York City, a force of 1,210 had two weeks to finish the count. The tally was eventually 76,212,168. The complete census forms would not be unsealed until December 3, 1973.
== June 2, 1900 (Saturday) ==
Samori Ture, formerly Emperor of the Wassoulou Empire in West Africa, died at Ndjolé, an island in Gabon's Ogooué River where he was exiled by France after his 1898 defeat by commander Henri Gouraud. Associate Albert Baratier commented that Toure "would have compared to Napoleon, found his St. Helena".
The French Senate voted an amnesty for Alfred Dreyfus who had been pardoned earlier (September 18, 1899) by President Émile Loubet. Not until July 19, 1906 was the verdict against Dreyfus set aside.
== June 3, 1900 (Sunday) ==
William Howard Taft arrived in Manila on the USS Hancock as Governor-General of the Philippines, replacing General Arthur MacArthur, the last military governor. Taft would say later, "I cannot describe the coldness of the Army officers and the Army men who received us any better than by saying that it somewhat exceeded the coldness of the populace."
The International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) was founded in New York City.
In Germany, the most comprehensive meat inspection laws in the world, to that time, took effect.
The railroad line between Beijing and Tianjin was cut by Boxer rebels.
Born: Gordon Sinclair, Canadian journalist, who had a Top Ten hit single in 1973 with his spoken-word recording "The Americans"; in Toronto (d. 1984)
Died: Mary Kingsley, 37, English adventurer and ethnologist who had written two bestsellers about the various peoples of West Africa, died of typhoid fever in South Africa.
== June 4, 1900 (Monday) ==
The Battle of Makahambus Hill took place near Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines. The event is commemorated in the Philippines as the first victory of the Filipino soldiers against the American occupation forces and a historical marker is on the site.
Born: George Watkins, American baseball player who had a record .373 batting average in his rookie season; in Freestone County, Texas (d. 1970)
== June 5, 1900 (Tuesday) ==
At 2:00 in the afternoon, Pretoria, capital of the South African Republic, surrendered to British General Lord Roberts.
Born: Dennis Gabor, Hungarian physicist, inventor of holography and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971; in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (d. 1979)
Died: Stephen Crane, 28, American writer, author of The Red Badge of Courage, died of tuberculosis in Badenweiler, Germany.
== June 6, 1900 (Wednesday) ==
U.S. President William McKinley signed into law the federal charter for the American Red Cross.
The United States Congress enacted a civil and judicial code for Alaska, setting the capital at Juneau and creating a territorial government.
The United States Congress approved the 1892 Agreement with the Comanche, Kiowa and Apache, by which 4,500 square miles (12,000 km2) of indigenous land in southwest Oklahoma had been purchased for a bargain price of 93 cents an acre for 29,000,000 acres. The act passed despite assertions by the affected tribes (the Kiowa, Comanche and Plains Apache) that the terms had been misrepresented and the agreement had not legally been ratified as required (under the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867) by 3/4 of the adult males of the tribe. A Kiowa chief named Lone Wolf brought suit in 1901 against the law, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Indians in the case of Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, 187 U.S. 553 (1903). On July 4, 1900, President McKinley proclaimed the area open for settlement effective August 6, 1900. Since the mid-20th century, the government has paid tens of millions of dollars in compensation settlements to the three tribes because of their claims of being defrauded in these issues of the treaty and allotments.
United States Congress funded the reinterment of 267 Southern soldiers from Northern grounds to a special section of the Arlington National Cemetery.
Mr. Ryall, the Superintendent of Police in British East Africa (now Kenya), was eaten by a lion after being taken by a railcar where he was traveling with two other hunters. The lion jumped into the window of a railcar at Kima where Ryall was sleeping and dragged him off.
Born: Arthur Askey, English comedian and actor; in Dingle, Liverpool (d. 1982)
== June 7, 1900 (Thursday) ==
Carrie Nation started her crusade against liquor. Walking into a saloon in Kiowa, Kansas at 8:30am, she told owner John Dobson, "I don't want to strike you, but I am going to break up this den of vice." She then smashed his liquor bottles and the mirror behind the bar, vandalized three other bars in Kiowa and rode out of town. Because the saloons were operating illegally, she was not arrested. Nation continued her destruction until her death in 1911.
Born:
Glen Gray, American jazz musician, saxophonist and band leader for the Casa Loma Orchestra; as Glen Gray Knoblauch in Metamora, Illinois (d. 1963)
Frederick Terman, American academic, credited as the "Father of Silicon Valley"; in English, Indiana (d. 1982)
== June 8, 1900 (Friday) ==
In Beijing, Boxer rebels burned the grandstand of the horse racing track at the country club for western diplomats. Three British students who rode out to investigate the fire were charged by a crowd of the Chinese and retreated. One of the British horsemen, however, drew his pistol and killed one of the Chinese men. In response, the Imperial government sent armies to surround the foreigners at the Peking Legation Quarter.
The telescopic sight was approved for mass production, following the report of a special "Board of Officers on Test of Telescopic Sight for U.S. Magazine Rifle", issued to the United States Department of War. On May 24, the Board reported that the scope made by the Cataract Tool and Optical Company had proved accurate even at a range of 2,000 yards—more than a mile.
== June 9, 1900 (Saturday) ==
In Beijing, Imperial Chinese troops surrounded the legation quarter where the diplomatic corps from western powers and Japan were headquartered. British minister Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald telegraphed: "Situation extremely grave. Unless arrangements are made for immediate advance to Peking, it will be too late."
Birsa Munda, the 24-year-old rebel who led the Munda rebellion in British India's Bihar region, died in prison in Ranchi under mysterious circumstances, becoming one of the martyred heroes of the Indian independence movement. In his memory are named the Birsa Agricultural University and the Birsa Munda Airport, both in Ranchi, and the Birsa Institute of Technology at Sindri.
Patrolman William "Mox" McQuery of the Covington, Kentucky Police Department, a former Major League Baseball player, was shot in the chest while trying to arrest two murder suspects at the base of the Cincinnati–Covington Bridge. McQuery would die of his wounds on June 12.
== June 10, 1900 (Sunday) ==
In response to the Boxer Rebellion, a multinational force of more than 2,000 foreign troops set off by train from Tien-tsin (Tianjin) for Peking (Beijing) to protect the citizens of their respective countries. The trains, carrying troops from the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan, halted at Langfang, not far into the 110-mile (180 km) trip, because the rails had been destroyed and had to march the rest of the way.
In the 1960 film The Time Machine, the traveler stops at this date before proceeding onward to the year 802,701.
== June 11, 1900 (Monday) ==
In Beijing, violence against foreigners took a new turn when Japanese diplomat Sugiyama Akira was murdered by Imperial Chinese soldiers. Akira, the chancellor of the Japanese legation, had dressed in "top hat and tails" and driven by carriage from the legation quarter to the train station where he had planned to greet the relief force arriving from Tianjin, but the rails had been destroyed by the Boxers. Imperial soldiers under the command of General Tung dragged Akira from his carriage and hacked him to bits, then displayed his severed head at the station.
Belle Boyd, American writer who spied for the Confederacy during the American Civil War and later recounted her experiences to audiences, died of a heart attack while touring Wisconsin.
== June 12, 1900 (Tuesday) ==
By a vote of 201–103, the Reichstag approved the expansion of the Imperial German Navy, doubling the number of ships to 96 in all.
In Chicago, hundreds of spectators at a circus were thrown to the ground when the seating collapsed, just as the performance began. Fourteen people were hospitalized. A week earlier, twelve people had been hurt in a collapse of seats at the same circus.
Died: Mox McQuery, 38, Major League Baseball first baseman and police officer, shot in the line of duty on June 9.
== June 13, 1900 (Wednesday) ==
When three Chinese Boxers came too close to the German legation, one of them, a young man, was captured by the German guards. Baron von Ketteler, the German minister thrashed the Boxer with his cane, ordered his guards to extend the beating and warned the Chinese Foreign Ministry (the Zongli Yamen) that the boy would die. Over the next few days, the foreign diplomats began shooting at Chinese nationals near the Peking Legation Quarter. Von Ketteler himself would be killed on June 20. The same day, communication between the foreign embassies and the rest of the world was halted as their telegraph lines were severed.
== June 14, 1900 (Thursday) ==
The Republic of Hawaii formally came to an end as the "Act to Provide a Government for the Territory of Hawaii" took effect. Sanford B. Dole who had continued as president even after sovereignty was transferred to the United States in 1898, became the first territorial Governor. All persons who were citizens of the Republic as of August 12, 1898, became U.S. citizens.
At 7pm, German embassy guards, under the direction of Ambassador Baron von Ketteler, fired on Boxer rebels outside the legation quarter, killing 20. Lancelot Giles of the British embassy, recorded the incident in his diary that night, noting the furious shouts from a crowd trying to get into the city. G.E. Morrison, correspondent for the London Times, noted another incident where 45 Chinese were killed in a raid by the Europeans on a temple.
The first Bennett Cup auto race, for a prize sponsored by New York Herald publisher James Gordon Bennett Jr., began as five entrants departed from the Parc de Saint-Cloud, near Paris, on a 566 kilometer (352 miles) trip to Lyon. Departing at two minute intervals starting at 3:14 in the morning, the competitors passed through Châteaudun, Orléans, Gien, Nevers, Moulins and Roanne. Only two drivers (winner Fernand Charron and runner-up Léonce Girardot) would finish the race.
== June 15, 1900 (Friday) ==
Chinese Empress (Tzu Hsi) Cixi decreed that Boxer rebels could not enter Beijing, in response to fighting between the European legations and the rebels who continued to pour into the capital.
Born: Paul Mares, American jazz musician, trumpeter and band leader of New Orleans Rhythm Kings; in New Orleans (d. 1949)
== June 16, 1900 (Saturday) ==
In Lübeck, Germany, the Elbe–Lübeck Canal, 41 miles (66 km) in length, was formally opened by Kaiser Wilhelm. The canal took five years to build at a cost of nearly six million dollars at the time and joined the Elbe River to the Trave which in turn provided ocean access at the Baltic Sea.
An accident at the Slough railway station led to the 1906 introduction of a system of automatic train control.
Local elections were held in Cuba under the auspices of the U.S. military government with a system of restricted suffrage. 7% of the Cuban population took part in the polls which saw some important victories for pro-independence sectors.
== June 17, 1900 (Sunday) ==
At 3:25pm, the ships from the Eight-Nation Alliance started bombardment of the Taku Forts in China and began an invasion. An ultimatum, sent the night before, had expired at 2:00. Ninety minutes into the battle, ammunition magazines inside the forts were destroyed and the defenders surrendered the next day.
In Philadelphia, delegates to the upcoming Republican Convention weighed in on the choice for U.S. President William McKinley's running mate to replace the late vice-president Garret Hobart. U.S. Senator Boies Penrose of Pennsylvania announced that 58 of his state's 64 delegates supported New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt. Colorado followed and soon more states were supporting Roosevelt.
Born: Martin Bormann, German state official, chief of the Nazi Party Chancellery of Germany from 1941 to 1945; in Wegeleben, Prussia (killed 1945)
== June 18, 1900 (Monday) ==
The Taku Forts of China surrendered at 8am, 16 hours after Western navies had begun bombardment. More than 1,000 Chinese defenders were killed or wounded, while the allies lost 184 men. The Russian ship Gilyakwas sunk. The four destroyers of the Chinese Navy, anchored at the Peiho river, were captured and recommissioned as naval vessels in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Russia. The Hai Lung became the British HMS Taku, the Hai Hse became the French ship Takou, the Hai Jing became the German ship Taku and the Hai Hua was later the Russian ship Lieutenant Burakov.
== June 19, 1900 (Tuesday) ==
In Beijing, on the 23rd day of the fifth moon, an ultimatum was delivered to the eleven ambassadors in the legation quarter. Because of the attack on the Taku Forts, all foreign residents (including diplomats, missionaries and their families) were given until 4pm the next day to leave the Chinese capital. The directive to Mr. Conger stated, "The princes and ministers ... beg that within twenty-four hours the minister of the United States, with his family ... and taking his guards, keeping them under control, will leave for Tientsin, in order to avoid danger. An escort of troops has been dispatched to give protection en route and the local officials have been also notified to allow the minister's party to pass."
== June 20, 1900 (Wednesday) ==
Clemens von Ketteler, the German ambassador to China, was murdered as he and an aide went to the Chinese Foreign Ministry (Zongli Yamen) without their guards. With seven hours left until a 4pm deadline for all foreigners to leave Beijing, Baron von Ketteler defied his fellow ambassadors and left the safety of the diplomatic quarter. He was shot and killed (by a Boxer later identified as En Hai) as he approached the Zongli Yamen. His interpreter, Heinrich Cordes, survived to return to the embassy, at which point evacuation was no longer an option. American ambassador Conger would later report that he had learned "that Prince Tuan had planned to have his soldiers massacre all the foreign ministers at the Tsungli Yamen on June 20. But ... the impatient soldiers prematurely attacked and killed Baron von Kettler ... we were not invited to the Tsungli Yamen and so were saved." At 4pm, Chinese troops began their siege of the Peking Legation Quarter where 900 foreigners, 523 defenders and 3,000 Chinese Christians held out behind the walls. The siege would last 55 days.
== June 21, 1900 (Thursday) ==
China formally declared war on the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan, as an edict issued from Empress Dowager Cixi.
Baron Eduard von Toll, leader of the Russian Polar Expedition of 1900, departed Saint Petersburg in Russia on the explorer ship Zarya, never to return. On November 8, 1902, as his third Winter away was beginning, Toll and four others set off from Bennett Island and were never seen again.
Major General Arthur MacArthur, commander of U.S. forces in the Philippines, offered amnesty for 90 days to all guerillas. Only 5,022 Filipinos accepted, mostly prisoners.
At the Republican Convention, William McKinley and New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt were unanimously nominated for president and vice-president.
== June 22, 1900 (Friday) ==
In Dunhuang, Gansu, China, a Daoist monk named Wang Yuanlu rediscovered an entire library of the centuries-old Dunhuang manuscripts. The newest of the materials dated from the 11th century, the oldest from the 5th.
== June 23, 1900 (Saturday) ==
The day after the discovery of one ancient Chinese library, another was destroyed by fire. The Hanlin Academy library in Beijing was adjacent to the British Legation and was China's largest collection of works, housing thousands of centuries-old publications. Soldiers under the command of General Chang Foo Shiang set fire to the academy while attacking the British embassy, the library burned to the ground, but the winds blew the flames away from the embassy which survived unscathed.
Foreigners at Tianjin were rescued by the Allied invasion force, led by Major Littleton Waller and a detachment of U.S. Marines, followed by German, British, Japanese and Italian forces. Future American President Herbert Hoover, a 26-year-old engineer, was among those saved.
== June 24, 1900 (Sunday) ==
Boxer rebels attacked the Wangla village in the Hebei province of China, burning down its Catholic church and killing all Christian converts except for four orphan girls. Given the chance to have their lives spared in return for renouncing their faith, the four girls, Lucy Wan Cheng (18), Mary Fan Kun (16), Mary Chi Yu (15) and Mary Zheng Xu (11) refused and were murdered. The girls would be among 85 Martyr Saints of China canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 2000.
On the night of June 24–25 [Old Calendar 11–12], Boxer rebels with burning torches appeared in all parts of Beijing, attacking Christian dwellings, seizing unfortunate Christians torturing them and forcing them to renounce Christ. Stomachs were ripped open, heads severed and dwellings burnt. After the destruction of Christian dwellings, Orthodox Christians were taken outside the city gates to the pagans' idols, interrogated and burnt on fires. Pagan eyewitnesses testified that some of the Orthodox met death with astonishing self-sacrifice. The Orthodox catechist Paul Wang died a martyr's death with a prayer on his lips. The Mission school teacher Ia Wen was tortured twice. The first time, the Boxer rebels chopped her up and covered her half-dead body with earth. When she regained consciousness, her groans were heard by the (pagan) watchman who took her to his guard's booth. But after a while, the Boxer rebels seized her again and this time tortured her to death. In both cases Ia Wen joyfully professed Christ before her torturers."
Born: Gene Austin, American singer; as Lemuel Eugene Lucas in Gainesville, Texas (d. 1972)
== June 25, 1900 (Monday) ==
The Yellow Fever Board, chaired by Dr. Walter Reed with board members Dr. Jesse Lazear, Dr. James Carroll and Dr. Aristides Agramonte, began working on the task of ending the disease of yellow fever which had killed hundreds of thousands in the Western Hemisphere. Dr. Lazear would die of the disease, but made the critical discovery that yellow fever could be ended by eradicating the mosquitoes that spread it. In 1900, 1,000 people in Havana died from yellow fever while in 1901, only twenty did.
Born: Lord Montbatten, British noble and the last Governor-General of India; in Windsor, Berkshire, England (killed by terrorists, 1979)
== June 26, 1900 (Tuesday) ==
The Russification of Finland took a new direction when an Imperial ukase issued from Tsar Nicholas, replacing Finnish with Russian as the official language to be phased in over five years.
In British India, Resolution No. 585 went into effect, requiring that "except in a purely English office", no person would be appointed to a government job "unless he knows both Hindi and Urdu" and that incumbent officials would have one year to learn both languages.
== June 27, 1900 (Wednesday) ==
France and Spain agreed on a boundary between their West African colonies, Mauritania and the Spanish Sahara. The treaty was ratified on March 22, 1901. Mauritania became independent in 1960 and after it gave up claims to the Spanish colony, it now shares the border with Morocco.
== June 28, 1900 (Thursday) ==
In Vienna, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian and Hungarian thrones, renounced the right of succession of his future offspring in order to marry Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkova. The Archduke swore an oath of a morganatic marriage before Foreign Minister Agenor Goluchowski. The marriage took place the following Sunday. Exactly 14 years after his oath regarding the status of his marriage, the Archduke and his wife would be assassinated, leading to an international crisis that would escalate into World War I.
== June 29, 1900 (Friday) ==
King Oscar of Sweden approved the creation of the Nobel Foundation, funded by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel. The first Nobel Prize awards were made by the foundation in 1901.
Within the British-controlled Protectorate of Uganda, the Uganda Agreement was ratified by the Kingdom of Toro and its King, the Omukama Kyebambe. The pact outlined Toro's boundaries within southwest Uganda and defined British jurisdiction over its relations with the other kingdoms.
Born: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer and aircraft pilot, author of the classic children's book The Little Prince; in Lyon (d. 1944)
== June 30, 1900 (Saturday) ==
A fire that killed 326 people started at Pier 8 of in Hoboken, New Jersey when cotton bales and barrels of turpentine and oil began burning at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. In less than 15 minutes, high winds spread the blaze a quarter of a mile along the port and on to the four German steamships moored there. The steamers Saale and Main, each with 150 crew on board, were destroyed and Bremen was heavily damaged. On the Saale, the portholes were too narrow for the men inside to escape and most on board burned to death. The huge liner SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was saved by being towed into the Hudson River. Despite the best efforts of the Hoboken and New York fire departments to save the piers and the ships, respectively, 326 people were killed.
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Moscone#:~:text=The%20Moscone%20family%20comes%20from,Brigid's%20and%20then%20St. | George Moscone | George Richard Moscone ( mə-SKOH-nee; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 37th mayor of San Francisco from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978.
He was known as "The People's Mayor", who opened up City Hall and its commissions to reflect the diversity of San Francisco, appointing African Americans, Asian Americans, and gay people. A member of the Democratic Party, Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming mayor; in the Senate he served as majority leader. He is remembered for being an advocate of civil progressivism.
== Early life ==
George Richard Moscone was born in the Italian-American enclave of San Francisco's Marina District. The Moscone family comes from Piedmont and Liguria. His father was George Joseph Moscone, a corrections officer at nearby San Quentin, and his mother, Lena, was a homemaker who later went to work to support herself and her son after she separated from her husband.
Moscone attended St. Brigid's and then St. Ignatius College Preparatory, where he was a noted debater and an all-city basketball star. He then attended College of the Pacific on a basketball scholarship and played basketball for the Tigers. He received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology in 1953.
Moscone then studied at University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he received his law degree. He married Gina Bondanza, whom he had known since she was in grade school, in 1954. The Moscones would go on to have four children. After serving in the United States Navy, Moscone started private practice in 1956.
== Career ==
As a young man playing basketball and as a young lawyer, Moscone became close friends with John Burton, who would later become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. John's older brother, Phillip, a member of the California State Assembly, recruited Moscone to run for an Assembly seat in 1960 as a Democrat. Though he lost that race, Moscone would go on to win a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1963. On the Board, Moscone was known for his defense of poor people, racial minorities and small business owners, as well as supporting the first successful fight in San Francisco to block construction of a proposed freeway that would have cut through Golden Gate Park and several neighborhoods.
=== California State Senator ===
In 1966 Moscone ran for and won a seat in the California State Senate, representing the 10th District in San Francisco County. Moscone was quickly rising through the ranks of the California Democratic Party and became closely associated with a loose alliance of progressive politicians in San Francisco led by the Burton brothers. This alliance was known as the Burton Machine and included John Burton, Phillip Burton, and Assemblyman Willie Brown. Soon after his election to the State Senate, Moscone was elected by his party to serve as Majority Leader. He was reelected to the 10th District seat in 1970 and to the newly redistricted 6th District seat, representing parts of San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, in 1974. He successfully sponsored legislation to institute a school lunch program for California students, as well as a bill legalizing abortion that was signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan. In 1974 Moscone briefly considered a run for governor of California, but dropped out after a short time in favor of California Secretary of State Jerry Brown.
Moscone also was an early proponent of gay rights. In conjunction with his friend and ally in the Assembly, Willie Brown, Moscone managed to pass a bill repealing California's sodomy law. The repeal was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown.
=== Mayor of San Francisco ===
On December 19, 1974, Moscone announced he would run for mayor of San Francisco in the 1975 race. In a close race in November 1975, Moscone placed first, with conservative city supervisor John Barbagelata second and supervisor Dianne Feinstein coming in third. Moscone and Barbagelata thus both advanced to the mandated runoff election in December where Moscone narrowly defeated the conservative supervisor by fewer than 5,000 votes. Liberals also won the city's other top executive offices that year as Joseph Freitas was elected district attorney and Richard Hongisto was re-elected to his office of sheriff.
Moscone ran a grassroots mayoral campaign which drew volunteers from organizations like Glide Methodist Memorial Church, Delancey Street (a rehabilitation center for ex-convicts) and the Peoples Temple which was initially known as a church preaching racial equality and social justice but turned into a fanatical political cult. For the rest of his life, Barbagelata maintained that the Peoples Temple had committed massive election fraud on behalf of Moscone by busing people in from out of town to vote multiple times under the names of deceased San Francisco residents.
Moscone passed legislation reducing marijuana sentences, granting abortion rights, establishing a school meals program and overturning the state's anti-sodomy laws.
The Peoples Temple also worked to get out the vote in precincts where Moscone received a 12-to-1 vote margin over Barbagelata. After the Peoples Temple's work and votes by Temple members were instrumental in delivering a close victory for Moscone, Moscone appointed Temple leader Jim Jones as chairman of the San Francisco Housing Commission.
Moscone's first year as mayor was spent preventing the San Francisco Giants professional baseball team from moving to Toronto and advocating a citywide ballot initiative in favor of district election to the board of supervisors. Moscone was the first mayor to appoint large numbers of women, homosexuals and racial minorities to city commissions and advisory boards. In 1977, he appointed Del Martin, the first lesbian woman, and Kathleen Hardiman Arnold, now Kathleen Rand Reed, the first Black woman, as commissioners on the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women (SFCOSW). Moscone also appointed liberal Oakland Police Chief Charles Gain to head the San Francisco Police Department. Gain (and by extension Moscone) became highly unpopular among rank and file San Francisco police officers for proposing a settlement to a lawsuit brought by minorities claiming discriminatory recruiting practices by the police force.
In April 1977, Moscone stood up to officials in Washington by supporting a 25-day occupation of San Francisco's federal building by a group of over 100 people with disabilities demanding their civil rights in what would become known as the 504 Sit-in. While federal officials hoped to starve out the protesters, the mayor visited them and arranged to have portable showers and towels brought in. Thanks in part to Moscone's support, the occupation was successful, and helped pave the way for passing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) thirteen years later.
In 1977 Moscone, Freitas and Hongisto all easily survived a recall election pushed by defeated Moscone opponent John Barbagelata along with business interests. It was a political vindication for Moscone, who won in a landslide. Barbagelata announced he was retiring from politics. That year also marked the passage of the district election system by San Francisco voters. The city's first district elections for board of supervisors took place in November 1977. Among those elected were the city's first openly gay supervisor, Harvey Milk, single mother and attorney Carol Ruth Silver, Chinese-American Gordon Lau, and fireman and police officer Dan White. Milk, Silver and Lau along with John Molinari and Robert Gonzales made up Moscone's allies on the board, while White, Dianne Feinstein, Quentin Kopp, Ella Hill Hutch, Lee Dolson, and Ron Pelosi formed a loosely organized coalition to oppose Moscone and his initiatives. Feinstein was elected president of the board of supervisors on a 6–5 vote, with Moscone's supporters backing Lau. It was generally believed that Feinstein, having twice lost election to the office of mayor, would support Kopp against Moscone in the 1979 election and retire rather than run for the board again.
==== Refusal to investigate Peoples Temple ====
In August 1977, after Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones fled to Jonestown following media scrutiny alleging criminal wrongdoing, Moscone announced that his office would not investigate Jones or Peoples Temple. The later mass murder-suicide at Jonestown dominated national headlines at the time of Moscone's death.
After the massacre, Temple members revealed to The New York Times that the Temple had arranged for "busloads" of members to be bused in from Redwood Valley to San Francisco to vote in the 1975 election. A former Temple member stated that many of those members were not registered to vote in San Francisco, while another former member said "Jones swayed elections." Prior to leaving San Francisco, Jones claimed to have bribed Moscone with sexual favors from female Temple members, including one who was underage; his son, Jim Jones, Jr., later remembered how Moscone frequented Temple parties "with a cocktail in his hand and doing some ass grabbing".
== Assassination ==
Late in 1978, Dan White resigned from the board of supervisors. His resignation would allow Moscone to choose White's successor, which could tip the board's balance of power in Moscone's favor. Recognizing this, those who supported a more conservative agenda and opposed integration of the police and fire departments talked White into changing his mind. White then requested that Moscone re-appoint him to his former seat.
Moscone originally indicated a willingness to reconsider, but more liberal city leaders, including supervisor Harvey Milk, lobbied him against the idea. Moscone ultimately decided not to appoint White. On November 27, 1978, three days after Moscone's 49th birthday, White went to San Francisco City Hall to meet with Moscone and purportedly to make a final plea for appointment. White sneaked into City Hall through a basement window to avoid the metal detector at the main door. He carried his old police revolver. When Moscone agreed to talk with him in a private room, White pulled the gun out of his suit jacket and shot and killed Moscone. White then re-loaded his gun and walked across City Hall to Milk's office, where White shot and killed Milk as well.
Dianne Feinstein, president of the board of supervisors, was sworn in as the city's new mayor and in the following years would emerge as one of California's most prominent politicians.
Six thousand mourners attended a service for Moscone at St. Mary's Cathedral.
White later turned himself in at the police station where he was formerly an officer. The term "Twinkie defense" has its origins in the murder trial that followed. White was convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter, due in part to his claim of severe depression, which White's attorneys argued was evidenced by his consumption of Twinkies and other junk foods. Outrage over White's lenient sentence provoked a mass riot in San Francisco, during which police cars were set on fire by angry protestors. White was released from prison and then shortly afterward committed suicide in 1985.
Vigils are held annually to commemorate the assassinations of Moscone and Milk.
== Legacy ==
Moscone is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California alongside his mother Lena.
Moscone Center, San Francisco's largest convention center and exhibition hall, is named in his honor. Moscone and Milk also have schools named after them: George Moscone Elementary, Harvey Milk Elementary and Harvey Milk High School.
Moscone's main political legacy is his opening up San Francisco City Hall to be a more diverse and inclusive place with political appointments that represented the full spectrum of the population, including minorities and the growing gay community. Despite a backlash from the political old guard and conservatives, and despite the double assassination of Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, both leading progressives, the city never retreated from Moscone's more inclusive view of politics.
In 1980, sculptor Robert Arneson was commissioned to create a monument to Moscone to be installed in the new Moscone Convention Center. The bust portraying Moscone was done in Arneson's California Funk style and was accepted by San Francisco's Art Commission. Arneson included as part of the sculpture on the pedestal the likeness of a pistol, and references to Harvey Milk, the assassinations, the "Twinkie Defense", the White Night riots, and Dianne Feinstein's mayoral succession. Arneson refused to make alterations to the work, the commission was returned to him, and it was later resold to the SF Museum of Modern Art. In a critique of the event, Frederic Stout wrote that "Arneson's mistake was in presenting the city mothers/fathers with something honest, engaging and provoking, that is to say, a work of art. What they wanted, of course, was not a work of art at all. They wanted an object of ritual magic: the smiling head of a dead politician." In 1994, a new bust by San Francisco artist Spero Anargyros was unveiled, depicting Moscone holding a pen, below which are words from Moscone: "San Francisco is an extraordinary city, because its people have learned to live together with one another, to respect each other, and to work with each other for the future of their community. That's the strength and beauty of this city – it's the reason why the citizens who live here are the luckiest people in the world."
Moscone was portrayed by Victor Garber in Gus Van Sant's Harvey Milk biopic, Milk. Their murders were also the subject of the Dead Kennedys' version of the Sonny Curtis song "I Fought the Law". Moscone's son Jonathan, aged 14 at the time of his father's murder, later co-wrote the play Ghost Light with Tony Taccone about the effects the assassination had on him. It premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2011. A public television documentary about Moscone's political career, Moscone: A Legacy of Change, debuted in November 2018, the 40th anniversary of Moscone's death. Produced by Nat Katzman, written by Stephen Talbot and narrated by Peter Coyote.
== See also ==
List of assassinated American politicians
== References ==
Weiss, Mike (2010). Double Play: The Hidden Passions Behind the Double Assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk. Vince Emery Productions. ISBN 978-0982565056.
Saxon, Wolfgang (November 28, 1978). "George Moscone, a Firm Mayor Who Stressed Anticrime Effort". The New York Times. p. B12.
Turner, Wallace (November 28, 1978). "San Francisco Mayor is Slain; City Supervisor Also Killed; Ex-Official Gives Up to Police". The New York Times. p. A1.
"A Son Confronts Moscone's 'Ghost' On Stage". All Things Considered. September 3, 2011. NPR.
Ghost Light - Oregon Shakespeare Festival
LaGumina, Salvatore J.; Frank J. Cavaioli; Salvatore Primeggia; Joseph A. Varacalli (1999). The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0203801147.
== External links ==
Moscone: A Legacy of Change film in the George Moscone Archives, University of the Pacific
Controversial commissioned bust of George Moscone by Robert Arneson
The George Moscone Digital Collection and George Moscone Collection available at Holt-Atherton Special Collections.
Join California George Moscone |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_drummondii | Acacia drummondii | Acacia drummondii, commonly known as Drummond's wattle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with bipinnate leaves, spikes of pale yellow to golden yellow flowers and narrowly oblong pods.
== Description ==
Acacia drummondii is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.3–2 m (1 ft 0 in – 6 ft 7 in). Is leaves are bipinnate on a petiole 0.5–5 mm (0.020–0.197 in) long, with up to four pairs of pinnae. The lower pinnae are 2–10 mm (0.079–0.394 in) long and the pinnae near the end are 4–20 mm (0.16–0.79 in). Each pinna has two or three lower pinnules and two to seven pinnules near the ends. The leaves are mid-green to slightly bluish green, smooth or densely hairy.
The flowers are pale to golden yellow, borne in single spikes 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) long in leaf axils flowers and borne in leaf axils on a peduncle 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long. Flowering occurs between June and October, and the pods are narrowly oblong, rigid, dark or brownish-grey, 15–50 mm (0.59–1.97 in) long and 3.5–8 mm (0.14–0.31 in) wide. The seeds are elliptic to oblong 2–3.5 mm (0.079–0.138 in) wide.
== Taxonomy and naming ==
Acacia drummondii was first formally described in 1839 by the botanist John Lindley in his book, A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony. The specific epithet (drummondii) honours James Drummond, the Government Naturalist of the Swan River Colony.
Four subspecies of A. drummondii have been described and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
Acacia drummondii subsp. affinis (Maslin) Maslin (previously known as Acacia varia var. affinis Maslin) is a shrub up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high, the leaves without a gland on the rachis, two to four pairs of pinnae, and green pinnules with the edges turned down or rolled under.
Acacia drummondii subsp. candolleana (Meisn.) Maslin (previously known as Acacia candolleana Maslin) consistently has one pair of pinnae.
Acacia drummondii Lindl. subsp. drummondii is a shrub up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high, the leaves without a gland on the rachis, and two to four pairs of pinnae, the pinnules glaucous and flat.
Acacia drummondii subsp. elegans Maslin is a shrub up to 4 m (13 ft) high, the leaves with a gland on the rachis and sometimes on the petiole, and two to four pairs of pinnae.
== Distribution ==
Drummond's wattle grows from near Mount Lesueur, south to Albany and in the Fitzgerald River National Park. It grows among granite outcrops, in gullies and low lying areas and on hillsides in sandy and gravelly soils in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
Subspecies affinis occurs near New Norcia and south to Bullsbrook, Western Australia.
Subspecies candolleana has a sporadic distribution near New Norcia and south to Collie with a disjunct population in the Fitzgerald River National Park.
Subspecies drummondii occurs from Moora to Boyup Brook in Eucalyptus wandoo woodland and near Mount Lesueur in heath.
Subspecies elegans favours loam or sand in winter-wet places in forest and woodland in the Stirling Range-Albany area.
== Conservation status ==
Subspecies candolleana, drummondii and elegans are classed as "not threatened", but subsp. affinis is listed as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.
== See also ==
List of Acacia species
== References == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armsia_petasus#:~:text=Armsia%20petasus%20is%20a%20species%20of%20small%2C%20air%2Dbreathing%2C%20land%20snail%2C%20a%20terrestrial%20pulmonate%20gastropod%20mollusk%20in%20the%20family%20Amastridae.%20They%20are%20critically%20endangered%20by%20habitat%20loss.%20This%20species%20is%20endemic%20to%20the%20United%20States. | Armsia petasus | Armsia petasus is a species of small, air-breathing, land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Amastridae. They are critically endangered by habitat loss.
This species is endemic to the United States.
== References == |
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