A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable surface such as concrete, cobblestone or brick. Portions may also be smoothed with asphalt, embedded with rails, or otherwise prepared to accommodate non-pedestrian traffic.

Originally the word "street" simply meant a paved road (Latin: "via strata"). The word "street" is still sometimes used colloquially as a synonym for "road", for example in connection with the ancient Watling Street, but city residents and urban planners draw a crucial modern distinction: a road's main function is transportation, while streets facilitate public interaction. Examples of streets include pedestrian streets, alleys, and city-centre streets too crowded for road vehicles to pass. Conversely, highways and motorways are types of roads, but few would refer to them as streets.

Etymology

The word ''street'' has its origins in the Latin ''strata'' (meaning "paved road"); it is thus related to ''stratum'' and ''stratification''. Ancient Greek ''Stratos'' means army; Greeks originally built roads to move their armies. Old English applied the word to Roman roads in Britain such as Ermin Street, Watling Street, etc. Later it acquired a dialectical meaning of "straggling village", which were often laid out on the verges of Roman roads and these settlements often became named Stretton. In the Middle Ages, a ''road'' was a way people travelled, with ''street'' applied specifically to paved ways.

Role in the built environment

The street is a public easement, one of the few shared between all sorts of people. As a component of the built environment as ancient as human habitation, the street sustains a range of activities vital to civilization. Its roles are as numerous and diverse as its ever-changing cast of characters.

Streets can be loosely categorized as main streets and side streets. Main streets are usually broad with a relatively high level of activity. Commerce and public interaction are more visible on main streets, and vehicles may use them for longer-distance travel. Side streets are quieter, often residential in use and character, and may be used for vehicular parking.

Circulation

Circulation, or less broadly, transportation, is perhaps a street's most visible use, and certainly among the most important. The unrestricted movement of people and goods within a city is essential to its commerce and vitality, and streets provide the physical space for this activity.

In the interest of order and efficiency, an effort may be made to segregate different types of traffic. This is usually done by carving a road through the middle for motorists, reserving pavements on either side for pedestrians; other arrangements allow for streetcars, trolleys, and even wastewater and rainfall runoff ditches (common in Japan and India). In the mid-20th century, as the automobile threatened to overwhelm city streets with pollution and ghastly accidents, many urban theorists came to see this segregation as not only helpful but necessary in order to maintain mobility. Le Corbusier, for one, perceived an ever-stricter segregation of traffic as an essential affirmation of social order — a desirable, and ultimately inevitable, expression of modernity. To this end, proposals were advanced to build "vertical streets" where road vehicles, pedestrians, and trains would each occupy their own levels. Such an arrangement, it was said, would allow for even denser development in the future.

These plans were never implemented comprehensively, a fact which today's urban theorists regard as fortunate for vitality and diversity. Rather, vertical segregation is applied on a piecemeal basis, as in sewers, utility poles, depressed highways, elevated railways, common utility ducts, the extensive complex of underground malls surrounding Tokyo Station and the Ōtemachi subway station, the elevated pedestrian skyway networks of Minneapolis and Calgary, the underground cities of Atlanta and Montreal, and the multilevel streets in Chicago.

Transportation is often misunderstood to be the defining characteristic, or even the sole purpose, of a street. This has not been the case since the word "street" came to be limited to urban situations, and even in the automobile age, is still demonstrably false. A street may be temporarily blocked to all through traffic in order to secure the space for other uses, such as a street fair, a flea market, children at play, filming a movie, or construction work. Many streets are bracketed by bollards or Jersey barriers so as to keep out vehicles. These measures are often taken in a city's busiest areas, the "destination" districts, when the volume of activity outgrows the capacity of private passenger vehicles to support it. A feature universal to all streets is a human-scale design that gives its users the space and security to feel engaged in their surroundings, whatever through traffic may pass.

Vehicular traffic

Despite this, the operator of a motor vehicle may (incompletely) regard a street as merely a thoroughfare for vehicular travel or parking. As far as concerns the driver, a street can be one-way or two-way: vehicles on one-way streets may travel in only one direction, while those on two-way streets may travel both ways. One way streets typically have signs reading "ONE WAY" and an arrow showing the direction of allowed travel. Most two-way streets are wide enough for at least two lanes of traffic.

Which lane is for which direction of traffic depends on what country the street is located in. On broader two-way streets, there is often a ''center line'' marked down the middle of the street separating those lanes on which vehicular traffic goes in one direction from other lanes in which traffic goes in the opposite direction. Occasionally, there may be a median strip separating lanes of opposing traffic. If there is more than one lane going in one direction on a main street, these lanes may be separated by intermittent ''lane lines'' marked on the street pavement. Side streets often do not have center lines or lane lines.

Parking for vehicles

Many streets, especially side streets in residential areas, have an extra lane's width on either or both sides for parallel parking. Most minor side streets allowing free parallel parking do not have pavement markings designating the parking lane. Main streets more often have parking lanes marked. Some streets are too busy or narrow for parking on the side. Sometimes parking on the sides of streets is allowed only at certain times. Curbside signs often state regulations about parking. Some streets, particularly in business areas, may have parking meters into which coins must be paid to allow parking in the adjacent space for a limited time. Other parking meters work on a credit card and ticket basis or pay and display. Parking lane markings on the pavement may designate the meter corresponding to a parking space. Some wide streets with light traffic allow ''angle parking''.

Sidewalk and bicycle traffic

Sidewalks (US usage) or pavements (UK usage) are often located alongside on one or usually both sides of the street within the public land strips beyond the curbs. Sidewalks serve a traffic purpose, by making walking easier and more attractive, but they also serve a social function, allowing neighbors to meet and interact on their walks. They also can foster economic activity, such as window shopping and sidewalk cafes. Some studies have found that shops on streets with sidewalks get more customers than similar shops without sidewalks.

An important element of sidewalk design is accessibility for persons with disabilities. Features that make sidewalks more accessible include curb ramps, tactile paving and accessible traffic signals. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires accessibility improvement on new and reconstructed streets within the US.

In most jurisdictions, bicycles are legally allowed to use streets, and required to follow the same laws as motor vehicle traffic, except those inapplicable by their nature, such as emission inspections. Where the volume of bicycle traffic warrants and available right-of-way allows, provisions may be made to separate bicyclists from motor vehicle traffic. Wider lanes may be provided next to the curb, or shoulders may provided. Bicycle lanes may be used on busy streets to provide some separation between bicycle traffic and motor vehicle traffic. The bicycle lane may be placed between the travel lanes and the parking lanes, or between the parking lanes and the curb.

Vehicular amenities and roadside hardware

Often, a curb is used to separate the vehicle traffic lanes from the adjacent sidewalk area. Street signs, parking meters, bicycle stands, benches, traffic signals, and street lights are often found adjacent to streets. They may be behind the sidewalk, or between the sidewalk and the curb.

Landscaping

There may be a strip of land between the vehicle-drivable part of the street and the pavement on either side of the street, which can be called the ''parkway'' or tree lawn. Grass and trees are often grown there for landscaping the sides of the street, or it may be filled with bricks for a decorative effect. Alternatively, there may be openings in wider pavements in which trees grow. These are often placed for beautification, but are increasingly being used to control stormwater.

Utilities

Although primarily used for traffic, streets are important corridors for utilities such as electric power, communications such as telephone, cable television and fiber optic lines, storm and sanitary sewers, and natural gas lines.

Street numbering

Practically all public streets in Western countries and the majority elsewhere (though not in Japan; see Japanese addressing system) are given a street name or at least a number to identify them and any addresses located along the streets. Alleys typically do not have names. The length of a lot of land along a street is referred to as the ''frontage'' of the lot.

Interaction

A street may assume the role of a town square for its regulars. Jane Jacobs, an economist and prominent urbanist, wrote extensively on the ways that interaction among the people who live and work on a particular street—"eyes on the street"—can reduce crime, encourage the exchange of ideas, and generally make the world a better place.

Identity

A street can often serve as the catalyst for the neighborhood's prosperity, culture and solidarity. New Orleans’ Bourbon Street is famous not only for its active nightlife but also for its role as the center of the city’s French Quarter. Similarly, the Bowery has at various times been New York City's main highway, theater district, red-light district, skid row, restaurant supply district, and the center of the nation's underground punk scene. Madison Avenue and Fleet Street are so strongly identified with their respective most famous types of commerce, that their names are sometimes applied to firms located elsewhere. Other streets mark divisions between neighborhoods of a city. For example, Yonge Street divides Toronto into east and west sides, and East Capitol Street divides Washington, D.C. into north and south.

Some streets are associated with the beautification of a town or city. Greenwood, Mississippi's Grand Boulevard was once named one of America's ten most beautiful streets by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce and the Garden Clubs of America. The 1000 oak trees lining Grand Boulevard were planted in 1916 by Sally Humphreys Gwin, a charter member of the Greenwood Garden Club. In 1950, Gwin received a citation from the National Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution in recognition of her work in the conservation of trees.

Streets also tend to aggregate establishments of similar nature and character. East 9th Street in Manhattan, for example, offers a cluster of Japanese restaurants, clothing stores, and cultural venues. In Washington, D.C., 17th Street and P Street are well-known as epicenters of the city's (relatively small) gay culture. Many cities have a Radio Row or Restaurant Row. Like in Philadelphia there is a small street called Jewelers' row giving the identity of a "Diamond district". This phenomenon is the subject of urban location theory in economics.

As distinct from other spaces

A road, like a street, is often paved and used for travel. However, a street is characterized by the degree and quality of street life it facilitates, whereas a road serves primarily as a through passage for road vehicles or (less frequently) pedestrians. Buskers, beggars, boulevardiers, patrons of pavement cafés, peoplewatchers, streetwalkers, and a diversity of other characters are habitual users of a street; the same people would not typically be found on a road.

In rural and suburban environments where street life is rare, the terms "street" and "road" are frequently considered interchangeable. Still, even here, what is called a "street" is usually a smaller thoroughfare, such as a road within a housing development feeding directly into individual driveways. In the last half of the 20th century these streets often abandoned the tradition of a rigid, rectangular grid, and instead were designed to discourage through traffic. This and other traffic calming methods provided quiet for families and play space for children. Adolescent suburbanites find, in attenuated form, the amenities of street life in shopping malls where vehicles are forbidden.

If a road connects places, then a street connects people. One may "hit the road" to see the wonders of the world—Jack Kerouac famously chronicled one such journey—but the latest bling will "hit the streets" before it ever appears on a road. It is "on the street" where one hears an interesting rumor, where one bumps into an old acquaintance, where one acquires street smarts. One seldom sees a "road" vendor except of fresh produce, or a "road" performer. You'll never find yourself on a long "street" to nowhere or under assault by a violent "road" gang, hence politicians seldom view with alarm the prevalence of "crime in the roads". The street, not the road is home to the homeless unless they are hoboes, and even Kerouac's hero finally returned to find his friends on a New York street.

A town square or plaza is a little more like a street, but a town square is rarely paved with asphalt and may not make any concessions for through traffic at all.

Nomenclature

There is a haphazard relationship, at best, between a thoroughfare's function and its name. For example, London's Abbey Road serves all the vital functions of a street, despite its name, and locals are more apt to refer to the "street" outside than the "road". A desolate road in rural Montana, on the other hand, may bear a sign proclaiming it "Davidson Street", but this does not make it a "street" except in the original sense of a paved road.

In the United Kingdom many towns will refer to their main thoroughfare as the High Street (in the United States it would be called the Main Street — however, occasionally "Main Street" in a city or town is a street other than the ''de facto'' main thoroughfare), and many of the ways leading off it will be named "Road" despite the urban setting. Thus the town's so-called "Roads" will actually be more street like than a road.

Some streets may even be called highways. Hurontario Street in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, is commonly referred to as "Highway 10" — even though such a highway designation no longer officially exists. This is probably due to the fact that the street is a modern suburban arterial that was urbanized after decades of having the status and function a true highway, so people continued to use the number because of force of habit.

In some other English-speaking countries, such as New Zealand and Australia, cities are often divided by a main "Road," with "Streets" leading from this "Road", or are divided by thoroughfares known as "Streets" or "Roads" with no apparent differentiation between the two. In Auckland, for example, the main shopping precinct is around Queen Street and Karangahape Road.

Streets have existed for as long as humans have lived in permanent settlements (see civilization). However, modern civilization in much of the New World developed around transportation provided by motor vehicles. In some parts of the English-speaking world, such as North America, many think of the street as a thoroughfare for vehicular traffic first and foremost. In this view, pedestrian traffic is incidental to the street's purpose; a street consists of a thoroughfare running through the middle (in essence, a road), and may or may not have pavements along the sides.

In an even narrower sense, some may think of a street as only the vehicle-driven and parking part of the thoroughfare. Thus, pavements and tree lawns would not be thought of as part of the street. A mother may tell her toddlers "Don't go out into the street, so you don't get hit by a car."

Among urban residents of the English-speaking world, the word appears to carry its original connotations (i.e. the facilitation of traffic as a prime purpose, and "street life" as an incidental benefit). For instance, a ''New York Times'' writer lets casually slip the observation that automobile-laden Houston Street is "a street that can hardly be called 'street' anymore, transformed years ago into an eight-lane raceway that alternately resembles a Nascar event and a parking lot." Published in the paper's Metro section, the article evidently presumes an audience with an innate grasp of the modern urban role of the street. To the readers of the Metro section, vehicular traffic does not reinforce, but rather detracts from, the essential "street-ness" of a street.

At least one map has been made to illustrate the geography of naming conventions for thoroughfares; street, avenue, boulevard, circle, and other suffixes are contrasted against one another.

See also

Built environment

Intersection

Living street

''Manual for Streets'' (in the UK)

Spreuerhofstraße (Narrowest street in the World)

Pedestrian-friendly

Pedestrian street, Auto-free zone

Road

Segregated cycle facilities

Street furniture

Street reclamation

Street suffix

Urban car

Urban street

References

External links

A virtual exhibition on the history of streets

AskOxford: What is the difference between a 'street' and a 'road'?

streetnote, street music Live street music and musicians from the streets of the USA

Biannual exhibition of poetry and documentary about streets and traffic.

Streetsblog – News focusing on streets and street life in the modern urban landscape. (No affiliation.)

What distinguishes a street from a lane from a road from a boulevard, etc.? – An ''Ask Yahoo!'' editor's examination of the issue.

A Treatise on Highway Construction, Designed as a Text-book and Work of Reference for All who May be Engaged in the Location, Construction, Or Maintenance of Roads, Streets, and Pavements, By Austin Thomas Byrne, 1900 – Boston appears to be the first city in the United States to pave its streets, by 1663, many with pebbles.

Famous streets, roads and byways

Category:Types of roads

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Name	Immortal Technique
Background	solo_singer
Born	February 19, 1978 Lima, Lima Province, Peru
Birth name	Felipe Andres Coronel
Origin	Harlem, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper
Years active	2000–present|label Viper Records
Associated acts	Akir, Diabolic, Lowkey, Chino XL, DJ Green Lantern, La Coka Nostra, Jean Grae, Rockin' Squat, Mos Def , Dead Prez , Ras Kass , Krs-One , Reppin MG
Website	myspace.com/immortaltechnique }}

Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as class struggle, poverty, religion, government and institutional racism.

Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to retain control over his production, and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to 200,000 copies of his three official releases.

Biography

Early life

Coronel is African-Peruvian and was born in 1978 in a military hospital in Lima. His family emigrated in 1980 to Harlem to escape the ongoing internal conflict in Peru. During his teenage years he was arrested multiple times due in part to what he has said was "selfish and childish" behavior. He attended Hunter College High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Shortly after enrolling in Pennsylvania State University, he was arrested and charged with assault-related offenses due to his involvement in an altercation between fellow students, the charges stemming from this incident led to him being incarcerated for a year. After being paroled, he took political science classes at Baruch College in New York City for two semesters at the behest of his father, who allowed Coronel to live with him on the condition that he go to school. Honing his rapping skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, Coronel began selling his music on the streets of New York while battling with MCs whenever the opportunity arose. This, coupled with his victories in numerous freestyle rap competitions of the New York underground hip hop scene such as Rocksteady Anniversary, Braggin Rites and others, led to his reputation as a ferocious Battle MC.

Revolutionary Vol.1 and Vol.2

In 2001 , Immortal Technique released his first album ''Revolutionary Vol. 1'' without the help of a record label or distribution, instead using money earned from his rap battle triumphs. ''Revolutionary Vol. 1'' also contained the underground classic ''Dance With The Devil''. In November 2002, he was listed by ''The Source'' in its "Unsigned Hype" column, highlighting artists that are not signed to a record label. The following year, in September 2003, he received the coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" in ''The Source'' for a song entitled "Industrial Revolution" from his second album. Immortal Technique is the only rapper in history to have a "Hip Hop Quotable" while being unsigned. He released his second album ''Revolutionary Vol. 2'' in 2003. In 2004, Viper Records and, in 2005, Babygrande Records re-released Immortal Technique's debut, ''Revolutionary Vol. 1'', to make it available to a wider audience. "Point of No Return" from ''Revolutionary Vol 2'' was used as the entrance theme for Rashad Evans during the UFC 88 Main Event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.

Revolutionary Vol.3 and The Middle Passage

Between 2005 and 2007 Immortal Technique began working on ''The Middle Passage'' and ''The 3rd World'', the two albums that would serve a follow up to ''Revolutionary Vol. 2'' and complete the series. He was also featured on several movie soundtracks and video game soundtracks, all the while touring relentlessly and becoming heavily involved in visiting prisons to speak to youth and working with immigrant rights activists and raising tens of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals overseas. He invested his money not in items that are usually associated with fame but rather in large pieces of farmland in Latin America. He created a writing grant program for high school students as well.

Collaborations

The summer of 2005 saw the release of "Bin Laden", a vinyl single 12" featuring Mos Def and DJ Green Lantern. The single also contained a remix of the song featured Chuck D of Public Enemy and KRS-One. In early 2006, the song "Impeach the President", featuring Dead Prez and Saigon turned up in the mixtape "Alive on Arrival" DJ Green Lantern. This is a simple version of The Honeydrippers, 1973, in which Immortal Technique urged fans to organize a vote of censure against George W. Bush. In April 2009, a new song leaked on the internet named "Democratie Fasciste (Article 4)" by Brazilian-French rapper Rockin' Squat which featured Immortal Technique. The official release of the song and Rockin' Squat's album ''Confessions D'un Enfant Du Siècle Volume 2'' was on May 12, 2009. The instrumental from the song was sampled from Wendy Rene's "After Laughter". The song expresses the inequalities of the Third World and revolutionary events throughout history against tyranny and oppression. The song contains lyrics in English (Immortal Technique), French (Rockin' Squat) and brief shout outs in Spanish (Immortal Technique). This song is Immortal Technique's first official international collaboration. In early 2009, it was announced that there would be a collaboration between Technique and UK underground artist Lowkey, on a single called "Voices of the Voiceless". On September 11, 2009, a "snippet" of the song was released on YouTube. The preview was released ahead of its September 21 launch on iTunes, as part of a web-campaign that included updates, promotion and links on forums, E-Magazines and several social networking sites. The song's lyrics cover a broad range of issues that are familiar to listeners of both artists – racism, world revolution, war, socialism, government control, rape, famine, colonialism, Classism, self-determination and the war in Iraq.

Charitable work

In June 2008, Immortal Technique partnered with Omeid International, a Non–Profit Human Rights Organization, to lend his support. He dubbed the work as "The Green Light Project". With the profits of ''The 3rd World'' album, Immortal Technique traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan to help Omeid build an orphanage without any corporate or external funding. The orphanage, having been successfully established, currently houses over 20 orphaned children from Kabul.

''This Revolution''

Immortal Technique appeared as himself in a docudrama film entitled ''This Revolution'', which was recorded during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. The tape contains the protests surrounding the convention in the form of a documentary. It also featured Viper Records affiliates Akir and producer SouthPaw in roles.

Since then Immortal Technique has taken control of Viper Records and has signed a distribution deal with Babygrande Records / E1 Entertainment to vent to their next album. SouthPaw has managed to establish himself as A&R of Viper Records.

Discography

Albums

{|class="wikitable" !align=center rowspan=2|Year !align=center rowspan=2|Title !align=center colspan=2|Peak chart positions |- !align=center width=45|US !align=center width=45|USRap |- |align=center|2001 | ''Revolutionary Vol. 1''

Release Date: September 14, 2001

Label: Viper (1)

Format: CD, digital download

|align=center|— |align=center|— |- |align=center|2003 |''Revolutionary Vol. 2''

Release Date: November 18, 2003

Label: Viper (104)

Format: CD, digital download, LP

|align=center|— |align=center|— |- |align=center|2008 |''The 3rd World'' (with DJ Green Lantern)

Release Date: June 24, 2008

Label: Viper (8)

Format: CD, digital download

|align=center|99 |align=center|12 |- |align=center|TBA |''The Middle Passage''

Release Date: TBA

Label: Viper

Format: CD, digital download

|align=center|TBA |align=center|TBA |- | align="center" colspan="11" style="font-size:90%" | "—" indicates that album did not chart. |- |}

Singles

{|class="wikitable" !align=center rowspan=2|Year !align=center rowspan=2|Title !align=center colspan=1|Peak chart positions !align=center rowspan=2|Album |- !align=center width=25|US R&B Sales |- |align=center|2001 |align=left|"Dance With the Devil" |align=center|(Citation needed) |align=left rowspan=1|''Revolutionary Vol. 1'' |- |align=center|2003 |align=left|"The Cause of Death" |align=center|(Citation needed) |align=left rowspan=3|''Revolutionary Vol. 2'' |- |align=center|2003 |align=left|"Industrial Revolution" |align=center|63 |- |align=center|2004 |align=left|"The Point of No Return" |align=center|57 |- |align=center|2004 |align=left|"Bin Laden" |align=center|? |align=left|Single only |- |align=center|2005 |align=left|"Caught in a Hustle" |align=center|? |align=left|''BAADASSSSS!'' soundtrack |}

References

External links

Viper Records website

Immortal Technique's Twitter

Unofficial forums

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:American music industry executives Category:American people convicted of assault Category:American socialists Category:Baruch College alumni Category:Hispanic and Latino American rappers Category:Pennsylvania State University alumni Category:People from Harlem Category:People from Manhattan Category:People from Lima Category:Peruvian emigrants to the United States Category:Peruvian exiles Category:Peruvian people of Black African descent Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Underground rappers

ar:إيمورتل تكنيك az:Immortal Technique da:Immortal Technique de:Immortal Technique et:Immortal Technique es:Immortal Technique fr:Immortal technique it:Immortal Technique nl:Immortal Technique no:Immortal Technique pl:Immortal Technique pt:Immortal Technique ru:Immortal Technique simple:Immortal Technique sr:Immortal Technique fi:Immortal Technique sv:Immortal Technique

name	Angela Davis
birth name	Angela Yvonne Davis
birth date	January 26, 1944
birth place	Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
ethnicity	African-American
citizenship	United States
education	University of Santa Cruz
alma mater	Brandeis University, B.A., (1965)University of California, San Diego, M.A.Humboldt University, Ph.D., Philosophy
occupation	Activist, Educator, Author
employer	University of California, Santa Cruz, (retired)
influences	Herbert Marcuse
party	Communist Party USA (1969-1991), Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (1991-currenty)
spouse	Hilton Braithwaite div.
relatives	Ben Davis, brother
footnotes	}}

Angela Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party. Prisoner rights have been among her continuing interests; she is the founder of "Critical Resistance", an organization working to abolish the prison-industrial complex. She is presently a retired professor with the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz and is the former director of the university's Feminist Studies department. Her research interests are in feminism, African American studies, critical theory, Marxism, popular music and social consciousness, and the philosophy and history of punishment and prisons.

Her membership in the Communist Party led to Ronald Reagan's request in 1969 to have her barred from teaching at any university in the State of California. She was tried and acquitted of suspected involvement in the Soledad brothers' August 1970 abduction and murder of Judge Harold Haley in Marin County, California.

She was twice a candidate for Vice President on the Communist Party USA ticket during the 1980s.

Early life

Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Her father, Frank Davis, was a graduate of St. Augustine's College, a traditionally black college in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was briefly a high school history teacher. Her father later owned and operated a service station in the black section of Birmingham. Her mother, Sallye Davis, a graduate of Miles College in Birmingham, was an elementary school teacher.

The family lived in the "Dynamite Hill" neighborhood, which was marked by racial conflict. Davis was occasionally able to spend time on her uncle's farm and with friends in New York City. Her brother, Ben Davis, played defensive back for the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Davis also has another brother, Reginald Davis, and sister, Fania Davis Jordan.

Davis attended Carrie A. Tuggle School, a black elementary school; later she attended Parker Annex, a middle-school branch of Parker High School in Birmingham. During this time Davis’ mother was a national officer and leading organizer of the Southern Negro Congress, an organization heavily influenced by the Communist Party. Consequently Davis grew up surrounded by communist organizers and thinkers who significantly influenced her intellectual development growing up. By her junior year, she had applied to and was accepted at an American Friends Service Committee program that placed black students from the South in integrated schools in the North. She chose Elisabeth Irwin High School in Greenwich Village in New York City. There she was introduced to socialism and communism and was recruited by a Communist youth group, Advance. She also met children of some of the leaders of the Communist Party USA, including her lifelong friend, Bettina Aptheker.

Education

Brandeis University

Davis was awarded a scholarship to Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she was one of three black students in her freshman class. She initially felt alienated by the isolation of the campus (at that time she was interested in Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre), but she soon made friends with foreign students. She encountered the Frankfurt School philosopher Herbert Marcuse at a rally during the Cuban Missile Crisis and then became his student. In a television interview, she said "Herbert Marcuse taught me that it was possible to be an academic, an activist, a scholar, and a revolutionary." She worked part time to earn enough money to travel to France and Switzerland before she went on to attend the eighth World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki, Finland. She returned home in 1963 to an FBI interview about her attendance at the Communist-sponsored festival.

During her second year at Brandeis, she decided to major in French and continued her intensive study of Sartre. Davis was accepted by the Hamilton College Junior Year in France Program and, she wrote in her autobiography, she managed to talk Brandeis into extending financial support via her scholarship. Classes were initially at Biarritz and later at the Sorbonne. In Paris, she and other students lived with a French family. It was at Biarritz that she received news of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, committed by the members of the Ku Klux Klan, an occasion that deeply affected her, because, she wrote, she was personally acquainted with the young victims.

Nearing completion of her degree in French, Davis realized her major interest was in philosophy. She became particularly interested in the ideas of Herbert Marcuse and on her return to Brandeis she sat in on his course without asking for credit. Marcuse, she wrote, turned out to be approachable and helpful. Davis began making plans to attend the University of Frankfurt for graduate work in philosophy. In 1965 she graduated magna cum laude, a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

University of Frankfurt

In Germany, with just a stipend of $100 a month, she first lived with a German family. Later, she moved with a group of students into a loft in an old factory. After visiting East Berlin during the annual May Day celebration, she felt that the East German government was dealing better with the residual effects of fascism than were the West Germans. Many of her roommates were active in the radical Socialist German Student Union (SDS), and Davis participated in SDS actions, but events unfolding in the United States — the formation of the Black Panther Party and transformation of SNCC, for example — impelled her to return to the US.

Postgraduate work

Marcuse, in the meantime, had moved to the University of California, San Diego, and Davis followed him there after her two years in Frankfurt.

Returning to the United States, Davis stopped in London to attend a conference on "The Dialectics of Liberation." The black contingent at the conference included the American Stokely Carmichael and the British Michael X. Although moved by Carmichael's fiery rhetoric, she was disappointed by her colleagues' black nationalist sentiments and their rejection of communism as a "white man's thing." She held the view that any nationalism was a barrier to grappling with the underlying issue, capitalist domination of working people of all races.

Davis earned her master's degree from the San Diego campus and her doctorate in philosophy from Humboldt University in East Berlin.

UCLA

Davis was an acting assistant professor in the philosophy department at the UCLA, beginning in 1969. At that time, she also was known as a radical feminist and activist, a member of the Communist Party USA and an associate of the Black Panther Party.

The Board of Regents of the University of California, urged by then-California Governor Ronald Reagan, fired her from her $10,000 a year post in 1969 because of her membership in the Communist Party. Black students and several professors, however, claimed that they fired her because of her race. The Board of Regents was censured by the American Association of University Professors for their failure to reappoint Davis after her teaching contract expired. On October 20 when California judge, Perry Pacht, ruled that the Reagents could not fire Davis because of her affiliation with the Communist Party, Davis resumed her post at the University. The Reagents, unhappy with the decision, continued to search for ways to release Davis from her position at UCLA. They finally accomplished this on June 20, 1970 when they fired Davis on account of the “inflammatory language” she had used on four different speeches. “We deem particularly offensive,” the report said, “such utterances as her statement that the regents ‘killed, brutalized (and) murdered’ the People’s Park demonstrators, and her repeated characterizations of the police as ‘pigs.’”

Arrest and trial

On August 7, 1970 Jonathan Jackson, a heavily armed, seventeen year old African American high school student gained control over a courtroom in Marin County, California. Once in the courtroom, Jackson armed the black defendants and took Judge Harold Haley, the prosecutor, and three female jurors as hostages.

As Jackson transported the hostages and two black convicts away from the courtroom, the police began shooting at the vehicle. The judge, one of the jurors, the prosecutor, and the three black men were killed in the melee. Davis had purchased the firearms used in the attack, including the shotgun used to kill Haley, which had been purchased two days prior and sawed-off. She had also written numerous letters found in the prison cell of one of the murderers. Since California considers “all persons concerned in the commission of a crime, whether they directly commit the act constituting the offense… principals in any crime so committed,” San Marin County Superior Judge Peter Allen Smith charged Davis with “aggravated kidnapping and first degree murder in the death of Judge Harold Haley” and issued a warrant for her arrest (21). Hours after the judge issued the warrant on August 14, 1970 a massive attempt to arrest Angela Davis began. On August 18, 1970, four days after the initial warrant was issued, FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover made Angela Davis the third woman and the 309th person to appear on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List.

Soon after, Davis became a fugitive and fled California. According to her autobiography, during this time she hid in friends’ homes and moved from place to place at night. On October 13, 1970 FBI agents found her at the Howard Johnson Motor Lodge in New York City. President Richard M. Nixon congratulated the FBI on its “capture of the dangerous terrorist, Angela Davis. On January 5, 1971, after several months in jail, Angela Davis appeared at the Marin County Superior Court and declared her innocence before the court and nation: "I now declare publicly before the court, before the people of this country that I am innocent of all charges which have been leveled against me by the state of California." John Abt, general counsel of the Communist Party USA, was one of the first attorneys to represent Davis for her alleged involvement in the shootings. While being held in the Women's Detention Center there, she was initially segregated from the general population, but with the help of her legal team soon obtained a federal court order to get out of the segregated area.

Across the nation, the thousands of people who agreed with her declaration began organizing a liberation movement. In New York City, black writers formed a committee called the Black People in Defense of Angela Davis. By February 1971 more than two hundred local committees in the United States, and sixty-seven in foreign countries worked to liberate Angela Davis from prison. Thanks, in part, to this support, in 1972 the state released her from prison.

On February 23, 1972, Rodger McAfee, a dairy farmer from Caruthers, California with the help of Steve Sparacino, a wealthy business owner, paid her $100,000 bail. Portions of her legal defense expenses were paid for by the Presbyterian Church (UPCNA).

During the trial, Davis was sketched by courtroom artists Rosalie Ritz and Walt Stewart.

In 1972, she was tried and the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. The fact that she owned the guns used in the crime was judged not sufficient to establish her responsibility for the plot. Her experience as a prisoner in the US played a key role in convincing her to fight against the “prison industrial complex” that exists in the US. John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded their song "Angela" on their 1972 album ''Some Time In New York City'' in support. The Jazz musician Todd Cochran, also known as Bayete, recorded his song "Free Angela (Thoughts...and all I've got to say)" that same year. The Rolling Stones recorded the song "Sweet Black Angel" on their 1972 album ''Exile on Main Street''.

In Cuba

After her release, Davis visited Cuba following her fellow radicals Huey Newton, Stokely Carmichael, and Assata Shakur. Her reception by Afro-Cubans at a mass rally was so enthusiastic that she was reportedly barely able to speak.

During this visit she also became convinced that “only under socialism could the fight against racism be successfully executed.” During her stay in Cuba, Davis witnessed what she thought was a racism free country which led her to believe that blacks could only achieve racial equality in a socialist society. When she returned to the United States, her socialist leanings increasingly influenced the ways she looked at race struggles within the US.

Davis’ visit to Cuba had another unplanned side effect in Cuban society. It is widely believed that prior to Davis’ visit, the Cuban government banned afros. After her visit, however, afros became so popular amongst Afro-Cubans that the government had to legalize the hairstyle.

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn

In a New York City speech on July 9, 1975, Russian dissident and Nobel Laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn told an AFL-CIO meeting that Davis was derelict in supporting various socialist projects around the world, given her stark opposition to the U.S. prison system. In particular, Solzhenitsyn claimed that a group of Czech prisoners appealed to Davis for support, which he said she refused to offer. In a speech at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, Davis denied Solzhenitsyn's claim.

Activism

In 1980 and 1984, Angela Davis ran for Vice-President along with the veteran party leader of the Communist Party, Gus Hall. However, given that the Communist Party lacked support within the US, Davis urged radicals to amass support for the Democratic Party. ''Revolutionaries must be realists,'' said Davis in a telephone interview from San Francisco where she was campaigning. During both of the campaigns she was Professor of ethnic studies at the San Francisco State University. In 1979 she was also awarded with the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union for her civil rights activism. She visited Moscow in July of that year to collect the prize.

Davis has continued a career of activism, and has written several books. A principal focus of her current activism is the state of prisons within the United States. She considers herself an abolitionist, not a "prison reformer," and has referred to the United States prison system as the "prison-industrial complex". Davis suggested focusing social efforts on education and building "engaged communities" to solve various social problems now handled through state punishment. Davis was one of the primary founders of Critical Resistance, a national grassroots organization dedicated to building a movement to abolish the prison system.

In recent work, Angela Davis argues that the prison system in the United States more closely resembles a new form of slavery than a criminal justice system. According to Davis, between the late 1800s and the mid 1900s the number of prisons in the US sharply increased while crime rates continued to rise. During this time, the African American population also became disproportionally represented in prisons. "What is effective or just about this "justice" system?" she urged people to question. To encourage people to critically think about the criminal justice system and its racist history, Davis has also spent years lecturing in schools, parks, and other public places to the American public.

She has lectured at San Francisco State University, Stanford University, Bryn Mawr College, Brown University, Syracuse University, and other schools. She states that in her teaching, which is mostly at the graduate level, she concentrates more on posing questions that encourage development of critical thinking than on imparting knowledge. In 1997, she declared herself to be a lesbian in ''Out'' magazine.

As early as 1969 Davis began publicly speaking, voicing her opposition to the Vietnam War, racism, sexism, and the prison industrial complex, and her support of gay rights and other social justice movements. In 1969 she blamed imperialism for the troubles suffered by oppressed populations. “We are facing a common enemy and that enemy is Yankee Imperialism, which is killing us both here and abroad. Now I think anyone who would try to separate those struggles, anyone who would say that in order to consolidate an anti-war movement, we have to leave all of these other outlying issues out of the picture, is playing right into the hands of the enemy,” Davis declared. In 2001 she publicly spoke against the war on terror, the prison industrial complex, and the broken immigration system and told people that if they wanted to solve social justice issues they had to “hone their critical skills, develop them and implement them." Later, after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she declared, the “horrendous situation in New Orleans,” is due to the structures of racism, capitalism, and imperialism with which our leaders run this country.

Davis spoke out against the 1995 Million Man March, arguing that the exclusion of women from this event necessarily promoted male chauvinism and that the organizers, including Louis Farrakhan, preferred women to take subordinate roles in society. Together with Kimberlé Crenshaw and others, she formed the African American Agenda 2000, an alliance of Black feminists.

Davis is no longer a member of the Communist Party, leaving it to help found the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, which broke from the Communist Party USA because of the latter's support of the Soviet coup attempt of 1991 and the Communist parties of the Warsaw Pact. She remains on the Advisory Board of the Committees.

Davis has continued to speak out against the death penalty. In 2003, Davis lectured at Agnes Scott College, a liberal arts women's college in Atlanta, on prison reform, minority issues, and the ills of the criminal justice system. At the University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz), she participated in a 2004 panel concerning Kevin Cooper. She also spoke in defense of Stanley "Tookie" Williams on another panel in 2005, and 2009.

As of February 2007, Davis was teaching in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In addition to being the commencement speaker at Grinnell College in 2007, in October of that year, Davis was the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Practical Activism Conference at UC Santa Cruz.

On February 8, 2008, Davis spoke on the campus of Howard University at the invitation of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. On February 24, 2008, she was featured as the closing keynote speaker for the 2008 Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference. On April 14, 2008, she spoke at the College of Charleston as a guest of the Women's and Gender Studies Program. On January 23, 2009, she was the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King Commemorative Celebration on the campus of Louisiana State University.

On April 16, 2009, she was the keynote speaker at the University of Virginia Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies symposium on The Problem of Punishment: Race, Inequity, and Justice. On January 20, 2010, Davis was the keynote speaker in San Antonio, Texas, at Trinity University's MLK Day Celebration held in Laurie Auditorium. On January 21, 2011, Davis was the keynote speaker (opened by Good Sista, Bad Sista) in Salem, OR at Willamette University's MLK Week Celebration held in Smith Auditorium where she declared that her biggest goal for the coming years is to shutdown prisons. At the lecture she also stated that while she supports some of Obama's work she feels that he is too conservative. On January 27, 2011, Davis was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration speaker at Georgia Southern University's Performing Arts Center (PAC) in Statesboro, Georgia. On June 10, 2011 Davis is scheduled to deliver the Graduation Address at the Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington.

Davis is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Women's and Gender Studies Department at Syracuse University.

Bibliography

''Abolition Democracy: Beyond Prisons, Torture, and Empire'', Seven Stories Press (October 1, 2005), ISBN 1583226958.

''Are Prisons Obsolete?'', Open Media, (April 2003), ISBN 1583225811

''Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday'', Vintage Books, (January 26, 1999), ISBN 0679771263

''Women, Culture & Politics'', Vintage, (February 19, 1990), ISBN 0679724877.

''The Angela Y. Davis Reader'', (Joy James, Ed.), Wiley-Blackwell (December 11, 1998), ISBN 0631203613.

''Women, Race, & Class'', (February 12, 1983)

''Angela Davis: An Autobiography'', Random House, (September 1974), ISBN 0394489780

''If They Come in the Morning: voices of Resistance (New York: Third Press, 1971)

''1970's-Joan Little: The Dialectics of Rape''(New York: Lang Communications, 1975)

Angela Davis interviews and appearances in audiovisual materials

1971

*Davis, Angela Y. An Interview with Angela Davis. Cassette. Radio Free People, New York, 1971.

*Myerson, M. "Angela Davis in Prison." Ramparts Magazine March 1971: 20-21.

*Seigner, Art. Angela Davis: Soul and Soledad. Phonodisc. Flying Dutchman, New York, 1971.

*Interview with Angela Davis in San Francisco on June, 1970

*Walker, Joe. Angela Davis Speaks. Phonodisc. Folkways Records, New York, 1971.

1972

*"Angela Davis Talks about her Future and her Freedom." Jet July 27, 1972: 54- 57.

1977

*Davis, Angela Y. I am a Black Revolutionary Woman (1971). Phonodisc. Folkways, New York, 1977.

*Phillips, Esther. Angela Davis Interviews Esther Phillips. Cassette. Pacifica Tape Library, Los Angeles, 1977.

1985

*Cudjoe, Selwyn. In Conversation with Angela Davis. Videocassette. ETV Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, 1985. 21 minute interview with Angela Davis.

1992

*Davis, Angela Y. "Women on the Move: Travel Themes in Ma Rainey's Blues" in Borders/diasporas. Sound Recording. University of California, Santa Cruz: Center for Cultural Studies, Santa Cruz, 1992.

2000

*Davis, Angela Y. The Prison Industrial Complex and its Impact on Communities of Color. Videocassette. University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, 2000.

2001

*Barsamian, D. "Angela Davis: African American Activist on Prison-Industrial Complex." Progressive 65.2 (2001): 33-38.

2002

*September 11 America: an Interview with Angela Davis." Policing the National Body: Sex, Race, and Criminalization”. Cambridge, Ma.: South End Press, 2002.

Archives

#The National United Committee to Free Angela Davis is at the Main Library at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California (A collection of thousands of letters received by the Committee and Davis from people in the US and other countries.) #The complete transcript of her trial, including all appeals and legal memorandum, have been preserved in the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Library in Berkeley, California.

See also

List of African American philosophers

References

External links

Film clip, Davis speaking at Florida A&M University’s Black History Month convocation, 1979

Davis quotations gathered by ''Black History Daily''

A PBS interview

Round table discussion on "Resisting the Prison Industrial Complex, with Davis as a guest

''New York Times'' archive of Davis-related articles

''Time'' chat-room users interview with Davis on "Attacking the 'Prison Industrial Complex." 1998

''Harvard Gazette'' article, March 13, 2003

Davis timeline at UCLA

Audio recording of Davis at a Practical Activism Conference in Santa Cruz in 2007

''Guardian'' interview with Davis, November 8, 2007

Davis entry in the ''Encyclopedia of Alabama''

Angela Davis on the 40th Anniversary of Her Arrest and President Obama’s First Two Years - video interview by ''Democracy Now!''

Angela Davis Biography, The Civil Rights Struggle, African American GIs, and Germany

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Name	Sir Terry Wogan
Birth date	August 03, 1938
Birth place	Limerick, Ireland
Show	Weekend Wogan
Station	BBC Radio 2
Timeslot	Sunday: 11:00 – 12:59
Country	United Kingdom
spouse(s)	Helen Wogan, Lady
Website	}}

Sir Michael Terence "Terry" Wogan KBE DL (born 3 August 1938) is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career. Before he retired from the weekday breakfast programme ''Wake Up to Wogan'' on BBC Radio 2 on 18 December 2009, Sir Terry had a regular 8 million listeners, making him the most listened-to radio broadcaster of any European nation. He began his career at Raidió Teilifís Éireann where he presented shows such as ''Jackpot'' in the 1960s.

Wogan has been a leading media personality in the UK since the late 1960s and is often referred to as a national treasure. He is perhaps best known in the United Kingdom for his BBC1 chat show ''Wogan'', for his work presenting ''Children in Need'', as the host of ''Wake Up to Wogan'', the original host of the BBC game show ''Blankety Blank'' (before being replaced by Les Dawson), a presenter of ''Come Dancing'' in the 1970s, and as the BBC's commentator for the ''Eurovision Song Contest'' on radio and television from 1971 to 2008. Wogan started a primetime weekend show on Radio 2 from 14 February 2010.

Early life

Terry Wogan, the son of a grocery store manager in Limerick City, was educated at the Jesuit school of Crescent College from the age of eight. He experienced a strongly religious upbringing, later commenting that "There were hundreds of churches, all these missions breathing fire and brimstone, telling you how easy it was to sin, how you'd be in hell. We were brainwashed into believing." Despite this, he has often expressed his fondness for the city of his birth, commenting on one occasion that "Limerick never left me, whatever it is, my identity is Limerick."

At the age of 15, after his father was promoted to general manager, Wogan moved to Dublin with his family. While living in Dublin, he attended Crescent College's sister school, Belvedere College. He participated in amateur dramatics and discovered a love of rock music. After graduating from Belvedere in 1956, Wogan had a brief career in the banking profession, joining the Royal Bank of Ireland. He later joined the national broadcaster of Ireland, RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) as a newsreader and announcer, after seeing an advert in a newspaper advertising announcer positions.

Personal life

On 25 April 1965, Wogan married Helen Joyce, with whom he has three children: Alan (born 1967); Mark (born 1970); and Katherine (born 1972), married to The Hon. Henry Cripps (the eldest son of Michael Cripps, 5th Baron Parmoor). Wogan and his wife Helen currently live in Taplow, south Buckinghamshire, near Maidenhead. The couple have a holiday home in Gascony, south-west France.

Radio work

Early career

Wogan conducted interviews and presented documentary features during his first two years at Raidió Teilifís Éireann, before moving to the light entertainment department as a disc jockey and host of TV quiz and variety shows such as ''Jackpot'', a top rated quiz show on RTÉ in the 1960s. When the show was dropped by RTÉ TV in 1967, Wogan approached the BBC for extra work. He began working for BBC Radio, initially 'down the line' from London, first broadcasting on The Light Progamme on Tuesday 27 September 1966. On the inauguration of BBC Radio 1, he presented the Tuesday edition of ''Late Night Extra'' for two years, commuting weekly from Dublin to London. After covering Jimmy Young's mid-morning show throughout July 1969, he was offered a regular afternoon slot from 3 to 5 p.m. This was officially on BBC Radio 1, but lack of funding meant that it was also broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

In April 1972, he took over the breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, swapping places with John Dunn, who briefly hosted the afternoon show. By this time, Radio 1 and Radio 2 had diverged sufficiently to allow separate programming, and Wogan enjoyed unprecedented popularity, achieving audiences of up to 7.6 million. His seemingly ubiquitous presence across the media meant that he frequently became the butt of jokes by comedians of the time, among them The Goodies and The Barron Knights. Wogan was eminently capable of self-parody too, releasing a vocal version of the song "The Floral Dance" during this time, by popular request from listeners who enjoyed hearing him sing over the instrumental hit by the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. His version reached number 21 in the UK Singles Chart. A follow-up single, entitled "Me and the Elephant", and an eponymous album were also released, but did not chart.

In December 1984, Wogan left his breakfast show to pursue a full-time career in television. He was replaced on radio by Ken Bruce, followed shortly afterwards by Derek Jameson and finally Brian Hayes.

Return to radio

In January 1993, he returned to BBC Radio 2 to present the breakfast show, then called ''Wake Up to Wogan''. His tendency to go off on rambling, esoteric tangents, often including banter with his then producer, Paul Walters, seems to have become popular with both younger and older listeners. The show was highly interactive with much of the entertainment coming from letters and emails sent in by listeners (many of whom adopt punning pseudonyms, such as Edina Cloud, Lucy Lastic, Mick Sturbs or Hellen Bach, for the purpose) with an often surrealistic bent. One memorable occasion involved Wogan reading out an email from someone using the name "Tess Tickles", without realising what the name was referring to, prompting Paul Walters' standard reply in such situations – "I only print 'em!"

As his radio show was considered to attract older listeners, Wogan jokingly refers to his fans as "TOGs", standing for ''Terry's Old Geezers'' or ''Terry's Old Gals'', whilst "TYGs" are ''Terry's Young Geezers/Gals'' who he jokes are forced to listen to him because of their parents' choice of radio station. Wogan is referred to as ''The Togmeister'' on his own programme by himself and members of his production team, and he refers to the podcast of his show as a 'togcast' in keeping with the acronyms described above.

There were also running jokes involving Wogan's newsreader colleagues Alan Dedicoat (nicknamed 'Deadly' after the spoonerism 'Deadly Alancoat'), Fran Godfrey and John Marsh (nicknamed 'Boggy'). Marsh once told Wogan on air that his wife was called Janet, and a series of "Janet and John" stories followed, read by Wogan during the breakfast show. These are a pastiche of children's learn-to-read stories but are littered with humorous sexual double-entendres which often led to Wogan and Marsh breaking into uncontrollable laughter. Five CDs, the first with fourteen stories, the second with sixteen, the third with eighteen (two never broadcast), the fourth with eighteen and the fifth with nineteen (one never broadcast), have been sold by listeners in aid of Children in Need, and have raised an enormous amount for the campaign (to date: over £3 million from all sales of related TOG/TYG products). A long-running campaign by Wogan criticising the British government for levying VAT on these CDs eventually led to a government rebate of £200,000.

Another feature of the programme was Wogan's exchanges with “the Totty from Splotty “ – Lynn Bowles, the Welsh traffic reporter from Splott, Cardiff – which often involved reading limericks from listeners cut short after 1 or 2 lines as risqué innuendo in the later lines was telegraphed.

Through his show Wogan is also widely credited with launching the career of singer Katie Melua after he repeatedly played her debut single, "The Closest Thing to Crazy", in late 2003. When she performed on Children in Need in 2005, Wogan jokingly said to Melua, "You owe it all to me, and maybe a little to your own talent". He has, however, made no secret that the credit for discovering her lies with his long time producer, Paul Walters.

In 2005, it was reported that his breakfast show ''Wake Up to Wogan'' attracted an audience of eight million. According to figures leaked to British newspapers in April 2006, Wogan was the highest paid BBC radio presenter at that time, with an £800,000 a year salary. In an interview with Britain's ''Hello'' magazine in its 30 May 2006 issue, Wogan confirmed this, saying, "The amount they said was true and I don't give a monkey's about people knowing it. Nor do I feel guilty. If you do the maths, factoring in my eight million listeners, I cost the BBC about 2p a fortnight. I think I'm cheap at the price".

On 23 May 2005, Wogan broke strike picket lines to present his show. The strike by BBC staff was a protest over announced job cuts. Reportedly, he gave them a smile and wished them all well. He explained on air that the reason for doing so was that he is contracted to host ''Wake up to Wogan'' and hence is not directly employed by the BBC, and so could not legally strike with their employees.

Wogan was forced off air on 16 February 2007 when steam from a nearby gym set off fire alarms. For 15 minutes an emergency tape played non stop music. On returning, Wogan read out several light hearted comments from listeners saying that they thought he had died with his sudden disappearance and the playing of such sentimental music.

On 7 September 2009, Wogan confirmed to his listeners that he would be leaving the breakfast show at the end of the year with Chris Evans taking over. ''The Times'' published an ode to Terry: "Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone. Terry Wogan is abandoning his microphone", and novelist Allison Pearson commented: "Heard the one about the Irishman who reminded the British of what they could be at their best? His name was Terry Wogan." Terry Wogan presented his final Radio 2 breakfast show on 18 December 2009.

It was announced that Wogan would return to Radio 2 from 14 February 2010 to host a live weekly two hour Sunday show on Radio 2, featuring live musical performance and guests, between 11.00 am and 1.00pm. The show, titled ''Weekend Wogan'' was hosted in front of a live audience in the Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House until the 4th series where he returned to the studio. Some 30,000 people applied for 300 tickets to be in the audience. Wogan's first guests on his new show were the actor Sir Ian McKellen and jazz singers Norah Jones and Jamie Cullum. The programme did feature a house band (Elio Pace).

Television work

Children in Need

In 1980, the BBC's charity appeal for children was first broadcast as a telethon called Children In Need, with Wogan presenting alongside Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen. Wogan has been the presenter of this annual event ever since.

He has campaigned extensively for the charity and often involves himself via auctions on his radio show, or more directly by taking part in well-publicised sponsored activities. The BBC Children In Need 2006 programme trailer featured Wogan in a wrestling ring, supported by various television personalities. His opponent (Ken Bruce) appeared confident in defeating him, until Terry removes his shirt to reveal the physique of a bodybuilder. He has since joked on his BBC Radio 2 programme that the media had got it wrong, and that his body was superimposed on somebody else's head.

He is reported to be the only celebrity paid for his participation in Children in Need, having received a fee every year since 1980 (£9,065 in 2005). Wogan, however, has stated that he would "quite happily do it for nothing" and that he "never asked for a fee". The BBC stated that the fee had "never been negotiated". Wogan's fee has been paid from BBC resources and not from the Children in Need charity fund. There is no record, however, of Wogan ever having repaid his fee from previous years.

His first and only appearance on the popular panel comedy show QI was in the 2008 episode for Children in Need, 'Families'.

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1971 and from 1974 until 1977, and again in 1979, Wogan provided the BBC's radio commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest. He became better known for his television commentary, which he handled first in 1973 and then again in 1978. From 1980 until 2008, he provided the BBC's television commentary every year and became famous for his sardonic and highly cynical comments. He also co-hosted the contest, in 1998 with Ulrika Jonsson, live from Birmingham. From 1977 until 1996 Wogan hosted the UK selection heat each year, returning to the job in 1998 and again from 2003 until 2008. In 1973, 1975 and every year from 1977 until 1984 and once more in 1994, Wogan also presented the UK Eurovision Song Contest Previews on BBC1. He remained until recently an advocate of the contest. He earned a reported £150,000 annually for his work with the contest. His commentating style, which often involved humour at the expense of others, has caused some minor controversy, for example when he referred to the hosts of the 2001 contest in Denmark, Søren Pilmark and Natasja Crone Back, as "Doctor Death and the Tooth Fairy". Although many British viewers find his comments amusing, they are far from being universally liked outside Britain. The Danes were less than appreciative and Wogan now jokes that he is banned from visiting Denmark.

During the presentation of the Dutch televote in the ''Eurovision Song Contest 2006'', Wogan called the Dutch televote presenter, Paul de Leeuw, an "eejit", as de Leeuw started to make ad lib comments, gave his mobile phone number and lengthened the Dutch results. Chris Tarrant later remarked that "Terry Wogan's commentary is why any sane person would choose to watch the Eurovision," referring to his now-infamous acerbity..

During the 2007 BBC show ''Making Your Mind Up'', in which the British public voted to decide their Eurovision entry, Terry Wogan announced, wrongly, that the runner-up Cyndi was the winner. The actual winner was the group Scooch and, according to the BBC, Terry Wogan had been provided with the correct result during the live show. His response to this on his radio show was quite simple, "It's not like anybody died or anything." He also stated that if they'd gone with Cyndi, we'd not have come last.

The Contest in recent years, however, has become notorious for a perceived increase in political voting (an aspect noted for many years). In 2008 the UK's entry, Andy Abraham, came last, much to Wogan's disappointment. Wogan argued that Abraham "..gave, I think, the performance of his life with a song that certainly deserved far more points than it got when you look at the points that Spain got, that Bosnia-Herzegovina got – some really ridiculous songs."

Unknown to the majority of television viewers across Europe, however, Wogan is well-known to many veteran broadcasters across the continent, being seen as a Eurovision Song Contest institution. Indeed, at the 2008 contest he was acknowledged by both hosts, and welcomed personally by name to the show (alongside only two other individuals from the 43 participating broadcasting nations: France's Jean-Paul Gaultier and Finland's 2007 Contest host Jaana Pelkonen).

On 11 August 2008, Wogan said in an interview with national magazine RadioTimes that he was 'very doubtful' about presenting the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom again, claiming it was "predictable" and "... no longer a music contest". On 5 December 2008 Wogan officially stepped down from the role after 35 years. Graham Norton succeeded Wogan as BBC commentator for the 2009 contest. Norton said during the opening comments "I know, I miss Terry too."

In 2008 Sir Terry and Aled Jones released a single "little drummer boy/peace on earth" which got to number three in the UK music charts. This single was part of an album called Bandaged which included songs by various artists and the money raised went to BBC Children in Need. In 2009 Sir Terry and Aled recorded a second Christmas single "Silver Bells" which was also part of the second Bandaged album in aid of BBC Children in Need and can still be found on www.charitygoods.com

Chat shows

Wogan's first foray into TV interviewing was with "What's On Wogan?", which ran for one series in 1980 on BBC1, primarily on early Saturday evenings. In 1981, he had a chance to host a one-off chat show, ''Saturday Live''. Among his guests on this show were Larry Hagman, promoting his new film ''S.O.B.'', and Frank Hall, who was then the Irish film censor. During the course of the interview, Hall accused Wogan of selling out his Irish heritage and, responding to a question posed by Wogan about his suitability as a film censor, said there was more filth on British television than in film citing the BBC TV serial ''The Borgias'' as an example.

Wogan was given his own chat show, ''Wogan'', which after a trial run on a midweek evening, was recommissioned for broadcast on Saturday nights from 1982 to 1984. Between 1985 and 1992, the show became thrice-weekly on early weekday evenings. Notable moments of the series included interviews with a drunk George Best, a silent Chevy Chase, a nervous Anne Bancroft who was so petrified she gave monosyllabic answers and counted to ten before descending the entrance steps to the studio, Ronnie Barker announcing his retirement on the show, and David Icke claiming to be the "Son of God", to whom Wogan famously stated "They're not laughing ''with'' you, they're laughing ''at'' you."

In 1992, a poll apparently revealed Wogan to be simultaneously the most and the least popular person in Britain , and he was subsequently released from his talk-show contract after pressure from the BBC. He claims that the BBC also wanted his scheduling slot for the ill-fated soap ''Eldorado''. Wogan briefly hosted "Terry Wogan's Friday Night" in 1993, but this series was not recommissioned.

In 2006 Wogan presented ''Wogan Now and Then'', a show where he interviewed guests from his old chat show as well as new guests, and for which he reportedly earnt £30,000 per episode. He claims that presenting the programme was a light relief after so many years on radio. Wogan also designed the set for his new show, allowing him to get a better feel for it. He even claims that the seat he used was designed to support the lower back since he suffers from back complaints.

Other TV work

Although best known for hosting the original ''Blankety Blank'', in 2008, he hosted a gameshow entitled ''Wogan's Perfect Recall.'' The programme turned up in an episode of ''Being Human'' where Terry could talk to Saul, one of the characters, from inside the television.

In 2010, he guest-hosted the fourth episode of the 24th series of ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks''.

Written works

Wogan has published a number of written works, including:

''Banjaxed'' (October 1979)

''The Day Job'' (1981)

''Wogan on Wogan'' (1987)

''Terry Wogan's Bumper Book of TOGs'' (1995)

''Where Was I?!: The World According to Wogan'' (2009)

He has also written two autobiographical volumes:

''Is It Me?'' (September 2000)

''Mustn't Grumble'' (September 2006)

A diary was also published:

''Wogan's Twelve'' (October 2007)

Other appearances

In 1981, Wogan set the world record for the longest successful golf putt ever televised, which was 33 yards at the Gleneagles golf course in a pro-celebrity TV programme on the BBC.

Wogan has appeared on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009. In an appearance on the BBC programme ''Top Gear'', Wogan managed to become one of the slowest people to go around the test track as the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car", a Suzuki Liana. His time of 2:04 was faster only than Richard Whiteley, who lapped in 2:06. Wogan's time has been beaten by Johnny Vegas, who doesn't have a driving licence, and Bosnia war veteran Billy Baxter, who is blind.

Other television programmes he has presented:

''Castlebar Song Contest'' for RTÉ as the host of the contest (1974)

''Come Dancing'' (ballroom dance show) (1974–1979)

''Blankety Blank'' (game show) (1979–1984)

''Auntie's Bloomers'' (outtakes show) (1991–2001)

''Points of View'' (viewers' letters) (1999–2008)

''Wogan's Web''

''The Terry and Gaby Show'' (with Gaby Roslin) (2003–2004)

''Wogan's Perfect Recall '' (game show) (2008–)

Other television programmes:

''Being Human (TV series)'' cameo appearance in Series 2, Episode 2 (2010)

Wogan also narrated the 1987 BBC television series ''Stoppit and Tidyup''.

Terry has become the host of the annual 'The Oldie of the Year Awards' held at Simpsons-on-the-Strand in London on behalf of The Oldie Magazine.

Honours and awards

Wogan received an honorary OBE in 1997, and was awarded an honorary knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2005. After asserting his right to British citizenship (he retains his Irish citizenship) that year, the knighthood was made substantive on 11 October 2005, allowing him to use the style "Sir". On 29 May 2007 he was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.

In 2004, he was awarded a Gold Blue Peter Badge.

On 15 June 2007, his home town of Limerick honoured him with the 'Freedom of the City' at a ceremony in Limerick's Civic Hall. The Freedom of Limerick honour dates from medieval times. Because of his long absence from the city as well as some well remembered, less than flattering remarks about the city in a 1980 interview, the local press carried out a vox pop which resulted in unanimous support for the award. He has since acknowledged the strength of character of the local population who "never give up ... never say die and ... are never beaten." "Limerick never left me" he is quoted as saying and "whatever it is, my identity is Limerick." In 2004, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Limerick as well as a special lifetime achievement award from his native city.

Sir Terry Wogan was inducted into The Radio Academy Hall of Fame at a gala dinner held in his honour on 10 December 2009.

Radio 2's Ultimate Icon

Wogan was announced as the Ultimate Icon of Radio 2 to commemorate the station's 40th birthday. The shortlist of 16 candidates had been published on the BBC Radio 2 website and the winner was announced live on Radio 2 during Family Favourites with Michael Aspel on 30 September 2007. He praised his fellow nominees, The Beatles, Diana, Princess of Wales and Nelson Mandela during his acceptance speech which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2, and he chose Nat King Cole's ''Stardust'' as his Iconic Song of the last 40 years, which he had chosen twice before as his favourite record on BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs''.

References in popular culture

As a well-known public figure, Terry Wogan has been referred to on television, in novels, in films, and in music. In the novelisation of the television series ''Yes, Prime Minister'', for example, the fictional Prime Minister, Jim Hacker, discusses having an interview with Wogan. To his suggestion that Wogan be given a knighthood to ensure that the interview went well, his Private Secretary replied "Sir Terence Wogan? I hardly think so, Prime Minister."

Wogan is referred to in the song "The Dark of the Matinée" by Scottish indie rockers Franz Ferdinand. The relevant line goes ''"So I'm on BBC2 now telling Terry Wogan how I made it and / What I made isn't clear now, but his deference is and his laughter is / My words and smile are so easy now...Yes it's easy now. Yes it's easy now!"''. When Franz Ferdinand played a show in Limerick in 2009, one Irish reviewer wondered if the band had made the connection between lyric and city.

The British 2 Tone band Madness recorded a jingle for Wogan's show in 1982, which is included in the box set ''The Business - the Definitive Singles Collection''. Track 9 of disk 2 is the "Terry Wogan Jingle" lasting 25 seconds in which the group sing the line "Ter-ry Wo-gan is a blankety blankety blank" to the tune of their hit single "Our House".

In 1989 Wogan was the subject of a single by the novelty music group A Tribe of Toffs, "Terry Wogan's on T.V. (Again!)".

Wogan is also referred to in 'The Hitcher' episode of the British comedy series, ''The Mighty Boosh''. He appears briefly in the 'Celebrity Vicar' episode of ''The Vicar of Dibley'', another Britcom, when Rev. Geraldine Granger (Dawn French), is interviewed on Wogan's radio programme, ''Pause for Thought''. In March 2008, he had a voice only cameo as himself in the seventh episode of ''Ashes to Ashes'', set in October 1981.

As someone whose career was principally based in the United Kingdom, Wogan was relatively unknown in the United States until the release of the 1991 film, ''The Commitments'', in which Jimmy Rabitte repeatedly does mock interviews with "Terry". Wogan is also referred to in the Willy Russell play "''One for the Road''". In this, the characters play a game called "The Wogan Game" in which they act out interviews from the show, pretending to be Wogan.

Terry Wogan has also appeared in the lyrics of Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest 2008 entry, "Irelande Douze Pointe". In it, Dustin the Turkey sings "Drag acts and bad acts and Terry Wogan’s wig..."

A goblin named ''The Wogun'' appears in the webcomic Scary Go Round storyline "Crock o' Gold" as a radio/TV talk show host and general charlatan.

In August 2008 the Wolverhampton-based 'Party Band' "Rang-A-Tang" released a single entitled "Very Terry Wogan", which has been played on-air by Wogan himself.

See also

List of Eurovision Song Contest presenters

References

External links

TOGs' website

Telegraph article on Wogan

IFGB Terry Wogan Golf Tournament

The Oldie Magazine

Terry's Floral Dance on TOTP

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Category:1938 births Category:Living people Category:Irish game show hosts Category:Irish people Category:Irish television presenters Category:Deputy Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Category:Eurovision Song Contest commentators Category:Eurovision Song Contest presenters Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from County Limerick Category:United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest Category:Sony Radio Academy Award Gold winners Category:Castlebar Song Contest Category:People of the Year Awards winners Category:RTÉ Radio 1 presenters Category:BBC radio presenters Category:British radio personalities Category:Irish radio personalities

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