title: Dominican Republic

text: Dominican cuisine is predominantly Spanish, Taíno, and African. The typical cuisine is quite similar to what can be found in other Latin American countries. One breakfast dish consists of eggs and "mangú" (mashed, boiled plantain). Heartier versions of "mangú" are accompanied by deep-fried meat (Dominican salami, typically), cheese, or both. Lunch, generally the largest and most important meal of the day, usually consists of rice, meat, beans, and salad. "La Bandera" (literally "The Flag") is the most popular lunch dish; it consists of meat and red beans on white rice. "Sancocho" is a stew often made with seven varieties of meat.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Meals tend to favor meats and starches over dairy products and vegetables. Many dishes are made with "sofrito", which is a mix of local herbs used as a wet rub for meats and sautéed to bring out all of a dish's flavors. Throughout the south-central coast, bulgur, or whole wheat, is a main ingredient in "quipes" or "tipili" (bulgur salad). Other favorite Dominican foods include "chicharrón", "yuca", "casabe", "pastelitos"(empanadas), "batata", yam, "pasteles en hoja", "chimichurris", and "tostones".


title: Dominican Republic

text: Some treats Dominicans enjoy are "arroz con leche" (or "arroz con dulce"), "bizcocho dominicano" (lit. Dominican cake), "habichuelas con dulce", flan, "frío frío" (snow cones), dulce de leche, and "caña" (sugarcane). The beverages Dominicans enjoy are "Morir Soñando", rum, beer, "Mama Juana", "batida" (smoothie), jugos naturales (freshly squeezed fruit juices), "mabí", coffee, and "chaca" (also called "maiz caqueao/casqueado", "maiz con dulce" and "maiz con leche"), the last item being found only in the southern provinces of the country such as San Juan.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Musically, the Dominican Republic is known for the world popular musical style and genre called "merengue", a type of lively, fast-paced rhythm and dance music consisting of a tempo of about 120 to 160 beats per minute (though it varies) based on musical elements like drums, brass, chorded instruments, and accordion, as well as some elements unique to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, such as the "tambora" and "güira".


title: Dominican Republic

text: Its syncopated beats use Latin percussion, brass instruments, bass, and piano or keyboard. Between 1937 and 1950 merengue music was promoted internationally by Dominican groups like Billo's Caracas Boys, Chapuseaux and Damiron "Los Reyes del Merengue", Joseito Mateo, and others. Radio, television, and international media popularized it further. Some well known merengue performers are Wilfrido Vargas, Johnny Ventura, singer-songwriter Los Hermanos Rosario, Juan Luis Guerra, Fernando Villalona, Eddy Herrera, Sergio Vargas, Toño Rosario, Milly Quezada, and Chichí Peralta.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Merengue became popular in the United States, mostly on the East Coast, during the 1980s and 1990s, when many Dominican artists residing in the U.S. (particularly New York) started performing in the Latin club scene and gained radio airplay. They included Victor Roque y La Gran Manzana, Henry Hierro, Zacarias Ferreira, Aventura, and Milly Jocelyn Y Los Vecinos. The emergence of "bachata", along with an increase in the number of Dominicans living among other Latino groups in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, has contributed to Dominican music's overall growth in popularity.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Bachata, a form of music and dance that originated in the countryside and rural marginal neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic, has become quite popular in recent years. Its subjects are often romantic; especially prevalent are tales of heartbreak and sadness. In fact, the original name for the genre was "amargue" ("bitterness", or "bitter music"), until the rather ambiguous (and mood-neutral) term "bachata" became popular. Bachata grew out of, and is still closely related to, the pan-Latin American romantic style called "bolero". Over time, it has been influenced by merengue and by a variety of Latin American guitar styles.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Palo is an Afro-Dominican sacred music that can be found throughout the island. The drum and human voice are the principal instruments. Palo is played at religious ceremonies—usually coinciding with saints' religious feast days—as well as for secular parties and special occasions. Its roots are in the Congo region of central-west Africa, but it is mixed with European influences in the melodies.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Salsa music has had a great deal of popularity in the country. During the late 1960s Dominican musicians like Johnny Pacheco, creator of the Fania All Stars, played a significant role in the development and popularization of the genre.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Dominican rock and Reggaeton are also popular. Many, if not the majority, of its performers are based in Santo Domingo and Santiago.


title: Dominican Republic

text: The country boasts one of the ten most important design schools in the region, La Escuela de Diseño de Altos de Chavón, which is making the country a key player in the world of fashion and design. Noted fashion designer Oscar de la Renta was born in the Dominican Republic in 1932, and became a US citizen in 1971. He studied under the leading Spaniard designer Cristóbal Balenciaga and then worked with the house of Lanvin in Paris. By 1963, he had designs bearing his own label. After establishing himself in the US, de la Renta opened boutiques across the country. His work blends French and Spaniard fashion with American styles. Although he settled in New York, de la Renta also marketed his work in Latin America, where it became very popular, and remained active in his native Dominican Republic, where his charitable activities and personal achievements earned him the Juan Pablo Duarte Order of Merit and the Order of Cristóbal Colón. De la Renta died of complications from cancer on October 20, 2014.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Some of the Dominican Republic's important symbols are the flag, the coat of arms, and the national anthem, titled "Himno Nacional". The flag has a large white cross that divides it into four quarters. Two quarters are red and two are blue. Red represents the blood shed by the liberators. Blue expresses God's protection over the nation. The white cross symbolizes the struggle of the liberators to bequeath future generations a free nation. An alternative interpretation is that blue represents the ideals of progress and liberty, whereas white symbolizes peace and unity among Dominicans.


title: Dominican Republic

text: In the center of the cross is the Dominican coat of arms, in the same colors as the national flag. The coat of arms pictures a red, white, and blue flag-draped shield with a Bible, a gold cross, and arrows; the shield is surrounded by an olive branch (on the left) and a palm branch (on the right). The Bible traditionally represents the truth and the light. The gold cross symbolizes the redemption from slavery, and the arrows symbolize the noble soldiers and their proud military. A blue ribbon above the shield reads, "Dios, Patria, Libertad" (meaning "God, Fatherland, Liberty"). A red ribbon under the shield reads, "República Dominicana" (meaning "Dominican Republic"). Out of all the flags in the world, the depiction of a Bible is unique to the Dominican flag.


title: Dominican Republic

text: The national flower is the Bayahibe Rose and the national tree is the West Indian Mahogany. The national bird is the "Cigua Palmera" or Palmchat ("Dulus dominicus").


title: Dominican Republic

text: The Dominican Republic celebrates Dia de la Altagracia on January 21 in honor of its patroness, Duarte's Day on January 26 in honor of one of its founding fathers, Independence Day on February 27, Restoration Day on August 16, "Virgen de las Mercedes" on September 24, and Constitution Day on November 6.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Baseball is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Professional Baseball League consists of six teams. Its season usually begins in October and ends in January. After the United States, the Dominican Republic has the second highest number of Major League Baseball (MLB) players. Ozzie Virgil Sr. became the first Dominican-born player in the MLB on September 23, 1956. Juan Marichal, Pedro Martínez, Vladimir Guerrero, and David Ortiz are the only Dominican-born players in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Other notable baseball players born in the Dominican Republic are José Bautista, Adrián Beltré, Juan Soto, Robinson Canó, Rico Carty, Bartolo Colón, Nelson Cruz, Edwin Encarnación, Ubaldo Jiménez, Francisco Liriano, Plácido Polanco, Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramírez, Manny Ramírez, José Reyes, Alfonso Soriano, Sammy Sosa, Fernando Tatís Jr., and Miguel Tejada. Felipe Alou has also enjoyed success as a manager and Omar Minaya as a general manager. In 2013, the Dominican team went undefeated "en route" to winning the World Baseball Classic.


title: Dominican Republic

text: In boxing, the country has produced scores of world-class fighters and several world champions, such as Carlos Cruz, his brother Leo, Juan Guzman, and Joan Guzman. Basketball also enjoys a relatively high level of popularity. Tito Horford, his son Al, Felipe Lopez, and Francisco Garcia are among the Dominican-born players currently or formerly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Olympic gold medalist and world champion hurdler Félix Sánchez hails from the Dominican Republic, as does NFL defensive end Luis Castillo.


title: Dominican Republic

text: Other important sports are volleyball, introduced in 1916 by U.S. Marines and controlled by the Dominican Volleyball Federation, taekwondo, in which Gabriel Mercedes won an Olympic silver medal in 2008, and judo.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back and politician who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker played college football at the University of Georgia, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a junior. He spent the first three seasons of his professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) and was the league's MVP during its final season in 1985. After the USFL folded, Walker joined the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, earning consecutive Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors from 1987 to 1988. In 1989, Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, which is regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history and credited with establishing the Cowboys' dynasty of the 1990s. He was later a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants before retiring with the Cowboys. Walker was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Outside of football, Walker was a member of the United States' bobsleigh team at the 1992 Winter Olympics and pursued business ventures in food processing. From 2019 to 2020, he served as a co-chair on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition under President Donald Trump. Walker launched his first political campaign in Georgia's 2022 Senate election and won the Republican nomination with Trump's endorsement. He faced incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock for the seat, losing in a runoff election.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker was born in Augusta, Georgia, to Willis and Christine Walker. He was raised in Wrightsville, Georgia. He was one of seven children. Walker said that as a child, he was overweight and had a stutter.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker attended Johnson County High School in Wrightsville, where he played football, basketball, and competed in track. He played for the Johnson County Trojans high school football team from 1976 to 1979. In his senior year, he rushed for 3,167 yards, helping the Trojans win their first state championship. He was awarded the inaugural Dial Award as 1979 national high school scholar-athlete of the year.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker also competed on the Trojans track and field team in events ranging from the 100-yard dash to the shot put. He won the shot put, 100-yard dash, and 220-yard dash events at the Georgia High School Association T&F State Championships. He also anchored the 4×400 team to victory.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In his 2008 autobiography, Walker wrote that during his stint in Johnson County High School, he was the Beta Club president and class valedictorian. In December 2021, Walker's Senate campaign website claimed he graduated as the valedictorian of the entire high school, but CNN found no evidence for this claim. The claim on Walker's website was later removed and amended to state that Walker graduated high school "top of his class".


title: Herschel Walker

text: Starting in 2017, Walker has made the false claim that he had graduated from University of Georgia "in the top 1% of his class". In fact, he did not graduate, and left college to join the USFL. He did not return to complete his degree. In December 2021, Walker's Senate campaign website deleted the assertions about his education after "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" inquired about it, with Walker acknowledging in a statement that he left the university without graduating to play professional football. Walker later falsely asserted he never said he graduated from the university.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker played running back and ran on the track and field team for the University of Georgia, where he was a three-time All-American (football and track) and winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award. He is the first NCAA player who played only three years to finish in the top 10 in rushing yards, a mark later tied by Jonathan Taylor. During his freshman season in 1980, Walker set the NCAA freshman rushing record which was later broken by Taylor. Walker finished third in Heisman voting. Walker was the first "true freshman" to become a first-team All-American.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker signed with the New Jersey Generals in 1983, owned by Oklahoma oil tycoon J. Walter Duncan, who after the 1983 season sold the team to Donald Trump. Walker attracted only one major promotional offer, a joint project of McDonald's and Adidas.


title: Herschel Walker

text: The Dallas Cowboys, aware of Walker's earlier interest in playing for them, acquired Walker's NFL rights by selecting him in the fifth round (114th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 1986, he was signed by the Cowboys and moved to fullback, so he could share backfield duties with Tony Dorsett, becoming the second Heisman backfield tandem in NFL history, after George Rogers and Earl Campbell teamed with the 1984 New Orleans Saints. This move created tension, as it would limit Dorsett's playing time, and because Walker's $5 million five-year contract exceeded his $4.5 million five-year contract. Walker rushed for the game-winning touchdown with a minute to play in the 31–28 victory against the New York Giants in the season opener. In the week 15 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had a franchise-record 292 yards of total offense, including the NFL's longest run of the year with an 84-yarder for a touchdown and an 84-yard touchdown reception.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 1987, Walker complained to Cowboys management about being moved around between three different positions (running back, fullback, wide receiver) and that Dorsett had more carries. He would be the team's main running back, playing in 12 games (11 starts), while registering 891 rushing yards, 715 receiving yards, and 8 touchdowns. Dorsett played in 12 games (6 starts) and had two healthy DNP (Did Not Play), which would make him demand a trade that would send him to the Denver Broncos.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker established himself as an NFL running back in 1988, becoming a one-man offense, reaching his NFL career highs of 1,514 rushing yards and 505 receiving yards, while playing seven positions: halfback, fullback, tight end, H-back, wide receiver, both in the slot and as a flanker. He became the 10th player in NFL history to amass more than 2,000 combined rushing and receiving yards in a season. In the process he achieved two consecutive Pro Bowls (1987 and 1988).


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 1989, the Cowboys traded Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a total of five players (linebacker Jesse Solomon, defensive back Issiac Holt, running back Darrin Nelson, linebacker David Howard, defensive end Alex Stewart) and six future draft picks. The five players were tied to potential draft picks Minnesota would give Dallas if a player was cut (which led to Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson).


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker's trade to Minnesota was initially considered by many as supplying the Vikings with the "missing piece" for a Super Bowl run; however, over time, as the Cowboys' fortunes soared and the Vikings' waned, it became viewed as, perhaps, the most lopsided trade in NFL history. From the moment he arrived in Minneapolis, "Herschel Mania" erupted. After a 2½ hour practice where he studied 12 offensive plays, Walker debuted against the Green Bay Packers.


title: Herschel Walker

text: He received three standing ovations from the record Metrodome crowd of 62,075, producing a Vikings win after four successive losses and 14 of the prior 18 games with the Packers. Scout.com says, "Walker was never used properly by the coaching brain trust." "Herschel the Turkey", a mock honor given out by the "Star Tribune" newspaper to inept Minnesota sports personalities, is named for him.


title: Herschel Walker

text: After three seasons in Minnesota, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Walker in 1992 hoping he would help them reach the Super Bowl. That year, he rushed for 1,070 yards. In 1994 he became the first NFL player to have one-play gains of 90 or more yards rushing, receiving and kick-returning in a single season. He spent three seasons in Philadelphia, leaving after the Eagles signed free agent Ricky Watters.


title: Herschel Walker

text: The New York Giants signed Walker in 1995 to a three-year contract worth $4.8 million as a third-down back. Walker led the Giants with 45 kick returns at 21.5 yards per return in 1995, his only season with the team.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 1996, he rejoined the Dallas Cowboys as a kickoff return specialist and third-down back. He also played fullback, but primarily as a ball-handler instead of a blocker out of I-Form and pro-sets. Walker retired at the end of the 1997 season.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 1992, Walker competed in the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France as a member of the United States' bobsleigh team. Originally selected for the four-man team, he eventually competed as the brakeman (or pusher) in the two-man competition. Walker and his teammate Brian Shimer placed seventh.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In November 2007, Walker appeared on the HDNet show "Inside MMA" as a guest. He indicated he would take part in a mixed martial arts reality show in the near future (along with José Canseco) and that he would have an official MMA fight at the conclusion of the show. In September 2009, it was announced that Walker had been signed by MMA promotion company Strikeforce to compete in their heavyweight division at the age of 47.


title: Herschel Walker

text: He began a 12-week training camp with trainer "Crazy" Bob Cook at the American Kickboxing Academy in October 2009 in San Jose, California. In his MMA debut on January 30, 2010, Walker defeated Greg Nagy via technical knock-out due to strikes at .


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 2009, Walker was a contestant in the second season of the reality television show "The Celebrity Apprentice".


title: Herschel Walker

text: Strikeforce confirmed that Walker would face former WEC fighter Scott Carson when he made his second appearance in the Strikeforce cage. Walker was forced off the Strikeforce card on December 4 due to a cut suffered in training that required seven stitches. They fought instead on January 29, 2011, and Walker defeated Carson via TKO (strikes) at 3:13 of round 1.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 2002, Walker created Renaissance Man Food Services, which distributes chicken products. Originally, his producer was Sysco Corp. following a casual conversation with a Sysco vice president who asked him to provide some chicken-breading recipes from his mother. He founded Savannah-based H. Walker Enterprises in 2002 as an umbrella company for most of his other business ventures, the largest of which was Renaissance Man Food Services.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker has a history of exaggerating the number of people employed by and the assets of his companies; the failure of several business enterprises led to creditors bringing lawsuits. Walker touted Renaissance Man Food Services as one of the largest minority-owned meat processors in the nation, with $70 million in annual sales. In subsequent deposition testimony in a lawsuit, however, Walker gave far lower figures, saying that his company averaged about $1.5 million in annual profits from 2008 and 2017.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker has touted Renaissance Man Food Services as a "mini-Tyson Foods", and also said that the company controlled multiple chicken processing plants. However, in a 2018 declaration submitted in a legal case against his company, Walker acknowledged that the company did not actually own any chicken processing plants and instead partnered with plant owners to sell branded chicken products. Walker's business associates later testified that Walker licensed his name to the chicken-related enterprise.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 2009, Walker told the media that Renaissance Man Food Services had over 100 employees. In 2018, Walker told the media that Renaissance Man Food Services had "over 600 employees." In 2020, Renaissance Man Food Services informed the U.S. government that it had eight employees. "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" suggested that Walker's overestimate of employees could "refer to chicken processing jobs, which are not actually part of Walker's business".


title: Herschel Walker

text: In April 2020, Renaissance Man Food Services applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the company ultimately received two PPP loans totaling $180,000 (of which $111,300 was forgiven). On Twitter in April 2020, Walker mocked "big companies" that received PPP money, suggesting that they were "giving back" the money due to being "ashamed". This was despite Walker being a board member of the Sotherly Hotel Group, owner of the Georgian Terrace Hotel and other hotels; the group received over $9 million of PPP loans in April 2020 while firing 90% of its hotel staff, according to company documents submitted to the U.S. government. According to government records, Walker was paid $247,227 in total from Sotherly from 2016 to 2021.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker said that "part of its corporate charter" was to donate 15% of profits to charities. However, none of the four charities that Walker named as beneficiaries confirmed they actually received any donations.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 2014, Walker appeared in a commercial paid for by the United States Chamber of Commerce supporting Jack Kingston's bid in the Republican primary election for the 2014 U.S. Senate election in Georgia. In 2018, Walker endorsed Republican Brian Kemp in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker supported Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, and spoke on Trump's behalf at the 2020 Republican National Convention. In 2018, Trump appointed Walker to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Trump reappointed him to another two year-term on December 17, 2020. He was removed from the position in March 2022 by President Biden after he was asked to resign. In 2020, Walker endorsed U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In 2021, Donald Trump encouraged Walker to run for the U.S. Senate in Georgia. Walker, a Texas resident, needed to re-establish residency in Georgia to do so. Walker's contemplation of entering the race "froze" the Republican field because other prospective candidates for the nomination waited for his decision. In July 2021, Fox News reported that some Georgia Republicans were not sure how effective a candidate Walker would be, citing the fact that his positions on issues of importance to Republican voters were unknown.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In August 2021, Walker announced his run for the Senate seat held by Democrat Raphael Warnock. Walker began his campaign with high favorability ratings and support from self-identified moderate Republicans, and, in October 2021, was endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a sign that the Republican establishment was lining up behind him.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In June 2022, "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" found Walker's claims about working in law enforcement were either false or unverifiable. Walker has been named as an honorary deputy sheriff in Cobb County and Johnson County. In 2019, Walker said he "spent time at Quantico at the FBI training school" and was "an agent" when, in reality, Walker lacked the bachelor's degree required for FBI training. Previously, in 1989, Walker told the media that he "had fun" while attending an FBI school in Quantico for a week, speaking of an "obstacle course and you shoot at targets".


title: Herschel Walker

text: Many of Walker's statements on the campaign trail have been described as "gaffes" or "head-scratching at best". In an editorial for CNN, Chris Cillizza described Walker as a "walking gaffe machine", in which he disputed several statements Walker had made.


title: Herschel Walker

text: On October 5, 2022, Walker's campaign fired Taylor Crowe, his campaign political director, over suspicions that he leaked information to the media.


title: Herschel Walker

text: On October 14, 2022, Walker and his Democratic challenger, Raphael Warnock, faced off in their only debate for the Senate election. "The New York Times" described Walker's demeanor throughout the debate as "aggressive and persistent," with his frequent interruptions of Warnock and mocking of him for dodging questions. Walker repeatedly tried to link Warnock with President Joe Biden, who carried a low approval rating. During a portion of the debate focusing on crime, Walker revealed what appeared to be a law enforcement badge to illustrate his closeness to law enforcement; the move was admonished by the moderators since props were not allowed for the debate. "The Hill" wrote Walker won a "moral victory by avoiding disaster" and "more than avoided embarrassment."


title: Herschel Walker

text: In a mid-November 2022 campaign speech, Walker discussed watching a film about a vampire, whom he compared to Warnock with a "black suit". The film showed a person failing to defeat the vampire, said Walker, because of a lack of "faith". Walker made a call to "have faith in our fellow brothers ... have faith in the elected officials ... that's the reason I'm here ... I'm that warrior that y'all have been looking for". Also during that speech, Walker said: "A werewolf can kill a vampire ... So, I don't want to be a vampire any more. I want to be a werewolf."


title: Herschel Walker

text: Also in November 2022, Walker criticized Warnock's parenting, alleging that Warnock "paid himself for child care, all that stuff – why don’t he keep his own kids? ... I keep my own even though he lied about me." This came after Walker's own son criticized Walker in October 2022 for being an absent father.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Since no candidate received a majority of the vote in the general election on November 8, 2022, he faced incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff election on December 6, and lost. Walker conceded the election that night, stating: "I'm not going to make any excuses now because we put up one heck of a fight. [...] I want you to continue to believe in this country, believe in our elected officials, and most of all, stay together".


title: Herschel Walker

text: After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Walker tweeted a video supporting Trump's efforts to overturn the election results. Walker has spread many conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election. Walker claimed that Biden "didn't get 50 million" votes; Biden indeed received over 80 million votes. Walker alleged that there was "country-wide election fraud" without any evidence and urged Trump and "true patriots" to carry out "a total cleansing" to "prosecute all the bad actors". He urged re-votes in the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Walker also spread a conspiracy theory about the 2021 United States Capitol attack, suggesting it was a "well-planned" distraction from election fraud.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In July 2022, when asked whether Joe Biden had fairly defeated Donald Trump in Georgia, Walker replied, "I have no clue." In the October debate with Warnock, when asked if Joe Biden was the winner of the 2020 election, Walker stated, "President Biden won and Raphael Warnock won."


title: Herschel Walker

text: In May 2022, Walker stated he opposes abortion, and wants no exceptions to abortion bans. He also called for more money to promote adoption and to support single parents. "You never know what a child is going to become. And I've seen some people, they've had some tough times, but I always said, 'No matter what, tough times make tough people. When asked about the impact of the issue on the November 2022 election, Walker described abortion rights as among the "things that people are not concerned about". In September 2022, Walker endorsed legislation proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide, except in cases of rape, incest, and threat to the life of the patient. During his October debate with Raphael Warnock, Walker softened his position on abortion, saying he supported the Georgia law allowing exceptions for rape and threats to the mother's life and health.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker favors reducing federal regulations to boost business. He supports widespread tax cuts, building the Keystone Pipeline and increasing production of fossil fuels. He proposes to "lower healthcare costs by increasing competitive market options". Walker supports putting closed oil fields back into production and rolling back oil-field regulations in order to reduce inflation.


title: Herschel Walker

text: When asked about the Green New Deal environmental program, Walker said that he opposed it because "Since we don't control the air our good air decided to float over to China's bad air so when China gets our good air, their bad air got to move. So it moves over to our good air space. Then now we got we to clean that back up." In August 2022, in response to questions about the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes funding to counteract climate change, Walker said, "They continue to try to fool you that they are helping you out. But they're not". Possibly referring to a provision that allocated $1.5 billion to the U.S. Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Program, Walker added, "Because a lot of money, it's going to trees. Don't we have enough trees around here?" Walker told supporters at a November 2022 rally that America isn’t "ready for the green agenda. ... What we need to do is keep having those gas-guzzling cars. We got the good emissions under those cars".


title: Herschel Walker

text: When asked in May 2022 on how to tackle gun violence, Walker said: "Cain killed Abel and that's a problem that we have. What we need to do is look into how we can stop those things." Walker then suggested "getting a department that can look at young men that's looking at women, that's looking at their social media", and also by "putting money into the mental health field ... rather than departments that want to take away your rights." When asked if he supported new gun laws in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, Walker responded: "What I like to do is see it and everything and stuff."


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker opposes allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports events, stating in September 2022: "Let's get men out of women's sports". Walker also discussed transgender children in general, stating, "they're telling the young kids in school, you can be a boy tomorrow even if you're a girl... But I want the young kids to know you go to heaven. Jesus may not recognize you. Because he made you a boy. He made you a girl."


title: Herschel Walker

text: Asked about same-sex marriage, Walker said states should be free to decide the legality of same-sex marriage.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker supports Donald Trump's wall at the border with Mexico. He wants the United States to "heavily invest" in the military.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In August 2021, as he was preparing to run for U.S. Senate, Walker registered to vote in Georgia and listed his residence as Buckhead, Georgia; the property is owned by his wife Julie Blanchard. However, in a January 2022 political campaign event, Walker said: "I live in Texas … I was sitting in my home in Texas …" Tax records also show that Walker's primary residence for 2021 and 2022 is still registered as Tarrant County, Texas, where he continues to receive property tax breaks.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker married Cindy DeAngelis Grossman, whom he met in college, in 1983. They have a son, Christian, a social media influencer who went viral for his conservative rants. After 19 years of marriage, Walker and Grossman divorced in 2002. Julie Blanchard in 2012 said that she was Walker's fiancée; Walker married Blanchard in 2021.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker has two additional sons and a daughter whom he did not publicly acknowledge before his 2022 US Senate campaign; he did so in June 2022, one day after "The Daily Beast" reported on one of his additional sons. Walker said that month, during a conference, that he "never denied" having four children. "The Daily Beast" later reported that Walker had lied to his 2022 Senate campaign about how many children he had, while "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" reported "allies to Walker" stating that Walker had not been honest about how many children he had. Walker said that he did not publicly acknowledge his children to prevent exposing them to unwanted attention, and criticized the claim that "I hide my children because I don't discuss them with reporters to win a campaign". Earlier during his Senate campaigning, Walker repeatedly discussed his relationship with eldest son Christian.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Prior to publicly acknowledging his other children, in a 2020 interview, Walker said that fatherless households were a "major, major problem" in African-American communities. In October 2022, Walker's adult son Christian criticized Walker, stating, "my favorite issue to talk about is father absence. Surprise! Because it affected me. ... He has four kids, four different women. Wasn't in the house raising one of them. He was out having sex with other women." Also in October 2022, the mother of another of Walker's sons (born in 2012), said that Walker had seen his son "maybe ... three times", with Walker's parenting contributions mostly being court-ordered child support and sporadic gifts, while suggesting that the gifts were actually from Walker's fiancée/wife Julie Blanchard, and not from him.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In September 2001, when Walker and Grossman were estranged, an Irving, Texas, police report stated that police were called to Grossman's home by Walker's therapist due to Walker's visit there; Walker was "volatile", had a weapon, and was scaring Grossman. The report stated that Walker "talked about having a shoot-out with police"; the therapist, Jerry Mungadze, defused the situation after speaking to Walker for at least half an hour. The report stated that police confiscated a SIG Sauer handgun from Walker's car, put his home on a "caution list" due to Walker's “violent tendencies", but did not arrest or charge Walker. In a separate incident, Mungadze told the media that when he conducted a therapy session with Walker and Grossman, he called 911 because Walker "threatened to kill" all three of them, prompting the police to arrive; the result of the incident was Walker hitting a door, breaking his fist.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In filing for divorce in December 2001, Grossman accused him of "physically abusive and extremely threatening behavior." After the divorce, she told the media that, during their marriage, Walker pointed a pistol at her head and said: "I'm going to blow your f'ing brains out." She also said he had used knives to threaten her. In 2005, a restraining order was imposed on Walker regarding Grossman, after Grossman's sister stated in an affidavit that Walker told her "unequivocally that he was going to shoot my sister Cindy and her [new] boyfriend in the head." As a result, a temporary gun-owning ban was also issued to Walker by a judge. Walker stated that he does not remember the assault or the threats and attributed his aberrant behavior with his wife and others to his dissociative identity disorder for which he was diagnosed in 2001.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In January 2012, a woman, Myka Dean, made a report to Irving, Texas, police that when she attempted to end a 20-year "on-off" relationship with Walker, he "lost it" and threatened to wait at her home to "blow her head off". The responding police officer described this as "extreme threats". Federal records show that Dean, as well as her mother and stepfather, were business partners of Walker's, for his company Renaissance Man Inc. Dean died in 2019; Walker's 2022 political campaign stated that the allegations in the 2012 police report were false, and that Walker still had a good relationship with Dean's parents.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In October 2022, Walker's adult son Christian publicly accused Walker of having threatened to kill him and his mother. He addressed Walker on Twitter, stating: "You're not a 'family man' when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us, and had us move over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence ... how DARE YOU LIE and act as though you're some 'moral, Christian, upright man' ... You've lived a life of DESTROYING other peoples lives." Soon after Christian made the allegations, Walker wrote on Twitter that he loved his son "no matter what".


title: Herschel Walker

text: In December 2022, "The Daily Beast" reported that Cheryl Parsa, an ex-girlfriend of Walker who lives in Dallas, had alleged that in 2005, during their relationship, she found Walker with another woman. According to Parsa, Walker got angry, put his hands on Parsa's neck and chest, and swung a fist at her.


title: Herschel Walker

text: On October 3, 2022, "The Daily Beast" published allegations from a woman who said that Walker impregnated her and paid for her abortion in 2009 when they were dating. The woman supported the allegation by producing images of a personal check from Walker, a get-well card with Walker's purported signature, and a $575 receipt for an abortion. "The Daily Beast" said that it corroborated the story with a friend of the woman, who "took care of her in the days after the procedure". Walker stated, "I never asked anyone to get an abortion. I never paid for an abortion." When asked about the check, Walker said, "I give money to people all the time, because I'm always helping people". Walker said he would sue "The Daily Beast" for defamation. After Walker said on October 5 that he did not know the identity of the woman accusing him, "The Daily Beast" reported that the woman is the mother of one of Walker's children; she told "The Daily Beast" that she had another child with Walker years after the abortion, despite Walker stating that it was not a convenient time for him to have a child, a sentiment he also raised prior to the abortion.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Within a week of the original allegations' publication, "The New York Times" interviewed the same woman, as well as her friend, corroborating the reporting by "The Daily Beast". The woman additionally told "The New York Times" that she ended her relationship with Walker when he advised her to have a second abortion in 2011. Family court records in New York confirm that Walker and the woman had a son, who was born in 2012. On October 7, 2022, Walker acknowledged that his accuser was the mother of his son, and as to whether she had an abortion, Walker said: "I'm not saying she did or didn't have one [an abortion]. I'm saying I don't know anything about that." He acknowledged the possibility of having given his accuser a 'get well' card and a check for other reasons, but said he could not remember doing so.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In an October 26, 2022, press conference organized by attorney Gloria Allred, a second woman, who has not identified herself, alleged she had been pressured by Walker to get an abortion in 1993 after a years-long extramarital relationship with him. Walker denied the allegation, saying it was a "lie". On November 22, Allred held another press conference, where the second woman also spoke, and audio recordings of Walker were shared. The woman read out letters that she said Walker wrote, including one to her which stated: "I’m sorry I have put you through all this stuff." Allred read out a signed declaration of a friend of the second woman, which stated that the second woman originally said that she had a miscarriage, but the friend suspected that it was an abortion because the friend knew that Walker was married at the time and did not want to have a child with the second woman; years later, the second woman told the friend that Walker actually sent her to a clinic for an abortion.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder and has served as spokesperson for a mental health treatment program for veterans. Walker says he wrote the 2008 book "Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder" to help dispel myths about mental illness and to help others.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In the book, Walker wrote that he had a dozen distinct identities, or alters. According to Walker, some of his alters did many good things, but other alters exhibited extreme and violent behavior, which Walker said he mostly could not remember. A competitive alter caused him to play Russian roulette in 1991, as he saw "mortality as the ultimate challenge", he wrote. He was formally diagnosed with the disorder in 2001, after he sought professional help for being tempted to murder a man who was late in delivering a car to him.


title: Herschel Walker

text: Walker attributed his divorce to his behavior caused by the disorder. According to Walker's ex-wife, for the first 16 years of their marriage, Walker's alters were somehow controlled, and she had no idea that he had any disorder. Grossman said that the situation greatly deteriorated once Walker was diagnosed, after which he began to exhibit either "very sweet" alters or "very violent" alters who looked "evil". She said that in one situation where Walker exhibited two alters, she was in bed when he held a straight razor to her throat and repeatedly stated that he would kill her. Walker did not deny Grossman's account, saying that he did not remember it, because blackouts were a symptom of the disorder.


title: Herschel Walker

text: While receiving treatment for dissociative identity disorder in May 2002, Walker was the subject of an Irving, Texas, police report made by a friend of Grossman, Walker's ex-wife. She said that he followed her home and that she was "very frightened" of Walker, but did not want police to make contact with him as it would "only make the problem worse." She reported previously having a "confrontation" with Walker sometime around 2001, which was followed by Walker calling her to threaten her and "having her house watched".


title: Herschel Walker

text: On July 4, 2017, during Wrightsville's annual Fourth of July celebration and parade, Trojan Way, the street where Johnson County High School resides, was officially renamed Herschel Walker Drive.


title: Herschel Walker

text: In the 1980s, the American Academy of Achievement awarded Walker their Golden Plate Award for being an All-American Football Player.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: Dark is a German science fiction thriller television series co-created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese. It ran for three seasons from 2017 to 2020. The story follows characters from the fictional village of Winden, Germany, as they pursue the truth in the aftermath of a child's disappearance. They follow connections between four estranged families to unravel a sinister time travel conspiracy which spans several generations. The series explores the existential implications of time and its effect on human nature. It features an ensemble cast.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: "Dark" debuted on 1 December 2017 on Netflix; it is the service's first German-language original series. The second season was released on 21 June 2019, while the third and final season was released on 27 June 2020.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: "Dark" received critical acclaim, with praise for its tone, visuals, acting, casting, musical score, and the ambition and complexity of its narrative. The series' ending also received critical praise, with many calling it a "satisfying" conclusion. In 2021, the "BBC" ranked the series as the 58th greatest TV series of the 21st century.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: Children start vanishing from the German town of Winden, bringing to light the fractured relationships, double lives, and the dark pasts of four families living there, and unfurling a mystery that spans four generations.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The first season begins in 2019, but later grows to include 1986 and 1953 via time travel, when members of the show's central families become aware of a wormhole in the cave system beneath the local nuclear power plant. During the first season, secrets are revealed concerning the Kahnwald, Nielsen, Doppler, and Tiedemann families, and their lives begin crumbling as their ties are exposed. The conspiracy involves the missing children and the history of the town and its citizens.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The second season continues the intertwining families' attempts to reunite with their missing loved ones, several months after the first-season finale, in 2020, 1987 and 1954, respectively. Additional story-lines are set in 2053 and 1921. The second season introduces Sic Mundus Creatus Est, a major faction in the ongoing battle for the ultimate fate of the people of Winden and the world. The season counts down towards the apocalypse.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The third season follows the four families across time in the wake of the apocalypse in 2020. It introduces a parallel world tethered to the first. The third season continues the 1954, 1987, 2020 and 2053 storylines in the first world, while also adding a new 1888 storyline and 2019 and 2052 in the second world, as the factions further their own desires for each world. The season also showcases the main events between all of these years, continuing the events of the season while also serving as backstory for the events of the first two seasons.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The first season takes place primarily in 2019 but expands to include stories set in 1986, 1953, and – in the final scene of the first season – 2052, with several characters portrayed at various ages by multiple actors.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The second season takes place several months after the first, depicting the initial stories in 2020, 1987, and 1954, respectively, while continuing the future-set storyline into 2053, and adding a fifth storyline, set in 1921.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The third season introduces a storyline based in 1888 and a parallel reality featuring alternate versions of many main characters.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: Netflix approved the series in February 2016 for a first season consisting of ten one-hour episodes. Principal photography started on 18 October 2016 in and around Berlin (including Saarmund and Tremsdorf in Brandenburg), and ended in March 2017. The church where Jonas meets Noah was filmed at the in Stahnsdorf. The high school location was filmed at the Reinfelder Schule in Berlin's Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf neighbourhood. The bridge and the train tracks were filmed on the abandoned in the middle of the Düppeler forest near Lake Wannsee.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The series was filmed in 4K (Ultra HD) resolution. It is the first German-language Netflix original series and follows a trend of internationally produced Netflix originals, including the Mexican series "Club de Cuervos" in 2015, the Brazilian series "3%" in 2016, the Italian series "" in 2017, and the Indian series "Sacred Games" in 2018.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: Apart from the score, numerous pre-released songs were also used throughout the series. The song "Goodbye" by Apparat in collaboration with Soap&Skin was used as the opening theme for the episodes. Songs by the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth were also heavily featured on multiple episodes; the third movement of Caroline Shaw's "Partita for 8 Voices" was featured prominently in season one, and Alev Lenz's "May the Angels", also featuring Roomful of Teeth, was used in the season two episode five, "Lost and Found".


title: Dark (TV series)

text: A second season was announced with a short teaser on the German Facebook pages of the series and Netflix on 20 December 2017. On 26 April 2019, a second season was announced which was released on 21 June 2019.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: "Dark" received critical acclaim and has been listed by many publications as one of the best TV shows of the years 2017, 2019, and 2020, as well as of the 2010s, 21st century, and of all time. "Vulture" included the series in its article "A Guide to TV Shows in the 2010s" as one of the most notable shows of the decade. "BBC" ranked it the 58th best TV series of the 21st century. Meanwhile, "BuzzFeed" named it the 22nd best TV show of all time.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The first season of "Dark" received mostly positive reviews from critics, with many noting its similarities to the TV series "Twin Peaks" and another Netflix series "Stranger Things". The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season an approval rating of 89%, with an average rating of 7.4 out of 10, based on 46 critics. The website's critical consensus is ""Dark"s central mystery unfolds slowly, both tense and terrifying, culminating in a creepy, cinematic triumph of sci-fi noir." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream publications, gave it a score of 61, based on ten reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."


title: Dark (TV series)

text: Writing for "The Guardian", Lanre Bakare gave "Dark" a rating of four out of five stars and praised the series for its tone, the complexity of its narrative, and its pacing. Grading the series with a "B", Steve Greene of "IndieWire" wrote, "Even when "Dark" is clinical in its set-up of these interweaving story threads, there's still an incredible amount of energy coursing through the show." From "Vox", Emily St. James gave it a score of three and a half out of five and said, ""Dark" is fun to try to solve — it's a treat to tease out the many connections running among the three eras. It's just that at a certain point, it becomes difficult to care about what's happening, beyond simply wanting to figure out how everything is connected." Ariana Romero of "Refinery29" noted that the series was darker and more in-depth than "Stranger Things". However, there was some criticism by "Reason"'s Glenn Garvin for a heavy-handed approach to its message, a lack of sympathetic characters, and unoriginality of certain aspects of the series.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: "Los Angeles Times" listed "Dark" as one of the best TV series of 2017, while "Thrillist" named it the 18th best TV show of the year.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The second season received critical acclaim. Metacritic reported a score of 82 out of 100, based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim." At Rotten Tomatoes, season two of the series holds an approval rating of 100% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1 out of 10, with the "Certified Fresh" status. The website's critical consensus states, ""Dark"s sumptuous second season descends deeper into the show's meticulously-crafted mythos and cements the series as one of streaming's strongest and strangest science fiction stories."


title: Dark (TV series)

text: Critics referred to season two as ominous and much more bizarre than season one, and that the series managed to subvert several tropes regarding the concepts of time travel. The season received a rating of four out of five stars from Jack Seale of "The Guardian" and Boyd Hilton of "Empire", a "B+" grade from Hanh Nguyen of "IndieWire", and an "amazing" score of 9 out of 10 from David Griffin of "IGN". The latter wrote in his verdict: ""Dark" Season 2 can hurt your brain at times, trying to piece all the time-traveling narratives together, but in the end, creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese reward your patience with some stellar WTF moments. At eight episodes in length, [it] is a tightly-woven tapestry of compelling stories and memorable performances from the entire ensemble." "TV Guide"'s Kaitlin Thomas was also favorable of the season, saying that "one of the reasons "Dark" is such a compelling drama isn't just because it presents time travel as something that is possible or because it grounds its story in the emotional narratives of its characters, but because it couches its sci-fi themes in conversations about free will and destiny. [...] [It] excels at building a compelling mystery, and the fact that it never loses the plot itself is a testament to the writing of the series."


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The season was included in many critics' year-end lists of 2019. It was ranked as the ninth and tenth best TV show of the year by Maggie Fremont of "Screen Crush" and John Sellers of "Thrillist", respectively. Outside the top ten, "TV Guide" and "Complex" named it the 12th and 26th best TV show of the year in their respective list. In addition, "CNET" and "Vogue" also listed it on each unranked list.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The third and final season received critical acclaim, particularly for the series' ending, though the increased complexity of the plot drew some criticism. It received a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 97% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5 out of 10, with the "Certified Fresh" status. The site's critical consensus says, ""Dark"s final chapter is as thrilling as it is bewildering, bringing viewers full circle without sacrificing any of the show's narrative complexities." At Metacritic, the season received an average score of 92, based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The season received a rating of five out of five stars from "Radio Times"'s Patrick Cremona and four out of five stars from "The Guardian"'s Jack Seale, an "A-" grade from "IndieWire"'s Steve Greene, and an "amazing" 9 out of 10 from "IGN"'s David Griffin. Cremona deemed it as "science fiction at its most mesmerising, its most confounding and its most exhilarating - and it all makes for a truly irresistible piece of television" and further praised the writing, cinematography, casting, and acting (particularly that of Louis Hoffman, Maja Schöne, and Lisa Vicari). Griffin wrote in his verdict, "Dark's third and final season on Netflix is a memorable journey through time and space, with thrilling character shifts and fascinating paradoxes to unpack." William Goodman of "Complex" praised the ending, saying, "Odar and Friese masterfully close by showing the symbiotic relationship between endings and beginnings. There's no victory without sacrifice, no light without darkness, and no love without loss. The tension between each of these conflicting ideas is so interwoven, making it hard to discern where one ends and the other begins. And so "Dark" concludes not with a hard endpoint on a line, but by elegantly and satisfyingly circling back into itself."


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The season was listed by many publications as one of the best TV shows of 2020. "Radio Times" named it the eighth best TV show of the year, with one of the website's writers Patrick Cremona saying, "The final series was another irresistible piece of sci-fi television, equal parts mesmerising and confounding, with a sweeping scope that gave it the sense of a true epic. With its exhilarating finale, "Dark" has earned its place among the list of the very best original series made for the streamer." "Exclaim!" ranked it the tenth best TV series of the year. The website's Allie Gregory wrote, "With stunning performances from Louis Hoffman, Oliver Masucci and Karoline Eichhorn (and an incredible score to boot), the apocalyptic time travel sci-fi series deftly concludes its mind-bending journey in its darkest (and "Dark"-est) instalment yet. [...] [It] manages to neatly tie up all of its loose ends to finally find the one true "origin," so, at last, the town of Winden can free itself from the trappings of time and fate." "GameSpot" listed it as one of the year's ten best TV shows, with one of its writers Mike Rougeau stating, "what really impressed us about Season 3 is how it wrapped things up, even while continuing the tradition of adding yet another new dimension (so to speak) to the show's tangled timelines. It managed to weave one of the most complex, but somehow still cohesive, sci-fi stories we've ever seen." Outside the top ten, "Den of Geek" named it the 17th best TV show of 2020. Meanwhile, "Thrillist" ranked it at number 19 on its "40 Best TV Shows of 2020" list, with one of its writers Emma Stefansky calling the series finale "one of the most shocking and emotional conclusions to a TV show you'll see this year."


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The series was nominated for the Goldene Kamera TV awards 2018 in three categories: best series; best actress for Karoline Eichhorn as Charlotte Doppler; and best actor for Oliver Masucci as Ulrich Nielsen. None of these nominations resulted in awards, but Louis Hofmann received the "Best Newcomer" award in recognition of his lead role in "Dark" as well as his performances in several films.


title: Dark (TV series)

text: The series was awarded the 2018 Grimme-Preis award in the category "Fiction", which singled out the following cast and crew for awards:


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Joseph Matthew Alwyn (born 21 February 1991) is an English actor. He made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama, "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," and has since played supporting roles in films such as "The Favourite" (2018), "Boy Erased" (2018), "Mary Queen of Scots" (2018), and "Harriet" (2019). His accolades include a Trophée Chopard, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, a Satellite Award, and a Grammy Award.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, and raised in North London, Alwyn developed an interest in acting during his teenage years and joined the National Youth Theatre in 2009. He acted in two student productions at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and graduated with a BA degree in English literature and drama from the University of Bristol (2012). He received another BA, in acting, from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2015). He won the Trophée Chopard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, following his appearance in various critically acclaimed films.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Alwyn has also worked with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift on ten of her songs; he co-wrote tracks such as "Exile", "Betty", "Champagne Problems" and "Coney Island" from Swift's 2020 albums, "Folklore" and "Evermore". "Exile" charted inside the top 10 in eight countries. For his contributions to "Folklore", Alwyn won the Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. He starred in a lead role of Hulu series "Conversations with Friends," and in the romantic thriller film "Stars at Noon" which won the Grand Prix at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Alwyn appeared on the 2022 "Time" 100 Next list as one of the world's rising stars.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Joseph Matthew Alwyn was born on 21 February 1991 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Raised in Tufnell Park and Crouch End areas of North London, Alwyn is the son of a psychotherapist mother and a documentary filmmaker father. He is the great-grandson of composer William Alwyn.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Alwyn was educated at the City of London School. He briefly took guitar lessons, and was part of the school band called "Anger Management" around the age 13. He later played football and rugby in school. Although an "introverted" child, Alwyn secretly wanted to be an actor and became a member of the National Youth Theatre in his late teens. While pursuing Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English literature and drama at the University of Bristol, he acted in two student productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He graduated in 2012, and applied for four drama schools, but got rejected by all except one—the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, where he completed a BA, in acting. During the third year of the course, Alwyn signed with an agent who had come across Alwyn at a student showcase. Soon after, the agent informed Alwyn that a production company was looking to cast the title character of "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" (2016), which would go on to mark Alwyn's debut in a feature film.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Within a fortnight of his graduate showcase, in early 2015, Alwyn was cast in the lead role of Taiwanese director Ang Lee's 2016 war drama film, "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," which is a film adaptation based on the 2012 novel of the same name by American writer Ben Fountain. Lee stated he selected Alwyn because of his "ability to communicate the book's paradox of war with just his facial expressions". In the film's reviews, critics praised Alwyn's performance for its naturalism. Journalists went on to describe the film as his "breakout". He then played a supporting role in the 2017 mystery drama film, "The Sense of an Ending", directed by Indian filmmaker Ritesh Batra.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Alwyn appeared in a number of 2018 films. He played the British nobleman Samuel Masham, alongside actors Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Nicholas Hoult, in the period black comedy film, "The Favourite," directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos. The film garnered 10 nominations at the 91st Academy Awards. He portrayed Klaus Eichmann, son of German Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, in Chris Weitz's historical drama "Operation Finale," featuring Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley in the lead roles, and a minor role in Joel Edgerton's "Boy Erased—"a biographical drama film based on by American LGBT+ activist Garrard Conley. Alwyn then appeared as English statesman Robert Dudley, the favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, in the historical drama "Mary Queen of Scots", alongside Saoirse Ronan as Queen Mary and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth. Acknowledging his talent, Alwyn was awarded the Trophée Chopard alongside Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: In 2019, Alwyn played a slave owner named Gideon Brodess in "Harriet", a biographical drama about American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, starring Cynthia Erivo and Janelle Monáe. He appeared as Bob Cratchit in the dark fantasy television miniseries "A Christmas Carol," based on the 1843 novella of the same name by English writer Charles Dickens. In 2021, he had a minor role in drama film "The Souvenir Part II," and played a 1960s industrialist in the film adaptation of English novelist Jojo Moyes' 2008 romantic novel, "The Last Letter from Your Lover", alongside Felicity Jones, Callum Turner and Shailene Woodley.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Leading opposite Jemima Kirke and Sasha Lane, Alwyn appeared in the 2022 drama series "Conversations with Friends—"a Hulu adaptation of the 2017 novel of the same name by Irish author Sally Rooney. He also appeared in two 2022 films: paired with Margaret Qualley in the romantic thriller film "Stars at Noon", directed by French filmmaker Claire Denis, and as the uncle of the titular character (played by Bella Ramsey) in Lena Dunham's medieval comedy film, "Catherine Called Birdy", based on the 1994 children's novel of the same name by American writer Karen Cushman; both the films were met with generally positive reviews, with the former premiering at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and winning the Grand Prix. Alwyn has been cast alongside Riz Ahmed and Morfydd Clark in Aneil Karia's modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet".


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Alwyn explored his music prospects with American singer-songwriter and girlfriend, Taylor Swift. He explained that he had not planned on working with Swift, but "it came about from messing around on a piano, and singing badly," and then "being overheard by Swift, and being, like, 'Let's see what happens if we get to the end of it together'." He co-produced the songs "Exile", "Betty", "My Tears Ricochet", "August", "This Is Me Trying" and "Illicit Affairs" on Swift's eighth studio album, "Folklore" (2020); he also co-wrote "Exile" and "Betty", under the pseudonym William Bowery. "Exile" reached the top 10 of the charts in various countries, including number six on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and number eight on the UK Singles Chart. At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021, "Exile" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while "Folklore" won the Album of the Year, garnering Alwyn his first Grammy win. He (as Bowery) also co-wrote "Champagne Problems", "Coney Island" and the title track on Swift's second 2020 album, "Evermore". In April 2022, Alwyn revealed to "The Wall Street Journal" that the name "William Bowery" was derived from the first name of his great grandfather William Alwyn, who was a music composer, and the last name in honor of the New York City neighbourhood Bowery, where he had spent "a lot of time" when he first arrived to the U.S. He worked with Swift on her tenth studio album, "Midnights" (2022), as well, co-writing its penultimate track, "Sweet Nothing", as Bowery.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Alwyn keeps his personal life mostly discreet, which he self-described as a "knee-jerk response to the culture we live in". He dislikes media's invasion of privacy. "GQ" labelled Alwyn a "notoriously low-key actor". "The Wall Street Journal" went on to call him "Hollywood's Most Private Leading Man". Since 2016, Alwyn has been in a relationship with Taylor Swift. Media outlets have taken note of the privacy Alwyn and Swift maintain about their relationship, as Swift was more open about her romantic life in the past. Nevertheless, their relationship is a subject of constant tabloid scrutiny. Swift's 2022 song "Lavender Haze" discusses the rumors about the relationship.


title: Joe Alwyn

text: In April 2022, when "Elle" questioned Alwyn about his discretion, he replied "It's not really [because I] want to be guarded and private, it's more a response to something else. We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive... the more you give—and frankly, even if you don't give it—something will be taken." Commenting on rumors about alleged engagement with Swift, Alwyn told "The Wall Street Journal:" "If I had a pound for every time I think I've been told I've been engaged, then I'd have a lot of pound coins. I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn't say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn't say."


title: Joe Alwyn

text: Alwyn has won seven awards out of eight nominations from notable organizations. He appeared in the 2022 "Time" 100 Next, a listicle by "Time" recognizing "100 rising stars from across industries and around the world."


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against France made England one of the strongest military powers in Europe. Immortalised in Shakespeare's "Henriad" plays, Henry is known and celebrated as one of the greatest warrior-kings of medieval England.


title: Henry V of England

text: During the reign of his father Henry IV, Henry gained military experience fighting the Welsh during the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr and against the powerful aristocratic Percy family of Northumberland at the Battle of Shrewsbury. Henry acquired an increased role in England's government due to the king's declining health, but disagreements between father and son led to political conflict between the two. After his father's death in 1413, Henry assumed control of the country and asserted the pending English claim to the French throne.


title: Henry V of England

text: In 1415, Henry embarked on war with France. His first military campaign included his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. By 1420 his armies had captured Paris and had come close to conquering the whole of medieval France. Taking advantage of political divisions within France, he conquered large portions of Northern France, resulting in Normandy's occupation by the English for the first time since the mid-14th century. After months of negotiation with Charles VI of France, the 1420 Treaty of Troyes recognised Henry V as regent and heir apparent to the French throne, and he was subsequently married to Charles's daughter, Catherine of Valois. Everything seemed to point to the formation of a union between the kingdoms, in the person of Henry. However, he died two years later and was succeeded by his only child, the infant Henry VI.


title: Henry V of England

text: Analyses of Henry’s reign are varied. He was widely praised for his personal piety, bravery and military genius even by contemporary French chroniclers, but his occasionally cruel temperament and lack of focus on domestic affairs has made him the subject of some criticism. Nonetheless, his militaristic pursuits during the Hundred Years’ War created a strong sense of English nationalism and set the stage for the rise of England and then later Britain to prominence as a dominant global power.


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry was born in the tower above the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle in Wales, and for that reason was sometimes called Henry of Monmouth. He was the son of Henry of Bolingbroke (later Henry IV of England) and Mary de Bohun. His father's cousin was the reigning English monarch, King Richard II. Henry's paternal grandfather was the influential John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III. As he was not close to the line of succession to the throne, Henry's date of birth was not officially documented, and for many years it was disputed whether he was born in 1386 or 1387. However, records indicate that his younger brother Thomas was born in the autumn of 1387 and that his parents were at Monmouth in 1386 but not in 1387. It is now accepted that he was born on 16 September 1386.


title: Henry V of England

text: Upon the exile of Henry's father in 1398, Richard II took the boy into his own charge and treated him kindly. The young Henry accompanied Richard to Ireland. While in the royal service, he visited Trim Castle in County Meath, the ancient meeting place of the Parliament of Ireland.


title: Henry V of England

text: In 1399, John of Gaunt died. In the same year, King Richard II was overthrown by the Lancastrian usurpation that brought Henry's father to the throne, and Henry was recalled from Ireland into prominence as heir apparent to the Kingdom of England. He was created Prince of Wales at his father's coronation and Duke of Lancaster on 10 November 1399, the third person to hold the title that year. His other titles were Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, and Duke of Aquitaine. A contemporary record notes that in 1399, Henry spent time at The Queen's College, Oxford, under the care of his uncle Henry Beaufort, the chancellor of the university. From 1400 to 1404, he carried out the duties of High Sheriff of Cornwall.


title: Henry V of England

text: Less than three years later, Henry was in command of part of the English forces. He led his own army into Wales against Owain Glyndŵr and joined forces with his father to fight Henry "Hotspur" Percy at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. It was there that the 16-year-old prince was almost killed by an arrow that became stuck in his face. An ordinary soldier might have died from such a wound, but Henry had the benefit of the best possible care. Over a period of several days, John Bradmore, the royal physician, treated the wound with honey to act as an antiseptic, crafted a tool to screw into the embedded arrowhead (bodkin point) and thus extract it without doing further damage, and flushed the wound with alcohol. The operation was successful, but it left Henry with permanent scars, evidence of his experience in battle. Bradmore recorded this account in Latin, in his manuscript titled "Philomena". Henry's treatment also appeared in an anonymous Middle English surgical treatise dated to 1446, that has since been attributed to Thomas Morstede.


title: Henry V of England

text: The Welsh revolt of Owain Glyndŵr absorbed Henry's energies until 1408. Then, as a result of the king's ill health, Henry began to take a wider share in politics. From January 1410, helped by his uncles Henry and Thomas Beaufort, legitimised sons of John of Gaunt, he had practical control of the government. Both in foreign and domestic policy he differed from the king, who discharged his son from the council in November 1411. The quarrel of father and son was political only, though it is probable that the Beauforts had discussed the abdication of Henry IV. Their opponents certainly endeavoured to defame Prince Henry.


title: Henry V of England

text: It may be that the tradition of Henry's riotous youth, immortalised by Shakespeare, is partly due to political enmity. Henry's record of involvement in war and politics, even in his youth, disproves this tradition. The most famous incident, his quarrel with the chief justice, has no contemporary authority and was first related by Sir Thomas Elyot in 1531.


title: Henry V of England

text: The story of Falstaff originated in Henry's early friendship with Sir John Oldcastle, a supporter of the Lollards. Shakespeare's Falstaff was originally named "Oldcastle," following his main source, "The Famous Victories of Henry V". Oldcastle's descendants objected, and the name was changed (the character became a composite of several real persons, including Sir John Fastolf). That friendship, and the prince's political opposition to Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, perhaps encouraged Lollard hopes. If so, their disappointment may account for the statements of ecclesiastical writers like Thomas Walsingham that Henry, on becoming king, was suddenly changed into a new man.


title: Henry V of England

text: After Henry IV died on 20 March 1413, Henry V succeeded him and was crowned on 9 April 1413 at Westminster Abbey. The ceremony was marked by a terrible snowstorm, but the common people were undecided as to whether it was a good or bad omen. Henry was described as having been "very tall (6ft 3 in), slim, with dark hair cropped in a ring above the ears, and clean-shaven". His complexion was ruddy, the face lean with a prominent and pointed nose. Depending on his mood, his eyes "flashed from the mildness of a dove's to the brilliance of a lion's".


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry tackled all of the domestic policies together and gradually built on them a wider policy. From the first, he made it clear that he would rule England as the head of a united nation. He let past differences be forgotten –the late Richard II was honourably re-interred; the young Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, was taken into favour; the heirs of those who had suffered under the last reign were restored gradually to their titles and estates. Yet, where Henry saw a grave domestic danger, he acted firmly and ruthlessly, such as the Lollard discontent in January 1414 and including the execution by burning of Henry's old friend Sir John Oldcastle in 1417 to "nip the movement in the bud" and make his own position as ruler secure.


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry's reign was generally free from serious trouble at home. The exception was the Southampton Plot in favour of Mortimer, involving Henry, Baron Scrope, and Richard, Earl of Cambridge (grandfather of the future King Edward IV), in July 1415. Mortimer himself remained loyal to the King.


title: Henry V of England

text: Starting in August 1417, Henry promoted the use of the English language in government and his reign marks the appearance of Chancery Standard English as well as the adoption of English as the language of record within government. He was the first king to use English in his personal correspondence since the Norman conquest 350 years earlier.


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry could now turn his attention to foreign affairs. A writer of the next generation was the first to allege that Henry was encouraged by ecclesiastical statesmen to enter into the French war as a means of diverting attention from home troubles. This story seems to have no foundation. Old commercial disputes and the support the French had lent to Owain Glyndŵr were used as an excuse for war, while the disordered state of France afforded no security for peace. King Charles VI of France was prone to mental illness; at times he thought he was made of glass, and his eldest surviving son was an unpromising prospect. However, it was the old dynastic claim to the throne of France, first pursued by Edward III of England, that justified war with France in English opinion.


title: Henry V of England

text: Following the Battle of Agincourt, King Sigismund of Hungary (later Holy Roman Emperor) made a visit to Henry in hopes of making peace between England and France. His goal was to persuade Henry to modify his demands against the French. Henry lavishly entertained him and even had him enrolled in the Order of the Garter. Sigismund, in turn, inducted Henry into the Order of the Dragon. Henry had intended to crusade for the order after uniting the English and French thrones, but he died before fulfilling his plans. Sigismund left England several months later, having signed the Treaty of Canterbury acknowledging English claims to France.


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry may have regarded the assertion of his own claims as part of his royal duty, but a permanent settlement of the national debate was essential to the success of his foreign policy.


title: Henry V of England

text: On 12 August 1415, Henry sailed for France, where his forces besieged the fortress at Harfleur, capturing it on 22 September. Afterwards, he decided to march with his army across the French countryside toward Calais despite the warnings of his council. On 25 October, on the plains near the village of Agincourt, a French army intercepted his route. Despite his men-at-arms' being exhausted, outnumbered and malnourished, Henry led his men into battle, decisively defeating the French, who suffered severe losses. It is often argued that the French men-at-arms were bogged down in the muddy battlefield, soaked from the previous night of heavy rain, and that this hindered the French advance, allowing them to be sitting targets for the flanking English and Welsh archers. Most were simply hacked to death while completely stuck in the deep mud. Nevertheless, the victory is seen as Henry's greatest, ranking alongside the Battle of Crécy (1346) and the Battle of Poitiers (1356) as the greatest English victories of the Hundred Years' War.


title: Henry V of England

text: During the battle, Henry ordered that the French prisoners taken during the battle be put to death, including some of the most illustrious who could have been used for ransom. Cambridge historian Brett Tingley posits that Henry was concerned that the prisoners might turn on their captors when the English were busy repelling a third wave of enemy troops, thus jeopardising a hard-fought victory.


title: Henry V of England

text: The victorious conclusion of Agincourt, from the English viewpoint, was only the first step in the campaign to recover the French possessions that he felt belonged to the English crown. Agincourt also held out the promise that Henry's pretensions to the French throne might be realised.


title: Henry V of England

text: Command of the sea was secured by driving the Genoese allies of the French out of the English Channel. While Henry was occupied with peace negotiations in 1416, a French and Genoese fleet surrounded the harbour at the English-garrisoned Harfleur. A French land force also besieged the town. In March 1416 a raiding force of soldiers under the Earl of Dorset, Thomas Beaufort, was attacked and narrowly escaped defeat at the Battle of Valmont after a counterattack by the garrison of Harfleur. To relieve the town, Henry sent his brother, John, Duke of Bedford, who raised a fleet and set sail from Beachy Head on 14 August. The Franco-Genoese fleet was defeated the following day after the gruelling seven-hour Battle of the Seine and Harfleur was relieved. Diplomacy successfully detached Emperor Sigismund from supporting France, and the Treaty of Canterbury—also signed in August 1416—confirmed a short-lived alliance between England and the Holy Roman Empire.


title: Henry V of England

text: With those two potential enemies gone, and after two years of patient preparation following the Battle of Agincourt, Henry renewed the war on a larger scale in 1417. After taking Caen, he quickly conquered Lower Normandy and Rouen was cut off from Paris and besieged. This siege has cast an even darker shadow on the reputation of the king, along with his order to slay the French prisoners at Agincourt. Rouen, starving and unable to support the women and children of the town, forced them out through the gates believing that Henry would allow them to pass through his army unmolested. However, Henry refused to allow this, and the expelled women and children died of starvation in the ditches surrounding the town. The French were paralysed by the disputes between Burgundians and Armagnacs. Henry skilfully played one against the other without relaxing his warlike approach.


title: Henry V of England

text: In January 1419, Rouen fell. Those Norman French who had resisted were severely punished: Alain Blanchard, who had hanged English prisoners from the walls of Rouen, was summarily executed; Robert de Livet, Canon of Rouen, who had excommunicated the English king, was packed off to England and imprisoned for five years.


title: Henry V of England

text: By August, the English were outside the walls of Paris. The intrigues of the French parties culminated in the assassination of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, by Dauphin Charles's partisans at Montereau-Fault-Yonne on 10 September. Philip the Good, the new duke, and the French court threw themselves into Henry's arms. After six months of negotiation, the Treaty of Troyes recognised Henry as the heir and regent of France. On 2 June 1420 at Troyes Cathedral, he married Catherine of Valois, the French king's daughter. They had only one son, Henry, born on 6 December 1421 at Windsor Castle. From June to July 1420, King Henry's army besieged and took the military fortress castle at Montereau-Fault-Yonne close to Paris. He besieged and captured Melun in November 1420, returning to England shortly thereafter. In 1428, Charles VII retook Montereau, to once again see the English take it over within a short time. Finally, on 10 October 1437, Charles VII was victorious in regaining Montereau-Fault-Yonne.


title: Henry V of England

text: While Henry was in England, his brother Thomas, Duke of Clarence, led the English forces in France. On 22 March 1421, Thomas led the English to a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Baugé against a Franco-Scottish army. The duke was killed in the battle. On 10 June, Henry sailed back to France to retrieve the situation. It was to be his last military campaign. From July to August, Henry's forces besieged and captured Dreux, thus relieving allied forces at Chartres. On 6 October, his forces laid siege to Meaux, capturing it on 11 May 1422.


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry V died on 31 August 1422 at the Château de Vincennes. The commonly held view is that Henry V contracted dysentery in the period just after the Siege of Meaux, which ended on 9 May 1422. However the symptoms and severity of dysentery present themselves fairly quickly and he seems to have been healthy in the weeks following the siege. At the time speculative causes of his illness also included smallpox, the bacterial infection erysipelas and even leprosy. But there is no doubt he had contracted a serious illness sometime between May and June. Recovering at the castle of Vincennes, by the end of June it seems he was well enough to lead his forces with the intent of engaging the Dauphinist forces at Cosne-sur-Loire. At the outset he would have been riding in full armour, probably in blistering heat, as the summer of 1422 was extremely hot. He was struck down again, with a debilitating fever, possibly heatstroke, or a relapse of his previous illness. Whatever the cause or causes, he would not recover from this final bout of illness. For a few short weeks he was carried around in a litter, and his enemies having retreated, he decided to return to Paris. One story has of him trying, one last time, to mount a horse at Charenton and failing. He was taken back to Vincennes, around 10 August, where he died some weeks later. He was 35 years old and had reigned for nine years. Shortly before his death, Henry V named his brother, John, Duke of Bedford, regent of France in the name of his son, Henry VI of England, then only a few months old. Henry V did not live to be crowned King of France himself, as he might confidently have expected after the Treaty of Troyes, because Charles VI, to whom he had been named heir, survived him by two months.


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry's comrade-in-arms and Lord Steward, John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, brought Henry's body back to England and bore the royal standard at his funeral. Henry V was buried in Westminster Abbey on 7 November 1422. An exhumation in 1953, in which it appeared that Henry V shared a grave with Richard Courtenay, led to speculation that Henry and Courtenay had been lovers. However, Courtenay's grave was found in the base of Henry's chantry, perchance disturbed when the king's memorial was built. Henry's last will and codicils, which gave specific instructions on how he should be buried, made no mention of a co-burial with anyone else.


title: Henry V of England

text: Henry's arms as Prince of Wales were those of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of three points. Upon his accession, he inherited use of the arms of the kingdom undifferenced.


title: Henry V of England

text: After his father became king, it was suggested that Henry marry the widow of Richard II, Isabella of Valois, but this had been refused. After this, there were negotiations to arrange a marriage with Catherine of Pomerania, Countess Palatine of Neumarkt, for three years, between 1401 and 1404, but it ultimately failed.


title: Henry V of England

text: In 1420 Henry V married Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France and younger sister of Isabella of Valois. Her dowry, upon the agreement between the two kingdoms, was 600,000 crowns. Together the couple had one child, Henry. Upon Henry V's death, the infant prince became King Henry VI of England.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin Roosevelt and as a United States senator from Missouri from 1935 to January 1945. Assuming the presidency after Roosevelt's death, Truman implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe and established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. He proposed numerous liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the conservative coalition that dominated the Congress.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Truman grew up in Independence, Missouri, and during World War I fought in France as a captain in the Field Artillery. Returning home, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City, Missouri, and was elected as a judge of Jackson County in 1922. Truman was elected to the United States Senate from Missouri in 1934. In 1940–1944 he gained national prominence as chairman of the Truman Committee, which was aimed at reducing waste and inefficiency in wartime contracts. Only after assuming the presidency was he informed about the atomic bomb. Truman authorized the first and only use of nuclear weapons in war against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Truman's administration engaged in an internationalist foreign policy by working closely with British Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Truman staunchly denounced isolationism. He energized the New Deal coalition during the 1948 presidential election and won a surprise victory against Republican Thomas E. Dewey that secured his own presidential term.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Truman presided over the onset of the Cold War in 1947. He oversaw the Berlin Airlift and Marshall Plan in 1948. With the involvement of the US in the Korean War of 1950–1953, South Korea repelled the invasion by North Korea. Domestically, the postwar economic challenges such as strikes and inflation created a mixed reaction over the effectiveness of his administration. In 1948, he proposed Congress pass comprehensive civil rights legislation. Congress refused, so in 1948 Truman issued Executive Order 9980 and Executive Order 9981 which desegregated the armed forces and federal agencies.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Corruption in the Truman administration became a central campaign issue in the 1952 presidential election. He was eligible for reelection in 1952, but with weak polls he decided not to run. Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower attacked Truman's record and won easily. Truman went into a retirement marked by the founding of his presidential library and the publication of his memoirs. It was long thought that his retirement years were financially difficult for Truman, resulting in Congress establishing a pension for former presidents, but evidence eventually emerged that he amassed considerable wealth, some of it while still president. When he left office, Truman's administration was heavily criticized, though critical reassessment of his presidency has improved his reputation among historians and the general population. Truman is to date the only President from Missouri.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, on May 8, 1884, the oldest child of John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young Truman. He was named for his maternal uncle, Harrison "Harry" Young. His middle initial, "S", is not an abbreviation of one particular name, but rather it honors both his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young, a semi-common practice in the American South. A brother, John Vivian, was born soon after Harry, followed by sister Mary Jane. Truman's ancestry is primarily English with some Scots-Irish, German, and French.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: John Truman was a farmer and livestock dealer. The family lived in Lamar until Harry was ten months old, when they moved to a farm near Harrisonville, Missouri. They next moved to Belton and in 1887 to his grandparents' farm in Grandview. When Truman was six, his parents moved to Independence, Missouri, so he could attend the Presbyterian Church Sunday School. He did not attend a conventional school until he was eight years old. While living in Independence, he served as a Shabbos goy for Jewish neighbors, doing tasks for them on Shabbat that their religion prevented them from doing on that day.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Truman was interested in music, reading, and history, all encouraged by his mother, with whom he was very close. As president, he solicited political as well as personal advice from her. Truman learned to play the piano at age seven and took lessons from Mrs. E.C. White, a well-respected teacher in Kansas City. He got up at five o’clock every morning to practice the piano, which he studied more than twice a week until he was fifteen, becoming quite a skilled player. Truman worked as a page at the 1900 Democratic National Convention in Kansas City; his father had many friends active in the Democratic Party who helped young Harry to gain his first political position.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: After graduating from Independence High School in 1901, Truman took classes at Spalding's Commercial College, a Kansas City business school. He studied bookkeeping, shorthand, and typing but stopped after a year.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Truman was employed briefly in the mailroom of "The Kansas City Star" before making use of his business college experience to obtain a job as a timekeeper for construction crews on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, which required him to sleep in workmen's camps along the rail lines. Truman and his brother Vivian later worked as clerks at the National Bank of Commerce in Kansas City.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: In 1906, Truman returned to the Grandview farm, where he lived until entering the army in 1917. During this period, he courted Bess Wallace. He proposed in 1911, but she turned him down. Truman later said he intended to propose again, but he wanted to have a better income than that earned by a farmer. To that end, during his years on the farm and immediately after World War I, he became active in several business ventures. These included a lead and zinc mine near Commerce, Oklahoma,a company that bought land and leased the oil drilling rights to prospectors, and speculation in Kansas City real estate. Truman occasionally derived some income from these enterprises, but none proved successful in the long term.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Truman is the only president since William McKinley (elected in 1896) who did not earn a college degree. In addition to having briefly attended business college, from 1923 to 1925 he took night courses toward an LL.B. at the Kansas City Law School (now the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law) but dropped out after losing reelection as county judge. He was informed by attorneys in the Kansas City area that his education and experience were probably sufficient to receive a license to practice law, but did not pursue it because he won election as presiding judge.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: While serving as president in 1947, Truman applied for a law license. A friend who was an attorney began working out the arrangements, and informed Truman that his application had to be notarized. By the time Truman received this information he had changed his mind, so he never followed up. After the discovery of Truman's application in 1996 the Missouri Supreme Court issued him a posthumous honorary law license.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Due to the lack of funds for college, Truman considered attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, which had no tuition, but he was refused an appointment because of poor eyesight. He enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in 1905 and served until 1911 in the Kansas City-based Battery B, 2nd Missouri Field Artillery Regiment, in which he attained the rank of corporal. At his induction, his eyesight without glasses was unacceptable 20/50 in the right eye and 20/400 in the left (past the standard for legal blindness). The second time he took the test, he passed by secretly memorizing the eye chart. He was described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, gray eyed, dark haired and of light complexion.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Truman rejoined Battery B, successfully recruiting new soldiers for the expanding unit, for which he was elected as their first lieutenant. Before deployment to France, Truman was sent for training to Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, near Lawton, Oklahoma, when his regiment was federalized as the 129th Field Artillery. The regimental commander during its training was Robert M. Danford, who later served as the Army's Chief of Field Artillery. Truman later said he learned more practical, useful information from Danford in six weeks than from six months of formal Army instruction, and when Truman later served as an artillery instructor, he consciously patterned his approach on Danford's.


title: Harry S. Truman

text: Truman also ran the camp canteen with Edward Jacobson, a clothing store clerk he knew from Kansas City. Unlike most canteens funded by unit members, which usually lost money, the canteen operated by Truman and Jacobson turned a profit, returning each soldier's initial $2 investment and $10,000 in dividends in six months. At Fort Sill, Truman met Lieutenant James M. Pendergast, nephew of Tom Pendergast, a Kansas City political boss, a connection that had a profound influence on Truman's later life.