title: Celts

text: The first recorded use of the name 'Celts' – as () in Ancient Greek – was by Greek geographer Hecataeus of Miletus in 517 BC, when writing about a people living near Massilia (modern Marseille), southern Gaul. In the fifth century BC, Herodotus referred to living around the source of the Danube and in the far west of Europe. The etymology of is unclear. Possible roots include Indo-European *"kʲel" 'to hide' (seen also in Old Irish , and Modern Welsh ), *"kʲel" 'to heat' or *"kel" 'to impel'. It may come from the Celtic language. Linguist Kim McCone supports this view and notes that "Celt-" is found in the names of several ancient Gauls such as Celtillus, father of Vercingetorix. He suggests it meant the people or descendants of "the hidden one", noting the Gauls claimed descent from an underworld god (according to "Commentarii de Bello Gallico"), and linking it with the Germanic "Hel". Others view it as a name coined by Greeks; among them linguist Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel, who suggests it meant "the tall ones".


title: Celts

text: In the first century BC, Roman leader Julius Caesar reported that the Gauls called themselves 'Celts', , in their own tongue. Thus whether it was given to them by others or not, it was used by the Celts themselves. Greek geographer Strabo, writing about Gaul towards the end of the first century BC, refers to the "race which is now called both "Gallic" and "Galatic"", though he also uses "Celtica" as another name for Gaul. He reports Celtic peoples in Iberia too, calling them "Celtiberi" and "Celtici". Pliny the Elder noted the use of "Celtici" in Lusitania as a tribal surname, which epigraphic findings have confirmed.


title: Celts

text: A Latin name for the Gauls, (), may come from a Celtic ethnic name, perhaps borrowed into Latin during the Celtic expansion into Italy from the early fifth century BC. Its root may be Proto-Celtic "*galno", meaning "power, strength" (whence Old Irish "gal" "boldness, ferocity", Welsh "gallu" "to be able, power"). The Greek name Γαλάται (, Latinized "Galatae") most likely has the same origin, referring to the Gauls who invaded southeast Europe and settled in Galatia. The suffix "-atai" might be a Greek inflection. Linguist Kim McCone suggests it comes from Proto-Celtic "*galatis" ("ferocious, furious"), and was not originally an ethnic name but a name for young warrior bands. He says "If the Gauls' initial impact on the Mediterranean world was primarily a military one typically involving fierce young "*galatīs", it would have been natural for the Greeks to apply this name for the type of "Keltoi" that they usually encountered".


title: Celts

text: Because Classical writers did not call the inhabitants of Britain and Ireland () or , some scholars prefer not to use the term for the Iron Age inhabitants of those islands. However, they spoke Celtic languages, shared other cultural traits, and Roman historian Tacitus says the Britons resembled the Gauls in customs and religion.


title: Celts

text: Celt is a modern English word, first attested in 1707 in the writing of Edward Lhuyd, whose work, along with that of other late 17th-century scholars, brought academic attention to the languages and history of the early Celtic inhabitants of Great Britain. The English words Gaul, Gauls () and Gaulish (first recorded in the 16–17th centuries) come from French and , a borrowing from Frankish , "Roman land" (see Gaul: Name), the root of which is Proto-Germanic "*walha-", "foreigner, Roman, Celt", whence the English word 'Welsh' (Old English "wælisċ"). Proto-Germanic "*walha" comes from the name of the Volcae, a Celtic tribe who lived first in southern Germany and central Europe, then migrated to Gaul. This means that English Gaul, despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin (which should have produced in French), though it does refer to the same ancient region.


title: Celts

text: Celtic refers to a language family and, more generally, means "of the Celts" or "in the style of the Celts". Several archaeological cultures are considered Celtic, based on unique sets of artefacts. The link between language and artefact is aided by the presence of inscriptions. The modern idea of a Celtic cultural identity or "Celticity" focuses on similarities among languages, works of art, and classical texts, and sometimes also among material artefacts, social organisation, homeland and mythology. Earlier theories held that these similarities suggest a common racial origin for the various Celtic peoples, but more recent theories hold that they reflect a common cultural and linguistic heritage more than a genetic one. Celtic cultures seem to have been diverse, with the use of a Celtic language being the main thing they had in common.


title: Celts

text: Today, the term 'Celtic' generally refers to the languages and cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany; also called the Celtic nations. These are the regions where Celtic languages are still spoken to some extent. The four are Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton; plus two recent revivals, Cornish (a Brittonic language) and Manx (a Goidelic language). There are also attempts to reconstruct Cumbric, a Brittonic language of northern Britain. Celtic regions of mainland Europe are those whose residents claim a Celtic heritage, but where no Celtic language survives; these include western Iberia, i.e. Portugal and north-central Spain (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and León, Extremadura).


title: Celts

text: Continental Celts are the Celtic-speaking people of mainland Europe and Insular Celts are the Celtic-speaking people of the British and Irish islands, and their descendants. The Celts of Brittany derive their language from migrating Insular Celts from Britain and so are grouped accordingly.


title: Celts

text: The Celtic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages. By the time Celts are first mentioned in written records around 400 BC, they were already split into several language groups, and spread over much of western mainland Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland and Britain. The languages developed into Celtiberian, Goidelic and Brittonic branches, among others.


title: Celts

text: The mainstream view during most of the twentieth century is that the Celts and the proto-Celtic language arose out of the Urnfield culture of central Europe around 1000 BC, spreading westward and southward over the following few hundred years. The Urnfield culture was preeminent in central Europe during the late Bronze Age, circa 1200 BC to 700 BC. The spread of iron-working led to the Hallstatt culture (c. 800 to 500 BC) developing out of the Urnfield culture in a wide region north of the Alps. The Hallstatt culture developed into the La Tène culture from about 450 BC, which came to be identified with Celtic art.


title: Celts

text: In 1846, Johann Georg Ramsauer unearthed an ancient grave field with distinctive grave goods at Hallstatt, Austria. Because the burials "dated to roughly the time when Celts are mentioned near the Danube by Herodotus, Ramsauer concluded that the graves were Celtic". Similar sites and artifacts were found over a wide area, which were named the 'Hallstatt culture'. In 1857, the archaeological site of La Tène was discovered in Switzerland. The huge collection of artifacts had a distinctive style. Artifacts of this 'La Tène style' were found elsewhere in Europe, "particularly in places where people called Celts were known to have lived and early Celtic languages are attested. As a result, these items quickly became associated with the Celts, so much so that by the 1870s scholars began to regard finds of the La Tène as 'the archaeological expression of the Celts'". This cultural network was overrun by the Roman Empire, though traces of La Tène style were still seen in Gallo-Roman artifacts. In Britain and Ireland, the La Tène style survived precariously to re-emerge in Insular art.


title: Celts

text: The Urnfield-Hallstatt theory began to be challenged in the latter 20th century, when it was accepted that the oldest known Celtic-language inscriptions were those of Lepontic from the 6th century BC and Celtiberian from the 2nd century BC. These were found in northern Italy and Iberia, neither of which were part of the 'Hallstatt' nor 'La Tène' cultures at the time. The Urnfield-Hallstatt theory was partly based on ancient Greco-Roman writings, such as the "Histories" of Herodotus, which placed the Celts at the source of the Danube. However, Stephen Oppenheimer shows that Herodotus seemed to believe the Danube rose near the Pyrenees, which would place the Ancient Celts in a region which is more in agreement with later classical writers and historians (i.e. in Gaul and Iberia). The theory was also partly based on the abundance of inscriptions bearing Celtic personal names in the Eastern Hallstatt region (Noricum). However, Patrick Sims-Williams notes that these date to the later Roman era, and says they suggest "relatively late settlement by a Celtic-speaking elite".


title: Celts

text: In the late 20th century, the Urnfield-Hallstatt theory began to fall out of favour with some scholars, which was influenced by new archaeological finds. 'Celtic' began to refer primarily to 'speakers of Celtic languages' rather than to a single culture or ethnic group. A new theory suggested that Celtic languages arose earlier, along the Atlantic coast (including Britain, Ireland, Armorica and Iberia), long before evidence of 'Celtic' culture is found in archaeology. Myles Dillon and Nora Kershaw Chadwick argued that "Celtic settlement of the British Isles" might date to the Bell Beaker culture of the Copper and Bronze Age (from c. 2750 BC). Martín Almagro Gorbea (2001) also proposed that Celtic arose in the 3rd millennium BC, suggesting that the spread of the Bell Beaker culture explained the wide dispersion of the Celts throughout western Europe, as well as the variability of the Celtic peoples. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Alberto J. Lorrio and Gonzalo Ruiz Zapatero reviewed and built on Almagro Gorbea's work to present a model for the origin of Celtic archaeological groups in Iberia and proposing a rethinking of the meaning of "Celtic".


title: Celts

text: John T. Koch and Barry Cunliffe have developed this 'Celtic from the West' theory. It proposes that the proto-Celtic language arose along the Atlantic coast and was the "lingua franca" of the Atlantic Bronze Age cultural network, later spreading inland and eastward. More recently, Cunliffe proposes that proto-Celtic had arisen in the Atlantic zone even earlier, by 3000 BC, and spread eastwards with the Bell Beaker culture over the following millennium. His theory is partly based on glottochronology, the spread of ancient Celtic-looking placenames, and thesis that the Tartessian language was Celtic. However, the proposal that Tartessian was Celtic is widely rejected by linguists, many of whom regard it as unclassified.


title: Celts

text: Celticist Patrick Sims-Williams (2020) notes that in current scholarship, 'Celt' is primarily a linguistic label. In his 'Celtic from the Centre' theory, he argues that the proto-Celtic language did not originate in central Europe nor the Atlantic, but in-between these two regions. He suggests that it "emerged as a distinct Indo-European dialect around the second millennium BC, probably somewhere in Gaul [centered in modern France] [...] whence it spread in various directions and at various speeds in the first millennium BC". Sims-Williams says this avoids the problematic idea "that Celtic was spoken over a vast area for a very long time yet somehow avoided major dialectal splits", and "it keeps Celtic fairly close to Italy, which suits the view that Italic and Celtic were in some way linked".


title: Celts

text: The Proto-Celtic language is usually dated to the Late Bronze Age. The earliest records of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions of Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy), the oldest of which pre-date the La Tène period. Other early inscriptions, appearing from the early La Tène period in the area of Massilia, are in Gaulish, which was written in the Greek alphabet until the Roman conquest. Celtiberian inscriptions, using their own Iberian script, appear later, after about 200 BC. Evidence of Insular Celtic is available only from about 400 AD, in the form of Primitive Irish Ogham inscriptions.


title: Celts

text: Besides epigraphic evidence, an important source of information on early Celtic is toponymy (place names).


title: Celts

text: Arnaiz-Villena et al. (2017) demonstrated that Celtic-related populations of the European Atlantic (Orkney Islands, Scottish, Irish, British, Bretons, Basques, Galicians) shared a common HLA system.


title: Celts

text: Other genetic research does not support the notion of a significant genetic link between these populations, beyond the fact that they are all West Europeans. Early European Farmers did settle Britain (and all of Northern Europe) in the Neolithic; however, recent genetics research has found that, between 2400 and 2000 BC, over 90% of British DNA was overturned by European Steppe Herders in a migration that brought large amounts of Steppe DNA (including the R1b haplogroup) to western Europe. Modern autosomal genetic clustering is testament to this fact, as both modern and Iron Age British and Irish samples cluster genetically very closely with other North Europeans, and less so with Galicians, Basques or those from the south of France. Such findings have largely put to rest the theory that there is a significant ancestral genetic link (beyond being West Europeans) between the various 'Celtic' peoples in the Atlantic area; instead, they are related in that male lines are brother R1b L151 subclades with the local native maternal line admixture explaining the genetic distance noted.


title: Celts

text: The concept that the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures could be seen not just as chronological periods but as "Culture Groups", entities composed of people of the same ethnicity and language, had started to grow by the end of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century the belief that these "Culture Groups" could be thought of in racial or ethnic terms was held by Gordon Childe, whose theory was influenced by the writings of Gustaf Kossinna. As the 20th century progressed, the ethnic interpretation of La Tène culture became more strongly rooted, and any findings of La Tène culture and flat inhumation cemeteries were linked to the Celts and the Celtic language.


title: Celts

text: In various academic disciplines the Celts were considered a Central European Iron Age phenomenon, through the cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène. However, archaeological finds from the Halstatt and La Tène culture were rare in Iberia, southwestern France, northern and western Britain, southern Ireland and Galatia and did not provide enough evidence for a culture like that of Central Europe. It is equally difficult to maintain that the origin of the Iberian Celts can be linked to the preceding Urnfield culture. This has resulted in a newer theory that introduces a 'proto-Celtic' substratum and a process of Celticisation, having its initial roots in the Bronze Age Bell Beaker culture.


title: Celts

text: The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC) in eastern France, Switzerland, Austria, southwest Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. It developed out of the Hallstatt culture without any definite cultural break, under the impetus of considerable Mediterranean influence from Greek, and later Etruscan civilisations. A shift of settlement centres took place in the 4th century. The western La Tène culture corresponds to historical Celtic Gaul. Whether this means that the whole of La Tène culture can be attributed to a unified Celtic people is difficult to assess; archaeologists have repeatedly concluded that language and material culture do not necessarily run parallel. Frey notes that in the 5th century, "burial customs in the Celtic world were not uniform; rather, localised groups had their own beliefs, which, in consequence, also gave rise to distinct artistic expressions". Thus, while the La Tène culture is certainly associated with the Gauls, the presence of La Tène artefacts may be due to cultural contact and does not imply the permanent presence of Celtic speakers.


title: Celts

text: The Greek historian Ephorus of Cyme in Asia Minor, writing in the 4th century BC, believed the Celts came from the islands off the mouth of the Rhine and were "driven from their homes by the frequency of wars and the violent rising of the sea". Polybius published a history of Rome about 150 BC in which he describes the Gauls of Italy and their conflict with Rome. Pausanias in the 2nd century AD says that the Gauls "originally called Celts", "live on the remotest region of Europe on the coast of an enormous tidal sea". Posidonius described the southern Gauls about 100 BC. Though his original work is lost, later writers such as Strabo used it. The latter, writing in the early 1st century AD, deals with Britain and Gaul as well as Hispania, Italy and Galatia. Caesar wrote extensively about his Gallic Wars in 58–51 BC. Diodorus Siculus wrote about the Celts of Gaul and Britain in his 1st-century history.


title: Celts

text: Diodorus Siculus and Strabo both suggest that the heartland of the people they call Celts was in southern Gaul. The former says that the Gauls were to the north of the Celts, but that the Romans referred to both as Gauls (linguistically the Gauls were certainly Celts). Before the discoveries at Hallstatt and La Tène, it was generally considered that the Celtic heartland was southern Gaul, see Encyclopædia Britannica for 1813.


title: Celts

text: The Romans knew the Celts then living in present-day France as Gauls. The territory of these peoples probably included the Low Countries, the Alps and present-day northern Italy. Julius Caesar in his "Gallic Wars" described the 1st-century BC descendants of those Gauls.


title: Celts

text: Eastern Gaul became the centre of the western La Tène culture. In later Iron Age Gaul, the social organisation resembled that of the Romans, with large towns. From the 3rd century BC the Gauls adopted coinage. Texts with Greek characters from southern Gaul have survived from the 2nd century BC.


title: Celts

text: Greek traders founded Massalia about 600 BC, with some objects (mostly drinking ceramic vessels) being traded up the Rhône valley. But trade became disrupted soon after 500 BC and re-oriented over the Alps to the Po valley in the Italian peninsula. The Romans arrived in the Rhone valley in the 2nd century BC and encountered a mostly Celtic-speaking Gaul. Rome wanted land communications with its Iberian provinces and fought a major battle with the Saluvii at Entremont in 124–123 BC. Gradually Roman control extended, and the Roman province of Gallia Transalpina developed along the Mediterranean coast. The Romans knew the remainder of Gaul as Gallia Comata – "Hairy Gaul".


title: Celts

text: In 58 BC the Helvetii planned to migrate westward but Julius Caesar forced them back. He then became involved in fighting the various tribes in Gaul, and by 55 BC had overrun most of Gaul. In 52 BC Vercingetorix led a revolt against Roman occupation but was defeated at the Battle of Alesia and surrendered.


title: Celts

text: Following the Gallic Wars of 58–51 BC, Caesar's "Celtica" formed the main part of Roman Gaul, becoming the province of Gallia Lugdunensis. This territory of the Celtic tribes was bounded on the south by the Garonne and on the north by the Seine and the Marne. The Romans attached large swathes of this region to neighbouring provinces Belgica and Aquitania, particularly under Augustus.


title: Celts

text: Place- and personal-name analysis and inscriptions suggest that Gaulish was spoken over most of what is now France.


title: Celts

text: Until the end of the 19th century, traditional scholarship dealing with the Celts did acknowledge their presence in the Iberian Peninsula as a material culture relatable to the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures. However, since according to the definition of the Iron Age in the 19th century Celtic populations were supposedly rare in Iberia and did not provide a cultural scenario that could easily be linked to that of Central Europe, the presence of Celtic culture in that region was generally not fully recognised. Modern scholarship, however, has clearly proven that Celtic presence and influences were most substantial in what is today Spain and Portugal (with perhaps the highest settlement saturation in Western Europe), particularly in the central, western and northern regions.


title: Celts

text: In addition to Gauls infiltrating from the north of the Pyrenees, the Roman and Greek sources mention Celtic populations in three parts of the Iberian Peninsula: the eastern part of the "Meseta" (inhabited by the Celtiberians), the southwest (Celtici, in modern-day Alentejo) and the northwest (Gallaecia and Asturias). A modern scholarly review found several archaeological groups of Celts in Spain:


title: Celts

text: The origins of the Celtiberians might provide a key to understanding the Celticisation process in the rest of the Peninsula. The process of Celticisation of the southwestern area of the peninsula by the Keltoi and of the northwestern area is, however, not a simple Celtiberian question. Recent investigations about the Callaici and Bracari in northwestern Portugal are providing new approaches to understanding Celtic culture (language, art and religion) in western Iberia.


title: Celts

text: John T. Koch of Aberystwyth University suggested that Tartessian inscriptions of the 8th century BC might be classified as Celtic. This would mean that Tartessian is the earliest attested trace of Celtic by a margin of more than a century.


title: Celts

text: The Canegrate culture represented the first migratory wave of the proto-Celtic population from the northwest part of the Alps that, through the Alpine passes, had already penetrated and settled in the western Po valley between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como (Scamozzina culture). It has also been proposed that a more ancient proto-Celtic presence can be traced back to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, when North Westwern Italy appears closely linked regarding the production of bronze artefacts, including ornaments, to the western groups of the Tumulus culture. La Tène cultural material appeared over a large area of mainland Italy, the southernmost example being the Celtic helmet from Canosa di Puglia.


title: Celts

text: Italy is home to Lepontic, the oldest attested Celtic language (from the 6th century BC). Anciently spoken in Switzerland and in Northern-Central Italy, from the Alps to Umbria. According to the "Recueil des Inscriptions Gauloises", more than 760 Gaulish inscriptions have been found throughout present-day France – with the notable exception of Aquitaine – and in Italy, which testifies the importance of Celtic heritage in the peninsula.


title: Celts

text: In 391 BC, Celts "who had their homes beyond the Alps streamed through the passes in great strength and seized the territory that lay between the Apennine Mountains and the Alps" according to Diodorus Siculus. The Po Valley and the rest of northern Italy (known to the Romans as Cisalpine Gaul) was inhabited by Celtic-speakers who founded cities such as Milan. Later the Roman army was routed at the battle of Allia and Rome was sacked in 390 BC by the Senones.


title: Celts

text: At the battle of Telamon in 225 BC, a large Celtic army was trapped between two Roman forces and crushed.


title: Celts

text: The defeat of the combined Samnite, Celtic and Etruscan alliance by the Romans in the Third Samnite War sounded the beginning of the end of the Celtic domination in mainland Europe, but it was not until 192 BC that the Roman armies conquered the last remaining independent Celtic kingdoms in Italy.


title: Celts

text: The Celts also expanded down the Danube river and its tributaries. One of the most influential tribes, the Scordisci, established their capital at Singidunum (present-day Belgrade, Serbia) in the 3rd century BC. The concentration of hill-forts and cemeteries shows a dense population in the Tisza valley of modern-day Vojvodina, Serbia, Hungary and into Ukraine. Expansion into Romania was however blocked by the Dacians.


title: Celts

text: The Serdi were a Celtic tribe inhabiting Thrace. They were located around and founded Serdika (, , ), now Sofia in Bulgaria, which reflects their ethnonym. They would have established themselves in this area during the Celtic migrations at the end of the 4th century BC, though there is no evidence for their existence before the 1st century BC. "Serdi" are among traditional tribal names reported into the Roman era. They were gradually Thracianized over the centuries but retained their Celtic character in material culture up to a late date. According to other sources they may have been simply of Thracian origin, according to others they may have become of mixed Thraco-Celtic origin. Further south, Celts settled in Thrace (Bulgaria), which they ruled for over a century, and Anatolia, where they settled as the Galatians "(see also: Gallic Invasion of Greece)". Despite their geographical isolation from the rest of the Celtic world, the Galatians maintained their Celtic language for at least 700 years. St Jerome, who visited Ancyra (modern-day Ankara) in 373 AD, likened their language to that of the Treveri of northern Gaul.


title: Celts

text: The Boii tribe gave their name to Bohemia, Bologna and possibly Bavaria, and Celtic artefacts and cemeteries have been discovered further east in what is now Poland and Slovakia. A Celtic coin (Biatec) from Bratislava's mint was displayed on the old Slovak 5-crown coin.


title: Celts

text: As there is no archaeological evidence for large-scale invasions in some of the other areas, one current school of thought holds that Celtic language and culture spread to those areas by contact rather than invasion. However, the Celtic invasions of Italy and the expedition in Greece and western Anatolia, are well documented in Greek and Latin history.


title: Celts

text: There are records of Celtic mercenaries in Egypt serving the Ptolemies. Thousands were employed in 283–246 BC and they were also in service around 186 BC. They attempted to overthrow Ptolemy II.


title: Celts

text: All living Celtic languages today belong to the Insular Celtic languages, derived from the Celtic languages spoken in Iron Age Britain and Ireland. They separated into a Goidelic and a Brittonic branch early on. By the time of the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD, the Insular Celts were made up of the Celtic Britons, the Gaels (or Scoti), and the Picts (or Caledonians).


title: Celts

text: Linguists have debated whether a Celtic language came to the British Isles and then split, or whether the two branches arrived separately. The older view was that Celtic influence in the Isles was the result of successive migrations or invasions from the European mainland by diverse Celtic-speaking peoples over several centuries, accounting for the P-Celtic vs. Q-Celtic isogloss. This view has been challenged by the hypothesis that the islands' Celtic languages form an Insular Celtic dialect group. In the 19th and 20th centuries, scholars often dated the "arrival" of Celtic culture in Britain (via an invasion model) to the 6th century BC, corresponding to archaeological evidence of Hallstatt influence and the appearance of chariot burials in what is now England. Cunliffe and Koch propose in their newer #'Celtic from the West' theory that Celtic languages reached the Isles earlier, with the Bell Beaker culture c.2500 BC, or even before this. More recently, a major archaeogenetics study uncovered a migration into southern Britain in the Bronze Age from 1300 to 800 BC. The newcomers were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from Gaul. From 1000 BC, their genetic marker swiftly spread through southern Britain, but not northern Britain. The authors see this as a "plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain". There was much less immigration during the Iron Age, so it is likely that Celtic reached Britain before then. Cunliffe suggests that a branch of Celtic was already spoken in Britain, and the Bronze Age migration introduced the Brittonic branch.


title: Celts

text: Like many Celtic peoples on the mainland, the Insular Celts followed an Ancient Celtic religion overseen by druids. Some of the southern British tribes had strong links with Gaul and Belgica, and minted their own coins. During the Roman occupation of Britain, a Romano-British culture emerged in the southeast. The Britons and Picts in the north, and the Gaels of Ireland, remained outside the empire. During the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 400s AD, there was significant Anglo-Saxon settlement of eastern and southern Britain, and some Gaelic settlement of its western coast. During this time, some Britons migrated to the Armorican peninsula, where their culture became dominant. Meanwhile, much of northern Britain (Scotland) became Gaelic. By the 10th century AD, the Insular Celtic peoples had diversified into the Brittonic-speaking Welsh (in Wales), Cornish (in Cornwall), Bretons (in Brittany) and Cumbrians (in the Old North); and the Gaelic-speaking Irish (in Ireland), Scots (in Scotland) and Manx (on the Isle of Man).


title: Celts

text: Classical writers did not call the inhabitants of Britain and Ireland or "" (), leading some scholars to question the use of the term 'Celt' for the Iron Age inhabitants of those islands. The first historical account of the islands was by the Greek geographer Pytheas, who sailed around what he called the "Pretannikai nesoi" (the "Pretannic isles") around 310–306 BC. In general, classical writers referred to the Britons as "Pretannoi" (in Greek) or "Britanni" (in Latin). Strabo, writing in Roman times, distinguished between the Celts and Britons. However, Roman historian Tacitus says the Britons resembled the Celts of Gaul in customs and religion.


title: Celts

text: Under Caesar the Romans conquered Celtic Gaul, and from Claudius onward the Roman empire absorbed parts of Britain. Roman local government of these regions closely mirrored pre-Roman tribal boundaries, and archaeological finds suggest native involvement in local government.


title: Celts

text: The native peoples under Roman rule became Romanised and keen to adopt Roman ways. Celtic art had already incorporated classical influences, and surviving Gallo-Roman pieces interpret classical subjects or keep faith with old traditions despite a Roman overlay.


title: Celts

text: The Roman occupation of Gaul, and to a lesser extent of Britain, led to Roman-Celtic syncretism. In the case of the continental Celts, this eventually resulted in a language shift to Vulgar Latin, while the Insular Celts retained their language.


title: Celts

text: There was also considerable cultural influence exerted by Gaul on Rome, particularly in military matters and horsemanship, as the Gauls often served in the Roman cavalry. The Romans adopted the Celtic cavalry sword, the spatha, and Epona, the Celtic horse goddess.


title: Celts

text: To the extent that sources are available, they depict a pre-Christian Iron Age Celtic social structure based formally on class and kingship, although this may only have been a particular late phase of organisation in Celtic societies. Patron-client relationships similar to those of Roman society are also described by Caesar and others in the Gaul of the 1st century BC.


title: Celts

text: In the main, the evidence is of tribes being led by kings, although some argue that there is also evidence of oligarchical republican forms of government eventually emerging in areas which had close contact with Rome. Most descriptions of Celtic societies portray them as being divided into three groups: a warrior aristocracy; an intellectual class including professions such as druid, poet, and jurist; and everyone else. In historical times, the offices of high and low kings in Ireland and Scotland were filled by election under the system of tanistry, which eventually came into conflict with the feudal principle of primogeniture in which succession goes to the first-born son.


title: Celts

text: Little is known of family structure among the Celts. Patterns of settlement varied from decentralised to urban. The popular stereotype of non-urbanised societies settled in hillforts and duns, drawn from Britain and Ireland (there are about 3,000 hill forts known in Britain) contrasts with the urban settlements present in the core Hallstatt and La Tène areas, with the many significant "oppida" of Gaul late in the first millennium BC, and with the towns of Gallia Cisalpina.


title: Celts

text: Slavery, as practised by the Celts, was very likely similar to the better documented practice in ancient Greece and Rome. Slaves were acquired from war, raids, and penal and debt servitude. Slavery was hereditary, though manumission was possible. The Old Irish and Welsh words for 'slave', "cacht" and "caeth" respectively, are cognate with Latin "captus" 'captive' suggesting that the slave trade was an early means of contact between Latin and Celtic societies. In the Middle Ages, slavery was especially prevalent in the Celtic countries. Manumissions were discouraged by law and the word for "female slave", "cumal", was used as a general unit of value in Ireland.


title: Celts

text: There are only very limited records from pre-Christian times written in Celtic languages. These are mostly inscriptions in the Roman and sometimes Greek alphabets. The Ogham script, an Early Medieval alphabet, was mostly used in early Christian times in Ireland and Scotland (but also in Wales and England), and was only used for ceremonial purposes such as inscriptions on gravestones. The available evidence is of a strong oral tradition, such as that preserved by bards in Ireland, and eventually recorded by monasteries. Celtic art also produced a great deal of intricate and beautiful metalwork, examples of which have been preserved by their distinctive burial rites.


title: Celts

text: In some regards the Atlantic Celts were conservative: for example, they still used chariots in combat long after they had been reduced to ceremonial roles by the Greeks and Romans. However, despite being outdated, Celtic chariot tactics were able to repel the invasions of Britain attempted by Julius Caesar.


title: Celts

text: During the later Iron Age the Gauls generally wore long-sleeved shirts or tunics and long trousers (called "braccae" by the Romans). Clothes were made of wool or linen, with some silk being used by the rich. Cloaks were worn in the winter. Brooches and armlets were used, but the most famous item of jewellery was the torc, a neck collar of metal, sometimes gold. The horned Waterloo Helmet in the British Museum, which long set the standard for modern images of Celtic warriors, is in fact a unique survival, and may have been a piece for ceremonial rather than military wear.


title: Celts

text: Archaeological evidence suggests that the pre-Roman Celtic societies were linked to the network of overland trade routes that spanned Eurasia. Archaeologists have discovered large prehistoric trackways crossing bogs in Ireland and Germany. Due to their substantial nature, these are believed to have been created for wheeled transport as part of an extensive roadway system that facilitated trade. The territory held by the Celts contained tin, lead, iron, silver and gold. Celtic smiths and metalworkers created weapons and jewellery for international trade, particularly with the Romans.


title: Celts

text: The myth that the Celtic monetary system consisted of wholly barter is a common one, but is in part false. The monetary system was complex and is still not understood (much like the late Roman coinages), and due to the absence of large numbers of coin items, it is assumed that "proto-money" was used. This included bronze items made from the early La Tène period and onwards, which were often in the shape of axeheads, rings, or bells. Due to the large number of these present in some burials, it is thought they had a relatively high monetary value, and could be used for "day to day" purchases. Low-value coinages of potin, a bronze alloy with high tin content, were minted in most Celtic areas of the continent and in South-East Britain prior to the Roman conquest of these lands. Higher-value coinages, suitable for use in trade, were minted in gold, silver, and high-quality bronze. Gold coinage was much more common than silver coinage, despite being worth substantially more, as while there were around 100 mines in Southern Britain and Central France, silver was more rarely mined. This was due partly to the relative sparsity of mines and the amount of effort needed for extraction compared to the profit gained. As the Roman civilisation grew in importance and expanded its trade with the Celtic world, silver and bronze coinage became more common. This coincided with a major increase in gold production in Celtic areas to meet the Roman demand, due to the high value Romans put on the metal. The large number of gold mines in France is thought to be a major reason why Caesar invaded.


title: Celts

text: Very few reliable sources exist regarding Celtic views on gender roles, though some archaeological evidence suggests their views may have differed from those of the Greco-Roman world, which tended to be less egalitarian. Some Iron Age burials in northeastern Gaul suggest women may have had roles in warfare during the earlier "La Tène" period, but the evidence is far from conclusive. Celtic individuals buried with both female jewellery and weaponry have been found, such as the Vix Grave in northeastern Gaul, and there are questions about the gender of some individuals buried with weaponry. However, it has been suggested that the weapons indicate high social rank rather than masculinity.


title: Celts

text: Most written accounts of the Ancient Celts are from the Romans and Greeks, though it is not clear how accurate these are. Roman historians Ammianus Marcellinus and Tacitus mentioned Celtic women inciting, participating in, and leading battles. Plutarch reports that Celtic women acted as ambassadors to avoid a war among Celtic chiefdoms in the Po valley during the 4th century BC. Posidonius' anthropological comments on the Celts had common themes, primarily primitivism, extreme ferocity, cruel sacrificial practices, and the strength and courage of their women. Cassius Dio suggests there was great sexual freedom among women in Celtic Britain:


title: Celts

text: Barry Cunliffe writes that such references are "likely to be ill-observed" and meant to portray the Celts as outlandish "barbarians". Historian Lisa Bitel argues the descriptions of Celtic women warriors are not credible. She says some Roman and Greek writers wanted to show that the barbarian Celts lived in "an upside-down world [...] and a standard ingredient in such a world was the manly warrior woman".


title: Celts

text: The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote in his "Politics" that the Celts of southeastern Europe approved of male homosexuality. Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote in his "Bibliotheca historica" that although Gaulish women were beautiful, the men had "little to do with them" and it was a custom for men to sleep on animal skins with two younger males. He further claimed that "the young men will offer themselves to strangers and are insulted if the offer is refused". His claim was later repeated by Greco-Roman writers Athenaeus and Ammianus. David Rankin, in "Celts and the Classical World", suggests some of these claims refer to bonding rituals in warrior groups, which required abstinence from women at certain times, and says it probably reflects "the warlike character of early contacts between the Celts and the Greeks".


title: Celts

text: Under Brehon Law, which was written down in early Medieval Ireland after conversion to Christianity, a woman had the right to divorce her husband and gain his property if he was unable to perform his marital duties due to impotence, obesity, homosexual inclination or preference for other women.


title: Celts

text: Celtic art is generally used by art historians to refer to art of the La Tène period across Europe, while the Early Medieval art of Britain and Ireland, that is what "Celtic art" evokes for much of the general public, is called Insular art in art history. Both styles absorbed considerable influences from non-Celtic sources, but retained a preference for geometrical decoration over figurative subjects, which are often extremely stylised when they do appear; narrative scenes only appear under outside influence. Energetic circular forms, triskeles and spirals are characteristic. Much of the surviving material is in precious metal, which no doubt gives a very unrepresentative picture, but apart from Pictish stones and the Insular high crosses, large monumental sculpture, even with decorative carving, is very rare; possibly it was originally common in wood. Celts were also able to create developed musical instruments such as the carnyces, these famous war trumpets used before the battle to frighten the enemy, as the best preserved found in Tintignac (Gaul) in 2004 and which were decorated with a boar head or a snake head.


title: Celts

text: The interlace patterns that are often regarded as typical of "Celtic art" were characteristic of the whole of the British Isles, a style referred to as Insular art, or Hiberno-Saxon art. This artistic style incorporated elements of La Tène, Late Roman, and, most importantly, animal Style II of Germanic Migration Period art. The style was taken up with great skill and enthusiasm by Celtic artists in metalwork and illuminated manuscripts. Equally, the forms used for the finest Insular art were all adopted from the Roman world: Gospel books like the Book of Kells and Book of Lindisfarne, chalices like the Ardagh Chalice and Derrynaflan Chalice, and penannular brooches like the Tara Brooch and Roscrea Brooch. These works are from the period of peak achievement of Insular art, which lasted from the 7th to the 9th centuries, before the Viking attacks sharply set back cultural life.


title: Celts

text: In contrast the less well known but often spectacular art of the richest earlier Continental Celts, before they were conquered by the Romans, often adopted elements of Roman, Greek and other "foreign" styles (and possibly used imported craftsmen) to decorate objects that were distinctively Celtic. After the Roman conquests, some Celtic elements remained in popular art, especially Ancient Roman pottery, of which Gaul was actually the largest producer, mostly in Italian styles, but also producing work in local taste, including figurines of deities and wares painted with animals and other subjects in highly formalised styles. Roman Britain also took more interest in enamel than most of the Empire, and its development of champlevé technique was probably important to the later Medieval art of the whole of Europe, of which the energy and freedom of Insular decoration was an important element. Rising nationalism brought Celtic revivals from the 19th century.


title: Celts

text: The Coligny calendar, which was found in 1897 in Coligny, Ain, was engraved on a bronze tablet, preserved in 73 fragments, that originally was wide and high (Lambert p. 111). Based on the style of lettering and the accompanying objects, it probably dates to the end of the 2nd century. It is written in Latin inscriptional capitals, and is in Gaulish. The restored tablet contains 16 vertical columns, with 62 months distributed over 5 years.


title: Celts

text: French archaeologist J. Monard speculated that it was recorded by druids wishing to preserve their tradition of timekeeping in a time when the Julian calendar was imposed throughout the Roman Empire. However, the general form of the calendar suggests the public peg calendars (or "parapegmata") found throughout the Greek and Roman world.


title: Celts

text: Tribal warfare appears to have been a regular feature of Celtic societies. While epic literature depicts this as more of a sport focused on raids and hunting rather than organised territorial conquest, the historical record is more of tribes using warfare to exert political control and harass rivals, for economic advantage, and in some instances to conquer territory.


title: Celts

text: The Celts were described by classical writers such as Strabo, Livy, Pausanias, and Florus as fighting like "wild beasts", and as hordes. Dionysius said that their Such descriptions have been challenged by contemporary historians.


title: Celts

text: Polybius (2.33) indicates that the principal Celtic weapon was a long bladed sword which was used for hacking edgewise rather than stabbing. Celtic warriors are described by Polybius and Plutarch as frequently having to cease fighting in order to straighten their sword blades. This claim has been questioned by some archaeologists, who note that Noric steel, steel produced in Celtic Noricum, was famous in the Roman Empire period and was used to equip the Roman military. However, Radomir Pleiner, in "The Celtic Sword" (1993) argues that "the metallographic evidence shows that Polybius was right up to a point", as around one third of surviving swords from the period might well have behaved as he describes. In addition to these long bladed slashing swords, spears and specialized javelins were also used.


title: Celts

text: Polybius also asserts that certain of the Celts fought naked, "The appearance of these naked warriors was a terrifying spectacle, for they were all men of splendid physique and in the prime of life." According to Livy, this was also true of the Celts of Asia Minor.


title: Celts

text: Celts had a reputation as head hunters. Paul Jacobsthal says, "Amongst the Celts the human head was venerated above all else, since the head was to the Celt the soul, centre of the emotions as well as of life itself, a symbol of divinity and of the powers of the other-world." Writing in the first century BC, Greek historians Posidonius and Diodorus Siculus said Celtic warriors cut off the heads of enemies slain in battle, hung them from the necks of their horses, then nailed them up outside their homes. Strabo wrote in the same century that Celts embalmed the heads of their most esteemed enemies in cedar oil and put them on display. Roman historian Livy wrote that the Boii beheaded a defeated Roman general after the Battle of Silva Litana, covered his skull in gold, and used it as a ritual cup. Archaeologists have found evidence that heads were embalmed and displayed by the southern Gauls.


title: Celts

text: In another example, at the southern Gaulish site of Entremont, there stood a pillar carved with skulls, within which were niches where human skulls were kept, nailed into position. Roquepertuse nearby has similar carved heads and skull niches. Many lone carved heads have been found in Celtic regions, some with two or three faces. Examples include the Mšecké Žehrovice Head and the Corleck Head.


title: Celts

text: Severed heads are a common motif in Insular Celtic myths, and there are many tales in which 'living heads' preside over feasts and/or speak prophecies. The beheading game is a motif in Irish myth and Arthurian legend, most famously in the tale "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", where the Green Knight picks up his own severed head after Gawain has struck it off. There are also many legends in Celtic regions of saints who carry their own severed heads. In Irish myth, the severed heads of warriors are called the mast or nuts of the goddess Macha.


title: Celts

text: Like other European Iron Age societies, the Celts practised a polytheistic religion. Celtic religion varied by region and over time, but had "broad structural similarities", and there was "a basic religious homogeneity" among the Celtic peoples. Because the ancient Celts did not have writing, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman accounts, and literature from the early Christian period.


title: Celts

text: The names of over two hundred Celtic deities have survived (see list of Celtic deities), although it is likely that many of these were alternative names, regional names or titles for the same deity. Some deities were venerated only in one region, but others were more widely known. According to Miranda Aldhouse-Green, the Celts were also animists, believing that every part of the natural world had a spirit.


title: Celts

text: The Celts seem to have had a father god, who was often a god of the tribe and of the dead (Toutatis probably being one name for him); and a mother goddess who was associated with the land, earth and fertility (Dea Matrona probably being one name for her). The mother goddess could also take the form of a war goddess as protectress of her tribe and its land. There also seems to have been a male celestial god—identified with Taranis—associated with thunder, the wheel, and the bull. There were gods of skill and craft, such as the pan-regional god Lugus, and the smith god Gobannos. Celtic healing deities were often associated with sacred springs, such as Sirona and Borvo. Other pan-regional deities include the horned god Cernunnos, the horse and fertility goddess Epona, the divine son Maponos, as well as Belenos, Ogmios, and Sucellos. Caesar says the Gauls believed they all descended from a god of the dead and underworld. Triplicity is a common theme in Celtic cosmology, and a number of deities were seen as threefold, for example the Three Mothers.


title: Celts

text: Greco-Roman writers say the Celts believed in reincarnation. Diodorus says they believed souls were reincarnated after a certain number of years, probably after spending time in an afterlife, and noted they buried grave goods with the dead.


title: Celts

text: Celtic religious ceremonies were overseen by priests known as druids, who also served as judges, teachers, and lore-keepers. Other classes of druids performed sacrifices for the perceived benefit of the community. There is evidence that ancient Celtic peoples sacrificed animals, almost always livestock or working animals. It appears some were offered wholly to the gods (by burying or burning), while some were shared between gods and humans (part eaten and part offered). There is also some evidence that ancient Celts sacrificed humans, and some Greco-Roman sources claim the Gauls sacrificed criminals by burning them in a wicker man.


title: Celts

text: The Romans said the Celts held ceremonies in sacred groves and other natural shrines, called nemetons. Some Celtic peoples built temples or ritual enclosures of varying shapes (such as the Romano-Celtic temple and viereckschanze), though they also maintained shrines at natural sites. Celtic peoples often made votive offerings: treasured items deposited in water and wetlands, or in ritual shafts and wells, often in the same place over generations. Modern clootie wells might be a continuation of this.


title: Celts

text: Most surviving Celtic mythology belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples: Irish mythology has the largest written body of myths, followed by Welsh mythology. These were written down in the early Middle Ages, mainly by Christian scribes.


title: Celts

text: The supernatural race called the Tuatha Dé Danann are believed to represent the main Celtic gods of Ireland. Their traditional rivals are the Fomóire, whom they defeat in the "Battle of Mag Tuired". Barry Cunliffe says the underlying structure in Irish myth was a dualism between the male tribal god and the female goddess of the land. The Dagda seems to have been the chief god and the Morrígan his consort, each of whom had other names. One common motif is the sovereignty goddess, who represents the land and bestows sovereignty on a king by marrying him. The goddess Brigid was linked with nature as well as poetry, healing and smithing.


title: Celts

text: Some figures in medieval Insular Celtic myth have ancient continental parallels: Irish Lugh and Welsh Lleu are cognate with Lugus, Goibniu and Gofannon with Gobannos, Macán and Mabon with Maponos, while Macha and Rhiannon may be counterparts of Epona.


title: Celts

text: In Insular Celtic myth, the Otherworld is a parallel realm where the gods dwell. Some mythical heroes visit it by entering ancient burial mounds or caves, by going under water or across the western sea, or after being offered a silver apple branch by an Otherworld resident. Irish myth says that the spirits of the dead travel to the house of Donn ("Tech Duinn"), a legendary ancestor; this echoes Caesar's comment that the Gauls believed they all descended from a god of the dead and underworld.


title: Celts

text: Insular Celtic peoples celebrated four seasonal festivals, known to the Gaels as Beltaine (1 May), Lughnasa (1 August), Samhain (1 November) and Imbolc (1 February).


title: Celts

text: The Roman invasion of Gaul brought a great deal of Celtic peoples into the Roman Empire. Roman culture had a profound effect on the Celtic tribes which came under the empire's control. Roman influence led to many changes in Celtic religion, the most noticeable of which was the weakening of the druid class, especially religiously; the druids were to eventually disappear altogether. Romano-Celtic deities also began to appear: these deities often had both Roman and Celtic attributes, combined the names of Roman and Celtic deities, and/or included couples with one Roman and one Celtic deity. Other changes included the adaptation of the Jupiter Column, a sacred column set up in many Celtic regions of the empire, primarily in northern and eastern Gaul. Another major change in religious practice was the use of stone monuments to represent gods and goddesses. The Celts had probably only created wooden cult images (including monuments carved into trees, which were known as sacred poles) before the Roman conquest.


title: Celts

text: While the regions under Roman rule adopted Christianity along with the rest of the Roman empire, unconquered areas of Ireland and Scotland began to move from Celtic polytheism to Christianity in the 5th century. Ireland was converted by missionaries from Britain, such as Saint Patrick. Later missionaries from Ireland were a major source of missionary work in Scotland, Anglo-Saxon parts of Britain, and central Europe (see Hiberno-Scottish mission). Celtic Christianity, the forms of Christianity that took hold in Britain and Ireland at this time, had for some centuries only limited and intermittent contact with Rome and continental Christianity, as well as some contacts with Coptic Christianity. Some elements of Celtic Christianity developed, or retained, features that made them distinct from the rest of Western Christianity, most famously their conservative method of calculating the date of Easter. In 664, the Synod of Whitby began to resolve these differences, mostly by adopting the current Roman practices, which the Gregorian Mission from Rome had introduced to Anglo-Saxon England.


title: Celts

text: Genetic studies on the limited amount of material available suggest continuity between Iron Age people from areas considered Celtic and the earlier Bell Beaker culture of Bronze Age Western Europe. Like the Bell Beakers, ancient Celts carried a substantial amount of steppe ancestry, which is derived from Yamnaya pastoralists who expanded westwards from the Pontic–Caspian steppe during late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. This ancestry was particularly prevalent among Celts of Northwest Europe. Examined individuals overwhelmingly carry types of the paternal haplogroup R-M269, while the maternal haplogroups H and U are frequent. These lineages are associated with steppe ancestry. The spread of Celts into Iberia and the emergence of the Celtiberians is associated with an increase in north-central European ancestry in Iberia, and may be connected to the expansion of the Urnfield culture. The paternal haplogroup haplogroup I2a1a1a has been detected among Celtiberians. There appears to have been significant gene flow among Celtic peoples of Western Europe during the Iron Age. While the Gauls of southern France display genetic links with the Celtiberians, the Gauls of northern France display links with Great Britain and Sweden. Modern populations of Western Europe, particularly those who still speak Celtic languages, display substantial genetic continuity with the Iron Age populations of the same areas.


title: John Bonham

text: John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rock drummers in history.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham was born in 1948 in Redditch, Worcestershire, and took up drums at the age of five, receiving a snare drum at the age of 10 and a full drum set at the age of 15. He played with multiple local bands both at school and following school, eventually playing in two different bands with Robert Plant. Following the demise of the Yardbirds in 1968, Bonham joined Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones to form Led Zeppelin. With the band, Bonham mostly showcased a hard-hitting hard rock style, but also handled funk and Latin-influenced grooves in later releases. Like Keith Moon of the Who, Bonham's drum set grew in size following the band's 1969 concert tours, including congas or timpani and a gong. His drum solo "Moby Dick" was featured on the group's second album and was a staple of their concerts, often lasting over 20 minutes. Outside of Led Zeppelin, Bonham played drums for other artists, including the Family Dogg, Screaming Lord Sutch, Lulu, Jimmy Stevens and Wings. Bonham played with Led Zeppelin until his death at the age of 32, in September 1980 following a day of heavy drinking. The surviving members disbanded the group out of respect for Bonham after his death.


title: John Bonham

text: A mostly self-taught drummer, Bonham was influenced by Max Roach, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. He was close with Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, who introduced him to Ludwig drums. While he was primarily known for his hard-rock style during his lifetime, his reputation as a drummer has grown beyond that genre following his death: he is now seen as one of the greatest drummers of all time. He has influenced numerous drummers, including Dave Grohl, Neil Peart, Chad Smith and Dave Lombardo. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 as a member of Led Zeppelin. In 2016, "Rolling Stone" named him the greatest drummer of all time.


title: John Bonham

text: John Henry Bonham was born on 31 May 1948, in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, to Joan and Jack Bonham. He began learning to play drums at age five, making a kit of containers and coffee tins, imitating his idols Max Roach, Gene Krupa, and Buddy Rich. His mother gave him a snare drum when he was 10. He received his first drum kit, a Premier Percussion set, from his father at age 15. Bonham never took formal drum lessons, although he received advice from other Redditch drummers. While at school, between 1962 and 1963, Bonham joined the Blue Star Trio and Gerry Levene & the Avengers.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham attended Lodge Farm Secondary Modern School, where his headmaster wrote in his report that he would "either end up a dustman or a millionaire." After leaving school in 1964, he worked for his father as an apprentice carpenter between drumming for local bands. In 1964, Bonham joined his first semi-professional band, Terry Webb and the Spiders, and met his future wife, Pat Phillips, around the same time. He played in other Birmingham bands such as The Nicky James Movement and The Senators, with whom he made a single, "She's a Mod", in 1964, at Hollick and Taylor Studios in Birmingham. Bonham took up drumming full-time. Two years later, he joined A Way of Life. After the band's demise, Bonham joined a blues group called Crawling King Snakes, whose lead singer was Robert Plant.


title: John Bonham

text: In 1967, Bonham agreed to return to A Way of Life while keeping in touch with Plant. Plant formed Band of Joy and chose Bonham as the drummer. The band recorded demos but no album. In 1968, American singer Tim Rose toured Britain and asked Band of Joy to open his concerts. When Rose returned months later, Bonham joined Rose's band.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham may have played on the April 1968 recording of Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" although this is disputed, as discussed in the article for the song.


title: John Bonham

text: After the breakup of the Yardbirds in July 1968, guitarist Jimmy Page formed another band and recruited Plant, who in turn suggested Bonham. Page's choices for drummer included Procol Harum's B.J. Wilson and Paul Francis. However, on seeing Bonham drum for Tim Rose at a club in Hampstead, north London, in July 1968, Page and manager Peter Grant were convinced he was perfect for the project, first known as the New Yardbirds and later as Led Zeppelin. Bonham was initially reluctant. Plant sent eight telegrams to Bonham's pub, the "Three Men in a Boat", in Walsall, which were followed by 40 telegrams from Grant. Bonham was also receiving more lucrative offers from Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe but he accepted Grant's offer. He recalled, "I decided I liked their music better than Cocker's or Farlowe's."


title: John Bonham

text: During Led Zeppelin's first tour of the United States in December 1968, Bonham became friends with Vanilla Fudge's drummer, Carmine Appice. Appice introduced him to Ludwig drums, which he then used for the rest of his career. His hard hitting was evident on many Led Zeppelin songs, including "Moby Dick" ("Led Zeppelin II"), "Immigrant Song" ("Led Zeppelin III"), "When the Levee Breaks" ("Led Zeppelin IV"), "Kashmir" ("Physical Graffiti"), "The Ocean" ("Houses of the Holy"), and "Achilles Last Stand" ("Presence"). Page let Bonham use a double bass drum in an early demo of "Communication Breakdown" but scratched the track because of Bonham's "over-use" of it. The studio recording of "Misty Mountain Hop" captures his dynamics, similarly exhibited on "No Quarter". On cuts from later albums, Bonham handled funk and Latin-influenced drumming. Songs like "Royal Orleans" and "Fool in the Rain" are examples, respectively displaying a New Orleans shuffle and a half-time shuffle.


title: John Bonham

text: His drum solo, first entitled "Pat's Delight", later "Moby Dick", often lasted 20 minutes. In some sections, he used his bare hands on his drums to imitate the sound of a phased hand drum. Bonham's sequence for the film "The Song Remains the Same" featured him in a drag race at Santa Pod Raceway to the sound of his solo, "Moby Dick". In Led Zeppelin tours after 1969, Bonham included congas, orchestral timpani and a symphonic gong.


title: John Bonham

text: In 1969, Bonham appeared on The Family Dogg's "A Way of Life", with Page and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. Bonham also played for Screaming Lord Sutch on "Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends" in 1970. He played on Lulu's 1971 single "Everybody Clap", written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. In 1972, he played on a Maurice Gibb-produced album by Jimmy Stevens called "Don't Freak Me Out" in the UK and "Paid My Dues" in the US, credited as "Gemini" (his star sign). He drummed for his Birmingham friend, Roy Wood, on "Keep Your Hands on the Wheel", a single subsequently released on his 1979 album, "On the Road Again", and on Wings' album "Back to the Egg" on the tracks "Rockestra Theme" and "So Glad to See You Here". He was also featured on Paul McCartney & Wings' "Beware My Love" demo version first recorded in 1975; it remained unreleased until 2014 with the release of the album "Wings at the Speed of Sound" boxset. Bonham was the best man of Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi at his wedding ceremony.


title: John Bonham

text: In 1974, Bonham appeared in the film "Son of Dracula", playing drums in Count Downe's (Harry Nilsson) band. Bonham appeared in a drum line-up including Keith Moon and Ringo Starr on the soundtrack album.


title: John Bonham

text: On 24 September 1980, Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for a tour of North America, to begin 17 October in Montreal, Canada; it was the band's first tour since 1977. During the journey, Bonham asked to stop for breakfast, where he drank four quadruple vodka screwdrivers (16 shots between 400 and 560 ml). He then continued to drink heavily after arriving at rehearsals. The band stopped rehearsing late in the evening and then went to Page's house, the Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. After midnight on 25 September, Bonham fell asleep; someone took him to bed and placed him on his side. Led Zeppelin tour manager Benji LeFevre and Jones found him unresponsive the next afternoon. Bonham was later pronounced dead at 32 years old.


title: John Bonham

text: The inquest on 27 October 1980 showed that in 24 hours, Bonham had consumed around 40 shots (1–1.4 litres) of 40% ABV vodka, after which he vomited and choked (a condition known as pulmonary aspiration). The finding was accidental death. A post-mortem found no other recreational drugs in Bonham's body. According to "Rolling Stone", Bonham had recently overcome a heroin problem and was taking an unspecified medication for anxiety and depression at the time of his death. Bonham's remains were cremated and his ashes interred on 12 October 1980 at Rushock parish church, Worcestershire. Rather than replace Bonham, Led Zeppelin chose to disband out of respect for their deceased bandmate. They said in a press release on 4 December 1980: "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were." It was signed "Led Zeppelin".


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham had a younger brother, Mick Bonham (1950–2000), a disc jockey, author and photographer, and a younger sister, Deborah Bonham (born 1962), a singer-songwriter.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham was married to Pat Phillips, and the couple had two children. Zoë Bonham (born 10 June 1975) is a singer-songwriter who appears at Led Zeppelin conventions. Jason Bonham (born 15 July 1966) is a drummer who has recorded or toured with Sammy Hagar and The Circle, Black Country Communion, UFO, Foreigner and Bonham. Jason played with Led Zeppelin at their Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary reunion show on 15 May 1988 and again on 10 December 2007 at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert. A 1973 film clip of seven-year-old Jason playing drums appears in the Led Zeppelin film "The Song Remains the Same". Zoë and Jason appeared at the induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham's mother, Joan, died aged 81 on 10 February 2011. She sang for The Zimmers, a 40-member band set up as a result of a BBC documentary on the treatment of the elderly.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham has been described by AllMusic as one of the most important, well-known, and influential drummers in rock. Bonham was ranked no. 1 on "Classic Rock's" 2005 list of 50 Greatest Drummers in Rock, and "Modern Drummer" describes him as "the greatest rock 'n' roll drummer in history." Adam Budofsky, managing editor of "Modern Drummer", writes: "If the king of rock 'n' roll was Elvis Presley, then the king of rock drumming was certainly John Bonham."


title: John Bonham

text: In 2007, "Stylus" magazine rated Bonham number one of 50 great rock drummers, as did "Gigwise.com" in 2008, and in September 2008, Bonham topped the Blabbermouth.net's list of "Rockers fans want brought back to life", ahead of Elvis Presley and Freddie Mercury. "Rhythm" magazine voted him the greatest drummer ever, topping a readers' poll to determine the "50 greatest drummers of all time" in October 2009. At the end of the BBC Two series "I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band!" on 5 June 2010, Bonham was named best drummer of all time.


title: John Bonham

text: A "Rolling Stone" reader's poll where he "led the list by a significant margin" in 2011, and in 2016, the same magazine ranked him as the greatest drummer of all time in a list of 100 Greatest Drummers of all time. According to the "Los Angeles Times", even after all these years, Bonham still ranks as the best drummer of all time, mentioning that "[his] beat still bangs like a mofo ... Nobody else has brought quite that balance of muscle, groove and showmanship."


title: John Bonham

text: For music critics who were not receptive to the hard rock aspects of Led Zeppelin's sound, Bonham's playing was sometimes characterized (along with the other elements of Led Zeppelin's music) as bombastic and lacking a sense of swing. For example, "Rolling Stone" magazine's Jim Miller wrote the following in 1975, while reviewing "Physical Graffiti":


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham ... is a steak-and-potatoes percussionist, handpicked, one assumes, for his ability to supply a plodding, stolid, rock-solid bottom—no one has ever accused Led Zeppelin of swinging.


title: John Bonham

text: In the 2012 documentary "Beware of Mr. Baker", Eric Clapton reinforced the idea that Bonham's playing lacked subtlety, and that Bonham and his contemporary Keith Moon of The Who were not equals in terms of musicianship to Ginger Baker, Clapton's drummer in the 1960s rock band Cream.


title: John Bonham

text: No, no, no, no, (scoffs). Ginger was nothing like those players. His musical capabilities are full spectrum. He can write and compose and arrange, and he has an ear, and he is harmonic. He is a fully formed musician.


title: John Bonham

text: Since his death, however, Bonham's reputation has continued to grow beyond the world of hard rock, and his playing is now commonly recognized by critics and musicians as worthy of close study. For example, "Modern Drummer" magazine had the following to say about Bonham in 2010:


title: John Bonham

text: Like nearly every British rock musician in the mid-'60s, the members of Led Zeppelin played in groups specializing in amped-up versions of black American music like the blues, R&B, jazz, and soul. To play that music convincingly, you had to swing, and few drummers in any genre have swung with as much swagger as John Bonham ... Despite all the deserved attention paid to his brilliant soloing ideas, his rhythmic sophistication, or his bass drum prowess, John Bonham was, above all else, a groover.


title: John Bonham

text: The surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited to play Live Aid in 1985 and employed two drummers, Phil Collins and Tony Thompson, to take his place. In June 2017, John Bonham's childhood home received a blue plaque in his honour.


title: John Bonham

text: On 31 May 2018, on what would have been Bonham's 70th birthday, a statue was unveiled in his hometown of Redditch, England, to commemorate him. The work of sculptor Mark Richards, the bronze sculpture weighs around 2.5 tonnes and was installed in Mercian Square. It is covered in anti-graffiti paint and is emblazoned with the words: "The most outstanding and original drummer of his time, John Bonham's popularity and influence continue to resonate with the world of music and beyond."


title: John Bonham

text: Following the installation of the bronze memorial on Church Green, a special music event was organised to celebrate Bonham's birthday.


title: John Bonham

text: Rock drummers influenced by Bonham include Joey Kramer, Lee Kerslake, Neil Peart, Dave Grohl, Tommy Lee, Peter Criss, Chad Smith, Dave Lombardo, Brad Wilk, John Dolmayan, Ian Mosley, Yoshiki, and Shinya. Phil Collins, who became a drummer for Robert Plant's solo career, told Plant he wanted to play with him because he "loved" Bonham's drumming.


title: John Bonham

text: John Bonham played the drums like someone who didn't know what was going to happen next—like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff. No one has come close to that since, and I don't think anybody ever will. I think he will forever be the greatest drummer of all time.


title: John Bonham

text: He was one of the all-time greats. He was just rock solid, and one of a kind. His swing and his feel is unparalleled. Nobody played like John Bonham, and still to this day, nobody really can play like John Bonham – as much as everybody tries. He will forever be one of the greatest rock drummers in the history of music. And he deserves it.


title: John Bonham

text: Other musicians also paid tribute. John Paul Jones said Bonham was a "bass player's dream". Page has also commented:


title: John Bonham

text: One of the marvellous things about John Bonham which made things very easy [for a producer] was the fact that he really knew how to tune his drums, and I tell you what, that was pretty rare in drummers in those days. He really knew how to make the instrument sing, and because of that, he could just get so much volume out of it by just playing with his wrists. It was just an astonishing technique that was sort of pretty holistic if you know what I mean.


title: John Bonham

text: "Bonz: The Groove Remains the Same—A Night in Honor of John Henry Bonham" was produced by Whitesnake drummer Brian Tichy in Los Angeles on 25 September 2010 – the 30th anniversary of his death. Notable drummers that appeared at the tribute included Steven Adler, Vinny Appice, Kenny Aronoff, Frankie Banali, Fred Coury, Jimmy D'Anda, James Kottak, Chris Slade, Chad Smith, Joe Travers, Simon Wright, and John's son, Jason Bonham. Carmine Appice performed via video.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham's drumming has been widely sampled in hip hop music; for example, the Beastie Boys sampled "Moby Dick", "The Ocean", and "When the Levee Breaks" on their debut album "Licensed to Ill". The drum beat of the popular song "Return to Innocence" by Enigma was sampled from the Led Zeppelin song "When the Levee Breaks", played by John Bonham.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham initially used Premier drums, but in the late 1960s was introduced to Ludwig drums by Carmine Appice. Throughout the remainder of his career, Bonham endorsed Ludwigs. At times, Bonham's kick drum pedal squeaked. Jimmy Page later commented:


title: John Bonham

text: In 2005, Ludwig reissued Bonham drum kits in several styles and, in 2007, stainless steel kits similar to those Bonham used on the last Led Zeppelin tours in the 1970s.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham used Paiste cymbals and Remo drumheads. His hardware was a mixture of Rogers and Ludwig, including the Ludwig Speed King pedal and Rogers Swiv-O-Matic series of hardware. Initially augmenting his kit in live performances with timbales and congas as well as the cowbell, he soon settled on his trademark timpani, gong and ching-ring mounted on his hi-hat stand as the percussion in his setup in addition to the aforementioned cowbell.


title: John Bonham

text: Bonham drum solos would often feature playing floor toms and cymbals with his bare hands. He started using this technique as well as developing a finger-control style, influenced from hearing jazz recordings by drummer Joe Morello, during the early 1960s with his first band the Blue Star Trio.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. The company's stock is listed on the NYSE and is part of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The soft drink was developed in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton. At the time it was introduced, the product contained cocaine from coca leaves and caffeine from kola nuts which together acted as a stimulant. The coca and the kola are the source of the product name, and led to Coca-Cola's promotion as a "healthy tonic". Pemberton had been severely wounded in the American Civil War, and had become addicted to the pain medication morphine. He developed the beverage as a patent medicine in an effort to control his addiction.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In 1889, the formula and brand were sold for $2,300 (roughly $71,000 in 2022) to Asa Griggs Candler, who incorporated the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1892. The company has operated a franchised distribution system since 1889. The company largely produces syrup concentrate, which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold exclusive territories. The company owns its anchor bottler in North America, Coca-Cola Refreshments.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In July 1886, pharmacist John Stith Pemberton from Columbus, Georgia invented the original Coca-Cola drink, which was advertised as helpful in the relief of headache, to be placed on sale primarily in drugstores as a medicinal beverage. Pemberton had made many mixing experiments and reached his goal during the month of May, but the new product was as yet unnamed and uncarbonated. Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, is credited with naming the product and creating its logo. Robinson chose the name Coca-Cola because of its two main ingredients (coca leaves and kola nuts) and because it is an alliteration. John Pemberton had taken a break and left Robinson to make, promote, and sell Coca-Cola on his own. Robinson promoted the drink with the limited budget that he had, and succeeded.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: American businessman Asa Griggs Candler purchased the Coca-Cola formula and brand, forming the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1892. By 1895, Coca-Cola was being sold in every state in the union. In 1919, the company was sold to Ernest Woodruff's Trust Company of Georgia.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Coca-Cola's first ad read "Coca Cola. Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating! Invigorating!" Candler was one of the first businessmen to use merchandising in his advertising strategy. As of 1948, Coca-Cola had claimed about 60% of its market share. By 1984, the Coca-Cola Company's market share decreased to 21.8% due to new competitors.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Coca-Cola acquired Minute Maid in 1960 for an undisclosed amount. In 1982, it acquired the movie studio Columbia Pictures for $692 million. Coca-Cola then launched a series of entertainment takeovers, namely Merv Griffin Enterprises and Embassy Communications in the mid-1980s, forming the Entertainment Business Sector, which would later merge with Tri-Star Pictures to start out Columbia Pictures Entertainment, with CPE holding a stake in the company. Coca-Cola sold Columbia to Sony for $3 billion in 1989. In 1986, Coke sold off two assets, namely Presto Products and Winker-Flexible Products to an investment group led by E.O. Gaylord for $38 million.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The company acquired the Indian cola brand Thums Up in 1993, and Barq's in 1995. In 1999, Coca-Cola purchased 50% of the shares of Inca Kola for $200 million, subsequently taking control of overseas marketing and production for the brand. In 2001, it acquired the Odwalla brand of fruit juices, smoothies, and bars for $181 million. It announced Odwalla's discontinuation in 2020. In 2007, it acquired Fuze Beverage from founder Lance Collins and Castanea Partners for an estimated $250 million.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The company's 2009 bid to buy Chinese juice maker Huiyuan Juice Group ended when China rejected its $2.4 billion bid, on the grounds the resulting company would be a virtual monopoly. Nationalism was also thought to be a reason for aborting the deal.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In 2011, it acquired the remaining stake in Honest Tea, having bought a 40% stake in 2008 for $43 million. In 2013, it finalized its purchase of ZICO, a coconut water company. In August 2014, it acquired a 16.7% (currently 19.36% due to stock buy backs) stake in Monster Beverage for $2.15 billion with an option to increase it to 25%, as part of a long-term strategic partnership that includes marketing and distribution alliance, and product line swap. In 2015, the company took a minority stake ownership in the cold pressed juice manufacturer, Suja Life LLC. In December 2016, it bought many of the former SABMiller's Coca-Cola operations. The Coca-Cola Company owns a 68.3% stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Africa. Coca-Cola Bottlers Africa's headquarters located in Port Elizabeth South Africa.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The Coca-Cola Company acquired a 40% stake in Chi Ltd on January 30, 2016. The Coca-Cola Company acquired the remaining 60% stake in Chi Ltd on January 30, 2019.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: On August 31, 2018, it agreed to acquire Costa Coffee from Whitbread for £3.9bn. The acquisition closed on January 3, 2019. During August 2018, The Coca-Cola Company acquired Moxie for an undisclosed amount. On August 14, 2018, the Coca-Cola Company announced a minority interest in Body Armor. On September 19, 2018, the Coca-Cola Company acquired Organic & Raw Trading Co. Pty Ltd the manufacturer of MOJO Kombucha in Willunga, Australia.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: On October 5, 2018, the Coca-Cola Company acquired a 22.5% stake in MADE Group from the company's three founders: Luke Marget, Matt Dennis, and Brad Wilson. The Coca-Cola Company owns a 30.8% stake in Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd; therefore, the Coca-Cola Company owns a further 6.93% stake in MADE Group through its ownership stake in Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: According to the Coca-Cola Company's 2005 annual report, it had sold beverage products in more than 200 countries that year. The 2005 report further states that of the approximately 50 billion beverage servings of all types consumed worldwide, daily, beverages bearing the trademarks owned by or licensed to Coca-Cola account for more than 1.3 billion. Of these, beverages bearing the trademark "Coca-Cola" or "Coke" accounted for approximately 55% of the company's total gallon sales.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In 2010, it was announced that Coca-Cola had become the first brand to top £1 billion in annual UK grocery sales. In 2017, Coca-Cola sales were down 11% from the year before due to consumer tastes shifting away from sugary drinks.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Since 1919, Coca-Cola has been a publicly traded company. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "KO". One share of stock purchased in 1919 for $40, with all dividends reinvested, would have been worth $9.8 million in 2012, a 10.7% annual increase adjusted for inflation. A predecessor bank of SunTrust received $100,000 for underwriting Coca-Cola's 1919 public offering; the bank sold that stock for over $2 billion in 2012. In 1987, Coca-Cola once again became one of the 30 stocks which makes up the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is commonly referenced as a proxy for stock market performance; it had previously been a Dow stock from 1932 to 1935. Coca-Cola has paid a dividend since 1920 and, as of 2019, had increased it each year for 57 years straight.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In general, the Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries only produce syrup concentrate, which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold a local Coca-Cola franchise. Coca-Cola bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce the finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate, in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute, and merchandise the Coca-Cola product to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants, and food service distributors. Outside the United States, these bottlers also control the fountain business.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Since the 1980s, the company has actively encouraged the consolidation of bottlers, with the company often owning a share of these "anchor bottlers."


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In the United States, the company bypasses bottlers by manufacturing and selling fountain syrups directly to authorized fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: As of 2014, after purchasing the North American assets of Coca-Cola Enterprises, the company directly owns 100% of Coca-Cola Refreshments, the anchor bottler of Coca-Cola products in North America, representing about 90% of Canada and 80% of the United States.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In September 2015, the company announced the sale of several production plants and territories to Swire, Consolidated, and United, and creation of the Coca-Cola National Product Supply System which controls 95% of the territory in the United States.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: After Martin Luther King Jr. won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, plans for an interracial celebratory dinner in still-segregated Atlanta were not initially well supported by the city's business elite until Coca-Cola intervened.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Throughout 2012, Coca-Cola contributed $1,700,500 to a $46 million political campaign known as "The Coalition Against The Costly Food Labeling Proposition, sponsored by Farmers and Food Producers". This organization was set up to oppose a citizen's initiative, known as Proposition 37, demanding mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically modified ingredients.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In 2012, Coca-Cola was listed as a partner of the (RED) campaign, together with other brands such as Nike, Girl, American Express, and Converse. The campaign's mission is to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus from mother to child by 2015 (the campaign's byline is "Fighting for an AIDS Free Generation").


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Since the early 2000s, the criticisms over the use of Coca-Cola products as well as the company itself, escalated with concerns over health effects, environmental issues, animal testing, economic business practices and employee issues. The Coca-Cola Company has been faced with multiple lawsuits concerning these various criticisms.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In February 2021, recordings of an employee training course were leaked on social media. The course instructed employees to "be less white", which the course equated with being less "arrogant" and "oppressive."


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The Coca-Cola Company produces over 3 million tonnes of plastic packaging each year including 110 billion plastic bottles.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The company's global chief executive stated that Coca-Cola has no plans to reduce its use of plastic bottles; and opposes bottle bill legislation. The head of sustainability Bea Perez has said they will continue to use plastic, noting "customers like them because they reseal and are lightweight".


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: As part of Coca-Cola's global initiative in UK "World Without Waste", the company has started rolling out new versions of plastic bottles featuring an attached cap. In a statement made by Jon Woods, general manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain, "This is a small change that we hope will have a big impact, ensuring that when consumers recycle our bottles, no cap gets left behind,"


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In November 2000, Coca-Cola agreed to pay $192.5 million to settle a class action racial discrimination lawsuit and promised to change the way it manages, promotes, and treats minority employees in the US. In 2003, protesters at Coca-Cola's annual meeting claimed that black people remained underrepresented in top management at the company, were paid less than white employees, and fired more often. In 2004, Luke Visconti, a co-founder of DiversityInc, which rates companies on their diversity efforts, said: "Because of the settlement decree, Coca-Cola was forced to put in management practices that have put the company in the top 10 for diversity."


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In March 2012, 16 workers of color sued Coca-Cola, claiming they had to work in a “cesspool of racial discrimination.”


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Coca-Cola advertising has "been among the most prolific in marketing history," with a notable and major impact on popular culture and society as a whole. The company in recent years has spent approximately an annual $4 billion globally to promote its drinks to the public; and spent approximately $4.24 billion on advertising in fiscal year 2019, the lion's share of which was spent to advertise Coca-Cola.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Coca-Cola advertises through direct marketing, web-based media, social media, text messaging, and sales promotions. The company also markets via mobile marketing in text messages, e.g. viral marketing campaigns.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Fan engagement spans 86 million globally across social media channels: online interaction, and social, cultural, or sporting events.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In the retail setting, direct store beverage delivery trucks (mobile advertising) as well as point of sale coolers and vending machines have bright red logo blazoned branding. In terms of foodservice, Coca-Cola is a food pairing suggestion that is now ingrained as a food match, e.g., for popcorn, hamburgers, french fries, and hot dog combos.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: As of 2020, the Coca-Cola Company offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries. In September 2020, the company announced that it would cut more than half of its brands, as a result of the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Coca-Cola bought Columbia Pictures in 1982, owing to the low monetary value of the studio. The film company was the first and only studio ever be owned by Coca-Cola. During its ownership of the studio, Columbia released many popular films including "Ghostbusters", "Stripes", "The Karate Kid", and some others. However, two years after the critical and commercial failure of the 1987 film "Ishtar", Columbia was spun-off and then sold to Tokyo-based Sony in 1989.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Coca-Cola operates a soft drink themed tourist attraction in Atlanta, Georgia; the World of Coca-Cola is a multi-storied exhibition. It features flavor sampling and a history museum, with locations in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Lake Buena Vista, Florida.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The Coca-Cola Company also produces a number of other soft drinks including Fanta (introduced circa 1941) and Sprite. Fanta's origins date back to World War II during a trade embargo against Germany on cola syrup, making it impossible to sell Coca-Cola in Germany. Max Keith, the head of Coca-Cola's German office during the war, decided to create a new product for the German market, made only from products available in Germany at the time, which they named Fanta. The drink proved to be a hit, and when Coke took over again after the war, it adopted the Fanta brand as well. Fanta was originally an orange-flavored soft drink that can come in plastic bottles or cans. It has become available in many different flavors now such as grape, peach, grapefruit, apple, pineapple, and strawberry.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In 1961, Coca-Cola introduced Sprite, a lemon-lime soft drink, another of the company's bestsellers and its response to 7 Up.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Tab was Coca-Cola's first attempt to develop a diet soft drink, using saccharin as a sugar substitute. Introduced in 1963, the product was sold until fall 2020, although its sales had dwindled since the introduction of Diet Coke.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In 1969, the company released Simba, which was a take on Mountain Dew, and had packaging that was African desert-themed, replete with an African Lion as the symbol of the brand. The tagline was "Simba – It Conquers the African Thirst."


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Also in 1969, the company released a line of products under the name of Santiba, which was targeted for mixing cocktails and party usage, products including Quinine water and Ginger Ale. Like the above-mentioned Simba, the Santiba line of products was short-lived in the marketplace.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: No longer manufactured, the Coca-Cola BreakMate was a three-flavor dispenser introduced by Coca-Cola and Siemens in 1988. Intended for use in offices with five to fifty people, its refrigerated compartment held three individual one-litre plastic containers of soda syrup and a CO tank. Like a soda fountain, it mixed syrup in a 1:5 ratio with carbonated water. In North America, Coca-Cola discontinued spare BreakMate parts in 2007 and stopped distributing the syrup in 2010.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: During the 1990s, the company responded to the growing consumer interest in healthy beverages by introducing several new non-carbonated beverage brands. These included Minute Maid Juices to Go, Powerade sports beverage, flavored tea Nestea (in a joint venture with Nestlé), Fruitopia fruit drink, and Dasani water, among others. In 2001, the Minute Maid division launched the Simply Orange brand of juices including orange juice. In 2016, Coca-Cola India introduced Vio to enter into the value-added dairy category. The product lays the foundation for Coca-Cola's new segment after carbonated beverages, water and juices.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In 2004, perhaps in response to the burgeoning popularity of low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins diet, Coca-Cola announced its intention to develop and sell a low-carbohydrate alternative to Coke Classic, dubbed C2 Cola. C2 contains a mix of high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sucralose, and Acesulfame potassium. C2 is designed to more closely emulate the taste of Coca-Cola Classic. Even with less than half of the food energy and carbohydrates of standard soft drinks, C2 is not a replacement for zero-calorie soft drinks such as Diet Coke. C2 went on sale in the U.S. on June 11, 2004, and in Canada in August 2004; it was replaced in 2013 by Coca-Cola Life.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Starting in 2009, the Coca-Cola Company invested in Innocent Drinks, first with a minor stake, increasing to 90% in the first quarter of 2013.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: It was in May 2014 when Finley, a sparkling fruit-flavored drink, was launched in France. It was launched in other countries later, including Belgium and Luxembourg in September 2014. Coca-Cola first started developing the drink in Belgium in 2001. As of 2014, the drink is targeted for adults, and is low in sugar with four flavors.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: Coca-Cola is the best-selling soft drink in most countries, and was recognized as the number one global brand in 2010. While the Middle East is one of the few regions in the world where Coca-Cola is not the number one soda drink, Coca-Cola nonetheless holds almost 25% market share (to Pepsi's 75%) and had double-digit growth in 2003. Similarly, in Scotland, where the locally produced Irn-Bru was once more popular, 2005 figures show that both Coca-Cola and Diet Coke now outsell Irn-Bru. In Peru, the native Inca Kola has been more popular than Coca-Cola, which prompted Coca-Cola to enter in negotiations with the soft drink's company and buy 50% of its stakes. In Japan, the best selling soft drink is not cola, as (canned) tea and coffee are more popular. As such, the Coca-Cola Company's best selling brand there is not Coca-Cola, but Georgia. In May 2016, the Coca-Cola Company temporarily halted production of its signature drink in Venezuela due to sugar shortages. Since then, the Coca-Cola Company has been using "minimum inventories of raw material" to make their signature drinks at two production plants in Venezuela.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: On July 6, 2006, a Coca-Cola employee and two other people were arrested and charged with trying to sell trade secret information to the soft drink maker's competitor PepsiCo for $1.5 million. The recipe for Coca-Cola, perhaps the company's most closely guarded secret, was never in jeopardy; instead, the information was related to a new beverage in development. Coca-Cola executives verified that the trade secret documents in question were genuine and proprietary to the company. At least one glass vial containing a sample of a new drink was offered for sale, court documents said. The conspiracy was revealed by PepsiCo, which notified authorities when it was approached by the conspirators.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: The company announced a new "negative calorie" green tea drink, Enviga, in 2006, along with trying coffee retail concepts Far Coast and Chaqwa.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: On May 25, 2007, Coca-Cola announced it would purchase Glaceau, a maker of flavored vitamin-enhanced drinks (vitamin water), flavored waters, and Burn energy drinks, for $4.1 billion in cash.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: On September 3, 2008, Coca-Cola announced its intention to make cash offers to purchase China Huiyuan Juice Group Limited (which had a 42% share of the Chinese pure fruit juice market) for US$2.4bn (HK$12.20 per share). China's ministry of commerce blocked the deal on March 18, 2009, arguing that the deal would hurt small local juice companies, could have pushed up juice market prices, and limited consumers' choices.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In October 2009, Coca-Cola revealed its new 90-calorie mini can that holds 7.5 fluid ounces. The mini can is often sold in 8 packs. Despite costing nearly 30 percent more per ounce, the mini cans have been met with positive sales figures.


title: The Coca-Cola Company

text: In November 2011, Coca-Cola revealed a seasonal design for its regular Coke cans as part of a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. However, it was withdrawn only a month after release due to consumer complaints about a similar look to the silver cans commonly used for Diet Coke. There were also complaints about deviating from traditional red as the color of Coca-Cola cans previously.