title: Hydrogen

text: is a product of some types of anaerobic metabolism and is produced by several microorganisms, usually via reactions catalyzed by iron- or nickel-containing enzymes called hydrogenases. These enzymes catalyze the reversible redox reaction between and its component two protons and two electrons. Creation of hydrogen gas occurs in the transfer of reducing equivalents produced during pyruvate fermentation to water. The natural cycle of hydrogen production and consumption by organisms is called the hydrogen cycle. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the human body in terms of numbers of atoms of the element but, it is the 3rd most abundant element by mass, because hydrogen is so light. occurs in the breath of humans due to the metabolic activity of hydrogenase-containing microorganisms in the large intestine. The concentration in fasted people at rest is typically less than 5 parts per million (ppm) but can be 50 ppm when people with intestinal disorders consume molecules they cannot absorb during diagnostic hydrogen breath tests.


title: Hydrogen

text: Hydrogen gas is produced by some bacteria and algae and is a natural component of flatus, as is methane, itself a hydrogen source of increasing importance.


title: Hydrogen

text: Water splitting, in which water is decomposed into its component protons, electrons, and oxygen, occurs in the light reactions in all photosynthetic organisms. Some such organisms, including the alga "Chlamydomonas reinhardtii" and cyanobacteria, have evolved a second step in the dark reactions in which protons and electrons are reduced to form gas by specialized hydrogenases in the chloroplast. Efforts have been undertaken to genetically modify cyanobacterial hydrogenases to efficiently synthesize gas even in the presence of oxygen. Efforts have also been undertaken with genetically modified alga in a bioreactor.


title: Hydrogen

text: Hydrogen poses a number of hazards to human safety, from potential detonations and fires when mixed with air to being an asphyxiant in its pure, oxygen-free form. In addition, liquid hydrogen is a cryogen and presents dangers (such as frostbite) associated with very cold liquids. Hydrogen dissolves in many metals and in addition to leaking out, may have adverse effects on them, such as hydrogen embrittlement, leading to cracks and explosions. Hydrogen gas leaking into external air may spontaneously ignite. Moreover, hydrogen fire, while being extremely hot, is almost invisible, and thus can lead to accidental burns.


title: Hydrogen

text: Even interpreting the hydrogen data (including safety data) is confounded by a number of phenomena. Many physical and chemical properties of hydrogen depend on the parahydrogen/orthohydrogen ratio (it often takes days or weeks at a given temperature to reach the equilibrium ratio, for which the data is usually given). Hydrogen detonation parameters, such as critical detonation pressure and temperature, strongly depend on the container geometry.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Mount Albert since 2017.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Born in Hamilton, Ardern grew up in Morrinsville and Murupara. She joined the Labour Party at the age of 17. After graduating from the University of Waikato in 2001, Ardern worked as a researcher in the office of Prime Minister Helen Clark. She later worked in London as an adviser in the Cabinet Office. In 2008, Ardern was elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth. Ardern was first elected as an MP in the 2008 general election, when Labour lost power after nine years. She was later elected to represent the Mount Albert electorate in a by-election on 25 February 2017.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern was unanimously elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party on 1 March 2017, after the resignation of Annette King. Exactly five months later, with an election due, Labour's leader Andrew Little resigned after a historically low opinion polling result for the party, with Ardern elected unopposed as leader in his place. Labour's support increased rapidly after Ardern became leader, and she led her party to gain 14 seats at the 2017 general election on 23 September, winning 46 seats to the National Party's 56. After negotiations, New Zealand First chose to enter a minority coalition government with Labour, supported by the Green Party, with Ardern as Prime Minister. She was sworn in by the Governor-General on 26 October 2017. She became the world's youngest female head of government at age 37. Ardern gave birth to her daughter on 21 June 2018, making her the world's second elected head of government to give birth while in office (after Benazir Bhutto).


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern describes herself as a social democrat and a progressive. The Sixth Labour Government has faced challenges from the New Zealand housing crisis, child poverty, and social inequality. In March 2019, in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Ardern reacted by rapidly introducing strict gun laws, winning her wide recognition. Throughout 2020 she led New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, for which she won praise for New Zealand being one of the few Western nations to successfully contain the virus. Ardern moved the Labour Party further to the centre towards the October 2020 general election, promising to cut spending during the remainder of the COVID-19 recession. She led the Labour Party to a landslide victory, gaining an overall majority of 65 seats in Parliament, the first time a majority government had been formed since the introduction of a proportional representation system in 1996.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern was born on 26 July 1980 in Hamilton, New Zealand. She grew up in Morrinsville and Murupara, where her father, Ross Ardern, worked as a police officer, and her mother, Laurell Ardern ( Bottomley), worked as a school catering assistant. Ardern was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and her uncle Ian S. Ardern is a general authority in the church. She studied at Morrinsville College, where she was the student representative on the school's board of trustees. Whilst still at school she found her first job, working at a local fish-and-chip shop.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: She joined the Labour Party at the age of 17. Her aunt, Marie Ardern, a longstanding member of the Labour Party, recruited the teenaged Ardern to help her with campaigning for New Plymouth MP Harry Duynhoven during his re-election campaign at the 1999 general election.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern attended the University of Waikato, graduating in 2001 with a Bachelor of Communication Studies in politics and public relations, a specialist three-year degree. She took a semester abroad at Arizona State University in 2001. After graduating from university, she spent time working in the offices of Phil Goff and of Helen Clark as a researcher. After a period of time in New York City, US, where she volunteered at a soup kitchen and worked on a workers' rights campaign, Ardern moved to London, where she became a senior policy adviser in an 80-person policy unit of British prime minister Tony Blair. (She did not meet Blair in London, but later at an event in New Zealand in 2011 she questioned him about the 2003 invasion of Iraq.) Ardern was also seconded to the United Kingdom Home Office to help with a review of policing in England and Wales.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 30 January 2008, at 27, Ardern was elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) at their world congress in the Dominican Republic for a two-year term until 2010. The role saw her spend time in several countries, including Hungary, Jordan, Israel, Algeria and China. It was mid-way through her presidency term that Ardern became a list MP for the Labour Party. She then continued to manage both roles for the next 15 months.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ahead of the 2008 election, Ardern was ranked 20th on Labour's party list. This was a very high placement for someone who was not already a sitting MP, and virtually assured her of a seat in Parliament. Accordingly, Ardern returned from London to campaign full-time. She also became Labour's candidate for the safe National electorate of Waikato. Ardern was unsuccessful in the electorate vote, but her high placement on Labour's party list allowed her to enter Parliament as a list MP. Upon election, she became the youngest sitting MP in Parliament, succeeding fellow Labour MP Darren Hughes, and remained the youngest MP until the election of Gareth Hughes on 11 February 2010.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Opposition leader Phil Goff promoted Ardern to the front bench, naming her Labour's spokesperson for Youth Affairs and as associate spokesperson for Justice (Youth Affairs).


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: She made regular appearances on TVNZ's "Breakfast" programme as part of the "Young Guns" feature, in which she appeared alongside National MP (and future National leader) Simon Bridges.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern contested the seat of for Labour in the 2011 general election, standing against incumbent National MP Nikki Kaye for National and Greens candidate Denise Roche. She lost to Kaye by 717 votes. However, she returned to Parliament via the party list, on which she was ranked 13th. Ardern maintained an office within the electorate while she was a list MP based in Auckland Central.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: After Goff resigned from the Party leadership following his defeat at the 2011 election, Ardern supported David Shearer over David Cunliffe. She was elevated to the fourth-ranking position in his Shadow Cabinet on 19 December 2011, becoming a spokesperson for social development under the new leader.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern stood again in Auckland Central at the 2014 general election. She again finished second though increased her own vote and reduced Kaye's majority from 717 to 600. Ranked 5th on Labour's list, Ardern was still returned to Parliament where she became Shadow spokesperson for Justice, Children, Small Business, and Arts & Culture under new leader Andrew Little.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In 2014 Ardern was also selected, attended and graduated from the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Forum of Young Global Leaders, founded by Klaus Schwab, which takes place in Switzerland. She remains involved publicly as a part of the Young Global Leaders Alumni Community, and speaks at WEF events.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern put forward her name for the Labour nomination for the Mount Albert by-election to be held in February 2017 following the resignation of David Shearer on 8 December 2016. When nominations for the Labour Party closed on 12 January 2017, Ardern was the only nominee and was selected unopposed. On 21 January, Ardern participated in the 2017 Women's March, a worldwide protest in opposition to Donald Trump, the newly inaugurated president of the United States. She was confirmed as Labour's candidate at a meeting on 22 January. Ardern won a landslide victory, gaining 77 per cent of votes cast in the preliminary results.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Following her win in the by-election, Ardern was unanimously elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party on 7 March 2017, following the resignation of Annette King who was intending to retire at the next election. Ardern's vacant list seat was taken by Raymond Huo.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 1 August 2017, just seven weeks before the 2017 general election, Ardern assumed the position of leader of the Labour Party, and consequently became leader of the Opposition, following the resignation of Andrew Little. Little stood down due to the party's historically low polling. Ardern was unanimously confirmed in an election to choose a new leader at a caucus meeting the same day. At 37, Ardern became the youngest leader of the Labour Party in its history. She is also the second female leader of the party after Helen Clark. According to Ardern, Little had previously approached her on 26 July and said he thought she should take over as Labour leader then, as he was of the opinion he could not turn things around for the party, although Ardern declined and told him to "stick it out".


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: At her first press conference after her election as leader, she said that the forthcoming election campaign would be one of "relentless positivity". Immediately following her appointment, the party was inundated with donations by the public, reaching NZ$700 per minute at its peak. After Ardern's ascension to the leadership, Labour rose dramatically in opinion polls. By late August, the party had reached 43 per cent in the Colmar Brunton poll (having been 24 per cent under Little's leadership) as well as managing to overtake National in opinion polls for the first time in over a decade. Detractors observed her positions were substantially similar to those of Andrew Little, and suggested that Labour's sudden increase in popularity were due to her youth and good looks.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In mid-August, Ardern stated that a Labour government would establish a tax working group to explore the possibility of introducing a capital gains tax but ruled out taxing family homes. In response to negative publicity, Ardern abandoned plans to introduce a capital gains tax during the first term of a Labour government. Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson later clarified that Labour would not introduce new taxes until after the 2020 election. The policy shift accompanied strident allegations by Minister of Finance Steven Joyce that Labour had a $11.7 billion "hole" in its tax policy.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: The Labour and Green parties' proposed water and pollution taxes also generated criticism from farmers. On 18 September 2017, the farming lobby group Federated Farmers staged a protest against the taxes in Ardern's hometown of Morrinsville. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters attended the protest to campaign but was jeered at by the farmers because they suspected he was also in favour of the taxes. During the protest, one farmer displayed a sign calling Ardern a "pretty communist". This was criticised as misogynistic by former prime minister Helen Clark.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In the final days of the general election campaign, the opinion polls narrowed with National taking a slight lead.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: During the general election held on 23 September 2017, Ardern retained her Mount Albert electorate seat by a margin of 15,264 votes. Labour increased its vote share to 36.89 percent while National dropped back to 44.45. Labour gained 14 seats, increasing its parliamentary representation to 46 seats, the best result for the party since losing power in 2008.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: The rival Labour and National parties lacked sufficient seats to govern alone and held talks with the Greens and New Zealand First parties about forming a coalition. Under the country's mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, New Zealand First held the balance of power and chose to be part of a coalition government with Labour.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 19 October 2017, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters agreed to form a coalition with Labour, making Ardern the next prime minister. This coalition received confidence and supply from the Green Party. Ardern named Peters as deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. She also gave New Zealand First five posts in her government, with Peters and three other ministers serving in Cabinet. The next day, Ardern confirmed that she would hold the ministerial portfolios of National Security and Intelligence; Arts, Culture and Heritage; and Vulnerable Children; reflecting the shadow positions she held as Leader of the Opposition. Her position as Minister for Vulnerable Children was later replaced with the role of Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, while New Zealand First MP Tracey Martin took on the role of Minister for Children. She was officially sworn in by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy on 26 October, alongside her ministry. Upon taking office, Ardern said that her government would be "focused, empathetic and strong".


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern is New Zealand's third female prime minister after Jenny Shipley (1997–1999) and Helen Clark (1999–2008). She is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders. Entering office aged 37, Ardern is also the youngest individual to become New Zealand's head of government since Edward Stafford, who became premier in 1856. On 19 January 2018, Ardern announced that she was pregnant, and that Winston Peters would take the role of acting prime minister for six weeks after the birth. Following the birth of a daughter, she took her maternity leave from 21 June to 2 August 2018.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern promised to halve child poverty in New Zealand within a decade. In July 2018, Ardern announced the start of her government's flagship Families Package. Among its provisions, the package gradually increased paid parental leave to 26 weeks and introduced a $60 per-week universal BestStart Payment for low and middle-income families with young children. The Family Tax Credit, Orphans Benefit, Accommodation Supplement, and Foster Care Allowance were all substantially increased as well. In 2019, the government began the roll-out of a school lunches pilot programme to assist in reducing child poverty numbers, this was then extended to support 200,000 children (about 25 percent of school rolls) in low decile schools. Other efforts to reduce poverty have included increases to main welfare benefits, expanding free doctor's visits, providing free menstrual hygiene products in schools and adding to state housing stock.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: However, as of 2022 critics say rising housing costs are continuing to cripple families and systemic changes are needed to ensure any gains are lasting.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Economically, Ardern's government has implemented steady increases to the country's minimum wage and introduced the Provincial Growth Fund to invest in rural infrastructure projects. The National Party's planned tax cuts were cancelled, saying instead it would prioritise expenditure on healthcare and education. The first year of post-secondary education was made free from 1 January 2018 and, after industrial action, the government agreed to increase primary teachers' pay by 12.8 (for beginning teachers) and 18.5 per cent (for senior teachers without other responsibilities) by 2021.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Despite the Labour Party campaigning on a capital gains tax for the last three elections, Ardern pledged in April 2019 that the government would not implement a capital gains tax under her leadership. However, since then the period for which capital gain on rental properties sold is taxed has increased from five to ten years since purchase.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern travelled to Waitangi in 2018 for the annual Waitangi Day commemoration; stayed in Waitangi for five days, an unprecedented length. Ardern became the first female prime minister to speak from the top marae. Her visit was largely well-received by Māori leaders, with commentators noting a sharp contrast with the acrimonious responses received by several of her predecessors.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 24 August 2018, Ardern removed Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran from Cabinet after she failed to disclose a meeting with a broadcaster outside of parliamentary business, which was judged to be a conflict of interest. Curran remained a minister outside Cabinet, and Ardern was criticised by the Opposition for not dismissing Curran from her portfolio. Ardern later accepted Curran's resignation. In 2019, she was criticised for her handling of an allegation of sexual assault against a Labour Party staffer. Ardern said she had been told the allegation did not involve sexual assault or violence before a report about the incident was published in "The Spinoff". Media questioned her account, with one journalist stating that Ardern's claim was "hard to swallow".


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern opposes criminalising people who use cannabis in New Zealand, and pledged to hold a referendum on the issue. A non-binding referendum to legalise cannabis was held in conjunction with the 2020 general election on 17 October 2020. Ardern admitted to past cannabis use during a televised debate prior to the election. In the referendum, voters rejected the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill by 51.17 percent. A retrospective article published in a medical journal suggested that Ardern's refusal to publicly back the 'yes' campaign "may have been a decisive factor in the narrow defeat".


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In September 2020 Ardern announced that the government had abandoned plans to make tertiary education tuition-free.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 5 November 2017, Ardern made her first official overseas trip to Australia, where she met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for the first time. Relations between the two countries had been strained in the preceding months because of Australia's treatment of New Zealanders living in the country, and shortly before taking office, Ardern had spoken of the need to rectify this situation, and to develop a better working relationship with the Australian government. Turnbull described the meeting in cordial terms: "we trust each other...The fact we are from different political traditions is irrelevant". In 2020, Ardern criticised Australia's policy of deporting New Zealanders, many of whom had lived in Australia but had not taken up Australian citizenship, as "corrosive" and damaging to Australia–New Zealand relations.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern attended the 2017 APEC summit in Vietnam, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 in London (featuring a private audience with Queen Elizabeth II) and a United Nations summit in New York City. After her first formal meeting with Donald Trump she reported that the US President showed "interest" in New Zealand's gun buyback scheme. In 2018, Ardern raised the issue of Xinjiang internment camps and human-rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in China. Ardern has also raised concerns over the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern travelled to Nauru, where she attended the 2018 Pacific Islands Forum. Media and political opponents criticised her decision to travel separately from the rest of her contingent, costing taxpayers up to NZ$100,000, so that she could spend more time with her daughter. At a 2018 United Nations General Assembly meeting, Ardern became the first female head of government to attend with her infant present. Her address to the General Assembly praised the United Nations for its multilateralism, expressed support for the world's youth, called for immediate attention to the effects and causes of climate change, for the equality of women, and for kindness as the basis for action.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Ardern announced that the government would continue participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations despite opposition from the Green Party. New Zealand ratified the revised agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which she described as being better than the original TPP agreement.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 15 March 2019, 51 people were fatally shot and 49 injured in two mosques in Christchurch. In a statement broadcast on television, Ardern offered condolences and stated that the shootings had been carried out by suspects with "extremist views" that have no place in New Zealand, or anywhere else in the world. She also described it as a well-planned terrorist attack.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Announcing a period of national mourning, Ardern was the first signatory of a national condolence book that she opened in the capital, Wellington. She also travelled to Christchurch to meet first responders and families of the victims. In an address at the Parliament, she declared she would never say the name of the attacker: "Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them ... he will, when I speak, be nameless." Ardern received international praise for her response to the shootings, and a photograph of her hugging a member of the Christchurch Muslim community with the word "peace" in English and Arabic was projected onto the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. A mural of this photograph was unveiled in May 2019.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In response to the shootings, Ardern announced her government's intention to introduce stronger firearms regulations. She said that the attack had exposed a range of weaknesses in New Zealand's gun law. Less than one month after the attack, the New Zealand Parliament passed a law that bans most semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles, parts that convert guns into semiautomatic guns, and higher capacity magazines. Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired the 2019 Christchurch Call summit, which aimed to "bring together countries and tech companies in an attempt to bring to an end the ability to use social media to organise and promote terrorism and violent extremism".


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 14 March 2020, Ardern announced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand that the government would be requiring anyone entering the country from midnight 15 March to isolate themselves for 14 days. She said the new rules will mean New Zealand has the "widest ranging and toughest border restrictions of any country in the world". On 19 March, Ardern stated that New Zealand's borders would be closed to all non-citizens and non-permanent residents, after 11:59 pm on 20 March (NZDT). Ardern announced that New Zealand would move to alert level 4, including a nationwide lockdown, at 11:59 pm on 25 March.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: National and international media covered the government response led by Ardern, praising her leadership and swift response to the outbreak in New Zealand. "The Washington Post" Fifield described her regular use of interviews, press conferences and social media as a "masterclass in crisis communication." Alastair Campbell, a journalist and adviser in Tony Blair's British government, commended Ardern for addressing both the human and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In mid-April 2020, two applicants filed a lawsuit at the Auckland High Court against Ardern and several government officials including Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield, claiming that the lockdown imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic infringed on their freedoms and was made for "political gain". The lawsuit was dismissed by Justice Mary Peters of the Auckland High Court.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 5 May 2020, Ardern, her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and several Australian state and territorial leaders agreed that they would collaborate to develop a trans-Tasman COVID-safe travel zone that would allow residents from both countries to travel freely without travel restrictions as part of efforts to ease coronavirus restrictions.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Post-lockdown opinion polls showed the Labour Party with nearly 60 per cent support. In May 2020, Ardern rated 59.5 per cent as 'preferred prime minister' in a Newshub-Reid Research poll—the highest score for any leader in the Reid Research poll's history.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In the 2020 general election, Ardern led her party to a landslide victory, winning an overall majority of 65 seats in the 120-seat House of Representatives, and 50 per cent of the nationwide party vote (moreover Labour won the party vote in 71 out of the 72 electorates). She also retained the Mount Albert electorate by a margin of 21,246 votes. Ardern credited her victory to her government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic impacts it has had.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 2 December 2020, Ardern declared a climate change emergency in New Zealand and pledged that the Government would be carbon neutral by 2025 in a parliamentary motion. As part of this commitment towards carbon neutrality, the public sector will be required to buy only electric or hybrid vehicles, the fleet will be reduced over time by 20 per cent, and all 200 coal-fired boilers in public service buildings will be phased out. This motion was supported by the Labour, Green, and Māori parties but was opposed by the opposition National and ACT parties. However, climate activist Greta Thunberg said about Jacinda Ardern: "It's funny that people believe Jacinda Ardern and people like that are climate leaders. That just tells you how little people know about the climate crisis ... the emissions haven't fallen."


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In response to worsening housing affordability issues, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Megan Woods, announced new reforms. These reforms included the removal of the interest rate tax-deduction, lifting Housing Aid for first home buyers, renewed allocation of infrastructure funds (named Housing Acceleration Fund) for district councils, an extension of the Bright Line Test from five to ten years.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 14 June 2021, Ardern confirmed that the New Zealand Government would formally apologise for the Dawn Raids at the Auckland Town Hall on 26 June 2021. The Dawn Raids were a series of police raids which disproportionately targeted members of the Pasifika diaspora in New Zealand during the 1970s and early 1980s.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In September 2022, Ardern led the nation's tributes following the death of New Zealand's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Ardern described her as an "incredible woman", and a "constant in our lives". She also described the Queen as a "much admired and respected" monarch. Ardern also stated that republicanism was currently not on the agenda but believed that the country would head in that direction in the future.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In early November 2022, Ardern confirmed that she would be running for a third term as Prime Minister at the 2023 New Zealand general election during the annual Labour Party conference.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In mid December 2022, Ardern was recorded on a hot mic calling the leader of the ACT Party, David Seymour, an "arrogant prick" during Parliament's Question Time. Since New Zealand parliamentary debates are televised, the comment was aired on television during Question Time. Ardern later texted Seymour to apologize for her comment. The two politicians subsequently reconciled and joined forces to raise NZ$60,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation by auctioning a signed and framed copy of the Prime Minister's remark.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 17 June 2020, Prime Minister Ardern met with Bill Gates and Melinda Gates via a teleconference in a meeting requested by Bill Gates. In the meeting, Ardern was asked by Melinda Gates to "speak up" in support of a collective approach to a COVID-19 vaccine. Ardern said she'd be happy to assist, an Official Information Act request response has shown. A month earlier in May, Ardern's Government had pledged $37 million to help find a COVID-19 vaccine, which included $15 million to CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Economic Forum among others, and $7 million to GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation), also founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. During the meeting Gates noted this contribution. Ardern had also met the Gateses the year before in New York.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 12 December 2020, Ardern and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown announced that a travel bubble between New Zealand and the Cook Islands would be established in 2021, allowing two-way quarantine-free travel between the two countries. On 14 December, Prime Minister Ardern confirmed that the New Zealand and Australian Governments had agreed to establish a travel bubble between the two countries the following year. On 17 December, Ardern also announced that the Government had purchased two more vaccines from the pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Novavax for New Zealand and its Pacific partners in addition to the existing stocks from Pfizer/BioNTech and Janssen Pharmaceutica.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 26 January 2021, Ardern stated that New Zealand's borders would remain closed to most non-citizens and non-residents until New Zealand citizens have been "vaccinated and protected". The COVID-19 vaccination programme began in February 2021. An outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in August 2021 prompted the government to enact a nationwide lockdown again. By September, the number of new community infections began to fall again; comparisons were made with an outbreak in neighbouring Australia, which was unable to contain a Delta variant outbreak at the same time.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 29 January 2022, Ardern entered into self-isolation after she was identified as a close contact of a COVID-19 case on an Air New Zealand flight from Kerikeri to Auckland on 22 January. In addition Governor-General Cindy Kiro and chief press secretary Andrew Campbell, who were aboard the same flight, also went into self-isolation.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 14 May 2022, Ardern tested positive for COVID-19. Her partner Gayford had tested positive for COVID-19 several days earlier on 8 May.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In early December 2020, Ardern expressed support for Australia during a dispute between Canberra and Beijing over Chinese Foreign Ministry official Zhao Lijian's Twitter post alleging that Australia had committed war crimes against Afghans. She described the image as not being factual and incorrect, adding that the New Zealand Government would raise its concerns with the Chinese Government.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 9 December 2020, Ardern delivered a speech virtually at the Singapore FinTech Festival, applauding the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) among New Zealand, Chile and Singapore as “the first important steps” to achieve the regulatory alignment to facilitate businesses.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 16 February 2021, Ardern criticised the Australian Government's decision to revoke dual New Zealand–Australian national and ISIS bride Suhayra Aden's Australian citizenship. Aden had migrated from New Zealand to Australia at the age of six and acquired Australian citizenship. She subsequently travelled to Syria to live in the Islamic State in 2014. On 15 February 2021, Aden and two of her children were detained by Turkish authorities for illegal entry. Ardern accused the Australian Government of abandoning its obligations to its citizens and also offered consular support to Aden and her children. In response, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the decision to revoke Aden's citizenship, citing legislation stripping dual nationals of their Australian citizenship if they were engaged in terrorist activities. Following a phone conversation, the two leaders agreed to work together to address what Ardern described as "quite a complex legal situation."


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In response to the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, Ardern stated on 17 May that New Zealand "condemned both the indiscriminate rocket fire we have seen from Hamas and what looks to be a response that has gone well beyond self-defence on both sides." She also stated that Israel had the "right to exist" but Palestinians also had a "right to a peaceful home, a secure home."


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In late May 2021, Ardern hosted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a state visit at Queenstown. The two heads of governments issued a joint statement affirming bilateral cooperation on the issues of COVID-19, bilateral relations, and security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Ardern and Morrison also raised concerns about the South China Sea dispute and human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. In response to the joint statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin criticised the Australian and New Zealand governments for interfering in Chinese domestic affairs.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In early December 2021, Ardern participated in the virtual Summit for Democracy that was hosted by US President Joe Biden. In her address, she talked about bolstering democratic resilience in the age of COVID-19 followed by panel discussions. Ardern also announced that New Zealand would contribute an additional NZ$1 million to supporting Pacific countries' anti-corruption efforts, as well as contributing to UNESCO's Global Media Defence Fund and the International Fund for Public Interest Media.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In April 2022, Ardern was banned from entering Russia along with 129 other parliamentarians and senior government officials after the New Zealand Parliament unanimously imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In late May 2022, Ardern led a trade and tourism mission to the United States. During her trip, she urged the Biden Administration to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement which the previous Trump Administration had abandoned in 2017. While attending the "Late Show with Stephen Colbert", Ardern also condemned the Robb Elementary School shooting and advocated stronger gun control measures, citing New Zealand's ban on semi-automatic firearms following the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. On 27 May, Ardern gave the annual commencement address at Harvard University, speaking about gun reform and democracy. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate in law. On 28 May, Ardern signed a memorandum of understanding with Governor of California Gavin Newsom formalising bilateral cooperation between New Zealand and California in climate change mitigation and research.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 1 June 2022, Ardern met with US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris in order to reaffirm bilateral relations between the two countries. The two leaders also issued a joint statement reaffirming bilateral cooperation on various issues including the South China Sea dispute, support for Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion, Chinese tensions with Taiwan, and alleged human-rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry official Zhao Lijian accused New Zealand and the United States of seeking to spread disinformation about China's engagement with Pacific Islands countries, interfering in Chinese internal affairs, and urged New Zealand to adhere to its stated "independent foreign policy."


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 10 June 2022, Ardern visited the newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The two leaders discussed a range of issues including Australia's controversial , Chinese influence in the Pacific region, climate change, and working with Pacific neighbours. In response to Ardern's concerns, Albanese stated that he would explore ways of addressing New Zealand's concerns about the adverse impact of its deportation policies on New Zealanders residing in Australia.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In late June 2022, Ardern attended the NATO's Leader Summit, which marked the first time that New Zealand had formally addressed a NATO event. During her speech, she emphasised New Zealand's commitment to peace and human rights. Ardern also criticised China for challenging international norms and rules in the South Pacific. She also alleged that Russia was conducting a disinformation campaign targeting New Zealand due to its support for Ukraine. In response, the Chinese Embassy defended China's engagement with the South Pacific region, claiming that China was only interested in promoting regional development and did not seek to militarise the region.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 30 June 2022, Ardern spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Though Zelensky had earlier invited Ardern to visit Ukraine during her European trade mission, Ardern had declined due to scheduling issues. During the conversation, Ardern reassured Zelensky that New Zealand would continue imposing sanctions on Russia. Zelensky also thanked New Zealand for providing aid to Ukraine and called for assistance in rebuilding Ukraine.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In early August 2022, Ardern led a delegation of New Zealand political leaders, officials, civil society leaders, and journalists including National Party and opposition leader Christopher Luxon, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni and Pacific Peoples Minister William Sio on a state visit to Samoa to marked the 60th anniversary of Samoa's independence. This visit preceded an earlier visit to New Zealand in June 2022 by Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa. On 2 August, Ardern met with Fiame to discuss issues of concern to bilateral relations including climate change, economic resilience, COVID-19, health and Samoan seasonal workers in New Zealand. Ardern also confirmed that New Zealand would commit NZ$15 million in aid to support Samoa's climate change mitigation efforts and NZ$12m to rebuild Apia's historical Savalalo Market.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In September 2022, Ardern along with her fiance Clarke Gayford and their daughter Neve attended Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. During the funeral, she wore a traditional Māori cloak designed by Māori fashion designer Kiri Nathan.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In late October 2022, Ardern and Gayford visited New Zealand's Antarctica base Scott Base to mark the research base's 65th anniversary. The Government had already committed NZ$344 million to the redevelopment of Scott base. After Ardern's Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft broke down, she and her entourage returned to Christchurch on an Italian C-130 Hercules aircraft.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In mid November 2022, Ardern attended the East Asia Summit in Cambodia where she condemned the Myanmar military regime's execution of political prisoners and called for consensus in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the East Asia Summit, she met with US President Biden to discuss New Zealand milk company A2 Milk's efforts to supply infant formula to help address the infant formula milk shortage in the United States.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 30 November, Ardern hosted Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, which marked the first visit by a Finnish head of government to New Zealand. During her visit, the two leaders discussed bilateral trade relations, the global economic situation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and human rights in Iran. During the ensuing press conference, Ardern rebuffed a suggestion by a journalist that the two heads of government had met because they were of a similar age and gender.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern has described herself as a social democrat, a progressive, a republican, and a feminist, citing Helen Clark as a political hero. She has described the extent of child poverty and homelessness in New Zealand as a "blatant failure" of capitalism. Asked by reporters to comment on the 2021 Budget, Ardern stated to "have always described myself as a Democratic Socialist", but she does not consider the term to be useful in New Zealand, as it is not commonly used in the political sphere. The leftist magazine "Jacobin" asserts that, despite identifying as socialist, her government is effectively neoliberal. Referring to New Zealand's distinctive nuclear-free policy, she described taking action on climate change as "my generation's nuclear-free moment".


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern has spoken in support of same-sex marriage, and she voted for the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 which legalised it. In 2018, she became the first New Zealand prime minister to march in a pride parade. Ardern supported the removal of abortion from the Crimes Act 1961. In March 2020, she voted for the Abortion Legislation Act that amends the law to decriminalise abortion.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern voted in favour of legalising cannabis in the 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum, though she refused to reveal her position on decriminalisation until after the referendum had concluded.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: With regard to the future of the Māori electorates—a contentious topic in New Zealand politics—Ardern believes the retention or abolition of the electorates (seats) should be decided by Māori, stating, "[Māori] have not raised the need for those seats to go, so why would we ask the question?" She supports compulsory study of the Māori language in schools.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In September 2017, Ardern said she wanted New Zealand to debate removing the monarch of New Zealand as head of state. During her announcement on 24 May 2021 of the appointment of Dame Cindy Kiro as the next Governor-General of New Zealand, Ardern said she believed that New Zealand would become a republic within her lifetime. She has, however, met regularly with members of the Royal Family over the years and said that, "My particular views do not change the respect that I have for Her Majesty and for her family and for the work that they've done for New Zealand. I think you can hold both views, and I do." Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Ardern reaffirmed her support for republicanism but stated that official moves towards New Zealand becoming a republic was not "on the agenda anytime soon."


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern advocates a lower rate of immigration, suggesting a drop of around 20,000–30,000. Calling it an "infrastructure issue", she argues that "there hasn't been enough planning about population growth, we haven't necessarily targeted our skill shortages properly"; however, she wants to increase the intake of refugees.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In foreign affairs, Ardern has voiced support for a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. She condemned the Israeli killing of Palestinians during protests at the Gaza border.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Following the Supreme Court's landmark "Make It 16 Incorporated v Attorney-General" ruling in November 2022, Ardern has voiced support for lowering the voting age to 16 years. She announced that the Government would introduce legislation lowering the voting age to 16 years; with such legislation requiring a 75% majority.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: After becoming the Labour Party leader, Ardern received positive coverage from many sections of the media, including international outlets such as CNN, with commentators referring to a "Jacinda effect" and "Jacindamania".


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Jacindamania was cited as a factor behind New Zealand gaining global attention and media influence in some reports, including the "Soft Power 30" index. In a 2018 overseas trip, Ardern attracted much attention from international media, particularly after delivering a speech at the United Nations in New York. She contrasted with contemporary world leaders, being cast as an "antidote to Trumpism". Writing for "Stuff", Tracy Watkins said Ardern made a "cut-through on the world stage" and her reception was as a "torch carrier for progressive politics as a young woman who breaks the mold in a world where the political strongman is on the rise. She is a foil to the muscular diplomacy of the likes of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin."


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: A year after Ardern forming her government, "The Guardian's" Eleanor Ainge Roy reported that Jacindamania was waning in the population, with not enough of the promised change visible. When Toby Manhire, the editor of "The Spinoff", reviewed the decade in December 2019, he praised Ardern for her leadership following the Christchurch mosque shootings and the Whakaari / White Island eruption, saying that "Ardern ... revealed an empathy, steel and clarity that in the most appalling circumstances brought New Zealanders together and inspired people the world over. It was a strength of character that showed itself again this week following the tragic eruption at Whakaari."


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British "Vogue", by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. "Forbes" magazine has consistently ranked her among the 100 most powerful women in the world, placed 34 in 2021. She was included in the 2019 "Time" 100 list and shortlisted for "Time"'s 2019 Person of the Year. The magazine later incorrectly speculated that she might win the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize among a listed six candidates, for her handling of the Christchurch mosque shootings. In 2020, she was listed by "Prospect" as the second-greatest thinker for the COVID-19 era. On 19 November 2020, Ardern was awarded Harvard University's 2020 Gleitsman International Activist Award; she contributed the US$150,000 (NZ$216,000) prize money to New Zealanders studying at the university.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In 2021, New Zealand zoologist Steven A. Trewick named the flightless wētā species "Hemiandrus jacinda" in honour of Ardern. A spokesperson for Ardern said that a beetle ("Mecodema jacinda"), a lichen ("Ocellularia jacinda-arderniae"), and an ant ("Crematogaster jacindae", found in Saudi Arabia) had also been named after her.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: In mid-May 2021, "Fortune" magazine gave Ardern the top spot on their list of world's 50 greatest leaders, citing her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as her handling of the Christchurch mosque shootings and the 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 26 May 2022, Ardern was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Harvard University for contributions that "shape the world". She also delivered the commencement address.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand, Ardern left the church in 2005 at age 25 because, she said, it conflicted with her personal views, in particular her support for gay rights. In January 2017, Ardern identified as agnostic, saying "I can't see myself being a member of an organised religion again". As prime minister in 2019 she met the president of LDS Church, Russell M. Nelson.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern is a second cousin of Hamish McDouall, the mayor of Whanganui. She is also a distant cousin of former National MP for Taranaki-King Country Shane Ardern. Shane Ardern left Parliament in 2014, three years before Jacinda Ardern became prime minister.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: Ardern's partner is television presenter Clarke Gayford. The couple first met in 2012 when they were introduced by mutual friend Colin Mathura-Jeffree, a New Zealand television host and model, but they did not spend time together until Gayford contacted Ardern regarding a controversial Government Communications Security Bureau bill. On 3 May 2019, it was reported that Ardern was engaged to be married to Gayford. The wedding was scheduled for January 2022 but has been delayed due to an outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.


title: Jacinda Ardern

text: On 19 January 2018, Ardern announced that she was expecting her first child in June, making her New Zealand's first prime minister to be pregnant in office. Ardern was admitted to Auckland City Hospital on 21 June 2018, and gave birth to a girl the same day, becoming only the second elected head of government to give birth while in office (after Benazir Bhutto in 1990). Her daughter's given names are Neve Te Aroha. Neve is an anglicised form of the Irish name Niamh, meaning 'bright'; is Māori for 'love', and Te Aroha is a rural town west of the Kaimai Range, near Ardern's former home town of Morrinsville.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental North America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According to the sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, which is usually interpreted as being coastal North America. There is ongoing speculation that the settlement made by Leif and his crew corresponds to the remains of a Norse settlement found in Newfoundland, Canada, called L'Anse aux Meadows, which was occupied 1,000 years ago (carbon dating estimates 990–1050 CE).


title: Leif Erikson

text: Leif was the son of Erik the Red, the founder of the first Norse settlement in Greenland, and Thjodhild (Þjóðhildur) of Iceland. His place of birth is not known, but he is assumed to have been born in Iceland, which had recently been colonized by Norsemen mainly from Norway. He grew up in the family estate Brattahlíð in the Eastern Settlement in Greenland. Leif had two known sons: Thorgils, born to noblewoman Thorgunna in the Hebrides; and Thorkell, who succeeded him as chieftain of the Greenland settlement.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Leif was the son of Erik the Red and his wife Thjodhild, and the grandson of Thorvald Ásvaldsson, and distant relative of Naddodd, who discovered Iceland. His year of birth is most often given as or . Though Leif's birthplace is not accounted for in the sagas, it is likely he was born in Iceland, where his parents met—probably somewhere on the edge of Breiðafjörður, and possibly at the farm Haukadal where Thjóðhild's family is said to have been based. Leif had two brothers, whose names were Thorsteinn and Thorvald, and a sister, Freydís.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Thorvald Ásvaldsson was banished from Norway for manslaughter and went into exile in Iceland accompanied by young Erik. When Erik was banished from Iceland, he travelled further west to an area he named Greenland, where he established the first permanent settlement in 986. Tyrker, one of Erik's thralls, had been specially trusted to keep in charge of Erik's children, as Leif later referred to him as his "foster father".


title: Leif Erikson

text: The "Saga of Erik the Red" and the "Saga of the Greenlanders", both thought to have been written around 1200, contain different accounts of the voyages to Vinland (usually interpreted as coastal North America). The only two known strictly historical mentions of Vinland are found in the work of Adam of Bremen and in the "Book of Icelanders" compiled by Ari the Wise.


title: Leif Erikson

text: According to this saga, Leif discovered Vinland after being blown off course on his way from Norway to Greenland. Before this voyage, Leif had spent time at the court of Norwegian King Olaf Tryggvesson, where he had converted to Christianity. When Leif encountered the storm that forced him off course, he had been on his way to introduce Christianity to the Greenlanders. After they had arrived at an unknown shore, the crew disembarked and explored the area. They found wild grapes, self-sown wheat, and maple trees. Afterwards, they loaded their ship with samples of these newly-found goods and sailed east to Greenland, rescuing a group of shipwrecked sailors along the way. For this act, and for converting Norse Greenland to Christianity, Leif earned the nickname "Leif the Lucky". Leif did not return to Vinland, but others from Greenland and Iceland did, including Thorfinn Karlsefni.


title: Leif Erikson

text: According to this saga, Leif was not the first European to discover America. Instead Bjarni Herjólfsson and his crew—on a voyage from Iceland to Greenland—were overtaken by wind and fog, missed the southern tip of Greenland, and encountered an unknown coast. Believing it to be somewhere other than Greenland, they did not disembark but rather continued to sail and found two additional coasts that did not correspond with their understanding of Greenland. After sailing back east, they eventually made it to their original destination, and then told of their discoveries.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Leif then approached Bjarni, purchased his ship, gathered a crew of thirty-five men, and mounted an expedition towards the land Bjarni had described. His father Erik was set to join him but dropped out after he fell from his horse on his way to set sail, an incident he interpreted as a bad omen. Leif followed Bjarni's route in reverse and landed first in a rocky and desolate place he named Helluland (Flat-Rock Land; possibly Baffin Island or northern parts of Labrador). After venturing further by sea, he landed the second time in a forested place he named Markland (Forest Land; possibly near Cape Porcupine, Labrador). After two more days at sea, he landed on an island to the north (possibly Belle Isle), and then returned to the mainland, going past a cape on the north side (perhaps Cape Bauld). They sailed to the west of this and landed in a verdant area with a mild climate and plentiful supplies of salmon. As winter approached, he decided to encamp there and sent out parties to explore the country. During one of these explorations, Tyrker discovered that the land was full of vines and grapes. Leif therefore named the land Vinland ('Wineland'). There, he and his crew built a small settlement, which was called Leifsbudir (Leif's Booths) by later visitors from Greenland.


title: Leif Erikson

text: After having wintered over in Vinland, Leif returned to Greenland in the spring with a cargo of grapes and timber. On the return voyage, he rescued an Icelandic castaway and his crew, earning him the nickname "Leif the Lucky". Leif never returned to Vinland, but others from Greenland and Iceland did.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Research done in the early 1960s by Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, identified a Norse site located at the northern tip of Newfoundland. It has been suggested that this site, known as L'Anse aux Meadows, is Leifsbudir. The Ingstads demonstrated that Norsemen had reached America about 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Later archaeological evidence suggests that Vinland may have been the areas around the Gulf of St. Lawrence and that the L'Anse aux Meadows site was a ship repair station and waypoint for voyages there. That does not necessarily contradict the identification of L'Anse aux Meadows as Leifsbudir since the two sagas appear to describe Vinland as a wider region which included several settlements. The "Saga of Erik the Red" mentions two other settlements in Vinland: one called Straumfjǫrðr, which lay beyond Kjalarnes promontory and the Wonderstrands, and one called Hóp, which was located even farther south.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Leif was described as a wise, considerate, and strong man of striking appearance. During his stay in the Hebrides, he fell in love with a noblewoman, Thorgunna, who gave birth to their son Thorgils. Thorgunna remained in the Hebrides when Leif left, as he refused to take her along without permission from her family. Thorgils was later sent to Leif in Greenland, but he did not become popular.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Leif was converted to Christianity while at the court of Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway. According to both the "Saga of Erik the Red, " and "Olaf Tryggvason's Saga" as found in "Heimskringla", after Leif's conversion, the king then commissioned him to return to Greenland to convert the settlers there. During the journey, he was blown off course and discovered Vinland before finding his way to Greenland. Leif's father Erik reacted coldly to the suggestion that he should abandon his religion, while his mother Thjóðhildr became a Christian and built a church called Thjóðhild's Church. A different version of "Olaf Tryggvason's Saga", found in "Flateyjarbók", makes no reference to Leif being blown off course and discovering Vinland during his return from Norway, but indicates that after arriving in Greenland, all of that country was converted, including Leif's father Erik. Some versions of "Olaf Tryggvason's Saga" also indicate that to help with the conversion, Leif brought a priest and clerics with him to Greenland. The work of Leif and those that accompanied him to Greenland would make them the first Christian missionaries to the Americas, preceding the voyages of Christopher Columbus.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Leif is last mentioned alive in 1019, and by 1025 his chieftaincy of Eiríksfjǫrðr had passed to another son, Thorkell. Nothing is mentioned about his death in the sagas—he probably died in Greenland some time between these dates. Nothing further is known about his family beyond the succession of Thorkell as chieftain.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Leif's successful expedition in Vinland encouraged other Norsemen to also make the journey, and the Norse became the first Europeans to colonize the area. In the end there were no permanent Norse settlements, although sporadic voyages at least to Markland for forages, timber and trade possibly lasted for centuries. The casual tone of references to these areas may suggest that their discovery was not seen as particularly significant by contemporaries, or that it was assumed to be public knowledge, or both. Knowledge of the Vinland journeys spread around medieval Europe although to what extent is unclear; writers made mention of remote lands to the west, and notably the medieval chronicler Adam of Bremen directly mentions Vinland (c. 1075) based upon reports from the Danes. It has been suggested that the knowledge of Vinland might have been maintained in European seaports in the 15th century, and that Christopher Columbus, who claimed in a letter to have visited Iceland in 1477, could have heard stories of it.


title: Leif Erikson

text: While Leif had no contact with the Indigenous peoples of Vinland, later Norse explorers did, referring to them as "skrælingi", an archaic term for "wretches".


title: Leif Erikson

text: According to the "Saga of Erik the Red", the first encounter was made during a colonizing expedition led by Thorfinn Karlsefni, which also included Leif's brother Thorvald. At first this group traded with the natives, but weeks later the new Norse settlement was attacked and Karlsefni decided to abandon it. The fleeing Norse continued to explore the general area, and one morning they encountered a one-legged native, who shot an arrow that killed Thorvald. He is famously known for pulling the arrow out, and poetically reciting the phrase, "This is a rich country we have found; there is plenty of fat around my entrails", upon which he dies. On their return to Greenland, Karlesefni's crew capture two native boys, taking them to Greenland.


title: Leif Erikson

text: According to the "Saga of the Greenlanders", Leif's brother Thorvald made first contact with the natives. The encounter happened while Thorvald and his crew were exploring the coast, likely in the Markland area, and found nine natives asleep under boats. They attacked the natives, killing eight of them, while one escaped. In a later fight, Thorvald was killed by a native's arrow. Later, Thorfinn Karlsefni led a group to colonize Vinland and encountered natives, who they initially traded with, but relations soured when a native was killed attempting to steal weapons from the Norse. In retaliation, the natives attacked and Karlsefni decided to abandon the colony.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Stories of Leif's journey to North America had a profound effect on the identity and self-perception of later Nordic Americans and Nordic immigrants to the United States. The first statue of Erikson (by Anne Whitney) was erected in Boston in 1887 at the instigation of Eben Norton Horsford, who was among those who believed that Vinland could have been located on the Charles River or Cape Cod; not long after, another casting of Whitney's statue was erected in Milwaukee. A statue was also erected in Chicago in 1901, having been originally commissioned for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition to coincide with the arrival of the reconstructed Viking ship from Bergen, Norway. Another work of art made for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the painting "Leiv Eirikson Discovering America" by Christian Krohg, was in the possession of a Leif Erikson Memorial Association in Chicago before being given back to the National Gallery of Norway in 1900.


title: Leif Erikson

text: For the centenary of the first official immigration of Norwegians to America, President Calvin Coolidge stated at the 1925 Minnesota State Fair, to a crowd of 100,000 people, that Leif had indeed been the first European to discover America. Additional statues of him were erected at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul in 1949, near Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1956, and in downtown Seattle.


title: Leif Erikson

text: In 1924, a party of four consisting of a Swede, an Englishman, and two Americans attempted to emulate Leif's voyage in an eponymous 40-foot vessel but were lost after reaching the west coast of Greenland.


title: Leif Erikson

text: In 1930, a statue of Leif was erected in the city center of Reykjavík, Iceland – currently situated in front of Hallgrímskirkja – as a gift from the United States to Iceland to commemorate the 1,000 year anniversary of Alþingi, the parliament of Iceland.


title: Leif Erikson

text: The Leif Erikson Awards, established 2015, are awarded annually by the Exploration Museum in Húsavík, Iceland. They are awarded for achievements in exploration and in the study of the history of exploration.


title: Leif Erikson

text: Several ships are named after Leif – a Viking ship replica, a commercial passenger/vehicle ferry, and a large dredger.


title: Leif Erikson

text: In 1929, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a bill to make 9 October "Leif Erikson Day" in the state. In 1964, the United States Congress authorized and requested the president to proclaim 9 October of each year as "Leif Erikson Day". On 6 October 2000 President Bill Clinton issued Presidential Proclamation 7358, proclaiming Monday, 9 October 2000 as Leif Erikson Day.


title: Leif Erikson

text: The Sagas do not give the exact date of Leif's landfall in America, but state only that it was in the fall of the year. At the suggestion of Christian A. Hoen of Edgerton, Wisconsin, 9 October was settled upon, as that already was a historic date for Norwegians in America, the ship "Restaurationen" having arrived in New York Harbor on 9 October 1825 from Stavanger with the first organized party of Norwegian immigrants.


title: Samara Weaving

text: Samara Weaving (born 23 February 1992) is an Australian actress and model. She began her career in her home country, playing Kirsten Mulroney on the drama series "Out of the Blue" (2008). She came to prominence with her portrayal of Indi Walker on the soap opera "Home and Away" (2009–2013), for which she received an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) nomination for Best Female Performance.


title: Samara Weaving

text: Following her departure from "Home and Away", Weaving pursued roles in the United States, starring in the first season of the series "Ash vs Evil Dead" (2015–2016) and becoming a series regular on "SMILF" (2017–2019). She starred in the films "Mayhem" (2017), "The Babysitter" (2017) and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017), with the latter winning the cast a Screen Actors Guild Award. She earned acclaim for headlining the critically and commercially successful feature "Ready or Not" (2019)—her first lead role in a theatrical American film—and was established as a scream queen.


title: Samara Weaving

text: Weaving has alternated frequently between film and television, starring in the miniseries "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (2018), "Hollywood" (2020) and "Nine Perfect Strangers" (2021), and having roles in the films "Guns Akimbo" (2019), "Last Moment of Clarity" (2020), "" (2020) and "Bill & Ted Face the Music" (2020).


title: Samara Weaving

text: Weaving was born in Adelaide on 23 February 1992, the daughter of an English father, Simon Weaving, and Maltese mother, Helena Bezzina. She grew up in Singapore, Fiji, Australia, and Indonesia. Her father is a filmmaker and lecturer at the University of Newcastle in Newcastle, New South Wales, as well as the artistic director of the Canberra International Film Festival. Her mother is an art therapist who teaches museum studies at the University of Newcastle. Her younger sister, Morgan, is also an actress; their uncle is actor Hugo Weaving.


title: Samara Weaving

text: Weaving and her family moved to Canberra in 2005, and she attended Canberra Girls Grammar School. She became drama captain and appeared in various school and theatre productions.


title: Samara Weaving

text: Weaving's first major acting role was Kirsten Mulroney in the 2008 Australian-UK soap opera "Out of the Blue". It was not commissioned for a second season. In 2009, Weaving was cast as Indigo "Indi" Walker in the Australian soap opera "Home and Away". She initially appeared for five weeks in a recurring capacity. Weaving reprised the role the following year after producers brought her and her on-screen family back as part of the main cast. She relocated from Canberra to Sydney for filming. For her portrayal of Indi, Weaving received a nomination for the Audience Choice Award for Best Female Performance in a Television Drama at the 1st AACTA Awards in 2012. In July 2013, Weaving confirmed that she had filmed her last scenes for "Home and Away". She felt that with the show's international success, it was the right time to pursue new roles. That same year, she appeared in the crime film "Mystery Road", alongside her uncle Hugo Weaving. Weaving had a recurring role as Heather in the first season of "Ash vs Evil Dead" in 2015. That same year, Weaving also appeared in the comedy web series "Squirrel Boys".


title: Samara Weaving

text: Weaving began modelling for Australian underwear brand Bonds in 2012. In 2016, she appeared in the action comedy "Monster Trucks" as Brianne. She was cast in the role during her first trip to Los Angeles in 2014. The following year, she starred in the action comedy-thriller "Mayhem", and as the title character in the comedy-horror film "The Babysitter", which was released in October. She also had a role in the film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" as John Hawkes' girlfriend and appeared in the music video for Charlie Puth's song "Attention".


title: Samara Weaving

text: From 2017 to 2019, she played Nelson Rose in the Showtime series "SMILF". In December 2018, it was announced that Weaving was leaving the show after the second season. Weaving asked to be released from her contract after making a complaint about having to perform a nude sex scene. Daniel Holloway of "Variety" reported that Weaving felt uncomfortable with the behaviour of show creator and co-star Frankie Shaw during a similar sex scene in the first season, leading to an investigation of alleged misconduct by Shaw, which found that there was no wrongdoing on Shaw's part.


title: Samara Weaving

text: In 2018, Weaving appeared in the "Picnic at Hanging Rock" miniseries as one of three students who disappear during a school trip to the titular Hanging Rock. She starred in the comedy-horror film "Ready or Not" (2019). The film and her performance received positive reviews, and helped to establish her as a scream queen. She then starred in the action comedy "Guns Akimbo" (2019), and, in 2020, headlined the drama thriller "Last Moment of Clarity", reprised her role in "", and played Thea Preston, the daughter of Alex Winter's character, in "Bill & Ted Face the Music". She also portrayed Scarlett in the "G.I. Joe" spinoff "Snake Eyes" (2021). Weaving is part of the cast of the Hulu drama series "Nine Perfect Strangers", which is based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty. Weaving portrays Jessica, one of the strangers who attends a health and wellness resort, alongside Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy and Asher Keddie. Weaving stars alongside Eugenio Derbez in the 2022 romantic comedy "The Valet", which is a remake of the 2006 French film of the same name.


title: Samara Weaving

text: Weaving will play American socialite Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte in Adam Leon's biopic "Liz", and former Playboy Bunny Holly Madison in a limited television series based on Madison's memoir "Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny". She has also been cast in Damien Chazelle's period drama film "Babylon". Weaving joined the cast of biographical film "Chevalier" as the female lead Marie-Josephine in July 2021. In October 2021, Weaving was cast as assassin June 27 in "Boy Kills World", alongside Bill Skarsgård and Yayan Ruhian. She exited the project in early 2022 due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Jessica Rothe. In July 2022, Weaving joined the cast of "Scream VI", to be released in 2023. She was also cast in Jimmy Warden's comedy-thriller "Borderline", alongside Eric Dane and Ray Nicholson.


title: Samara Weaving

text: Weaving started a relationship with creative producer Jimmy Warden since meeting him on the set of "The Babysitter". They announced their engagement on 10 March 2019, and married that same year.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Charles Arthur Salvador (formerly Charles Ali Ahmed; born Michael Gordon Peterson on 6 December 1952), better known as Charles Bronson, is a British criminal who has been referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain" and "Britain's most notorious prisoner". He has spent periods detained in the Rampton, Broadmoor and Ashworth high-security psychiatric hospitals.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: First arrested as a petty criminal, he was convicted and sentenced in 1974 to seven years' imprisonment for armed robbery. Additional time was added due to attacks on prisoners and guards. Upon his release in 1987, he began a bare-knuckle boxing career in the East End of London. His promoter thought he needed a more suitable name and suggested he change it to Charles Bronson in 1987, after the American actor. He was returned to prison in 1988 after being convicted of planning another robbery. He is known as a violent inmate, and has taken numerous hostages in the course of confrontations with guards, resulting in his sentence later being changed to life imprisonment. He has been held at times in each of England's three special psychiatric hospitals.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Due to his record of violent anger and mental illness in prison, Bronson is one of the highest-profile criminals in Britain. He has been featured in books, interviews, and studies in prison reform and treatment. He has said: "I'm a nice guy, but sometimes I lose all my senses and become nasty. That doesn't make me evil, just confused." He was the subject of the 2008 film "Bronson" starring Tom Hardy, a biopic based loosely on his life.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Bronson has written many books about his experiences and the famous prisoners he has met throughout his incarceration. A self-declared fitness fanatic who has spent many years in segregation (solitary confinement), Bronson dedicated a book to exercising in confined spaces. He is an outsider artist; Bronson's paintings and illustrations of prison and psychiatric hospital life have been publicly exhibited and won him multiple awards.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In 2014, he changed his name again, this time to Charles Salvador, in a mark of respect to Salvador Dalí, one of his favourite artists. The Charles Salvador Art Foundation was founded to promote his artwork and "help those in positions even less fortunate than his own" to participate in art.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Born Michael Gordon Peterson in Luton, Bedfordshire, he was one of three sons of Eira and Joe Peterson. His father later ran the Conservative club in Aberystwyth. His uncle and aunt each served as mayor of Luton in the 1960s and 1970s. His aunt, Eileen Parry, is quoted as saying: "As a boy, he was a lovely lad. He was obviously bright and always good with children. He was gentle and mild-mannered, never a bully; he would defend the weak".


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Peterson lived in Luton from the age of four, but when he was a teenager, his family moved to Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, where he started getting into trouble. By the age of 13, he was part of a gang of four robbers and was reprimanded in juvenile court after he was caught stealing. He enjoyed fighting from an early age, and was often absent from school. Bronson later returned to Luton, which he refers to as his hometown. His first job was at Tesco, which lasted a fortnight before he was dismissed for attacking his manager. He passed through a number of jobs, working as a hod carrier and in a number of factories. He was imprisoned for the first time at Risley, serving time on remand for criminal damage after he smashed some parked cars following an argument with his girlfriend's father. Following his trial, he was fined and given probation.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Peterson worked as a furniture remover, while regularly fighting on his nights out. After being involved in petty crime, he was in serious trouble with the authorities for the first time after crashing a stolen lorry into a car. He was apprehended in his parents' home, from the scene of the incident. The driver of the car survived the collision, resulting in Bronson not facing serious penalty, receiving fines and probation. After his trial, he returned to petty crime and menial labour. Aged 19, Bronson was convicted for his part in a smash and grab raid. The judge gave him a suspended sentence.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: He met Irene Kelsey in 1971, who described him as "so different from any other boys I knew. He always wore tailored suits, had perfectly-groomed sideburns and a Cockney accent." Eight months later in 1972, when Kelsey was four months pregnant, the couple married at Chester Register Office. Their son is Michael Jonathan Peterson. Five years later they divorced, and Kelsey later remarried.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Bronson was convicted of armed robbery in 1974, aged twenty-two, and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. He was sent to Walton Gaol, and soon ended up on the punishment block after attacking two prisoners without being provoked. He was transferred to Hull in 1975. After refusing prison work, he smashed up a workshop after an altercation with a prison officer, and was sent to the punishment block. He was also injected with the sedative chlorpromazine (which made him violently ill), and six months were added to his sentence. After recovering he continued to prove a highly challenging inmate, and was repeatedly placed in solitary confinement (isolation) for several months. He attacked fellow prisoner John Henry Gallagher with a glass jug, and was charged with grievous bodily harm. (Charges were later dropped to unlawful wounding, and he was convicted. Nine months were added to his sentence.) He was transferred to Armley Gaol.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Peterson found that his reputation as a violent and highly dangerous inmate preceded him. During 1975 to 1977, he was switched between Armley, Wakefield, Parkhurst, and Walton prisons; he was taken from Yorkshire to London chained to the floor of a prison van. Kept in solitary confinement, he began a fitness programme. He continued to attack other convicts and damage prison property. While recovering in solitary from a beating given to him for punching two prison officers, Bronson was handed the divorce papers filed by his wife.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: At Wandsworth, he attempted to poison the prisoner in the cell next to him. He was moved to Parkhurst Prison in 1976, where he befriended the Kray twins, whom he described as "the best two guys I've ever met". He was moved back to Wandsworth after threatening to kill a prison officer. He spent four months in isolation after he was caught trying to dig his way out of his cell. After being returned to the prison's general population, he caught up with the prisoner who had informed on his escape plan, and attacked him, scarring him for life. The governor at Wandsworth wanted to transfer Bronson out of his facility, and only the C Unit (Psychiatric Wing) at Parkhurst was willing to accept him. Bronson was returned to the Isle of Wight. There he attacked a prisoner with a jam jar, and was again charged with grievous bodily harm. He attempted suicide and attacked another prison officer, and was made subject to a transfer direction order under the Mental Health Act.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In December 1978, Bronson arrived at Broadmoor, but was soon transferred to Rampton Secure Hospital. Unable to adapt to forced medication, and in the company of highly disturbed and highly dangerous patients, Bronson attempted to strangle child rapist and murderer John White. He was apprehended just as White was giving out his death rattle. He was returned to Broadmoor, where he reunited with Ronnie Kray.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: At Broadmoor, Bronson attempted to strangle Gordon Robinson to death, but was prevented from doing so by the tearing of the silk tie he was using. Following this failure, Bronson became depressed, but found his spirits lifted when Ronnie Kray arranged a visit from boxer Terry Downes. In 1982, he performed his first rooftop protest after escaping to the top of Broadmoor; he tore off roof tiles. Not long after the first incident, he again reached the roof of Broadmoor. He caused £250,000 worth of damage in a three-day protest before he was talked down by his family.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Following further treatment, he took up art. Eventually he received more prison awards than any other inmate for his poems, prose, and cartoons. He made a third rooftop protest, this time demanding a prison transfer, but was again talked down. He began an 18-day-long hunger strike, and was eventually granted a transfer to Ashworth Hospital (then known as Park Lane Hospital) in June 1984.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Though Bronson was more settled in the more modern facilities and regime at Ashworth, he soon returned to his previous behavior. He used a sauce bottle to stab Mervin Horley, a patient who made sexual advances towards him. He was returned to the general prison population at Risley Remand Centre in 1985, but was placed in isolation after punching a fellow inmate. In May 1985, Bronson pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm for the attack on Horley, and three years were added to his sentence. Later in the year he was returned to Walton, where he made another three-day rooftop protest, causing £100,000 worth of damage. Authorities added another year to his sentence. He was moved to Albany, where he punched another convict on his first day in general prison population. He was quickly moved to Wormwood Scrubs, and two weeks later was returned to Wandsworth.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In 1986, Bronson was transferred eight times, the only new location being Winchester. He strangled the governor of Wormwood Scrubs during one particularly violent episode. On 3 January 1987, he was transferred to Gartree, where he served the rest of his sentence in isolation, other than ten days spent in nearby Leicester Prison.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Upon his release from Gartree, Peterson was met by his family and stayed with his parents for a few days in Aberystwyth. He journeyed by train to London, bought a water pistol, modified it, and used it to intimidate a stranger into driving him to Luton. Bronson embarked on a short-lived career in illegal bare-knuckle boxing in the East End of London on the advice of long-time friend Reggie Kray. He changed his name from Michael Peterson to Charles Bronson in 1987 on the advice of his fight promoter, Paul Edmonds, although he had never seen a film starring the American actor Charles Bronson. He offered to fight Lenny McLean, but was refused. He also said that he killed a rottweiler with his bare hands in a £10,000 underground fight. Later he said that this was "not something I'm proud of because I love animals."


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: To the surprise of his girlfriend Alison, on New Year's Day 1988 he robbed a jewellery shop, kept a ring for her, and sold the rest. On 7 January 1988, his 69th day of freedom, he was apprehended and arrested on his morning jog. The arresting officers charged him under his fighting name, Charles Bronson, and he decided at that moment to give up the name Michael Peterson. He was returned to Leicester Prison, as Bedford Prison refused to house him on account of his uncontrollable behaviour during his first stretch in prison. His defence had looked strong as eyewitnesses refused to testify due to fear of reprisals. Alison retracted her initial testimony and became the prosecution's main witness; this not only removed Bronson's alibi but gave the prosecution all the evidence needed to win the case. Bronson made a failed bid to reach the prison's roof, and was transferred to Brixton. Bronson was placed in a top-secure unit of 16 prisoners at Brixton. In June 1988, he pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to seven years.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Bronson was taken to Wandsworth, before being transferred to Full Sutton. There he spent time in isolation for punching a prisoner and a prison officer, and throwing water on the governor. He also spent a month at Durham, where he bonded with a family of rodents that crept into his cell. In 1989, he was moved to Long Lartin, and seemed to settle at the prison. However, he eventually "went over the edge" and ran riot in the nude, clutching onto a spear he fashioned out of a broken bottle and a broom handle. After another incident in which Bronson began a one-man riot, he was placed in isolation. He spent two months at Bristol, before being moved to Birmingham, Winchester, and back to Wandsworth in September 1989. He was regularly moved and regularly in trouble, particularly so when he punched two prison officers at Gartree and took the Deputy Governor hostage at Frankland. At Parkhurst, he was on the receiving end of an attack, when at least two prisoners stabbed him in the back several times; Bronson refused to speak to the police about it. He recovered from the attack without further incidents, and was released from prison in November 1992.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Bronson spent 53 days as a free man before being arrested once more, this time for conspiracy to rob. He was remanded at the newly opened Woodhill Prison, but insisted that his girlfriend Kelly-Anne, her friend Carol, and her lover were lying to the police in order to get him locked away. On 9 February 1993, the charges of robbery were dismissed; he was given a £600 fine for breaking the nose of Kelly-Anne's lover. Sixteen days later, he was arrested for conspiracy to rob and for possession of a sawn-off shotgun. On remand in Woodhill, he took a civilian librarian hostage, and demanded an inflatable doll, a helicopter, and a cup of tea from police negotiators. He released the hostage after being disgusted when the man broke wind in front of him.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Bronson was taken from Belmarsh to Bullingdon Prison for his trial. For the trial he pleaded guilty to possessing the shotgun, but not guilty for the conspiracy charges. He told the jury he had intended to use the shotgun to blow his head off. On 14 September 1993, he was found guilty of 'intent to rob' and not guilty of conspiracy to rob, while his co-defendant was found innocent of all charges. He was given an eight-year sentence.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Bronson was taken from Belmarsh to Wakefield, where he spent 40 days naked in isolation. He was transferred to Hull in November, where he spent a number of months without incident before he took deputy governor Adrian Wallace hostage on Easter Monday 1994. He was overpowered by guards, and was transferred to Leicester. He was returned to Wakefield, where he was confined to what was known as the "Hannibal Cage", previously occupied by Robert Maudsley. While there, prison officers Mick O'Hagan and Alan Jarvis encouraged Bronson to take up art, and he began to concentrate on cartooning.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: His father died in September 1994, during a period when Bronson was in constant solitary confinement and was moved almost weekly. He attacked the governor at High Down, who had felt safe enough to visit Bronson on his own, telling his prison officers that "he's okay with me". At Lincoln, he was allowed to spend time with children with Down syndrome; he was taken out of solitary and placed back on the prison wings after getting along well with the children. He was returned to isolation after returning from 30-minutes' exercise 30 minutes late.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In April 1996, he was sent back to Belmarsh after taking a doctor hostage at Birmingham. Five months later, an Iraqi hijacker bumped into him in the canteen and did not apologise. After a long period of brooding, Bronson took two other Iraqi hijackers, along with another inmate named Jason Greasley, hostage in a cell. By his own admission, he was "losing it badly" and ranted about his dead father, saying that any "funny business" would result in him "snapping necks". He sang and laughed and forced the Iraqis to tickle his feet and call him 'General'. He demanded a plane to take him to Libya, two Uzi sub-machine guns, 5,000 rounds of ammunition, and an axe. He released Greasley, but began chanting "I want ice cream". He felt guilty after hitting one of the hostages with a metal tray and therefore insisted the same hostage hit him over the head four times so as to call it 'quits'. He slashed himself four times with a safety razor, but agreed to release the hostages and walk back to the segregation unit. Another seven years were added to his sentence, though this was reduced to five on appeal.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In October 1996, Bronson was unsettled as he had an unexpected visit from Robert Taylor, a doctor, instead of his regular lawyer. He took Taylor hostage, but released him 30 minutes later after coming to his senses; Taylor refused to assist a prosecution.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In January 1999, he took Phil Danielson, a civilian education worker, hostage, as he had criticised one of Bronson's drawings. Bronson tore up the prison, throwing refrigeration units and furniture around. He was shocked and knocked unconscious for a few minutes when wrenching a washing machine out of the wall. The siege lasted for 44 hours before he released Danielson. Bronson was transferred to Whitemoor.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: For the incident, Bronson received a discretionary life sentence to run a minimum of three years. Later in 1999, a special prison unit was set up at Woodhill for Bronson, Robert Maudsley and Reginald Wilson, to reduce the risk they posed to staff and other prisoners. Danielson received £65,000 in compensation from the Home Office in an out-of-court settlement, although the prison service did not admit liability for its negligence in failing to protect a civilian employee.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In 2001, Bronson married again, this time in HMP Woodhill to Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcee. She had seen his picture and an article about him in a newspaper and began writing to him. Rehman had visited Bronson ten times before they married. She had worked at a women's shelter before they met, but lost her job when her employer found out about the relationship. For a short time, Bronson converted to his wife's faith of Islam, and wished to be known as Charles Ali Ahmed, but did not change his name legally. After four years he and Rehman divorced, and he renounced Islam. During this period, Bronson appealed against his life sentence, but three appeal court judges rejected the application in April 2004. In court, with six prison guards surrounding him, Bronson said his wife and her daughter were helping to rehabilitate him, and references about his character, including reports from psychiatrists, were positive on this occasion.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In 2007, two prison staff members at Full Sutton high security dispersal prison in the East Riding of Yorkshire were involved in a "control and restraint incident", in an attempt to prevent another hostage situation, during which Bronson had his tinted glasses broken. Bronson received £200 compensation for his broken glasses.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Bronson remained a Category A prisoner when he was moved to Wakefield High-Security Prison. He was due for a parole hearing in September 2008, but this was postponed when his lawyer objected to a one-hour parole interview, requesting a full day to deal with Bronson's case. The parole hearing took place on 11 March 2009, the board refused parole shortly afterwards.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In August 2013, a petition with 10,000 signatures was presented to 10 Downing Street calling for his release. In an enclosed note, Bronson appealed to prime minister David Cameron for him to be able to "live what's left of my life and not be buried in the prison system".


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: On 28 February 2014, Bronson violently attacked the prison governor in a television room in HMP Woodhill, over a dispute that his mail was being withheld, including two letters from his mother. The governor had serious bruising. In July 2014, Bronson was sentenced to two years. The prison had accepted that his mail may have been unacceptably processed.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In August 2014, Bronson announced that he was changing his name via deed poll to Charles Salvador, in tribute to the artist Salvador Dalí. In a hand-written statement on his website, Salvador stated that "The old me dried up... Bronson came alive in 1987. He died in 2014."


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Under this new name, he began creating works of art described as "fantasy reality". A collection of these works was auctioned in October 2014.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Salvador proposed to actress Paula Williamson, during a prison visit on 13 February 2017, and was accepted. She had been visiting him for five months. According to Williamson: "Charlie is a changed man. It is my hope that he will be released by my 40th birthday, in August 2020". Williamson, who had minor roles in "Coronation Street" and "Emmerdale", married Salvador in the prison chapel on 14 November 2017. It became known in July 2018 that Bronson asked for divorce after photo evidence of a young British holidaygoer 'motorboating' on her chest and inviting him and his friends to her apartment, whilst on holiday in Tenerife, was leaked to a newspaper. She claimed he requested his wife to wear a catsuit when she next visited him, a suggestion she rejected. On 29 July 2019, Williamson, aged 38, was found dead at her home in Stoke-on-Trent. Her death was not considered suspicious by the police.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In 2017, Bronson contacted newspaper photographer George Bamby after recognising his name on a Channel 4 documentary. After meeting, Bronson gave Bamby hair samples for DNA testing, which proved that Bronson is his father.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In November 2018, Bronson was found not guilty at Leeds Crown Court after being tried for attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. The incident the previous January had involved Mark Docherty, the governor at Wakefield prison. "For the first time in 44 years in prison I never intended to be violent. I never meant to hurt the governor", Bronson told the court (via Videolink) while defending himself. Shortly after his acquittal, he was moved to HM Prison Woodhill.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In June 2020, Bronson won a High Court battle for the right for his parole board meeting to be held in public, citing the right to a fair trial.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: While in prison, Bronson developed a fitness regime and in 2008 claimed he could still do 172 press-ups in 60 seconds and 94 sit-ups in 30 seconds. In 2002, he published the book "Solitary Fitness", detailing an individual training process with minimal resources and space.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: Since 1999, Bronson has occupied himself by writing poetry and producing artworks; he has had eleven books published, including in 2008 his only self-penned book "Loonyology: In My Own Words". He has won 11 Koestler Trust Awards for his poetry and art.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: On 28 April 2010, BBC News reported that artwork by Bronson was displayed on the London Underground at Angel tube station from 26 April 2010 for two weeks. The display was organised by Art Below, which is unrelated to the official Transport For London art programme. The National Victims' Association, which represents families affected by crime, queried the desirability of allowing Bronson "to engage with the British public in this way". His work was soon removed by an unknown party for unexplained reasons.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: "The Guardian" reported in 2014 that the sale of several of Bronson's artworks, which were formerly owned by Ronnie Kray, raised several thousand pounds for his mother to have a holiday. It followed her upset after Bronson's reported attack launched against 12 prison guards at HMP Woodhill.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In 2016, he auctioned one of his artworks to raise money for the treatment of a child with cerebral palsy.


title: Charles Bronson (prisoner)

text: In 2021, Bronson (under the name Charles Arthur Salvador) was featured on the single "Only Mad Men Crawl" by the Ayia Napa-based recording act Lost Vegas.