title: Haile Selassie

text: In February 1974, four days of serious riots in Addis Ababa against a sudden economic inflation left five dead. The emperor responded by announcing on national television a reduction in petrol prices and a freeze on the cost of basic commodities. This calmed the public, but the promised 33% military wage hike was not substantial enough to pacify the army, which then mutinied, beginning in Asmara and spreading throughout the empire. This mutiny led to the resignation of Prime Minister Aklilu Habte-Wold on 27 February 1974. Haile Selassie again went on television to agree to the army's demands for still greater pay, and named Endelkachew Makonnen as his new Prime Minister. Despite Endalkatchew's many concessions, discontent continued in March with a four-day general strike that paralyzed the nation.


title: Haile Selassie

text: The Derg, a committee of low-ranking military officers and enlisted men, set up in June to investigate the military's demands, took advantage of the government's disarray to depose the 82-year-old Haile Selassie on General Aman Mikael Andom, a Protestant of Eritrean origin, served briefly as provisional head of state pending the return of Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, who was then receiving medical treatment abroad. Haile Selassie was placed under house arrest briefly at the 4th Army Division in Addis Ababa. At the same time, most of his family was detained at the late Duke of Harar's residence in the north of the capital. The last months of the emperor's life were spent in imprisonment, in the Grand Palace. Reportedly, his mental condition was such that he believed he was still Emperor of Ethiopia.


title: Haile Selassie

text: Later, most of the imperial family was imprisoned in the Addis Ababa prison Kerchele, also known as "Alem Bekagne", or "I've had Enough of This World". On 23 November 60 former high officials of the imperial government were executed by firing squad without which included Haile Selassie's grandson Iskinder Desta, a rear admiral, as well as General Andom and two former These killings, known to Ethiopians as "Black Saturday", were condemned by Crown Prince Asfa Wossen; the Derg responded to his rebuke by revoking its acknowledgment of his imperial legitimacy, and announcing the end of the Solomonic dynasty.


title: Haile Selassie

text: On 28 August 1975, state media reported that Haile Selassie had died on 27 August of "respiratory failure" following complications from a prostate examination followed up by a prostate operation. Dr. Asrat Woldeyes denied that complications had occurred and rejected the government version of his death. The prostate operation in question apparently had taken place months before the state media claimed, and Haile Selassie had apparently enjoyed strong health in his last days. In 1994, an Ethiopian court found several former military officers guilty of strangling the emperor in his bed in 1975. Three years after the military socialist Derg regime was overthrown the court charged them with genocide and murder, claiming that it had obtained documents attesting to a high-level order from the military regime to assassinate Haile Selassie for leading a "feudal regime". Documents have been widely circulated online showing the Derg's final assassination order and bearing the military regime's seal and signature. The veracity of these documents has been corroborated by multiple former members of the military Derg regime.


title: Haile Selassie

text: The Soviet-backed People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Derg's successor, fell in 1991. In 1992, Haile Selassie's bones were found under a concrete slab on the palace grounds, Haile Selassie's coffin rested in Bhata Church for nearly a decade, near his great-uncle Menelik II's resting place. On 5 November 2000, the Ethiopian Orthodox church gave him a funeral, but the government refused calls to declare the ceremony an official imperial funeral.


title: Haile Selassie

text: Prominent Rastafari figures such as Rita Marley participated in the funeral, but most Rastafari rejected the event and refused to accept that the bones were Haile Selassie's remains. There is some debate within the Rastafari movement whether he actually died in 1975.


title: Haile Selassie

text: Haile Selassie had six children with Menen Asfaw: Princess Tenagnework, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, Princess Zenebework, Princess Tsehai, Prince Makonnen, and Prince Sahle Selassie.


title: Haile Selassie

text: There is some controversy about the maternity of Haile Selassie's eldest daughter, Princess Romanework. While the living members of the royal family state that Romanework is the eldest daughter of Empress Menen, it has been asserted that Princess Romanework is actually the daughter of a previous union of the emperor with a "Woizero" Altayech. This may be a nickname she used, as nobleman "Blata" Merse Hazen Wolde Kirkos, a contemporary source prominent in both the Imperial Court and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, names her "Woizero" Woinetu Amede and mentions her attending the wedding of her daughter to "Dejazmatch" Beyene Merid in a firsthand account in his book about the years before the Italian occupation. The emperor's autobiography makes no mention of this previous marriage or having fathered children with anyone other than Empress Menen. However, he mentions the death of this daughter in captivity at Turin.


title: Haile Selassie

text: Prince Asfaw Wossen was first married to Princess Wolete Israel Seyoum and then following their divorce to Princess Medferiashwork Abebe. Prince Makonnen was married to Princess Sara Gizaw. Prince Sahle Selassie was married to Princess Mahisente Habte Mariam. Princess Tenagnework first married Ras Desta Damtew, and after she was widowed, married Ras Andargachew Messai. Princess Zenebework married Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa. Princess Tsehai married Lt. General Abiye Abebe.


title: Haile Selassie

text: A public rift between some of the descendants ensued when the late Emperor's Patek Philippe watch came up for auction in 2017. In the end it was sold for $2.9 million by leading international auction house Christie's.


title: Haile Selassie

text: Today, Haile Selassie is worshipped as God incarnate among some followers of the Rastafari movement (taken from Haile Selassie's pre-imperial name "Ras"—meaning "Head", a title looking equivalent to Duke—Tafari Makonnen), which emerged in Jamaica during the 1930s under the influence of Leonard Howell, a follower of Marcus Garvey's "African Redemption" movement. He is viewed as the messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to freedom. His official titles are "Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah" and "King of Kings of Ethiopia, Lord of Lords and Elect of God", and his traditional lineage is thought to be from Solomon and Sheba. These notions are perceived by Rastafari as confirmation of the return of the messiah in the prophetic Book of Revelation in the New Testament: "King of Kings", "Lord of Lords", "Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah," and "Root of David". Rastafari faith in the incarnate divinity of Haile Selassie began after news reports of his coronation reached Jamaica, particularly via the two "Time" magazine articles on the coronation the week before and the week after the event. Haile Selassie's own perspectives permeate the philosophy of the movement.


title: Haile Selassie

text: In 1961, the Jamaican government sent a delegation composed of both Rastafari and non-Rastafari leaders to Ethiopia to discuss the matter of repatriation, among other issues, with the emperor. He reportedly told the Rastafari delegation (which included Mortimer Planno), "Tell the Brethren to be not dismayed, I personally will give my assistance in the matter of repatriation."


title: Haile Selassie

text: Haile Selassie visited Jamaica on 21 April 1966, and approximately one hundred thousand Rastafari from all over Jamaica descended on Palisadoes Airport in Kingston to greet him. Spliffs and chalices were openly smoked, causing "a haze of ganja smoke" to drift through the air. Haile Selassie arrived at the airport but was unable to come down the airplane's mobile steps, as the crowd rushed the tarmac. He then returned into the plane, disappearing for several more minutes. Finally, Jamaican authorities were obliged to request Ras Mortimer Planno, a well-known Rasta leader, to climb the steps, enter the plane, and negotiate the emperor's descent. Planno re-emerged and announced to the crowd: "The Emperor has instructed me to tell you to be calm. Step back and let the Emperor land". This day is widely held by scholars to be a major turning point for the movement, and it is still commemorated by Rastafari as Grounation Day, the anniversary of which is celebrated as the second holiest holiday after 2 November, the emperor's Coronation Day.


title: Haile Selassie

text: From then on, as a result of Planno's actions, the Jamaican authorities were asked to ensure that Rastafari representatives were present at all state functions attended by the emperor, and Rastafari elders also ensured that they obtained a private audience with the emperor, where he reportedly told them that they should not emigrate to Ethiopia until they had first liberated the people of Jamaica. This dictum came to be known as "liberation before repatriation".


title: Haile Selassie

text: Haile Selassie defied expectations of the Jamaican authorities and never rebuked the Rastafari for their belief in him as God. Instead, he presented the movement's faithful elders with gold medallions—the only recipients of such an honor on this visit. During PNP leader (later Jamaican Prime Minister) Michael Manley's visit to Ethiopia in October 1969, the emperor allegedly still recalled his 1966 reception with amazement, and stated that he felt that he had to be respectful of their beliefs. This was the visit when Manley received the Rod of Correction or Rod of Joshua as a present from the emperor, which is thought to have helped him to win the 1972 election in Jamaica.


title: Haile Selassie

text: Rita Marley, Bob Marley's wife, converted to the Rastafari faith after seeing Haile Selassie on his Jamaican trip. She claimed in interviews (and in her book "No Woman, No Cry") that she saw a "stigmata" print on the palm of Haile Selassie's hand as he waved to the crowd, which resembled the markings on Christ's hands from being nailed to the cross—a claim that was not supported by other sources, but was used as evidence for her and other Rastafari to suggest that Haile Selassie I was indeed their messiah. She was also influential in the conversion of Bob Marley, who then became internationally recognized. As a result, Rastafari became much better known throughout much of the world. Bob Marley's posthumously released song "Iron Lion Zion" refers to Haile Selassie.


title: Haile Selassie

text: In a 1967 recorded interview with the CBC, Haile Selassie denied his alleged divinity. In the interview Bill McNeil says: "there are millions of Christians throughout the world, your Imperial Majesty, who regard you as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ." Haile Selassie replied in his native language:


title: Haile Selassie

text: For many Rastafari the CBC interview is not interpreted as a denial of his divinity. According to Robert Earl Hood, Haile Selassie neither denied nor affirmed his divinity either way. In "Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music", Kevin Chang and Wayne Chen note:


title: Haile Selassie

text: After his return to Ethiopia, he dispatched Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq Mandefro to the Caribbean and according to Yesehaq this was done to help draw Rastafari and other West Indians to the Ethiopian church. However some sources suggest that certain islanders and their leaders were resenting the services of their former colonial churches and vocalized their interest of establishing the Ethiopian church in the Caribbean to which the Emperor obliged.


title: Haile Selassie

text: In 1969, Michael Manley visited the Emperor at his palace in Addis Ababa before his election as Prime Minister of Jamaica in 1972. Haile Selassie spoke about his visit to Jamaica in 1966 and told Manley that he was totally dumbfounded by the Rastafarians' beliefs but that he had to be respectful of them.


title: Haile Selassie

text: In 1948, Haile Selassie donated 500 hectares of land at Shashamane, south of Addis Ababa, to the Ethiopian World Federation Incorporated for the use of people of African descent who supported Ethiopia during the war, particularly those from the West. Numerous Rastafari families settled there and still live as a community to this day. Haile Selassie granted Rastafarians land on traditional Oromo domain hence today the Rastas are viewed by the locals as invaders.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in "A Clockwork Orange." He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised in Liverpool. He later trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before embarking on an acting career that has spanned over 50 years.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: He is also known for playing the title character in "Caligula" (1979), and Mick Travis in the trilogy of "if..." (1968), "O Lucky Man!" (1973), and "Britannia Hospital" (1982). He has also appeared in films such as "Time After Time" (1979), "Cat People" (1982), "Blue Thunder" (1983), "Star Trek Generations" (1994), "Tank Girl" (1995), "Gangster No. 1" (2000), "Easy A" (2010), "The Artist" (2011) and "Bombshell" (2019). He also appeared as Dr. Samuel Loomis in the 2007 remake "Halloween" and its 2009 sequel, "Halloween II".


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell has also had a string of roles on television series such as recurring roles on "Entourage" (2005–2011) and "Heroes" (2006–2007), and starring roles on "Franklin & Bash" (2011–2014) and "Mozart in the Jungle" (2014–2018). Later in his career, he became a prolific voice actor in films, television series and video games such as "Metalocalypse" (2007–2012), "Bolt" (2008), "Fallout 3" (2008), "God of War III" (2010), "The Elder Scrolls Online" (2014), "" (2015) and "Castlevania" (2020). He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: He is having a reprise in the Canadian comedy series "Son of a Critch" set in 1980s Newfoundland and Labrador, where he plays the mischievous patriarch and grandfather in the family who has to share a room with his youngest grandson. It airs on the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC).


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell was born Malcolm John Taylor on 13 June 1943 in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of hotelier Edna (née McDowell) and RAF officer (and later pub owner) Charles Taylor. He has an older sister named Gloria and a younger sister named Judy. Gloria later had a son, actor Alexander Siddig, alongside whom McDowell would appear in the film "Doomsday" (2008). The family moved to Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, where McDowell's father was stationed at the nearby RAF Carnaby. They then moved to Liverpool, where McDowell grew up and as a teenager took a job in a Planters nut factory in nearby Aintree, as well as working at his father's pub, The Bull and Dog, in Burscough, Lancashire. He began taking acting classes while in school, later moving to London in order to train as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell initially secured work as an extra with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his film debut as school rebel Mick Travis in "if..." (1968) by British director Lindsay Anderson. A landmark of British countercultural cinema, the BFI named "if..." the 12th greatest British film of the 20th century. McDowell's next roles were in "Figures in a Landscape" (1970) and "The Raging Moon" (1971). His performance in "if..." caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick, who cast McDowell for the lead in "A Clockwork Orange" (1971), adapted from the novel by Anthony Burgess. He gained massive acclaim for his performance as Alex DeLarge, a young sadist who undergoes brainwashing by the British government in a near future society. He was nominated for a Golden Globe, a National Society of Film Critics Award, and a New York Film Critics Circle Award as Best Actor.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: He worked with Anderson again for "O Lucky Man!" (1973, also wrote), which was inspired by McDowell's experience working as a coffee salesman, and "Britannia Hospital" (1982). McDowell regularly appeared on British television productions in the 1970s in adaptations of theatre classics, one example being with Laurence Olivier in "The Collection" (1976), as part of the series "Laurence Olivier Presents". He starred in "Aces High" (1976) and co-starred in "Voyage of the Damned" (1976), and as Dornford Yates' gentleman hero Richard Chandos in "She Fell Among Thieves" (1978) and the title character in "Caligula" (1979). He made his Hollywood debut as H. G. Wells in "Time After Time" (1979). He has often portrayed antagonists, later remarking on his career playing film villains: "I suppose I'm primarily known for that but in fact, that would only be half of my career if I was to top it all up". In his biography "", author Roger Lewis commented on McDowell's later career: "his pretty-boy looks faded and he was condemned to playing villains in straight-to-video films that turn up on Channel 5".


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell appeared in the action film "Blue Thunder" (1983) as F.E. Cochrane, and the horror remake "Cat People" (1982). In 1983, he starred in "Get Crazy" as Reggie Wanker, a parody of Mick Jagger. Also in 1983, McDowell starred as the Wolf (Reginald von Lupen) in "Faerie Tale Theatre"s rendition of "Little Red Riding Hood" (his wife at that time, Mary Steenburgen, played Little Red Riding Hood). In 1984, he narrated the documentary "The Compleat Beatles". He is known in "Star Trek" circles as "the man who killed Captain Kirk", appearing in the film "Star Trek Generations" (1994) in which he played the mad scientist Dr. Tolian Soran, and several overzealous "Star Trek" fans even issued death threats for this. McDowell appeared in several computer games, most notably as Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in the "Wing Commander" series of computer games. His appearance in "Wing Commander III" marked the series transition from 2D pre-rendered cutscenes to live-action cutscenes. His appearance in "Wing Commander IV" was during the final days of video game live action cutscenes.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: In 1995, he co-starred with actress and artist Lori Petty in the science fiction/action comedy film "Tank Girl". Here, he played the villain Dr. Kesslee, the evil director of the global Water and Power Company, whose main goal in the story was to control the planet's entire water supply on a future desert-like, post-apocalyptic Earth.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell appeared in a 2000 episode of the animated series "South Park", which was a comedic retelling of the Charles Dickens novel "Great Expectations". In the episode, McDowell played the real-life narrator of the story in live action, introducing himself simply as "a British person," in a parody of "Masterpiece Theatre", and its ex-host, Alistair Cooke.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell played himself in Robert Altman's "The Player", in which he chastises protagonist Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) for badmouthing him behind his back. He worked with Altman once again for "The Company" (2003) as "Mr. A.", the fictional director of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. His character was based on real-life director Gerald Arpino. McDowell had a brief but memorable role as the psychopathic Gangster in the British crime film "Gangster No. 1" (2000). In the film "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" (2003), he played a straight married man who rapes a young drug dealer to "teach him a lesson". The film also starred Clive Owen as the victim's elder brother.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: In 2006, McDowell portrayed radio mogul Jonas Slaughter on "". The following year, he portrayed the villainous Mr. Linderman on the first season of the NBC series "Heroes", a role he reprised in the third-season premiere. He starred in "Jerry Was a Man", which appeared as an episode of "Masters of Science Fiction" on Sky. He portrayed Terrence McQuewick on "Entourage", and he made a Special Guest Appearance as the icy fashion designer Julian Hodge in the "Monk" season 4 episode, "Mr. Monk Goes to a Fashion Show". "Never Apologize" is a 2007 documentary film of Malcolm McDowell's one-man show about his experiences working with film director Lindsay Anderson.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell appeared as Dr. Samuel Loomis in Rob Zombie's remakes of "Halloween" and "Halloween II" (in 2007 and 2009, respectively). Although the films were not well received critically, they performed better at the box office and McDowell was widely praised for his performances and for being perfectly cast. He also played Desmond LaRochette in Robert Whitlow's "The List" (2007), and Irish patriarch Enda Doyle in "Red Roses and Petrol" (2003). His next film is the Canadian vampire comedy rock and roll film "Suck" (2009) with actor/director Rob Stefaniuk and the upcoming Alex Wright film "Two Wolves". In December 2009, he made an appearance in the music video "Snuff" by the heavy metal band Slipknot. He appears, uncredited, as the curator Lombardi, in the film "The Book of Eli" (2010). McDowell portrayed Satan in the Christian comedy thriller film "Suing the Devil" (2011).


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: In 2011, McDowell was cast in the role of Stanton Infeld on the TNT original series "Franklin & Bash", and appeared in the Academy Award-winning film "The Artist". In 2012, McDowell appeared in the horror films "Vamps" and "". On 16 March 2012, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, aptly outside the Pig n' Whistle British pub on Hollywood Boulevard. His fellow British actor Gary Oldman was in attendance and paid tribute to McDowell for inspiring him to become an actor.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: In 2013, he appeared as the title character in the psychological thriller "The Employer", for which he won Best Actor at the Los Angeles Movie Awards. In 2013, McDowell also ventured into the Steampunk genre, starring in the short film "Cowboys & Engines" alongside Richard Hatch and Walter Koenig. In 2013, he starred as King Henry II of England in the film "Richard the Lionheart", with Gregory Chandler as the title character. He portrayed Father Murder in the 2016 Rob Zombie film "31". McDowell also played Boogeyman in "Abnormal Attraction" (2018) co-starring Gilbert Gottfried, Bruce Davison, Tyler Mane and Leslie Easterbrook.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell was the featured narrator in the documentary "The Compleat Beatles", released in 1982. He voiced Lord Maliss in "Happily Ever After" (1989), Zarm in the cartoon Captain Planet and the Planeteers, the Superman villain Metallo in "", Mad Mod on "Teen Titans", Merlyn in "" (2010), Arkady Duvall (son of Ra's al Ghul) on "" and as the voice of a Death Star commander on a "Robot Chicken" "Star Wars". He is also a regular on the second season of the Adult Swim cartoon "Metalocalypse" as Vater Orlaag and other characters. McDowell also voiced Dr. Calico in Disney's "Bolt" (2008) and the henchman Reeses II in the animated series "Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys", a show laced with references to many movies including his own role in "A Clockwork Orange".


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: In 2006–07, he contributed spoken word to two Pink Floyd tribute albums produced by Billy Sherwood: "Back Against the Wall" and "Return to the Dark Side of the Moon". He has also provided voice-over work for Borgore on his album "#NEWGOREORDER" (2014). In 2008, McDowell began a recurring role as Grandpa Fletcher on "Phineas and Ferb". He also narrated the award-winning documentary "".


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell reprised his role of Metallo in the video game "" and an episode of "Justice League Unlimited". He also provided his voice for the character President John Henry Eden in the video game "Fallout 3", Rupert Pelham in the game "WET", King "Solomon" in the Word of Promise Audio Bible, and the "CEO" of Stahl Arms in "Killzone 3", Jorhan Stahl. He also voiced Daedalus in "God of War III". He is the voice for the primary antagonist Molag Bal in the MMO "The Elder Scrolls Online". He is also the voice of Dr. Monty in "".


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell portrayed Caiaphas in "The Truth & Life Dramatised audio New Testament Bible", a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatised audio New Testament which uses the RSV-CE translation.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell is the host of "Fangoria's Dreadtime Stories", a monthly series of radio dramas with a mystery, horror, science fiction and dark humour theme. Each month, a new episode is available for download, and scripts, as used by McDowell and the supporting actors, are also available at the Fangoria website.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: In 2020, he interpreted Gabriele Tinti's poetry inspired by epigraphs collected in the National Roman Museum.


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell met actress and publicist Margot Bennett in March 1969, and they were married from April 1975 to September 1980. He met actress Mary Steenburgen in 1978 while filming "Time After Time", and they married in September 1980. They had two children together, Lilly (born 22 January 1981) and filmmaker Charlie McDowell (born 10 July 1983), before divorcing in 1990. He married Kelley Kuhr, 24 years his junior, in 1991. They live in Ojai, California, and have three sons together: Beckett McDowell (born 18 January 2004), Finnian (born 23 December 2006), and Seamus (born 7 January 2009).


title: Malcolm McDowell

text: McDowell became a fan of Liverpool FC after moving to Liverpool as a child, spending much of his childhood at Anfield, and continues to support the team.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" and as the host of the late-night talk show "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", which he began hosting after "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" ended.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon grew up with an interest in comedy and music, moving to Los Angeles at 21 to pursue stand-up comedy. He was commissioned to join "Saturday Night Live" as a cast member in 1998, fulfilling a lifelong dream. He remained on "SNL" for six years between 1998 and 2004, co-hosting the program's "Weekend Update" segment and becoming well known in the process. He left the show to star in films such as "Taxi" (2004) and "Fever Pitch" (2005).


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Following his film career, Fallon returned to television as the host of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on NBC in 2009, where he became known for his emphasis on music and video games. He moved from that show to become the sixth permanent host of the long-running "Tonight Show" in 2014. In addition to his television work, he has released two comedy albums and seven books, mainly aimed at children.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: James Thomas Fallon was born in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of New York City's Brooklyn borough on September 19, 1974, the son of Gloria (née Feeley) and James Fallon. His paternal grandmother was a German immigrant from Osterholz-Scharmbeck, while his maternal grandmother's father was a Norwegian immigrant from Fredrikstad. Another set of his great-great-grandparents were an Irish couple from County Galway, with this great-great-grandmother herself being born to an Irish couple in France.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon's father spent his adolescence singing in street-corner doo-wop groups then served in the Vietnam War. Shortly after his son's birth, he started working as a machine repairman for IBM in Kingston, New York. In preparation, the family moved nearby to Saugerties, New York. Fallon has described his childhood as idyllic, while his parents have been described as overprotective. He and his sister, Gloria, were unable to leave their home and had to ride their bicycles in the backyard. Fallon attended the Roman Catholic school St. Mary of the Snow. He considered becoming a priest, inspired by his experiences as an altar boy, but became more interested in comedy instead. He spent many nights listening to the radio program "The Dr. Demento Show", which exposed him to both comedy and music; he often recorded it on a reel-to-reel recorder.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: As a teenager, Fallon developed an obsession with the late-night comedy program "Saturday Night Live". He watched it religiously, although he was only allowed to see "the clean parts" that his parents taped for him. He and Gloria would re-enact sketches such as "The Festrunk Brothers" with friends. In his teens, he impressed his parents with impersonations, including of actor James Cagney and comedian Dana Carvey. He was musically inclined and started playing guitar at age 13, going on to perform comedy and music in contests and shows. By his junior high years, he was labeled a class clown but was also described as "nice and well-mannered".


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: At Saugerties High School, Fallon was a performer in most stage productions and was twice a class social director. He won a young comedian's contest with an impression of Pee-wee Herman. He graduated in 1992 and then attended The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, where he was a computer science major before switching to communications in his senior year. He was an average student who would perform stand-up comedy on weekends. He would often board buses from his aunt's house in Fort Hamilton to perform sets at Caroline's Comedy Club in Times Square. He did not graduate, leaving college a semester early to pursue a comedy career.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fourteen years later, in May 2009, Fallon returned to receive a Bachelor of Arts in communications, awarded by Saint Rose officials who granted him experiential learning credits for his television work. He joined his classmates at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to collect his degree.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon dropped out of the College of Saint Rose in 1995 to move to Los Angeles and pursue comedy full-time. He secured a manager and got bookings by the age of 21. He often did stand-up at the Improv, earning $7.50 per set, and he joined classes with the Groundlings, an improv comedy troupe. He appeared in the feature film "The Scheme" (originally entitled "The Entrepreneurs"). His one line in the 1997 film "Father's Day" was cut, but he can still be seen in the background. In 1998, Fallon appeared briefly on the show "Spin City" in the second season as a man selling photographs.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: He remained fixated on joining "Saturday Night Live". After two years of working with the Groundlings, he auditioned for the program in 1997, but was unsuccessful. When he was cast in a pilot presentation for The WB, Fallon made sure to include a clause in his contract specifying that if he were to join "SNL" he would be released from his contract. His manager sent videotapes to Marci Klein and Ayala Cohen, producers for "SNL".


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon landed his second audition at the age of 23. At the "notoriously difficult audition," he was told by several people that creator Lorne Michaels almost never laughed during auditions. He feared being outshined by the comic before him, who came armed with an arsenal of props. But Fallon went onstage and did well, performing a "celebrity walk-a-thon" with impressions of Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, and Adam Sandler, an "SNL" alumnus who had recently left the show. Michaels and others laughed.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Head writer Tina Fey, who was in the room, later said, "He's one of two people I've ever seen who was completely ready to be on the show. Kristen Wiig is the other one... And Jimmy was ready—like, if there had been a show to do that night." He rushed through his original characters in order to arrive at his musical impressions, which he felt were stronger. Three weeks passed, and despite his feeling that he had not gotten the position, he was asked to meet with Michaels at the Paramount lot in Los Angeles. Michaels informed him that they wanted him for the show, and Fallon characterized the moment as being in "slow motion," remarking to Michaels before he left, "I'm going to make you proud."


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon debuted on "Saturday Night Live" as a featured player at the beginning of the show's twenty-fourth season in September 1998. He became a star by his fourth episode, when he performed Halloween-themed versions of songs by popular artists, as well as his Sandler impression. Fallon became a celebrity, considered charming by his largely female fan-base, receiving numerous letters from fans, and becoming the subject of numerous fan-sites. He became the program's most featured mimic, doing popular impressions of Robert De Niro, Jerry Seinfeld, and Howard Stern. He also starred as many original characters, including Nick Burns, an IT support nerd, Pat "Sully" Sullivan, one of the Boston Teens with Rachel Dratch, and in Jarret's Room, a fictional webcast hosted by stoner college students Jarret (Fallon) and Gobi (Horatio Sanz). He was promoted to repertory player in his second season.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: In his offtime, Fallon released a book comprising e-mail exchanges with his sister Gloria, titled "I Hate This Place: A Pessimist's Guide to Life" (1999), and filmed a minor role for the film "Almost Famous" (2000). During their time at "SNL", Fallon and Horatio Sanz often drank together. Sanz has described himself and Fallon as "super-functioning alcoholics", and stated, "They say that kind of goes hand in hand with "SNL", some kind of substance-abuse issues, because it's so stressful you easily find yourself blowing off steam a lot." For example, on one occasion, they spent a Friday night watching The Strokes perform a midnight show, staying up until the early morning drinking, despite having to do "SNL" that night. "We actually took what we thought being on SNL was, what people think is awesome about it, and we made it happen," said Sanz, who noted that he and Fallon got in more than a few bar fights.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon initially envisioned he would spend three years at "SNL", like John Belushi, but he was persuaded to stay on for an additional three when given the reins to "Weekend Update" (which he would co-host with writer Tina Fey). His co-hosting of "Weekend Update" increased his profile even more. During this tenure, he formed a close relationship with Michaels, whom he'd consult with on anything from dating to career advice. Fallon called a December 2001 sketch in which he imitates Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger in a mirror opposite Jagger his favorite thing he had done up to that point.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: In his later years on "SNL", Fallon co-starred in skit titled "The Barry Gibb Talk Show" alongside musician Justin Timberlake, where the duo portrayed Bee Gees brothers Barry and Robin Gibb. It marked the beginning of a long-running friendship and collaboration with Timberlake.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon became well known for his tendency to break character in sketches, an attribute he himself, as well as Michaels, disliked. It began in the famous "More Cowbell" sketch, when Will Ferrell wore a tighter shirt than expected, causing Fallon to crack up. Following this, other cast members would intentionally try to get Fallon to break. Other cast members believed he was attempting to steal the moment, to make the sketch about himself. The joke became near-constant during Fallon's final year on the show. During this time, Fallon parlayed his "SNL" success into co-hosting the 2001 MTV Movie Awards and 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, and the recording on his debut comedy album, "The Bathroom Wall" (2002), which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. He also modeled for Calvin Klein. Fallon was named one of "People" magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2002, an honor Fallon found embarrassing.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon began to pursue a movie career beginning in 2004. He had spurned most major roles due to lack of time and disinterest in the dozens of scripts he read. He signed on for his first lead role in "Taxi", a remake of a French film. Fallon had read the script in the prior years but became more interested when co-star Queen Latifah became attached to the project. He was also attracted to the film's action comedy tone, seeing comparisons with "SNL" alumnus Eddie Murphy's first big film, "48 Hrs." (1982).


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: In the fall of 2003, he split his time between shooting the film in Los Angeles and returning to New York City for "SNL". Due to these conflicts (and his contract ending), his sixth season at "SNL" was his last, with Fallon signing off at the conclusion of the show's twenty-ninth season in May 2004.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: With big expectations from the studio, "Taxi" premiered in the fall of 2004 and was a flop with critics and audiences, resulting in Fallon's first failure. 20th Century Fox had already signed him on for his second major role, starring opposite Drew Barrymore in the 2005 romantic comedy "Fever Pitch". "Fever Pitch" did not fare much better than "Taxi", receiving mild reviews and tepid box office returns. He met his wife, producer Nancy Juvonen, during production of the film and the two wed in December 2007.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Film offers decreased, with his two chances for major films both considered failures. Subsequently, Fallon went through what he has deemed a "lost period," characterized by a larger-than-usual alcohol consumption and confusion over his next career moves. He wrote a screenplay during this time "about a guy in a goth band who has to pretend to be a country-music star." Following his failure in film, Fallon moved back east to New York, spending "a couple of years aimlessly knocking around."


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Prior to leaving "SNL", Michaels had mentioned to Fallon that he would be a good fit to take over NBC's "Late Night" franchise when then-host Conan O'Brien would depart the show to host the long-running "Tonight Show" in the future. Michaels urged NBC to give Fallon a holding deal in February 2007 so that he couldn't be lured elsewhere.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: To prepare for the role of a late-night host, Fallon toured college campuses and comedy clubs for eight months, where he tested out a new, 50-minute routine. He also began watching the comedy of Chevy Chase, Dick Cavett, and Johnny Carson, as well as "The Larry Sanders Show". In May 2008, Fallon was announced as the successor to O'Brien's "Late Night".


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon was considered an odd choice for the job, both by executives at NBC (who "hated" the idea and predicted it to be a failure), and among the general public. This was referenced in an early promo for the series: "You loved him on "SNL"! You hated him in the movies! Now you're ambivalent."


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" premiered in March 2009 to mixed reviews. Producer Michael Shoemaker felt that the show's style solidified when it used Susan Boyle as a joke. While other late-night programs had centered on her appearance, Fallon's "Late Night" debuted a sketch in which Boyle's emotional performances could "salve any affliction." It was this style of humor, that Adam Sternbergh of "New York" dubbed "the comedy of unabashed celebration," that led to the program's success.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon proved himself different from other late-night hosts, with more of a reliance on music, dancing, impersonations, and games.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Between Fallon's own musical sensibilities and the recruitment of his house band, hip-hop collective The Roots, his incarnation of "Late Night" "evolved into the most deeply musical of TV's musical-comedy variety programs," with sketches in which he parodies Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen going viral online. Coincidentally, it was during the "Tonight Show" debacle that Fallon's show found its footing.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Another component built into the program was its association with social media and the Internet. The first majorly successful online clip was of Fallon and Justin Timberlake performing a "History of Rap." Online interaction and its presence on the show soon became crucial to its success. , Fallon was earning a salary of $11 million a year for his work on "Late Night".


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon also hosted the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2010. In 2012, Fallon released his second comedy album, "Blow Your Pants Off", which compiles many of his musical performances on "Late Night". The album won a Grammy in 2013 for Best Comedy Album. Discussions for Fallon to take over "The Tonight Show" began in early 2013.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: On April 3, 2013, following a period of speculation, NBC announced that Fallon would succeed Jay Leno, following the 2014 Winter Olympics, to become the sixth permanent host of "The Tonight Show". Fallon and Leno sang a parody of the song "Tonight" about the "Tonight Show" together. Fallon's "Tonight Show" debut on February 17, 2014, on NBC's network engaged 11.3 million viewers.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon's third book, "Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada", a children's book, was released in June 2015.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: On September 15, 2016, Fallon hosted Donald Trump on "The Tonight Show" during the United States presidential election. Following the appearance, Fallon was criticized by some media critics and viewers on social media for the uncontroversial questions he asked of Trump. David Sims, writing in "The Atlantic", called the interview an "embarrassment." In response to the criticism, Fallon said to TMZ: "Have you seen my show? I'm never too hard on anyone. We'll have Hillary [Clinton] on tomorrow, and we'll do something fun with her too." Fallon apologized in March 2017 for the interview, saying "I didn't do it to humanize him. I almost did it to minimize him. I didn't think that would be a compliment ... After this happened, I was devastated. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just trying to have fun." He again apologized for the interview in June 2018 on a podcast with "The Hollywood Reporter", saying that he "made a mistake" and added "I did not do it to 'normalize' him or to say I believe in his political beliefs or any of that stuff."


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: In 2020, Fallon partnered with pacifier company WubbaNub to create two limited-edition pacifiers based on the penguin and cow characters from his children's books.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: In January 2022, Fallon received backlash for discussing NFTs (and promoting one of his own NFTs) on his show during an interview with Paris Hilton, which may have breached conflict of interest policies set by NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast; his own NFT was deduced to have most likely been purchased in November 2021 for approximately $216,000, and his promotion of it on the show could potentially boost its asking price if he decided to sell it. NBC responded to the criticism by stating that it did not believe Fallon had broken its conflict of interest rules.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: In November, on his show, Cameron Crowe and Fallon announced he will reprise his role of Dennis Hope, from "Almost Famous", for a broadway musical.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: On November 16, 2022, a Twitter hoax spread with the hashtag "#RIPJimmyFallon", which started trending nationwide. Fallon asked Twitter owner Elon Musk for help, who joked "Say something that only the real Jimmy would say…" On his show the following day, Fallon made fun of the rumors in a skit described by "Vulture" as "tent revival-esque."


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon told David Steinberg on the Showtime series "Inside Comedy" that as a child he and his sister would imitate Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd's "Wild and Crazy Guys" routines from "Saturday Night Live", and that he listened to comedy records, learning to imitate Rodney Dangerfield from them. In 2009 he spoke on the influence of Monty Python when he appeared in the television documentary, "".


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon married film producer Nancy Juvonen on December 22, 2007. They initially met on the set of "Saturday Night Live", but did not become friends until later on the set of "Fever Pitch". Fallon proposed in August 2007 with a Neil Lane-designed engagement ring on the dock of Juvonen's family home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. They were married four months later. Their daughters were born via surrogate in 2013 and 2014. They live in Sagaponack, New York, and have a female English cream Golden Retriever named Gary Frick that has appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon".


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: On November 4, 2017, Fallon's mother Gloria died from undisclosed causes at the age of 68 at NYU Langone Medical Center. Scheduled tapings of the following week's "Tonight Show" episodes were canceled. One week later, Fallon paid tribute to his mother following that night's monologue, becoming emotional and calling her "the best audience".


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: Fallon was raised Roman Catholic. In a 2011 interview with NPR, he expressed his fondness for the Latin Mass, and stated he was no longer a regular churchgoer.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: On June 26, 2015, Fallon suffered a ring avulsion injury when he tripped over a rug in his home and tried to break his fall by holding onto a countertop, causing his finger to nearly get torn off by his wedding ring. He was taken to the emergency room and then sent to a surgeon who performed microsurgery on his finger. He spent 10 days in the ICU before going home. He discussed this on the July 13 episode of the "Tonight Show" and thanked the doctors and nurses who helped him. A month later, he was still expecting to spend another eight weeks without any feeling in his finger. In an interview with "Billboard" magazine in September 2015, he explained that his finger still had limited mobility and that another surgery would be required. He reiterated this point at the 67th Emmy Awards on September 20, 2015, when he appeared in public without his finger bandaged for the first time since the accident.


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: On January 4, 2022, Fallon announced on Instagram that he had tested positive for COVID-19 over the holiday season. He thanked medical professionals and credited the COVID-19 vaccine with making him "lucky enough to only have mild symptoms".


title: Jimmy Fallon

text: In August 2022, an anonymous woman who alleged "SNL" cast member Horatio Sanz groomed her and sexually assaulted her in 2002 when she was under the age of 18 requested that Fallon be added to her lawsuit against Sanz as a defendant, alleging he enabled Sanz's behavior.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.


title: Royal Navy

text: From the middle decades of the 17th century, and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century, it was the world's most powerful navy until the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority globally. Owing to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, to refer to it as "the Royal Navy" without qualification. Following World War I, it was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of World War II it was still the world's largest. During the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines and mostly active in the GIUK gap. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, its focus has returned to expeditionary operations around the world and it remains one of the world's foremost blue-water navies.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy maintains a fleet of technologically sophisticated ships, submarines, and aircraft, including 2 aircraft carriers, 2 amphibious transport docks, 4 ballistic missile submarines (which maintain the nuclear deterrent), 6 nuclear fleet submarines, 6 guided missile destroyers, 12 frigates, 9 mine-countermeasure vessels and 26 patrol vessels. As of October 2022, there are 72 operational commissioned ships (including submarines as well as one historic ship, ) in the Royal Navy, plus 11 ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA); there are also five Merchant Navy ships available to the RFA under a private finance initiative. The RFA replenishes Royal Navy warships at sea, and augments the Royal Navy's amphibious warfare capabilities through its three vessels. It also works as a force multiplier for the Royal Navy, often doing patrols that frigates used to do.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy is part of His Majesty's Naval Service, which also includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord who is an admiral and member of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom. The Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The Royal Navy operates from three bases in Britain where commissioned ships and submarines are based: Portsmouth, Clyde and Devonport, the last being the largest operational naval base in Western Europe, as well as two naval air stations, RNAS Yeovilton and RNAS Culdrose where maritime aircraft are based.


title: Royal Navy

text: As the seaborne branch of HM Armed Forces, the RN has various roles. As it stands today, the RN has stated its six major roles as detailed below in umbrella terms.


title: Royal Navy

text: The English Royal Navy was formally founded in 1546 by Henry VIII though the Kingdom of England had possessed less-organised naval forces for centuries prior to this.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Scots Navy (or Old Scots Navy) had its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the English Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707.


title: Royal Navy

text: During much of the medieval period, fleets or "king's ships" were often established or gathered for specific campaigns or actions, and these would disperse afterwards. These were generally merchant ships enlisted into service. Unlike some European states, England did not maintain a small permanent core of warships in peacetime. England's naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilization of fleets when war broke out was slow. Control of the sea only became critical to Anglo-Saxon kings in the 10th century. In the 11th century, Aethelred II had an especially large fleet built by a national levy. During the period of Danish rule in the 11th century, the authorities maintained a standing fleet by taxation, and this continued for a time under Edward the Confessor, who frequently commanded fleets in person. After the Norman Conquest, English naval power waned and England suffered naval raids from the Vikings. In 1069, this allowed for the invasion and ravaging of England by Jarl Osborn (brother of King Svein Estridsson) and his sons.


title: Royal Navy

text: The lack of an organised navy came to a head during the First Barons' War, in which Prince Louis of France invaded England in support of northern barons. With King John unable to organise a navy, this meant the French landed at Sandwich unopposed in April 1216. John's flight to Winchester and his death later that year left the Earl of Pembroke as regent, and he was able to marshal ships to fight the French in the Battle of Sandwich in 1217 – one of the first major English battles at sea. The outbreak of the Hundred Years War emphasised the need for an English fleet. French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. England's naval forces could not prevent frequent raids on the south-coast ports by the French and their allies. Such raids halted only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. A Scottish fleet existed by the reign of William the Lion. In the early 13th century there was a resurgence of Viking naval power in the region. The Vikings clashed with Scotland over control of the isles though Alexander III was ultimately successful in asserting Scottish control. The Scottish fleet was of particular import in repulsing English forces in the early 14th century.


title: Royal Navy

text: A standing "Navy Royal", with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I, England became involved in a war with Spain, which saw privately owned vessels combining with the Queen's ships in highly profitable raids against Spanish commerce and colonies. The Royal Navy was then used in 1588 to repulse the Spanish Armada, but the English Armada was lost the next year. In 1603, the Union of the Crowns created a personal union between England and Scotland. While the two remained distinct sovereign states for a further century, the two navies increasingly fought as a single force. During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated until Charles I undertook a major programme of shipbuilding. His methods of financing the fleet contributed to the outbreak of the English Civil War, and the abolition of the monarchy.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Commonwealth of England replaced many names and symbols in the new commonwealth navy, associated with royalty and the high church, and expanded it to become the most powerful in the world. The fleet was quickly tested in the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1654-1660), which saw the conquest of Jamaica and successful attacks on Spanish treasure fleets. The 1660 Restoration saw Charles II rename the Royal Navy again, and started use of the prefix HMS. The navy remained a national institution and not a possession of the Crown as it had been before. Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, England joined the War of the Grand Alliance which marked the end of France's brief pre-eminence at sea and the beginning of an enduring British supremacy.


title: Royal Navy

text: In 1707, the Scottish navy was united with the English Royal Navy. On Scottish men-of-war, the cross of St Andrew was replaced with the Union Jack. On English ships, the red, white, or blue ensigns had the St George's Cross of England removed from the canton, and the combined crosses of the Union flag put in its place. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Royal Navy was the largest maritime force in the world, maintaining superiority in financing, tactics, training, organisation, social cohesion, hygiene, logistical support and warship design. The peace settlement following the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1714) granted Britain Gibraltar and Menorca, providing the Navy with Mediterranean bases. The expansion of the Royal Navy would encourage the British colonization of the Americas, with British (North) America becoming a vital source of timber for the Royal Navy. There was a defeat during the frustrated siege of Cartagena de Indias in 1741. A new French attempt to invade Britain was thwarted by the defeat of their escort fleet in the extraordinary Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, fought in dangerous conditions. In 1762 the resumption of hostilities with Spain led to the British capture of Manila and of Havana, along with a Spanish fleet sheltering there. British naval supremacy could however be challenged still in this period by coalitions of other nations, as seen in the American War of Independence. The United States was allied to France, and the Netherlands and Spain were also at war with Britain. In the Battle of the Chesapeake, the British fleet failed to lift the French blockade, resulting in the surrender of an entire British army at Yorktown.


title: Royal Navy

text: The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1801, 1803–1814 & 1815) saw the Royal Navy reach a peak of efficiency, dominating the navies of all Britain's adversaries, which spent most of the war blockaded in port. Under Lord Nelson, the navy defeated the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar (1805). Ships of the line and even frigates, as well as manpower, were prioritised for the naval war in Europe, however, leaving only smaller vessels on the North America Station and other less active stations, and a heavy reliance upon impressed labour. This would result in problems countering large, well-armed United States Navy frigates which outgunned Royal Naval vessels in single-opponent actions, as well as United States privateers, when the American War of 1812 broke out concurrent with the war against Napoleonic France and its allies. The Royal Navy still enjoyed a numerical advantage over the former colonists on the Atlantic, blockading the Atlantic seaboard of the United States throughout the war and carrying out (with Royal Marines, Colonial Marines, British Army, and Board of Ordnance military corps units) various amphibious operations, most notably the Chesapeake campaign. On the Great Lakes, however, the United States Navy established an advantage.


title: Royal Navy

text: Between 1815 and 1914, the Navy saw little serious action, owing to the absence of any opponent strong enough to challenge its dominance, though it did not suffer the drastic cutbacks the various military forces underwent in the period of economic austerity that followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the American War of 1812 (when the British Army and the Board of Ordnance military corps were cutback, weakening garrisons around the empire, the Militia became a paper tiger, and the Volunteer Force and Fencible units disbanded, though the Yeomanry was maintained as a back-up to the police). Britain relied, throughout the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century, on Imperial fortress colonies (originally Bermuda, Gibraltar, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Malta, though military control on Nova Scotia passed to the new Dominion government after the 1867 Confederation of Canada and naval control of the Halifax yard was transferred to the new Royal Canadian Navy in 1905) as bases for naval squadrons with stores and dockyard facilities. These allowed control not only of the Atlantic, but it was presumed also of the other oceans. Prior to the 1920s, it was presumed that the only navies that could challenge the Royal Navy belonged to nations on the Atlantic ocean or its connected seas. Britain would rely on Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, to project power to the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean via the Suez Canal after its completion in 1869 and relying on amity and common interests between Britain and the United States during and after the First World War, on Bermuda (and Halifax) to project power in North America, and later North America and the West Indies. During this period, naval warfare underwent a comprehensive transformation, brought about by steam propulsion, metal ship construction, and explosive munitions. Despite having to completely replace its war fleet, the Navy managed to maintain its overwhelming advantage over all potential rivals. Owing to British leadership in the Industrial Revolution, the country enjoyed unparalleled shipbuilding capacity and financial resources, which ensured that no rival could take advantage of these revolutionary changes to negate the British advantage in ship numbers. In 1889, Parliament passed the Naval Defence Act, which formally adopted the 'two-power standard', which stipulated that the Royal Navy should maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies. The end of the 19th century saw structural changes and older vessels were scrapped or placed into reserve, making funds and manpower available for newer ships. The launch of in 1906 rendered all existing battleships obsolete. The transition at this time from coal-fired to petrol-powered ships would encourage Britain to colonize former Ottoman territories in the Middle East, especially Iraq.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy played an historic role in several great global explorations of science and discovery. Beginning in the 18th century many great voyages were commissioned often in co-operation with the Royal Society, such as the Northwest Passage expedition of 1741. James Cook led three great voyages, with goals such as discovering Terra Australis, observing the Transit of Venus and searching for the elusive North-West Passage, these voyages are considered to have contributed to world knowledge and science.


title: Royal Navy

text: In the late 18th century, during a four year voyage Captain George Vancouver made detailed maps of the Western Coastline of North America. In the 19th century Charles Darwin made further contributions to science during the second voyage of HMS Beagle. The Ross expedition to the Antarctic made several important discoveries in biology and zoology. Several of the Royal Navy's voyages ended in disaster such as those of Franklin and Scott.


title: Royal Navy

text: During the First World War, the Royal Navy's strength was mostly deployed at home in the Grand Fleet, confronting the German High Seas Fleet across the North Sea. Several inconclusive clashes took place between them, chiefly the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The British fighting advantage proved insurmountable, leading the High Seas Fleet to abandon any attempt to challenge British dominance. For its part, the Royal Navy under John Jellicoe also tried to avoid combat and remained in port at Scapa Flow for much of the war. This was contrary to widespread prewar expectations that in the event of a Continental conflict Britain would primarily provide naval support to the Entente Powers while sending at most only a small ground army. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy played an important role in securing the British Isles and the English Channel, notably ferrying the entire British Expeditionary Force to the Western Front without the loss of a single life at the beginning of the war.


title: Royal Navy

text: At the end of the war, the Royal Navy remained by far the world's most powerful navy. It was larger than the U.S. Navy and French Navy combined, and over twice as large as the Imperial Japanese Navy and Royal Italian Navy combined. Its former primary competitor the Imperial German Navy was destroyed at the end of the war. In the inter-war period, the Royal Navy was stripped of much of its power. The Washington and London Naval Treaties imposed the scrapping of some capital ships and limitations on new construction.


title: Royal Navy

text: The lack of an Imperial fortress in the region of Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean was always to be a weakness throughout the nineteenth century as the former North American colonies that had become the United States of America had multiplied towards the Pacific coast of North America, and the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire both had ports on the Pacific and had begun building large, modern fleets which went to war with each other in 1905. Britain reliance on Malta, via the Suez Canal, as the nearest Imperial fortress was improved (relying on amity and common interests that developed between Britain and the United States during and after the First World War), by the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914), allowing the cruisers based in Bermuda to more easily and rapidly reach the eastern Pacific Ocean (after the war, the Royal Navy's Bermuda-based "North America and West Indies Station" was consequently re-designated the "America and West Indies station", including a South American division). However, the rising power and increasing belligerence of the Japanese Empire after the First World War would result in the construction of the Singapore Naval Base, which was completed in 1938, less than four years before hostilities with Japan did commence during the Second World War. In 1932, the Invergordon Mutiny took place in the Atlantic Fleet over the National Government's proposed 25% pay cut, which was eventually reduced to 10%. International tensions increased in the mid-1930s and the re-armament of the Royal Navy was well under way by 1938. In addition to new construction, several existing old battleships, battlecruisers and heavy cruisers were reconstructed, and anti-aircraft weaponry reinforced, while new technologies, such as ASDIC, Huff-Duff and hydrophones, were developed.


title: Royal Navy

text: At the start of World War II in 1939, the Royal Navy was still the largest in the world, with over 1,400 vessels. The Royal Navy provided critical cover during Operation Dynamo, the British evacuations from Dunkirk, and as the ultimate deterrent to a German invasion of Britain during the following four months. The Luftwaffe under Hermann Göring attempted to gain air supremacy over southern England in the Battle of Britain in order to neutralize the Home Fleet, but faced stiff resistance from the Royal Air Force. The Luftwaffe bombing offensive during the Kanalkampf phase of the battle targeted naval convoys and bases in order to lure large concentrations of RAF fighters into attrition warfare. At Taranto, Admiral Cunningham commanded a fleet that launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history. The Royal Navy suffered heavy losses in the first two years of the war. Over 3,000 people were lost when the converted troopship "Lancastria" was sunk in June 1940, the greatest maritime disaster in Britain's history. The Navy's most critical struggle was the Battle of the Atlantic defending Britain's vital North American commercial supply lines against U-boat attack. A traditional convoy system was instituted from the start of the war, but German submarine tactics, based on group attacks by "wolf-packs", were much more effective than in the previous war, and the threat remained serious for well over three years.


title: Royal Navy

text: After the Second World War, the decline of the British Empire and the economic hardships in Britain forced the reduction in the size and capability of the Royal Navy. The United States Navy instead took on the role of global naval power. Governments since have faced increasing budgetary pressures, partly due to the increasing cost of weapons systems. In 1981, Defence Secretary John Nott had advocated and initiated a series of cutbacks to the Navy. The Falklands War however proved a need for the Royal Navy to regain an expeditionary and littoral capability which, with its resources and structure at the time, would prove difficult. At the beginning of the 1980s, the Royal Navy was a force focused on blue-water anti-submarine warfare. Its purpose was to search for and destroy Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic, and to operate the nuclear deterrent submarine force. The navy received its first nuclear weapons with the introduction of the first of the s armed with the Polaris missile.


title: Royal Navy

text: Following the conclusion of the Cold War, the Royal Navy began to experience a gradual decline in its fleet size in accordance with the changed strategic environment it operated in. While new and more capable ships are continually brought into service, such as the s, s, and Type 45 destroyers, the total number of ships and submarines operated has continued to steadily reduce. This has caused considerable debate about the size of the Royal Navy, with a 2013 report finding that the current RN was already too small, and that Britain would have to depend on her allies if her territories were attacked. The financial costs attached to nuclear deterrence have become an increasingly significant issue for the navy.


title: Royal Navy

text: at Torpoint, Cornwall, is the basic training facility for newly enlisted ratings. Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment for the navy, located at Dartmouth, Devon. Personnel are divided into a warfare branch, which includes Warfare Officers (previously named seamen officers) and Naval Aviators, as well other branches including the Royal Naval Engineers, Royal Navy Medical Branch, and Logistics Officers (previously named Supply Officers). Present-day officers and ratings have several different uniforms; some are designed to be worn aboard ship, others ashore or in ceremonial duties. Women began to join the Royal Navy in 1917 with the formation of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), which was disbanded after the end of the First World War in 1919. It was revived in 1939, and the WRNS continued until disbandment in 1993, as a result of the decision to fully integrate women into the structures of the Royal Navy. Women now serve in all sections of the Royal Navy including the Royal Marines.


title: Royal Navy

text: In August 2019, the Ministry of Defence published figures showing that the Royal Navy and Royal Marines had 29,090 full-time trained personnel compared with a target of 30,600.


title: Royal Navy

text: In December 2019 the First Sea Lord, Admiral Tony Radakin, outlined a proposal to reduce the number of Rear-Admirals at Navy Command by five. The fighting arms (excluding Commandant General Royal Marines) would be reduced to Commodore (1-star) rank and the surface flotillas would be combined. Training would be concentrated under the Fleet Commander.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy has two s. Each carrier costs £3 billion and displaces . The first, , commenced flight trials in 2018. Both are intended to operate the STOVL variant of the F-35 Lightning II. "Queen Elizabeth" began sea trials in June 2017, was commissioned later that year, and entered service in 2020, while the second, , began sea trials on 22 September 2019, was commissioned in December 2019 and was declared operational as of October 2021. The aircraft carriers will form a central part of the UK Carrier Strike Group alongside escorts and support ships.


title: Royal Navy

text: Amphibious warfare ships in current service include two landing platform docks ( and ). While their primary role is to conduct amphibious warfare, they have also been deployed for humanitarian aid missions.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy clearance diving unit, the Fleet Diving Squadron, was reorganised and rebranded to the Diving and Threat Exploitation Group in 2022. The group consists of five squadrons: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. The Royal Navy has a separate diving unit, a special forces unit, the Special Boat Service.


title: Royal Navy

text: The escort fleet comprises guided missile destroyers and frigates and is the traditional workhorse of the Navy. there are six Type 45 destroyers and 12 Type 23 frigates in active service. Among their primary roles is to provide escort for the larger capital ships—protecting them from air, surface and subsurface threats. Other duties include undertaking the Royal Navy's standing deployments across the globe, which often consists of: counter-narcotics, anti-piracy missions and providing humanitarian aid.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Type 45 is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and the Royal Navy describe the destroyer's mission as "to shield the Fleet from air attack". They are equipped with the PAAMS (also known as Sea Viper) integrated anti-aircraft warfare system which incorporates the sophisticated SAMPSON and S1850M long range radars and the Aster 15 and 30 missiles.


title: Royal Navy

text: 16 Type 23 frigates were delivered to the Royal Navy, with the final vessel, , commissioned in June 2002. However, the 2004 Delivering Security in a Changing World review announced that three frigates would be paid off as part of a cost-cutting exercise, and these were subsequently sold to the Chilean Navy. The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced that the remaining 13 Type 23 frigates would eventually be replaced by the Type 26 Frigate. The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 reduced the procurement of Type 26 to eight with five Type 31e frigates to be procured.


title: Royal Navy

text: There are two classes of MCMVs in the Royal Navy: three s and six s. The Hunt-class vessels combine the separate roles of the traditional minesweeper and the active minehunter in one hull. If required, the "Sandown" and Hunt-class vessels can take on the role of offshore patrol vessels.


title: Royal Navy

text: A fleet of eight River-class offshore patrol vessels are in service with the Royal Navy. The three "Batch 1" ships of the class serve in U.K. waters in a sovereignty and fisheries protection role while the five "Batch 2" ships are forward-deployed on a long-term basis to Gibraltar, the Caribbean, the Falkland Islands and the Indo-Pacific region. The vessel MV "Grampian Frontier" is leased from Scottish-based North Star Shipping for patrol duties around the British Indian Ocean Territory. However, she is not in commission with the Royal Navy.


title: Royal Navy

text: In December 2019, the modified Batch 1 River-class vessel, , was decommissioned, with the Batch 2 taking over duties as the Falkland Islands patrol ship.


title: Royal Navy

text: is a dedicated Antarctic patrol ship that fulfils the nation's mandate to provide support to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). is an ocean survey vessel and at 13,500 tonnes is one of the largest ships in the Navy. The other is the multi-role ship HMS "Enterprise", which came into service in 2003. As of 2018, the newly commissioned also undertakes survey duties at sea. The Royal Navy also plans to commission a new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship in 2024, in part to protect undersea cables and gas pipelines.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Fleet Auxiliary consists of one Fleet Solid Support Ship, six fleet tankers (two of which are maintained in reserve) and one aviation training and casualty reception vessel, which is planned for conversion into a Littoral Strike Ship.


title: Royal Navy

text: Three amphibious transport docks are also incorporated within its fleet. These are known as the landing ships, of which four were introduced in 2006–2007, but one was sold to the Royal Australian Navy in 2011. In November 2006, the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band described the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels as "a major uplift in the Royal Navy's war fighting capability".


title: Royal Navy

text: On 29 July 2022, the Royal Navy christened a new experimental ship, XV "Patrick Blackett", which it aims to use as a testbed for autonomous systems. Whilst the ship flies the Blue Ensign, it is crewed by Royal Navy personnel and will participate in Royal Navy and NATO exercises.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Submarine Service is the submarine based element of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes referred to as the ""Silent Service"", as the submarines are generally required to operate undetected. Founded in 1901, the service made history in 1982 when, during the Falklands War, became the first nuclear-powered submarine to sink a surface ship, . Today, all of the Royal Navy's submarines are nuclear-powered.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy operates four ballistic missile submarines displacing nearly 16,000 tonnes and equipped with Trident II missiles (armed with nuclear weapons) and heavyweight Spearfish torpedoes, with the purpose to carry out Operation Relentless, the United Kingdom's Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD). The UK government has committed to replace these submarines with four new s, which will enter service in the "early 2030s" to maintain a nuclear ballistic missile submarine fleet and the ability to launch nuclear weapons.


title: Royal Navy

text: As of August 2022, six fleet submarines are in commission, one and five (one of which was still working up to operational status as of August 2022). Two more "Astute"-class fleet submarines are scheduled to enter service by the mid-2020s while the remaining "Trafalgar"-class boat will be withdrawn.


title: Royal Navy

text: The "Trafalgar" class displace approximately 5,300 tonnes when submerged and are armed with Tomahawk land-attack missiles and Spearfish torpedoes. The "Astute" class at 7,400 tonnes are much larger and carry a larger number of Tomahawk missiles and Spearfish torpedoes. was the latest "Astute"-class boat to be commissioned.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft, it can trace its roots back to 1912 and the formation of the Royal Flying Corps. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AW-101 Merlin HC4 (in support of 3 Commando Brigade) as the Commando Helicopter Force; the AW-159 Wildcat HM2; the AW101 Merlin HM2 in the anti-submarine role; and the F-35B Lightning II in the carrier strike role.


title: Royal Navy

text: Pilots designated for rotary wing service train under No. 1 Flying Training School (1 FTS) at RAF Shawbury.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Marines are an amphibious, specialised light infantry force of commandos, capable of deploying at short notice in support of His Majesty's Government's military and diplomatic objectives overseas. The Royal Marines are organised into a highly mobile light infantry brigade (3 Commando Brigade) and 7 commando units including 1 Assault Group Royal Marines, 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines and a company strength commitment to the Special Forces Support Group. The Corps operates in all environments and climates, though particular expertise and training is spent on amphibious warfare, Arctic warfare, mountain warfare, expeditionary warfare and commitment to the UK's Rapid Reaction Force. The Royal Marines are also the primary source of personnel for the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Navy's contribution to the United Kingdom Special Forces.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Marines have seen action in a number of wars, often fighting beside the British Army; including in the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, World War I and World War II. In recent times, the Corps has been deployed in expeditionary warfare roles, such as the Falklands War, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, the Kosovo War, the Sierra Leone Civil War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. The Royal Marines have international ties with allied marine forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps and the Netherlands Marine Corps/Korps Mariniers.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy currently uses three major naval port bases in the UK, each housing its own flotilla of ships and boats ready for service, along with two naval air stations and a support facility base in Bahrain:


title: Royal Navy

text: The current role of the Royal Navy is to protect British interests at home and abroad, executing the foreign and defence policies of His Majesty's Government through the exercise of military effect, diplomatic activities and other activities in support of these objectives. The Royal Navy is also a key element of the British contribution to NATO, with a number of assets allocated to NATO tasks at any time. These objectives are delivered via a number of core capabilities:


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy is currently deployed in different areas of the world, including some standing Royal Navy deployments. These include several home tasks as well as overseas deployments. The Navy is deployed in the Mediterranean as part of standing NATO deployments including mine countermeasures and NATO Maritime Group 2. In both the North and South Atlantic, RN vessels are patrolling. There is always a Falkland Islands patrol vessel on deployment, currently .


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy operates a Response Force Task Group (a product of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review), which is poised to respond globally to short-notice tasking across a range of defence activities, such as non-combatant evacuation operations, disaster relief, humanitarian aid or amphibious operations. In 2011, the first deployment of the task group occurred under the name 'COUGAR 11' which saw them transit through the Mediterranean where they took part in multinational amphibious exercises before moving further east through the Suez Canal for further exercises in the Indian Ocean.


title: Royal Navy

text: In the Persian Gulf, the RN sustains commitments in support of both national and coalition efforts to stabilise the region. The Armilla Patrol, which started in 1980, is the navy's primary commitment to the Gulf region. The Royal Navy also contributes to the combined maritime forces in the Gulf in support of coalition operations. The UK Maritime Component Commander, overseer of all of His Majesty's warships in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters, is also deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces. The Royal Navy has been responsible for training the fledgeling Iraqi Navy and securing Iraq's oil terminals following the cessation of hostilities in the country. The Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission (Navy) (Umm Qasr), headed by a Royal Navy captain, has been responsible for the former duty whilst Commander Task Force Iraqi Maritime, a Royal Navy commodore, has been responsible for the latter.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy contributes to standing NATO formations and maintains forces as part of the NATO Response Force. The RN also has a long-standing commitment to supporting the Five Powers Defence Arrangements countries and occasionally deploys to the Far East as a result. This deployment typically consists of a frigate and a survey vessel, operating separately. Operation Atalanta, the European Union's anti-piracy operation in the Indian Ocean, is permanently commanded by a senior Royal Navy or Royal Marines officer at Northwood Headquarters and the navy contributes ships to the operation.


title: Royal Navy

text: From 2015, the Royal Navy also re-formed its UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) after it was disbanded in 2011 due to the retirement of HMS "Ark Royal" and Harrier GR9s. The "Queen Elizabeth"-class aircraft carriers form the central part of this formation, supported by various escorts and support ships, with the aim to facilitate carrier-enabled power projection. The UKCSG first assembled at sea in October 2020 as part of a rehearsal for its first operational deployment in 2021.


title: Royal Navy

text: In 2019, the Royal Navy announced the formation of two Littoral Response Groups as part of a transformation of its amphibious forces. These forward-based special operations-capable task groups are to be rapidly-deployable and able to carry out a range of tasks within the littoral, including raids and precision strikes. The first one, based in Europe, became operational in 2021, whilst the second will be based in the Indo-Pacific from 2023. They will centre around two amphibious assault ships, a company of Royal Marines and supporting elements.


title: Royal Navy

text: The titular head of the Royal Navy is the Lord High Admiral, a position which was held by the Duke of Edinburgh from 2011 until his death in 2021 and since then remains vacant. The position had been held by Queen Elizabeth II from 1964 to 2011; the Sovereign is the Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, an admiral and member of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom. The Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence, which directs the Navy Board, a sub-committee of the Admiralty Board comprising only naval officers and Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants. These are all based in MOD Main Building in London, where the First Sea Lord, also known as the Chief of the Naval Staff, is supported by the Naval Staff Department.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Fleet Commander has responsibility for the provision of ships, submarines and aircraft ready for any operations that the Government requires. Fleet Commander exercises his authority through the Navy Command Headquarters, based at in Portsmouth. An operational headquarters, the Northwood Headquarters, at Northwood, London, is co-located with the Permanent Joint Headquarters of the United Kingdom's armed forces, and a NATO Regional Command, Allied Maritime Command.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy was the first of the three armed forces to combine the personnel and training command, under the Principal Personnel Officer, with the operational and policy command, combining the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, Fleet and Naval Home Command into a single organisation, Fleet Command, in 2005 and becoming Navy Command in 2008. Within the combined command, the Second Sea Lord continues to act as the Principal Personnel Officer. Previously, Flag Officer Sea Training was part of the list of top senior appointments in Navy Command, however, as part of the Navy Command Transformation Programme, the post has reduced from Rear-Admiral to Commodore, renamed as Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training.


title: Royal Navy

text: Intelligence support to fleet operations is provided by intelligence sections at the various headquarters and from MOD Defence Intelligence, renamed from the Defence Intelligence Staff in early 2010.


title: Royal Navy

text: Historically, the Royal Navy divided the planet into a number of "Stations", the number and boundaries of which changed over time. The former stations of the Royal Navy included the "East Indies Station" (1744-1831); "East Indies and China Station" (1832-1865); "East Indies Station" (1865-1913); "Egypt and East Indies Station" (1913-1918); East Indies Station (1918-1941). In response to increased Japanese threats, the separate East Indies Station was merged with the China Station in December 1941, to form the Eastern Fleet. Later the Eastern Fleet became the East Indies Fleet. In 1952, after the Second World War ended, the East Indies Fleet became the Far East Fleet.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy currently operates from three bases in the United Kingdom where commissioned ships are based; Portsmouth, Clyde and Devonport, Plymouth—Devonport is the largest operational naval base in the UK and Western Europe. Each base hosts a flotilla command under a commodore, responsible for the provision of operational capability using the ships and submarines within the flotilla. 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines is similarly commanded by a brigadier and based in Plymouth.


title: Royal Navy

text: Historically, the Royal Navy maintained Royal Navy Dockyards around the world. Dockyards of the Royal Navy are harbours where ships are overhauled and refitted. Only four are operating today; at Devonport, Faslane, Rosyth and at Portsmouth. A Naval Base Review was undertaken in 2006 and early 2007, the outcome being announced by Secretary of State for Defence, Des Browne, confirming that all would remain however some reductions in manpower were anticipated.


title: Royal Navy

text: The academy where initial training for future Royal Navy officers takes place is Britannia Royal Naval College, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon. Basic training for future ratings takes place at at Torpoint, Cornwall, close to HMNB Devonport.


title: Royal Navy

text: Significant numbers of naval personnel are employed within the Ministry of Defence, Defence Equipment and Support and on exchange with the Army and Royal Air Force. Small numbers are also on exchange within other government departments and with allied fleets, such as the United States Navy. The navy also posts personnel in small units around the world to support ongoing operations and maintain standing commitments. Nineteen personnel are stationed in Gibraltar to support the small Gibraltar Squadron, the RN's only permanent overseas squadron. Some personnel are also based at East Cove Military Port and RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands to support APT(S). Small numbers of personnel are based in Diego Garcia (Naval Party 1002), Miami (NP 1011 – AUTEC), Singapore (NP 1022), Dubai (NP 1023) and elsewhere.


title: Royal Navy

text: On 6 December 2014, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced it would expand the UK's naval facilities in Bahrain to support larger Royal Navy ships deployed to the Persian Gulf. Once completed, it became the UK's first permanent military base located East of Suez since it withdrew from the region in 1971. The base is reportedly large enough to accommodate Type 45 destroyers and "Queen Elizabeth"-class aircraft carriers.


title: Royal Navy

text: The navy was referred to as the "Navy Royal" at the time of its founding in 1546, and this title remained in use into the Stuart period. During the interregnum, the commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell replaced many historical names and titles, with the fleet then referred to as the "Commonwealth Navy". The navy was renamed once again after the restoration in 1660 to the present title.


title: Royal Navy

text: Today, the navy of the United Kingdom is commonly referred to as the "Royal Navy" both in the United Kingdom and other countries. Navies of other Commonwealth countries where the British monarch is also head of state include their national name, e.g. Royal Australian Navy. Some navies of other monarchies, such as the "Koninklijke Marine" (Royal Netherlands Navy) and "Kungliga Flottan" (Royal Swedish Navy), are also called "Royal Navy" in their own language. The Danish Navy uses the term "Royal" incorporated in its official name (Royal Danish Navy), but only "Flåden" (Navy) in everyday speech. The French Navy, despite France being a republic since 1870, is often nicknamed ""La Royale"" (literally: The Royal).


title: Royal Navy

text: Royal Navy ships in commission are prefixed since 1789 with His Majesty's Ship (or "Her Majesty's Ship", when the monarch is a queen), abbreviated to "HMS"; for example, . Submarines are styled HM Submarine, also abbreviated "HMS". Names are allocated to ships and submarines by a naming committee within the MOD and given by class, with the names of ships within a class often being thematic (for example, the Type 23s are named after British dukes) or traditional (for example, the s all carry the names of famous historic ships). Names are frequently re-used, offering a new ship the rich heritage, battle honours and traditions of her predecessors. Often, a particular vessel class will be named after the first ship of that type to be built. As well as a name, each ship and submarine of the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is given a pennant number which in part denotes its role. For example, the destroyer displays the pennant number 'D32'.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy ranks, rates and insignia form part of the uniform of the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy uniform is the pattern on which many of the uniforms of the other national navies of the world are based (e.g. Ranks and insignia of NATO navies officers, Uniforms of the United States Navy, Uniforms of the Royal Canadian Navy, French Naval Uniforms).


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy has several formal customs and traditions including the use of ensigns and ships badges. Royal Navy ships have several ensigns used when under way and when in port. Commissioned ships and submarines wear the White Ensign at the stern whilst alongside during daylight hours and at the main-mast whilst under way. When alongside, the "Union Jack" is flown from the jackstaff at the bow, and can only be flown under way either to signal a court-martial is in progress or to indicate the presence of an admiral of the fleet on-board (including the Lord High Admiral or the monarch).


title: Royal Navy

text: The Fleet Review is an irregular tradition of assembling the fleet before the monarch. The first review on record was held in 1400, and the most recent review was held on 28 June 2005 to mark the bi-centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar; 167 ships from many different nations attended with the Royal Navy supplying 67.


title: Royal Navy

text: There are several less formal traditions including service nicknames and Naval slang, known as ""Jackspeak"". The nicknames include "The Andrew" (of uncertain origin, possibly after a zealous press ganger) and "The Senior Service". British sailors are referred to as "Jack" (or "Jenny"), or more widely as "Matelots". Royal Marines are fondly known as "Bootnecks" or often just as "Royals". A compendium of Naval slang was brought together by Commander A.T.L. Covey-Crump and his name has in itself become the subject of Naval slang; "Covey-Crump". A game traditionally played by the Navy is the four-player board game known as "Uckers". This is similar to Ludo and it is regarded as easy to learn, but difficult to play well.


title: Royal Navy

text: The above organisations are the responsibility of the CUY branch of Commander Core Training and Recruiting (COMCORE) who reports to Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST).


title: Royal Navy

text: The Royal Navy of the 18th century is depicted in many novels and several films dramatising the voyage and mutiny on the "Bounty". The Royal Navy's Napoleonic campaigns of the early 19th century are also a popular subject of historical novels. Some of the best-known are Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series and C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower chronicles.


title: Royal Navy

text: The Navy can also be seen in numerous films. The fictional spy James Bond is a commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). The Royal Navy is featured in "The Spy Who Loved Me", when a nuclear ballistic-missile submarine is stolen, and in "Tomorrow Never Dies" when the media mogul Elliot Carver sinks a Royal Navy warship in an attempt to trigger a war between the UK and People's Republic of China. "" was based on Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" series of films also includes the Navy as the force pursuing the eponymous pirates. Noël Coward directed and starred in his own film "In Which We Serve", which tells the story of the crew of the fictional HMS "Torrin" during the Second World War. It was intended as a propaganda film and was released in 1942. Coward starred as the ship's captain, with supporting roles from John Mills and Richard Attenborough.


title: Royal Navy

text: C. S. Forester's Hornblower novels have been adapted for television. The Royal Navy was the subject of the 1970s BBC television drama series, "Warship", and of a five-part documentary, "Shipmates", that followed the workings of the Royal Navy day to day.


title: Royal Navy

text: Television documentaries about the Royal Navy include: "Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World", a four-part documentary depicting Britain's rise as a naval superpower, up until the First World War; "Sailor", about life on the aircraft carrier ; and "Submarine", about the submarine captains' training course, 'The Perisher'. There have also been Channel 5 documentaries such as "Royal Navy Submarine Mission", following a nuclear-powered fleet submarine.


title: Royal Navy

text: The BBC Light Programme radio comedy series "The Navy Lark" featured a fictitious warship ("HMS "Troutbridge"") and ran from 1959 to 1977.


title: Grover Cleveland

text: Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office. He won the popular vote for three presidential elections—in 1884, 1888, and 1892—and was one of two Democrats (followed by Woodrow Wilson in 1912) to be elected president during the era of Republican presidential domination dating from 1861 to 1933.


title: Grover Cleveland

text: In 1881, Cleveland was elected mayor of Buffalo and later governor of New York. He was the leader of the pro-business Bourbon Democrats who opposed high tariffs, free silver, inflation, imperialism, and subsidies to business, farmers, or veterans. His crusade for political reform and fiscal conservatism made him an icon for American conservatives of the era. Cleveland won praise for his honesty, self-reliance, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism. He fought political corruption, patronage, and bossism. As a reformer, Cleveland had such prestige that the like-minded Republicans, called "Mugwumps", largely bolted the Republican Party's presidential ticket and swung to his support in the 1884 election. As his second administration began, disaster hit the nation when the Panic of 1893 produced a severe national depression. It ruined his Democratic Party, opening the way for a Republican landslide in 1894 and for the agrarian and silverite seizure of the Democratic Party in 1896. The result was a political realignment that ended the Third Party System and launched the Fourth Party System and the Progressive Era.