title: Lexus

text: In April 2019, Lexus announced that a rebadged limousine version of the third-generation Alphard would be sold as the Lexus LM. It was also announced that Lexus would finally enter the market in Mexico in 2021 with some of the vehicles in their lineup. In October 2019, Lexus announced that it will be launching the brand's first all-battery electric vehicle in 2020.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus International coordinates the worldwide operations of Toyota's luxury division from the brand's global headquarters, located in Nagoya, Aichi. Corporate entities further include the brand's Japan Sales and Marketing and global Product and Marketing Planning divisions. While organizationally separate from its parent company, Lexus International reports directly to Toyota chief executive officer Akio Toyoda. In the U.S., brand operations are managed by the U.S. Lexus division, which is headquartered in Plano, Texas. In Europe, Lexus operations are managed by Lexus Europe, located in Brussels. Companion design facilities are located in Southern California and central Japan, with the head design studio devoted entirely to Lexus models in Toyota City, Aichi.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus sales operations vary in structure by region. In many markets, such as the U.S., the dealership network is a distinct organization from corporate headquarters, with separately owned and operated Lexus showrooms. By contrast, in Japan all 143 dealerships in the country are owned and operated by Lexus. Several markets have a designated, third party regional distributor; for example, in the United Arab Emirates, sales operations are managed by Al-Futtaim Motors LLC, and in Costa Rica, Lexus vehicles are sold via regional distributor Purdy Motors S.A. Other officially sanctioned regional distributors have sold Lexus models prior to the launch of, or in absence of, a dedicated dealership network.


title: Lexus

text: The Lexus brand launched in the Indian market in 2017, with the models RX450h, LX450d, LX570, ES300h, NX, LS. Dealerships in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, and Bangalore became operational in March 2017, when the brand began sales in India with a second set of dealerships opening in Chandigarh, Kochi, and Chennai toward the end of 2017. This made Lexus the fifth luxury brand to be launched in India, after Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW, and Audi.


title: Lexus

text: Global sales of Lexus vehicles reached an all-time high in 2007, with a total of 518,000. Sales decreased in subsequent years due to the effects of the 2008 recession and the Japanese tsunami of 2011. Following this, sales recovered and reached a new high of 523,000 in 2013.


title: Lexus

text: In 2014, the Lexus brand set a new global sales record after selling 582,000 vehicles. This made Lexus the fourth best selling luxury brand in the world, trailing BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.


title: Lexus

text: Global sales of Lexus vehicles increased by 12 percent in 2015 to reach another annual sales record with 652,000 units sold worldwide.


title: Lexus

text: Global cumulative sales of Lexus brand hybrid electric cars reached the 500,000 mark in November 2012. The 1 million sales milestone was achieved in March 2016. The Lexus RX 400h/RX 450h ranks as the top selling Lexus hybrid with 335,000 units delivered worldwide , followed by the Lexus CT 200h with 267,000 units.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus has not sold as well in Europe, where it suffers from smaller brand recognition, image, and a less-developed dealership network. In European markets, the Lexus LS has ranked behind Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW in flagship luxury car sales. Automotive analysts have suggested a possible rationale for the sales disparity, in that European buyers place less emphasis on vehicle reliability and have more brand loyalty to established domestic marques. In contrast, the Lexus LS has ranked second in sales to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (and ahead of rivals from BMW, Audi, and Jaguar) in markets outside Europe, such as South Africa.


title: Lexus

text: Currently all of Lexus's models for the US market are imported from Japan, with the exception of the RX and NX, which are also produced in Cambridge, Ontario for North America, and the ES, which is also produced in Georgetown, Kentucky. The RX midsized crossover is Lexus's best selling model in the United States, while the ES mid-sized car is the most popular sedan in the line-up.


title: Lexus

text: Financial data of Lexus operations are not disclosed publicly. However, automotive analysts estimate that the Lexus division contributes a disproportionate share of Toyota's profits, relative to its limited production and sales volume. Interviews with retired division officials indicate that depending on sales volume, vehicle product development cycles, and exchange rates, Lexus sales have accounted for as much as half of Toyota's annual U.S. profit in certain years. Division executives have employed pricing strategies aimed at sustaining profit margins rather than sales volume, with historically fewer price incentives than rival brands. In 2006, Lexus entered Interbrand's list of the Top 100 Global Brands for the first time, with an estimated brand value of approximately $3 billion annually. In 2009, Interbrand ranked Lexus as Japan's seventh largest brand, between Panasonic and Nissan, based on revenue, earnings, and market value.


title: Lexus

text: The global Lexus lineup features sedans of different size classes, including the compact IS model, mid-size ES and GS models, and the full-size LS. The 2-door coupe range consists of the RC and the LC. Former convertibles include the SC and IS C models. Sport-utility vehicles range in size from the subcompact UX, compact NX and mid-size RX crossovers, to the full-size GX and LX. Hybrid models include the CT hatchback, the discontinued HS, and variants of the IS, ES, GS, LS, RC, LC, UX, NX, RX and LM. The F marque line formerly produced a variant of the IS, GS and the LFA and currently produces a variant of the RC coupe.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus produces its highest-performance models under its F marque division. The name refers to Flagship and Fuji Speedway in Japan, whose first corner, 27R, inspired the shape of the ""F"" emblem. F marque models are developed by the Lexus Vehicle Performance Development Division. The first F marque model, the IS F, went on sale in 2007, followed by the LFA in 2009. A related F-Sport performance trim level and factory-sanctioned accessory line is available for standard Lexus models such as the IS 250 and IS 350. The F-Sport trim level commonly includes cosmetic upgrades to the exterior and interior, and in some vehicles, mechanical upgrades such as an adaptive variable suspension. F-Sport succeeded an earlier in-house tuning effort, the TRD-based L-Tuned, which had offered performance packages on the IS and GS sedans in the early 2000s (decade).


title: Lexus

text: Additions to the performance F Sport marque include the Lexus RC F Sport and Lexus GS F Sport and Lexus LS F Sport.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus production models are named alphanumerically using two-letter designations followed by three digits. The first letter indicates relative status in the Lexus model range (ranking), and the second letter refers to car body style or type (e.g. LS for 'luxury sedan'). The three digits commonly indicate engine displacement in liters multiplied by a factor of one hundred (e.g. 350 for a 3.5 L engine), except in the case of turbocharged and hybrid vehicles, for which the digits correspond to the displacement of a naturally aspirated engine with equivalent output (on hybrids, the three digits refer to the combined gasoline-electric output). A space is used between the letters and numbers. The same letter may be used differently depending on the model; 'S' can refer to 'sedan' or 'sport' (e.g. in LS and SC), while 'X' refers to 'luxury utility vehicle' or SUV. For certain models, a lower case letter placed after the alphanumeric designation indicates powerplant type ('h' for hybrid, 'd' for diesel, 't' for turbocharged), while capital letter(s) placed at the end indicates a class subtype (e.g. 'L' for long-wheelbase, 'C' for coupe, 'AWD' for all-wheel drive). On F marque models, the two-letter designation and the letter 'F' are used with no numbers or hyphens (e.g. IS F).


title: Lexus

text: Lexus design has traditionally placed an emphasis on targeting specific vehicle development standards. Since the marque's inception, design targets have ranged from aerodynamics and ride quality to interior ergonomics. The backronym "IDEAL" ("Impressive, Dynamic, Elegant, Advanced, and Lasting") is used in the development process. Each vehicle is designed according to approximately 500 specific product standards, known as "Lexus Musts," on criteria such as leather seat stitching. Design elements from the marque's concept vehicle line, the LF series (including the 2003 LF-S and 2004 LF-C), have been incorporated in production models.


title: Lexus

text: Vehicle cabins have incorporated electroluminescent Optitron gauges, SmartAccess, a smart key entry and startup system, and multimedia features. Beginning with the 2010 RX and HS models, the Remote Touch system, featuring a computer mouse-like controller with haptic feedback, was introduced; other models have featured touchscreen controls (through the 2009 model year) as a navigation screen interface. 2014 saw the introduction of the next version of Lexus’ remote-touch innovations—the Remote Touch Interface Touchpad in the new RC Coupe.


title: Lexus

text: In 1989, Lexus became among the first premium car marques to equip models with premium audio systems, in partnership with stereo firm Nakamichi. Since 2001, optional surround sound systems are offered via high-end audio purveyor Mark Levinson. For reduced cabin noise, the first LS 400 introduced sandwich steel plating, and later models added acoustic glass. In 2006, the LS 460 debuted the first ceiling air diffusers and infrared body temperature sensors in a car. Telematics services include G-Book with G-Link in Asia and Lexus Enform in North America.


title: Lexus

text: In 2006, Lexus incorporated the first production eight-speed automatic transmission in an automobile with the LS 460, and the gearbox was later adapted for the GS 460 and IS F models. Continuously variable transmissions, regenerative brakes, and electric motors have been used on all Lexus hybrid models. In 2007, Lexus executives signaled intentions to equip further models with hybrid powertrains, catering to demands for a decrease in both carbon pollution and oil reliance. Hybrid models have been differentiated by separate badging and lighting technology; in 2008, the LS 600h L became the first production vehicle to use LED headlamps.


title: Lexus

text: Safety features on Lexus models range from stability and handling programs (Vehicle Stability Control and Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management) to backup cameras, swivel headlights, and sonar warning systems. The Lexus Pre-Collision System (PCS) integrates multiple safety systems. In 2007, Lexus introduced the first car safety systems with infrared and pedestrian detection capabilities, lane keep assist, a Driver Monitoring System with facial recognition monitoring of driver attentiveness, and rear pre-collision whiplash protection, as part of the LS 460 PCS. As a safety precaution, Lexus GPS navigation systems in many regions feature a motion lockout when the vehicle reaches a set speed; to prevent distraction, navigation inputs are limited, while voice input and certain buttons are still accessible. This safety feature has attracted criticism because passengers cannot use certain functions when the vehicle is in motion. Pre-2007 models came with a hidden manufacturer override option, and updated European models allow operation in motion.


title: Lexus

text: Production models in development have included convertibles, crossovers, and dedicated hybrids. Under the F marque, Lexus plans to produce high-performance vehicles with its first expressions being the IS F and the LFA. Lexus officials have also discussed standard production model usage of varying platforms. The LS uses a dedicated platform, while the entry-level Lexus ES had been criticized for being too similar to the Toyota Camry, with which it shared platforms until its sixth generation, in both styling and powertrain design. The Nürburgring test track in Germany has also seen Lexus prototype testing.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus introduced a new design language known as "L-finesse" in the mid-2000s with its LF series concepts and the 2006 Lexus GS. L-finesse is represented by three Japanese kanji characters which translate as "Intriguing Elegance, Incisive Simplicity, and Seamless Anticipation". Design characteristics, including a fastback profile, lower-set grille, and the use of both convex and concave surfaces, are derived from Japanese cultural motifs (e.g. the phrase "kirikaeshi" in arrowhead shapes). While earlier Lexus models were criticized for reserved and derivative styling, and often mistaken for understated domestic market cars, automotive design analyses described L-finesse as adding a distinctive nature and embrace of Japanese design identity. Opinions varied for L-finesse's debut on the GS; "Sports Car International" analysis praised the vehicle's in-person appearance; "Automobile Magazine" criticized the daring of its forward styling, and compared subsequent rival models for design similarities. In 2012, the arrival of the redesigned fourth generation Lexus GS featured the introduction of a spindle-shaped grille design, intended to be used on all forthcoming Lexus models. L-finesse exhibitions were presented at Milan's Salone del Mobile from 2005 through 2009.


title: Lexus

text: The first Lexus vehicles were manufactured in Toyota's Tahara plant, a computerized manufacturing plant in Japan. Through the 2000s, most Lexus sedan and SUV production has occurred in Japan at the Tahara plant in Aichi and the Miyata plant in Fukuoka. In addition to the Tahara factory, over time Lexus vehicles have been produced at the Miyata plant (Toyota Motor Kyushu) in Miyawaka, Fukuoka; the Higashi-Fuji plant (Kanto Auto Works) in Susono, Shizuoka; and the Yoshiwara plant (Araco, later Toyota Auto Body) in Toyota City, Aichi. Front-wheel drive cars, such as the ES and HS, have been produced in the Fukuoka Prefecture. Toyota Motor Kyushu's Kokura plant in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, which opened in 2008, is a dedicated hybrid production site for hybrid systems used in Lexus models such as the gasoline-electric RX. The North American–market RX 350 (since the 2004 model year) is produced at the Cambridge plant (Toyota Canada, Inc.) in the city of Cambridge, in Ontario, Canada, which is the first Lexus production site located outside Japan. In late 2015, Lexus started to assemble North American-spec ES 350 sedans at the Georgetown plant (TMMK, Inc.). In January 2020, Toyota Kirloskar Motor of India started assembling the ES sedan in its Bidadi plant.


title: Lexus

text: Relative to Toyota models, Lexus vehicles are built according to different quality control standards, including more stringent body panel fit tolerances and paint quality requirements. Their manufacture involves different assembly lines, molds, welding processes, and manufacturing equipment. Lexus plant workers also undergo a more selective screening process. Production vehicles are given visual inspections for flaws, individually test-driven at high speeds, and subjected to vibration tests.


title: Lexus

text: In the 2000s (decade), "Consumer Reports" named Lexus among the top five most reliable brands in its Annual Car Reliability Surveys of over one million vehicles across the U.S.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus has become known for efforts to provide an upscale image, particularly with service provided after the sale. The waiting areas in service departments are replete with amenities, ranging from refreshment bars to indoor putting greens. Dealerships typically offer complimentary loaner cars or "courtesy cars" and free car washes, and some have added on-site cafes and designer boutiques. Service bays are lined with large picture windows for owners to watch the servicing of their vehicle. In 2005, Lexus also began reserving parking lots at major sporting arenas, entertainment events, and shopping malls, with the only requirement for free entry being the ownership of a Lexus vehicle. An online owner publication, "Lexus Magazine", features automotive and lifestyle articles and is published online monthly and on a mobile site.


title: Lexus

text: Since 2002, Lexus has scored consecutive top ratings in the "Auto Express" and 76,000-respondent "Top Gear" customer satisfaction surveys in the UK. Lexus has also repeatedly topped the 79,000-respondent J.D. Power Customer Service Index and Luxury Institute, New York surveys in the U.S. As a result of service satisfaction levels, the marque has one of the highest customer loyalty rates in the industry. To improve customer service, employees are instructed to follow the "Lexus Covenant," the marque's founding promise (which states that "Lexus will treat each customer as we would a guest in our home"), and some dealerships have incorporated training at upscale establishments such as Nordstrom department stores and Ritz-Carlton hotels.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus first entered the motorsport arena in 1999 when its racing unit, Team Lexus, fielded two GS 400 race vehicles in the Motorola Cup North American Street Stock Championship touring car series. In its 1999 inaugural season, Team Lexus achieved its first victory with its sixth race at Road Atlanta. Led by Sports Car Club of America and International Motor Sports Association driver Chuck Goldsborough, based in Baltimore, Maryland, Team Lexus capitalized on the debut of the first generation Lexus IS by entering three IS 300s in the third race of the 2001 Grand-Am Cup season at Phoenix, Arizona. Team Lexus won its first IS 300 victory that year at the Virginia International Raceway. In 2002, Team Lexus' competitive efforts in the Grand-Am Cup ST1 (Street Tuner) class achieved victories in the Drivers' and Team Championships, as well as a sweep of the top three finishes at Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, Canada.


title: Lexus

text: After the release of the Lexus brand in the Japanese domestic market in 2005, Lexus sanctioned the entry of four SC 430 coupes in the Super GT series of the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship in the GT500 class. In the first race of the 2006 series, an SC 430 took the chequered flag, and drivers André Lotterer and Juichi Wakisaka raced the SC 430 to capture the GT500 championship for that year. In 2007, another SC 430 won the GT500 opening round race. In 2006, Lexus raced a hybrid vehicle for the first time, entering a GS 450h performance hybrid sedan in partnership with Sigma Advanced Racing Development at the 24 Hours of Tokachi race in Hokkaido, Japan. Lexus Canada also entered the GS 450h in 2007's Targa Newfoundland event. In 2009, Lexus Super GT Team SC 430 and IS 350 racers won the GT500 and GT300 championships, respectively.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus' participation in endurance racing further includes the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, sanctioned by the Grand American Road Racing Association. After entering the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2004, Lexus has won over 15 Rolex Series event races. In 2005, Lexus was runner-up, and in 2006, it won the championship. Although Toyota has won this race in the past, it was the first time that its luxury arm emerged as the winner. In 2007, six Lexus-powered Daytona prototypes were entered in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona event at the Daytona International Speedway. Lexus was a repeat winner of the event, with a Lexus-Riley prototype driven by Scott Pruett, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Salvador Durán of Chip Ganassi Racing finishing first; Lexus-Riley prototypes also took three of the top ten spots. In 2008, Lexus won its third consecutive win at Daytona. For the 2010 season, Lexus departed from the Rolex Sports Car Series, and Ganassi Racing switched to BMW/Dinan engines.


title: Lexus

text: The LF-A prototype also competed on the Nürburgring from 2008 to 2011 in VLN endurance races and in the 24 Hours Nürburgring, also with the IS F. On 14 May 2011, a CT 200h tuned up by Gazoo Racing competed in the Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy, a six-hour endurance race.


title: Lexus

text: 3GT Racing, a partnership of Lexus and Paul Gentilozzi, entered two Lexus RC F GT3 at the N.American 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the GT Daytona class. Their first win came in the 2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Dominik Baumann and Kyle Marcelli at Mid-Ohio before winning again with the same pairing at Virginia International Raceway. Lexus finished in 8th in their first season in 2017 in the GT Daytona Manufacturer's Championship. They then improved to 5th in 2018 with the #14 achieving 5th and the #15 getting 10th in the Team's Championship.


title: Lexus

text: For the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the running of the Lexus GT3 cars has been transferred to AIM Vasser Sullivan, which is a debuting partnership, where the driver pairing of Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand have currently achieved 2 wins at Mid-Ohio before winning the next race at Belle Isle. As of the result of Lime Rock Park, Lexus are second in the 2019 Manufacturer's Championship and the #12 is third with the #14 in 5th despite that being the winning car.


title: Lexus

text: From its inception, Lexus has been advertised to luxury consumers using specific marketing strategies, with a consistent motif used for the marque's advertisements. Beginning in 1989, television ads were narrated by actor James Sloyan (the voice of "Mr. Lexus" until 2009), and accompanied by vehicles that performed unusual stunts onscreen. The first decade of Lexus commercials (1989–99) consisted primarily of disjunctive verbal descriptions, such as "relentless," "pursuit," and "perfection," while vehicles were used to claim superiority in precision, idling, and interior quiet and comfort on camera. Examples included the champagne glass "Balance" (1989) and rolling "Ball Bearing" (1992). In the 2000s (decade), commercials included descriptions of features, or a narration of the events onscreen, and were often targeted at the marque's German competitors. An annual "December to Remember" campaign featured scenes of family members surprising loved ones with the gift of a new Lexus. The marque returned to the champagne glass theme in a 2006 LS 460 spot showing the sedan maneuvering between two stacks of glasses using its self-parking system, and in a 2010 LFA spot showing its engine sound shattering a glass via resonance frequency.


title: Lexus

text: Industry observers have attributed Lexus' early marketing successes to higher levels of perceived quality and lower prices than competitors, which have enabled the marque to attract customers upgrading from mass-market cars. A reputation for dependability, bolstered by reliability surveys, also became a primary factor in attracting new customers from rival premium makes. Lexus has since grown to command higher price premiums than rival Japanese makes, with new models further increasing in price and reaching the more than $100,000 ultra-luxury category long dominated by rival European marques.


title: Lexus

text: Automotive analysts have also noted Lexus' relative newcomer status as a marketing challenge for the brand, although some have debated the requirement of a long history. European rivals have marketed their decades of heritage and pedigree, whereas Lexus' reputation rests primarily upon its perceived quality and shared history with parent company Toyota. Several analysts have stated that Lexus will have to develop its own heritage over time by highlighting technological innovations and producing substantial products.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus' marketing efforts have extended to sporting and charity event sponsorships, including the U.S. Open tennis Grand Slam event from 2005 to 2009, and the United States Golf Association's U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Senior Open, and U.S. Amateur tournaments since 2007. Lexus has organized an annual Champions for Charity golf series in the U.S. since 1989. Endorsement contracts have also been signed with professional athletes Hideki Matsuyama, Andy Roddick, Annika Sörenstam, and Peter Jacobsen.


title: Lexus

text: Lexus unveiled its new "Experience Amazing" tagline in the U.S. in a 60-second advertisement at the February 2017 Super Bowl LI. The new tagline replaced Lexus's previous slogans, "Amazing in Motion" and "The Pursuit of Perfection".


title: Lexus

text: On 30 March 2018, Lexus premiered a fake partnership with 23 and Me during a spot on "Saturday Night Live", for a pretend program that allows buyers to customize vehicles based on their DNA, as an April Fool's Day joke.


title: James Callaghan

text: Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is the only person to have held all four Great Offices of State, having served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1964 to 1967, Home Secretary from 1967 to 1970 and Foreign Secretary from 1974 to 1976. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1987.


title: James Callaghan

text: Born into a working-class family in Portsmouth, Callaghan left school early and began his career as a tax inspector, before becoming a trade union official in the 1930s; he served as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was elected to Parliament at the 1945 election, and was regarded as being on the left wing of the Labour Party. He was appointed to the Attlee government as a parliamentary secretary in 1947, and began to move increasingly towards the right wing of the Labour Party, while maintaining his reputation as a "Keeper of the Cloth Cap"that is, seen as maintaining close ties between Labour and the trade unions. Following Labour's defeat at the 1951 election, Callaghan increasingly became regarded as the leader of the right wing of the Labour Party, and stood for the positions of deputy leader in 1960 and for leader in 1963, but was defeated by George Brown for the former and Harold Wilson for the latter.


title: James Callaghan

text: Following Labour's victory at the 1964 election, Wilson appointed Callaghan as Chancellor of the Exchequer; this appointment coincided with a turbulent period for the British economy, during which Callaghan had to tackle both a chronic balance of payments deficit and various speculative attacks on the pound sterling, with its exchange rate to other currencies being fixed by the Bretton Woods system. On 18 November 1967, having initially denied that it would do so, the Government devalued the pound sterling. In the wake of the decision, Wilson moved Callaghan to the role of Home Secretary. During this time, Callaghan was responsible for overseeing the operations of the British Army to support the police in Northern Ireland, following a request from the Northern Ireland government. Callaghan remained in the Shadow Cabinet during Labour's period in Opposition from 1970 to 1974; upon Labour's victory at the 1974 election, Wilson appointed Callaghan as Foreign Secretary. Callaghan was responsible for renegotiating the terms of Britain's membership of the European Communities (EC), and strongly supported the successful "Yes" vote campaign in the 1975 referendum, which confirmed the UK's membership of the EC.


title: James Callaghan

text: When Wilson suddenly announced his retirement in March 1976, Callaghan defeated five other candidates to be elected Leader of the Labour Party; he was appointed prime minister on 5 April 1976. Despite winning a narrow majority in the House of Commons at the 1974 election, Labour had lost this by the time Callaghan became prime minister, and several by-election defeats and defections in his early months forced Callaghan to strike a confidence and supply agreement with the Liberal Party. While this initially proved stable, in the wake of significant industrial disputes and widespread strikes in the 1978–79 "Winter of Discontent", and the defeat of the referendum on devolution for Scotland, led to minor parties joining the Conservatives to pass a motion of no-confidence in Callaghan on 28 March 1979. Although remaining personally popular in opinion polls, Callaghan led Labour to defeat at the 1979 election and was replaced by Margaret Thatcher.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan initially remained as Labour leader, serving as Leader of the Opposition until November 1980. He attempted to reform the process by which Labour elected its leader. After leaving the leadership, he returned to the backbench, and between 1983 and 1987 was Father of the House of Commons. On retiring from the Commons in 1987, he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Callaghan of Cardiff. He died on 26 March 2005 and remains to date the UK's longest-lived former prime minister.


title: James Callaghan

text: Leonard James Callaghan was born at 38 Funtington Road, Copnor, Portsmouth, England, on 27 March 1912. He took his middle name from his father, James (1877–1921), who was the son of an Irish Catholic father who had fled to England during the Great Irish Famine and a Jewish mother. Callaghan's father ran away from home in the 1890s to join the Royal Navy; as he was a year too young to enlist, he gave a false date of birth and changed his surname from Garoghan to Callaghan, so that his true identity could not be traced. He rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer.


title: James Callaghan

text: His mother was Charlotte Callaghan ("" Cundy, 1879–1961) an English Baptist. As the Catholic Church at the time refused to marry Catholics to members of other denominations, James Callaghan senior abandoned Catholicism and married Charlotte in a Baptist chapel. Their first child was Dorothy Gertrude Callaghan (1904–82).


title: James Callaghan

text: James Callaghan senior served in the First World War on board the battleship HMS "Agincourt". After he was demobbed in 1919, he joined the Coastguard and the family moved to the town of Brixham in Devon, but he died only two years later of a heart attack in 1921 at the age of 44, leaving the family without an income, and forced to rely on charity to survive. Their financial situation was improved in 1924 when the first Labour government was elected, and introduced changes allowing Mrs Callaghan to be granted a widow's pension of ten shillings a week, on the basis that her husband's death was partly due to his war service.


title: James Callaghan

text: In his early years, Callaghan was known by his first name Leonard. When he entered politics in 1945 he decided to be known by his middle name James, and from then on he was referred to as James or Jim. He attended Portsmouth Northern Secondary School. He gained the Senior Oxford Certificate in 1929, but could not afford entrance to university and instead sat the Civil Service entrance exam. At the age of 17, Callaghan left to work as a clerk for the Inland Revenue at Maidstone in Kent. While working as a tax inspector, Callaghan joined the Maidstone branch of the Labour Party and the Association of the Officers of Taxes (AOT), a trade union for this branch of the Civil Service; within a year of joining he became the office secretary of the union. In 1932 he passed a Civil Service exam which enabled him to become a senior tax inspector, and that same year he became the Kent branch secretary of the AOT. The following year he was elected to the AOT's national executive council. In 1934, he was transferred to Inland Revenue offices in London. Following a merger of unions in 1936, Callaghan was appointed a full-time union official and to the post of assistant secretary of the Inland Revenue Staff Federation (IRSF), and resigned from his Civil Service duties.


title: James Callaghan

text: During his time working as a tax inspector in the early-1930s, Callaghan met his future wife Audrey Moulton, and they were married in July 1938 at Maidstone.


title: James Callaghan

text: His union position at the IRSF brought Callaghan into contact with Harold Laski, the Chairman of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee and an academic at the London School of Economics. Laski encouraged him to stand for Parliament, although later on he requested Callaghan several times to study and lecture at the LSE.


title: James Callaghan

text: Following the outbreak of World War II Callaghan applied to join the Royal Navy in 1940, but was initially turned down on the basis that a Trade Union official was deemed to be a reserved occupation. He was finally allowed to join the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as an Ordinary Seaman in 1942. While he trained for his promotion his medical examination revealed that he was suffering from tuberculosis, so he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar in Gosport near Portsmouth. After he recovered, he was discharged and assigned to duties with the Admiralty in Whitehall. He was assigned to the Japanese section and wrote a service manual for the Royal Navy "The Enemy: Japan". He then served in the East Indies Fleet on board the escort carrier HMS "Activity" and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in April 1944. As of , Callaghan remains the last British prime minister to be an armed forces veteran and the only one ever to have served in the Royal Navy.


title: James Callaghan

text: While on leave from the Navy, Callaghan was selected as a Parliamentary candidate for Cardiff South—he narrowly won the local party ballot with twelve votes against the next highest candidate George Thomas, who received eleven. Callaghan had been encouraged to put his name forward for the Cardiff South seat by his friend Dai Kneath, a member of the IRSF National executive from Swansea, who was in turn an associate and friend of the local Labour Party secretary, Bill Headon.


title: James Callaghan

text: By 1945, he was serving on in the Indian Ocean. After VE Day, he returned, along with other prospective candidates, to the United Kingdom to stand in the general election.


title: James Callaghan

text: The Labour Party won the overdue general election in a landslide victory on 26 July 1945, bringing Clement Attlee to power, in charge of the first-ever majority Labour government. Callaghan won his Cardiff South seat at the 1945 UK general election (and would hold a Cardiff-area seat continuously until his retirement in 1987). He defeated the sitting Conservative MP, Sir Arthur Evans, by 17,489 votes to 11,545. He campaigned on such issues as the rapid demobilisation of the armed forces and for a new housing construction programme. He stood on the left wing of the Party, and was a vocal critic of the United States in 1945, joining 22 other rebels in voting against accepting the Anglo-American loan. Callaghan did not join the Keep Left group of left-wing Labour MPs, but he did sign a letter in 1947 with 20 other MPs from the group calling for a 'socialist foreign policy' which would create an alternative to the ruthless capitalism of the United States and the totalitarian Bolshevism of the USSR.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan was soon appointed parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Transport in 1947 where, advised by the young chief constable of Hertfordshire, Sir Arthur Young, his term saw important improvements in road safety, notably the introduction of zebra crossings, and an extension in the use of cat's eyes. He moved to be parliamentary and financial secretary to the Admiralty from 1950, where he was a delegate to the Council of Europe and resisted plans for a European army.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan was popular with Labour MPs, and was elected to the Shadow Cabinet every year while the Labour Party was in opposition from 1951 to 1964. He was now a staunch Gaitskellite on the Labour right wing. He was Parliamentary Adviser to the Police Federation from 1955 to 1960 when he negotiated an increase in police pay with then-General Secretary Arthur Charles Evans. He ran for the Deputy Leadership of the party in 1960 as an opponent of unilateral nuclear disarmament, and despite the other candidate of the Labour right (George Brown) agreeing with him on this policy, he forced Brown to a second vote. In November 1961, Callaghan became Shadow Chancellor. When Hugh Gaitskell died in January 1963, Callaghan ran to succeed him, but came third in the leadership contest, which was won by Harold Wilson. However, he did gain the support of right-wingers, such as Denis Healey and Anthony Crosland, who wanted to prevent Wilson from being elected leader but who also did not trust George Brown.


title: James Callaghan

text: In October 1964, Conservative Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home (who had only been in power for twelve months since the resignation of Harold Macmillan) was forced to call a general election, the parliament being about to expire. Labour won a narrow majority, gaining 56 seats for a total of 317 to the Conservatives' 304. The new Labour government under Harold Wilson immediately faced economic problems; Wilson acted within his first hours to appoint Callaghan as the new chancellor of the Exchequer. The previous chancellor, Reginald Maudling, had initiated fiscally expansionary measures which had helped create a pre-election economic boom; by greatly increasing domestic demand this had caused imports to grow much faster than exports, thus when Labour entered government they faced a balance of payments deficit of £800,000,000 (), and an immediate sterling crisis. Both Wilson and Callaghan took a strong stance against devaluation of sterling, partly due to the perception that the devaluation carried out by the previous Labour government in 1949 had contributed to that government's downfall. The alternative to devaluation, however, was a series of austerity measures designed to reduce demand in the economy in order to reduce imports, and to stabilise the balance of payments and the value of sterling.


title: James Callaghan

text: Just ten days after taking up his post, Callaghan immediately introduced a 15% surcharge on imports, with the exception of foodstuffs and raw materials. This measure was intended to tackle the balance of payments deficit; however, it caused an uproar amongst Britain's international trading partners. The outcry was so intense that it caused the government to announce that the surcharge was a temporary measure. Callaghan later admitted in his autobiography that he could have handled the matter better, and in his haste to tackle the balance of payments problem, had failed to consult foreign governments.


title: James Callaghan

text: On 11 November, Callaghan gave his first budget and announced increases in income tax, petrol tax and the introduction of a new capital gains tax, actions which most economists deemed necessary to take the heat out of the balance and sterling deficit. In line with Labour's manifesto commitments, the budget also contained social measures to increase the state pension and the widows pension; measures which were disliked by the City and speculators, causing a run on the pound. On 23 November, it was decided to increase the bank rate from 2% to 7%, which generated a large amount of criticism. Handling the situation was made more difficult by the attitude of Lord Cromer, the Governor of the Bank of England, who argued against the fiscal policies of the new Labour government. When Callaghan and Wilson threatened to call a new general election, the governor soon raised a £3,000,000,000 loan to stabilise the reserves and the deficit.


title: James Callaghan

text: His second budget came on 6 April 1965, in which he announced efforts to deflate the economy and reduce home import demand by £250,000,000. Shortly afterwards, the bank rate was reduced from 7% down to 6%. For a brief time, the economy and British financial market stabilised, allowing in June for Callaghan to visit the United States and to discuss the state of the British economy with President Lyndon B. Johnson and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).


title: James Callaghan

text: In July, the pound came under extreme pressure and Callaghan was forced to create harsh temporary measures to demonstrate control of the economy. These include delaying all current government building projects and postponing new pension plans. The alternative was to allow the pound to float or to devalue it. Callaghan and Wilson, however, were again adamant that a devaluation of the pound would create new social and economic problems and continued to take a firm stance against it. The government continued to struggle both with the economy and with the slender majority which, by 1966, had been reduced to one. On 28 February, Harold Wilson formally announced an election for 31 March 1966. On 1 March, Callaghan gave a 'little budget' to the Commons and announced the historic decision that the UK would adopt decimal currency. (It was actually not until 1971, under a Conservative government, that the United Kingdom moved from the system of pounds, shillings and pence to a decimal system of 100 pence to the pound.) He also announced a short-term mortgage scheme which allowed low-wage earners to maintain mortgage schemes in the face of economic difficulties. Soon afterwards, at the 1966 general election, Labour won 363 seats compared to 252 seats against the Conservatives, giving the Labour government an increased majority of 97 seats.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan introduced his next Budget on 4 May. He had informed the house that he would bring a full Budget to the House when he made his 'little budget' speech prior to the election. The main point of his budget was the introduction of a Selective Employment Tax, penalising the service industry and favouring the manufacturing industry. Twelve days after the budget, the National Union of Seamen called a national strike and the problems facing Sterling were multiplied. Additional strikes caused the balance of payments deficit to increase. However, a £3,300,000,000 loan from Swiss banks was due by the end of the year. On 14 July, the bank rate was increased again to seven percent, and on 20 July Callaghan announced a ten-point emergency package to deal with the crisis which included further tax rises and a six-month freeze on wage increases. By early 1967, the economy had begun to stabilise once again with the balance of payments moving into equilibrium, the bank rate was reduced to 6% in March and 5.5% in May.


title: James Callaghan

text: It was under these conditions that Callaghan beat Michael Foot in a vote to become Treasurer of the Labour Party.


title: James Callaghan

text: The economy was soon in turmoil again by June, with the Six-Day War in the Middle East. Several Arab countries, such as Kuwait and Iraq, announced an oil embargo against Britain, accusing it of intervening on the Israeli side in the conflict, resulting in a rise in oil prices which had a disastrous effect on the balance of payments. Furthermore, the economy was hit in mid-September when a national dock strike lasted for eight weeks. The final straw, however, was an EEC report which suggested that the pound could not be sustained as a reserve currency and it was suggested again that the pound should be devalued. Callaghan responded by pointing out that, had it not been for the Middle East crisis, Britain would have been heading for a balance of payments surplus in 1967. However, rumours that devaluation was on the cards led to heavy selling of Sterling on world markets. Wilson and Callaghan refused a contingency fund offered from the IMF because of several conditions attached which they believed would allow the IMF to interfere with economic policy. On Wednesday 15 November, the historic decision was taken to commit the government to a 14.3% devaluation from the existing fixed exchange rate of $2.80 to the pound, to $2.40 to the pound. They intended to announce the decision publicly on the 18th. However, in the run up to the public announcement, Callaghan found himself in a tricky situation when answering questions in the House of Commons: One backbencher Robert Sheldon tabled a motion concerning a rumour that Britain would be receiving a loan from banks. Callaghan did not wish to lie to the Commons, but at the same time going public about the devaluation decision before the 18th would be financially disastrous for the country. He answered the initial question by stating that he did not comment on rumours. However a follow up question was made by Stan Orme suggesting that devaluation was preferable to deflation, which caused a major problem. Callaghan replied that he had "nothing to add or subtract from, anything I have said on previous occasions on the subject of devaluation"... Speculators seized on the fact that he had not denied there would be a devaluation and started selling Sterling. Over the next 24 hours, the flight from Sterling cost the country £1,500 million. The situation was a great political controversy at the time. As Denis Healey in his autobiography notes:


title: James Callaghan

text: Before the devaluation, Jim Callaghan had announced publicly to the Press and the House of Commons that he would not devalue, something he later said was necessary to maintain confidence in the pound and avoid creating jitters in the financial markets. Callaghan immediately offered his resignation as chancellor, and increasing political opposition forced Wilson to accept it. Wilson then moved Roy Jenkins, the home secretary, to be chancellor; Callaghan became the new home secretary on 30 November 1967.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan's tenure as home secretary was marked by the emerging conflict in Northern Ireland and it was as home secretary that he took the decision to deploy British Army troops in the province after a request from the Ulster Unionist Government of Northern Ireland.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan was also responsible for the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968, a controversial piece of legislation prompted by Conservative assertions that an influx of Kenyan Asians would soon inundate the country. It passed through the Commons in a week and placed entry controls on holders of British passports who had "no substantial connection" with Britain by setting up a new system. In his memoirs "Time and Chance", Callaghan wrote that introducing the Commonwealth Immigrants Bill had been an unwelcome task but that he did not regret it. He said the Asians had "discovered a loophole" and he told a BBC interviewer: "Public opinion in this country was extremely agitated, and the consideration that was in my mind was how we could preserve a proper sense of order in this country and, at the same time, do justice to these people—I had to balance both considerations". An opponent of the Act, Conservative MP Ian Gilmour, said that it was "brought in to keep the blacks out. If it had been the case that it was 5,000 white settlers who were coming in, the newspapers and politicians, Callaghan included, who were making all the fuss would have been quite pleased".


title: James Callaghan

text: Also significant was the passing of the Race Relations Act in the same year, making it illegal to refuse employment, housing or education on the basis of ethnic background. The Act extended the powers of the Race Relations Board at the time, to deal with complaints of discrimination and unfair attitudes. It also set up a new supervisory body, the Community Relations Commission, to promote "harmonious community relations". Presenting the Bill to Parliament, Callaghan said: "The House has rarely faced an issue of greater social significance for our country and our children."


title: James Callaghan

text: In 1969, Callaghan, a strong supporter of the Labour–Trade Union link, led the successful opposition in a divided cabinet to Barbara Castle's White Paper "In Place of Strife" which sought to modify trade union law. Amongst its numerous proposals were plans to force unions to call a ballot before a strike was held and the establishment of an Industrial Board to enforce settlements in industrial disputes. If the proposals had become law, many of the activities of the trades unions during the Winter of Discontent a decade later would have been illegal.


title: James Callaghan

text: Following Wilson's unexpected defeat by Edward Heath at the 1970 general election, Callaghan declined to challenge him for the leadership, despite Wilson's vulnerability. This did much to rehabilitate him in Wilson's eyes. He was in charge of drawing up a new policy statement in 1972 which contained the idea of the Social Contract between the government and trade unions. He also did much to ensure that Labour opposed the Heath government's bid to enter the Common Market—forcing Wilson's hand by making his personal opposition clear without consulting the party leader.


title: James Callaghan

text: When Wilson won the next general election and returned as prime minister in March 1974, he appointed Callaghan as Foreign Secretary which gave him responsibility for renegotiating the terms of the United Kingdom's membership of the Common Market. When the talks concluded, Callaghan led the Cabinet in declaring the new terms acceptable and he supported a "Yes" vote in the 1975 referendum. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Cardiff on 16 March 1975.


title: James Callaghan

text: Barely two years after beginning his second spell as prime minister, Wilson announced his surprise resignation on 16 March 1976, and unofficially endorsed Callaghan as his successor. Callaghan was the favourite to win the leadership election; although he was the oldest candidate, he was also the most experienced and least divisive. Popularity with all parts of the Labour movement saw him through the ballot of Labour MPs to win the leadership vote. On 5 April 1976, at the age of 64 years and 9 days, Callaghan became prime minister—the oldest prime minister at time of appointment since Winston Churchill.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan was the only prime minister to have held all three leading Cabinet positions—chancellor of the exchequer, home secretary and foreign secretary—prior to becoming prime minister.


title: James Callaghan

text: During his first year in office, Callaghan started what has since become known as 'The Great Debate', when he spoke at Ruskin College, Oxford, about the 'legitimate concerns' of the public about the quality of education in the nation's maintained schools. This discussion led to greater involvement of the government, through its ministries, in the curriculum and administration of state education, leading to the eventual introduction of the National curriculum some ten years later. Early in his premiership he caused controversy with the appointment of Peter Jay, his then son-in-law as the British Ambassador to the United States.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan's time as prime minister was dominated by the troubles in running a government with a minority in the House of Commons: he was forced to make deals with minor parties to survive—including the Lib–Lab pact, and he had been forced to accept a referendum on devolution in Scotland as well as one in Wales (the former went in favour but did not reach the required majority, and the latter went heavily against). He also became prime minister at a time when Britain was suffering from double-digit percentage inflation and rising unemployment. He responded to the economic crises by adopting deflationary policies to reduce inflation, and cutting public expenditure—a precursor to the monetarist economic policies that the next government, a Conservative one led by Margaret Thatcher, would pursue to ease the crises.


title: James Callaghan

text: Despite the economic difficulties faced by the government, over the summer of 1978 (shortly after the end of the Lib–Lab pact) most opinion polls showed Labour ahead, and the expectation grew that Callaghan would call an autumn election that would have given him a second term in office until autumn 1983. The economy had also started to show signs of recovery by this time. 1978 was a year of economic recovery for Britain, with inflation falling to single digits, unemployment declining during the year, and general living standards going up by more than 8%. Famously, he strung along the opposition and was expected to make his declaration of election in a broadcast on 7 September 1978. His decision to put off the election was seen by many at the time as a sign of his domination of the political scene and he ridiculed his opponents by singing old-time music hall star Vesta Victoria's song "Waiting at the Church" at that month's Trades Union Congress meeting. This was celebrated at the time but has since been interpreted as one of the greatest moments of hubris in modern British politics. Callaghan intended to convey the message that he had not promised an election, but most observers misread his message as an assertion that he would call an election, and the Conservatives would not be ready for it.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan's method of dealing with the long-term economic difficulties involved pay restraint which had been operating for four years with reasonable success. He gambled that a fifth year would further improve the economy and allow him to be re-elected in 1979, and so attempted to hold pay rises to 5% or less. The trade unions rejected continued pay restraint and in a succession of strikes over the winter of 1978–79 (known as the Winter of Discontent) secured higher pay. The industrial unrest made his government unpopular, and Callaghan's response to one interview question only made it worse. Returning to the United Kingdom from a summit held in Guadeloupe in January 1979, Callaghan was asked, "What is your general approach, in view of the mounting chaos in the country at the moment?" Callaghan replied, "Well, that's a judgement that you are making. I promise you that if you look at it from outside, and perhaps you're taking rather a parochial view at the moment, I don't think that other people in the world would share the view that there is mounting chaos." This reply was reported in "The Sun" under the headline "Crisis? What Crisis?". Callaghan also later admitted in regard to the Winter of Discontent that he had "let the country down".


title: James Callaghan

text: The Winter of Discontent saw Labour's performance in the opinion polls slump dramatically. They had topped most of the pre-winter opinion polls by several points, but in February 1979 at least one opinion poll was showing the Conservatives 20 points ahead of Labour and it appeared inevitable that Labour would lose the forthcoming election.


title: James Callaghan

text: In the buildup to the election, the "Daily Mirror" and "The Guardian" supported Labour, while "The Sun", the "Daily Mail", the "Daily Express", and "The Daily Telegraph" supported the Conservatives.


title: James Callaghan

text: On 28 March 1979, the House of Commons passed a motion of no-confidence by one vote, 311–310, which forced Callaghan to call a general election that was held on 3 May. The Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher ran a campaign on the slogan "Labour Isn't Working" and won the election. Callaghan agreed to a proposal by Brian Walden, a former Labour MP who was by then a broadcaster, to take part in two televised debates with Margaret Thatcher to be produced by LWT with the intention that they would be broadcast on ITV on 22 and 29 April 1979. At the insistence of the Liberal Party, their leader David Steel was also invited to take participate in the proposed debates, and he also quickly accepted the offer. However Mrs Thatcher ultimately rejected the approach to take part in the debates, citing among other reasons her belief that the election was for a government, not a president. Her refusal meant that the debates did not go ahead.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan's failure to call an election during 1978 was widely seen as a political miscalculation; indeed, he himself later admitted that not calling an election was an error of judgement. However, private polling by the Labour Party in the autumn of 1978 had shown the two main parties with about the same level of support. After losing power in 1979, Labour spent the next 18 years in opposition.


title: James Callaghan

text: Notwithstanding electoral defeat, Callaghan stayed on as Labour leader until 15 October 1980, shortly after the party conference had voted for a new system of election by electoral college involving the individual members and trade unions. His resignation ensured that his successor would be elected by MPs only. Following a campaign that laid bare the deep internal divisions of the parliamentary Labour Party, Michael Foot narrowly defeated Denis Healey on 10 November in the second round of the election to succeed Callaghan as party leader. Foot had been a relatively late entrant to the contest and his decision to stand ended the chances of Peter Shore.


title: James Callaghan

text: In 1983, he attacked Labour's plans to reduce defence, and the same year became Father of the House as the longest continually-serving member of the Commons.


title: James Callaghan

text: In 1987, he was made a Knight of the Garter and stood down at the 1987 general election after 42 years as an MP. He was one of the last remaining MPs elected in the Labour landslide of 1945. Shortly afterwards, he was elevated to the House of Lords on 5 November 1987 as a life peer with the title Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, "of the City of Cardiff in the County of South Glamorgan". In 1987, his autobiography, "Time and Chance", was published. He also served as a non-executive director of the Bank of Wales.


title: James Callaghan

text: His wife Audrey, a former chairman (1969–82) of Great Ormond Street Hospital, spotted a letter to a newspaper which pointed out that the copyright of "Peter Pan", which had been assigned by J. M. Barrie to the hospital, was going to expire at the end of that year, 1987 (50 years after Barrie's death, the then-current copyright term). In 1988, Callaghan moved an amendment to the Copyright Designs & Patents Act, then under consideration in the House of Lords, to grant the hospital a right to royalty in perpetuity despite the lapse of copyright, and it was passed by the government.


title: James Callaghan

text: Tony Benn recorded in his diary entry of 3 April 1997 that during the 1997 general election campaign, Callaghan was telephoned by a volunteer at Labour headquarters asking him if he would be willing to become more active in the party. According to Benn:One young woman in her mid-twenties rang up Jim Callaghan and said to him on the phone, "Have you ever thought of being a bit more active in politics?" So Callaghan said, "Well I was a Labour Prime Minister – what more could I do?"


title: James Callaghan

text: During an interview broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme "The Human Button", Callaghan became the only prime minister to go on record with his opinion on ordering a retaliation in the event of a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom:"If it were to become necessary or vital, it would have meant the deterrent had failed, because the value of the nuclear weapon is frankly only as a deterrent", he said. "But if we had got to that point, where it was, I felt, necessary to do it, then I would have done it. I've had terrible doubts, of course, about this. I say to you, if I had lived after having pressed that button, I could never, ever have forgiven myself."


title: James Callaghan

text: In October 1999, Callaghan told "The Oldie Magazine" that he would not be surprised to be considered as Britain's worst prime minister in 200 years. He also said in this interview that he "must carry the can" for the Winter of Discontent.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan's interests included rugby (he played lock for Streatham RFC before the Second World War), tennis and agriculture. He married Audrey Elizabeth Moulton, whom he had met when they both worked as Sunday School teachers at the local Baptist church, in July 1938 and had three children—one son and two daughters.


title: James Callaghan

text: Although there is much doubt about how much belief Callaghan retained into adult life, the Baptist nonconformist ethic was a profound influence throughout all of his public and private life. Like his Labour Party leader successors Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock, Callaghan was acknowledged to have been an atheist, and was said to have lost belief in God while he was working as a trade union official.


title: James Callaghan

text: One of his final public appearances came on 29 April 2002, when shortly after his 90th birthday, he sat alongside the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and three other surviving former prime ministers at the time – Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher and John Major at Buckingham Palace for a dinner which formed part of the celebrations for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, alongside his daughter Margaret, Baroness Jay, who had served as leader of the House of Lords from 1998 until 2001.


title: James Callaghan

text: Callaghan died on 26 March 2005 at his home in Ringmer, East Sussex, of lobar pneumonia, cardiac failure and kidney failure, the day before his 93rd birthday. He died just 11 days after his wife of 67 years, who had spent the last four years of her life in a nursing home due to Alzheimer's disease. He died as Britain's longest-lived former prime minister, having surpassed Harold Macmillan's record 39 days earlier. Callaghan died 4 months before former Prime Minister Edward Heath.


title: James Callaghan

text: Lord Callaghan was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in a flowerbed around the base of the "Peter Pan" statue near the entrance of London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, where his wife had formerly been chair of the board of governors.


title: James Callaghan

text: His Order of the Garter Banner was transferred from St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle to Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff following his death.


title: James Callaghan

text: His contribution and legacy are still contested. The left-wing of the Labour Party considers him a traitor whose betrayals of true socialism laid the foundations for Thatcherism. They point to his decision in 1976 to allow the IMF to control the government budget. They accuse him of abandoning the traditional Labour commitment to full employment. They blame his rigorous pursuit of a policy of controlling income growth for the Winter of Discontent. Writers on the right of the Labour Party complained that he was a weak leader who was unable to stand up to the left. The New Labour writers who admire Tony Blair identify him with the old-style partisanship that was a dead end which a new generation of modernisers had to repudiate.


title: James Callaghan

text: Practically all commentators agree that Callaghan made a serious mistake by not calling an election in the autumn of 1978. Bernard Donoughue, a senior official in his government, depicts Callaghan as a strong and efficient administrator who stood heads above his predecessor Harold Wilson. The standard scholarly biography by Kenneth O. Morgan is generally favourable—at least for the middle of his premiership—while admitting failures at the beginning, at the end and in his leadership role following Margaret Thatcher's victory. The treatment found in most textbooks and surveys of the period remains largely negative.


title: James Callaghan

text: Historians Alan Sked and Chris Cook have summarised the general consensus of historians regarding Labour in power in the 1970s:


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Jan-Michael Vincent (July 15, 1944 – February 10, 2019) was an American actor known for portraying helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the TV series "Airwolf" (1984–1987) and the protagonist, Matt Johnson, in the 1978 film "Big Wednesday". He also starred as Byron Henry in "The Winds of War".


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Jan-Michael Vincent was born in Denver, Colorado, where his father was stationed after enlisting in the United States Army in 1941. His father, Lloyd Whiteley Vincent (September 7, 1919 – August 30, 2000), was born in Tulare, California, and raised in nearby Hanford in the San Joaquin Valley. His mother, Doris Jane (née Pace; August 2, 1925 – February 22, 1993), was born in Arkansas and moved to Hanford as a toddler. Jan's grandfather, Herbert Vincent (September 26, 1876 – January 14, 1974), was a bank robber and counterfeiter who had masterminded robberies in the 1920s and 1930s. Jan's uncle, Lloyd's brother Hoy, was shot to death in Tulare by a sheriff's deputy and was wanted for a robbery that occurred in Oregon. Two of Vincent's other uncles, Clifford and Harold, were convicted of bank robbery in Hardwick, California and Strathmore, California in 1931. In 1932, Herbert and his son, Gordon, were arrested in Hanford in January for bank robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, which left Lloyd alone at age twelve.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Lloyd Vincent and Doris met in 1940 when she was 15 and Lloyd had finished high school. Lloyd was stationed in Denver in 1941 as a B-25 bomber pilot during World War II, and he married Doris there when she was sixteen. Jan's mistrust of authority came from later seeing his father in the Army being told what to do and when to do it. Jan Vincent's sister, Jaqueline "Jacquie" Vincent, was born in 1947. His brother, Christopher, was born in 1952. After the war, Lloyd became a painter, like Jan's grandfather, and later developed alcoholism. By the time Jan was born in 1944, his parents owned a sign company in Hanford.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent attended school in Hanford and graduated in 1963 from Hanford High School. He attended Ventura College in Ventura, California, for three years and recalled, "I would have completed college, but the registration clerk literally shut the window in my face for the lunch hour", and Vincent instead took his $200 and went to Mexico to party. Years later, Vincent found himself in the same rigid system his father was in. He served in the California Army National Guard, and remained in the National Guard Reserve until 1971.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent gained his first acting job in 1967 in "The Bandits", starring and co-directed by Robert Conrad. Also in 1967, Vincent appeared in the TV movie "The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk".


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: In the late 1960s, Vincent was signed to Universal Studios and appeared in several television series. He made an appearance in the "Dragnet 1968" episode "The Grenade", as a muscular high school student who suffered an acid attack by a mentally unstable classmate (played by Mickey Sholdar). Vincent also appeared in the "Danger Island" segments of Hanna-Barbera's "The Banana Splits" series as Link (1968–1969). His first starring role was in the fall of 1969 in the prime-time soap opera "The Survivors", alongside Lana Turner and George Hamilton; the series was canceled mid-season.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent also acted in several movies in the late 1960s, including the 1969 20th Century Fox movie "The Undefeated" (as Bubba Wilkes), starring John Wayne, Rock Hudson, and Antonio Aguilar. His name appeared as Michael Vincent in the credits of the movie. Vincent guest-starred in three episodes of "Lassie" with actor Tony Dow and two episodes of "Bonanza".


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: In 1970, Vincent garnered critical praise for his role in the TV movie "Tribes" (also known as "The Soldier Who Declared Peace" in Europe and the UK), co-starring Darren McGavin, about a tough Marine boot-camp drill instructor dealing with a hippie draftee (Vincent) who will not follow the rules. He gave a complex performance opposite Robert Mitchum in "Going Home" (1971). That same year, he appeared in the "Gunsmoke" episode "The Legend". In 1972, Vincent appeared with Charles Bronson in the crime film "The Mechanic" and a made-for-TV love story "Sandcastles". In 1973, Vincent starred in the Disney comedy "The World's Greatest Athlete", with Tim Conway and John Amos. Vincent played Richie, an alcoholic teen in the 1973 "Marcus Welby, M.D." episode, "Catch a Ring That Isn't There". Also in 1973, he was in the made-for-TV-movie "Deliver Us from Evil" as Nick Fleming opposite George Kennedy.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent also starred as the anti-hero Buster Lane in the 1974 romance "Buster and Billie", wherein he startled audiences with his full-frontal nudity. In "Bite the Bullet" (1975), he played opposite Gene Hackman, James Coburn, and Candice Bergen. He also starred in the trucker movie "White Line Fever" (1975); in "Baby Blue Marine" (1976), a war film directed by John D. Hancock, which also starred Glynnis O'Connor; and in "Shadow of the Hawk" (1976) co-starring Marilyn Hassett. Vincent also starred in "Damnation Alley" (1977), based on Roger Zelazny's science fiction novel. Two more notable 1978 appearances were the surfing film "Big Wednesday" with William Katt and Gary Busey, and "Hooper" with Burt Reynolds, in which Vincent played a young stuntman.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: In 1980, Vincent starred in the gang-themed drama "Defiance", which received a limited release. In that film, he and Danny Aiello co-star as Manhattan residents who fight back against the gang members who terrorize their neighborhood. That year, Vincent appeared in "The Return", a science-fiction film that was released directly to television and video. In 1981, he co-starred with Kim Basinger in "Hard Country", and in 1983, he starred in the action film "Last Plane Out".


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: After the completion of his role as Byron Henry ("Briny") in the 1983 television miniseries "The Winds of War", Vincent was cast as Stringfellow Hawke for the action–espionage series "Airwolf", in which he co-starred with Ernest Borgnine. It is the role for which he is best known and remembered. It was noted at the time that Vincent's salary for his work on "Airwolf" was $200,000 per episode, the highest of any actor in American television at the time. While filming "Airwolf", Vincent admitted to having drug and alcohol problems for which he acknowledged seeking help. After "Airwolf" ended, he found roles in smaller budget and lower exposure film projects.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent worked with Traci Lords in the 1991 suspense film "Raw Nerve". He also co-starred with Clint Howard in the 1996 black comedy/horror film "Ice Cream Man", which had a very limited theatrical release but eventually reached cult status via home video as an unintentional comedy. In 1994, he played in a South African produced movie called "Ipi Tombi", produced and directed by Tommie Meyer based on a musical by Bertha Egnos.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: While in the hospital in 1996, Vincent was committed to a role in "Red Line" with Chad McQueen as Keller. He appeared in the film with a swollen face and scars, and still wearing his hospital ID bracelet. In 1997, he had a small guest role on "Nash Bridges", playing the title character's long-lost brother, and in 1998 he had a cameo role in the independent film "Buffalo '66". His last role was in the independent film "White Boy" (titled "Menace" for the US video market), released in March 2003.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent married Bonnie Portman in 1968, and they had a daughter, Amber Springbird Vincent, in 1972. The couple's divorce was finalized on January 2, 1977.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent remarried in 1986. His second wife, Joanne Robinson, left him and entered a restraining order against him in 1998, alleging that he had abused her during their marriage.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: He battled alcoholism and intravenous drug use for much of his life. In 1977, 1978, and 1979 he was arrested for possession of cocaine, and in 1984 and 1985 he was arrested after two bar brawls.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: He was charged with felony assault in 1986, but was acquitted after his attorney argued that the woman tripped and fell on a telephone cord in his home. Vincent then was arrested for drunk driving but avoided jail by entering rehab in 1988. In 2000, a $374,000 default judgment was made against him after his former girlfriend alleged he had physically assaulted her after their breakup and caused her to miscarry their child.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: During the 1990s, he was involved in three severe automobile collisions, which he barely survived. The first near-fatal accident occurred in February 1992. In the second accident, in August 1996, Vincent broke three vertebrae in his neck. He sustained a permanent injury to his vocal cords from an emergency medical procedure, leaving him with a permanently raspy voice. The third accident happened in September 1997.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent was charged with drunk driving again after his 1996 accident, and once again sentenced to rehabilitation and placed on probation. In an interview on the television program "The Insider" on September 18, 2007, when asked about his 1996 car accident, Vincent answered "Y'know, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't remember being in an accident."


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: In 2000, Vincent violated probation for his prior alcohol-related arrests by appearing drunk in public three times and assaulting his fiancée. As a result, he was sentenced to 60 days in the Orange County Jail. Vincent was involved in yet another automobile accident in 2008.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: In an interview on October 24, 2014, with the "National Enquirer", Vincent revealed that his right leg was amputated just below the knee in 2012 after he contracted a leg infection as a result of complications from peripheral artery disease. After that, he walked with a prosthetic limb, although he was sometimes forced to use a wheelchair.


title: Jan-Michael Vincent

text: Vincent died on February 10, 2019, at the age of 74 in Asheville, North Carolina, due to cardiac arrest while hospitalized at Mission Hospital. Bradycardia, a decreased heart rate, was listed as an underlying cause of death. His death was not publicly announced until March 8, when TMZ broke the news and showed a slightly redacted copy of Vincent's death certificate.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both of which are named after the dynasty. The name bourbon was not applied until the 1850s, and the Kentucky etymology was not advanced until the 1870s.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon has been distilled since the 18th century. Although bourbon may be made anywhere in the United States, it is strongly associated with the American South in general, and with Kentucky in particular. As of 2014, distillers' wholesale market revenue for bourbon sold within the U.S. was about $2.7 billion, and bourbon made up about two thirds of the $1.6 billion of U.S. exports of distilled spirits. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, in 2018 U.S. distillers derived $3.6 billion in revenue from bourbon and Tennessee whiskey (a closely related spirit produced in the state of Tennessee).


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon was recognized in 1964 by the U.S. Congress as a "distinctive product of the United States". Bourbon sold in the U.S. must be produced in the country from at least 51% corn and stored in a new container of charred oak.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Distilling was most likely brought to present-day Kentucky in the late 18th century by Scots, Scots-Irish, and other settlers (including English, Irish, Welsh, German, and French) who began to farm the area in earnest. The origin of bourbon as a distinct form of whiskey is not well documented and there are many conflicting legends and claims.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: For example, the invention of bourbon is often attributed to Elijah Craig, a Baptist minister and distiller credited with many Kentucky firsts (e.g., fulling mill, paper mill, ropewalk) who is said to have been the first to age the product in charred oak casks, a process that gives bourbon its brownish color and distinctive taste. In Bourbon County, across the county line from Craig's distillery in what was then Fayette County, an early distiller named Jacob Spears is credited with being the first to label his product as Bourbon whiskey.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Although still popular and often repeated, the Craig legend is apocryphal. Similarly, the Spears story is a local favorite but is rarely repeated outside the county. There likely was no single "inventor" of bourbon, which developed into its present form in the late 19th century. Essentially, any type of grain can be used to make whiskey, and the practice of aging whiskey and charring the barrels for better flavor had been known in Europe for centuries. The late date of the Bourbon County etymology has led historian Michael Veach to dispute its authenticity. He proposes the whiskey was named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans, a major port where shipments of Kentucky whiskey sold well as a cheaper alternative to French cognac.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Another proposed origin of the name is the association with the geographic area known as "Old Bourbon", consisting of the original Bourbon County in Virginia organized in 1785. This region included much of today's Eastern Kentucky, including 34 of the modern counties. It included the current Bourbon County in Kentucky, which became a county when Kentucky separated from Virginia as a new state in 1792. According to Charles K. Cowdery,


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Although many distilleries operated in Bourbon County historically, no distilleries operated there between 1919, when Prohibition began in Kentucky, and late 2014, when a small distillery opened – a period of 95 years. Prohibition devastated the bourbon industry. With the ratification of the 18th amendment in 1919, all distilleries were forced to stop operating, although a few were granted permits to bottle existing stocks of medicinal whiskey. Later, a few were allowed to resume production when the stocks ran out. Distilleries that were granted permits to produce or bottle medicinal whiskey included Brown-Forman, Frankfort Distillery, James Thompson and Brothers, American Medical Spirits, the Schenley Distillery (modern-day Buffalo Trace Distillery), and the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: A refinement often dubiously credited to James C. Crow is the sour mash process, which conditions each new fermentation with some amount of spent mash. Spent mash is also known as spent beer, distillers' spent grain, stillage, and slop or feed mash, so named because it is used as animal feed. The acid introduced when using the sour mash controls the growth of bacteria that could taint the whiskey and creates a proper pH balance for the yeast to work.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: A concurrent resolution adopted by the United States Congress in 1964 declared bourbon to be a "distinctive product of the United States" and asked "the appropriate agencies of the United States Government ... [to] take appropriate action to prohibit importation into the United States of whiskey designated as 'Bourbon Whiskey'." Federal regulation now defines bourbon whiskey to only include bourbon produced in the U.S.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: In recent years, bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, which is sometimes regarded as a different type of spirit but generally meets the legal requirements to be called bourbon, have enjoyed significant growth in popularity. The industry trade group Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) tracks sales of bourbon and Tennessee whiskey together.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: According to DISCUS, during 2009–2014, the volume of 9-liter cases of whiskey increased by 28.5% overall. Higher-end bourbon and whiskeys experienced the greatest growth. Gross supplier revenues (including federal excise tax) for U.S. bourbon and Tennessee whiskey increased by 46.7% over the 2009–2014 period, with the greatest growth coming from high-end products. In 2014, more than 19 million nine-liter cases of bourbon and Tennessee whiskey were sold in the U.S., generating almost $2.7 billion in wholesale distillery revenue. U.S. exports of bourbon whiskey surpassed $1 billion for the first time in 2013; distillers hailed the rise of a "golden age of Kentucky bourbon" and predicted further growth. In 2014, it was estimated that U.S. bourbon whiskey exports surpassed $1 billion, making up the majority of the U.S. total of $1.6 billion in spirits exports. Major export markets for U.S. spirits are, in descending order: Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and France. The largest percentage increases in U.S. exports were, in descending order: Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Israel, and United Arab Emirates. Key elements of growth in the markets showing the largest increases have been changes of law, trade agreements, and reductions of tariffs, as well as increased consumer demand for premium-category spirits.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon's legal definition varies somewhat from country to country, but many trade agreements require that the name "bourbon" be reserved for products made in the United States. The U.S. regulations for labeling and advertising bourbon apply only to products made for consumption within the U.S.; they do not apply to distilled spirits made for export. Canadian law requires products labeled bourbon to be made in the U.S. and also to conform to the requirements that apply within the U.S. The European Union also requires bourbon to be made in the U.S. following the law of the country. But in other countries, products labeled bourbon may not adhere to the same standards.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits, codified under 27 CFR §5.22(b)(1)(i), states bourbon made for U.S. consumption must be:


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period. Products aged for as little as three months are sold as bourbon. The exception is straight bourbon, which has a minimum aging requirement of two years. In addition, any bourbon aged less than four years must include an age statement on its label.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon that meets the above requirements, has been aged for a minimum of two years, and does not have added coloring, flavoring, or other spirits may be – but is not required to be – called straight bourbon.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon that is labeled "blended" (or as a "blend") may contain added coloring, flavoring, and other spirits, such as un-aged neutral grain spirits, but at least 51% of the product must be straight bourbon.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: "High rye bourbon" is not a legally defined term but usually means a bourbon with 20–35% rye. High wheat bourbons are described as more mild and subdued compared to high-rye varieties.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon that has been aged for fewer than three years cannot legally be referred to as whiskey (or whisky) in the EU.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: On May 4, 1964, the U.S. Congress recognized bourbon whiskey as a "distinctive product of the United States" by concurrent resolution. Bourbon may be produced anywhere in the U.S. where it is legal to distill spirits, but most brands are produced in Kentucky, where bourbon production has a strong historical association. The filtering of iron-free water through the high concentrations of limestone that are unique to the area is often touted by bourbon distillers in Kentucky as a signature step in the bourbon-making process.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: On August 2, 2007, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution sponsored by Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) officially declaring September 2007 to be National Bourbon Heritage Month, commemorating the history of bourbon whiskey. Notably, the resolution claimed that Congress had declared bourbon to be "America's Native Spirit" in its 1964 resolution. However, the 1964 resolution did not contain such a statement; it declared bourbon to be a distinctive product identifiable with the U.S. (in a similar way that Scotch is considered identifiable with Scotland). The resolution was passed again in 2008.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: As of 2018, approximately 95% of all bourbon is produced in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association. As of 2018, there were 68 whiskey distilleries in Kentucky, this was up 250 percent in the past ten years. At that time, the state had more than 8.1 million barrels of bourbon that were aging – a number that greatly exceeds the state's population of about 4.3 million.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bardstown, Kentucky, is home to the annual Bourbon Festival held each September. It has been called the "Bourbon Capital of the World" by the Bardstown Tourism Commission and the Kentucky Bourbon Festival organizers who have registered the phrase as a trademark. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is the name of a tourism promotion program organized by the Kentucky Distillers' Association that is aimed at attracting visitors to the distilleries in Kentucky, particularly Four Roses (Lawrenceburg), Heaven Hill (Bardstown), Jim Beam (Clermont), Maker's Mark (Loretto), Town Branch (Lexington), Wild Turkey (Lawrenceburg), and Woodford Reserve (Versailles).


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Tennessee is home to other major bourbon makers, although most prefer to call their product "Tennessee whiskey" instead, including giant Jack Daniel's. It is legally defined under Tennessee House Bill 1084, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and at least one other international trade agreement as the recognized name for a straight bourbon whiskey produced in Tennessee. It is also required to meet the legal definition of bourbon under Canadian law.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Although some Tennessee whiskey makers maintain that a pre-aging filtration through chunks of maple charcoal, known as the Lincoln County Process and legally mandated since 2013, make its flavor distinct from bourbon, U.S. regulations defining bourbon neither require nor prohibit its use.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon also was and is made in other U.S. states. The largest bourbon distiller outside of Kentucky and Tennessee is MGP of Indiana, which primarily wholesales its spirits products to bottling companies that sell them under about 50 different brand names – in some cases, misleadingly marketed as "craft" whiskey, despite being produced at a large wholesaler's factory.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: To be legally sold as bourbon, the whiskey's mash bill requires a minimum of 51% corn, with the remainder being any cereal grain. A proposed change to U.S. regulations will expand allowable "grains" to include seeds of the pseudocereals amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa. A mash bill that contains wheat instead of rye produces what is known as a wheated bourbon. The grain is ground and mixed with water. Usually mash from a previous distillation is added to ensure consistency across batches, creating a sour mash. Finally, yeast is added, and the mash is fermented. It is distilled to (typically) between 65% and 80% alcohol using either a traditional alembic (or pot still) or the much less expensive continuous still. Most modern bourbons are initially run off using a column still and then redistilled in a "doubler" (alternatively known as a "thumper" or "retort") that is basically a pot still.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: The resulting clear spirit, called "white dog", is placed in charred new oak containers for aging. In practice, these containers are generally barrels made from American white oak. The spirit gains its color and much of its flavor from the caramelized sugars and vanillins in the charred wood. Straight bourbon must be aged at least two years, and blended bourbon must contain at least 51% straight bourbon on a proof gallon basis (i.e., most of the alcohol in the blend must be from straight bourbon). The remainder of the spirits in a blended bourbon may be neutral grain spirits that are not aged at all. If a product is labeled merely as bourbon whiskey rather than straight or blended, no specific minimum aging period is prescribed – only that the product has been "stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) in charred new oak containers". Bourbons gain more color and flavor the longer they age in wood. Changes to the spirit also occur due to evaporation and chemical processes such as oxidation. Lower-priced bourbons tend to be aged relatively briefly. Even for higher-priced bourbons, "maturity" rather than a particular age duration is often the goal, as over-aging bourbons can negatively affect the flavor of the bourbon (making it taste woody, bitter, or unbalanced).


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: After maturing, bourbon is withdrawn from the barrel and is typically filtered and diluted with water. It is then bottled at no less than 80 US proof (40% abv). Although most bourbon whiskey is sold at 80 US proof, other common proofs are 86, 90, and 100. All "bottled in bond" bourbon is 100 proof. Some higher-proof bottlings are marketed as "barrel proof", meaning they have not been diluted or have been only lightly diluted after removal from the barrels. Bourbon whiskey may be sold at less than 80 proof but must be labeled as "diluted bourbon".


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: After processing, barrels remain saturated with up to of bourbon, although is the norm. They may not be reused for bourbon, and most are sold to distilleries in Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Mexico, and the Caribbean for aging other spirits. Some are employed in the manufacture of various barrel-aged products, including amateur and professionally brewed bourbon-barrel-aged beer, barbecue sauce, wine, hot sauce, and others. Since 2011, Jim Beam has employed barrel rinsing on a large scale to extract bourbon from its used barrels, mixing the extract with a 6-year-old Beam bourbon to create a 90-proof product that it sells as "Devil's Cut".


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: The bottling operation for bourbon is the process of filtering, mixing together straight whiskey from different barrels (sometimes from different distilleries), diluting with water, blending with other ingredients (if producing blended bourbon), and filling containers to produce the final product that is marketed to consumers. By itself, the phrase "bottled by" means only that. Only if the bottler operates the distillery that produced the whiskey may "distilled by" be added to the label.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Labeling requirements for bourbon and other alcoholic beverages (including the requirements for what is allowed to be called bourbon under U.S. law) are defined in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. No whiskey made outside the U.S. may be labeled bourbon or sold as bourbon inside the U.S. Various other countries have trade agreements with the U.S. to recognize bourbon as a distinctive product of the U.S., including Canada and Mexico, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Brazil.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: A 2016 experiment by Louisville craft distiller Jefferson's Bourbon suggests that in the era before whiskey was routinely bottled at the distillery, Kentucky bourbon developed a superior taste because it was shipped in barrels, using water transport wherever practical. To test this theory, Jefferson's cofounder Trey Zoeller sent two barrels of the company's signature product to New York City via barge, first down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and then along the Intracoastal Waterway. As a control, he brought a batch of the same whiskey that had remained in Louisville during the same period. According to "Popular Mechanics" writer Jacqueline Detwiler, who documented the test, the sample that made the waterborne journey "was mature beyond its age, richer, with new flavors of tobacco, vanilla, caramel, and honey. It was some of the best bourbon any of us had ever drunk." It was theorized that the action of gentle sloshing of the whiskey in barrels for a period of 2 to 4 weeks during the barge trip led to a dramatic improvement in smoothness and taste. Chemical analysis of the two samples revealed significant differences in molecular profiles, with the sample transported by water having a greater diversity of aromatic compounds.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon is served in a variety of manners, including neat; diluted with water; over ice ("on the rocks"); with cola or other beverages in simple mixed drinks; and in cocktails – including the Manhattan, Bourbon Smash, the Old Fashioned, the whiskey sour, and the mint julep. Bourbon is also used in cooking, and it was historically used for medicinal purposes.


title: Bourbon whiskey

text: Bourbon can be used in a variety of confections such as a banana bourbon syrup for waffles, a flavoring for chocolate cake, and fruit-based desserts like grilled peach sundaes served with salted bourbon-caramel or brown sugar shortcake with warmed bourbon peaches. It is an optional ingredient in several pie recipes traditional to American cuisine, including pumpkin pie, where it can be combined with brown sugar and pecans to make a sweet and crunchy topping for the creamy pumpkin pie filling. It can also be used as a flavoring in sauces for savory dishes like grit cakes with country ham served with bourbon mayonnaise, Kentucky bourbon chili, and grilled flank steak.


title: Manichaeism

text: in New Persian ; ) is a former major religion founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD 216–274), in the Sasanian Empire.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism teaches an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came. Its beliefs are based on local Mesopotamian religious movements and Gnosticism. It reveres Mani as the final prophet after Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha, and Jesus.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism was quickly successful and spread far through the Aramaic-speaking regions. It thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. It was briefly the main rival to Christianity in the competition to replace classical polytheism before the spread of Islam. Beginning with the emperor Diocletian, a follower of Roman Religion, Manichaeism was persecuted by the Roman state and was eventually stamped out in the Roman Empire.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism has survived longer in the east than it did in the west. Although it was thought to have finally faded away after the 14th century in south China, contemporary to the decline of the Church of the East in Ming China, there is a growing corpus of evidence that shows Manichaeism persists in some areas of China, especially in Fujian province, where numerous Manichaean relics have been discovered over time. The currently known sects are notably secretive and protective of their belief system, which has aided in them going relatively undetected. This stems from fears relating to persecution and suppression during various periods of Chinese history.


title: Manichaeism

text: While most of Manichaeism's original writings have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived.


title: Manichaeism

text: An adherent of Manichaeism is called a "Manichaean" or "Manichean", or "Manichee", especially in older sources.


title: Manichaeism

text: Mani was an Iranian, born in 216 in or near Seleucia-Ctesiphon (now al-Mada'in) in the Parthian Empire. According to the "Cologne Mani-Codex", Mani's parents were members of the Jewish Christian Gnostic sect known as the Elcesaites.


title: Manichaeism

text: Mani composed seven works, six of which were written in the Syriac language, a late variety of Aramaic. The seventh, the "Shabuhragan", was written by Mani in Middle Persian and presented by him to the Sasanian emperor, Shapur I. Although there is no proof Shapur I was a Manichaean, he tolerated the spread of Manichaeism and refrained from persecuting it within his empire's boundaries.


title: Manichaeism

text: According to one tradition, Mani invented the unique version of the Syriac script known as the Manichaean alphabet, which was used in all of the Manichaean works written within the Sasanian Empire, whether they were in Syriac or Middle Persian, and also for most of the works written within the Uyghur Khaganate. The primary language of Babylon (and the administrative and cultural language of the Sassanid Empire) at that time was Eastern Middle Aramaic, which included three main dialects: Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (the language of the Babylonian Talmud), Mandaean (the language of Mandaeism), and Syriac, which was the language of Mani, as well as of the Syriac Christians.


title: Manichaeism

text: While Manichaeism was spreading, existing religions such as Zoroastrianism were still popular and Christianity was gaining social and political influence. Although having fewer adherents, Manichaeism won the support of many high-ranking political figures. With the assistance of the Sasanian Empire, Mani began missionary expeditions. After failing to win the favour of the next generation of Persian royalty, and incurring the disapproval of the Zoroastrian clergy, Mani is reported to have died in prison awaiting execution by the Persian Emperor Bahram I. The date of his death is estimated at 276–277.


title: Manichaeism

text: Mani believed that the teachings of Gautama Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus were incomplete, and that his revelations were for the entire world, calling his teachings the "Religion of Light". Manichaean writings indicate that Mani received revelations when he was 12 and again when he was 24, and over this period he grew dissatisfied with the Elcesaite sect he was born into.