title: First Council of Nicaea

text: The feast of Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, as Christians believe that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus occurred at the time of those observances. As early as Pope Sixtus I in the 2nd century, some Christians had set Easter to a Sunday in the lunar month of Nisan. To determine which lunar month was to be designated as Nisan, Christians relied on the Jewish community. By the late 3rd century some Christians began to express dissatisfaction with what they took to be the disorderly state of the Jewish calendar. They argued that contemporary Jews were identifying the wrong lunar month as the month of Nisan, choosing a month whose 14th day fell before the spring equinox.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: Christians, these thinkers argued, should abandon the custom of relying on Jewish informants and instead do their own computations to determine which month should be styled Nisan, setting Easter within this independently computed, Christian Nisan, which would always locate the festival after the equinox. They justified this break with tradition by arguing that it was in fact the contemporary Jewish calendar that had broken with tradition by ignoring the equinox and that in former times the 14th of Nisan had never preceded the equinox. Others felt that the customary practice of reliance on the Jewish calendar should continue, even if the Jewish computations were in error from a Christian point of view.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: The controversy between those who argued for independent computations and those who argued for continued reliance on the Jewish calendar was formally resolved by the Council, which endorsed the independent procedure that had been in use for some time at Rome and Alexandria. Easter was henceforward to be a Sunday in a lunar month chosen according to Christian criteria—in effect, a Christian Nisan—not in the month of Nisan as defined by Jews. Those who argued for continued reliance on the Jewish calendar (called "protopaschites" by later historians) were urged to come around to the majority position. That they did not all immediately do so is revealed by the existence of sermons, canons, and tracts written against the protopaschite practice in the late 4th century.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: These two rules—independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity—were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the Council. No details for the computation were specified; these were worked out in practice, a process that took centuries and generated numerous controversies, some of which remain unresolved. In particular, the Council did not seem to decree that Easter must fall on Sunday.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: Nor did the Council decree that Easter must never coincide with Nisan 14 (the first Day of Unleavened Bread, now commonly called "Passover") in the Hebrew calendar. By endorsing the move to independent computations, the Council had separated the Easter computation from all dependence, positive or negative, on the Jewish calendar. The "Zonaras proviso", the claim that Easter must always follow Nisan 14 in the Hebrew calendar, was not formulated until after some centuries. By that time, the accumulation of errors in the Julian solar and lunar calendars had made it the "de facto" state of affairs that Julian Easter always followed Hebrew Nisan 14.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: The suppression of the Melitian schism, an early breakaway sect, was another important matter that came before the Council of Nicaea. Melitius, it was decided, should remain in his own city of Lycopolis in Egypt but without exercising authority or the power to ordain new clergy; he was forbidden to go into the environs of the town or to enter another diocese for the purpose of ordaining its subjects. Melitius retained his episcopal title, but the ecclesiastics ordained by him were to receive again the laying on of hands, the ordinations performed by Melitius being therefore regarded as invalid. Clergy ordained by Melitius were ordered to yield precedence to those ordained by Alexander, and they were not to do anything without the consent of Bishop Alexander.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: In the event of the death of a non-Melitian bishop or ecclesiastic, the vacant see might be given to a Melitian, provided he was worthy and the popular election were ratified by Alexander. Melitius' episcopal rights and prerogatives were taken from him. These mild measures, however, were in vain; the Melitians joined the Arians and caused more dissension than ever, being among the worst enemies of Athanasius. The Melitians ultimately died out around the middle of the 5th century.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: The Council promulgated twenty new church laws, called "canons" (though the exact number is subject to debate), that is, rules of discipline. The twenty as listed in the works of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers are as follows:


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: In the short-term, the Council did not completely solve the problems it was convened to discuss, and a period of conflict and upheaval continued for some time. Constantine was succeeded by two Arian emperors in the Eastern Empire: his son, Constantius II, and Valens. Valens could not resolve the outstanding ecclesiastical issues and unsuccessfully confronted St. Basil over the Nicene Creed.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: Pagan powers within the empire sought to maintain and at times re-establish paganism into the seat of the emperor (see Arbogast and Julian the Apostate). Arians and Meletians soon regained nearly all of the rights they had lost, and consequently Arianism continued to spread and be a subject of debate within the Church during the remainder of the 4th century. Almost immediately, Eusebius of Nicomedia, an Arian bishop and cousin to Constantine I, used his influence at court to sway Constantine's favor from the proto-orthodox Nicene bishops to the Arians.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: Eustathius of Antioch was deposed and exiled in 330. Athanasius, who had succeeded Alexander as Bishop of Alexandria, was deposed by the First Synod of Tyre in 335, and Marcellus of Ancyra followed him in 336. Arius returned to Constantinople to be readmitted into the Church but died shortly before he could be received. Constantine died the next year, after finally receiving baptism from Arian Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, and "with his passing the first round in the battle after the Council of Nicaea was ended".


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: Christianity had only recently been legalised in the empire, the Diocletianic Persecution having ended in 311 under Galerius. Although Galerius stopped the Persecution, Christianity was not legally protected until 313, when the emperors Constantine and Licinius agreed to what became known as the Edict of Milan, guaranteeing Christians legal protection and tolerance. However, Nicene Christianity did not become the state religion of the Roman Empire until the Edict of Thessalonica in 380. In the meantime, paganism remained legal and present in public affairs. Constantine's coinage and other official motifs, until the Council of Nicaea, had affiliated him with the pagan cult of Sol Invictus. At first, Constantine encouraged the construction of new temples and tolerated traditional sacrifices. Later in his reign, he gave orders for the pillaging and the tearing down of Roman temples.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: Constantine's role regarding Nicaea was that of supreme civil leader and authority in the empire. As Emperor, the responsibility for maintaining civil order was his, and he sought that the Church be of one mind and at peace. When first informed of the unrest in Alexandria due to the Arian disputes, he was "greatly troubled" and, "rebuked" both Arius and Bishop Alexander for originating the disturbance and allowing it to become public. Aware also of "the diversity of opinion" regarding the celebration of Easter and hoping to settle both issues, he sent the "honored" Bishop Hosius of Cordova (Hispania) to form a local church council and "reconcile those who were divided". When that embassy failed, he turned to summoning a synod at Nicaea, inviting "the most eminent men of the churches in every country".


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: Constantine assisted in assembling the Council by arranging that travel expenses to and from the bishops' episcopal sees, as well as lodging at Nicaea, be covered out of public funds. He also provided and furnished a "great hall ... in the palace" as a place for discussion so that the attendees "should be treated with becoming dignity". In addressing the opening of the Council, he "exhorted the Bishops to unanimity and concord" and called on them to follow the Holy Scriptures with: "Let, then, all contentious disputation be discarded; and let us seek in the divinely-inspired word the solution of the questions at issue."


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: Thereupon, the debate about Arius and church doctrine began. "The emperor gave patient attention to the speeches of both parties" and "deferred" to the decision of the bishops. The bishops first pronounced Arius' teachings to be anathema, formulating the creed as a statement of correct doctrine. When Arius and two followers refused to agree, the bishops pronounced clerical judgement by excommunicating them from the Church. Respecting the clerical decision, and seeing the threat of continued unrest, Constantine also pronounced civil judgement, banishing them into exile. This was the beginning of the practice of using secular power to establish doctrinal orthodoxy within Christianity, an example followed by all later Christian emperors, which led to a circle of Christian violence, and of Christian resistance couched in terms of martyrdom.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: There is no record of any discussion of the biblical canon at the council. The development of the biblical canon was nearly complete (with exceptions known as the Antilegomena, written texts whose authenticity or value is disputed) by the time the Muratorian fragment was written. The main source of the idea that the canon was created at the Council of Nicaea seems to be Voltaire, who popularised a story that the canon was determined by placing all the competing books on an altar during the Council and then keeping the ones that did not fall off. The original source of this "fictitious anecdote" is the "Synodicon Vetus", a pseudo-historical account of early Church councils from 887.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: In 331, Constantine commissioned fifty Bibles for the use of the Bishop of Constantinople, but little else is known (in fact, it is not even certain whether his request was for fifty copies of the entire Old and New Testaments, only the New Testament, or merely the Gospels). Some scholars believe that this request provided motivation for canon lists. In Jerome's "Prologue to Judith", he claims that the Book of Judith was "found by the Nicene Council to have been counted among the number of the Sacred Scriptures".


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: The Council of Nicaea dealt primarily with the issue of the deity of Christ. Over a century earlier the term "Trinity" ( in Greek; in Latin) was used in the writings of Origen and Tertullian, and a general notion of a "divine three", in some sense, was expressed in the 2nd-century writings of Polycarp, Ignatius, and Justin Martyr. In Nicaea, questions regarding the Holy Spirit were left largely unaddressed until after the relationship between the Father and the Son was settled around the year 362. The doctrine in a more full-fledged form was not formulated until the Council of Constantinople in 381 and a final form formulated primarily by Gregory of Nyssa.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: While Constantine had sought a unified church after the Council, he did not force the homoousian view of Christ's nature on the council. Constantine did not commission any Bibles at the Council. Despite Constantine's sympathetic interest in the Church, he was not baptized until some 11 or 12 years after the council, putting off baptism as long as he did so as to be absolved from as much sin as possible.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: According to Protestant theologian Philip Schaff: "The Nicene fathers passed this canon not as introducing anything new, but merely as confirming an existing relation on the basis of church tradition; and that, with special reference to Alexandria, on account of the troubles existing there. Rome was named only for illustration; and Antioch and all the other eparchies or provinces were secured their admitted rights. The bishoprics of Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch were placed substantially on equal footing." Thus, according to Schaff, the Bishop of Alexandria was to have jurisdiction over the provinces of Egypt, Libya and the Pentapolis, just as the Bishop of Rome had authority "with reference to his own diocese."


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: However, according to Fr. James F. Loughlin, there is an alternative Catholic interpretation. It involves five different arguments "drawn respectively from the grammatical structure of the sentence, from the logical sequence of ideas, from Catholic analogy, from comparison with the process of formation of the Byzantine Patriarchate, and from the authority of the ancients" in favor of an alternative understanding of the canon. According to this interpretation, the canon shows the role the Bishop of Rome had when he, by his authority, confirmed the jurisdiction of the other patriarchs—an interpretation which is in line with the Catholic understanding of the Pope. Thus, the Bishop of Alexandria presided over Egypt, Libya and the Pentapolis, while the Bishop of Antioch "enjoyed a similar authority throughout the great diocese of Oriens," and all by the authority of the Bishop of Rome. To Loughlin, that was the only possible reason to invoke the custom of a Roman Bishop in a matter related to the two metropolitan bishops in Alexandria and Antioch.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: However, Protestant and Catholic interpretations have historically assumed that some or all of the bishops identified in the canon were presiding over their own dioceses at the time of the Council—the Bishop of Rome over the Diocese of Italy, as Schaff suggested, the Bishop of Antioch over the Diocese of Oriens, as Loughlin suggested, and the Bishop of Alexandria over the Diocese of Egypt, as suggested by Karl Josef von Hefele. According to Hefele, the Council had assigned to Alexandria, "the whole (civil) Diocese of Egypt." Yet those assumptions have since been proven false. At the time of the Council, the Diocese of Egypt did exist but was known as the Diocese of Alexandria, so the Council could have assigned it to Alexandria. Antioch and Alexandria were both located within the civil Diocese of Oriens, Antioch being the chief metropolis, but neither administered the whole. Likewise, Rome and Milan were both located within the civil Diocese of Italy, Milan being the chief metropolis.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: This geographic issue related to Canon 6 was highlighted by Protestant writer Timothy F. Kauffman, as a correction to the anachronism created by the assumption that each bishop was already presiding over a whole diocese at the time of the Council. According to Kauffman, since Milan and Rome were both located within the Diocese of Italy, and Antioch and Alexandria were both located within the Diocese of Oriens, a relevant and "structural congruency" between Rome and Alexandria was readily apparent to the gathered bishops: both had been made to share a diocese of which neither was the chief metropolis. Rome's jurisdiction within Italy had been defined in terms of several of the city's adjacent provinces since Diocletian's reordering of the empire in 293, as the earliest Latin version of the canon indicates.


title: First Council of Nicaea

text: That provincial arrangement of Roman and Milanese jurisdiction within Italy therefore was a relevant precedent, and provided an administrative solution to the problem facing the Council—namely, how to define Alexandrian and Antiochian jurisdiction within the Diocese of Oriens. In canon 6, the Council left most of the diocese under Antioch's jurisdiction, and assigned a few provinces of the diocese to Alexandria, "since the like is customary for the Bishop of Rome also."


title: The Nevers

text: The Nevers is an American science fiction drama television series created by Joss Whedon for HBO. The series is produced by HBO and Mutant Enemy Productions with executive producers including Whedon, Philippa Goslett, Doug Petrie, Jane Espenson, Ilene S. Landress, and Bernadette Caulfield. The series premiered on April 11, 2021. The first season consists of 12 episodes, split into two six-episode parts. In December 2022, the series was canceled before the back six had aired and pulled from the HBO Max library on December 18, 2022.


title: The Nevers

text: The series is set in Victorian London and follows a group of people, mostly women, known as the Touched, who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities. Among them are Amalia True, a mysterious and quick-fisted widow, and her best friend Penance Adair, a brilliant inventor. The series received a straight-to-series order from HBO in June 2018, after a bidding war with other networks and streaming services including Netflix. Laura Donnelly was the first actress to join the series in April 2019, with the rest of the cast joining in July 2019.


title: The Nevers

text: "The Nevers" is described as "an epic science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian[s] who find themselves with unusual abilities (due to alien intervention), relentless enemies, and a mission that might change the world."


title: The Nevers

text: On July 13, 2018, it was announced that HBO had given the production a straight-to-series order. Joss Whedon would serve as a writer, director, executive producer and showrunner for the series. The series landed at HBO after a bidding war with other networks and streaming services including Netflix. Whedon explained the title at Comic-Con 2018:


title: The Nevers

text: In April 2019, Laura Donnelly was cast in the starring role of Amalia True. Whedon spoke about her, "Laura Donnelly has charisma, wisdom and an anarchic precision that not only captures Amalia but defines her. She's fierce and she's funny – and I need both for the journey ahead." In July 2019, twelve actors were added to the cast, including Ann Skelly as Penance Adair, Olivia Williams as Lavinia Bidlow, James Norton as Hugo Swann, Tom Riley as Augustus "Augie" Bidlow, Pip Torrens as Lord Massen, Denis O'Hare as Dr. Edmund Hague, Rochelle Neil as Annie Carbey, Amy Manson as Maladie, Zackary Momoh as Doctor Horatio Cousens, Eleanor Tomlinson as Mary Brighton, Nick Frost as Declan Orrun, and Ben Chaplin as Inspector Frank Mundi. One month later, Elizabeth Berrington, Viola Prettejohn, Anna Devlin, Kiran Sonia Sawar, and Ella Smith were all cast in main roles Lucy Best, Myrtle Haplisch, Primrose Chattaway, Harriet Kaur, and Desirée Blodgett. Also in August, Martyn Ford was cast in there recurring role of Nicolas Perbal, also known as Odium.


title: The Nevers

text: In the fifth episode, the character Effie Boyle is introduced. Effie is revealed to be one of Maladie's victims, with the Effie seen in the episode being Maladie herself in disguise. In order to create the illusion of Maladie posing as Effie, Amy Manson used makeup, wore a fat suit and then the look was altered in post-production using Computer-generated imagery. In an attempt to fool the audience, a fake name "Margaret Tuttle" was added to IMDb as the actress playing Effie. Executive producers include Bernadette Caulfield, Jane Espenson, and Doug Petrie. Espenson and Petrie, who worked with Whedon on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", will serve as writers. Laurie Penny is also part of the series' writing staff. Gemma Jackson serves as production designer. Academy Award winner Christine Blundell served as the hair and makeup designer. She said that inspiration came from modern-day punk in order to help with the visual world of the series. In June 2021, HBO announced that Andrew Bernstein had joined the series as an executive producer and director.


title: The Nevers

text: On July 4, 2019, Whedon announced that principal photography had started, with filming occurring in London. In July 2019, it was reported that scenes had been filmed at Trinity Church Square, and in the New Wimbledon Theatre area. In August 2019, scenes were filmed at Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent. In late January 2020, shooting took place at Joyce Grove, an Oxfordshire country house estate in the Jacobean style. The building will double as "The Orphanage". Due to the lack of available studio space in London, HBO worked with Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission, to find warehouse spaces and old industrial spaces in which they could base the production.


title: The Nevers

text: The series completed production on the first five of its ten-episode order before production was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming resumed in September and production was completed by the end of October. In February 2021, Bloys confirmed that the first season would consist of 10 episodes that would be broken into two airing blocks, due to the production shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The season's episode count was then extended to 12 episodes.


title: The Nevers

text: Production on the final six episodes of the first season began in June 2021 in the UK with filming completed by December 2021.


title: The Nevers

text: Speaking to the break in the release schedule between episodes six and seven due to production issues, HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys stated, "And there was kind of a natural narrative break at six. So that was the thought then was to air six episodes. So at least we had something to put out there for subscribers and fans." Bloys also said that Goslett and her team of writers are working through the second batch of scripts now and "we'll get a better sense of timing" when those will air as "the weeks go on." In March 2021, it was clarified that the first season was extended from 10 to 12 episodes, with the second part of the first season also consisting of 6 episodes. Vanessa Armstrong of "Syfy.com" wrote that star Laura Donnelly thought the script for the series' sixth episode was "so bonkers" that she "initially thought that they got sent the wrong script."


title: The Nevers

text: On November 25, 2020, Whedon announced that he was stepping down from the series citing various reasons for his decision in "this year of unprecedented challenges." In a released statement he explained that the taxing nature of working on such a project during the coronavirus pandemic had taken a toll on his energy levels, and confirmed rumors that he would be officially exiting the series. On January 28, 2021, British screenwriter Philippa Goslett was announced as the new showrunner. In response to the accusations of workplace harassment against Whedon on his prior projects, Bloys stated that "we had no complaints or no reports of inappropriate behavior" regarding his work on "The Nevers". Nevertheless, Whedon's involvement was not acknowledged in the marketing of the series, although he was still properly credited for his work. Afterwards, series regular Denis O'Hare, who portrays Doctor Edmund Hague, noted that he was unaware of the misconduct allegations aimed at Whedon at the time and said that the whole cast was worried about the continued filming of the first season. O'Hare did praise Goslett, calling the new showrunner "the exact right choice" and "I think there's some writing staff that's remaining the same. Whenever they're changing a writer, let alone a showrunner, you don't know what's going to happen to your character."


title: The Nevers

text: On December 12, 2022, HBO canceled the series after one season and the series is scheduled to be pulled from the HBO Max library. It was also reported that the series, including the remaining six unaired episodes, may stream on another platform. "Deadline" reported that the storyline was "crafted in a way that it concludes with Season 1B".


title: The Nevers

text: "The Nevers" premiered on April 11, 2021, on HBO and was set to consist of 12 episodes, split into two 6-episode parts. The series' official trailer was released on March 23, 2021.


title: The Nevers

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 48% based on reviews from 69 critics, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Despite strong performances and stellar production design, "The Nevers" struggles to stitch its slew of intriguing components into a solid show." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 57 out of 100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Ed Cumming of "The Independent" gave the series three stars out of five, calling it "overstuffed junk shop of ideas" and disliked too many "themes of alienation and acceptance unfold amid horse-drawn chases, expensive special effects, high-society orgies, corset brawls, and wainscoting aplenty." BBC Online's Scott Bryan called it "just a bit too weighted down." Wenlei Ma of "News.com.au" said "The Nevers" is "a distillation of Whedon's best and worst filmmaking impulses. It needs someone with a more disciplined eye to cut half of its many dangling threads and subplots."


title: The Nevers

text: In a positive review by Lorraine Ali from the "Los Angeles Times", she wrote, ""The Nevers" is a joy to watch and a thrill to follow. Supernatural realism, complex storytelling, fantastical powers and topical realties meet in this smart, suspenseful and colorful production. A litany of nuanced characters keeps this otherworldly tale grounded. Suspenseful sleuthing and action-packed battles move the story along at a rapid clip. And all the lush scenery and ambitious wardrobe along the way". Daniel Fienberg of "The Hollywood Reporter" gave it a more mixed review, writing that the series is "in desperate need of focus, and as episodes progress, more and more characters are added and the connection to the richest thematic throughline becomes increasingly tenuous". However, Fienberg praised Whedon's directing, as well as the production design and costumes.


title: The Nevers

text: Ben Travers of "IndieWire" criticized the series, saying ""The Nevers" inconsistencies can make for a maddening viewing experience — sending you from the edge of your seat to sprawled out on the floor, trying to find your eyes after they rolled out of your head — and far too many parts make zero sense whatsoever," however Travers went on to say that he would continue watching it and that even though Joss Whedon left the show during production, he had left his mark on it. A three-star review on "The Guardian" called the series a "mess, within and without" and compared it to "Enola Holmes" and "Penny Dreadful". Darren Franich of "Entertainment" thought "True" made the series much more interesting, saying "the sixth episode of "The Nevers" is the troubled HBO drama's best hour yet", but also noted that this development in the plot may have come too late.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wars and was promoted to lieutenant general by the age of nineteen, but he broke with the Republic over its decision to execute King Louis XVI. He fled to Switzerland in 1793 after being connected with a plot to restore France's monarchy. His father Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Égalité) fell under suspicion and was executed during the Reign of Terror.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe remained in exile for 21 years until the Bourbon Restoration. He was proclaimed king in 1830 after his cousin Charles X was forced to abdicate by the July Revolution. The reign of Louis Philippe is known as the July Monarchy and was dominated by wealthy industrialists and bankers. He followed conservative policies, especially under the influence of French statesman François Guizot during the period 1840–1848. He also promoted friendship with Great Britain and sponsored colonial expansion, notably the French conquest of Algeria. His popularity faded as economic conditions in France deteriorated in 1847, and he was forced to abdicate after the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1848.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: He lived for the remainder of his life in exile in the United Kingdom. His supporters were known as Orléanists. The Legitimists supported the main line of the House of Bourbon, and the Bonapartists supported the Bonaparte family, which includes Napoleon I and Napoleon III.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Among his grandchildren were the monarchs Leopold II of Belgium, Empress Carlota of Mexico, Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, and Queen Mercedes of Spain .


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe was born in the Palais Royal, the residence of the Orléans family in Paris, to Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres (Duke of Orléans, upon the death of his father Louis Philippe I), and Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince of the Blood, which entitled him the use of the style "Serene Highness". His mother was an extremely wealthy heiress who was descended from Louis XIV of France through a legitimized line.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe was the eldest of three sons and a daughter, a family that was to have erratic fortunes from the beginning of the French Revolution to the Bourbon Restoration.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: The elder branch of the House of Bourbon, to which the kings of France belonged, deeply distrusted the intentions of the cadet branch, which would succeed to the throne of France should the senior branch die out. Louis Philippe's father was exiled from the royal court, and the Orléans confined themselves to studies of the literature and sciences emerging from the Enlightenment.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe was tutored by the Countess of Genlis, beginning in 1782. She instilled in him a fondness for liberal thought; it is probably during this period that Louis Philippe picked up his slightly Voltairean brand of Catholicism. When Louis Philippe's grandfather died in 1785, his father succeeded him as Duke of Orléans and Louis Philippe succeeded his father as Duke of Chartres.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: In 1788, with the Revolution looming, the young Louis Philippe showed his liberal sympathies when he helped break down the door of a prison cell in Mont Saint-Michel, during a visit there with the Countess of Genlis. From October 1788 to October 1789, the "Palais Royal" was a meeting-place for the revolutionaries.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe grew up in a period that changed Europe as a whole and, following his father's strong support for the Revolution, he involved himself completely in those changes. In his diary, he reports that he took the initiative to join the Jacobin Club, a move that his father supported.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: In June 1791, Louis Philippe got his first opportunity to become involved in the affairs of France. In 1785, he had been given the hereditary appointment of Colonel of the Chartres Dragoons (renamed 14th Dragoons in 1791).


title: Louis Philippe I

text: With war imminent in 1791, all proprietary colonels were ordered to join their regiments. Louis Philippe was a model officer, and demonstrated his personal bravery in two famous instances. First, three days after Louis XVI's flight to Varennes, a quarrel between two local priests and one of the new "constitutional" vicars became heated. A crowd surrounded the inn where the priests were staying, demanding blood. The young colonel broke through the crowd and extricated the two priests, who fled. At a river crossing on the same day, another crowd threatened to harm the priests. Louis Philippe put himself between a peasant armed with a carbine and the priests, saving their lives. The next day, Louis Philippe dived into a river to save a drowning local engineer. For this action, he received a civic crown from the local municipality. His regiment was moved north to Flanders at the end of 1791 after the 27 August 1791 Declaration of Pillnitz.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe served under his father's crony, Armand Louis de Gontaut the Duke of Biron, along with several officers who later gained distinction. These included Colonel Berthier and Lieutenant Colonel Alexandre de Beauharnais (husband of the future Empress Joséphine).


title: Louis Philippe I

text: After the Kingdom of France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy on 20 April 1792, Louis Philippe first participated in what became known as the French Revolutionary Wars within the French-occupied Austrian Netherlands at Boussu, Wallonia, on about 28 April 1792. He was next engaged at Quaregnon, Wallonia, on about 29 April 1792, and then at Quiévrain, Wallonia, near Jemappes, Wallonia, on about 30 April 1792. There he was instrumental in rallying a unit of retreating soldiers after French forces had been victorious at the Battle of Quiévrain (1792) two days earlier on 28 April 1792. The Duke of Biron wrote to War Minister de Grave, praising the young colonel, who was promoted to brigadier general; he commanded a brigade of cavalry in Lückner's Army of the North.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: In the Army of the North, Louis Philippe served with four future Marshals of France: Macdonald, Mortier (who would later be killed in an assassination attempt on Louis Philippe), Davout and Oudinot. Charles François Dumouriez was appointed to command the Army of the North in August 1792. Louis Philippe commanded a division under him in the Valmy campaign.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: At the 20 September 1792 Battle of Valmy, Louis Philippe was ordered to place a battery of artillery on the crest of the hill of Valmy. The battle was apparently inconclusive, but the Austrian-Prussian army, short of supplies, was forced back across the Rhine. Dumouriez praised Louis Philippe's performance in a letter after the battle. Louis Philippe was recalled to Paris to give an account of the Battle at Valmy to the French government. He had a rather trying interview with Danton, the Minister of Justice, which he later told his children about.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: While in Paris, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. In October Louis Philippe returned to the Army of the North, where Dumouriez had begun a march into the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium). Louis Philippe again commanded a division. On 6 November 1792, Dumouriez chose to attack an Austrian force in a strong position on the heights of Cuesmes and Jemappes to the west of Mons. Louis Philippe's division sustained heavy casualties as it attacked through a wood, and retreated in disorder. Lt. General Louis Philippe rallied a group of units, dubbing them "the battalion of Mons", and pushed forward along with other French units, finally overwhelming the outnumbered Austrians.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Events in Paris undermined his budding military career. The incompetence of Jean-Nicolas Pache, the new Girondist appointee of 3 October 1792, left the Army of the North almost without supplies. Soon thousands of troops were deserting the army. Louis Philippe was alienated by the more radical policies of the Republic. After the National Convention decided to put the deposed King to death, Louis Philippe began to consider leaving France. He was dismayed that his own father, known then as "Philippe Égalité", voted in favour of the execution.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe was willing to stay to fulfill his duties in the army, but he became implicated in the plot Dumouriez had planned to ally with the Austrians, march his army on Paris, and restore the Constitution of 1791. Dumouriez had met with Louis Philippe on 22 March 1793 and urged his subordinate to join in the attempt.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: With the French government falling into the Reign of Terror about the time of the creation of the Revolutionary Tribunal earlier in March 1793, Louis Philippe decided to leave France to save his life. On 4 April, Dumouriez and Louis Philippe left for the Austrian camp. They were intercepted by Lieutenant-Colonel Louis-Nicolas Davout, who had served at Jemappes with Louis Philippe. As Dumouriez ordered the Colonel back to the camp, some of his soldiers cried out against the General, now declared a traitor by the National Convention. Shots rang out as the two men fled toward the Austrian camp. The next day, Dumouriez again tried to rally soldiers against the convention; however, he found that the artillery had declared itself in favour of the Republic. He and Louis Philippe had not choice but to go into exile.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: At the age of nineteen, and already ranked as a Lieutenant General, Louis Philippe left France. He did not return for twenty-one years.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: The reaction in Paris to Louis Philippe's involvement in Dumouriez's treason inevitably resulted in misfortunes for the Orléans family. Philippe Égalité spoke in the National Convention, condemning his son for his actions, asserting that he would not spare his son, much akin to the Roman consul Brutus and his sons. However, letters from Louis Philippe to his father were discovered in transit and were read out to the Convention. Philippe Égalité was then put under continuous surveillance. Shortly thereafter, the Girondists moved to arrest him and the two younger brothers of Louis Philippe, Louis-Charles and Antoine Philippe; the latter had been serving in the Army of Italy. The three were interned in Fort Saint-Jean in Marseille.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Meanwhile, Louis Philippe was forced to live in the shadows, avoiding both pro-Republican revolutionaries and Legitimist French "émigré" centres in various parts of Europe and also in the Austrian army. He first moved to Switzerland under an assumed name, and met up with the Countess of Genlis and his sister Adélaïde at Schaffhausen. From there they went to Zürich, where the Swiss authorities decreed that to protect Swiss neutrality, Louis Philippe would have to leave the city. They went to Zug, where Louis Philippe was discovered by a group of "émigrés".


title: Louis Philippe I

text: It became quite apparent that for the women to settle peacefully anywhere, they would have to separate from Louis Philippe. He then left with his faithful valet Baudouin for the heights of the Alps, and then to Basel, where he sold all but one of his horses. Now moving from town to town throughout Switzerland, he and Baudouin found themselves very much exposed to all the distresses of extended travelling. They were refused entry to a monastery by monks who believed them to be young vagabonds. Another time, he woke up after spending a night in a barn to find himself at the far end of a musket, confronted by a man attempting to keep away thieves.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Throughout this period, he never stayed in one place more than 48 hours. Finally, in October 1793, Louis Philippe was appointed a teacher of geography, history, mathematics and modern languages, at a boys' boarding school. The school, owned by a Monsieur Jost, was in Reichenau, a village on the upper Rhine in the then independent Grisons league state, now part of Switzerland. His salary was 1,400 francs and he taught under the name "Monsieur Chabos". He had been at the school for a month when he heard the news from Paris: his father had been guillotined on 6 November 1793 after a trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: After Louis Philippe left Reichenau, he separated the now sixteen-year-old Adélaïde from the Countess of Genlis, who had fallen out with Louis Philippe. Adélaïde went to live with her great-aunt the Princess of Conti at Fribourg, then to Bavaria and Hungary and, finally, to her mother, who was exiled in Spain.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe travelled extensively. He visited Scandinavia in 1795 and then moved on to Finland. For about a year he stayed in Muonio, a remote village in the valley of the Tornio river in Lapland. He lived in the rectory under the name Müller, as a guest of the local Lutheran vicar. While visiting Muonio, he supposedly fathered a child with Beata Caisa Wahlborn (1766–1830) called Erik Kolstrøm (1796–1879).


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe visited the United States ( to 1798), staying in Philadelphia (where his brothers Antoine and Louis Charles were in exile), New York City (where he most likely stayed at the Somerindyck family estate on Broadway and 75th Street with other exiled princes), and Boston. In Boston, he taught French for a time and lived in lodgings over what is now the Union Oyster House, Boston's oldest restaurant. During his time in the United States, Louis Philippe met with American politicians and people of high society, including George Clinton, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: His visit to Cape Cod in 1797 coincided with the division of the town of Eastham into two towns, one of which took the name of Orleans, possibly in his honour. During their sojourn, the Orléans princes travelled throughout the country, as far south as Nashville and as far north as Maine. The brothers were even held in Philadelphia briefly during an outbreak of yellow fever. Louis Philippe is also thought to have met Isaac Snow of Orleans, Massachusetts, who had escaped to France from a British prison hulk during the American Revolutionary War. In 1839, while reflecting on his visit to the United States, Louis Philippe explained in a letter to Guizot that his three years there had a large influence on his political beliefs and judgments when he became king.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: In Boston, Louis Philippe learned of the coup of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797) and of the exile of his mother to Spain. He and his brothers then decided to return to Europe. They went to New Orleans, planning to sail to Havana and thence to Spain. This, however, was a troubled journey, as Spain and Great Britain were then at war. While in colonial Louisiana in 1798, they were entertained by Julien Poydras in the town of Pointe Coupée, as well as by the Marigny de Mandeville family in New Orleans.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: They sailed for Havana in an American corvette, but a British warship intercepted their ship in the Gulf of Mexico. The British seized the three brothers, but took them to Havana anyway. Unable to find passage to Europe, the three brothers spent a year in Cuba (from spring 1798 to autumn 1799), until they were unexpectedly expelled by the Spanish authorities. They sailed via the Bahamas to Nova Scotia, where they were received by the Duke of Kent, son of King George III and (later) father of Queen Victoria. Louis Philippe struck up a lasting friendship with the British prince. Eventually, the brothers sailed back to New York, and in January 1800, they arrived in England, where they stayed for the next fifteen years. During these years, Louis Philippe taught mathematics and geography at the now-defunct Great Ealing School, reckoned, in its 19th-century heyday, to be "the best private school in England".


title: Louis Philippe I

text: In 1808, Louis Philippe proposed to Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom. His Catholicism and the opposition of her mother Queen Charlotte meant the Princess reluctantly declined the offer.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: In 1809, Louis Philippe married Princess Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily, daughter of King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Maria Carolina of Austria. The ceremony was celebrated in Palermo 25 November 1809. The marriage was controversial because her mother's younger sister was Queen Marie Antoinette, and Louis Philippe's father was considered to have a role in Marie Antoinette's execution. The Queen of Naples was opposed to the match for this reason. She had been very close to her sister and devastated by her execution, but she had given her consent after Louis Philippe had convinced her that he was determined to compensate for the mistakes of his father, and after having agreed to answer all her questions regarding his father.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: After the abdication of Napoleon, Louis Philippe, known as "Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans", returned to France during the reign of his cousin Louis XVIII, at the time of the Bourbon Restoration. Louis Philippe had reconciled the Orléans family with Louis XVIII in exile, and was once more to be found in the elaborate royal court. However, his resentment at the treatment of his family, the cadet branch of the House of Bourbon under the "Ancien Régime", caused friction between him and Louis XVIII, and he openly sided with the liberal opposition.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe was on far friendlier terms with Louis XVIII's brother and successor, Charles X, who acceded to the throne in 1824, and with whom he socialized. However, his opposition to the policies of Villèle and later of Jules de Polignac caused him to be viewed as a constant threat to the stability of Charles' government. This soon proved to be to his advantage.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: In 1830, the July Revolution overthrew Charles X, who abdicated in favour of his 10-year-old grandson, Henri, Duke of Bordeaux. Charles X named Louis Philippe "Lieutenant général du royaume", and charged him to announce his desire to have his grandson succeed him to the popularly elected Chamber of Deputies. Louis-Philippe did not do this, in order to increase his own chances of succession. As a consequence, because the chamber was aware of his liberal policies and of his popularity with the masses, they proclaimed Louis-Philippe as the new French king, displacing the senior branch of the House of Bourbon. For the prior eleven days Louis-Philippe had been acting as the regent for the young Henri.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Charles X and his family, including his grandson, went into exile in the United Kingdom. The young ex-king, the Duke of Bordeaux, in exile took the title of "Comte de Chambord". Later he became the pretender to the throne of France and was supported by the Légitimists.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis-Philippe was sworn in as King Louis-Philippe I on 9 August 1830. Upon his accession to the throne, Louis-Philippe assumed the title of "King of the French", a title previously adopted by Louis XVI in the short-lived Constitution of 1791. Linking the monarchy to a people instead of a territory (as the previous designation "King of France and of Navarre") was aimed at undercutting the Légitimist claims of Charles X and his family.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: By an ordinance he signed on 13 August 1830, the new king defined the manner in which his children, as well as his "beloved" sister, would continue to bear the surname "d'Orléans" and the arms of Orléans, declared that his eldest son, as "Prince Royal" (not "Dauphin"), would bear the title "Duke of Orléans", that the younger sons would continue to have their previous titles, and that his sister and daughters would be styled "Princesses of Orléans", not "of France".


title: Louis Philippe I

text: His ascent to the title of King of the French was seen as a betrayal by Emperor Nicholas I of Russia. Nicholas ended their friendship.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: In 1832, Louis' daughter, Princess Louise-Marie, married the first ruler of Belgium, Leopold I, King of the Belgians. Their descendants include all subsequent Kings of the Belgians, and Empress Carlota of Mexico.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe ruled in an unpretentious fashion, avoiding the pomp and lavish spending of his predecessors. Despite this outward appearance of simplicity, his support came from the wealthy "bourgeoisie". At first, he was much loved and called the "Citizen King" and the "bourgeois monarch", but his popularity suffered as his government was perceived as increasingly conservative and monarchical, despite his decision to have Napoleon's remains returned to France. Under his management, the conditions of the working classes deteriorated, and the income gap widened considerably. In foreign affairs it was a quiet period, with friendship with Great Britain.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: An industrial and agricultural depression in 1846 led to the 1848 Revolutions, and Louis Philippe's abdication.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: The dissonance between his positive early reputation and his late unpopularity was epitomized by Victor Hugo in "Les Misérables" as an oxymoron describing his reign as "Prince Equality", in which Hugo states:


title: Louis Philippe I

text: On 28 July 1835, Louis Philippe survived an assassination attempt by Giuseppe Mario Fieschi and two other conspirators in Paris. During the king's annual review of the Paris National Guard commemorating the revolution, Louis Philippe was passing along the Boulevard du Temple, which connected Place de la République to the Bastille, accompanied by three of his sons, the Duke of Orleans, the Duke of Nemours, and the Prince de Joinville, and numerous staff.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Fieschi, a Corsican ex-soldier, attacked the procession with a weapon he built himself, a volley gun that later became known as the "Machine infernale". This consisted of 25 gun barrels fastened to a wooden frame that could be fired simultaneously. The device was fired from the third level of n° 50 Boulevard du Temple (a commemorative plaque has since been engraved there), which had been rented by Fieschi.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: A ball only grazed the King's forehead. Eighteen people were killed, including Lieutenant Colonel of the 8th Legion together with eight other officers, Marshal Mortier, duc de Trévise, and Colonel Raffet, General Girard, Captain Villate, General La Chasse de Vérigny, a woman, a 14-year-old girl and two men. A further 22 people were injured. The King and the princes escaped essentially unharmed. Horace Vernet, the King's painter, was ordered to make a drawing of the event.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Several of the gun barrels of Fieschi's weapon burst when it was fired; he was badly injured and was quickly captured. He was executed by guillotine together with his two co-conspirators the following year.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: On 24 February 1848, during the February 1848 Revolution, King Louis Philippe abdicated in favour of his nine-year-old grandson, Philippe, comte de Paris. Fearful of what had happened to the deposed Louis XVI, Louis Philippe quickly left Paris under disguise. He rode in an ordinary cab under the name of "Mr. Smith". He fled to England and spent his final years incognito as the 'Comte de Neuilly'.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: The National Assembly of France initially planned to accept young Philippe as king, but the strong current of public opinion rejected that. On 26 February, the Second Republic was proclaimed. Louis Napoléon Bonaparte was elected president on 10 December 1848; on 2 December 1851, he declared himself president for life and then Emperor Napoleon III in 1852.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Louis Philippe and his family remained in exile in Great Britain in Claremont, Surrey, though a plaque on Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds, claims that he spent some time there, possibly due to a friendship with the Marquess of Bristol, who lived nearby at Ickworth House. The royal couple spent some time by the sea at St. Leonards and later at the Marquess's home in Brighton. Louis Philippe died at Claremont on 26 August 1850. He was first buried at St. Charles Borromeo Chapel in Weybridge, Surrey. In 1876, his remains and those of his wife were taken to France and buried at the "Chapelle royale de Dreux", the Orléans family necropolis his mother had built in 1816, and which he had enlarged and embellished after her death.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: The clashes of 1830 and 1848 between the Legitimists and the Orléanists over who was the rightful monarch were resumed in the 1870s. After the fall of the Second Empire, a monarchist-dominated National Assembly offered a throne to the Legitimist pretender, Henri de France, comte de Chambord, as "Henri V". As he was childless, his heir was (except to the most extreme Legitimists) Louis Philippe's grandson, Philippe d'Orléans, Comte de Paris. Thus the comte de Chambord's death would have united the House of Bourbon and House of Orléans.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: However, the comte de Chambord refused to take the throne unless the Tricolor flag of the Revolution was replaced with the fleur-de-lis flag of the "Ancien Régime". This the National Assembly was unwilling to do. The Third Republic was established, though many intended for it to be temporary, and replaced by a constitutional monarchy after the death of the comte de Chambord. However, the comte de Chambord lived longer than expected. By the time of his death in 1883, support for the monarchy had declined, and public opinion sided with a continuation of the Third Republic, as the form of government that, according to Adolphe Thiers, "divides us least". Some suggested a monarchical restoration under a later comte de Paris after the fall of the Vichy regime but this was not seriously considered.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Many of the few remaining French monarchists regard the descendants of Louis Philippe's grandson, who use the title "Count of Paris", as the rightful pretenders to the French throne; others, the Legitimists, consider Don Luis-Alfonso de Borbón, Duke of Anjou (to his supporters, "Louis XX"), to be the rightful heir. Head of the Royal House of Bourbon, Louis is descended in the male line from Philip V of Spain, the second grandson of the Sun-King, Louis XIV. Philippe (King Philip V of Spain), however, had renounced his rights to the throne of France to prevent the much-feared union of France and Spain.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: The two sides challenged each other in the French Republic's law courts in 1897 and again nearly a century later. In the latter case, "Henri, comte de Paris, duc de France", challenged the right of the Spanish-born pretender to use the title "Duke of Anjou". The French courts threw out his claim, deciding that the French Republic's legal system has no jurisdiction over the matter.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: Port Louis-Philippe (Akaroa), the oldest French colony in the South Pacific and the oldest town in the Canterbury Region of the New Zealand's South Island was named in honour of Louis Philippe who reigned as King of the French at the time the colony was established on 18 August 1840. Louis Philippe had been instrumental in supporting the settlement project. The company responsible for the endeavour received Louis Philippe's signature on 11 December 1839 as well as his permission to carry out the voyage in line with his policy of supporting colonial expansion and the construction of a second empire which had first commenced under him in Algeria around a decade earlier. The British Lieutenant-Governor Captain William Hobson subsequently went on to claim sovereignty over Port Louis-Philippe.


title: Louis Philippe I

text: As a further honorific gesture to Louis Philippe and his Orléanist branch of the Bourbons, the ship on which the settlers sailed to found the eponymous colony of Port Louis-Philippe was named the "Comte de Paris" after Louis Philippe's beloved infant grandson, Prince Philippe d'Orléans, Count of Paris who was born on 24 August 1838.


title: Tony Parker

text: William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in the French basketball league before joining the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and quickly became their starting point guard. Parker won four NBA championships (2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014), all of which were with the Spurs. He also played for ASVEL Basket in France during the 2011 NBA lockout, and finished his playing career after one season with the Charlotte Hornets. He retired as the ninth leading scorer and fifth leading passer in NBA playoffs history.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker was named to six NBA All-Star games, three All-NBA Second Teams, an All-NBA Third Team and was named MVP of the 2007 NBA Finals. He was also a member of the All-Rookie First Team and had his No. 9 retired by the Spurs. He is regarded as one of the greatest European players of all time.


title: Tony Parker

text: While playing with the French national team, Parker was named the MVP of EuroBasket 2013, following his team's victory over Lithuania in the final. He finished as the tournament's top scorer, with an average of 19 points per game. In 2015, he became the all-time leading scorer in the EuroBasket competition, a record that was broken by Pau Gasol two years later.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker was born in Bruges, Belgium, and raised in France. His father, Tony Parker Sr., an African American, played basketball at Loyola University Chicago as well as professionally overseas. His mother, Pamela Firestone, is Dutch. His maternal grandmother, Jetty Baars-Wienese, is Dutch national tennis champion (1956), whose brother and Tony's great-uncle Jan Wienese is an Olympic gold medalist in rowing. Parker enjoyed close relationships with his brothers, and they would often attend their father's basketball games together. At first, Parker was more interested in soccer, but after watching the evolution of Michael Jordan into a global basketball superstar during summer trips to his father's native city of Chicago, he changed his mind. Parker's two younger brothers were also heavily involved in basketball; T. J. and Pierre would go on to play basketball at college and professional levels. As Parker built his skill, he played the point guard position, recognizing that his speed and agility made this position ideal for him. At age 15, he became a naturalized French citizen while retaining his American nationality. He was eventually asked to attend the INSEP in Paris.


title: Tony Parker

text: After playing in the French amateur leagues for two seasons, Parker turned professional and signed with Paris Basket Racing in 1999. In the summer of 2000, Parker was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit in Indianapolis. In a contest between the American and European All-Stars, Parker recorded 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. His performance prompted a recruiting war among several colleges, including UCLA and Georgia Tech. Parker decided to forgo the NCAA and to remain in France; he spent the next year with Paris Basket Racing in the French League before entering the 2001 NBA draft.


title: Tony Parker

text: Before the 2001 NBA draft, Parker was invited to the San Antonio Spurs' summer camp. Coach Gregg Popovich had him play against Spurs scout and ex-NBA player Lance Blanks. Parker was overwhelmed by Blanks's tough and physical defense, and Popovich was ready to send him away after just 10 minutes. But after seeing a "best of" mix tape of Parker's best plays, Popovich decided to invite Parker a second time. This time, Parker made a better impression against Blanks; the Frenchman later described Blanks as a "one-man wrecking crew". But while Popovich decided that Parker was worth the gamble, the Spurs still had to hope that other teams would not pick Parker during the draft. Parker's name was barely mentioned in the pre-draft predictions, and the point guard was drafted 28th overall by the Spurs on draft day.


title: Tony Parker

text: After initially playing backup to Antonio Daniels, Parker became a starter and made 77 regular-season appearances in his rookie season, averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game. When he played against the Los Angeles Clippers on 30 November 2001, he became the third French player to play in an NBA game, after Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Jérôme Moïso. By the end of the season, the rookie led San Antonio in assists and steals, and was named to the All-Rookie First Team for 2001–02, becoming the first foreign-born guard to earn the honor.


title: Tony Parker

text: In 2002–03, Parker played in all 82 regular-season games as San Antonio's starting point guard on a team that was largely revamped from previous years. He improved his regular season statistics, averaging 15.5 points per game (ppg), 5.3 assists per game (apg) and 2.6 rebounds per game (rpg). Parker's role as the team's playmaker was reflected in his leading the team in assists on 49 occasions. During the 2003 NBA All-Star Weekend, Parker represented the Sophomores in the Rookie Challenge, and also participated in the inaugural Skills Challenge. In the post season, the Spurs, led by Tim Duncan, defeated the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the finals, and Parker earned his first NBA championship ring. Despite the victory, Parker struggled with inconsistent play throughout the playoffs, and was often benched in favor of more experienced guards Steve Kerr and Speedy Claxton late in the games.


title: Tony Parker

text: Despite winning a championship with the Spurs, doubts lingered over Parker's future. The Spurs had attempted and failed to acquire New Jersey Nets' Jason Kidd, but Parker told coach Popovich that he wanted to be San Antonio's starting point guard. Parker played well during the regular season, recording 14.7 ppg, 5.5 apg and 3.2 rpg. However, the Spurs were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semi-finals in the 2004 NBA Playoffs, and were denied back-to-back titles.


title: Tony Parker

text: During the 2004–05 season, Parker recorded improved regular season statistics, tallying 16.6 ppg, 6.1 apg and a career-high 3.7 rpg. He was also ranked 13th in the league in total assists, and was third among point guards in field goal percentage. The Spurs were strong in the playoffs, and Parker was instrumental in the victories over the Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics and Phoenix Suns. However, Parker struggled in the Finals series against the Detroit Pistons. Spurs colleagues Manu Ginóbili and Brent Barry often took over playmaking duties as Parker was unable to perform as well as he did in the regular season. Nevertheless, the Spurs won their third-ever NBA championship by defeating the defending champions 4–3 in the 2005 NBA Finals.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker was selected for the first time in his career an NBA All-Star for the 2005–06 season as he managed 18.9 ppg and an impressive .548 in field goal percentage. Parker's scoring average was even higher than Duncan's, and his form propelled the Spurs to a 63–19 win–loss record and qualification for the 2006 NBA Playoffs. However, the top-seeded Spurs were again unable to win back-to-back titles as they were eliminated in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks.


title: Tony Parker

text: On 14 February 2007, after delivering consistent numbers in the first half of the 2006–07 season, Parker was selected to play in the 2007 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve guard. With Parker operating as the starting point guard in the 2006–07 season, the Spurs qualified for the 2007 NBA Playoffs and finished second in the Southwest Division. In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Spurs met the Phoenix Suns led by two-time and reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash. After eliminating the Suns, the Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 4–1 to win the Western Conference Finals. Parker and the Spurs went on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers and swept them 4–0 to win the 2007 NBA Finals. In this series, Parker consistently outplayed his Cavaliers counterparts Daniel Gibson and All-Defensive Team member Larry Hughes and scored a series-high 24.5 points, accompanied by a high field goal percentage of 56.8% and of 57.1% from three-point range. For his performances, he was named the 2007 NBA Finals MVP, becoming the first European-born player to receive the award.


title: Tony Parker

text: In the 2007–08 regular season, Parker recorded similar averages as the previous two seasons for points and rebounds, and slightly increased his assists per game average. The Spurs finished third in the Western Conference and faced the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. For the third time in four years, San Antonio prevailed over Phoenix; Parker had an outstanding first-round series, averaging nearly 30 points and 7 assists a game. In the next round against Chris Paul's New Orleans Hornets, the Spurs dropped the first two road games before responding with a strong win in the third game. In that game, Parker recorded a double-double with 31 points and 11 assists. The experienced Spurs took seven games to defeat the Hornets, but were unable to get past the Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals, and the Spurs once again failed to win back-to-back NBA championships.


title: Tony Parker

text: San Antonio got off to a rocky start in their 2008–09 NBA season, losing the first three contests. In their fourth game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, however, Parker scored a career-high 55 points to lead the Spurs to their first victory of the campaign. The Spurs recovered soon enough, and approached the All-Star break ranked second in the Conference. With Parker averaging a career-high in points per game, he was named as a reserve for the 2009 All-Star game. The Spurs were without influential shooting guard Ginóbili for much for the season, and greater responsibility fell on Parker's shoulders. He helped lead the team to a 54–28 record and the third seed for the playoffs, In Game 4 of the first round against Dallas, Parker matched George Gervin's franchise playoff record for points in a half with 31. However, the Spurs eventually lost 4–1, bowing out of the playoffs in the first round for the first time since 2000. Parker's 28.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game broke his previous playoffs career-best averages of 22.4 points and 3.7 rebounds. On 13 May 2009, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team.


title: Tony Parker

text: With the Spurs looking to provide a more solid supporting cast in the 2009–10 season, they acquired Richard Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Antonio McDyess, DeJuan Blair, and Keith Bogans.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker injured his hand during the season and missed 26 games. The Spurs qualified for the playoffs as the seventh seed, and defeated Dallas 4–2 in the first round, only to lose 4–0 to Phoenix in the next round.


title: Tony Parker

text: In the 2010–11 season, the Spurs compiled a 12-game winning streak to go 13–2 after 15 games. The Spurs were 29–4 after 33 games—one of the ten best starts in NBA history–and led the league at 35–6 halfway through the season. Parker and the Spurs ended the regular season as the first seed in the West for the 2011 NBA playoffs, and were second in the league (to Chicago). Despite finishing with a 61–21 record, however, the Spurs could not avoid being upset in the first round, 4–2, by the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies.


title: Tony Parker

text: During the 2011 NBA lockout, Parker signed with ASVEL, the French basketball team in which he owns a stake. Parker's salary was about $2,000 a month. He was quoted as saying, "I'll be playing nearly for free." He also paid his own insurance, which reportedly cost $250,000 for three months.


title: Tony Parker

text: During the 2011–12 NBA season, Parker helped the Spurs reach the best record in the West for the second straight season; the team tied the Chicago Bulls for the best overall record in the league. On 4 February 2012, Parker became the all-time assist leader of the franchise with 4,477, surpassing Avery Johnson, adding 42 points in a victory against Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs secured their 13th straight 50 win season despite the lockout (a new NBA record), and Parker received his fourth All-Star nod. He finished fifth in MVP award voting, receiving four first-place votes. Late in the season, the Spurs signed Parker's longtime friend Boris Diaw, who was claimed off waivers from the Charlotte Bobcats. In the 2012 NBA Playoffs, Parker averaged 20.1 points and 6.8 assists as the Spurs swept through the first two rounds, defeating the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers. In the Western Conference Finals the Spurs faced the young Oklahoma City Thunder. After winning Game 1 and Game 2, 101–98 and 120–111 respectively, and taking a 2–0 series lead, the Spurs lost four consecutive games, thus losing the series 4–2.


title: Tony Parker

text: In their second game of the 2012–13 season, the Spurs faced the Thunder in a rematch of the previous Western Conference Finals, and Parker hit a game-winner to secure a win for the Spurs. On 10 December 2012, Parker got his first career triple-double after 825 regular-season games against the Houston Rockets in overtime with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists. He was the 4th player in NBA history to have gone 800 games or more into their career before their first triple-double, joining Karl Malone (860), Patrick Ewing (834), and Cedric Maxwell (824). Parker was named Western Conference Player of the Month for the month of January 2013 for leading the Spurs to a 12–3 record, and the best record in the NBA. He averaged 21.9 points per game and 7.9 assists per game that month while shooting 56.3% from the field. He became the first Spurs player to receive the honor since Tim Duncan in April 2002. On 21 May 2013, Parker recorded a career-high 18 assists to go with 15 points in the Spurs' Western Conference finals game 2 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.


title: Tony Parker

text: In game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals against the defending champion Miami Heat, Parker hit a clutch jump shot off the glass with 5.2 seconds remaining in the game, securing a 92–88 victory for San Antonio. The Spurs eventually lost the series in seven games.


title: Tony Parker

text: In May 2014, Parker, alongside Manu Ginóbili and Tim Duncan, tied the record for most wins in playoffs history by a trio of players playing together; the record was previously held by the LA Lakers trio of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper at 110 wins. The Spurs went on to beat the Thunder in six games and advance to the NBA Finals for the second straight year. San Antonio would once again face the Miami Heat and would win the 2014 NBA Finals in five games. This victory gave Parker his fourth championship and the fifth championship to the Spurs.


title: Tony Parker

text: On 1 August 2014, Parker signed a three-year, $43.3 million contract extension with the Spurs. The Spurs finished the 2014–15 season with a 55–27 record, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games. Parker struggled in the playoffs due to injury and averaged 10.9 points a game on 36% shooting.


title: Tony Parker

text: In the 2015–16 season, Parker helped the Spurs win a franchise-best 67 games while averaging 11.9 points per game. In the 2016 playoffs, the Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, but were eliminated in the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games.


title: Tony Parker

text: Heading into the 2016–17 season, Parker lost longtime teammate Tim Duncan to retirement. The Spurs finished the season with a 61–21 record, as they registered back-to-back 60-win seasons for the first time in franchise history. Parker played 63 games and averaged 10.1 points per game. In the 2017 playoffs, the Spurs were once again matched with the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. San Antonio again defeated Memphis 4–2, with Parker averaging 16.3 points per game in the series. After scoring 18 points in Game 2 of the second round, a win against the Houston Rockets, Parker left the game with a rupture of his left quadriceps tendon that ended his season. Game 3 of the series marked San Antonio's first postseason game without Parker since 2001, which ended an NBA record of 221 straight playoff appearances for Parker. The injury required surgery and led some to speculate Parker could miss significant time, if he came back at all.


title: Tony Parker

text: On 27 November 2017, in a 115–108 win over the Dallas Mavericks, Parker had six points and four assists in 14 minutes in his first appearance since tearing his quadriceps tendon. On 29 November, Parker had 10 points and five assists while playing 18 minutes in his second game back. In his last season with the Spurs, Parker played 55 games and averaged a career-low 7.7 points a game. The Spurs made it to the playoffs and lost to the Golden State Warriors in 5 games in the first round.


title: Tony Parker

text: On 23 July 2018, Parker signed a two-year contract with the Charlotte Hornets. He made his debut as a Hornets player on 17 October 2018, recording 8 points on 4/8 shooting, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds while coming off of the bench in 19 minutes of action in a 113–112 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.


title: Tony Parker

text: On 10 June 2019, Parker announced his retirement from the NBA. He ended his career ranked fifth in career playoff assists (1,143) and ninth in career playoff scoring (4,045).


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker played for France's Junior National Teams at the 1997 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, both the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. He was elected the Most Valuable Player of the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, when France captured the gold medal, as he averaged 14.4 points and 2.5 assists per game. Parker averaged 25.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 6.8 steals per game at the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. With the French senior national team, Parker has played in the 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 FIBA EuroBaskets.


title: Tony Parker

text: France won the bronze medal in the 2005 FIBA EuroBasket, by defeating the Spanish national team 98–68 in the bronze medal game. As the captain of the French national team since 2003, Parker was slated to lead France at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, but he was unable to play after breaking a finger when he caught his hand in the jersey of a Brazilian national team player in France's final warm-up for the tournament. During the EuroBasket 2007, Parker averaged 20.1 points per game and 2.8 assists per game in nine tournament games, but France was defeated in the quarter-finals by the Russian national team. He passed the 2010 FIBA World Championship to recover fully from some injuries he had during the 2009–10 NBA season. Parker returned to the team in 2011, and France reached the finals of the 2011 EuroBasket, losing to Spain. Parker also joined the team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In 2013, Parker and the French national team won the 2013 FIBA EuroBasket tournament.


title: Tony Parker

text: While playing for France in EuroBasket 2015, in a group game against Poland, Parker scored his 1,032nd career point in the tournament, and in doing so, he overtook Nikos Galis as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the EuroBasket competition. That record was later broken by Pau Gasol.


title: Tony Parker

text: During the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila, Philippines, in July 2016, Parker announced his intention to retire from international competition, but not the NBA, after the 2016 Summer Olympics. He reiterated that intent after France lost in the quarter-finals in Rio de Janeiro.


title: Tony Parker

text: Standing at 6 feet 2 inches tall (1.88 m) and weighing 185 pounds (84 kg), Parker played at the point guard position and established himself as a potent offensive player. He was voted by his peers in a 2007 poll, as one of the quickest players in the NBA, and he often slashed to the basket for a layup or teardrop shot. Despite his relatively small size for a basketball player, he led the league in "points in the paint" for a large portion of the 2005–06 season.


title: Tony Parker

text: In the initial part of his NBA career, Parker was still considered an erratic shooter off the ball and during the 2005 off-season, Coach Popovich decided to work on that aspect of his play. Spurs shooting coach Chip Engelland forbade Parker to shoot any three-point shots, and among others, corrected his shooting motion and his thumb position. As a result, by the 2006–07 season, Parker had reduced his three-point shot attempts by 117, while shooting 147 more normal field goal attempts compared to 2005, and his accuracy rose by 4% (field goals and three-point shots). He was also able to connect on 78% of his free throws that season. Parker developed tendinitis in his knees early in his career.


title: Tony Parker

text: In 2009, Parker bought a 20 percent stake in the French basketball club ASVEL, located in Lyon, and held the ceremonial title of Vice President of Basketball Operations. During the 2011 NBA lockout, Parker signed to play for ASVEL, for the French League's minimum wage, until the lockout ended. In 2014, Parker became the majority shareholder of the club, and is now the president of the team.


title: Tony Parker

text: In September 2015, Parker announced the launch of his own basketball academy in the city of Lyon. On 12 July 2016, he and his business partners published the plans for the construction of a new arena in Villeurbanne, which will become ASVEL's new home court.


title: Tony Parker

text: In March 2017, it was announced that Parker had become the majority shareholder of Lyon Basket Féminine, a member of the French women's basketball league now known as ASVEL Féminin, and that he would also take over as chairman of the club at the conclusion of the fiscal year 2016–17.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker met actress Eva Longoria in November 2004. In August 2005, Longoria confirmed she and Parker were dating, and on 30 November 2006, the couple became engaged. Longoria, a Texas native from nearby Corpus Christi, was a courtside regular at Spurs home games. Parker was quoted during the 2007 NBA All-Star Game saying that, "Eva is doing everything, I'm just going to show up and say yes." They were married in a civil service on 6 July 2007, at a Paris city hall. That was followed by a full Catholic wedding ceremony at the Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois Church in Paris, France, on 7 July 2007. Fellow Frenchman, NBA player and future teammate, Boris Diaw was Parker's best man for the wedding.


title: Tony Parker

text: In December 2007, tabloid websites and magazines published rumors that Parker had been having an extramarital affair with a model, Alexandra Paressant. Both Parker and Longoria vehemently denied these allegations through their spokespeople, saying "All high profile couples fall victim to these sorts of things in the course of their relationships. It appears that this is not the first time this woman has used an athlete to gain public notoriety." Parker initiated a $20 million lawsuit against the website that first reported the story, which later issued a full retraction and an apology, stating "X17online.com and X7 [sic], Inc. regret having been misled by Ms. Paressant and her representatives and apologize to Mr. Parker for any damage or inconvenience this may have caused him or his wife."


title: Tony Parker

text: On 17 November 2010, Longoria filed for divorce in Los Angeles, citing "irreconcilable differences", and seeking spousal support from Parker. The couple had a prenuptial agreement that was signed in June 2007, the month before their wedding, and amended two years later in June 2009. Longoria believed that Parker had been cheating on her with another woman; "Extra" identified the other woman as Erin Barry, the wife of Brent Barry, Parker's former teammate, and revealed that the Barrys were also in the midst of a divorce. On 19 November 2010, Parker filed for divorce from Longoria in Bexar County, Texas on the grounds of "discord or conflict of personalities", thus establishing a legal battle over where the divorce case would be heard. Unlike Longoria's divorce petition, Parker's did not mention a prenuptial agreement and claimed that the parties "will enter into an agreement for the division of their estate". The divorce was finalized in Texas on 28 January 2011, the same day Longoria's lawyer filed papers to dismiss her Los Angeles petition.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker began dating French journalist Axelle Francine in 2011. In June 2013, it was reported that the couple was engaged. Parker and Axelle Francine married on 2 August 2014. They have two sons born in April 2014 and July 2016. The couple announced their separation in August 2020.


title: Tony Parker

text: During his playing career, Parker donated a block of 20 tickets for each home game to underprivileged youth. Parker is also the first ambassador for Make-A-Wish France. The Foundation is a non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. On his personal website, Parker states: "I already knew Make-A-Wish as it is very famous around the world and I have previously taken part in the granting of wishes by meeting children and their families. I decided to commit to working with Make-A-Wish France when I understood the true dedication there and I realized that I could help to grant as many wishes as possible."


title: Tony Parker

text: Tony Parker has also been known for participating to other former NBA pointguard Steve Nash foundation, and his ex-wife Eva Longoria's NGO Eva's Heroes.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker is an avid enthusiast of hip-hop and rap music. He has released a French hip-hop album titled "TP" with producer Polygrafic (Sound Scientists). The album features collaborations with various artists including Booba, Don Choa, Eloquence, Eddie B, Jamie Foxx, K-Reen, Rickwel and Soprano. The singles taken from the album include:


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker was also involved in the Paris bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. His reaction to London's successful bid was: "I don't know what else we could have done. If we don't have it now, I guess we will never get it. The IOC seems to be very pro-Anglo-Saxon. I feel extremely gutted."


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker has a well-known friendship with compatriot footballer Thierry Henry. The two were often seen together at some of Parker's NBA games. Parker was seen with his wife at Euro 2008 during one of France's matches.


title: Tony Parker

text: In 2012, Parker and his brothers opened a nightclub, Nueve Lounge, in San Antonio. However, the business closed down within a year.


title: Tony Parker

text: In December 2019, Parker bought a 3% stake in the Tacoma, Washington-based National Women's Soccer League team then known as Reign FC and now as OL Reign. He acquired this interest as part of a larger transaction in which OL Groupe, the parent company of prominent French football club Olympique Lyonnais, bought an 89.5% stake in the NWSL team.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker was injured on 14 June 2012 at the W.I.P nightclub in the SoHo district of New York City when a brawl broke out between entertainers Chris Brown and Drake. Parker filed a $20 million suit against the night club. Parker risked missing the 2012 Summer Olympics after a piece of glass thrown in the fight deeply penetrated his eye, requiring surgery to remove. However, on 6 July 2012, he was cleared to participate.


title: Tony Parker

text: In 2008, Tony Parker co-directed with Jean-Marie Antonini a 1-hour film, "9 – Un chiffre, un homme" (English: "9 – a number, a man"). The biographical documentary film narrated by Benoît Allemane was produced by Parker. Celebrities featured included basketball players Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Sean Elliott, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Steve Nash, and David Robinson, as well as footballers Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane, judo player David Douillet, and musician and DJ Cut Killer, as well as Parker and Eva Longoria.


title: Tony Parker

text: Parker also appeared in the 2008 French film "Asterix at the Olympic Games" as Tonus Parker, and he has been given token roles in various TV series like "En aparté" (2005), in addition to the French series "On n'est pas couché" (2011). He also played himself in the short film "The Angels" (2011), directed by Stéphane Marelli; and in a cameo appearance in season 4, episode 2 of the Netflix series "Call My Agent" (2020). He has participated in a number of episodes of "Fort Boyard". He was the subject of the animated series "Baskup - Tony Parker".


title: Tony Parker

text: In 2021, Parker was the subject of the "Netflix" documentary "Tony Parker: The Final Shot" directed by Florent Bodin.


title: Tony Parker

text: On 18 June 2019, it was reported that NorthRock Partners had hired Tony Parker to lead its sports, artists and entertainment division.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Nancy Lamoureux Wilson (born March 16, 1954) is an American musician. She rose to fame alongside her older sister Ann as a guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist in the rock band Heart.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Raised in Bellevue, Washington, Wilson began playing music as a teenager. During college, she joined her sister who had recently become the singer of Heart. The first hard rock band fronted by women, Heart released numerous albums throughout the late 1970s and 1980s; the albums "Dreamboat Annie" (1975), and "Little Queen" (1977) generated chart singles such as "Magic Man", "Crazy on You", and "Barracuda". The band also had commercial success with their eighth, ninth and tenth studio albums, "Heart", "Bad Animals" and "Brigade", which were released in 1985, 1987, and 1990 respectively. Heart has sold over 35 million records.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Wilson has been lauded for her guitar playing, noted for its blending elements of flamenco and classical guitar styles with hard rock. In 2016, "Gibson" ranked Wilson the eighth-greatest female guitarist of all time. She is also an accomplished singer in her own right, being the lead vocalist in the song "These Dreams", which became Heart's first number-one single on the "Billboard" Hot 100. In 2013, Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Heart.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson was born March 16, 1954, in San Francisco, California, the third and youngest child of John Wilson ( 2000), and Lois Mary Wilson ( Dustin; 2006). She has two older sisters, Lynn and Ann. Both of Wilson's parents were natives of Oregonher father from Corvallis, and her mother from Oregon City. Her middle name is derived from her grandmother, Beatrice Lamoureaux. Wilson is of French and Scottish descent. She was raised in Southern California and Taiwan before the family's U.S. Marine Corps father retired to the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Washington, where they relocated when Wilson was six years old. The family lived in a Colonial home in the Lake Hills neighborhood.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: On February 9, 1964, Wilson and her sister Ann saw The Beatles perform on "The Ed Sullivan Show", a moment they each recalled as being profoundly influential: "The lightning bolt came out of the heavens and struck Ann and me the first time we saw The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show"... There'd been so much anticipation and hype about The Beatles that it was a huge event, like the lunar landing; that was the moment Ann and I heard the call to become rock musicians. I was seven or eight at the time ("sic")... Right away, we started doing air guitar shows in the living room, faking English accents, and studying all the fanzines." On August 25, 1966, The Beatles performed at the Seattle Center Coliseum, a show which Wilson, her sister Ann, and bandmates attended, another event both recalled as influential in their early lives.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Although Ann Wilson attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue, where her father was an English teacher, Nancy attended Interlake High School. After graduating from high school in 1972 and prior to joining Heart, Wilson attended Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, for one year, majoring in art and German, before transferring to Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. In late 1973, Wilson returned to Seattle, transferring to the University of Washington.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Two of the Wilson sisters' friends joined them to form the Wilsons' first music group, The Viewpoints. The Viewpoints were a four-part harmony vocal group. Later that year, Ann purchased her first guitar, a Kent acoustic, with money given to her by her grandmother. Wilson's parents soon bought Nancy a smaller guitar, but since it would not stay in tune, she began playing Ann's Kent guitar. The Viewpoints' first public show was a folk festival on Vashon Island in 1967. In Wilson's words, "We didn't get paid, but since there were people sitting in folding chairs, we considered it a professional gig." The band played at venues such as drive-ins, auto shows, and church socials.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: The Wilsons' public debut as a duo took place on Mother's Day at their church. Later at a church Youth Day event, the duo performed "The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life)" by Peter, Paul and Mary, Elvis Presley's "Crying in the Chapel", and The Doors' "When the Music's Over". The anti-war sentiment, and the irreverence for the venue in some of the lyrics, offended a number of people. By the time they finished, more than half had walked out. Wilson felt some guilt over the event, but "it lit a bonfire under us because we saw for the first time that what we did on stage could have an impact on an audience."


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: While still a senior in high school, Ann joined a band whose drummer knew a country songwriter who needed a backing band to play on his songwriting demos; Wilson and sister Ann entered a recording studio in Seattle to record the demos. During the session, the engineer allowed them to record the song "Through Eyes and Glass", which Nancy and Ann had written. The engineer had his own record label, and liked their songs enough that he offered to make up 500 copies "for a few bucks". Nancy and Ann's first single appeared on the B-side of the country track titled "I'm Gonna Drink My Hurt Away". It was credited to Ann Wilson and the Daybreaks, which was not the name of the band, and it omitted Nancy as co-songwriter. Later, the sisters were returned 250 unsold copies of the record.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: During college, Wilson played solo acoustic shows at student unions, performing covers of Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon songs, as well as occasional originals.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Wilson's sister, Ann was an acquaintance of guitarist Roger Fisher and bass player Steve Fossen (of the local band The Army) when she answered their advertisement seeking a drummer and a singer. She impressed them with her vocal skills. Within an hour of meeting them, Ann joined the group, which was called Hocus Pocus.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: The group shortly reformed as Heart. Pressed by her sister, Nancy joined the band and relocated to West Vancouver. Wilson recalls that "some of the guys" in the band were initially resistant to her joining, and insisted she audition by sitting in periodically. She was given the assignment to work up the introduction to the Yes song "Clap" (from "The Yes Album"). She learned it, and the next night after playing it with the band at a tavern, was officially made a member of the band.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: The band had recorded a demo with Mushroom Records some time before, and producer Mike Flicker remembered them. Flicker saw Nancy as a "diamond in the rough", but was intrigued by the idea of a female rock guitarist.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Mushroom Records released "Magic Man" as a single before Heart's debut album, "Dreamboat Annie", had been completed. The song received airplay in and around Vancouver. Portrait Records released the band's second official studio album, "Little Queen", in May 1977. The album spawned the track "Barracuda", which reached number 11 on the "Billboard" charts. The band's third official release, "Magazine", was released pre-emptively by Mushroom the following year, and contained eight tracks, some of which had been unfinished; the band sought an injunction and "Magazine" was recalled after 50,000 copies had already been sold. The dispute over the record lasted nearly two years.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Wilson and the group traveled to Berkeley, California, where her friend, Sue Ennis, was studying to receive a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. Ennis became a writing partner on the group's fourth release, "Dog & Butterfly", which they wrote together over the course of a single day. The album was released in October 1978, selling a million copies within the first month. It remained on the album charts for the better part of a year and went on to become a triple-platinum album. It was the band's fourth million-selling album in a row.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: During their tour to support "Dog & Butterfly", Wilson and Fisher, who were a couple at the time, became estranged. After discovering Fisher had cheated on her, Wilson began dating Michael Derosier. This resulted in tension between the band members, ending with Fisher destroying a guitar onstage and throwing part of it at Wilson in a dressing room. In October 1979, the group voted to oust Fisher from the band; this change allowed Wilson the opportunity to play more lead guitar.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Heart's fifth album, "Bébé le Strange", was released on Valentine's Day 1980. The band's sixth album, "Private Audition", was released in June 1982 and sold only 400,000 copies; it peaked at number 25 on "Billboard". After their series of platinum and gold albums, this was considered a flop. However, Heart continued to do well with concert sales, and had the eighth-highest-grossing tour of the year. During this time, tensions between Wilson and drummer Derosier had increased after several breakups, and both bassist Fossen and he decided to leave the band. Over the next year, they were replaced by bassist Mark Andes and drummer Denny Carmassi.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: The lackluster performance of "Private Audition" led to increased pressure for the band's next album, "Passionworks" (1983). Drugs became a factor in the band's work during this time. Wilson recalls: "Everything we did in those years had a white sheen of powder over it. There were only a few people on our crew, or band, who resisted. Cocaine was sprinkled over the albums, the videos, and our lives. Cocaine stripped all the humor out of our music. The videos we made were completely without intentional comedy, but were so serious they had an almost comedic feel." After the release of "Passionworks", CBS dropped the band due to lackluster sales.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: The self-titled "Heart" (1985) became the band's first number-one album. "What About Love" was released as a single ahead of the album; it became a hit, and crossed over into the pop charts. The album remained on the charts for 78 weeks and went on to be certified five-times platinum. The album had five hit singles, including "These Dreams", a single that featured Nancy Wilson on lead vocals. "These Dreams" had been submitted to the band after Stevie Nicks had turned it down. Though she had not written it, Wilson loved the song from the start. She had to fight to sing it because some band members thought it "did not sound like a Heart song." During the taping session, they received a letter from Sharon Hess, a 22-year-old fan who was dying of leukemia. One of her wishes was to meet Nancy and Ann, and she arrived the same day as the recording of Nancy's vocals for "These Dreams". Sharon loved the song and Wilson dedicated it to her in the album notes. Sharon died just a few days after the final mixes were finished. "These Dreams" became Heart's first number-one single on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on March 22, 1986.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: The album "Bad Animals" (1987) was preceded by the single "Alone"; it became the band's second number-one hit, and the second-biggest single for the year. This gave them something they had not had with the "Heart" album: a number-one single before the tour started or the album was released. "We were following on success, not building to it," Wilson recalled. The Bad Animals tour was to start in May 1987 in Europe, and all the dates were sellouts, including three dates at Wembley Arena. During the tour, Ann began to have moments of panic and stage fright. Nancy would have to step forward and play an unscheduled guitar solo, or other ploys, to buy time for Ann to compose herself. Work began on the following album, "Brigade", in 1989.


title: Nancy Wilson (rock musician)

text: Around 1990, Wilson and sister Ann were approached to play a Red Cross benefit for the troops during the Gulf War. The promoter wanted Heart to play, but most of the band had been let go after the Brigade tour. Nancy and Ann coaxed Sue Ennis to join and play for the one-time event, along with another friend, Frank Cox. The band's name, Lovemongers, emerged as a counter to war-mongering sentiment surrounding the Gulf War. Since the band lacked a drummer, Ennis programmed a rhythm track into her keyboard and they brought a cardboard cutout of Ringo Starr on stage as a joke. The group played a wrap party for "Singles" (1992)--a film directed by Wilson's husband, Cameron Crowe—with a local Seattle band called Mookie Blaylock (the band was later renamed Pearl Jam). A four-song EP, which included a live version of Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore" and an updated version of the Heart standard "Crazy On You", came out in late 1992. A cover of "The Battle of Evermore" also appeared on the for the 1992 film "Singles".