title: British people

text: The late 20th century saw major changes to the politics of the United Kingdom with the establishment of devolved national administrations for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales following pre-legislative referendums. Calls for greater autonomy for the four countries of the United Kingdom had existed since their original union with each other, but gathered pace in the 1960s and 1970s. Devolution has led to "increasingly assertive Scottish, Welsh and Irish national identities", resulting in more diverse cultural expressions of Britishness, or else its outright rejection: Gwynfor Evans, a Welsh nationalist politician active in the late 20th century, rebuffed Britishness as "a political synonym for Englishness which extends English culture over the Scots, Welsh and the Irish".


title: British people

text: In 2004 Sir Bernard Crick, political theorist and democratic socialist tasked with developing the life in the United Kingdom test said:


title: British people

text: Gordon Brown initiated a debate on British identity in 2006. Brown's speech to the Fabian Society's Britishness Conference proposed that British values demand a new constitutional settlement and symbols to represent a modern patriotism, including a new youth community service scheme and a British Day to celebrate. One of the central issues identified at the Fabian Society conference was how the English identity fits within the framework of a devolved United Kingdom. An expression of Her Majesty's Government's initiative to promote Britishness was the inaugural Veterans' Day which was first held on 27 June 2006. As well as celebrating the achievements of armed forces veterans, Brown's speech at the first event for the celebration said:


title: British people

text: In 2018, the Windrush scandal illustrated complex developments in British peoplehood, when it was revealed hundreds of Britons had been wrongfully deported. With roots in the break-up of the empire, and post-war rebuilding; the Windrush generation had arrived as CUKC citizens in the 1950s and 1960s. Born in former British colonies, they settled in the UK before 1973, and were granted "right of abode" by the Immigration Act 1971. Having faced removal, or been deported, many British people of African Caribbean heritage suffered with loss of home, livelihood, and health. As a result of the political scandal, many institutions and elected politicians publicly affirmed that these individuals, while not legally holding British citizenship or nationality, were, in fact, British people. These included British Prime Minister Theresa May, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Her Majesty's CPS Inspectorate Wendy Williams and her House of Commons-ordered "Windrush Lessons Learned Review", the Chartered Institute of Housing, Amnesty International, University of Oxford's social geographer Danny Dorling, and other public figures.


title: British people

text: The earliest migrations of Britons date from the 5th and 6th centuries AD, when Brittonic Celts fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasions migrated what is today northern France and north western Spain and forged the colonies of Brittany and Britonia. Brittany remained independent of France until the early 16th century and still retains a distinct Brittonic culture and language, whilst Britonia in modern Galicia was absorbed into Spanish states by the end of the 9th century AD.


title: British people

text: Britons – people with British citizenship or of British descent – have a significant presence in a number of countries other than the United Kingdom, and in particular in those with historic connections to the British Empire. After the Age of Discovery, the British were one of the earliest and largest communities to emigrate out of Europe, and the British Empire's expansion during the first half of the 19th century triggered an "extraordinary dispersion of the British people", resulting in particular concentrations "in Australasia and North America".


title: British people

text: The British Empire was "built on waves of migration overseas by British people", who left the United Kingdom and "reached across the globe and permanently affected population structures in three continents". As a result of the British colonisation of the Americas, what became the United States was "easily the greatest single destination of emigrant British", but in Australia the British experienced a birth rate higher than "anything seen before", resulting in the displacement of indigenous Australians.


title: British people

text: In colonies such as Southern Rhodesia, British East Africa and Cape Colony, permanently resident British communities were established and whilst never more than a numerical minority, these Britons "exercised a dominant influence" upon the culture and politics of those lands. In Australia, Canada and New Zealand, "people of British origin came to constitute the majority of the population" contributing to these states becoming integral to the Anglosphere.


title: British people

text: The United Kingdom Census 1861 estimated the size of the overseas British to be around 2.5 million, but concluded that most of these were "not conventional settlers" but rather "travellers, merchants, professionals, and military personnel". By 1890, there were over 1.5 million further UK-born people living in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. A 2006 publication from the Institute for Public Policy Research estimated 5.6 million Britons lived outside of the United Kingdom.


title: British people

text: Outside of the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories, the largest proportions of people of self-identified ethnic British descent in the world are found in New Zealand (59%), Australia (46%) and Canada (31%), followed by a considerably smaller minority in the United States (10.7%) and parts of the Caribbean. Hong Kong has the highest proportion of British nationals outside of the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories, with 47% of Hong Kong residents holding a British National (Overseas) status or a British citizenship.


title: British people

text: From the beginning of Australia's colonial period until after the Second World War, people from the United Kingdom made up a large majority of people coming to Australia, meaning that many people born in Australia can trace their origins to Britain. The colony of New South Wales, founded on 26 January 1788, was part of the eastern half of Australia claimed by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1770, and initially settled by Britons through penal transportation. Together with another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies, the federation of Australia was achieved on 1 January 1901.


title: British people

text: Its history of British dominance meant that Australia was "grounded in British culture and political traditions that had been transported to the Australian colonies in the nineteenth century and become part of colonial culture and politics". Australia maintains the Westminster system of parliamentary government and Charles III as King of Australia. Until 1987, the national status of Australian citizens was formally described as "British Subject: Citizen of Australia". Britons continue to make up a substantial proportion of immigrants.


title: British people

text: By 1947, Australia was fundamentally British in origin with 7,524,129 or 99.3% of the population declaring themselves as European. In the 2016 census, a large proportion of Australians self-identified with British ancestral origins, including 36.1% or 7,852,224 as English and 9.3% (2,023,474) as Scottish alone. A substantial proportion —33.5%— chose to identify as 'Australian', the census Bureau has stated that most of these are of Anglo-Celtic colonial stock.


title: British people

text: The approximately 250,000 people of the British Overseas Territories are British by citizenship, via origins or naturalisation. Along with aspects of common British identity, each of them has their own distinct identity shaped in the respective particular circumstances of political, economic, ethnic, social and cultural history. For instance, in the case of the Falkland Islanders, then-Speaker of the Legislative Council of the Falkland Islands Lewis Clifton explains:


title: British people

text: In contrast, for the majority of the Gibraltarians, who live in Gibraltar, there is an "insistence on their Britishness" which "carries excessive loyalty" to Britain. The sovereignty of Gibraltar has been a point of contention in Spain–United Kingdom relations, but an overwhelming number of Gibraltarians embrace Britishness with strong conviction, in direct opposition to Spanish territorial claims.


title: British people

text: Canada traces its statehood to the French, English, and Scottish expeditions of North America from the late-15th century. France ceded nearly all of New France in 1763 after the Seven Years' War, and so after the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, Quebec and Nova Scotia formed "the nucleus of the colonies that constituted Britain's remaining stake on the North American continent". British North America attracted the United Empire Loyalists, Britons who migrated out of what they considered the "rebellious" United States, increasing the size of British communities in what was to become Canada.


title: British people

text: In 1867 there was a union of three colonies with British North America which together formed the Canadian Confederation, a federal dominion. This began an accretion of additional provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster 1931 and culminating in the Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the parliament of the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, it is recognised that there is a "continuing importance of Canada's long and close relationship with Britain"; large parts of Canada's modern population claim "British origins" and the British cultural impact upon Canada's institutions is profound.


title: British people

text: It was not until 1977 that the phrase "A Canadian citizen is a British subject" ceased to be used in Canadian passports. The politics of Canada are strongly influenced by British political culture. Although significant modifications have been made, Canada is governed by a democratic parliamentary framework comparable to the Westminster system, and retains Charles III as King of Canada and head of state. English is the most commonly spoken language used in Canada and it is an official language of Canada.


title: British people

text: British iconography remains present in the design of many Canadian flags, with 10 out of 13 Canadian provincial and territorial flags adopting some form of British symbolism in their design. The Union Jack is also an official ceremonial flag in Canada known as the Royal Union Flag which is flown outside of federal buildings three days of the year.


title: British people

text: A long-term result of James Cook's voyage of 1768–1771, a significant number of New Zealanders are of British descent, for whom a sense of Britishness has contributed to their identity. As late as the 1950s, it was common for British New Zealanders to refer to themselves as British, such as when Prime Minister Keith Holyoake described Sir Edmund Hillary's successful ascent of Mount Everest as putting "the British race and New Zealand on top of the world". New Zealand passports described nationals as "British Subject: Citizen of New Zealand" until 1974, when this was changed to "New Zealand citizen".


title: British people

text: In an interview with the "New Zealand Listener" in 2006, Don Brash, the then Leader of the Opposition, said:


title: British people

text: The politics of New Zealand are strongly influenced by British political culture. Although significant modifications have been made, New Zealand is governed by a democratic parliamentary framework comparable to the Westminster system, and retains Charles III as the head of the monarchy of New Zealand. English is the dominant official language used in New Zealand.


title: British people

text: British nationality law as it pertains to Hong Kong has been unusual ever since Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842. From its beginning as a sparsely populated trading port to its modern role as a cosmopolitan international financial centre of over seven million people, the territory has attracted refugees, immigrants and expatriates alike searching for a new life.


title: British people

text: Citizenship matters were complicated by the fact that British nationality law treated those born in Hong Kong as British subjects (although they did not enjoy full rights and citizenship), while the People's Republic of China (PRC) did not recognise Hong Kong Chinese as such. The main reason for this was that recognising these people as British was seen as a tacit acceptance of a series of historical treaties that the PRC labelled as "unequal", including the ones which ceded Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories to Britain. The British government, however, recognising the unique political situation of Hong Kong, granted 3.4 million Hong Kongers a new type of nationality known as British National (Overseas), which is established in accordance with the Hong Kong Act 1985. Among those 3.4 million people, there are many British Nationals (Overseas) who are eligible for full British citizenship. Both British Nationals (Overseas) and British citizens are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens according to the British Nationality Law, which enables them to various rights in the United Kingdom and the European Union.


title: British people

text: An English presence in North America began with the Roanoke Colony and Colony of Virginia in the late-16th century, but the first successful English settlement was established in 1607, on the James River at Jamestown. By the 1610s an estimated 1,300 English people had travelled to North America, the "first of many millions from the British Isles". In 1620, the Pilgrims established the English imperial venture of Plymouth Colony, beginning "a remarkable acceleration of permanent emigration from England" with over 60% of trans-Atlantic English migrants settling in the New England Colonies. During the 17th century, an estimated 350,000 English and Welsh migrants arrived in North America, which in the century after the Acts of Union 1707 was surpassed in rate and number by Scottish and Irish migrants.


title: British people

text: The British policy of salutary neglect for its North American colonies intended to minimise trade restrictions as a way of ensuring they stayed loyal to British interests. This permitted the development of the American Dream, a cultural spirit distinct from that of its European founders. The Thirteen Colonies of British America began an armed rebellion against British rule in 1775 when they rejected the right of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them without representation; they proclaimed their independence in 1776, and constituted the first thirteen states of the United States of America, which became a sovereign state in 1781 with the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. The 1783 Treaty of Paris represented Great Britain's formal acknowledgement of the United States' sovereignty at the end of the American Revolutionary War.


title: British people

text: Nevertheless, longstanding cultural and historical ties have, in more modern times, resulted in the Special Relationship, the historically close political, diplomatic, and military co-operation between the United Kingdom and United States. Linda Colley, a professor of history at Princeton University and specialist in Britishness, suggested that because of their colonial influence on the United States, the British find Americans a "mysterious and paradoxical people, physically distant but culturally close, engagingly similar yet irritatingly different".


title: British people

text: For over two centuries (1789-1989) of early U.S. history, all Presidents with the exception of two (Van Buren and Kennedy) were descended from the varied colonial British stock, from the Pilgrims and Puritans to the Scotch-Irish and English who settled the Appalachia.


title: British people

text: The largest concentrations of self-reported British ethnic ancestry in the United States were found to be in Utah (35%), Maine (30%), New Hampshire (25%) and Vermont (25%) at the 2015 American Community Survey. Overall, 10.7% of Americans reported their ethnic ancestry as some form of "British" in the 2013–17 ACS, behind German and African ancestries and on par with Mexican and Irish ancestries.


title: British people

text: Approximately 4% of Chile's population is of British or Irish descent. Over 50,000 British immigrants settled in Chile from 1840 to 1914. A significant number of them settled in Magallanes Province, especially in the city of Punta Arenas when it flourished as a major global seaport for ships crossing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Strait of Magellan. Around 32,000 English settled in Valparaíso, influencing the port city to the extent of making it virtually a British colony during the last decades of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. However, the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 and the outbreak of the First World War drove many of them away from the city or back to Europe.


title: British people

text: In Valparaíso, they created their largest and most important colony, bringing with them neighbourhoods of British character, schools, social clubs, sports clubs, business organisations and periodicals. Even today their influence is apparent in specific areas, such as the banks and the navy, as well as in certain social activities, such as football, horse racing, and the custom of drinking tea.


title: British people

text: During the movement for independence (1818), it was mainly the British who formed the Chilean Navy, under the command of Lord Cochrane.


title: British people

text: British investment helped Chile become prosperous and British seamen helped the Chilean navy become a strong force in the South Pacific. Chile won two wars, the first against the Peru-Bolivian Confederation and the second, the War of the Pacific, in 1878–79, against an alliance between Peru and Bolivia. The liberal-socialist "Revolution of 1891" introduced political reforms modelled on British parliamentary practice and lawmaking.


title: British people

text: British immigrants were also important in the northern zone of the country during the saltpetre boom, in the ports of Iquique and Pisagua. The "King of Saltpetre", John Thomas North, was the principal tycoon of nitrate mining. The British legacy is reflected in the streets of the historic district of the city of Iquique, with the foundation of various institutions, such as the Club Hípico (Racing Club). Nevertheless, the British active presence came to an end with the saltpetre crisis during the 1930s.


title: British people

text: Some Scots settled in the country's more temperate regions, where the climate and the forested landscape with glaciers and islands may have reminded them of their homeland (the Highlands and Northern Scotland) while English and Welsh made up the rest. The Irish immigrants, who were frequently confused with the British, arrived as merchants, tradesmen and sailors, settling along with the British in the main trading cities and ports.


title: British people

text: An important contingent of British (principally Welsh) immigrants arrived between 1914 and 1950, settling in the present-day region of Magallanes. British families were established in other areas of the country, such as Santiago, Coquimbo, the Araucanía, and Chiloé.


title: British people

text: The cultural legacy of the British in Chile is notable and has spread beyond the British Chilean community into society at large. Customs taken from the British include afternoon tea (called onces by Chileans), football, rugby union and horse racing. Another legacy is the widespread use of British personal names by Chileans.


title: British people

text: Chile has the largest population of descendants of British settlers in Latin America. Over 700,000 Chileans may have British (English, Scottish and Welsh) origin, amounting to 4.5% of Chile's population.


title: British people

text: The British arrived in the area which would become the modern-day South Africa during the early 18th century, yet substantial settlement only started end of the 18th century, in the Cape of Good Hope. In the late 19th century, the discovery of gold and diamonds further encouraged colonisation of South Africa by the British, and the population of the British-South Africans rose substantially, although there was fierce rivalry between the British and Afrikaners (descendants of Dutch colonists) in the period known as the Boer Wars. When apartheid first started most British-South Africans were largely keen on keeping and even strengthening its ties with the United Kingdom. The latest census in South Africa showed that there are almost 2 million British-South Africans; they make up about 40% of the total White South African demographic, and the greatest white British ancestry populations in South Africa are in the KwaZulu-Natal province and in the cities of Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.


title: British people

text: Plantations of Ireland introduced large numbers of people from Great Britain to Ireland throughout the Middle Ages and early modern period. The resulting Protestant Ascendancy, the aristocratic class of the Lordship of Ireland, broadly identified themselves as Anglo-Irish. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Protestant British settlers subjugated Catholic, Gaelic inhabitants in the north of Ireland during the Plantation of Ulster and the Williamite War in Ireland; it was "an explicit attempt to control Ireland strategically by introducing ethnic and religious elements loyal to the British interest in Ireland".


title: British people

text: The Ulster Scots people are an ethnic group of British origin in Ireland, broadly descended from Lowland Scots who settled in large numbers in the Province of Ulster during the planned process of colonisations of Ireland which took place in the reign of James VI of Scotland and I of England. Together with English and Welsh settlers, these Scots introduced Protestantism (particularly the Presbyterianism of the Church of Scotland) and the Ulster Scots and English languages to, mainly, northeastern Ireland. With the partition of Ireland and independence for what is now the Republic of Ireland some of these people found themselves no longer living within the United Kingdom.


title: British people

text: Northern Ireland itself was, for many years, the site of a violent and bitter ethno-sectarian conflict—The Troubles—between those claiming to represent Irish nationalism, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and those claiming to represent British unionism, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, while nationalists desire a united Ireland.


title: British people

text: Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, most of the paramilitary groups involved in the Troubles have ceased their armed campaigns, and constitutionally, the people of Northern Ireland have been recognised as "all persons born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British citizen, an Irish citizen or is otherwise entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence". The Good Friday Agreement guarantees the "recognition of the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose".


title: British people

text: Result from the expansion of the British Empire, British cultural influence can be observed in the language and culture of a geographically wide assortment of countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, the United States, and the British overseas territories. These states are sometimes collectively known as the Anglosphere. As well as the British influence on its empire, the empire also influenced British culture, particularly British cuisine. Innovations and movements within the wider-culture of Europe have also changed the United Kingdom; Humanism, Protestantism, and representative democracy have developed from broader Western culture.


title: British people

text: As a result of the history of the formation of the United Kingdom, the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness.


title: British people

text: Historically, British cuisine has meant "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavour, rather than disguise it". It has been "vilified as unimaginative and heavy", and traditionally been limited in its international recognition to the full breakfast and the Christmas dinner. This is despite British cuisine having absorbed the culinary influences of those who have settled in Britain, resulting in hybrid dishes such as the British Asian Chicken tikka masala, hailed by some as "Britain's true national dish".


title: British people

text: Celtic agriculture and animal breeding produced a wide variety of foodstuffs for Celts and Britons. The Anglo-Saxons developed meat and savoury herb stewing techniques before the practice became common in Europe. The Norman conquest of England introduced exotic spices into Britain in the Middle Ages. The British Empire facilitated a knowledge of India's food tradition of "strong, penetrating spices and herbs". Food rationing policies, imposed by the British government during wartime periods of the 20th century, are said to have been the stimulus for British cuisine's poor international reputation.


title: British people

text: British dishes include fish and chips, the Sunday roast, and bangers and mash. British cuisine has several national and regional varieties, including English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine, each of which has developed its own regional or local dishes, many of which are geographically indicated foods such as Cheddar cheese, Cheshire cheese, the Yorkshire pudding, Arbroath Smokie, Cornish pasty and Welsh cakes.


title: British people

text: The British are the second largest per capita tea consumers in the world, consuming an average of per person each year. British tea culture dates back to the 19th century, when India was part of the British Empire and British interests controlled tea production in the subcontinent.


title: British people

text: There is no single British language, though English is by far the main language spoken by British citizens, being spoken monolingually by more than 70% of the UK population. English is therefore the "de facto" official language of the United Kingdom. However, under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Irish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Manx, Scots and Lowland Scots languages are officially recognised as Regional or Minority languages by the UK Government. Insular varieties of Norman are recognised languages of the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, although they are dying. Standard French is an official language of both bailiwicks. As indigenous languages which continue to be spoken as a first language by native inhabitants, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic have a different legal status from other minority languages. In some parts of the UK, some of these languages are commonly spoken as a first language; in wider areas, their use in a bilingual context is sometimes supported or promoted by central or local government policy. For naturalisation purposes, a competence standard of English, Scottish Gaelic or Welsh is required to pass the life in the United Kingdom test. However, English is used routinely, and although considered culturally important, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh are much less used.


title: British people

text: Throughout the United Kingdom there are distinctive spoken expressions and regional accents of English, which are seen to be symptomatic of a locality's culture and identity. An awareness and knowledge of accents in the United Kingdom can "place, within a few miles, the locality in which a man or woman has grown up".


title: British people

text: British literature is "one of the leading literatures in the world". The overwhelming part is written in the English language, but there are also pieces of literature written in Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Cornish and Welsh.


title: British people

text: Britain has a long history of famous and influential authors. It boasts some of the oldest pieces of literature in the Western world, such as the epic poem Beowulf, one of the oldest surviving written work in the English language. Prior to the formation of British nationhood, famous authors who inhabited Great Britain include some of the world's most studied and praised writers. In England, the playwrights William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe defined England's Elizabethan period.


title: British people

text: The British Romantic movement was one of the strongest and most recognisable in Europe. The poets William Blake, Robert Burns, Wordsworth and Coleridge were amongst the pioneers of Romanticism in literature. Other Romantic writers that followed these figure further enhanced the profile of Romanticism in Europe, such as John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. Later periods like the Victorian Era saw a further flourishing of British writing, including Charles Dickens and William Thackeray.


title: British people

text: Women's literature in Britain has had a long and often troubled history, with many female writers producing work under a pen name, such as George Eliot. Other great female novelists that have contributed to world literature are Frances Burney, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, Emily, Charlotte and Anne.


title: British people

text: Non-fiction has also played an important role in the history of British letters, with the first dictionary of the English language being produced and compiled by Samuel Johnson, a graduate of Oxford University and a London resident.


title: British people

text: Although cinema, theatre, dance and live music are popular, the favourite pastime of the British is watching television. Public broadcast television in the United Kingdom began in 1936, with the launch of the BBC Television Service (now BBC One). In the United Kingdom and the Crown dependencies, one must have a television licence to legally receive any broadcast television service, from any source. This includes the commercial channels, cable and satellite transmissions, and the Internet. Revenue generated from the television licence is used to provide radio, television and Internet content for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Welsh language television programmes for S4C. The BBC, the common abbreviation of the British Broadcasting Corporation, is the world's largest broadcaster. Unlike other broadcasters in the UK, it is a public service based, quasi-autonomous, statutory corporation run by the BBC Trust. Free-to-air terrestrial television channels available on a national basis are BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 (S4C in Wales), and Five.


title: British people

text: 100 Greatest British Television Programmes was a list compiled by the British Film Institute in 2000, chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened. Topping the list was "Fawlty Towers", a British sitcom set in a fictional Torquay hotel starring John Cleese.


title: British people

text: "British musical tradition is essentially vocal", dominated by the music of England and Germanic culture, most greatly influenced by hymns and Anglican church music. However, the specific, traditional music of Wales and music of Scotland is distinct, and of the Celtic musical tradition. In the United Kingdom, more people attend live music performances than football matches. British rock was born in the mid-20th century out of the influence of rock and roll and rhythm and blues from the United States. Major early exports were The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks. Together with other bands from the United Kingdom, these constituted the British Invasion, a popularisation of British pop and rock music in the United States. Into the 1970s heavy metal, new wave, and 2 tone. Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands reviving British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s. Leading exponents of Britpop were Blur, Oasis and Pulp. Also popularised in the United Kingdom during the 1990s were several domestically produced varieties of electronic dance music; acid house, UK hard house, jungle, UK garage which in turn have influenced grime and British hip hop in the 2000s. The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual awards for both international and British popular music.


title: British people

text: Historically, Christianity has been the most influential and important religion in Britain, and it remains the declared faith of the majority of the British people. The influence of Christianity on British culture has been "widespread, extending beyond the spheres of prayer and worship. Churches and cathedrals make a significant contribution to the architectural landscape of the nation's cities and towns" whilst "many schools and hospitals were founded by men and women who were strongly influenced by Christian motives". Throughout the United Kingdom, Easter and Christmas, the "two most important events in the Christian calendar", are recognised as public holidays.


title: British people

text: Christianity remains the major religion of the population of the United Kingdom in the 21st century, followed by Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and then Judaism in terms of numbers of adherents. The 2007 Tearfund Survey revealed 53% identified themselves as Christian, which was similar to the 2004 British Social Attitudes Survey, and to the United Kingdom Census 2001 in which 71.6% said that Christianity was their religion, However, the Tearfund Survey showed only one in ten Britons attend church weekly. Secularism was advanced in Britain during the Age of Enlightenment, and modern British organisations such as the British Humanist Association and the National Secular Society offer the opportunity for their members to "debate and explore the moral and philosophical issues in a non-religious setting".


title: British people

text: The Treaty of Union that led to the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain ensured that there would be a Protestant succession as well as a link between church and state that still remains. The Church of England (Anglican) is legally recognised as the established church, and so retains representation in the Parliament of the United Kingdom through the Lords Spiritual, whilst the British monarch is a member of the church as well as its Supreme Governor. The Church of England also retains the right to draft legislative measures (related to religious administration) through the General Synod that can then be passed into law by Parliament. The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is the second largest Christian church with around five million members, mainly in England. There are also growing Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, with Pentecostal churches in England now third after the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in terms of church attendance. Other large Christian groups include Methodists and Baptists.


title: British people

text: The Presbyterian Church of Scotland (known informally as The Kirk), is recognised as the national church of Scotland and not subject to state control. The British monarch is an ordinary member and is required to swear an oath to "defend the security" of the church upon his or her accession. The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland is Scotland's second largest Christian church, with followers representing a sixth of the population of Scotland. The Scottish Episcopal Church, which is part of the Anglican Communion, dates from the final establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland in 1690, when it split from the Church of Scotland over matters of theology and ritual. Further splits in the Church of Scotland, especially in the 19th century, led to the creation of other Presbyterian churches in Scotland, including the Free Church of Scotland. In the 1920s, the Church in Wales became independent from the Church of England and became 'disestablished' but remains in the Anglican Communion. Methodism and other Protestant churches have had a major presence in Wales. The main religious groups in Northern Ireland are organised on an all-Ireland basis. Though collectively Protestants constitute the overall majority, the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland is the largest single church. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, closely linked to the Church of Scotland in terms of theology and history, is the second largest church followed by the Church of Ireland (Anglican) which was disestablished in the 19th century.


title: British people

text: Sport is an important element of British culture, and is one of the most popular leisure activities of Britons. Within the United Kingdom, nearly half of all adults partake in one or more sporting activity each week. Some of the major sports in the United Kingdom "were invented by the British", including football, rugby union, rugby league and cricket, and "exported various other games" including tennis, badminton, boxing, golf, snooker and squash.


title: British people

text: In most sports, separate organisations, teams and clubs represent the individual countries of the United Kingdom at international level, though in some sports, like rugby union, an all-Ireland team represents both Northern Ireland and Ireland (Republic of), and the British and Irish Lions represent Ireland and Britain as a whole. The UK is represented by a single team at the Olympic Games and at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Great Britain team won 65 medals: 29 gold (the most since the 1908 Summer Olympics), 17 silver and 19 bronze, ranking them 3rd. In total, sportsmen and women from the UK "hold over 50 world titles in a variety of sports, such as professional boxing, rowing, snooker, squash and motorcycle sports".


title: British people

text: A 2006 poll found that association football was the most popular sport in the UK. In England 320 football clubs are affiliated to The Football Association (FA) and more than 42,000 clubs to regional or district associations. The FA, founded in 1863, and the Football League, founded in 1888, were both the first of their kind in the world. In Scotland there are 78 full and associate clubs and nearly 6,000 registered clubs under the jurisdiction of the Scottish Football Association. Two Welsh clubs play in England's Football League and others at non-league level, whilst the Welsh Football League contains 20 semi-professional clubs. In Northern Ireland, 12 semi-professional clubs play in the IFA Premiership, the second oldest league in the world.


title: British people

text: Recreational fishing, particularly angling, is one of the most popular participation activities in the United Kingdom, with an estimated 3–4 million anglers in the country. The most widely practised form of angling in England and Wales is for coarse fish while in Scotland angling is usually for salmon and trout.


title: British people

text: For centuries, artists and architects in Britain were overwhelmingly influenced by Western art history. Amongst the first visual artists credited for developing a distinctly British aesthetic and artistic style is William Hogarth. The experience of military, political and economic power from the rise of the British Empire, led to a very specific drive in artistic technique, taste and sensibility in the United Kingdom. Britons used their art "to illustrate their knowledge and command of the natural world", whilst the permanent settlers in British North America, Australasia, and South Africa "embarked upon a search for distinctive artistic expression appropriate to their sense of national identity". The empire has been "at the centre, rather than in the margins, of the history of British art", and imperial British visual arts have been fundamental to the construction, celebration and expression of Britishness.


title: British people

text: British attitudes to modern art were "polarised" at the end of the 19th century. Modernist movements were both cherished and vilified by artists and critics; Impressionism was initially regarded by "many conservative critics" as a "subversive foreign influence", but became "fully assimilated" into British art during the early-20th century. Representational art was described by Herbert Read during the interwar period as "necessarily... revolutionary", and was studied and produced to such an extent that by the 1950s, Classicism was effectively void in British visual art. Post-modern, contemporary British art, particularly that of the Young British Artists, has been pre-occupied with postcolonialism, and "characterised by a fundamental concern with material culture ... perceived as a post-imperial cultural anxiety".


title: British people

text: Architecture of the United Kingdom is diverse; most influential developments have usually taken place in England, but Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have at various times played leading roles in architectural history. Although there are prehistoric and classical structures in the British Isles, British architecture effectively begins with the first Anglo-Saxon Christian churches, built soon after Augustine of Canterbury arrived in Great Britain in 597. Norman architecture was built on a vast scale from the 11th century onwards in the form of castles and churches to help impose Norman authority upon their dominion. English Gothic architecture, which flourished between 1180 until around 1520, was initially imported from France, but quickly developed its own unique qualities. Secular medieval architecture throughout Britain has left a legacy of large stone castles, with the "finest examples" being found lining both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border, dating from the Wars of Scottish Independence of the 14th century. The invention of gunpowder and canons made castles redundant, and the English Renaissance which followed facilitated the development of new artistic styles for domestic architecture: Tudor style, English Baroque, The Queen Anne Style and Palladian. Georgian and Neoclassical architecture advanced after the Scottish Enlightenment. Outside the United Kingdom, the influence of British architecture is particularly strong in South India, the result of British rule in India in the 19th century. The Indian cities of Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai each have courts, hotels and train stations designed in British architectural styles of Gothic Revivalism and neoclassicism.


title: British people

text: British political culture is tied closely with its institutions and civics, and a "subtle fusion of new and old values". The principle of constitutional monarchy, with its notions of stable parliamentary government and political liberalism, "have come to dominate British culture". These views have been reinforced by Sir Bernard Crick who said:


title: British people

text: British political institutions include the Westminster system, the Commonwealth of Nations and Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Although the Privy Council is primarily a British institution, officials from other Commonwealth realms are also appointed to the body. The most notable continuing instance is the Prime Minister of New Zealand, its senior politicians, Chief Justice and Court of Appeal judges are conventionally made Privy Counsellors, as the prime ministers and chief justices of Canada and Australia used to be. Prime Ministers of Commonwealth countries which retain the British monarch as their sovereign continue to be sworn as Privy Counsellors.


title: British people

text: Universal suffrage for all males over 21 was granted in 1918 and for adult women in 1928 after the Suffragette movement. Politics in the United Kingdom is multi-party, with three dominant political parties: the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party. The social structure of Britain, specifically social class, has "long been pre-eminent among the factors used to explain party allegiance", and still persists as "the dominant basis" of party political allegiance for Britons. The Conservative Party is descended from the historic Tory Party (founded in England in 1678), and is a centre-right conservative political party, which traditionally draws support from the middle classes. The Labour Party (founded by Scotsman Keir Hardie) grew out of the trade union movement and socialist political parties of the 19th century, and continues to describe itself as a "democratic socialist party". Labour states that it stands for the representation of the low-paid working class, who have traditionally been its members and voters. The Scottish National Party is the third largest political party in the UK in terms of both party membership and representation in parliament, having won 56 out of 59 Scottish seats at the 2015 General Election. The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party, and fourth largest in England in terms of membership and MPs elected. It is descended from the Liberal Party, a major ruling party of 19th-century UK through to the First World War, when it was supplanted by the Labour Party. The Liberal Democrats have historically drawn support from wide and "differing social backgrounds". There are over 300 other, smaller political parties in the United Kingdom registered to the Electoral Commission.


title: British people

text: According to the British Social Attitudes Survey, there are broadly two interpretations of British identity, with ethnic and civic dimensions:


title: British people

text: Of the two perspectives of British identity, the civic definition has become "the dominant idea ... by far", and in this capacity, Britishness is sometimes considered an institutional or overarching state identity. This has been used to explain why first-, second- and third-generation immigrants are more likely to describe themselves as British, rather than English, because it is an "institutional, inclusive" identity, that can be acquired through naturalisation and British nationality law; the vast majority of people in the United Kingdom who are from an ethnic minority feel British.


title: British people

text: However, this attitude is more common in England than in Scotland or Wales; "white English people perceived themselves as English first and as British second, and most people from ethnic minority backgrounds perceived themselves as British, but none identified as English, a label they associated exclusively with white people". Contrawise, in Scotland and Wales, White British and ethnic minority people both identified more strongly with Scotland and Wales than with Britain.


title: British people

text: Studies and surveys have "reported that the majority of the Scots and Welsh see themselves as both Scottish/Welsh and British though with some differences in emphasis". The Commission for Racial Equality found that with respect to notions of nationality in Britain, "the most basic, objective and uncontroversial conception of the British people is one that includes the English, the Scots and the Welsh". However, "English participants tended to think of themselves as indistinguishably English or British, while both Scottish and Welsh participants identified themselves much more readily as Scottish or Welsh than as British".


title: British people

text: Some persons opted "to combine both identities" as "they felt Scottish or Welsh, but held a British passport and were therefore British", whereas others saw themselves as exclusively Scottish or exclusively Welsh and "felt quite divorced from the British, whom they saw as the English". Commentators have described this latter phenomenon as "nationalism", a rejection of British identity because some Scots and Welsh interpret it as "cultural imperialism imposed" upon the United Kingdom by "English ruling elites", or else a response to a historical misappropriation of equating the word "English" with "British", which has "brought about a desire among Scots, Welsh and Irish to learn more about their heritage and distinguish themselves from the broader British identity".


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. She made her acting debut at the age of 18 on television and her feature film debut in "Venus Beauty Institute" (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Award for Most Promising Actress.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou achieved international recognition for her lead role in the 2001 film "Amélie", which met with critical acclaim and was a major box-office success. She has since appeared in films in a range of genres, including the thrillers "Dirty Pretty Things" (2002) and "The Da Vinci Code" (2006), and the romantic comedy "Priceless" (2006). She has received critical acclaim for her many roles including the World War I drama "A Very Long Engagement" (2004), and for her portrayal of French fashion designer Coco Chanel in the biographical drama "Coco avant Chanel" (2009). She has been nominated three times for the César Award and twice for the BAFTA for Best Actress in a leading role. In June of 2004, she became one of the few French actors in history to be invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou has modeled for Chanel, Montblanc, L'Oréal and many other companies. She is an active supporter of several charities.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou was born in Beaumont and was raised in Montluçon. Her father Bernard Tautou is a dental surgeon, and her mother Eveline is a teacher. She was named after actress Audrey Hepburn. Tautou showed an interest in acting at an early age and started her acting lessons at the Cours Florent. There she learned English and Italian.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: In 1998, Tautou participated in a Star Search-like competition sponsored by Canal+ called "Jeunes Premiers" (The Young Debuts) and won Best Young Actress at the 9th Béziers Festival of Young Actors. Tonie Marshall gave her a role in the César-winning "Venus Beauty Institute" (1999, also known as "Vénus beauté (institut)"). In 2000, she won the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as her country's most promising young film actress.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: In 2001, Tautou rose to international fame for her performance as the eccentric lead in the romantic comedy "Amélie" (original French title: "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"; ), a film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume Laurant, the film is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre. It tells the story of a shy waitress, who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better, while struggling with her own isolation. The film was an international co-production between companies in France and Germany.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: The film met with critical acclaim and was a major box-office success. "Amélie" won Best Film at the European Film Awards; it won four César Awards (including Best Film and Best Director), two BAFTA Awards (including Best Original Screenplay), and was nominated for five Academy Awards. Grossing over $33 million in limited theatrical release, it is still the highest-grossing French-language film released in the United States.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: In 2002, she acted in the British thriller film "Dirty Pretty Things" directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight, a drama about two illegal immigrants in London. It was produced by BBC Films and Celador Films. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a British Independent Film Award for "Best Independent British Film" in 2003.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: In 2004, she starred in "A Very Long Engagement", a romantic war film co-written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It is a fictional tale about a young woman's desperate search for her fiancé who might have been killed in the Battle of the Somme, during World War I. It was based on a novel of the same name, written by Sebastien Japrisot, first published in 1991.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: In 2005, Tautou starred in her first full Hollywood production, opposite Tom Hanks, in the film version of Dan Brown's best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code", directed by Ron Howard and released in May 2006.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: She starred alongside Gad Elmaleh in Pierre Salvadori's "Hors de prix" ("Priceless"), released 13 December 2006. The film has been compared to "Breakfast at Tiffany's".


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou starred with Guillaume Canet in Claude Berri's "Ensemble, c'est tout" in 2007, an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Anna Gavalda.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou played the lead role in the biopic of fashion designer Coco Chanel, titled "Coco avant Chanel", and directed by Anne Fontaine. Filming began in Paris in September 2008, and released in France on 22 April 2009. The script is partially based on Edmonde Charles-Roux's book "L'Irrégulière" ("The Non-Conformist"). Instead of releasing "Coco Before Chanel" in the United States itself, Warner Bros. let Sony Pictures Classics handle the release there. The film grossed $6 million in the United States.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: "Coco Before Chanel" was nominated for four BAFTA Awards, three European Film Awards, six César Awards and the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: In 2011, she appeared in "Delicacy", a French romantic comedy-drama directed by David and Stéphane Foenkinos and based on the novel of the same name by David Foenkinos. David was nominated for the 2012 Best Writing (Adaptation) César Award and the film was nominated as Best Film.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: She appeared in the music video of "I Love Your Smile", a song by British singer-songwriter Charlie Winston.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: She was a member of the jury of the 2015 Berlin Film Festival. She appeared in the 2016 film "The Odyssey" as Simone Melchior Cousteau.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou began modelling at a very young age, taking modelling courses and other activities, and has modelled for magazines such as "Vogue", "Elle", "Harper's Bazaar", "Marie Claire" in many countries, and many others.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou was named in 2009 as the next spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5, replacing Nicole Kidman. She was directed in the advertisement by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with whom she worked on "Amélie" and "A Very Long Engagement". The advertisement was released in 2009 to coincide with release of "Coco before Chanel". She has also become the face of L'Oreal and Montblanc and several other ad campaigns.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou over the years has been declared a fashionista and icon by the press, appearing in many magazines, fashion, beauty, and culture. She has attended major fashion week events around the world as well as smaller events. The press sometimes refers to her as "The Chanel Muse".


title: Audrey Tautou

text: She studied at the Institut Catholique de Paris. A church-goer when young, she has stated that she is "not officially" Catholic.


title: Audrey Tautou

text: Tautou says she considers France her base, where she plans to focus her career, rather than in the United States. She told Stevie Wong of "The Straits Times" "I am, at the end of the day, a French actress. I am not saying I will never shoot an English-language movie again, but my home, my community, my career is rooted in France. I would never move to Los Angeles."


title: Attack on Titan (season 1)

text: The first season of the "Attack on Titan" anime television series was produced by IG Port's Wit Studio and directed by Tetsurō Araki, with Yasuko Kobayashi handling series composition and Kyōji Asano providing character designs. It covers the first story arcs (chapters 1–34) from the original manga by Hajime Isayama. "Attack on Titan" is set in a world where humanity lives inside cities surrounded by enormous walls due to the Titans, gigantic humanoid beings who devour humans. The story follows the adventures of Eren Jaeger and his childhood friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert, whose lives are changed forever after a Colossal Titan breaches the wall of their home town. Vowing revenge and to reclaim the world from the Titans, Eren and his friends join the Scout Regiment, an elite group of soldiers who fight Titans.


title: Attack on Titan (season 1)

text: The season was broadcast on MBS TV from April 7 to September 29, 2013 and later aired on Tokyo MX, FBS, TOS, HTB, TV Aichi and BS11. Both Funimation and Crunchyroll have streamed the series with subtitles on their respective websites. Funimation has also licensed the anime for home video release in 2014. Episode 1 of Funimation's English dubbed version premiered at Anime Boston, with other episodes put on Funimation's subscription services. In the United States, the dub of the series was broadcast weekly on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block starting on May 3, 2014 at 11:30 p.m. EDT.


title: Attack on Titan (season 1)

text: The score is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. The opening theme song for the season's first 13 episodes is by Linked Horizon, and the ending theme is by Yōko Hikasa. For the rest of the season, the opening theme is also by Linked Horizon and the ending theme is "Great Escape" by Cinema Staff. The opening themes were collected on Linked Horizon's single "Jiyū e no Shingeki" which sold over 100,000 copies in its first week of sales.


title: Attack on Titan (season 1)

text: The series' soundtrack was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, and the first CD was released on June 28, 2013, by Pony Canyon. The first CD contains 16 tracks, with 6 vocal tracks featuring performances by Aimee Blackschleger, CASG (Caramel Apple Sound Gadget), Cyua, Mika Kobayashi and mpi. The second CD containing the other half of the soundtrack was released on October 16, 2013, as a bonus offered with the fourth Blu-ray and DVD limited edition volumes of the anime.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modifications are the folding main rotor and a hinged tail to reduce its footprint aboard ships.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The U.S. Navy uses the H-60 airframe under the model designations SH-60B, SH-60F, HH-60H, MH-60R, and MH-60S. Able to deploy aboard any air-capable frigate, destroyer, cruiser, fast combat support ship, expeditionary transfer dock, amphibious assault ship, littoral combat ship or aircraft carrier, the Seahawk can handle anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), naval special warfare (NSW) insertion, search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR), vertical replenishment (VERTREP), and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC).


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: During the 1970s, the U.S. Navy began looking for a new helicopter to replace the Kaman SH-2 Seasprite. The SH-2 Seasprite was used by the Navy as its platform for the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) Mark I avionics suite for maritime warfare and a secondary search and rescue capability. Advances in sensor and avionic technology lead to the LAMPS Mk II suite being developed by the Naval Air Development Center. The Navy then conducted a competition in 1974 to develop the Lamps MK III concept which would integrate both the aircraft and shipboard systems. The Navy selected IBM Federal Systems to be the Prime systems integrator for the Lamps MK III concept.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: Since the SH-2 was not large enough to carry the Navy's required equipment a new airframe was required. In the mid-1970s, the Army evaluated the Sikorsky YUH-60 and Boeing Vertol YUH-61 for its Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) competition. Navy based its requirements on the Army's UTTAS specification to decrease costs from commonality to be the new airframe to carry the Lamps MK III avionics. Sikorsky and Boeing-Vertol submitted proposals for Navy versions of their Army UTTAS helicopters in April 1977 for review. The Navy also looked at helicopters being produced by Bell, Kaman, Westland and MBB, but these were too small for the mission. In early 1978 the Navy selected Sikorsky's S-70B design, which was designated "SH-60B Seahawk".


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: IBM was the prime systems integrator for the Lamps MK III with Sikorsky as the airframe manufacturer. The SH-60B maintained 83% commonality with the UH-60A. The main changes were corrosion protection, more powerful T700 engines, single-stage oleo main landing gear, removal of the left side door, adding two weapon pylons, and shifting the tail landing gear forward to reduce the footprint for shipboard landing. Other changes included larger fuel cells, an electric blade folding system, folding horizontal stabilators for storage, and adding a 25-tube pneumatic sonobuoy launcher on the left side. An emergency flotation system was originally installed in the stub wing fairings of the main landing gear; however, it was found to be impractical and possibly impede emergency egress, and thus was subsequently removed. Five YSH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III prototypes were ordered. The first YSH-60B flight occurred on 12 December 1979. The first production SH-60B made its first flight on 11 February 1983. The SH-60B entered operational service in 1984 with first operational deployment in 1985.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The SH-60B is deployed primarily aboard frigates, destroyers, and cruisers. The primary missions of the SH-60B are surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare. It carries a complex system of sensors including a towed Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) and air-launched sonobuoys. Other sensors include the APS-124 search radar, ALQ-142 ESM system and optional nose-mounted forward looking infrared (FLIR) turret. Munitions carried include the Mk 46, Mk 50, or Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo, AGM-114 Hellfire missile, and a single cabin-door-mounted M60D/M240 7.62 mm (0.30 in) machine gun or GAU-16 .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: A standard crew for a SH-60B is one pilot, one ATO/Co-Pilot (Airborne Tactical Officer), and an enlisted aviation warfare systems operator (sensor operator). The U.S. Navy operated the SH-60B in Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron, Light (HSL) squadrons. All HSL squadrons were redesignated Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) squadrons and transitioned to the MH-60R between 2006 and 2015.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The SH-60J is a version of the SH-60B for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The SH-60K is a modified version of the SH-60J. The SH-60J and SH-60K are built under license by Mitsubishi in Japan.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: After the SH-60B entered service, the Navy conducted a competition to replace the SH-3 Sea King. The competitors were Sikorsky, Kaman and IBM (avionics only). Sikorsky began development of this variant in March 1985. In January 1986, seven SH-60Fs were ordered including two prototypes (BuNos 163282/3). The first example flew on 19 March 1987. The SH-60F was based on the SH-60B airframe, but with upgraded SH-3H avionics.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The SH-60F primarily served as the carrier battle group's primary antisubmarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. The helicopter hunted submarines with its AQS-13F dipping sonar, and carried a 6-tube sonobuoy launcher. The SH-60F is unofficially named "Oceanhawk". The SH-60F can carry Mk 46, Mk 50, or Mk 54 torpedoes for its offensive weapons, and it has a choice of fuselage-mounted machine guns, including the M60D, M240D, and GAU-16 (.50 caliber) for self-defense. The standard aircrew consists of one pilot, one co-pilot, one tactical sensor operator (TSO), and one acoustic sensor operator (ASO). The SH-60F was operated by the U.S Navy's Helicopter Antisubmarine (HS) squadrons until they were redesignated Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) squadrons and transitioned to the MH-60S. The last HS squadron completed its transition in 2016.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The HH-60H was developed in conjunction with the US Coast Guard's HH-60J, beginning in September 1986 with a contract for the first five helicopters with Sikorsky as the prime contractor. The variant's first flight occurred on 17 August 1988. Deliveries of the HH-60H began in 1989. The variant earned initial operating capability in April 1990 and was deployed to Desert Storm with HCS-4 and HCS-5 in 1991. The HH-60H's official DoD and Sikorsky name is "Seahawk", though it has been called "Rescue Hawk".


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: Based on the SH-60F, the HH-60H is the primary combat search and rescue (CSAR), naval special warfare (NSW) and anti-surface warfare (ASUW) helicopter. It carries various defensive and offensive sensors. These include a FLIR turret with laser designator, and the Aircraft Survival Equipment (ASE) package including the ALQ-144 Infrared Jammer, AVR-2 Laser Detectors, APR-39(V)2 Radar Detectors, AAR-47 Missile Launch Detectors and ALE-47 chaff/flare dispensers. Engine exhaust deflectors provide infrared thermal reduction reducing the threat of heat-seeking missiles. The HH-60H can carry up to four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles on an extended wing using the M299 launcher and a variety of mountable guns including M60D, M240, GAU-16 and GAU-17/A machine guns.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The HH-60H's standard crew is pilot, copilot, an enlisted crew chief, and two door gunners or one rescue swimmer. Originally operated by HCS-5 and HCS-4 (later HSC-84), these two special USNR squadrons were established with the primary mission of Naval Special Warfare and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). Due to SOCOM budget issues the squadrons were deactivated in 2006 and 2016 respectively. The HH-60H was also operated by Helicopter Antisubmarine (HS) squadrons with a standard dispersal of six F-models and two or three H-models before the transition of HS squadrons to HSC squadrons equipped with the MH-60S, the last of which completed its transition in 2016. The only squadron equipped with the HH-60H as of 2016 is HSC-85, one of only two remaining USNR helicopter squadrons (the other being HSM-60 equipped with the MH-60R). In Iraq, HH-60Hs were used by the Navy, assisting the Army, for MEDEVAC purposes and special operations missions.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The MH-60R was originally known as "LAMPS Mark III Block II Upgrade" when development began in 1993 with Lockheed Martin (formerly IBM/Loral). Two SH-60Bs were converted by Sikorsky, the first of which made its maiden flight on 22 December 1999. Designated YSH-60R, they were delivered to NAS Patuxent River in 2001 for flight testing. The production variant was redesignated MH-60R to match its multi-mission capability. The MH-60R was formally deployed by the US Navy in 2006.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The MH-60R is designed to combine the features of the SH-60B and SH-60F. Its avionics includes dual controls and instead of the complex array of dials and gauges in Bravo and Foxtrot aircraft, 4 fully integrated 8" x 10" night vision goggle-compatible and sunlight-readable color multi-function displays, all part of glass cockpit produced by Owego Helo Systems division of Lockheed Martin. Onboard sensors include: AN/AAR-47 Missile Approach Warning System by ATK,Raytheon AN/AAS-44 electro-optical system that integrates FLIR and laser rangefinder, AN/ALE-39 decoy dispenser and AN/ALQ-144 infrared jammer by BAE Systems, AN/ALQ-210 electronic support measures system by Lockheed Martin,AN/APS-147 multi-mode radar/IFF interrogator, which during a mid-life technology insertion project is subsequently replaced by AN/APS-153 Multi-Mode Radar with Automatic Radar Periscope Detection and Discrimination (ARPDD) capability, and both radars were developed by Telephonics, a more advanced AN/AQS-22 advanced airborne low-frequency sonar (ALFS) jointly developed by Raytheon & Thales, AN/ARC-210 voice radio by Rockwell Collins, an advanced airborne fleet data link AN/SRQ-4 Hawklink with radio terminal set AN/ARQ-59 radio terminal, both by L3Harris, and LN-100G dual-embedded global positioning system and inertial navigation system by Northrop Grumman Litton division. Beginning in 2020, CAE's MAD-XR has been fielded on MH-60Rs, providing it with a magnetic anomaly detector.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: Offensive capabilities are improved by the addition of new Mk-54 air-launched torpedoes and Hellfire missiles. All Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light (HSL) squadrons that receive the Romeo are redesignated Helicopter, Strike Maritime (HSM) squadrons.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The Navy decided to replace its venerable CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters in 1997. After sea demonstrations by a converted UH-60, the Navy awarded a production contract to Sikorsky for the CH-60S in 1998. The variant first flew on 27 January 2000 and it began flight testing later that year. The CH-60S was redesignated MH-60S in February 2001 to reflect its planned multi-mission use. The MH-60S is based on the UH-60L and has many naval SH-60 features. Unlike all other Navy H-60s, the MH-60S is not based on the original S-70B/SH-60B platform with its forward-mounted twin tail-gear and single starboard sliding cabin door. Instead, the S-model is a hybrid, featuring the main fuselage of the S-70A/UH-60, with large sliding doors on both sides of the cabin and a single aft-mounted tail wheel; and the engines, drivetrain and rotors of the S-70B/SH-60. It also includes the integrated glass cockpit developed by Lockheed Martin for the MH-60R and shares some of the same avionics/weapons systems.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: It is deployed aboard aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, Maritime Sealift Command ships, and fast combat support ships. Its missions include vertical replenishment, medical evacuation, combat search and rescue, anti-surface warfare, maritime interdiction, close air support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and special warfare support. The MH-60S is to deploy with the AQS-20A Mine Detection System and an Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) for identifying submerged objects in coastal waters. It is the first US Navy helicopter to field a glass cockpit, relaying flight information via four digital monitors. The primary means of defense has been with door-mounted machine guns such as the M60D, M240D, or GAU-17/A. A "batwing" Armed Helo Kit based on the Army's UH-60L was developed to accommodate Hellfire missiles, Hydra 70 2.75 inch rockets, or larger guns. The MH-60S can be equipped with a nose-mounted forward looking infrared (FLIR) turret to be used in conjunction with Hellfire missiles; it also carries the ALQ-144 Infrared Jammer.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The MH-60S is unofficially known as the "Knighthawk", referring to the preceding Sea Knight, though "Seahawk" is its official DoD name. A standard crew for the MH-60S is one pilot, one copilot and two tactical aircrewmen depending on mission. With the retirement of the Sea Knight, the squadron designation of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC) was also retired from the Navy. Operating MH-60S squadrons were re-designated Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC). The MH-60S was to be used for mine clearing from littoral combat ships, but testing found it lacks the power to safely tow the detection equipment.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: On 6 August 2014, the U.S. Navy forward deployed the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) to the U.S. 5th Fleet. The ALMDS is a sensor system designed to detect, classify, and localize floating and near-surface moored mines in littoral zones, straits, and choke points. The system is operated from an MH-60S, which gives it a countermine role traditionally handled by the MH-53E Sea Dragon, allowing smaller ships the MH-53E can't operate from to be used in the role. The ALMDS beams a laser into the water to pick up reflections from things it bounces off of, then uses that data to produce a video image for ground personnel to determine if the object is a mine.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The MH-60S will utilize the BAE Systems Archerfish remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to seek out and destroy naval mines from the air. Selected as a concept in 2003 by the Navy as part of the Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS) program and developed since 2007, the Archerfish is dropped into the water from its launch cradle, where its human operator remotely guides it down towards the mine using a fiber optics communications cable that leads back up to the helicopter. Using sonar and low-light video, it locates the mine, and is then instructed to shoot a shaped charge explosive to detonate it. BAE was awarded a contract to build and deliver the ROVs in April 2016.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The Navy received the first production SH-60B in February 1983 and assigned it to squadron HSL-41. The helicopter entered service in 1984, and began its first deployment in 1985.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The SH-60F entered operational service on 22 June 1989 with Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 10 (HS-10) at NAS North Island. SH-60F squadrons planned to shift from the SH-60F to the MH-60S from 2005 to 2011 and were to be redesignated Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC).


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: As one of the two squadrons in the US Navy dedicated to Naval Special Warfare support and combat search and rescue, the HCS-5 Firehawks squadron deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. The squadron completed 900 combat air missions and over 1,700 combat flight hours. The majority of their flights in the Iraqi theater supported special operations ground forces missions.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: A west coast Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 41, received the MH-60R aircraft in December 2005 and began training the first set of pilots. In 2007, the R-model successfully underwent final testing for incorporation into the fleet. In August 2008, the first 11 combat-ready Romeos arrived at HSM-71, a squadron assigned to the carrier . The primary missions of the MH-60R are anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare. According to Lockheed Martin, "secondary missions include search and rescue, vertical replenishment, naval surface fire support, logistics support, personnel transport, medical evacuation and communications and data relay."


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: HSL squadrons in the US have been incrementally transitioning to the MH-60R and have nearly completed the transition. The first MH-60Rs in Japan arrived in October 2012. The recipient was HSM-51, the Navy's forward–deployed LAMPS squadron, home based in Atsugi, Japan. The Warlords transitioned from the SH-60B throughout 2013, and shifted each detachment to the new aircraft as they returned from deployments. HSM-51 will have all MH-60R aircraft at the end of 2013. The Warlords are joined by the Saberhawks of HSM-77.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: On 23 July 2013, Sikorsky delivered the 400th MH-60, an MH-60R, to the U.S. Navy. This included 166 MH-60R versions and 234 MH-60S versions. The MH-60S is in production until 2015 and will total a fleet of 275 aircraft, and the MH-60R is in production until 2017 and will total a fleet of 291 aircraft. The two models have flown 660,000 flight hours. Seahawk helicopters are to remain in Navy service into the 2030s.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The SH-60B Seahawk completed its last active-duty deployment for the U.S. Navy in late April 2015 after a seven-month deployment aboard . After 32 years and over 3.6 million hours of service, the SH-60B was formally retired from U.S. Navy service during a ceremony on 11 May 2015 at Naval Air Station North Island. In late November 2015 returned from its deployment, ending the last active-duty operational deployment of both the SH-60F and HH-60H. The models are to be transferred to other squadrons or placed in storage.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: Spain ordered 12 S-70B Seahawks for its Navy. Spain requested six refurbished SH-60Fs through a Foreign Military Sale in September 2010.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ordered 16 S-70B-2s which were delivered in 1988 and 1989. In December 2017, the S-70B-2s were retired from service. The S-70B-2 had served extensively in the Middle East embarked on the "Adelaide"-class and the "Anzac"-class frigates. 11 S-70B-2 were sold to Skyline Aviation Group. Under Project AIR 9000 Phase 8, the MH-60R competed with the NHIndustries NH90 to replace the S-70B-2. In June 2011, the Defence Minister announced that the MH-60R had been selected to replace the S-70B-2. 24 MH-60Rs were ordered to be equipped with the Mark 54 and the Hellfire with deliveries commencing in mid-2014. The US had approved a Foreign Military Sale of 24 MH-60Rs in July 2010. The first MH-60R was delivered to the RAN in 2013 and the last was delivered in 2016. In 2018, Australia signed a 10-year agreement with the US Navy to support the MH-60R. The Department of Defence in the "2020 Force Structure Plan" reported it planned to expand and rationalise the RAN's MRH-90 Taipan fleet used for support and logistics. In October 2021, the US approved a Foreign Military Sale to Australia of 12 MH-60Rs. In May 2022, the Australian government announced that it would purchase 12 MH-60Rs to replace the MRH-90 fleet. The government placed the order in September 2022.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: The Royal Danish Navy (RDN) put the MH-60R on a short list for a requirement of around 12 new naval helicopters, together with the NH90/NFH, H-92, AW159 and AW101. The Request For Proposal was issued on 30 September 2010. In November 2010, Denmark requested approval for a possible purchase of 12 MH-60Rs through a Foreign Military Sale. In November 2012, Denmark selected 9 MH-60Rs to replace its 7 aging Lynx helicopters. In October 2015, the US Navy accepted two mission ready MH-60R helicopters for Denmark. In October 2018, Lockheed Martin was in the process of delivering the ninth and final MH-60R to Denmark.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: In July 2009, the Republic of Korea requested eight MH-60S helicopters, 16 GE T700-401C engines, and related sensor systems to be sold in a Foreign Military Sale. However, South Korea instead chose the AW159 in January 2013. In July 2010 Tunisia requested 12 refurbished SH-60Fs through a Foreign Military Sale. But the change in government there in January 2011 may interfere with an order. On December 22, 2020, an announcement was made that 12 MH-60Rs would be purchased.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: In 2011, Qatar requested a potential Foreign Military Sale of up to 6 MH-60R helicopters, engines and other associated equipment. In late June 2012, Qatar requested another 22 Seahawks, 12 fitted with the armed helicopter modification kit and T700-401C engines with an option to purchase an additional six Seahawks and more engines.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: In early 2015, Israel ordered eight ex-Navy SH-60Fs to support the expansion of the Israeli Navy surface fleet for ASW, ASuW and SAR roles.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: In 2015, Saudi Arabia requested the sale of ten MH-60R helicopters and associated equipment and support for the Royal Saudi Navy.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: In 2016, Malaysia is considering a purchase of new helicopters for its Royal Malaysian Navy, with the MH-60R Seahawk, AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat, or the Airbus Helicopters H225M under evaluation for the role.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: In April 2018, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced it had received U.S. State Department approval and notified Congress of a possible sale to Mexican Navy of eight MH-60Rs, spare engines, and associated systems. Mexico's president said that he plans to cancel the MH-60 sale to cut government spending.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: In February 2011, India selected the S-70B over the NHIndustries NH90 for an acquisition of 16 multirole helicopters for the Indian Navy to replace its aging Westland Sea King fleet. India selected the Seahawk for procurement in November 2014. In June 2017, India's Ministry of Defence terminated the procurement program over a pricing issue. Then in August 2018, India's Defence Ministry approved the purchase of 24 MH-60R helicopters. In April 2019, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved sale of 24 MH-60R anti-submarine helicopters to India for US$2.6 bn and notified Congress of the proposed sale. India signed a $2.13 billion (Rs 15,157 Crores) contract for the MH-60Rs in February 2020. These helicopters are to aid in detecting and destroying enemy submarines prowling in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). On 16 July 2021, the U.S. Navy handed over the first two MH-60Rs to the Indian Navy at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego.


title: Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

text: In 2022, the Royal Norwegian Airforce is considering the UH-60 as a replacement for the NHIndustries NH90.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: vagina. Vaginal lubrication is always present, but production increases significantly near ovulation and during sexual arousal in anticipation of sexual intercourse. Vaginal dryness is the condition in which this lubrication is insufficient, and sometimes artificial lubricants are used to augment it. Without sufficient lubrication, sexual intercourse can be painful. The vaginal lining has no glands, and therefore the vagina must rely on other methods of lubrication. Plasma from vaginal walls due to vascular engorgement is considered to be the chief lubrication source, and the Bartholin's glands, located slightly below and to the left and right of the introitus (vaginal opening), also secrete mucus to augment vaginal-wall secretions. Near ovulation, cervical mucus provides additional lubrication.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: Vaginal fluid is slightly acidic and can become more acidic with certain sexually transmitted diseases. The normal pH of vaginal fluid is between 3.8 and 4.5, contrasting with male semen which is typically between 7.2 and 7.8 (neutral pH is 7.0).


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: During arousal, vaginal lubrication, also sometimes called "arousal fluid", is produced. This is clear, thin, and slippery. It typically only lasts up to an hour.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: The human vagina is serviced by nerves that respond to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). As a result, VIP induces an increase in vaginal blood flow accompanied by an increase in vaginal lubrication. The findings suggest that VIP may participate in the control of the local physiological changes observed during sexual arousal: genital vasodilation and increase in vaginal lubrication.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: Insufficient lubrication or vaginal dryness can cause dyspareunia, which is a type of sexual pain disorder. While vaginal dryness is considered an indicator for sexual arousal disorder, vaginal dryness may also result from insufficient excitement and stimulation or from hormonal changes caused by menopause (potentially causing atrophic vaginitis), pregnancy, or breast-feeding. Irritation from contraceptive creams and foams can also cause dryness, as can fear and anxiety about sexual intimacy. Vaginal dryness can also be a symptom of Sjögren syndrome (SS), a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the body destroys moisture-producing glands.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: Certain medications, including some over-the-counter antihistamines, as well as life events such as pregnancy, lactation, menopause, aging or diseases such as diabetes, will inhibit lubrication. Medicines with anticholinergic or sympathomimetic effects will dry out the mucosal or "wet" tissues of the vagina. Such medicines include many common drugs for allergenic, cardiovascular, psychiatric, and other medical conditions. Oral contraceptives may also increase or decrease vaginal lubrication.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: Older women produce less vaginal lubrication and reduced estrogen levels may be associated with increased vaginal dryness.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: When a woman is experiencing vaginal dryness before sexual activity, sexual intercourse may be uncomfortable or painful for her. A personal lubricant can be applied to the vaginal opening, the penis, or both, to augment the naturally produced lubrication and prevent or reduce the discomfort or pain. More rarely, a vaginal suppository may be inserted prior to intercourse.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: Oil-based lubricants can weaken latex and reduce the effectiveness of condoms, latex gloves, or dental dams as either forms of birth control or for protection from sexually transmitted diseases, so water- or silicone-based lubricants are often used instead. The use of an artificial lubricant can make sexual intercourse less painful for a woman, but does not address the underlying cause of the vaginal dryness itself.


title: Vaginal lubrication

text: Some people practice dry sex, which involves the removal of vaginal lubrication in some way. The rationale for the practice seems to be for cleansing purposes and to enhance the sexual pleasure of the penetrating partner. However, besides making sexual intercourse painful for the female, the practice is believed to increase the risk of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases for both partners, such as HIV, whose risk of transmission is increased by lacerations in the vaginal tissue resulting from the lack of lubrication.


title: Bridgette Wilson

text: Bridgette Leann Wilson Sampras (born September 25, 1973) is a former American actress, singer, model, and Miss Teen USA award winner. Wilson began her career as an actress after being crowned Miss Teen USA in 1990, playing the character of Lisa Fenimore on the soap opera "Santa Barbara" from April 1992 to January 1993.


title: Bridgette Wilson

text: She appeared in a number of films, including "Last Action Hero" (1993) in her movie debut, "Higher Learning" (1995), "Mortal Kombat" (1995), and "Billy Madison" (1995). She later had roles in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997), "House on Haunted Hill" (1999), "The Wedding Planner" (2001), and "Shopgirl" (2005).


title: Bridgette Wilson

text: Wilson was born and raised in the small coastal town of Gold Beach, Oregon, United States, the daughter of Kathy and Dale Wilson. While in high school, she competed on the school's volleyball team. She was crowned Miss Teen USA in 1990 at the age of 17 in Biloxi, Mississippi, and was the second contender from Oregon to win the crown. She graduated from Gold Beach High School in 1991.


title: Bridgette Wilson

text: After her reign as Miss Teen USA, Wilson became an actress and appeared in "Santa Barbara", Ginger on "Saved By The Bell", "Last Action Hero" (as Jack Slater's daughter Whitney), "Higher Learning" (cameo as a university student), Billy Madison (playing Adam Sandler's character's teacher/girlfriend Veronica Vaughn), "Mortal Kombat" (playing Sonya Blade), "Nixon" (a cameo as a nightclub performer), "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (as Sarah Michelle Gellar's ill-fated elder sister), "House on Haunted Hill" (as Melissa Marr), "Buying the Cow", "The Suburbans", "Love Stinks", "Nevada", "Sweet Evil" (as a psychopathic surrogate mother), "Extreme Ops" (as a world-champion skier), and "The Wedding Planner". Wilson also appeared on an episode of "" as a woman whose husband is killed by a package delivered to their house. Wilson’s last film role before retiring from acting would be "Phantom Punch" (2008).


title: Bridgette Wilson

text: Wilson has starred in "The Rocky Horror Show" (off-Broadway) and was a judge on the 2006 Miss Universe competition. Wilson is also a singer and was featured on Tommy Shane Steiner's debut album "Then Came the Night", performing a spoken-word part in "What We're Gonna Do About It". This song reached number 43 on the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs charts in 2002.


title: Bridgette Wilson

text: Wilson married professional tennis player, Pete Sampras on September 30, 2000 after dating for nine months. On November 21, 2002, their son, Christian Charles Sampras, was born. On July 29, 2005, the couple had their second son, Ryan Nikolaos Sampras. The family resides in Lake Sherwood, California.


title: Olly Alexander

text: Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990) is a British singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of Years & Years and for his performance as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series, "It's a Sin".


title: Olly Alexander

text: Alexander was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. His mother, Vicki Thornton, was one of the founders of the Coleford Music Festival. Alexander attended St John's Primary School in Coleford and Monmouth Comprehensive School. While at Monmouth Comprehensive School, he acted in two school plays: "Guys and Dolls", as Benny, and "The Caucasian Chalk Circle", as the Corporal. After completing his GCSEs, Alexander studied Performing Arts at the Hereford College of Arts. "The New York Times" reported that he wrote his first song on his father's Casio keyboard aged 10. His parents separated when he was 13, and he and his brother Ben, who is autistic, were thereafter brought up solely by his mother.


title: Olly Alexander

text: He obtained the services of an agent when he was 16, while auditioning for a part in British TV series "Skins". In a YouTube video uploaded from NylonMagazineTV, Alexander said he dropped out of the Hereford College of Arts to pursue his acting career as parts were offered, stating: "I started acting when I was young; it just sort of happened. I dropped out of school to work around the world, which was amazing." "I really wanted to become a singer or a musician ... All of a sudden I was an actor. It was never something I'd set my heart on being. I'm still trying to work it out ... I really hated school because I was totally bullied. But you're never bullied in drama class because the weird kids do well in drama class. That's a safe place". Alexander was interviewed about his mental health by "Guardian" columnist Owen Jones. He further expanded on his bullying, bulimia and early life experiences during a 2021 interview in the same publication.


title: Olly Alexander

text: Alexander's acting career began in the film "Summerhill" released in 2008. His next film "Bright Star" was nominated for an Academy Award in the United States for Best Achievement in Costume Design. He acted in the 2009 released films "Tormented" starring Alex Pettyfer and "Enter the Void". In 2010 he played Evan in the Bush Theatre production of The Aliens. Alexander contributed to the script and music for indie film "The Dish & the Spoon," released in early 2011. In 2012, he appeared in the theatre production of "Mercury Fur", taking the part of Naz at The Old Red Lion, Islington.


title: Olly Alexander

text: From March to June 2013, Alexander starred as Peter Pan in the West End play "Peter and Alice" acting alongside Ben Whishaw and Judi Dench. Alexander also had a supporting role in the final series of "Skins", playing Cassie Ainsworth's stalker in the two-part episode "Skins Pure", which aired in July 2013. Also in 2013 Google Analytics released an internal corporate video which features Alexander as a demanding shopper under the sub-heading "That is what happens when you save on usability".


title: Olly Alexander

text: Alexander plays one of the main characters in the 2014 musical feature film "God Help the Girl", where he also sings and plays guitar. The film was written and directed by Stuart Murdoch, the lead singer of the group Belle and Sebastian, as part of the "God Help the Girl" project.


title: Olly Alexander

text: Alexander also appeared in "The Riot Club", the film adaptation of Laura Wade's stage play "Posh" alongside British actors Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. Alexander briefly portrayed the vampire Fenton in the British-American horror series "Penny Dreadful" in episodes aired in 2014.


title: Olly Alexander

text: In the indie film "Funny Bunny", which first premiered at SXSW 2015, Alexander plays Titty, a troubled teenager. The film was directed and written by Alison Bagnall, who directed "The Dish & the Spoon", while Alexander was a co-writer together with the other two leads. The film was shown at art houses during the summer and was theatrically released on 13 November 2015.


title: Olly Alexander

text: In January 2021, Alexander appeared in a leading role in Russell T Davies' Channel 4 and HBO Max drama "It's a Sin", which depicts gay life in the 1980s and early 1990s, and the onset of HIV/AIDS. The show and Alexander's performance earned critical acclaim, with some critics expressing their desire for Alexander to win a BAFTA for his performance.


title: Olly Alexander

text: Years & Years formed in 2010, with Alexander joining the band as lead vocalist after member Mikey Goldsworthy heard him singing in the shower and liked his voice. Alexander's voice has been commented on for its unique tone, with the music being described as "Nina Simone ...crooning a melodic lullaby to the folktronic lovechild of Beach House and Terry Riley".


title: Olly Alexander

text: Their debut single "I Wish I Knew" was released in July 2012 on the Good Bait label, with the band performing as a five-piece group. In 2013, the group signed a deal to the French label Kitsuné as a three-piece and released their second single, called "Traps", in September 2013, which achieved support from Radio 1 and Radio 6, as well as many online publications such as "The Guardian" and "The Fader". "Traps" also features on Kitsuné Maison's 15th compilation.


title: Olly Alexander

text: The band released their second single "Real" on Kitsuné and iTunes in February 2014. The music video featured an appearance from Alexander's "Peter and Alice" co-star, Ben Whishaw, and former "Misfits" actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Telling the story in "The Independent" article of 28 July 2015 of the Ben Whishaw effect (most recent James Bond Q actor), the video received eight and a half million views online, and in 2014 they also changed their record label from the French smaller label Kitsuné to Polydor as they gained prominence. In January 2015, they were announced winners of the BBC's Sound of... vote.


title: Olly Alexander

text: Years & Years' most successful single, "King", released under Polydor, headed straight to number one in the UK Single Chart in March 2015, earning the band national recognition. Their debut studio album, "Communion", was released on 10 July 2015 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1.


title: Olly Alexander

text: As a gay songwriter, Alexander has stated in interviews he would like to see greater use of the qualified male pronoun in music. He explained that when he used to write in a diary, he would refer to "you and I" because he wanted to hide who he was writing about. Several Years & Years songs feature male pronouns. "It is kind of sad to me that we don't have gay popstars singing about men using a male pronoun," he told Digital Spy, "but that could change hopefully." Though his work with Years & Years openly references his sexuality, Alexander "can't speak for all gay people, because there are so many different issues, and experiences, and different shapes and sizes. But I can speak for myself, and that is what I'm doing if I'm going to be writing songs and giving interviews, I want to be able to speak about something I care about."


title: Olly Alexander

text: Years & Years' second studio album, titled "Palo Santo", was released on 6 July 2018 and features hits like "If You're Over Me" and "Sanctify". On 14 August 2018, "If You're Over Me" was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry and announced via the band's Twitter account


title: Olly Alexander

text: In September 2018, Years & Years released the official music video for "All For You", featuring an angelic version of Alexander dancing within an abandoned warehouse before transforming into a demonic version of himself and engaging in a dance-off with an android.


title: Olly Alexander

text: Alexander collaborated with the Pet Shop Boys on their 2019 single 'Dreamland,' and later released a cover of their hit 'It's a Sin' to coincide with his starring role in the drama series of the same name.


title: Olly Alexander

text: In July 2021, Alexander was announced as one of the five musicians hosting BBC Radio 1's "Future Sounds" show for the month of August and early September alongside Arlo Parks, YUNGBLUD, Charli XCX and Tom Grennan. Annie Mac, who hosted "Future Sounds", left the radio station in late July after spending 17 years there.


title: Olly Alexander

text: Through various interviews and charity campaigns, Alexander has promoted safer sex and HIV screening, and anti-LGBT bullying initiatives. He has also spoken openly about his own struggles with depression, self-harm, eating disorders and anxiety from age 13 onwards. He is openly gay, and in 2017, he presented a BBC Three documentary investigating the link between being gay and the development of mental health disorders where he opened up about his bulimia. In 2018, Alexander was part of Sport Relief's attempt to raise awareness of mental health alongside other celebrities Nadiya Hussain and Stephen Fry.


title: Olly Alexander

text: Alexander describes himself as a "real left-winger" and said in 2016 that he "had a crush on" Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.


title: Olly Alexander

text: From May 2015, Alexander was in a relationship with musician Neil Milan Amin-Smith, who was in Clean Bandit. Due to scheduling conflicts whilst on tour and recording, they parted at the end of 2015.