title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock is a cultural, economic, government, and transportation center within Arkansas and the South. Several cultural institutions are in Little Rock, such as the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, in addition to hiking, boating, and other outdoor recreational opportunities. Little Rock's history is available through history museums, historic districts or neighborhoods of Little Rock like the Quapaw Quarter, and historic sites such as Little Rock Central High School. The city is the headquarters of Dillard's, Windstream Communications, Stephens Inc., University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Heifer International, Winrock International, the Clinton Foundation, and the Rose Law Firm. Other corporations, such as Amazon, Dassault Falcon Jet, LM Wind Power, Simmons Bank, Euronet Worldwide, AT&T, and Entergy have large operations in the city. The state government is a large employer, with many offices downtown. Two major Interstate highways, Interstate 30 and Interstate 40, meet in Little Rock, with the Port of Little Rock serving as a shipping hub.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock derives its name from a small rock formation on the south bank of the Arkansas River called the "Little Rock" (French: "La Petite Roche"). The Little Rock was used by early river traffic as a landmark and became a well-known river crossing. The Little Rock is across the river from The Big Rock, a large bluff at the edge of the river, which was once used as a rock quarry.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Archeological artifacts provide evidence of Native Americans inhabiting Central Arkansas for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. The early inhabitants may have been the Folsom people, Bluff Dwellers, and Mississippian culture peoples who built earthwork mounds recorded in 1541 by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Historical tribes of the area are the Caddo, Quapaw, Osage, Choctaw, and Cherokee.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock was named for a stone outcropping on the bank of the Arkansas River used by early travelers as a landmark, which marked the transition from the flat Mississippi Delta region to the Ouachita Mountain foothills. It was named in 1722 by French explorer and trader Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe. Travelers referred to the area as the "Little Rock". Though there was an effort to officially name the city "Arkopolis" upon its founding in the 1820s, and that name did appear on a few maps made by the US Geological Survey, the name Little Rock is eventually what stuck.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.52%) is water.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock is on the south bank of the Arkansas River in Central Arkansas. Fourche Creek and Rock Creek run through the city, and flow into the river. The western part of the city is in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Northwest of the city limits are Pinnacle Mountain and Lake Maumelle, which provides Little Rock's drinking water.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The city of North Little Rock is just across the river from Little Rock, but it is a separate city. North Little Rock was once the 8th ward of Little Rock. An Arkansas Supreme Court decision on February 6, 1904, allowed the ward to merge with the neighboring town of North Little Rock. The merged town quickly renamed itself Argenta (the local name for the former 8th Ward), but returned to its original name in October 1917.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The 2020 U.S. Census population estimate for the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Metropolitan Statistical Area was 748,031. The MSA covers the following counties: Pulaski, Faulkner, Grant, Lonoke, Perry, and Saline. The largest cities are Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Jacksonville, Benton, Sherwood, Cabot, Maumelle, and Bryant.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock lies in the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa), with hot, humid summers and cool winters with usually little snow. It has experienced temperatures as low as , which was recorded on February 12, 1899, and as high as , which was recorded on August 3, 2011.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 202,591 people, 80,063 households, and 45,577 families residing in the city.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: As of the 2005–2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans made up 52.7% of Little Rock's population; of which 49.4% were non-Hispanic Whites, down from 74.1% in 1970. Blacks or African Americans made up 42.1% of Little Rock's population, with 42.0% being non-Hispanic blacks. Native Americans made up 0.4% of Little Rock's population while Asian Americans made up 2.1% of the city's population. Pacific Islander Americans made up less than 0.1% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race made up 1.2% of the city's population; of which 0.2% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from two or more races made up 1.4% of the city's population; of which 1.1% were non-Hispanic. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 4.7% of Little Rock's population.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: As of the 2010 census, there were 193,524 people, 82,018 households, and 47,799 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 91,288 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 48.9% White, 42.3% Black, 0.4% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 6.8% of the population is Hispanic or Latino.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: There were 82,018 households, of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.00.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85 males.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The median income for a household in the city was $37,572, and the median income for a family was $47,446. Males had a median income of $35,689 versus $26,802 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,209. 14.3% of the population is below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 20.9% of those under the age of 18 and 9.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: In the late 1980s, Little Rock experienced a 51% increase in murder arrests of children under 17, and a 40% increase among 18- to 24-year-olds. From 1988 to 1992, murder arrests of youths under 18 increased by 256%. By the end of 1992, Little Rock reached a record of 61 homicides, but in 1993 surpassed it with 76. It was one of the highest per-capita homicide rates in the country, placing Little Rock fifth in Money Magazine's 1994 list of most dangerous cities. In July 2017, a shootout occurred at the Power Ultra Lounge nightclub in downtown Little Rock; although there were no deaths, 28 people were injured and one hospitalized. In 2021, Little Rock saw a decrease in most violent crime, but a 24% increase in homicides from 2020.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Dillard's Department Stores, Windstream Communications and Acxiom, Simmons Bank, Bank of the Ozarks, Rose Law Firm, Central Flying Service, and large brokerage Stephens Inc. are headquartered in Little Rock. Large companies headquartered in other cities but with a large presence in Little Rock are Dassault Falcon Jet (near Little Rock National Airport in the eastern part of the city), Fidelity National Information Services (in northwestern Little Rock), and Welspun Corp (in Southeast Little Rock). Little Rock and its surroundings are home to headquarters for large nonprofit organizations, such as Winrock International, Heifer International, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Clinton Foundation, Lions World Services for the Blind, Clinton Presidential Center, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, FamilyLife, Audubon Arkansas, and The Nature Conservancy. Little Rock is also home to the American Taekwondo Association and Arkansas Hospital Association. Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, Baptist Health Medical Center, Entergy, Dassault Falcon Jet, Siemens, AT&T Mobility, Kroger, Euronet Worldwide, L'Oréal, Timex, and UAMS are employers throughout Little Rock. One of the state's largest public employers, with over 10,552 employees, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and its healthcare partners—Arkansas Children's Hospital and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System—have a total annual economic impact in Arkansas of about $5 billion. UAMS receives less than 11% of its funding from the state; it is funded by payments for clinical services (64%), grants and contracts (18%), philanthropy and other (5%), and tuition and fees (2%). The Little Rock port is an intermodal river port with a large industrial business complex. It is designated as Foreign Trade Zone 14. International corporations such as Danish manufacturer LM Glasfiber have established new facilities adjacent to the port.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Founded in 1976, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is the state's largest nonprofit professional theatre company. A member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT D), The Rep has produced more than 300 productions, including 40 world premieres, in its building in downtown Little Rock. Producing Artistic Director John Miller-Stephany leads a resident staff of designers, technicians and administrators in eight to ten productions for an annual audience in excess of 70,000 for MainStage productions, educational programming and touring. The Rep produces works from contemporary comedies and dramas to world premiers and the classics of dramatic literature.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The Wildwood Park for the Arts is the largest park dedicated to the performing arts in the South; it features seasonal festivals and cultural events.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: "Outside "magazine named Little Rock one of its 2019 Best Places to Live. Little Rock has 48 parks, as well as other recreational sites, including:


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: River Market District – downtown entertainment district consisting of historic buildings along President Clinton Avenue


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The city has operated under the city manager form of government since November 1957. In 1993, voters approved changes from seven at-large city directors (who rated the position of mayor among themselves) to a popularly elected mayor, seven ward directors and three at-large directors. The position of mayor remained a part-time position until August 2007. At that point, voters approved making the mayor's position a full-time position with veto power, while a vice mayor is selected by and among members of the city board. The current mayor, elected in November 2018, is Frank Scott Jr., a former assistant bank executive, pastor and state highway commissioner. The city manager is Bruce T. Moore, the longest-serving city manager in Little Rock history. The city employs over 2,500 people in 14 different departments, including the police department, the fire department, parks and recreation, and the zoo.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Most Pulaski County government offices are in Little Rock, including the Quorum, Circuit, District, and Juvenile Courts; and the Assessor, County Judge, County Attorney, and Public Defender's offices.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Both the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit have judicial facilities in Little Rock. The city is served by the Little Rock Police Department.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock is home to two universities that are part of the University of Arkansas System: the campuses of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences are in the city. UAMS is Arkansas's largest basic and applied research institution, with programs in multiple myeloma, aging, and other areas.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: A pair of smaller, historically black colleges, Arkansas Baptist College and Philander Smith College, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, are also in Little Rock.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Located in downtown is the Clinton School of Public Service, a branch of the University of Arkansas System, which offers master's degrees in public service.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Pulaski Technical College has two locations in Little Rock. The Pulaski Technical College Little Rock-South site houses programs in automotive technology, collision repair technology, commercial driver training, diesel technology, small engine repair technology and motorcycle/all-terrain vehicle repair technology. The Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute and The Finish Line Cafe are also in Little Rock-South.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: There is a Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock associated with the American Baptist Association. The school began as Missionary Baptist College in Sheridan in Grant County.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock is home to both the Arkansas School for the Blind (ASB) and the Arkansas School for the Deaf (ASD), which are state-run schools operated by the Board of Trustees of the ASB–ASD. In addition, eStem Public Charter High School and LISA Academy provide tuition-free public education as charter schools.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The Little Rock School District (LRSD) operates the city's comprehensive public school system. , the district has 64 schools with more schools being built. As of the 2009–2010 school year, the district's enrollment is 25,685. It has 5 high schools, 8 middle schools, 31 elementary schools, 1 early childhood (pre-kindergarten) center, 2 alternative schools, 1 adult education center, 1 accelerated learning center, 1 career-technical center, and about 3,800 employees.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD) serves parts of Little Rock. PCSSD high schools are in the city such as:


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock's Catholic high school for African-Americans, St. Bartholomew High School, closed in 1964. The Catholic grade school St. Bartholomew School, also established for African-Americans, closed in 1974. The Our Lady of Good Counsel School closed in 2006.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The Central Arkansas Library System comprises the main building downtown and numerous branches throughout the city, Jacksonville, Maumelle, Perryville, Sherwood and Wrightsville. The Pulaski County Law Library is at the William H. Bowen School of Law.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock is home to the Arkansas Travelers. They are the AA professional Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the Texas League. The Travelers played their last game in Little Rock at Ray Winder Field on September 3, 2006, and moved into Dickey-Stephens Park in nearby North Little Rock in April 2007.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The Little Rock Rangers soccer club of the National Premier Soccer League played their inaugural seasons in 2016 & 2017 for the men's and women's teams respectively. Home games are played at War Memorial Stadium.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock was also home to the Arkansas Twisters (later Arkansas Diamonds) of Arena Football 2 and Indoor Football League and the Arkansas RimRockers of the American Basketball Association and NBA Development League. Both of these teams played at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The city is also home to the Little Rock Trojans, the athletic program of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The majority of the school's athletic teams are housed in the Jack Stephens Center, which opened in 2005. As of 2022, the Trojans play in the Ohio Valley Conference.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium hosts at least one University of Arkansas Razorback football game each year. The stadium is known for being in the middle of a golf course. Each fall, the city closes the golf course on Razorback football weekends to allow the estimated 80,000 people who attend take part in tailgating activities. War Memorial also hosts the Arkansas High School football state championships, and starting in the fall of 2006 hosts one game apiece for the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Arkansas State University also plays at the stadium from time to time.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock was a host of the First and Second Rounds of the 2008 NCAA men's basketball tournament. It has also been a host of the SEC women's basketball tournament.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The now defunct Arkansas RiverBlades and Arkansas GlacierCats, both minor-league hockey teams, were in the Little Rock area. The GlacierCats of the now defunct Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) played in Little Rock at Barton Coliseum while the RiverBlades of the ECHL played at the Verizon Arena.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock is home to the Grande Maumelle Sailing Club. Established in 1959, the club hosts multiple regattas during the year on both Lake Maumelle and the Arkansas River.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Little Rock is also home to the Little Rock Marathon, held on the first Saturday of March every year since 2003. The marathon features the world's largest medal given to marathon participants.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The "Arkansas Democrat Gazette" is the largest newspaper in the city, as well as the state. As of March 31, 2006, Sunday circulation is 275,991 copies, while daily (Monday-Saturday) circulation is 180,662, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The monthly magazine "Arkansas Life," part of the newspaper's niche publications division, began publication in September 2008. From 2007 to 2015, the newspaper also published the free tabloid "Sync Weekly". Beginning in 2020, the ADG ceased weekday publication of the newspaper and moved to an exclusive online version. The only physical newspaper the Democrat-Gazette now publishes is a Sunday edition.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: The Daily Record provides daily legal and real estate news each weekday. Healthcare news covered by Healthcare Journal of Little Rock. Entertainment and political coverage is provided weekly in "Arkansas Times". Business and economics news is published weekly in Arkansas Business. Entertainment, Political, Business, and Economics news is published Monthly in "Arkansas Talks".


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: In addition to area newspapers, the Little Rock market is served by a variety of magazines covering diverse interests. The publications are:


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Many television networks have local affiliates in Little Rock, in addition to numerous independent stations. As for cable TV services, Comcast has a monopoly over Little Rock and much of Pulaski County. Some suburbs have the option of having Comcast, Charter or other cable companies.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Two primary Interstate Highways and four auxiliary Interstates serve Little Rock. Interstate 40 (I-40) passes through North Little Rock to the north, and I-30 enters the city from the south, ending at I-40 in the north of the Arkansas River. Shorter routes designed to accommodate the flow of urban traffic across town include I-430, which bypasses the city to the west, I-440, which serves the eastern part of Little Rock including Clinton National Airport, and I-630 which runs east–west through the city, connecting west Little Rock with the central business district. I-530 runs southeast to Pine Bluff as a spur route.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: U.S. Route 70 (US 70 parallels I-40 into North Little Rock before multiplexing with I-30 at the Broadway exit (exit 141B). US 67 and US 167 share the same route from the northeast before splitting. US 67 and US 70 multiplex with I-30 to the southwest. US 167 multiplexes with US 65 and I-530 to the southeast.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Amtrak serves the city twice daily via the Texas Eagle, with northbound service to Chicago and southbound service to San Antonio, as well as numerous intermediate points. Through service to Los Angeles and intermediate points operates three times a week. The train carries coaches, a sleeping car, a dining car, and a Sightseer Lounge car. Reservations are required.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Seven airlines serve 14 national/international gateway cities, e.g. Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, Orlando etc. from Clinton National Airport. In 2006 they carried approximately 2.1 million passengers on approximately 116 daily flights to and from Little Rock.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Greyhound Lines serves Dallas and Memphis, as well as intermediate points, with numerous connections to other cities and towns. Jefferson Lines serves Fort Smith, Kansas City, and Oklahoma City, as well as intermediate points, with numerous connections to other cities and towns. These carriers operate out of the North Little Rock bus station.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Rock Region Metro, which until 2015 was named the Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CATA), provide public bus service within the city. As of January 2010, CATA operated 23 regular fixed routes, 3 express routes, as well as special events shuttle buses and paratransit service for disabled persons. Of the 23 fixed-route services, 16 offer daily service, 6 offer weekday service with limited service on Saturday, and one route runs exclusively on weekdays. The three express routes run on weekday mornings and afternoons.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: Since November 2004, Rock Region Metro's Metro Streetcar system (formerly the River Rail Electric Streetcar) has served downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock. The Streetcar is a -long heritage streetcar system that runs from the North Little Rock City Hall and throughout downtown Little Rock before it crosses over to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. The streetcar line has fourteen stops and a fleet of five cars with a daily ridership of around 350.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 82.9 percent of working Little Rock residents commuted by driving alone, 8.9 percent carpooled, 1.1 percent used public transportation, and 1.8 percent walked. About 1.3 percent commuted by all other means of transportation, including taxi, bicycle, and motorcycle. About 4 percent worked out of the home.


title: Little Rock, Arkansas

text: In 2015, 8.2 percent of city of Little Rock households were without a car, which increased slightly to 8.9 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Little Rock averaged 1.58 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.


title: Greville Wynne

text: Greville Maynard Wynne (19 March 1919 – 28 February 1990) was a British engineer and businessman recruited by MI6 because of his frequent travel to Eastern Europe. He acted as a courier to transport top-secret information to London from Soviet agent Oleg Penkovsky.


title: Greville Wynne

text: Wynne and Penkovsky were both arrested by the KGB in October 1962, when some of the information their endeavours produced was of assistance to the West during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They were convicted of espionage. Penkovsky was executed the following year and Wynne was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. He was detained at Lubyanka prison. Struggling with deteriorating health, he was released in 1964 in exchange for the Soviet spy Konon Molody.


title: Greville Wynne

text: Wynne was born in Shropshire, England, and raised in Ystrad Mynach, South Wales. His father was a foreman in an engineering workshop. He struggled with dyslexia and left school at 14 to work for an electrical contractor. He then worked at a telephone factory as an apprentice.


title: Greville Wynne

text: After the Second World War, he traded in electrical equipment, travelling often through Europe and India. Wynne married Sheila Beaton in 1946; the couple had a son, Andrew, born in 1952. His business extended into Eastern Bloc countries from 1955.


title: Greville Wynne

text: In November 1960, Wynne was recruited by MI6 and asked to make a sales trip to Moscow, where he made contact with Oleg Penkovsky, a high-ranking GRU officer. Penkovsky had made earlier offers to spy for the West. Wynne later became an intermediary and courier for Penkovsky, smuggling top-secret Soviet intelligence to London on return from his frequent trips to the USSR.


title: Greville Wynne

text: Wynne‘s and Penkovsky's espionage activities were discovered by the KGB. Both men were arrested in October 1962, around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Wynne and Penkovsky each pleaded guilty on 7 May 1963 and were sentenced four days later. Wynne was sentenced to eight years in prison. Penkovsky was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad, though Wynne believed he died by suicide in prison.


title: Greville Wynne

text: Wynne was held at the Lubyanka. In April 1964, amid British concerns for his deteriorating health, Wynne was released in exchange for the Soviet spy Konon Molody (also known as Gordon Lonsdale).


title: Greville Wynne

text: After his release, Wynne returned to his business career. He and his wife Sheila divorced and Wynne became estranged from his son and only child Andrew. In 1970 Wynne married Johanna Herma Van Buren. The couple separated a few years before his death but were still legally married when he died.


title: Greville Wynne

text: On 23 May 1966, he appeared as himself in an episode of the American television series "To Tell the Truth", receiving two of four possible votes.


title: Greville Wynne

text: Wynne struggled with depression and alcoholism in the aftermath of imprisonment. He died of throat cancer at the Cromwell Hospital in London on 28 February 1990, aged 70.


title: Greville Wynne

text: Later in life, Wynne wrote two books about his work for British intelligence: "The Man from Moscow" (1967) and "The Man from Odessa" (1981). In these books, Wynne claimed to have been recruited by MI5 as early as World War II, long before his work with Penkovsky. Historians question this account. The authors of "The Spy Who Saved the World" wrote, “He [Wynne] had no previous intelligence experience or training.” Others have made similar assessments, stating that Wynne was a civilian at the time of his recruitment by MI6 in 1960.


title: Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces

text: The United States Armed Forces awards and decorations are primarily the medals, service ribbons, and specific badges which recognize military service and personal accomplishments while a member of the U.S. Armed Forces. Such awards are a means to outwardly display the highlights of a service member's career.


text: The precedence of particular awards will vary slightly among the different branches of service. All awards and decorations may be awarded to any service member unless otherwise designated by name or notation.


text: Note: The precedence of the Purple Heart was immediately before the Good Conduct Medals until changed to its current precedence in 1985.


text: To denote additional achievements or multiple awards of the same decoration, the United States military maintains a number of award devices which are pinned to service ribbons and medals.


text: U.S. military personnel having received these awards have participated within these areas of combat/conflict during the time these awards were given to U.S. service members. Such awards have since been discontinued or are no longer applicable in terms of receiving these commendations.


text: The following decorations were designed for issuance with an approved medal, but were either never officially approved for presentation or were discontinued before a first award could be made.


text: Single service awards were official military decorations created as one time awards to recognize a single event. The first such single service award was issued during the Spanish–American War by the Revenue Cutter Service to honor the actions of the vessel USRC "Hudson" during the Battle of Cárdenas. The last single service award was issued in 1960 when Congress authorized the awarding of the Four Chaplains' Medal recognizing the Four Chaplains who died together during World War II. There have been no single service awards issued since by the U.S. military, mainly due to the decline and complications of awarding commemorative service medals.


text: Unofficial decorations are those military awards created and issued by local commanders. In most cases, unofficial awards were designed to commemorate a specific battle or engagement of a commander's unit. The most well known unofficial awards were issued during the American Civil War.


text: After the Civil War, stricter military regulations prohibited local commanders from issuing awards and the practice had fallen into disuse by the 20th century. Even so, the Department of Defense has stated that large numbers of unofficial medals were privately issued to members of the Armed Forces of the United States for many years after the Civil War, mostly to commemorate specific battles, events, or as private veteran memorabilia. One of the more well known is the Walter Reed Medal (recognized today as a Congressional Gold Medal), awarded for exploratory scientific achievement in the field of malaria treatment. While presented as a gold medallion, members of the military were reported to wear a red ribbon on their uniforms to denote the decoration.


text: Foreign and international decorations are authorized for wear on United States military uniforms by the Department of Defense in accordance with established regulations for the receipt of such awards as outlined by the State Department. In the case of foreign decorations, the awards may be divided into senior service decorations (awarded only to high ranking U.S. officers), heroic decorations for valor, and foreign service decorations.


text: There are hundreds of foreign and international awards which have been approved for issuance to United States military personnel since World War I, the following being among the more common.


text: During the First and Second World Wars, the Croix de Guerre medals of France and Belgium, as well as the French Military Medal and Luxembourg War Cross, were further issued as unit citation cords, known as "Fourragère". Service members could receive both the individual award and the unit cord; in the case of the later, the unit citation could either be worn temporarily while a member of the unit or permanently if the service member was present during the actual battle which warranted the unit citation. A further unit citation cord of the Order of William of the Netherlands was also issued during World War II, and was far more commonly known as the "Orange Lanyard".


text: As of 2002, South Korea has again issued the Korean Presidential Unit Citation to certain units of the United States Marine Corps, thus placing this previously obsolete foreign award back on the active order of precedence for U.S. decorations. Apart from this one decoration, most 21st century foreign military awards are reserved for only the most senior flag and general officers and then only presented as "end of tour" decorations upon transfer from a major command.


title: Ensemble cast

text: In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.


title: Ensemble cast

text: In contrast to the popular model, which gives precedence to a sole protagonist, an ensemble cast leans more towards a sense of "collectivity and community".


title: Ensemble cast

text: Ensemble casts in film were introduced as early as September 1916, with D. W. Griffith's silent epic film "Intolerance", featuring four separate though parallel plots. The film follows the lives of several characters over hundreds of years, across different cultures and time periods. The unification of different plot lines and character arcs is a key characteristic of ensemble casting in film; whether it's a location, event, or an overarching theme that ties the film and characters together.


title: Ensemble cast

text: Films that feature ensembles tend to emphasize the interconnectivity of the characters, even when the characters are strangers to one another. The interconnectivity is often shown to the audience through examples of the "six degrees of separation" theory, and allows them to navigate through plot lines using cognitive mapping. Examples of this method, where the six degrees of separation is evident in films with an ensemble cast, are in productions such as "Love Actually," "Crash", and "Babel", which all have strong underlying themes interwoven within the plots that unify each film.


title: Ensemble cast

text: "The Avengers", "X-Men", and "Justice League" are three examples of ensemble casts in the superhero genre. In "The Avengers", there is no need for a single central protagonist as each character shares equal importance in the narrative, successfully balancing the ensemble cast. Referential acting is a key factor in executing this balance, as ensemble cast members "play off each other rather than off reality".


title: Ensemble cast

text: Hollywood movies with ensemble casts tend to use numerous actors of high renown and/or prestige, instead of one or two "big stars" and a lesser-known supporting cast.


title: Ensemble cast

text: Ensemble casting also became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on different characters in different episodes. In addition, the departure of players is less disruptive than would be the case with a regularly structured cast. The television series "The Golden Girls" and "Friends" are archetypal examples of ensemble casts in American sitcoms. The science-fiction mystery drama "Lost" features an ensemble cast. Ensemble casts of 20 or more actors are common in soap operas, a genre that relies heavily on the character development of the ensemble. The genre also requires continuous expansion of the cast as the series progresses, with soap operas such as "General Hospital", "Days of Our Lives" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" staying on air for decades.


title: Ensemble cast

text: An example of a success for television in ensemble casting is the Emmy Award-winning HBO series "Game of Thrones". The fantasy series features one of the largest ensemble casts on the small screen. The series is notorious for major character deaths, resulting in constant changes within the ensemble.


title: Pantheism

text: Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has existed since the beginning of time, or that all things compose an all-encompassing, immanent god or goddess and regards the universe as a manifestation of a deity. This includes all astronomical objects being viewed as part of a sole deity.


title: Pantheism

text: Pantheist belief does not recognize a distinct personal god, anthropomorphic or otherwise, but instead characterizes a broad range of doctrines differing in forms of relationships between reality and divinity. Pantheistic concepts date back thousands of years, and pantheistic elements have been identified in various religious traditions. The term "pantheism" was coined by mathematician Joseph Raphson in 1697 and has since been used to describe the beliefs of a variety of people and organizations.


title: Pantheism

text: Pantheism was popularized in Western culture as a theology and philosophy based on the work of the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza, in particular, his book "Ethics". A pantheistic stance was also taken in the 16th century by philosopher and cosmologist Giordano Bruno.


title: Pantheism

text: "Pantheism" derives from the Greek word πᾶν "pan" (meaning "all, of everything") and θεός "theos" (meaning "god, divine"). The first known combination of these roots appears in Latin, in Joseph Raphson's 1697 book "De Spatio Reali seu Ente Infinito", where he refers to the "pantheismus" of Spinoza and others.


title: Pantheism

text: There are numerous definitions of pantheism. Some consider it a theological and philosophical position concerning God.


title: Pantheism

text: A doctrine which identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.


title: Pantheism

text: Pantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing, immanent God. All forms of reality may then be considered either modes of that Being, or identical with it. Some hold that pantheism is a non-religious philosophical position. To them, pantheism is the view that the Universe (in the sense of the totality of all existence) and God are identical.


title: Pantheism

text: Early traces of pantheist thought can be found within animistic beliefs and tribal religions throughout the world as an expression of unity with the divine, specifically in beliefs that have no central polytheist or monotheist personas. Hellenistic theology makes early recorded reference to pantheism within the ancient Greek religion of Orphism, where "pan" (the all) is made cognate with the creator God Phanes (symbolizing the universe), and with Zeus, after the swallowing of Phanes.


title: Pantheism

text: Pantheistic tendencies existed in a number of Gnostic groups, with pantheistic thought appearing throughout the Middle Ages. These included a section of Johannes Scotus Eriugena's 9th-century work "De divisione naturae" and the beliefs of mystics such as Amalric of Bena (11th12th centuries) and Eckhart (12th13th).


title: Pantheism

text: The Catholic Church has long regarded pantheistic ideas as heresy. Sebastian Franck was considered an early Pantheist. Giordano Bruno, an Italian friar who evangelized about a transcendent and infinite God, was burned at the stake in 1600 by the Roman Inquisition. He has since become known as a celebrated pantheist and martyr of science.


title: Pantheism

text: In the West, pantheism was formalized as a separate theology and philosophy based on the work of the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza. Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese descent raised in the Sephardi Jewish community in Amsterdam. He developed highly controversial ideas regarding the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of the Divine, and was effectively excluded from Jewish society at age 23, when the local synagogue issued a "herem" against him. A number of his books were published posthumously, and shortly thereafter included in the Catholic Church's "Index of Forbidden Books". The breadth and importance of Spinoza's work would not be realized for many years – as the groundwork for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe.


title: Pantheism

text: In the posthumous "Ethics", "Spinoza wrote the last indisputable Latin masterpiece, and one in which the refined conceptions of medieval philosophy are finally turned against themselves and destroyed entirely." In particular, he opposed René Descartes' famous mind–body dualism, the theory that the body and spirit are separate. Spinoza held the monist view that the two are the same, and monism is a fundamental part of his philosophy. He was described as a "God-intoxicated man," and used the word God to describe the unity of all substance. This view influenced philosophers such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who said, "You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all."


title: Pantheism

text: Spinoza earned praise as one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy and one of Western philosophy's most important thinkers. Although the term "pantheism" was not coined until after his death, he is regarded as the most celebrated advocate of the concept. "Ethics" was the major source from which Western pantheism spread.


title: Pantheism

text: Heinrich Heine, in his "Concerning the History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany" (1833–36), remarked that "I don't remember now where I read that Herder once exploded peevishly at the constant preoccupation with Spinoza, "If Goethe would only for once pick up some other Latin book than Spinoza!" But this applies not only to Goethe; quite a number of his friends, who later became more or less well-known as poets, paid homage to pantheism in their youth, and this doctrine flourished actively in German art before it attained supremacy among us as a philosophic theory."


title: Pantheism

text: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe rejected Jacobi’s personal belief in God as the "hollow sentiment of a child’s brain" (Goethe 15/1: 446) and, in the "Studie nach Spinoza" (1785/86), proclaimed the identity of existence and wholeness. When Jacobi speaks of Spinoza’s "fundamentally stupid universe" (Jacobi [31819] 2000: 312), Goethe praises nature as his "idol" (Goethe 14: 535).


title: Pantheism

text: In their "The Holy Family" (1844) Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels note, "Spinozism dominated the eighteenth century both in its later French variety, which made matter into substance, and in deism, which conferred on matter a more spiritual name... Spinoza's French school and the supporters of deism were but two sects disputing over the true meaning of his system..."


title: Pantheism

text: In George Henry Lewes's words (1846), "Pantheism is as old as philosophy. It was taught in the old Greek schools — by Plato, by St. Augustine, and by the Jews. Indeed, one may say that Pantheism, under one of its various shapes, is the necessary consequence of all metaphysical inquiry, when pushed to its logical limits; and from this reason do we find it in every age and nation. The dreamy contemplative Indian, the quick versatile Greek, the practical Roman, the quibbling Scholastic, the ardent Italian, the lively Frenchman, and the bold Englishman, have all pronounced it as the final truth of philosophy. Wherein consists Spinoza's originality? — what is his merit? — are natural questions, when we see him only lead to the same result as others had before proclaimed. His merit and originality consist in the systematic exposition and development of that doctrine — in his hands, for the first time, it assumes the aspect of a science. The Greek and Indian Pantheism is a vague fanciful doctrine, carrying with it no scientific conviction; it may be true — it looks true — but the proof is wanting. But with Spinoza there is no choice: if you understand his terms, admit the possibility of his science, and seize his meaning; you can no more doubt his conclusions than you can doubt Euclid; no mere opinion is possible, conviction only is possible."


title: Pantheism

text: S. M. Melamed (1933) noted, "It may be observed, however, that Spinoza was not the first prominent monist and pantheist in modern Europe. A generation before him Bruno conveyed a similar message to humanity. Yet Bruno is merely a beautiful episode in the history of the human mind, while Spinoza is one of its most potent forces. Bruno was a rhapsodist and a poet, who was overwhelmed with artistic emotions; Spinoza, however, was spiritus purus and in his method the prototype of the philosopher."


title: Pantheism

text: The first known use of the term "pantheism" was in Latin ("pantheismus" ) by the English mathematician Joseph Raphson in his work "De Spatio Reali seu Ente Infinito", published in 1697. Raphson begins with a distinction between atheistic "panhylists" (from the Greek roots "pan", "all", and "hyle", "matter"), who believe everything is matter, and Spinozan "pantheists" who believe in "a certain universal substance, material as well as intelligence, that fashions all things that exist out of its own essence." Raphson thought that the universe was immeasurable in respect to a human's capacity of understanding, and believed that humans would never be able to comprehend it. He referred to the pantheism of the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Syrians, Assyrians, Greek, Indians, and Jewish Kabbalists, specifically referring to Spinoza.


title: Pantheism

text: The term was first used in English by a translation of Raphson's work in 1702. It was later used and popularized by Irish writer John Toland in his work of 1705 "Socinianism Truly Stated, by a pantheist". Toland was influenced by both Spinoza and Bruno, and had read Joseph Raphson's "De Spatio Reali", referring to it as "the ingenious Mr. Ralphson's (sic) Book of Real Space". Like Raphson, he used the terms "pantheist" and "Spinozist" interchangeably. In 1720 he wrote the "Pantheisticon: or The Form of Celebrating the Socratic-Society" in Latin, envisioning a pantheist society that believed, "All things in the world are one, and one is all in all things ... what is all in all things is God, eternal and immense, neither born nor ever to perish." He clarified his idea of pantheism in a letter to Gottfried Leibniz in 1710 when he referred to "the pantheistic opinion of those who believe in no other eternal being but the universe".


title: Pantheism

text: In the mid-eighteenth century, the English theologian Daniel Waterland defined pantheism this way: "It supposes God and nature, or God and the whole universe, to be one and the same substance—one universal being; insomuch that men's souls are only modifications of the divine substance." In the early nineteenth century, the German theologian Julius Wegscheider defined pantheism as the belief that God and the world established by God are one and the same.


title: Pantheism

text: Between 1785–89, a major controversy about Spinoza's philosophy arose between the German philosophers Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (a critic) and Moses Mendelssohn (a defender). Known in German as the "Pantheismusstreit" (pantheism controversy), it helped spread pantheism to many German thinkers. A 1780 conversation with the German dramatist Gotthold Ephraim Lessing led Jacobi to a protracted study of Spinoza's works. Lessing stated that he knew no other philosophy than Spinozism. Jacobi's "Über die Lehre des Spinozas" (1st ed. 1785, 2nd ed. 1789) expressed his strenuous objection to a dogmatic system in philosophy, and drew upon him the enmity of the Berlin group, led by Mendelssohn. Jacobi claimed that Spinoza's doctrine was pure materialism, because all Nature and God are said to be nothing but extended substance. This, for Jacobi, was the result of Enlightenment rationalism and it would finally end in absolute atheism. Mendelssohn disagreed with Jacobi, saying that pantheism shares more characteristics of theism than of atheism. The entire issue became a major intellectual and religious concern for European civilization at the time.


title: Pantheism

text: Willi Goetschel argues that Jacobi's publication significantly shaped Spinoza's wide reception for centuries following its publication, obscuring the nuance of Spinoza's philosophic work.


title: Pantheism

text: During the beginning of the 19th century, pantheism was the viewpoint of many leading writers and philosophers, attracting figures such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge in Britain; Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Schelling and Hegel in Germany; Knut Hamsun in Norway; and Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau in the United States. Seen as a growing threat by the Vatican, in 1864 it was formally condemned by Pope Pius IX in the "Syllabus of Errors".


title: Pantheism

text: A letter written in 1886 by William Herndon, Abraham Lincoln's law partner, was sold at auction for US$30,000 in 2011. In it, Herndon writes of the U.S. President's evolving religious views, which included pantheism.


title: Pantheism

text: The subject is understandably controversial, but the content of the letter is consistent with Lincoln's fairly lukewarm approach to organized religion.


title: Pantheism

text: Some 19th-century theologians thought that various pre-Christian religions and philosophies were pantheistic. They thought Pantheism was similar to the ancient Hindu philosophy of Advaita (non-dualism) to the extent that the 19th-century German Sanskritist Theodore Goldstücker remarked that Spinoza's thought was "... a western system of philosophy which occupies a foremost rank amongst the philosophies of all nations and ages, and which is so exact a representation of the ideas of the Vedanta, that we might have suspected its founder to have borrowed the fundamental principles of his system from the Hindus."


title: Pantheism

text: 19th-century European theologians also considered Ancient Egyptian religion to contain pantheistic elements and pointed to Egyptian philosophy as a source of Greek Pantheism. The latter included some of the Presocratics, such as Heraclitus and Anaximander. The Stoics were pantheists, beginning with Zeno of Citium and culminating in the emperor-philosopher Marcus Aurelius. During the pre-Christian Roman Empire, Stoicism was one of the three dominant schools of philosophy, along with Epicureanism and Neoplatonism. The early Taoism of Laozi and Zhuangzi is also sometimes considered pantheistic, although it could be more similar to Panentheism.


title: Pantheism

text: Cheondoism, which arose in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, and Won Buddhism are also considered pantheistic. The Realist Society of Canada believes that the consciousness of the self-aware universe is reality, which is an alternative view of Pantheism.


title: Pantheism

text: In a letter written to Eduard Büsching (25 October 1929), after Büsching sent Albert Einstein a copy of his book "Es gibt keinen Gott" ("There is no God"), Einstein wrote, "We followers of Spinoza see our God in the wonderful order and lawfulness of all that exists and in its soul ["Beseeltheit"] as it reveals itself in man and animal." According to Einstein, the book only dealt with the concept of a personal god and not the impersonal God of pantheism. In a letter written in 1954 to philosopher Eric Gutkind, Einstein wrote "the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses." In another letter written in 1954 he wrote "I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly." In "Ideas And Opinions", published a year before his death, Einstein stated his precise conception of the word God:


title: Pantheism

text: Scientific research can reduce superstition by encouraging people to think and view things in terms of cause and effect. Certain it is that a conviction, akin to religious feeling, of the rationality and intelligibility of the world lies behind all scientific work of a higher order. [...] This firm belief, a belief bound up with a deep feeling, in a superior mind that reveals itself in the world of experience, represents my conception of God. In common parlance this may be described as "pantheistic" (Spinoza).


title: Pantheism

text: In the late 20th century, some declared that pantheism was an underlying theology of Neopaganism, and pantheists began forming organizations devoted specifically to pantheism and treating it as a separate religion.


title: Pantheism

text: Dorion Sagan, son of scientist and science communicator Carl Sagan, published the 2007 book "Dazzle Gradually: Reflections on the Nature of Nature", co-written with his mother Lynn Margulis. In the chapter "Truth of My Father", Sagan writes that his "father believed in the God of Spinoza and Einstein, God not behind nature, but as nature, equivalent to it."


title: Pantheism

text: In 2009, pantheism was mentioned in a Papal encyclical and in a statement on New Year's Day, 2010, criticizing pantheism for denying the superiority of humans over nature and seeing the source of man salvation in nature.


title: Pantheism

text: In 2015 The Paradise Project, an organization "dedicated to celebrating and spreading awareness about pantheism," commissioned Los Angeles muralist Levi Ponce to paint the 75-foot mural in Venice, California near the organization's offices. The mural depicts Albert Einstein, Alan Watts, Baruch Spinoza, Terence McKenna, Carl Jung, Carl Sagan, Emily Dickinson, Nikola Tesla, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ralph Waldo Emerson, W.E.B. Du Bois, Henry David Thoreau, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Rumi, Adi Shankara, and Laozi.


title: Pantheism

text: There are multiple varieties of pantheism and various systems of classifying them relying upon one or more spectra or in discrete categories.


title: Pantheism

text: The philosopher Charles Hartshorne used the term Classical Pantheism to describe the deterministic philosophies of Baruch Spinoza, the Stoics, and other like-minded figures. Pantheism (All-is-God) is often associated with monism (All-is-One) and some have suggested that it logically implies determinism (All-is-Now). Albert Einstein explained theological determinism by stating, "the past, present, and future are an 'illusion'". This form of pantheism has been referred to as "extreme monism", in which in the words of one commentator "God decides or determines everything, including our supposed decisions." Other examples of determinism-inclined pantheisms include those of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Hegel.


title: Pantheism

text: However, some have argued against treating every meaning of "unity" as an aspect of pantheism, and there exist versions of pantheism that regard determinism as an inaccurate or incomplete view of nature. Examples include the beliefs of John Scotus Eriugena, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and William James.


title: Pantheism

text: It may also be possible to distinguish two types of pantheism, one being more religious and the other being more philosophical. The Columbia Encyclopedia writes of the distinction:


title: Pantheism

text: In 1896, J. H. Worman, a theologian, identified seven categories of pantheism: Mechanical or materialistic (God the mechanical unity of existence); Ontological (fundamental unity, Spinoza); Dynamic; Psychical (God is the soul of the world); Ethical (God is the universal moral order, Fichte); Logical (Hegel); and Pure (absorption of God into nature, which Worman equates with atheism).


title: Pantheism

text: In 1984, Paul D. Feinberg, professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, also identified seven: Hylozoistic; Immanentistic; Absolutistic monistic; Relativistic monistic; Acosmic; Identity of opposites; and Neoplatonic or emanationistic.


title: Pantheism

text: According to censuses of 2011, the UK was the country with the most Pantheists. As of 2011, about 1,000 Canadians identified their religion as "Pantheist", representing 0.003% of the population. In Ireland, Pantheism rose from 202 in 1991, to 1106 in 2002, to 1,691 in 2006, 1,940 in 2011. In New Zealand, there was exactly one pantheist man in 1901. By 1906, the number of pantheists in New Zealand had septupled to 7 (6 male, 1 female). This number had further risen to 366 by 2006.


title: Pantheism

text: In Canada (2011), The age group with the most pantheists was age 55 to 64. The age group with the least pantheists was children and adolescents aged under 15, who were 0.0005% pantheist - 9 times less likely to be pantheist than people aged 55 to 64. In Canada, there was no significant sex difference between men and women. However, in Ireland (2011), Pantheists were more likely to be female (1074 pantheists, 0.046% of women) than male (866 pantheists, 0.038% of men).


title: Pantheism

text: Nature worship or nature mysticism is often conflated and confused with pantheism. It is pointed out by at least one expert, Harold Wood, founder of the Universal Pantheist Society, that in pantheist philosophy Spinoza's identification of God with nature is very different from a recent idea of a self identifying pantheist with environmental ethical concerns. His use of the word nature to describe his worldview may be vastly different from the "nature" of modern sciences. He and other nature mystics who also identify as pantheists use "nature" to refer to the limited natural environment (as opposed to man-made built environment). This use of "nature" is different from the broader use from Spinoza and other pantheists describing natural laws and the overall phenomena of the physical world. Nature mysticism may be compatible with pantheism but it may also be compatible with theism and other views. Pantheism has also been involved in animal worship especially in primal religions.


title: Pantheism

text: Nontheism is an umbrella term which has been used to refer to a variety of religions not fitting traditional theism, and under which pantheism has been included.


title: Pantheism

text: Panentheism (from Greek πᾶν (pân) "all"; ἐν (en) "in"; and θεός (theós) "God"; "all-in-God") was formally coined in Germany in the 19th century in an attempt to offer a philosophical synthesis between traditional theism and pantheism, stating that God is substantially omnipresent in the physical universe but also exists "apart from" or "beyond" it as its Creator and Sustainer. Thus panentheism separates itself from pantheism, positing the extra claim that God exists above and beyond the world as we know it. The line between pantheism and panentheism can be blurred depending on varying definitions of God, so there have been disagreements when assigning particular notable figures to pantheism or panentheism.


title: Pantheism

text: Pandeism is another word derived from pantheism, and is characterized as a combination of reconcilable elements of pantheism and deism. It assumes a Creator-deity that is at some point distinct from the universe and then transforms into it, resulting in a universe similar to the pantheistic one in present essence, but differing in origin.


title: Pantheism

text: Panpsychism is the philosophical view held by many pantheists that consciousness, mind, or soul is a universal feature of all things. Some pantheists also subscribe to the distinct philosophical views hylozoism (or panvitalism), the view that everything is alive, and its close neighbor animism, the view that everything has a soul or spirit.


title: Pantheism

text: Many traditional and folk religions including African traditional religions and Native American religions can be seen as pantheistic, or a mixture of pantheism and other doctrines such as polytheism and animism. According to pantheists, there are elements of pantheism in some forms of Christianity.


title: Pantheism

text: Ideas resembling pantheism existed in Eastern religions before the 18th century (notably Sikhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Taoism). Although there is no evidence that these influenced Spinoza's work, there is such evidence regarding other contemporary philosophers, such as Leibniz, and later Voltaire. In the case of Hinduism, pantheistic views exist alongside panentheistic, polytheistic, monotheistic, and atheistic ones. In the case of Sikhism, stories attributed to Guru Nanak suggest that he believed God was everywhere in the physical world, and the Sikh tradition typically describes God as the preservative force within the physical world, present in all material forms, each created as a manifestation of God. However, Sikhs view God as the transcendent creator, "immanent in the phenomenal reality of the world in the same way in which an artist can be said to be present in his art". This implies a more panentheistic position.


title: Pantheism

text: Pantheism is popular in modern spirituality and new religious movements, such as Neopaganism and Theosophy. Two organizations that specify the word pantheism in their title formed in the last quarter of the 20th century. The Universal Pantheist Society, open to all varieties of pantheists and supportive of environmental causes, was founded in 1975. The World Pantheist Movement is headed by Paul Harrison, an environmentalist, writer and a former vice president of the Universal Pantheist Society, from which he resigned in 1996. The World Pantheist Movement was incorporated in 1999 to focus exclusively on promoting naturalistic pantheism – a strict metaphysical naturalistic version of pantheism, considered by some a form of religious naturalism. It has been described as an example of "dark green religion" with a focus on environmental ethics.


title: Canada goose

text: The Canada goose (Branta canadensis), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe. It has been introduced to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; often found on or close to fresh water, the Canada goose is also common in brackish marshes, estuaries, and lagoons.


title: Canada goose

text: Extremely adept at living in human-altered areas, Canada geese have established breeding colonies in urban and cultivated habitats, which provide food and few natural predators. The success of this common park species has led to its often being considered a pest species because of its excrement, its depredation of crops, its noise, its aggressive territorial behavior toward both humans and other animals, and its habit of stalking and begging for food, the latter a result of humans disobeying artificial feeding policies toward wild animals.


title: Canada goose

text: The Canada goose was one of the many species described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work "Systema Naturae". It belongs to the "Branta" genus of geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the gray species of the genus "Anser".


title: Canada goose

text: "Branta" was a Latinized form of Old Norse , "burnt (black) goose" and the specific epithet "canadensis" is a New Latin word meaning "from Canada". According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the first citation for the 'Canada goose' dates back to 1772. The Canada goose is also colloquially referred to as the "Canadian goose". This name may annoy some birders.


title: Canada goose

text: The cackling goose was originally considered to be the same species or several subspecies of the Canada goose, but in July 2004, the American Ornithologists' Union's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature split them into two species, making the cackling goose into a full species with the scientific name "Branta hutchinsii". The British Ornithologists' Union followed suit in June 2005.


title: Canada goose

text: The AOU has divided the many subspecies between the two species. The subspecies of the Canada goose were listed as:


title: Canada goose

text: The distinctions between the two geese have led to confusion and debate among ornithologists. This has been aggravated by the overlap between the small types of Canada goose and larger types of cackling goose. The old "lesser Canada geese" were believed to be a partly hybrid population, with the birds named "B. c. taverneri" considered a mixture of "B. c. minima", "B. c. occidentalis", and "B. c. parvipes". The holotype specimen of "taverneri" is a straightforward large pale cackling goose however, and hence the taxon is still valid today and was renamed "Taverner's cackling goose".


title: Canada goose

text: In addition, the barnacle goose ("B. leucopsis") was determined to be a derivative of the cackling goose lineage, whereas the Hawaiian goose ("B. sandvicensis") originated from ancestral Canada geese. Thus, the species' distinctness is well evidenced. Ornithologist Harold C. Hanson, who had rediscovered wild populations of the Giant Canada Goose, proposed splitting Canada and cackling goose into six species and 200 subspecies. The radical nature of this proposal has been controversial; Richard Banks of the AOU urges caution before any of Hanson's proposals are accepted. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature has suppressed Hanson's proposals, based on the criticisms of Banks and other ornithologists.


title: Canada goose

text: The black head and neck with a white "chinstrap" distinguish the Canada goose from all other goose species, with the exception of the cackling goose and barnacle goose (the latter, however, has a black breast and gray rather than brownish body plumage).


title: Canada goose

text: The seven subspecies of this bird vary widely in size and plumage details, but all are recognizable as Canada geese. Some of the smaller races can be hard to distinguish from the cackling goose, which slightly overlap in mass. However, most subspecies of the cackling goose (exclusive of Richardson's cackling goose, "B. h. hutchinsii") are considerably smaller. The smallest cackling goose, "B. h. minima", is scarcely larger than a mallard. In addition to the size difference, cackling geese also have a shorter neck and smaller bill, which can be useful when small Canada geese comingle with relatively large cackling geese. Of the "true geese" (i.e., the genera "Anser" and "Branta"), the Canada goose is on average the largest living species, although some other species that are geese in name, if not of close relation to these genera, are on average heavier, such as the spur-winged goose and Cape Barren goose.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese range from in length and have a wingspan. Among standard measurements, the wing chord can range from , the tarsus can range from and the bill can range from . The largest subspecies is "B. c. maxima", or the giant Canada goose, and the smallest (with the separation of the cackling goose group) is "B. c. parvipes", or the lesser Canada goose. An exceptionally large male of race "B. c. maxima", which rarely exceed , weighed and had a wingspan of . This specimen is the largest wild goose ever recorded of any species.


title: Canada goose

text: The male Canada goose usually weighs , averaging amongst all subspecies . The female looks virtually identical, but is slightly lighter at , averaging amongst all subspecies , and generally 10% smaller in linear dimensions than the male counterparts. The "honk" refers to the call of the male Canada goose, while the call refers to the female goose. The calls are similar, however, the is shorter and more high-pitched than the "honk" of males. When agitated or aggressively defending territory, Canada geese will typically initiate an encounter with a high-pitched hiss. Canada geese communicate with ten different vocalizations, each in response a different situation confronting them.


title: Canada goose

text: This species is native to North America. It breeds in Canada and the northern United States in a wide range of habitats. The Great Lakes region maintains a large population of Canada geese. Canada geese occur year-round in the southern part of their breeding range, including the northern half of the United States' eastern seaboard and Pacific Coast, and areas in-between. Between California and South Carolina in the southern United States and in northern Mexico, Canada geese are mainly present as migrants from further north during the winter.


title: Canada goose

text: By the early 20th century, overhunting and loss of habitat in the late 19th and early 20th centuries had resulted in a serious decline in the numbers of this bird in its native range. The giant Canada goose subspecies was believed to be extinct in the 1950s until, in 1962, a small flock was discovered wintering in Rochester, Minnesota, by Harold Hanson of the Illinois Natural History Survey. In 1964, the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center was built near Jamestown, North Dakota. Its first director, Harvey K. Nelson, talked Forrest Lee into leaving Minnesota to head the center's Canada goose production and restoration program. Forrest soon had 64 pens with 64 breeding pairs of screened, high-quality birds. The project involved private, state, and federal resources and relied on the expertise and cooperation of many individuals. By the end of 1981, more than 6,000 giant Canada geese had been released at 83 sites in 26 counties in North Dakota. With improved game laws and habitat recreation and preservation programs, their populations have recovered in most of their range, although some local populations, especially of the subspecies "B. c. occidentalis", may still be declining.


title: Canada goose

text: In recent years, Canada goose populations in some areas have grown substantially, so much so that many consider them pests for their droppings, bacteria in their droppings, noise, and confrontational behavior. This problem is partially due to the removal of natural predators and an abundance of safe, human-made bodies of water near food sources, such as those found on golf courses, in public parks and beaches, on sports fields, and in planned communities. Due in part to the interbreeding of various migratory subspecies with the introduced non-migratory giant subspecies, Canada geese are frequently a year-around feature of such urban environments.


title: Canada goose

text: Contrary to its normal migration routine, large flocks of Canada geese have established permanent residence along the Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia's Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island area south to the San Francisco Bay area of Northern California. There are also resident Atlantic coast populations, such as on Chesapeake Bay, in Virginia's James River regions, and in the Triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill), and nearby Hillsborough. Some Canada geese have taken up permanent residence as far south as Florida, in places such as retention ponds in apartment complexes. In 2015, the Ohio population of Canada geese was reported as roughly 130,000, with the number likely to continue increasing. Many of the geese, previously migratory, reportedly had become native, remaining in the state even in the summer. The increase was attributed to a lack of natural predators, an abundance of water, and plentiful grass in manicured lawns in urban areas. Canada geese were eliminated in Ohio following the American Civil War, but were reintroduced in 1956 with 10 pairs. The population was estimated at 18,000 in 1979. The geese are considered protected, though a hunting season is allowed from September 1–15, with a daily bag limit of five. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources recommends a number of non-lethal scare and hazing tactics for nuisance geese, but if such methods have been used without success, they may issue a permit which can be used from March 11 through August 31 to destroy nests, conduct a goose roundup or exterminate geese.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese have reached Northern Europe naturally, as has been proved by ringing recoveries. The birds include those of the subspecies "B. c. parvipes", and possibly others. These geese are also found naturally on the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Siberia, and eastern China.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese have also been introduced in Europe, and had established populations in Great Britain in the middle of the 18th century, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and Finland. Most European populations are not migratory, but those in more northerly parts of Sweden and Finland migrate to the North Sea and Baltic coasts. Semi-tame feral birds are common in parks, and have become a pest in some areas. In the early 17th century, explorer Samuel de Champlain sent several pairs of geese to France as a present for King Louis XIII. The geese were first introduced in Great Britain in the late 17th century as an addition to King James II's waterfowl collection in St. James's Park. They were introduced in Germany and Scandinavia during the 20th century, starting in Sweden in 1929. In Great Britain, they were spread by hunters, but remained uncommon until the mid-20th century. Their population grew from 2,200 to 4,000 birds in 1953 to an estimated 82,000 in 1999, as changing agricultural practices and urban growth provided new habitat. European birds are mostly descended from the nominate subspecies "B. c. canadensis", likely with some contributions from the subspecies "B. c. maxima".


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese were introduced as a game bird into New Zealand in 1905. They have become a problem in some areas by fouling pastures and damaging crops. They were protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 and the population was managed by Fish and Game New Zealand, which culled excessive bird numbers. In 2011, the government removed the protection status, allowing anyone to kill the birds.


title: Canada goose

text: Like most geese, the Canada goose is naturally migratory with the wintering range being most of the United States. The calls overhead from large groups of Canada geese flying in a V-shaped formation signal the transitions into spring and autumn. In some areas, migration routes have changed due to changes in habitat and food sources. In mild climates from southwestern British Columbia to California to the Great Lakes, some of the population has become nonmigratory due to adequate winter food supply and a lack of former predators.


title: Canada goose

text: Males exhibit agonistic behavior both on and off breeding and nesting grounds. This behavior rarely involves interspecific killing. One documented case involved a male defending his nest from a brant that wandered into the area; the following attack lasted for one hour until the death of the brant. The cause of death was suffocation or drowning in mud as a direct result of the Canada goose's pecking the head of the brant into the mud. Researchers attributed it to high hormone levels and the brant's inability to leave the nesting area.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese are primarily herbivores, although they sometimes eat small insects and fish. Their diet includes green vegetation and grains. The Canada goose eats a variety of grasses when on land. It feeds by grasping a blade of grass with the bill, then tearing it with a jerk of the head. The Canada goose also eats beans and grains such as wheat, rice, and corn when they are available. In the water, it feeds from aquatic plants by sliding its bill at the bottom of the body of water. It also feeds on aquatic plant-like algae, such as seaweed.


title: Canada goose

text: In urban areas, it is also known to pick food out of garbage bins. They are also sometimes hand-fed a variety of grains and other foods by humans in parks. Canada geese prefer lawn grass in urban areas. They usually graze in open areas with wide clearance to avoid potential predators.


title: Canada goose

text: During the second year of their lives, Canada geese find a mate. They are monogamous, and most couples stay together all of their lives. If one dies, the other may find a new mate. The female lays from two to nine eggs with an average of five, and both parents protect the nest while the eggs incubate, but the female spends more time at the nest than the male.


title: Canada goose

text: Its nest is usually located in an elevated area near water such as streams, lakes, ponds, and sometimes on a beaver lodge. Its eggs are laid in a shallow depression lined with plant material and down.


title: Canada goose

text: The incubation period, in which the female incubates while the male remains nearby, lasts for 24–32 days after laying. Canada geese can respond to external climatic factors by adjusting their laying date to spring maximum temperatures, which may benefit their nesting success.


title: Canada goose

text: As the annual summer molt also takes place during the breeding season, the adults lose their flight feathers for 20–40 days, regaining flight about the same time as their goslings start to fly.


title: Canada goose

text: As soon as the goslings hatch, they are immediately capable of walking, swimming, and finding their own food (a diet similar to the adult geese). Parents are often seen leading their goslings in a line, usually with one adult at the front, and the other at the back. While protecting their goslings, parents often violently chase away nearby creatures, from small blackbirds to lone humans who approach: first giving a warning hiss, and then attacking with bites and slaps of the wings. Canada geese are especially protective animals, and will sometimes attack any animal nearing their territory or offspring, including humans. Although parents are hostile to unfamiliar geese, they may form groups of a number of goslings and a few adults, called crèches.


title: Canada goose

text: The offspring enter the fledgling stage any time from six to nine weeks of age. They do not leave their parents until after the spring migration, when they return to their birthplace.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese are known for their seasonal migrations. Most Canada geese have staging or resting areas where they join up with others. Their autumn migration can be seen from September to the beginning of November. The early migrants have a tendency to spend less time at rest stops and go through the migration much faster. The later birds usually spend more time at rest stops. Some geese return to the same nesting ground year after year and lay eggs with their mate, raising them in the same way each year. This is recorded from the many tagged geese which frequent the East Coast.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese fly in a distinctive V-shaped flight formation, with an altitude of 1 km (3,000 feet) for migration flight. The maximum flight ceiling of Canada geese is unknown, but they have been reported at 9 km (29,000 feet).


title: Canada goose

text: Flying in the V formation has been the subject of study by researchers. The front position is rotated since flying in front consumes the most energy. Canada geese leave the winter grounds more quickly than the summer grounds. Elevated thyroid hormones, such as T and T, have been measured in geese just after a big migration. This is believed because of the long days of flying in migration the thyroid gland sends out more T which help the body cope with the longer journey. The increased T levels are also associated with increased muscle mass (hypertrophy) of the breast muscle, also because of the longer time spent flying. It is believed that the body sends out more T to help the goose's body with this long task by speeding up the metabolism and lowering the temperature at which the muscles work. Also, other studies show levels of stress hormones such as corticosterone rise dramatically in these birds during and after a migration.


title: Canada goose

text: The lifespan in the wild of geese who survive to adulthood ranges from 10 to 24 years. The British longevity record is held by a specimen tagged as a nestling, which was observed alive at the University of York at the age of 31. In order to survive the extreme winter temperatures, the geese prefer to stay in urban areas rather than in green spaces since industrial areas retain heat.


title: Canada goose

text: Known predators of eggs and goslings include coyotes ("Canis latrans"), Arctic foxes ("Vulpes lagopus"), northern raccoons ("Procyon lotor"), red foxes ("Vulpes vulpes"), large gulls ("Larus" species), common ravens ("Corvus corax"), American crows ("Corvus brachyrhynchos"), carrion crows (in Europe, "Corvus corone") and both brown ("Ursus arctos") and American black bears ("Ursus americanus").


title: Canada goose

text: Geese and their goslings are occasionally preyed upon by domestic dogs—these occurrences can be prevented by leashing a pet dog.


title: Canada goose

text: Once they reach adulthood, due to their large size and often aggressive behavior, Canada geese are rarely preyed on, although prior injury may make them more vulnerable to natural predators. Beyond humans, adults can be taken by coyotes and grey wolves ("Canis lupus"). Avian predators that are known to kill adults, as well as young geese, include snowy owls ("Bubo scandiacus"), golden eagles ("Aquila chrysaetos") and bald eagles ("Haliaeetus leucocephalus") and, though rarely on large adult geese, great horned owls ("Bubo virginianus"), northern goshawks ("Accipiter gentilis"), peregrine falcons ("Falco peregrinus"), and gyrfalcons ("Falco rusticolus"). Adults are quite vigorous at displacing potential predators from the nest site, with predator prevention usually falling to the larger male of the pair. Males usually attempt to draw attention of approaching predators and toll (mob terrestrial predators without physical contact) often in accompaniment with males of other goose species. Eagles of both species frequently cause geese to fly off "en masse" from some distance, though in other instances, geese may seem unconcerned at perched bald eagles nearby, seemingly only reacting if the eagle is displaying active hunting behavior. Canada geese are quite wary of humans where they are regularly hunted and killed, but can otherwise become habituated to fearlessness toward humans, especially where they are fed by them. This often leads to the geese becoming overly aggressive toward humans, and large groups of the birds may be considered a nuisance if they are causing persistent problems to humans and other animals in the surrounding area.


title: Canada goose

text: Salinity plays a role in the growth and development of goslings. Moderate to high salinity concentrations without fresh water results in slower development, growth, and saline-induced mortality. Goslings are susceptible to saline-induced mortality before their nasal salt glands become functional; the majority of such deaths occur before the sixth day of life.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese are susceptible to avian bird flus, such as H5N1. A study carried out using the HPAI virus, a H5N1 virus, found that the geese were susceptible to the virus. This proved useful for monitoring the spread of the virus through the high mortality of infected birds. Prior exposure to other viruses may result in some resistance to H5N1.


title: Canada goose

text: In North America, nonmigratory Canada goose populations have been on the rise. The species is frequently found on golf courses, parking lots, and urban parks, which would have previously hosted only migratory geese on rare occasions. Owing to its adaptability to human-altered areas, it has become one of the most common waterfowl species in North America. In many areas, nonmigratory Canada geese are now regarded as pests by humans. They are suspected of being a cause of an increase in high fecal coliforms at beaches. An extended hunting season, deploying noise makers, and hazing by dogs have been used in an attempt to disrupt suspect flocks. A goal of conservationists has been to focus hunting on the nonmigratory populations (which tend to be larger and more of a nuisance) as opposed to migratory flocks showing natural behavior, which may be rarer.


title: Canada goose

text: Since 1999, the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services agency has been engaged in lethal culls of Canada geese primarily in urban or densely populated areas. The agency responds to municipalities or private land owners, such as golf courses, which find the geese obtrusive or object to their waste. Addling goose eggs and destroying nests are promoted as humane population control methods. Flocks of Canada geese can also be captured during molt and this method of culling is used to control invasive populations.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese are protected from hunting and capture outside of designated hunting seasons in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and in Canada under the Migratory Birds Convention Act. In both countries, commercial transactions such as buying or trading are mostly prohibited and the possession, hunting, and interfering with the activity of the animals are subject to restrictions. In the UK, as with native bird species, the nests and eggs of Canada geese are fully protected by law, except when their removal has been specifically licensed, and shooting is generally permitted only during the defined open season.


title: Canada goose

text: Geese have a tendency to attack humans when they feel themselves or their goslings to be threatened. First, the geese stand erect, spread their wings, and produce a hissing sound. Next, the geese charge. They may then peck or attack with their wings.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese have been implicated in a number of bird strikes by aircraft. Their large size and tendency to fly in flocks may exacerbate their impact. In the United States, the Canada goose is the second-most damaging bird strike to airplanes, with the most damaging being turkey vultures. Canada geese can cause fatal crashes when they strike an aircraft's engine. The FAA has reported 1,772 known civil aircraft strikes within the United States between 1990 and 2018. The total cost of these bird strikes to general and commercial aviation has been reported to exceed $130 million.


title: Canada goose

text: In 1995, a U. S. Air Force E-3 Sentry aircraft at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, struck a flock of Canada geese on takeoff, losing power in both port side engines. It crashed from the runway, killing all 24 crew members. The accident sparked efforts to avoid such events, including habitat modification, aversion tactics, herding and relocation, and culling of flocks. In 2009, a collision with a flock of migratory Canada geese resulted in US Airways Flight 1549 suffering a total loss of power from both engines after takeoff, causing the crew of the aircraft to land the plane on the Hudson River with no loss of human life.


title: Canada goose

text: As a large, common wild bird, the Canada goose is a common target of hunters, especially in its native range. Drake Larsen, a researcher in sustainable agriculture at Iowa State University, described them to "The Atlantic" magazine as "so yummy ...good, lean, rich meat. I find they are similar to a good cut of beef." The British Trust for Ornithology, however, has described them as "reputedly amongst the most inedible of birds." The U.S. goose harvest for 2013–14 reported over 1.3 million geese taken.


title: Canada goose

text: Canada geese are rarely farmed, and sale of wild Canada goose meat is rare due to regulation and slaughterhouses' lack of experience with wild birds. Geese in New York City parks culled by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection have been donated to food banks in Pennsylvania. As of 2011, the sale of wild Canada goose meat was not permitted in the UK; some landowners have lobbied for this ban to be withdrawn to allow them income from sale of game meat.


title: Canada goose

text: In 2000, the North American population for the geese was estimated to be between 4 million and 5 million birds. A 20-year study from 1983 to 2003 in Wichita, Kansas, found the size of the winter Canada goose population within the city limits increased from 1,600 to over 18,000 birds.


title: Paul Heyman

text: Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Roman Reigns.


title: Paul Heyman

text: Born in The Bronx to a family of Holocaust survivors, Heyman debuted in the professional wrestling business in 1986. He was the CEO and known as the creative force behind the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion from 1993 until its closure in 2001. Before running and owning ECW, he was a manager under the ring name Paul E. Dangerously in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and other promotions. He is the co-owner of the Looking4Larry Agency in New York City, and was personally named one of "Advertising Age" Top 100 Global Marketers.


title: Paul Heyman

text: In WWE, Heyman has managed or has served as manager for a record six world champions: WWE Champions, The Big Show, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, and WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Critics have praised his abilities at managing and on the microphone. Heyman has also competed sporadically in matches, including the WWE Championship main event of the 2002 Rebellion pay-per-view.


title: Paul Heyman

text: Heyman was born on September 11, 1965, in The Bronx, New York City, the son of Sulamita ("née" Szarf; 1928–2009) and Richard S. Heyman (1926–2013), a prominent personal injury attorney and World War II veteran. He is Jewish; his mother was a Holocaust survivor who suffered through experiences in Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and the Łódź Ghetto. By age 11, he was running a mail order business selling celebrity and sports memorabilia from his home. While still a teenager, he fast-talked his way backstage at a World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) event at Madison Square Garden as a photojournalist. He was paid by the company for several of his photographs. He graduated from Edgemont High School. He attended SUNY Purchase and worked on-air as an opinionated, controversial host at SUNY's radio station and the WARY-FM New York radio station for Westchester Community College; in 1985, at the age of 19, he became a photographer, then a producer and promoter for the New York City nightclub Studio 54.


title: Paul Heyman

text: Heyman decided he wanted to work in professional wrestling when he saw Vince McMahon interviewing Superstar Billy Graham. He began as a photographer when he was 13 and bought his own photo lab to take photos of pro wrestlers in New York. He published his own newsletter, "The Wrestling Times Magazine", and wrote for third-party wrestling publications such as "Pro Wrestling Illustrated". At the age of 14, he called Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the parent company of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, and obtained a backstage pass for Madison Square Garden, his first official work in pro wrestling. Posed photographs from this period of Heyman with the WWF's three dominant heel managers of the period, Lou Albano, Fred Blassie and The Grand Wizard were later published by "Pro Wrestling Illustrated" as evidence that Heyman had studied heel management under the tutelage of the "Three Wise Men." Heyman met Dusty Rhodes at a Jim Crockett Promotions taping, when he entered a production meeting. In 1985, Heyman was hired by New York Studio 54 as a photographer. The same year, he became producer of Studio 54 and hosted the first Wrestle Party 85 show. He called Jim Crockett, who sent Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T. A. The show featured Bam Bam Bigelow's debut and an award to Flair.


title: Paul Heyman

text: At the urging of Bigelow, Heyman made his managerial debut on January 2, 1987, initially appearing on the Northeast independent circuit before moving to a more high-profile stint with Championship Wrestling from Florida in February 1987. There, he joined forces with Kevin Sullivan and Oliver Humperdink, and acquired the name Paul E. Dangerously because of his resemblance to Michael Keaton's character in "Johnny Dangerously". After CWF was absorbed by Jim Crockett Promotions, Bigelow brought him to Memphis and the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) to manage Tommy Rich and Austin Idol in a heated feud with Jerry Lawler, a war which later carried over to the American Wrestling Association (AWA), with the Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) taking over for Idol and the face-turned Rich.


title: Paul Heyman

text: The Paul E. Dangerously gimmick was an extension of Heyman's own personality: a brash New Yorker with a yuppie attitude, often seen holding a mobile phone, which was occasionally used as a "foreign object" (according to Heyman, he decided to use the mobile phone as a weapon when he watched Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street"). After departing the AWA, Heyman went back to the CWA. Heyman joined with Eddie Gilbert and his wife and valet Missy Hyatt and together they feuded with Lawler before moving on to the Alabama-based Continental Wrestling Federation. Behind the scenes, Gilbert was the head booker of the promotion, and Heyman became his assistant. Heyman was also the head booker for Windy City Wrestling in Chicago and started developing a reputation as being an innovative television writer and producer.


title: Paul Heyman

text: In 1988, Heyman jumped to Jim Crockett Promotions, where Dangerously again managed the Original Midnight Express in a feud with the new Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) and their manager, Jim Cornette, as well as managing "Mean" Mark Callous. He settled into the role of an announcer, joining Jim Ross to call the matches on WTBS' "World Championship Wrestling" and other programming. Heyman admitted he learned more working with Ross than from his previous mentors. While in-between stints in WCW, Heyman went to work for ICW as a writer, but was fired on his first day in the middle of his first TV taping.


title: Paul Heyman

text: In 1991, WCW needed to re-structure its "heels", so Heyman returned to the role of spokesman and ringside manager as the manager of the Dangerous Alliance, with Rick Rude as the centerpiece of the stable. According to Heyman, he and Stone Cold Steve Austin learned their craft from Rude. Heyman led Rude to the United States title and the Anderson-Eaton tag team to the Tag Team titles. The Dangerous Alliance dominated WCW through most of 1992.


title: Paul Heyman

text: After departing WCW, Heyman attempted to start a new promotion in Texas with Jim Crockett, Jr. Disagreement arose, however, as Crockett wanted to build a traditional wrestling brand, while Heyman believed traditional wrestling was antiquated and a new take on the genre was needed.


title: Paul Heyman

text: At this time, Eddie Gilbert was a booker for a Philadelphia-based promotion, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Eastern Championship Wrestling, which he did under the ownership of a local pawn shop owner named Tod Gordon. Heyman came in to help Gilbert teach the younger wrestlers how to perform on interviews, but Gilbert's erratic behavior became too much for Gordon, who had a major falling out with Gilbert right before the UltraClash event on September 18, 1993. From that point forward, Heyman was in charge of the creative direction of the company. As Paul E. Dangerously, he managed a few wrestlers, including Sabu and 911.


title: Paul Heyman

text: A year later, the company was the flagship promotion of the struggling NWA. The NWA World Title Tournament was scheduled to be held in August 1994 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, at an ECW-hosted event mostly featuring ECW wrestlers. The proposed outcome was the current ECW champion Shane Douglas becoming champion, but Heyman conspired with Douglas and Gordon without the knowledge of NWA president Dennis Coralluzzo to have Douglas (and by extension, ECW itself) publicly denounce the NWA and its "tradition" after winning the tournament. In his post-match speech, Douglas aggressively assaulted the title's lineage, throwing the belt itself down, proclaiming the NWA a "dead organization" and declaring his ECW title a world-level championship. The plan for this shoot screwjob was known only to those three.


title: Paul Heyman

text: That same week, Heyman and Tod Gordon rechristened the promotion, eliminating the regional branding "Eastern" and declaring the promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling. They broke the company away from the NWA, and ECW became its own entity. Heyman encouraged wrestlers to express their true feelings about the WWF, the NWA, and WCW. In May 1995, Heyman bought out Gordon and became sole owner of ECW. During his time in ECW, Heyman found an ally in Vince McMahon's WWF. McMahon had sent some WWF wrestlers to ECW (under WWF payroll) to develop them and was interested in some ECW wrestlers, such as Terry Gordy and 2 Cold Scorpio. McMahon paid Heyman $1,000 per week to rent Scorpio. Heyman also acknowledged how an effort to put ECW on the USA Network failed after USA Network President Steven Chau became aware of an email Vince McMahon sent which pressured him and other network executives to put ECW on the USA Network.


title: Paul Heyman

text: In the final days of ECW, Heyman became persona non grata as he did not appear on the show and was replaced as the leader of the backstage and creative by ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer. Heyman could not get out of financial trouble and ECW closed on April 4, 2001.<ref name="Loverro 2006 https://archive.org/details/risefallofecw00thom/page/233 233"></ref> Heyman also supposedly had never told his wrestlers that the company was on its dying legs and was unable to pay them for a while.


title: Paul Heyman

text: ECW entered into bankruptcy in 2001 (just weeks after WCW was sold to WWF for $2 million, after AOL Time Warner wrote off over $100 million in debt), with the company $7 million in arrears, with over $3 million owed to the company by InDemand pay per view. On January 28, 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. purchased ECW's assets from HHG Corporation in court, acquiring the rights to ECW's video library.


title: Paul Heyman

text: Heyman became a commentator for the WWF on "Raw Is War", replacing Jerry Lawler who had quit due to a dispute when his wife The Kat was fired in February 2001. During that time, he resumed his storyline rivalry with Jim Ross. In July, while retaining his commentator role, Heyman recreated ECW as a stable, which then immediately merged with Shane McMahon's WCW to form the Alliance during the Invasion angle. Heyman was "fired" following the 2001 Survivor Series when the Alliance lost a winner takes all match that marked the end of the invasion angle. Heyman was replaced on "Raw" commentary by the returning Jerry Lawler.