title: Provence

text: Historically, the language spoken in Provence was Provençal, a dialect of the Occitan language, also known as langue d'oc, and closely related to Catalan. There are several regional variations: vivaro-alpin, spoken in the Alps, and the Provençal variations of south, including the maritime, the rhoadanien (in the Rhône Valley) and the Niçois (in Nice). Niçois is the archaic form of Provençal closest to the original language of the troubadours, and is sometimes to said to be literary language of its own.


title: Provence

text: Provençal was widely spoken in Provence until the beginning of the 20th century, when the French government launched an intensive and largely successful effort to replace regional languages with French. Today, Provençal is taught in schools and universities in the region, but is spoken regularly by a small number of people, probably less than 500,000, mostly elderly.


title: Provence

text: The golden age of Provençal literature, more correctly called Occitan literature, was the 11th century and the 12th century, when the troubadours broke away from classical Latin literature and composed romances and love songs in their own vernacular language. Among the most famous troubadours was Folquet de Marselha, whose love songs became famous all over Europe, and who was praised by Dante in his "Divine Comedy". In his later years, Folquet gave up poetry to become the Abbot of Thoronet Abbey, and then Bishop of Toulouse, where he fiercely persecuted the Cathars.


title: Provence

text: In the middle of the 19th century, there was a literary movement to revive the language, called the Félibrige, led by the poet Frédéric Mistral (1830–1914), who shared the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1904.


title: Provence

text: In the 19th and 20th centuries, the climate and lifestyle of Provence attracted writers almost as much as it attracted painters. It was particularly popular among British, American and Russian writers in the 1920s and 1930s.


title: Provence

text: Provence has a special place in the history of the motion picture – one of the first projected motion pictures, "L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat" ("The Arrival of a Train into La Ciotat Station"), a fifty-second silent film, was made by Auguste and Louis Lumière at the train station of the coastal town of La Ciotat. It was shown to an audience in Paris on 28 December 1895, causing a sensation.


title: Provence

text: Before its commercial premiere in Paris, the film was shown to invited audiences in several French cities, including La Ciotat. It was shown at the Eden Theater in September 1895, making that theatre one of the first motion picture theatres, and the only of the first theatres still showing movies in 2009.


title: Provence

text: Three other of the earliest Lumiere films, "Partie de cartes", "l'Arroseur arrosé" (the first known filmed comedy), and "Repas de bébé", were also filmed in La Ciotat in 1895, at the Villa du Clos des Plages, the summer residence of the Lumière Brothers.


title: Provence

text: The cuisine of Provence is the result of the warm, dry Mediterranean climate; the rugged landscape, good for grazing sheep and goats but, outside of the Rhône Valley, poor soil for large-scale agriculture; and the abundant seafood on the coast.


title: Provence

text: The basic ingredients are olives and olive oil, garlic, sardines, rockfish, sea urchins and octopus, lamb and goat, chickpeas, and local fruits, such as grapes, peaches, apricots, strawberries, cherries, and the famous melons of Cavaillon.


title: Provence

text: The fish frequently found on menus in Provence are the "rouget", a small red fish usually eaten grilled, and the "" (known elsewhere in France as the "bar"), often grilled with fennel over the wood of grapevines.


title: Provence

text: The wines of Provence were probably introduced into Provence around 600 BC by the Greek Phoceans who founded Marseille and Nice. After the Roman occupation, in 120 BC the Roman Senate forbade the growing of vines and olives in Provence, to protect the profitable trade in exporting Italian wines, but in the late Roman empire retired soldiers from Roman Legions settled in Provence and were allowed to grow grapes.


title: Provence

text: The Romans complained about the competition from and poor quality of the wines of Provence. In the 1st century AD the Roman poet Martial condemned the wines of Marseille as "terrible poisons, and never sold at a good price."


title: Provence

text: As recently as the 1970s the wines of Provence had the reputation of being rather ordinary: In 1971 wine critic Hugh Johnson wrote: "The whites are dry and can lack the acidity to be refreshing; the reds are straightforward, strong and a trifle dull; it is usually the rosés, often orange-tinted, which have most appeal." He added, "Cassis and Bandol distinguish themselves for their white and red wines respectively. Cassis (no relation of the blackcurrant syrup) is livelier than the run of Provençal white wine, and Bandol leads the red in much the same way."


title: Provence

text: Since that time, cultivation of poorer varieties has been reduced and new technologies and methods have improved the quality considerably.


title: Provence

text: The wines of Provence are grown under demanding conditions; hot weather and abundant sunshine (Toulon, near Bandol, has the most sunshine of any city in France) which ripens the grapes quickly; little rain, and the mistral.


title: Provence

text: The great majority of the wines produced in Provence are rosés. The most characteristic grape is mourvèdre, used most famously in the red wines of Bandol. Cassis is the only area in Provence known for its white wines.


title: Provence

text: The appellation covers 20,300 hectares. 80 percent of the production is rosé wine, fifteen percent is red wine, and 5 percent white wine.


title: Provence

text: South of Avignon, it occupies the north and south slopes of the Alpilles, up to an altitude of 400 metres, and extends about thirty kilometres from east to west. The principal grapes for the red wines are grenache, mourvèdre, and syrah. For the rosés, the main grapes are syrah and cinsault.


title: Provence

text: Pastis is the traditional liqueur of Provence, flavoured with anise and typically containing 40–45% alcohol by volume. When absinthe was banned in France in 1915, the major absinthe producers (then Pernod Fils and Ricard, who have since merged as Pernod Ricard) reformulated their drink without the banned wormwood and with more aniseed flavour, coming from star anise, sugar and a lower alcohol content, creating pastis. It is usually drunk diluted with water, which it turns a cloudy color. It is especially popular in and around Marseille.


title: Provence

text: A more athletic version of the sport called "jeu provençal" was popular throughout Provence in the 19th century – this version is featured in the novels and memoires of Marcel Pagnol; players ran three steps before throwing the ball, and it resembled at times a form of ballet. The modern version of the game was created in 1907 at the town of La Ciotat by a former champion of "jeu provençal " named Jules Hugues, who was unable to play because of his rheumatism. He devised a new set of rules where the field was much smaller, and players did not run before throwing the ball, but remained inside a small circle with their feet together. This gave the game its name, "lei peds tancats", in the Provençal dialect of Occitan, 'feet together'. The first tournament was played in La Ciotat in 1910. The first steel boules were introduced in 1927.


title: Provence

text: The object is to throw a ball (boule) as close as possible to a smaller ball, called the cochonnet, (this kind of throw is called to "faire le point" or "pointer"); or to knock away a boules of the opponent that is close to the cochonnet (this is called to "tirer"). Players compete one-on-one ("tête-à-tête"), in teams of two ("doublettes") or teams of three ("triplettes"). The object is to accumulate thirteen points. The point belongs to the ball the closest to the cochonnet. A player pitches balls until he can regain the point ("reprenne le point") by having his ball closest to the cochonnet. Each ball from a single team, if there are no other balls from the other team closer to the cochonnet, counts as a point. The points are counted when all of the balls have been tossed by both teams.


title: Provence

text: A recent genetic study in 2011 analysed 51 southern French individuals from Provence and 89 Anatolian Greek subjects whose paternal ancestry derives from Smyrna (modern-day Izmir in Turkey) and Asia Minor Phokaia (modern-day Foça in Turkey), the ancestral embarkation port to the 6th century BCE ancient Greek colonies of Massalia (Marseilles) and Alalie (Aleria, Corsica). The study found that 17% of the Y-chromosomes of Provence may be attributed to Greek colonisation. The study also concluded that "estimates of colonial Greek vs indigenous Celto-Ligurian demography predict a maximum of a 10% Greek contribution, suggesting a Greek male elite-dominant input into the Iron Age Provence population."


title: Davido

text: David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known by his stage name Davido, is an American-Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. His music blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido is widely regarded as one of the most successful, biggest and most influential African artists of all time. He is the current most followed African artist on Instagram and Twitter.


title: Davido

text: Davido won the Next Rated Award in 2012 at The Headies after releasing "Dami Duro", the second single from his debut studio album "Omo Baba Olowo"(2012). Between 2013 and 2015, he released a number of hit singles, and in January 2016, he signed a record deal with Sony Music. He then founded the record label Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), to which acts Dremo, Mayorkun, Peruzzi and Liya have been signed. In July 2016, Davido signed a record deal with Sony's RCA Records. In October 2016, he released the 5-track EP "Son of Mercy", which was supported by the singles "Gbagbe Oshi", "How Long" and "Coolest Kid in Africa". In April 2017, Davido re-negotiated his contract with Sony due to creative control issues, and later that year he released five singles including "If" and "Fall". "If" generated worldwide social media activity while "Fall" became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in "Billboard" history. Davido has been famously referred to as 'The king of modern-day afrobeats'.


title: Davido

text: Davido released, his second studio album "A Good Time" in November 2019, supported by singles including Blow My Mind featuring popular American singer Chris Brown . Davido was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2019. On Friday, November 13, 2020, he released his third studio album, titled A Better Time.


title: Davido

text: In anticipation to his birthday (21 November, 2021), the afrobeat singer Davido took to his Instagram story to ask colleagues to each send him a million naira. Davido noted that he received N200m from fans and friends and added N50million. He donated N250million to all orphanages across Nigeria. The singer made this known in a statement ahead of the birthday. To disburse the money, he constituted a 5-man committee to take care of the logistics.


title: Davido

text: In March 2022, Davido was featured on "Hayya Hayya (Better Together)" (alongside Trinidad Cardona and AISHA), the first single of the multi-song FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Soundtrack. It marked Davido as the first Nigerian singer to be featured in a FIFA World Cup single.


title: Davido

text: In May 2022, Davido released another song titled "Stand Strong" that featured The Samples Choir. According to the Naija banquet, the song is a breakaway from the usual hop/dance style of the Nigerian singer. In the record, Davido reminisces on his music journey and the battles he fights everyday. Also, it is the story of his healing.


title: Davido

text: In 2022, Davido announces his first annual festival titled " Are We African Yet(A.W.A.Y)", holding at the State Farm Arena, Atlanta Georgia on the November 18, 2022.


title: Davido

text: David Adedeji Adeleke was born on 21 November 1992, in Atlanta, Georgia. His father Adedeji Adeleke is a business magnate and his mother Vero Adeleke was a university lecturer. Davido is the youngest of five siblings and his father's second-born son. He attended the British International School in Lagos, and at the age of 16, he moved back to the United States to study business administration at Oakwood University in Alabama.


title: Davido

text: Davido bought musical equipment while at Oakwood and started making beats. He also worked with his cousins B-Red and Sina Rambo to form the music act KB International. Davido dropped out of Oakwood University to pursue music full-time and relocated to London, where he worked on his vocals. After returning to Nigeria in 2011, Davido paused his music career and agreed to honor his father by enrolling at Babcock University. In July 2015, he graduated from Babcock with a degree in music after his father paid the university to start a music department for an inaugural class of one student.


title: Davido

text: Spotify announced on July 17 that Davido music has surpassed 1 billion streams on the platform, joining other Nigerian artiste like Wizkid, Burna Boy and CKay.


title: Davido

text: Davido started working on his debut studio album "Omo Baba Olowo" in 2011. The album's music is a mixture of Afrobeats and hip hop. Davido worked with Jay Sleek, Maleek Berry, GospelOnDeBeatz, Spellz, Dokta Frabz, Mr. Chidoo, Theory Soundz and Shizzi to produce the album. "Omo Baba Olowo" features guest appearances from Naeto C, Sina Rambo, B-Red, Kayswitch, Ice Prince and 2 Face Idibia. It received generally negative reviews from music critics, who panned its lyrical content and Davido's songwriting. The album won Best R&B/Pop Album and received a nomination for Album of the Year at The Headies 2013. It was also nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.


title: Davido

text: The Naeto C-assisted track "Back When" was released as the album's lead single on May 7, 2011. It was produced by Davido and received frequent airplay. Davido told television channel Factory 78 he recorded "Back When" in London. The Clarence Peters-directed music video for "Back When" was uploaded to YouTube on May 9, 2011. The album's second single "Dami Duro", which was released on October 30, 2011, was jointly produced by Davido and Shizzi. In an interview posted on the NotJustOk website, Davido said he recorded the song in August of that year. The song was leaked three months after he sent it to some of his friends. The accompanying music video for "Dami Duro" was released on January 8, 2012, during the Occupy Nigeria protests.


title: Davido

text: The album's third single "Ekuro" was released on January 25, 2012. Its music video was recorded and directed in Miami by Antwan Smith. Nigerian singer Aramide released a soulful rendition of the song. The album's fourth single "Overseas" was released on May 6, 2012; an unfinished version of the song was leaked prior to its official release. The GospelOnDeBeatz-produced track "All of You" was released as the album's fifth single on September 28, 2012. Davido told Factory 78 TV he recorded the song with GospelOnDeBeatz after meeting him at a mall.


title: Davido

text: On February 25, 2013, Davido released the Shizzi-produced track "Gobe". It was ranked second on "Premium Times" list of the Top 10 songs of 2013. In a review for "Vanguard" newspaper, Charles Mgbolu said the song "exudes fun from start to finish". The music video for "Gobe" was recorded in South Africa by Godfather Productions. Davido announced on Twitter "One of a Kind" would be released on May 13, 2013. The song was also produced by Shizzi. The video for "One of a Kind" was recorded and directed in South Africa by Tebza of Godfather Productions. It depicts a united Africa that is rich in culture and music.


title: Davido

text: "Skelewu" was released on August 13, 2013. It was ranked fifth on "Premium Times" list of the top 10 songs of 2013. Davido promoted "Skelewu" on August 18, 2013, by uploading an instructional dance video that was directed by Jassy Generation to YouTube. The video's release was accompanied by an announcement of a "Skelewu" dance competition.


title: Davido

text: "Skelewu" was supported with two music videos. The first music video, directed by Sesan, was released on October 15, 2013. It was uploaded to YouTube using a parody account. Shortly after the video's release, Davido said someone betrayed him by releasing it and that he would make another video with Moe Musa, a UK based music video director. In a statement released by his team, Sesan said Davido was satisfied with his contributions to the music video; he also said it would be immature for Davido and his management to release inaccurate statements to defame his brand. The official music video for "Skelewu" was recorded and directed in London by Moe Musa, and was released in October 2013.


title: Davido

text: On February 1, 2014, Davido released "Aye." The track was produced by T-Spiz. The video for the song was directed by Clarence Peters and released on February 7, 2014. In the video, Davido plays a poor farmer who falls in love with the prince's fiancé. Davido's collaborative single with South African duo Mafikizolo, titled "Tchelete (Goodlife)", was released on April 30, 2014. It was produced by Oskido and Shizzi, and distributed by MTN's Play and Callertunez platforms. Prior to recording "Tchelete (Goodlife)", Davido networked with Mafikizolo at MTN Nigeria's Elite Night event in December 2013. The music video for "Tchelete (Goodlife)" was recorded and directed by Twenty Twenty Media. Oskido and Uhuru made cameo appearances in the video.


title: Davido

text: In June 2014, Davido collaborated with Mi Casa, Lola Rae, Sarkodie, Diamond Platnumz and Tiwa Savage on "Africa Rising", a song that was used for DStv's eponymous campaign to inspire Africans to partake in community-based social investment projects. The accompanying music video for "Africa Rising" was recorded and directed by South African production house Callback Dreams. The artists performed the song at the Africa Rising launch ceremony in Mauritius. In June 2015, Davido released the Meek Mill-assisted trap song "Fans Mi". He teased fans with the audio and behind-the-scene photographs of the video prior to releasing it.


title: Davido

text: Davido's 20-track album "The Baddest" was first scheduled for release in June 2015 but its release was postponed to October 10 that year. Two days prior to this date, the album was delayed because of an unnamed corporation's interest in distributing it. Davido had released the album's cover art and track listing earlier that year. "The Baddest" was going to feature production from Shizzi, Del B, Spellz, J Fem, Don Jazzy, Puffy Tee, Uhuru, Kiddominant and Young John. It was also going to feature guest artists such as P-Square, Don Jazzy, Runtown, Uhuru, DJ Buckz, Akon, Meek mill, Wale and Trey Songz. In January 2016, Davido announced on Twitter he signed a record deal with Sony Music; his announcement was met with mixed reactions. The record label put out a press release to confirm the deal. Davido's record deal with Sony requires him to release two albums and allows him to retain the rights to his music and performances.


title: Davido

text: Davido founded the record label Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) a few months after signing with Sony. Dremo, Mayorkun, Yonda and Peruzzi are currently signed to the label. In July 2016, Davido signed a record deal with RCA Records. His record deal with Sony Music altered plans for "The Baddest"s release. According to Pulse Nigeria, Davido's contract with Sony required the album to have an international appeal to allow for global distribution of it. In October 2016, he released the 5-track EP "Son of Mercy", which was supported by the singles "Gbagbe Oshi", "How Long" and "Coolest Kid in Africa". The EP features guest appearances from Simi, Tinashe and Nasty C.


title: Davido

text: Davido won Best African Act at the 2017 MOBO Awards. He released "If" on February 17, 2017. It was produced by Tekno, who ghost-wrote the track for Davido. The song was a certified diamond by the Recording Industry of South Africa, indicating shipments of 200,000 units. "If" won Best Pop Single and Song of the Year at The Headies 2018. Reviewing for OkayAfrica, Sabo Kpade described the song as a "slow burner" with an "unfussy beat that sounds hollowed out and isn't cluttered with instruments". The music video for "If" was recorded in London; it was directed by Director Q and produced by Tunde Babalola. Davido teamed up with menswear designer Orange Culture to release a capsule collection inspired by "If".


title: Davido

text: Davido released "Fall" on June 2, 2017. It samples a line from Kojo Funds's track "Dun Talking". "Fall" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa, was one of the top-100-most-Shazam-searched singles in America in January 2019, and was a top-10 record on Shazam in New York. In February 2019, it became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in "Billboard" history. "Fall" was ranked at number 163 on "Pitchfork"s list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2010s. The accompanying music video for "Fall" was directed by Nigerian-born British video director Daps. In December 2018, the video surpassed 100 million views, becoming the most-viewed video by a Nigerian artist on YouTube.


title: Davido

text: Davido released "Fia" on November 10, 2017. The song was described as a neo-highlife track and was produced by Fresh VDM. In its second verse, Davido addresses his arrest and Caroline Danjuma's role in fueling the rumor he was involved in the death of Tagbo Umenike. A writer for "Native" magazine praised Davido's songwriting and said the song "manages to reflect some of his recent personal struggles, without directly dishing into sensitive details". Reviewing for Music in Africa, Kayode Faniyi said "Fia" offers an "existential conflict" and that it is "undoubtedly the song of Davido's career—at least till he outdoes himself". Daniel Orubo of Konbini Channels described "Fia" as a "coherent" track that uses Davido's "croaky voice". "Fia" was nominated for Best Pop Single and Song of the Year at The Headies 2018. The accompanying music video for "Fia" was directed by Clarence Peters. The Stefflon Don-assisted remix of "Fia" was released on March 30, 2018. The song retains many of the elements from the original recording but incorporates a patois-tinged flow. Davido won Best African Act and was one of the Best Worldwide Act recipients at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards. Davido released "Assurance" on April 30, 2018. He dedicated the track to his girlfriend and released it to coincide with her 23rd birthday. Reviewing for "Native" magazine, Toye Sokunbi said the song "speaks volumes for the importance of clarity in the age of emojis, validation from our loved ones and putting love first, against all odds". Davido won Best International Act at the 2018 BET Awards, becoming the first African artist to receive his award on the main stage. In his acceptance speech, he urged patrons and American artists to visit Africa and eat the food.


title: Davido

text: In September 2018, Davido performed alongside Meek Mill, Post Malone and Fat Joe at the Made in America Festival. Prior to the festival, he performed at the House of Blues in Boston as part of his "The Locked Up Tour", which commenced in August and ended in September.


title: Davido

text: That same month, Davido faced accusations of being a member of the Black Axe confraternity, or Aye Cult Group, and of making cult gang gestures in his music and personal videos. On September 5, 2018, "Daily Post" reported a suspected Black Axe cult member arrested by the Nigerian Police confessed that he was lured into the group with promises that he would meet music star, Davido. On September 15, 2018, in a chat with "Vanguard", Davido's country manager, Asa Asika, denied knowledge of Davido being a member of any secret cult groups. On August 10, 2019, "Information Nigeria" reported on the stir of Davido sharing a video on his insta-story reassuring the Aye Cult Group of his loyalty.


title: Davido

text: In January 2019, Davido sold out The O2 Arena in London, becoming the first solo African artist to do so after Wizkid headlined a concert there in 2018. He was introduced on stage by Idris Elba and performed several of his hit singles with the backing band The Compozers. Caroline Sullivan of "The Guardian" gave the concert four stars out of five, calling Davido an "alpha" and saying "many of his mannerisms are influenced by the American rappers with whom he has worked, including Young Thug and Swae Lee".


title: Davido

text: The Chris Brown-assisted track "Blow My Mind" was released on July 26, 2019. It was produced by Shizzi and was initially intended to be released as the album's lead single. "Blow My Mind" contains lyrics about a girl who blows Davido's mind simply. In the Edgar Esteves-directed visuals for "Blow My Mind", Davido and Chris Brown spend quality time in a motel with their lovers. The video amassed one million views in 11 hours, surpassing Wizkid's "Fever" and "Come Closer" to become the Nigerian music video to achieve this feat most quickly. It also became the Nigerian music video to gain the most views within the first 24 hours of its release. "Risky" was released on October 23, 2019. It features guest vocals from Jamaican singer Popcaan, who asked Davido to appear on his 2018 single "Dun Rich". The music video for "Risky" was directed by Meji Alabi and pays homage to the crime drama television series "Top Boy". In the video, a female member of Davido's and Popcaan's crew informs upon them to police.


title: Davido

text: Davido's second studio album "A Good Time" was released on November 22, 2019. The album features the previously released singles "If", "Fall", "Assurance", "Blow My Mind" and "Risky". Davido recorded "A Good Time" in Atlanta. He told "Vibe" magazine he wanted to record in a new environment. Davido described the album as a body of work for everybody and said it would consist predominantly of Afrobeats but would incorporate elements of other genres. Davido disclosed the album's title during an event held in Lagos in September 2019 and said it would be released the following month. He also unveiled excerpts of four songs from the album during the event. Following his performance at Powerhouse 2019, Davido spoke with Power 105.1's DJ Self and said the album will feature collaborations with artists including Summer Walker, Gunna, A Boogie and Chris Brown. All but one of the tracks on "A Good Time" were produced by Nigerian producers. The album's cover art features Davido, his father and a sculpture of his mother. A Good Time is currently the most streamed African album of all time on streaming platforms and was also the first to cross a billion streams


title: Davido

text: In May 2020, Davido announced that his third studio album would be titled "A Better Time", and that it would include 11 tracks, with features from Nicki Minaj and Tiwa Savage. Davido shared an Instagram post reminiscing shopping his demo for his rise to fame single, Dami Duro to Rhythm Unplugged and Flytime Productions CEO, Cecil Hammond, hoping to get signed. In July, he performed on the "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and was seen in studio with rapper Nas. On August 31, 2020, Davido returned to social media after taking a three-month break to chat with the Grammy Museum on Instagram Live about the rise of Afrobeats and other issues within the industry. During the Live session, Davido revealed that he had completed work on "A Better Time". On September 10, 2020, Davido returned with the single, "FEM", alongside its music video, which was produced by Dammy Twitch.Davido's single "FEM" Video hit 1.8 Million YouTube views in less than 24 hours, breaking his own record for the fastest Nigerian music video to hit 1 million views on YouTube, a record previously held by his own song Blow My Mind featuring Chris Brown. It peaked at number one on the Nigeria TurnTable Top 50 chart in its second week of eligibility dethroning Wizkid's 'Ginger'. The album was released on November 13, 2020. The album features guest appearances from Lil Baby, Nicki Minaj, Nas, Chris Brown and Young Thug, among others. On December 14, 2020, Davido anncounced that his 3rd studio album "A better Time" has accomplished over 213.2 million streams in one month. OBO newest song "Stand Strong" ft. Sample Choir released on May 13, 2022.


title: Davido

text: On April 6, 2012, "Nigerian Entertainment Today" reported Davido had signed a ₦30 million endorsement deal with MTN. The deal unveiled him as the face of MTN Pulse, a marketing campaign aimed at Nigerian youth. On October 24, 2013, Pulse Nigeria reported Guinness Nigeria had signed Davido for an endorsement deal. As part of the deal, He performed at the Guinness World of More Concert alongside artists including P-Square, D'banj, Wizkid, Ice Prince, Burna Boy, Olamide, Phyno, Chidinma, Waje and Tiwa Savage.


title: Davido

text: On May 9, 2018, "Guardian Life" reported Davido had signed an endorsement deal with Infinix Mobile, a Hong Kong-based smartphone manufacturer. In May 2021, it was announced by his lawyer Bobo Ajudua, that Davido had become an official brand ambassador by the popular sports betting brand 1xBet. On June 11, Martell (cognac) announced Davido as its new ambassador.


title: Davido

text: Davido continues to empower and work with rising talents such as Jels Quiah. In August 2020, Davido appeared on the song UNCTION with Jels Quiah alongside Ice Prince and Walshy Fire. The song became a quick success.


title: Davido

text: On November 17, 2021, Davido challenged his friends and fans to send the sum of one million naira each to his bank account. Davido had put up a post on his Instagram and Twitter pages challenging his friends to show there love towards him by sending money to the account number he posted. He noted that anyone who doesn't come through with the challenge should not associate with him anymore. He was able to raise 200 million naira in total. He added 50 million naira of his own money and set up a panel to disburse the funds to orphanage homes in Nigeria. Davido shared a copy of the statement via Twitter with the caption "we rise by lifting others".


title: Davido

text: Davido has four children 2 boys & 2 girls. He's engaged to chef Chioma Rowland, the mother of his third child, David Ifeanyi Adeleke Jr., now deceased. Davido married Chioma Rowland on November 6, 2022.


title: Davido

text: On October 31, 2022, Peoples Gazette reported the death of David Ifeanyi Adeleke Jr., the first son and third child of Davido. He was three years old. Ifeanyi drowned in the private swimming pool at the Banana Island residence of the celebrity.Members of Davido's household staff were questioned by the police. A total of eight domestic workers were invited to the police station for questioning after one had initially gone to the police station to report the drowning accident of Ifeanyi. After investigations, six were eventually released by the police as they were not found culpable, with two still in detention.


title: Onyx

text: Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The colors of its bands range from black to almost every color. Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white. Onyx, as a descriptive term, has also been applied to parallel banded varieties of alabaster, marble, calcite, obsidian and opal, and misleadingly to materials with contorted banding, such as "Cave Onyx" and "Mexican Onyx".


title: Onyx

text: "Onyx" comes through Latin (of the same spelling), from the Ancient Greek , meaning "claw" or "fingernail". Onyx with flesh-colored and white bands can sometimes resemble a fingernail. The English word "nail" is cognate with the Greek word.


title: Onyx

text: Onyx is formed of bands of chalcedony in alternating colors. It is cryptocrystalline, consisting of fine intergrowths of the silica minerals quartz and moganite. Its bands are parallel to one another, as opposed to the more chaotic banding that often occurs in agates.


title: Onyx

text: Sardonyx is a variant in which the colored bands are sard (shades of red) rather than black. Black onyx is perhaps the most famous variety, but is not as common as onyx with colored bands. Artificial treatments have been used since ancient times to produce both the black color in "black onyx" and the reds and yellows in sardonyx. Most "black onyx" on the market is artificially colored.


title: Onyx

text: The name has also commonly been used to label other banded materials, such as banded calcite found in Mexico, India, and other places, and often carved, polished and sold. This material is much softer than true onyx, and much more readily available. The majority of carved items sold as "onyx" today are this carbonate material.


title: Onyx

text: Artificial onyx types have also been produced from common chalcedony and plain agates. The first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder described these techniques being used in Roman times. Treatments for producing black and other colours include soaking or boiling chalcedony in sugar solutions, then treating with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid to carbonise sugars which had been absorbed into the top layers of the stone. These techniques are still used, as well as other dyeing treatments, and most so-called "black onyx" sold is artificially treated. In addition to dye treatments, heating and treatment with nitric acid have been used to lighten or eliminate undesirable colours.


title: Onyx

text: Onyx is a gemstone found in various regions of the world including Greece, Yemen, Uruguay, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Latin America, the UK, and various states in the US.


title: Onyx

text: It has a long history of use for hardstone carving and jewelry, where it is usually cut as a cabochon or into beads. It has also been used for intaglio and hardstone cameo engraved gems, where the bands make the image contrast with the ground. Some onyx is natural but much of the material in commerce is produced by the staining of agate.


title: Onyx

text: Onyx was used in Egypt as early as the Second Dynasty to make bowls and other pottery items. Use of sardonyx appears in the art of Minoan Crete, notably from the archaeological recoveries at Knossos.


title: Onyx

text: Brazilian green onyx was often used as plinths for art deco sculptures created in the 1920s and 1930s. The German sculptor Ferdinand Preiss used Brazilian green onyx for the base on the majority of his chryselephantine sculptures. Green onyx was also used for trays and pin dishes – produced mainly in Austria – often with small bronze animals or figures attached.


title: Onyx

text: Onyx is mentioned in the Bible many times. Sardonyx (onyx in which white layers alternate with sard - a brownish color) is mentioned in the Bible as well.


title: Onyx

text: Onyx was known to the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder described both type of onyx and various artificial treatment techniques in his "Naturalis Historia".


title: Onyx

text: Slabs of onyx (from the Atlas Mountains) were famously used by Mies van der Rohe in Villa Tugendhat at Brno (completed 1930) to create a shimmering semi-translucent interior wall.


title: Onyx

text: The Hôtel de la Païva in Paris is noted for its yellow onyx décor, and the new Mariinsky Theatre Second Stage in St.Petersburg uses yellow onyx in the lobby.


title: Onyx

text: The Throne of Jahangir (Urdu: "Takht-i-Jahangir") was made of black onyx. It was built by Mughal emperor Jahangir (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627) in 1602 and is located at the "Diwan-i-Khas" (hall of private audience) at the Red Fort in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.


title: Onyx

text: The ancient Romans entered battle carrying amulets of sardonyx engraved with Mars, the god of war. This was believed to bestow courage in battle. In Renaissance Europe, wearing sardonyx was believed to bestow eloquence. A traditional Persian belief is that it helped with epilepsy. Sardonyx was traditionally used by English midwives to ease childbirth by laying it between the breasts of the mother.


title: Alan Silvestri

text: Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the "Back to the Future" film series, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Forrest Gump", "Cast Away" and "The Polar Express". Silvestri also composed many other popular movies, including "Predator", "The Abyss", "Father of the Bride", "The Bodyguard", "The Parent Trap", "Stuart Little", "The Mummy Returns", "Lilo & Stitch", "Night at the Museum", "", "Ready Player One" and several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including the "Avengers" films.


title: Alan Silvestri

text: He is a two-time Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee, and a three-time Saturn Award and two-time Primetime Emmy Award recipient.


title: Alan Silvestri

text: Silvestri's grandparents emigrated in 1909 from the Italian town of Castell'Alfero, and settled in Teaneck, New Jersey. He grew up in Teaneck, and graduated in 1968 from Teaneck High School. He attended Berklee College of Music for two years. He was a drummer for a short time in 1966 with Teaneck-based rock band The Wildcats.


title: Alan Silvestri

text: Silvestri moved to Los Angeles in 1970. "I came to Hollywood in 1970 broke...I didn't even have any goals or plans. I didn't even go to movies. And I knew nothing about composers or composing," he said. In 1972, while he was working intermittently as a session guitarist, the producer of the low-budget action film "The Doberman Gang" asked him to score the picture. Silvestri agreed, despite a lack of experience: "I went out and bought a how-to-compose book by Earl Hagen... At one point I was using beer cans for percussion."


title: Alan Silvestri

text: From 1978 to 1983, Silvestri was the main composer for the television series "CHiPs", writing music for 95 of the show's 139 episodes.


title: Alan Silvestri

text: Silvestri met film director Robert Zemeckis when they worked together on Zemeckis's film "Romancing the Stone" (1984). Since then, he has composed the music for all of Zemeckis's movies, including the "Back to the Future" trilogy (1985–1990), "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988), "Death Becomes Her" (1992), "Forrest Gump" (1994), "Contact" (1997), "Cast Away" (2000), "The Polar Express" (2004), "Beowulf" (2007), "A Christmas Carol" (2009), "Flight" (2012) and "The Walk" (2015).


title: Alan Silvestri

text: In 1989, Silvestri composed the score for the James Cameron-directed film "The Abyss". Since 2001, he has also collaborated regularly with director Stephen Sommers, scoring the films "The Mummy Returns" (2001), "Van Helsing" (2004) and "" (2009).


title: Alan Silvestri

text: Silvestri has composed the scores for four Marvel Cinematic Universe films: "" (2011), "The Avengers" (2012), "" (2018), and "" (2019). His themes and motifs from those films have been referenced and reprised by other composers in multiple other MCU films.


title: Alan Silvestri

text: Silvestri has also composed music for television series, including "T. J. Hooker" (one episode), "Starsky & Hutch" (three episodes), "Tales from the Crypt" (seven episodes). In 2014, he composed the award-winning music for the science documentary series "". He wrote new songs with Glen Ballard for the live-action film adaptation of Disney's "Pinocchio".


title: Alan Silvestri

text: Silvestri and his wife Sandra own a vineyard, Silvestri Vineyards, in Carmel Valley, California. He also has a wine tasting room for his vineyards on the ground floor of the Enchanted Oaks Building. He has a daughter and two sons. A licensed pilot, he flies his own jet aircraft.


title: Alan Silvestri

text: Silvestri has received two Academy Award nominations: Best Original Score for "Forrest Gump" (1994); and Best Original Song for "Believe" on "The Polar Express" soundtrack. He also received two Golden Globe nominations: Best Score for "Forrest Gump" and Best Song for "The Polar Express".


title: Alan Silvestri

text: He has also received nine Grammy Award nominations, winning two awards: Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Believe" from "The Polar Express" in 2004; and Best Instrumental Composition for "Cast Away End Credits" from Cast Away in 2002. His other nominations were for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special and Best Instrumental Composition, for Back to the Future in 1985, Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television, for Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988, Best Instrumental Composition, for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit Suite" in 1989, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, for "I'm Forrest...Forrest Gump (The Feather Theme)" in 1994, Best Instrumental Composition, for Avengers: Infinity War in 2018 and Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media, for Avengers: Endgame in 2019. During the 2005 Grammy Awards, Josh Groban performed "Believe".


title: Alan Silvestri

text: He has won two Emmys, both for "" – Outstanding Main Title Theme Music and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for the episode "Standing Up in the Milky Way".


title: Alan Silvestri

text: He has won the Saturn Award for Best Music three times, for his scores for "Predator" (1987), "Back to the Future Part III" (1989/90) and "Van Helsing" (2004).


title: Alan Silvestri

text: On September 23, 2011, he received the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award from the City of Vienna the yearly film-music gala concert Hollywood in Vienna.


title: Consanguinity

text: Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin "consanguinitas") is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor).


title: Consanguinity

text: Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood from marrying or having sexual relations with each other. The degree of consanguinity that gives rise to this prohibition varies from place to place. Such rules are also used to determine heirs of an estate according to statutes that govern intestate succession, which also vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In some places and time periods, cousin marriage is allowed or even encouraged; in others, it is taboo, and considered to be incest.


title: Consanguinity

text: The degree of relative consanguinity can be illustrated with a "consanguinity table" in which each level of lineal consanguinity ("generation" or "meiosis") appears as a row, and individuals with a collaterally consanguineous relationship share the same row. The Knot System is a numerical notation that describes consanguinity using the Ahnentafel numbers of shared ancestors.


title: Consanguinity

text: The degree of kinship between two people may give rise to several legal issues. Some laws prohibit sexual relations between closely-related people, referred to as incestuous. Laws may also bar marriage between closely-related people, which are almost universally prohibited to the second degree of consanguinity. Some jurisdictions forbid marriage between first cousins, while others do not. Marriage with aunts and uncles (avunculate marriage) is legal in several countries.


title: Consanguinity

text: Consanguinity is also relevant to inheritance, particularly with regard to intestate succession. In general, laws tend to favor inheritance by persons closely related to the deceased. Some jurisdictions ban citizens from service on a jury on the basis of consanguinity as well as affinity with persons involved in the case. In many countries, laws prohibiting nepotism ban employment of, or certain kinds of contracts with, the near relations of public officers or employees.


title: Consanguinity

text: Under Roman civil law, which the early canon law of the Catholic Church followed, couples were forbidden to marry if they were within four degrees of consanguinity. Around the ninth century the church raised the number of prohibited degrees to seven and changed the method by which they were calculated; instead of the former Roman practice of counting each generational link up to the common ancestor and then down again to the proposed spouse as a single degree, the new method computed consanguinity only by counting back the number of generations to the common ancestor. Intermarriage was now prohibited to anyone more closely related than seventh cousins, which meant that in particular the nobility struggled to find partners to marry, the pool of non-related prospective spouses having become substantially smaller. They had to either defy the church's position or look elsewhere for eligible marriage candidates. In the Roman Catholic Church, unknowingly marrying a closely consanguineous blood relative was grounds for a declaration of nullity, but during the eleventh and twelfth centuries dispensations were granted with increasing frequency due to the thousands of persons encompassed in the prohibition at seven degrees and the hardships this posed for finding potential spouses.


title: Consanguinity

text: In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council made what they believed was a necessary change to canon law reducing the number of prohibited degrees of consanguinity from seven back to four, but retaining the later method of calculating degrees. After 1215, the general rule was that fourth cousins could marry without dispensation, greatly reducing the need for dispensations. In fourteenth century England, for example, papal dispensations for annulments due to consanguinity (and affinity) were relatively few.


title: Consanguinity

text: The ban on marriage to minor degrees of relationship imposed by the Roman Catholic Church was met with heavy criticism in the Croatian society in the 11th century, which led to a schism in the Croatian church.


title: Consanguinity

text: Among the Christian "Habesha" highlanders of Ethiopia and Eritrea (the predominantly orthodox Christian Amhara and Tigray-Tigrinya), it is a tradition to be able to recount one's paternal ancestors at least seven generations away starting from early childhood, because "those with a common patrilineal ancestor less than seven generations away are considered 'brother and sister' and may not marry." The rule is less strict on the mother's side, where the limit is about four generations back, but still determined patrilinearly. This rule does not apply to Muslims or other ethnic groups.


title: Consanguinity

text: The Quran at 4:22–24 states. "Forbidden to you in marriage are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father's sisters, your mother's sisters, your brother's daughters, your sister's daughters." Therefore, the list of forbidden marriage partners, as read in the Qur'an, Surah 4:23, does not include first cousins. Muhammad himself married his first cousin Zaynab bint Jahsh.


title: Consanguinity

text: Financial incentives to discourage consanguineous marriages exist in some countries: mandatory premarital screening for inherited blood disorders has existed in the UAE since 2004 and in Qatar since 2009, whereby couples with positive results will not receive their marriage grant.


title: Consanguinity

text: Ayurveda states that marriage within the Gotra (father's side) is a consanguineous marriage which can lead to many gestational and genetic problems in the fetus. Therefore, it has become a common practice in Hindu households during pre-marriage discussions to ask the couples' Gotra. Couples of the same Gotra are advised not to marry. The advisers of this system say that this practice helps to reduce gestational problems and ensures a healthy progeny.


title: Consanguinity

text: Genetically, consanguinity derives from the reduction in variation due to meiosis that occurs because of the smaller number of near ancestors. Since all humans share between 99.6% and 99.9% of their genome, consanguinity only affects a very small part of the sequence. If two siblings have a child, the child has only two rather than four grandparents. In these circumstances, the probability is increased that the child will inherit two copies of a harmful recessive gene (allele) (rather than only one, which is less likely to have harmful effects).


title: Consanguinity

text: Genetic consanguinity is expressed as defined 1922 by Wright with the coefficient of relationship "r", where "r" is defined as the fraction of homozygous due to the consanguinity under discussion. Thus, a parent and child pair has a value of "r"=0.5 (sharing 50% of genes), siblings have a value of "r"=0.5, a parent's sibling has "r"=0.25 (25% of genes), and first cousins have "r"=0.125 (12.5% of genes). These are often expressed in terms of a percentage of shared DNA.


title: Consanguinity

text: As a working definition, unions contracted between persons biologically related as second cousins or closer ("r" ≥ 0.03125) are categorized as consanguineous. This arbitrary limit has been chosen because the genetic influence in marriages between couples related to a lesser degree would usually be expected to differ only slightly from that observed in the general population. Globally it is estimated that at least 8.5% of children have consanguineous parents.


title: Consanguinity

text: In clinical genetics, consanguinity is defined as a union between two individuals who are related as second cousins or closer, with the inbreeding coefficient (F) equal or higher than 0.0156.where (F) represents the proportion of genetic loci at which the child of a consanguineous couple might inherit identical gene copies from both parents.


title: Consanguinity

text: It is common to identify one's first- and second-degree cousins, and sometimes third-degree cousins. It is seldom possible to identify fourth-degree cousins, since few people can trace their full family tree back more than four generations. (Nor is it considered important, since fourth cousins tend to be genetically no more similar to each other than they are to any other individual from the same region.)


title: Consanguinity

text: Reasons favoring consanguinous marriage have been listed as higher compatibility between husband and wife sharing same social relationships, couples stability, enforcing family solidarity, easier financial negotiations and others. Consanguinity is a deeply rooted phenomenon in 20% of the world population, mostly in the Middle East, West Asia and North Africa. Globally, the most common form of consanguineous union is between first cousins, in which the spouses share of their genes inherited from a common ancestor, and so their progeny are homozygous (or more correctly autozygous) at of all loci ("r" = 0.0625). Due to variation in geographical and ethnic background and the loci chosen to genotype there is some 2.4% variation expected.


title: Consanguinity

text: Historically, some European nobles cited a close degree of consanguinity when they required convenient grounds for divorce, especially in contexts where religious doctrine forbade the voluntary dissolution of an unhappy or childless marriage.


title: Consanguinity

text: In the Arab world, the practice of marrying relatives is common. According to the Centre for Arabic Genomic Research, between 40% and 54% of UAE nationals' marriages are between family members, up from 39% in the previous generation. Between 21% and 28% of marriages of UAE nationals were between first cousins. Consanguineous marriage is much less prevalent in Christian Arabs as they do not practice arranged marriages. Additionally, an indult dispensation is required to marriages contracted between first cousins or closer in Arab Christian denominations in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church; there are no similar regulations that apply to first-cousin marriages in the Coptic Orthodox Church.


title: Consanguinity

text: In Egypt, around 40% of the population marry a cousin. A 1992 survey in Jordan found that 32% were married to a first cousin; a further 17.3% were married to more distant relatives. 67% of marriages in Saudi Arabia are between close relatives as are 54% of all marriages in Kuwait, whereas 18% of all Lebanese were between blood relatives. The incidence of consanguinity was 54.3% among Kuwaiti natives and higher among Bedouins.


title: Consanguinity

text: It has been estimated that 55% of marriages between Pakistani Muslim immigrants in the United Kingdom are between first cousins, where preferential patrilateral parallel cousin marriage, i.e. a boy marrying the daughter of his father's brother is favored.


title: Consanguinity

text: Double first cousins are descended from two pairs of siblings, and have the same genetic similarity as half-siblings. In unions between double first cousins the highest inbreeding coefficients are reached, with an (F) of 0.125, for example in among Arabs and uncle-niece marriages in South India.


title: Consanguinity

text: The phenomenon of inbreeding increases the level of homozygotes for autosomal genetic disorders and generally leads to a decreased biological fitness of a population known as inbreeding depression, a major objective in clinical studies. While the risks of inbreeding are well-known, informing minority group families with a tradition of endogamy and changing their behavior is a challenging task for genetic counseling in the health care system. The offspring of consanguineous relationships are at greater risk of certain genetic disorders. Autosomal recessive disorders occur in individuals who are homozygous for a particular recessive gene mutation. This means that they carry two copies (alleles) of the same gene. Except in certain rare circumstances (new mutations or uniparental disomy) both parents of an individual with such a disorder will be carriers of the gene. Such carriers are not affected and will not display any signs that they are carriers, and so may be unaware that they carry the mutated gene. As relatives share a proportion of their genes, it is much more likely that related parents will be carriers of an autosomal recessive gene, and therefore their children are at a higher risk of an autosomal recessive disorder. The extent to which the risk increases depends on the degree of genetic relationship between the parents; so the risk is greater in mating relationships where the parents are close relatives, but for relationships between more distant relatives, such as second cousins, the risk is lower (although still greater than the general population).


title: Consanguinity

text: Consanguinity in a population increases its susceptibility to infectious pathogens such as tuberculosis and hepatitis but may decrease its susceptibility to malaria and other pathogens.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Sanford and Son is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom "Steptoe and Son", which initially aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1974.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Known for its edgy racial humor, running gags, and catchphrases, the series was adapted by Norman Lear and considered NBC's answer to CBS's "All in the Family". "Sanford and Son" has been hailed as the precursor to many other African-American sitcoms. It was a rating hit throughout its six-season run, finishing in the Nielsen top ten for five of those seasons.


title: Sanford and Son

text: While the role of Fred G. Sanford was known for his bigotry and cantankerousness, the role of Lamont Sanford was that of Fred's long-suffering, conscientious, peacemaker son. At times, both characters involved themselves in schemes, usually as a means of earning cash quickly to pay off their various debts. Other colorful and unconventional characters on the show included Aunt Esther, Grady Wilson, Bubba Bexley, and Rollo Lawson.


title: Sanford and Son

text: "Sanford and Son" stars Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford, a widower and junk dealer living at 9114 South Central Avenue in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, and Demond Wilson as his son Lamont Sanford. In the show, Fred moved to South Central Los Angeles from his hometown St. Louis during his youth.


title: Sanford and Son

text: After the show premiered in 1972, newspapers touted Foxx as NBC's answer to Archie Bunker, the bigoted white protagonist of "All in the Family". Both shows were adapted by Norman Lear from BBC programs. "Sanford and Son" was adapted from "Steptoe and Son" and "All in the Family" from "Till Death Us Do Part".


title: Sanford and Son

text: An earlier pilot for an American version of "Steptoe and Son" was produced by Joseph E. Levine in 1965. Starring Lee Tracy and Aldo Ray as Albert and Harold Steptoe. This version was unscreened and did not lead to a series. The pilot was released on DVD in the UK in 2018.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Redd Foxx plays Fred G. Sanford, portraying him as a sarcastic, streetwise, irascible schemer whose frequent get-rich-quick ideas routinely backfired. His son Lamont longs for independence but loves his father too much to move out and leave him unsupervised. Though each owns an equal share in the business, Lamont often finds himself doing all the work and demanding that his father contribute to the effort, which he rarely does. Fred often insults his son, usually calling him "dummy." Despite their disagreements, the two share a close bond and regularly come to each other's aid.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Fred's wife Elizabeth died before the events of the series, around 1950. In a running gag in the series, during times of distress, Fred looks up (as to heaven) with his hand across his chest, faking a heart attack and saying, "This is the big one, Elizabeth! I'm coming to join ya, honey," but Lamont knows that it is merely a dramatic ploy. Fred raised Lamont alone and misses Elizabeth deeply.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Demond Wilson plays Lamont Sanford, Fred's son who has little patience for his father's antics. Lamont sometimes receives his comeuppance for disdaining his father's habits. He is occasionally shown as naïve and foolish, for example, being cheated by a group of card sharps and falling for a scam involving an antique commode. Lamont continuously seeks to rise above his station and experience life outside of the junkyard.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Fred says that his son was named for Lamont Lomax, a pitcher for the Homestead Grays. In one episode, Lamont asks why he has no middle name, and Fred tells him that Lamont is his middle name because Fred and Elizabeth had never decided on a first name. However, in the third episode of the first season, Lamont is revealed to be named Lamont Grady Sanford.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Esther Anderson (LaWanda Page), also known as Aunt Esther, is the Bible-toting sister of Fred's late wife Elizabeth. Esther is a staunchly religious, rather humorless character, though she is very kind and loving towards her nephew Lamont. Fred and Esther dislike each other intensely, while Fred’s trademark response to Esther's entrance is to make an exaggerated grimace followed by colorful insults (""I thought I already flushed my toilet""). Esther first appeared in early 1973, in the series' 29th episode, ("The Big Party"), and would eventually replace her sister Ethel (Beah Richards), the first main in-law character.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Grady Wilson (Whitman Mayo) is Fred's good-natured, simple-minded best friend, who appears regularly on the show. Grady's catchphrase is "Good Googley Goo". He utters this when something good happens or he is in a pleasant mood. Grady is Fred's "sidekick" and often is involved in various get-rich-quick schemes concocted by Fred. In the episode "Hello Cousin Emma, Goodbye Cousin Emma", it is revealed that Grady grew up on the South Side of Chicago and in his youth was a lady's man with the nickname "The Sheik of Drexel Avenue." The character eventually was spun off into his eponymous TV series in December 1975.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Bubba Bexley (Don Bexley) is another of Fred's friends who appears frequently, alternating with Grady as Fred's best friend. Bubba is known for his infectious belly laugh and jovial personality. Bubba is primarily a straight man to set up punchlines for Fred. His loud greeting of "Hey Fred!" drives Fred and Lamont crazy. His function in several episodes is to encourage Fred's get-rich-quick schemes, as when he tells Fred to fake having whiplash after he is hit by a white man in a Cadillac while driving the truck. In the episode "Lamont Goes African", Bubba reveals that he is originally from Memphis, Tennessee.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Rollo (pronounced "Rah-lo") Lawson (Nathaniel Taylor) is Lamont's best friend. Fred will often make disrespectful remarks towards Rollo, usually stating that he thinks Rollo is a criminal, as Rollo had spent time in jail. At one time, when Rollo introduced Lamont to his African cultural heritage, Fred thought it was a scam and noted that "If there was money to be made, Rollo would become an Eskimo."


title: Sanford and Son

text: Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton) is Fred's on-again, off-again girlfriend who later becomes his fiancée. She is employed as a practical nurse. Donna is an amiable, even-tempered lady who takes in stride Fred's shenanigans and occasional trysts. She also appears to be more sophisticated in contrast to Fred's rather blunt and boorish personality.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Julio Fuentes (Gregory Sierra) is the Sanfords' Puerto Rican next-door neighbor who befriends Lamont. When Julio and his family move in next to the Sanfords, Fred takes an immediate dislike to them and remarks, "There goes the neighborhood." Despite Julio's friendliness, Fred often makes insulting ethnic jokes about Julio and openly wishes he would return to Puerto Rico, even though Julio is originally from New York City.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Ah, Chew (Pat Morita) is a Japanese-American friend of Lamont whom Fred belittles every chance he gets. Fred insults Ah Chew on numerous occasions using clichéd Oriental jokes. Fred befriends Ah Chew in a later episode because he wants to use him as a cook when he opens "Sanford and Rising Son", a Japanese restaurant in the Sanford house. Despite this arrangement, Fred still hurls verbal abuse at Ah Chew. In the fifth-season episode "Sergeant Gork", Morita portrays Colonel Hiakowa, in a flashback where Fred tells Roger, Lamont's fiancée's son, of his supposed heroism in World War II.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Officer Howard "Hoppy" Hopkins (Howard Platt) is a police officer who occasionally shows up at the Sanfords' residence. Often, Hoppy incorrectly uses 'jive' slang, which Smitty corrects — e.g., "cold" instead of "cool" or "right up" instead of "right on." Conversely, the ever-professional Hoppy delivers a speech filled with police jargon and big words, which confuses Fred and/or Lamont thus turning to Smitty, who would translate Hoppy's speech into jive. Later in the series' run, the officers often appear individually. Unlike Ah Chew and Julio, Hoppy remains free of Fred's usual insults. In one episode, "This Little TV Went to Market", Officer "Jonesy" Jones (Bernie Hamilton) appears with Hoppy in place of Smitty. In the sixth-season episode "The Hawaii Connection", Smitty appears with his slow-witted new partner, Percy (Pat Paulsen). In "The Reverend Sanford", comic Freeman King appears as a police officer named Jim, presumably standing in for Smitty, but without Hoppy or any other partner.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Officer "Smitty" Smith (Hal Williams) is a police officer who occasionally shows up at the Sanfords' residence, always accompanied by another officer as his partner who delivers punchlines to Williams's straight-man set-up lines. He typically has to interpret for Fred when his cop partner uses police jargon, or correct his unhip white partner as to the proper jive pronunciation.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Officer "Swanny" Swanhauser (Noam Pitlik) is originally Officer Smitty's Caucasian partner who is replaced early in the second season with Officer Hopkins. Swanny has the same personality as Hoppy, but his demeanor is somewhat more serious and humorless. Like Hoppy, Swanny never is insulted racially by Fred.


title: Sanford and Son

text: May Hopkins (Nancy Kulp) is Officer Hopkins's prim and proper mother who appeared in the fifth season. She is a retired store detective who rents a room at the Sanford Arms next door. Landlord Fred often insults her when she pays a visit. Much like her son, Mrs. Hopkins incorrectly uses jive slang, but the more experienced Hoppy corrects her.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Janet Lawson (Marlene Clark) is a divorcee Lamont begins dating in the fifth season. Janet also has a young son, Roger (Edward Crawford). The Lawsons appear occasionally until Lamont and Janet break up in the sixth and final season, due to the return of Janet's ex-husband.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Melvin (Slappy White) is an old buddy of Fred's who appears in the first season. He appears in one second-season episode as well.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Leroy & Skillet (Leroy Daniels & Ernest 'Skillet' Mayhand) are a rambunctious pair of Fred's friends who like to play poker, billiards, or joke around. They appear in the second and third seasons.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Otis Littlejohn (Matthew "Stymie" Beard) is a friend of Grady's who appears in the third and fourth seasons.


title: Sanford and Son

text: George "Hutch" Hutton (Arnold Johnson) is an elderly tenant of the Sanford Arms who befriends Fred. When they first meet, Hutch admits to serving a lengthy sentence in prison to avoid his ugly sister-in-law. This immediately endears him to Fred. Fred is then disgusted when Hutch joins Aunt Esther's Bible study group. He appears in the fifth season.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Dr. Caldwell (Davis Roberts) is Sanford's entertaining family doctor who shows up in several early episodes. He often enters the Sanford residence with an alarming cough, and his credentials as a doctor are highly questionable. Asked if he is a doctor he claims "On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I'm a doctor. The other days I work in the post office". His other reply to being asked if he is a doctor is that it depends on who's asking. If you're asking him, he says he is a doctor, but when asked who says he's not a doctor, his reply is "the state of California." He has also replied that he's a doctor "in some states." His diagnoses are based upon little to no examination and has also claimed to specialize in whiplash. He usually doesn't know the answers to any of the questions proposed to him and also agrees with opposing statements. He asks Fred "Do you know how many doctors are afraid to say 'I don't know", to which the doctor replies "I don't know." He calls his practice "Caldwell & Caldwell" simply because the phone is in his father's name.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Nelson B. Davis (James Wheaton) is a mortician who dropped by the Sanford residence several times in the second season, at one point to look at some caskets that Lamont picked up at an auction. With a deep voice and a spooky laugh, he would often make odd quips about his unusual profession: "You must excuse my cold hands: 'Cold Hands, Warm Chapel.'" Also: "It's been a slow week, business is dead" and "I must be getting back to my place now. Like everybody else, I'm a working stiff." Once he told Lamont that: "Burial insurance is something that everybody digs."


title: Sanford and Son

text: Reverend Trimble (Alvin Childress) is the soft-spoken minister of the Central Avenue Baptist Church who dropped by in the first two seasons, usually to officiate a wedding. The running joke was that every time he officiated a wedding for the Sanford family, the family usually ended up in a screaming match over petty disagreements which escalated into a war that left everyone fleeing the house in anger while the Reverend stood by in stunned silence.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Special guests in the show included B.B. King, George Foreman, The Three Degrees, Della Reese and Lena Horne.


title: Sanford and Son

text: "Sanford and Son" was enormously popular during most of its run and was one of the top 10 highest-rated series on American television from its first season (1972) through the 1975–76 season.


title: Sanford and Son

text: "Sanford and Son" put enough of a dent into the middling audience of ABC's "The Brady Bunch" to drive it off the air in 1974. "Sanford and Son" peaked at #2 in the Nielsen ratings during the 1972–73 season and the 1974–75 season, and the series was second only to "All in the Family" in ratings during those years. By the 1974–75 season, "Sanford and Son"'s lead-in helped the entire NBC Friday night lineup place in the coveted bracket of the Top 15 shows ("Chico and the Man", following "Sanford and Son" at 8:30 p.m., ranked #3 for the season, while the police dramas "The Rockford Files" and "Police Woman", which aired later in the evening, ranked at #12 and #15 respectively).


title: Sanford and Son

text: The show's ratings dipped substantially in its final season, though it was still quite popular at the time of its cancellation.


title: Sanford and Son

text: "Sanford and Son" was a ratings hit through its six-season run on NBC. Despite airing in the so-called Friday night death slot, it managed to peak at No. 2 in the ratings (behind "All in the Family", and ranked less than one ratings point behind "All in the Family" during the 1974–75 season).


title: Sanford and Son

text: The series was produced by Norman Lear's and Bud Yorkin's Tandem Productions, which was also responsible for "All in the Family". The two shows were both based on popular British sitcoms and both were pioneers of edgy, racial humor that reflected the changing politics of the time. Both series also featured outspoken, working-class protagonists with overt prejudices. However, "Sanford and Son" differed from "All in the Family" and other Norman Lear shows of the era in that it lacked the element of drama. "Sanford and Son" helped to redefine the genre of black situation comedy. Because of Lear's commitments to his other concurrent series, and the distance between NBC Studios in Burbank (where "Sanford and Son" were taped) and the Hollywood locations of other Tandem shows (such as "All in the Family", "Maude", "The Jeffersons", and "One Day at a Time", which were recorded at CBS Television City or Metromedia Square), he did not have as much day-to-day involvement with "Sanford and Son" as with the other Tandem series, leaving the show-running to Yorkin.


title: Sanford and Son

text: While taping episodes for the 1973–74 season, Redd Foxx walked off the show in a salary dispute, though he cited health issues. His character was written out of the series for the remaining six episodes of the season, and it was explained that Fred Sanford was away in St. Louis attending his cousin's funeral, with friend Grady (Whitman Mayo) in charge of the home. Foxx, who had been earning $19,000 per episode, sought a 25% ownership stake in the series, and Tandem Productions fought back with a $10 million lawsuit. The dispute was resolved in June 1974, with Foxx receiving $25,000 per episode (to equal Carroll O'Connor's "All in the Family" pay), plus 25% of the producers' net profits. Although Foxx was still absent for production of the first three shows of Season 4, NBC aired his return as the season premiere and delayed showing the previously taped episodes. In 1977, rival network ABC lured Foxx away with a large sum to host his variety show, "The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour", ending "Sanford and Son", which had been gradually declining in the ratings. The media reported that the dispute between Foxx and NBC was over the lack of a dressing-room window.


title: Sanford and Son

text: An exterior shot of the NBC Burbank lot was featured in the Season 5 episode "Steinberg and Son". The storefront, seen only in the opening credits, stood at 10659 West Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood, nearly 16 miles from the Sanfords' fictitious 9114 South Central Avenue address in Watts. This same storefront, minus the "Sanford and Son" sign, can also be seen in "Emergency!" in a 1973 episode titled "Alley Cat".


title: Sanford and Son

text: The pickup truck depicted in the series is a 1951 Ford F1. It was purchased at auction after the series ended and was later leased back to NBC for the spin-off shows "Sanford Arms" and "Sanford". It has changed hands a few times over the years, eventually purchased by a real-life junk dealer, Donald Dimmitt of Dimmitt's Auto Salvage, in Argos, Indiana. In 2014, the truck was purchased from Dimmitt's by Tim Franko and Jeff Canter, owners of BlueLine Classics, a classic car dealership in North Royalton, Ohio, who restored the truck to its true condition as seen on the TV series and currently display it in the dealership's showroom.[12] It has since been on display in locations within Cleveland.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Titled "The Streetbeater", the theme music was composed by Quincy Jones through A&M Records and released on record in 1973. Although the song did not reach "Billboard" status, it has maintained mainstream popularity and is featured on Jones's greatest-hits album. The song has also has been featured on series such as "Scrubs" and "The Simpsons".


title: Sanford and Son

text: After the series was canceled in 1977, a short-lived continuation featuring the supporting characters titled "Sanford Arms" aired. Whitman Mayo starred in a short-lived spin-off series, "Grady", during the 1975–1976 season.


title: Sanford and Son

text: In 1980–1981, Foxx attempted to revive the show with another short-lived series titled "Sanford", but Demond Wilson refused to reprise his role as Lamont Sanford for the new series.


title: Sanford and Son

text: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released all six seasons of "Sanford and Son" on Region 1 DVD between August 2002 and June 2005, with a "Complete Series" box set following in 2008.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. Ledecky's six individual gold medals at the Olympics, 14 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and 22 overall medals at the World Aquatics Championships are records in women's swimming. Ledecky is the world record holder in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle (both long course and short course) as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle (long course). She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest Olympians and the greatest female swimmer of all time.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games as a 15-year-old, Ledecky unexpectedly won the gold medal in the women's 800-metre freestyle. Four years later, she left Rio de Janeiro as the most decorated female athlete of the 2016 Olympic Games, with four gold medals, one silver medal, and two world records. At the 2020 Olympic Games, Ledecky also emerged as the most decorated U.S. female athlete and became the first American female swimmer to win an individual event in three straight Olympiads. In total, she has won 42 medals (34 golds, 7 silvers, and 1 bronze) in major international competitions, spanning the Summer Olympics, World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships. During her career, she has broken sixteen world records.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky's success has earned her "Swimming World" Female World Swimmer of the Year a record-breaking five times. Ledecky was also named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 2017, international female Champion of Champions by "L'Équipe" in 2014 and 2017, United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2016 and 2017, Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation in 2017, and the ESPY Best Female Athlete in 2022.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in the suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, the daughter of Mary Gen (Hagan) and David Ledecky. Her Czech-born paternal grandfather Jaromír Ledecky arrived in New York City on September 8, 1947, as a student, later becoming an economist, and married an Ashkenazi Jewish woman named Berta Ruth Greenwald (Ledecky's paternal grandmother) in Brooklyn on December 30, 1956, and through her Ledecky has relatives who were killed in the Holocaust in Europe. Ledecky's mother is of Irish descent. She was raised Catholic. Her uncle Jon Ledecky is a businessman and a co-owner of the NHL team New York Islanders.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky began swimming at the age of six due to the influence of her older brother, Michael, and her mother, who swam for the University of New Mexico. In Bethesda, she attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015. During her high-school swimming career, Ledecky twice set the American and US Open record in the 500-yard freestyle, and she twice set the national high-school record in the 200-yard freestyle. Ledecky finished her high-school career as the holder of the Stone Ridge school record in every swimming event except the 100-meter breaststroke.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: During the summer of 2012, she trained with the Nation's Capital Swim Club (formerly the Curl Burke Swim Club) under coach Yuri Suguiyama. Following Suguiyama's departure to coach for the University of California, Berkeley, she continued to train with the Nation's Capital Swim Club under coach Bruce Gemmell through the 2016 Olympics. During the summers prior to 2012, she swam for Palisades Swim Team in Cabin John, Maryland. Ledecky accepted an athletic scholarship to Stanford University, where she swam for coach Greg Meehan's Stanford Cardinal women's swimming team.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In December 2016, Ledecky was chosen as one of the sponsors of the US Navy aircraft carrier alongside gymnast Simone Biles. They are the first Olympians to be given this honor.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In December 2020, she completed the required courses for a bachelor of arts in psychology and minor in political science from Stanford University, and graduated in June 2021.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska (her first senior national competition), Ledecky made the Olympic team by placing first in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:19.78, which was over two seconds ahead of second-place finisher Kate Ziegler. In Omaha, Ledecky also placed third in the 400-meter freestyle (4:05.00) and ninth in the 200-meter freestyle (1:58.66). Her third-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle was the fastest time ever swum by a 15- to 16-year-old American. At 15 years, 4 months, and 10 days, she was the youngest American participant at the 2012 Olympic Games.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Ledecky qualified to swim in the final of the 800-meter freestyle by placing third overall in the heats with a time of 8:23.84. In the final, Ledecky stunned the field, winning gold by more than four seconds, with a time of 8:14.63, the then second-fastest effort of all time just behind Rebecca Adlington's world record of 8:14.10 set in 2008. In addition, she broke Janet Evans' American record of 8:16.22 that had stood since 1989. In the final, Ledecky went out hard and, by the 200-meter mark, she had already established an almost body-length lead. Her 400-meter split was 4:04.34, a personal best for Ledecky in that distance, and would have placed fifth in the individual 400-meter freestyle. At the 750-meter mark, Ledecky was 3.42 seconds ahead of Mireia Belmonte García, and 0.31 seconds under world record pace. Ledecky won by 4.13 seconds and just missed the world record by 0.53 seconds. Her gold was the first international medal of her career, earning her the 2012 Best Female Performance of the Year and Breakout Performer of the Year at the Golden Goggle Awards.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2013 US National Championships, Ledecky qualified to swim in four individual events and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, though she later dropped the 200-meter freestyle from her program. At the National Championships, she finished first in the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle, and second in the 200-meter freestyle.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2013 World Championships, Ledecky won gold in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle, and in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, and set two world records. In winning the 400 through 1500-meter titles, she became the second woman ever to win the events in a World Championships since German Hannah Stockbauer in 2003. In her first event in Barcelona, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky became a world champion for the first time by winning in 3:59.82, setting a new American record and becoming the second-fastest performer of all time in the event.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In her second event, Ledecky won gold in the 1500-meter freestyle in a world record time of 15:36.53, breaking the record held by compatriot Kate Ziegler by six seconds. The hard-fought race saw Ledecky overcome Dane Lotte Friis in the final few hundred meters after losing the lead at the 300-meter mark and included a final 50 split of 29.47.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In her third, and first relay event of her international career, the 4×200-meter freestyle, Ledecky and teammates Shannon Vreeland, Karlee Bispo, and Missy Franklin won gold in 7:45.14. Anchor Missy Franklin overtook Australian Alicia Coutts in the last 200 meters, giving the US the gold. Ledecky provided the US with an early lead, swimming the first leg in a personal best of 1:56.32.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In her fourth and last event, the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky won gold in a world record of 8:13.86, bettering Rebecca Adlington's world record of 8:14.10. Much like the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky let Lotte Friis lead most of the race, making a move at the 650-meter mark to eventually win the race by 2.46 seconds.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky scored more points than any other swimmer to earn the FINA trophy for best female swimmer of the meet.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At year's end, Ledecky was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by "Swimming World" magazine. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by "FINA Aquatics World" magazine.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky began the year by breaking her own world records in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyle at the 2014 Woodlands Swim Team Senior Invitational in June. Despite being in season and swimming multiple events, Ledecky was able to first break the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:34.23, bettering her previous mark of 15:36.53. Three days later, Ledecky then broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:11.00, bettering her previous mark of 8:13.86.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2014 US National Championships, the qualifying meet for both the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, Ledecky finished first in the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle. In the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky set her third world record of the year by breaking Federica Pellegrini's 2009 world record of 3:59.15 with a time of 3:58.86. With her mark in the 400, Ledecky became the first female since Janet Evans to hold world records simultaneously in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke two world records. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle and the 4×200-meter freestyle. Ledecky almost broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 8:11.35. Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. She became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at a single Pan Pacific Championship.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In the 200-meter freestyle final, Ledecky had over a half-second lead on the field at the halfway point before winning by 1.46 seconds with a meet record time of 1:55.74. Less than an hour later, Ledecky won the 800-meter freestyle, swimming under her world record pace for most of the race before touching in at 8:11.35, the second-fastest time ever, to win by 7.52 seconds over New Zealand swimmer Lauren Boyle.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: The next day, Ledecky added her third meet record by swimming on the American 4×200-meter freestyle relay team with Shannon Vreeland, Missy Franklin, and Leah Smith. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky erased a 1.2-second deficit going into the final leg of the race, passing Australia's Melanie Schlanger with a 1:54.36 split over the final 200 meters. She also swam in the 100-meter freestyle heats.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: On the third day of the meet, Ledecky set her fourth meet record in the 400-meter freestyle prelim heats with a time of 4:03.09. That night, Ledecky lowered the record again, setting the first world record ever at the new Gold Coast Aquatic Center with a time of 3:58.37. Ledecky's winning time was over six seconds quicker than American teammate and silver medalist Cierra Runge.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: On the meet's final day, Ledecky set her fifth world record of the year, lowering her record in the 1500-meter freestyle by nearly six seconds with a time of 15:28.36. Ledecky swam the second half of the race faster than the first, completing the final 800 meters in 8:14.11—faster than any other woman has completed a regular 800-meter race in a textile suit. Ledecky lapped three competitors in the final and finished 27.33 seconds ahead of silver medalist Boyle. National Team Director Frank Busch described Ledecky's 1500 performance as "the most impressive race I have ever seen, and I've been in the sport for 50 years... She's blazing a completely different trail than anyone who has come before."


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At year's end, Ledecky was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by "Swimming World Magazine".


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles and the 4×200-meter freestyle. Her world records came in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyles. Ledecky is the first swimmer to win the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyles in a major competition. Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky began the World Championships by winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle in a time of 3:59.13, a new championship record and almost four seconds ahead of her closest competitor.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In the heats of the 1500-meter freestyle on the second day of competition, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:27.71.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: On the third day of competition during the morning session, Ledecky swam in the heats of the 200-meter freestyle and qualified first with a time of 1:55.82. In the evening session, Ledecky faced a tough double with the 1500-meter freestyle final and the semi-finals of the 200-meter freestyle shortly after. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48. Twenty-nine minutes later, Ledecky qualified 6th in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:56.76.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In her only event on the fourth day of competition, the 200-meter freestyle, Ledecky won her third gold medal of the meet, winning in a time of 1:55.16. Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. Ledecky's final 50-meter split of 29.33 was the second-fastest in the field behind Pellegrini's 29.23.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin won gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:55.64 and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:45.37.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: On the seventh day of competition, Ledecky completed her World Championships run by winning gold in the 800-meter freestyle in a world record time of 8:07.39, breaking her own record by 3.61 seconds.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky began 2016 at the Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin. On the final day of competition, she reset her world record in the 800-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 8:06.68. Earlier in the meet, she set world-leading times in the 200- and 400-meter freestyles and a U.S.-leading time in the 100-meter freestyle.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2016 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Ledecky won the 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyles to qualify for her second Olympic team. Ledecky opened the Trials with a win and meet record in the 400-meter freestyle (3:58.98). Two days later, she recorded a time of 1:54.88 en route to winning the 200-meter freestyle. On July 1, Ledecky broke Janet Evans's 28-year-old national championship record in the morning preliminary heats of the 800-meter freestyle (8:10.91) before placing seventh that evening in the 100-meter freestyle (53.99). The next day, Ledecky lowered her meet record, winning the 800-meter freestyle final by nearly 10 seconds (8:10.32). With her pair of swims in the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky took control of the top 11 fastest times in the event's history. At the conclusion of the week, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky's first event in the 2016 Summer Olympics was the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, swimming the anchor leg for the United States in both the prelims and final. Ledecky recorded a split of 52.64 in the heats. In the final, she joined Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzeil, and Dana Vollmer and recorded a split of 52.79, helping the team earn a silver medal (behind Australia) with a time of 3:31.89, a new national record for the United States.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Her first individual event was the 400-meter freestyle. Ledecky qualified in the heats with a time of 3:58.71, an Olympic record. In the final, she won the gold medal with a world record time of 3:56.46––nearly two seconds faster than her previous record from 2014 and almost 5 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, Jazmin Carlin.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky won a second gold in the 200-meter freestyle with a personal best of 1:53.73, beating Sarah Sjöström by 0.35 seconds.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky claimed her third gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Maya DiRado. Swimming the anchor leg again, Ledecky provided the fastest split of the field (1:53.74) to turn a 0.89-second deficit into a 1.84-second victory, stopping the clock at 7:43.03.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: She won a fourth gold in her final individual event, the 800-meter freestyle. She qualified in the heats with an Olympic record, 8:12.86, and set a world record in the finals of 8:04.79, over 11 seconds faster than the silver medalist, Jazmin Carlin.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: With three individual titles, Ledecky became the first swimmer to win the 200, 400 and 800 m freestyle at the same Olympics since Debbie Meyer did so in 1968 in Mexico City. Ledecky's final medal total (four golds, one silver) is the most decorated single-Olympics performance by a U.S. female athlete in terms of gold medals, topping Missy Franklin (2012; four golds, 1 bronze), Simone Biles (2016; four golds, 1 bronze), and Amy Van Dyken (1996; four golds). Ledecky was also the 2nd most decorated Olympian at the 2016 games behind Michael Phelps (5 golds, 1 silver).


title: Katie Ledecky

text: During the 2016–17 NCAA season, Ledecky set 12 NCAA records and nine American records while swimming as a freshman for Stanford University.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the Ohio State Invitational in November 2016, Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open marks in the women's 500-yard freestyle and 1650-yard freestyle.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington, Ledecky earned Swimmer of the Meet honors with four American records as Stanford won its first conference title in four years. On the first day of the meet, Ledecky anchored the 800-yard freestyle relay with a 1:40.28 split to break the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with Lia Neal, Katie Drabot, and Ella Eastin. The next day, Ledecky lowered her own mark again in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:25.15. On the meet's third day, she won the 400-yard individual medley in a new American record of 3:57.68 before finishing second to teammate Simone Manuel in the 200-yard freestyle with a personal best time less than a half hour later. On the meet's final day, Ledecky joined Manuel, Neal, and Janet Hu to break the NCAA and American record in the 400-yard freestyle relay.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Ledecky helped lead Stanford to its first team title since 1998. She reset her American, NCAA, and U.S. Open records in the 800-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, and 400-yard freestyle relay and won a meet-best five race titles overall. On the meet's first day, she recorded the team's fastest split to lower the 800-yard freestyle relay record to 6:45.91 with Manuel, Neal, and Eastin. The next day, she lowered her own record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:24.06, beating the second-fastest performer of all-time, Leah Smith, by nearly five seconds. On the meet's third day, Ledecky's 20th birthday, Ledecky recorded a personal-best time of 1:40.36 in the 200-yard freestyle to edge Manuel and tie Louisville sophomore Mallory Comerford for the title. On the meet's final day, Ledecky set an NCAA record in the 1000-yard freestyle (9:06.90) en route to a championship record in the 1650-yard freestyle (15:07.70), defeating runner-up Smith by 21.19 seconds and lapping all other competitors. In the meet's final event, Ledecky joined Manuel, Neal, and Hu to swim the second leg of Stanford's 400-yard freestyle relay. The team lowered its previous record with a time of 3:07.61, securing a 526.5–366 decision over runner-up California-Berkeley, the largest championship margin of victory since 2003.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Following the season, Ledecky became the first freshman in 35 years to receive the Honda Cup, which recognizes the nation's top female collegiate athlete.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the 2017 US National Championships, the qualifying meet for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, Ledecky won the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle and earned a spot on six events.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In Budapest, Ledecky broke the World Aquatics Championships' all-time female gold medal record, winning five golds and one silver to bring her career title total to 14.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky successfully defended her world title, finishing with a championship record time of 3:58.34. Later that evening, Ledecky swam the third leg of the 4×100-meter freestyle. Joined with Mallory Comerford, Kelsi Worrell, and Simone Manuel, Ledecky recorded a split of 53.83, helping the team win gold with a time of 3:31.72, a new national record for the United States.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. With this win being Ledecky's twelfth World Championship gold medal, Ledecky passed Missy Franklin for the most gold medals won by a female swimmer in long course World Championships history.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: On the fourth day of competition, Ledecky tied for silver in the 200-meter freestyle (with Emma McKeon), finishing behind Federica Pellegrini with a time of 1:55.18. This was Ledecky's first international loss in a final in individual event. Notably, in the semifinals the day prior, Ledecky recorded the top time in the semifinals with a time of 1:54.69. She achieved this result less than an hour after swimming the 1500-meter freestyle final.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Leah Smith, Mallory Comerford, and Melanie Margalis won gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:54.02, and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:43.39.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Ledecky concluded the meet with a win in the 800-meter freestyle, her fifth-straight title in the event across Olympics and World Championships.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: During the 2017–18 NCAA season, Ledecky set another three NCAA records and two American records while helping lead Stanford to its second straight team title.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: At the Texas A&M Invitational in November 2017, Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open mark in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:03.31.


title: Katie Ledecky

text: Following another undefeated dual meet season, Ledecky earned Swimmer of the Meet honors for the second straight year at the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, sweeping the 500-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, and 200-yard freestyle. In the 400-yard individual medley, Ledecky broke Katinka Hosszú's all-time record by one-hundredth of a second, finishing in 3:56.53. Stanford earned its second team title in as many years.