title: Governor General of Canada

text: Besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor general-designate. Though there may therefore be variations to the following, the appointee will generally travel to Ottawa, there receiving an official welcome and taking up residence at 7 Rideau Gate, and will begin preparations for their upcoming role, meeting with various high-level officials to ensure a smooth transition between governors general. The sovereign will also hold an audience with the appointee and will at that time induct both the governor general-designate and their spouse into the Order of Canada as Companions, as well as appointing the former as a Commander of both the Order of Military Merit and the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (should either person not have already received either of those honours).


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a developed convention, and the governor general acts at Majesty's pleasure (or the "Royal Pleasure"). The prime minister may therefore recommend to the that the viceroy remain in service for a longer period of time, sometimes upwards of more than seven years. A governor general may also resign, and two have died in office. In such a circumstance, or if the governor general leaves the country for longer than one month, the chief justice of Canada (or, if that position is vacant or unavailable, the senior puisne justice of the Supreme Court) serves as the administrator of the Government of Canada and exercises all powers of the governor general.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: In a speech on the subject of Confederation, made in 1866 to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, John A. Macdonald said of the planned governor: "We place no restriction on Her Majesty's prerogative in the selection of her representative ... The sovereign has unrestricted freedom of choice ... We leave that to Her Majesty in all confidence." However, between 1867 and 1931, governors general were appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British Cabinet. Thereafter, in accordance with the Statute of Westminster 1931, the appointment was made by the sovereign with the direction of their Canadian ministers only. Until 1952, all governors general were also either peers or sons of peers, and were born beyond Canada's borders. These viceroys spent a relatively limited time in Canada, but their travel schedules were so extensive that they could "learn more about Canada in five years than many Canadians in a lifetime". Still, though all Canadian nationals were as equally British subjects as their British counterparts prior to the implementation of the "Canadian Citizenship Act" in 1947, the idea of Canadian-born persons being appointed governor general was raised as early as 1919, when, at the Paris Peace Conference, Sir Robert Borden, prime minister of Canada, consulted with Louis Botha, prime minister of South Africa, and the two agreed that the viceregal appointees should be long-term residents of their respective dominions. Calls for just such an individual to be made viceroy came again in the late 1930s, but it was not until Vincent Massey's appointment by King George VI in 1952 that the position was filled by a Canadian-born individual. Massey stated of this that "a Canadian [as governor general] makes it far easier to look on the Crown as our own and on the Sovereign as Queen of Canada." This practice continued until 1999, when Queen Elizabeth II commissioned as her representative Adrienne Clarkson, a Hong Kong-born refugee to Canada. Moreover, the practice of alternating between francophone and anglophone Canadians was instituted with the appointment of Georges Vanier, a francophone who succeeded the anglophone Massey. All persons whose names are put forward to the for approval must first undergo background checks by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Although required by the tenets of constitutional monarchy to be nonpartisan while in office, governors general were often former politicians; a number held seats in the British House of Lords by virtue of their inclusion in the peerage. Appointments of former ministers of the Crown in the 1980s and 1990s were criticized by Peter H. Russell, who stated in 2009: "much of [the] advantage of the monarchical system is lost in Canada when prime ministers recommend partisan colleagues to be appointed governor general and represent [the ]." Clarkson was the first governor general in Canadian history without either a political or military background, as well as the first Asian-Canadian and the second woman, following on Jeanne Sauvé. The third woman to hold this position was also the first Caribbean-Canadian governor general, Michaëlle Jean.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: There have been, from time to time, proposals put forward for modifications to the selection process of the governor general. Most recently, the group Citizens for a Canadian Republic has advocated the election of the nominee to the , either by popular or parliamentary vote; a proposal echoed by Adrienne Clarkson, who called for the prime minister's choice to not only be vetted by a parliamentary committee, but also submit to a televised quiz on Canadiana. Constitutional scholars, editorial boards, and the Monarchist League of Canada have argued against any such constitutional tinkering with the viceregal appointment process, stating that the position being "not elected is an asset, not a handicap", and that an election would politicize the office, thereby undermining the impartiality necessary to the proper functioning of the governor general.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: A new approach was used in 2010 for the selection of David Johnston as governor general-designate. For the task, Prime Minister Stephen Harper convened a special search group — the Governor General Consultation Committee—was instructed to find a non-partisan candidate who would respect the monarchical aspects of the viceregal office and conducted extensive consultations with more than 200 people across the country. In 2012, the committee was made permanent and renamed as the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments, with a modified membership and its scope broadened to include the appointment of provincial lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners (though the latter are not personal representatives of the monarch). However, Justin Trudeau did not make use of a selection committee when he recommended Julie Payette as Johnston's successor in 2017.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The swearing-in ceremony begins with the arrival at 7 Rideau Gate of one of the ministers of the Crown, who then accompanies the governor general-designate to Parliament Hill, where a Canadian Forces guard of honour (consisting of the Army Guard, Royal Canadian Air Force Guard, and Flag Party of the Royal Canadian Navy) awaits to give a general salute. From there, the party is led by the 's parliamentary messenger—the usher of the Black Rod—to the Senate chamber, wherein all justices of the Supreme Court, senators, members of Parliament, and other guests are assembled. The 's commission for the governor general-designate is then read aloud by the secretary to the governor general and the required oaths are administered to the appointee by either the chief justice or one of the puisne justices of the Supreme Court; the three oaths are: the Oath of Allegiance, the Oath of Office as Governor General and Commander-in-Chief, and the Oath as Keeper of the Great Seal of Canada. With the affixing of their signature to these three solemn promises, the individual is officially the governor general, and at that moment the flag of the governor general of Canada is raised on the Peace Tower, the Viceregal Salute is played by the Central Band of the Canadian Forces, and a 21-gun salute is conducted by the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. The governor general is seated on the throne while a prayer is read, and then receives the Great Seal of Canada (which is passed to the registrar general for protection), as well as the chains of both the chancellor of the Order of Canada and of the Order of Military Merit. The governor general will then give a speech, outlining whichever cause or causes they will champion during their time as viceroy.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Canada shares the person of the sovereign equally with 14 other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and that individual, in the monarch's capacity as the Canadian sovereign, has 10 other legal personas within the Canadian federation. As the sovereign works and resides predominantly outside of Canada's borders, the governor general's primary task is to perform federal constitutional duties on behalf of the monarch. As such, the governor general carries on "the Government of Canada on behalf and in the name of the Sovereign".


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The governor general acts within the principles of parliamentary democracy and responsible government as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and as a nonpartisan safeguard against the abuse of power. For the most part, however, the powers of the Crown are exercised on a day-to-day basis by elected and appointed individuals, leaving the governor general to perform the various ceremonial duties the sovereign otherwise carries out when in the country; at such a moment, the governor general removes him or herself from public, though the presence of the monarch does not affect the governor general's ability to perform governmental roles.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Past governor general the Marquess of Lorne said of the job: "It is no easy thing to be a governor general of Canada. You must have the patience of a saint, the smile of a cherub, the generosity of an Indian prince, and the back of a camel", and the Earl of Dufferin stated that the governor general is "A representative of all that is august, stable, and sedate in the government, the history, and the traditions of the country; incapable of partizanship, and lifted far above the atmosphere of faction; without adherents to reward or opponents to oust from office; docile to the suggestions of his Ministers, and yet securing to the people the certainty of being able to get rid of an Administration or Parliament the moment either had forfeited their confidence."


title: Governor General of Canada

text: All executive, legislative, and judicial power in and over Canada is vested in the monarch. The governor general is permitted to exercise most of this power, including the royal prerogative, in the sovereign's name; some as outlined in the "Constitution Act, 1867", and some through various letters patent issued over the decades, particularly those from 1947 that constitute the Office of Governor General of Canada. The 1947 letters patent state: "And We do hereby authorize and empower Our Governor General, with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada or of any members thereof or individually, as the case requires, to exercise all powers and authorities lawfully belonging to Us in respect of Canada." The office itself does not, however, independently possess any powers of the royal prerogative, only exercising the Crown's powers with its permission; a fact the "Constitution Act, 1867" left unchanged. Among other duties, the monarch retains the sole right to appoint the governor general. It is also stipulated that the governor general may appoint deputies—usually Supreme Court justices and the secretary to the governor general—who can perform some of the viceroy's constitutional duties in the governor general's absence, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court (or a puisne justice in the chief justice's absence) will act as the administrator of the government upon the death or removal, as well as the incapacitation, or absence of the governor general for more than one month.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: It is the governor general who is required by the "Constitution Act, 1867", to appoint for life persons to the 's Privy Council for Canada, who are all theoretically tasked with tendering to the monarch and viceroy guidance on the exercise of the royal prerogative. Convention dictates, though, that the governor general must draw from the Privy Council an individual to become the prime minister—in almost all cases the member of Parliament who commands the confidence of the House of Commons. The prime minister then advises the governor general to appoint other members of parliament to a committee of the privy council known as the Cabinet, and it is in practice only from this group of ministers of the Crown that the and governor general will take advice on the use of executive power; an arrangement called the "-in-Council" or, more specifically, the "Governor-in-Council". In this capacity, the governor general will issue royal proclamations and sign orders in council. The Governor-in-Council is also specifically tasked by the "Constitution Act, 1867", to appoint in the 's name the lieutenant governors of the provinces (with the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments and the premiers of the provinces concerned playing an advisory role), senators, the speaker of the Senate, and superior, district and county court judges in each province, except those of the Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The advice given by the Cabinet is, in order to ensure the stability of government, by political convention typically binding; both the and viceroy, however, may in exceptional circumstances invoke the reserve powers, which remain the Crown's final check against a ministry's abuse of power.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The governor general, as the representative of the Canadian sovereign, carries out the parliamentary duties of the sovereign in their absence, such as summoning Parliament, reading the speech from the throne, and proroguing and dissolving Parliament. The governor general also grants royal assent in the 's name; legally, the governor general has three options: grant royal assent (making the bill a law), withhold royal assent (vetoing the bill), or reserve the bill for the signification of the 's pleasure (allowing the sovereign to personally grant or withhold assent). If the governor general withholds the 's assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question. No modern Canadian viceroy has denied royal assent to a bill. Provincial viceroys, however, are able to reserve royal assent to provincial bills for the governor general, which was last invoked in 1961 by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: With most constitutional functions lent to Cabinet, the governor general acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion. The governor general will host members of Canada's royal family, as well as foreign royalty and heads of state, and will represent the and country abroad on state visits to other nations, though the monarch's permission is necessary, via the prime minister, for the viceroy to leave Canada. Also as part of international relations, the governor general issues letters of credence and of recall for Canadian ambassadors and high commissioners and receives the same from foreign ambassadors and other Commonwealth countries' high commissioners appointed to Canada.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The governor general is also tasked with fostering national unity and pride. Queen Elizabeth II stated in 1959 to then Governor General Vincent Massey "maintain[ing] the right relationship between the Crown and the people of Canada [is] the most important function among the many duties of the appointment which you have held with such distinction." One way in which this is carried out is travelling the country and meeting with Canadians from all regions and ethnic groups in Canada, continuing the tradition begun in 1869 by Governor General the Lord Lisgar. The governor general will also induct individuals into the various national orders and present national medals and decorations. Similarly, the viceroy administers and distributes the Governor General's Awards, and will also give out awards associated with private organizations, some of which are named for past governors general. During a federal election, the governor general will curtail these public duties, so as not to appear as though they are involving themselves in political affairs.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Although the constitution of Canada states that the "Command-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia, and of all Naval and Military Forces, of and in Canada, is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the Queen," the governor general acts in place as Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces and is permitted through the 1947 Letters Patent to use the title "Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada". The position technically involves issuing commands for Canadian troops, airmen, and sailors, but is predominantly a ceremonial role in which the viceroy will visit Canadian Forces bases across Canada and abroad to take part in military ceremonies, see troops off to and return from active duty, and encourage excellence and morale amongst the forces. The governor general also serves as honorary Colonel of three household regiments: the Governor General's Horse Guards, Governor General's Foot Guards and Canadian Grenadier Guards. This ceremonial position is directly under that of Colonel-in-Chief, which is held by the . Since 1910, the governor general was also always made the chief scout for Canada, which was renamed "Chief Scout of Canada" after 1946 and again in 2011 as "Patron Scout".


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Rideau Hall, located in Ottawa, is the official residence of the Canadian monarch and of the governor general and is thus the location of the viceregal household and the Chancellery of Honours. For a part of each year since 1872, governors general have also resided at the Citadel () in Quebec City, Quebec. A governor general's wife is known as the of Rideau Hall, though there is no equivalent term for a governor general's husband.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The viceregal household aids the governor general in the execution of the royal constitutional and ceremonial duties and is managed by the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General. The Chancellery of Honours depends from the and is thus also located at Rideau Hall and administered by the governor general. As such, the viceroy's secretary "ex officio" holds the position of Herald Chancellor of Canada, overseeing the Canadian Heraldic Authority—the mechanism of the Canadian honours system by which armorial bearings are granted to Canadians by the governor general in the name of the sovereign. These organized offices and support systems include aides-de-camp, press officers, financial managers, speech writers, trip organizers, event planners, protocol officers, chefs and other kitchen employees, waiters, and various cleaning staff, as well as visitors' centre staff and tour guides at both official residences. In this official and bureaucratic capacity, the entire household is often referred to as "Government House" and its departments are funded through the normal federal budgetary process, as is the governor general's salary of CAD$288,900, which has been taxed since 2013. Additional costs are incurred from separate ministries and organizations such as the National Capital Commission, the Department of National Defence, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The governor general's air transportation is assigned to 412 Transport Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron uses Bombardier Challenger 600 VIP jets to transport the governor general to locations within and outside of Canada.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: As the personal representative of the monarch, the governor general follows only the sovereign in the Canadian order of precedence, preceding even other members of the Royal Family. Though the federal viceroy is considered "primus inter pares" amongst provincial counterparts, the governor general also outranks the lieutenant governors in the federal sphere; at provincial functions, however, the relevant lieutenant governor, as the 's representative in the province, precedes the governor general. The incumbent governor general and their spouse are also the only people in Canada, other than serving Canadian ambassadors and high commissioners, entitled to the use of the style "His" or "Her Excellency" and the governor general is granted the additional honorific of "the Right Honourable" for their time in office and for life afterwards.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Prior to 1952, all governors general of Canada were members of the peerage or heir apparent to a peerage. Typically, individuals appointed as federal viceroy were already a peer, either by inheriting the title, such as the Duke of Devonshire, or by prior elevation by the sovereign in their own right, as was the case with the Viscount Alexander of Tunis. None were life peers, the "Life Peerages Act 1958" postdating the beginning of the tradition of appointing Canadian citizens as governor general. John Buchan was, in preparation for his appointment as governor general, made the Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield in the County of Oxford by King George V, six months before Buchan was sworn in as viceroy. The leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition at the time, William Lyon Mackenzie King, felt Buchan should serve as governor general as a commoner; however, King George V insisted he be represented by a peer. With the appointment of Vincent Massey as governor general in 1952, governors general ceased to be members of the peerage; successive governments since that date have held to the non-binding and defeated (in 1934) principles of the 1919 Nickle Resolution.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Under the orders' constitutions, the governor general serves as Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor of the Order of Military Merit, and Chancellor of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. The governor general also upon installation automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Prior and Chief Officer in Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. As acting commander-in-chief, the governor general is further routinely granted the Canadian Forces Decoration by the chief of the Defence Staff on behalf of the monarch. All of these honours are retained following an incumbent's departure from office, with the individual remaining in the highest categories of the orders, and they may also be further distinguished with induction into other orders or the receipt of other awards.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The Viceregal Salute — composed of the first six bars of the Royal Anthem ("God Save the ") followed by the first and last four bars of the national anthem ("O Canada") — is the salute used to greet the governor general upon arrival and departure from most official events. To mark the viceroy's presence at any building, ship, airplane, or car in Canada, the governor general's flag is employed. The present form was adopted on 23 February 1981 and, in the federal jurisdiction, takes precedence over all other flags except for the 's personal Canadian standard. When the governor general undertakes a state visit, however, the national flag is generally employed to mark governor general's presence. This flag is also, along with all flags on Canadian Forces property, flown at half-mast upon the death of an incumbent or former governor general.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The crest of the Royal Arms of Canada is employed as the badge of the governor general, appearing on the viceroy's flag and on other objects associated with the person or the office. This is the fourth such incarnation of the governor general's mark since confederation.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: French colonization of North America began in the 1580s and Aymar de Chaste was appointed in 1602 by King Henry IV as Viceroy of Canada. The explorer Samuel de Champlain became the first unofficial Governor of New France in the early 17th century, serving until Charles Huault de Montmagny was in 1636 formally appointed to the post by King Louis XIII. The French Company of One Hundred Associates then administered New France until King Louis XIV took control of the colony and appointed Augustin de Saffray de Mésy as the first governor general in 1663, after whom 12 more people served in the post.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France relinquished most of its North American territories, including Canada, to Great Britain. King George III then issued in that same year a royal proclamation establishing, amongst other regulations, the Office of the Governor of Quebec to preside over the new Province of Quebec. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick remained completely separate colonies, each with their own governor, until the cabinet of William Pitt adopted in the 1780s the idea that they, along with Quebec and Prince Edward Island, should have as their respective governors a single individual styled as "Governor-in-Chief". The post was created in 1786, with The Lord Dorchester as its first occupant. However, the governor-in-chief directly governed only Quebec. It was not until the splitting in 1791 of the Province of Quebec, to accommodate the influx of United Empire Loyalists fleeing the American revolutionary war, that the king's representative, with a change in title to "Governor General", directly governed Lower Canada, while the other three colonies were each administered by a lieutenant governor in his stead.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Following the 1783 recognition of the independence of the thirteen continental colonies that became the United States of America and the transfer of East Florida and West Florida to Spain, the remaining British colonies of North America, including the archipelago of Bermuda, were partly integrated as British North America. During the American War of 1812, Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost was "Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the Provinces of Upper-Canada, Lower-Canada, Nova-Scotia, and New~Brunswick, and their several Dependencies, Vice-Admiral of the same, Lieutenant-General and Commander of all His Majesty’s Forces in the said Provinces of Lower Canada and Upper-Canada, Nova-Scotia and New-Brunswick, and their several Dependencies, and in the islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, Cape Breton and the Bermudas, &c. &c. &c." Beneath Prevost, the staff of the British Army in "the Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including the Islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda" were under the Command of Lieutenant-General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke. Below Sherbrooke, the Bermuda Garrison was under the immediate control of the lieutenant-governor of Bermuda, Major-General George Horsford). Although the civil government of Bermuda would soon be separated, again, its naval establishment, military garrison, and the established Church of England in Bermuda would long remain linked (the headquarters of the Royal Navy's North America and West Indies Station would alternate between Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Bermuda until the 1820s, after which it remained at Bermuda year round until the station was abolished in 1956; the Royal Navy having handed over Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1907. The governor and commander-in-chief of Bermuda and the garrison of Bermuda remained subsidiary to the British Army commander-in-chief at Halifax until the British Army handed military defence over to the Canadian militia and withdrew from the Maritimes in 1870, following the Confederation of Canada. Bermuda and Newfoundland, both left out of the Confederation, remained under the bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda until 1919, when the bishop of Bermuda became a separate office from the bishop of Newfoundland.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The Rebellions of 1837 brought about great changes to the role of the governor general, prompting, as they did, the British government to grant responsible government to the Canadian provinces. As a result, the viceroys became largely nominal heads, while the democratically elected legislatures and the premiers they supported exercised the authority belonging to the Crown; a concept first put to the test when, in 1849, Governor-General of the Province of Canada and Lieutenant-Governor of Canada East the Earl of Elgin granted Royal Assent to the Rebellion Losses Bill, despite his personal misgivings towards the legislation.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: This arrangement continued after the reunification in 1840 of Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada, and the establishment of the Dominion of Canada in 1867. The governor general carried out in Canada all the parliamentary and ceremonial functions of a constitutional monarch—amongst other things, granting Royal Assent, issuing Orders-in-Council, and taking advice from the Canadian Privy Council. However, the governor still remained not a viceroy, in the true sense of the word, being still a representative of and liaison to the British government—the Queen in her British council of ministers—who answered to the secretary of state for the colonies in London and who, as a British observer of Canadian politics, held well into the First World War a suite of offices in the East Block of Parliament Hill. But, the new position of Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, created in 1880, began to take over the governor general's role as a link between the Canadian and British governments, leaving the viceroy increasingly as a personal representative of the monarch. As such, the governor general had to retain a sense of political neutrality; a skill that was put to the test when the Marquess of Lorne disagreed with his Canadian prime minister, John A. Macdonald, over the dismissal of Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Luc Letellier de St-Just. On the advice of the colonial secretary, and to avoid conflict with the cabinet of Canada, the Marquess did eventually concede, and released St-Just from duty. The governor general was then in May 1891 called upon to resolve the Dominion's first cabinet crisis, wherein Prime Minister Macdonald died, leaving the Lord Stanley of Preston to select a new prime minister.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: As early as 1880, the viceregal family and court attracted minor ridicule from the Queen's subjects: in July of that year, someone under the pseudonym "Captain Mac" included in a pamphlet called "Canada: from the Lakes to the Gulf", a coarse satire of an investiture ceremony at Rideau Hall, in which a retired inn-keeper and his wife undergo the rigorous protocol of the royal household and sprawl on the floor before the Duke of Argyll so as to be granted the knighthood for which they had "paid in cold, hard cash". Later, prior to the arrival of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (the uncle of King George V), to take up the post of governor general, there was a "feeble undercurrent of criticism" centring on worries about a rigid court at Rideau Hall; worries that turned out to be unfounded as the royal couple was actually more relaxed than their predecessors.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: During the First World War, into which Canada was drawn due to its association with the United Kingdom, the governor general's role turned from one of cultural patron and state ceremony to one of military inspector and morale booster. Starting in 1914, Governor General Prince Arthur donned his Field Marshal's uniform and put his efforts into raising contingents, inspecting army camps, and seeing troops off before their voyage to Europe. These actions, however, led to conflict with the prime minister at the time, Robert Borden; though the latter placed blame on Military Secretary Edward Stanton, he also opined that the Duke "laboured under the handicap of his position as a member of the Royal Family and never realized his limitations as Governor General". Prince Arthur's successor, the Duke of Devonshire, faced the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and held discussions with his Canadian prime minister, as well as members of the Official Opposition, on the matter. Once the government implemented conscription, Devonshire, after consulting on the pulse of the nation with Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Vincent Massey, Henri Bourassa, Archbishop of Montreal Paul Bruchési, Duncan Campbell Scott, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, and Stephen Leacock, made efforts to conciliate Quebec, though he had little real success.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Canada's national sentiment had gained fortitude through the country's sacrifices on the battlefields of the First World War and, by war's end, the interference of the British government in Canadian affairs was causing ever-increasing discontent amongst Canadian officials; in 1918, the "Toronto Star" was even advocating the end of the office. The governor general's role was also changing to focus less on the larger Empire and more on uniquely Canadian affairs, including the undertaking of official international visits on behalf of Canada, the first being that of the Marquess of Willingdon to the United States, where he was accorded by President Calvin Coolidge the full honours of representative of a head of state. It would be another decade, however, before the King-Byng Affair: another catalyst for change in the relationship between Canada—indeed, all the dominions—and the United Kingdom, and thus the purpose of the governor general.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: In 1926, Liberal prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, facing a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons over a scandal in his party, requested that Governor General Lord Byng dissolve parliament and call an election. Byng, however, refused his Canadian prime minister's advice, citing both the facts that King held the minority of seats in the house and that a general election had been held only months earlier; he thus called on Arthur Meighen to form a government. Within a week however, Meighen's Conservative government lost its own non-confidence vote, forcing the Governor General to dissolve parliament and call elections that saw Mackenzie King returned to power. King then went on to the Imperial Conference that same year and there pushed for reorganizations that resulted in the Balfour Declaration, which declared formally the practical reality that had existed for some years: namely, that the Dominions were fully autonomous and equal in status to the United Kingdom. These new developments were codified in the Statute of Westminster, through the enactment of which on 11 December 1931, Canada, along with the Union of South Africa and the Irish Free State, immediately obtained formal legislative independence from the UK. In addition, the Balfour Declaration also held that the governor general would cease to act as the representative of the British government. Accordingly, in 1928, the United Kingdom appointed its first High Commissioner to Canada thus effectively ending the governor general's diplomatic role as the British government's envoy.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The governor general thus became solely the representative of the monarch within Canadian jurisdiction, ceasing completely to be an agent of the British Cabinet, and as such would be appointed by the monarch granting his royal sign-manual under the Great Seal of Canada only on the advice of his Canadian prime minister.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The Canadian Cabinet's first recommendation under this new system was still, however, a British subject born outside of Canada: Lord Tweedsmuir. His birthplace aside, though, the professional author took further than any of his predecessors the idea of a distinct Canadian identity, travelling the length and breadth of the country, including, for the first time for a governor general, the Arctic regions. Not all Canadians, however, shared Tweedsmuir's views; the Baron raised the ire of imperialists when he said in Montreal in 1937: "a Canadian's first loyalty is not to the British Commonwealth of Nations, but to Canada and Canada's King", a statement the "Montreal Gazette" dubbed as "disloyal". During Tweedsmuir's time as viceroy, which started in 1935, calls began to emerge for a Canadian-born individual to be appointed as governor general; but Tweedsmuir died suddenly in office in 1940, while Canada was in the midst of the Second World War, and Prime Minister Mackenzie King did not feel it was the right time to search for a suitable Canadian. The Earl of Athlone was instead appointed by King George VI, Athlone's nephew, to be his viceroy for the duration of the war.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: It was in 1952, a mere five days before King George VI's death, that Vincent Massey became the first Canadian-born person to be appointed as a governor general in Canada since the Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal was made Governor General of New France on 1 January 1755, as well as the first not to be elevated to the peerage since Sir Edmund Walker Head in 1854. There was some trepidation about this departure from tradition and Massey was intended to be a compromise: he was known to embody loyalty, dignity, and formality, as expected from a viceroy. As his viceregal tenure neared an end, it was thought that Massey, an anglophone, should be followed by a francophone Canadian; and so, in spite of his Liberal Party attachments, Georges Vanier was chosen by Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker as the next governor general. Vanier was subsequently appointed by Queen Elizabeth II in person at a meeting of her Canadian Cabinet, thus initiating the convention of alternating between individuals from Canada's two main linguistic groups. This move did not, however, placate those who were fostering the new Quebec nationalist movement, for whom the monarchy and other federal institutions were a target for attack. Though Vanier was a native of Quebec and fostered biculturalism, he was not immune to the barbs of the province's sovereigntists and, when he attended "la Fête St-Jean-Baptiste" in Montreal in 1964, a group of separatists held placards reading ""'"" ("Vanier sold out") and ""'"" ("Vanier Queen's jester").


title: Governor General of Canada

text: In light of this regional nationalism and a resultant change in attitudes towards Canadian identity, images and the role of the monarchy were cautiously downplayed, and Vanier's successor, Roland Michener, was the last viceroy to practice many of the office's ancient traditions, such as the wearing of court uniform by the governor general, the requirement of court dress for state occasions, and expecting women to curtsey before the governor general. At the same time, he initiated new practices for the viceroy, including regular conferences with the lieutenant governors and the undertaking of state visits. He presided over Canada's centennial celebrations and the coincidental Expo 67, to which French president Charles de Gaulle was invited. Michener was with de Gaulle when he made his infamous """""" speech in Montreal and was cheered wildly by the gathered crowd while they booed and jeered Michener. With the additional recognition of the monarchy as a Canadian institution, the establishment of a distinct Canadian honours system, an increase of state visits coming with Canada's growing role on the world stage, and the more prevalent use of television to visually broadcast ceremonial state affairs, the governor general became more publicly active in national life.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: The Cabinet in June 1978 proposed the constitutional amendment Bill C-60, that, amongst other changes, vested executive authority directly in the governor general and renamed the position as "First Canadian", but the proposal was thwarted by the provincial premiers. When the constitution was patriated four years later, the new amending formula for the documents outlined that any changes to the Crown, including the Office of the Governor General, would require the consent of all the provincial legislatures plus the federal parliament. By 1984, Canada's first female governor general—Jeanne Sauvé—was appointed. While it was she who created the Canadian Heraldic Authority, as permitted by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth II, and who championed youth and world peace, Sauvé proved to be a controversial vicereine, closing to the public the grounds of the Queen's residence and self-aggrandizingly breaching protocol on a number of occasions.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Sarah, Duchess of York, said in 2009 that sometime during her marriage to Prince Andrew, Duke of York, her husband was offered the position of governor general of Canada, and she speculated in hindsight that their agreement to refuse the commission may have been a contributing factor in their eventual break-up. Instead, Sauvé's tenure as governor general was book-ended by a series of appointments—Edward Schreyer, Ray Hnatyshyn, and Roméo LeBlanc—that have been generally regarded as mere patronage postings for former politicians and friends of the incumbent prime minister at the time, and despite the duties they carried out, their combined time in the viceregal office is generally viewed as unremarkable at best, and damaging to the office at worst. As David Smith described it: "Notwithstanding the personal qualities of the appointees, which have often been extraordinary, the Canadian governor general has become a hermetic head of state—ignored by press, politicians and public." It was theorized by Peter Boyce that this was due, in part, to widespread misunderstanding about the governor general's role coupled with a lack of public presence compared to the media coverage dedicated to the increasingly presidentialized prime minister.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: It was with the Queen's appointment of Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, that a shift in the office took place. Clarkson was the first Canadian viceroy to have not previously held any political or military position—coming as she did from a background of television journalism with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation—was the first since 1952 to have been born outside of Canada, the first from a visible minority (she is of Chinese ancestry), and, by her being accompanied to Rideau Hall by her husband, author and philosopher John Ralston Saul, the official appointment brought an unofficial pair to the viceregal placement, in that the governor general would not be the only person actively exploring Canadian theory and culture. Clarkson managed to bring the viceregal office back into the collective consciousness of Canadians, winning praise for touring the country more than any of her predecessors, her inspiring speeches, and her dedication to the military in her role as the Commander-in-Chief's representative. This did not come without a cost, however, as the attention also drew widespread criticism of the governor general's increased spending on state affairs, for which the office was symbolically rebuked by parliament when it voted in favour of cutting by 10% the viceregal budget it had earlier supported, as well as for fostering the notion, through various demonstrations, that the governor general was ultimately the Canadian head of state above the Queen herself, an approach that was said by Jack Granatstein to have caused "a fury" with the Queen on one occasion in 2004. This attitude was not unique to Clarkson, though; it had been observed that, for some decades, staff at Rideau Hall and various government departments in Ottawa had been pushing to present the governor general as head of state, part of a wider Liberal policy on the monarchy that had been in effect at least since the proposed constitutional changes in the 1970s, if not the 1964 Truncheon Saturday riot in Quebec City. Indeed, international observers opined that the viceroys had been, over the years, making deliberate attempts to distance themselves from the sovereign, for fear of being too closely associated with any "Britishness" the monarch embodied.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Prime Minister Paul Martin followed Chrétien's example and, for Clarkson's successor, put forward to the Queen the name of Michaëlle Jean, who was, like Clarkson, a woman, a refugee, a member of a visible minority, a CBC career journalist, and married to an intellectual husband who worked in the arts. Her appointment initially sparked accusations that she was a supporter of Quebec sovereignty, and it was observed that she had on a few occasions trodden into political matters, as well as continuing to foster the notion that the governor general had replaced the Queen as head of state, thereby "unbalancing ... the federalist symmetry". But Jean ultimately won plaudits, particularly for her solidarity with the Canadian Forces and the Indigenous peoples in Canada, as well as her role in the parliamentary dispute that took place between December 2008 and January 2009.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: With the appointment of academic David Johnston, former principal of McGill University and subsequently president of the University of Waterloo, there was a signalled emphasis for the governor general to vigorously promote learning and innovation. Johnston stated in his inaugural address: "[We want to be] a society that innovates, embraces its talent and uses the knowledge of each of its citizens to improve the human condition for all." There was also a recognition of Johnston's expertise in constitutional law, following the controversial prorogations of Parliament in 2008 and 2009, which initiated some debate about the governor general's role as the representative of Canada's head of state.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: Retired governors general usually either withdraw from public life or go on to hold other public offices. Edward Schreyer, for instance, was appointed Canadian High Commissioner to Australia upon his departure from the viceregal role in 1984, and Michaëlle Jean became the UNESCO special envoy to Haiti and, later, the secretary-general of La Francophonie. Schreyer also become the first former governor general to run for elected office in Canada when he unsuccessfully vied for a seat in the House of Commons as a New Democratic Party candidate. Prior to 1952, several former viceroys returned to political careers in the United Kingdom, sitting with party affiliations in the House of Lords and, in some cases, taking a position in the British Cabinet. The Marquess of Lorne was elected a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom in 1895, and remained so until he became the Duke of Argyll and took his seat in the House of Lords. Others were made governors in other countries or territories: the Viscount Monck was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Dublin, the Earl of Aberdeen was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and the Earl of Dufferin, the Marquess of Lansdowne, The Earl of Minto, and The Earl of Willingdon all subsequently served as Viceroy of India.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: An outgoing governor general may leave an eponymous award as a legacy, such as the Stanley Cup, the Clarkson Cup, the Vanier Cup, or the Grey Cup. They may found an institution, as Georges Vanier did with the Vanier Institute of the Family and Adrienne Clarkson with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. Three former governors general have released memoirs: the Lord Tweedsmuir ("Memory Hold-the-Door"), Vincent Massey ("What's Past is Prologue"), and Adrienne Clarkson ("Heart Matters").


title: Governor General of Canada

text: As of 2021, former governors general are entitled to a lifetime pension of nearly $150,000 and also to claim an additional $206,000 in expenses each year.


title: Governor General of Canada

text: , there are five living former governors general of Canada. The most recently deceased former governor general, Roméo LeBlanc (1995–2000), died on 24 June 2009.


title: Molecule

text: A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and biochemistry, the distinction from ions is dropped and "molecule" is often used when referring to polyatomic ions.


title: Molecule

text: A molecule may be homonuclear, that is, it consists of atoms of one chemical element, e.g. two atoms in the oxygen molecule (O); or it may be heteronuclear, a chemical compound composed of more than one element, e.g. water (two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom; HO). In the kinetic theory of gases, the term "molecule" is often used for any gaseous particle regardless of its composition. This relaxes the requirement that a molecule contains two or more atoms, since the noble gases are individual atoms. Atoms and complexes connected by non-covalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonds or ionic bonds, are typically not considered single molecules.


title: Molecule

text: Concepts similar to molecules have been discussed since ancient times, but modern investigation into the nature of molecules and their bonds began in the 17th century. Refined over time by scientists such as Robert Boyle, Amedeo Avogadro, Jean Perrin, and Linus Pauling, the study of molecules is today known as molecular physics or molecular chemistry.


title: Molecule

text: According to Merriam-Webster and the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word "molecule" derives from the Latin "moles" or small unit of mass. The word is derived from French ' (1678), from New Latin ', diminutive of Latin "" "mass, barrier". The word, which until the late 18th century was used only in Latin form, became popular after being used in works of philosophy by Descartes.


title: Molecule

text: The definition of the molecule has evolved as knowledge of the structure of molecules has increased. Earlier definitions were less precise, defining molecules as the smallest particles of pure chemical substances that still retain their composition and chemical properties. This definition often breaks down since many substances in ordinary experience, such as rocks, salts, and metals, are composed of large crystalline networks of chemically bonded atoms or ions, but are not made of discrete molecules.


title: Molecule

text: The modern concept of molecules can be traced back towards pre-scientific and Greek philosophers such as Leucippus and Democritus who argued that all the universe is composed of atoms and voids. Circa 450 BC Empedocles imagined fundamental elements (fire (), earth (), air (), and water ()) and "forces" of attraction and repulsion allowing the elements to interact.


title: Molecule

text: A fifth element, the incorruptible quintessence aether, was considered to be the fundamental building block of the heavenly bodies. The viewpoint of Leucippus and Empedocles, along with the aether, was accepted by Aristotle and passed to medieval and renaissance Europe.


title: Molecule

text: In a more concrete manner, however, the concept of aggregates or units of bonded atoms, i.e. "molecules", traces its origins to Robert Boyle's 1661 hypothesis, in his famous treatise "The Sceptical Chymist", that matter is composed of "clusters of particles" and that chemical change results from the rearrangement of the clusters. Boyle argued that matter's basic elements consisted of various sorts and sizes of particles, called "corpuscles", which were capable of arranging themselves into groups. In 1789, William Higgins published views on what he called combinations of "ultimate" particles, which foreshadowed the concept of valency bonds. If, for example, according to Higgins, the force between the ultimate particle of oxygen and the ultimate particle of nitrogen were 6, then the strength of the force would be divided accordingly, and similarly for the other combinations of ultimate particles.


title: Molecule

text: Amedeo Avogadro created the word "molecule". His 1811 paper "Essay on Determining the Relative Masses of the Elementary Molecules of Bodies", he essentially states, i.e. according to Partington's "A Short History of Chemistry", that:In coordination with these concepts, in 1833 the French chemist Marc Antoine Auguste Gaudin presented a clear account of Avogadro's hypothesis, regarding atomic weights, by making use of "volume diagrams", which clearly show both semi-correct molecular geometries, such as a linear water molecule, and correct molecular formulas, such as HO:


title: Molecule

text: In 1917, an unknown American undergraduate chemical engineer named Linus Pauling was learning the Dalton hook-and-eye bonding method, which was the mainstream description of bonds between atoms at the time. Pauling, however, wasn't satisfied with this method and looked to the newly emerging field of quantum physics for a new method. In 1926, French physicist Jean Perrin received the Nobel Prize in physics for proving, conclusively, the existence of molecules. He did this by calculating Avogadro's number using three different methods, all involving liquid phase systems. First, he used a gamboge soap-like emulsion, second by doing experimental work on Brownian motion, and third by confirming Einstein's theory of particle rotation in the liquid phase.


title: Molecule

text: In 1927, the physicists Fritz London and Walter Heitler applied the new quantum mechanics to the deal with the saturable, nondynamic forces of attraction and repulsion, i.e., exchange forces, of the hydrogen molecule. Their valence bond treatment of this problem, in their joint paper, was a landmark in that it brought chemistry under quantum mechanics. Their work was an influence on Pauling, who had just received his doctorate and visited Heitler and London in Zürich on a Guggenheim Fellowship.


title: Molecule

text: Subsequently, in 1931, building on the work of Heitler and London and on theories found in Lewis' famous article, Pauling published his ground-breaking article "The Nature of the Chemical Bond" in which he used quantum mechanics to calculate properties and structures of molecules, such as angles between bonds and rotation about bonds. On these concepts, Pauling developed hybridization theory to account for bonds in molecules such as CH, in which four sp³ hybridised orbitals are overlapped by hydrogen's "1s" orbital, yielding four sigma (σ) bonds. The four bonds are of the same length and strength, which yields a molecular structure as shown below:


title: Molecule

text: The science of molecules is called "molecular chemistry" or "molecular physics", depending on whether the focus is on chemistry or physics. Molecular chemistry deals with the laws governing the interaction between molecules that results in the formation and breakage of chemical bonds, while molecular physics deals with the laws governing their structure and properties. In practice, however, this distinction is vague. In molecular sciences, a molecule consists of a stable system (bound state) composed of two or more atoms. Polyatomic ions may sometimes be usefully thought of as electrically charged molecules. The term "unstable molecule" is used for very reactive species, i.e., short-lived assemblies (resonances) of electrons and nuclei, such as radicals, molecular ions, Rydberg molecules, transition states, van der Waals complexes, or systems of colliding atoms as in Bose–Einstein condensate.


title: Molecule

text: Molecules as components of matter are common. They also make up most of the oceans and atmosphere. Most organic substances are molecules. The substances of life are molecules, e.g. proteins, the amino acids of which they are composed, the nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), sugars, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins. The nutrient minerals are generally ionic compounds, thus they are not molecules, e.g. iron sulfate.


title: Molecule

text: However, the majority of familiar solid substances on Earth are made partly or completely of crystals or ionic compounds, which are not made of molecules. These include all of the minerals that make up the substance of the Earth, sand, clay, pebbles, rocks, boulders, bedrock, the molten interior, and the core of the Earth. All of these contain many chemical bonds, but are "not" made of identifiable molecules.


title: Molecule

text: No typical molecule can be defined for salts nor for covalent crystals, although these are often composed of repeating unit cells that extend either in a plane, e.g. graphene; or three-dimensionally e.g. diamond, quartz, sodium chloride. The theme of repeated unit-cellular-structure also holds for most metals which are condensed phases with metallic bonding. Thus solid metals are not made of molecules. In glasses, which are solids that exist in a vitreous disordered state, the atoms are held together by chemical bonds with no presence of any definable molecule, nor any of the regularity of repeating unit-cellular-structure that characterizes salts, covalent crystals, and metals.


title: Molecule

text: Molecules are generally held together by covalent bonding. Several non-metallic elements exist only as molecules in the environment either in compounds or as homonuclear molecules, not as free atoms: for example, hydrogen.


title: Molecule

text: While some people say a metallic crystal can be considered a single giant molecule held together by metallic bonding, others point out that metals behave very differently than molecules.


title: Molecule

text: A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are termed "shared pairs" or "bonding pairs", and the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms, when they share electrons, is termed "covalent bonding".


title: Molecule

text: Ionic bonding is a type of chemical bond that involves the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions, and is the primary interaction occurring in ionic compounds. The ions are atoms that have lost one or more electrons (termed cations) and atoms that have gained one or more electrons (termed anions). This transfer of electrons is termed "electrovalence" in contrast to covalence. In the simplest case, the cation is a metal atom and the anion is a nonmetal atom, but these ions can be of a more complicated nature, e.g. molecular ions like NH or SO. At normal temperatures and pressures, ionic bonding mostly creates solids (or occasionally liquids) without separate identifiable molecules, but the vaporization/sublimation of such materials does produce separate molecules where electrons are still transferred fully enough for the bonds to be considered ionic rather than covalent.


title: Molecule

text: Most molecules are far too small to be seen with the naked eye, although molecules of many polymers can reach macroscopic sizes, including biopolymers such as DNA. Molecules commonly used as building blocks for organic synthesis have a dimension of a few angstroms (Å) to several dozen Å, or around one billionth of a meter. Single molecules cannot usually be observed by light (as noted above), but small molecules and even the outlines of individual atoms may be traced in some circumstances by use of an atomic force microscope. Some of the largest molecules are macromolecules or supermolecules.


title: Molecule

text: The chemical formula for a molecule uses one line of chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as parentheses, dashes, brackets, and "plus" (+) and "minus" (−) signs. These are limited to one typographic line of symbols, which may include subscripts and superscripts.


title: Molecule

text: A compound's empirical formula is a very simple type of chemical formula. It is the simplest integer ratio of the chemical elements that constitute it. For example, water is always composed of a 2:1 ratio of hydrogen to oxygen atoms, and ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is always composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a 2:6:1 ratio. However, this does not determine the kind of molecule uniquely – dimethyl ether has the same ratios as ethanol, for instance. Molecules with the same atoms in different arrangements are called isomers. Also carbohydrates, for example, have the same ratio (carbon:hydrogen:oxygen= 1:2:1) (and thus the same empirical formula) but different total numbers of atoms in the molecule.


title: Molecule

text: The molecular formula reflects the exact number of atoms that compose the molecule and so characterizes different molecules. However different isomers can have the same atomic composition while being different molecules.


title: Molecule

text: The empirical formula is often the same as the molecular formula but not always. For example, the molecule acetylene has molecular formula CH, but the simplest integer ratio of elements is CH.


title: Molecule

text: The molecular mass can be calculated from the chemical formula and is expressed in conventional atomic mass units equal to 1/12 of the mass of a neutral carbon-12 (C isotope) atom. For network solids, the term formula unit is used in stoichiometric calculations.


title: Molecule

text: For molecules with a complicated 3-dimensional structure, especially involving atoms bonded to four different substituents, a simple molecular formula or even semi-structural chemical formula may not be enough to completely specify the molecule. In this case, a graphical type of formula called a structural formula may be needed. Structural formulas may in turn be represented with a one-dimensional chemical name, but such chemical nomenclature requires many words and terms which are not part of chemical formulas.


title: Molecule

text: Molecules have fixed equilibrium geometries—bond lengths and angles— about which they continuously oscillate through vibrational and rotational motions. A pure substance is composed of molecules with the same average geometrical structure. The chemical formula and the structure of a molecule are the two important factors that determine its properties, particularly its reactivity. Isomers share a chemical formula but normally have very different properties because of their different structures. Stereoisomers, a particular type of isomer, may have very similar physico-chemical properties and at the same time different biochemical activities.


title: Molecule

text: Molecular spectroscopy deals with the response (spectrum) of molecules interacting with probing signals of known energy (or frequency, according to Planck's formula). Molecules have quantized energy levels that can be analyzed by detecting the molecule's energy exchange through absorbance or emission.


title: Molecule

text: Spectroscopy does not generally refer to diffraction studies where particles such as neutrons, electrons, or high energy X-rays interact with a regular arrangement of molecules (as in a crystal).


title: Molecule

text: Microwave spectroscopy commonly measures changes in the rotation of molecules, and can be used to identify molecules in outer space. Infrared spectroscopy measures the vibration of molecules, including stretching, bending or twisting motions. It is commonly used to identify the kinds of bonds or functional groups in molecules. Changes in the arrangements of electrons yield absorption or emission lines in ultraviolet, visible or near infrared light, and result in colour. Nuclear resonance spectroscopy measures the environment of particular nuclei in the molecule, and can be used to characterise the numbers of atoms in different positions in a molecule.


title: Molecule

text: The study of molecules by molecular physics and theoretical chemistry is largely based on quantum mechanics and is essential for the understanding of the chemical bond. The simplest of molecules is the hydrogen molecule-ion, H, and the simplest of all the chemical bonds is the one-electron bond. H is composed of two positively charged protons and one negatively charged electron, which means that the Schrödinger equation for the system can be solved more easily due to the lack of electron–electron repulsion. With the development of fast digital computers, approximate solutions for more complicated molecules became possible and are one of the main aspects of computational chemistry.


title: Molecule

text: When trying to define rigorously whether an arrangement of atoms is "sufficiently stable" to be considered a molecule, IUPAC suggests that it "must correspond to a depression on the potential energy surface that is deep enough to confine at least one vibrational state". This definition does not depend on the nature of the interaction between the atoms, but only on the strength of the interaction. In fact, it includes weakly bound species that would not traditionally be considered molecules, such as the helium dimer, He, which has one vibrational bound state and is so loosely bound that it is only likely to be observed at very low temperatures.


title: Molecule

text: Whether or not an arrangement of atoms is "sufficiently stable" to be considered a molecule is inherently an operational definition. Philosophically, therefore, a molecule is not a fundamental entity (in contrast, for instance, to an elementary particle); rather, the concept of a molecule is the chemist's way of making a useful statement about the strengths of atomic-scale interactions in the world that we observe.


title: Electric eel

text: The electric eels are a genus, Electrophorus, of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volts. Their electrical capabilities were first studied in 1775, contributing to the invention in 1800 of the electric battery.


title: Electric eel

text: Despite their name, electric eels are not closely related to the true eels (Anguilliformes) but are members of the electroreceptive knifefish order, Gymnotiformes. This order is more closely related to catfish. In 2019, electric eels were split into three species: for more than two centuries before that, the genus was believed to be monotypic, containing only "Electrophorus electricus."


title: Electric eel

text: They are nocturnal, air-breathing animals, with poor vision complemented by electrolocation; they mainly eat fish. Electric eels grow for as long as they live, adding more vertebrae to their spinal column. Males are larger than females. Some captive specimens have lived for over 20 years.


title: Electric eel

text: When the species now defined as "Electrophorus electricus" was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766, based on early field research by Europeans in South America and specimens sent back to Europe for study, he used the name "Gymnotus electricus", placing it in the same genus as "Gymnotus carapo" (the banded knifefish). He noted that the fish is from the rivers of Surinam, that it causes painful shocks, and that it had small pits around the head.


title: Electric eel

text: The name is from the Greek ("", amber, a substance able to hold static electricity), and ("", I carry), giving the meaning "electricity bearer". In 1872, Gill decided that the electric eel was sufficiently distinct to have its own family, Electrophoridae. In 1998, Albert and Campos-da-Paz lumped the "Electrophorus" genus with the family Gymnotidae, alongside "Gymnotus", as did Ferraris and colleagues in 2017.


title: Electric eel

text: In 2019, C. David de Santana and colleagues divided "E. electricus" into three species based on DNA divergence, ecology and habitat, anatomy and physiology, and electrical ability. The three species are "E. electricus" (now in a narrower sense than before), and the two new species "E. voltai" and "E. varii".


title: Electric eel

text: Electric eels form a clade of strongly electric fishes within the order Gymnotiformes, the South American knifefishes. Electric eels are thus not closely related to the true eels (Anguilliformes).


title: Electric eel

text: The lineage of the "Electrophorus" genus is estimated to have split from its sister taxon "Gymnotus" sometime in the Cretaceous. Most knifefishes are weakly electric, capable of active electrolocation but not of delivering shocks. Their relationships, as shown in the cladogram, were analysed by sequencing their mitochondrial DNA in 2019. Actively electrolocating fish are marked with a small yellow lightning flash . Fish able to deliver electric shocks are marked with a red lightning flash .


title: Electric eel

text: There are three described species in the genus, not differing significantly in body shape or coloration:


title: Electric eel

text: "E. varii" appears to have diverged from the other species around 7.1 mya during the late Miocene, while "E. electricus" and "E. voltai" may have split around 3.6 mya during the Pliocene.


title: Electric eel

text: The three species have largely non-overlapping distributions in the northern part of South America. "E. electricus" is northern, confined to the Guiana Shield, while "E. voltai" is southern, ranging from the Brazilian shield northwards; both species live in upland waters. "E. varii" is central, largely in the lowlands. The lowland region of "E. varii" is a variable environment, with habitats ranging from streams through grassland and ravines to ponds, and large changes in water level between the wet and dry seasons. All live on muddy river bottoms and sometimes swamps, favouring areas in deep shade. They can tolerate water low in oxygen as they swim to the surface to breathe air.


title: Electric eel

text: Electric eels are mostly nocturnal. "E. voltai" mainly eats fish, in particular the armoured catfish "Megalechis thoracata". A specimen of "E. voltai" had a caecilian (a legless amphibian), "Typhlonectes compressicauda", in its stomach; it is possible that this means that the species is resistant to the caecilian's toxic skin secretions. "E. voltai" sometimes hunts in packs; and have been observed targeting a shoal of tetras, then herding them and launching joint strikes on the closely-packed fish. The other species, "E. varii", is also a fish predator; it preys especially on Callichthyidae (armoured catfishes) and Cichlidae (cichlids).


title: Electric eel

text: Electric eels have long, stout, eel-like bodies, being somewhat cylindrical at the front but more flattened towards the tail end. "E. electricus" can reach in length, and in weight. The mouth is at the front of the snout, and opens upwards. They have smooth, thick, brown to black skin with a yellow or red underbelly and no scales. The pectoral fins each possess eight tiny radial bones at the tip.


title: Electric eel

text: They have over 100 precaudal vertebrae (excluding the tail), whereas other gymnotids have up to 51 of these; there can be as many as 300 vertebrae in total.


title: Electric eel

text: There is no clear boundary between the tail fin and the anal fin, which extends much of the length of the body on the underside and has over 400 bony rays. Electric eels rely on the wave-like movements of their elongated anal fin to propel themselves through the water. The body cavity reaches into the tip of the tail.


title: Electric eel

text: Electric eels get most of their oxygen by breathing air using buccal pumping. This enables them to live in habitats with widely varying oxygen levels including streams, swamps, and pools. Uniquely among the gymnotids, the buccal cavity is lined with a mucosa which has a rich blood supply, enabling gas exchange between the air and the blood. About every two minutes, the fish takes in air through the mouth, holds it in the buccal cavity, and expels it through the opercular openings at the sides of the head. Unlike in other air-breathing fish, the tiny gills of electric eels do not ventilate when taking in air. The majority of carbon dioxide produced is expelled through the skin. These fish can survive on land for some hours if their skin is wet enough.


title: Electric eel

text: Electric eels have small eyes and poor vision. They are capable of hearing via a Weberian apparatus, which consists of tiny bones connecting the inner ear to the swim bladder. All of the vital organs are packed in near the front of the animal, taking up only 20% of space and sequestered from the electric organs.


title: Electric eel

text: Electric eels can locate their prey using electroreceptors derived from the lateral line organ in the head. The lateral line itself is mechanosensory, enabling them to sense water movements created by animals nearby. The lateral line canals are beneath the skin, but their position is visible as lines of pits on the head. Electric eels use their high frequency-sensitive tuberous receptors, distributed in patches over the body, for hunting other knifefish.


title: Electric eel

text: Electric eels have three pairs of electric organs, arranged longitudinally: the main organ, Hunter's organ, and Sachs' organ. These organs give electric eels the ability to generate two types of electric organ discharges: low voltage and high voltage. The organs are made of electrocytes, modified from muscle cells. Like muscle cells, the electric eel's electrocytes contain the proteins actin and desmin, but where muscle cell proteins form a dense structure of parallel fibrils, in electrocytes they form a loose network. Five different forms of desmin occur in electrocytes, compared to two or three in muscle, but its function in electrocytes remained unknown as of 2017.


title: Electric eel

text: Potassium channel proteins involved in electric organ discharge, including KCNA1, KCNH6, and KCNJ12, are distributed differently among the three electric organs: most such proteins are most abundant in the main organ and least abundant in Sachs's organ, but KCNH6 is most abundant in Sachs's organ. The main organ and Hunter's organ are rich in the protein calmodulin, involved in controlling calcium ion levels. Calmodulin and calcium help to regulate the voltage-gated sodium channels that create the electrical discharge. These organs are also rich in sodium potassium ATPase, an ion pump used to create a potential difference across cell membranes.


title: Electric eel

text: The maximum discharge from the main organ is at least 600 volts, making electric eels the most powerful of all electric fishes. Freshwater fishes like the electric eel require a high voltage to give a strong shock because freshwater has high resistance; powerful marine electric fishes like the torpedo ray give a shock at much lower voltage but a far higher current. The electric eel produces its strong discharge extremely rapidly, at a rate of as much as 500 Hertz, meaning that each shock lasts only about two milliseconds. To generate a high voltage, an electric eel stacks some 6000 electrocytes in series (longitudinally) in its main organ; the organ contains some 35 such stacks in parallel, on each side of the body. The ability to produce high-voltage, high-frequency pulses in addition enables the electric eel to electrolocate rapidly-moving prey. The total electrical current delivered during each pulse can reach about 1 ampere.


title: Electric eel

text: It remains unclear why electric eels have three electric organs but basically produce two types of discharge, to electrolocate or to stun. In 2021, Jun Xu and colleagues stated that Hunter's organ produces a third type of discharge at a middle voltage of 38.5 to 56.5 volts. Their measurements indicate that this is produced just once, for less than 2 milliseconds, after the low-voltage discharge of Sachs's organ and before the high-voltage discharge of the main organ. They believed that this is insufficient to stimulate a response from the prey, so they suggested it may have the function of co-ordination within the electric eel's body, perhaps by balancing the electrical charge, but state that more research is needed.


title: Electric eel

text: When an electric eel identifies prey, its brain sends a nerve signal to the electric organ; the nerve cells involved release the neurotransmitter chemical acetylcholine to trigger an electric organ discharge. This opens ion channels, allowing sodium to flow into the electrocytes, reversing the polarity momentarily. The discharge is terminated by an outflow of potassium ions through a separate set of ion channels. By causing a sudden difference in electric potential, it generates an electric current in a manner similar to a battery, in which cells are stacked to produce a desired total voltage output. It has been suggested that Sachs' organ is used for electrolocation; its discharge is of nearly 10 volts at a frequency of around 25 Hz. The main organ, supported by Hunter's organ in some way, is used to stun prey or to deter predators; it can emit signals at rates of several hundred hertz. Electric eels can concentrate the discharge to stun prey more effectively by curling up and making contact with the prey at two points along the body. It has also been suggested that electric eels can control their prey's nervous systems and muscles via electrical pulses, keeping prey from escaping, or forcing it to move so they can locate it, but this has been disputed. In self-defence, electric eels have been observed to leap from the water to deliver electric shocks to animals that might pose a threat. The shocks from leaping electric eels are powerful enough to drive away animals as large as horses.


title: Electric eel

text: Electric eels reproduce during the dry season, from September to December. During this time, male-female pairs are seen in small pools left behind after water levels drop. The male makes a nest using his saliva and the female deposits around 1,200 eggs for fertilisation. Spawn hatch seven days later and mothers keep depositing eggs periodically throughout the breeding season, making them fractional spawners. When they reach , the hatched larvae consume any leftover eggs, and after they reach they begin to eat other foods. Electric eels are sexually dimorphic, males becoming reproductively active at in length and growing larger than females; females start to reproduce at a body length of around . The adults provide prolonged parental care lasting four months. "E. electricus" and "E. voltai", the two upland species which live in fast-flowing rivers, appear to make less use of parental care. The male provides protection for both the young and the nest. Captive specimens have sometimes lived for over 20 years.


title: Electric eel

text: As the fish grow, they continually add more vertebrae to their spinal column. The main organ is the first electric organ to develop, followed by Sachs' organ and then Hunter's organ. All the electric organs are differentiated by the time the body reaches a length of . Electric eels are able to produce electrical discharges when they are as small as .


title: Electric eel

text: The naturalists Bertrand Bajon, a French military surgeon in French Guiana, and the Jesuit Ramón M. Termeyer in the River Plate basin, conducted early experiments on the numbing discharges of electric eels in the 1760s. In 1775, the "torpedo" (the electric ray) was studied by John Walsh; both fish were dissected by the surgeon and anatomist John Hunter. Hunter informed the Royal Society that "Gymnotus Electricus[...] appears very much like an eel[...] but it has none of the specific properties of that fish." He observed that there were "two pair of these [electric] organs, a larger [the main organ] and a smaller [Hunter's organ]; one being placed on each side", and that they occupied "perhaps[...] more than one-third of the whole animal [by volume]". He described the structure of the organs (stacks of electrocytes) as "extremely simple and regular, consisting of two parts; "viz." flat partitions or "septa", and cross divisions between them." He measured the electrocytes as thick in the main organ, and thick in Hunter's organ.


title: Electric eel

text: Also in 1775, the American physician and politician Hugh Williamson, who had studied with Hunter, presented a paper "Experiments and observations on the Gymnotus Electricus, or electric eel" at the Royal Society. He reported a series of experiments, such as "7. In order to discover whether the eel killed those fish by an emission of the same [electrical] fluid with which he affected my hand when I had touched him, I put my hand into the water, at some distance from the eel; another cat-fish was thrown into the water; the eel swam up to it ... [and] gave it a shock, by which it instantly turned up its belly, and continued motionless; at that very instant I felt such a sensation in the joints of my fingers as in experiment 4." and "12. Instead of putting my hand into the water, at a distance from the eel, as in the last experiment, I touched its tail, so as not to offend it, while my assistant touched its head more roughly; we both received a severe shock."


title: Electric eel

text: The studies by Williamson, Walsh, and Hunter appear to have influenced the thinking of Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta. Galvani founded electrophysiology, with research into how electricity makes a frog's leg twitch; Volta began electrochemistry, with his invention of the electric battery.


title: Electric eel

text: In 1800, the explorer Alexander von Humboldt joined a group of indigenous people who went fishing with horses, some thirty of which they chased into the water. The pounding of the horses' hooves, he noted, drove the fish, up to long out of the mud and prompted them to attack, rising out of the water and using their electricity to shock the horses. He saw two horses stunned by the shocks and then drowned. The electric eels, having given many shocks, "now require long rest and plenty of nourishment to replace the loss of galvanic power they have suffered", "swam timidly to the bank of the pond", and were easily caught using small harpoons on ropes. Humboldt recorded that the people did not eat the electric organs, and that they feared the fish so much that they would not fish for them in the usual way.


title: Electric eel

text: In 1839, the chemist Michael Faraday extensively tested the electrical properties of an electric eel imported from Surinam. For a span of four months, he measured the electrical impulses produced by the animal by pressing shaped copper paddles and saddles against the specimen. Through this method, he determined and quantified the direction and magnitude of electric current, and proved that the animal's impulses were electrical by observing sparks and deflections on a galvanometer. He observed the electric eel increasing the shock by coiling about its prey, the prey fish "representing a diameter" across the coil. He likened the quantity of electric charge released by the fish to "the electricity of a Leyden battery of fifteen jars, containing of glass coated on both sides, charged to its highest degree".


title: Electric eel

text: The German zoologist Carl Sachs was sent to Latin America by the physiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond, to study the electric eel; he took with him a galvanometer and electrodes to measure the fish's electric organ discharge, and used rubber gloves to enable him to catch the fish without being shocked, to the surprise of the local people. He published his research on the fish, including his discovery of what is now called Sachs' organ, in 1877.


title: Electric eel

text: The large quantity of electrocytes available in the electric eel enabled biologists to study the voltage-gated sodium channel in molecular detail. The channel is an important mechanism, as it serves to trigger muscle contraction in many species, but it is hard to study in muscle as it is found in extremely small amounts. In 2008, Jian Xu and David Lavan designed artificial cells that would be able to replicate the electrical behaviour of electric eel electrocytes. The artificial electrocytes would use a calculated selection of conductors at nanoscopic scale. Such cells would use ion transport as electrocytes do, with a greater output power density, and converting energy more efficiently. They suggest that such artificial electrocytes could be developed as a power source for medical implants such as retinal prostheses and other microscopic devices. They comment that the work "has mapped out changes in the system level design of the electrocyte" that could increase both energy density and energy conversion efficiency. In 2009, they made synthetic protocells which can provide about a twentieth of the energy density of a lead–acid battery, and an energy conversion efficiency of 10%.


title: Electric eel

text: In 2016, Hao Sun and colleagues described a family of electric eel-mimicking devices that serve as high output voltage electrochemical capacitors. These are fabricated as flexible fibres that can be woven into textiles. Sun and colleagues suggest that the storage devices could serve as power sources for products such as electric watches or light-emitting diodes.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: Luis Ortiz (born 29 March 1979) is a Cuban professional boxer. He held the WBA interim heavyweight title from 2015 to 2016, and challenged twice for the WBC heavyweight title in 2018 and 2019. As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the 2005 Boxing World Cup. Nicknamed "King Kong", he is known for his formidable punching power and counterpunching skills. As of November 2021, he is ranked as the world's eighth-best active heavyweight by "The Ring" magazine and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: Ortiz was a longtime member of the Cuban national team without succeeding at the top international level.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: A 30 year old Ortiz made his debut on 16 February 2010, against American boxer Lamar Davis (4–1, 1 KO) in a scheduled 4 round bout at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Ortiz won the fight via technical knockout (TKO) after just under 80 seconds of round 1. Ortiz fought again at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for his second professional fight on 15 June against 39 year old Charles Davis. Ortiz won via TKO in round 4. In his third pro fight, Ortiz claimed the vacant WBC FECARBOX heavyweight title against 28 year old Kendrick Releford (22–13–2, (10 KOs) on 24 August 2010. Releford was knocked down once in round 2, as Ortiz won the fight via 8 round unanimous decision 80–72, 79–72, and 79–72. Ortiz won his next 2 bouts via eighth-round stoppage against Zack Page and Francisco Álvarez (12–1, 10 KO), improving his record to 5 wins in as many fights, with 4 coming within the distance. Ortiz fought at the Double Tree Westshore Hotel in Tampa, Florida on 28 January 2011, against Rubén Rivera (3–5, 1 KO). Rivera was deducted 2 points in round 4 and then disqualified in round 5 for repeated low blows.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: Ortiz fought twice in April, first defeating Jerry Butler via third-round TKO and then knocking out former world title challenger Bert Cooper (38–22, 31 KOs) within 2 rounds. Ortiz then fought 27 year old Corey Winfield (4–7, 2 KOs) in May at the Rec Center in Wilson, North Carolina. Ortiz won the bout via knockout in round 3. On 3 June, Ortiz fought at the A La Carte Event Pavilion in Tampa, Florida against 36 year old Jason Barnett (12-13, 6 KOs), winning the bout via first-round TKO, knocking Barnett down twice. Ortiz fought two weeks later on the undercard of the Gennady Golovkin vs Kassim Ouma middleweight title fight at the Arena Roberto Durán in Panama, against former cruiserweight world title challenger Luis Andres Pineda (22-9-1, 18 KOs). This was for the WBC FECARBOX heavyweight title as well as the vacant WBA Fedelatin heavyweight title. Ortiz won the bout, stopping Pineda in round 6. A month later, Ortiz defended the WBA Fedelatin heavyweight title against Henry Saenz (22–8–1, 18 KOs) at the Gimnasio Nacional in San José, Costa Rica. Ortiz won the fight via third-round TKO.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: In February 2012, Ortiz fought 36 year old Epifanio Mendoza (32–13–1, 28 KOs) at the Community Center in Florida for the vacant WBO and WBC Latino heavyweight titles in a scheduled 10 round fight. Ortiz won the fight in round 7, after Mendoza was disqualified for an intentional low blow. Towards the end of October, Ortiz fought three times in the space of 18 days in the Dominican Republic. He knocked out Jose Santos Peralta in 2 minutes and 24 seconds of round 1, beat debutant Juan Carlos Antonio Maldonado via first-round TKO and knocked out Santiago De Paula in 4 rounds.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: After an 8-month lay off, Ortiz fought in July 2013 against Joseph Rabotte, who was on a 10 fight losing streak. Officially announced as a third-round knockout, the North Carolina Athletic Commission overturned the KO on appeal, ruling that Rabotte accidentally fell out of the ring, resulting in a 'No-Contest' as the bout ended before the start of round 4, which meant the bout could not go to the scorecards. On 3 April 2014, in what was considered as his best and most known opponent in his career to date, Ortiz fought 42 year old former world title challenger Monte Barrett (35–10–2, 20 KOs) at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. Barrett, who was taking this fight on short notice, was hit with a left hand on the nose and went down on his right knee after which referee Caiz stopped the bout without a count. Barrett announced his retirement after this loss. Ortiz landed 49 punches from 137 thrown while Barrett connected 24 of 83 punches thrown.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: In August 2014, it was reported by Boxing Scene that Ortiz would get his first world title opportunity, fighting for the vacant WBA interim heavyweight title against the undefeated former cruiserweight contender Lateef Kayode (20–0, 16 KOs) on 11 September at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card was to be televised on Fox Sports 1. Ortiz knocked down Lateef Kayode in the first round to win the Interim WBA heavyweight title. After Ortiz landed 15 unanswered punches on Kayode, the referee waved off the fight. After the bout, Kayode claimed the knockdown was a slip, and stated the stoppage was premature. However, Ortiz tested positive for a banned substance after the fight.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: On 27 October 2014, the Nevada State Athletic Commission postponed the taking of a decision to potentially change the result to a no-contest until a full hearing was held, as Ortiz was not yet ready to testify on that date.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: After a 9-month suspension, Ortiz fought on the undercard of world middleweight title fight Lemieux–N'Dam N'Jikam on 20 June 2015, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, against 35 year old American Byron Polley (27–18–1, 12 KOs). Ortiz won via first-round TKO.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: A year after being stripped, Ortiz had a second chance of becoming Interim world champion, this time against Argentine Matias Ariel Vidondo on the undercard of Golovkin vs. Lemieux on 17 October at Madison Square Garden, New York City. Ortiz was supposed to face former WBC champion Bermane Stiverne (24–2–1, 21 KOs), but Stiverne's promoter Don King declined to sign the contract after the deal had been agreed. Golden Boy Promotions then signed relative unknown 38 year old Vidondo for the fight. Vidondo was down once in round two after being rocked with a left hand late in the round. Ortiz won the bout via KO in the third round, after sending him to the mat with a powerful right hook. Following the stoppage, Ortiz climbed to the top rope doing his trademark chest beating.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: On 21 October 2015, HBO announced that Ortiz would have his first real test against former world title challenger Bryant Jennings (19–1, 10 KOs) on 19 December at the Turning Stone Casino, Verona, New York. The fight was initially being pushed for the Golovkin vs. Lemieux undercard, however a deal was not reached. Ortiz won the bout via TKO in the seventh round to successfully retain his interim title. Ortiz's power was too much for Jennings as he repeatedly hurt him early in the fight. After four rounds of back and forth action, Ortiz seemed to take over in the fifth, finishing Jennings off in round seven with a vicious left uppercut that sent the former world title challenger face down on the canvas. After the fight, Ortiz called out fellow heavyweights Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko, stating he was ready to prove himself as the best in the division. This was the first time Ortiz headlined a card on HBO Boxing After Dark, which averaged 616,000 viewers, reaching a peak 735,000 viewers. This was Jennings’ first stoppage loss in his professional career. Ortiz improved his record to 24–0 with 21 knockouts and ranked at #1 by the WBA.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: On 9 February 2016, it was announced that Ortiz would defend his WBA Interim title against veteran heavyweight Tony Thompson (40–6, 27 KOs) at the DC Armory, in Washington on 5 March. Ortiz stated it was "just another stepping stone on my path to becoming the unified heavyweight world champion." It was later announced on 1 March, that this bout would no longer be for the WBA Interim title, simply because Thompson wasn't ranked in the top 15 by the WBA at the time. Thompson had lost three out of his last five fights, with his last outing a points decision defeat to Malik Scott in October 2015. Thompson was also beaten by Carlos Takam and Kubrat Pulev in the last three years. On fight night, in front of 4,585 in attendance, Ortiz knocked Thompson down in rounds 1, 3 and 6. Thompson got up, but the referee Malik Waleed stopped the contest. The judges had Ortiz ahead on all scorecards at the time of stoppage 50–43, 48–47, and 50–43. The fight was shown live on HBO Boxing After Dark and averaged 740,000 viewers and peaked at 807,000 viewers. This was an increase from his previous fight against Jennings.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: After Ortiz defeated Jennings, the WBA had wanted Golden Boy Promotions to put together a fight between Ortiz and #5 WBA ranked contender Alexander Ustinov. Initially the fight looked as though it wouldn't happen, and Ortiz fought Thompson instead. However, in May 2016 an announcement was made that a deal was in place for Ortiz to face Ustinov in the United States with the fight to be shown on HBO, who had also broadcast Ortiz last two fights. The fight was to take place on the undercard of Saul Alvarez's next fight on September 17 at the AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas. The winner would be a step closer to a world title shot against the winner of the rematch between Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko, which was eventually cancelled after Fury was declared 'medically unfit'. According to Ustinov's promoter, Vladimir Hryunov, the fight was pulled from the card on 2 August, stating Ortiz was 'problematic and imploded the whole fight'. WBA ordered a purse bid to take place on 15 August at its offices in Panama City with the minimum bid being $600,000. Ortiz entitled to 60 percent, meaning he would earn at least $360,000, and Ustinov entitled to 40 percent, at least $240,000.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: It was confirmed in October that a deal had been reached for Ortiz to defend his interim WBA title against French heavyweight Carlos Takam on 12 November in Monte Carlo. However it was later announced that Takam would next fight Johann Duhaupas for the WBC Silver title.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: Ortiz signed a lucrative deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport on 9 October 2016, believing it to be the 'fastest way to stardom'. With this deal, Ortiz became the first foreign boxer to sign with the promotion. The deal was later revealed to be on a fight by fight basis.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: The following day it was confirmed that Ortiz would be fighting for the vacant WBA Inter-continental heavyweight title in the ‘Monte-Carlo Boxing Bonanza’ main event against American Malik Scott (38–2–1, 13 KOs) on 12 November. This was a European debut for Ortiz. Ortiz won by unanimous decision after 12 rounds of fighting a highly evasive and defensive Scott. Scott went down many times during the fight which were ruled as slips. Ortiz knocked Scott down in rounds 4, 5 and 9 as the judges scored the contest 120–105, 120–106, and 119–106, all in favor of Ortiz, who picked up the vacant WBA inter-continental title. At one point in the first round, the referee halted the fight just to tell Scott to fight as he had not thrown a single punch. Scott started getting into the fight after the half way mark with some counter punching, none of which really affected Ortiz. In a lackluster fight, Ortiz landed 146 of 472 punches thrown (31 percent), while Scott landed 45 of 155 (29 percent).


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: After Ortiz defeated Scott, heavyweights opened up about fighting Ortiz next. British boxer David Allen (9-1, 6 KOs) was one to make his voice heard and approached Eddie Hearn about a possible fight. On 23 November, the fight was officially agreed to take place on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua vs. Éric Molina IBF heavyweight title fight on 10 December at the Manchester Arena, Manchester, England. Allen commented on the match-up, "I don’t think he's what he's hyped up to be, but I will give him more opportunity than Malik Scott to show he is the real deal, I’ll stand in front of him and see what he's about. I’ll stand and trade because I can’t do anything else. You can expect a fight, that's for definite." Ortiz scored a seventh-round knockout victory over Allen. The end came when Allen was taking punishment against the ropes. Ortiz was landing left hooks and uppercuts, trying to take Allen out with one punch before the referee stopped the fight.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: Following the win against Allen, Ortiz was named mandatory challenger for the winner of the WBA (Super), IBF and IBO unification bout between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko.


title: Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

text: On 29 March 2017, Ortiz signed a deal with American boxing adviser Al Haymon. His first bout was believed to take place on 22 April 2017.