title: Peggy Mitchell

text: On 28 October 2009 it was announced that Windsor had quit the show and would leave in 2010 after 15 years. She said: ""EastEnders" has been wonderful to me and it's no secret that it changed my life all of those years ago. I'll be so sad to leave Peggy behind; she's such a wonderful character to play. I have had the pleasure of working with a marvellous cast and crew and have made many lasting good friends. To have had the honour of showing the Queen around the set is something that will stay with me forever." Executive producer Diederick Santer said: "Barbara has contributed so much to "EastEnders" over the last 15 years, plus countless episodes, and countless amazing storylines. Peggy Mitchell is a truly iconic character, and along with Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp, Barbara has made the Mitchells the premier family of British soap." Windsor filmed her final scene on 16 July 2010. Peggy's final episode, which aired on 10 September 2010, was preceded by a number of television trailers in August and a new section on the "EastEnders" website dedicated to the character. The episode ended with a special reworking of the piano version of the "EastEnders" theme tune known as "Julia's Theme", called "Peggy's Theme". Tribute was then paid to her in a clip programme, Peggy Mitchell: Queen of the Vic. Peggy's final episode attracted 10.1 million viewers, and was the second most-watched programme in the week of 6–12 September.


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: At the recording of the new series of "The Rob Brydon Show" for BBC Two, Brydon asked if Windsor would consider returning, to which Windsor replied, "Never say never".


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: After making three separate returns in September 2013, September 2014 and another in February 2015 to commemorate 30 years of "EastEnders" in EastEnders Live Week, Windsor made an unannounced return to "EastEnders" in 2016, appearing in the episode broadcast on 15 January. After this, it was announced that the character was to be killed off, losing her battle with breast cancer. The scenes were filmed in secret in November 2015, following Windsor's personal decision for Peggy to be killed. She said: "Peggy is a character close to my heart but I made the decision a while ago that I need to say goodbye to Peggy once and for all as otherwise she will always be there, urging me to go back and that is something I need to shut the door on. After thinking long and hard about it, I realised that it is time for me and the audience to say our final farewells to the lady who I have loved for many years and I thought that whilst [executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins], who I adore, is still in charge I want him to be the one to oversee it. I am grateful that Dominic has accepted my decision and together, since late last summer, we have been secretly plotting Peggy’s last scenes."


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: Treadwell-Collins said, "when [Windsor] told me her decision back in the summer [2015], we both had a little cry before getting excited about how Peggy Mitchell, the matriarch to end all matriarchs could bid her final farewell to Albert Square. In Peggy Mitchell, Barbara has created one of the greatest ever characters on British television, someone who has become as synonymous with "EastEnders" as The Queen Vic itself. So this is the end of an "EastEnders" era. But it is also an opportunity to send Peggy Mitchell out in style in what will be one of the most heartbreaking, uplifting and epic exits an "EastEnders" character has ever had. We can't wait to have Barbara back at "EastEnders", even if it is for the final time. The most professional of professionals on set and off, and a true friend, we have all been working harder than ever to make Barbara and Peggy Mitchell proud." Windsor resumed filming on 21 March 2016.


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: On 3 May 2016, it was revealed that Peggy would refuse treatment and decide to spend time with her family. Windsor said it was a "special week" of episodes with "lots of surprises" that would be "a perfect ending for Peggy". Peggy's final scenes aired on 17 May 2016; however, her voice was heard in the following episode, which aired on 19 May 2016.


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: On 25 January 2022, the voice of Peggy is heard by Phil, who is contemplating whether to become an informant for the police, or spend the rest of his life behind bars. Phil hears Peggy's voice, telling him “Phil, you gotta get out there and defend what's yours” and “You're surrounded by people who love you, just try to love yourself…”. Due to Windsor's death in December 2020, Peggy's soundbites were taken from archive footage from previous episodes.


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: Peggy has been described by the BBC as one of "EastEnders"<nowiki>'</nowiki> "most high-profile characters." Windsor has won several awards for her performance as Peggy. In 1999, she was named BBC Personality of the Year. She won Best Actress at the 1999 British Soap Awards, and was granted a Lifetime Achievement award in 2009. She also won a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2001 "Inside Soap" awards, and was named the UK's top soap matriarch in a 2009 "Inside Soap" poll. She also won the Soap Legend award at the 2009 TV Now Awards. Furthermore, Windsor was nominated for the Outstanding Serial Drama Performance award at the 2008 and 2009 National Television Awards, Best Soap Actress at the 2007 TV Now Awards, Best Actress at the 2009 British Soap Awards, and Best Actress at the 2009 "Inside Soap" awards.


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: The character was viewed unfavourably by a proportion of viewers in 1996, when Peggy discovered that Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) was HIV positive and subsequently mounted a hate campaign against him. Windsor has since revealed that she was initially opposed to the storyline:


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: Actress and writer Jacquetta May, who played the character Rachel Kominski between 1991 and 1993, has discussed the storyline and the role of women in an article about "EastEnders". According to May, the scriptwriters were faced with a problem once Peggy, "a key figure of the community", was shown to exhibit such "pig-headed ignorance and appalling prejudice". In order for Peggy to be redeemed, she had to be seen to be punished, and so the character was given breast-cancer later that year. May comments, "Peggy, malicious gossip and bigot, herself becomes the victim of a life-threatening illness. At Christmas they run a Christian forgiveness story. Peggy calls on Mark and tells him she now knows what it is like to suffer as he has. She apologises, thus underlining one of the basic tenets of the programme: underneath the skin we are all the same, human and vulnerable, and recognition of this should unite us not divide us. Along the way, a great deal of useful information about these illnesses was broadcast. So, although "EastEnders" endlessly repeats its conservative format, and although all issues are there primarily to feed the great hungry story-beast, its positive by-products cannot be denied."


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: "EastEnders" has received praise for the handling of Peggy's breast cancer storyline, as she was a rare media portrayal of an older matriarchal woman with the disease. Older women are at higher risk of being diagnosed; however, in 2001, it was reported that media representation of breast cancer is skewed towards younger women in their 20s or 30s, as they are seen as "more tragic" or "more sexy" in media terms. A 2000 study by Kitzinger and Henderson showed that 94% of newspaper coverage on non-celebrity women with breast cancer was on those aged under 50. Source organisations working with "EastEnders" on the storyline have commented: "[The team] decided it was going to be [Peggy] and very rightly so. Bang on, the right age [...] perfect dramatic licence in terms of her sons that she was going to have to share this terrible news with, and how would she share it? Every female would have that problem. How would you tell your children? And they followed that with her. She was exactly the right person." The storyline also received media criticism, for the use of a breast care nurse, who was used to counsel Peggy and translate medical terminology into lay terms for viewers; a character who could provide both a dramatic and educational purpose. However, not all oncology units in the UK offer breast care nurses, and the character presented "particularly positive messages" concerning patient choice and control over treatment options. Because of this, the UK press dubbed the storyline "didactic". The storyline was also criticised because Peggy received her cancer test results after six days, which prompted cancer charities to warn that not all patients would receive the same treatment.


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: In December 2008, Bupa doctors criticised UK soaps for presenting unhealthy role models to viewing audiences. Paul Bignell and Cole Moreton for "The Independent" refuted the accusation, naming Peggy as an acceptable role model for her devotion to her family, protecting her nieces and loving her sons despite their numerous misdemeanours. Peggy Mitchell's (Barbara Windsor) 2010 departure was watched over 11 million viewers. A reporter writing for the "Inside Soap Yearbook" described Peggy's death as "heartbreaking".


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: Peggy has been spoofed in several programmes, including the ITV cartoon sketch show "2DTV", and "Harry Hill's TV Burp". In the BBC's "Big Impression", impressionist Ronni Ancona performs as Peggy, shuffling around on her knees to exaggerate Barbara Windsor's petite height, and regularly using the catchphrase "Get outta my pub!" Impressionist Jan Ravens has spoofed her in the BBC's "Dead Ringers", also mimicking her cheeky laugh. Commenting on Ancona's impersonation, Windsor has said: "she does me brilliantly. I told her it was a great compliment. She made me realise my little hands wave around a lot."


title: Peggy Mitchell

text: In November 2005, Peggy appeared in a sketch for Children in Need, which was a crossover between "EastEnders" and "The Catherine Tate Show". The sketch featured Peggy, Little Mo Mitchell (Kacey Ainsworth), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Catherine Tate as her character Lauren Cooper. The 2006 episode of "Doctor Who" titled "Army of Ghosts" features a fictional "EastEnders" scene in which Peggy tells the ghost of Den Watts to "get outta my pub!"


title: Andres Serrano

text: Andres Serrano (born August 15, 1950) is an American photographer and artist. His work, often considered transgressive art, includes photos of corpses and uses feces and bodily fluids. His "Piss Christ" (1987) is a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in a glass container of what was purported to be the artist's own urine. He also created the artwork for the heavy metal band Metallica's "Load" and "Reload" albums.


title: Andres Serrano

text: Serrano was born in New York City on August 15, 1950. He is from a half Honduran, half Afro-Cuban background, and was raised a strict Roman Catholic. He studied from 1967 to 1969 at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, yet is considered to be a self-taught photographer. In December 1980, he married artist Julie Ault. In a 2012 interview, Serrano references Ault as his "first wife" and Irina Movmyga as his current wife. Serrano has said that he is a Christian.


title: Andres Serrano

text: He worked as an assistant art director at an advertising firm, before creating his first works in 1983. Photographer Alex Harsley put Serrano's work in his first New York City show at his Fourth Street Photo Gallery.


title: Andres Serrano

text: His work has been exhibited in diverse locations around the world including the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, "World without end (2001)", and a retrospective at the Barbican Arts Centre in London, "Body and soul (2001)".


title: Andres Serrano

text: His exhibitions have often inspired angry reactions. On October 5, 2007, his group of photographs called "The History of Sex" were on display and several were vandalized at an art gallery in Lund, Sweden by people who were believed to be part of a neo-Nazi group. On April 16, 2011, after two weeks of protests and a campaign of hate mail and abusive phone calls to an art gallery displaying his work, orchestrated by groups of French Catholic fundamentalists, approximately a thousand people marched through the streets of Avignon, to protest outside the gallery. On April 17, 2011, two of his works, "Piss Christ" and "The Church", were vandalized. The gallery director plans to reopen the museum with the damaged works on show "so people can see what barbarians can do".


title: Andres Serrano

text: Serrano usually makes large prints of about . He has shot an array of subject matter including portraits of Klansmen, morgue photos, and pictures of burn victims. He went into the New York City Subway with lights and photographic background paper to portray the bedraggled homeless, as well as producing some rather tender but sometimes decidedly kinky portraits of couples. One of these last shows what Adrian Searle of "The Guardian" described as "a young couple, she with a strap-on dildo, he with a mildly expectant expression."


title: Andres Serrano

text: Many of Serrano's pictures involve bodily fluids in some way—depicting, for example, blood (sometimes menstrual blood), semen (for example, "Blood and Semen II" (1990)) or human breast milk. Within this series are a number of works in which objects are submerged in bodily fluids. Among these is "Piss Christ" (1987), a photograph of a plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's own urine, which caused great controversy when first exhibited. The work was sold for $277,000 in 1999, which was far beyond the estimated $20,000 – $30,000. Serrano, alongside other artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Barbara Degenevieve, and Merry Alpern, became a figure whom Senator Jesse Helms, and Senator Alphonse D'Amato, as well as other cultural conservatives, attacked for producing offensive art while others, including "The New York Times", defended him in the name of artistic freedom. (See the American "culture wars" of the 1990s).


title: Andres Serrano

text: Serrano's series "Objects of Desire", from the early 1990s, features close-ups of firearms, photographed at the Slidell, Louisiana home of artist Blake Nelson Boyd. Included is a shot, against a glowing orange background, down the barrel of a loaded .45 revolver (belonging to Boyd's grandfather) that was used by Jonas Mekas for the cover of the April–May–June 2007 Anthology Film Archives catalog.


title: Andres Serrano

text: Critical reception of Serrano's work has been mixed. In a 1989 "New York Times" review, critic Michael Brenson responded to Serrano's series of Cibachrome photographs of iconic objects submerged in bodily fluids: "You cannot consider the content of Mr. Serrano's work without considering his attitude toward photography. It is the photograph that breaks through convention, that makes the search possible and that enables the artist to sort out what he likes and does not like in religion and art. It is the photograph that becomes the vessel of transformation and revelation. The photograph then becomes an icon that, for Mr. Serrano, replaces the false icons in his work. The photograph is clean and purified, the reliquary or shrine in which he clearly believes that the word about the body can be stored and spread." Reviewing later work in 2001, "Guardian" art critic Adrian Searle was not impressed: he found that Serrano's photos were "far more about being lurid than anything else... In the end, the show is all surface, and looking for hidden depths does no good." Continuing his use of biological matter, more recent work of Serrano's uses feces as a medium.


title: Andres Serrano

text: Serrano's work "Blood and Semen III" is used as the cover of heavy metal band Metallica's album "Load", while "Piss and Blood" is used on "Reload". Serrano also directed a video for industrial metal group Godflesh, "Crush My Soul".


title: Andres Serrano

text: In 2008, Serrano's piece "The Interpretation of Dreams (White Nigger)" was selected to participate in The Renaissance Society's group exhibit, "Black Is, Black Ain't".


title: Andres Serrano

text: Serrano adopted the alter ego "Brutus Faust" to create the full-length album "Vengeance Is Mine" in July 2010. The album contains covers of classic songs from the 1960s, and original compositions including four songs written by Serrano's wife Irina Movmyga as well as one song co-written by Serrano, Thad DeBrock, and album producer Steve Messina of New York City–based band Blow Up Hollywood. Coinciding with the release of the album are the videos "Goo Goo Gaga", "Love Letters", and "Bad Moon Rising". "Goo Goo Gaga" consists mostly of black-and-white footage from the 1940s, which makes parallels between the Depression and the present day, with the images of "Brutus" shot by Francesco Carrozzini. "Love Letters" is footage taken from cult director Joe Sarno's "Flesh and Lace". "Bad Moon Rising" consists entirely of footage Serrano compiled from several short films by John Santerineross. All of these short films were edited by Vincent V.


title: Andres Serrano

text: In 2013, Serrano made a work of art called "Sign of the Times" by collecting 200 signs from homeless people in New York City, usually paying $20 for each sign. He described the work as "a testimony to the homeless men and women who roam the streets in search of food and shelter. It's also a chronicle of the times we live in." Over the course of several months, Serrano engaged with over 85 homeless individuals in Manhattan and photographed them for a series called "Residents of New York", a site-specific public art exhibition on display from May 19 to June 15, 2014, at the West Fourth Street – Washington Square subway station, on LaGuardia Place (between West 3rd and Bleecker Streets), at Judson Memorial Church, and in phone booths and posters around the city. The installation was produced and developed by More Art, a nonprofit organization based in New York that is dedicated to the development of socially engaged public art projects. Serrano initially photographed homeless individuals in the city in 1990 for a series of studio-style portraits titled "Nomads". In "Residents of New York", he removed his signature studio elements, focusing instead on personal connectivity and interaction directly on the streets of New York City, where the homeless live.


title: Carl McCunn

text: Carl McCunn (January 25, 1947 – December 18, 1981) was an American wildlife photographer who became stranded in the Alaskan wilderness and eventually died by suicide when he ran out of supplies.


title: Carl McCunn

text: McCunn was the son of Donovan P. and Erika Hess McCunn. McCunn was born in Munich, Germany, where his father was stationed by the United States Army. He was raised in San Antonio, Texas, graduated from high school in 1964, and enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after dropping out of community college. McCunn served in the Navy for four years and was discharged in 1969. He briefly lived in Seattle, Washington, before settling in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1970.


title: Carl McCunn

text: McCunn had lived five months on the Brooks Range in 1976. In March 1981, he hired a bush pilot to drop him off at a remote, unnamed lake approximately northeast of Fairbanks, near the confluence of the Coleen and Porcupine Rivers, on the southern margin of the Brooks Range. McCunn intended to photograph wildlife for about five months. On this trip, he flew in with 500 rolls of film, of provisions, two rifles, and a shotgun. Believing he would not need them, he prematurely disposed of five boxes of shotgun shells in the river near his camp.


title: Carl McCunn

text: Although McCunn thought he had arranged for the pilot to return for him in August, he had apparently never confirmed this. In early August, when the expected plane had not arrived, he wrote in his diary, "I think I should have used more foresight about arranging my departure. I'll soon find out." Apparently the pilot had told McCunn that he might be working in Anchorage at the end of the summer and that McCunn should not count on his help; according to the pilot, McCunn had given him money to repair his plane and to fly him into (but not out of) the remote site.


title: Carl McCunn

text: By mid-August, it became obvious to McCunn that the bush pilot was not going to return for him. At this point he attempted to make his provisions last longer by shooting local game. He shot ducks and muskrats and tried drying the meat of a caribou he observed die in the lake. At this point, McCunn's diary indicated his hope that his family or friends would send someone to look for him after he failed to return. He had sent three maps with his campsite marked to some friends and his father, but was not clear about his exact itinerary. Although his father knew he would be in the area, he did not know when McCunn planned on returning. McCunn had also told his father not to be concerned if he did not return at the end of the summer, as he might stay later in the season if things went well. After McCunn was late to return from a prior trip, his concerned father had contacted the police; McCunn had asked his father not to do that again. McCunn's friends testified at the inquest they were not concerned as they believed he had already come out and was working in Paxson.


title: Carl McCunn

text: An Alaska State Trooper flew over the lake in late August and observed McCunn's campsite. The pilot did not sense McCunn was in distress, since he waved his orange sleeping bag very casually and, on his third pass of the campsite, he saw McCunn casually walking back to his tent. The State Trooper later testified he saw no reason to surmise McCunn needed any assistance.


title: Carl McCunn

text: McCunn later wrote in his diary: "I recall raising my right hand, shoulder high and shaking my fist on the plane's second pass. It was a little cheer like when your team scored a touchdown or something. Turns out that's the signal for 'ALL O.K. – DO NOT WAIT!' It's certainly my fault I'm here now! ... Man, I can't believe it. ... I really feel like a klutz! Now I know why nobody's shown up from that incident." Afterward, McCunn discovered a small cache of supplies, including rabbit snares and a few bits of candles, while digging a shallow trench to prepare for winter.


title: Carl McCunn

text: A State Trooper who had spoken with McCunn before his trip and helped him mark his campsite on a map stated that he was aware of a hunting cabin located from his campsite. It is unclear why McCunn did not use it when the weather began getting colder. Eventually snow began falling and the lake froze. Game became increasingly scarce, and McCunn set snares for rabbits, but the traps were frequently raided by wolves and foxes. By November, McCunn had run out of food. He considered trying to walk to Fort Yukon, approximately away, but was unable to make the trek due to snow and his weakened condition. By Thanksgiving (November 26) he wrote of having dizzy spells and almost constant chills.


title: Carl McCunn

text: Sometime soon afterward, McCunn decided to end his own life. He used all his remaining fuel supplies to create a warm fire. He wrote, "Dear God in Heaven, please forgive me my weakness and my sins. Please look over my family." He wrote a letter to his father instructing him how to develop his film. He also requested that all his personal belongings be given to his father by whoever found him. McCunn even suggested that the person who found him take his rifle and shotgun for their trouble. He then pinned his Alaska driver's license to the note and shot himself with his rifle. Just before his suicide he wrote in his diary: "They say it doesn't hurt."


title: Carl McCunn

text: By January, McCunn's friends became concerned enough to request the authorities begin a search for him. On February 2, 1982, a ski-equipped plane carrying several State Troopers landed at the lake to check McCunn's campsite. They found his tent zipped shut and, upon cutting it open, discovered his corpse, emaciated and frozen, along with his 100-page diary. Excerpts from McCunn's diary were published in December 1982 by "The San Antonio Light".


title: Harry Greb

text: Edward Henry Greb (June 6, 1894 – October 22, 1926) was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Pittsburgh Windmill", he is widely regarded by many boxing historians as one of the best pound for pound boxers of all time.


title: Harry Greb

text: He was the American light heavyweight champion from 1922 to 1923 and world middleweight champion from 1923 to 1926. He fought a recorded 298 times in his 13 year-career, which began at around 140 pounds. He fought against the best opposition the talent-rich 1910s and 20s could provide him and despite starting as a welterweight, he was frequently squaring off against and beating light heavyweights and even heavyweights.


title: Harry Greb

text: Greb had a highly aggressive, very fast, swarming style of fighting and buried his opponents under a blizzard of punches. He was elusive with very good footwork to jump in and out on opponents. He was also a master at dirty fighting and had no qualms about employing all manner of dubious tactics, such as spinning his opponent and using the heel and laces of his gloves. Greb often got as much as he gave and unbeknownst to the press continued to fight a number of matches even as he became blind in one eye, due to an injury suffered in an earlier match. The 'Pittsburgh Windmill' was also very durable, suffering only 2 TKO losses in his whole career. The first was in his seventh bout when he was knocked out by an opponent who heavily outweighed him, the second happened 3 years later when Greb broke the radius of his left arm. Greb finished the round but was unable to continue the fight. Greb's ultimate weakness may have been his lack of knockout power; although he was able to hurt and bust up many opponents due to the constant onslaught of clean punches he landed on them, he struggled to stop them but this was mostly due to the fact that his opponents were much larger than him. He launched a vicious beating on the much larger Tunney on two occasions, cutting him and hurting him badly, but was unable to knock him out both times. It was the same process with many opponents.


title: Harry Greb

text: Widely considered one of the best fighters of all time, Greb is currently ranked by BoxRec as the 9th greatest fighter of all time. Greb was also named the 7th greatest fighter of the past 80 years by the "Ring Magazine", the 5th greatest fighter of all-time by historian Bert Sugar, the 4th greatest fighter of all-time by historian and boxing commentator Max Kellerman and ranked as the #1 middleweight and the #2 pound-for-pound fighter of all-time by the International Boxing Research Organization.


title: Harry Greb

text: Born as Edward Henry Greb to a German immigrant father and mother of German descent, Pius and Annie Greb, who raised him in a working class household. Blue collar Greb began his professional boxing career in 1913, fighting mostly around his hometown of Pittsburgh. By 1915, he was fighting world class opposition, notably hall of famer Tommy Gibbons and reigning middleweight champion George Chip, whom he faced twice during 1915–1916 in non-title fights. Greb would lose both fights by "newspaper" decision (at the time, the rendering of an official decision at the end of a fight was prohibited, so newspapers covering the fight would render a decision), losses he would later avenge.


title: Harry Greb

text: Greb would fight 37 times in the sole year 1917 (a record), winning 34 of those fights either officially or unofficially. Among his defeated opponents that year were the reigning light heavyweight champion Battling Levinsky (in a non-title fight), former light heavyweight champion Jack Dillon, middleweight George Chip and heavyweight Willie Meehan, who had beaten future heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey earlier in the year.


title: Harry Greb

text: Despite all these great results, Greb was still denied a chance to fight for a title. A February 1918 newspaper draw against Mike O'Dowd, who would go on to win the middleweight title during the year, and a newspaper loss to Billy Miske, did not help in his effort. After that setback though, Greb would win his next 52 fights in a row. During that stretch, he beat future light heavyweight champion Mike McTigue, heavyweight contenders Billy Miske, Mike Gibbons, Bill Brennan, Jeff Smith, Leo Houck 3 times, and Battling Levinsky no less than four times during that stretch (6 times altogether) in newspaper decisions. Levinsky was the reigning light heavyweight champion at the time.


title: Harry Greb

text: In 1921, during a fight with tough light heavyweight Kid Norfolk (real name William Ward), he was thumbed in the right eye, which is believed to have resulted in a retinal tear. The injury would eventually lead to permanent blindness. Greb fought on admirably, winning via ten-round newspaper decision and finally getting a shot at the middleweight title. It is commonly believed that Greb completely lost sight in the eye after his fifth bout with Bob Roper, after which it took almost two months to recover and he was seen in a hospital with patches over both eyes. Incredibly, he kept the injury a secret from all but his wife and closest friends, fooling physicians during pre-fight physicals by memorizing the order of the letters on the eye chart (Greb would later lose some vision in his left eye and his gradual loss of sight led him to always go to bed with the light on).


title: Harry Greb

text: On May 23, 1922, Harry Greb was matched with Gene Tunney, the undefeated American light heavyweight champion (the world title was then in the hands of Frenchman Georges Carpentier) in what would arguably end up being the defining bout of his career. In the first round Greb immediately fractured Tunney's nose in two places and then proceeded to open a deep gash over the reigning champ's left eye. According to eye-witness reports, Greb was subsequently forced to commission the referee to intermittently wipe off his bloodstained gloves with a towel. Throughout the bout, Greb would repeatedly petition the referee to stop the fight while a determined Tunney concurrently implored him to allow the contest to continue. Round after round, the beating continued with Tunney refusing to submit and even smiling during the bloodshed to keep the referee from halting the match. At the end of fifteen brutal rounds, Tunney was a bloody mess and Greb was crowned champion via unanimous decision. This was the first and only professional loss in Tunney's career, with the bout being hailed as the Fight of the Year for 1922 by the "Ring Magazine".


title: Harry Greb

text: After defending his title against Tommy Loughran, Greb granted Tunney a rematch. In a hotly disputed battle, fought at Madison Square Garden in February 1923, Tunney regained his title by a highly controversial split decision. Multiple eyewitness reports state that Greb controlled the fight and battered Tunney, cutting him and rocking him from punches on more than one occasion. But Tunney was able to fight back unlike in the first encounter and at some points was competitive with Greb. The crowd booed heavily when Tunney was announced as the winner.


title: Harry Greb

text: The two men would meet three more times, with Tunney successfully defending his regained title in another fifteen round bout and then fighting to a no decision newspaper draw, where most newspapers had Greb winning but referee Matt Hinkel stated he would have ruled a draw, so the record books have it that way. The fifth battle was reminiscent of the first fight in their series, except this time it was Tunney bludgeoning Greb for the duration of the bout. According to Tunney, near the end of the match while the two fighters were locked in a clinch, Greb straightforwardly asked Tunney not to knock him out. Tunney reputedly acquiesced to this request and later acknowledged the incident as the highest tribute he received in his career, stating "Here was one of the greatest fighters of all time laying down his shield, admitting defeat and knowing I would not expose him". Tunney would go on to beat Jack Dempsey for the heavyweight title. Greb remained the only man ever to have beaten Tunney, and the latter would be among the pall-bearers at Greb's funeral.


title: Harry Greb

text: One month after losing his light heavyweight title to Tunney, Greb set his sights on middleweight champion Johnny Wilson; however, when Wilson's manager Marty Killelea refused to offer him the bout Greb reportedly devised an ingenious solution. He apparently paid a few speakeasy waiters in Pittsburgh and New York to serve him water in colored tumblers, and then proceeded to feign intoxication in a highly theatrical spectacle. When Killelea witnessed one of these performances, he assumed Greb was ripe for the taking and hurriedly arranged for the bout to take place. On August 31, 1923, Greb faced Wilson for the world middleweight title, winning a workmanlike 15-round decision in what would be nothing short of a roughhouser battle. When referee Jack O'Sullivan stepped in to separate the fighters during a particular rough clinch, he incredulously asked Greb what he thought he was doing, to which Greb responded, "Gouging Johnny in the eye, can't you see?" Greb would grant Wilson a rematch on January 18, 1924, in Madison Square Garden, winning another 15-round decision.


title: Harry Greb

text: Greb's most notable defense of the title was against reigning world welterweight champion, Mickey Walker in July 1925, at the Polo Grounds in New York. Most pundits and even Walker himself believed that Greb would have trouble making the 160 lb weight limit, but when it was reported that Greb weighed in at 157 1/2 lbs he was inserted as the 9–5 odds favorite. During the first few rounds of the battle, Walker came out attacking Greb to the body as the defending champion apparently tried to stave off cramps in both his legs. The middle rounds saw Greb starting to relax and control the pace of the bout while Walker was still able to land some eye-catching combinations. The championship rounds were all Greb, who during the 14th round, attempted to knock out a tiring Walker by overwhelming him with a torrid onslaught of punches. Walker was able to withstand the assault, and Greb was awarded a unanimous decision by the judges and retained the championship. Walker, a great fighter who would win the middleweight title the following year, relayed years later a tale that he stumbled upon Greb at a nightclub after their fight, and, according to the legend, the two fought an impromptu rematch there. According to some reports, Greb easily won the spontaneous rematch while the general consensus maintains that Walker landed a sucker punch on Greb that knocked him out cold. According to Walker himself, the two were sitting down discussing their fight over a drink when Walker made a comment stating that he felt had it not been for Greb thumbing him in the eye, he would have won the fight. The heavily intoxicated Greb took great offence to this and jumped to his feet to fight. As he was struggling to take off his jacket, Walker seized the moment and landed a vicious uppercut that would have knocked out anyone but not Greb, the two fought and ended up outside where several friends of each separated the men.


title: Harry Greb

text: (keep in mind that there is no report in any newspaper the next day of this supposed nightclub fight. The story appears to have been made up long after Greb died. Everyone who was with Greb that night refuted it, as did some of Walker's people. His manager at the time, Joe Degnan, said that Mickey was taken to Polyclinic Hospital after the fight to have his cuts stitched up and then they spent the night icing him down to reduce the swelling all over him. He was in no condition to go anywhere or fight anyone).


title: Harry Greb

text: At 32, a shopworn Greb was years past his best when he was matched with tricky southpaw Tiger Flowers (who was a one-year junior of Greb) in Madison Square Garden in February 1926. Flowers, a defensive specialist, countered the Smoke City Wildcat's attacks well and won a disputed decision after fifteen rounds to annex Greb's middleweight title. Flowers beat Greb again in their rematch six months later, on an even more controversial decision, with the fans storming the ring in protest of the outcome. Greb later stated, "Well that was one fight I won if I ever won any.", in reference to what would end up being the last battle in a legendary career.


title: Harry Greb

text: Greb retired following the second Flowers loss and relayed to a friend that he planned on opening a gym in downtown Pittsburgh. In September 1926, he had his right eye removed and replaced with a glass prosthesis. Having declined a job as Jack Dempsey's sparring partner in preparation for Dempsey-Tunney I (Greb declaring: "I'd feel like a burglar taking Jack's money. Nobody can get him in good enough condition to whip Gene"), Greb checked into an Atlantic City clinic for surgery to repair damage to his nose and respiratory tract caused by his ring career and several car crashes. However, complications occurred and he died of heart failure on October 22, 1926, at 2:30 pm. Greb was buried at Calvary Cemetery in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


title: Harry Greb

text: Greb is remembered for his indomitable fighting spirit and the will to face all viable opposition despite assumed disadvantages. Especially laudable was his willingness to box highly skilled African-American fighters that included Jack Blackburn, Kid Norfolk and Tiger Flowers in an era when many white boxers refused to do so. In total, Greb faced 16 Hall of Famers, including Jack Blackburn, who got in as a trainer, not a fighter, a combined total of 48 times during his career, going 32–11–5 against men who would later be defined as all-time greats. In 1919 alone, he fought 45 fights and went 45–0, a feat that is extremely unlikely to be repeated given the current trajectory taken by modern boxers. Greb was enshrined in the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1955, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1970, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1980, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a first-class inductee in 1990.


title: Harry Greb

text: All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.


title: Günther Prien

text: Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the "Kriegsmarine" to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Prien.


title: Günther Prien

text: Under Prien's command, the submarine was credited with sinking over 30 Allied ships totalling about , along with the British battleship at anchor in the Home Fleet's anchorage in Scapa Flow.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien was one of three children of a judge and completed his basic education. At the age of five, Prien had been living with relatives, the notary Carl Hahn and his wife, in Lübeck. There he attended the Katharineum, a humanistic secondary school. After his parents separated, Prien moved with his mother and siblings to Leipzig where she eked out a living selling peasant lace. Prien joined the "Handelsflotte" (German merchant marine) in mid-1923 to ease the financial burden on his family. He applied to and joined the Finkenwerder–Hamburg Seaman's School. After eight years of work and study as a seaman, rising from cabin boy on a sailing ship, Prien passed the required examinations and became the Fourth Officer on a passenger liner, the . Prien learned telegraphy, ship handling, leadership, and laws of the sea. In 1931 he became First mate and attended school for a commission. Prien received his sea master's certificate in January 1932.


title: Günther Prien

text: Unable to find work due to the severe contraction of the German shipping industry during the Great Depression, he was forced to turn to the "Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst" ('Voluntary Labour Service', FAD). He earned a living dredging fields and digging ditches. Prien joined the Nazi Party in May 1932, but had to resign his membership upon joining the navy prior to Hitler's ascent to power. His membership of the party cemented Prien's image as a Nazi supporter, though his actions have been described as career advancing opportunism rather than genuine political conviction; one author wrote "it is hard to determine his politics." However, Donald Macintyre described Prien as "the most Nazified U-boat captain", "an ardent ruthless Nazi". Prien applied to the "Reichsmarine" in January 1933 when he found the navy was offering officer-candidate programs for merchant marine officers. He was integrated into the "Reichsmarine" as a member of "Crew 31" (the incoming class of 1931), but had the age and experience of a 1926 class.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien received his military basic training in the 2nd company in the 2nd department of the standing ship division of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund (16 January 1933 – 31 March 1933). During this time frame in Stralsund, he advanced in rank to "Fähnrich zur See" (naval cadet) on 1 March. He then attended the main cadet course at the Naval Academy Mürwik and various weapons courses for cadets at Kiel (1 April 1933 – 30 September 1934). From 1 October 1934 to 30 September 1935, Prien served as watch and division officer on the light cruiser "Königsberg". On this assignment, he was promoted to "Oberfähnrich zur See" (senior midshipman) on 1 January 1935 and to "Leutnant zur See" (acting sub-lieutenant) on 1 April 1935. Prien then joined the U-boat training force. Prien attended the U-boat school in Kiel from 1 October 1935 to 30 April 1936. His training included a specialized U-boat torpedo course which was held on .


title: Günther Prien

text: On 11 May 1936, Prien was appointed first Watch Officer on , serving under the command of Werner Hartmann after forming a bond at the training school. At Hartmann's request Prien was assigned to his submarine, which served in the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Prien rose steadily in rank, from midshipman in 1933 to "Oberleutnant zur See" (sub-lieutenant) on 1 January 1937. On 1 October 1937, Prien was ordered to the Germaniawerft, the shipbuilding works in Kiel, for construction training of the new Type VIIB . He commissioned "U-47" on 17 December 1938 which was part of the Wegener Flotilla. Prien was promoted to "Kapitänleutnant" (Captain lieutenant) on 1 February 1939.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien married in 1939 to Ingeborg; the couple had two children. Ingeborg Prien later married an "Oberstleutnant" in the "Bundeswehr" and changed her name to Inge Sturm-Prien.


title: Günther Prien

text: World War II commenced during Prien's first patrol in "U-47", following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Prien had departed Kiel on 19 August for a patrol lasting 28 days. On 5 September, he sank the British "Bosnia" of , the second ship of the war to be sunk by a U-boat. The prize regulations were in force at the time, so Prien was obliged to stop the ship. After identifying her as British he surfaced alongside her and fired a warning shot from the deck gun. The ship turned away to escape and it took six hits and a fire in her hold full of sulphur to bring it to a stop. Prien asked a passing neutral Norwegian ship to take the crew. The damaged ship was finished with a torpedo. His boat sank two British vessels, "Rio Claro" of on the 6th, and "Gartavon" of on the 7th. The sinkings were notable for Prien's use of the deck gun, which was rare. "U-47" returned to Kiel on 15 September having sunk a total tonnage of . Prien was recalled by Dönitz to prevent all boats returning simultaneously leaving none on patrol.


title: Günther Prien

text: On 1 October 1939, Karl Dönitz became a "Konteradmiral" (rear admiral) and "Commander of the Submarines" ("Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote", "BdU"). Dönitz had been encouraged in operations against warships by the sinking of aircraft carrier "Courageous" in September 1939. On 28 September 1939 he said, "it is not true Britain possesses the means to eliminate the U-boat menace." Dönitz was busy convincing Hitler of the need for 300 operational boats to achieve decisive success against England. Dönitz was attracted to the prospect of attacking the Royal Navy anchorage at Scapa Flow at the outbreak of war, to win a victory for his command. In World War I, two German submarines had tried and failed. Undaunted he ordered German submarine "U-16" to reconnoitre the region and requested Luftwaffe reconnaissance. From the air and sea reports Dönitz concluded that there was an 18-yard gap in the northeast entrance, between blockships sunk to bar the gap from Lamb Holm and the mainland. Dönitz selected Prien and "U-47" for the task. Prien was his favourite, and according to Dönitz "possessed all the personal qualities and professional abilities required."


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien left port to navigate the shallow North Sea on 8 October and did not brief his crew until mid-mission. He avoided all shipping and sat on the sea bed in daylight if possible. Prien approached Orkney in the evening of the 14 October. He surfaced four-hours sailing time from the anchorage. While surfaced Prien observed the aurora borealis, which exposed the German submarine. In a post-patrol account Prien remarked it was "disgustingly light" and that – in his words – "the whole bay is lit up". At 22:00 the Orkney navigation lights came on for thirty minutes which allowed Prien to fix his position. His watch officers spotted a merchant ship and Prien dived to avoid it, but shadowed the vessel and carried out a practice attack. Despite the presence of the lights he could not see the ship through the periscope. With visibility poor while submerged he decided to carry out the attack on the surface.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien pressed on and passed through the narrow entrance to the sound. He selected the wrong channel—between Lamb Holm and Burray—recognising the mistake in time. He disregarded Dönitz's idea to pass south of the two blockships and instead sailed between the centre and northern block ship. The tide allowed the entry to be made rapidly. Prien and his crew were temporarily snared, or ran aground. Only by reversing at maximum revolutions did the U-boat free itself. "U-47" entered the Flow at 00:27. Prien and his watch officers found the anchorage to be empty. Eventually they spotted "two battleships", in reality, just one; . The other was the seaplane tender "Pegasus". Prien began the attack at 00:55 and concluded it at 01:28. He fired seven torpedoes, some of which failed or ran widely off target. Nevertheless, the battleship was struck by several of the second salvo and sank in 13 minutes. The sinking killed 835 of her crew, including Rear Admiral Henry Blagrove, commander of the 2nd Battle Squadron. At 02:15 "U-47" exited the Flow and ordered flank speed to escape. He logged in the war diary, "a pity that only one was destroyed." Prien thought he had damaged the "Repulse" lying behind "Royal Oak", but it was not present—the "Pegasus" was not hit. In the U-boat's war diary at 02:15 he wrote, "I still have five torpedoes for any merchant targets that come our way."


title: Günther Prien

text: He returned to Germany on 17 October to instant fame. Prien and his crew were flown to Berlin aboard Hitler's personal aircraft. At the Reich Chancellery the following day, Hitler awarded Prien the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (). For Dönitz, the operation was a personal triumph. U-boat production did not increase immediately, but he had succeeded in securing Hitler's attention. Nazi propaganda exploited the success and gloated over damaged British morale. The Home Fleet did not return to Scapa Flow until March 1940, until the entry points were closed and air defences improved. The fleet was moved to Loch Ewe, but on the way the battleship "Nelson" was damaged by a mine laid by "U-31".


title: Günther Prien

text: Purportedly Prien did not enjoy being a propaganda tool, but he cooperated with the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, and conferenced with Joseph Goebbels. The conference was unique in that it was the first time the Nazis showcased an individual military success. American journalist William L. Shirer met Prien but was not impressed by his lack of humility and wrote of Prien that he appeared "cocky" and a "fanatical Nazi." The story that Prien had simply followed a ship into the harbour was rightly disbelieved; Prien said nothing of his route in. Prien wrote a book of his experiences during the war, "Mein Weg Nach Scapa Flow" (My way to Scapa Flow), released in the autumn, 1940. One historian wrote, "for a story of potentially high propaganda value, it is told with striking restraint." The media compensated for this apparent modesty. The "Illustrierter Beobachter" lionised Prien. It provided plenty of images of Prien, his crew and Hitler, exalting him as a hero. These sentiments were picked up and spread throughout Germany by other state-controlled media outlets.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien received the nickname "Der Stier von Scapa Flow" (""The Bull of Scapa Flow""); the emblem of a snorting bull was painted on the conning tower of "U-47" and soon became the emblem of the entire 7th U-boat Flotilla. The reason, given by 1st watch officer Engelbert Endrass for this, was the sight of Prien's demeanour as U-47 entered Scapa Flow, "his frowning face and hunched shoulders reminded him of a bull in a ring." All U-boats had their number removed from the conning tower in wartime, and commanding officers often applied their own motifs. Two members of the Scapa Flow crew earned the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II: the chief engineer ("Leitender Ingenieur") Johann-Friedrich Wessels and 1st watch officer (I. "Wachoffizier") Engelbert Endrass.


title: Günther Prien

text: Kept secret by the German naval command was the fact that Prien had fired a total of seven G7e torpedoes at his target; only one from the first salvo hit the target and exploded on the bow, near the anchor chain. The stern torpedo also failed to hit or detonate. The second salvo did strike and explode. The navy had long-standing problems with their depth, steering and their magnetic detonator systems. These problems continued to bedevil the German submariners for a long time. In 2002, part of a torpedo fired during the attack resurfaced near to an anchored tanker. The warhead had detached but the missile contained compressed air necessitating its destruction by a bomb disposal team.


title: Günther Prien

text: The historian Riederer argues that "Sonderunternehmen P" (Special Operation P), the codename for the attack on Scapa Flow, was very likely predominantly motivated by Nazi propaganda. Following World War I, the German High Seas Fleet was interned at Scapa Flow under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships. Fearing that all the ships would be seized and divided amongst the Allies, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter decided to scuttle the fleet. Whilst the internment was considered a national humiliation by the "Kriegsmarine", the scuttling of the fleet was being romanticized as an act ridding the navy of the shame associated with the Kiel mutiny of 3 November 1918. The NS-propaganda spread the interpretation that Prien's success at Scapa Flow turned the symbolic triumph of scuttling the fleet, and had finally rid the older generation from the Scapa Flow traumata.


title: Günther Prien

text: "U-47" under the command of Prien with 1st watch officer (I. WO) "Oberleutnant zur See" Engelbert Endrass and chief engineer "Oberleutnant (Ing.)" Johann-Friedrich Wessels left Kiel on 16 November 1939. "U-47" attacked a British cruiser on 28 November 1939. Prien had identified the ship to be a "London"-class cruiser. Prien intended to launch a spread of three torpedoes, but only a single torpedo cleared the tube and detonated in the wake of the cruiser. When the periscope cleared the surface, Prien observed what he believed major damage to the stern of the cruiser, her starboard torpedo launchers dislodged and an aircraft tilted. "U-47" surfaced and tried to pursue the cruiser but was driven off by depth charges dropped from the escort. It turned out the cruiser was which was slightly damaged by the detonation. The war diary of the "Befehlshaber der U-Boote" (BdU) on 17 December 1939 stated that even though a hit was observed the cruiser was not sunk.


title: Günther Prien

text: On 5 December 1939, "U-47" spotted nine merchant vessels escorted by five destroyers. At 14:40, Prien fired one torpedo. "U-47" continued to attack Allied shipping in the Western Approaches, however eight out of twelve G7e "U-47" carried, failed to detonate either missing or malfunctioning. On 18 December 1939, "U-47" returned to Kiel via the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal. The claims made by Prien are noted in the war diary of the BdU on 17 December 1939:


title: Günther Prien

text: for a total of plus one British warship damaged, while the actual tonnage was only . Three ships were confirmed sunk, along with one warship damaged. The identity of the vessels were "SS Navasota" from OB 46 south of Fastnet was the first, tanker "MV Britta" south of Longships Lighthouse, and finally "Tanjandoen" southsoutheast of The Lizard. From convoy OB 46, 37 sailors died aboard "SS Navasota", another 45 were rescued by other merchant vessels "Escapade" and "Clan Farquhar". "Louis Scheid" rescued 62 men from "Tanjandoen", but six perished. "Britta" lost six men, a Belgian ship rescued 25.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien's fourth patrol started on 29 February 1940 from Kiel. The former 1st watch officer Endrass had been replaced by "Oberleutnant zur See" Hans-Werner Kraus. On this patrol, "U-47" headed for the North Sea, the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands. On 1 March, "U-47" arrived in Heligoland for a four-day stop. Back at sea again on 11 March, "U-47" sank the "Britta" on 25 March. "U-47" returned to Wilhelmshaven again on 29 March, ending this patrol. The ship was torpedoed without warning northwest of Sule Skerry. 13 men died and five were rescued by the Danish ship "Nancy".


title: Günther Prien

text: Torpedo failures still afflicted the U-boat fleet but the number of sinkings rose in the first months of 1940. U-boat commanders, determined to enter the ranks of "aces" such as Prien, were prepared to take greater risks, most often attacking at night on the surface—the Admiralty noted that by February 1940 these reached 58 percent.


title: Günther Prien

text: In April 1940 the OKM planned Operationsbefehl Hartmut to support Operation Weserübung, the invasions of Denmark and Norway. The purpose was to provide seaborne protection for the German amphibious landings on Norway's large coast line from the Royal Navy and French Navy. The German surface fleet could not fight a large-scale surface action against the British and win. Dönitz hoped the U-boats could compensate for this weakness. The faulty G7e torpedo rendered the German submarine fleet useless for the duration of "Weserübung". The failure of torpedoes was a factor in the German naval defeat in the Battles of Narvik.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien formed part of a group patrolling east of the Shetland Islands, Vagsfjord and Trondheim. "U-47" left Wilhelmhaven on its fifth patrol on 3 April, which ended on 26 April in Kiel. Prien's 1st watch officer was again "Oberleutnant zur See" Kraus. The boat formed part of a 28-strong fleet, practically the entire operational force, committed to waters off the Norwegian and British coast. The German operation attracted an immediate counterattack by the Royal Navy, intense battles were fought at Narvik. The BdU's opposition, the Royal Navy Submarine Service, achieved some success: the "Karlsruhe" was crippled and scuttled off Kristiansand.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien succeeded in penetrating an Allied-held anchorage again at Vagsfjord fjord. Prien counted three large and three small transport ships, two cruisers, all slightly overlapping—he described it as a "wall of ships". Prien fired eight torpedoes, but none hit. The first four were fired at two of the large transports and two cruisers under the cover of darkness from ranges of 750–1,500 metres. Unable to explain the failure, Prien surfaced after no discernible action was taken by the British. He went over the torpedoes and firing control data personally before another four-missile salvo was fired. The same result was observed. The torpedoes either missed, failed to detonate or struck rocks after running off course. While on manoeuvres to fire his stern torpedo on the surface, he ran aground damaging his starboard diesel engine as he attempted to break free. He could not wait for high tide to assist while within range of British guns, and daybreak, he noted, was only hours away. His crew eventually rocked the U-boat loose and "U-47" escaped.


title: Günther Prien

text: On the way home Prien intercepted the battleship "Warspite" on 19 April. He stalked her and fired two torpedoes with the same result—one exploded at the end of its run, alerting the escorts which counterattacked with depth charges. A convoy was sighted later, but Prien did not bother attacking; he had lost faith in his main weapons. Prien angrily signalled Dönitz to tell him they had been sent into battle with "wooden rifles." A full report was made by Prien: "we found ourselves equipped with a torpedo which refused to function in northern waters either with contact or magnetic pistols. To all intents and purposes, the, U-boats were without a weapon." The report was crushing to Dönitz.


title: Günther Prien

text: The commander-in-chief of U-boats conceded of the U-boat operation, "I doubt whether men have ever had to rely on such a useless weapon." In no fewer than 40 attacks on Allied warships, not a single sinking was achieved. Dönitz appealed to Erich Raeder, and he was forced to agree on the hopeless situation. He ordered all but three submarines to port. The remaining trio were ordered to continue reconnaissance patrols.


title: Günther Prien

text: On his sixth war patrol (3 June – 6 July 1940), Prien intercepted Convoy HX 47, part of the HX convoys. This patrol, again Kraus served as 1st watch officer, started and ended in Kiel and targeted the shipping routes in the North Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay west of the English Channel.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien was a Wolfpack leader and made the tactical decisions for this patrol line. Wolfpack Prien planned to attack HX 47, west of Lorient prior to its rendezvous with its home–home bound escort. He sank the ship "Balmoralwood". The merchant had fallen behind. The ship carried 8,730 tons of wheat and four aircraft.


title: Günther Prien

text: The "San Fernando" from HX 49 was sunk on 21 June. The ship carried 13,500 tons of crude oil and 4,200 tons of fuel oil; all the crew appear to have survived the sinking. The patrol yielded another six ships sunk. The most notable victim was the passenger liner "Arandora Star", sunk west of the Aran Islands. The 14-year old ship sank with heavy loss of life. It was transporting hundreds of German and Italian internees to Canada. Of the approximately 1,300 people, 200 guards, and 174 crew on board, 805 died. The BdU credited Prien with ten ships sunk totalling . This made Prien's sixth war patrol the most successful U-boat operation to date.


title: Günther Prien

text: "U-47" remained in Kiel until 27 August 1940 when it sortied again. The 1st watch officer on Prien's seventh patrol was again Kraus. Upon the conclusion of the patrol, which had taken "U-47" into the North Atlantic west of the Hebrides, Prien was ordered to the U-boat base at Lorient, in occupied France where it arrived on 26 September 1940. The Battle of France and the occupation of the Atlantic coast afforded the BdU bases. They allowed German submarines to strike deeper into the Atlantic and spend much longer on patrol.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien accounted for the destruction of six ships plus a further vessel damaged. His largest victim was "Titan", over from convoy OA 207. Prien lost one man overboard during the patrol. 89 men survived and six were killed. His greatest success was against the large Convoy SC 2. He attacked and claimed four ships sunk after "U-65" led him to the scene. The attacks were carried out on the surface in dark Atlantic night during poor weather. "U-28" sank another ship, but Otto Kretschmer in "U-99" failed. Dönitz was disappointed, it was not the annihilation battle he hoped for. Dönitz ordered Prien to act as a weather-boat at a point 23° west, mainly for Luftwaffe air fleets engaged in the Battle of Britain.


title: Günther Prien

text: The signals from the 53–strong convoy were decoded on 30 August which gave the time, position and arrival times enabling the BdU to order Prien and a Wolfpack into action. Prien had known where to search. Dönitz and the BdU were reading Admiralty codes and this information had been passed to Prien. The information led to the sinking of "Ville de Mons" in ten minutes. All but one of the crew were saved. The captain reported the sighting of three U-boats, two of which approached him and asked for his ship's identity. They were eventually rescued by an Allied merchant ship. The U-boats were forced to abandon the attack when a Short Sunderland appeared and they lost contact with the convoy.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien formed part of a Wolfpack that attacked Convoy HX 72. While searching for the previous convoy they ran into HX 72. While the operation was a German success, Prien damaged only one ship with his only remaining torpedo. Six ships were sunk by other U-boats. The Germans waited for the sole escort, "Jervis Bay" to turn away. Prien maintained contact to guide "U-29", "U-43", "U-46", "U-48" and "U-65" into attack. 12 ships were sunk from the convoy amounting to . On the patrol Prien sank of shipping, with another 5,156 damaged. On 21 September "U-48" relieved Prien on shadowing duties.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien took "U-47" on its eighth war patrol on 14 October 1940, the last with Kraus as 1st watch officer, patrolling the sea routes in the North Atlantic, from the North Channel to Rockall. A five-strong U-boat pack that were too far away to tackle Convoy SC 7 was called into assist. Prien, who was trying to reach SC 7, formed a wolfpack with "U-28", "U-38", "U-48" and "U-100". Convoy HX 79 was spotted by "U-47" in the morning of the 19 October, just as its 10-ship anti-submarine escort arrived. Only "U-28" failed to get into an attack position by evening. On 20 October 1940, Prien attacked Convoy HX 79 and sank the transports "La Estancia", "Bilderdijk" and "Wandby". "Shirak" is also believed to have been sunk by Prien and his crew in the battle. When added to Prien's hits, the Focke-Wulf Fw 200s of I. "Gruppe" of "Kampfgeschwader" 40 increased the tally to 12 ships sunk.


title: Günther Prien

text: While at sea, Prien received the message on 21 October that he had been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () the day before. He was the fifth member of the Wehrmacht and first of the "Kriegsmarine" to be so honored. "U-47" returned to Lorient on 23 October.


title: Günther Prien

text: Heinz Rühmann, Hans Brausewetter and Josef Sieber sang a persiflage of the 1939 song ""Das kann doch einen Seemann nicht erschüttern"" ("That won't shake a sailor"), written by Michael Jary from the film "Paradies der Junggesellen"—"Bachelor's Paradise", on account of the Oak Leaves presentation to Prien. The reworded lyrics are ""Das muss den ersten Seelord doch erschüttern"" ("That must shake the First Sea Lord", alluding to Winston Churchill). The lyrics also refer to Neville Chamberlain and mock the song "Rule, Britannia!" by adapting an English phrase into German: ""die Waves zu rulen ist jetzt schluß"" ("the rule of the waves is over").


title: Günther Prien

text: The ninth war patrol began on 3 November 1940 from Lorient and took "U-47" to the North Atlantic, west of the North Channel. After 34 days at sea, "U-47" returned to Lorient on 6 December. On this patrol, Prien damaged the "Gonçalo Velho" on 8 November, and sank the "Ville d'Arlon" and damaged "Conch" on 2 December 1940. The tanker survived Prien's attack, then withstood a three torpedo salvo from "U-95". The ship finally sank after a single torpedo from Otto Kretschmer's "U-99".


title: Günther Prien

text: On 20 February 1941, "U-47" departed from Lorient on its tenth and final war patrol. Prien located well south of the main wolfpack concentrations. He intercepted and repeatedly attacked convoy OB 290. The solitary attacks sank two ships. Prien continued to pursue the convoy but did not succeed again. West of Ireland, Fw 200s sank seven ships from this convoy making it the most successful intervention of German aircraft in the Atlantic. The success of the Fw 200s, well out to sea, depredations of U-boat concentrations between Iceland and Britain simultaneously with Operation Berlin, in which battleships "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" cruised the convoy lanes was an anxious and operationally complex period for the German Admiralty.


title: Günther Prien

text: "U-47" went missing after intercepting Convoy OB 293 on 7 March. His attack prompted a five-hour chase from 00:23 on 8 March. At 05:19 Prien was caught on the surface and dived but could not escape the rapid depth charge attack from the escorts. Prien has generally been thought to have been sunk by the British destroyer west of Ireland; the submarine was attacked by "Wolverine" and , which took turns covering each other's ASDIC blind spots and dropping patterns of depth charges until "U-47" rose almost to the surface before sinking and then exploded with an orange flash visible from the surface. Other British reports of the action mention a large red glow appearing deep below the surface amid the depth charge explosions.


title: Günther Prien

text: To date, there is no official record of what happened to "U-47" or her 45 crewmen, though a variety of possibilities exists, including mines, a mechanical failure, falling victim to her own torpedoes, and possibly a later attack that did not confirm any kills by the corvette team of and . Posthumously on 18 March, Prien was promoted to "Korvettenkapitän" (corvette captain/lieutenant commander), effective as of 1 March 1941.


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien's death was kept secret until 23 May. Churchill had personally announced it to the House of Commons, and propaganda broadcasts to Germany had repeatedly taunted listeners with the question "Where is Prien?" until Germany was forced to acknowledge his loss. The announcement was made in the "Wehrmachtbericht" on 24 May 1941 stating: "The U-boat under the command of "Korvettenkapitän" Günter Prien did not return from his last patrol against the enemy. The loss of the boat has to be assumed." The importance of Prien was known to the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. To offset the negative impact his death might have on the German population, the message was hidden among the information about the tonnage sunk by U-boats.


title: Günther Prien

text: According to one biographer, in contrast with Kretschmer, Prien was purportedly a strict disciplinarian who rarely allowed humanity to compromise or interfere with the running of his boat. His crew despised him for it. He harboured much bitterness because of his difficult beginning. He could be genial among fellow officers but his reputation among subordinates was low.


title: Günther Prien

text: The 1958 war film "U 47 – Kapitänleutnant Prien", directed by Harald Reinl, was loosely based on Prien's combat record and command of "U-47". Prien was portrayed by the German actor Dieter Eppler. Prien was portrayed by Werner Klemperer in the 1957 US TV series "The Silent Service" in the episode, "The U-47 in Scapa Flow".


title: Günther Prien

text: Prien was a subject of a hagiographic 1981 account by German author Franz Kurowski, "Günther Prien, der Wolf und sein Admiral" ("Günther Prien, the Wolf and his Admiral"). The German scholar classifies Kurowski's book, published by extreme right-wing publisher , as an "almost perfect example of a skillful distillation of the Nazi understanding of the Second World War". The Canadian historian Michael Hadley commented on the narrative's goals as follows:


title: Günther Prien

text: Here he [Kurowski] wished to commemorate the "meritorious soldier and human being Günther Prien [who is] forgotten neither by the old submariners nor" —and this would have startled most observers in Germany today [in 1995] —"by the young submariners of the Federal German Navy".


title: Günther Prien

text: The West German navy, at the time named the "Bundesmarine" (Federal Navy), had considered Prien as namesake for the 1967 commissioned guided missile destroyer "Lütjens". However the legend surrounding Prien, that he had distanced himself from Nazism and had become an active member of the German resistance and was held captive at the "Wehrmachtgefängnis Torgau" (Torgau Wehrmacht Prison), turned out to be false. Consequently, the name "Lütjens", named after Admiral Günther Lütjens, was chosen instead.


title: Günther Prien

text: According to Busch and Röll, Prien sailed on ten war patrols and sank 30 commercial ships of , one warship with a displacement of , and damaged eight commercial ships for and one warship of .


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Adolphus Busch (10 July 1839 – 10 October 1913) was the German-born co-founder of Anheuser-Busch with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser. He introduced numerous innovations, building the success of the company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He became a philanthropist, using some of his wealth for education and humanitarian needs. His great-great-grandson, August Busch IV, is a former CEO of Anheuser-Busch.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Busch was born on 10 July 1839, to Ulrich Busch and Barbara Pfeiffer in Kastel, then a district of Mainz in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. He was the 21st of 22 children. His wealthy family ran a wholesale business of winery and brewery supplies. Busch and his brothers all received quality educations, and he graduated from the Collegiate Institute of Belgium in Brussels.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: In 1857, at the age of 18, Busch emigrated with three of his older brothers to St. Louis, Missouri which was a major destination for German immigrants in the nineteenth century. Because he had so many siblings, Adolphus did not expect to inherit much of his father's estate and had to make his own way. Since St. Louis was home to so many German immigrants, the market for beer was large. The city also had two natural resources essential for manufacturing and storing beer in that time, before refrigeration: the river provided an ample water supply; and the city had many caves that would keep beer cool.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: His brother Johann established a brewery in Washington, Missouri. Ulrich Jr. married a daughter of Eberhard Anheuser in St. Louis, and settled in Chicago. Anton was a hops dealer who later returned to Mainz.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Busch's first job in St. Louis was working as a clerk in the commission house. He was also an employee at William Hainrichshofen's wholesale company.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: During the American Civil War Busch served as a Corporal in the Union Army from May to August, 1861, enlisting in the 3rd Missouri US Reserve Corps Infantry Regiment, and fighting in Missouri, including at the Camp Jackson Affair. During this period, he learned that his father had died and he had inherited a portion of the estate.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Busch partnered with Ernst Battenberg in St. Louis to found the first of his businesses, a brewing supply company that sold to the three dozen breweries in the city. Eberhard Anheuser was one of Adolphus' customers. Anheuser was a soap manufacturer that lent money to the Bavarian Brewery. When the small brewery went bankrupt, Anheuser bought out the other creditors and renamed the company Anheuser. Adolphus married Eberhard's daughter Lilly in 1861.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Returning to St. Louis after the Civil War, Busch entered his wife's family's brewery business. He bought out Eberhard's partner, William D'Oench. In 1879, the company was renamed Anheuser-Busch.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: At the death of Eberhard Anheuser in 1880, Busch became president of the business, and became wealthy due to the success of the brewery. He envisioned a national beer with universal appeal. His work was distinguished by his "timely adoption of important scientific and technological innovations, an expansive sales strategy geared largely toward external domestic and international population centers, and a pioneering integrated marketing plan that focused on a single core brand, Budweiser, making it the most successful nationally-distributed beer of the pre-Prohibition era."


title: Adolphus Busch

text: To build Budweiser as a national beer, Busch created a network of rail-side ice-houses and launched the industry's first fleet of refrigerated freight cars. However, throughout his life, he jokingly referred to his beer as "dot schlop" and preferred wine to drink.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: When Busch implemented pasteurization (1878) as a way to keep the beer fresh for longer, his company was able to profit from shipping beer across the country. Busch soon acquired breweries in Texas which allowed his operation to distribute to Mexico and California. Busch was an early adopter of bottled beer and founded the Busch Glass Company to make bottles for his product. In 1901 sales surpassed the one million barrels of beer benchmark.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: In addition to pasteurization and refrigeration, Busch was an early adopter of vertical integration, or buying all components of a business. He bought bottling factories, ice-manufacturing plants, stave makers, timberland, coal mines, and a refrigeration company. He also bought railways and bought the rights from Rudolf Diesel to assemble diesel engines in America, establishing the Diesel Motor Company (later "American Diesel Engine Company" and "Busch-Sulzer Bros. Diesel Engine Company"). The Busch family also acquired hop farms in the area near Cooperstown, New York.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: His focus on the business extended to the flavor of the beer itself. Carl Conrad held the trademark for the name Budweiser and had Anheuser-Busch manufacture it for him. Conrad was an importer of wines and champagnes. Busch studied the pilsner process in Europe, which was used for brewing Budweiser. Adolphus bought the rights to Budweiser from Conrad in October 1882 when Conrad went bankrupt.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: In 1895, Busch joined Washington University in St. Louis's Board of Directors. He would continue to serve on the Board until his death in 1913, at which point his son, August Busch, Sr. took over his seat. Busch also served as the president of the South Side Bank and the Manufacturers Railway. He had helped organize the latter as a short-line rail serving local industry. Likewise, he was a director of the Louisiana Purchase Company. Like other business leaders, he served as a director of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, contributing to civic efforts.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Busch invested in new buildings and businesses in Dallas, Texas, which was growing rapidly in the early 20th century as an industrial city. In 1912, Busch constructed the Adolphus Hotel there as the tallest building in the state. Another was the Busch Building, which has been adapted as the Kirby Residences, and is located at 1509 Main St. It is a National Historic Landmark.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: From his early years, Busch contributed generously to charitable and education needs. With a lifelong interest in his homeland, he assisted in repairing devastation from the 1882 flooding of Mainz-Kastel by the Rhine River. He donated $100,000 (equivalent to $ million today) to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake - $50,000 personally and $50,000 from his company.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Busch contributed a total of $350,000 (equivalent to $ million today) to Harvard to endow a Germanic museum, named Adolphus Busch Hall.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Busch married Elise "Lilly" Eberhard Anheuser, the third daughter of Eberhard Anheuser, on 7 March 1861, at a Lutheran church in St. Louis, Missouri. They had thirteen children:


title: Adolphus Busch

text: The Busches often traveled to Germany where they built their mansion. They named it the Villa Lilly for Mrs Busch. It is located in Lindschied near Langenschwalbach, in present-day Bad Schwalbach.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Busch died in Lindschied in 1913 while on vacation. He had been suffering from dropsy since 1906. He was survived by his widow, five daughters and two sons, August A. and Carl Busch, both of St. Louis. His body was brought back to the United States in 1915 by ship, and transported by train to St. Louis.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Almost thirty thousand people paid their respects to Adolphus Busch when his body lay in state in the family mansion in St. Louis. Notable guests included the U.S. secretary of agriculture, the president of Harvard University, and the president of the University of California. The procession consisted of twenty-five trucks that were needed to transport all the flower arrangements to the cemetery as well as a 250 piece band that led the funeral procession. The procession spanned twenty miles, from No. 1 Busch Place to Bellefontaine Cemetery, Adolphus' final resting place. As many as 100,000 mourners lined the streets for the procession. Five minutes of silence were observed at the request of Mayor Henry W. Kiel and the lights were turned off at the Jefferson and Planter's House hotels. Streetcars were also halted.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Lilly Anheuser's parents had built a mausoleum at Bellefontaine Cemetery, but she felt that Adolphus needed something grander. She tore down the original structure, and had the other family members reinterred outside. She had Thomas Barnett design a new mausoleum in the Bavarian Gothic style. Constructed of stone quarried in Missouri, and completed in 1921, the new building cost $250,000 (equivalent to $ million today). It features grapevines representing both Adolphus' birthplace in German wine country, and his favorite beverage. Julius Caesar's words, "Veni, Vidi, Vici," or "I came, I saw, I conquered" are inscribed on the lintel.


title: Adolphus Busch

text: Lilly died of a heart attack and pneumonia on 17 February 1928, in Pasadena, California. Her body was brought back to St. Louis, and was buried beside her husband.


title: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

text: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight is an American CG-animated streaming television series, developed by Mitch Watson and Peter Hastings for Netflix. It is the third TV series in the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise, following "". Produced by DreamWorks Animation Television, the series premiered on Netflix on July 14, 2022. A second season will be released on January 13, 2023.


title: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

text: The series picks up a few years after the events of "Kung Fu Panda 3" and "" where Po the giant panda must leave his home and embark on a globe-trotting quest across China for redemption and justice that finds him partnered up with a no-nonsense English knight named Luthera (a brown bear), also known as Wandering Blade, to find 4 elemental weapons that broke up the world a long time ago.


title: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

text: During National Panda Day in March 2022, DreamWorks and Netflix announced a new CGI animated Kung-Fu Panda series executive produced by Peter Hastings ("The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants") and Shaunt Nigoghossian ("Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!"), while story edited by "Kipo" writers Chris Amuck and Ben Mekler. Unlike the last two series, Jack Black reprised his role as Po from the films rather than Mick Wingert, who voiced the character in the previous television series. Despite this, Wingert still provides miscellaneous voices for "The Dragon Knight".


title: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

text: The concept idea for the series began as a road buddy comedy that takes the viewers all over in pursuit for their goal to try and catch the bad guys. Jack Black had a cool vision for what an epic journey would be, one that fits well from the first "Kung Fu Panda" film while having a darker, more mature tone with the show versus past chapters also marks how the series is expanding the franchise.


title: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

text: Assets from "Paws of Destiny" were used to build the sets but some episodes have 2D animation styles based on its own setting. One rendered as comic graphic art, since an unpublished comic book is the central icon of that particular chapter of the story, and another one has a British-looking, lithograph kind of look.


title: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

text: A score soundtrack from Kevin Lax ("The First Purge", "Burning Sands") and Robert Lydecker ("Iron Fist", "Lethal Weapon", "Sleepy Hollow", "Designated Survivor") was released on July 15 by Back Lot Music.


title: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

text: Animation production services are provided by Technicolor and Stella Creative Labs while storyboard services are provided by Dave Enterprises and Kok & Co., Pty, Ltd.


title: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

text: The first season of "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight" was released on July 14, 2022, on Netflix. A second season, announced in December 2022, is set for release on January 12, 2023.


title: Stonewalling

text: Stonewalling is a refusal to communicate or cooperate. Such behaviour occurs in situations such as marriage guidance counseling, diplomatic negotiations, politics and legal cases. Body language may indicate and reinforce this by avoiding contact and engagement with the other party. People use deflection in a conversation in order to render a conversation pointless and insignificant. Tactics in stonewalling include giving sparse, vague responses, refusing to answer questions, or responding to questions with additional questions. Stonewalling can be used as a stalling tactic rather than an avoidance tactic.


title: Stonewalling

text: In politics, stonewalling is used to refuse to answer or comment on certain questions about policy and issues, especially if the committee or politician in question is under investigation. Stonewalling in politics and business can sometimes create a critical advantage. William Safire wrote that "stonewalling" was originally used in Australian cricket, but its use during president Richard Nixon's Watergate affair brought it into usage in American politics as a "refusal to comment".


title: Stonewalling

text: Stonewalling can also be seen as filibustering, or stalling the passage of bills until they become outdated or changed when engaging in parliamentary procedures.


title: Stonewalling

text: When one or both members of a couple refuse to communicate, this can mark the final step in the breakdown of their relationship. John Gottman characterised this stage as the fourth horseman in his Cascade Model of Relational Dissolution. In his studies, "stonewalling" was overwhelmingly done by men, with women overwhelmingly using "criticism". In his studies, men's physiology reached a state of arousal before "stonewalling", while the female partner showed a physiological reaction of increased heart rate after her partner had "stonewalled" her. Gottman goes into detail on The Four Horsemen in his book, "The Seven Principles of Making a Marriage Work".


title: Stonewalling

text: As stonewalling persists in a relationship and becomes a continuous cycle, the negative effects of stonewalling outweigh the positive effects, it then becomes the greatest predictor of divorce in a marriage. When one or both partners in a relationship stonewall, their ability to hear each other or listen to each other's disagreement, concern, side or argument, reduces their ability to engage and help address the situation. Stonewalling can be detrimental to relationships because there is often no chance for resolution of conflict.


title: Stonewalling

text: When stonewalling occurs, it has both a physiological and psychological effect on the person who is stonewalling. Physiologically, the person who is stonewalling can completely shut down, particularly when it is used as a self-soothing mechanism. The person doing stonewalling may be aware or unaware that this is taking place, because of an increase in adrenaline due to an increase in stress, where the person can either engage or flee the situation. Because stonewalling is a physiological reaction, the stonewalling can be thought of as a fight or flight response. Psychologically, stonewalling is a defense mechanism for preserving one's self and emotions.


title: Stonewalling

text: Other signs of stonewalling are silence, mumbling monotone utterances, changing the subject and physically removing oneself from the situation (e.g., leaving the room).


title: Stonewalling

text: Witnesses in court or other legal actions may refuse to cooperate with a counsel by withholding information and refusing to testify. Prosecutors may try to break their united front by offering incentives such as immunity from prosecution. Another tactic of stonewalling is to provide the jurors with misleading information or withhold possibly self-incriminating information. When witnesses use the stonewalling practice, they are usually in an agreement with other witnesses to do the same in order for the tactic to be effective.


title: Chimaira

text: Chimaira () is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, the group was a member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology. Throughout its history, the band had numerous line-up changes, leaving vocalist Mark Hunter as the only constant member. The band dissolved in 2014, but announced a one-off reunion in late 2017 wherein most of the group's longtime members rejoined.


title: Chimaira

text: Prior to Chimaira, vocalist Mark Hunter and bassist Jim LaMarca were part of a previous band known as Skipline, which lasted 2 years from 1996 to 1998. Shortly before Skipline's first ever Rhode Island show, the group were carjacked of their van (along with all of the inside equipment), which left the 4-piece band to find their way back to Ohio and effectively ended Skipline. Soon after the experience, Hunter was contacted by guitarist Jason Hager, who was part of a metalcore band known as Ascension, to form a new group. Hunter was ecstatic about the opportunity and agreed. Hunter and Hager together recruited friends and previous bandmates Jason Genaro on drums and Andrew Ermlick on bass to complete the required positions for a line-up. Chimaira was officially founded in August 1998.


title: Chimaira

text: After a few practices, the four decided that the band needed to thicken their sound and Ermlick recommended that Rob Arnold, a former bandmate from his time in Common Thread, could be recruited into the band as guitarist. Arnold's band at the time, Sanctum, had recently split, and he was available to join Chimaira. By 1999, Arnold joined the band soon after as lead guitarist to which Hager was then moved to play rhythm.


title: Chimaira

text: The band recorded its first demo in January 1999, and during the recording, Arnold recommended to Hunter and Hager that they replace Genaro with Arnold's former drummer Andols Herrick in the band Sanctum. After observing a cassette recording featuring Herrick's percussion, the band agreed to replace Genaro in favor of Herrick. Herrick then came along to the studio with the other four and recorded the drums for the demo the very next day.


title: Chimaira

text: The band spent much of 1999 doing various live shows around the United States, and during that year Andrew Ermlick left the band to concentrate on his college studies, and was replaced by Rob Lesniak.


title: Chimaira

text: The band recorded a second demo during that year, and it began to receive widespread airplay on several college radio stations around the area. After landing a spot performing "Dead Inside" on the short lived USA Network show Farmclub.com, Chimaira was signed to Roadrunner Records.


title: Chimaira

text: Eventually, the band recorded their debut EP, "This Present Darkness", which was released in 2000 via independent label East Coast Empire, and charted in the top 10 at Metal Radio. Shortly after the release of TPD, Chimaira aligned with manager and A&R scout Thom Hazaert (who would go on to run prominent independent labels Corporate Punishment Records and THC Music), a longtime friend of sampler Chris Spicuzza, and continued to tour the US, playing consistently with bands including Hatebreed and God Forbid. The band recorded demo versions of several new tracks including "Dead Inside" (which the band performed on Farm Club and would go on to become a fan favorite), "Severed", and "Taste My...", as well as a cover of The Cure's "Fascination Street", which Hazaert shopped, eventually gaining interest from several major labels. During this time, the band also contributed a cover of the Accept classic "Balls to the Wall" to the ECW Wrestling album "Anarchy Rocks Vol. 2".


title: Chimaira

text: The band went on to sign with Roadrunner Records and quickly recorded its debut album "Pass out of Existence" in 2001 with Producer Mudrock. By this time Jim LaMarca was now bassist and Chris Spicuzza was handling all electronics duties. Shortly after the release of the album and the tour that was to follow, Jason Hager left the band when he discovered he was going to become a father. Matt DeVries, from Cleveland's Ascension, was recruited to take over as rhythm guitarist. Released October 2, 2001, "Pass out of Existence" would also feature a guest appearance from Deftones' guitarist Stephen Carpenter on the track "Rizzo".


title: Chimaira

text: The band returned home in late 2002 to begin writing and recording its next full-length album, "The Impossibility of Reason". The making of the album was documented and later seen on their debut DVD release called "The Dehumanizing Process". After the release and ensuing tours, drummer Andols Herrick decided to leave the band. As evidenced in the DVD documentary, Herrick appeared to be unenthusiastic about constantly being on the road. He returned home to attend college to obtain a music degree.


title: Chimaira

text: Chimaira eventually welcomed Ricky Evensand as its new drummer. Hailing from Sweden, Evensand was a part of Soilwork for a short time. Evensand's stay in Chimaira was relatively short-lived. Going on advice from Slayer guitarist Kerry King, Hunter contacted Kevin Talley, an experienced death metal drummer who had previously been in the bands Dying Fetus and Misery Index. With Talley on board, the band finished its remaining tour dates before returning home for some downtime. They soon began the writing and recording process on their next album. Songs from the album were featured on "MythBusters" for the episode "Talking to Plants".


title: Chimaira

text: By the first quarter of 2005, the band had finished most of its next release and began to tour once again. The self-titled album, the first (and only) one featuring Talley, was released in August 2005 while the band was taking part in the inaugural Sounds of the Underground tour. Hunter and DeVries had also taken part in another musical project that year, Roadrunner Records' twenty-fifth anniversary CD entitled "The All-Star Sessions". Also taking part in the recording of several songs was former drummer Andols Herrick. These recording sessions reignited Herrick's interest of being in a full-time band. The band also co-headlined the Kings of Cleveland concert with Mushroomhead.


title: Chimaira

text: In 2006, the band was released from its contract with Roadrunner Records and eventually signed with Ferret Records for United States distribution. The band also acquired a deal with Nuclear Blast for international operations. The band was said to be excited about its new deals, and its fourth full-length studio album "Resurrection", which was released on March 6, 2007. The band has stated they felt "rejuvenated" after its split with Roadrunner and the readmission of Herrick on drums. The only downside of this happy event was that the band decided to call off the Eastpak Antidote tour with Soilwork, Sonic Syndicate and Caliban. Chimaira was replaced by Dark Tranquillity. In 2008, Chimaira joined Brendon Small on the Dethklok tour 2008 as a guest appearance.


title: Chimaira

text: Before the release of the album, the band had been posting short clips on the webpage from the upcoming album, which was written in Cleveland, Ohio with producer Ben Schigel, who previously produced the band's album "The Impossibility of Reason" and their self-titled album. The new album, entitled "The Infection", is mixed by Zeuss, who mixed and produced albums for Hatebreed and Shadows Fall. Chimaira stated that they were pushing for an April 21, 2009 release date on the new album. At its annual Chimaira Christmas show on December 30, 2008, they debuted a new song entitled "Secrets of the Dead."


title: Chimaira

text: The first single of the album "Secrets of the Dead" was released March 3, 2009. The Infection was released worldwide on April 21, 2009, and debuted at number 30 on the Billboard 200. During a number of European tour dates supporting The Infection, Chimaira had Emil Werstler of Dååth filling in for Matt DeVries, as DeVries' girlfriend had their first child.


title: Chimaira

text: The 10th annual Chimaira Christmas show was held at the House of Blues in Cleveland Ohio on December 27, 2009, and was filmed for a live DVD titled Coming Alive, which was released in 2010.


title: Chimaira

text: In late 2010, bassist Jim LaMarca retired from the band. Chimaira released the following statement regarding his departure


title: Chimaira

text: "After a decade of good times and achievements, our friend and band mate Jim LaMarca [bass] has decided to retire from CHIMAIRA. We wish him nothing but the best as he settles in and starts a family. As for seeking a replacement ... we'll cross that bridge down the line. In the meantime, consider it 'business as usual' with the CHIMAIRA you know and love."


title: Chimaira

text: Chimaira finished recording their 6th album in March 2011, expected to be released in August 2011. Also in March, Chimaira released a cover of The Troggs' "Wild Thing" as a single on YouTube and iTunes, in response to the "Charlie Sheen phenomenon."


title: Chimaira

text: On April 5, 2011, keyboardist and programmer Chris Spicuzza announced he would be leaving the band (a decision he made in January), citing a "negative environment" and the general state of the music industry. He also announced his next project, a mobile gaming startup called IRL Gaming. Spicuzza did not contribute to the new album.


title: Chimaira

text: On April 13, drummer Andols Herrick announced that he too would be leaving the band due to differences. He was asked to leave by the other members of the band. Andols has technically been out of the band since December 2010 (prior to Chimaira Christmas 11). It was not announced until April 2011, however. Herrick was asked to rejoin the band, but he declined. He has said he looks forward to moving on with other musical projects. He said that there is no bad blood between the band and himself, and that they all remain friends. Herrick did not contribute to the new album, however he was around during the time of the song-writing and assures the fans through his Facebook page that the new album is sounding pure as ever. On May 28, at Peabody's in Cleveland, OH, the new album was revealed to be titled "The Age of Hell" that was met with the debut live performance of the song "Trigger Finger" which will be included on the record.


title: Chimaira

text: "The Age of Hell" was released in the US on August 16, 2011. Frontman Mark Hunter states, "Words can't express what it took to create this album. We hope you love it as much as we do. Turn it up loud, this is Chimaira at [its] finest." The album was also released in the UK through Metal Hammer magazine.


title: Chimaira

text: In November 2011, Mark Hunter released a statement stating that guitarists Matt DeVries and Rob Arnold are leaving Chimaira after Chimaira Christmas '11. He added that they are leaving for 'personal reasons'.


title: Chimaira

text: It was confirmed that Emil Werstler will be replacing Rob Arnold as the lead guitarist, meanwhile Matt Szlachta from Dirge Within and Jeremy Creamer from Dååth will be handling rhythm guitar and bass duties respectively.


title: Chimaira

text: On December 29, 2012, Chimaira Christmas 13 revealed a new song from the upcoming 2013 album, titled "I Despise". The same day an official teaser for the new album was added to YouTube, titled Chimaira 2013. On April 18, 2013, the band released a teaser video on their YouTube channel revealing the album title, "Crown of Phantoms", and a release date, July 30, 2013.


title: Chimaira

text: On August 31, 2014, Emil Werstler departed to pursue a solo career. The rest of the band mutually decided to part ways.


title: Chimaira

text: In late 2017 guitarist Rob Arnold uploaded an image depicting the numbers "1514688300". It was later revealed to be a Unix timestamp of the date and time of the band's reunion show. On June 21, 2017, ThePRP.com announced that a one-off reunion of the band's "classic" lineup would take place on December 30, 2017, during the group's Chimaira Christmas event, which would be seven years since this line-up performed together. The band later shared this news on their official Facebook page, confirming the news.


title: Chimaira

text: On December 15, it was announced that drummer Andols Herrick would no longer be a part of the reunion show due to health issues, and that former Chimaira drummer Austin D'Amond would be his replacement.