Etymology.

The word "Muses" (, "Moũsai") perhaps came from the o-grade of the Proto-Indo-European root *"men-" (the basic meaning of which is "put in mind" in verb formations with transitive function and "have in mind" in those with intransitive function), or from root *"men-" ("to tower, mountain") since all the most important cult-centres of the Muses were on mountains or hills. R. S. P. Beekes rejects the latter etymology and suggests that a Pre-Greek origin is also possible.

Number and names.

The earliest known records of the Nine Muses are from Boeotia, the homeland of Hesiod. Some ancient authorities thought that the Nine Muses were of Thracian origin. There, a tradition persisted that the Muses had once been three in number.  In the first century BC, Diodorus Siculus cited Homer and Hesiod to the contrary, observing: Diodorus states (Book I.18) that Osiris first recruited the nine Muses, along with the satyrs, while passing through Aethiopia, before embarking on a tour of all Asia and Europe, teaching the arts of cultivation wherever he went.  According to Hesiod's account (c. 600 BC), generally followed by the writers of antiquity, the Nine Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (i.e., "Memory" personified), figuring as personifications of knowledge and the arts, especially poetry, literature, dance and music.  The Roman scholar Varro (116–27 BC) relates that there are only three Muses: one born from the movement of water, another who makes sound by striking the air, and a third who is embodied only in the human voice. They were called Melete or "Practice", Mneme or "Memory" and Aoide or "Song". Three ancient Muses were also reported in Plutarch's (46–120 AD) "Quaestiones Convivales" (9.I4.2–4).  However, the classical understanding of the Muses tripled their triad and established a set of nine goddesses, who embody the arts and inspire creation with their graces through remembered and improvised song and mime, writing, traditional music, and dance. It was not until Hellenistic times that the following systematic set of functions was assigned to them, and even then there was some variation in both their names and their attributes: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flutes and lyric poetry), Thalia (comedy and pastoral poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (dance), Erato (love poetry), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry), and Urania (astronomy). According to Pausanias in the later second century AD, there were originally three Muses, worshipped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia: Aoide ("song" or "tune"), Melete ("practice" or "occasion"), and Mneme ("memory"). Together, these three form the complete picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice.  In Delphi three Muses were worshiped as well, but with other names: Nete, Mese, and Hypate, which are assigned as the names of the three chords of the ancient musical instrument, the lyre.  Alternatively, later they were called Cephisso, Apollonis, and Borysthenis, names which characterize them as daughters of Apollo.  In a later tradition, a set of four Muses were recognized: Thelxinoë, Aoide, Archē, and Melete, said to be daughters of Zeus and Plusia or of Ouranos.  One of the people frequently associated with the Muses was Pierus. By some he was called the father (by a Pimpleian nymph, called Antiope by Cicero) of a total of seven Muses, called Neilṓ (Νειλώ), Tritṓnē (Τριτώνη), Asōpṓ (Ἀσωπώ), Heptápora (Ἑπτάπορα), Achelōís, Tipoplṓ (Τιποπλώ), and Rhodía (Ῥοδία).

Mythology.

According to Hesiod's "Theogony" (seventh century BC), they were daughters of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, Titan goddess of memory. Hesiod in Theogony narrates that the Muses brought to people forgetfulness, that is, the forgetfulness of pain and the cessation of obligations.  For Alcman and Mimnermus, they were even more primordial, springing from the early deities Ouranos and Gaia. Gaia is Mother Earth, an early mother goddess who was worshipped at Delphi from prehistoric times, long before the site was rededicated to Apollo, possibly indicating a transfer to association with him after that time.  Sometimes the Muses are referred to as water nymphs, associated with the springs of Helicon and with Pieris. It was said that the winged horse Pegasus touched his hooves to the ground on Helicon, causing four sacred springs to burst forth, from which the Muses, also known as pegasides, were born. Athena later tamed the horse and presented him to the Muses (compare the Roman inspiring nymphs of springs, the Camenae, the Völva of Norse Mythology and also the apsaras in the mythology of classical India).  Classical writers set Apollo as their leader, "Apollon Mousagetēs" ("Apollo Muse-leader"). In one myth, the Muses judged a contest between Apollo and Marsyas. They also gathered the pieces of the dead body of Orpheus, son of Calliope, and buried them in Leivithra. In a later myth, Thamyris challenged them to a singing contest. They won and punished Thamyris by blinding him and robbing him of his singing ability.  According to a myth from Ovid's "Metamorphoses"—alluding to the connection of Pieria with the Muses—Pierus, king of Macedon, had nine daughters he named after the nine Muses, believing that their skills were a great match to the Muses. He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters, the "Pierides", being turned into chattering jays (with κίσσα often erroneously translated as magpies) for their presumption.  Pausanias records a tradition of two generations of Muses; the first are the daughters of Ouranos and Gaia, the second of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Another, rarer genealogy is that they are daughters of Harmonia (the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares), which contradicts the myth in which they were dancing at the wedding of Harmonia and Cadmus.

Children.

Calliope had Ialemus and Orpheus with Apollo. But according to a variation, the father of Orpheus was actually Oeagrus, but Apollo adopted the boy and taught him the skill of lyre. Calliope trained him in singing.  Linus was said to have been the son of Apollo and one of the Muses, either Calliope or Terpsichore or Urania. Rhesus was the son of Strymon and Calliope or Eutrepe.  The sirens were the children of Achelous and Melpomene or Terpsichore. Kleopheme was the daughter of Erato and Malos. Hyacinthus was the son Clio, according to an unpopular account.  Hymenaeus was assigned as Apollo's son by one of the muses, either Calliope, or Clio, or Terpsichore, or Urania. Corybantes were the children of Thalia and Apollo.

Cult.

The Muses had several temples and shrines in ancient Greece, their two main cult centres being Mount Helikon in Boiotia and Pieria in Makedonia. Strabo wrote: The cult of the Muses was also commonly connected to that of Apollo.

Emblems.

Some Greek writers give the names of the nine Muses as Kallichore, Helike, Eunike, Thelxinoë, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Eukelade, Dia, and Enope.  In Renaissance and Neoclassical art, the dissemination of emblem books such as Cesare Ripa's "Iconologia" (1593 and many further editions) helped standardize the depiction of the Muses in sculpture and painting, so they could be distinguished by certain props. These props, or emblems, became readily identifiable by the viewer, enabling one immediately to recognize the Muse and the art with which she had become associated. Here again, Calliope (epic poetry) carries a writing tablet; Clio (history) carries a scroll and books; Euterpe (song and elegiac poetry) carries a flute, the "aulos"; Erato (lyric poetry) is often seen with a lyre and a crown of roses; Melpomene (tragedy) is often seen with a tragic mask; Polyhymnia (sacred poetry) is often seen with a pensive expression; Terpsichore (choral dance and song) is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre; Thalia (comedy) is often seen with a comic mask; and Urania (astronomy) carries a pair of compasses and the celestial globe.

Functions.

In society.

The Greek word "mousa" is a common noun as well as a type of goddess: it literally means "art" or "poetry". According to Pindar, to "carry a "mousa"" is "to excel in the arts". The word derives from the Indo-European root "men-", which is also the source of Greek "Mnemosyne" and "mania", English "mind", "mental" and "monitor", Sanskrit "mantra" and Avestan "Mazda".  The Muses, therefore, were both the embodiments and sponsors of performed metrical speech: "mousike" (whence the English term "music") was just "one of the arts of the Muses". Others included Science, Geography, Mathematics, Philosophy, and especially Art, Drama, and inspiration. In the archaic period, before the widespread availability of books (scrolls), this included nearly all of learning. The first Greek book on astronomy, by Thales, took the form of dactylic hexameters, as did many works of pre-Socratic philosophy. Both Plato and the Pythagoreans explicitly included philosophy as a sub-species of "mousike". The "Histories" of Herodotus, whose primary medium of delivery was public recitation, were divided by Alexandrian editors into nine books, named after the nine Muses.  For poet and "law-giver" Solon, the Muses were "the key to the good life"; since they brought both prosperity and friendship. Solon sought to perpetuate his political reforms by establishing recitations of his poetry—complete with invocations to his practical-minded Muses—by Athenian boys at festivals each year. He believed that the Muses would help inspire people to do their best.

In literature.

Ancient authors and their imitators invoke Muses when writing poetry, hymns or epic history. The invocation occurs near the beginning of their work. It asks for help or inspiration from the Muses, or simply invites the Muse to sing directly through the author.  Originally, the invocation of the Muse was an indication that the speaker was working inside the poetic tradition, according to the established formulas. For example:  Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy.  O Muse! the causes and the crimes relate; What goddess was provok'd, and whence her hate; For what offense the Queen of Heav'n began To persecute so brave, so just a man; [...]  Besides Homer and Virgil, other famous works that included an invocation of the Muse are the first of the "carmina" by Catullus, Ovid's "Metamorphoses" and "Amores", Dante's "Inferno" (Canto II), Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde" (Book II), Shakespeare's "Henry V" (Act 1, Prologue), his 38th sonnet, and Milton's "Paradise Lost" (openings of Books 1 and 7).

In cults and modern museums.

When Pythagoras arrived at Croton, his first advice to the Crotoniates was to build a shrine to the Muses at the center of the city, to promote civic harmony and learning. Local cults of the Muses often became associated with springs or with fountains. The Muses themselves were sometimes called Aganippids because of their association with a fountain called Aganippe. Other fountains, Hippocrene and Pirene, were also important locations associated with the Muses. Some sources occasionally referred to the Muses as "Corycides" (or "Corycian nymphs") after a cave on Mount Parnassos, called the Corycian Cave. Pausanias referred to the Muses by the surnames "Ardalides" or "Ardaliotides", because of a sanctuary to them at Troezen said to have been built by the mythical Ardalus.  The Muses were venerated especially in Boeotia, in the Valley of the Muses near Helicon, and in Delphi and the Parnassus, where Apollo became known as "Mousagetes" ("Muse-leader") after the sites were rededicated to his cult.  Often Muse-worship was associated with the hero-cults of poets: the tombs of Archilochus on Thasos and of Hesiod and Thamyris in Boeotia all played host to festivals in which poetic recitations accompanied sacrifices to the Muses. The Library of Alexandria and its circle of scholars formed around a "mousaion" (i.e., "museum" or shrine of the Muses) close to the tomb of Alexander the Great. Many Enlightenment figures sought to re-establish a "Cult of the Muses" in the 18th century. A famous Masonic lodge in pre-Revolutionary Paris was called Les Neuf Soeurs ("The Nine Sisters", that is, the Nine Muses); Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Danton, and other influential Enlightenment figures attended it. As a side-effect of this movement the word "museum" (originally, "cult place of the Muses") came to refer to a place for the public display of knowledge.

In modern art, film, literature.

The Muses are explicitly used in modern English to refer to an artistic inspiration, as when one cites one's own artistic muse, and also implicit in words and phrases such as "amuse", "museum" (Latinised from "mouseion"—a place where the Muses were worshipped), "music", and "musing upon". In current literature, the influential role that the Muse plays has been extended to the political sphere.

Places named after the Muses.

In New Orleans, Louisiana, there are streets named for all nine Muses. It is commonly held that the local pronunciation of the names has been colorfully anglicized in an unusual manner by the "Yat" dialect. The pronunciations are actually in line with the French, Spanish and Creole roots of the city.

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses (Ancient Greek: Μοῦσαι, "Moũsai", Modern Greek: Μούσες) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs, and myths that were related orally for centuries in ancient Greek culture.

Múzy (řec. "músai", lat. "Musae") jsou v řecké mytologii dcery nejvyššího boha Dia a bohyně paměti Mnémosyné. Jsou to bohyně všech (múzických) umění.


Identification.

V354 Cephei is now clearly identified as a red supergiant variable star and included on surveys such as IRAS and 2MASS, but prior to its inclusion in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars in 1981, it was referred to only by its listings on relatively obscure catalogs. It is too faint to be included in catalogs such as the Henry Draper Catalogue or Bonner Durchmusterung. It was included on a 1947 Dearborn Observatory survey as star 41575, but that ID is hardly ever used.  V354 Cep has frequently been referred to as Case 75. This is from one of several listings of cool stars made using the Burrell Schmidt telescope at the Warner and Swasey Observatory of Case Western Reserve University, although Case 75 is mistakenly identified as the nearby F3V star BD+58°2450.

Distance.

The Gaia Data Release 2 parallax for V354 Cep is. It is near the Cepheus OB1 stellar association and considered a likely member. This association is at a distance of approximately 3,500 parsecs.

Properties.

The luminosity, and hence the size, of V354 Cep are disputed. Levesque et al. 2005, find a high luminosity of and consequently very large size of based on the assumption of an effective temperature of 3,650 K, making it one of the largest known stars and one of most luminous of its type. More recent papers derived much smaller luminosities, which implies much smaller sizes below. They note the discrepancy but are unable to explain it. There are similar differences in the visual extinctions derived, between two and six magnitudes.

V354 Cephei is a red supergiant star located within the Milky Way. It is an irregular variable located approximately 9,000 light-years away from the Sun. It has an estimated radius of. If it were placed in the center of the Solar System, it would extend to between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

V354 Cephei je hvězda v Mléčné dráze. Patří mezi červené veleobry, je jednou z největších známých hvězd - přibližně 1 520krát větší než Slunce, od něhož je vzdálena přibližně 9 000 světelných let.


Biography.

Early life.

Prior to joining Helloween, Kiske sang with the German band Ill Prophecy at the age of 17. The band recorded a demo, but it was never released commercially.

Helloween "(1986–1993, 2017–present)".

At the age of eighteen, Kiske was asked to join the German power metal band Helloween, which was fronted by singer/guitarist Kai Hansen. Hansen had some difficulties being both the lead guitarist and lead vocalist, and it was decided that a new vocalist would be needed. Kiske rejected Helloween's first offer, because he disliked the sound of the band's "Walls of Jericho" album, but accepted the second and joined Helloween in late 1986. Michael's first album with the band was 1987's "Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I", widely considered to be one of Helloween's best albums and a milestone in the creation of the power metal genre. The album's worldwide success enabled the band to embark on an extensive world tour and perform at famous festivals such as Monsters of Rock. Helloween went on to release "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II" in 1988, which went gold in Germany and brought even more success than its predecessor. The "Keeper of the Seven Keys" albums proved to be highly influential and aided in the formation of a new wave of European power metal bands, such as Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, HammerFall and Edguy.  After the completion of the band's 1988 headlining tour, the album "Live in the UK" was released, while Kai Hansen left the band and was replaced by guitarist Roland Grapow. Legal disputes with their record company, prevented Helloween from releasing new material until 1991's "Pink Bubbles Go Ape", which was followed by 1993's "Chameleon". These two albums saw the band moving away from their power metal roots and experimenting with different sounds. Both "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" and "Chameleon" were commercial failures and resulted in Kiske leaving Helloween. Kiske was fired from the band in 1993, reportedly for personal reasons. He was replaced by Pink Cream 69's Andi Deris, who has remained with Helloween ever since.  Kiske was rumored to be Bruce Dickinson's replacement, after he departed from Iron Maiden in 1993, but the position was filled by Blaze Bayley.  In 2016, it was announced that Michael Kiske would join Helloween, together with Kai Hansen, for a reunion tour that would take place during 2017 and 2018. The Pumpkins United World Tour started in October 2017 in South America and continued in Europe with concerts lasting close to three hours. On December 8, 2017 the single "Pumpkins United", featuring the reunited line-up, was released. The reunion tour continued throughout 2018 in Japan, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, North America, Canada and Latin America. The Pumpkins United World Tour was the biggest one in the band's history as it comprised 69 shows and lasted for 14 months. A live DVD/Blu-ray entitled "United Alive" and the live album "United Alive in Madrid" were released on October 4, 2019.  The band embarked on a Brazilian tour in September 2019, which started at Rockfest (Sao Paulo) and ended with their performance at the Rock In Rio Festival. A new studio album with Kiske and Hansen is due to be released in 2020.

Solo work "(1996–2008)".

On August 16, 1996, three years after leaving Helloween, Kiske released his first solo album, "Instant Clarity". The album featured guest appearances by Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden, Kai Hansen and Ciriaco Taraxes and contained songs in a wide variety of styles. A music video for the ballad "Always", dedicated to deceased Helloween drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, was filmed and produced in New York City. During the same year he also wrote a book, 'Kunst Und Materialismus', which is only available in German. "Instant Clarity" was reissued in 2006 with the addition of 4 bonus tracks.  His second solo album, "Readiness to Sacrifice", which included some songs by Ciriaco Taraxes, was released in Korea and Japan in 1999 and in Europe in 2001. The music on the album featured Michael moving completely away from his heavy metal roots and even contained two symphonic songs.  In 2003, out of desire to make rock music again, Kiske formed a project, named SupaRed. They released a self-titled album in January 2003. This album had a modern rock sound and a song structure, distinct from both his solo albums and the heavy metal sound of Helloween. The project was under promoted and unsuccessful and he dissolved the band.  In 2006, Michael Kiske released his third full-length solo album under the name of "Kiske". The album contained songs in a mellow, acoustic singer-songwriter style and was a step away from the sound of his previous solo albums. According to Michael "It's a healthy-careless and musically free album. I am very proud of this record because it is a true statement from myself".  In 2008, Kiske released his fourth solo work, entitled "Past in Different Ways". The album contained acoustic re-arrangements of his old Helloween material and one new song. According to Kiske the album "on one hand shows that I don't reject my past just because I'm a different person today, and on the other hand it can maybe give people who were part of that past a different view at those songs".

Avantasia "(since 2000)".

In 2000, Tobias Sammet (vocalist of the band Edguy) asked Kiske to participate in the rock opera project Avantasia. Michael agreed to sing on the project, in the role of Lugaid Vandroiy, but only under the nickname of "Ernie". The nickname was printed on the back of the first Avantasia release, "The Metal Opera", but not on the sequel, "The Metal Opera Part II", where he was featured under his real name. Michael said in interviews that, at that time, he did not want people to link him to heavy metal anymore. He had a main role in the concept of the Metal Opera albums and performed on the songs "Reach Out for the Light", "Breaking Away", "Farewell", "Avantasia", "The Tower", "The Seven Angels" and "No Return".  During 2007, he recorded guest vocals for two Avantasia tracks; "Promised Land" and "Lost in Space [Extended Version]", both of which appeared on the "Lost in Space Part I & II" compilation album ("Promised Land" was also featured on the EP "Lost in Space Part II").  In 2008, Michael took part in the Avantasia album "The Scarecrow", singing lead on the track "Shelter From The Rain" and backing on the title track and on "What Kind of Love".  During 2010, Kiske performed on the Avantasia albums "The Wicked Symphony" and "Angel of Babylon", singing on the tracks "Wastelands", "Runaway Train" and "Stargazers". Between November and December, he also took part in "The Metal Opera Comes to Town Tour", sharing the stage with Tobias Sammet, Kai Hansen, Jørn Lande, Bob Catley, Amanda Somerville, Sascha Paeth, and Oliver Hartmann among others.  On August 6, 2011, Michael performed with Avantasia at the Wacken Open Air Festival.  During 2013, Kiske took part in the Avantasia album "The Mystery of Time", singing on the songs "Where Clock Hands Freeze", "Savior in the Clockwork" and "Dweller in a Dream". Between April and August, he also participated on "The Mystery World Tour", which included 10 European festival appearances and 3-hour long shows in South America, Japan, Russia and Europe.  On August 2, 2014, Michael performed with Avantasia at the Wacken Open Air festival once again.  In 2016, Kiske participated in the Avantasia album "Ghostlights", singing on the songs "Ghostlights", "Unchain The Light" and on the bonus track "Wake Up To The Moon". Between March and August of the same year, he was part of the biggest Avantasia tour, entitled "Ghostlights World Tour", which consisted of more than 40 concerts in Europe, North America, South America, Canada, Japan, Russia and Scandinavia.  During 2019, Michael participated in the Avantasia album "Moonglow", singing on the song "Requiem For A Dream".

Place Vendome "(2005–2017)".

In 2005, Kiske took part in the Place Vendome project, on Frontiers Records. Place Vendome consisted of Dennis Ward (bass and production), Kosta Zafiriou (drums) and Uwe Reitenauer (guitars) from the German band Pink Cream 69, Gunther Werno (keyboards) from the band Vanden Plas and Kiske on vocals. The project's debut album, "Place Vendome", was a blend of melodic hard rock and AOR (comparable to the sound of bands such as Foreigner or Journey) and the majority of the songwriting was provided by Dennis Ward.  In 2009, the Place Vendome project released its second album entitled "Streets of Fire". A video was filmed for the song "My Guardian Angel", marking Michael's visual return since 1996. The songwriting for the second album was provided by musicians Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Torsti Spoof (Leverage), Ronny Milianowicz (Saint Deamon) and Robert Sall (Work of Art).  In 2013, Frontiers Records released Place Vendome's third album entitled "Thunder in the Distance". The songwriters for this release were Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline), Timo Tolkki (ex-Stratovarius), Brett Jones, Tommy Denander (Radioactive), Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Sören Kronqvist (Sunstorm), Roberto Tiranti and Andrea Cantarelli (Labyrinth). A video was filmed for the song "Talk To Me".  In 2017, the Place Vendome project released its fourth album entitled "Close to the Sun". The album featured songs written by Magnus Karlsson, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Jani Liimatainen (Cain's Offering, ex-Sonata Arctica), Olaf Thorsen (Vision Divine, Labyrinth), Fabio Lione (Vision Divine, Angra, ex-Rhapsody of Fire), Simone Mularoni (DGM), Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere) and Mike Palace. In addition, it was be the first Place Vendome album to feature guest guitar solos by Gus G (Firewind, Ozzy Osbourne), Kai Hansen (ex-Helloween, Gamma Ray, Unisonic), Mandy Meyer (Krokus, ex-Asia, Unisonic), Alfred Koffler (Pink Cream 69), Michael Klein, Magnus Karlsson and Simone Mularoni.

Kiske/Somerville "(2009–2015)".

In late 2009, Kiske collaborated with female vocalist Amanda Somerville in a duet project, put together by Frontiers Records. The project was named Kiske/Somerville and it marked the contribution of musicians Mat Sinner, Magnus Karlsson, Sander Gommans, Martin Schmidt and Jimmy Kresic. The self-titled debut album was released on September 24, 2010. Two videos were filmed for the songs "Silence" and "If I Had A Wish", enabling most of the participants to actually meet in person.  The second Kiske/Somerville album entitled "City of Heroes" was released on April 17, 2015. Mat Sinner, Magnus Karlsson and Veronika Lukesova handled the instrumentation, while Jacob Hansen and Sinner were in charge of the production. Two music videos were filmed for the songs "City Of Heroes" and "Walk On Water".

Unisonic "(since 2009)".

On November 10, 2009, Michael formed the band Unisonic together with Dennis Ward, Kosta Zafiriou and Mandy Meyer. Unisonic began a short tour in June 2010, playing some warm-up shows in Germany and performing at Sweden Rock Festival and Masters of Rock Festival as well. This small tour marked Kiske's return to the live stages after 17 years of absence. In March 2011, Kai Hansen joined the band, and on October 15 the new line-up performed its first show at Loud Park Festival (Japan).  The band released the EP "Ignition", together with their first video for the song "Unisonic" in January 2012, through EarMusic (Edel AG). The release of their self-titled debut album followed on March 30, 2012. The debut album entered several international music charts, scoring the highest points on the Finnish albums chart, Japanese Albums Chart, German Albums Chart and Swedish albums chart.  Unisonic embarked on their first world tour in May 2012 performing in South America and in various European music festivals, such as Masters of Rock, Hellfest, Rock Hard Festival and Gods of Metal among others. The second half of the tour included concerts in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Russia, Spain and Germany.  The band's second EP, "For the Kingdom", came out in May 2014, the video for the song "Exceptional" followed in July, while their second album, "Light of Dawn", was released on August 1, 2014. "Light of Dawn" entered several international music charts, scoring the highest entries on the Finnish albums chart, German Albums Chart, Swiss albums chart, Czech albums chart and Japanese Albums Chart.  The band embarked on a summer festival tour in July 2014, performing at Masters Of Rock, Leyendas del Rock, Moscow Metal Meeting, Bang Your Head, Skogsrojet and Rock Pod Kamenom. A Japanese and European tour together with Edguy followed, while the band's final show was at the Knock Out Festival in December 2014.  On August 5, 2016, Unisonic performed their first show at Wacken Open Air Festival, which was recorded and released under the title "Live in Wacken" on July 21, 2017.

Collaborations and guest appearances.

In 1995, Kiske participated as a guest on Gamma Ray's (Kai Hansen's band, formed after his departure from Helloween in late 1988) "Land of the Free" album, singing lead vocals on the song "Time To Break Free" and additional vocals on the title track.  During 2002, Michael sang the song "Key to the Universe", which was featured on Timo Tolkki's (guitarist of the band Stratovarius) solo album "Hymn to Life".  In 2003, Kiske took part in the metal opera "Days of Rising Doom" by Aina, in the role of the Narrator, singing on the songs "Revelations", "Silver Maiden", "Serendipity" and "Restoration". During the same year he also sang on the duet "Heroes" (together with Jørn Lande), featured on Masterplan's self-titled debut album.  In 2004, Michael sang on the duet "The Encounter", together with the female vocalist of the band Thalion on their debut album "Another Sun".  During 2005, Kiske was a guest on the heavy metal album "Execution" by the band Tribuzy, singing on the duet "Absolution". Following this participation Kiske also sang as a guest on the song "Judas at the Opera", featured on Edguy's "Superheroes "EP.  In 2007, Michael sang on the duet "Breathe in Water", together with the female vocalist of the band Indigo Dying on their self-titled debut album.  During 2008, Timo Tolkki departed from Stratovarius and formed the band Revolution Renaissance. The band's debut album, "New Era", was recorded by session musicians and Kiske on the role of the main singer, performing vocals for the tracks "I Did It My Way", "Angel", "Keep The Flame Alive", "Last Night on Earth" and "Revolution Renaissance".  In 2009, he was a guest on Trick or Treat's album "Tin Soldiers", singing all vocals on the song "Hello Moon" and additional lead vocals on the duet "Tears Against Your Smile".  During 2010, he recorded guest vocals for the song "All You Need To Know", featured on Gamma Ray's "To The Metal" album.  In 2011, Kiske appeared as a special guest in Gamma Ray's concert in Pratteln (Switzerland). The full show was released in both CD and DVD under the name "Skeletons & Majesties Live" in 2012. Michael sings on the songs "Time To Break Free", "A While in Dreamland" and "Future World".  In 2012, Michael sang the song "The Ethereal Dream (Reprise)", featured on the album "34613" by the project Tomorrow's Outlook.  During 2013, Kiske took part in Timo Tolkki's metal opera project Avalon. Michael sang the self-titled track on the project's debut album "The Land of New Hope". In the same year he also sang as a guest on the duet "Fly", featured on Infinita Symphonia's self-titled album. During December, he participated in the "Christmas Metal Symphony 2013 tour", sharing the stage with Joey Belladonna, Udo Dirkschneider, Chuck Billy, Joacim Cans, Floor Jansen and a symphonic orchestra.  In 2014, he sang on the duet "Black And White Forever", featured on Starchild's self-titled debut album.  During 2015, Kiske sang as a guest on the title track of the Wolfpakk album "Rise of the Animal". In August of the same year he sang as a special guest with Rock Meets Classic (a project featuring Mat Sinner and the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague) performing at the Rock of Ages Festival and at Wacken Open Air Festival. On September 19, he performed at the Rock In Rio festival with the band Noturnall.  In 2016, he participated as a guest vocalist on the Hansen & Friends "XXX : 30 Years of Metal" album and on the project's performance at Wacken Open Air Festival. The live performance was recorded and released on both CD and DVD under the title Hansen & Friends "Thank You Wacken", on June 23, 2017. During the same year he also sang on the duet "Halleluja" with Swedish singer Aino Löwenmark, featured on her album "Human". He returned to work on this recording with ex.SupaRed-members guitar player Sandro Giampietro and drummer Jürgen Spiegel.  During 2018, Kiske sang on the duets "Angel Of Light" and "King Thorgan's Hymn", featured on the album "Legend of Valley Doom part 2" by Marius Danielsen.

Singing style.

In comparison to Kai Hansen, Kiske had a more vibrant and clean voice. Some fans and critics have likened his singing style and range to that of Geoff Tate or a young Samson-era Bruce Dickinson, with shades of Rob Halford. He has a tenor type voice and possesses an almost 4 octave vocal range, as he is capable of reaching extremely high notes (A5) and low baritone notes (E2) as well. Kiske's time in Helloween has proven to be highly influential and many singers cite him as a major influence.

Recognition and honors.

Named favorite vocalist Rank:5. In Burrn! magazine's Readers poll (April 2012 issue).  Named best vocalist of 2012. In Burrn!'s Readers poll (April 2013 issue).  Named best all-time singer in rock and metal Rank:18. In German Metal Hammer readers poll (June 2013).

Michael Kiske (born January 24, 1968) is a German singer best known as the lead vocalist for the German power metal band Helloween. After his departure from the band in 1993, Kiske recorded four solo albums, participated on various metal and rock related projects, such as Avantasia, Place Vendome and Kiske/Somerville, while he also performed with numerous bands as a guest vocalist. In late 2009, he formed the hard rock band Unisonic and began touring again after 17 years of absence. In October 2017, Kiske joined Helloween and Kai Hansen for the Pumpkins United World Tour that continued through 2018. A live recording of the Helloween tour entitled "United Alive" and "United Alive in Madrid" was released in 2019 and a new Helloween album with Kiske and Hansen is planned for 2020.

Michael Kiske (* 24. ledna 1968, Hamburk) je německý hudebník a skladatel, který se nejvíce proslavil jako hlavní zpěvák německé speed/powermetalové skupiny Helloween. Po odchodu ze skupiny v roce 1993 Kiske nahrál několik sólových alb, podílel se na různých hardrockových či heavymetalových projektech jako Avantasia, Place Vendome nebo Kiske/Somerville a také spolupracoval jako zpěvák s několika kapelami. Na konci roku 2009 založil hard rock/heavy metalovou skupinu Unisonic a po 17 letech se vydal na tour. V říjnu 2017 se Kiske připojil k Helloween a Kai Hansenovi v rámci Pumpkins United World Tour, která pokračovala během roku 2018. Živá nahrávka skupiny Helloween pořízená během tour nazvaná "United Alive", by měla vyjít v roce 2019 a nové album Helloween s Kiskem a Hansenem je ohlášeno na rok 2020.


Origins.

Frank Williams started the current Williams team in 1977 after his previous outfit, Frank Williams Racing Cars, failed to achieve the success he desired. Despite the promise of a new owner, Canadian millionaire Walter

Ownership.

Reuters reported on 20 November 2009 that Williams and Patrick Head had sold a minority stake in the team to an investment company led by Austrian Toto Wolff who said that it was purely a commercial decision.  In February 2011, Williams F1 announced plans to raise capital through an initial public

Racing history – Formula One.

Ford-Cosworth engines (1977–1983).

1977 season.

Williams entered a custom March 761 for the season. Lone driver Patrick Nève appeared at 11

1978 season.

For the season, Patrick Head designed his first Williams car: the FW06. Williams signed Australian Alan Jones, who had won the the previous season for a devastated Shadow team following the death of their lead driver, Tom Pryce. Jones's first race for the team was the where he qualified the lone Williams car in 14th position, but retired after 36

1979 season.

Head designed the FW07 for the season with Frank Dernie picking up the aerodynamic development and skirt design. This was the team's first ground effect car, a technology first introduced by Colin Chapman and Team Lotus. Williams also obtained membership of the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) which expressed a preference for teams to run two cars, so Jones was partnered by Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni. It was not until the seventh round of the championship, the, that they achieved a points-scoring position. Regazzoni came close to taking the team's first win but finished second, less than a second behind race winner Jody Scheckter. The next round at Dijon is remembered for the final lap battle between René Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve, but also saw both cars finish in the

1980 season.

During the 1980 season, Alan Jones partnered with the Argentine Carlos Reutemann. The team started well in the championship, with Jones winning the first round of the season in Argentina. Jones won four more

1981 season.

The duo won four races for the Williams team in the season. Alan Jones won at the first round at Long Beach and the final round

1982 season.

Alan Jones retired from Formula One (though he would come back a year later for a single race with the Arrows team). The Australian was replaced by Finnish driver, Keke Rosberg, who had not scored a single championship point the previous year. He won the Drivers' title that year despite winning only one race, the at Dijon-Prenois. Rosberg's teammate, Reutemann, finished in 15th place having quit Formula One after just two races of the new season. His seat was filled by Mario Andretti for the US Grand Prix West before Derek Daly took over for the rest of the year. The Williams team finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship that year, 16 points behind first-place Ferrari.  By the end of the season, Frank Williams realised that to compete at the top levels of Formula One he needed the support of a major manufacturer, such as Renault or BMW who could supply his team with a turbocharged engine.

Honda engines (1983–1987).

1983 season.

Frank Williams looked towards Honda, which was developing its own turbocharged V6 engine with the Spirit team. A deal between Honda and Williams was finally settled early in 1983 and the team used the engines for

1984 season.

For the season, Head designed the ungainly FW09. Keke Rosberg won the Dallas Grand Prix and managed to get second at

1985 season.

In, Head designed the FW10, the team's first chassis to employ the carbon-fibre composite technology pioneered by the McLaren team. British driver Nigel Mansell joined the team to partner Rosberg. The team scored four wins with Rosberg winning in Detroit and Adelaide, and Mansell

1986 season.

In March 1986, Frank Williams faced the most serious challenge of his life. While returning to the airport at Nice, France, after pre-season testing at Paul Ricard, he was involved in a road accident which left him paralysed. He did not return to the pit lane for almost a year. Despite the

1987 season.

The season brought the Williams-Honda partnership its first and only Drivers' Championship title in the hands of Nelson Piquet. Piquet won three races and scored 76 points – 73 after dropped scores (best eleven results counted) in relation to the Drivers' Championship. His teammate Mansell was in second place with six victories and 61 points for the season. The Williams team won the Constructors' Championship for the second year running, scoring 137 points, 61 points ahead of their nearest rivals, McLaren. Despite this success, Honda ended their partnership with Williams at the end of the year in favour of McLaren and continuing with Lotus.

Judd engines (1988).

1988 season.

Unable to make a deal with another major engine manufacturer, Williams used naturally aspirated Judd engines for the season. This left them with a significant performance deficit compared with their turbo-powered rivals. Piquet left Williams to join Lotus who had retained their Honda engines for the 1988 season, helped by having Satoru Nakajima as number 2 driver to Piquet. Williams brought in Italian Riccardo Patrese to replace Piquet. The team did not win a race that season and finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 20 points. The highlights of the season were two second-places by Mansell, at the British and Spanish. When Mansell was forced to miss two races due to illness, he was replaced by Martin Brundle and then Jean-Louis Schlesser.

Renault engines (1989–1997).

The team secured an engine supply from Renault in 1989. Renault engines subsequently powered Williams drivers to another four Drivers' and five Constructors' Championships up until Renault's departure from Formula One at the end of 1997. The combination of Renault's powerful engine and Adrian Newey's design expertise led to a particularly dominant period in the mid-1990s. Mansell had a record-breaking 1992 season, winning the title in record time and leading many races from pole to finish. Some maintain that the Williams FW14B and FW15C were "the most technologically advanced cars that will ever race in Formula One".

1989 season.

The Renault era started in, with Italian Riccardo Patrese and Belgian Thierry Boutsen at the helm of the two Williams cars. Boutsen replaced Mansell, who had signed on to be Gerhard Berger's teammate at Ferrari. The engine's first Grand Prix in Brazil was one that the team preferred to forget: Boutsen retired with an engine failure and Patrese with an alternator failure after leading, although Patrese did qualify second. The Williams Renault team managed to get back on track with Boutsen coming fourth in the next race at Imola, earning the team three points in their championship campaign. Two races

1990 season.

In the season, Williams kept Patrese and Boutsen as the team's drivers. Although Patrese won the San Marino Grand Prix and Boutsen won pole position and the race

1991 season.

Boutsen left Williams and joined Ligier at the start of the season. His replacement was a returning Nigel Mansell, who had spent the previous two seasons driving for Scuderia Ferrari. Williams also recruited future 1996 world champion, Damon Hill, as one of their new test drivers. Williams failed to finish in the first Grand Prix of the season at Phoenix, both drivers retiring with gearbox problems. Patrese got back on track for the team in the next Grand Prix at Interlagos, coming second behind McLaren's Ayrton Senna. The 1991 San Marino Grand Prix saw both cars retiring again: Mansell after a collision and Patrese with an electrical failure after 17 laps. The Grand Prix at Monaco saw Mansell finish in a points-scoring position, coming second, 18 seconds behind Ayrton Senna. At the next race, the Canadian Grand Prix

1992 season.

Williams took a step up for the season, keeping their driver line-up of Patrese and Mansell. Mansell dominated the first round in South Africa, qualifying in pole position and winning the race by 24 seconds from his teammate, Patrese. Nigel Mansell won the next four rounds for Williams, at Mexico City, Interlagos, Catalunya and Imola, Patrese coming second in all but one (the Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya, where he retired after spinning off). Mansell's five victories in the opening five races was a new record in Formula One. Senna won the next race in Monaco, ahead of both Williams cars, which finished second and third. In the next race, in Canada, both Williams cars retired: Mansell spun off on entering the final corner (he claimed that Senna pushed him off) and Patrese had a gearbox failure. Mansell went on to record four more Grand Prix wins, including at the British Grand Prix. (In

1993 season.

The Williams FW15C was an extremely dominant car, with active suspension and traction control systems beyond anything available to the other teams. Prost won on his debut for the team in South Africa and, like Mansell, dominated the weekend, taking pole position and finishing a minute ahead of Senna, who was second. The next Grand Prix in Brazil saw Prost collide with Christian Fittipaldi's Minardi in the rain on lap 29, while Hill went on to his first podium finish: second, 16 seconds behind Senna. Prost won three of the next four Grands Prix for Williams, Senna winning the other race. Prost and Hill later scored

1994 season.

During the season, Williams used FW16 (developed during the pre-season) and FW16B (with shorter sidepods and optimised for the revised floor regulations which were introduced during the season).  After Canon left the team Williams signed a contract with tobacco company Rothmans International for, and their namesake brand became its primary sponsor from 1994 to.  As the provision in Alain Prost's contract regarding his former teammate-turned-rival had expired following the 1993 season, Williams pursued and signed Ayrton Senna to a contract for 1994 while Prost elected to retire from competition. Given this was the same team that had won the previous two World Championships with vastly superior cars, Senna was a natural and presumptive pre-season title favourite, with second-year driver Damon Hill intended to play the supporting role. Between them, Prost, Senna and Hill had won every race in 1993 but one,

1995 season.

In, Nigel Mansell was not retained, Williams favouring Coulthard over him to partner Hill. Schumacher, whose Benetton team had switched engine suppliers from Ford to Renault in the off-season, won the first round in Brazil, with Coulthard taking second. However, both were disqualified from the race after it was found that Elf supplied their teams with a type of fuel for which samples had not been provided to the FIA. Thus, Gerhard Berger and Ferrari were declared winners. Schumacher

1996 season.

For, Williams had the quickest and most reliable car, the FW18. Coulthard had left Williams to join Mika Häkkinen at McLaren, and Williams replaced him with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, who had won the CART series title in 1995, while Hill remained with the team. Schumacher left Benetton to join Ferrari. Williams won the first five Grands Prix, Hill winning all but one of them. Olivier Panis would take victory at the sixth round in Monaco after both Williams cars retired. Hill would retire for the second time in a row after he spun-off in Spain, while his teammate, Villeneuve, took third place. Hill and Villeneuve dominated the next Grand Prix in Canada, with a 1–2 in qualifying and a 1–2 finish. Williams made it a second 1–2 after Hill won the

1997 season.

For what would be the final season of Williams-Renault and a car designed with Newey's input, Frank Williams brought in German Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who had created a good impression on Williams during his first few seasons in Formula One. Frentzen proved to be a disappointment though, and won only one race in two years with Williams, the 1997 San Marino Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve won seven races during 1997, compared to five wins by his main rival, Michael Schumacher of a resurgent Ferrari. Williams also achieved the 100-race-win milestone at the British Grand Prix. Coming to the final round of the season at Jerez, Schumacher led Villeneuve by 1 point; however, on lap 48, Schumacher and Villeneuve collided. Schumacher was disqualified from second place in the championship as the accident was deemed by the FIA as "avoidable". Williams won the Constructors' title for the second time in a row, scoring 123 points. Jacques Villeneuve won the Drivers' Championship by three points to Michael Schumacher, who kept his points total despite being removed from second place; thus, runner-up went to Frentzen with 42 points.

Mecachrome engines (1998).

1998 season.

After 1997, the team were unable to maintain their dominance in Formula 1 as Renault ended their full-time involvement in Formula 1, and Adrian Newey moved to rival team McLaren. Williams then had to pay for Mecachrome engines, which were old, rebadged Renault F1 engines. This meant that the FW20 not only featured a very similar aerodynamic package to their 1997 car, but also virtually the same engine, leading some to comment that they ran what was virtually the same car, adjusted for the 1998 regulations. There were

Supertec engines (1999).

1999 season.

In, Williams employed the Supertec engine, which was a rebadged Mecachrome-Renault unit, and a new driver line-up. Villeneuve moved to the new British American Racing (BAR) team and Frentzen moved to the Jordan team. German Ralf Schumacher joined Williams in what amounted to a driver trade as Frentzen would be taking over Schumacher's old ride at Jordan. Alessandro Zanardi, an Italian driver who had won the last two CART series championships, also joined the team after Williams had spent the better part of the last year trying to sign him. The team managed three podiums, all scored by Ralf Schumacher, with third place in Australia and Britain and a second place in Italy. The team finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship, the lowest finish for Williams in the 1990s; the team finished behind Stewart and Jordan, scoring a total of 35 points. Of those points, all were scored by Schumacher as Zanardi, who had not performed well in his previous stint in F1, failed to finish in the top six in any race. At the end of the season, Williams bought out Zanardi's contract.

BMW engines (2000–2005).

During 1998, the team signed a long-term agreement with German manufacturer BMW to supply engines and expertise for a period of 6 years. As part of the deal BMW expected at least one driver to be German, which led to the team's signing of Ralf Schumacher for the previous season. In 1999, the team had a Williams car with a BMW engine testing at circuits, in preparation for a debut in the season.  There were major sponsorship changes for 2000–2005, as Rothmans International had been purchased in 1999 by British American Tobacco (BAT), which owned British American Racing and chose not to

2000 season.

Williams sought the services of Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, who had replaced Zanardi at Chip Ganassi Racing in 1999, to step-in but Montoya was under contract to Ganassi for one more season. Britain's Jenson Button was called upon and made his debut instead. The first season of Williams' partnership with BMW did not yield

2001 season.

In, Button moved to Benetton-Renault due to Montoya's arrival on the team. The FW23 won four races, three by Ralf Schumacher at Imola, Montreal, and his home Grand Prix in Germany. His teammate,

2002 season.

Williams maintainted their driver line-up for the season. The team only won one race, which was at Malaysia, one of only 2 races not won by Ferrari in a year dominated by the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Williams did improve on their

2003 season.

would see Williams come closest to winning its first title since 1997. During pre-season, Frank Williams was very confident that the FW25 would challenge for the title. The team won four races, with Montoya winning at Monaco

2004 season.

At the start of the season, it was announced that Montoya would be moving to McLaren in 2005. The team began the season with a radical nose-cone design, known as the "Walrus-Nose", that proved uncompetitive and was replaced by a more conventional assembly in Hungary. Ferrari dominated for a third consecutive season, winning 15 of the 18 races. Williams picked-up a win at the final

2005 season.

For the season, Schumacher moved to Toyota, while Montoya moved to McLaren. Taking their places were Australian Mark Webber and German Nick Heidfeld. Jenson Button was to have driven for Williams in 2005, but an FIA ruling forced Button to remain with his current team, BAR. Antônio Pizzonia served as the test driver for the team during the 2005 season. Meanwhile, Button signed a contract to drive for Williams in 2006.  During the course of the 2004 and 2005 F1 seasons, BMW Motorsport and director Mario Theissen increasingly became

Cosworth engines (2006).

2006 season.

Williams could have opted to continue with BMW engines in, despite the fact that the engine manufacturer was about to set up its own team. In the end, though, Williams opted for Cosworth V8 engines for 2006. The season saw Nico Rosberg replace German Nick Heidfeld, who departed for BMW Sauber, while Mark Webber stayed on with the team. Despite having signed a contract to race for Williams, Jenson Button decided to stay with BAR for 2006 as it was to become a Honda works team. In September 2005 a deal was reached to allow Button to

Toyota engines (2007–2009).

2007–2009 seasons.

Following Williams's worst points tally since, the team announced that Japanese manufacturer Toyota would be supplying the engines for the season. A number of other changes were announced for 2007: Alexander Wurz, who had been a test driver at Williams since 2006, became the team's second driver to replace the outgoing Mark Webber; Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima, son of Satoru, replaced Wurz as a test driver alongside Karthikeyan. Sponsorship saw a change in 2007, as it was announced that AT&T would become the title sponsors for the team from the upcoming season. AT&T were previously involved as minor sponsors with the Jaguar and McLaren teams, but moved to Williams following McLaren's announcement of a title sponsorship deal with Vodafone, a competitor of AT&T. On 2 February, the new FW29 was presented to the media in the UK. Soon afterwards, the team secured a sponsorship deal with Lenovo who built the team's new supercomputer.  Rosberg and Wurz gave Williams a more productive season in terms of points and, in Montreal, Wurz scored the team's first podium finish since Nick Heidfeld's second-place at the 2005 European Grand Prix. Over the course of the year Rosberg was consistently in the points, scoring 20 during the season; in comparison, teammate Wurz finished in the points three times. Following the announcement

Return to Cosworth engines (2010–2011).

2010–2011 seasons.

After the termination of their Toyota contract, Williams announced that from the season they were to enter into a "long-term partnership" with Cosworth, and would be using an updated version of the CA V8 engine which powered their cars in 2006. Williams also announced a complete driver change for the 2010 season. Rubens Barrichello joined from 2009 Constructors' Champion Brawn GP, whilst GP2 champion Nico Hülkenberg graduated from the test driver seat. Replacing Hülkenberg in the test seat was Finland's Valtteri Bottas, who finished third in the 2009 Formula Three Euroseries as well as winning the non-championship Masters of Formula 3 event at Zandvoort.  Their new 2010 car,

Return to Renault engines (2012–2013).

2012–2013 seasons.

On 4 July 2011, Williams announced they would be reuniting with engine-supplier Renault who were to supply the team's engines from 2012 onwards. On 1 December 2011, it was confirmed that Maldonado would be retained for the 2012 season, along with reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, who took part in 15 Friday practice sessions. In January 2012, it was confirmed that Bruno Senna would be the driver to partner Maldonado, effectively ending Rubens Barrichello's F1 career.  Prior to the 2012 season, Patrick Head moved from the Williams F1 team to Williams Hybrid Power Limited, another subsidiary of Williams Grand Prix Holdings. The team also announced that its relationship with AT&T ended by mutual agreement, and there were negotiations with another telecommunications company for team's title sponsorship. At the

Mercedes-Benz power units (2014–present).

2014–2017 seasons.

In May 2013, Williams signed a long-term contract with Mercedes to supply engines for the team, the German manufacturer providing 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines from the start of the 2014 season. Bottas was retained as driver for, and Felipe Massa was signed from Ferrari to replace Maldonado. The team also unveiled a new, multi-year title sponsorship deal with drinks brand Martini. As part of the deal, the team became Williams Martini Racing, except in Bahrain, Russia and Abu Dhabi, where the team is known as Williams Racing because of alcohol advertising restrictions.  The team won its first pole position since 2012, courtesy of Massa at the ; it was the only time that Mercedes would be beaten to pole position over the course of the 2014 season. With

2018–present.

On 4 November 2017, Felipe Massa announced his decision to retire from F1. Renault reserve driver and 2016 GP2 Series 3rd-place finisher Sergey Sirotkin was signed as his replacement for, with Robert Kubica joining the team as a reserve and development driver.  Williams struggled over the course of the 2018 season, scoring only 7 points and finishing last in the Constructors' Championship standings. Although the FW41 rarely suffered from reliability issues, it was significantly off the pace; the team's highest finish was Lance Stroll's 8th-place finish in Azerbaijan. The team's only other points finish was at the, with Stroll finishing 9th and Sirotkin scoring his first championship point in 10th. This was also the only Grand Prix of the season in which the team reached the third qualifying session, with Stroll starting 10th on the grid.  On 27 February 2018 Martini announced that they would leave Williams and Formula One at the end of the 2018 season. On 12 October 2018, the team announced that reigning Formula 2 champion George Russell would be joining the team for the season. On 22 November 2018 it was announced that reserve driver Robert Kubica would be promoted to the other seat,

Formula One results.

Drivers' Champions.

The following drivers won

Williams Group.

Williams Grand Prix Holdings is the public company of Williams Group, that includes the Formula One Team, Williams Advanced Engineering and others like Williams Heritage and collaborations with other brands.

Williams Advanced Engineering.

Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) is the technology and engineering services business of the Williams Group. Based in the United Kingdom, it is located in a dedicated facility of, adjacent to Williams Formula One facilities.  WAE's target markets are: automotive, motorsport, civil aerospace, defence (land, sea and air), renewable energy and sports science.  The company provides the battery technology used in Formula E, and has assisted the development of the electric Vanda Dendrobium car from Singapore. It has worked with Jaguar to create the revolutionary C-X75

Williams Hybrid Power.

Williams Hybrid Power (WHP) was the division of Williams F1 that developed electromechanical flywheels for mobile applications such as buses, trams and high-performance endurance-racing cars. A hybrid system that uses a spinning composite rotor to store energy, these flywheels help a vehicle save fuel and ultimately reduce its CO emissions.  WHP was first established in 2008 and immediately set about developing a new flywheel energy-recovery system for the Williams F1 Team after the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems

Williams Heritage.

Williams Heritage (WH) is the retired chassis and restoration division of Williams F1 (similar to Ferrari F1 Clienti and Classic Team Lotus) that keeps and maintains old retired Williams Formula One chassis that are no longer in

Other motorsports and Williams-branded cars.

Formula Two.

Williams developed the car for the revived Formula Two championship, beginning in 2009. The design was originally created for a

Group B rallying (1985–1986).

The Metro 6R4 rally car was developed by Williams in 1984 on commission from Rover. The rally car was

British Touring Car Championship (1995–1999).

Williams entered the British Touring Car Championship in 1995, taking over the works Renault programme. Alain Menu transferred from Renault Dealer Racing, with Will Hoy signed to partner him. Williams employed Ian Harrison, future director of Triple Eight Racing as team manager. While Menu was a championship contender, Hoy had constant failures and bad luck during the first half of the season. However, Hoy's luck changed and he won three races and scored several podium finishes in the second half of the year, eventually taking fourth in the championship while Menu finished second in the championship with seven wins. Renault won the manufacturers championship. 1996 was a more difficult year with the front-wheel-drive cars outclassed by the 4WD Audi A4s of Frank Biela and John Bintcliffe. Menu was second in the championship again, while Hoy finished a lowly ninth. 1997 was a breakthrough year for Williams, winning the drivers' championship with Menu, the manufacturers' trophy and teams' award. Other changes for

Le Mans 24 Hours and Sportscars (1998–2000).

Prior to their F1 partnership, Williams Motorsport built Le Mans Prototypes for BMW, known as the V12 LM and V12 LMR. The

Renault Clio Williams.

The Williams name and logo were used on the Renault Clio Williams, a limited sports model

Porsche AG 911 GT3R Hybrid.

Through subsidiary Williams Hybrid Power, the company developed and supplied a flywheel-based kinetic-energy storage system which was in use on a Porsche

Formula E.

Williams's Advanced Engineering division collaborated

Williams Driver Academy.

Like most F1 teams, Williams has set up its own academy in 2019. They currently have four drivers in their program.  "Williams History (1967–2000) Taken from:" "All Formula One race and championship results are taken from":

Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by team owner Sir Frank Williams and automotive engineer Sir Patrick Head. It is still run by Williams. The team was formed in after Frank Williams's two earlier unsuccessful F1 operations: Frank Williams Racing Cars (1969 to 1975) and Wolf–Williams Racing (1976). All of Williams F1 chassis are called "FW" then a number, the FW being the initials of team owner, Frank Williams.

ROKiT Williams Racing je obchodní značka britské automobilové stáje formule 1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, zkráceně Williams. Tým vyhrál devětkrát v Poháru konstruktérů mezi roky 1980 a 1997. Byl založen Sirem Frankem Williamsem a Sirem Patrickem Headem. První závod vozy této stáje absolvovaly v Grand Prix Argentiny 1978 a první vítězství získal Švýcar Clay Regazzoni v Grand Prix Velké Británie 1979.


Introduction.

To define probability distributions for the simplest cases, it is necessary to distinguish between discrete and continuous random variables. In the discrete case, it is sufficient to specify a probability mass function formula_1 assigning a probability to each possible outcome: for example, when throwing a fair die, each of the six values 1 to 6 has the probability 1/6. The probability of an event is then defined to be the sum of the probabilities of the outcomes that satisfy the event; for example, the probability of the event "the dice rolls an even value" is  In contrast, when a random variable takes values from a continuum then typically, any individual outcome has probability zero and only events that include infinitely many outcomes, such as intervals, can have positive probability. For example, the probability that a given object weighs "exactly" 500 g is zero, because the probability of measuring exactly 500 g tends to zero as the accuracy of our measuring instruments increases. Nevertheless, in quality control one might demand that the probability of a "500 g" package containing between 490 g and 510 g should be no less than 98%, and this demand is less sensitive to the accuracy of measurement instruments.  Continuous probability distributions can be described in several ways. The probability density function describes the infinitesimal probability of any given value, and the probability that the outcome lies in a given interval can be computed by integrating the probability density function over that interval. The probability that the possible values lie in some fixed interval can be related to the way sums converge to an integral; therefore, continuous probability is based on the definition of an integral.  The cumulative distribution function describes the probability that the random variable is no larger than a given value; the probability that the outcome lies in a given interval can be computed by taking the difference between the values of the cumulative distribution function at the endpoints of the interval. The cumulative distribution function is the antiderivative of the probability density function provided that the latter function exists. The cumulative distribution function is the area under the probability density function from minus infinity formula_3 to formula_4 as described by the picture to the right.

Cumulative distribution function.

Because a probability distribution "P" on the real line is determined by the probability of a scalar random variable "X" being in a half-open interval <nowiki>(</nowiki>−∞, "x"<nowiki>]</nowiki>, the probability distribution is completely characterized by its cumulative distribution function:

Discrete probability distribution.

A discrete probability distribution is a probability distribution that can take on a countable number of values. For the probabilities to add up to 1, they have to decline to zero fast enough. For example, if formula_10 for "n" = 1, 2,..., the sum of probabilities would be 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 +... = 1.  Well-known discrete probability distributions used in statistical modeling include the Poisson distribution, the Bernoulli distribution, the binomial distribution, the geometric distribution, and the negative binomial distribution. Additionally, the discrete uniform distribution is commonly used in computer programs that make equal-probability random selections between a number of choices.  When a sample (a set of observations) is drawn from a larger population, the sample points have an empirical distribution that is discrete and that provides information about the population distribution.

Measure theoretic formulation.

A measurable function formula_11 between a probability space formula_12 and a measurable space formula_13 is called a discrete random variable provided that its image is a countable set. In this case measurability of formula_5 means that the pre-images of singleton sets are measurable, i.e., formula_15 for all formula_16. The latter requirement induces a probability mass function formula_17 via formula_18. Since the pre-images of disjoint sets are disjoint, This recovers the definition given above.

Cumulative distribution function.

Equivalently to the above, a discrete random variable can be defined as a random variable whose cumulative distribution function (cdf) increases only by jump discontinuities—that is, its cdf increases only where it "jumps" to a higher value, and is constant between those jumps. Note however that the points where the cdf jumps may form a dense set of the real numbers. The points where jumps occur are precisely the values which the random variable may take.

Delta-function representation.

Consequently, a discrete probability distribution is often represented as a generalized probability density function involving Dirac delta functions, which substantially unifies the treatment of continuous and discrete distributions. This is especially useful when dealing with probability distributions involving both a continuous and a discrete part.

Indicator-function representation.

For a discrete random variable "X", let "u", "u",... be the values it can take with non-zero probability. Denote  These are disjoint sets, and for such sets  It follows that the probability that "X" takes any value except for "u", "u",... is zero, and thus one can write "X" as  except on a set of probability zero, where formula_23 is the indicator function of "A". This may serve as an alternative definition of discrete random variables.

Continuous probability distribution.

A continuous probability distribution is a probability distribution with a cumulative distribution function that is absolutely continuous. Equivalently, it is a probability distribution on the real numbers that is absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue measure. Such distributions can be represented by their probability density functions. If the distribution of "X" is continuous, then "X" is called a continuous random variable. There are many examples of continuous probability distributions: normal, uniform, chi-squared, and others.  Formally, if "X" is a continuous random variable, then it has a probability density function "ƒ"("x"), and therefore its probability of falling into a given interval, say, is given by the integral In particular, the probability for "X" to take any single value "a" (that is ) is zero, because an integral with coinciding upper and lower limits is always equal to zero.  Note on terminology: some authors use the term "continuous distribution" to denote distributions whose cumulative distribution functions are continuous, rather than absolutely continuous. These distributions are the ones formula_25 such that formula_26 for all formula_27. This definition includes the (absolutely) continuous distributions defined above, but it also includes singular distributions, which are neither absolutely continuous nor discrete nor a mixture of those, and do not have a density. An example is given by the Cantor distribution.

Kolmogorov definition.

In the measure-theoretic formalization of probability theory, a random variable is defined as a measurable function formula_5 from a probability space formula_29 to a measurable space formula_30. Given that probabilities of events of the form formula_31 satisfy Kolmogorov's probability axioms, the probability distribution of "X" is the pushforward measure formula_32 of formula_5, which is a probability measure on formula_30 satisfying formula_35.

Random number generation.

Most algorithms are based on a pseudorandom number generator that produces numbers "X" that are uniformly distributed in the half-open interval [0,1). These random variates "X" are then transformed via some algorithm to create a new random variate having the required probability distribution. With this source of uniform pseudo-randomness, realizations of any random variable can be generated.  For example, suppose formula_36 has a uniform distribution between 0 and 1. To construct a random Bernoulli variable for some formula_37, we define  <math>{\displaystyle X ={\begin{cases}1,&{\mbox{if }}U  so that  <math>\textrm{P}(X=1) = \textrm{P}(U  This random variable X has a Bernoulli distribution with parameter formula_1. Note that this is a transformation of discrete random variable.  For a distribution function formula_39 of a continuous random variable, a continuous random variable must be constructed. formula_40, an inverse function of formula_39, relates to the uniform variable formula_36:  formula_43  For example, suppose a random variable that has an exponential distribution formula_44 must be constructed.  formula_45  so formula_46 and if formula_36 has a formula_48 distribution, then the random variable formula_5 is defined by formula_50. This has an exponential distribution of formula_51.  A frequent problem in statistical simulations (the Monte Carlo method) is the generation of pseudo-random numbers that are distributed in a given way.

Common probability distributions and their applications.

The concept of the probability distribution and the random variables which they describe underlies the mathematical discipline of probability theory, and the science of statistics. There is spread or variability in almost any value that can be measured in a population (e.g. height of people, durability of a metal, sales growth, traffic flow, etc.); almost all measurements are made with some intrinsic error; in physics many processes are described probabilistically, from the kinetic properties of gases to the quantum mechanical description of fundamental particles. For these and many other reasons, simple numbers are often inadequate for describing a quantity, while probability distributions are often more appropriate.  The following is a list of some of the most common probability distributions, grouped by the type of process that they are related to. For a more complete list, see list of probability distributions, which groups by the nature of the outcome being considered (discrete, continuous, multivariate, etc.)  All of the univariate distributions below are singly peaked; that is, it is assumed that the values cluster around a single point. In practice, actually observed quantities may cluster around multiple values. Such quantities can be modeled using a mixture distribution.

In probability theory and statistics, a probability distribution is the mathematical function that gives the probabilities of occurrence of different possible outcomes for an experiment.

Rozdělení pravděpodobnosti nebo rozložení pravděpodobnosti (někdy také distribuce pravděpodobnosti) náhodné veličiny je pravidlo, kterým se každému jevu popisovanému touto veličinou přiřazuje určitá pravděpodobnost. Rozdělení pravděpodobnosti náhodné veličiny vznikne, pokud je každé hodnotě diskrétní náhodné veličiny nebo intervalu hodnot spojité náhodné veličiny přiřazena pravděpodobnost.


Etymology.

The river was originally called Wuding River (), literally "unfixed river", because its flow was irregular. When the Kangxi Emperor reigned, he enacted various hydraulic engineering projects in the region to rein in the seasonal flooding. After those projects, the river was renamed to its modern name, which means "ever-fixed river".

Geography.

The Yongding River is in length and drains an area of. It emerges from the Guancen Mountains (管涔山) in Ningwu County, Shanxi Province, where it is known as the Sanggan River (桑干河) and flows northeast into Inner Mongolia and then heads southeast into Hebei Province.  In Huailai County, it fills the Guanting Reservoir, the biggest reservoir serving Beijing, and takes on the name Yongding. It enters Beijing Municipality through the Xishan Mountains west of the city in Mentougou District and descends into the flatlands of Fengtai and Daxing Districts.  The river eventually flows back into Hebei Province and then on to Tianjin Municipality, where it meets the Hai River just before the latter enters the city and then empties into the Bohai Sea at Tanggu. Part of the river is diverted before the juncture with the Hai, and flows directly into the Bohai Sea. This channel is called the Yongding New River (永定新河).

History.

Historically, the river was notorious for its flash floods and course changes. The river has taken at least three major courses through Beijing. According to the earliest historical records, the river originally flowed northeast from Babaoshan toward what is now the Purple Bamboo Park in Haidian District and into Wenyu River.  In the Western Han Dynasty, the river flowed south from Deshengmen through what is now downtown Beijing, including Qianmen and Hongqiao and Longtan Lake, before leaving to the southeast. At that time, the city was southwest of today's city center. In the Liao Dynasty, the river moved southwest to its present course, and the Lugou Bridge was built over it in 1189. When Marco Polo visited the city during the Yuan Dynasty, he crossed the Yongding River on the Lugou Bridge, which became known as the Marco Polo Bridge.  The river has been known colloquially as the "Wuding River" or the "River of Instability." In 1698, the Qing Dynasty Kangxi Emperor's government reinforced the river banks and rendered the current course permanent. Thereafter it became known as the "Yongding River" or the "River of Eternal Stability."

The Yongding River () is a river in northern China. It is one of the main tributaries in the Hai River system and is best known as the largest river to flow through Beijing. In recent years, the Beijing segment of the river has dried up due to environmental issues. The Beijing Municipality government has invested 16 billion yuan in effort to replace the riverbed with parkland or smaller bodies of water.

Jung-ting-che nebo také Chun-che () je řeka na území centrálně spravovaných měst na úrovni provincie Peking a Tchien-ťin, provincií Che-pej a Šan-si a autonomní oblasti Vnitřní Mongolsko na východě Číny. Je 700 km dlouhá (od pramenů zdrojnice Sang-kan-che). Povodí má rozlohu 48 500 km2.


Description.

Adults have a large rounded head with a grey face and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. The underparts are light with dark streaks; the upper parts are grey with pale bars. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest facial disc of any raptor. There is a white collar or "bow tie" just below the beak. The long tail tapers to a rounded end.  In terms of length, the great grey owl is believed to exceed the Eurasian eagle-owl and the Blakiston's fish owl as the world's largest owl. The great grey is outweighed by those two species as well as several others, including most of the genus "Bubo". Much of its size is deceptive, since this species' fluffy feathers, large head and the longest tail of any extant owl obscure a body lighter than that of most other large owls. The length ranges from, averaging for females and for males. The wingspan can exceed, but averages for females and for males. The adult weight ranges from, averaging for females and for males. The males are usually smaller than females, as with most owl species.  The call of the adult is a series of very deep, rhythmic "whoo"s, which is usually given in correlation to their territories or in interactions with their offspring. At other times, adults are normally silent. The young may chatter, shriek or hiss. Tame owls may produce higher-pitched hoots when given food by humans.

Taxonomy.

There are two recognized subspecies of the great grey owl spread across North America and Eurasia.

Habitat.

In northern areas their breeding habitat is often the dense coniferous forests of the taiga, near open areas, such as meadows or bogs. In Oregon and California this owl has been found nesting in mixed oak woodlands. Once believed to require a cold climate, it is now known that this bird survives in a few areas where summer temperatures regularly exceed.

Range.

They breed in North America from as far east as Quebec to the Pacific coast and Alaska, and from Finland and Estonia across northern Asia. They are permanent residents, although northerly populations may move south and southeast when food is scarce. In Europe they are found breeding in Norway and Sweden and more numerously through Finland and Russia. Even though the species occurs in Europe, the first great grey owl recognized by science was found in Canada in the late 18th century. There are sedentary populations in the Pacific states of California, Oregon, and Washington. The great grey owl in this region is found in disjunct areas of appropriate habitat. In winter these birds do not move far but may go downslope to escape deep snow as they must capture their prey on the ground.  In Oregon, the great grey owl breeding range is scattered from the Siskiyou Mountains in the southwest to the Blue Mountains in the northeast. Two bird festivals each May feature field trips to try to see the species: the Ladd Marsh Festival in La Grande, OR and the Mountain Bird Festival in Ashland, OR.  A 2015 study in California estimated there were fewer than 300 birds in the state at the time. The species is listed as Endangered under the California Endangered Species Act. The California range for the species includes a small extension of the Oregon population, north of Alturas. In addition breeding has been confirmed in the Tahoe National Forest east of Nevada City; in the Sierra Nevada foothills south of I-80 at around elevation; and for the population clustered around Yosemite. In Yosemite is where the first nest south of Canada was found in 1914. A study of the Yosemite owls shows that this population has been genetically isolated from populations in Oregon and farther north for over 25,000 years. Biologists working on that study suggest that the Yosemite population should be considered a separate sub-species ("Strix nebulosa yosemitensis"). Nearby populations at lower elevations were not tested.  In Washington state, great grey owls are found in the southeast where mountains extend up from Oregon and in the Colville National Forest. Only a handful of great gray owl nests have ever been found in Washington state.  Farther east in the western United States, great grey owls breed in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, as far south as the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  In northeastern North America, the owls are found year-round in southern Quebec and Ontario, but individuals will sometimes move further south in winter into New York and New England, apparently in pursuit of more abundant prey. Great grey owls are rarely sighted as far south as Pennsylvania and Long Island, New York. In winter 2017, the birds were recorded in northern New York in Robert Moses State Park and central Maine.

Breeding.

Great grey owls do not build nests, so they typically use nests previously used by a large bird, such as a raptor. They will also nest in broken-topped trees and cavities in large trees. In southwestern and northeastern Oregon, the great grey owl has been using man-made platforms for nest sites since the 1980s. The erection of nest platforms for great grey owls was pioneered by Robert Nero in central Canada in the 1970s. Nesting may occur from March to May. Unlike, for example, osprey or white storks, the great grey owl does not predictably re-use nest sites over consecutive years. Four eggs are the usual clutch size. Eggs average wide and long. The incubation period is about 30 days, ranging from 28 to 36 days. Brooding lasts 2 to 3 weeks, after which the female starts roosting on a tree near nests. The young jump or fall from the nest at 3 to 4 weeks, and start to fly 1 to 2 weeks after this. Immediately after fledging, the white, fuzzy young must use beak and feet to climb back into trees. The female is on guard at this time and may be aggressive toward potential predators. Most offspring remain near their natal sites for many months after fledging. Normally the male hunts for his mate and the young throughout the nesting period. Once the young begin the fly, the female typically withdraws and the male continues to feed the young until they can hunt on their own in the autumn. The young owls go off on their own by winter.  The abundance of food in the area usually affects the number of eggs a female lays, a feature quite common in northern owl species. In years when small mammal populations are very low the great grey owl may not attempt nesting; thus their reproduction is connected to the sometimes extreme fluctuations of small mammal populations. Also, great grey owls may not nest in years of drought. If food is scarce, they may travel a fair distance to find more prey, with considerable movements by large numbers in some years of particularly scarce prey. Though they do not migrate, many are at least somewhat nomadic.  One alert landowner in northeast Oregon, Andy Huber, helped a female great gray owl raise her four nestlings after a great horned owl killed the male. Huber live-trapped small mammals and then released them at the nest site, and the female took these to the nestlings. As the owlets matured and began flying they came for the prey on their own. Huber and the mother owl raised all four owlets successfully.

Feeding.

These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. They frequently hunt from a low listening post which can be a stump, low tree limb, fence post, or road sign. Their large facial disks, also known as "ruffs", focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night.  They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. They then can crash to a snow depth roughly equal to their own body size to grab their prey. Only this species and, more infrequently, other fairly large owls from the genus "Strix" are known to "snow-plunge" for prey, a habit that is thought to require superb hearing not possessed by all types of owls.  Unlike the more versatile eagle and horned owls, great grey owls rely almost fully upon small rodents. What species they eat depends on which small mammals are most abundant and available. In northern Canada they eat lemmings primarily. In dry parts of California's Sierra Nevada they eat mostly pocket gophers. In some areas voles are the predominant prey. Locally, alternative prey animals (usually comprising less than 20% of prey intake) include hares, moles, shrews, weasels, thrushes, grouse, Canada jays, mountain quail, small hawks and ducks. This species is not known to scavenge or steal from other predators. In mated pairs, the male is the primary hunter who provides food for the entire family while the female guards and broods the eggs, nestlings, and flightless fledglings.

Threats.

The harvest of timber from the great grey owl's habitat is, perhaps, the greatest threat to this species. Intensified timber management typically reduces live and dead large-diameter trees used for nesting, leaning trees used by juveniles for roosting before they can fly, and dense canopy closures in stands used by juveniles for cover and protection. If perches are not left in clearcuts, great grey owls cannot readily hunt in them. Although human-made structures (made specifically for use by this species) have been utilized by these owls, the species is far more common in areas protected from logging. Livestock grazing in meadows also adversely affects great grey owls, by reducing habitat for preferred prey species. Other dangers to great grey owls include rodenticides, collisions with vehicles, and West Nile Virus. West Nile Virus is likely to become more prevalent with climate change. In Ontario and northeastern Oregon there are confirmed great grey owl deaths from West Nile Virus. Testing of owls in the Yosemite area since 2005 has found evidence of West Nile Virus in that population.  Due to their large size, great grey owls have few natural predators. Great horned owls, various small carnivores, and black bears have been documented preying on young, but such predators rarely threaten adults, and owls have been known to fend off animals as large as black bears when defending their nests. The only known predator of adult great grey owls is the Eurasian eagle-owl ("Bubo bubo"), which occasionally preys on the former in parts of Europe.

Territorial behavior.

The great grey owl is not as aggressive as most other alpha predators. They are less likely to attack each other or potential threats than are other large predatory birds. They do not protect a large nesting territory, nor do they defend hunting territories through aggression. As an exception, the female is aggressive in protecting eggs and owlets. She is especially alert and aggressive when fledglings first leave the nest but cannot yet fly, and thus are extremely vulnerable.  This lack of territorial aggressiveness makes the great grey owl difficult to find in the field. Most owls respond to their own species calls if played back in a nesting territory. Great grey owls will often ignore such calls. They also do not flush every time a human approaches or drives past. The great grey owl often remains still even if a human is nearby and therefore they are often overlooked or unnoticed.

Provincial bird.

The great grey owl is the provincial bird of Manitoba.

Captivity.

As of 2016, there are four captive great grey owls in Oregon and California. Two live at Blue Mountain Wildlife near Pendleton, Oregon, a third lives at Lindsay Museum in Walnut Creek, California, and the fourth lives at CuriOdyssey in San Mateo, California.  A captive wild injured great grey owl, Boris, resides at the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka, Alaska. Boris was found north of Anchorage with a trauma to his right wrist, leaving him flightless.  The Eurasian subspecies of the grey owl is very commonly kept in European zoos.

The great grey owl or great gray owl ("Strix nebulosa") is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus "Strix" found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In some areas it is also called Phantom of the North, cinereous owl, spectral owl, Lapland owl, spruce owl, bearded owl, and sooty owl.

Puštík vousatý (též puštík bradatý, věd. "Strix nebulosa") je velká sova z čeledi puštíkovití. Je největším z puštíků, na délku těla přerůstá i výra velkého (postrádá však jeho mohutnost). Jméno dostal podle bílých peříček zespodu lemujících jeho masku, což budí dojem bílého kníru.


Mythological biography.

The story of Pentheus' resistance to Dionysus and his subsequent punishment is presented by Euripides as follows.  Cadmus, the king of Thebes, abdicated due to his old age in favor of his grandson Pentheus. Pentheus soon banned the worship of the god Dionysus, who was the son of his aunt Semele, and did not allow the women of Cadmeia to join in his rites.  An angered Dionysus caused Pentheus' mother Agave and his aunts Ino and Autonoë, along with all the other women of Thebes, to rush to Mount Cithaeron in a Bacchic frenzy. Because of this, Pentheus imprisoned Dionysus, thinking the man simply a follower, but his chains fell off and the jail doors opened for him.  Dionysus, disguised as a woman, lured Pentheus out to spy on the Bacchic rites, where Pentheus expected to see sexual activities. The daughters of Cadmus saw him in a tree and thought him to be a wild animal. They pulled Pentheus down and tore him limb from limb (as part of a ritual known as the sparagmos). When his true identity was later discovered, officials exiled the women from Thebes. Some say that his own mother was the first to attack him, tearing his arm off and then tearing off his head. She placed the head on a stick and took it back to Thebes, but only realized whose head it was after meeting her father Cadmus.  The name "Pentheus", as Dionysus and Tiresias both point out, means "Man of Sorrows" and derives from πένθος, "pénthos", sorrow or grief, especially the grief caused by the death of a loved one. His name appeared to mark him for tragedy. Pentheus was succeeded by his uncle Polydorus.  Before or possibly after Pentheus was killed, his wife gave birth to a son named Menoeceus, who became the father of Creon and Jocasta. He became the grandfather of Oedipus.  The story of Pentheus is also discussed by Ovid in his "Metamorphoses" (3. 511–733). Ovid's version diverges from Euripides' work in several areas. In Ovid's "Metamorphoses", King Pentheus is warned by the blind seer Tiresias to welcome Bacchus or else "Your blood [will be] poured out and defile the woods and your mother and her sisters..." Pentheus dismisses Tiresias and ignores his warnings. As Thebes succumbs to the "dementia and the delirium of the new god", Pentheus laments the fall of his kingdom and demands the arrest of Bacchus. His guards instead arrest Acoetes of Maeonia, a sailor who confirms the divinity of Bacchus and tells how the crew of his ship ended up being turned into dolphins after trying to kidnap the young god.  Pentheus, convinced that Acoetes is lying, tries to throw him in jail. But when the guards try to shackle Acoetes, the chains fall off. In a rage, Pentheus ran to deal with Bacchus himself. He charged through the woods straight into a bacchanal. Driven to a frenzy the participants thought Pentheus was a boar and attacked him. His mother was the first one to spear him and then the group tore his flesh apart with their bare hands.

In Greek mythology, Pentheus (; ) was a king of Thebes. His father was Echion, the wisest of the Spartoi. His mother was Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and the goddess Harmonia. His sister was Epeiros.

Pentheus (latinsky "Pentheus") byl v řecké mytologii synem Kadmovy dcery Agaué a jejího manžela Echíona. Podobně jako thrácký král Lykúrgos, ani Pentheus neuznával boha vína Dionýsa, dokonce se dá říci, že ho nenáviděl. Podle jedné verze nenávist pramenila z toho, že Pentheus sám byl nevrlý mrzout. Takže zakázal hodování Dionýsa a jeho rozverné družiny.