Playing career.

Atkinson, who was born in Liverpool but moved to Warwickshire shortly after his birth, did not achieve great heights in his playing career. After beginning his career as a ground staff boy at Wolverhampton Wanderers, he was signed by Aston Villa from works team BSA Tools at the age of 17, but never played a first-team match for them. He has referred to then Villa coach Jimmy Hogan as his biggest influence.  He was transferred to Oxford United (then called Headington United) in the summer of 1959 on a free transfer. There he played alongside his younger brother Graham Atkinson. He went on to make over 500 appearances in all competitions as a wing-half for the club, earning, in his playing days the nickname: "The Tank", and scoring a total of 14 goals. He was United's captain through their rise from the Southern League to the Second Division, achieved in only six years from 1962 to 1968, an impressive achievement. He was the first ever footballer to captain a club from the Southern League through three divisions of the Football League and played three seasons in the second division.

Managerial career.

Kettering Town and Cambridge United.

After retiring from playing, Atkinson became manager player of non-league Kettering Town in 1971, aged only 32. His success there led to a move to the league with Cambridge United, going on to win the then Fourth Division in 1977 and leaving them when they were on the verge of promotion to the Second Division which they later achieved that season under Atkinson's assistant John Docherty.

West Bromwich Albion.

In January 1978, Atkinson moved to manage First Division West Bromwich Albion. He soon signed Brendon Batson from his former club, to play alongside Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis. Never before had a team in the top division of English football simultaneously fielded three black players on a regular basis.  Atkinson led West Bromwich Albion to third place in the league in the season 1978–79 and also to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. On 30 December 1978 they achieved a famous 5–3 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. The club were second in the table at the time, only beaten off top spot from Liverpool by goal difference. They finished fourth in 1981, and shortly after this Atkinson was appointed the manager of Manchester United after the dismissal of Dave Sexton.

Manchester United.

Atkinson was seen as the man who could bring the spark to Manchester United that had been so sorely lacking under his predecessor. Dave Sexton had taken them to second place in the league in 1980 but did not win a major trophy in his four years at the club.  United had finished eighth in the season before Atkinson's appointment, and Atkinson had actually missed out of the chance of overseeing a UEFA Cup campaign by departing from Albion and taking over at United.  In the 1981–82 season, United finished third in the First Division, to qualify for the UEFA Cup, though for much of the season they were one of several teams who topped the table before a late surge from Liverpool saw Bob Paisley's team seal the title. Early in the season he had paid a national record £1.5 million for Bryan Robson from his old club West Bromwich Albion, and shortly afterwards also added midfielder Remi Moses (also from West Bromwich Albion) and Arsenal striker Frank Stapleton to his ranks. He also gave a debut to promising young forward Norman Whiteside in April 1982, just before the player's 17th birthday.  In the 1982–83 season, two appearances at Wembley, one of which was an FA Cup victory against Brighton & Hove Albion, coupled with another third-place finish in the league, fuelled speculation that United were back in a big way. During the first half of the season, they had topped the league more than once but a storming run of form by Liverpool beginning before Christmas meant that the title headed for Anfield for the second year running. 1982–83 also saw the breakthrough of young Norman Whiteside as one of the best performing players in the First Division. Whiteside was also on the scoresheet for the FA Cup final replay as United beat Brighton 4–0 after drawing the first game 2–2.  In the 1983–84 season, Atkinson's side reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup although their defence of the FA Cup ended at the first hurdle with a shock 2–0 defeat at Third Division Bournemouth. They finished fourth in the league, having topped the table at several stages once again, before injuries to key players counted against them and they dropped points.  The end of the season saw the sale of key midfielder Ray Wilkins to A.C. Milan of Italy for £1.5 million, while the duration of the season had seen the breakthrough of young striker Mark Hughes. Rather than plunge into the transfer market for a big name, Atkinson shifted Norman Whiteside into midfield to fill the gap left by Wilkins and allowed Hughes to form a partnership with the experienced Frank Stapleton.  In the 1984–85 season, United again won the FA Cup. However, Atkinson and his team were denied the chance of another European Cup Winners Cup campaign as the Heysel disaster at the European Cup final that year resulted in an indefinite ban on all English clubs in European competitions (ultimately lasting five years).  In the 1985–86 season, they won their first 10 games of the league season and were unbeaten after their first 15 games to build a comfortable lead at the top of the table that lasted into the new year. However, their form tailed off badly and they again finished fourth, with Liverpool finishing the season as league champions. With the ban on English clubs in European competitions continuing, there was not even the consolation of a UEFA Cup place. United's title chances were not helped by the fact that captain Bryan Robson was only available for half of United's league games due to injuries. It is also worth noting that most of the teams that United defeated in their 10-match winning start to the season failed to finish anywhere near the top of the league, and two of them finished the season relegated. United only took 10 points out of a possible 30 from the five other teams who finished in the top six.  There was more disappointment for United's fans when the sale of Mark Hughes to Spanish club Barcelona was announced at the end of the season. Atkinson had prepared for Hughes's departure in March 1986 by paying Nottingham Forest £570,000 for England striker Peter Davenport. Although Davenport was their top scorer in the 1986–87 season, he failed to achieve the same success as Hughes and was not a popular figure among fans, even when performing well.  Despite media speculation that Atkinson would be sacked in favour of Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson or Barcelona manager Terry Venables, the 1986–87 season began with Atkinson still at the helm. His two FA Cup wins and five successive top four league finishes had made him more successful than any manager at Manchester United since Matt Busby, but the pressure to build on the earlier successes was becoming more intense than ever. The 1986–87 season opened disastrously with three successive defeats, and despite a minor upturn in September and October which included a 5–1 home win over Southampton in the league, the pressure on Atkinson remained intense and the board finally ran out of patience on 6 November 1986 when he was dismissed as manager two days after a 4–1 exit at the hands of Southampton in the League Cup. United were still in the bottom four of the First Division with a third of the season already gone.

Return to West Bromwich Albion.

Atkinson returned to West Brom in the autumn of 1987, by which time they had fallen into the Second Division and were battling against relegation to the Third Division. Survival was achieved, as Albion finished the 1987–88 season in 20th place, and they began the 1988–89 season well, looking like serious promotion contenders.

Atlético Madrid.

Atkinson's tenure at Atlético was quite a turbulent one and despite relative moderate success in terms of league position, a clash of personalities with the then-owner of the club, Jesús Gil, led to Atkinson being sacked after just three months as manager. His right-hand man at West Bromwich Albion, Colin Addison, was appointed – much to the distaste of Atkinson, who went on record in the English media as saying Addison had "stabbed him in the back". The pair never worked together again following the events at Atlético.

Sheffield Wednesday.

Atkinson went on to manage Sheffield Wednesday from February 1989 to June 1991. Although the club were relegated to the Second Division in May 1990 after a 3-0 home defeat against Nottingham Forest, Atkinson secured promotion back to the First Division the following season. They also won the League Cup that year, beating Manchester United 1–0 at Wembley. On 31 May 1991 Atkinson stated he would be remaining as Wednesday's manager, only to leave for Aston Villa a week later, a move that upset many Sheffield Wednesday fans.

Aston Villa.

Taking over from Jozef Venglos, Atkinson led Aston Villa to second place in the inaugural FA Premier League season in 1992–93 and to victory in the League Cup in 1994, securing (ultimately short-lived) UEFA Cup campaigns for both of these successes. As of 2015, Atkinson's second place remains the highest-ever finish by an English manager in the Premier League, subsequently equalled by Kevin Keegan in 1995–96.  Despite leading Villa to their first major success since their 1982 European Cup triumph, a mutual dislike between Villa chairman Doug Ellis and Atkinson that developed from 1992, inevitably resulted in him being sacked on 10 November 1994 following a 4–3 defeat at the hands of Wimbledon – three days after Ellis had given Ron a 'vote of confidence' in the media, stating that Atkinson was one of England's top three football managers. By this stage, an ageing Villa side that had so nearly won the league title 18 months earlier were now among the relegation battlers. He was replaced by Brian Little, who kept Villa in the top flight and built a new younger team.

Coventry City.

Three months after being sacked by Villa, Atkinson became manager at Coventry City replacing Phil Neal, who was purposely and acrimoniously sacked to make way for him. He took over in mid-February 1995, with the Sky Blues just above the Premier League relegation zone. His new team managed some good results, including a 4–2 home win over local rivals Leicester City, a 3–2 away win over Liverpool and a point against a Blackburn Rovers side who ended the season as champions. With survival looking certain several games before the season ended, Atkinson was named Premier League Manager of the Month for March 1995. The penultimate game of the season brought another fine result when the Sky Blues travelled to North London and beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–1. Survival was finally confirmed as Atkinson guided the Sky Blues to a 16th-place finish.  In December 1995, Atkinson guided the Sky Blues to one of their best results of the 1990s – a 5–0 home win over defending champions Blackburn Rovers. During his spell as manager of Coventry, he brought in high-profile players including Gordon Strachan, Noel Whelan and Gary McAllister (although in his autobiography he states that this latter signing was Strachan's initiative and he was opposed for tactical reasons) but they continued to struggle in the Premier League and by November 1996 he had become Director of Football, handing over managerial duties to Strachan, who by then had retired as a player and had become assistant manager.

Return to Sheffield Wednesday.

In November 1997, he returned to Sheffield Wednesday following the sacking of David Pleat. Wednesday had made a poor start to the 1997–98 season, including a 7–2 loss at Blackburn and a 6–1 loss at Manchester United. Under Atkinson, Wednesday's form picked up immediately and they pulled well clear of relegation trouble, but he was not rewarded with a permanent contract.

Nottingham Forest.

Atkinson's last managerial job came with Nottingham Forest, for the final four months of the 1998–99 season. This spell was not a success and at his first home game against Arsenal he even climbed into the wrong dug-out. He also angered a number of Forest fans following an 8–1 defeat at home to Manchester United, when he stated in an interview after the game that his team had given the fans a "nine-goal thriller".  Atkinson took over as manager in mid-January 1999, and Forest's relegation was confirmed on 24 April with a 2–0 defeat at his old club Aston Villa. He announced his resignation as manager within hours of the final whistle, with effect from the final game of the league season on 16 May, and said that he would be retiring from football management.

Broadcasting career.

TV work.

Atkinson was already working as a pundit for ITV Sport and after leaving management he continued in this role. For a number of years he covered most of the channel's live matches, sometimes as a studio guest, but more often as the "ex-football insider" member of a two-man commentary team. His commentaries with Clive Tyldesley provided the basis for the late-1990s and early-2000s ITV Champions League nights. He also fronted two series of "Extra Time With Ron Atkinson" for Central ITV with Ron interviewing football personalities like Kevin Keegan, Terry Venables and Martin O'Neill.  In 1997, he appeared as manager of Harchester United in "Dream Team".  In August 2013, Atkinson became a housemate on the twelfth series of "Celebrity Big Brother". He was the second housemate to be evicted on Day 9 after receiving the fewest votes to save him against Charlotte Crosby, Courtney Stodden, Lauren Harries and Louie Spence.

Music.

In 2002, Atkinson released a Christmas song, "It's Christmas – Let's Give Love a Try", but this failed to gain chart success. The following year, Ron Atkinson guested on an episode of TV chat show "Room 101" and host Paul Merton played the video as outro to the show.

Racism.

Atkinson resigned from ITV on 21 April 2004, after he broadcast a racial remark live on air about the black Chelsea player Marcel Desailly; believing the microphone to be switched off, he said, "...he [Desailly] is what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy, thick nigger". Although transmission in the UK had finished, the microphone gaffe meant that his comment was broadcast to various countries in the Middle East. He also left his job as a columnist for "The Guardian" "by mutual agreement" as a result of the comment.  Carlton Palmer, one of Atkinson's players while he was manager at Sheffield Wednesday, defended his former boss by saying, "I'm black and I'm sitting here and I'm gonna stand up for Big Ron not because he's a friend of mine, I'm standing up for him because I know what he's like as a bloke. If we're going to deal with racism then let's deal with the bigger picture of racism not about a throwaway comment that wasn't meant in that manner." A BBC Radio documentary about Batson, Cunningham and Regis, entitled "Three Degrees West", repeated on 16 May 2004, was cancelled owing to Atkinson's central contributions.  Also in 2004, Atkinson said to an audience at Hillsborough Stadium: "The Chinese people have the best contraception in the world - their women are so ugly. I can't understand why there are so many of them."  On "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2013, he jokingly asked fellow contestant Danielle Marr "you're not carrying a bomb with you, are you?", when she draped her jumper over her head like a headscarf.

Other TV work.

It was reported Atkinson was being brought in to support Iffy Onuora at Swindon Town in December 2005, and Atkinson and the club appeared to confirm this. It later transpired that Atkinson's role was as part of a Sky One documentary about the club being filmed at the County Ground. In late January 2006, Atkinson and Swindon Town parted company, with Swindon manager Onuora citing interference as the main reason for stopping the documentary from going ahead. Just a week later the cameras turned up at Peterborough United's ground, London Road, to begin filming for the documentary called "Big Ron Manager". Peterborough were paid £100,000 to allow the filming to take place.  Atkinson spent the 2006 World Cup recording an amateur video blog and distributing it through the UK-based video sharing site SelfcastTV.com. He also provided commentary on the World Cup for the UK digital channel UKTV G2.  In 2006, Atkinson took part in the BBC Two programme "Excuse My French". Atkinson, comedian Marcus Brigstocke and television presenter Esther Rantzen were immersed in the French language by staying in a remote town in the Provence region, being compelled to adapt to the French lifestyle and speak the language. His assignment at the end of the course was to provide a match analysis on a football match (Paris Saint-Germain – AS Monaco) in French for a French radio station. Being a complete beginner to the French language, he found the experience a considerable challenge, although he succeeded. The assignment was made more difficult by the fact that the match was a dull goalless draw, leaving him with little to talk about.  He briefly made a return to television, appearing as a pundit on "Football Italia" broadcast on Bravo. Since Serie A coverage has been shown on Five and ESPN, Atkinson has not been invited as a pundit.  Atkinson returned to the screen on 16 August 2009 on the Channel 4 reality show "Celebrity Wife Swap". When questioned about his controversial comments by swappee Tessa Sanderson, he refused to discuss it.  Atkinson brought out an autobiography "60 Minutes with Ron Atkinson", in which he talks about his controversial comments and his football career.  Atkinson is currently a pundit on William Hill's "The Punt" podcast and on Manchester United's channel MUTV.

Director of football.

On 23 January 2007, Atkinson returned to Kettering Town, the club he had managed more than 30 years previously, as director of football. It was announced on 19 April 2007 that he had left the post at the Conference North club following his disapproval over the sacking of manager Morell Maison.

Leisure Leagues.

In December 2018, Atkinson was announced as an ambassador for worldwide 6 a side football firm, Leisure Leagues, as part of the deal he was to act as Director Of Football for the England 6 a side team  In March 2019, Atkinson was the Guest Of Honour at the International Socca Federation Spring Conference, in Birmingham. At the conference he was presented with a birthday cake to celebrate his 80th birthday the day before. In October 2019 he made a return to broadcasting, commentating on 6 a side World Cup final in Crete, alongside UK commentator John Gwynne.

Honours.

Manager.

Manchester United  Sheffield Wednesday  Aston Villa  Individual

Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939), commonly known as Big Ron, is an English former football player and manager. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was one of Britain's best-known football pundits.

Ronald Franklin Atkinson, né le, est un joueur de football puis manager mais aussi commentateur. Il est connu sous le nom de "Big Ron" et plus tard de "Bojangles". Au cours des dernières années il est devenu l'un des plus connus experts de football en Grande-Bretagne.


Background.

Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, hero of the legendary if ill-fated airborne assault on Crete, was summoned on 8 December and told to prepare for a mission, but not given any details. Heydte was given eight days to prepare. He wanted to use his own regiment, but this was forbidden because its movement might alert the Allies to the impending counterattack. Instead, he was provided with a Kampfgruppe of 800 men. The II Parachute Corps was tasked with contributing 100 men from each of its regiments. Instead of contributing their best men as ordered, the regiments sent their misfits and troublemakers. Heydte could not afford to resist too strongly. A cousin of Claus von Stauffenberg, a central figure in the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler, he was under scrutiny.  In loyalty to their command, 150 men from Heydte's own unit, the 6th Parachute Regiment, disobeyed orders and joined him. To avoid alerting the Allied forces, the German command planned to conduct the drop without reconnaissance or current aerial photographs.

Lack of training.

The men had little time to establish unit cohesion or train together. Many of the men assigned to Heydte had never jumped out of an airplane before. Heydte later commented, "Never in my entire career had I been in command of a unit with less fighting spirit."  On 13 December, Heydte visited the headquarters of Army Group B near Bad Münstereifel to complain that the resources allocated to him for the operation were wholly inadequate. Field Marshal Walter Model, who had tried to persuade Hitler to attempt a less ambitious counterattack, replied that he gave the entire Ardennes Offensive less than a 10 percent chance of succeeding. Model told him it was necessary to make the attempt: "It must be done because this offensive is the last chance to conclude the war favorably."

Assault delay and mis-drops.

The drop was delayed for a day when the assigned aircraft did not show up. The new drop time was set for 03:00 on 17 December; the drop zone was north of Malmedy. Their objective was to seize the crossroads and hold it for approximately twenty-four hours until relieved by the 12th SS Panzer Division, hampering the flow of Allied reinforcements and supplies in the area.  Just after midnight on 17 December, 112 Ju 52 transport planes with around 1,300 paratroops took off during a powerful snowstorm with strong winds and considerable low cloud cover. The Luftwaffe was short of experienced pilots. Many of the pilots had never flown the Ju 52 before, half had never flown in combat, nor were they trained to conduct drops at night or to fly in formation. Pathfinders from the Nachtschlachtgruppe 20 were supposed to lead the way, but the pilots were so inexperienced that they flew with their navigation lights on.  Many planes went off course. Two hundred and fifty men were dropped near Bonn, from the intended drop zone. Some landed with their troops still on board. Strong winds deflected many paratroops whose planes were relatively close to the intended drop zone and made their landings far rougher. Only a fraction of the force landed near the intended drop zone. Since many of the German paratroops were very inexperienced, some were crippled upon impact and died where they fell. Some were found the following spring when the snow melted.

Confusion among Americans.

Because of the extensive dispersal of the drop, "Fallschirmjäger" were reported all over the Ardennes, and the Allies believed a major division-sized jump had taken place, causing the Americans much confusion and convincing them to allocate men to secure the rear instead of facing the main German thrust at the front. An entire U.S. infantry regiment of 3000 men (U.S. 18th Infantry) along with an armored combat command of 300 tanks and 2,000 men searched several days for the German force. The 12th SS Panzer Division, unable to defeat the Americans at the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge, never arrived.  By noon on 17 December, Heydte's unit had scouted the woods and rounded up a total of around 300 troops. With only enough ammunition for a single fight, the force was too small to take the crossroads on its own. Heydte first planned to wait for the arrival of the 12th SS Panzer Division when they would suddenly seize the crossroads just before their arrival. After three days of waiting, he abandoned these revised plans and instead converted his mission to reconnaissance. Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich had scoffed at Heydte's request for carrier pigeons, and none of the unit's radios survived the drop, so he was unable to report the detailed information he gathered.

Withdrawal to Germany.

With only a single day's food supply and limited water, on 19 December Heydte withdrew his forces towards the German lines. He used their limited ammunition to attack the rear of the American lines. Only about one-third reached the German rear. Heydte, wounded, frostbitten, and suffering from pneumonia, knocked on doors in Monschau until he found a German family. The next morning he sent a boy with a surrender note to the Allies.

Operation Stösser (English: Operation Hawk) was a paratroop drop into the American rear in the High Fens area during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Its objective was to take and hold the crossroads at Belle Croix Jalhay N-68 - N-672 until the arrival of the 12th SS Panzer Division. Both roads were main supply routes, the N-68 Eupen to either Malmedy or Elsenborn and the N-672 Verviers up to Belle-Croix hence up to either Malmedy or Elsenborn. The operation was led by Oberst Freiherr Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, who was given eight days to prepare the mission. The majority of the Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) and pilots assigned to the operation were undertrained and inexperienced. Kampfgruppe Von Der Heydte took up a position at Porfays in the forest east of the N-68 and conducted some local skirmishes on small US convoys and even captured some POWs. The mission was a failure.

L'opération Stösser était une opération dirigée par le colonel de la Luftwaffe von der Heydte lors de la bataille des Ardennes pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.


Origin of name.

The name Lac Courte Oreilles is shared by the nearby Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation. In the Ojibwe language, the lake is called "Odaawaa-zaaga'iganiing," meaning "Ottawa Lake," after another of the Anishinaabe peoples. It was referred to as such (or as "Ottowaw Lake") in early English-language descriptions of the area.  French fur trappers, the earliest European explorers in the area, named it Lac Courte Oreilles after the Ottawa Anishinaabe peoples living in the area. The French believed they cut off the edges of their ear lobes, so referred to them as the "Courte Oreilles," or "Short Ears." An alternative explanation is that some tribes in the region had a practice of distending their earlobes by earrings or other ornaments, and the local people's ears looked short in contrast. But the Indians of the Lac Courte Oreilles area did not practice that custom and had naturally shaped "short" ears.

History.

Prior to European exploration, the area of Lac Courte Oreilles was inhabited by the Ojibwa Indians. The first known visit by Europeans to the area was around 1660. Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers travelled from Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior southward through the area in 1659 and stayed for a period at an Ojibwe village on a lake that has been identified as Lac Courte Oreilles.  The English Jonathan Carver passed through the area in 1767 while traveling north from the Mississippi River up the Chippewa River. He reported staying at the Indian village on Lac Courte Oreilles (he referred to it as Ottowaw Lakes) from June 22 through 29, 1767. He described the village as being on either side of a channel between two lakes, which he referred to as the Ottowaw Lakes. He next travelled to the St. Croix River (by way of Grindstone Lake, Windigo Lake, the Namekagon Portage, and the Namekagon River) and thence northward to Lake Superior. In describing their visit to the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian village, Carver and another member of the expedition, James Stanley Goddard, said that they were the first white people to have visited the area. They likely did not know about the travels of Radisson and Groseilliers to the area about 1660, more than one hundred years before, and were not likely to have been reading French sources, if available.  The 19th-century United States Indian agent in this area, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, visited the lake and Ottawa village in 1831. He described the trip from the Namekagon River to Lac Courte Oreilles by way of the Namekagon Portage, Windigo Lake and Grindstone Lake. Schoolcraft visited the Indian village on Lac Courte Oreilles and described it as being located at the outlet of the lake. From Carver's and Schoolcraft's descriptions, the Ottawa village appeared to have been located on either side of the channel between Lac Courte Oreilles and Little Lac Courte Oreilles.  Lac Courte Oreilles and this village were well known to traders and explorers of the time, and the village was one of the larger Indian settlements in the area. Schoolcraft listed its population as 504 persons in his report based on his 1832 exploration to the sources of the Mississippi River. This meant that it was one of the largest Indian settlements in the region. The village's importance was likely associated with the strategic site of Lac Courte Oreilles on the route between the Chippewa River watershed and the St. Croix River watershed. The latter watershed was reached from Lac Courte Oreilles by travelling north and west through Grindstone Lake, Windigo Lake, and over the Namekagon Portage to the Namekagon River in the St. Croix River watershed.

Lac Courte Oreilles is a large freshwater lake located in northwest Wisconsin in Sawyer County in townships 39 and 40 north, ranges 8 and 9 west. It is irregular in shape, having numerous peninsulas and bays, and is approximately six miles long in a southwest to northeast direction and with a maximum width of about two miles (3 km). Lac Courte Oreilles is in size with a maximum depth of and a shoreline of. The lake has a small inlet stream (Grindstone Creek) that enters on the northeast shore of the lake and flows from Grindstone Lake, a short distance away to the north. An outlet on the southeast shore of the lake leads through a very short passage to Little Lac Courte Oreilles, then via the Couderay River to the Chippewa River, and ultimately to the Mississippi River at Lake Pepin.

Le lac Courte Oreilles est une étendue d'eau située près de la ville de Hayward dans l'État du Wisconsin aux États-Unis. Il est alimenté par le ruisseau Grindstone qui entre sur la rive nord du lac et qui s'écoule depuis le lac Grindstone, à une courte distance vers le nord.


Smithfield area.

In the Middle Ages, it was a broad grassy area known as "Smooth Field", located beyond London Wall stretching to the eastern bank of the River Fleet. Given its ease of access to grazing and water, Smithfield established itself as London's livestock market, remaining so for almost 1,000 years. Many local toponyms are associated with the livestock trade: while some street names (such as "Cow Cross Street" and "Cock Lane") remain in use, many more (such as "Chick Lane", "Duck Lane", "Cow Lane", "Pheasant Court", "Goose Alley") have disappeared from the map after the major redevelopment of the area in the Victorian era.

Religious history.

In 1123, the area near Aldersgate was granted by King Henry I for the foundation of St Bartholomew's Priory at the request of Prior Rahere, in thanks for his being nursed back to good health. The Priory exercised its right to enclose land between Aldersgate (to the east), Long Lane (to the north) and modern-day Newgate Street (to the south), erecting its main western gate which opened onto Smithfield, and a postern on Long Lane. The Priory thereafter held the manorial rights to hold weekly fairs, which initially took place in its outer court on the site of present-day Cloth Fair, leading to "Fair Gate".  An additional annual celebration, the Bartholomew Fair, was established in 1133 by the Augustinian friars. Over time, this became one of London's pre-eminent summer fairs, opening each year on 24 August. A trading event for cloth and other goods as well as being a pleasure forum, the four-day festival drew crowds from all strata of English society.  In 1855, however, the City authorities closed Bartholomew Fair as they considered it to have degenerated into a magnet for debauchery and public disorder.  In 1348, Walter de Manny rented of land at "Spital Croft", north of Long Lane, from the Master and Brethren of St Bartholomew's Hospital, for a graveyard and plague pit for victims of the Black Death. A chapel and hermitage were constructed, renamed "New Church Haw"; but in 1371, this land was granted for the foundation of the Charterhouse, originally a Carthusian monastery.  Nearby and to the north of this demesne, the Knights Hospitaller established a Commandery at Clerkenwell, dedicated to St John in the mid-12th century. In 1194 they received a Charter from King Richard I granting the Order formal privileges. Later Augustinian canonesses established the Priory of St Mary, north of the Knights of St John property.  By the end of the 14th century, these religious houses were regarded by City traders as interlopers – occupying what had previously been public open space near one of the City gates. On numerous occasions vandals damaged the Charterhouse, eventually demolishing its buildings. By 1405, a stout wall was built to protect the property and maintain the privacy of the Order, particularly its church where men and women alike came to worship.  The religious houses were dissolved in the Reformation, and their lands broken up. The Priory Church of St John remains, as does St John's Gate. John Houghton (later canonized by Pope Paul VI as "St John Houghton"), The prior of Charterhouse went to Thomas Cromwell, accompanied by two other local priors, seeking an oath of supremacy that would be acceptable to their communities. Instead they were imprisoned in the Tower of London, and on 4 May 1535, they were taken to Tyburn and hanged – becoming the first Catholic martyrs of the Reformation. On 29 May, the remaining twenty monks and eighteen lay brothers were forced to swear the oath of allegiance to King Henry VIII; the ten who refused were taken to Newgate Prison and left to starve.  With the monks expelled, Charterhouse was requisitioned and remained as a private dwelling until its reestablishment by Thomas Sutton in 1611 as a charitable foundation; it was the basis of the school named Charterhouse and almshouses known as "Sutton's Hospital in Charterhouse" on its former site. The school was relocated to Godalming in 1872. Until 1899 Charterhouse was extra-parochial; that year it became a civil parish incorporated in the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. Some of the property was damaged during The Blitz, but it remains largely intact. Part of the site is now occupied by Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.  From its inception, the Priory of St Bartholomew treated the sick. After the Reformation it was left with neither income nor monastic occupants but, following a petition by the City Corporation, Henry VIII refounded it in December 1546, as the "House of the Poore in West Smithfield in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII's Foundation". Letters Patent were presented to the City, granting property and income to the new foundation the following month. King Henry VIII's sergeant-surgeon, Thomas Vicary, was appointed as the hospital's first superintendent. The King Henry VIII Gate, which opens onto West Smithfield, was completed in 1702 and remains the hospital's main entrance.  The Priory's principal church, St Bartholomew-the-Great, was reconfigured after the dissolution of the monasteries, losing the western third of its nave. Reformed as an Anglican parish church, its parish boundaries were limited to the site of the ancient priory and a small tract of land between the church and Long Lane. The parish of St Bartholomew the Great was designated as a Liberty, responsible for the upkeep and security of its fabric and the land within its boundaries. With the advent of street lighting, mains water, and sewerage during the Victorian era, maintenance of such an ancient parish with so few parishioners became increasingly uneconomical after the Industrial Revolution. In 1910, it agreed to be incorporated by the Corporation of London which guaranteed financial support and security. Great St Barts' present parish boundary includes just 10 feet (3.048 m) of Smithfield – possibly delineating a former right of way.  After the Reformation, a separate parish likewise dedicated to St Bartholomew was granted in favour of St Bartholomew's Hospital; named St Bartholomew-the-Less, it remained under the hospital's patronage, unique in the Church of England, until 1948, when the hospital was nationalized in the National Health Service. The church benefice has since been joined again with its ancient partner, the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great.  Following the diminished influence of the ancient Priory, predecessor of the two parishes of St Bartholomew, disputes began to arise over rights to tithes and taxes payable by lay residents who claimed allegiance with the nearby and anciently associated parish of St Botolph Aldersgate – an unintended consequence and legacy of King Kenry VIII's religious reforms.  Smithfield and its Market, situated mostly in the parish of St Sepulchre, was founded in 1137, and was endowed by Prior Rahere, who also founded St Barts. The ancient parish of St Sepulchre extended north to Turnmill Street, to St Paul's Cathedral and Ludgate Hill in the south, and along the east bank of the Fleet (now the route of Farringdon Street). St Sepulchre's Tower contains the twelve "bells of Old Bailey", referred to in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons". Traditionally, the Great Bell was rung to announce the execution of a prisoner at Newgate.

Civil history.

As a large open space close to the City, Smithfield was a popular place for public gatherings. In 1374 Edward III held a seven-day tournament at Smithfield, for the amusement of his beloved Alice Perrers. Possibly the most famous medieval tournament at Smithfield was that commanded in 1390 by Richard II. Jean Froissart, in his fourth book of Chronicles, reported that sixty knights would come to London to tilt for two days, "accompanied by sixty noble ladies, richly ornamented and dressed". The tournament was proclaimed by heralds throughout England, Scotland, Hainault, Germany, Flanders and France, so as to rival the jousts given by Charles of France at Paris a few years earlier, upon the arrival of his consort Isabel of Bavaria. Geoffrey Chaucer supervised preparations for the tournament as a clerk to the King. Along with Tyburn, Smithfield was for centuries the main site for the public execution of heretics and dissidents in London. The Scottish nobleman Sir William Wallace was executed in 1305 at West Smithfield. The market was the meeting place prior to the Peasants' Revolt and where the Revolt's leader, Wat Tyler, was slain by Sir William Walworth, Lord Mayor of London on 15 June 1381.  Religious dissenters (Catholics as well as other Protestant denominations such as Anabaptists) were sentenced to death in this area during the Crown's changing course of religious orientation started by King Henry VIII. About fifty Protestants and religious reformers, known as the Marian martyrs, were executed at Smithfield during the reign of Mary I.  G.K. Chesterton observed ironically: On 17 November 1558, several Protestant heretics were saved by a royal herald's timely announcement that Queen Mary had died shortly before the wooden faggots were to be lit at the Smithfield Stake. Under English Law death warrants were commanded by Sign Manual (the personal signature of the Monarch), invariably upon ministerial recommendation, which if unexercised by the time of a Sovereign's death required renewed authority. In this case Queen Elizabeth did not approve the executions, thus freeing the Protestants. During the 16th century the Smithfield site was also the place of execution of swindlers and coin forgers, who were boiled to death in oil.  By the 18th century the "Tyburn Tree" (near the present-day Marble Arch) became the main place for public executions in London. After 1785, executions were again moved, this time to the gates of Newgate prison, just to the south of Smithfield.  The Smithfield area emerged largely unscathed by the Great Fire of London in 1666, which was abated near the Fortune of War Tavern, at the junction of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane, where the statue of the Golden Boy of Pye Corner is located. In the late 17th century several residents of Smithfield emigrated to North America, where they founded the town of Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Smithfield Bars.

Until the 19th century the area included boundary markers known as the Smithfield Bars (or West Smithfield Bars). These marked the northern boundary of the City of London and were placed at a point approximating to where modern Charterhouse Street meets St John Street. The former Fagswell Brook, a tributary of the Fleet, originally marked the City's northern boundary in the area.  The Bars are first documented in 1197.

Today.

Since the late 1990s, Smithfield and neighbouring Farringdon have developed a reputation for being a cultural hub for up-and-coming professionals, who enjoy its bars, restaurants and night clubs.  Nightclubs such as Fabric and Turnmills pioneered the area's reputation for trendy night life, attracting professionals from nearby Holborn, Clerkenwell and the City on weekdays. At weekends, the clubs and bars in the area, having late licences, draw people into the area from outside London too.  Smithfield has also become a venue for sporting events. Until 2002 Smithfield hosted the midnight start of the annual Miglia Quadrato Car Rally, but with the increased night club activity around Smithfield, the UHULMC (a motoring club) decided to move the event's start to Finsbury Circus. Since 2007, Smithfield has been the chosen site of an annual event dedicated to road bicycle racing known as the "Smithfield Nocturne".  Number 1, West Smithfield is head office of the Churches Conservation Trust.

Market.

Origins.

Meat has been traded at Smithfield Market for more than 800 years, making it one of the oldest markets in London. A livestock market occupied the site as early as the 10th century.  In 1174 the site was described by William Fitzstephen as: a smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be traded, and in another quarter are placed vendibles of the peasant, swine with their deep flanks, and cows and oxen of immense bulk. Costs, customs and rules were meticulously laid down. For instance, for an ox, a cow or a dozen sheep one could get 1 penny. The livestock market expanded over the centuries to meet demand from the growing population of the City. In 1710, the market was surrounded by a wooden fence containing the livestock within the market. Until the market's abolition, the Gate House at Cloth Fair ("Fair Gate") employed a chain ("le cheyne") on market days. Daniel Defoe referred to the livestock market in 1726 as being "without question, the greatest in the world", and data available appear to corroborate his statement.  Between 1740 and 1750 the average yearly sales at Smithfield were reported to be around 74,000 cattle and 570,000 sheep. By the middle of the 19th century, in the course of a single year 220,000 head of cattle and 1,500,000 sheep would be "violently forced into an area of five acres, in the very heart of London, through its narrowest and most crowded thoroughfares". The volume of cattle driven daily to Smithfield started to raise major concerns.  The Great North Road traditionally began at Smithfield Market and mileages were measured from here. The specific start was Hicks Hall, and its former location continued to be used for mileages even after it was demolished, soon after 1778. The road followed St John Street, and continued north, eventually leading to Edinburgh. This ended in 1829, with the establishment of the General Post Office at St Martin's-le-Grand, which became the new starting point.

Local campaigning against the cattle market.

In the Victorian period, pamphlets started circulating in favour of the removal of the livestock market and its relocation outside of the City, due to its extremely poor hygienic conditions as well as the brutal treatment of the cattle. The conditions at the market in the first half of the 19th century were often described as a major threat to public health: Of all the horrid abominations with which London has been cursed, there is not one that can come up to that disgusting place, West Smithfield Market, for cruelty, filth, effluvia, pestilence, impiety, horrid language, danger, disgusting and shuddering sights, and every obnoxious item that can be imagined; and this abomination is suffered to continue year after year, from generation to generation, in the very heart of the most Christian and most polished city in the world.  In 1843, the "Farmer's Magazine" published a petition signed by bankers, salesmen, butchers, aldermen and City residents against further expansion of the meat market, arguing that livestock markets had been systematically banned since the Middle Ages in other areas of London: Our ancestors appear, in sanitary matters, to have been wiser than we are. There exists, amongst the Rolls of Parliament of the year 1380, a petition from the citizens of London, praying – that, for the sake of the public health, meat should not be slaughtered nearer than "Knyghtsbrigg", under penalty, not only of forfeiting such animals as might be killed in the "butcherie", but of a year's imprisonment. The prayer of this petition was granted, audits penalties were enforced during several reigns. Thomas Hood wrote in 1830 an "Ode to the Advocates for the Removal of Smithfield Market", applauding those "philanthropic men" who aim at removing to a distance the "vile Zoology" of the market and "routing that great nest of Hornithology". Charles Dickens criticised locating a livestock market in the heart of the capital in his 1851 essay "" drawing comparisons with the French market at Poissy outside Paris: Of a great Institution like Smithfield, [the French] are unable to form the least conception. A Beast Market in the heart of Paris would be regarded an impossible nuisance. Nor have they any notion of slaughter-houses in the midst of a city. One of these benighted frog-eaters would scarcely understand your meaning, if you told him of the existence of such a British bulwark. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1852, under the provisions of which a new cattle market should be constructed at Copenhagen Fields, Islington. The Metropolitan Cattle Market opened in 1855, leaving West Smithfield as waste ground for about ten years during the construction of the new market.

Victorian Smithfield: meat and poultry market.

The present Smithfield meat market on Charterhouse Street was established by Act of Parliament: the 1860 Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market Act. It is a large market with permanent buildings, designed by architect Sir Horace Jones, who also designed Billingsgate and Leadenhall Markets. Work on the "Central Market", inspired by Italian architecture, began in 1866 and was completed in November 1868 at a cost of £993,816 (£ as of ).  The Grade II listed main wings (known as "East" and "West Market") are separated by the "Grand Avenue", a wide roadway roofed by an elliptical arch with decorations in cast iron. At the two ends of the arcade, four prominent statues represent London, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Dublin; they depict bronze dragons charged with the City's armorial bearings. At the corners of the market, four octagonal pavilion towers were built, each with a dome displaying carved stone griffins.  As the Market was being built, a cut and cover railway tunnel was constructed underground City street level to create a triangular junction with the railway between Blackfriars and Kings Cross through Snow Hill Tunnel. Closed in 1916, it has been revived and is now used for Thameslink rail services. The construction of extensive railway sidings, beneath Smithfield Park, facilitated the transfer of animal carcasses to its Cold Store, and directly up to the Meat Market via lifts. These sidings closed in the 1960s. They are now used as a car park, accessed via a cobbled descent at the centre of Smithfield Park. Today, much of the meat is delivered to market by road.  The first extension of Smithfield's meat market took place between 1873 and 1876 with the construction of the "Poultry Market" immediately west of the Central Market. A rotunda was built at the centre of the old Market Field (now West Smithfield), comprising gardens, a fountain and a ramped carriageway to the station beneath the market building. Further buildings were subsequently added to the market. The "General Market", built between 1879 and 1883, was intended to replace the old Farringdon Market located nearby and established for the sale of fruit and vegetables when the earlier Fleet Market was cleared to enable the laying out of Farringdon Street between 1826–1830.  A further block (also known as "Annexe Market" or "Triangular Block",) consisting of two separate structures (the "Fish Market" and the "Red House"), was built between 1886 and 1899. The "Fish Market", built by John Mowlem & Co., was completed in 1888, one year after Sir Horace Jones' death. The "Red House", with its imposing red brick and Portland stone façade, was built between 1898 and 1899 for the "London Central Markets Cold Storage Co. Ltd.". It was one of the first cold stores to be built outside the London docks and continued to serve Smithfield Market until the mid-1970s.

20th century.

During the Second World War, a large underground cold store at Smithfield was the theatre of secret experiments led by Dr Max Perutz on pykrete, a mixture of ice and woodpulp, believed to be possibly tougher than steel. Perutz's work, inspired by Geoffrey Pyke and part of Project Habakkuk, was meant to test the viability of pykrete as a material to construct floating airstrips in the Atlantic to allow refuelling of cargo planes in support of Admiral the Earl Mountbatten's operations. The experiments were carried out by Perutz and his colleagues in a refrigerated meat locker in a Smithfield Market butcher's basement, behind a protective screen of frozen animal carcasses. These experiments became obsolete with the development of longer-range aircraft, resulting in abandonment of the project.  At the end of the Second World War, a V-2 rocket struck the north side of Charterhouse Street, near the junction with Farringdon Road (1945). The explosion caused massive damage to the market buildings, affecting the railway tunnel structure below, and causing more than 110 deaths.  The original "Poultry Market" designed by Sir Horace Jones was destroyed by fire in 1958. Its replacement building was designed by Sir Thomas Bennett in 1962–63, with a reinforced concrete frame, and external cladding of dark blue brick. It is Grade II listed. The main hall is covered by an enormous concrete dome, shaped as an elliptical paraboloid, spanning by and only thick at the centre. The dome is believed to have been the largest concrete shell structure built at that time in Europe.

Today.

Smithfield is the City of London's only major wholesale market (Leadenhall Market nowadays attracts more tourist trade) which has escaped relocation out of central London to cheaper land, better transport links, and more modern facilities. (Covent Garden, Spitalfields and Billingsgate have all relocated). The market operates to supply inner City butchers, shops and restaurants with quality fresh meat, and so its main trading hours are 4:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon each weekday. Instead of moving away, Smithfield Market continues to modernise its existing site: its imposing Victorian buildings have had access points added for the loading and unloading of lorries.  The buildings stand above a warren of tunnels: previously, live animals were brought to market by hoof (from the mid-19th century onwards they arrived by rail) and were slaughtered on site. The former railway tunnels are now used for storage, parking and as basements. An impressive cobbled ramp spirals down around West Smithfield's public garden, on the south side of the Market, providing access to part of this area. Some of the buildings on Charterhouse Street on Smithfield north side maintain access to the tunnels via their basements.  Some of the former meat market buildings have now changed use. For example, the former Central Cold Store, on Charterhouse Street is now, most unusually, a City centre cogeneration power station operated by Citigen. The Metropolitan Cold Stores was converted in 1999 into the nightclub Fabric.  Smithfield comprises the market as its central feature, surrounded by many old buildings on three sides and a public open space (or Rotunda Garden) at West Smithfield, beneath which there is a public car park. The south side is occupied by St Bartholomew's Hospital (known as "Barts" in common parlance), and on the east side by the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great. The Church of St Bartholomew the Less is located next to the King Henry VIII Gate, the hospital's main entrance.  The north and south of the square are now closed to through traffic, as part of the City's security and surveillance cordon known as the "Ring of steel". Security for the market is provided by its market constabulary.

Future.

In early 2019, it was proposed in plans put forward by the Court of Common Council, the City of London Corporation's main decision-making body, that Billingsgate Fish Market, New Spitalfields Market, and Smithfield Market would move to a new consolidated site in Barking Reach. A formal planning application was made in June 2020.

Demolition and development plans.

Since 2005, the "General Market" (1883) and the adjacent "Fish Market" and "Red House" buildings (1898), part of the Victorian complex of the Smithfield Market, have been facing a threat of demolition. The City of London Corporation, ultimate owners of the property, has been engaged in public consultation to assess how best to redevelop their disused property and regenerate the area. Former property developers Thornfield Properties had planned to demolish the historic site and build a seven-storey office block, offering of office space, with a retail outlet on the ground floor.  Several campaigns, promoted by English Heritage and Save Britain's Heritage among others, were run to raise public awareness of this part of London's Victorian heritage. Grade II listed building protection was approved for the "Red House Cold Store" building in 2005 by then-Culture Secretary Dame Tessa Jowell, on the basis of new historical evidence qualifying the complex as "the earliest existing example of a purpose-built powered cold store".  Whilst the market continues to trade, its future remains unclear following Government Planning Minister Ruth Kelly's instigating a major public inquiry in 2007. The public inquiry for the demolition and redevelopment of the General Market Building took place between 6 November 2007 and 25 January 2008. In August 2008, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears announced that planning permission for the General Market's redevelopment had been refused, stating that the threatened buildings made "a significant contribution" to the character and appearance of Farringdon and the surrounding area.  On 12 October 2012, Henderson Group unveiled its £160 million-plan for redeveloping the western side of the Central Market. Henderson proposed that the fish market, General Market and Red House buildings, all over a century old, be demolished to make way for restaurants, retailers and office buildings, while they would restore and retain much of the Market building's original perimeter walls, with a new piazza being created in the General Market. Marcus Binney of the campaign group Save Britain's Heritage said: "This proposal constitutes the worst mutilation of a Victorian landmark in the last 30 years."  Some of the buildings on Lindsey Street opposite the East Market were demolished in 2010 to allow the construction of the new Crossrail Station at Farringdon. The demolished buildings include "Smithfield House" (an early 20th-century unlisted Hennebique concrete building), the "Edmund Martin Ltd." shop (an earlier building with alterations dating to the 1930s), and two Victorian warehouses behind them.  In March 2015, the Museum of London revealed plans to vacate its Barbican site and move into the General Market Building. The cost of the move is estimated to be in the region of £70 million and, if funding can be achieved, would be complete by 2021.

Smithfield is a district in located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. The principal street of the area is West Smithfield.

Smithfield est un quartier du nord-ouest de la cité de Londres, dans le Ward de Farringdon Without. La localité est principalement connue pour son marché vieux de plusieurs siècles, consacré à la viande, et qui est aujourd’hui le dernier marché de commerce de gros de Londres.


Early life.

Charles was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York to a Jewish family. He was raised in Trump Village, located between Brighton Beach and Coney Island in Brooklyn.  After graduating from John Dewey High School, he attended college at Rutgers University in New Jersey, but he left school to perform comedy routines.

Career.

Early career.

Charles performed stand-up comedy during the 1970s until he was hired to write for the short-lived sketch comedy show "Fridays", where he worked with Larry David. This began Charles's career in television writing that included "The Arsenio Hall Show" and eventually "Seinfeld". David gave him the job as a writer on "Seinfeld" and his directorial debut on "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

"Seinfeld".

Although series co-creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld wrote the bulk of the show's episodes during the first five seasons (This is inaccurate, they wrote most episodes in seasons 1 & 2 but by season 4 they were writing a minority of episodes), Charles was their second in command during this period. Charles had met "Seinfeld" co-creator David when he was part of the writing staff of the ABC sketch show "Fridays", on which David and Michael Richards were also part of the show's ensemble cast. Charles had been unable to write for the show's first season, as he had been writing for "The Arsenio Hall Show".  Charles is noted for contributing some of the show's darker storylines and scenes. In the season two episode "The Baby Shower" Charles wrote a dream sequence in which the title character, Jerry Seinfeld, was killed. Charles's episodes also covered such controversial topics as Nazis (in "The Limo"), a psychotic stalker (in "The Opera") and a hospital patient committing suicide (in "The Bris"). A season two episode he wrote, "The Bet", concerning Elaine buying a handgun to protect herself, was never filmed because NBC, some of the cast, and the show's director felt the gun content was too provocative. Charles claimed that his writing on "Seinfeld" was heavily influenced by "Dragnet", "Superman" and Abbott and Costello.  Charles said he was instrumental in the development of Cosmo Kramer; he felt that "Jerry and George were so well-defined through Larry David and Jerry, that there was less room for me to, sort of, expand on those personas. But Kramer was very unformed at the beginning of the show and it gave me an area of creativity to, sort of, expand upon. So I spent a lot of time with Kramer because he was a character that I could have an impact on in the future of the show". It was Charles who imbued in Kramer a distrust of authority (especially in his episodes "The Baby Shower" and "The Heart Attack"), and who created the character of Kramer's notorious unseen friend Bob Sacamano, after his real-life friend of the same name.

Film.

Charles's feature debut was "Masked and Anonymous" (2003) which he directed, and co-wrote with Bob Dylan (under the pseudonyms Rene Fontaine and Sergei Petrov, respectively). The film received a mixed reaction from audiences and critics alike; it did poorly at the box office. Charles maintains it takes many viewings to get true enjoyment from the film: "I want the movie to be like a great Bob Dylan song that is listened to over and over and for people to [go] back and see it again and get a lot more things, or totally different things."  His second feature film as director, the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy mockumentary "Borat!", was much more successful; it "set new records in terms of profitability; on a budget of 18 million dollars, it grossed in excess of 261 million dollars." In an interview, Charles discussed how, because of the nature of the mockumentary process, he had to act as well, even if none of his performance made it to the screen: "We all, especially me, had to play a character as well. I wasn't Larry Charles when we were on the road. We all had to be in character, and we had to balance that with our aesthetic and logistical needs to produce the movie properly [...] The director also had to act." The film was nominated for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes.  Charles's third film was "Religulous" — a documentary about Bill Maher's take on the state of contemporary religion — which was released in October 2008.

Live performances.

Charles rarely performs live, but has appeared at Un-Cabaret and can be heard on several of its podcasts.

Filmography.

"Seinfeld".

Charles also has a cameo in the episode titled "The Parking Garage," which was written by David.

"Mad About You".

In 1995, Charles left the writing staff of "Seinfeld" to join that of another hugely successful mid-1990s sitcom: Paul Reiser's "Mad About You".

"The Tick", "Dilbert".

Charles served as executive producer on two short-lived programs, "The Tick" (for which he wrote two episodes), and the "Dilbert" animated series, which he co-developed with Scott Adams and co-wrote the following episodes:

"Curb Your Enthusiasm".

In 2000, Charles began his first job as a director on "Curb Your Enthusiasm", Larry David's follow-up series to "Seinfeld" (which Larry David co-created). Charles directed 18 episodes of the hit HBO show.

"Entourage".

Charles served as an executive producer and writer on the HBO show "Entourage" for the first two seasons. The episodes that he wrote were:

Larry Charles (born December 1, 1956) is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom "Seinfeld" for its first five seasons, contributing some of the show's darkest and most absurd storylines. He has also directed the documentary film "Religulous" and the mockumentary comedy films "Borat", "Brüno", and "The Dictator". His Netflix documentary series "Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy" premiered in 2019.

Larry Charles (né le à Brooklyn, New York) est un réalisateur, scénariste et producteur américain. Il est connu pour avoir été scénariste sur le sitcom américain "Seinfeld". Il a aussi réalisé des films à succès tels que "Borat, leçons culturelles sur l'Amérique au profit glorieuse nation Kazakhstan", "Relidicule," "Brüno" et "The Dictator".


Historical development.

The term "Mahdi" does not occur in the Quran. It is derived from the Arabic root "h-d-y" (), commonly used to mean "divine guidance". The term "al-Mahdi" was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet and without any messianic significance. As an honorific it has been used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit), as well as Abraham, al-Hussain, and various Umayyad rulers ("hudāt mahdiyyūn"). During the second civil war (680–692), after the death of Muʾawiya, the term acquired a new meaning of a ruler who would restore Islam to its perfect form and restore justice after oppression. In Kufa during the rebellion in 680s, Al-Mukhtar proclaimed Muhammad al-Hanafiyyah as the Mahdi in this heightened sense. Among the Umayyads, caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik encouraged the belief that he was the Mahdi, and other Umayyad rulers, like Umar II, have been addressed as such in the panegyrics of Jarir and al-Farazdaq.  Early discussions about the identity of al-Mahdi by religious scholars can be traced back to the time after the Second Fitna. These discussions developed in different directions and were influenced by traditions (hadiths) attributed to Muhammad. In Umayyad times, scholars and traditionists not only differed on which caliph or rebel leader should be designated as Mahdi, but also on whether the Mahdi is a messianic figure and if signs and predictions of his time have been satisfied. By the time of the Abbasid Revolution in the year 750, Mahdi was already a known concept. Evidence shows that the first Abbasid caliph As-Saffah assumed the title of "the Mahdi" for himself.  In Shia Islam, it seems likely that the attribution of messianic qualities to the Mahdi originated from two of the groups supporting al-Hanafiyyah: southern Arabian settlers and local recent converts in Iraq. They became known as Kaysanites, and introduced what later became two key aspects of the Shia's concept of the Mahdi. The first was the notion of return of the dead, particularly of the Imams. The second was that after al-Hanafiyyah's death they believed he was, in fact, in hiding in the Razwa mountains near Medina. This later developed into the doctrine known as the occultation. The Mahdi appeared in early Shi'ite narratives, spread widely among Shi'ite groups and became dissociated from its historical figure, Muhammad al-Hanafiyyah. During the 10th century, based on these earlier beliefs, the doctrine of Mahdism was extensively expanded by Al-Kulayni, Ibrahim al-Qummi and Ibn Babawayh. In particular, in the early 10th century, the doctrine of the occultation, which declares that the Twelfth Imam did not die but was concealed by God from the eyes of men, was expounded. The Mahdi became synonymous with the "Hidden Imam" who was thought to be in occultation awaiting the time that God has ordered for his return. This return is envisaged as occurring shortly before the final Day of judgment. In fact, the concept of the "hidden Imam" was attributed to several Imams in turn.  Some historians suggest that the term itself was probably introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century. They believed that the Mahdi would lead them back to their homeland and reestablish the Himyarite kingdom. They also believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople. It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from messianic Judeo-Christian beliefs. Accordingly, traditions were introduced to support certain political interests, especially Anti-Abbassid sentiments. These traditions about the Mahdi appeared only at later times in hadith collections such as "Jami' at-Tirmidhi" and "Sunan Abi Dawud", but are absent from the early works of Bukhari and Muslim.

Sunni Islam.

Since Sunnism has no established doctrine of Mahdi, compositions of Mahdi varies among Sunni scholars. While some scholars like Ibn Khaldun even disputed the authenticity of references concerning the Mahdi in hadith literature, others like Ibn Kathir elaborated a whole apocalyptic scenario which included prophecies about Mahdi, Jesus and Dajjal during the endtime. Some Sunni beliefs deny the Mahdi as a separate figure, accordingly Jesus will fulfill this role and judge over mankind, thus "Mahdi" is considered as a title for Jesus, when he returns. However the more common opinion among Sunni Muslims is, that the Mahdi is an expected ruler sent by God before the endtime to reestablish righteousness, coincides with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ ("Isa"), but, unlike most Shia traditions, Sunni Islam often do not believe the Mahdi has already been born. Sunnis in general reject the Twelver Shi'ite principle of the Mahdi's occultation. Sunnis do, however, rely on traditionally canonical collections of narrations for derivations of the Mahdi's attributes and lineage. According to Sunan Abi Dawud, one of the six canonical books of Hadith in Sunni Islam, narrated by Umm Salamah, "The Prophet said: The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatimah."  In heavy contrast with Shia Islam, Sunnis have a much more human view of the Mahdi, who they believe will be nothing less than the most rightly guided Muslim of his time. He will be rectified in a single night (which is taken to mean that the provisions for his leadership and rule will be made in a single night). According to Sunan Ibn Majah, one of the six canonical collections of Hadith, narrated by 'Ali, "Mahdi is one of us, the people of the Household. Allah will rectify him in a single night." According to Sunan Abi Dawud, "The Prophet said: The Mahdi will be of my stock, and will have a broad forehead [and] a prominent nose. He will fill the earth with equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny, and he will rule for seven years."

References interpreted in "ahadith".

The Mahdi is frequently mentioned in Sunni hadith as establishing the caliphate. Among Sunnis, some believe the Mahdi will be an ordinary man. The following Sunni hadith make references to the Mahdi:

Historical views.

Sunni poets Jarir ibn Atiyah and Al-Farazdaq considered various Umayyads Caliphs, such as Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, Umar II, Yazid II, and Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik to be the Mahdis. In Medina, among Sunni religious circles, the belief in Umar II being the Mahdi, “the just restorer of religion”, was widespread. Said ibn al-Musayyib is said to identify Umar II as the Mahdi long before his reign. The Basran, Abu Qilabah, supported the view that Umar II was the Mahdi. Hasan al-Basri opposed the concept of a Muslim Messiah but believed that if there was the Mahdi, it was Umar II. After the Umayyads, Sunnis held numerous Abbasid Caliphs to be the Mahdis.

Modern views.

A typical modernist in his views on the Mahdi, Abul Ala Maududi (1903–1979), the Pakistani Islamic revivalist, stated that the Mahdi will be a modern Islamic reformer/statesman, who will unite the Ummah and revolutionise the world according to the ideology of Islam, but will never claim to be the Mahdi, instead receiving posthumous recognition as such.  Some Islamic scholars reject Mahdi doctrine, including Allama Tamanna Imadi (1888–1972), Allama Habibur Rahman Kandhalvi, and Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (1951– ).  Javed Ahmad Ghamidi writes in his book "Mizan": Besides these, the coming of the Mahdi and that of Jesus from the heavens are also regarded as signs of the Day of Judgment. I have not mentioned them. The reason is that the narratives of the coming of the Mahdi do not conform to the standards of "hadith" criticism set forth by the "muhaddithun". Some of them are weak and some fabricated; no doubt, some narratives, which are acceptable with regard to their chain of narration, inform us of the coming of a generous caliph; (Muslim, No: 7318) however, if they are deeply deliberated upon, it becomes evident that the caliph they refer to is Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz who was the last caliph from a Sunni standpoint. This prediction of the Prophet has thus materialized in his personality, word for word. One need not wait for any other Mahdi now.  Ahmed Hulusi interpreted the Mahdi as a part of the inner self. Therefore, the Mahdi awakes in a person to defeat the inner Dajjal. The Mahdi stands for attaining selflessness and realizing a person's own existence as a part of God.

Shia Islam.

Quran.

According to some interpretations of the Quran, throughout the history of human life, the earth has never been without divine leaders and Allah has selected an appropriate man for every nation. There are two types of Quranic verses which have been interpreted as referring to the existence and advent of the Mahdi:

Doctrine regarding longevity.

Shia strongly believe that the prolonged lifespan of Mahdi is thoroughly justified according to rational, Quranic, traditional, research-based and historical accounts. In this regard, some reasons will be expressed:

Twelver.

According to Twelvers, the main goal of the Mahdi will be to establish an Islamic state and to apply Islamic laws that were revealed to Muhammad. The Mahdi is believed to be the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. they believe that the Twelfth Imam will return from the occultation as the Mahdi with "a company of his chosen ones," and his enemies will be led by Antichrist and the Sufyani. The two armies will fight "one final apocalyptic battle" where the Mahdi and his forces will prevail over evil. After the Mahdi has ruled Earth for a number of years, Isa will return.  For Twelvers, the Mahdi was born but disappeared, and would remain hidden from humanity until he reappears to bring justice to the world, a doctrine known as the occultation. For them, this "hidden Imam" is Muhammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam. According to Shia Quran commentators, implicit references to the Mahdi can be found in the Quran.  Twelver Shi'ites (as the main branch of Shia, which consists of 85% of all Shia Muslims) claim that their twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who went into occultation around 256/873-874, is the promised Mahdi, who will appear before the day of Judgement, to restore justice and equity on earth. In Shia Islam, the Mahdi is associated with the belief in the occultation, that the Mahdi is a "hidden Imam" who has already been born and who will one day return alongside Jesus to fill the world with justice. The promised Mahdi, who is usually mentioned in Shia Islam by his title of Imam-Al-Asr (the Imam of the "Period") and Sahib al-Zaman (the Lord of the Age), is the son of the eleventh Imam. His name is the same as that of the Prophet of Islam. According to Shia Islam, Mahdi was born in Samarra in 868 and until 872 when his father was martyred, lived under his father's care and tutelage. He was hidden from public view and only a few of the elite among the Shi’ah were able to meet him.  By Shi'ism, belief in the messianic Imam is not a part of their creed but it is the foundation of their creed. Shias believe that after the martyrdom of his father he became Imam and by Divine Command went into occultation ("ghaybat"). Thereafter he appeared only to his deputies ("na’ib") and even then only in exceptional circumstances.  In Shias' perspective, Mahdi chose as a special deputy for a time Uthman ibn Sa’id ’Umari, one of the companions of his father and grandfather who was his confidant and trusted friend. Through his deputy Mahdi would answer the demands and questions of the Shias. After Uthman ibn Sa’id, his son Muhammad ibn Uthman Umari was appointed the deputy of him. After the death of Muhammad ibn Uthman, Abu’l Qasim Husayn ibn Ruh Nawbakhti was the special deputy, and after his death Ali ibn Muhammad Simmari was chosen for this task.  A few days before the death of Ali ibn Muhammad Simmari in 939 an order was issued by Mahdi stating that in six days Ali ibn Muhammad Simmari would die. Henceforth the special deputation of the Imam would come to an end and the major occultation ("ghaybat-i kubra") would begin and would continue until the day God grants permission to the Imam to manifest himself.  In Shia view, the occultation of Mahdi is, therefore, divided into two parts: the first, the minor occultation ("ghaybat-i sughra") which began in 872 and ended in 939, lasting about seventy years; the second, the major occultation which commenced in 939 and will continue as long as God wills it. In a hadith upon whose authenticity Shia and Sunni agree, Muhammad has said, "If there were to remain in the life of the world but one day, God would prolong that day until He sends in it a man from my community and my household. His name will be the same as my name. He will fill the earth with equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny."  Shias believe that the arrival of the Mahdi will be signalled by the following portents:  Shia traditions also state that the Mahdi be "a young man of medium stature with a handsome face" and black hair and beard. "He will not come in an odd year [...] will appear in Mecca between the corner of the Kaaba and the station of Abraham and people will witness him there.

Isma'ili.

The Ismāʿīlī developed their own theory of the Mahdi with select Ismāʿīlī Imams representing the concept of Mahdi or Al-Qa'im (person) at various times. For the Sevener Ismāʿīlī, the Imāmate ended with Isma'il ibn Ja'far, whose son Muhammad ibn Ismail was the expected Mahdi that Ja'far al-Sadiq had preached about. However, at this point the Ismāʿīlī Imāms according to the Nizari and Musta'li found areas where they would be able to be safe from the recently founded Abbasid Caliphate, which had defeated and seized control from the Umayyads in 750 CE. During the period of Ja'far, the Abbasid Caliphate replaced the Umayyads and began to aggressively oppose belief in an Imamate. Due to strong suppression by the Abbasids, the seventh Ismāʿīlī Imam, Muhammad ibn Ismail, went into a period of occultation. During this period his representative, the "Dāʿī", maintained the community. The names of the eighth, ninth, and tenth Imams are considered by some traditions to be "hidden", known only by their nicknames due to threats from the Abbasids.  The 11th Imam, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, founded the Fatimid Caliphate in 909 CE in "Ifriqiya" (which includes present Tunisia in North Africa), ending the first occultation. In Ismāʿīlī eyes this act again united the Imamate and the Caliphate in one person. The Fatimids then extended up to the central Maghreb (now including Morocco, Algeria and Libya). They entered and conquered Egypt in 969 CE during the reign of the fourteenth Imam, al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah, and made Cairo their capital. After the eighteenth Imam, al-Mustansir Billah, the Nizari sect believed that his son Nizar was his successor, while another Ismāʿīlī branch known as the Mustaali (from whom the Dawoodi Bohra would eventually form), supported his other son, al-Musta'li. The Fatimid dynasty continued with al-Musta'li as both Imam and Caliph, and that joint position held until the 20th Imam, Al-Amir bi-Ahkami'l-Lah (1132 CE). At the death of 20th Imam Amir, one branch of the Mustaali faith claimed that he had transferred the Imamate to his son At-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim, who was then two years old. Tayyeb's claim to the imamate was endorsed by the "Hurrah al-Malika" ("the Noble Queen") Arwa al-Sulayhi, the Queen of Yemen, who created the office of the Dai al-Mutlaq to administer the community in the Imam's absence. Zoeb bin Moosa (d.546 AH/1151 CE) was the first Dai-ul-Mutlaq, and lived and died in Haus, Yemen. Tayyibis (which include the Dawoodi Bohra) believe the second and current period of occultation ("satr") began after Imam Tayyeb went into seclusion and Imam from his progeny is very much present as Mahdi on earth every time.  The Nizari Ismailis maintain that the Shi‘a Ismaili Imams and Ismaili Muslim thinkers have explained that al-Mahdi is not a single person but actually a function undertaken by some of the hereditary Shi‘a Ismaili Imams from the progeny of Prophet Muhammad and Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib. Throughout history, only a certain number of Imams have had the practical means to undertake such a grand mission of establishing justice and equity and removing oppression and injustice from the world because most of the Ismaili Imams have been heavily persecuted. For example, the founder of the Fatimid Caliphate, Imam ‘Abdullah al-Mahdi, and the Fatimid-Imam Caliphs each performed the function or mission of the Mahdi. The Mahdi is therefore a mission carried out by several Shi‘a Ismaili Imams and not a specific individual. Today, the 49th hereditary Ismaili Imam, Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV, is undertaking the “Mahdi-ist” mission – the functions of the Mahdi – through the work of his institutions in the Aga Khan Development Network.

Other sects.

Ahmadiyya.

In Ahmadiyya belief the terms "Messiah" and "Mahdi" are synonymous terms for one and the same person. Like the term Messiah which, among other meanings, in essence means being "anointed" by God or "appointed" by God the term "Mahdi" means "guided" by God, thus both imply a direct ordination or commissioning and a spiritual nurturing by God of a divinely chosen individual. According to Ahmadiyya thought the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, were in fact to be fulfilled in one person who was to represent all previous prophets. The prophecies concerning the Mahdi or the Second Coming of Jesus are seen by Ahmadis as metaphorical and subject to interpretation. It is argued that one was to be born and rise within the dispensation of Muhammad, who by virtue of his similarity and affinity with Jesus, and the similarity in nature, temperament and disposition of the people of Jesus' time and the people of the time of the promised one (the Mahdi) is called by the same name.  These prophecies according to Ahmadi Muslims have been fulfilled in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, who claimed to be divinely appointed as the second coming of Jesus and the Mahdi in 1891 around the same point in time after Muhammad as Jesus had appeared after Moses (thirteen centuries). Contrary to mainstream Islam, the Ahmadis do not believe that Jesus is alive in heaven, but claim that he survived the crucifixion and migrated towards the east where he died a natural death and that Ghulam Ahmad was only the promised spiritual second coming and likeness of Jesus, the promised Messiah and Mahdi.

Mahdavia.

The Mahdavia sect, founded by Muhammad Jaunpuri commonly known as Nur Pak claimed to be the Mahdi in Mecca, in front of Kaaba (between rukn and maqam) in the Hijri year 901(10th Hijri), and is revered as such by Mahdavia. He was born in Jaunpur, traveled throughout India, Arabia and Khorasan, where he died at the town of Farah, Afghanistan at the age of 63. The Mahdavi regard Jaunpuri as the Imam Mahdi, the Caliph of Allah and the second most important figure after the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Other religions.

Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths.

`Alí-Muḥammad Shírází (1819-1853), known as the Báb, founded a new religion (Bábism) in 1844 and progressively expounded a claim to be the Mahdi. He and his followers came under intense persecution by the clergy and government of Iran and the Báb was publicly executed in 1850 for expounding a new sharia, making a claim to divine revelation, and inspiring resistance to the state. Groups of his followers were killed before and after his execution. Shi'ih sources of the time claim that the Báb recanted his claim under trial, which is rejected by his followers and some academics.  The Báb preached of another divine messenger that would soon appear. The majority of Bábís of the time accepted the claim of Baháʼu'lláh in 1863 to be the fulfillment of the Báb's prophecy. He formed the Baháʼí Faith, which lives on as a worldwide religion with several million followers.

Persons claiming to be the Mahdi.

The following individuals (or their adherents on their behalf) have claimed to be the Mahdi:

The Mahdi (, ISO 233: "", meaning "the guided one") is an eschatological redeemer of Islam who, according to some Islamic traditions, will appear and rule for five, seven, nine, or nineteen years (according to differing interpretations) before the Day of Judgment (, meaning "the Day of Resurrection") and rid the world of evil.

Le Mahdi (arabe : "mahdīy",, " le guidé (par Dieu)" est un rédempteur eschatologique attendu de l'ensemble des confessions musulmanes, à l'exception des coranistes, et identifié au dernier imam dans le chiisme duodécimain.


Revival.

The Red-Greens as a political alliance was revived following the 2014 general election, in the form of a coalition government - the Löfven Cabinet. The government consisted of the Social Democrats and Greens and was supported in the Riksdag by the Left Party. The three parties won 144 out of 349 Riksdag seats in the 2018 general election; 100 Social Democrat and 16 Green with the support of 28 Left.

Parties.

The coalition consists of two parties and one supporting non-member;

Background.

The Red-Greens took their cue from the centre-right Alliance, the co-operation between four centre-right parties which is considered to have contributed to these parties' success in the 2006 general election. The cooperation represented a significant development since the Social Democrats, especially the party leadership of Mona Sahlin, previously have been sceptical about too close a co-operation with the Left Party, which was officially a Communist Party until 1990. The Social Democratic minority government led by Göran Persson before the 2006 election had much closer cooperation with the Green Party than with the Left Party.  In October 2008 a deeper co-operation between the Social Democrats and the Green Party was announced, and a common shadow budget for 2009 was presented. In December 2008, the Left Party was included in the co-operation and the Red-Greens was launched.  In the 2010 election, the Red-Greens lost 22 seats in comparison with 2006 elections. The Social Democrats lost 5%, thus scoring their worst result since 1914. The Green Party made a significant transformation from the smallest elected party to the third largest party during the term, overtaking the Left Party, the Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the Centre Party.  The Red-Green pact lost in 2010 elections and was put on pause on 26 October 2010, and completely dissolved (according to a spokesperson for the Green Party) on 26 November.  In the 2014 election, The Social Democrats were the largest party, but they did not have enough seats to form a majority, prompting them to make a deal with the Green Party in order to form a coalition. They sought support from the Left Party, reviving the alliance between the Social Democrats and The Greens. A minority government, the coalition which only held 138 out of 349 seats depended on the support from the Left Party and the opposing Alliance parties.  The Red-Greens participated together in 2018 election, receiving 144 seats. This is the worst result of the left-wing parties since 1914.

The Red-Greens () is an umbrella term which refers to the three centre-left to left-wing political parties of Sweden; the Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Green Party.

Les Rouges-Verts ("" en suédois) est l'alliance formée par les trois grands partis de la gauche institutionnelle suédoise en vue des élections générales de 2010. Les rouges-verts ont ensuite formé l'opposition au Parlement, face à leurs adversaires historiques de la majorité de centre droit rassemblés au sein de l'autre grande coalition du pays, l'Alliance pour la Suède. L'accord passé entre les partis de gauche, qui présenteront leurs propres candidats au scrutin de, a pour objectif, en cas de victoire, la formation d'un gouvernement de coalition.


Overview.

The Little Missouri River is a rocky mountain river that flows through narrow forested canyons. This river has numerous small waterfalls, crystal clear water, and outstanding scenery including towering rocky bluffs crowned with pine.  The Little Missouri River was so named because its lower reaches were said to remind early French explorers of the Missouri River.

Course.

The Little Missouri flows in a generally north-to-south direction through Pike, Clark, and Montgomery on the western side of the Ouachita River. The Little Missouri River is south of, and runs parallel to, the Caddo River, before flowing into the Ouachita River above Camden, Arkansas. The largest tributary of the Little Missouri River is the Antoine River. The Little Missouri River is intermittently navigable to small boats below its confluence with the Antoine River, although it is rarely used.  The Little Missouri River is dammed by Narrows Dam and forms Lake Greeson. The upper stretches of the Little Missouri River above Lake Greeson descend 1,035 feet in 29 miles (315 m in 47 km) for an average drop of. This makes the upper waters of the river excellent for experienced canoers. There is a long segment that has been designated as a wild river. This segment contains the "Winding Stair Rapid", which is classified as a Class IV rapid on the International Scale of River Difficulty. Another attraction on the upper river is Little Missouri Falls, a staircasestep fall that attracts photographers and visitors. The upper reaches of the Little Missouri were considered so scenic that the area was once approved by Congress to become Ouachita National Park, until this action was vetoed by President Herbert Hoover. The watershed of the Little Missouri River is quite small, which means that its upper reaches ordinarily contain little water during the dry summer months.  The Little Missouri River is a superior fishing stream for rainbow trout, green sunfish, longear sunfish, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, and other species. The area below the dam at Lake Greeson is most popular for trout fishermen.  Portions of the Little Missouri River flow through the Ouachita National Forest, and the lower segment flows past the Crater of Diamonds State Park. The Albert Pike Campground provides camping facilities for visitors to the area.  The Little Missouri is listed as a "Wild and Scenic River" by the United States Forest Service. The upper reaches of the river are designated as an "Arkansas Natural and Scenic River" by the State.

History.

During the American Civil War the Battle of Elkin's Ferry was fought on the Little Missouri, 10 miles north of Prescott, Arkansas, at the Clark-Nevada County line. During the night of June 10–11, 2010 a flash flood along Little Missouri killed at least eighteen people in the campgrounds of the Albert Pike Recreational Area. In a matter of less than four hours water rose from three feet to over twenty-three feet.

The Little Missouri River, or "Little Mo", is a waterway that runs from the Ouachita Mountains of southwest Arkansas into the rolling hills area in the surrounding countryside.

La rivière Little Missouri, surnommée « "Little Mo" », est une rivière des États-Unis qui coule dans l'État de l'Arkansas aux États-Unis et un affluent de l'Ouachita.