Etymology.

The vernacular name "hartebeest" could have originated from the obsolete Afrikaans word "hertebeest", literally "deer beast". The name was given by the Boers, based on the resemblance of the antelope to deer. The first use of the word "hartebeest" in South African literature was in Dutch colonial administrator Jan van Riebeeck's journal "Daghregister" in 1660. He wrote: ""Meester Pieter ein hart-beest geschooten hadde" (Master Pieter [van Meerhoff] had shot one hartebeest)". Another name for the hartebeest is "kongoni", a Swahili word. "Kongoni" is often used to refer in particular to one of its subspecies—Coke's hartebeest.

Taxonomy.

The scientific name of the hartebeest is "Alcelaphus buselaphus". First described by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1766, it is classified in the genus "Alcelaphus" and placed in the family Bovidae. In 1979, palaeontologist Elisabeth Vrba supported "Sigmoceros" as a separate genus for Lichtenstein's hartebeest, a kind of hartebeest, as she assumed it was related to "Connochaetes" (wildebeest). She had analysed the skull characters of living and extinct species of antelope to make a cladogram, and argued that a wide skull linked Lichtenstein's hartebeest with "Connochaetes". However, this finding was not replicated by Alan W. Gentry of the Natural History Museum, who classified it as an independent species of "Alcelaphus". Zoologists such as Jonathan Kingdon and Theodor Haltenorth considered it to be a subspecies of "A. buselaphus". Vrba dissolved the new genus in 1997 after reconsideration. An MtDNA analysis could find no evidence to support a separate genus for Lichtenstein's hartebeest. It also showed the tribe Alcelaphini to be monophyletic, and discovered close affinity between the "Alcelaphus" and the sassabies (genus "Damaliscus")—both genetically and morphologically.

Subspecies.

Eight subspecies are identified, of which two – "A. b. caama" and "A. b. lichtensteinii" – have been considered to be independent species. However, a 1999 genetic study by P. Arctander of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues, which sampled the control region of the mitochondrial DNA, found that these two formed a clade within "A. buselaphus", and that recognising these as species would render "A. buselaphus" paraphyletic (an unnatural grouping). The same study found "A. b. major" to be the most divergent, having branched off before the lineage split to give a combined "caama/lichtensteinii" lineage and another that gave rise to the remaining extant subspecies. Conversely a 2001 phylogenetic study, based on D–loop and cytochrome b analysis by Øystein Flagstad (of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim) and colleagues, found that the southern lineage of "A. b. caama" and "A. lichtensteinii" diverged earliest. Analysis of skull structure supports partition into three major divisions: "A. b. buselaphus" division (nominate, also including "A. b. major" division), "A. b. tora" division (also including "A. b. cokii" and "A. b. swaynei") and "A. b. lelwel" division. Another analysis of cytochrome b and D-loop sequence data shows a notable affinity between the "A. b. lelwel" and "A. b. tora " divisions.  The eight subspecies, including the two controversial ones, are:

Genetics and hybrids.

In 2000, a study scrutinised two major populations of the Swayne's hartebeest, from the Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary and the Nechisar National Park, for mitochondrial (D-loop) and nuclear (microsatellite) variability in an attempt to estimate the levels of genetic variation between the populations and within the subspecies. The results showed a remarkable differentiation between the two populations; that from the Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary showed more genetic diversity than the one from the Nechisar National Park. Another revelation was that the translocation of the individuals from the Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary in 1974 had not made a significant contribution to the gene pool of the Nechisar National Park. Additionally, the Swayne hartebeest populations were compared with a large red hartebeest population, and both subspecies were found to have a high degree of genetic variation. The study advocated in situ conservation of the Swayne's hartebeest and a renewed attempt at its translocation in order to conserve genetic diversity and increase its population in both the protected areas.  The diploid number of chromosomes in the hartebeest is 40. Hybrids are usually reported from areas where ranges of two subspecies overlap. Hybrids between the Lelwel and Tora hartebeest have been reported in eastern Sudan and western Ethiopia, in a stretch southward from the Blue Nile to about 9° N latitude. A study proved a male hybrid of the red hartebeest and the blesbok ("Damaliscus pygargus") to be sterile. Sterility of the hybrid was attributed to difficulties in segregation during meiosis, indicated by azoospermia and a low number of germ cells in its seminiferous tubules.  There are three common cross-breeds between the subspecies:

Evolution.

The genus "Alcelaphus" emerged about 4.4 million years ago in a clade whose other members were "Damalops", "Numidocapra", "Rabaticeras", "Megalotragus", "Oreonagor", and "Connochaetes". An analysis using phylogeographic patterns within hartebeest populations suggested a possible origin of "Alcelaphus" in eastern Africa. "Alcelaphus" quickly radiated across the African savannas, replacing several previous forms (such as a relative of the hirola). Flagstad and colleagues showed an early split in the hartebeest populations into two distinct lineages around 0.5 million years ago – one to the north and the other to the south of the equator. The northern lineage further diverged into eastern and western lineages, nearly 0.4 million years ago, most probably as a result of the expanding central African rainforest belt and subsequent contraction of savannah habitats during a period of global warming. The eastern lineage gave rise to the Coke's, Swayne's, Tora and Lelwel hartebeest; and from the western lineage evolved the Bubal and western hartebeest. The southern lineage gave rise to Lichtenstein's and red hartebeest. These two taxa are phylogenetically close, having diverged only 0.2 million years ago. The study concluded that these major events throughout the hartebeest's evolution are strongly related to climatic factors, and that there had been successive bursts of radiation from a more permanent population—a refugium—in eastern Africa; this could be vital to understanding the evolutionary history of not only the hartebeest but also other mammals of the African savanna.  The earliest fossil record dates back to nearly 0.7 million years ago. Fossils of the red hartebeest have been found in Elandsfontein, Cornelia (Free State) and Florisbad in South Africa, as well as in Kabwe in Zambia. In Israel, hartebeest remains have been found in northern Negev, Shephelah, Sharon Plain and Tel Lachish. This population of the hartebeest was originally limited to the open country of the southernmost regions of the southern Levant. It was probably hunted in Egypt, which affected the numbers in the Levant, and disconnected it from its main population in Africa.

Description.

A large antelope with a particularly elongated forehead and oddly shaped horns, the hartebeest stands just over at the shoulder, and has a typical head-and-body length of. The weight ranges from. The tail, long, ends in a black tuft. The other distinctive features of the hartebeest are its long legs (often with black markings), short neck, and pointed ears. A study correlated the size of hartebeest species to habitat productivity and rainfall. The western hartebeest is the largest subspecies, and has a characteristic white line between the eyes. The red hartebeest is also large, with a black forehead and a contrasting light band between the eyes. The large Lelwel hartebeest has dark stripes on the front of its legs. Coke's hartebeest is moderately large, with a shorter forehead and longer tail in comparison to the other subspecies. Lichtenstein's hartebeest is smaller, with dark stripes on the front of the legs, as in the Lelwel hartebeest. The Swayne's hartebeest is smaller than the Tora hartebeest, but both have a shorter forehead and similar appearance.  Generally short and shiny, the coat varies in colour according to subspecies. The western hartebeest is a pale sandy-brown, but the front of the legs are darker. The red hartebeest is a reddish-brown, with a dark face. Black markings can be observed on the chin, the back of the neck, shoulders, hips and legs; these are in sharp contrast with the broad white patches that mark its flanks and lower rump. The Lelwel hartebeest is a reddish tan. Coke's hartebeest is reddish to tawny in the upper parts, but has relatively lighter legs and rump. Lichtenstein's hartebeest is reddish brown, though the flanks are a lighter tan and the rump whitish. The Tora hartebeest is a dark reddish brown in the upper part of the body, the face, the forelegs and the rump, but the hindlegs and the underbelly are a yellowish white. The Swayne's hartebeest is a rich chocolate brown with fine spots of white that are actually the white tips of its hairs. Its face is black save for the chocolate band below the eyes. The shoulders and upper part of the legs are black. Fine textured, the body hair of the hartebeest is about long. The hartebeest has preorbital glands (glands near the eyes) with a central duct, that secrete a dark sticky fluid in Coke's and Lichtenstein's hartebeest, and a colourless fluid in the Lelwel hartebeest.  Both sexes of all subspecies have horns, with those of females being more slender. Horns can reach lengths of ; the maximum horn length is, recorded from a Namibian red hartebeest. The horns of the western hartebeest are thick and appear U-shaped from the front and Z-shaped from the sides, growing backward at first and then forward, ending with a sharp backward turn. The horns of the red and the Lelwel hartebeest are similar to those of the western hartebeest, but appear V-shaped when viewed from the front. The Lichtenstein's hartebeest has thick parallel ringed horns, with a flat base. Its horns are shorter than those of other subspecies, curving upward then sharply forward, followed by an inward turn at an angle of about 45° and a final backward turn. The horns of Swayne's hartebeest are thin and shaped like parentheses, curving upward and then backward. The horns of the Tora hartebeest are particularly thin and spread out sideways, diverging more than in any other subspecies.  Apart from its long face, the large chest and the sharply sloping back differentiate the hartebeest from other antelopes. The hartebeest shares several physical traits with the sassabies (genus "Damaliscus"), such as an elongated and narrow face, the shape of the horns, the pelage texture and colour, and the terminal tuft of the tail. The wildebeest have more specialised skull and horn features than the hartebeest. The hartebeest exhibits sexual dimorphism, but only slightly, as both sexes bear horns and have similar body masses. The degree of sexual dimorphism varies by subspecies. Males are 8% heavier than females in Swayne's and Lichtenstein's hartebeest, and 23% heavier in the red hartebeest. In one study, the highest dimorphism was found in skull weight. Another study concluded that the length of the breeding season is a good predictor of dimorphism in pedicle (the bony structures from which the horns grow) height and skull weight, and the best predictor of the horn circumference.

Ecology and behaviour.

Active mainly during daytime, the hartebeest grazes in the early morning and late afternoon, and rests in shade around noon. Gregarious, the species forms herds of up to 300 individuals. Larger numbers gather in places with abundant grass. In 1963, a congregation of 10,000 animals was recorded on the plains near Sekoma Pan in Botswana. However, moving herds are not so cohesive, and tend to disperse frequently. The members of a herd can be divided into four groups: territorial adult males, non-territorial adult males, young males, and the females with their young. The females form groups of five to 12 animals, with four generations of young in the group. Females fight for dominance over the herd. Sparring between males and females is common. At three or four years of age, the males can attempt to take over a territory and its female members. A resident male defends his territory and will fight if provoked. The male marks the border of his territory through defecation.  Hartebeest are remarkably alert and cautious animals with highly developed brains. Generally calm in nature, hartebeest can be ferocious when provoked. While feeding, one individual stays on the lookout for danger, often standing on a termite mound to see farther. At times of danger, the whole herd flees in a single file after an individual suddenly starts off. Adult hartebeest are preyed upon by lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs; cheetahs and jackals target juveniles. Crocodiles may also prey on hartebeest.  The thin long legs of the hartebeest provide for a quick escape in an open habitat; if attacked, the formidable horns are used to ward off the predator. The elevated position of the eyes enables the hartebeest to inspect its surroundings continuously even as it is grazing. The muzzle has evolved so as to derive maximum nutrition from even a frugal diet. The horns are also used during fights among males for dominance in the breeding season; the clash of the horns is loud enough that it can be heard from hundreds of metres away. The beginning of a fight is marked with a series of head movements and stances, as well as depositing droppings on dung piles. The opponents drop onto their knees and, after giving a hammer-like blow, begin wrestling, their horns interlocking. One attempts to fling the head of the other to one side to stab the neck and shoulders with his horns. Fights are rarely serious, but can be fatal if they are.  Like the sassabies, hartebeest produce quiet quacking and grunting sounds. Juveniles tend to be more vocal than adults, and produce a quacking call when alarmed or pursued. The hartebeest uses defecation as an olfactory and visual display. Herds are generally sedentary, and tend to migrate only under adverse conditions such as natural calamities. The hartebeest is the least migratory in the tribe Alcelaphini (which also includes wildebeest and sassabies), and also consumes the least amount of water and has the lowest metabolic rate among the members of the tribe.

Parasites and diseases.

Several parasites have been isolated from the hartebeest. These parasites regularly alternate between hartebeest and gazelles or wildebeest. Hartebeest can be infected with theileriosis due to "Rhipicephalus evertsi" and "Theileria" species. South of the Sahara, common parasites include "Loewioestrus variolosus", "Gedoelstia cristata" and "G. hassleri". The latter two species can cause serious diseases such as encephalitis. However, parasites are not always harmful – 252 larvae were found in the head of one Zambian individual without any pathogenicity. Nematodes, cestodes, paramphistomes; and the roundworm "Setaria labiatopapillosa" have also been isolated from the hartebeest. In 1931, a red hartebeest in Gobabis (southwestern Africa) was infected with long, thin worms. These were named "Longistrongylus meyeri" after their collector, T. Meyer.

Diet.

Hartebeest are primarily grazers, and their diets consist mostly of grasses. A study in the Nazinga Game Ranch in Burkina Faso found that the hartebeest's skull structure eased the acquisition and chewing of highly fibrous foods. The hartebeest has much lower food intake than the other members of Alcelaphini. The long thin muzzle of the hartebeest assists in feeding on leaf blades of short grasses and nibbling off leaf sheaths from grass stems. In addition to this, it can derive nutritious food even from tall senile grasses. These adaptations of the hartebeest enable the animal to feed well even in the dry season, which is usually a difficult period for grazers. For instance, in comparison with the roan antelope, the hartebeest is better at procuring and chewing the scarce regrowth of perennial grasses at times when forage is least available. These unique abilities could have allowed the hartebeest to prevail over other animals millions of years ago, leading to its successful radiation in Africa.  Grasses generally comprise at least 80 percent of the hartebeest's diet, but they account for over 95 percent of their food in the wet season, October to May. "Jasminum kerstingii" is part of the hartebeest's diet at the start of the rainy season. Between seasons, they mainly feed on the culms of grasses. A study found that the hartebeest is able to digest a higher proportion of food than the topi and the wildebeest. In areas with scarce water, it can survive on melons, roots, and tubers.  In a study of grass selectivity among the wildebeest, zebra, and the Coke's hartebeest, the hartebeest showed the highest selectivity. All animals preferred "Themeda triandra" over "Pennisetum mezianum" and "Digitaria macroblephara". More grass species were eaten in the dry season than in the wet season.

Reproduction.

Mating in hartebeest takes place throughout the year, with one or two peaks that can be influenced by the availability of food. Both males and females reach sexual maturity at one to two years of age. Reproduction varies by the subspecies and local factors. Mating takes place in the territories defended by a single male, mostly in open areas. The males may fight fiercely for dominance, following which the dominant male smells the female's genitalia, and follows her if she is in oestrus. Sometimes a female in oestrus holds out her tail slightly to signal her receptivity, and the male tries to block the female's way. She may eventually stand still and allow the male to mount her. Copulation is brief and is often repeated, sometimes twice or more in a minute. Any intruder at this time is chased away. In large herds, females often mate with several males.  Gestation is eight to nine months long, after which a single calf weighing about is born. Births usually peak in the dry season, and take place in thickets – unlike the wildebeest, which give birth in groups on the plains. Though calves can move about on their own shortly after birth, they usually lie in the open in close proximity of their mothers. The calf is weaned at four months, but young males stay with their mothers for two and a half years, longer than in other Alcelaphini. Often the mortality rate of male juveniles is high, as they have to face the aggression of territorial adult males and are also deprived of good forage by them. The lifespan is 12 to 15 years.

Habitat.

Hartebeest inhabit dry savannas, open plains and wooded grasslands, often moving into more arid places after rainfall. They are more tolerant of wooded areas than other Alcelaphini, and are often found on the edge of woodlands. They have been reported from altitudes on Mount Kenya up to. The red hartebeest is known to move across large areas, and females roam home ranges of over, with male territories in size. Females in the Nairobi National Park (Kenya) have individual home ranges stretching over, which are not particularly associated with any one female group. Average female home ranges are large enough to include 20 to 30 male territories.

Status and conservation.

Each hartebeest subspecies is listed under a different conservation status by the IUCN. The species as a whole is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. The hartebeest is extinct in Algeria, Egypt, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, and Tunisia.

Relationship with humans.

Hartebeest are popular game and trophy animals as they are prominently visible and hence easy to hunt. Pictorial as well as epigraphic evidence from Egypt suggests that in the Upper Palaeolithic age, Egyptians hunted hartebeest and domesticated them. The hartebeest was a prominent source of meat, but its economic significance was lower than that of gazelles and other desert species. However, from the beginning of the Neolithic age, hunting became less common and consequently the remains of the hartebeest from this period in Egypt, where it is now extinct, are rare.  In a study on the effect of place and sex on carcass characteristics, the average carcass weight of the male red hartebeest was and that of females was. The meat of the animals from Qua-Qua region had the highest lipid content— per of meat. Negligible differences were found in the concentrations of individual fatty acids, amino acids, and minerals. The study considered hartebeest meat to be healthy, as the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids was 0.78, slightly more than the recommended 0.7.

The hartebeest (; "Alcelaphus buselaphus"), also known as kongoni, is an African antelope. Eight subspecies have been described, including two sometimes considered to be independent species. A large antelope, the hartebeest stands just over at the shoulder, and has a typical head-and-body length of. The weight ranges from. It has a particularly elongated forehead and oddly shaped horns, short neck, and pointed ears. Its legs, which often have black markings, are unusually long. The coat is generally short and shiny. Coat colour varies by the subspecies, from the sandy brown of the western hartebeest to the chocolate brown of the Swayne's hartebeest. Both sexes of all subspecies have horns, with those of females being more slender. Horns can reach lengths of. Apart from its long face, the large chest and the sharply sloping back differentiate the hartebeest from other antelopes.

Buvolec stepní ("Alcelaphus buselaphus") je velká antilopa, která obývá rozsáhlé travnaté savany i polopouště Západní, Východní a Jižní Afriky, je jediným druhem monotypického rodu (Alcelaphus).


Biography.

Kevin Warwick was born in 1954 in Keresley, Coventry, in the United Kingdom and attended Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby, Warwickshire, where he was a contemporary of actor Arthur Bostrom. He left school at the age of 16 to start an apprenticeship with British Telecom. In 1976, he was granted his first degree at Aston University, followed by a PhD degree and a research job at Imperial College London.  He took up positions at Somerville College in Oxford, Newcastle University, the University of Warwick, and the University of Reading, before relocating to Coventry University in 2014.  Warwick is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET) and a Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute (FCGI). He is Visiting Professor at the Czech Technical University in Prague, the University of Strathclyde, Bournemouth University, and the University of Reading, and in 2004 he was Senior Beckman Fellow at the University of Illinois in the United States. He is also on the Advisory Boards of the Instinctive Computing Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Centre for Intermedia at the University of Exeter.  By the age of 40, Warwick had been awarded a DSc degree (a higher doctorate) by both Imperial College London and the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, for his research output in two entirely unrelated areas. He has received the IET Achievement Medal, the IET Mountbatten Medal, and in 2011 the Ellison-Cliffe Medal from the Royal Society of Medicine. In 2000, Warwick presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, entitled "The Rise of Robots".

Research.

Warwick performs research in artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering, control systems and robotics. Much of Warwick's early research was in the area of discrete time adaptive control. He introduced the first state space based self-tuning controller and unified discrete time state space representations of ARMA models. He has also contributed to mathematics, power engineering and manufacturing production machinery.

Artificial intelligence.

Warwick directed a research project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which investigated the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to suitably stimulate and translate patterns of electrical activity from living cultured neural networks to use the networks for the control of mobile robots. Hence the behaviour process for each robot was effectively provided by a biological brain.  Previously, Warwick helped to develop a genetic algorithm named Gershwyn, which was able to exhibit creativity in producing popular songs, learning what makes a hit record by listening to examples of previous successful songs. Gershwyn appeared on BBC's "Tomorrow's World", having been successfully used to mix music for Manus, a group consisting of the four younger brothers of Elvis Costello.  Another of Warwick's projects involving AI was the robot head, Morgui. The head, which contained five "senses" (vision, sound, infrared, ultrasound and radar), was used to investigate sensor data fusion. It was X-rated by the University of Reading Research and Ethics Committee due to its image storage capabilities—anyone under the age of 18 who wished to interact with the robot had to obtain parental approval.  Warwick has very outspoken opinions about the future, particularly with respect to AI and its effect on the human species. He argues that humanity will need to use technology to enhance itself to avoid being overtaken by machines. He states that many human limitations, such as sensorimotor abilities, can be outperformed by machines, and he has said on record that he wants to gain these abilities: "There is no way I want to stay a mere human."

Bioethics.

Warwick directed the University of Reading team in a number of European Community projects such as: FIDIS (Future of Identity in the Information Society), researching the future of identity; and ETHICBOTS and RoboLaw, both of which considered the ethical aspects of robots and cyborgs.  Warwick's topics of interest have many ethical implications, some due to his human enhancement experiments. The ethical dilemmas of his research are used by the Institute of Physics as a case study for schoolchildren and science teachers as a part of their formal Advanced level and GCSE studies. His work has also been discussed by The President's Council on Bioethics and the President's Panel on Forward Engagements. He is a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Working Party on "Novel Neurotechnologies".

Deep brain stimulation.

Along with Tipu Aziz and his team at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, and John Stein of the University of Oxford, Warwick is helping to design the next generation of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease. Instead of stimulating the brain all the time, the goal is for the device to predict when stimulation is needed and to apply the signals prior to any tremors occurring to stop them before they even start. Recent results have also shown that it is possible to identify different types of Parkinson's Disease.

Public awareness.

Warwick has directed a number of projects intended to interest schoolchildren in the technology with which he is involved. In 2000, he received the EPSRC Millennium Award for his Schools Robot League. In 2007, 16 school teams were involved in a project to design a humanoid robot to dance and then complete an assault course, with the final competition staged at the Science Museum, London. The project, entitled 'Androids Advance' was funded by EPSRC and was presented as a news item by Chinese television.  Warwick contributes significantly to the public understanding of science by giving regular public lectures, participating with radio programmes, and through popular writing. He has appeared in numerous television documentary programmes on AI, robotics and the role of science fiction in science, such as "How William Shatner Changed the World", "Future Fantastic" and "Explorations". He also appeared in the Ray Kurzweil-inspired movie "Transcendent Man" along with William Shatner, Colin Powell, and Stevie Wonder. He has guested on several television talk shows, including "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "Først & sist", "Sunday Brunch" and "Richard & Judy". He has appeared on the cover of a number of magazines, for example the February 2000 edition of "Wired".  In 2005, Warwick was the subject of an early day motion tabled by members of the UK Parliament, in which he was congratulated for his work in attracting students to science and for teaching "in a way that makes the subject interesting and relevant so that more students will want to develop a career in science."  In 2013, Warwick appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4's "The Museum of Curiosity" with Robert Llewellyn and Cleo Rocos. In 2014, he appeared on BBC Radio 4's "Midweek" with Libby Purves, Roger Bannister and Rachael Stirling.

Robotics.

Warwick's claims that robots can program themselves to avoid each other while operating in a group raise the issue of self-organisation. In particular, the works of Francisco Varela and Humberto Maturana, once purely speculative have now become immediately relevant with respect to synthetic intelligence.  Cyborg-type systems, if they are to survive, need to be not only homeostatic (meaning that they are able to preserve stable internal conditions in various environments) but also adaptive. Testing the claims of Varela and Maturana using synthetic devices is the more serious concern in the discussion about Warwick and those involved in similar research. "Pulling the plug" on independent devices cannot be as simple as it appears, because if the device displays sufficient intelligence, and assumes a diagnostic and prognostic stature, we may ultimately one day be forced to decide between what it could be telling us as counterintuitive (but correct) and our impulse to disconnect because of our limited and "intuitive" perceptions.  Warwick's robots seemed to exhibit behaviour not anticipated by the research, one such robot "committing suicide" because it could not cope with its environment. In a more complex setting, it may be asked whether a "natural selection" might be possible, neural networks being the major operative.  The 1999 edition of the "Guinness Book of Records" recorded that Warwick performed the first robot learning experiment using the Internet. One robot, with an artificial neural network brain at the University of Reading in the UK, learned how to move around without bumping into things. It then taught, via the Internet, another robot at SUNY Buffalo in New York State to behave in the same way. The robot in the US was therefore not taught or programmed by a human, but rather by another robot based on what it had itself learnt.  Hissing Sid was a robot cat that Warwick took on a British Council lecture tour of Russia, where he presented it in lectures at such places as Moscow State University. The robot was put together as a student project; its name came from the noise made by the pneumatic actuators used to drive its legs when walking. Hissing Sid also appeared on BBC TV's "Blue Peter" but became more well known when it was refused a ticket by British Airways on the grounds that they did not allow animals in the cabin.  Warwick was also responsible for a robotic "magic chair" (based on the SCARA-form UMI RTX arm) used on BBC TV's "Jim'll Fix It". The chair provided the show's host Jimmy Savile with tea and stored Jim'll Fix It badges for him to hand out to guests. Warwick appeared on the programme himself for a Fix-it involving robots.  Warwick was also involved in the development of the "Seven Dwarves" robots, a version of which was sold in kit form as "Cybot" on the cover of "Real Robots" magazine in 2001. The magazine series guided its readers through the stages of building and programming Cybot, an artificially intelligent robot capable of making its own decisions and thinking for itself.

Project Cyborg.

Probably the most famous research undertaken by Warwick—and the origin of the nickname "Captain Cyborg" given to him by "The Register"—is the set of experiments known as Project Cyborg, in which an array was implanted into his arm, with the goal of him "becoming a cyborg".<ref name="doi10.1001/archneur.60.10.1369|noedit"></ref>  The first stage of Project Cyborg, which began on 24 August 1998, involved a simple RFID transmitter being implanted beneath Warwick's skin, which was used to control doors, lights, heaters, and other computer-controlled devices based on his proximity. He explained that the main purpose of this experiment was to test the limits of what the body would accept, and how easy it would be to receive a meaningful signal from the microprocessor.  The second stage of the research involved a more complex neural interface, designed and built especially for the experiment by Dr. Mark Gasson and his team at the University of Reading. This device consisted of a BrainGate sensor, a silicon square about 3mm wide, connected to an external "gauntlet" that housed supporting electronics. It was implanted under local anaesthetic on 14 March 2002 at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, where it was interfaced directly into Warwick's nervous system via the median nerve in his left wrist. The microelectrode array that was inserted contained 100 electrodes, each the width of a human hair, of which 25 could be accessed at any one time, whereas the nerve that was being monitored carries many times that number of signals. The experiment proved successful, and the output signals were detailed enough to enable a robot arm, developed by Warwick's colleague Dr. Peter Kyberd, to mimic the actions of Warwick's own arm.  By means of the implant, Warwick's nervous system was connected to the Internet at Columbia University, New York. From there he was able to control the robot arm at the University of Reading and obtain feedback from sensors in the finger tips. He also successfully connected ultrasonic sensors on a baseball cap and experienced a form of extrasensory input.  In a highly publicised extension to the experiment, a simpler array was implanted into the arm of Warwick's wife, with the ultimate aim of one day creating a form of telepathy or empathy using the Internet to communicate the signal over huge distances. This experiment resulted in the first direct and purely electronic communication between the nervous systems of two humans. Finally, the effect of the implant on Warwick's hand function was measured using the University of Southampton's Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP). There was a fear that directly interfacing with the nervous system might cause some form of damage or interference, but no measurable side effect (nor any sign of rejection) was encountered. In fact, it was observed that nerve tissue grew around the electrode array, enclosing the sensor.

Implications.

Warwick and his colleagues claim that the Project Cyborg research could result in new medical tools for treating patients with damage to the nervous system, as well as assisting the more ambitious enhancements Warwick advocates. Some transhumanists even speculate that similar technologies could be used for technology-facilitated telepathy.

Tracking device.

A controversy began in August 2002, shortly after the Soham murders, when Warwick reportedly offered to implant a tracking device into an 11-year-old girl as an anti-abduction measure. The plan produced a mixed reaction, with endorsement from many worried parents but ethical concerns from children's societies. As a result, the idea did not go ahead.  Anti-theft RFID chips are common in jewellery or clothing in some Latin American countries due to a high abduction rate, and the company VeriChip announced plans in 2001 to expand its line of available medical information implants, to be GPS trackable when combined with a separate GPS device.

Turing test.

Warwick participated as a "Turing Interrogator" on two occasions, judging machines in the 2001 and 2006 Loebner Prize competitions, platforms for an "imitation game" as devised by Alan Turing. The 2001 Prize, held at the London Science Museum, featured Turing's "jury service" or one-to-one Turing tests and was won by A.L.I.C.E. The 2006 contest staged "parallel-paired" Turing tests at University College London and the winner was Rollo Carpenter. Warwick co-organised the 2008 Loebner Prize at the University of Reading, which also featured parallel-paired Turing tests.  In 2012, he co-organised with Huma Shah a series of Turing tests held at Bletchley Park. According to Warwick, the tests strictly adhered to the statements made by Alan Turing in his papers. Warwick himself participated in the tests as a hidden human. Results of the tests were discussed in a number of academic papers. One paper, entitled "Human Misidentification in Turing Tests", became one of the top three most-downloaded papers in the "Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence".  In June 2014, Warwick helped Shah stage a series of Turing tests to mark the 60th anniversary of Alan Turing's death. The event was performed at the Royal Society, London. Warwick regarded the winning chatbot, "Eugene Goostman", as having "passed the Turing test for the first time" by fooling a third of the event's judges into making an incorrect identification, and termed this a "milestone". A paper containing all of the transcripts involving Eugene Goostman entitled "Can Machines Think? A Report on Turing Test Experiments at the Royal Society", has also become one of the top three most-downloaded papers in the "Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence".  Warwick was criticised in association with the 2014 Royal Society event, where he claimed that software program Eugene Goostman had passed the Turing test on the basis of its performance. The software successfully convinced over 30% of the judges who could not identify it as being a machine, on the basis of a five-minute text chat. Critics stated that the software's claim of being a young non-native English speaker weakened the spirit of the test, as any grammatical and semantic inconsistencies could be excused as a consequence of limited proficiency in the English language. Some critics also claimed that the software's performance had been exceeded by other programs in the past. However, the 2014 tests were entirely unrestricted in terms of discussion topics, whereas the previous tests referenced by the critics had been limited to very specific subject areas. Additionally, Warwick was criticised by editor and entrepreneur Mike Masnick for exaggerating the significance of the Eugene Goostman program to the press.

Other work.

Warwick was a member of the 2001 Higher Education Funding Council for England (unit 29) Research Assessment Exercise panel on Electrical and Electronic Engineering and was Deputy chairman for the same panel (unit 24) in 2008. In March 2009, he was cited as being the inspiration of National Young Scientist of the Year, Peter Hatfield.

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.

Warwick presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in December 2000, entitled "Rise of the Robots". Although the lectures were well received by some, British computer scientist Simon Colton complained about the choice of Warwick prior to his appearance. He claimed that Warwick "is not a spokesman for our subject" (Artificial Intelligence) and "allowing him influence through the Christmas lectures is a danger to the public perception of science". In response to Warwick's claims that computers could be creative, Colton, who is a Professor of Computational Creativity, also said: "the AI community has done real science to reclaim words such as creativity and emotion which they claim computers will never have". Subsequent letters were generally positive; Ralph Rayner wrote: "With my youngest son, I attended all of the lectures and found them balanced and thought-provoking. They were not sensationalist. I applaud Warwick for his lectures".

Awards and recognition.

Warwick was presented with The Future of Health Technology Award and in 2004 received The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) Achievement Medal. In 2008, he was awarded the Mountbatten Medal. In 2009 he received the Marcellin Champagnat award from Universidad Marista Guadalajara and the Golden Eurydice Award. In 2011 he received the Ellison-Cliffe Medal from the Royal Society of Medicine. In 2014, he was elected to the membership of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 2018 Warwick was inducted into the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences.  He has received Honorary Doctorates from Aston University, Coventry University, Robert Gordon University, Bradford University, University of Bedfordshire, Portsmouth University, Kingston University, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje and Edinburgh Napier University.

Reception.

Warwick has both his critics and endorsers, some of whom describe him as a "maverick". Others see his work as "not very scientific" and more like "entertainment", whereas some regard him as "an extraordinarily creative experimenter", his presentations as "awesome" and his work as "profound".

Publications.

Warwick has written several books, articles and papers. A selection of his books:  Lectures (inaugural and keynote lectures):  Warwick is a regular presenter at the annual Careers Scotland Space School, University of Strathclyde.  He appeared at the 2009 World Science Festival with Mary McDonnell, Nick Bostrom, Faith Salie and Hod Lipson.

Kevin Warwick FIET, FCGI, (born 9 February 1954) is a British engineer and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University in the United Kingdom. He is known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, and has also done research concerning robotics.

Kevin Warwick (* 9. února 1954, Coventry) je britský vědec a profesor kybernetiky na Universitě v Readingu v Anglii. Je znám pro své studie zaměřené na propojení lidské nervové soustavy s počítačem, věnuje se také robotice. Byl to pravděpodobně první člověk, který si "dobrovolně" nechal do paže vložit upravené RFID čipy, které detekovaly některé jeho nervové impulsy a on jimi tak mohl posílat povely robotické paži a dveřím ve svém bytě.


Voice over IP.

Wengo was founded in September 2004, launching its service at the beginning of 2005 based on what is now known as the "WengoPhone, classic edition". In September 2005, Wengo opened its visiophony service at the same time as Skype on a cross platform (Windows, Linux and Mac OS X). In 2006, Wengo integrated the Gaim project into its software, allowing its users to communicate via Instant Messaging with other users on the MSN, Yahoo! or Google Talk networks.  Wengo and Skype started offering free PSTN calls in 2006, which accelerated the commoditization of telephony calls. In June 2006, Wengo offered a two-month unlimited calling plan to several destinations including Belgium, Guadeloupe, India, Martinique, Poland and Vietnam. The offer was posted on many websites, including FatWallet, and attracted many new customers. Wengo later suspended many of these accounts, in the company's interests, after many people began abusing the unlimited calling system.  Originally, Wengo was supporting the development of a free and open source (GPL) VoIP (including video conferencing, SMS and chat) softphone through which it offered PC to PSTN phone calls. This software used the free and open SIP protocol, it was developed under the name WengoPhone by the OpenWengo project. Their Firefox browser extension was the first browser-based VoIP client for OS X. The VoIP service was presented on the French market as an attempt to compete with Skype, Yahoo and other virtual network service providers. The economic model of this activity, however, was not sustainable. Wengo decided that WengoPhone was outside its core business, and in February 2008 transferred the project to a partner called MBDSYS — another French startup. WengoPhone and the OpenWengo community have since rebranded themselves as QuteCom.

Social marketplace.

In June 2006, Wengo launched a social marketplace that gives its users the opportunity to create toll-free telephone number and paying services so that they can sell their expertise over the phone. This marketplace is the core business of Wengo (no more VoIP activities).

Wengo was at the beginning of 2004 a subsidiary of French telecom service provider Neuf Cegetel. As of February 2012, Wengo employs 80 people in the Paris headquarters, and is a subsidiary of Vivendi. Wengo is now repositioned as an online personal and consulting services marketplace.

Wengo je poskytovatel VoIP a dceřiná společnost Neuf Cegetel. Podporují vývoj free a open source (GPL) programů pro VoIP (video konferenci, SMS a chat). Jejich software využívá otevřené standardy a otevřený protokol SIP, pracují na vývoji WengoPhone – software projektu OpenWengo.


Characterization.

Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is the son of the town's vagrant drunkard, "Pap" Finn. Sleeping on doorsteps when the weather is fair, in empty hogsheads during storms, and living off of what he receives from others, Huck lives the life of a destitute vagabond. The author metaphorically names him "the juvenile pariah of the village" and describes Huck as "idle, and lawless, and vulgar, and bad", qualities for which he was admired by all the other children in the village, although their mothers "cordially hated and dreaded" him.  Huck is an archetypal innocent, able to discover the "right" thing to do despite the prevailing theology and prejudiced mentality of the South of that era. The best example of this is his decision to help Jim escape slavery, even though he believes he will go to Hell for it (see Christian views on slavery).  His appearance is described in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". He wears the clothes of full-grown men which he probably received as charity, and as Twain describes him, "he was fluttering with rags." He has a torn, broken hat and his trousers are supported with only one suspender. Even Tom Sawyer, the St. Petersburg hamlet boys' leader sees him as "the banished Romantic".  Tom's Aunt Polly calls Huck a "poor motherless thing." Huck confesses to Tom in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" that he remembers his mother and his parents' relentless fighting that stopped only when she died.  Huck has a carefree life free from societal norms or rules, stealing watermelons and chickens and "borrowing (stealing)" boats and cigars. Due to his unconventional childhood, Huck has received almost no education. At the end of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", Huck is adopted by the Widow Douglas, who sends him to school in return for his saving her life. In the course of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" he learns enough to be literate and even reads books for entertainment. His knowledge of history as related to Jim is wildly inaccurate, but it is not specified if he is being wrong on purpose as a joke on Jim.  In "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", the sequel to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", the Widow attempts to "sivilize" ["sic"] the newly wealthy Huck. Huck's father takes him from her, but Huck manages to fake his own death and escape to Jackson's Island, where he coincidentally meets up with Jim, a slave who was owned by the Widow Douglas' sister, Miss Watson.  Jim is running away because he overheard Miss Watson planning to "sell him South" for eight hundred dollars. Jim wants to escape to Cairo, Illinois, where he can find work to eventually buy his family's freedom. Huck and Jim take a raft down the Mississippi River, planning to head north on the Ohio River, in hopes of finding freedom from slavery for Jim and freedom from Pap for Huck. Their adventures together, along with Huck's solo adventures, comprise the core of the book.  In the end, however, Jim gains his freedom through Miss Watson's death, as she freed him in her will. Pap, it is revealed, has died in Huck's absence, and although he could safely return to St. Petersburg, Huck plans to flee west to Indian Territory.  In "Tom Sawyer Abroad" and "Tom Sawyer, Detective", the sequels to "Huck Finn", however, Huck is living in St. Petersburg again after the events of his eponymous novel. In "Abroad", Huck joins Tom and Jim for a wild, fanciful balloon ride that takes them overseas. In "Detective", which occurs about a year after the events of "Huck Finn", Huck helps Tom solve a murder mystery.

Relationships.

Huck is Tom Sawyer's closest friend. Their friendship is partially rooted in Sawyer's emulation of Huck's freedom and ability to do what he wants, like swearing and smoking when he feels like it. In one moment in the novel, he openly brags to his teacher that he was late for school because he stopped to talk with Huck Finn and enjoyed it, something for which he knew he would (and did) receive a whipping. Nonetheless, Tom remains a devoted friend to Huck in all of the novels they appear in. In Huckleberry Finn, it's revealed that Huck also considers Tom to be his best friend. At various times in the novel, Huck mentions that Tom would put more "style" in Jim and his adventure.  Jim, a runaway slave whom Huck befriends, is another dominant force in Huck's life. He is the symbol for the moral awakening Huck undergoes throughout "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". This is seen when Huck considers sending a letter to Ms. Watson telling her where Jim is but ultimately chooses to rip it up despite the idea in the south that one who tries helping a slave escape will be sent to eternal punishment.  Pap Finn is Huck's abusive, drunken father who shows up at the beginning of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and forcibly takes his son to live with him. Pap's only method of parenting is physical abuse. Although he seems derisive of education and civilized living, Pap seems to be jealous of Huck and is infuriated that his son would try to amount to more, and live in better conditions than he did. Despite this, early in the novel Huck uses his father's method of "borrowing" though he later feels sorry and stops.

Inspiration.

The character of Huck Finn is based on Tom Blankenship, the real-life son of a sawmill laborer and sometime drunkard named Woodson Blankenship, who lived in a "ramshackle" house near the Mississippi River behind the house where the author grew up in Hannibal, Missouri.  Twain mentions his childhood friend Tom Blankenship as the inspiration for creating Huckleberry Finn in his autobiography: "In Huckleberry Finn I have drawn Tom Blankenship exactly as he was. He was ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed; but he had as good a heart as ever any boy had. His liberties were totally unrestricted. He was the only really independent person—boy or man—in the community, and by consequence he was tranquilly and continuously happy and envied by the rest of us. And as his society was forbidden us by our parents the prohibition trebled and quadrupled its value, and therefore we sought and got more of his society than any other boy's." – "Mark Twain's Autobiography".

Appearances.

Since Mark Twain's death, Huck Finn has also appeared in a number of novels, plays, comic strips, and stories written by various authors that purport to tell the latter adventures of Huck and his friends.

Portrayals.

Actors who have portrayed Huckleberry Finn in films and TV include:

Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884). He is 12 or 13 years old during the former and a year older ("thirteen or fourteen or along there", Chapter 17) at the time of the latter. Huck also narrates "Tom Sawyer Abroad" and "Tom Sawyer, Detective", two shorter sequels to the first two books.

Huckleberry Finn je hlavní chlapecká postava románu "Dobrodružství Huckleberryho Finna" (1884) od Marka Twaina. Objevila se však již v dřívějším románu "Dobrodružství Toma Sawyera" (1876) a vystupuje i v dalších Twainových knihách, například v "Tom Sawyer Abroad" (1894), "Tom Sawyer detektivem" (1896). Huckleberry mnoho svých aktivit provádí se svým kamarádem Tomem Sawyerem.


Taxonomy.

Presently, most authorities consider the southern cassowary monotypic, but several subspecies have been described. It has proven very difficult to confirm the validity of these due to individual variations, age-related variations, the relatively few available specimens (and the bright skin of the head and neck – the basis upon which several subspecies have been described – fades in specimens), and that locals are known to have traded live cassowaries for hundreds, if not thousands of years, some of which are likely to have escaped/been deliberately introduced to regions away from their origin.  Cassowaries are closely related to the kiwis, both families diverging from a common ancestor approximately 40 million years ago.  The binomial name "Casuarius casuarius" is derived from its Malay name "kesuari". The southern cassowary was first described by Carl Linnaeus, in his 18th-century work "Systema Naturae", as "Struthio casuarius", from a specimen from Seram, in 1758. It is now the type species of the genus "Casuarius".  The southern cassowary has been described under a large number of scientific names, all of which are now considered taxonomic synonyms for the species.

Description.

The southern cassowary has stiff, bristly black plumage, a blue face and long neck, red on the cape and two red wattles measuring around in length hanging down around its throat. A horn-like brown casque, measuring high, sits atop the head. The bill can range from. The three-toed feet are thick and powerful, equipped with a lethal dagger-like claw up to on the inner toe. The plumage is sexually monomorphic, but the female is dominant and larger with a longer casque, larger bill and brighter-coloured bare parts. The juveniles have brown longitudinal striped plumage. It is perhaps the largest member of the cassowary family and is tied as the second heaviest bird on earth, at a maximum size estimated at and tall. Normally, this species ranges from in length. The height is normally ; females average, while males average. The northern cassowary is about the same size on average and is perhaps very mildly less sexually dimorphic than the southern. Most adult birds will weigh between. It is technically the largest Asian bird (since the extinction of the Arabian ostrich) and the largest Australian bird (though the emu may be slightly taller).

Range and habitat.

The southern cassowary is distributed in Indonesia, New Guinea and northeastern Australia. It mainly inhabits tropical rainforests but may make use of nearby savannah forests or mangroves stands. The species prefers elevations below in Australia, and on New Guinea.

Behavior.

It forages on the forest floor for fallen fruit and is capable of safely digesting some fruits toxic to other animals. It also eats fungi, and some insects and small vertebrates. The southern cassowary is a solitary bird, which pairs only in breeding season, in late winter or spring. The male builds a nest on the ground, a mattress of herbaceous plant material thick and up to wide. This is thick enough to let moisture drain away from the eggs. The male also incubates the eggs and raises the chicks alone. A clutch of three or four eggs are laid measuring. They have a granulated surface and are initially bright pea-green in colour although they fade with age.  Cassowaries make a thunderous call during mating season and hissing and rumblings otherwise. Chicks will make frequent high-pitches whistles to call the male.  Cassowaries have a reputation for being dangerous to people and animals, and are often regarded as aggressive. The birds can jump quite high and kick powerfully with their blade-like claws. However, deadly encounters with cassowaries are rare. Only two human deaths have been reported since 1900. A 2003 historical study of 221 cassowary attacks showed that 150 had been against humans: 75% of these had been from cassowaries that had been fed by people, 71% of the time the bird had chased or charged the victim, 15% of the time they kicked. Of the attacks, 73% involved the birds expecting or snatching food, 5% involved defending their natural food sources, 15% involved defending themselves from attack, and 7% involved defending their chicks or eggs. Only one human death was reported among those 150 attacks. (I don't know how to format a citation but here it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassowary#cite_note-Kofron1999-38)  The first documented human death caused by a cassowary was on April 6, 1926. In Australia, 16-year-old Phillip McClean and his brother, age 13, came across a cassowary on their property and decided to try and kill it by striking it with clubs. The bird kicked the younger boy, who fell and ran away as his older brother struck the bird. The older McClean then tripped and fell to the ground. While he was on the ground, the cassowary kicked him in the neck, opening a 1.25 cm (0.5 in) wound that may have severed his jugular vein. The boy died of his injuries shortly thereafter. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassowary#cite_note-Kofron2003-39)  Another human death due to a cassowary was recorded in Florida on April 12, 2019. The bird's owner, a 75-year-old man who had raised the animal, was apparently clawed to death after he fell to the ground. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassowary#cite_note-40)  Being fed by people tempts cassowaries into closer associations with human-inhabited areas, increasing the already high risk of vehicle strikes - a major cause of cassowary mortality - and increasing the likelihood of encounters with humans. Many "aggressive" birds are simply responding to having been fed by humans in the past. Unfortunately the poor reputation of this species leads to confusion and misinformation among the public, which hampers conservation efforts of this shy bird.

Conservation.

Although subject to ongoing habitat loss, limited range, and overhunting in some areas, the southern cassowary as of 2017 evaluated as Least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Australian population is listed as Endangered under Federal and Queensland State legislation. Some threats are habitat loss (logging), feral animals eating their eggs, hunting, and roadkill. Road building, feral animals and hunting are the worst of these threats. It has an occurrence range of, and between 10,000 and 20,000 birds were estimated in a 2002 study, with between 1,500 and 2,500 in Australia. Southern cassowaries have been bred in many zoos around the world, like at White Oak Conservation in Yulee, Florida, United States.

The southern cassowary ("Casuarius casuarius"), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary or two-wattled cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf cassowary and the northern cassowary. It is a ratite and therefore related to the emu, ostriches, rheas and kiwis.

Kasuár přílbový či kasuár jižní ("Casuarius casuarius") je velký pták a typický představitel rodu "Casuarius", který obývá tropické deštné lesy v severovýchodní Austrálii, východní Indonésii, na Nové Guineji a na ostrovech Aru a Seram. Patří také k mnoha ptákům, které popsal v 18. století zoolog Carl Linné ve své práci "Systema Naturae".


Biography.

Heirs presumptive.

Otto was a son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Otto's father, Karl Ludwig, was a younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria; and Karl Ludwig became heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne when his nephew Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide in 1889. Although a newspaper account claimed that Karl Ludwig renounced his rights to the throne that same year (1889) in favour of his eldest son, Franz Ferdinand, that story is not certain.  On the death of Karl Ludwig in May 1896, Otto's brother Franz Ferdinand did indeed become heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. At the time of their father's death, Franz Ferdinand had been ill with tuberculosis and there was speculation that Franz Ferdinand would renounce his rights, which would have made his brother, Otto, heir presumptive. However, this did not happen, and Otto was never first in line to the throne.  In 1914, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by the Serbian nationalist terrorist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, and Otto's son Charles became heir presumptive. Charles inherited the throne two years later.

Youth.

Otto's mother died when he was six years old. Otto and his elder brother Franz Ferdinand were taught by Alfred Ludwig, Baron of. Otto was not interested in learning and often played pranks on his teachers. Nevertheless, his teachers preferred the cheerful Otto more than his grumpy and irascible older brother. He was also his father's favourite, which led to a challenging relationship with his brother.  Otto had a reputation as a loafer and was often involved in scandals. In one instance, he was known to have jumped nude from a private dining room in the Hotel Sacher in front of a visiting British peeress. He is also widely remembered for the widely circulated story that he had been spotted in a hallway at the same hotel, about to enter a lady's room, wearing nothing else but a sword. He was gradually alienated from the imperial court, and eventually even his wife distanced herself from him.

Death.

Around 1900, he contracted syphilis. This caused him agonizing pain for the last two years of his life. He withdrew from public life and spent a year in Egypt, where he found temporary reprieve. He returned to Austria, where he fell ill again. The last few months of his life, he lived in a villa in the Viennese suburb Währing. He was forced to replace his nose with a rubber prosthetic due to facial deformity. He was seriously ill, and was nursed by his last mistress, Louise Robinson, using the pseudonym "Sister Martha", and by his stepmother Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal (1855-1944). He died on 1 November 1906, in the presence of his spiritual adviser, Godfried Marschall, the auxiliary bishop of Vienna.

Succession.

After their father's death, Otto's elder brother Franz Ferdinand automatically became heir-presumptive to the throne under the Habsburg house laws. There was no need for a special declaration to make him heir presumptive. However, it did not escape the public's attention that the Emperor never commented on his new heir-presumptive. Franz Ferdinand suffered from some serious medical problems, and there were concerns that his health might never allow him to fulfill his role as emperor.  In 1896 it was brought to Franz Ferdinand's attention that Count Gołuchowski, the Foreign Minister, had suggested that the emperor, considering Franz Ferdinand's lung disease, might reconsider the line of succession. This led to speculations that Otto might inherit the throne. It was noticed that Otto had more personnel than was usual for an archduke and that he carried out representative tasks that would normally be done by the heir presumptive. Despite his life style, Otto was more popular among the courtiers than his elder brother. Franz Ferdinand was outraged by these speculations and by the fact that he had received the modest Modena Palace as his residence and Otto the larger Augarten Palace. Franz Ferdinand felt snubbed, although Otto assured him he had no ambitions for the throne.

Marriage and issue.

Under pressure from the imperial court, he married Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, daughter of King Georg of Saxony on October 2, 1886. The court in Vienna urgently needed such a wedding to repair their relationship with the Saxon royal family, after both Crown Prince Rudolf and Otto's brother Franz Ferdinand had snubbed the Saxons by rejecting Maria's elder sister Mathilde.  Otto and Maria had two sons:  Their marriage was unhappy, and the Archduke was often unfaithful. He had illegitimate children include two by his mistress, Marie Schleinzer:

Honours.

The mountain lodge on the Rax plateau in Lower Austria, is named after him.

Archduke Otto Franz Joseph Karl Ludwig Maria of Austria (21 April 1865 – 1 November 1906) was the second son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria) and his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was the father of Charles I of Austria, the final Emperor of Austria.

Arcivévoda Ota František Josef Karel Ludvík Maria Rakouský,, (21. dubna 1865 Štýrský Hradec – 1. listopadu 1906 Vídeň) byl rakouský arcivévoda, který se stal otcem posledního rakouského císaře Karla I.


Early life.

Robert Fripp was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. The second child of a working class family, his mother Edith ("née" Green; 1914–1993) was from a Welsh mining family. Her earnings from working at the Bournemouth Records Office allowed his father to start a business as an estate agent. In 1957, at age ten, Fripp received a guitar for Christmas from his parents and recalled: "Almost immediately I knew that this guitar was going to be my life". He then took guitar lessons from Kathleen Gartell and Don Strike; at age 11, he was playing rock, moving on to traditional jazz at 13 and modern jazz at 15. He cited jazz musicians Charlie Parker and Charlie Mingus as his musical influences during this time.  In 1961, the fifteen-year-old Fripp joined his first band, The Ravens, which also included Gordon Haskell on bass. After they split in the following year, Fripp concentrated on his O-level studies and joined his father's firm as a junior negotiator. At this point, he intended to study estate management and eventually, take over his father's business. However, at seventeen, Fripp decided to become a professional musician. He became the guitarist in the jazz outfit The Douglas Ward Trio, playing in the Chewton Glen Hotel near Bournemouth, followed by a stint in the rock and roll band The League of Gentlemen which included two former Ravens members.  In 1965, Fripp left the group to attend Bournemouth College, where he studied economics, economic history, and political history for his A-levels. It was during this time when he met musicians that he would collaborate with in his career: John Wetton, Richard Palmer-James, and Greg Lake. He subsequently spent three further years playing light jazz in the Majestic Dance Orchestra at the Bournemouth Majestic Hotel (replacing future The Police guitarist Andy Summers, who had gone off to London with Zoot Money). At age 21, going back home from college late at night, Fripp tuned on to Radio Luxemburg where he heard the last moments of "A Day in the Life". "Galvanized" by the experience, he went on to listen to "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", Béla Bartók's string quartets, Antonín Dvořák's "New World Symphony", Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced" and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Many years later, Fripp would recall that "although all the dialects are different, the voice was the same... I knew I couldn't say no".

Career.

1967–1974: Giles, Giles and Fripp and King Crimson.

In 1967, Fripp responded to an advertisement placed by Bournemouth-born brothers Peter and Michael Giles, who wanted to work with a singing organist. Though Fripp was not what they sought, his audition with them was a success and the trio relocated to London and became Giles, Giles and Fripp. Their only studio album, "The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp", was released in 1968. Despite the recruitment of two further members – singer Judy Dyble (formerly with Fairport Convention and later of Trader Horne) and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald – Fripp felt that he was outgrowing the eccentric pop approach favoured by Peter Giles (preferring the more ambitious compositions being written by McDonald) and the band broke up in 1968. Almost immediately, Fripp, McDonald and Michael Giles formed the first lineup of King Crimson in mid-1968, recruiting Fripp's old Bournemouth College friend Greg Lake as lead singer and bass player, and McDonald's writing partner Peter Sinfield as lyricist, light show designer and general creative consultant. King Crimson's debut album, "In the Court of the Crimson King", was released in late 1969 to great success: drawing on rock, jazz and European folk/classical music ideas, it is regarded as one of the most influential albums in the history of progressive rock. The band was tipped for stardom but (due to growing musical differences between Fripp on one side and Giles and McDonald on the other) broke up at the end of its first American tour in 1969. A despondent Fripp offered to leave the group if it would allow King Crimson to survive; however, Giles and McDonald had independently decided that the band's music was "more Fripp's than theirs" and that it would be better if they were the ones to leave.  During the recording of the band's second album "In the Wake of Poseidon" Greg Lake departed to form Emerson, Lake and Palmer, leaving Fripp and Sinfield as the only remaining founder members. They issued two more albums ("Lizard" and "Islands") and were the only constants in a regularly changing King Crimson lineup. It included (at various times) Gordon Haskell, saxophonist/flute player Mel Collins, drummers Andy McCulloch and Ian Wallace and future Bad Company bass player Boz Burrell, in addition to a palette of guest players from Soft Machine, Keith Tippett's band, Brotherhood of Breath and Centipede. Fripp was listed as the sole composer of the band's music during this time, which built on the first album's blueprint but progressed further into jazz rock and free jazz while also taking form from Sinfield's esoteric lyrical and mythological concepts.  In 1971, Fripp ousted Sinfield and took over "de facto" leadership of King Crimson (although he has always formally rejected the label, preferring to describe his role as "quality control" or "a kind of glue"). From this point onwards, Fripp would be the only constant member of the band, which in turn would be defined primarily by his compositional and conceptual ideas (which drew on avant-garde jazz and improvisation mixed with a variety of hard rock and European influences, in particular the music of Béla Bartók). With avant-garde percussionist Jamie Muir, violinist David Cross, singing bass player John Wetton and former Yes drummer Bill Bruford now in the ranks, King Crimson produced three more albums of innovative and increasingly experimental rock, shedding members as they progressed: beginning with "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", progressing with "Starless and Bible Black" and culminating in the benchmark avant-power trio album "Red". Fripp formally disbanded the group in 1974, in what eventually turned out to be merely the first in a regular series of long hiatuses and further transformations.

1974–1981: Collaborations, side projects, and solo career.

Fripp pursued side projects during King Crimson's less active periods. He worked with Keith Tippett (and others who appeared on King Crimson records) on projects far from rock music, playing with and producing Centipede's "Septober Energy" in 1971 and "Ovary Lodge" in 1973. During this period he also worked with Van der Graaf Generator, playing on the 1970 album "H to He, Who Am the Only One", and in 1971, on "Pawn Hearts". He produced Matching Mole's "Matching Mole's Little Red Record" in 1972. Prior to forming the "Larks"-era KC, he collaborated on a spoken-word album with a woman he described as "a witch", but the resulting "Robert Fripp & Walli Elmark: The Cosmic Children Of Love" was never officially released.  With Brian Eno, Fripp recorded "(No Pussyfooting)" in 1972, and "Evening Star" in 1974. These experimented with several avant-garde musical techniques that were new to rock. A tape delay system utilising dual reel to reel Revox tape machines would play a central role in Fripp's later work, and become known as "Frippertronics".  In 1973, Fripp performed the guitar solo on "Baby's on Fire", perhaps the best-known track on Eno's solo debut "Here Come the Warm Jets". In 1975, Fripp and Brian Eno played live shows in Europe, and Fripp also contributed guitar solos to Eno's landmark album, "Another Green World".  Fripp started what was intended as a permanent sabbatical from his career in 1975, during which he cultivated an interest in the teachings of Gurdjieff via J. G. Bennett (studies which would later be influential in his work with Guitar Craft). He returned to musical work as a studio guitarist on Peter Gabriel's first self-titled album in 1976, released the following year. Fripp toured with Gabriel to support the album, but remained out of sight (either in the wings or behind a curtain) and used the pseudonym "Dusty Rhodes".  He produced and played on Gabriel's second album in 1978. "Robert is particularly skilful at keeping things fresh, and I like that a lot," Gabriel enthused. "I was very interested in Robert's experimental side; that corresponded exactly to what I wanted to do on this second record... There are two "(Fripp)" solos: one on 'On the Air' and the other on 'White Shadow'. And then he plays on 'Exposure'. He gives the colour to this piece, being fifty per cent responsible for its construction. And he also plays classical guitar here and there. He's a musician I admire a lot, because he's one of the only ones to mix discipline and madness with so much talent."  In 1977, Fripp received a phone call from Eno, who was working on David Bowie's album ""Heroes"". Fripp and Eno had collaborated on an album released in 1975 called "Evening Star". On this album – particularly 'An Index of Metals' – are strains that would influence the Bowie project two years later, notably its second side. Fripp's playing on "Heroes" initiated a series of collaborations with other musicians. Fripp soon collaborated with Daryl Hall on "Sacred Songs".  During this period, Fripp began working on solo material, with contributions from poet/lyricist Joanna Walton and several other musicians, including Eno, Gabriel, and Hall (including the latter's partner, John Oates), as well as Peter Hammill, Jerry Marotta, Phil Collins, Tony Levin and Terre Roche. This material eventually became his first solo album, "Exposure", released in 1979, followed by the "Frippertronics" tour in the same year.  While living in New York, Fripp contributed to albums and live performances by Blondie ("Parallel Lines") and Talking Heads ("Fear of Music"), and produced The Roches' first and third albums, which featured several of Fripp's characteristic guitar solos. A second set of creative sessions with David Bowie produced distinctive guitar parts on "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" (1980) and prior to that, Peter Gabriel's third solo album known as "Melt". With Blondie, Fripp appeared live on stage at Hammersmith Odeon on 12 January 1980 participating in the band's cover version of Bowie's Heroes. This recording was on the 12" single of "Atomic" released the same year and later turned up as a bonus track on CD pressings of Blondie's album "Eat to the Beat".  Fripp's collaboration with bassist Busta Jones, drummer Paul Duskin, and vocals by David Byrne (Byrne credited as Absalm el Habib) produced "God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners" in the following year. He simultaneously assembled what he called a "second-division touring new wave instrumental dance band" under the name League of Gentlemen, with bassist Sara Lee, keyboardist Barry Andrews and drummer Johnny Toobad (later replaced by Kevin Wilkinson). The LOG toured for the duration of 1980.  In 1985 he produced the album "Journey to Inaccessible Places" by classical pianist Elan Sicroff, released on the Editions E.G. label.

1981–1984: Reforming King Crimson.

1981 saw the formation of a new King Crimson lineup, reuniting Fripp with drummer Bill Bruford and opening a new partnership with two American musicians: bass guitarist/Chapman Stick player Tony Levin (who had played with Fripp on "Exposure" and in the first Peter Gabriel touring band) and Adrian Belew, a singer and guitarist who had previously played with Bowie, Talking Heads and Frank Zappa. Although the band had been conceptualised under the name Discipline it came to Fripp's attention that the other members thought the name King Crimson was more appropriate: for Fripp, King Crimson had always been "a way of doing things" rather than a particular group of musicians, and the current group felt that their music captured that methodology. With the more pop-inspired Belew as main songwriter (complementing Fripp as main instrumental composer) the band took on a new style incorporating a gamelan-inspired continuo minimalism, New York influences from post-punk to go-go, and textured experiments with guitar synthesizers. After releasing three albums ("Discipline", "Beat", "Three of a Perfect Pair"), this new King Crimson broke up in 1984.  During this period Fripp made two records with his old friend Andy Summers of The Police. On "I Advance Masked", Fripp and Summers played all the instruments. "Bewitched" was dominated more by Summers, who produced the record and collaborated with other musicians in addition to Fripp.  In 1982 Fripp produced and played guitar on "Keep on Doing" by The Roches. As in his previous guesting on David Bowie's "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" (which also featured Pete Townshend and Chuck Hammer on guitar synthesizer), Fripp's distinctive guitar style and sound that characterised his music of this period is featured alongside the sisters' songs and harmony.

Guitar Craft.

Fripp was offered a teaching position at the American Society for Continuous Education (ASCE) in Claymont Court, West Virginia in 1984. He had been involved with the ASCE since 1978, eventually serving on its board of directors, and had long been considering the idea of teaching guitar. His course, Guitar Craft, was begun in 1985, an offshoot of which was a performance group, "The League of Crafty Guitarists", which has released several albums. In 1986, he released the first of two collaborations with his wife, Toyah Willcox. The members of the California Guitar Trio are former members of The League of Crafty Guitarists and have also toured with King Crimson. Fripp is the patron of the Guitar Circle of Europe, which was founded in 2007, and of the Seattle Circle Guitar School, which was founded in 2010.  In February 2009, Fripp recommended that Guitar Craft cease to exist on its 25th anniversary in 2010.

Soundscapes.

Fripp returned to recording solo in 1994, using an updated version of the Frippertronics technique that creates loops employing digital technology instead of analogue tapes. Fripp has released a number of records that he called "Soundscapes", including "1999", "Radiophonics", "A Blessing of Tears", "That Which Passes", "November Suite", "The Gates of Paradise", "Love Cannot Bear" and "At the End of Time", as well as numerous download-only live recordings. (The sampler "Pie Jesu" consists of material compiled from "A Blessing of Tears" and "The Gates of Paradise".)

1990s collaborations with David Sylvian and others.

Fripp's collaborations with David Sylvian feature some of his most exuberant guitar playing. Fripp contributed to Sylvian's twenty-minute track "Steel Cathedrals" from his "" album of 1985. Then Fripp performed on several tracks from Sylvian's 1986 release, "Gone to Earth".  In late 1991, Fripp had asked Sylvian to join a re-forming King Crimson as a vocalist. Sylvian declined the invitation, but proposed a possible collaboration between the two that would eventually become a tour of Japan and Italy in the spring of 1992.  Also in 1991, Fripp released an album with the project Sunday All Over The World, also featuring his wife Toyah Willcox, former King Crimson member Trey Gunn and drummer Paul Beavis. The prior name of this band was Fripp Fripp, and they toured as such in 1988. They renamed to SAOTW, and toured again as SAOTW, in 1989.  In July 1993, Sylvian and Fripp released the collaborative effort "The First Day". Other contributors were soon-to-be King Crimson member Trey Gunn on Chapman Stick and Jerry Marotta (who, like Sylvian, almost became a member of King Crimson) on drums. When the group toured to promote the CD, future King Crimson member Pat Mastelotto took over the drumming spot. The live document "Damage" was released in 1994, as was the joint venture, "Redemption – Approaching Silence", which featured Sylvian's ambient sound sculptures (Approaching Silence) accompanying Fripp reading his own text (Redemption).  During the early and mid-1990s Fripp contributed guitar/soundscapes to "Lifeforms" (1994) by the Future Sound of London and "Cydonia" (released 2001) by the Orb, as well as "FFWD", a collaborative effort with the latter's members. In addition, Fripp worked with Brian Eno co-writing and supplying guitar to two tracks for a CD-ROM project released in 1994 entitled "Headcandy" created by Chris Juul and Doug Jipson. Eno thought the visual aspects of the disc (video feedback effects) were very disappointing upon completion, and regretted participation. During this period, Fripp also contributed to albums by No-Man and the Beloved (1994's "Flowermouth" and 1996's "X", respectively). He also contributed soundscapes and guitar to two albums by the UK band Iona: 1993's "Beyond These Shores" and 1996's "Journey into the Morn".

King Crimson redux (1994-2010).

In late 1994, Fripp re-formed the 1981 line-up of King Crimson for its fifth incarnation, adding Trey Gunn and drummer Pat Mastelotto in a configuration known as the "double trio" (the line-up included two guitars, two bass/Stick players and two drummers). This line-up released the "VROOOM" EP in 1994, and the "Thrak" album in 1995.  Though musically (and relatively commercially) successful, the double-trio King Crimson proved difficult to sustain in the long-term. From 1997 to 1999, the band "fraKctalised" into five experimental instrumental sub-groups known as. By 1998 Bruford had quit the band altogether: in 2000, Fripp, Belew, Gunn and Mastelotto reunited as a four-piece King Crimson (minus Levin, who was busy with session work). This lineup produced two studio albums, "the construKction of light" in 2000 and "The Power to Believe" in 2003, which took on a more metallic, heavily electronic approach. Gunn departed at the end of 2003.  Although Levin immediately returned to the band, another hiatus followed until King Crimson reappeared in 2007 with a second drummer - Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree - appended to the lineup, This version of the band played a brief eastern USA tour in 2008, reassessing its 1981-2003 back catalogue and approach and introducing lengthy percussion duets between the two drummers. No new original material was recorded, and in 2010, Fripp announced that King Crimson were on another indefinite hiatus.

Recent work: G3, Porcupine Tree, Slow Music, Theo Travis, The Humans, Jakko Jakszyk, Others.

During 2004, Fripp toured with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai as the guitar trio G3. He also worked at Microsoft's studios to record new sounds and atmospheres for Windows Vista.  In late 2005 and early 2006, Fripp joined sometime R.E.M./Nine Inch Nails drummer Bill Rieflin's improvisational Slow Music project, along with guitarist Peter Buck, Fred Chalenor (acoustic bass), Matt Chamberlain (drums) and Hector Zazou (electronics). This collective of musicians toured the west coast of America in May 2006.  In 2006 Fripp contributed his composition "At The End Of Time" to the Artists for Charity album "Guitarists 4 the Kids", produced by Slang Productions, to assist World Vision Canada in helping underprivileged children. Throughout 2006, Fripp would perform many solo concerts of soundscapes in intimate settings, especially in churches around the West Midlands in England, where he lives. In October 2006, ProjeKct Six (Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew) played at select venues on the east coast of the U.S., opening for Porcupine Tree. In the same year, Fripp contributed soundscapes to two songs for Porcupine Tree's "Fear of a Blank Planet" - "Way Out of Here" and "Nil Recurring," the second of which was released in September 2007 as part of the "Nil Recurring" EP. Fripp also sporadically performed Soundscapes as an opening act for Porcupine Tree on various tours from 2006 through 2009.  In 2008, Fripp collaborated with Theo Travis on an album of guitar and flute-or-saxophone duets called 'Thread', and the duo played a brief English tour in 2009 (repeating the collaboration with the "Follow" album in 2012). Also in 2009, Fripp played a concert with the band The Humans (which consists of his wife Toyah Willcox, Bill Rieflin and Chris Wong), appeared on Judy Dyble's "Talking With Strangers" (along with Pat Mastelotto and others) and played on two tracks on Jakko Jakszyk's album "The Bruised Romantic Glee Club". In 2010, Fripp contributed a guitar solo to an extended version of the song 'Heathen Child' by Grinderman, released as a B-side on the 'Super Heathen Child' single.

"A Scarcity of Miracles", musical'retirement' and new lineup of King Crimson.

In May 2011, Jakko Jakszyk, Robert Fripp and Mel Collins released a song album called "A Scarcity of Miracles: A King Crimson ProjeKct" on the Panegyric label. The album also featured contributions by Tony Levin and Gavin Harrison, leading to speculation that the project was a dry run for a new King Crimson.  In an interview published 3 August 2012, Fripp stated that he had retired from working as a professional musician, citing long-standing differences with Universal Music Group and stating that working within the music industry had become "a joyless exercise in futility". This retirement proved to be short-lived, lasting as long as it took to come to a settlement with UMG.  In his online diary entry for 6 September 2013, Fripp announced the return of King Crimson as a seven-piece unit with "four Englishmen and three Americans". The new lineup was Fripp, Levin, both Mastelotto and Harrison on drums, returning 1970s band member Mel Collins and two new members: Jakko Jakszyk as singer and second guitarist, and Bill Rieflin as a third drummer. This version of the band went on tour in 2014 and 2015 with a setlist reworking and reconfiguring the band's 1960s and 1970s material (plus songs from "A Scarcity of Miracles" and new compositions). In early 2016, it was announced that former Lemon Trees/Beady Eye drummer Jeremy Stacey would substitute for Rieflin on that year's tour while the latter was on sabbatical. King Crimson has since continued touring as a seven- or eight-piece unit with Stacey as a permanent member on drums and keyboards, plus Rieflin (when available) on keyboards and "fairy dusting."

Equipment.

During the early years of King Crimson (1968–74), Fripp used two Gibson Les Paul guitars from 1957 and 1959. The '57 guitar featured three humbucker pick-ups (with one volume control on the pickguard controlling the middle pick-up). In the band's 1980s era, he favored Roland GR-303 & GR-808 guitars for both straight guitar and synth control. In subsequent years, Fripp has used customized Les Paul-style guitars by Tokai, 48th St Custom, and Fernandes (the latter being his current choice).  A signature model named for the guitarist (Crimson Guitars Robert Fripp Signature) features Fernandes Sustainer and MIDI pickups with a Les Paul-style Body. A significant difference from the Gibson Les Paul is that the signature model is built using a deep set neck tenon rather than a traditional set neck.  Fripp recommended that Guitar Craft students adopt the Ovation 1867 Legend steel-string guitar, which had a shallow body. "Fripp liked the way the Ovation 1867 fitted against his body, which made it possible for him to assume the right-arm picking position he had developed using electric guitars over the years; on deeper-bodied guitars, the Frippian arm position is impossible without uncomfortable contortions", according to Tamm. While the 1867 Legend is no longer manufactured, it influenced the design of the Guitar Craft Pro Model of Guitar Craft Guitars, which has been endorsed by Fripp.

Guitar technique.

Fripp began playing guitar at the age of eleven. When he started, he was tone deaf and had no rhythmical sense, weaknesses which led him later to comment "Music so wishes to be heard that it sometimes calls on unlikely characters to give it voice." He was also naturally left-handed but opted to play the guitar right-handed.  While being taught guitar basics by his teacher Don Strike, Fripp began to develop the technique of crosspicking, which became one of his specialities. Fripp teaches crosspicking to his students in Guitar Craft.  In 1985, Fripp began using a tuning he called "New Standard tuning" (C2-G2-D3-A3-E4-G4), which would also become popularised in Guitar Craft.  Fripp's guitar technique, unlike most rock guitarists of his era, is not blues-based but rather influenced by avant-garde jazz and European classical music. He combines rapid alternate picking and crosspicking with motifs employing whole-tone or diminished pitch structures and sixteenth-note patterns for long stretches in a form called "moto perpetuo" (perpetual motion).  Rather than stand when performing, he seats himself on a stool (unusual for a performer in rock music), and by doing so was called in a May 1974 issue of "Guitar Player" "the guitarist who sits on stage."

Comments from other artists.

Many artists have cited Fripp as an influence or have expressed their admiration for him, including Steven Wilson, Omar Rodríguez-López, Trey Anastasio of Phish, St. Vincent, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Michael Angelo Batio, Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche, Nels Cline of Wilco, Adam Jones of Tool, Merzbow, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Paul Masvidal of Cynic, Steve Stevens of Billy Idol, Chris Haskett of Rollins Band, Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved, Dylan Carlson of Earth, Dan Briggs, Denis "Piggy" D'Amour of Voivod, Daniel Mongrain, Marcus Henderson, Paul Lemos of Controlled Bleeding, Richard Pinhas, Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos, Leopold Ross, electronic musician Rustie, film director Hal Hartley, and Sean Beavan.

Personal life.

Fripp married Toyah Willcox in 1986 in Poole, Dorset, England. From December 1987 until July 1999 they lived at and renovated Reddish House, the former home of Cecil Beaton, in the village of Broad Chalke in Wiltshire.  Fripp previously lived at Thornhill Cottage, Holt, Dorset (1971-1980) and Fernhill House, Witchampton (1980-1987). After Reddish House, the couple lived at Evershot Old Mansion (1999-2001). They then moved to their present home in Pershore, Worcestershire. The couple have no children and have arranged their will so as to leave their entire fortune to the establishment of a musical educational trust for children.  Fripp is the patron of the Seattle Circle Guitar School in the United States and the Shallal Dance Theatre in Penzance, England. He also has had engagements as a motivational speaker, often at events with his sister Patricia, who is a keynote speaker and speech coach.  Alfie Fripp, the last of the "39ers", shot down by the Luftwaffe and then held in 12 different POW camps during World War II, was his uncle.  Fripp is a pescetarian.

Awards and honors.

Asteroid 81947 Fripp, discovered by Marc Buie at Cerro Tololo in 2000, was named in his honor. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 ().

Discipline Global Mobile.

In 1992, Fripp and producer/online content developer David Singleton co-founded Discipline Global Mobile (DGM) as an independent music label. DGM releases music by Fripp, KC, related acts, and other artists in CDs and in downloadable files. A 1998 "Billboard" profile stated that DGM had ten staff-members in Salisbury (England) and Los Angeles (USA). DGM has an aim "to be a model of ethical business in an industry founded on exploitation, oiled by deceit, riven with theft and fueled by greed." DGM insists that its artists retain all copyrights; consequently, even DGM's "knotwork" corporate-logo "(pictured above)" is owned by its designer, Steve Ball; the "knotwork" logo appeared earlier on the cover of later versions of the "Discipline" album. DGM's aims were called "exemplary" by, who wrote that "Fripp has done something very important for the possibilities of experimental music" in creating DGM, which "has played a major role in creating favorable conditions for" King Crimson.  DGM publishes an on-line diary by Fripp, who often comments on performances and on relations with fans. A moderated forum allows fans to ask questions or to leave comments. Together, Fripp's diary and the fan forum display delayed dialogs in which Fripp and fans discuss diary-entries and forum-postings.

Copyright complaints against Grooveshark.

In 2011, Fripp complained that the music-distribution service Grooveshark continued to stream his music despite his having delivered repeated takedown notices. Fripp and Grooveshark's correspondence was published by "Digital Music News" and in his diaries, which appear on the website of Discipline Global Mobile.  Fripp's published exchange was included in a suit against Grooveshark by Universal Music Group, which was filed in November 2011. UMG cited internal documents revealing that Grooveshark employees uploaded thousands of illegal copies of UMG-owned recordings. Fripp had previous experience protecting his music in litigation with music companies.

Discography.

Fripp has been extremely active as a recording musician and a producer. He has contributed to more than 700 official releases. The Robert Fripp Discography Summary, compiled by John Relph, also lists 120 compilations and 315 unauthorised releases (such as bootlegs). This means that more than 1100 releases (including both official and unofficial ones, as well as both studio and live recordings) can be found with Fripp participating. Studio releases are listed here.

Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has also worked extensively as a session musician and collaborator, notably with David Bowie, Blondie, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and David Sylvian. He has also contributed sounds to the Windows Vista operating system. His discography includes contributions to over 700 official releases.

Robert Fripp (* 16. května 1946 Wimborne Minster) je britský kytarista, producent a hudební skladatel, známý jako jediný stálý člen progressive rockové skupiny King Crimson. Jeho dílo překlenující čtyři desetiletí prošlo několika hudebními styly. Fripp se umístil na 42. místě v anketě časopisu "Rolling Stone" „100 nejlepších kytaristů všech dob“. Jeho manželkou je herečka a zpěvačka Toyah Willcox.


For continuous IID random variables.

For "n" independent and identically distributed continuous random variables "X", "X",..., "X" with cumulative distribution function G("x") and probability density function g("x"). Let T denote the range of a sample of size "n" from a population with distribution function "G"("x").

Distribution.

The range has cumulative distribution function Gumbel notes that the "beauty of this formula is completely marred by the facts that, in general, we cannot express "G"("x" + "t") by "G"("x"), and that the numerical integration is lengthy and tiresome."  If the distribution of each "X" is limited to the right (or left) then the asymptotic distribution of the range is equal to the asymptotic distribution of the largest (smallest) value. For more general distributions the asymptotic distribution can be expressed as a Bessel function.

Moments.

The mean range is given by where "x"("G") is the inverse function. In the case where each of the "X" has a standard normal distribution, the mean range is given by

For continuous non-IID random variables.

For "n" nonidentically distributed independent continuous random variables "X", "X",..., "X" with cumulative distribution functions "G"("x"), "G"("x"),..., "G"("x") and probability density functions "g"("x"), "g"("x"),..., "g"("x"), the range has cumulative distribution function

For discrete IID random variables.

For "n" independent and identically distributed discrete random variables "X", "X",..., "X" with cumulative distribution function "G"("x") and probability mass function "g"("x") the range of the "X" is the range of a sample of size "n" from a population with distribution function "G"("x"). We can assume without loss of generality that the support of each "X" is {1,2,3...,"N"} where "N" is a positive integer or infinity.

Distribution.

The range has probability mass function

Example.

If we suppose that "g"("x") = 1/"N", the discrete uniform distribution for all "x", then we find

Derivation.

The probability of having a specific range value, "t", can be determined by adding the probabilities of having two samples differing by "t", and every other sample having a value between the two extremes. The probability of one sample having a value of "x" is formula_7. The probability of another having a value "t" greater than "x" is: The probability of all other values lying between these two extremes is: Combining the three together yields:

Related quantities.

The range is a simple function of the sample maximum and minimum and these are specific examples of order statistics. In particular, the range is a linear function of order statistics, which brings it into the scope of L-estimation.

In statistics, the range of a set of data is the difference between the largest and smallest values. It can give you a rough idea of how the outcome of the data set will be before you look at it actually Difference here is specific, the range of a set of data is the result of subtracting the smallest value from largest value.

Variační rozpětí je statistická charakteristika, která vyjadřuje míru variability statistického souboru. Obyčejně se značí písmenem R. Je to rozdíl mezi největší a nejmenší hodnotou kvantitativního znaku, neboli R = x − x.