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<mask> (1951–2002) (in Arabic: مؤنس الرزاز) was a Jordanian writer and is considered one of the most prominent modernist Arab novelists. He is primarily known for 15 award winning stories, including "State Encouragement Prize for the novel" ("جائزة الدولة التشجيعية في الرواية"), and "State Merit Award in Arts" ("جائزة الدولة التقديرية في الآداب"). His works focus on reflecting the situation of the Arabs; his wounds, fears, and pace of his life; and the repression that leads to the resignation of the mind and the pursuit of militants. Biography

Early life

<mask> was born on 3 December 1951 in Al-Salt, Jordan (السلط، الأردن), to Syrians <mask> (1919–1984) (منيف الرزاز) and Lamah Bseiso (1923–2011) (لمعة بسيسو), who was a cousin of poet Moein Bseiso). He received his education at Madrasat Al mutran (مدرسة المطران) in Amman. His mother was a pioneer in social and political work and his father was involved in politics in addition to his work in medicine. In 1965, Mu'nis and his family moved to Damascus, Syria, when his father was elected as a secretary general of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Baath Party.<mask> attended Oxford University in the UK for a year to study English before heading to Beirut. The Lebanese Civil War interrupted his studies in philosophy at the Lebanese university, Jamiaat Beirut Al Arabiya (جامعة بيروت العربية). He continued his studies in Iraq at the University of Baghdad, where he published his first novel Al Baher Min Wara'akom (البحر من ورائكم). He then traveled to the United States to study philosophy at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. before returning a year later to Baghdad to attend his father's appointment as the Assistant General Secretary of the Arab Socialist Baath Party. After spending a few years in Beirut, where he worked as a researcher for the Sho'oun Falastiniya (شؤون فلسطينية) journal, <mask> returned to Amman in 1982, where he published several stories in the journals Al Safir (السفير) and Al Nahar (النهار), and worked at Al Ofuq (الأفق) magazine. In the mid 1980s, he received honors for fifteen of his works, as well as a number of awards including The State Encouragement Prize for Storytelling, The State Merit Award in Literature, and the Hussein Medal for Excellence. UNESCO selected his novel Al Thakira Al Moustabaha (الذاكرة المستباحة) and published three millions for Arabs.In 1992, <mask> was Advisor to the Minister of Culture and Chief Editor of the monthly Al Afkar (الأفكار) magazine. He also wrote daily articles in the Al Ra'ii (الرأي) and Al Zaman (الزمن) magazines. He governed the administrative body of the Jordanian Writers Association from 1992 to 1994 before resigning to temporarily become the General Secretary of the Arab Democratic Party. During his final months, he began publishing chapters from his autobiography as a form of literature in Al Afkar published by the Jordanian Ministry of Culture, but died before he could complete it. Close relatives
Mu'nis was the oldest of three siblings with a younger brother and a younger sister. <mask> (born in 1961) was the Prime Minister of Jordan from 2018 to 2020,
Zeina <mask> (born in 1971). Death
Mu'nis <mask> died at the age of 51, on 2 August 2002 at Louizmila Hospital in Amman.Literary works
<mask>'s books focus on fractures and contradictions, and contain various styles inside this single divided experience that he falls back on in accordance with his vision towards knowledge and wisdom in times of frustration and desperation. His style first developed with his own imagination and the development of the real world, and explored Arabic novels, ancient Arab legacy, and foreign culture. His style heavily utilizes sarcasm and mockery, which he considered the "best weapon to face the haunted reality – for the loser who laughs at his wounds is a winner in reality." The diversity of constructions and their models within the same novel or between novels reflects his ability to renew, continue experimenting, and generate ideas that are distanced from stereotypes. It does not offer a reproduction of fictional or traditional narrative experiences, but rather a connection to create new models represented by a world of innovation and modernity. <mask>'s literary works focus on freedom, like his two novels أحياء في البحر الميّت and ليلة عسل. He believed that freedom is an important human value that must be practiced in the daily life of every Arab citizen.He was one of the few Arab writers who dared to write about freedom and its violations in the Arab world. His previous experience in politics focused his interest on the role of freedom and he used his writing to raise political awareness among the readers. <mask> also criticized the violence of Arab dictatorship regimes in his writings. In his two works, متاهة الاعراب في ناطحات السحاب and عترافات كاتم الصوت, he described the leaders as "wolves" and the citizens as "rabbits" as a critique against the regimes he considered oppressive. <mask> used to publish daily political articles in many Jordanian and Arab newspapers, including the Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustour in the second half of the 1980s and the Jordanian newspaper Al-Rai in the 1990s. Published works

Honours, awards and distinctions
<mask> received several awards for assiduity and diligence in his novel works, including "State Encouragement Prize for the novel" (جائزة الدولة التشجيعية في الرواية), "State Merit Award in Arts" (جائزة الدولة التقديرية في الآداب), and the "Al Hussein Medal for Success". UNESCO chose his novel The Permissible Memory  (الذاكرة المستباحة) and printed 3,000,000 copies for Arab readers.In addition, several masters and doctoral theses in literature have been written about him. Philosophical view
<mask> was known for his negative philosophical view, and was in a constant state of depression. In one of his writings, "شظايا و فسيفساء", he talked about the misery of the Arab life, mentioning that the world was being filled up with cracks and all that was left were some sort of spirits. Writer Faisal Darraj mentioned that all <mask> wanted to mention in his novels was the collapsing of the Arab world instead of its prosperity. References

Jordanian novelists
1951 births
2002 deaths

masks:
Mu nis Razzaz
Mu nis Razzaz
Munif Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Omar Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz
Razzaz


type: original

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<mask><mask> (December 23, 1940 in Caibarién, Las Villas, Cuba - January 31, 2017 in Miami, Florida) lived and worked in Havana, died in Miami. This artist is listed among the Cuban Painters masters. An exceptional prolific abstract painter with a refine style of paint, creativity and cultivated technique. Painter, founder and director of art schools and galleries, teacher of drawing and painting, he was an artist who travelled the world for solo exhibitions, or as a curator for Cuban painters art shows. His paintings are held in international and private collections in South and Central America and Caribbean islands, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Middle East. Biography

<mask> used to say his artwork was influenced by Paul Cézanne, Joan Miró, Paul Klee, Jackson Pollock, <mask> y Manolo Millares, and the Cuban painters <mask> y Hugo Consuegra. He was member of the Writer and Artists Union of Cuba (UNEAC) and the International Association of Art (AIAP).<mask> <mask> was several times selected by the artists members, as President and Vice-President of the Painting Association at the Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), in recognition to ‘his courage defending the contemporary painting in Cuba’, an office he held each time from 1989 to 1998

This painter art of painting is studied and continue being listed among the worldwide abstract painters masters. His work is held in a number of prestigious collections of national and international institutions including UNESCO International Association of Art (AIAP) in Paris, the Spanish Office of the European Economic Community in New York and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba; also artworks of <mask> <mask> are listed in the National Catalogue Foundation of Great Britain because of this artist art presence in that country. As a teacher this Cuban painter had a good pedagogy technique. He used to teach with an infinite source of creative classes to introduce and stimulate the students interest to the art of painting, its history and appreciation. <mask> <mask> believed that artists should know well the world where they live and how art has contributed to its development as well as its present influence and importance for the future. Critics

Dr Josephine Reynell from Oxford Hertford College says
'The name of <mask><mask> <mask> is among of the great Cuban masters of painting; he is also considered one of Cuba’s leading abstract painters. Through dedication to artistic freedom he played a seminal role in keeping abstract art alive in Cuba.The so-called Grey Period or El Quinquenio Gris in Cuban culture, between 1970–1976, seriously undermined abstract art and indeed experimentation in all areas of the arts in Cuba. Art was seen as a useful propaganda tool and whilst no artist was forbidden to work in a certain way, only those artists whose work conformed to what was considered acceptable were supported. Many artists left the country. <mask><mask> <mask>’s refusal to leave Cuba and his steadfast commitment to his personal artistic vision exacted a heavy economic and personal cost, losing him official patronage and promotion. His courageous maintenance of his artistic vision in the face of real hardship had nevertheless enabled him to develop an unique style of painting which has had a profound influence on the new generation of young Cuban artists. He was Director of a number of Schools of Visual Arts in Cuba and taught various well known Cuban artists including Flora Fong (exhibited in London 2007), Gabriel Gutierrez, Nasario Salazar, Oscar Rodriguez Laseria and Joel Jover. At the age of 16, he won a prestigious and highly competitive scholarship to the Academia Leopoldo Romañach in Santa Clara, renowned as the most progressive art school in Cuba at that time.His art has been influenced by his close friendship with the renowned Cuban painters Hugo Consuega and <mask> Ruano, but over the years he developed his own and unique style of painting.' The Cuban painter and critic Manuel López Oliva writes

'Looking at <mask> <mask>'s paintings, what is immediately recognisable, is the Renaissance concept of 'the window', the dissolution of forms discovered by Kandinski, as well as the sense of textural beauty introduced by the contemporary painters of the matière school. In essence, this involves a private display that allows the artist to make a series of paintings on canvas or cartridge paper, revealing to the viewer an ensemble of optical sensations that reflect the internal world of the artist. We should not forget - because it was forgotten during the period of aesthetic and generational reductionism of the 1980s - that <mask> <mask> was a direct heir, in the 1960s, of the national abstract movement of the 1950s. Nor should we lose sight of the fact that <mask> <mask>, even when beleaguered in his career, never deviated from his artistic logic - a logic that kept alive and active non-representational forms of plastic art. He used the criterion of symbiotic expression by joining figurative and abstract elements in his overall scheme of things, coalescing them into ectoplasmatic forms, almost veils, that distinguished him in the Cuban canon of painters of the late 1960s and early 1970s. This distinguishing feature of his artistic personality is revealed in simply 'beautiful paintings' - it should be no crime to say so!- paintings in which perceptions of the environment are blended with intimate poetry. Trying to define <mask> <mask>'s works of art, applying a label to his paintings from one period to another, is almost impossible, save for a tendency towards 'abstract' painting; if pressed, you might call them 'lyric' or 'art autre', 'post' or 'neo' colour paintings. His style is a skilful blend of the organic with geometry, of order with dissonance, of precise vision with suggestion. It is a whole language in itself, syncretic, and bearing a strong current of delight springing from the possibilities that he coaxes from the materials, methods and tools he uses to work with, the very keys to his paintings. Critique by Manuel López Oliva, Cuban Painter and Art Critic, 1996. Translated by Marigold Best and Rayner Reissenberger. Critique by Cristina Burke-<mask>, Gallery Terracina director, England

"<mask><mask> <mask> is an artists Artist.His paintings are unquestionably of exquisite high standard, very beautiful and complete. As we say here in England, he is an artists Artist. This means in general, that only people that are used to look at art and are reasonably well educated understand the depth of his skill and complexity of his work. " Gallery Terracina
Haven Banks, Canal Basin,
Exeter EX2
(The international community of artists was sad when this nice and important gallery closed its doors. Gallery Terracina became a virtual gallery on Internet)
http://www.artterracina.co.uk/Welcome.html

Charges and Formation
	1963-1977 Founder, director and professor in different schools of Fine Arts. 1989-1998 Several times Painting section President or Vice-President in the Visual Arts Association of Writers and Artists Union of Cuba (UNEAC). In 1957 he was granted a scholarship to study Visual Arts.In 1962, he was invited to participate in the São Paulo, VI Biennial, Brazil. In 1963 he graduated as a teacher of Drawing and Painting, and in 1990 as a specialist in Silk Screen. Personal exhibitions (resume)
        2017    Vázquez Martín Gallery, BirdRoad Art District, Miami, Florida, United States. 2015    Blue and Gray solo exhibition and Painting Performance, during the celebrations of the 150  United States Civil War anniversary, at Treasure Coast Community Singers Concerts Hall, Stuart, Florida, United States. 2012 Cuban Abstract Painting, HCC Ybor City Art Gallery, Tampa, United States. 2011 Opening Roads, Domingo Padron Gallery, Miami, United States. 2009 Solo Exhibition dedicated to the 50 Anniversary of Cuba Revolution, Time Gallery, Vienna, Austria.2009 Solo Che Guevara Exhibition for the 50 Anniversary of Cuba Revolution, as part of the Bloody Sunday 37 Anniversary Events in Derry, Northern Ireland, UK. 2008 Exhibition and lecture, Vienna, Austria. 2008 Open Studio, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK. 2005 Returning home, Caibarien gallery, Cuba. 2005 ‘Abstractions in Havana Centre’, homage exhibition to <mask> <mask> Craft, Lydney,   Parkfield Gallery,  Pontshill, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, Artists Corner, Chepstow, Gloucestershire. 1999 “Cuban Painting Today”, Museum Josefina Gallery, Managua, Nicaragua. 1999 “Alive Abstraction”, Wifredo Lam Centre, Havana, Cuba. 1997 Silence Paintings,  VI Biennial of Havana, La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba
	1995 “Cuban Painters”, Social Development Summit and Head of States Meeting, Copenhague, Denmark. 1995 “Cuban Art”, Barcelona and Madrid, and in Sun Door Fair, Madrid, Spain. 1994  “A vision of Cuban Painting today”, Santiago de Chile, Chile. 1993 “Madrid House Fair”, Barcelona, Spain.1992 Cuban stand of the World’s Fair, in Seville, Spain. 1990 “Cuban Painting Today”, Duris de Samos Gallery, Madrid, Spain. 1989 Contemporary Cuban Art, Westbeth Gallery, New York, USA. 1988 “Cuban Painting Exhibition”, travelling exhibition for different cities of Spain. 1987 I Biennial of Painting “Jaume Guash Foundation”, Barcelona, Spain. 1986 VI Triennial of India, (New Delhi,). 1985  He participated in International Prize for Drawing Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain.1984, 1986 VII and VIII Biennial, Kosice, Czechoslovakia. 1976 Modern Cuban Painting, La Tertulia Museum, Cali, Colombia. 1972 “Chile-Cuba”, Culture Institute. Santiago de Chile. 1970, 1971 “The IX International Prize for Drawing Joan Miró”, Barcelona, Spain. 1970, ‘70 Salon’, Fine Art National Museum, Havana City, Cuba. Prizes and Mentions

	1997 First Prize,”WineArt 97” Competition, label for the first grape Cuban wine, Fantinel S.A.    and W.S.D Italian Companies, Havana, Cuba.1988 First Prize and Especial Prize, “July 26” Competition, Revolution’s Museum, Havana, Cuba. 1987 Especial Prize of Painting, I Biennial “Jaume Guash”, Spain. 1986 “13 March” First Prize of Drawing, Havana University, Havana, Cuba. 1976 First Prize of Painting, National Salon de Plastics Art, Ministry of Culture, Matanzas Gallery, Matanzas, Cuba. 1970 Painting Acquisition Prize, “Salon 70’ of Plastic Art”, Fine Art National Museum, Havana, Cuba. 1969 Drawing Prize, National Salon of Plastics Art, U.N.E.A.C., San Rafael International Gallery, Havana, Cuba. 1968 Painting Prize, National Salon U.N.E.A.C of Plastic Art., National Museum de Fine Art, Havana, Cuba.1965 First Prize of Painting, Province Salon “ 26 de Julio”, Santa Clara City, Las Villas, Cuba. Principal Collections that exhibit or store his works

	_National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba. _ "La Acacia" Gallery, Havana, Cuba. _ National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC). _ UNESCO Collection, Paris, France. _ Spain Office of the European Economic Community, New York, USA. _ Latin-American Art Collection of the Essex University, UECLAA, England._Gallery Terracina, Exeter, England
	_Also, his paintings are in different national and international institutions, as in private collections in Cuba and abroad.

masks:
Juan T
. Vázquez Martín
Vázquez Martín
Antoni Tàpies
Juan Tapia Ruano
Vázquez
Martín
Vázquez
Martín
Vázquez
Martín
Juan T
. Vázquez
Martín
Juan T
. Vázquez
Martín
Tapia
Juan Vázquez
Martín
Vázquez
Martín
Juan Vázquez
Martín
Vázquez
Martín
Trees
Juan T
. Vázquez
Martín
Vázquez
Martínrus


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<mask>   (born 2 September 1965) is a boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and is the last heavyweight to hold the undisputed championship. Holding dual British and Canadian citizenship, <mask> represented Canada as an amateur at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics; in the latter he won a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division after defeating Riddick Bowe in the final. In his first three years as a professional, <mask> won several regional heavyweight championships, including the European, British, and Commonwealth titles. After winning his first 21 fights, he defeated Donovan Ruddock in 1992 to take over the number one position in the WBC rankings. He was declared WBC heavyweight champion later that year after Riddick Bowe gave up the title to avoid defending it against <mask>. He defended the title three times before an upset knockout loss to Oliver McCall in 1994.<mask> avenged the loss in a 1997 rematch to win back the vacant WBC title. Two fights against Evander Holyfield in 1999 (the first ending in a controversial draw) saw <mask> become undisputed heavyweight champion by unifying his WBC title with Holyfield's WBA and IBF titles, as well as the vacant IBO title. In 2000, the WBA stripped <mask> of their title when he chose to face Michael Grant instead of mandatory challenger John Ruiz. Similarly, the IBF stripped <mask> of their title in 2002 when he chose not to face their mandatory challenger Chris Byrd. <mask> was knocked out by Hasim Rahman in an upset in 2001, but this defeat was avenged later in the year. In 2002, <mask> defeated Mike Tyson in one of the most highly anticipated fights in boxing history. Prior to the event, <mask> was awarded the Ring magazine heavyweight title, which had been discontinued in the late 1980s.In what would be his final fight, <mask> defeated Vitali Klitschko in a brutal and bloody encounter in 2003. He vacated his remaining titles and retired from boxing in 2004. <mask> often refers to himself as "the pugilist specialist". He is  tall, with an  reach, and weighed about  during his boxing prime. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, and one of the greatest British fighters of all time. Early life
<mask> was born on 2 September 1965 in West Ham, London, England to Jamaican parents and according to his mother, he would often fight with other children growing up. At birth he weighed 4.8 kg (10 lb 10 oz), and was given the name <mask> by the doctor, who said he "looked like a <mask>."<mask> moved to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada with his mother in 1977 at the age of 12. He attended Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute for high school, where he excelled in Canadian football, soccer, and basketball. In the 1982–83 school year, he helped the school's AAA basketball team win the Ontario provincial championship. Amateur career
<mask> eventually decided that his favourite sport was boxing. He took up boxing circa 1978. He became a dominant amateur boxer and won the gold medal at the Junior World Championships in 1983. At age 18, <mask> represented Canada in the super-heavyweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.By that time he was ranked #6 in the world by the AIBA. He advanced to the quarter-finals, where he lost by decision to Tyrell Biggs of the US, who went on to win the gold medal. Despite being 6'5" tall, and having a very strong punch, his coaches admitted they had to pressure him to convert size and raw talent into aggression. His amateur boxing coaches were Arnie Boehm and Adrian Teodorescu, who guided <mask> to the Olympic title in 1988. <mask> chose not to turn professional after the Olympics, and instead fought four more years as an amateur, hoping for a second chance to win a gold medal. At the 1986 World Championships, he lost in the preliminary round to Petar Stoimenov of Bulgaria. Later that year, <mask> won gold at the Commonwealth Games.He had a close fight against Cuban Jorge Luis González at the 1987 Pan American Games super-heavyweight finals: the American judge scored the bout in favour of <mask> 60–57, while the judges from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Uruguay scored the bout 59–58 for González. He avenged the loss shortly thereafter, boxing for the North American amateur title eight days later. After winning several more amateur titles in the following years, he travelled to Seoul, South Korea, for the 1988 Summer Olympics and achieved his goal. In the gold medal final, <mask> defeated Riddick Bowe with a second-round referee stopped contest (RSC). <mask> became the first super-heavyweight gold medallist to become world heavyweight champion as a professional. In the Games' closing ceremony, <mask> was Canada's flag bearer. <mask> became the first Canadian to win boxing gold in 56 years.<mask>, upon turning professional, registered an amateur record of 85–9. HBO Boxing credited him with a shorter amateur record of 75 wins (58 by knockout) and 7 losses. Of all losses on the record, Valeriy Abadzhyan of the Soviet Union was the only opponent to stop <mask> in amateurs, in October 1986. After winning the Olympic gold, <mask> was approached immediately by big-time American boxing promoters, including Bob Arum. However, he was not overly impressed by their contract offers and thought about signing a professional contract with a Toronto-based promotion group. "I feel like a basketball player being scouted by scouts down in the States. I don't want anyone controlling me.These (offers) coming to me after the Olympics are mainly because I won the gold." Professional career

Early career
Having achieved his goal, <mask> declared himself a professional and moved back to his native England. He claimed he had always considered himself British, but many British fans regarded him as "a Canadian at heart and a Briton for convenience." In 2015 <mask> explained "When I turned pro, I had to go to the United Kingdom in order to pursue my career. The infrastructure to develop boxers wasn't in Canada then." <mask> signed with boxing promoter Frank Maloney and his early professional career was filled with knockouts of journeymen, as well as fighters such as Osvaldo Ocasio. After he signed with American promoter Main Events, he won the European heavyweight title in 1990 against Frenchman Jean Maurice Chanet.In his next fight in March 1991, <mask> won the British title against undefeated, world-ranked Gary Mason, and in April 1992 won the Commonwealth title against Derek Williams. <mask> was a top-five world heavyweight, and during this period he also defeated former WBA heavyweight champion Mike Weaver, 1984 Olympic Gold medalist Tyrell Biggs, former world cruiserweight title holders Glenn McCrory and trial horses Levi Billups and Mike Dixon. WBC heavyweight champion
On 31 October 1992, <mask> knocked out Canadian Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in two rounds for the number one contender's position in the WBC rankings. It was <mask>'s most impressive win to date and established him as one of the world's best heavyweights. Sportscaster Larry Merchant declared, "We have a great new heavyweight." The win over Ruddock made <mask> the mandatory challenger for Riddick Bowe's heavyweight championship. Bowe held a press conference during which he threw his WBC title belt in a rubbish bin, relinquishing it to avoid a mandatory defence against <mask>.On 14 December 1992, the WBC declared <mask> its champion, making him the first world heavyweight titleholder from Britain in the 20th century. <mask> defended the belt three times, defeating Tony Tucker, whom he knocked down for the first time in Tucker's career, and Frank Bruno and Phil Jackson by knockout. The <mask> vs. Frank Bruno fight was the first time two British-born boxers fought for a version of the world heavyweight title in the modern era. Loss to McCall

<mask> lost his WBC title to Oliver McCall on 24 September 1994 in a huge upset at the Wembley Arena in London. In the second round, McCall landed a powerful right cross, putting <mask> on his back. <mask> returned to his feet at the count of six, but stumbled forward into the referee in a daze. Referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia felt <mask> was unable to continue and ended the fight, giving McCall the title by technical knockout.<mask> and others argued the stoppage was premature and that a champion should be given the benefit of the doubt. In spite of the <mask> camp protests, Boxing Monthly editor Glynn Leach pointed out that <mask> "only seemed to recover his senses once the fight was waved off", and that "in the opinions of everyone I spoke to at ringside, the decision was correct." After the fight, <mask> decided he needed a new trainer to replace Pepe Correa, who had become increasingly difficult to work with. Correa denounced <mask> in public after being fired. Renowned trainer Emanuel Steward, who had been McCall's trainer during their fight, was <mask>'s choice. Even before the fight with McCall, Steward had seen much potential in <mask> and immediately expressed a desire to work with him. He corrected several of <mask>'s technical flaws, which included maintaining a more balanced stance, less reliance on his cross, and a focus on using a strong, authoritative jab; the latter of which would become a hallmark of <mask>'s style throughout the rest of his career.Their partnership lasted until <mask>'s retirement. Regaining the WBC title

In his first comeback fight, <mask> was given a chance to fight for the mandatory challenger position within the WBC and won it by knocking out American contender Lionel Butler. However, at the behest of promoter Don King, the WBC bypassed him and gave Mike Tyson the first chance at the title recently won by Briton Frank Bruno from Oliver McCall. Bruno had previously lost to both <mask> and Tyson. <mask> had the number 1 contender's slot in the WBC rankings when he knocked out Australian Justin Fortune, then defeated former WBO Champion Tommy Morrison in October 1995, followed by Olympic gold medallist and former WBO champion Ray Mercer in a close majority decision in May 1996. <mask> successfully sued to force Tyson to make a mandatory defence of the WBC title against him. <mask> was offered a $13.5 million guarantee to fight Tyson to settle the lawsuit, but turned it down.This would have been <mask>'s highest fight purse to date. <mask> accepted $4 million from Don King to step aside and allow Tyson to fight Bruce Seldon instead, with a guarantee that if Tyson defeated Seldon, he would fight <mask> next. After winning the WBA title from Seldon, Tyson relinquished the WBC title to fight Evander Holyfield instead. The WBC title was declared vacant. This set up a rematch between <mask> and McCall, who met on 7 February 1997 in Las Vegas for the WBC title. In one of the strangest fights in boxing history, McCall, who had lost the first three rounds, refused to box in the fourth and fifth rounds. He then began crying in the ring, forcing the referee to stop the fight and award <mask> the victory and the title.As newly recrowned WBC champion, <mask> successfully defended the title in 1997 against fellow Briton and former WBO world champion Henry Akinwande, who was disqualified after five rounds for excessive clinching. <mask> then met Poland's Andrew Golota, whom he knocked out in the first round. <mask> retained the WBC world title in 1998 when he knocked out lineal champion Shannon Briggs, who had recently outpointed George Foreman in a controversial fight to win the lineal title in five rounds, and beat formerly undefeated European champion Željko Mavrović from Croatia in a 12-round unanimous decision. <mask> stated in 2006 that his fight with Mavrovic was the most awkward win of his career. <mask> vs. Holyfield

<mask> vs. Holyfield I

On 13 March 1999, <mask> faced WBA and IBF title holder Evander Holyfield in New York City in what was supposed to be a heavyweight unification bout. <mask> fought a tactical fight, keeping Holyfield off balance with a long jab and peppering him with combinations almost at will. Although most observers believed <mask> had clearly won the fight, the bout was declared a draw, to much controversy.The raw statistics of the fight suggested the bout belonged to <mask>, who landed 348 punches compared to Holyfield's 130. <mask> also out-jabbed Holyfield 137 to 52. Judge Eugenia Williams, who scored the fight in Holyfield's favour, said she saw <mask> land fewer punches than Holyfield. <mask> vs. Holyfield II

The sanctioning bodies ordered a rematch. Eight months later in Las Vegas (13 November 1999), the two men fought again in a more open and entertaining contest than the original fight, with the two boxers having some heavy exchanges from rounds six to nine. The punch stats however still clearly favoured <mask>, who landed 195 punches to Holyfield's 137, although <mask> landed 119 power shots and 76 jabs, showing a definite shift in his tactics from the first fight, when he focused more on the jab. This time the three judges scored the fight unanimously (115–113, 116–112 & 117–111) in favour of <mask>, who became undisputed heavyweight champion of the World.The British public voted <mask> the 1999 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. <mask>'s thoughts on both Holyfield fights
<mask> did not view either bout with Evander Holyfield as among his most difficult, but conceded Holyfield tested his limits more than any other boxer. Reign as undisputed heavyweight champion

After <mask> defeated Holyfield the WBA ordered <mask> to defend the title against John Ruiz of Chelsea, Massachusetts, who was then an obscure Don King fighter who had been made the WBA's number one-ranked contender. The WBA gave permission for <mask> to fight his WBC mandatory

masks:
Lennox Claudius Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lennox
Lennox
Lewis
Lewis
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Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
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Lennox Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
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Lewis
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Lewis
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Lewis
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Lewis
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Lewis
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Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
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Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
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Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis


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 Michael Grant first if he would fight Ruiz next, to which <mask> agreed. Opposed to this, King challenged this decision in court on the basis of a clause in the <mask> rematch contract that said <mask>'s first bout as undisputed champion would be against the WBA's number one contender. <mask> was therefore to be stripped of his WBA belt if he fought Grant first. It was because of this that the WBA instated its "Super Champion" title, giving unified titleholders who also hold a WBA belt more time to defend against mandatory challengers.<mask> proceeded to fight the 203 cm (6 foot 7 inch) American Michael Grant, whom he considered the best contender available. He successfully defended his WBC, IBO and IBF titles against Grant with a second-round knockout victory in Madison Square Garden in April 2000. Later that same year, <mask> knocked out South African Francois Botha in two rounds in London, before winning a 12-round decision against New Zealander and IBF mandatory opponent, David Tua in Las Vegas. <mask> vs Rahman

Loss to Rahman (Thunder in Africa)

On 21 April 2001, <mask> was knocked out by 20-to-1 underdog Hasim Rahman in a bout at Carnival City Casino in South Africa. The main event actually took place on Sunday 22 April 2001 at 05:00 local time in order to accommodate HBOs significant United States-based audience at a reasonable hour on the Saturday night. Before the bout, <mask> had a role in the film Ocean's Eleven in which he "boxed" against Wladimir Klitschko. <mask> vs. Rahman II

<mask> immediately sought a rematch with the new champion; Rahman, however, now being promoted by Don King, tried to secure another opponent for his inaugural title defence.<mask> took Rahman to court to honour the rematch clause in their contract. Rahman was ordered to honour the clause and give <mask> a rematch in his first title defence. While promoting the rematch with Rahman on ESPN's Up Close, the fighters got into a brawl similar to the one between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in front of Howard Cosell on Wide World of Sports. <mask> regained the title on 17 November by outclassing and then knocking out Hasim Rahman in the fourth round of their rematch. Unbeaten streak

<mask> vs. Tyson

On 8 June 2002, <mask> defended his title against Mike Tyson. Ticket sales were slow because they were priced as high as US $2,400, but a crowd of 15,327 turned up to see boxing's then biggest event at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee. Tyson also had to pay <mask> $335,000 out of his purse for biting him at the news conference announcing the fight, which was originally scheduled for 6 April 2002 in Las Vegas.Las Vegas, however, rejected the fight because of Tyson's licensing problems and several other states refused Tyson a licence before Memphis finally bid US $12 million to land it. By the end of the seventh round Tyson was tired and sluggish, his face swollen and his eyes cut. He was knocked out in the eighth by a right cross. After the fight, George Foreman declared, "He [<mask>] is, no doubt, the best heavyweight of all time. What he's done clearly puts him on top of the heap." This was the highest-grossing event in pay-per-view history, generating US $106.9 million from 1.95 million buys in the US, until it was surpassed by De La Hoya-Mayweather in 2007. Both fighters were guaranteed US $17.5 million.<mask> vs. Klitschko

<mask> was forced to vacate the IBF title in 2002 after refusing to face mandatory challenger Chris Byrd. In May 2003, <mask> sued boxing promoter Don King for US $385 million, claiming that King used threats and bribery to have Tyson pull out of a rematch with <mask> and a fight on the card of a <mask> title defence. <mask> scheduled a fight with Kirk Johnson for June, but when Johnson suffered an injury in training, <mask> fought Vitali Klitschko, the WBC's No. 1 contender and former WBO champion. <mask> had planned to fight him in December, but since Klitschko had been on the undercard of the Johnson fight anyway, they agreed to square off on 21 June. <mask> entered the ring at a career high 116 kg (256½ pounds). <mask> was dominated in the early rounds and was wobbled in round two by solid Klitschko punches.<mask> opened a cut above Klitschko's eye with a right cross in the third round and gave a better showing from the fourth round onwards. With both fighters looking tired before the start of round seven, the doctor advised that the fight should be stopped because of a severe cut above Klitschko's left eye, awarding <mask> victory by TKO. Klitschko was leading 58–56 on all three judges' scorecards when the fight was stopped. <mask> was guaranteed US $7 million and Klitschko US $1.4 million. The gate was US $2,523,384 from an attendance of 15,939 at the Staples Center in California. The fight aired live on HBO's World Championship Boxing with approximately 7 million viewers. Interviewed about the fight by HBO, doctor Paul Wallace explained his decision:
When he raised his head up, his upper eyelid covered his field of vision.At that point I had no other option but to stop the fight. If he had to move his head to see me, there was no way he could defend his way against a punch. Klitschko's face required sixty stitches. Because Klitschko had fought so bravely against <mask>, boxing fans soon began calling for a rematch. The WBC agreed, and kept the Ukrainian as its No. 1 contender. <mask> initially was in favour of a rematch:
I want the rematch, I enjoyed that fight.It was just a fight. We went at it. You have to play dollars and cents but I'm opting more for the rematch. Negotiations for the rematch followed but <mask> changed his mind. Instead, Klitschko fought and defeated Kirk Johnson on 6 December in WBC Eliminator, setting up a mandatory rematch with <mask>. <mask> announced his retirement shortly thereafter in February 2004, to pursue other interests, including sports management and music promotion, and vacated the title. <mask> said he would not return to the ring.At his retirement, <mask>'s record was 41 wins, two losses and one draw, with 32 wins by knockout. Retirement
In 2008 when asked about a potential bout after being antagonised by Riddick Bowe, <mask> quipped

In 2011, Bowe again confronted <mask>, this time over Twitter, demanding he "put [his] gold medal on and let's fight for that!! ", where <mask> remarked "I thought we already did." <mask> worked as a boxing analyst for HBO on Boxing After Dark from 2006 until 2010. Boxing style
<mask> was a classic upright boxer, who beat opponents from the outside with his dominant 84" reach. His jab, which was often a pawing shot early in his career, became a formidable weapon under the tutelage of Emmanuel Steward, which <mask> used to set up his signature punch, the straight right hand. Under Steward, <mask> became less reliant on his right hand and displayed a more complete skill-set.Criticised at times for being too patient and for his lack of in-fighting skills, <mask> was at his most effective when boxing from range. Known for his physical strength, <mask> was able to manoeuvre opponents into punching range and was especially effective against taller opponents. <mask> eventually developed into one of the most complete heavyweights in history: able to box at range or fight aggressively when necessary, as well as being considered one of the hardest punchers of all time. Legacy and historical standing

<mask> was the seventh Olympic gold medallist to become world heavyweight champion after Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Leon Spinks, and Michael Spinks. He holds the distinction of being the first professional heavyweight champion to win a gold medal in the super-heavyweight category, which was not created until the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is also the only boxer to represent Canada at the Summer Olympics and subsequently win a professional world title. <mask> was the first boxer to hold the British heavyweight title and subsequently win a world title.Although three fighters have since repeated this feat (Herbie Hide, Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua), only <mask> also won the Lonsdale belt outright. While struggling to achieve popularity and respect earlier in his professional career, <mask>'s standing has increased since his retirement in 2003, and he is now considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Struggling to win the affection of the British public and facing indifference from an American audience, <mask>'s body of work eventually established him as the dominant heavyweight of his time. He is the last undisputed heavyweight champion. <mask> became one of only two boxers in history, and the first since Ken Norton in 1978, to have been awarded the heavyweight championship without actually winning a championship bout when the WBC awarded him their title in 1992. This was due to Riddick Bowe relinquishing the title after failing to agree to defend the title against <mask>, who had become the mandatory challenger by defeating Donovan Ruddock a few weeks earlier. In 2001, <mask> became the fourth boxer (after Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer) to have held the world heavyweight championship on three occasions.<mask> has defeated 15 boxers for the world heavyweight title, the fifth-most in history. His combined three reigns tally 3 086 days (8 years, 5 months and 13 days), which ranks as the fourth-longest cumulative time spent as world heavyweight champion. His total of fourteen successful defences ranks as the fifth-highest in heavyweight history. At four years, two months and fifteen days, <mask> has the twelfth-longest reign in heavyweight championship history. As of August 2021, BoxRec ranks <mask> as the seventh greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time, and the second greatest European and British fighter of all time. In 2018, Boxing News ranked <mask> as the third-greatest heavyweight of all time, behind Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis. While acknowledging that he could occasionally be vulnerable, the magazine stated that at his best, <mask> was as unbeatable as any heavyweight in history.In 2017, Boxing News also ranked <mask> as the second best British fighter of all time, after Jimmy Wilde. In the same year, The Ring magazine ranked <mask> as both the greatest heavyweight of the last thirty years and the joint-eleventh greatest heavyweight of all time (alongside Evander Holyfield), describing him as "a giant who fought with finesse" who beat every available contender. Thomas Hauser stated that the idea of <mask> having no chin was a myth, citing his rising from the powerful punch from Oliver McCall which floored <mask> for the first knockdown of his career, and suggesting that he was perhaps stopped prematurely. He also contended that the knockout punch from Hasim Rahman in their first fight would have knocked out anyone. In 2003, The Ring ranked <mask> 33rd in their list of greatest punchers of all time. Along with Ingemar Johansson and Rocky Marciano, <mask> is one of three world heavyweight champions to have retired with victories over every opponent he faced as a professional. He is also, along with Gene Tunney, Marciano and Vitali Klitschko, one of four heavyweight champions to have ended his career as world champion, and with a world title fight victory in his final fight.In 1999, he was named Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America, as well as BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In 2008, <mask> was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. In 2009, in his first year of eligibility, <mask> was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Life outside boxing

In 2000, <mask> appeared on Reflection Eternal's debut album Train of Thought, giving a shout out on the track "Down for the Count." In 2001, <mask> had a role in the film Ocean's Eleven in which he "boxed" against Wladimir Klitschko. In 2002, <mask> was reportedly offered £5m by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) chairman Vince McMahon to take up professional wrestling in his industry.His camp held discussions over a possible match with Brock Lesnar in February 2003, at the No Way Out pay-per-view event. Prior to the offer <mask> was familiar with wrestling; he was part of the famous match held in the old Wembley Stadium between The British Bulldog and Bret "The Hitman" Hart for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam in 1992, representing the Bulldog during his entrance while bearing a Union Flag. In 2002, <mask> played himself on an episode of The Jersey called "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Jersey". In 2003, <mask> made a brief cameo appearance in the Jennifer Lopez and LL Cool J video "All I Have". In 2006, he appeared in the movie Johnny Was with Vinnie Jones. <mask> played in the World Series of Poker in both 2006 and 2007, and was knocked out without winning any money. <mask> appeared on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice in 2008.He came in fourth place (out of 14). <mask> made a public service announcement against domestic violence for Do Something. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. He also has his own charitable foundation called the <mask> foundation which helps disadvantaged children in Canada, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, and the United States. <mask> is a supporter of his home town football club, West Ham United. On 24 May 2018, <mask> was part of an Oval Office ceremony to announce the pardon of boxer Jack Johnson. Personal life

Upon retiring from boxing, <mask> moved to Miami Beach with his wife, Violet Chang, a former Miss Jamaica runner-up.They have three children. <mask> is an avid amateur chess player, and funded an after-school chess programme for disadvantaged youths, one of whom earned a university chess scholarship at Tennessee

masks:
Lewis
Lewis Holyfield
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lennox
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis
Lewis


texts:
<mask> (; born January 22, 1982) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist and boxer who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2004, <mask> has also competed for the UFC. Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship
<mask> lost his UFC debut against Thiago Silva at UFC 75 on September 8, 2007. <mask> returned to action after knee surgery at UFC 93 in January 2009 and defeated the debuting Ivan Serati via KO in the first round. <mask> next fight was a first-round TKO over Mike Ciesnolevicz on the TUF 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 (a replacement for injured Eric Schafer). Moving down to Middleweight, <mask> defeated Drew McFedries at UFC 103 in the second round by rear-naked choke submission. <mask> faced Rousimar Palhares on March 27, 2010 at UFC 111, losing after an early slip via heel hook submission which appeared to injure <mask>.Palhares was subsequently suspended for 90 days for continuing to apply pressure to the lock after the referee intervened. <mask> then fought David Branch on September 15, 2010 at UFC Fight Night 22. <mask> was initially set to fight Nick Catone who had to withdraw from the fight due to injury. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Following two subsequent losses, <mask> was released from his UFC contract. Post-UFC
<mask> returned to his winning ways knocking out Leonardo Lucio Nascimento at FAŁ 2 in his native Poland. His next fights were for new Polish promotion called MMA Attack, in which to this point he had two fights, against Gary Padilla and Wes Swofford, and all of them he won, respectively by unanimous decision and submission via armbar in 1st round.<mask> faced Łukasz Bieńkowski at KSW 53: Reborn. He won the fight via second round TKO. <mask> faced Patrik Kincl on December 19, 2020 at KSW 57: De Fries vs. Kita. He lost the fight after getting knocked unconscious at the end of round 1. Professional boxing
<mask> made his professional boxing debut on November 4, 2017 against Brazilian MMA fighter Luiz Abdalla in a 194 lbs bout. <mask> won via knockout. Championships and accomplishments
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz

Mixed martial arts record

|-
|Loss
|align=center| 22–6–1
|Patrik Kincl
|KO (punch)
|KSW 57: De Fries vs. Kita
|
|align=center|1
|align=center| 4:22
|Łódź, Poland
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 22–5–1
|Łukasz Bieńkowski
|TKO (punches)
|KSW 53: Reborn
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|2:34
|Warsaw, Poland
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center| 21–5–1
|Michał Materla
| TKO (punches)
|KSW 31: Materla vs. <mask>
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|4:56
| Gdańsk, Poland
|For the KSW Middleweight Championship.

masks:
Tomasz Witold Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Tomasz
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal
Drwal


texts:
<mask> (born September 8, 1971), known by his stage name <mask>, is an American rapper and record producer. Regarded as the founding father of reggaeton, <mask> has played an influential role in the development of Latin American hip hop and urban music. Biography

Early life and influence
He was born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico. Nicknamed El Filósofo del Rap, ("The Philosopher of Rap"), <mask> adopted the professional name <mask>.  <mask> describes reggaeton as "essentially hip-hop but with a flavor more compatible to the Caribbean." Though he maintains they are of the same essence, <mask> believes the difference lies in the quintessential music style; the beat or rhythm of the music. As one of the founders of hip hop in Spanish, <mask> was able to show that it was possible for one to be able to rap entirely and compellingly in Spanish using just occasional English phrases or slang terms. He can be seen in the rap movement as far back as its "underground" days ghostwriting and producing music for other young performers in the Puerto Rican rap scene.Vico <mask> grew up in the Puerta de Tierra barrio in San Juan. He got enrolled in acting classes by the age of nine and began his professional rapping career in 1985. At first, he used to go to bodegas (grocery stores) or pharmacies, buy home recording tapes, record himself singing his songs and then sell the tapes to friends or family. Vico C was discovered by DJ Negro in 1985 whom immediately saw the great potential of hip hop in Spanish and chose to record <mask>'s earliest demos. Upon the positive reaction from the barrio, DJ Negro brought <mask> to the most successful hip hop promoter in Puerto Rico, Jorge Oquendo (also known as 'El Sexy Boy'). Jorge Oquendo formed the record label 'Prime Records' with Vico C as the lead artist of the label. Prime Records eventually received a distribution deal via Sony BMG Latin.Prime Records is one of the most successful and influential record labels in the history of Spanish rap and reggaeton known for being the home to legendary acts such as DJ Negro, Vico- C, El General, Lisa M, Falo, Brewley <mask> and more. In May 2019 he suffered seizures resulting from an allergic reaction to medication and was hospitalized but recovered. Career
In 1988, Spanish rap in Puerto Rico was not at a popular high, and Vico-C was the first one to rap in Spanish in Puerto Rico, considered the Godfather of Spanish Hip Hop and the pioneer of this genre, there were others who followed in his footsteps, rapping in the ghettos. Brewley <mask>, Piro JM, <mask>, Bimbo, (Lisa M, Jelly Dee Franceska, came afterward) Ruben DJ was the first rapper to sound on the radio by releasing "La Escuela" after Vico C fame was already known on the whole island for his underground lyrics. Brewley <mask> also recorded "El Sida Rap with Green Records". Vico <mask> entered the charts with his song "La Recta Final" which he personally designed the album cover for, with his artistic talents. Vico C was signed to Prime Records and started touring to venues in New York, Chicago, Miami, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic.Vico C, in 1992 released his singles "Saborealo" and "María" which became gold and platinum albums, respectively. In 1994, he established his own record company VC Records, promoting such singers as Lissy Estrella, Francheska, and Lisa M who were originally his back up dancers. In 1990, <mask> <mask> was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident. His injuries led to his abuse of heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. Soon after, he became an evangelical Christian and went into a voluntary semi-retirement. In 1998, he resurfaced, with the "rambunctious", Christian rap CD Aquel Que Había Muerto. The new CD went gold and in 1999, he returned to the touring scene with his concert Antes y después.Soon after, he released a sequel to Aquel Que Había Muerto. With that, he earned the Latino Rap of the year award by Billboard. In 2003, Vico <mask> released an album titled En Honor A La Verdad. While it was not a major hit it still sold well and one of the album's singles "El Bueno, El Malo y El Feo", referring to Eddie Dee, himself and Tego <mask>ón respectively. The single was widely heard. The single was a great combination of the best "Conscience" subgenre of rap artists. Vico C's recent albums include Desahogo, in early 2005.The album was a success and born June 3, 2006, he came back with another concert, El Encuentro. Many consider Vico <mask> to be a pioneer of rap. Music industry figures called him the "father and creator of rap". He has worked alongside artists including Big Boy, Eddie Dee, Héctor & Tito, Tego <mask>. He has also worked with producers Baby Ranks, Tony Touch and Luny Tunes. He has sung alongside salsa singer Gilberto Santa Rosa and cumbia group Kumbia Kings. Vico <mask> tries to maintain a Christian theme throughout his music.His brother Jay Lozada is a salsa musician. In 2020 music by Vico <mask> was part of the annual Banco Popular Christmas songs compilation album. Legacy
Vico C is renowned as the most influential artist in the history of Spanish Hip Hop and Reggaeton throughout Latin America and Spain. <mask> is recognized for having lyrics that were thoughtful, insightful, socially conscious as well as catchy and danceable songs for all kind of audiences. The musical blueprint implemented by DJ Negro and Vico <mask> is the precursor of the genre now known as reggaeton. Many Spanish hip hop/reggaeton journalists and experts consider Vico <mask> as the greatest or one of the greatest artists in the history of the genre. Albums

Studio albums
 Hispanic Soul (1991)
 Xplosión (1993)
 Con poder (1996)
 Aquel Que Había Muerto (1998)
 Emboscada (2002)
 En Honor A La Verdad (2003)
 Desahogo (2005)
 Babilla (2009)

Accolades

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards

!|-
!scope="row"|2017
|Vico C
|Vanguard Award
|
|
|}

Billboard Latin Music Awards

Grammy Awards

! |-
!scope="row"|2006
|Desahogo
|Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album
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|
|}

Latin Grammy Awards

! |-
!scope="row"|2002
|Vivo
|rowspan=5|Best Urban Music Album
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|
|-
!scope="row"|2003
|Emboscada
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|
|-
!scope="row"|2004
|En Honor A La Verdad
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|
|-
!scope="row"|2005
|Desahogo
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|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|2010
|Babilla
|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|"Sentimiento"
|rowspan="2"|Best Urban Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2017
|"Papá"
|
|
|}

Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame

! |-
!scope="row"|2016
|rowspan="2"|Vico C
|rowspan="2"|Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame – Performer
|
|
|-
!scope="row"|2018
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|
|}

Lo Nuestro Awards

! |-
!scope="row"|2003
|Emboscada
|Urban Album of the Year
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|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|2006
|Desahogo
|Urban Album of the Year
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|rowspan="2"|
|-
|"Desahogo"
|Video of the Year
|
|}

See also
 List of Puerto Rican songwriters
 List of Puerto Ricans
 Music of Puerto Rico

References

External links

 Vico C interview
 Vico C Biographic film directed by Eduardo Ortíz

1971 births
Living people
Hip hop singers
Puerto Rican rappers
Capitol Latin artists
Latin music songwriters
Rappers from Brooklyn
Spanish-language singers of the United States
American people of Puerto Rican descent
Puerto Rican reggaeton musicians
21st-century American rappers

masks:
Luis Armando Lozada Cruz
Vico C
Vico C
Luis Armando Lozada Cruz
Vico C
Vico C
Vico C
Vico C
C
Vico
Vico
MC
MC
Jimmy MC
MC
C
Vico
C
C
Calder
C
Calderón
C
C
Vico
C
C


texts:
<mask> (1853–1929) was an American illustrator, bookplate-maker, and author—as well as a highly respected painter—renowned for his illustrations of the legends of King Arthur. Biography

<mask> was born in Albany, New York on October 19, 1853. While little is known of his initial art education, <mask> rose through the ranks to become a distinguished member of the Boston Art Club and the Copley Society of Art, and was an acquaintance and colleague of renowned impressionist artist <mask>. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris under Gustave Boulanger, Jules Lefebvre, John Paul Laurens, and <mask>. After residing in Paris for approximately five years, he returned to America to establish a successful studio in Boston. His first original wood engraving was created in 1879 under the tutelage of Robert Swain Gifford. His first original prints specialized in both architectural views and landscapes, with his later etchings mostly featuring areas around Boston.<mask> provided the chief influence for Childe <mask>'s first study trip to Europe in July 1883. On June 30, 1883, <mask> and <mask>m sailed to Europe aboard the SS Anchoria, then travelled for several months throughout Great Britain, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain studying paintings from the old masters and creating watercolors of the European countryside. In late August 1883, both <mask> and <mask>m sailed aboard the SS Alsatia to several Spanish ports before crossing the Atlantic back home. After they both returned to Boston, <mask> resumed his illustration work for various publishers, which was very much in demand, keeping him from spending energy on his watercolors. During this time, <mask> worked at a studio located  at 12 West Street in Boston, which he shared with <mask>sam and fellow-artist Charles Henry Turner. In 1884, <mask> exhibited two watercolors at the Pennsylvania Academy ("A Street in Granada" and "El Mirador de la Reina, Alhambra") in 1884. He also exhibited "A Street in Granada" at the "Third Annual Exhibition of the Paint and Clay Club," which was held at the Gallery of the Boston Art Club in March 1884.During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, <mask>'s paintings and etchings were widely exhibited throughout the United States and in France at the Paris Salon. During his lifetime, <mask> was a prolific illustrator of many books and publications, including various books of poetry by Tennyson, Keats, and Schiller; the Legends of King Arthur; Austen's Pride & Prejudice; Marie Louise de la Ramée's (Ouida's) A Dog of Flanders; stories by Alexandre Dumas; various books of Elizabethan and Victorian songs; and other books by Longfellow, Sir Walter Scott, Shelley, Wordsworth, and <mask>, among others. Today, <mask>'s works adorn the walls of the Art Institute of Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library, and the Massachusetts State House. Other works appear in collections at the Public Library in Winchester, Mass; Calumet Club (Boston, Mass. ), Brookside Library; Conant Memorial Church; and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. <mask> died in Needham, Massachusetts on April 2, 1929. Partial List of Books Illustrated/Compiled by <mask>

 The Village Blacksmith by <mask> Longfellow, 1880
 Song of the Bell by Friedrich Schiller, 1882
 Come into the Garden, Maud by Alfred Tennyson, 1883
 Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, 1883
 Bingen on the Rhine by Caroline E.S.Norton, 1883
 Lady Clare by Alfred Tennyson, 1884
 Eve of St. Agnes by John Keats, 1885
 Favorite Poems and the High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire 1571 by Jean Ingelow, 1886
 Pilgrims of the Night collected and Illustrated by <mask><mask>, 1887
 Ballads About Authors by <mask>, 1887
 The Closing Scene by Thomas Buchanan Read, 1887
 Christmas in the Olden Time by Sir Walter Scott, 1887
 Ballads of Romance & History by Susan Coolidge, et al., 1887
 Enoch Arden by Alfred Tennyson, 1888
 Fairy Lilian & Other Poems by Alfred Tennyson, 1888
 From Greenland's Icy Mountains by <mask>, 1889
 Rab and His Friends by John Brown, 1890
 Annie & Willie's Prayer by Sophie P. Snow, 1890
 The Blind Musician by Vladimir Korolenko, 1890
 Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë, 1890
 Elizabethan Songs in Honour of Love And Beautie, Compiled and Illustrated by <mask> <mask>, 1891
 Roses of Romance from the Poems of John Keats, Selected and Illustrated by <mask><mask>, 1891
 Flowers of Fancy by Percy Shelley, 1891
 Ailes d'Alouette by F.W. Bourdillon, 1891
 The Novels of Jame Austen (Volumes 1 through 6) by Jane Austen, 1892
 Bimbi, Stories for Children by Ouida (Maria Louise Ramé), 1892
 Poems by William Wordsworth, edited by Matthew Arnold, 1892
 Echoes from the Sabine Farm by Eugene & Rowell Martin Field, 1893
 Yanko the Musician & Other Stories by <mask> Sienkiewicz, 1893
 Three Heroines of New England Romance by <mask>. Spofford, 1894
 Victorian Songs: Lyrics of the Affections and Nature, Edited and Illustrated by Edmund H. Garrett, 1895
 Carmen: A Memoir by Prosper Mérimée, 1896
 Camilla: A Novel by Richert Von Koch, 1896
 Romances and Reality of the Puritan Coast by Edmund H. Garrett, 1897
 Two Little Wooden Shoes: A Story by Ouida (Maria Louise Ramé), 1897
 Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz, 1897
 Hypatia or New Foes with Old Faces by Charle Kingsley and Edmund H. Garrett, 1897
 The She-Wolves Of Machecoul; A Romance Of The Last Vendee; to which is added The Corsican Brothers; in two volumes. The Romances of Alexandre Dumas: volumes forty-four, and forty-five by Alexandre Dumas, 1897
 Twenty Years After; A Romance Of The Regency Of Anne Of Austria, in two volumes. The Romances of Alexandre Dumas: volumes eighteen, and nineteen by Alexandre Dumas, 1897
 The Gray House of the Quarries" by Mary Harriott Norris, 1898
 The Nurnberg Stove by Ouida (Maria Louise Ramé), 1898
 An Account of Anne Bradstreet, The Puritan Poetess & Kindred Topics edited by Colonel Luther Caldwell, 1898
 Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Khayyam Omar, 1898
 By the Fireside; A Book of Good Stories for Young People Illustrated by Edmund H. Garrett, 1898
 Backlog Studies by Charles Dudley Warner, 1899
 The Hunter Cats by Helen Jackson, 1899
 The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, 1899
 Notes of Travel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1900
 Legends of King Arthur and His Court by Frances Nimmo Greene, 1901
 The Pilgrim Shore of the Massachusetts Coast by Edmund H. Garrett, 1900
 Celebrated Crimes by Alexandre Dumas, 1902
 The Night Has a Thousand Eyes & Other Poems by F.W. Bourdillon, 1903
 Bookplates Selected from the Works of Edmund H. Garrett, and a Notice of Them by Wililam Howe Downes, 1904
 Vicomte de Bragelonne (Vol. III) by Alexandre Dumas, 1904
 Stories from Famous Ballads by Grace Greenwood (Sara Jane Lippincott) and edited by Caroline Burnite, 1906
 Snow-Bound: A Writers Idyl by John Greenleaf Whittier, 1906. (Reprinted in 2007)
 Venetian Life by William Dean Howells, 1907
 A Dog of Flanders & Other Stories by Ouida (Maria Louise Ramé), 1910
 Travelers Five Along Life's Highway: Jimmy, Gideon Wiggan, The Clown, Wexley Snathers, Bap.Sloan by Annie Fellows Johnson, 1911
 The Sword of Bussy, or the Word of a Gentleman by Robert Neilson Stephens and <mask>, 1912
 The Island of Beautiful Things: A Romance of the South by Will Allen Dromgoole, 1912
 John O'Partletts: A Tale of Strife and Courage by Jean Edgerton <mask>, 1913
 Moufflou and Other Stories by Ouida (Maria Louise Ramé), 1910
 A Flower of Monterey (A Romance of the Californias) by Katherine B<mask>, 1921

List of His March 1884 Exhibited Watercolors
 A Street in Granada Boats at Venice Study of a Chateau Gateway March in New England Early Spring, Milton Meadows Street in Denia, Spain Rock of DumbartonReferences

2. The Mark Twain Encyclopedia'' edited by J. R. LeMaster, James Darrell Wilson, Christie Graves <mask>ric, Garland Publishing, Inc., New York and London, 1993

External links

Boston Art Club:  Official website

 Article about <mask> on AskArt.com
 Article about <mask> on FineOldArt.com
 Article about <mask> on ArtofthePrint.com
 Bookplates by <mask>. <mask> in the University of Delaware Library's William Augustus Brewer Bookplate Collection

Artists from Boston
American illustrators
American male writers
1853 births
1929 deaths
19th century in Boston
Cultural history of Boston

masks:
Edmund Henry Garrett
Garrett
Garrett
Childe Hassam
Hector Leroux
Garrett
Hassam
Garrett
Hassa
Garrett
Hassa
Garrett
Garrett
Has
Garrett
Edmund Garrett
Garrett
Hawthorne
Garrett
Garrett
Edmund Garrett
Henry Wadsworth
Edmund H
. Garrett
Harriet Spoord
Bishop Heber
Edmund Henry
Garrett
Edmund H
. Garrett
Henryk
Harriet P
Herman Nickerson
Hovey
. Hamill
Ham
Edmund Garrett
Edmund Garrett
Edmund Garrett
Edmund H
Garrett


texts:
<mask> (30 April 1899 – February 1945) served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and in France for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. <mask> arrived in France in June 1943 and was a courier, code named "Alice,' for SOE's (Jockey) network (or circuit). She was arrested by the Gestapo in September 1943 and deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp where she was later executed. Early life
Cicely Margot Gordon was born in London on 30 April 1899 to Margaret Humble Close Gordon (<mask> gave a decoy maiden name – "MacKenzie" – when she joined SOE). Although married to Christian Frederic Gordon, her mother claimed Cicely's father was her husband's older cousin Lord Granville Gordon with whom she was in love.Subsequently, Cicely became the center of a notorious paternity suit, which resulted in her mother fleeing and taking her to France rather than relinquishing custody. Growing up in France, <mask> joined the French nursing corps during World War One. While serving as a nurse's aid, she met her future husband, Dr Ernest Marie Alix <mask>, a soldier and patient in her hospital. They married on 17 June 1924 and resided in an apartment in Paris and a villa near the fishing village of St. Cast along the north coast of Brittany, France. A sportswoman, <mask> enjoyed horseback riding and sailing yachts. An acquaintance recalled that <mask> "had a lot of class ...[was] very smart and cultivated ...[with] friends in high society".Espionage service
In 1939, Alix <mask> was called up for service in the French army as a medical officer. After the fall of France and at his urging, <mask> escaped to Great Britain via Jersey Island, to avoid arrest as a British National, while her husband remained in France. Later, <mask> spoke with SOE's Naval officer Captain Peter Harratt and arranged for her villa in Brittany, which possessed a secure, hidden bay to be made available to the SOE. The villa became part of the Var escape line run by SOE agent Erwin Deman, which enabled nearly 70 men and women to enter and to exit occupied France without capture. In June 1941, <mask> joined the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force as Aircraft Woman #452845 and served as a policewoman. Her fluency in French brought her to the attention of the SOE, and in January 1943, she volunteered to be a field agent with the F Section (France) of the Special Operations Executive based in London. <mask> was subsequently seconded to the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY).As women serving in the British armed services were barred by statute from armed combat, there was, according to Sarah Helm, "no legal authority for servicewomen to carry out the kind of guerilla work SOE had in mind." Consequently, women agents were also seconded as members of the FANY, which as a civilian organization was not subject to either armed forces rules or statutes. In February 1943, <mask> began her training at Wanborough House as a field agent. Her training reports were mixed. One Instructor, Lieutenant Tongue, wrote: "This student looks vague; mixed quite well; is interested in the course and could be relied on to be loyal but doubt if she has enough initiative to achieve much." At the next level of instruction, L/Cpl Gordon reported: "Very ladylike, very English in spite of French background, has a wide circle of friends amongst quite well known and influential people, politicians, gens du monde, artists of the Salon School, all very respectable. Inclined to blurt out things in a rather embarrassing way, which she probably would not have said if she thought first."In May, she received appointment to an Honorary Commission of Assistant Section Officer in the WAAF. France
On the night of 16 June 1943, with fellow SOE agents Diana Rowden and Noor Inayat Khan, she was flown to a landing field in the Loire Valley where they were met by Henri Dericourt. The assistant F Section Head, Vera Atkins, worried about <mask>'s poor French accent and Rowden's English looks. The Lysander pilot, Bunny Rymills, also felt <mask>'s French "didn't seem that hot." Her field name was "Alice," her operational codename was "Teacher," and her cover name was "Cecile Marguerite Legrand". Upon arrival in France, <mask> took a seven-mile bicycle ride to the village of Angers and then caught a train to Paris and then took another to Montelimar where she would serve as courier for the "Jockey network" run by Francis Cammaerts. Geographically, Jockey extended down the left bank of the Rhone between Vienne and Aries and eastwards to the Isere Valley along the Mediterranean north to Lyon and across the Swiss and Italian borders.As his courier, Cammaerts noted that <mask> "conducted various missions, [collected] information to be sent secretly to London, [looked] for dropping grounds for supplying arms and explosives, [acted as] courier, etc". With the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the Jockey network received more supplies and increased its sabotage of railway lines, power stations and other industrial targets. During a large air drop on 13 August 1943, <mask> was responsible for bringing the plane over the zone and carrying the principal light on the ground to help the pilot locate the drop zone. Her leader, Francis Cammaerts, commented that <mask> "was very shy and I think too frail for this hard work she very courageously carried out". Arrest, imprisonment & death
The increase in sabotage activities drew greater German attention to the Jockey area, and Cammaerts warned the circuit to be very careful and avoid areas such as his former headquarters in Montelimar. Stuck late at night and ignoring the warning, <mask> and the Jockey Circuit sabotage instructor, Pierre Reynaud, on 15 September 1943, went to the home of Raymond Daujat, the local resistance leader in Montelimar. Possibly tipped off, the Gestapo sent some SS men to the house to arrest whoever was there; Reynaud and Daujat escaped while <mask> was arrested hiding in the cellar.Cammaerts, very security conscious, was incensed about <mask>'s mistake that led to her capture. Her arrest forced him to disperse his network, immediately relocating himself and his associates to safer places in anticipation that <mask> might reveal secrets to the Germans under interrogation or torture. He would later say that she "ought never to have been sent to France." <mask> was sent first to a prison in Lyon and then north to the Fresnes prison in Paris where she was brutally interrogated. On 1 February 1944, <mask> was deported to Ravensbruck concentration camp with several hundred other women and while on the trip dropped a note to her husband saying: "Left for Germany, in the convoy of women. Good health, good morale. Warn the Red Cross to send shoes, warm clothes, and food".In the summer of 1944, <mask> sent another message to her husband, giving Ravensbruck as her address, which he duly passed on to the SOE. <mask> arrived at the camp on 3 February, was given the prison number 27.962 and a stitched red political triangle on her prison clothes. While imprisoned, <mask> was discovered to have had either stomach cancer or stomach ulcers, and was successfully operated on by the camp Doctor, Percival Treite. <mask> subsequently "thrived" on a thick porridge and vegetable soup in Treite's belief this would cure her. Upon her return to the main camp, <mask> – along with other prisoners – was made to do hard labour, and by January 1945, she was suffering from extreme malnutrition, diarrhoea and exhaustion. In early 1945, <mask> volunteered for transfer to the Uckermark Camp, believing rumors that it was for sick prisoners with better medical facilities, no work requirement and no morning roll call. Located approximately one half-mile from the main camp, Uckermark was the former youth detention camp or Jugendlager, and was converted into an extermination center under the supervision of SS-Obersturmführer Johann Schwarzhuber – the recently arrived deputy commandant of Ravensbrück.A fellow inmate, Sylvia Salvesen, recalled <mask> approaching her about the transfer and wanting her approval: "She blurted all this out in a rush, nervous and excited. Her eyes were terror-stricken and she was nervous of my answer." Despite Salvesen's warning, <mask> and two other English prisoners, Mary O'Shaughnessy and Mary Young went to the camp. Another British inmate nurse, Mary Lindell De Moncy, told Atkins that she had sent recall messages to the three Englishwomen to return to the main camp, but while O'Shaughnessy did so, <mask> refused to leave Young, who was in a very bad condition. According to O'Shaughnessy, sometime in February 1945, <mask>'s name was called out from a selection list during a morning roll, and she was taken away and gassed. After the war, Dr. <mask>, Atkins and civil and legal authorities questioned several witnesses in an unsuccessful attempt to establish a precise date for <mask>'s death. Consequently, Lloyd's of London, the official executor of <mask>'s will, accepted the date of 1 May 1945 for "official purposes as the date of her presumed death."Aftermath
Three other female members of the SOE were executed by either shooting or hanging at Ravensbrück in February 1945: Denise Bloch, Lilian Rolfe, and Violette Szabo. <mask> was among 12 female British SOE F-Section agents who were executed at concentration camps. The War Office describes their deaths as Killed in Action. Schwarzhuber was convicted by the British at the Hamburg Ravensbrück trials. He was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint in Hameln prison on 3 May 1947. Honours
In September 1945, Major General Colin Gubbins, Head of SOE, recommended that <mask> be made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE):
"This officer (C.M<mask>) was landed in France by aircraft in June 1943 as courier to an important circuit in the South East.She worked with tireless energy and devotion for three months, often in conditions of grave danger and rendered valuable assistance to her commanding officer. She travelled (sic) extensively throughout South Eastern France carrying messages to the various groups of the organization and showed great coolness and presence of mind in passing many police controls. On 10 September 1943, S/O LEFORT was arrested by the Gestapo. Although severely interrogated and ill-treated she gave no vital information away. She was last heard of in a concentration camp in Germany, and is still missing. For her courage, perseverance and devotion to duty it is recommended that this officer be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division)"
'<mask> was Mentioned in Dispatches for her service to the British on 13 June 1946 and honored by the government of France with a posthumous Croix de Guerre on 14 January 1948. She is listed on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, England, the Tempsford Memorial close to RAF Tempsford, and on the "Roll of Honor" on the Valençay SOE Memorial in Valençay, France.she is also listed on the FANY memorial at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, London and on a memorial plaque to the four executed SOE agents at Ravensbruck concentration Camp. References
Citations

Bibliography
 Marcus Binney, The Women Who Lived for Danger: The Women Agents of SOE in the Second World War, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 2002. Squadron Leader Beryl E. Escott, Mission Improbable: A salute to the RAF women of SOE in wartime France, London, Patrick Stevens Ltd, 1991. Squadron Leader Beryl E. Escott, The Heroines of the SOE: Britain's Secret Women in France F Section, Gloucestershire UK, The History Press, 2010. Curtis Harnack, Gentlemen on the Prairie: Victorians in Pioneer Iowa. Iowa, University of Iowa Press, 1985. Sarah Helm, If This Is A Woman.Inside Ravensbruck: Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women. New York: Little, Brown, 2015. Sarah Helm, A Life in Secrets: The Story of Vera Atkins and the Lost Agents of SOE, London, Abacus, 2005
 Liane Jones, A Quiet Courage: Women Agents in the French Resistance, London, Transworld Publishers Ltd, 1990. E.M. Sloan, When Songbirds Returned to Paris, Seattle, Booktrope Editions, 2016. Germaine Tillion, Ravensbrück'', Garden City, Anchor Press, 1975. Derek Walker-Smith, "Lord Reading and His Cases-the Study of a Great Career," New York, The Macmillan Company, 1934. Reprint: Seabrook Press, 2007.French Resistance members
Female wartime spies
Female resistance members of World War II
Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen
Executed spies
Spies who died in Nazi concentration camps
1900 births
1945 deaths
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)
People who died in Ravensbrück concentration camp
Special Operations Executive personnel killed in World War II
Executed people from London
British people executed in Nazi concentration camps
People killed by gas chamber by Nazi Germany
Female recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)
British Special Operations Executive personnel
Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II

masks:
Cecily Margot Gordon Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
Lefort
. Lefort
Lefort


texts:
<mask> (22 February 1878 – 6 April 1964) was an English footballer who played for Stoke, Manchester City, Port Vale and the England national team. His primary position was wing-half, but over the course of his career he played in many different positions. He later managed Port Vale on two separate occasions, serving throughout World War I, before a three-year spell from 1932 to 1935. He also served the club for many years as a trainer and a scout. In 1924 he turned out for the Vale at the age of 46 years and 68 days, making him one of the oldest ever players in the English Football League. Club career

<mask> was born in Hanley, and started his career with Cobridge before moving on to one of the two local league clubs; Stoke in May 1898. He "did not put a foot wrong" in his first seasons at the club, before establishing himself as the centre of Stoke's half-back line between James Bradley and George Baddeley following Alf Wood's departure in March 1901.For the next ten seasons <mask> was a near ever-present in the Stoke team, racking up 105 consecutive appearances from March 1903 to March 1906. His good performances won him an England cap in 1903 and he is considered the smallest centre-back ever to play for England at just 5 ft 5. During <mask>'s time at the club he played the game in a fiery style, although he was never sent off. He succeeded George Baddeley as captain in 1905. Holford's manager Horace Austerberry described him as "an excellent passer of the ball and one who played every match as if it was his last". In 1908 Stoke went bust and dropped out of the English Football League and played in the Birmingham League. Holford was too good to be lost to non-league football and so he had to leave his home-town club, who he played nearly 270 games for.Manchester City
In April 1908 he signed for First Division Manchester City, making his debut on 21 April against Bristol City, a match which finished goalless. In his first full season at the club he made 27 appearances and was the club's second highest goalscorer with 15 goals, which included three hat-tricks. However, Manchester City finished second-bottom in the First Division, and Holford again suffered relegation. In the 1909–10 season Holford won a Second Division championship medal as his club made an immediate return to the top flight. Though he had been an ever-present in 1912–13, Holford lost his place in the first team in the 1913–14 season, making all but three of his 15 appearances in the first ten weeks of the season. He made his last appearance for Manchester City on 13 April 1914 against Newcastle United, giving him a final total of 183 appearances and 38 goals for the club. Port Vale
Upon leaving Manchester he was joined Port Vale back in the Potteries as player-manager.He led the side to North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup victory in 1915, but two years later was conscripted into the army to serve as a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery. After playing his part in World War I, as well as guesting for Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, he returned to Vale in the summer of 1919. Regaining his place, he helped the club to win the Staffordshire Senior Cup and share the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup in 1920. Due to his age he hardly played after October 1920, but played his part in the club's 1922 North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup achievement. He retired as a player at the end of the 1922–23 season. Over his full career Holford played 474 league games, an exceptionally large number for the period, he had played everywhere except in goal. Upon his retirement he became a trainer for Port Vale, only to make his final appearance on 5 April 1924 at a club record age of 46 years and 68 days.At the time this also made him the second-oldest to play in the Football League, after Billy Meredith, and as of 2008 he is the sixth oldest Football League player of all time. International career
He won his only England cap on 14 February 1903, in a 4–0 win over Ireland at Molineux. Style of play
Holford was nicknamed "<mask>" due to his sometimes reckless tackling. He was also regarded as an excellent passer of the ball. Managerial career
He had two spells as manager of Port Vale, the first as player-manager from 1914 to 1918 when he was player-manager. His second appointment came in June 1932, with the club in the Second Division. He signed wingers Bob Morton and Jimmy McGrath, and led the Vale to a club record 9–1 victory over Chesterfield on 24 September.After top scorer Stewart Littlewood picked up an injury, he signed ex-England international Louis Page as a replacement; and also boosted the club's defence by signing Len Armitage. In January 1933, he sold left-back Jimmy Oakes to Charlton Athletic for £3,000. His team finished four points above relegation in 1932–33, and he released Billy Easton, Louis Page, Stewart Littlewood, <mask>, Jock Leckie, and Ben Davies, whilst Wilf Kirkham retired. He signed players such as Trevor Rhodes, Jack Vickers, Ken Gunn, and Billy Tabram, the result of which was an eighth-place finish in 1933–34 – then a record best for the "Valiants". However "the end of an era" followed, as players such as Bill Cope, Sydney Dickinson, Len Armitage, Billy Tabram, Fred Mills, George Poyser, and Jimmy McGrath departed. In preparation for the 1934–35 campaign, Holford signed goalkeeper John Potts, 'outstanding' outside-right John Friar, inside-left David Galloway, and centre-half Joe Craven. After a good start, results tailed off into a scrap against relegation, and Vale ended up fifth from bottom.Leaving the club in summer 1935 were: James Baker, Bob Morton, Jack Blackwell, Joe Craven, Galloway, Ted Critchley, and Jack Round. He prepared for the 1935–36 season by signing striker George Stabb, centre-half Harry Griffiths, left-winger Arthur Caldwell, left-back Roderick Welsh, and right-half Michael Curley. However he was relieved of his post in September 1935 so that he could concentrate his efforts on scouting. He retired as a scout in 1950, having also been a trainer at the club from July 1939 to July 1946. Personal life
Holford was a cousin of Wilf Kirkham. Career statistics

Club
Source:

International
Source:

Managerial

Honours

As a player
Manchester City
Football League Second Division: 1909–10

Port Vale
North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup: 1920 (shared), 1922 (shared)
Staffordshire Senior Cup: 1920

As a manager
Port Vale
North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup: 1915

References

1878 births
1964 deaths
Sportspeople from Hanley, Staffordshire
Association football wingers
English footballers
England international footballers
Stoke City F.C. players
Manchester City F.C.players
Port Vale F.C. players
Nottingham Forest F.C. wartime guest players
Newcastle United F.C. wartime guest players
English Football League players
British Army personnel of World War II
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers
Association football player-managers
English football managers
Port Vale F.C. managers
Association football coaches
Association football scouts
Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff
English Football League managers

masks:
Thomas Holford
Stoke Holford
Holford
Holford
Dirty Tommy
Tom Tippett


texts:
<mask>  (12 March 1831 – 22 March 1923) was an English landscape painter. Life and work

Early years and training

<mask> was born in Worcester as <mask>, the son, and third child of eleven children, of notable civil engineer <mask> (1802–79) and Sarah Whiting (1801–88). His father was described as a "non-conformist dissenter" and his mother was a Quaker – their marriage in an Anglican church resulted in them being disowned by the Society of Friends. <mask>'s father was a keen amateur artist – a friend of John Constable – and <mask> would often accompany him on sketching trips along the banks of the River Severn. His brother, also <mask>, later became a notable civil engineer who was knighted for his work, and is now mainly remembered for designing Manchester Ship Canal – which was to become the theme of <mask>'s largest painting. The family eventually came to reside at "Diglis House" – now a hotel. <mask> was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, and initially worked at his father's office as a draughtsman while studying art in the evenings at the Worcester School of Design.In his free time he also did a lot of "open air" landscape painting. In 1854, at the age of 23, he was admitted as a student to the Royal Academy Schools in London, and, unusually, in his first year, had a picture accepted for exhibition there, Cottage children blowing bubbles, which was subsequently sold to an American buyer for £50  – a large sum in those days. Subsequently, his work appeared in every summer exhibition at the academy until 1922, when <mask> was 91 years old. He also had some early works exhibited at the National Institution of Fine Arts, Portland Place in 1857–58. Career

The inspiration for these early works was the countryside around Worcester itself, "the cottages, farmhouses, lanes, hedgerows and churches, so exceedingly picturesque and beautiful". However, <mask> did not finish his course of studies at the R. A, nor did he need to – his paintings proved to be in great demand by wealthy buyers and he achieved an enviable degree of commercial success within only a few years of his first sale. In 1857 he changed his name to <mask> <mask> to distinguish himself from the many other painters with the surname <mask>.In autumn of that year he travelled to Scotland, and painted A Quiet pool in Glen Falloch – exhibited at the R. A. in 1859. That year was his most successful yet with four paintings hung at the Academy and all sold, one of the buyers being the art dealer Agnew's who bought much of his work during his lifetime. Such was the demand that much of his best work now went to private galleries and was never publicly exhibited. For the next 10 years, <mask> divided his time painting between the Severn Valley, Worcestershire, and Wales, producing many canvases. Amongst them, Autumn's last Gleam was regarded as the best landscape in the Royal Academy's 1865 exhibition. In 1862 he moved home from Worcester to nearby Whittington (where he lived until 1889) which became a favourite sketching ground. In 1863, his work The Churchyard at Bettwys-y-Coed was purchased by the Prime Minister himself, William Gladstone.In August 1876, <mask> married fellow artist Mary Eastlake (born c. 1852) and they went on to have 6 children – the first, <mask> <mask> (1877–1916), also an artist, was killed in action during World War I. In 1881, February Fill Dyke was exhibited at the Royal Academy to great acclaim and <mask> was made an associate (ARA) in 1883, becoming a Royal Academician (RA) in 1898. Later life

In 1889, the family moved to "Burrows Cross", Shere near Guildford, Surrey, a large mansion designed by Norman Shaw RA – <mask> lived here until the end of his life. In that same year he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, an honour secured on the recommendation of French artist Meissonier. In 1914 he was made an Honorary Freeman of the City of Worcester in recognition of his services (as a director of Royal Worcester Porcerlain and a native of the city). Apart from his native Worcestershire and Wales, <mask> also painted in other parts of Britain including Devon and Surrey and on the continent in Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium. He died in Surrey in 1923.Work

<mask>'s early works bore the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites with their attention to fine detail and emphasis on painting from nature "en plein air". In his later years he adopted a looser style which was more impressionistic rather than being an exact copy of nature and this proved to be more popular. Critic James Dafforne, writing in 1871 in The Art Journal said of <mask>'s style:

According to The Art Journal of 1901, amongst <mask>'s most popular works during his lifetime were, In Autumn there shall be light, February Fill Dyke and The Valley of the Llugwy. And amongst his best works at the time it considered: Romantic Tintern – dreaming in the moonlight, In the evening it shall be light and The Old Holyhead road through North Wales. <mask>'s paintings are currently exhibited publicly at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Tate Gallery in London, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and in Worcester (the largest collection of his works in Britain by far), Manchester and other regions in Britain. The Cambridge gallery in Santa Monica, US, also has several of his works, and he is included in the collection of the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin. Many are also held by private collectors.There is a memorial, designed by Ella Naper to <mask> in St Buryan's Church. In 2003, A Summer's Day (1888) sold at auction for £168,000 at Sotheby's. Gallery

Notes

Further reading

Moon, G. W. Men and women of the time (Routledge, 1891) p. 542. Lusk, Lewis. The life and work of B. W<mask> (London: The Art Journal, 1901). *
Lewis, Frank. <mask> Leader R. A.1831–1923 (Lewis Pubs, 1971). *
Dean, Deborah. <mask> <mask>, A Rural Vision (Exhibition Brochure for the City Museum & Art Gallery, Worcester, 1991). *
Wood, Ruth. <mask> <mask> 1831–1923: His Life and Paintings (Antique Collectors Club, 1998). * These books are available for free download at B W leader.com

External links

Biography of Leader (Rehs gallery)
Biography of Leader (Art Renewal Center Museum)
Leader Biography (Friends of Claines Church, Worcestershire)
Genealogy of Leader
Leader's works online (ArtCyclopedia)
February Fill Dyke (1881 painting)
Burrows Cross, Surrey (1897 painting of the artist's home)

1923 deaths
People from Worcester, England
19th-century English painters
English male painters
20th-century English painters
Landscape artists
People educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester
Royal Academicians
1831 births
19th-century male artists

masks:
Benjamin Williams Leader
Leader
Benjamin Leader Williams
Edward Leader Williams
Leader
Benjamin
Edward Leader Williams
Leader
Leader
Leader
Leader
Benjamin Williams
Leader
Williams
Leader
Leader
Benjamin Eastlake
Leader
Leader
Leader
Leader
Leader
Leader
Leader
Leader
Leader
. Leader
Benjamin Williams
Benjamin Williams
Leader
Benjamin Williams
Leader