title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The air temperature on January 28 was predicted to be a record-low for a Space Shuttle launch. The air temperature was forecast to drop to overnight before rising to at 6:00 a.m. and at the scheduled launch time of 9:38 am. Based upon O-ring erosion that had occurred in warmer launches, Morton Thiokol engineers were concerned over the effect the record-cold temperatures would have on the seal provided by the SRB O-rings for the launch. Cecil Houston, the manager of the KSC office of the Marshall Space Flight Center, set up a conference call on the evening of January 27 to discuss the safety of the launch. Morton Thiokol engineers expressed their concerns about the effect of low temperatures on the resilience of the rubber O-rings. As the colder temperatures lowered the elasticity of the rubber O-rings, the engineers feared that the O-rings would not be extruded to form a seal at the time of launch. The engineers argued that they did not have enough data to determine whether the O-rings would seal at temperatures colder than , the coldest launch of the Space Shuttle to date. Morton Thiokol employees Robert Lund, the Vice President of Engineering, and Joe Kilminster, the Vice President of the Space Booster Programs, recommended against launching until the temperature was above .


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The teleconference held a recess to allow for private discussion amongst Morton Thiokol management. When it resumed, Morton Thiokol leadership had changed their opinion and stated that the evidence presented on the failure of the O-rings was inconclusive and that there was a substantial margin in the event of a failure or erosion. They stated that their decision was to proceed with the launch. Morton Thiokol leadership submitted a recommendation for launch, and the teleconference ended. Lawrence Mulloy, the NASA SRB project manager, called Arnold Aldrich, the NASA Mission Management Team Leader, to discuss the launch decision and weather concerns, but did not mention the O-ring discussion; the two agreed to proceed with the launch.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: An overnight measurement taken by the KSC Ice Team recorded the left SRB was and the right SRB was . These measurements were recorded for engineering data and not reported, because the temperature of the SRBs was not part of the Launch Commit Criteria. In addition to its effect on the O-rings, the cold temperatures caused ice to form on the fixed service structure. To keep pipes from freezing, water was slowly run from the system; it could not be entirely drained because of the upcoming launch. As a result, ice formed from down in the freezing temperatures. Engineers at Rockwell International, which manufactured the orbiter, were concerned that ice would be violently thrown during launch and could potentially damage the orbiter's thermal protection system or be aspirated into one of the engines. Rocco Petrone, the head of Rockwell's space transportation division, and his team determined that the potential damage from ice made the mission unsafe to fly. Arnold Aldrich consulted with engineers at KSC and the Johnson Space Center (JSC) who advised him that ice did not threaten the safety of the orbiter, and he decided to proceed with the launch. The launch was delayed for an additional hour to allow more ice to melt. The ice team performed an inspection at T–20 minutes which indicated that the ice was melting, and "Challenger" was cleared to launch at 11:38 am. EST, with an air temperature of .


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: At T+0, "Challenger" launched from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B) at 11:38:00a.m. Beginning at T+0.678 until T+3.375 seconds, nine puffs of dark gray smoke were recorded escaping from the right-hand SRB near the aft strut that attached the booster to the ET. It was later determined that these smoke puffs were caused by joint rotation in the aft field joint of the right-hand SRB at ignition. The cold temperature in the joint had prevented the O-rings from creating a seal. Rainfall from the preceding time on the launchpad had likely accumulated within the field joint, further compromising the sealing capability of the O-rings. As a result, hot gas was able to travel past the O-rings and erode them. Molten aluminum oxides from the burned propellant resealed the joint and created a temporary barrier against further hot gas and flame escaping through the field joint. The Space Shuttle main engines (SSMEs) were throttled down as scheduled for maximum dynamic pressure (max q). During its ascent, the Space Shuttle encountered wind shear conditions beginning at , but they were within design limits of the vehicle and were countered by the guidance system.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: At , a tracking film camera captured the beginnings of a plume near the aft attach strut on the right SRB, right before the vehicle passed through max q at . The high aerodynamic forces and wind shear likely broke the aluminum oxide seal that had replaced eroded O-rings, allowing the flame to burn through the joint. Within 1 second from when it was first recorded, the plume became well-defined, and the enlarging hole caused a drop in internal pressure in the right SRB. A leak had begun in the liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank of the ET at , as indicated by the changing shape of the plume. The SSMEs pivoted to compensate for the booster burn-through, which was creating an unexpected thrust on the vehicle. The pressure in the external LH tank began to drop at indicating that the flame had burned from the SRB into the tank. The crew and flight controllers made no indication they were aware of the vehicle and flight anomalies. At , the CAPCOM, Richard O. Covey, told the crew that the SSMEs had throttled up to 104% thrust. In response to Covey, Scobee said, "Roger, go at throttle up"; this was the last communication from "Challenger" on the air-to-ground loop.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: At , the right SRB pulled away from the aft strut that attached it to the ET, causing lateral acceleration that was felt by the crew. At the same time, pressure in the LH2 tank began dropping, accompanied by a large fireball on the side of the ET. Pilot Mike Smith said "Uh-oh," which was the last speech recorded of the crew. At , white vapor was seen flowing away from the ET, after which the aft dome of the LH2 tank fell off. The resulting release of all liquid hydrogen in the tank pushed the LH2 tank forward into the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank with a force equating to roughly , while the right SRB collided with the intertank structure. This resulted in an abrupt change to the shuttle stack's attitude and direction, which was shrouded from view by the vaporized contents of the now-destroyed ET. As it traveled at Mach 1.92, "Challenger" took aerodynamic forces it was not designed to withstand and broke into several large pieces: a wing, the (still firing) main engines, the crew cabin and hypergolic fuel leaking from the ruptured reaction control system were among the parts identified exiting the vapor cloud. The disaster unfolded at an altitude of . The two SRBs separated from the ET and continued in uncontrolled powered flight until the range safety officer (RSO) on the ground initiated their self-destruct charges at .


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: At , there was a burst of static on the air-to-ground loop as the vehicle broke up, which was later attributed to ground-based radios searching for a signal from the destroyed spacecraft. NASA Public Affairs Officer Steve Nesbitt was initially unaware of the explosion and continued to read out flight information. At , after video of the explosion was seen in Mission Control, the Ground Control Officer reported "negative contact (and) loss of downlink" as they were no longer receiving transmissions from "Challenger".


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Nesbitt stated, "Flight controllers here are looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction. We have no downlink." Soon afterwards, he said, "We have a report from the Flight Dynamics Officer that the vehicle has exploded. The flight director confirms that. We are looking at checking with the recovery forces to see what can be done at this point."


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: In Mission Control, flight director Jay Greene ordered that contingency procedures be put into effect, which included locking the doors, shutting down telephone communications, and freezing computer terminals to collect data from them.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The crew cabin, which was made of reinforced aluminum, separated in one piece from the rest of the orbiter. It then traveled in a ballistic arc, reaching the apogee of approximately 25 seconds after the explosion. At the time of separation, the maximum acceleration is estimated to have been between 12 and 20 times that of gravity (g). Within two seconds it had dropped below 4g, and within ten seconds the cabin was in free fall. The forces involved at this stage were probably insufficient to cause major injury to the crew.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: At least some of the crew were alive and at least briefly conscious after the breakup, as the Personal Egress Air Packs (PEAPs) were activated for Smith and two unidentified crewmembers, but not for Scobee. The PEAPs were not intended for in-flight use, and the astronauts never trained with them for an in-flight emergency. The location of Smith's activation switch, on the back side of his seat, indicated that either Resnik or Onizuka likely activated it for him. Investigators found their remaining unused air supply consistent with the expected consumption during the post-breakup trajectory.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: While analyzing the wreckage, investigators discovered that several electrical system switches on Smith's right-hand panel had been moved from their usual launch positions. The switches had lever locks on top of them that must be pulled out before the switch could be moved. Later tests established that neither the force of the explosion nor the impact with the ocean could have moved them, indicating that Smith made the switch changes, presumably in a futile attempt to restore electrical power to the cockpit after the crew cabin detached from the rest of the orbiter.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: On July 28, 1986, NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Flight, former astronaut Richard H. Truly, released a report on the deaths of the crew from physician and Skylab 2 astronaut Joseph P. Kerwin.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Pressurization could have enabled consciousness for the entire fall until impact. The crew cabin hit the ocean surface at approximately two minutes and 45 seconds after breakup. The estimated deceleration was , far exceeding structural limits of the crew compartment or crew survivability levels. The mid-deck floor had not suffered buckling or tearing, as would result from a rapid decompression, but stowed equipment showed damage consistent with decompression, and debris was embedded between the two forward windows that may have caused a loss of pressure. Impact damage to the crew cabin was severe enough that it could not be determined whether the crew cabin had previously been damaged enough to lose pressurization.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Unlike other spacecraft, crew escape was not possible during powered flight of a Space Shuttle. Launch escape systems had been considered during development, but NASA's conclusion was that the Space Shuttle's expected high reliability would preclude the need for one. Modified SR-71 Blackbird ejection seats and full pressure suits were used for the two-person crews on the first four Space Shuttle orbital test flights, but they were disabled and later removed for the operational flights. Escape options for the operational flights were considered, but a decision was made not to implement them because of their complexity, high cost, and heavy weight. After the disaster, a system was implemented to allow the crew to escape in gliding flight, but this system would not have been usable to escape an explosion during ascent.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Immediately after the disaster, the NASA Launch Recovery Director launched the two SRB recovery ships, MV "Freedom Star" and MV "Liberty Star", to proceed to the impact area to recover debris, and requested the support of US military aircraft and ships. Owing to falling debris from the explosion, the RSO kept recovery forces from the impact area until 12:37p.m. The size of the recovery operations increased to 12 aircraft and 8 ships by 7:00p.m. Surface operations recovered debris from the orbiter and ET. The surface recovery operations ended on February7.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: On January31, the US Navy was tasked with submarine recovery operations. The search efforts prioritized the recovery of the right SRB, followed by the crew compartment, and then the remaining payload, orbiter pieces, and ET. The search for debris formally began on February8 with the rescue and salvage ship , and eventually grew to sixteen ships, of which three were managed by NASA, four by the US Navy, one by the US Air Force and eight by independent contractors. The surface ships used side-scan sonar to make the initial search for debris and covered at water depths between and . The sonar operations discovered 881 potential locations for debris, of which 187 pieces were later confirmed to be from the orbiter.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The debris from the SRBs was widely distributed due to the detonation of their linear shaped charges. The identification of SRB material was primarily conducted by crewed submarines and submersibles. The vehicles were dispatched to investigate potential debris located during the search phase. Surface ships lifted the SRB debris with the help of technical divers and underwater remotely operated vehicles to attach the necessary slings to raise the debris with cranes. The solid propellant in the SRBs posed a risk, as it became more volatile after being submerged. Recovered portions of the SRBs were kept wet during recovery, and their unused propellant was ignited once they were brought ashore. The failed joint on the right SRB was first located on sonar on March1. Subsequent dives to by the NR-1 submarine on April5 and the SEA-LINK I submersible on April12 confirmed that it was the damaged field joint, and it was successfully recovered on April13. Of the of both SRB shells, was recovered, another was found but not recovered, and was never found.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: On March 7, Air Force divers identified potential crew compartment debris, which was confirmed the next day by divers from the USS "Preserver". The damage to the crew compartment indicated that it had remained largely intact during the initial explosion but was extensively damaged when it impacted the ocean. The remains of the crew were badly damaged from impact and submersion, and were not intact bodies. The USS "Preserver" made multiple trips to return debris and remains to port, and continued crew compartment recovery until April4. During the recovery of the remains of the crew, Jarvis's body floated away and was not located until April15, several weeks after the other remains had been positively identified. Once remains were brought to port, pathologists from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology worked to identify the human remains, but could not determine the exact cause of death for any of them. Medical examiners in Brevard County disputed the legality of transferring human remains to US military officials to conduct autopsies and refused to issue the death certificates; NASA officials ultimately released the death certificates of the crew members.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The IUS that would have been used to boost the orbit of the TDRS-B satellite was one of the first pieces of debris recovered. There was no indication that there had been premature ignition of the IUS, which had been one of the suspected causes for the disaster. Debris from the three SSMEs was recovered from February14 to28, and post-recovery analysis produced results consistent with functional engines suddenly losing their LH2 fuel supply. Deepwater recovery operations continued until April29, with smaller scale, shallow recovery operations continuing until August29. On December 17, 1996, two pieces of the orbiter were found at Cocoa Beach. On November 10, 2022, NASA announced that a 20-foot piece of the shuttle had been found near the site of a destroyed World War II-era aircraft off the coast of Florida. The discovery will be aired on the History Channel on November 22, 2022. Almost all recovered non-organic debris from "Challenger" is buried in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station missile silos at LC-31 and LC-32.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: On April 29, 1986, the astronauts' remains were transferred on a C-141 Starlifter aircraft from Kennedy Space Center to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Their caskets were each draped with an American flag and carried past an honor guard and followed by an astronaut escort. After the remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base, they were transferred to the families of the crew members. Scobee and Smith were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Onizuka was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. McNair was buried in Rest Lawn Memorial Park in Lake City, South Carolina, but his remains were later moved within the town to the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Memorial Park. McAuliffe was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Concord, New Hampshire. Jarvis was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Unidentified crew remains were buried at the Space Shuttle "Challenger" Memorial in Arlington on May 20, 1986.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: President Ronald Reagan had been scheduled to give the 1986 State of the Union Address on January28,1986, the evening of the "Challenger" disaster. After a discussion with his aides, Reagan postponed the State of the Union, and instead addressed the nation about the disaster from the Oval Office. On January31, Ronald and Nancy Reagan traveled to the Johnson Space Center to speak at a memorial service honoring the crew members. During the ceremony, an Air Force band sang "God Bless America" as NASA T-38 Talon jets flew directly over the scene in the traditional missing-man formation.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Soon after the disaster, US politicians expressed concern that White House officials, including Chief of Staff Donald Regan and Communications Director Pat Buchanan, had pressured NASA to launch "Challenger" before the scheduled January 28 State of the Union address, because Reagan had planned to mention the launch in his remarks. In March 1986, the White House released a copy of the original State of the Union speech. In that speech, Reagan had intended to mention an X-ray experiment launched on "Challenger" and designed by a guest he had invited to the address, but he did not further discuss the "Challenger" launch. In the rescheduled State of the Union address on February 4, Reagan mentioned the deceased "Challenger" crew members and modified his remarks about the X-ray experiment as "launched and lost". In April1986, the White House released a report that concluded there had been no pressure from the White House for NASA to launch "Challenger" prior to the State of the Union.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Nationally televised coverage of the launch and explosion was provided by CNN. To promote the Teacher in Space program with McAuliffe as a crewmember, NASA had arranged for many students in the US to view the launch live at school with their teachers. Press interest in the disaster increased in the following days; the number of reporters at KSC increased from 535 on the day of the launch to 1,467 reporters three days later. In the aftermath of the accident, NASA was criticized for not making key personnel available to the press. In the absence of information, the press published articles suggesting the external tank was the cause of the explosion. Until 2010, CNN's live broadcast of the launch and disaster was the only known on-location video footage from within range of the launch site. Additional amateur and professional recordings have since become publicly available.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The "Challenger" accident has been used as a case study for subjects such as engineering safety, the ethics of whistleblowing, communications and group decision-making, and the dangers of groupthink. Roger Boisjoly and Allan McDonald became speakers who advocated for responsible workplace decision making and engineering ethics. Information designer Edward Tufte has argued that the "Challenger" accident was the result of poor communications and overly complicated explanations on the part of engineers, and stated that showing the correlation of ambient air temperature and O-ring erosion amounts would have been sufficient to communicate the potential dangers of the cold-weather launch. Boisjoly contested this assertion and stated that the data presented by Tufte were not as simple or available as Tufte stated.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle "Challenger" Accident, also known as the Rogers Commission after its chairman, was formed on February6. Its members were Chairman William P. Rogers, Vice Chairman Neil Armstrong, David Acheson, Eugene Covert, Richard Feynman, Robert Hotz, Donald Kutyna, Sally Ride, Robert Rummel, Joseph Sutter, Arthur Walker, Albert Wheelon, and Chuck Yeager.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The commission held hearings that discussed the NASA accident investigation, the Space Shuttle program, and the Morton Thiokol recommendation to launch despite O-ring safety issues. On February15, Rogers released a statement that established the commission's changing role to investigate the accident independent of NASA due to concerns of the failures of the internal processes at NASA. The commission created four investigative panels to research the different aspects of the mission. The Accident Analysis Panel, chaired by Kutyna, used data from salvage operations and testing to determine the exact cause behind the accident. The Development and Production Panel, chaired by Sutter, investigated the hardware contractors and how they interacted with NASA. The Pre-Launch Activities Panel, chaired by Acheson, focused on the final assembly processes and pre-launch activities conducted at KSC. The Mission Planning and Operations Panel, chaired by Ride, investigated the planning that went into mission development, along with potential concerns over crew safety and pressure to adhere to a schedule. Over a period of four months, the commission interviewed over 160 individuals, held at least 35 investigative sessions, and involved more than 6,000 NASA employees, contractors, and support personnel. The commission published its report on June 6, 1986.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The commission determined that the cause of the accident was hot gas blowing past the O-rings in the field joint on the right SRB, and found no other potential causes for the disaster. It attributed the accident to a faulty design of the field joint that was unacceptably sensitive to changes in temperature, dynamic loading, and the character of its materials. The report was critical of NASA and Morton Thiokol, and emphasized that both organizations had overlooked evidence that indicated the potential danger with the SRB field joints. It noted that NASA accepted the risk of O-ring erosion without evaluating how it could potentially affect the safety of a mission. The commission concluded that the safety culture and management structure at NASA were insufficient to properly report, analyze, and prevent flight issues. It stated that the pressure to increase the rate of flights negatively affected the amount of training, quality control, and repair work that was available for each mission.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The commission published a series of recommendations to improve the safety of the Space Shuttle program. It proposed a redesign of the joints in the SRB that would prevent gas from blowing past the O-rings. It also recommended that the program's management be restructured to keep project managers from being pressured to adhere to unsafe organizational deadlines, and should include astronauts to address crew safety concerns better. It proposed that an office for safety be established reporting directly to the NASA administrator to oversee all safety, reliability, and quality assurance functions in NASA programs. Additionally, the commission addressed issues with overall safety and maintenance for the orbiter, and it recommended the addition of the means for the crew to escape during controlled gliding flight.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: During a televised hearing on February11, Feynman demonstrated the loss of rubber's elasticity in cold temperatures using a glass of cold water and a piece of rubber, for which he received media attention. Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, advocated for harsher criticism towards NASA in the report and repeatedly disagreed with Rogers. He threatened to remove his name from the report unless it included his personal observations on reliability, which appeared as Appendix F. In the appendix, he lauded the engineering and software accomplishments in the program's development, but he argued that multiple components, including the avionics and SSMEs in addition to the SRBs, were more dangerous and accident-prone than original NASA estimates had indicated.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The US House Committee on Science and Technology conducted an investigation of the "Challenger" disaster and released a report on October29, 1986. The committee, which had authorized the funding for the Space Shuttle program, reviewed the findings of the Rogers Commission as part of its investigation. The committee agreed with the Rogers Commission that the failed SRB field joint was the cause of the accident, and that NASA and Morton Thiokol failed to act despite numerous warnings of the potential dangers of the SRB. The committee's report further emphasized safety considerations of other components and recommended a risk management review for all critical systems.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: In response to the commission's recommendation, NASA initiated a redesign of the SRB, later named the redesigned solid rocket motor (RSRM), which was supervised by an independent oversight group. The redesigned joint included a capture feature on the tang around the interior wall of the clevis to prevent joint rotation. The space between the capture feature and the clevis was sealed with another O-ring. The capture feature reduced the potential of joint rotation to 15% of that which had occurred during the disaster. Should joint rotation occur, any rotation that reduced the O-ring seal on one side of the clevis wall would increase it on the other side. Additionally, heaters were installed to maintain consistent, higher temperatures of the O-rings. The RSRM was first tested on August 30, 1987. In April and August 1988, the RSRM was tested with intentional flaws that allowed hot gas to penetrate the field joint. These tests permitted the engineers to evaluate whether the improved field joint prevented joint rotation. Following the successful tests, the RSRM was certified to fly on the Space Shuttle.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: In addition to the SRBs, NASA increased the safety standards on other Space Shuttle program components. The critical items lists and failure modes for the SSMEs were updated, along with 18 hardware changes. The maximum thrust of the SSMEs was limited to 104%, with 109% only allowed in an abort scenario. The landing gear was updated to improve its steering and handling abilities while the Space Shuttle was landing. NASA implemented an escape option in which the astronauts would jettison the side hatch and extend a pole out of the orbiter; they would slide down the pole to avoid hitting the orbiter as bailed out before they activated their parachutes. The orbiter's software was modified to maintain stable flight while all of the flight crew left the controls to escape. This escape method would not have saved the crew in the "Challenger" disaster, but was added in the event of another emergency.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: NASA also created a new Office of Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance, headed as the commission had specified by a NASA associate administrator who reported directly to the NASA administrator. Former "Challenger" flight director Greene became chief of the Safety Division of the directorate. After the Space Shuttle "Columbia" disaster in 2003, the "Columbia" Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) concluded that NASA had not effectively set up an independent office for safety oversight. The CAIB concluded that the ineffective safety culture that had resulted in the "Challenger" accident was also responsible for the subsequent disaster.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The Teacher in Space program, which McAuliffe had been selected for, was canceled in 1990 as a result of the "Challenger" disaster. In 1998, NASA replaced Teacher in Space with the Educator Astronaut Project, which differed in that it required the teachers to become professional astronauts trained as mission specialists, rather than short-term payload specialists who would return to their classrooms following their spaceflight. Barbara Morgan, who had been the backup teacher for McAuliffe, was selected to be part of NASA Astronaut Group 17 and flew on STS-118.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The projected launch schedule of 24 per year was criticized by the Rogers Commission as an unrealistic goal that created unnecessary pressure on NASA to launch missions. In August 1986, President Reagan approved the construction of an orbiter, which would later be named , to replace "Challenger". Construction of "Endeavour" began in 1987 and was completed in 1990, and it first flew on STS-49 in May 1992. He also announced that the program would no longer carry commercial satellite payloads, and that these would be launched using commercial expendable launch vehicles. These commercial payloads were reallocated from the Space Shuttle program to end the dependence on a single launch vehicle and limit the pressure on NASA to launch crewed missions to satisfy its customers.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The Space Shuttle fleet was grounded for two years and eight months while the program underwent investigation, redesign, and restructuring. On September 29, 1988, "Discovery" launched on STS-26 mission from LC-39B with a crew of five veteran astronauts. Its payload was TDRS-3, which was a substitute for the satellite lost with "Challenger". The launch tested the redesigned boosters, and the crew wore pressure suits during the ascent and reentry. The mission was a success, and the program resumed flying.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: In 2004, President George W. Bush conferred posthumous Congressional Space Medals of Honor to all 14 crew members killed in the "Challenger" and "Columbia" accidents. An unpainted decorative oval in the Brumidi Corridors of the United States Capitol was finished with a portrait depicting the crew by Charles Schmidt in 1987. The scene was painted on canvas and then applied to the wall. The "Forever Remembered" exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex opened in July 2015 and includes a display of a section of "Challenger"s recovered fuselage. The exhibit was opened by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden along with family members of the crew. A tree for each astronaut was planted in NASA's Astronaut Memorial Grove at the Johnson Space Center, along with trees for each astronaut from the "Apollo 1" and "Columbia" disasters.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Seven asteroids were named after the crew members: , , , , , , and . The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on March 26, 1986 (). In 1988, seven craters on the far side of the Moon, within the Apollo Basin, were named after the astronauts by the IAU. The Soviet Union named two craters on Venus after McAuliffe and Resnik.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Several memorials have been established in honor of the "Challenger" disaster. The public Peers Park in Palo Alto, California, features the "Challenger" Memorial Grove including redwood trees grown from seeds carried aboard "Challenger" in 1985. Schools and streets have been renamed to include the names of the crew or "Challenger". In 1990, a 1/10 scale replica of "Challenger" in liftoff position was erected in Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles, California. Challenger Point is a mountain peak of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, a science museum and planetarium in Concord, New Hampshire, is named in honor of McAuliffe, a Concord High School teacher, and Alan Shepard, who was from Derry, New Hampshire.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The crew's families established the Challenger Center for Space Science Education as educational non-profit organization.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: An American flag, later named the "Challenger" flag, was carried aboard the "Challenger". It was sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 514 of Monument, Colorado, and was recovered intact, still sealed in its plastic container. Onizuka had included a soccer ball with his personal effects that was recovered and later flown to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz Expedition 49 by American astronaut Shane Kimbrough. It is on display at Clear Lake High School in Houston, which was attended by Onizuka's children.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The 1986 motion picture "" was dedicated to the crew of the "Challenger" with an opening message which stated "The cast and crew of "Star Trek" wish to dedicate this film to the men and women of the spaceship "Challenger" whose courageous spirit shall live to the 23rd century and beyond..."


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: In the years immediately after the "Challenger" disaster, several books were published describing the factors and causes of the accidents and the subsequent investigation and changes. In 1987, Malcolm McConnell, a journalist and a witness of the disaster, published "Challenger–A Major Malfunction: A True Story of Politics, Greed, and the Wrong Stuff". McConnell's book was criticized for arguing for a conspiracy involving NASA Administrator Fletcher awarding the contract to Morton Thiokol because it was from his home state of Utah. The book "Prescription for Disaster: From the Glory of Apollo to the Betrayal of the Shuttle" by Joseph Trento was also published in 1987, arguing that the Space Shuttle program had been a flawed and politicized program from its inception. In 1988, Feynman's memoir, ""What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character", was published. The latter half of the book discusses his involvement in the Rogers Commission and his relationship with Kutyna.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: Books were published long after the disaster. In 1996, Diane Vaughan published "The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA", which argues that NASA's structure and mission, rather than just Space Shuttle program management, created a climate of risk acceptance that resulted in the disaster. Also in 1996, Claus Jensen published "No Downlink: A Dramatic Narrative About the Challenger Accident and Our Time" that primarily discusses the development of rocketry prior to the disaster, and was criticized for its reliance on secondary sources with little original research conducted for the book. In 2009, Allan McDonald published his memoir written with space historian James Hansen, "Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster", which focuses on his personal involvement in the launch, disaster, investigation, and return to flight, and is critical of NASA and Morton Thiokol leadership for agreeing to launch "Challenger" despite engineers' warnings about the O-rings.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The ABC television movie titled "Challenger" was broadcast on February 25, 1990. It stars Barry Bostwick as Scobee and Karen Allen as McAuliffe. The movie is critical of NASA and positively portrays the engineers who argued against launching. The movie was criticized by the widows of Smith, McNair, and Onizuka as an inaccurate portrayal of events. A BBC docudrama titled "The Challenger Disaster" was broadcast on March 18, 2013. It starred William Hurt as Feynman and portrayed the investigation into the causes of the disaster. A film directed by Nathan VonMinden, "The Challenger Disaster", was released on January 25, 2019, depicts fictional characters participating in the decision process to launch.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The four-part docuseries "", created by Steven Leckart and Glen Zipper, was released by Netflix on September 16, 2020. It uses interviews with NASA and Morton Thiokol personnel to argue against their flawed decision-making which produced a preventable disaster.


title: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

text: The first episode of the Australian television drama "The Newsreader", broadcast on August 15, 2021, depicts the disaster from the perspective of the television industry, specifically the journalists and crew within, and of, an Australian television newsroom at the time; a co-lead character's hosting of a newsflash weaving in with an overarching background storyline about the shift in news presentation from serious to that of allowing emotion into its delivery.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Nightmare Alley is a 2021 neo-noir psychological thriller film co-written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, and based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham. It is the second feature film adaptation of Gresham's novel, following the 1947 version. A co-production between Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment, and Double Dare You Productions, the film stars Bradley Cooper as a charming and ambitious carnival worker with a mysterious past who takes big risks to boost his career. Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, and David Strathairn also star.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Del Toro announced the film in 2017, and produced alongside J. Miles Dale and Cooper. Frequent collaborator Dan Laustsen was the cinematographer, and Nathan Johnson replaced Alexandre Desplat as its composer. Principal photography began in January 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, but was shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed in September 2020 and concluded that December.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: "Nightmare Alley" premiered at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on December 1, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 17, 2021, by Searchlight Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Del Toro’s direction, the cinematography, score, production design, and performances of Cooper and Blanchett, but criticized the runtime. It flopped at the box office, grossing a total of $39.6million worldwide against a $60million production budget. It received four nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. A black-and-white version subtitled "Vision in Darkness and Light" was released in select cities starting on January 14, 2022.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: In 1939, drifter Stan Carlisle obtains a job at a carnival and watches a geek show in which a deranged man eats a live chicken. He begins working with the clairvoyant act starring "Madame Zeena" and her alcoholic husband, Pete. They use coded language and cold reading tricks, which Pete keeps in a secret book. Pete teaches tricks to Stan, warning him against using them to pretend to speak to the dead. Stan also learns that the owner, Clem, hires troubled alcoholics to be his "geeks," then gives them opium-laced alcohol so they stay. Stan becomes attracted to fellow performer Molly and asks her to leave the carnival with him, but she refuses. One night, Pete asks Stan for alcohol and is later found dead. Stan saves the carnival using his cold reading skills to convince the sheriff not to close it. Molly agrees to leave the carnival with Stan, to whom Zeena has given Pete's book.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Two years later, Stan has successfully reinvented himself with a psychic act for the wealthy elite of Buffalo, with Molly as his assistant. During a performance, their act is interrupted by psychologist Dr. Lilith Ritter, who attempts to expose the rigged act. Stan bests and humiliates Ritter with his cold reading skills. Stan also cold reads Judge Kimball. The judge offers to pay Stan for a private consultation to help him and his wife communicate with their dead son. Despite Molly's objections, Stan agrees.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Ritter arranges a meeting with Stan to exchange information: If he is truthful about his background, she will give him information on Kimball. During their session, she learns Stan may have killed Pete and also that his alcoholic father neglected him as a child. With Ritter's information, Stan performs a successful reading for Kimball. He offers to split the profits with Ritter but she refuses, agreeing to keep the money in her care to hide it from Molly. Stan informs Ritter that Kimball has offered to introduce him to Ezra Grindle, a former patient of Ritter's. She feeds Stan information about Grindle's past, namely how he forced an abortion on a young woman named Dorrie. Stan and Ritter begin a romantic relationship, and he begins drinking.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Stan continues to hold sessions with Grindle, who demands that Stan make Dorrie's spirit materialize in a séance. Stan agrees and plans to have Molly pose as Dorrie from afar. Meanwhile, Judge Kimball's wife murders her husband and commits suicide to be reunited with their son, whom Stan said was waiting for them. Molly initially refuses but relents with the promise of being able to leave Stan if she cooperates. During the act, Grindle realizes it is a scam; he hits Molly and threatens Stan. Stan beats Grindle to death and runs over Grindle's bodyguard with his car. Horrified, Molly leaves.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Stan arrives at Ritter's office to obtain his money, but she betrays him with depleted money rolls stuffed with dollar bills. Ritter blows off part of his ear with a pistol and taunts him. He attacks her but security arrives and he escapes. A flashback reveals he killed his father by intentionally exposing him to hypothermia before burning his house down.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: As he descends into alcoholism and despair while traveling the hobo circuit, Stan sees ads touting Madame Zeena. Stan finds a new carnival, and as he talks to the owner he spies an embalmed freak-in-a-jar on his desk, and the owner explains he purchased it from the old carnival which Stan used to belong to, which had disbanded. Realizing he is not going to find Madame Zeena and Molly again, Stan desperately pitches his mentalist act to the carnival owner, who rejects it based on his unkempt appearance and the act being out of fashion. The owner then changes his mind and offers him a drink and temporary work as a geek, using the same language Clem used to lure alcoholics many years ago. Realizing his fate, Stan accepts the offer, tearfully telling the owner that he was "born for it" as he snaps and breaks down laughing.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: In addition, Romina Power, daughter of actor Tyrone Power, who played Stanton in the 1947 film, has an uncredited cameo as a viewer of Stanton's show.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: The project was announced in December 2017, when Guillermo del Toro revealed that he would be attached to write and direct a film adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel. The film marks a departure for del Toro, as it contains no supernatural elements, as opposed to his previous films. Del Toro considered this to be a standalone adaptation of Gresham's novel, as opposed to a remake of the 1947 film version starring Tyrone Power. He stated: "Well, what it is is that book was given to me in 1992 by Ron Perlman before I saw the Tyrone Power movie, and I loved the book. My adaptation that I've done with [co-writer] Kim Morgan is not necessarily—the entire book is impossible, it's a saga. But there are elements that are darker in the book, and it's the first chance I have—in my short films I wanted to do noir. It was horror and noir. And now is the first chance I have to do a real underbelly of society type of movie. [There are] no supernatural elements. Just a straight, really dark story." Del Toro also revealed the film would be aiming for an R-rating, saying: "big R. Double R!"


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Dan Laustsen and Alexandre Desplat were announced to serve as the film's cinematographer and composer, respectively, both having previously collaborated with del Toro in "The Shape of Water" (2017).


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: In April 2019, Leonardo DiCaprio entered negotiations to star in the film. But by June 2019, Bradley Cooper entered early negotiations to replace DiCaprio. Del Toro stated that he and Cooper quickly connected with each other when del Toro met Cooper in Cooper's house to discuss the role: "We started talking script and then this started mirroring our thoughts about life and the way we viewed the world. We entered strange, darker times that led to 'Nightmare Alley' for me, and [changed the] way I view the world." Del Toro also believed that Cooper's experience as a director helped strengthen their connection, stating, "A director is an actor and an actor is a director. There is no separation of the craft... that took awhile for me to get used to. I normally create and guide these little Fabergé eggs of movies, obsessively detailed. All of a sudden we were on an adventure. I will never shoot a movie the same way." Del Toro further discussed his collaborative relationship with Cooper while filming:


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: In August 2019, Cate Blanchett was in negotiations to join the film. Both Cooper and Blanchett were confirmed to star the next month, along with the addition of Rooney Mara. Toni Collette and David Strathairn were added in September, with Strathairn replacing Michael Shannon who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Collette praised del Toro's capabilities as a director, and described the film as a "period drama" and "unlike some of his other work." Willem Dafoe was cast in October and Holt McCallany would join the next month. Ron Perlman and Richard Jenkins were both confirmed in January 2020. In February 2020, Mary Steenburgen and Romina Power, the daughter of Tyrone Power, joined the cast of the film. In March 2020, Paul Anderson joined the cast of the film.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Principal photography began in January 2020 in Toronto, Canada. Production temporarily moved to Buffalo, New York in February 2020, in order for del Toro to take advantage of the city's architecture and unfamiliar setting: "I wanted to find a city that was really interesting to visit for an audience, that was not a city they were overtly familiar with." Scenes were filmed in and outside of Buffalo's Niagara Square and City Hall, and required the use of fake snow, much to the surprise of the crew, as Buffalo is widely known for its heavy snowfall during the winter season.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Principal photography was initially set to begin in September 2019, but was delayed to accommodate Cooper's schedule. "We shot the second half before the first half," Cooper revealed. "We didn't want to do it that way. Things happened to us, with sets and other actors' availability and water, the snow and all that. I was the cause. I had moved to New York and said, 'I can't do it right now. Let me get settled.'" In March 2020, Del Toro himself shut down production on the film after rising concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic: "We stopped the shoot a week before [the industry shut down] [...] That saved us. Nobody to my knowledge in the cast or the crew got coronavirus." Del Toro later reflected that "Stopping was not mandatory back then, but we both felt if we don't stop now and someone gets sick — we said, 'we gotta stop.' Nobody was expecting it. Everybody went to lunch and came back six months later." Searchlight's parent, Walt Disney Studios, officially halted production on the film soon after.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Del Toro revealed that when production was shut down, approximately 45% of the film was shot, and he spent his time editing available footage during the hiatus. Del Toro also composed an 80-page safety precaution guideline to be used when production was to resume, which he was hoping to do in late 2020. "Variety" reported that Blanchett had completed her scenes prior to the shutdown.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Production resumed in September 2020 in Toronto. In an interview, Collette discussed some of the film's safety protocols: "[...] I've got to say, I think, you couldn't get any safer than a film set. They're so regimented and disciplined and demanding in terms of having to toe the line and everyone does their best to not get it. You really are in a bubble and the whole of Toronto is in masks and you're just sanitizing your hands a million times a day and trying not to be in big crowds and you just have to be mindful of that. Especially when you're working, because there's a bigger risk there. It's not just you, it's everyone else, you know?" Collette also revealed that del Toro had shot almost four hours of footage. By November 2020, principal photography was completed and re-shoots had commenced. Production officially wrapped in December 2020.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Del Toro and Cooper reflected that the unexpected shooting schedule benefited the film's structure. Del Toro remarked that "It was a blessing [...] I believe wholeheartedly life gives you what you need, not what you want. You have a window to look at everything. It was incredible. We got to see these characters, when [Stanton Carlisle] was full of himself and arrogant and certain and seeking. We were able to go back six months in between all this and were able to analyze and see not only that character but what we needed to rewrite to be able to go back to a set. If your pores are open, the movie finds you. Each movie tells you what it needs." Cooper further stated that "This movie needed that rigor. Thank god we had that time. As simple a story is, it demanded all our concentration and focus, all that time. I don't think we realized how much it demanded of us at the beginning. That was the discovery. There is arrogance. You think you can do it, then, 'how is this possible?'"


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Due to scheduling conflicts, Desplat exited the film, resulting in Nathan Johnson being brought in as replacement.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: It had its world premiere at the Alice Tully Hall in New York on December 1, 2021, accompanied by simultaneous screenings at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles and the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. The film was theatrically released on December 17, 2021, after having been rescheduled from its original release date of December 3, 2021.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: On December 17, 2021, the day of the film's release, Searchlight Pictures announced that a black-and-white version of the film, titled "Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light", would be released the following month, on January 14, 2022, in select theaters in Los Angeles only, for up to 6 days. In January 2022, following the success of the showings, the version was announced to be broadening to other select cities. The black-and-white film expanded to 1,020 theaters nationwide on January 28, 2022.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: The film was released on the streaming services Hulu and HBO Max on February 1, 2022 and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-Ray and DVD on March 22, 2022, by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: By March 20, 2022, the film had been streamed on HBO Max and Hulu in a combined 3.1 million households in the United States according to Samba TV, including 2.1 million since the Oscar nomination announcements on February 8, the highest total of any Best Picture nominee.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: "Nightmare Alley" grossed $11.3million in the United States and Canada, and $28.2million in other territories for a worldwide total of $39.6million.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: "Nightmare Alley" made $225,000 from Thursday night previews and an estimated $1.19 million by Friday. Its low opening was attributed to it being primarily meant for the audiences in the older age ranges (who had avoided going out to see movies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic), low interest among the movie-going audience, and the release of "" on the same date. It went on to debut to $2.8 million during the weekend, finishing fifth at the box office. Men made up 56% of the audience during its opening, with those in the age range of 25–54 composing 55% of ticket sales and those above 45 composing 29%. The ethnic breakdown of the audience showed that 63% were Caucasian, 11% Hispanic and Latino Americans, 9% African American, and 17% Asian or other. In its second weekend, the film earned $1.2 million. In its third, the film dropped out of the box office top ten, finishing eleventh with $966,875.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 55 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a 72% positive score, with 49% saying they would definitely recommend it.


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Mark Kermode of "The Observer" gave the film 5 out of 5, writing: "From its bruised colour palette to its spiralling descent into madness and degradation, this is deliciously damnable fare, looking back through the prism of Del Toro's adventurous oeuvre to the existential angst of his vampiric feature debut, "Cronos"." Linda Marric of "The Jewish Chronicle" also gave 5 out of 5, writing: "Del Toro employs a mixture of stylish old Hollywood sensibilities with B movie tropes to bring us an engaging and gorgeously acted psychological thriller." Clarisse Loughrey of "The Independent" also gave the film 5 out of 5, writing: "Del Toro can do worldbuilding in his sleep, but you might also find Cooper's brittle performance, filled with such elemental sadness, hard to shake off. "Nightmare Alley" is the shadow that lingers." Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" gave the film 4 out of 5, praising it as "a spectacular noir melodrama boasting gruesomely enjoyable performances and freaky twists."


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Robbie Collin of "The Daily Telegraph" was more critical, giving the film 2 out of 5 stars and describing it as "an act of origami-level homage: it's all folded together in impressively fiddly ways, but the result is an angular, inert approximation, lacking in the original's breath or heat." Kevin Maher of "The Times" also gave the 2 out of 5 stars, praising its set design, but added: "there's little else in this drastically overstretched narrative (150 minutes!) to hold any attention beyond a cursory awareness that, yes, we’re watching an oddly literal melodrama about bad people doing very bad things, very slowly."


title: Nightmare Alley (2021 film)

text: Martin Scorsese authored an essay in the "Los Angeles Times" urging readers to seek out the film, crediting Del Toro's films as being "lovingly and passionately crafted" and arguing that "Nightmare Alley" is "truer to the animating spirit of film noir than the many 'homages' that have been made over the years and are still being made now."


title: Dean Martin

text: Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio, television and in films.


title: Dean Martin

text: Following an acrimonious ending of the partnership in 1956, Martin pursued a solo career as a performer and actor. Martin established himself as a singer, recording numerous contemporary songs as well as standards from the Great American Songbook. He became one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas and was known for his friendship with fellow artists Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., who together with several others formed the Rat Pack.


title: Dean Martin

text: Starting in 1965, Martin was the host of the television variety program "The Dean Martin Show", which centered on Martin's singing and comedic talents and was characterized by his relaxed, easy-going demeanor. From 1974 to 1984, he was roastmaster on the popular "Dean Martin Celebrity Roast", which drew celebrities, comedians and politicians. Throughout his career, Martin performed in concert stages, nightclubs, audio recordings and appeared in 85 film and television productions.


title: Dean Martin

text: His best known songs include "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", and "Volare".


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti on June 7, 1917, in Steubenville, Ohio, to Italian father Gaetano Alfonso Crocetti (1894–1967) and Italian-American mother Angela Crocetti ("née" Barra; 1897–1966). His father, who was a barber, was originally from Montesilvano, Pescara, and his mother was born December 18, 1897, in Fernwood, Jefferson County, Ohio. Angela's father, Domenico Barra, immigrated from Monasterolo del Castello, Bergamo. Martin had an older brother named Guglielmo "William" Antonio Crocetti (1916–1968). His first language was Italian and he did not speak English until he started school at the age of five. He attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville, where he was bullied for his broken English. As a teenager, he played the drums as a hobby. He dropped out of Steubenville High School in the tenth grade because, according to Martin, he thought he was smarter than his teachers. He bootlegged liquor, worked in a steel mill, served as a croupier at a speakeasy and a blackjack dealer, and was a welterweight boxer.


title: Dean Martin

text: At 15 he billed himself as "Kid Crochet". His prizefighting earned him a broken nose (later straightened), a scarred lip, many broken knuckles (a result of not being able to afford tape used to wrap boxers' hands), and a bruised body. Of his 12 bouts, he said that he "won all but 11". For a time, he shared a New York City apartment with Sonny King, who was also starting in show business and had little money. The two reportedly charged people to watch them bare-knuckle box each other in their apartment, fighting until one was knocked out. Martin knocked out King in the first round of an amateur boxing match. Martin gave up boxing to work as a roulette stickman and croupier in an illegal casino behind a tobacco shop, where he had started as a stock boy. At the same time, he sang with local bands, calling himself "Dino Martini" (after the Metropolitan Opera tenor Nino Martini). He got his break working for the Ernie McKay Orchestra. He sang in a crooning style influenced by Harry Mills of the Mills Brothers and Perry Como. By late 1940 he had begun singing for Cleveland bandleader Sammy Watkins, who suggested he change his name to Dean Martin. He stayed with Watkins until at least May 1943. By fall 1943 he had begun performing in New York. Martin was drafted into the military in World War II but after 14 months he was discharged due to a hernia.


title: Dean Martin

text: In October 1941, Martin married Elizabeth "Betty" Anne McDonald in Cleveland, and the couple had an apartment in Cleveland Heights for a while. They eventually had four children before the marriage ended in 1949.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin attracted the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures, but a Hollywood contract was not forthcoming. He met comic Jerry Lewis at the Glass Hat Club in New York, where both were performing. Martin and Lewis formed a fast friendship which led to their participation in each other's acts and the formation of a music-comedy team. Their debut together occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24, 1946, and they were not well received. The owner, Skinny D'Amato, warned them that if they did not come up with a better act for their second show that night, they would be fired. Huddling in the alley behind the club, Lewis and Martin agreed to "go for broke", they divided their act between songs, skits, and ad-libbed material. Martin sang and Lewis dressed as a busboy, dropping plates and making a shambles of Martin's performance and the club's decorum until Lewis was chased from the room as Martin pelted him with bread rolls.


title: Dean Martin

text: They performed slapstick, reeled off old vaudeville jokes and did whatever else popped into their heads. The audience laughed. This success led to a series of well-paying engagements on the Eastern seaboard, culminating in a run at New York's Copacabana. The act consisted of Lewis interrupting and heckling Martin while he was trying to sing, with the two ultimately chasing each other around the stage. The secret, both said, is that they ignored the audience and played to each other. The team made its television debut on the first broadcast of CBS-TV network's "The Ed Sullivan Show" (then called "The Toast Of The Town") on June 20, 1948, with composers Rodgers and Hammerstein also appearing. Hoping to improve their act, the two hired young comedy writers Norman Lear and Ed Simmons to write their bits. With the assistance of both Lear and Simmons, the two would take their act beyond nightclubs.


title: Dean Martin

text: A radio series began in 1949, the year Martin and Lewis signed with Paramount producer Hal B. Wallis as comedy relief for the movie "My Friend Irma". Their agent, Abby Greshler, negotiated one of Hollywood's best deals: although they received only $75,000 between them for their films with Wallis, Martin and Lewis were free to do one outside film a year, which they would co-produce through their own York Productions.


title: Dean Martin

text: They also controlled their club, record, radio, and television appearances, and through these they earned millions of dollars. In "Dean & Me", Lewis calls Martin one of the great comic geniuses of all time. They were friends, as well, with Lewis acting as best man when Martin remarried in 1949. But harsh comments from critics, as well as frustration with the similarity of Martin and Lewis movies, which producer Hal Wallis refused to change, led to Martin's dissatisfaction. He put less enthusiasm into the work, leading to escalating arguments with Lewis. Martin told his partner he was "nothing to [him] but a dollar sign". The act broke up in 1956, ten years to the day from the first teaming.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin's first solo film, "Ten Thousand Bedrooms" (1957), was a box-office failure. Although "Volare" reached number fifteen in the U.S. and number 2 in the UK, the era of the pop crooner was waning with the advent of rock and roll. Martin wanted to become a dramatic actor, known for more than slapstick comedy films. Though offered a fraction of his former salary to co-star in a war drama, "The Young Lions" (1958), his part would be with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift. Tony Randall already had the part, but talent agency MCA realized that with this film, Martin would become a triple threat: they could make money from his work in nightclubs, films, and records. Randall was paid off to relinquish the role, Martin replaced him and the film turned out to be the beginning of Martin's comeback. Martin starred alongside Frank Sinatra for the first time in the Vincente Minnelli drama, "Some Came Running" (1958).


title: Dean Martin

text: By the mid-1960s, Martin was a movie, recording, television, and nightclub star. Martin was acclaimed as Dude in "Rio Bravo" (1959), directed by Howard Hawks and also starring John Wayne and singer Ricky Nelson. He teamed again with Wayne in "The Sons of Katie Elder" (1965), cast as brothers. In 1960, Martin was cast in the film version of the Judy Holliday stage musical comedy "Bells Are Ringing". He won a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in the 1960 film comedy "Who Was That Lady?" but continued to seek dramatic roles, portraying a Southern politician in 1961's "Ada", and starring in 1963's screen adaptation of an intense stage drama, "Toys in the Attic", opposite Geraldine Page, as well as in 1970's drama "Airport", a huge box-office success.


title: Dean Martin

text: Sinatra and he teamed up for several more movies, the crime caper "Ocean's 11", the musical "Robin and the 7 Hoods", and the Western comedies "Sergeants 3" and "4 for Texas", often with their Rat Pack pals such as Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, as well as a romantic comedy, "Marriage on the Rocks". Martin also co-starred with Shirley MacLaine in a number of films, including "Some Came Running", "Artists and Models", "Career", "All in a Night's Work", and "What a Way to Go!" He played a satiric variation of his own womanizing persona as Las Vegas singer "Dino" in Billy Wilder's comedy "Kiss Me, Stupid" (1964) with Kim Novak, and he poked fun at his image in films such as the "Matt Helm" spy spoofs of the 1960s, in which he was a co-producer. In the third Matt Helm film "The Ambushers" (1967), Helm, about to be executed, receives a last cigarette and tells the provider, "I'll remember you from the great beyond," continuing "sotto voce", "somewhere around Steubenville, I hope."


title: Dean Martin

text: As a singer, Martin copied the styles of Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers), Bing Crosby, and Perry Como until he developed his own and could hold his own in duets with Sinatra and Crosby. Like Sinatra, he could not read music, but he recorded more than 100 albums and 600 songs. His signature tune, "Everybody Loves Somebody", knocked the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" off number one in the United States in 1964. This was followed by "The Door is Still Open to My Heart", which reached number six that year. Elvis Presley was said to have been a fan of Martin, and patterned his performance of "Love Me Tender" after Martin's style. Martin, like Elvis, was influenced by country music. By 1965, some of Martin's albums, such as "Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again", "Houston," "Welcome to My World", and "Gentle on My Mind", were composed of country and western songs by artists such as Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens. Martin often hosted country performers on his TV show and was named "Man Of the Year" by the Country Music Association in 1966. The final album of his recording career was 1983's "The Nashville Sessions".


title: Dean Martin

text: The image of Martin as a Vegas entertainer in a tuxedo has been an enduring one. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?", a song Martin performed in "Ocean's 11", did not become a hit at the time, but has enjoyed a revival in the media and pop culture and has been his most frequently played song in media for two decades. For three decades, Martin was among the most popular acts in Las Vegas. Martin sang and was one of the smoothest comics in the business, benefiting from the decade of comedy with Lewis. Martin's daughter, Gail, also sang in Vegas and on many TV shows including his, co-hosting his summer replacement series on NBC. Daughter Deana Martin continues to perform, as did youngest son Ricci Martin until his death in August 2016. Eldest son Craig was a producer on Martin's television show and daughter Claudia was an actress in films such as "For Those Who Think Young". Though often thought of as a ladies' man, Martin spent a lot of time with his family; as second wife Jeanne put it, prior to the couple's divorce, "He was home every night for dinner."


title: Dean Martin

text: As Martin's solo career grew, he and Frank Sinatra became friends. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Martin and Sinatra, along with friends Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis Jr. formed the Rat Pack, so-called after an earlier group of social friends, the Holmby Hills Rat Pack centered on Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, of which Sinatra had been a member (The Martin-Sinatra-Davis-Lawford-Bishop group referred to themselves as "The Summit" or "The Clan" and never as "The Rat Pack", although this has remained their identity in popular imagination). The men made films together, formed part of the Hollywood social scene, and were politically influential (through Lawford's marriage to Patricia Kennedy, sister of President John F. Kennedy).


title: Dean Martin

text: The Rat Pack was legendary for its Las Vegas Strip performances. For example, the marquee at the Sands Hotel might read "DEAN MARTIN—MAYBE FRANK—MAYBE SAMMY." Their appearances were valuable because the city would flood with wealthy gamblers. Their act (always in tuxedo) consisted of each singing individual numbers, duets and trios, along with seemingly improvised slapstick and chatter. In the socially charged 1960s, their jokes revolved around adult themes, such as Sinatra's womanizing and Martin's drinking, as well as Davis's race and religion. Sinatra and Martin supported the civil rights movement and refused to perform in clubs that would not allow African-American or Jewish performers. Posthumously, the Rat Pack has experienced a popular revival, inspiring the George Clooney/Brad Pitt "Ocean's Trilogy".


title: Dean Martin

text: In 1965, Martin launched his weekly NBC comedy-variety series, "The Dean Martin Show", which ran for 264 episodes until 1974. He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1966 and was nominated again the following three years. The show exploited his image as a carefree boozer. Martin capitalized on his laid-back persona of the half-drunk crooner, hitting on women with remarks that would get anyone else slapped, and making snappy if slurred remarks about fellow celebrities during his roasts. During an interview on the British TV documentary "Wine, Women and Song", aired in 1983, he stated, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, that he had someone record them on cassette tape so he could listen to them. His TV show was a success. The show's loose format featured quick-witted improvization from Martin and his weekly guests. This prompted a battle between Martin and NBC censors, who insisted on more scrutiny of the content. He later had trouble with NBC for his off-the-cuff use of obscene Italian phrases, which brought complaints from viewers who spoke the language. The show was often in the Top Ten. Martin, appreciative of the show's producer, his friend Greg Garrison, made a handshake deal giving Garrison, a pioneer TV producer in the 1950s, 50% of the show. However, the validity of that ownership is the subject of a lawsuit brought by NBCUniversal.


title: Dean Martin

text: Despite Martin's reputation as a drinker—perpetuated via his vanity license plate "DRUNKY"—his alcohol use was quite disciplined. He was often the first to call it a night and, when not on tour or on a film location, liked to go home to see his wife and children. He borrowed the lovable-drunk shtick from Joe E. Lewis, but his convincing portrayals of heavy boozers in "Some Came Running" and Howard Hawks's "Rio Bravo" led to unsubstantiated claims of alcoholism. Martin starred in and co-produced four Matt Helm superspy comedy adventures during this time, as well as a number of Westerns. By the early 1970s, "The Dean Martin Show" was still earning solid ratings, and although he was no longer a Top 40 hitmaker, his record albums continued to sell. He found a way to make his passion for golf profitable by offering a signature line of golf balls, and the Dean Martin Tucson Open was an event on golf's PGA Tour from 1972 to 1975. At his death, Martin was reportedly the single largest minority shareholder of RCA stock.


title: Dean Martin

text: Now comfortable financially, Martin began reducing his schedule. The final (1973–1974) season of his variety show was retooled into one of celebrity roasts, requiring less involvement. In the roasts, Martin and his panel of pals made fun of a variety of popular entertainment, athletic, and political figures. After the show's cancellation, NBC continued to air "The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast" as a series of TV specials through 1984.


title: Dean Martin

text: For nearly a decade, Martin had recorded as many as four albums a year for Reprise Records. Martin recorded his final Reprise album, "Once in a While" in 1974, which was not issued until 1978. His final recordings were made for Warner Bros. Records. "The Nashville Sessions" was released in 1983, from which he had a hit with "(I Think That I Just Wrote) My First Country Song", which was recorded with Conway Twitty and made a respectable showing on the country charts. A follow-up single, "L.A. Is My Home"/"Drinking Champagne", came in 1985. The 1974 film drama "Mr. Ricco" marked Martin's final starring role, in which he played a criminal defense lawyer. He played a featured role in the 1981 comedy "The Cannonball Run" and its sequel, both starring Burt Reynolds.


title: Dean Martin

text: In 1972, he filed for divorce from his second wife, Jeanne. A week later, his business partnership with the Riviera hotel in Las Vegas dissolved amid reports of the casino's refusal to agree to Martin's request to perform only once a night. He joined the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, where he was the featured performer on the hotel's opening night of December 23, 1973, and his contract required him to star in a film ("Mr. Ricco") for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. Less than a month after his second marriage had dissolved, Martin, at 55, married 26-year-old Catherine Hawn on April 25, 1973. Hawn had been the receptionist at the chic Gene Shacove hair salon in Beverly Hills. They divorced November 10, 1976. He was also briefly engaged to Gail Renshaw, Miss World–U.S. 1969. Eventually, Martin reconciled with Jeanne, though they never remarried.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin also made a public reconciliation with Lewis on his partner's Labor Day telethon, benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association, in September 1976. Sinatra shocked Lewis by bringing Martin out on stage and as the two men embraced, the audience gave them a standing ovation and the phones lit up, resulting in one of the telethon's most profitable years up to that time. Lewis later reported the event was one of the three most memorable of his life. Lewis quipped, "So, you working?" Martin, playing drunk, replied that he was appearing "at the 'Meggum'" (meaning the MGM Grand Hotel). This, with the death of Martin's son Dean Paul Martin more than a decade later, helped bring the two men together. They maintained a quiet friendship, but only performed again once, in 1989, on Martin's 72nd birthday.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin returned to films briefly with appearances in the star-laden, critically panned but commercially successful "The Cannonball Run" and its sequel "Cannonball Run II". He also had a minor hit single with "Since I Met You Baby" and made his first music video, which appeared on MTV and was created by Martin's youngest son, Ricci. On March 21, 1987, Martin's son, actor Dean Paul Martin (formerly Dino of the 1960s "teeny-bopper" rock group Dino, Desi & Billy), died when his F-4 Phantom II jet fighter crashed while flying with the California Air National Guard. Martin's grief over his son's death left him depressed and demoralized. Lewis stated in an on-stage interview in 2005 that subsequent to his son's death Martin became a reclusive alcoholic. Later, a tour with Davis and Sinatra in 1988, undertaken in part to help Martin recover, sputtered.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin, who responded best to a club audience, felt lost in the huge stadiums they were performing in at Sinatra's insistence, and he was not interested in drinking until dawn after performances. His final Vegas shows were at Bally's Hotel in 1991. At Bally's, he had his final reunion with Lewis on his 72nd birthday. Martin's last two TV appearances involved tributes to his former Rat Pack members. On December 8, 1989, he joined stars in Sammy Davis Jr's 60th anniversary celebration, which aired a few weeks before Davis died from throat cancer. In December 1990, Martin congratulated Sinatra on his 75th birthday special.


title: Dean Martin

text: Following his diagnosis of lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center on September 16, 1993, Martin finally quit smoking.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin was married three times. He wed Elizabeth Anne "Betty" McDonald, (July 14, 1922 – July 11, 1989) of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania in 1941. The couple had four children:


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin and McDonald divorced in 1949 and Dean gained custody of their children. McDonald lived out her life in relative obscurity in San Francisco, California.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin next married Dorothy Jean "Jeanne" Biegger (March 27, 1927 – August 24, 2016), a former Orange Bowl queen from Coral Gables, Florida. Their marriage lasted 24 years (1949–1973) and produced three children:


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin last wed Catherine Hawn (born 1947), a union which lasted three years before Martin initiated divorce proceedings. They had no biological children of their own but Martin adopted Hawn's daughter, Sasha. After their divorce, Martin had a brief relationship with model and longtime friend Pat Sheehan.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin's uncle was Leonard Barr, who appeared in several of his shows. In the 1960s and early 1970s Martin lived at 363 Copa De Oro Road in Bel Air, Los Angeles, before selling it to Tom Jones for $500,000 in June 1976.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin's son-in-law was the Beach Boys' Carl Wilson, who married Martin's daughter Gina. Figure skater Dorothy Hamill and actress Olivia Hussey were his daughters-in-law during their marriages to Martin's son, Dean Paul Martin. Craig, Martin's elder son, was married to Lou Costello's daughter Carole (1938-1987) until her death from a stroke at age 48.


title: Dean Martin

text: Dean Martin bred Purebred Andalusian Horses at his Hidden Valley Ranch, Thousand Oaks Ventura County, California.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in September 1993. He was told that he would require surgery to prolong his life, but he rejected it. He retired from public life in early 1995 and died of acute respiratory failure resulting from emphysema at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas Day, 1995 (29 years to the day after his own mother died), at age 78. The lights of the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor. Martin was interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. The crypt features the epitaph "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime", the title of his signature song.


title: Dean Martin

text: In 1997, Ohio Route 7 through Steubenville was rededicated as Dean Martin Boulevard. Road signs bearing an Al Hirschfeld caricature of Martin's likeness designate the stretch with a historical marker bearing a small picture and brief biography in the Gazebo Park at Route 7 and North Fourth Street. An annual Dean Martin Festival celebration is held in Steubenville. Impersonators, friends and family, and entertainers, many of Italian ancestry, appear. In 2005, Clark County, Nevada, renamed a portion of Industrial Road as Dean Martin Drive. A similarly named street was dedicated in 2008 in Rancho Mirage, California. Martin's family was presented a gold record in 2004 for "," his fastest-selling album, which also hit the iTunes Top 10, and in 2006 it was certified "Platinum".


title: Dean Martin

text: For the week ending December 23, 2006, the Dean Martin and Martina McBride duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" reached No. 7 on the R&R AC chart. It also went to No. 36 on the R&R Country chart – the last time Martin had a song this high in the charts was in 1965, with the song "I Will", which reached No. 10 on the Pop chart. An album of duets, "Forever Cool", was released by Capitol/EMI in 2007. It features Martin's voice with Kevin Spacey, Shelby Lynne, Joss Stone, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Robbie Williams, McBride and others. His footprints were immortalized at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in 1964. Martin has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one at 6519 Hollywood Boulevard for movies; the second at 1617 Vine for recordings; and a third at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard for television. In February 2009, Martin was honored with a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Four of his surviving children, Gail, Deana, Ricci and Gina accepted it on his behalf. In 2010, Martin received a posthumous star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


title: Dean Martin

text: The town of origin of Dean's father, Montesilvano, dedicated to him a square between via Sarca and via Torrente Piomba and a congress palace called Pala Dean Martin congress center in via Aldo Moro adjacent to the Porto Allegro structure (former cinema Warner).


title: Dean Martin

text: A number of Martin songs have been featured across popular culture for decades. Hits such as "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", "Sway", "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You", "That's Amore", and Martin's signature song "Everybody Loves Somebody" have been in films (such as the Oscar-winning "Logorama", "A Bronx Tale", "Casino", "Goodfellas", "Payback", "", "Sexy Beast", "Moonstruck", "Vegas Vacation", "Swingers", and "Return to Me"), television series (such as "American Dad!", "Friends", "The Sopranos", "House MD", "Samurai Jack", and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"), video games (such as "", "The Godfather II", "", and "Mafia II"), and fashion shows (such as the 2008 "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show").


title: Dean Martin

text: Danny Gans portrayed Martin in the 1992 CBS miniseries "Sinatra". Martin was portrayed by Joe Mantegna in the 1998 HBO movie about Sinatra and Martin titled "The Rat Pack". Mantegna was nominated for both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role. British actor Jeremy Northam portrayed the entertainer in the 2002 made-for-TV movie "Martin and Lewis", alongside "Will & Grace" Sean Hayes as Jerry Lewis.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin is the subject of "Dean Martin's Wild Party" and "Dean Martin's Vegas Shindig", a pair of video slot machines found in many casinos. The games feature songs sung by Martin during the bonus feature and the count-up of a player's winnings. A compilation album called "Amore!" debuted at Number One on "Billboard" magazine's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart in its February 21, 2009, issue.


title: Dean Martin

text: In 1998, The MTV animated show "Celebrity Deathmatch" had a clay-animated fight to the death between Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. Martin wins by whacking Jerry out of the ring. "" has been a successful tribute show, featuring Martin impersonators, on stage in Europe and North America since 2000. The walk-up song for Francisco Cervelli, a catcher for the Atlanta Braves, is the Dean Martin tune "That's Amore". In DePatie-Freleng's animated theatrical cartoon series "The Ant and the Aardvark", the Ant's voice was performed by John Byner as an imitation of Martin.


title: Dean Martin

text: Martin appears as Matt Helm in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 period piece "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood". Sharon Tate (played by Margot Robbie) goes to a cinema to see "The Wrecking Crew".


title: Socrates

text: Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre. Contradictory accounts of Socrates make a reconstruction of his philosophy nearly impossible, a situation known as the Socratic problem. Socrates was a polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. After a trial that lasted a day, he was sentenced to death. He spent his last day in prison, refusing offers to help him escape.


title: Socrates

text: Plato's dialogues are among the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. They demonstrate the Socratic approach to areas of philosophy including rationalism and ethics. The Platonic Socrates lends his name to the concept of the Socratic method, and also to Socratic irony. The Socratic method of questioning, or elenchus, takes shape in dialogue using short questions and answers, epitomized by those Platonic texts in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine various aspects of an issue or an abstract meaning, usually relating to one of the virtues, and find themselves at an impasse, completely unable to define what they thought they understood. Socrates is known for proclaiming his total ignorance; he used to say that the only thing he was aware of was his ignorance, seeking to imply that the realization of our ignorance is the first step in philosophizing.


title: Socrates

text: Socrates exerted a strong influence on philosophers in later antiquity and has continued to do so in the modern era. Socrates was studied by medieval and Islamic scholars and played an important role in the thought of the Italian Renaissance, particularly within the humanist movement. Interest in Socrates continued unabated, as reflected in the works of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Depictions of Socrates in art, literature, and popular culture have made him a widely known figure in the Western philosophical tradition.


title: Socrates

text: Socrates did not document his teachings. All that is known about him comes from the accounts of others: mainly the philosopher Plato and the historian Xenophon, who were both his pupils; the Athenian comic dramatist Aristophanes (Socrates's contemporary); and Plato's pupil Aristotle, who was born after Socrates's death. The often contradictory stories from these ancient accounts only serve to complicate scholars' ability to reconstruct Socrates's true thoughts reliably, a predicament known as the Socratic problem. The works of Plato, Xenophon, and other authors who use the character of Socrates as an investigative tool, are written in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and his interlocutors and provide the main source of information on Socrates's life and thought. Socratic dialogues ("logos sokratikos") was a term coined by Aristotle to describe this newly formed literary genre. While the exact dates of their composition are unknown, some were probably written after Socrates's death. As Aristotle first noted, the extent to which the dialogues portray Socrates authentically is a matter of some debate.


title: Socrates

text: An honest man, Xenophon was no trained philosopher. He could neither fully conceptualize nor articulate Socrates's arguments. He admired Socrates for his intelligence, patriotism, and courage on the battlefield. He discusses Socrates in four works: the "Memorabilia", the "Oeconomicus", the "Symposium", and the "Apology of Socrates". He also mentions a story featuring Socrates in his "Anabasis". "Oeconomicus" recounts a discussion on practical agricultural issues. Like Plato's "Apology", Xenophon's "Apologia" describes the trial of Socrates, but the works diverge substantially and, according to W. K. C. Guthrie, Xenophon's account portrays a Socrates of "intolerable smugness and complacency". "Symposium" is a dialogue of Socrates with other prominent Athenians during an after-dinner discussion, but is quite different from Plato's "Symposium": there is no overlap in the guest list. In "Memorabilia", he defends Socrates from the accusations of corrupting the youth and being against the gods; essentially, it is a collection of various stories gathered together to construct a new apology for Socrates.


title: Socrates

text: Plato's representation of Socrates is not straightforward. Plato was a pupil of Socrates and outlived him by five decades. How trustworthy Plato is in representing the attributes of Socrates is a matter of debate; the view that he did not represent views other than Socrates's own is not shared by many contemporary scholars. A driver of this doubt is the inconsistency of the character of Socrates that he presents. One common explanation of this inconsistency is that Plato initially tried to accurately represent the historical Socrates, while later in his writings he was happy to insert his own views into Socrates's words. Under this understanding, there is a distinction between the "Socratic" Socrates of Plato's earlier works and the "Platonic" Socrates of Plato's later writings, although the boundary between the two seems blurred.


title: Socrates

text: Xenophon's and Plato's accounts differ in their presentations of Socrates as a person. Xenophon's Socrates is duller, less humorous and less ironic than Plato's. Xenophon's Socrates also lacks the philosophical features of Plato's Socrates—ignorance, the Socratic method or "elenchus"—and thinks "enkrateia" (self-control) is of pivotal importance, which is not the case with Plato's Socrates. Generally, "logoi Sokratikoi" cannot help us to reconstruct the historical Socrates even in cases where their narratives overlap, as authors may have influenced each other's accounts.


title: Socrates

text: Writers of Athenian comedy, including Aristophanes, also commented on Socrates. Aristophanes's most important comedy with respect to Socrates is "The Clouds", in which Socrates is a central character. In this drama, Aristophanes presents a caricature of Socrates that leans towards sophism, ridiculing Socrates as an absurd atheist. Socrates in "Clouds" is interested in natural philosophy, which conforms to Plato's depiction of him in "Phaedo". What is certain is that by the age of 45, Socrates had already captured the interest of Athenians as a philosopher. It is not clear whether Aristophanes's work is useful in reconstructing the historical Socrates.


title: Socrates

text: Other ancient authors who wrote about Socrates were Aeschines of Sphettus, Antisthenes, Aristippus, Bryson, Cebes, Crito, Euclid of Megara, Phaedo and Aristotle, all of whom wrote after Socrates's death. Aristotle was not a contemporary of Socrates; he studied under Plato at the latter's Academy for twenty years. Aristotle treats Socrates without the bias of Xenophon and Plato, who had an emotional tie with Socrates, and he scrutinizes Socrates's doctrines as a philosopher. Aristotle was familiar with the various written and unwritten stories of Socrates. His role in understanding Socrates is limited. He does not write extensively on Socrates; and, when he does, he is mainly preoccupied with the early dialogues of Plato. There are also general doubts on his reliability on the history of philosophy. Still, his testimony is vital in understanding Socrates.


title: Socrates

text: In a seminal work titled "The Worth of Socrates as a Philosopher" (1818), the philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher attacked Xenophon's accounts; his attack was widely accepted and gave rise to the Socratic problem. Schleiermacher criticized Xenophon for his naïve representation of Socrates. Xenophon was a soldier, argued Schleiermacher, and was therefore not well placed to articulate Socratic ideas. Furthermore, Xenophon was biased in his depiction of his former friend and teacher: he believed Socrates was treated unfairly by Athens, and sought to prove his point of view rather than to provide an impartial account. The result, said Schleiermacher, was that Xenophon portrayed Socrates as an uninspiring philosopher. By the early 20th century, Xenophon's account was largely rejected.


title: Socrates

text: The philosopher Karl Joel, basing his arguments on Aristotle's interpretation of "logos sokratikos", suggested that the Socratic dialogues are mostly fictional: according to Joel, the dialogues' authors were just mimicking some Socratic traits of dialogue. In the mid-20th century, philosophers such as Olof Gigon and Eugène Dupréel, based on Joel's arguments, proposed that the study of Socrates should focus on the various versions of his character and beliefs rather than aiming to reconstruct a historical Socrates. Later, ancient philosophy scholar Gregory Vlastos suggested that the early Socratic dialogues of Plato were more compatible with other evidence for a historical Socrates than his later writings, an argument that is based on inconsistencies in Plato's own evolving depiction of Socrates. Vlastos totally disregarded Xenophon's account except when it agreed with Plato's. More recently, Charles H. Kahn has reinforced the skeptical stance on the unsolvable Socratic problem, suggesting that only Plato's "Apology" has any historical significance.


title: Socrates

text: Socrates was born in 470 or 469 BC to Sophroniscus and Phaenarete, a stoneworker and a midwife, respectively, in the Athenian deme of Alopece; therefore, he was an Athenian citizen, having been born to relatively affluent Athenians. He lived close to his father's relatives and inherited, as was customary, part of his father's estate, securing a life reasonably free of financial concerns. His education followed the laws and customs of Athens. He learned the basic skills of reading and writing and, like most wealthy Athenians, received extra lessons in various other fields such as gymnastics, poetry and music. He was married twice (which came first is not clear): his marriage to Xanthippe took place when Socrates was in his fifties, and another marriage was with a daughter of Aristides, an Athenian statesman. He had three sons with Xanthippe. Socrates fulfilled his military service during the Peloponnesian War and distinguished himself in three campaigns, according to Plato.


title: Socrates

text: Another incident that reflects Socrates's respect for the law is the arrest of Leon the Salaminian. As Plato describes in his "Apology", Socrates and four others were summoned to the Tholos and told by representatives of the Thirty Tyrants (which began ruling in 404 BC) to arrest Leon for execution. Again Socrates was the sole abstainer, choosing to risk the tyrants' wrath and retribution rather than to participate in what he considered to be a crime.


title: Socrates

text: Socrates attracted great interest from the Athenian public and especially the Athenian youth. He was notoriously ugly, having a flat turned-up nose, bulging eyes and a large belly; his friends joked about his appearance. Socrates was indifferent to material pleasures, including his own appearance and personal comfort. He neglected personal hygiene, bathed rarely, walked barefoot, and owned only one ragged coat. He moderated his eating, drinking, and sex, although he did not practice full abstention. Although Socrates was attracted to youth, as was common and accepted in ancient Greece, he resisted his passion for young men because, as Plato describes, he was more interested in educating their souls. Socrates did not seek sex from his disciples, as was often the case between older and younger men in Athens. Politically, he did not take sides in the rivalry between the democrats and the oligarchs in Athens; he criticized both. The character of Socrates as exhibited in "Apology", "Crito", "Phaedo" and "Symposium" concurs with other sources to an extent that gives confidence in Plato's depiction of Socrates in these works as being representative of the real Socrates.


title: Socrates

text: Socrates died in Athens in 399 BC after a trial for impiety and the corruption of the young that lasted for only a day. He spent his last day in prison among friends and followers who offered him a route to escape, which he refused. He died the next morning, in accordance with his sentence, after drinking poison hemlock. He had never left Athens, except during the military campaigns which he had participated in.


title: Socrates

text: In 399 BC, Socrates went on trial for corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens, and for impiety. Socrates defended himself unsuccessfully. He was found guilty by a majority vote cast by a jury of hundreds of male Athenian citizens and, according to the custom, proposed his own penalty: that "he" should be given free food and housing by the state, for the services he rendered to the city. In the alternative, he proposed that he be fined one mina of silver (according to him, all he had). The jurors declined his offer and ordered the death penalty. The official charges were: (1) corrupting youth; (2) worshipping false gods; and (3) not worshipping the state religion.