title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: In the Imperial Crypt, underneath the Church of the Capuchins in Vienna, over 140 members of the Habsburg dynasty are buried. The most recent burial in the crypt was in 2011 for Otto von Habsburg, the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary and eldest son of the last Austrian Emperor, the Blessed Charles of Austria.


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: , there were 10,480 Capuchins worldwide, of whom 7,070 were priests, living and working in 108 countries around the world: Africa: 1,357; South America: 1,657; North America: 664; Asia-Oceania: 2,339; Western Europe: 3,500; Central-Eastern Europe: 769. In Great Britain there are currently five Capuchin friaries, and eight in Ireland.


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: The Capuchin order, under the leadership of Italian Capuchin priest Giuseppe Maria Bernini, took part in the European colonization of India as missionaries and founded the community of Bettiah Christians. Bernini was invited by Maharaja Dhurup Singh of the Bettiah Raj, an appointment that was approved by Pope Benedict XIV on 1 May 1742.


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: The United States has six provinces throughout the country. Together with the two provinces in Canada, the Province of Australia and the Custody of the Mariana Islands/Hawaii they form the North American-Pacific Capuchin Conference (NAPCC).


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: The Province of St. Joseph, originally the Province of Calvary, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, was one of the first two Capuchin Provinces to be established in the country in 1882. It was founded by Francis Haas (1826–1895) and Bonaventure Frey (1831–1912), two Swiss diocesan priests who arrived in the United States in September 1856, and were received into the then-Diocese of Milwaukee by Bishop John Henni, also a Swiss immigrant, and given charge of St. Nicholas Parish which they renamed Mount Calvary. They were later admitted to the Capuchin Order on December 2, 1857, by Antoine Gauchet of the Swiss Province who had been sent to admit them in order to establish the Order in the United States. The friars started St. Lawrence Seminary High School in 1861 at Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, a school that is still owned and operated by the Capuchin Order.


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: One of the friars of this province, Solanus Casey, was noted for the holiness of his life, serving as the porter of several Capuchin friaries both in Michigan and New York City for decades. As a miraculous healing attributed to him was approved by Pope Francis in mid-2017, he was beatified in Detroit at Ford Field on November 18, 2017. This is significant because Casey could become the first male American-born Saint in the history of the Catholic Church. He had previously been declared Venerable in 1995 by Pope John Paul II. His tomb is in St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit, and is visited by thousands every year.


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: , the province has 23 communities spread throughout the American Midwest, reaching from Michigan to Arizona. Additionally, there are friars of this province working in Central America, with a community serving in the Middle East.


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: The Capuchin Poor Clares are cloistered nuns of the Order of St. Clare, who form the female branch of the Capuchin Order. They were founded in 1538 in Naples by the Venerable Maria Laurentia Longo, who was Abbess of the Poor Clare monastery of that city. She and the other nuns of that community embraced the then-new Capuchin reform movement, and so austere was the life that they were called "Sisters of Suffering". The Order soon spread to France, Spain and beyond. They live according to the same rules and regulations as the Capuchin friars, and are held as members of the friars' provinces.


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: In the United States, as of 2012, there are five monasteries of this Order. There are about 50 nuns in these communities, which are located in: Denver and Pueblo in Colorado, Alamo and Amarillo (the first, founded 1981) in Texas, and Wilmington, Delaware. The monasteries were almost all founded from Mexico, where there are some 1,350 Capuchin nuns in 73 monasteries. The monastery in Pueblo is a foundation of the monastery in Amarillo. Together they form the Federation of Our Lady of the Angels.


title: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

text: The Capuchins are unique for a Catholic religious order in that the growing of natural, untrimmed beards features as part of its first Constitution, which states as the reason, the beard is "manly, austere, natural, an imitation of Christ and the saints of our Order, and despised." This makes the Capuchin friars stand out in particular from the secular clergy of the Latin Church, who have no rule on such matters. In more recent times, since the Second Vatican Council, the beard has no longer been mandatory but is still common. Like other Franciscans, the friars wear a plain brown tunic with a hood, a cord fastened around the waist, and sandals (or shoes).


title: Amber Ruffin

text: Amber Mildred Ruffin (born January 9, 1979) is an American comedian, television host, writer, and actress. She hosts her own late-night talk show titled "The Amber Ruffin Show" on NBC and Peacock. She has been a writer for "Late Night with Seth Meyers" since 2014. When she joined the show she became the first Black woman to write for a late-night network talk show in the United States. In January 2021, she co-authored a book with her sister Lacey Lamar titled "You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism" which made the "New York Times" Best Seller list. They released a second book, "The World Record Book of Racist Stories", in 2022. In 2022, Ruffin and her writing partner Jenny Hagel, co-founded their production company Straight to Cards under their overall deal with Universal Television.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: Ruffin was born in Omaha, Nebraska. She graduated from Benson High School in 1996. Ruffin is the youngest of five children. As a child Ruffin learned Signing Exact English to communicate with a deaf neighbor.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: In 2001, Ruffin began performing in local theater productions and improv in Omaha. While performing with her improv troupe at an event in Chicago, Ruffin met comedian and owner of iO Theater Charna Halpern. Halpern encouraged Ruffin to move to Chicago saying she believed Ruffin would "have a full-time job, doing comedy, within the year". In 2008 after finishing her classes at iO, Ruffin moved to Amsterdam to work as a writer and performer on the improv comedy troupe Boom Chicago Amsterdam.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: After returning to the United States, Ruffin performed as part of The Second City in both Denver and Chicago, where she first met future "Late Night" co-writer Jenny Hagel. In 2011, she moved to Los Angeles joining the YouTube comedy group "RobotDown" featuring Jessica Lowe, Carlo Corbellini, and Davey Vorhes and appeared on an episode of "Key & Peele". She also joined the nationally recognized sketch and musical comedy troupe Story Pirates, where she performed sketches based on stories written by kids. Ruffin was also a member of Sacred Fools Theater Company performing a serialized version of "King of Kong: A Musical Parody", a two-woman show parodying the documentary "The King of Kong". The musical was co-written with co-star Lauren Van Kurin and directed by fellow Boom Chicago alum Brendan Hunt, with music by David Schmoll. "King of Kong" appeared at the 2014 New York International Fringe Festival winning Best Overall Musical 2014, and the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival (with Hunt subbing for an unavailable Ruffin), where it won Best Musical & Outstanding Songwriting. The show returned to Sacred Fools in September 2016 for a performance attended by parody target Billy Mitchell himself.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: In 2013, "Saturday Night Live" received backlash for not having any Black women on the cast. Ruffin auditioned for the show in 2014 alongside Tiffany Haddish, Leslie Jones, Gabrielle Dennis, Nicole Byer, Simone Shepherd, and Bresha Webb. Ruffin was unsuccessful in her audition. A few days later Seth Meyers called to ask her to be a writer on his new late night show. Ruffin has been a writer on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" since the show's start in 2014. In addition to writing she also appears in several recurring segments on the program including: "Amber Says What?", "Amber's Minute of Fury", "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" (with fellow writer Jenny Hagel), and "Point, Counterpoint". When the George Floyd protests began, Ruffin opened a week's worth of shows by retelling her experiences with police officers and police brutality. Meyers interviewed Ruffin as a guest for the show's 1,000th episode.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: When not writing for "Late Night", Ruffin wrote for the Comedy Central show "Detroiters" and was a regular narrator on the Comedy Central show "Drunk History". In 2017, Ruffin developed a single-camera comedy show, "Going Dutch", but the series was not ordered. She was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award in the category "Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) Series" in 2017.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: In 2019, NBC ordered a pilot presentation for Ruffin's single-camera comedy series "Village Gazette". In the same year Ruffin was a writer for the first season of "A Black Lady Sketch Show" on HBO.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: On January 16, 2020, it was announced that Ruffin would host her own late-night talk show on NBC's streaming service Peacock titled "The Amber Ruffin Show". The show premiered on September 25, 2020. The show breaks away from the typical late night structure, foregoing guests, and focusing instead on topical sketches. The show was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award in the category "Comedy/Variety Sketch Series" in 2021. The show was also nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar co-authored a book, titled "You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism", which was released on January 12, 2021, and was placed on the "New York Times" Best Seller list.


title: Amber Ruffin

text: In February 2021, it was announced that Ruffin was set to co-write the Broadway-bound musical adaptation of "Some Like It Hot" alongside Matthew Lopez.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: Oswald George Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975) was an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, musician, composer, conductor and bandleader. He originated and starred in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", a radio and television series with his wife Harriet and two sons David and Ricky Nelson.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: Nelson was born March 20, 1906 in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. He was the second son of Ethel Irene (née Orr) and George Waldemar Nelson. His paternal grandparents were Swedish and his mother was of English descent. Nelson was raised in Ridgefield Park where he was active in Scouting, earning the rank of Eagle Scout at age 13. He played football at Ridgefield Park High School as well as during his college years at Rutgers University. He was a member of the Cap and Skull fraternity. He graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree and earned a law degree from Rutgers School of Law, Newark, New Jersey, in 1930. Nelson was made a doctor of humane letters by Rutgers University in 1957. As a student he made pocket money playing saxophone in a band and coaching football. Nelson was rejected to be the vocalist for the Rutgers Jazz Bandits, led by Scrappy Lambert and later Hawley Ades. Nelson was not discouraged and was gracious about this rejection when he met Ades years later. During the Depression, he turned to music as a full-time career.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: Nelson started his entertainment career as a band leader. He formed and led The Ozzie Nelson Band, and had some initial limited success. Nelson made his own "big break" in 1930, when The "New York Daily Mirror" ran a poll of its readers to determine their favorite band. Since he knew that news vendors got credit from the newspaper for unsold copies by returning the front page and discarding the rest of the issue, he cannily had his band's members gather hundreds of discarded newspapers and fill out ballots in their own favor. They edged out Paul Whiteman and were pronounced the winners.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: From 1930 through the 1940s, Nelson's band recorded prolifically—first on Brunswick (1930–1933), then Vocalion (1933–1934), then back to Brunswick (1934–1936), Bluebird (1937–1941), Victor (1941), and finally back to Bluebird (1941 through the 1940s). Nelson's records were consistently popular, and in 1934, Nelson enjoyed success with his hit song, "Over Somebody Else's Shoulder," which he introduced. Nelson’s primary vocalist was Rose Anne Stevens, who appeared in the 1942 movie "Down Rio Grande Way" and "Tomorrow We Live". Later in his big band career, Harriet Hilliard replaced Stevens, after the latter's marriage to Colonel Weller. Nelson's calm, easy vocal style was popular on records and radio and quite similar to son Rick's voice, Eric Hilliard ("Ricky") and Harriet's perky vocals added to the band's popularity.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: In 1935, "Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra," as they were being called, had a number one hit with "And Then Some", which was number one for one week on the U.S. pop singles chart. Nelson wrote and composed several songs, including "Wave the Stick Blues", "Subway", "Jersey Jive", "Swingin' on the Golden Gate", and "Central Avenue Shuffle".


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: In October 1935, he married the band's vocalist Harriet Hilliard. The couple had two children: the older, David (1936–2011), became an actor and director, and the younger, Eric Hilliard ("Ricky") (1940–1985), became an actor and singer.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: Ozzie Nelson appeared with his band in feature films and short subjects of the 1940s, and often played speaking parts, displaying a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, as in the 1942 musical "Strictly in the Groove." He shrewdly promoted the band by agreeing to appear in "soundies," three-minute musical movies shown in "film jukeboxes" of the 1940s. In 1952, when he and his family were established as radio and TV favorites, they starred in a feature film, "Here Come the Nelsons," which served as the "pilot" for the TV series.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: In the 1940s, Nelson began to look for a way to spend more time with his family, especially his growing sons. Besides band appearances, he and Harriet had been regulars on "The Raleigh Cigarette Program," Red Skelton's radio show. Nelson developed and produced his own radio series, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." The show originally aired in 1944, with their sons played by actors until 1949. In 1952 it moved to television, where David and Ricky appeared on camera. The radio version continued for another two years, and the last television episode aired in 1966.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: The TV show starred the entire family, as America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their boys. Nelson was producer and director of most of the episodes, and he co-wrote many of them. Nelson's brother, Don Nelson, was also one of the writers. Ozzie was hands on, involved with every aspect of both radio and TV programs. It is notable that throughout the 1950's, Ozzie's prior bandleading career and Harriet's singing, acting, and dancing careers were seldom mentioned. The younger audience would have had no idea that Ozzie and Harriet had previously been involved in music.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: His last television show, in the fall of 1973, was "Ozzie's Girls", which lasted for a year in first-run syndication. The premise involved Ozzie and Harriet renting their sons' former room to two college girls—actresses Brenda Sykes and Susan Sennett—and portrayed the Nelsons' efforts at adjusting to living with two young women after raising two sons.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: For his contribution to the television industry, Ozzie Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard. He has an additional star with his wife at 6260 Hollywood Boulevard for their contribution to radio.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: He married band singer Harriet Hilliard in 1935. They had two sons, David (born in 1936) and Eric (known as Ricky, born in 1940). The couple remained married until Ozzie's death in 1975. His grandchildren include actress Tracy Nelson and musicians Matthew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson. He was also the former father-in-law of Kristin Harmon and June Blair.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: Cultural historians have noted that the on-screen laid-back character was very different from the real-life Ozzie Nelson, who has been characterized as an authoritarian figure who monitored every aspect of his children's lives. In 1998, A&E broadcast a documentary entitled "Ozzie and Harriet: The Adventures of America's Favorite Family", which depicted Ozzie Nelson as a dictatorial personality who "thwarted his sons, preventing them from attending college and reminding them that they were obliged to work on television". Author David Halberstam has written, "the Nelsons arguably were a dysfunctional family. In real life, Ozzie was a workaholic who stole his sons' childhood (by having them grow up in show business)".


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: Nelson suffered from recurring malignant tumors in his later years, and eventually succumbed to liver cancer. He died at his home in the San Fernando Valley on June 3, 1975, with his wife and sons at his bedside.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: Services were held at the Church of the Hills at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, California on Friday, June 6. He is interred with his wife and son Ricky in the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.


title: Ozzie Nelson

text: When his elder son David died in 2011, he was cremated, having chosen a niche in Westwood Memorial Park's outdoor Garden of Serenity columbarium rather than interment in the Nelson family plot.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The most populous member state is Germany, with an estimated 82.8 million people, and the least populous member state is Malta with 0.48 million.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: Birth rates in the EU are rather low with the average woman having 1.6 children. The highest birth-rates are found in Ireland with 16.876 births per thousand people per year and France with 13.013 births per thousand people per year. Spain has the lowest birth rate in Europe with 8.221 births per thousand people per year.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The European Union has a significant number of global cities. It contained 13 of the 60 cities which composed the 2008 Global Cities Index, as well as 16 of the 41 "alpha" global cities classified by Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network (including Paris, Milan, Amsterdam and Brussels among others). The following is a list of the ten most populous cities, urban areas and urban zones in the European Union, with their population:


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The movement of people within the Union i.e. internal migration, remains limited; it has traditionally followed two patterns:


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: At present, more people immigrate into the European Union than emigrate from it. Immigration is a controversial issue in many member states, including Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and France. It was also a cited as a major factor in the Brexit referendum of 2016.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: In 2010, 47.3 million people living in the EU, or 9.4% of the total population, had been born outside their resident country. Of these, 31.4 million (6.3%) had been born outside the EU; 16.0 million (3.2%) had been born in another member state. The largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (6.4 million), France (5.1 million), Spain (4.1 million), Italy (3.2 million), and the Netherlands (1.4 million).


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: In 2017, approximately 825,000 persons acquired citizenship of a member state of the European Union, down from 995,000 in 2016. The largest groups were nationals of Morocco, Albania, India, Turkey and Pakistan.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: Spain in particular receives most of the immigrants coming illegally to Europe from Africa, probably due to its large coastal area and its proximity to and land borders with Morocco at Ceuta and Melilla; African immigrants try to enter the country by boat from Morocco or Senegal or by jumping the border fences. For example, during just the first weekend of September 2006, more than 1,300 illegal immigrants arrived on beaches in the Canary Islands and estimates are that between 50,000 and 70,000 people enter the European Union illegally through Spanish borders or beaches. Border fences have been built at both the Ceuta and Melilla borders in an attempt to stop illegal entrance to the country. Illegal immigration is an issue in Spanish politics, and also a big human rights problem, since many people die during the journey. Spain has been Europe's largest absorber of migrants for the past six years, with its immigrant population increasing fourfold as 2.8 million people have arrived, mostly from Latin America. Spectacular growth in Spain's immigrant population came as the country's economy created more than half of all the new jobs in the European Union between 2001 and 2006.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The net migration rate for the EU in 2008 was 3.1 per 1,000 inhabitants; this figure is for migration into and out of the European Union, and therefore excludes any internal movements between member states. Annual net migration has varied from 1.5 to 2.0 million people since 2003.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: Since 2020, EU data is aggregated for the 27 remaining states. UK is no longer a member due to Brexit.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: Before Brexit, EU data was aggregated for 28 countries member of the EU from 2013 until 2020, including the UK.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The EU has significant religious diversity, mirroring its diverse history and culture. The largest religious group professes


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: Christianity and accounts for 64% of the EU population in 2019, down from 72% in 2012. Largest Christian groups are Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Several EU nations do not have a Christian majority and for example in Estonia and the Czech Republic the majority have no religious affiliation.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: European countries have experienced a decline in church attendance as well as a decline in the number of people professing a religious belief. The 2010 Eurobarometer Poll found that, on average, 51% of the citizens of EU Member States state that they believe there is a God, 26% believe there is some sort of spirit or life force and 20% don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force. 3% declined to answer. These figures show a 2% change from theism to atheism since 2005.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: European indigenous (or native) religions are still alive in small and diverse minorities, especially in Scandinavia, Baltic states, Italy and Greece.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The recent influx of immigrants to the affluent EU nations has brought in various religions of their native homelands, including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and the Baháʼí Faith. Judaism has had a long history in Europe and has coexisted with the other religions for centuries, despite periods of persecution or genocide by European rulers. Islam too has had a long history in Europe, with Spain and Portugal at one time having a Muslim majority. Large Muslim populations also exist in the Balkans and parts of Eastern Europe, due to a legacy of centuries of Ottoman rule.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The first official language of each of the 27 Member Countries has the status of an official language of the European Union. In total there are 24, with Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian gaining official language status on 1 January 2007, when the last two countries joined the European Union, and Croatian becoming official in 2013.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: Before Brexit, English was the most spoken language in the EU, being spoken by around 51% of its population. This high proportion is because 38% of EU citizens speak it as a language other than their mother tongue (i.e. second or foreign language). German is the most spoken first language, spoken by more than 20% of the population following Brexit.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The EU faces challenges in its demographic future. Most concerns center around several related issues: an ageing population, growing life expectancy and immigrant flow.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: After hitting a historical low of 1.47 children born per female, the total fertility rate of the EU started to increase again, to reach a level of 1.60 in 2008. The positive trend was observed in all member states with the exception of Luxembourg, Malta and Portugal. The largest increases over this period were observed in Bulgaria (from 1.23 children per woman in 2003 to 1.57 in 2009), Slovenia (from 1.20 to 1.53), the Czech Republic (from 1.18 to 1.49) and Lithuania (from 1.26 to 1.55). In 2009, the Member States with the highest fertility rates were Ireland (2.06), France (2.00), Sweden (1.94), and the United Kingdom (1.90), all approaching the replacement level of 2.1 children born per female. The lowest rates were observed in Latvia (1.31), Hungary and Portugal (both 1.32) and Germany (1.36). The increasing fertility rate has also been accompanied by an upward trend in the natural increase of the population which is due to the moderate increase of the crude birth rate that reached 10.9 births per 1000 inhabitants in 2008, an increase of 0.3 compared with 2007. The increase was observed in all member countries except Germany. The EU crude death rate remained stable at 9.7 per 1000 inhabitants. The relatively low fertility rate means retirement age workers are not entirely replaced by younger workers joining the workforce. The EU faces a potential future dominated by an ever-increasing population of retired citizens, without enough younger workers to fund (via taxes) retirement programs or other state welfare agendas.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: A low fertility rate, without supplement from immigration, also suggests a declining overall EU population, which further suggests economic contraction or even a possible economic crisis. Some media have noted the 'baby crisis' in the EU, some governments have noted the problem, and the UN and other multinational authorities have warned of a possible crisis. At this point however such a decrease in the population of the EU is not observed as the overall natural growth remains positive and the EU continues to attract large numbers of immigrants. In 2010, a breakdown of the population by citizenship showed that there were 20.1 million foreign citizens living in the EU representing 4% of the population.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: Over the last 50 years, life expectancy at birth in the EU27 has increased by around 10 years for both women and men, to reach 82.4 years for women and 76.4 years for men in 2008. The life expectancy at birth rose in all Member States, with the largest increases for both women and men recorded in Estonia and Slovenia.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: There is no precise or universally accepted definition of the terms "ethnic group" or "nationality". In the context of European ethnography in particular, the terms "ethnic group", "people" (without nation state), "nationality", "national minority", "ethnic minority", "linguistic community", "linguistic group" and "linguistic minority" are used as mostly synonymous, although preference may vary in usage with respect to the situation specific to the individual countries of Europe.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: European Commission, funded the European Social Survey which considered three different way to define ethnic minority groups:


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: The rest are various smaller ethnic groups include Swedes (c. 10.2  million), Hungary (c. 9.8 million), Austrians (c. 8.8 million), Bulgaria (c. 8 million) Flemish, Croats, Slovaks, Silesians, Danes, Finns, Irish, Walloons, Lithuanians, Slovenes, Latvians, Estonians, Russians, Maltese, Moravians, Frisians and Basques.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: On current trends European populations will become more ethnically diverse, with the possibility that today's majority ethnic groups will no longer comprise a numerical majority in some countries.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: In 2011, almost a quarter of new EU citizens were Moroccans, Turks, Ecuadorian or Indians. The new citizens in the old EU27 in 2011 came mainly from Africa (26% of the total number of citizenships acquired), Asia (23%), non-EU27 Europe (19%), North and South America (17%) or another EU27 Member State (11%). In 2011, the largest groups that acquired citizenship of an EU27 Member State were citizens of Morocco (64 300 persons, of which 55% acquired citizenship of France or Spain), Turkey (48 900, 58% acquired German citizenship), Ecuador (33 700, 95% acquired Spanish citizenship) and India (31 700, 83% acquired British citizenship).


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: In 2012, 34.3 million foreign citizens lived in the old 27 European Union member states, accounting for 6.8% of the European Union population, of whom 20.5 million were third country nationals (i.e. nationals of non-EU countries). The number of foreign-born (which includes those who have naturalised or are dual nationals) was 48.9 million or 9.7 per cent of the total population.


title: Demographics of the European Union

text: A total of 8.0 million citizens from European countries outside of the old EU-27 were residing in the EU at the beginning of 2012; among these more than half were citizens of Turkey, Albania or Ukraine. The next biggest group was from Africa (24.5%), followed by Asia (22.0%), the Americas (14.2%) and Oceania (0.8%). Romanians (living in another EU Member State) and Turkish citizens made up the biggest groups of non-nationals living in the EU-27 in 2012. There were 4.4 million Romanian citizens living outside of Romania within the EU-27 and 2.3 million Turkish citizens living in the EU-27; each of these two groups of people accounted for 7.0% of all foreigners living in the EU-27 in 2012. The third largest group was Moroccans (1.9 million people, or 5.6% of all foreigners).


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: Travis Shane Taylor (born July 24, 1968, in Decatur, Alabama) is an American scientist, engineer, science fiction author, and the star of National Geographic Channel's "Rocket City Rednecks" which aired 2011–2013. Taylor has written numerous technical papers, science fiction novels, and two textbooks. He has appeared in television documentaries, including NGC's "When Aliens Attack" and starring as the lead investigator in History Channel's "The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch".


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: Travis Shane Taylor was born July 24, 1968, in Decatur, Alabama in North Alabama. His father, Charles Taylor, worked as a machinist at Wyle Laboratories, which subcontracted for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the 1960s.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: At 17 years old, with the help of his neighbor, he built a radio telescope that won the state science fair.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: This led the Army to offer Taylor a job working at Redstone Arsenal on direct energy weapons systems directly out of high school as well as a scholarship.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: Taylor lives near Huntsville with his wife Karen, daughter Kalista Jade, two dogs Stevie and Wesker, and his cat Kuro.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: Taylor earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Auburn University in 1991, before going on to study at University of Alabama, Huntsville where he earned a MS in physics in 1994, a PhD in optical science and engineering in 1999, and a MSE in mechanical and aerospace engineering in 2001. He then completed a MS in astronomy in 2004 at the University of Western Sydney before earning a second PhD from University of Alabama, Huntsville in aerospace engineering in 2012.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: By 2006, Taylor had worked on various programs for the United States Department of Defense and NASA for over sixteen years. He has researched several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space-based beamed energy systems, high-energy lasers, and next generation space launch concepts. Taylor is also involved with multiple Human intelligence (HUMINT), Imagery intelligence (IMINT), Signals intelligence (SIGINT) and Measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) concept studies.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: Taylor was briefly the informal chief scientist on the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. He is also a Principal Research Scientist at Radiance Technologies.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: According to Taylor, after he expressed his dissatisfaction with space opera and the comparative dearth of recent hard science fiction, he was challenged by his wife to write his first book, and studied Robert A. Heinlein's works for stylistic influence.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: Taylor first appeared in episodes of "The Universe" and "Life After People" for the History Channel in 2010, after his name came up in a search regarding space warfare. Taylor was then on National Geographic Channel's "When Aliens Attack" in 2011.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: In the summer of 2011, the National Geographic Channel announced a new series called "Rocket City Rednecks" which features Taylor. The first episode showed in September 2011. A self-proclaimed 'redneck rocket scientist', Taylor focuses on 'hillbilly ingenuity' for the show's backyard science experiments, aided by his family and best friend, who are all machinists and inventors. The show ran for two seasons, from September 2011 to January 2013.


title: Travis S. Taylor

text: In 2015, he hosted the series "3 Scientists Walk into a Bar", which had four episodes in 2015. In 2017, he appeared on the History Channel show "Ancient Aliens" Season 12 episode "Voices of the Gods." Taylor also appeared in the Season 13 episode "The Alien Protocols," as well as the show "The Tesla Files" in 2018. Next, he was on an episode of "The Curse of Oak Island" on the History Channel in January 2019. He was able to show off his knowledge of searching for underground items using different gasses. Later in 2019, he appeared in an episode of "In Search of Monsters" and the show "NASA's Unexplained Files". Taylor led a 2020 History Channel series focusing on mysteries at Skinwalker Ranch, Utah, United States, in which he and a team investigated potential paranormal phenomena. "The Curse / Secret () of Skinwalker Ranch" program launched a second season on May 4, 2021, and a third season on May 3, 2022.


title: Mon Mothma

text: Mon Mothma is a fictional character in the "Star Wars" franchise, primarily portrayed by actress Genevieve O'Reilly. Introduced as the leader of the Rebel Alliance in "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" (1983), portrayed by Caroline Blakiston, Mothma has become a prominent character in subsequent prequel media, including "" (2008–2014), voiced by Kath Soucie, and the films "" (2005) and "Rogue One" (2016), and television series "Rebels" (2014–2018) and "Andor" (2022–present), in which O'Reilly took over the role.


title: Mon Mothma

text: O'Reilly's portrayal of Mon Mothma in film and television has received a universally positive critical reception, while Blakiston's initial cameo role has become an internet meme.


title: Mon Mothma

text: The first onscreen appearance of Mon Mothma was in "Return of the Jedi" in 1983, portrayed for the only time by Caroline Blakiston. In this film, she explains the rebels the plan to stop the Death Star.


title: Mon Mothma

text: A young Mothma, portrayed for the first time by Genevieve O'Reilly, appears in "" in a silent cameo appearance. In a deleted scene, in which she plays a larger role, Senator Mothma secretly meets with Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo during the last days of the Galactic Republic. The group, known as the Delegation of 2000, discuss Chancellor Palpatine's growing authoritarianism and how to counter it in what would be early seeds of the Rebellion against the Empire.


title: Mon Mothma

text: "Rogue One" marks Genevieve O'Reilly's first on-screen appearance as Mon Mothma after her scene in "Revenge of the Sith" was removed from the final cut of the film, reprising the role after over a decade. Mothma tasks Rebel spy Cassian Andor with finding Galen Erso, the Imperial scientist who designed the Death Star.


title: Mon Mothma

text: Mothma appears in several episodes in the animated series "Star Wars Rebels", with O'Reilly reprising her role. While a member of the Imperial Senate, Mothma makes a speech where she publicly denounces Emperor Palpatine for the Empire's massacre of the Ghormans. The speech causes Mothma to leave the Imperial Senate and flee after being wanted by the Empire. She is then forced to publicly become the leader of the Rebel Alliance, calling for various Rebel cells across the galaxy to converge.


title: Mon Mothma

text: Mothma was featured in Chuck Wendig's novel "". After the Rebel Alliance's victory at the Battle of Endor and the fall of the Empire's leadership, Mothma leads the formation of the democratic New Republic on her homeworld of Chandrila. Mothma took up the role of Chancellor of the New Republic. Seeking to not repeat the mistake of the old Galactic Republic's militarization, she proposed radical measures such as the New Republic to undertake demilitarization by 90%.


title: Mon Mothma

text: O'Reilly's portrayal of Mon Mothma has received a universally positive critical reception, while Blakiston's initial cameo role as the character has become an internet meme.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: An Erlenmeyer flask, also known as a conical flask (British English) or a titration flask, is a type of laboratory flask which features a flat bottom, a conical body, and a cylindrical neck. It is named after the German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer (1825–1909), who created it in 1860.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: Erlenmeyer flasks have wide bases, with sides that taper upward to a short vertical neck. They may be graduated, and often spots of ground glass or enamel are used where they can be labeled with a pencil. It differs from the beaker in its tapered body and narrow neck. Depending on the application, they may be constructed from glass or plastic, in a wide range of volumes.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: The mouth of the Erlenmeyer flask may have a beaded lip that can be stopped or covered. Alternatively, the neck may be fitted with ground glass or other connector for use with more specialized stoppers or attachment to other apparatus. A Büchner flask is a common design modification for filtration under vacuum.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: The slanted sides and narrow neck of this flask allow the contents of the flask to be mixed by swirling, without risk of spillage, making them suitable for titrations by placing it under the buret and adding solvent and the indicator in the Erlenmeyer flask. Such features similarly make the flask suitable for boiling liquids. Hot vapour condenses on the upper section of the Erlenmeyer flask, reducing solvent loss. Erlenmeyer flasks' narrow necks can also support filter funnels.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: The final two attributes of Erlenmeyer flasks make them especially appropriate for recrystallization. The sample to be purified is heated to a boil, and sufficient solvent is added for complete dissolution. The receiving flask is filled with a small amount of solvent, and heated to a boil. The hot solution is filtered through a fluted filter paper into the receiving flask. Hot vapors from the boiling solvent keep the filter funnel warm, avoiding the premature crystallization.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: Like beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks are not normally suitable for accurate volumetric measurements. Their stamped volumes are approximate within about 5% accuracy.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: Erlenmeyer flasks are also used in microbiology for the preparation of microbial cultures. Erlenmeyer flasks used in cell culture are sterilized and may feature vented closures to enhance gas exchange during incubation and shaking. The use of minimal liquid volumes, typically no more than one fifth of the total flask volume, and baffles molded into the flask's internal surface both serve to maximize gas transfer and promote chaotic mixing when the flasks are orbitally shaken. The oxygen transfer rate in Erlenmeyer flasks depends on the agitation speed, the liquid volume, and the shake-flask design. The shaking frequency has the most significant impact on oxygen transfer.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: Oxygenation and mixing of liquid cultures further depend on rotation of the liquid "in-phase", meaning the synchronous movement of the liquid with the shaker table. Under certain conditions the shaking process leads to a breakdown of liquid motion – called "out-of-phase phenomenon". This phenomenon has been intensively characterized for shake flask bioreactors. Out-of-phase conditions are associated with a strong decrease in mixing performance, oxygen transfer, and power input. Main factor for out-of-phase operation is the viscosity of the culture medium, but also the vessel diameter, low filling levels and/or a high number of baffles.


title: Erlenmeyer flask

text: To impede illicit drug manufacturers, the state of Texas previously restricted the sale of Erlenmeyer flasks to those who have the requisite permits. On September 1, 2019, SB 616 amended the law so that permits are no longer required, but accurate inventory of this and certain other pieces of lab equipment must still be maintained, loss or theft must still be reported, and the owner must still allow audits of their records and equipment to be made.


title: Gstaad

text: Gstaad ( ; ) is a town in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society and the international jet set. The winter campus of the Institut Le Rosey is located in Gstaad. Gstaad has a population of about 9,200 and is located above sea level.


title: Gstaad

text: During the Middle Ages it was part of the district of Saanen (Gessenay) belonging to the Savoyard county of Gruyère. The town core developed at the fork in the trails into the Valais and Vaud. It had an inn, a warehouse for storing trade goods and oxen to help pull wagons over the alpine passes by the 13th-14th centuries. The St. Nicholas chapel was built in the town in 1402, while the murals are from the second half of the 15th century. The town was dominated by cattle farming and agriculture until the great fire of 1898. It was then rebuilt to support the growing tourism industry. The construction of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois railroad in 1905 and the construction of ski runs (the Ski Club of Saanen open in 1905 followed in 1907 by the Ski Club of Gstaad). The first ski school in Gstaad opened in 1923. The Eagle Ski Club opened in 1957, and was funded by Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick. In a short time, there were more than 1,000 hotel beds in the region.


title: Gstaad

text: The residents, hoteliers, shopkeepers and tourist offices helped to promote Gstaad to international attention. They supported the construction of ice rinks, tennis courts, swimming pools, ski jumps, and ski and hiking areas. The first ski lifts at Funi opened in 1934-44 and were followed by a number of gondolas, ski, and chair lifts. The Gstaad Palace opened in 1913 as Gstaad's first luxury hotel. In 1942 the Saanen-Gstaad airfield was opened for military and civil aviation. Helicopter rides were added later and in 1980 balloon flights became available as well. During the World Wars and the Great Depression, the tourism industry suffered and many hotels closed. After World War II, many of the large hotels remained closed, but they were replaced with a number of smaller non-hotel accommodation (chalets, apartment houses, residences). Most of the modern resorts and small hotels are built out of wood and retain traditional design elements.


title: Gstaad

text: According to the Köppen climate classification system, Gstaad has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.


title: Gstaad

text: Situated in the Berner Oberland, Gstaad is home to a large ski area in the Alps ( of slopes). The middle of the village features a picturesque promenade bounded by numerous shops, restaurants, art galleries, and hotels. Designer labels including Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Chopard, Brunello Cucinelli, Prada, Moncler, Ralph Lauren, and Cartier all have stores in Gstaad, while many smaller boutiques stock labels such as Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Tod's, Burberry, Dior, Oscar de la Renta, and Marc Jacobs.


title: Gstaad

text: Long known for its walking and hiking trails of varying degrees of difficulty, the mountain air and ambiance attract guests year-round from around the world. Gstaad is also known for its ski and cross-country slopes and winter hiking trails.


title: Gstaad

text: Gstaad, named "The Place" by "Time" magazine in the 1960s, is widely known for its famous part-time residents and vacationers. Famous regular visitors to Gstaad have included Madonna, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, haute couture designer Valentino Garavani, writer William F. Buckley, Jr., and various members of the Cavendish family. Many British bands and musicians would play at L'Atelier, a club in Gstaad, in the 1960s and 1970s; one such band was Merlin 'Q' (later Edison Lighthouse), who stayed a whole winter.


title: Gstaad

text: Gstaad is known for its luxury hotels, among them the Grand Hotel Park, the Alpina Gstaad, the Gstaad Palace, the Grand Hotel Bellevue, the Hotel Olden, and the Arc En Ciel. In July 2019, the Arc En Ciel came under fire for discrimination and later apologized after issuing a notice of rules directly addressed to its Indian guests.


title: Nelson (band)

text: Nelson is an American rock band founded by singer/songwriters Matthew and Gunnar Nelson (twin sons of Ricky Nelson and Kristin Nelson). The band achieved success during the early 1990s debut album "After the Rain", that included "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection".


title: Nelson (band)

text: After the success of their first album, the band claims to have been faced with conflicts with their record label, lack of support from the media, and the shift in music towards grunge and alternative rock. They eventually split with Geffen Records in 1995. Despite this, the band has continued to produce and release albums independently under their own label, Stone Canyon Records.


title: Nelson (band)

text: Matthew and Gunnar also perform under the name of Ricky Nelson Remembered, as a tribute to their father. They are listed in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the only family to reach number one record status in three successive generations (beginning with grandparents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson).


title: Nelson (band)

text: Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, the twin sons of Ricky Nelson and Kristin Nelson, were involved in music from an early age. In an interview, Gunnar once said that he and Matthew had been writing songs since they were six years old.


title: Nelson (band)

text: During the 1980s, Matthew and Gunnar played as Strange Agents and as The Nelsons, with which they played the Los Angeles club scene. A year after the death of their father in a plane crash, Lorne Michaels agreed to have the Nelsons as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, at the request of their manager at the time. They became the first unsigned band to play on the show.


title: Nelson (band)

text: During this iteration of the band, Matthew was the lead singer and bassist, while Gunnar played the drums. As they returned home from the show, Gunnar claims he had what he called "an epiphany", which he shared with his brother. He told him that they should break up the band as it was and start sharing the front stage together. Gunnar promised to learn to play guitar and did so in a year.


title: Nelson (band)

text: As the band tried to find a record deal, they settled with Geffen Records and began approaching A&R executive John Kalodner. According to Gunnar, they met with Kalodner "every month for a year", during which he filtered the songs they brought him until they had enough for an album. During this time, they were also introduced to Marc Tanner, who helped them polish their songwriting skills.


title: Nelson (band)

text: During this time, Nelson was also approached to contribute a song to the film "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure". Matthew and Gunnar then co-wrote a song with Dweezil Zappa called "Two Heads are Better than One". Since the band was in the process of being signed up to Geffen, Kalodner recommended them not to use their names for the song, so they were billed as Power Tool instead. The song eventually became the film's theme song.


title: Nelson (band)

text: After a year of meeting with Kalodner without being signed, Matthew and Gunnar met with him, against the wishes of their managers, and played an acoustic version of "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection". Kalodner was impressed and the band was signed the next day.


title: Nelson (band)

text: As the Nelsons prepared to go into the studio, they started assembling a band. They met drummer Bobby Rock at the MTV Music Awards, when he was still with Vinnie Vincent Invasion, and kept in touch. After that band broke up, Nelson asked him to join their band. Joey Cathcart had played guitar with the brothers in high school so they decided to approach him. They were introduced to guitarist Brett Garsed by their manager in Australia. Finally, they contacted Paul Mirkovich, who had worked with them during the demo sessions for the album.


title: Nelson (band)

text: The full band headed to the studio where they worked with Marc Tanner. According to the Nelsons, John Kalodner "basically let us do our own thing". "After the Rain" was released on June 26, 1990, and became an instant success. The album ended up selling more than 3,000,000 copies, eventually being certified double platinum by RIAA. As a result, the band began a World Tour with over 300 concerts. Their first single, "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" peaked at number 1 on "Billboard"'s Hot 100. Their other songs "After the Rain", "More than Ever", and "Only Time Will Tell" peaked at number 6, number 14, and number 28 respectively. The band started with a headlining club tour before heading out in April/May opening arenas for Cinderella & Lynch Mob. The brothers then finished the summer headlining their own tour with support from Tyketto & Enuff Z'Nuff.


title: Nelson (band)

text: They performed "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" on the inaugural "Billboard" Music Awards as it was the number 1 song on the Hot 100 the week of the show. The show's producer, Paul Flattery, and director, Jim Yukich, had also made the music video for the song.


title: Nelson (band)

text: After several years of touring, the band went into the studio to record their follow-up. The result of this was a darker and harder concept album titled "Imaginator". According to Gunnar "it was about the machine that is the media. That same machine that built us up and was also so ready to tear us down." According to the band, producer John Kalodner was not involved with the recording process because he "was too busy making Aerosmith records". When they presented the album to the executives at Geffen Records, they were not pleased and gave the band the choice to either produce and record another album, more according to what they were expecting, or they would be released from their contract.


title: Nelson (band)

text: Gunnar has said that they left "frustrated and helpless", but decided to return to the studio. They began working on a more acoustic-oriented album, which was, according to Gunnar, "180 degrees in the opposite direction of "Imaginator"". The result was the album "Because They Can", which ended up being released in 1995, five years after their first album. Kalodner left Geffen a week before the release of the album, and the label decided to give the album limited promotion.


title: Nelson (band)

text: Shortly after, Geffen released Nelson from their contract. Gunnar refers to this as "one of the best days of my life." Shortly after leaving Geffen, Nelson finally released "Imaginator" through Victor Entertainment. The band considers the album a representation of their live sound at that time.


title: Nelson (band)

text: The band then established their own record label, Stone Canyon Records, though they continued to license their albums in Japan through Victor. In 1997, they released their first album under their own label, titled "The Silence is Broken". The Nelsons consider it an "experiment" and a "transitional" album.


title: Nelson (band)

text: In 1998, Matthew and Gunnar started compiling a collection of demos with the purpose of doing a joint venture deal in Nashville. The result became a country album, "Brother Harmony", in which they are billed as The Nelsons, which was later released in 2000. The next year, they released "Life", which was their final album with Victor. Gunnar has referred to this album in interviews as a "take no prisoners pop/rock album".


title: Nelson (band)

text: Matthew and Gunnar followed this with a tribute album to their father, Ricky Nelson. The album, titled "Like Father, Like Sons", was released in 2000.


title: Nelson (band)

text: In 2003, Gunnar Nelson composed and performed "Team Chaotix", the main theme of the Chaotix team, along with Crush 40's guitarist Jun Senoue, in the video game "Sonic Heroes".


title: Nelson (band)

text: In 2004, the brothers went out on the road for the summer opening for Styx and Peter Frampton in arenas.


title: Nelson (band)

text: In 2010, Nelson reached a record deal with Frontiers Records. They released three albums almost consecutively. The first, "Before the Rain", is a collection of demos made during the "After the Rain" sessions. The second one is "Perfect Storm", which is a compilation of live recordings from the "After the Rain" world tour. This is notable because, despite being such a massive world tour that covered almost 300 dates across the world, no official recording was made of it. The third album was a new studio album called "Lightning Strikes Twice", which features new material from the band. It is the first original studio album from the band since "Life" was released in 1999.


title: Nelson (band)

text: The release of the three albums in 2010 coincided with the band's official anniversary. For it, they organized a 20th Anniversary Tour around several countries. Singer/guitarist Mark Slaughter joined Nelson for the tour, which began at the Firefest in Nottingham, England.


title: Nelson (band)

text: In addition to touring as Nelson, the twin singer-songwriters also perform a separate tribute act for their father, called Ricky Nelson Remembered. Additionally, they perform with celebrity all-star rock band Scrap Metal.


title: Nelson (band)

text: In 2015, the band released their final album with Frontiers, "Peace Out". That same year, the brothers released a Christmas album titled "This Christmas"; it was followed up with a deluxe edition the following year titled "This Christmas Too".


title: ShowBiz Pizza Place

text: ShowBiz Pizza Place, often shortened to ShowBiz Pizza or ShowBiz, was an American family entertainment center and restaurant pizza chain founded in 1980 by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering. It emerged after a separation between Brock and owners of the Chuck E. Cheese's franchise, Pizza Time Theatre. ShowBiz Pizza restaurants entertained guests through a large selection of arcade games, coin-operated rides and animatronic stage shows.


title: ShowBiz Pizza Place

text: The two companies became competitors and found early success, partly due to the rise in popularity of arcade games during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The type of animatronics used in the ShowBiz Pizza chain distinguished it from its rivals, which offered many of the same services. Following Pizza Time Theatre's bankruptcy in 1984, ShowBiz merged with the struggling franchise to settle a former court settlement mandate, forming ShowBiz Pizza Time. By 1992, all ShowBiz Pizza locations were rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese's.


title: ShowBiz Pizza Place

text: Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, responsible for creating the first widely recognized video game, "Pong", headed a project in the mid-1970s for Atari to launch the first arcade-oriented, family restaurant with computer-programmed animatronics. At a time when arcades were popular in bowling alleys and bars, Bushnell sought to expose younger audiences to arcade games. In 1977, Atari opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, CA. The concept was an immediate success, and after leaving Atari in 1978, Bushnell purchased the Pizza Time restaurant, forming a new company, Pizza Time Theatre Inc.


title: ShowBiz Pizza Place

text: As Bushnell marketed the franchise, hoping to expand into new markets, the concept attracted high-profile clients such as Robert L. Brock, known for his extensive portfolio of Holiday Inn hotels. In 1979, Brock signed a multi-million-dollar franchising agreement with Pizza Time Theatre Inc., planning to open as many as 280 Chuck E. Cheese's locations across 16 states. Shortly thereafter, Brock noticed that companies such as Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) were designing more advanced animatronics, and was concerned that competitors would emerge with better technology. Bushnell had reassured Brock at the signing of the franchising agreement that the company's technology would continue to evolve. However, prior to the opening of his first location, Brock decided to void the agreement with Pizza Time and form a partnership with CEI.


title: ShowBiz Pizza Place

text: The first ShowBiz Pizza Place opened in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1980. The Brock Hotel Corporation owned 80% of ShowBiz Pizza Place, while the other 20% was owned by CEI, which produced the chain's animatronics show, The Rock-afire Explosion. By September 1981, there were 48 company-owned outlets and 42 franchises. The company moved its headquarters to Irving, Texas in 1982.


title: ShowBiz Pizza Place

text: In 1984, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and its assets were purchased by ShowBiz parent company Brock Hotel Corp. The two operations merged, and the newly formed company was named ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. – a combination of the names of the previous two companies. However, both restaurant chains continued operating as separate entities.


title: ShowBiz Pizza Place

text: Richard M. Frank joined the company as president and chief operating officer in 1985. In 1986, he was named chairman and chief executive officer of the restaurant division. Based on customer research, Frank instituted a number of changes to appeal to younger children and parents. Specific measures included increased lighting, a redesigned food menu, table service, self-serve fountain drinks, a revamped ride selection, and distinct toddler areas, but relations between ShowBiz and Creative Engineering began to deteriorate. Aaron Fechter, founder of CEI and creator of The Rock-afire Explosion, would later claim in 2008 that the fallout was due to a demand by Showbiz to own CEI's licensing and copyrights to the animatronics show. Fechter says he refused, since Showbiz did not offer monetary compensation for the rights. Despite the refusal, CEI's creative control was jeopardized, as ShowBiz had the ability to program the characters and replicate their voices, allowing them to make changes to the skits. ShowBiz later returned the recording rights to Fechter following CEI's Liberty Show production (in commemoration of the Statue of Liberty's centennial in 1986), but they did not return the programming rights.


title: ShowBiz Pizza Place

text: In 1989, ShowBiz Pizza Time became a public company with its stock market launch. The following year, it severed all ties with CEI and began restructuring the restaurant chains under "Concept Unification". The change consisted of removing the Rock-afire Explosion animatronic show from their restaurants, and converting it into a new show called "Chuck E. Cheese & Munch's Make Believe Band", featuring the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre characters. In addition, all ShowBiz Pizza locations in the U.S. were rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese's, effectively ending the "ShowBiz Pizza" brand. By 1992, the conversion was complete, and ShowBiz Pizza Time became known as CEC Entertainment, Inc. In 1998 the company moved its stock from NASDAQ to NYSE. In February 2014, the company was purchased by Apollo Global Management for $1.3 billion.


The 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2019 season. It was played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 13, 2020, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. local CST) on ESPN. Aside from the all-star games that followed, this was the culminating game of the 2019–20 bowl season. The championship featured the top-seeded LSU Tigers from the Southeastern Conference defeating the third seed Clemson Tigers from the Atlantic Coast Conference by a score of 42–25. The win gave LSU their fourth national championship and their first in the College Football Playoff era. Clemson appeared in their fourth overall CFP National Championship game, tying them with Alabama for the most appearances by any team.


title: 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship

text: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans was announced as the host site for the sixth College Football Playoff National Championship on November 4, 2015. Playoff seedings and New Year's Six bowl matchups were announced on December 8, 2019.


text: The game matched the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Clemson Tigers of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). With both teams entering the game with 14–0 records, the winning team's 15–0 record equalled that of the 2018 Clemson Tigers, becoming only the second team to finish 15–0 in a single season since the 1897 Penn Quakers.


text: LSU defeated Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on December 7, and received a bid to the Peach Bowl with the release of final CFP rankings on December 8. The Tigers defeated Oklahoma, 63–28, in the CFP semifinal Peach Bowl on December 28, which was LSU's first CFP semifinal appearance. The Tigers entered the championship game with a 14–0 record (8–0 in conference). LSU's most recent loss was to Texas A&M on November 24, 2018; a seven overtime contest. This was LSU's first appearance in a CFP National Championship game; their most recent national championship game appearance had been a loss to Alabama in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game.


text: Clemson defeated Virginia in the ACC Championship Game on December 7, and received a bid to the Fiesta Bowl with the release of final CFP rankings on December 8. On December 28, the Tigers defeated Ohio State in the CFP semifinal Fiesta Bowl, 29–23. Clemson also entered the championship game with a 14–0 record (8–0 in conference). The Tigers' most recent loss had been to Alabama in the CFP semifinal Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2018; their 29 consecutive victories following that loss constituted one of the longest NCAA Division I football winning streaks. Including national championship contests, this was Clemson's ninth overall CFP game; they had a 6–2 record in prior CFP games, and were the defending champions, having defeated Alabama in the 2019 CFP National Championship.


text: Both teams played a single set back offense as their primary offensive set. On defense, Clemson played out of the 4–3 defense, while LSU played a 3–4 defense.


text: LSU won the coin toss, and deferred possession to the second half, giving Clemson the opening kickoff. After a promising start to their opening drive, Clemson was forced to punt on 4th-and-23, giving LSU the ball on their own 7-yard-line. LSU's opening drive was far less productive, as they punted after three plays totaling a net loss of four yards. Clemson opened their ensuing drive on the LSU 45. A three-and-out followed, but the Clemson punt coverage team again came up big, downing the ball at the 4-yard-line. While the next LSU drive resulted in positive yards, a punt was the result, and Clemson took over at their own 33 and scored in five plays, opening the scoring with a Trevor Lawrence rushing touchdown 8:26 into the game. LSU opened their next drive with a touchback, and recorded a first down for the first time, but again punted, giving Clemson the ball at their own 25; Clemson punted right back, and LSU took over at their own 29. On this drive, the LSU offense moved the ball seventy yards in just 4 plays, capped by a long Joe Burrow pass to wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, tying the game at seven with 2:20 remaining in the opening quarter. Clemson had possession for the remainder of the quarter, and made it to the LSU 42 before time expired.


text: Clemson ran three additional plays in the second quarter before settling for a 52-yard field goal, converted by kicker B.T. Potter, giving them a 10–7 edge. Following LSU's fourth punt of the evening, Clemson started with their worst field position yet, as they got the ball at their own 4. This did not deter the Clemson offense, as they covered the ninety-six yards ahead of them in only four plays, capping the touchdown drive with a long run by Tee Higgins; this extended Clemson's lead to ten. LSU responded with a quick drive of their own, scoring in five plays to narrow the lead to three on a touchdown run by Burrow. Clemson's next drive ended in a punt, and LSU capitalized with another long touchdown drive to take their first lead of the contest, by four, with just over five minutes until halftime on another touchdown pass to Chase. Clemson was unable to respond on offense; they punted and LSU got the ball on their own 5-yard-line. Joe Burrow and the LSU offense continued to build their momentum with their third consecutive touchdown drive of 75-plus yards to increase the lead to 11, 28–17, on a pass to Thaddeus Moss, heading into halftime.


text: LSU opened the second half by receiving the kickoff; their ensuing drive resulted in a three-and-out, and Clemson took over on the 50-yard-line. For the first time in nearly an entire quarter, the Clemson offense found the end zone, as Travis Etienne capped a 6 play drive with his first touchdown of the day. Trevor Lawrence completed a pass to Amari Rodgers for the two-point conversion, cutting the LSU lead to three points. Joe Burrow's offense was again unable to produce on offense, and the second half (as did the first half) began with two three-and-outs for LSU. Clemson's next drive finished similarly, as a punt followed four plays totaling 14 yards. LSU took over on their own 32. On the fifth play of LSU's ensuing drive, Clemson starting MLB James Skalski was ejected from the game for a targeting penalty; LSU scored on the next play on a touchdown pass from Burrow to Moss (one that gave Burrow sole possession of the FBS record for touchdown passes in a season with 59) to increase their lead to ten. Clemson couldn't produce on their next drive, and punted for the seventh time; LSU got the ball on their own 32. They drove to the Clemson 27 before attempting a 45-yard field goal, which Cade York missed wide right. Lawrence and the Clemson offense were unable to capitalize on the mistake, however; they went three-and-out and punted to the LSU 43. The quarter expired several plays later; LSU entered the fourth quarter leading 35–25.


text: LSU came out firing in the fourth quarter; they scored for just the second time this half on a Joe Burrow pass to Terrace Marshall Jr., his first receiving touchdown of the contest. For the fourth drive in a row, Clemson punted; the ball was downed at the LSU 10. After taking 5:24 off the clock, LSU punted the ball back, and Clemson took over with just under five minutes left, on their own 15. However, three plays later, Trevor Lawrence fumbled at the end of his rush; it was recovered by LSU's Derek Stingley Jr. with 3:53 to go. LSU was able to run the remaining time off the clock and finish the season as undefeated national champions.


text: The game was televised nationally by ESPN and called on ESPN Radio. For the sixth consecutive national championship, ESPN offered its "Megacast" coverage.


title: Y Wladfa

text: Y Wladfa (, "The Colony"), also occasionally Y Wladychfa Gymreig (, "The Welsh Settlement"), refers to the establishment of settlements by Welsh immigrants in Patagonia, beginning in 1865, mainly along the coast of the lower Chubut Valley. In 1881, the area became part of the Chubut National Territory of Argentina which, in 1955, became Chubut Province.


title: Y Wladfa

text: In the 19th and early 20th century the Argentine government encouraged emigration from Europe to populate Patagonia which, until the Conquest of the Desert began in the 1870s, was "terra nullius", claimed but not controlled by Argentina until 1884.


title: Y Wladfa

text: Between 1856 and 1875, 34 settlements of immigrants of various nationalities were established in Santa Fe and Entre Ríos. In addition to the main colony in Chubut, a smaller colony was set up in Santa Fe by 44 Welsh people who left Chubut, and another group settled at Coronel Suárez in southern Buenos Aires Province.


title: Y Wladfa

text: The Welsh-Argentine community is centred on Gaiman, Trelew, and Trevelin. There are 70,000 Welsh-Patagonians, however Chubut estimates the number of Patagonian Welsh speakers to be about 1,500, while other estimates put the number at 5,000.


title: Y Wladfa

text: The idea of a Welsh colony in Patagonia was put forward by Michael D. Jones, a Welsh nationalist nonconformist preacher based in Bala, Gwynedd, who had called for a new "little Wales beyond Wales". He spent some years in the United States, where he observed that Welsh immigrants assimilated very quickly compared with other peoples and often lost much of their Welsh identity. Thus, the original proposal was to establish a new Wales overseas where Welsh settlers and their culture would be generally free from foreign domination. He proposed setting up a Welsh-speaking colony away from the influence of the English language. He recruited settlers and provided financing; Australia, New Zealand and even Palestine were considered, but Patagonia was chosen for its isolation and the Argentines' offer of of land along the Chubut River in exchange for settling the still-unconquered land of Patagonia for Argentina. Patagonia, including the Chubut Valley, was claimed by Buenos Aires but it had little control over the area (which was also claimed by Chile). Jones had been corresponding with the Argentinean government about settling an area known as Bahía Blanca where Welsh immigrants could preserve their language and culture. The Argentinean government granted the request as it put them in control of a large tract of land. A Welsh immigration committee met in Liverpool and published a handbook, , to publicize the scheme to form a Welsh colony in Patagonia which was distributed throughout Wales.


title: Y Wladfa

text: Towards the end of 1862, Captain Love Jones-Parry and Lewis Jones (after whom Trelew was named) left for Patagonia to decide whether it was a suitable area for Welsh emigrants. They first visited Buenos Aires where they held discussions with the Interior Minister Guillermo Rawson then, having come to an agreement, headed south. They reached Patagonia in a small ship named the "Candelaria", and were driven by a storm into a bay which they named "Porth Madryn", after Jones-Parry's estate in Wales. The town that grew near the spot where they landed is now named Puerto Madryn. On their return to Wales they declared the area to be very suitable for colonization.


title: Y Wladfa

text: On 28 July 1865 153 Welsh settlers arrived aboard tea clipper "Mimosa". The "Mimosa" settlers, including tailors, cobblers, carpenters, brickmakers, and miners, comprised 56 married adults, 33 single or widowed men, 12 single women (usually sisters or servants of married immigrants), and 52 children; the majority (92) were from the South Wales Coalfield and English urban centres. There were few farmers. This was rather unfortunate, particularly when they discovered that the attractions of the area had been oversold and they had landed in an arid semi-desert with little food; they had been told that the area was like lowland Wales. At the coast there was little drinking water, and the group embarked on a walk across the parched plain with a single wheelbarrow to carry their belongings. Some died and a baby, Mary Humphries, was born on the march. John Williams was the only colonist with any form of rudimentary medical skill. So disheartened were some settlers, they requested that the British Government settle them on the Falkland Islands. However, this request was ignored.


title: Y Wladfa

text: Once they reached the valley of the Chubut River, their first settlement was a small fortress on the site which later became the town of Rawson, now the capital of Chubut Province. This was referred to as ('The Old Fortress'). The first houses, constructed from earth, were washed away by a flash flood in 1865, and new houses of superior quality were built to replace them. The floods also washed away crops of potatoes and maize. The rainfall in the area was much less than the colonists had been led to expect, leading to crop failures.


title: Y Wladfa

text: The settlers first made contact with the local Tehuelche people almost a year after their arrival. After some difficult early years of suspicion and some violence, the Tehuelche people established cordial relationships with the Welsh and helped the settlement survive the early food shortages. The settlers, led by Aaron Jenkins (whose wife Rachel was the first to bring up the idea of systematic use of irrigation canals), soon established Argentina's first irrigation system based on the Chubut River (in Welsh, , 'winding river'), irrigating an area three or four miles (five or six km) to each side of the long stretch of river and creating Argentina's most fertile wheatlands. By 1885, wheat production had reached 6,000 tons, with wheat produced by the colony winning the gold medal at international expositions at Paris and Chicago.


title: Y Wladfa

text: The mouth of the Chubut River was difficult to navigate, being shallow and with shifting sandbanks, and it was decided that a railway was required to connect the Lower Chubut valley to Puerto Madryn (originally Porth Madryn) on the Golfo Nuevo on the southern side of the Valdes Peninsula. Lewis Jones was the driving force, and in 1884 the Argentine Congress authorized the construction of the Central Chubut Railway by Lewis Jones y Cía. Raising funds for the project locally proved difficult, so Lewis Jones went to the United Kingdom to seek funds, where he enlisted the assistance of Asahel P. Bell, an engineer. Work on the railway began in 1886, helped by the arrival of another 465 Welsh settlers on the steamer "Vesta". The town that grew at the railhead was named "Trelew" (Town of Llew) in honour of Lewis Jones. The town grew rapidly and in 1888 became the headquarters of the (Chubut Trading Company). Initially the settlers were largely self-governing, with all men and women of 18 years of age or over having the right to vote.


title: Y Wladfa

text: In January 1868, the first newspaper of the colony, ("The Chronicle"), appeared; ("Our Privilege") followed in 1878. Both were short-lived, only six issues of each title being circulated. Lewis Jones established ("The Discussion") in 1891, and this had greater longevity: a weekly issue was produced until 1961.


title: Y Wladfa

text: By the mid-1880s most of the good agricultural land in the Lower Chubut valley had been claimed, and the colonists mounted a number of expeditions to explore other parts of Patagonia to seek more cultivable land. In 1885, the Welsh asked the governor of Chubut Province, Luis Jorge Fontana, for permission to arrange an expedition to explore the Andean part of Chubut. Fontana decided to accompany the expedition in person. By the end of November 1885 they had reached a fertile area which the Welsh named (Pleasant Valley). By 1888, this site at the foot of the Andes had become another Welsh settlement, named in Spanish . As the population grew here, the towns of Esquel and Trevelin were founded.


title: Y Wladfa

text: In 1893, a Welsh-language newspaper called "Y Drafod" (The Conversation) was founded by Lewis Jones to promote Welshness in Y Wladfa.


title: Y Wladfa

text: This area became the subject of the Cordillera of the Andes Boundary Case 1902 between Argentina and Chile. Initially the border was defined by a line connecting the highest peaks in the area, but it later became clear that this line was not the same as the line separating the watersheds, with some of the rivers in the area flowing westwards. Argentina and Chile agreed that the United Kingdom should act as arbitrator, and the views of the Welsh settlers were canvassed. In 1902, despite an offer of a league of land per family from Chile, they voted to remain in Argentina.


title: Y Wladfa

text: Serious damage was caused by floods in the 1890s and 1900s, which devastated Rawson and to a lesser extent Gaiman, though Trelew was not affected. There was also disagreement between the settlers and the government of Argentina, which introduced conscription and insisted on males of military age drilling on Sundays. This ran counter to the Sabbatarian principles of the settlers and caused much ill-feeling, though the matter was eventually resolved by the intervention of the president of Argentina, Julio Argentino Roca. These factors, and a lack of unclaimed farmable land, caused 234 people to leave for Liverpool aboard the "Orissa" on 14 May 1902, with 208 of them subsequently travelling to Canada, arriving at Saltcoats, Saskatchewan, in late June, although some of these families later returned to Chubut and later migrated to Australia. Some other settlers moved to Río Negro Province in Argentina. Many of those who left Chubut were late arrivals who had failed to obtain land of their own, and they were replaced by more immigrants from Wales. By the end of the 19th century there were some 4,000 people of Welsh descent living in Chubut. The last substantial migration from Wales took place shortly before World War I, which put a halt to further immigration. Approximately 1,000 Welsh immigrants arrived in Patagonia between 1886 and 1911; on the basis of this and other statistics, Glyn Williams estimated that perhaps no more than 2,300 Welsh people ever migrated directly to Patagonia.


title: Y Wladfa

text: Immigration to the area after 1914 was mainly from Italy and other southern European countries. Welsh became a minority language. The creation of a cooperative, the (), was important. The Society traded on the settlers' behalf in Buenos Aires and acted as a bank with 14 branches. The cooperative society collapsed in the Great Depression of the 1930s. The construction of a dam on the Rio Chubut west of Trelew, inaugurated on 19 April 1963, removed the risk of flooding in the Lower Chubut Valley.


title: Y Wladfa

text: The Welsh have left their mark on the landscape, with windmills and chapels across the province, including the distinctive wood and corrugated zinc Capel Salem and Trelew's Salon San David. Many settlements along the valley bear Welsh names.


title: Y Wladfa

text: During the British Government's repatriation of the 11,313 Argentine POWs taken during the 1982 Falklands War, Welsh-speaking British merchant seamen and British soldiers from the Welsh Guards were shocked to find themselves addressed in Patagonian Welsh by an Argentine POW who was on the way home to Puerto Madryn. Over the years since, close ties between Wales and Y Wladfa have been reestablished.


title: Y Wladfa

text: A 2001 BBC article described in detail the recent visit to Chubut Province by Archdruid and 30 members of the "Gorsedd Cymru" in order to revive the "Gorsedd Y Wladfa" in a ceremony held in a specially constructed stone circle near Gaiman.


title: Y Wladfa

text: Every year, the Eisteddfod festival takes place in the town of Trevelin. BBC reporters attended the 2001 "Eisteddfod del Chubut" at Trelew and watched as the Bardic Chair was awarded for the first time in "Y Wladfa" to a female poet: Gaiman hotel owner Monica Jones de Jones, for an "Awdl" on the subject of "Rhyddid" ("Freedom"). The article's author continued, "The Patagonia Eisteddfod itself, while sharing those elements common to Eisteddfodau in Wales itself, nonetheless is, in other respects, quite a different affair. As well as haunting Welsh folk tunes, and recitations in the unique Spanish-accented Welsh of the Patagonians, there are also rousing displays of Argentinian folk dancing which owe everything to the culture of the gauchos and nothing to the somewhat tamer dance routines of the Welsh homeland."


title: Y Wladfa

text: Current Eisteddfod competitions are bilingual, in both Patagonian Welsh and Argentine Spanish, and include poetry, prose, literary translations (Welsh, Spanish, English, Italian, and French), musical performances, arts, folk dances, photography, and filmmaking among others. The "Eisteddfod del Juventud" is held every September at Gaiman. The main "Eisteddfod del Chubut" is held every October at Trelew. Other annual eisteddfodau are held at Trevelin, in the Andes and at Puerto Madryn along the South Atlantic coast.


title: Y Wladfa

text: In 2006, the first of a two-Test tour to Argentina by the Wales national rugby union team was played in Puerto Madryn, which was a 27–25 win for Argentina.


title: Y Wladfa

text: As of 2019, 1,411 people undertook Welsh courses in the region, which is the highest number on record for the project. There are three bilingual Welsh/Spanish primary schools in the province of Chubut, namely "Ysgol yr Hendre" in Trelew, "Ysgol Gymraeg y Gaiman" in Gaiman, and "Ysgol Y Cwm" in Trevelin.


title: Y Wladfa

text: In 2014, Professor Wyn James of Cardiff University estimated there were about 5,000 people in Patagonia who speak Welsh.


title: Y Wladfa

text: On 28 July 2015, celebrations took place to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh migrations. The First Minister of Wales,


title: Y Wladfa

text: In October 2018, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales undertook an historic visit to Y Wladfa to give two concerts in a newly refurbished concert hall, that had previously been a wool factory on the outskirts of Trelew. These performances attracted thousands of local visitors and helped celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh migration. Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and conductor Grant Llewelyn were part of the concerts.


title: Y Wladfa

text: Y Wladfa's anthem is a re-working of the Welsh anthem, "", called "" ('"The New Country of the Welsh"'). The new anthem was penned by Lewis Evans and is sung to the same tune as "".


title: Y Wladfa

text: In the BBC's 2015 "Patagonia with Huw Edwards", Huw Edwards fulfils a lifelong dream to explore Patagonia, and the unique attempt to preserve Welsh culture by isolating a Welsh community there. Edwards meets the descendants of the original settlers and asks what remains of the culture their ancestors sought to safeguard.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Norbert Wiener (November 26, 1894 – March 18, 1964) was an American mathematician and philosopher. He was a professor of mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A child prodigy, Wiener later became an early researcher in stochastic and mathematical noise processes, contributing work relevant to electronic engineering, electronic communication, and control systems.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener is considered the originator of cybernetics, the science of communication as it relates to living things and machines, with implications for engineering, systems control, computer science, biology, neuroscience, philosophy, and the organization of society.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Norbert Wiener is credited as being one of the first to theorize that all intelligent behavior was the result of feedback mechanisms, that could possibly be simulated by machines and was an important early step towards the development of modern artificial intelligence.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener was born in Columbia, Missouri, the first child of Leo Wiener and Bertha Kahn, Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Germany, respectively. Through his father, he was related to Maimonides, the famous rabbi, philosopher and physician from Al Andalus, as well as to Akiva Eger, chief rabbi of Posen from 1815 to 1837. Leo had educated Norbert at home until 1903, employing teaching methods of his own invention, except for a brief interlude when Norbert was 7 years of age. Earning his living teaching German and Slavic languages, Leo read widely and accumulated a personal library from which the young Norbert benefited greatly. Leo also had ample ability in mathematics and tutored his son in the subject until he left home. In his autobiography, Norbert described his father as calm and patient, unless he (Norbert) failed to give a correct answer, at which his father would lose his temper.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: A child prodigy, he graduated from Ayer High School in 1906 at 11 years of age, and Wiener then entered Tufts College. He was awarded a BA in mathematics in 1909 at the age of 14, whereupon he began graduate studies of zoology at Harvard. In 1910 he transferred to Cornell to study philosophy. He graduated in 1911 at 17 years of age.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: The next year he returned to Harvard, while still continuing his philosophical studies. Back at Harvard, Wiener became influenced by Edward Vermilye Huntington, whose mathematical interests ranged from axiomatic foundations to engineering problems. Harvard awarded Wiener a PhD in June 1913, when he was only 19 years old, for a dissertation on mathematical logic (a comparison of the work of Ernst Schröder with that of Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell), supervised by Karl Schmidt, the essential results of which were published as Wiener (1914). He was one of the youngest to achieve such a feat. In that dissertation, he was the first to state publicly that ordered pairs can be defined in terms of elementary set theory. Hence relations can be defined by set theory, thus the theory of relations does not require any axioms or primitive notions distinct from those of set theory. In 1921, Kazimierz Kuratowski proposed a simplification of Wiener's definition of ordered pairs, and that simplification has been in common use ever since. It is (x, y) = .


title: Norbert Wiener

text: In 1914, Wiener traveled to Europe, to be taught by Bertrand Russell and G. H. Hardy at Cambridge University, and by David Hilbert and Edmund Landau at the University of Göttingen. At Göttingen he also attended three courses with Edmund Husserl "one on Kant's ethical writings, one on the principles of Ethics, and the seminary on Phenomenology." (Letter to Russell, c. June or July, 1914). During 1915–16, he taught philosophy at Harvard, then was an engineer for General Electric and wrote for the "Encyclopedia Americana". Wiener was briefly a journalist for the "Boston Herald", where he wrote a feature story on the poor labor conditions for mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, but he was fired soon afterwards for his reluctance to write favorable articles about a politician the newspaper's owners sought to promote.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Although Wiener eventually became a staunch pacifist, he eagerly contributed to the war effort in World War I. In 1916, with America's entry into the war drawing closer, Wiener attended a training camp for potential military officers but failed to earn a commission. One year later Wiener again tried to join the military, but the government again rejected him due to his poor eyesight. In the summer of 1918, Oswald Veblen invited Wiener to work on ballistics at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Living and working with other mathematicians strengthened his interest in mathematics. However, Wiener was still eager to serve in uniform and decided to make one more attempt to enlist, this time as a common soldier. Wiener wrote in a letter to his parents, "I should consider myself a pretty cheap kind of a swine if I were willing to be an officer but unwilling to be a soldier." This time the army accepted Wiener into its ranks and assigned him, by coincidence, to a unit stationed at Aberdeen, Maryland. World War I ended just days after Wiener's return to Aberdeen and Wiener was discharged from the military in February 1919.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener was unable to secure a permanent position at Harvard, a situation he attributed largely to anti-Semitism at the university and in particular the antipathy of Harvard mathematician G. D. Birkhoff. He was also rejected for a position at the University of Melbourne. At W. F. Osgood's suggestion, Wiener was hired as an instructor of mathematics at MIT, where, after his promotion to professor, he spent the remainder of his career. For many years his photograph was prominently displayed in the Infinite Corridor and often used in giving directions, but , it has been removed.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: In 1926, Wiener returned to Europe as a Guggenheim scholar. He spent most of his time at Göttingen and with Hardy at Cambridge, working on Brownian motion, the Fourier integral, Dirichlet's problem, harmonic analysis, and the Tauberian theorems.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: In 1926, Wiener's parents arranged his marriage to a German immigrant, Margaret Engemann; they had two daughters. His sister, Constance (1898–1973), married Philip Franklin. Their daughter, Janet, Wiener's niece, married Václav E. Beneš. Norbert Wiener's sister, Bertha (1902–1995), married the botanist Carroll William Dodge.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Many tales, perhaps apocryphal, were told of Norbert Wiener at MIT, especially concerning his absent-mindedness. It was said that he returned home once to find his house empty. He inquired of a neighborhood girl the reason, and she said that the family had moved elsewhere that day. He thanked her for the information and she replied, "That's why I stayed behind, Daddy!"


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Asked about the story, Wiener's daughter reportedly asserted that "he never forgot who his children were! The rest of it, however, was pretty close to what actually happened…"


title: Norbert Wiener

text: In the run-up to World War II (1939–45) Wiener became a member of the China Aid Society and the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: He was interested in placing scholars such as Yuk-Wing Lee and Antoni Zygmund who had lost their positions.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: During World War II, his work on the automatic aiming and firing of anti-aircraft guns caused Wiener to investigate information theory independently of Claude Shannon and to invent the Wiener filter. (To him is due the now standard practice of modeling an information source as a random process—in other words, as a variety of noise.) Initially his anti-aircraft work led him to write, with Arturo Rosenblueth and Julian Bigelow the 1943 article 'Behavior, Purpose and Teleology', which was published in Philosophy of Science. Subsequently his anti-aircraft work led him to formulate cybernetics. After the war, his fame helped MIT to recruit a research team in cognitive science, composed of researchers in neuropsychology and the mathematics and biophysics of the nervous system, including Warren Sturgis McCulloch and Walter Pitts. These men later made pioneering contributions to computer science and artificial intelligence. Soon after the group was formed, Wiener suddenly ended all contact with its members, mystifying his colleagues. This emotionally traumatized Pitts, and led to his career decline. In their biography of Wiener, Conway and Siegelman suggest that Wiener's wife Margaret, who detested McCulloch's bohemian lifestyle, engineered the breach.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener later helped develop the theories of cybernetics, robotics, computer control, and automation. He discussed the modeling of neurons with John von Neumann, and in a letter from November 1946 von Neumann presented his thoughts in advance of a meeting with Wiener.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener always shared his theories and findings with other researchers, and credited the contributions of others. These included Soviet researchers and their findings. Wiener's acquaintance with them caused him to be regarded with suspicion during the Cold War. He was a strong advocate of automation to improve the standard of living, and to end economic underdevelopment. His ideas became influential in India, whose government he advised during the 1950s.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: After the war, Wiener became increasingly concerned with what he believed was political interference with scientific research, and the militarization of science. His article "A Scientist Rebels" from the January 1947 issue of "The Atlantic Monthly" urged scientists to consider the ethical implications of their work. After the war, he refused to accept any government funding or to work on military projects. The way Wiener's beliefs concerning nuclear weapons and the Cold War contrasted with those of von Neumann is the major theme of the book "John Von Neumann and Norbert Wiener".


title: Norbert Wiener

text: In 1926 Wiener married Margaret Engemann, an assistant professor of modern languages at Juniata College. They had two daughters. Opinions are not all positive on Margaret's impacts on Wiener's career.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener admitted in his autobiography "I Am a Mathematician: The Later Life of a Prodigy" to abusing benzadrine throughout his life without being fully aware of its dangers.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener died in March 1964, aged 69, in Stockholm, from a heart attack. Wiener and his wife are buried at the Vittum Hill Cemetery in Sandwich, New Hampshire.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener was an early studier of stochastic and mathematical noise processes, contributing work relevant to electronic engineering, electronic communication, and control systems. It was Wiener's idea to model a signal as if it were an exotic type of noise, giving it a sound mathematical basis. The example often given to students is that English text could be modeled as a random string of letters and spaces, where each letter of the alphabet (and the space) has an assigned probability. But Wiener dealt with analog signals, where such a simple example doesn't exist. Wiener's early work on information theory and signal processing was limited to analog signals, and was largely forgotten with the development of the digital theory.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener is one of the key originators of cybernetics, a formalization of the notion of feedback, with many implications for engineering, systems control, computer science, biology, philosophy, and the organization of society.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: Wiener's work with cybernetics influenced Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead, and through them, anthropology, sociology, and education.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: A simple mathematical representation of Brownian motion, the Wiener equation, named after Wiener, assumes the current velocity of a fluid particle fluctuates randomly.


title: Norbert Wiener

text: For signal processing, the Wiener filter is a filter proposed by Wiener during the 1940s and published in 1942 as a classified document. Its purpose is to reduce the amount of noise present in a signal by comparison with an estimate of the desired noiseless signal. Wiener developed the filter at the Radiation Laboratory at MIT to predict the position of German bombers from radar reflections. It is necessary to predict the position, because by the time the shell reaches the vicinity of the target, the target will have moved, and may have changed direction slightly. They even modeled the muscle response of the pilot, which led eventually to cybernetics. The unmanned V1's were particularly easy to model, and on a good day, American guns fitted with Wiener filters would shoot down 99 out of 100 V1's as they entered Britain from the English channel, on their way to London. What emerged was a mathematical theory of great generality—a theory for predicting the future as best one can on the basis of incomplete information about the past. It was a statistical theory that included applications that did not, strictly speaking, predict the future, but only tried to remove noise. It made use of Wiener's earlier work on integral equations and Fourier transforms.