title: Cetshwayo

text: From 1881, his cause had been taken up by, among others, Lady Florence Dixie, correspondent of "The Morning Post", who wrote articles and books in his support. This, along with his gentle and dignified manner, gave rise to public sympathy and the sentiment that he had been ill-used and shoddily treated by Bartle Frere and Lord Chelmsford.


title: Cetshwayo

text: By 1882 differences between two Zulu factions—pro-Cetshwayo "uSuthus" and three rival chiefs led by Zibhebhu—had erupted into a blood feud and civil war. In 1883, the British government tried to restore Cetshwayo to rule at least part of his previous territory but the attempt failed. With the aid of Boer mercenaries, Chief Zibhebhu started a war contesting the succession and on 22 July 1883 he attacked Cetshwayo's new kraal in Ulundi. Cetshwayo was wounded but escaped to the forest at Nkandla. After pleas from the Resident Commissioner, Sir Melmoth Osborne, Cetshwayo moved to Eshowe, where he died a few months later on 8 February 1884, aged 57–60, presumably from a heart attack, although there are some theories that he may have been poisoned. His body was buried in a field within sight of the forest, to the south near Nkunzane River. The remains of the wagon which carried his corpse to the site were placed on the grave, and may be seen at Ondini Museum, near Ulundi.


title: Cetshwayo

text: Cetshwayo's most prominent role in South African historiography is being the last king of the Zulu Kingdom. His son Dinuzulu, as heir to the throne, was proclaimed king on 20 May 1884, supported by (other) Boer mercenaries. A blue plaque commemorates Cetshwayo at 18 Melbury Road, Kensington.


title: Cetshwayo

text: Cetshwayo figures in three adventure novels by H. Rider Haggard: "The Witch's Head" (1885), "Black Heart and White Heart" (1900) and "Finished" (1917), and in his non-fiction book "Cetywayo and His White Neighbours" (1882). He is mentioned in John Buchan's novel "Prester John".


title: Cetshwayo

text: A character in the opera "Leo, the Royal Cadet" by Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann and George Frederick Cameron was named in his honour in 1889.


title: Cetshwayo

text: In the 1964 film "Zulu", he was played by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, his own maternal great-grandson and the future leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party.


title: Cetshwayo

text: There is a brief allusion made to Cetshwayo in the novel "Age of Iron" by J.M. Coetzee in the line "The new Africans, pot-bellied, heavy-jowled men on their stools of office: Cetshwayo, Dingane in white skins."


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: The Brécourt Manor Assault (6 June 1944) during the U.S. parachute assault of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of small-unit tactics and leadership in overcoming a larger enemy force.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: Command of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division had temporarily fallen to its executive officer, First Lieutenant Richard Winters. After linking up with his parent unit at the hamlet of Le Grand Chemin on the morning of 6 June 1944, Winters was ordered away from his company. With minimal instructions of "There's fire along that hedgerow there. Take care of it," and no briefing, Winters found himself given the task of destroying a German artillery battery.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: The battery, initially reported to have been 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzers, was firing onto causeway exit #2 leading off Utah Beach, disrupting landing forces of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. It was located at Brécourt Manor, southwest of Utah Beach and north of the village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. Earlier in the morning, several other units had stumbled onto the position and been repulsed.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: Winters undertook a reconnaissance at about 8:30 a.m., after which he collected a team of 12 men from his own and other companies. He knew the general location of the gun emplacements south of Le Grand Chemin, but had no information about the other side of the hedgerow. Winters' team attacked and discovered No. 6 Battery of the 90th Artillery Regiment, consisting of four 105 mm howitzers connected by trenches and defended by a company of soldiers.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: Winters believed that the unit was part of the 6th "Fallschirmjägerregiment" ("6th Parachute Regiment") with emplaced MG42 machine guns. The 1st battalion of the 6th had been ordered to Sainte Marie-du-Mont from Carentan during the afternoon but arrived after dark. The 1st Company 919th Grenadier Regiment (709th Infantry Division) was posted at Sainte Marie-du-Mont and was responsible for the area. Elements of 1058th Grenadier Regiment (91st "Luftlandedivision") were defending throughout the vicinity, and the artillery was part of this division also. The 795th Georgian Battalion, attached to the 709th ID, was to the northwest at Turqueville but is less likely to have been present because of terrain difficulties. Whichever unit defended the battery, the U.S. paratroopers were opposed by about 60 German soldiers.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: The crew originally assigned to the four 105mm guns had apparently deserted during the night of the airborne landings. Oberstleutnant Friedrich von der Heydte of the German 6th Parachute Regiment, who was observing the landings at Utah Beach, learned that they had been abandoned, and traveled to Carentan, where he ordered his 1st Battalion to occupy and hold Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and Brécourt, and find men to work on the artillery battery.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: Upon arrival at the battery location, Winters made his plan; he positioned a pair of M1919 machine guns for covering fire and sent several soldiers (2d Lt. Lynn D. Compton, Pvt. Donald Malarkey, and Sgt. William J. Guarnere) to one flank to destroy a machine gun position with grenades and provide covering fire.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: While the trenches connecting the artillery positions provided the Germans with an easy way to supply and reinforce the guns, they also proved to be their biggest weakness. After destroying the first gun position, Winters and the rest of his team used the trenches as covered approaches to attack the remaining guns in turn. Each gun was destroyed by placing a block of TNT down its barrel and using German stick grenades to set off the charges.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: Reinforcements from Company D, led by 2d Lt. Ronald C. Speirs, arrived to complete the assault on the fourth and last gun. Speirs had a reputation as an excellent and extremely aggressive officer, and he led his men against the last gun position by running outside the trenches, exposing himself to enemy fire.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: After the four guns were disabled, Winters's team came under heavy machine-gun fire from Brécourt Manor and withdrew. He had discovered a German map in one gun position that was marked with the locations of all German artillery and machine guns in that area of the Cotentin Peninsula. This was an invaluable piece of intelligence, and once Winters returned to Le Grand Chemin, he gave it to the 2nd Battalion intelligence officer (S-2) (Lewis Nixon), who passed the information up the chain of command. Command was so thrilled that it sent the first two tanks to reach Utah Beach to support the paratroopers. Winters directed their fire to eliminate remaining German resistance.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: Winters lost one man, Pfc. John D. Halls (of A Company) from an 81mm mortar platoon. Another, Private Robert "Popeye" Wynn, was wounded during the attack. Another casualty was Warrant Officer Andrew Hill, who was killed when he came upon the battle while searching for the headquarters of the 506th PIR. Also killed were Sgt. Julius "Rusty" Houck from F Company, who was with Speirs, and one soldier from D Company under Speirs' command. Another soldier from D Company was wounded.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: Troops landing at Utah Beach had a relatively easy landing, due in part to this successful assault. Colonel Robert Sink, the commander of the 506th PIR, recommended Winters for the Medal of Honor, but the award was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross because there was a policy of awarding only one Medal of Honor per division; in the 101st's case, to Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole. There was later a campaign to upgrade Winters' Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor, but a bill to do so, H.R. 796, died in committee at the end of the 110th United States Congress. It was not reintroduced by its sponsor, Tim Holden.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: The official Army history of these events on D-Day is quiet about the battle. Army historian S. L. A. Marshall interviewed Winters about the attack, but the interview was not private – many of Winters' superior officers were present – and, according to his memoir "Beyond Band of Brothers", he may have downplayed his description of the event to avoid personal accolade and to keep the account succinct. In fact, Marshall stated in his report that Winters had about 200 men under his command. However, nearly every man involved was later recognized for his role in the attack.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: A documentary film produced by filmmaker and trial attorney Vance Day, """The Battle at Brecourt Manor""," was premiered in August 2010 in Salem, Oregon, during an event for Donald Malarkey who served in Easy Company and during the engagement at Brecourt Manor. Day and Malarkey traveled extensively to conduct Frontline Leadership seminars around the country, primarily for law enforcement, military, and leadership organizations. Lynn "Buck" Compton also was regularly involved in both events for Frontline Leadership and "The Battle at Brecourt Manor" showings.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: The assault of Brécourt Manor is shown in detail in the second episode of the 2001 hit miniseries "Band of Brothers" ("Day of Days"), where it is the focus of the second half of the episode.


title: Brécourt Manor Assault

text: The sixth mission of the 2003 first-person video game "Call of Duty" features the assault of Brécourt Manor during the American Campaign.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The full, formal name of the college is the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge. The aims of the college, as specified by its statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning and research. It is one of the larger Oxbridge colleges in terms of student numbers. For 2022, St John's was ranked 6th of 29 colleges in the Tompkins Table (the annual league table of Cambridge colleges) with over 35 per cent of its students earning first-class honours.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: College alumni include the winners of twelve Nobel Prizes, seven prime ministers and twelve archbishops of various countries, at least two princes and three saints. The Romantic poet William Wordsworth studied at St John's, as did William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, two abolitionists who led the movement that brought slavery to an end in the British Empire. Prince William was affiliated with the college while undertaking a university-run course in estate management in 2014.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's is well known for its choir, its members' success in a variety of inter-collegiate sporting competitions and its annual May Ball. The Cambridge Apostles and the Cambridge University Moral Sciences Club were founded by members of the college. The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race tradition began with a St John's student and the college boat club, Lady Margaret Boat Club, is the oldest in the university. In 2011, the college celebrated its quincentenary, an event marked by a visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The site was originally occupied by the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, probably founded around 1200. The hospital infirmary was located where the east end of the current chapel now stands. By 1470 Thomas Rotherham, Chancellor of the university, extended to the hospital the privileges of membership of the university. This led to St John's House, as it was then known, being conferred the status of a college. By the early 16th century the hospital was dilapidated and suffering from a lack of funds. Lady Margaret Beaufort, having endowed Christ's College, sought to found a new college, and chose the hospital site at the suggestion of John Fisher, her chaplain and Bishop of Rochester. However, Lady Margaret died without having mentioned the foundation of St John's in her will, and it was largely the work of Fisher that ensured that the college was founded. He had to obtain the approval of King Henry VIII of England, the Pope through the intermediary Polydore Vergil, and the Bishop of Ely to suppress the religious hospital (which by then held only a Master and three Augustinian brethren) and convert it to a college.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college received its charter on 9 April 1511. Further complications arose in obtaining money from the estate of Lady Margaret to pay for the foundation, and it was not until 22 October 1512 that a codicil was obtained in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In November 1512 the Court of Chancery allowed Lady Margaret's executors to pay for the foundation of the college from her estates. When the executors took over they found most of the old hospital buildings beyond repair, but they repaired the chapel and incorporated it into the new college. A kitchen and hall were added, and an imposing gate tower was constructed for the College Treasury. The doors were to be closed each day at dusk, sealing the monastic community from the outside world.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Over the course of the following five hundred years, the college expanded westwards towards the River Cam, and now has twelve courts, the most of any Oxford or Cambridge College. The first three courts are arranged in enfilade.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college has retained its relationship with Shrewsbury School since 1578, when the headmaster Thomas Ashton assisted in drawing up ordinances to govern the school. Under these rulings, the borough bailiffs (mayors after 1638) had power to appoint masters, with Ashton's old college, St John's, having an academic veto. Since then, the appointment of Johnian academics to the governing body, and the historic awards of 'closed' Shrewsbury Exhibitions, has continued. A former Master of St John's, Chris Dobson, was an "ex officio" governor of the school from 2007.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's College first admitted women in October 1981, when K. M. Wheeler was admitted to the fellowship, along with nine female graduate students. The first women undergraduates arrived a year later.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's Great Gate follows the contemporary pattern employed previously at Christ's College and Queens' College. The gatehouse is crenellated and adorned with the arms of the foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort. Above these are displayed her ensigns, the Red Rose of Lancaster and Portcullis. The college arms are flanked by heraldic beasts known as yales, mythical creatures with elephants' tails, antelopes' bodies, goats' heads, and swivelling horns. Above them is a tabernacle containing a socle figure of St John the Evangelist, an Eagle at his feet and symbolic, poisoned chalice in his hands. The fan vaulting above is contemporary with tower, and may have been designed by William Swayne, a master mason of King's College Chapel.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: First Court is entered via the Great Gate, and is highly architecturally varied. First Court was converted from the hospital on the foundation of the college, and constructed between 1511 and 1520. Though it has since been gradually changed, the front (east) range is still much as it appeared when first erected in the 16th century. The south range was refaced between 1772 and 1776 in the Georgian style by the local architect, James Essex, as part of an abortive attempt to modernise the entire court in the same fashion. The most dramatic alteration to the original, Tudor court, however, remains the Victorian amendment of the north range, which involved the demolition of the original medieval chapel and the construction of a new, far larger set of buildings in the 1860s. These included the chapel, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, which includes in its interior some pieces saved from the original chapel. It is the third tallest building in Cambridge. The alteration of the north range necessitated the restructuring of the connective sections of First Court; another bay window was added to enlarge the college's hall, and a new building constructed to the north of Great Gate. Parts of First Court were used as a prison in 1643 during the English Civil War. In April 2011, Queen Elizabeth II visited St John's College to inaugurate a new pathway in First Court, which passes close to the ruins of the Old Chapel.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college's hall has a fine hammerbeam roof, painted in black and gold and decorated with the armorial devices of its benefactors. The hall is lined to cill level with linenfold panelling which dates from 1528 to 1529, and has a five-bay screen, surmounted by the Royal Arms. Above is a hexagonal louvre, dating to 1703. The room was extended from five to eight bays according to designs by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1863. It has two bay windows, containing heraldic glass dating from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. In 1564, Queen Elizabeth rode into the college's Hall on horseback, during a state visit to Cambridge.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Second Court, built from 1598 to 1602, has been described as 'the finest Tudor court in England'. Built atop the demolished foundations of an earlier, far smaller court, Second Court was begun in 1598 to the plans of Ralph Symons of Westminster, and Gilbert Wigge of Cambridge. Their original architectural drawings are housed in the college's library, and are the oldest surviving plans for an Oxford or Cambridge college building. It was financed by the Countess of Shrewsbury, whose arms and statue stand above the court's western gatehouse. The court's Oriel windows are perhaps its most striking feature, though the dominating Shrewsbury Tower to the west is the most imposing. This gatehouse, built as a mirror image of the college's Great Gate, contains a statue of the benefactress Mary Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, added in 1671. Behind the Oriel window of the north range lies the Long Gallery, a promenading room that was, prior to its segmentation, 148 feet long. In this room, the treaty between England and France was signed that established the marriage of King Charles I of England to Queen Henrietta Maria. In the 1940s, parts of the D-day landings were planned there. Second Court is also home to the college's 'triple set', K6.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The Old Library was built in 1624, largely with funds donated by John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln. Hearing of the college's urgent need for greater library space, Williams donated £1,200 anonymously, later revealing his identity and donating a total of £2,011 towards the library's total cost of £3,000. The library's bay window overlooks the River Cam and bears the letters "ILCS" on it, standing for "Iohannes Lincolniensis Custos Sigilli", or "John of Lincoln, Keeper of the Seal". The original intention of the college had been to construct an elegant classical building supported by pillared porticos, but Bishop Williams insisted on a more traditional design. Thus, though the college lays claim to few examples of neo-classical design, the library stands as one of the earliest examples of English neo-Gothic architecture.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Third Court is entered through Shrewsbury Tower, which from 1765 to 1859 housed an observatory. Each of its ranges was built in a different style. Following the completion of the college library in 1624, the final sides of Third Court were added between 1669 and 1672, after the college had recovered from the trauma of the English Civil War. The additions included a fine set of Dutch-gabled buildings backing onto the River Cam, and a 'window-with-nothing-behind-it' that was designed to solve the problem of connecting the windowed library with the remainder of the court.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: This was the first stone bridge erected at St John's College, continuing on from Kitchen lane. The crossing lies south of the Bridge of Sighs, and was a replacement for a wooden bridge that had stood on the site since the foundation's early days as a hospital. Though Sir Christopher Wren submitted designs for the bridge, it was eventually built on a different site by a local mason, Robert Grumbold, who also built Trinity College Library. As with the Library, Grumbold's work was based on Wren's designs, and the bridge has become known as 'the Wren Bridge'.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Though it bears little resemblance to its namesake in Venice, the bridge connecting Third Court to New Court, originally known as New Bridge, is now commonly known as the Bridge of Sighs. It is one of the most photographed buildings in Cambridge, and was described by the visiting Queen Victoria as "so pretty and picturesque". It is a single-span bridge of stone with highly decorative Neo-Gothic covered footwalk over with traceried openings. There is a three-bay arcade at the east end of the bridge. The architect was Henry Hutchinson.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The 19th-century neo-Gothic New Court, probably one of the best known buildings in Cambridge, was the first major building built by any of the colleges on the west side of the river. Designed by Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson, New Court was built between 1826 and 1831 to accommodate the college's rapidly increasing numbers of students. Despite the college's original intention to get the architects to build another copy of Second Court, plans were accepted for a fashionably romantic building in the 'Gothic' style. It is a three-sided court of tall Gothic Revival buildings, closed on the fourth side by an open, seven-bayed cross-vaulted cloister and gateway. It is four storeys high, has battlements and is pinnacled. The main portal has a fan vault with a large octagonal pendant, and the interior of the main building retains many of its original features including ribbed plaster ceilings in the mock-Gothic style. Its prominent location (especially when seen from the river) and flamboyant design have led it to be nicknamed "The Wedding Cake".


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The Chapel of St John's College is entered by the northwest corner of First Court. It was constructed between 1866 and 1869 to replace the smaller mediaeval chapel which dated back to the 13th century. When in 1861 the college's administration decided that a new building was needed, Sir George Gilbert Scott was selected as architect. He had recently finished work on the chapel at Exeter College, Oxford, and went about constructing the chapel of St John's College along similar lines, drawing inspiration from Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The benefactor Henry Hoare offered a downpayment of £3000 to finance the chapel's construction, in addition to which he promised to pay £1000 a year if a tower were added to Scott's original plans, which had included only a small flèche. Work began, but Hoare's death from a railway accident left the college £3000 short of his expected benefaction. The tower was completed, replete with louvres but left without bells; it is based on Pershore Abbey. The tower is high.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The chapel's antechamber contains statues of Lady Margaret Beaufort and John Fisher. Inside the building is a stone-vaulted ante-chapel, at the end of which hangs a 'Deposition of the Cross' by Anton Rafael Mengs, completed around 1777. The misericords and panelling date from 1516, and were salvaged from the old chapel. The chapel contains some fifteenth-century glass, but most was cast by Clayton and Bell, Hardman, and Wailes, in around 1869. Freestanding statues and plaques commemorate college benefactors such as James Wood, Master 1815–39, as well as alumni including William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson and William Gilbert. The college tower can be climbed, and is accessed via a small door on First Court. However, this access was closed in 2016 for the duration that important structural repairs were carried out to the tower Pinnacles and roof.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The chapel is surrounded on three sides by large tabernacles which form part of the external buttresses. Each contains a statue of a prominent college alumnus, alumna or benefactor. The persons commemorated are, beginning with the buttress next to the transept on the south side:


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's Master's lodge is located in a grassy clearing to the north of Third Court. It was built at the same time as the new chapel was being constructed, and has Tudor fittings, wainscot, portraits and other relics from the demolished north wing of First Court. It has a large garden, and in the winter its westmost rooms have excellent views of the college's old library, the River Cam, and the Bridge of Sighs. The architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Located to the west of the chapel tower lies Chapel Court, which was constructed together with North Court' and Forecourt in the 1930s to account for an increase in student numbers. North Court is located just north of Chapel Court and Forecourt is situated to the east, facing St John's Street. The latter is used partly as a car park for fellows and night entrance to the college. All three courts were designed by the architect Edward Maufe.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Further increases in student numbers following WWII prompted the college to again increase the number of accommodation buildings. Cripps Court was built in the late 1960s to satisfy this demand. It is located just behind New Court and forms two courts (Upper & Lower River Court). Designed by architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, the building is Grade II* listed having received an award from the British Architectural Institution. It is considered an exemplar of late 20th-century architectural style and is named after its main benefactor, Humphrey Cripps. In 2014, the building went through an extensive refurbishment program, which saw renovated accommodation and structural repairs, including the cleaning of the Portland stone which the building is made of.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: To the west of Cripps Court lies the School of Pythagoras. Built around 1200, it predates the college with 300 years and is both the oldest secular building in Cambridge and the oldest building continuously in use by a university in Britain. The building now serves as the location for the College Archives. Next to the School of Pythagoras lies Merton Hall. From 1266 until 1959 both the School of Pythagoras and Merton Hall were property of Merton College, Oxford. Merton Court is the college's eleventh and westernmost court.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: In 1987 the construction of the Fisher Building was completed. Named after Cardinal John Fisher, the building contains teaching rooms, conference facilities, and the student-run college cinema. It was designed by the architect Peter Boston.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Located opposite the college's Great Gate is All Saints' Yard. The complex is formed from the buildings of the so-called "Triangle Site", a collection of structures owned by the college. An extensive renovation project finished in Michaelmas Term 2012 had a budget of approximately £9.75 million. The centrepiece of the Yard is Corfield Court, named after the project's chief benefactor, Charles Corfield. The site can be entered through one of two card-activated gates, or through the School of Divinity. The School of Divinity is the largest building on the site, and was built between 1878 and 1879 by Basil Champneys for the University of Cambridge's divinity faculty on land leased by St John's College. Control of the building reverted to St John's when the faculty of divinity moved to a new building on the Sidgwick site in 2000.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The Choir of St John's College has a tradition of religious music and has sung the daily services in the College Chapel since the 1670s. The services follow the cathedral tradition of the Church of England, Evensong being sung during Term six days a week and Sung Eucharist on Sunday mornings. The choir is directed by Andrew Nethsingha, who has been Director of Music at Gloucester and Truro Cathedrals. The boys of the choir are educated and board at St John's College School. During university vacations the choir carries out engagements elsewhere. Recent tours have taken it to places including the Netherlands, the US and Japan.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The choir has an extensive discography of nearly 100 commercial releases dating back to the 1950s, when it was signed to the Decca/Argo label under George Guest. The Choir has since had successful recording contracts with Hyperion Records and Chandos Records, resulting in many critical accolades including a "Gramophone" Editor's Choice selection for 2015's collection "The Call". In 2016 the choir signed to Signum Records on its own St John's College imprint. The first recording of this venture was a collection of music by the contemporary composer Jonathan Harvey released in May 2016 to a number two position in the UK specialist classical charts. The imprint will also release non-choral recordings by current and former members of the college.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: In October 2021, it was announced that girls and women would join the Choir of St John's College, making it the first choir of an Oxford or Cambridge college to combine "the voices of males and females in both adults and children".


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The men of the choir, or choral scholars, also form their own close harmony group, The Gentlemen of St John's. Their repertoire spans the 15th century through to the modern day, and concert tours have taken them to Europe, the US and Japan. They provide a mixture of classical a cappella music and folksongs, as well as covers of recently chart hits and light-hearted entertainment, and host an annual Christmas concert and garden party.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college also has a mixed-voice adult choir, St John's Voices, which was founded in 2013 to allow female members of the college to take part in the college's choral tradition. It comprises around 30 members, and has premiered 3 works thus far.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's College and Christ's College, Cambridge both bear the arms of the Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, mother of Henry VII. These arms are recorded in the College of Arms as being borne by right, and are described as: "Quarterly: 1 and 4 azure three fleurs-de-lis gold (France, Modern); 2 and 3 gules three lions passant gardant or (England); all within a border compony silver and azure". In addition, both foundations use the Beaufort crest, "an eagle displayed arising out of a coronet of roses and fleurs-de-lis all gold", but their title to this is more doubtful. When displayed in their full achievement, the arms are flanked by mythical yales.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college motto is the Old French "souvent me souvient" of Lady Margaret Beaufort. It is inscribed over gates, lintels and within tympana throughout the college, functioning as a triple pun. It means 'often I remember', 'think of me often' and, when spoken (exploiting the homonym "souvent me sous vient"), 'I often pass beneath it' (referring to the inscriptions). St John's shares its motto with Christ's College, Cambridge and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, which also honour Lady Margaret Beaufort..


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The College Prayer is spoken at the end of chapel services. It alludes to the gospel of John in which it is presumed the author mentions himself anonymously as the disciple Jesus loved: "Bless, O Lord, the work of this College, which is called by the name of thy beloved disciple; and grant that love of the brethren and all sound learning may ever grow and prosper here, to thy honour and glory, and to the good of thy people, who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen."


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college grace is customarily said before and after dinner in hall. The reading of grace before dinner ("ante prandium") is usually the duty of a scholar of the college; grace after dinner ("post prandium") is said by the president or the senior fellow dining. The graces used in St John's have been in continuous use for some centuries and it is known that the "ante prandium" is based upon mediaeval monastic models. The grace is said shortly after the fellows enter the hall, signalled by the sounding of a gong, and accompanied by the ringing of the college's Grace Bell. The "ante prandium" is read after the fellows have entered, the "post prandium" after they have finished dining:


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's remains a great rival of Trinity College, which is its main competitor in sports and academia. The rivalry can be traced to Henry VIII founding Trinity after having ordered the execution of John Fisher, whose efforts had ensured the foundation of St John's. Over the years, numerous anecdotes and myths have arisen, involving students and fellows of both colleges. The rivalry is often cited as the reason why the older courts of Trinity have no "J" staircases, despite including other letters in alphabetical order (it should be mentioned that a far more likely reason is the absence of the letter "J" in the Latin alphabet). There are also two small muzzle-loading cannons on Trinity's bowling green pointing in the direction of John's, though this orientation may be coincidental. In similar fashion, the eagle on top of the entrance to St John's New Court is said to have been sculptured so that it shuns even the sight of its neighbouring rival. Generally, however, the colleges maintain a cordial relationship with one other; compatriotism led to the splitting of the atomic nucleus in 1932 by Ernest Walton (Trinity) and John Cockcroft (St John's).


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: New Court's central cupola has four blank clock-faces. These are subject to various apocryphal explanations. One legend maintains that a statute limiting the number of chiming clocks in Cambridge rendered the addition of a mechanism illegal. No such limitation is known to exist. More likely explanations include Hutchinson's fear that the installation of a clockface would spoil the building's symmetry, and that the college's financial situation in the early nineteenth century made completion impossible.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Other legends explaining the absence of clockfaces claim that St John's and its neighbour, Trinity were engaged in a race to build the final (or tallest) clocktower in Cambridge. Supposedly, whichever was finished first (or was tallest) would be permitted to house the 'final' chiming clock in Cambridge. Trinity's Tower was finished first (or, in another version of the same story, was made taller overnight by the addition of a wooden cupola), and its clock was allowed to remain. In truth, the completion of New Court and Trinity's Clock (which is in King Edward's Tower) was separated by nearly two centuries. Trinity's famous double-striking clock was installed in the seventeenth century by its then-Master, Richard Bentley, a former student of St John's, who dictated that the clock chime once for Trinity, and once for his alma mater, St John's.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Supposedly, Fellows of St John's are the only people outside the Royal Family in the United Kingdom allowed to eat unmarked mute swans. The Crown (the British monarch) retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but the King only exercises his ownership on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries. This ownership is shared with the Vintners' and Dyers' Companies, who were granted rights of ownership by the Crown in the fifteenth century, and was extended to the college via ancient Royalist ties.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: According to popular legend, St John's is inhabited by a number of ghosts. In 1706, four fellows 'exorcised' some ghosts from a house opposite the college by threatening to fire their pistols at the positions the moans and groans were coming from. Second court is supposedly haunted by the ghost of the former undergraduate and master, James Wood. Wood was so poor that he could not afford to light his room, and would often do his work in the well-lit stairway.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The buildings of St John's College include the chapel, the Hall, the old library, a more contemporary "new" library, a bar, and common rooms for fellows, graduates and undergraduates. There are also extensive gardens, lawns, a neighbouring sportsground, College School and boat-house. On-site accommodation is provided for all undergraduate and most graduate students. This is generally spacious, and many undergraduate rooms comprise 'sets' of living and sleeping rooms, where two students share a suite of two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. Members of the college can choose to dine either in the Hall, where silver service three-course meals are served six evenings per week, or in the buttery, where food can be purchased from a cafeteria-style buffet. College catering is organised by Bill Brogan, overseer of the intercollegiate Stewards' Cup.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college maintains an extensive library, which supplements the university libraries. Most undergraduate supervisions are carried out in the college, though for some specialist subjects undergraduates may be sent to tutors in other colleges.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college has two official combination rooms for junior members, which represent the interests of students in college and are responsible for social aspects of college life. Undergraduates are members of the Junior Combination Room (JCR). Graduate students have membership to the JCR, but also belong to the Samuel Butler Room, which is the Middle Combination Room (MCR) of St John's College.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The fleet of punts is kept in a purpose-built punt pool behind the Cripps Building. Punt boats are available for use by all members of the college as well as alumni.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's tends to be ranked near the middle of the Tompkins Table of undergraduate degree results, with an average position of 12.8 since 1997.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The Samuel Butler Room Society (SBR) is the Middle Combination Room (MCR) of St John's College. The Society traces its foundation to 1960, when graduate student members submitted an application to College Council for official separation from the Junior Combination Room (JCR). The name of the Society refers to the physical rooms which are used by members of the Society. The rooms were named after the noted Johnian author and polymath Samuel Butler. The membership of the Society comprises all members of the college who are registered graduate students of the college and affiliated students of the college.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college has a sporting history, enjoying success in most of the major sports on offer in Cambridge. The college has a cardio gym and a weights gym on site, and has pristine pitches right behind college.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The Red Boys, St John's College Rugby Club, won the Division One League title for nine years in a row, before losing to Jesus in 2010–11, and the cuppers trophy for 6 years in a row from 2006 to 2011, making it one of the most successful collegiate sports teams in Cambridge's history. The Redboys occupy eighteen out of the twenty-four plates on the current Division One League Shield, and thirteen out of the seventeen names on the Cuppers trophy. Since 2014, the club has taken home three Cuppers trophies (most recently in 2021–22), three Division One League Shields, and the inaugural Sevens Shield in 2016–17. In the 2016–17 season, the Redboys went undefeated.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's regularly produces a strong contingent of university players, but also ensures new players develop and get game time swiftly. The rugby club has produced several notable alumni including former RFU executive Francis Baron, former Newcastle, England and Lions fly-half and former RFU Director of Elite Rugby Rob Andrew, and "Battlestar Galactica" actor Jamie Bamber.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The college rowing club, the Lady Margaret Boat Club (LMBC), is the oldest in the university, and was founded in 1825. Despite many rumours concerning the name of the club, it was merely the most successful of the many boat clubs established in the college in the 19th century. In a similar fashion the traditional rival of the LMBC, the Boat Club of Trinity College, is known as 'First and Third' in a reference to its formation from two original clubs.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Every year the college awards scholarships to a handful of graduate students under the Benefactors' and Scholarships Scheme. The most generous of all the early benefactors of St John's College was Roger Lupton (died 1540), Provost of Eton and chaplain to Henry VIII. Lupton had amassed immense wealth through a lifetime of royal service and ecclesiastical pluralism and his scholarships exist today as the Lupton and Hebblethwaite Exhibitions. Other scholarships include the Craik Scholarship, the J.C. Hall Scholarship, the Luisa Aldobrandini Studentship Competition, the Paskin Scholarship and the Pelling Scholarship. Competition for these scholarships is very fierce as students from any country reading for any graduate degree—not only members of the college—can apply.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: There is also the Adams Prize in mathematics, named after the mathematician (and alumnus of St John's) John Couch Adams for his discovery of Neptune – it is an annual competition and can be awarded to any mathematician resident in the UK, with an age limit of under 40. The college is also associated with the Dr Manmohan Singh Scholarship, first awarded in 2008.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Students at the college wishing to practise law can apply for a McMahon Law Studentship to cover the expense of further study or obtaining professional qualifications.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Every year, students who excel academically and contribute to the life of the college, can be nominated for the prestigious Larmor awards. The Awards are named after Sir Joseph Larmor, former student at St John's. Winners of the prize receive a unique handcrafted piece of silverware and a financial prize. Recent award winners include the actor Jonah Hauer-King and the violinist Julia Hwang.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: St John's hosts a large and typically spectacular May Ball, which is traditionally held on the Tuesday of May Week. In recent years, tickets have only been available to Johnians and their guests. Highlights include an extravagant fireworks display and a variety of musical acts which in recent years have included Rudimental, Gorgon City and Katy B.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: The May Ball is organised by the committee, usually composed up of 10 students from the college, with roles ranging from Head of Food, Drink, Security, Scene, Creative, Logistics, Employment, and the executive committee with a President, Vice-President and Junior Treasurer. The first ball took place in 1888 and has since been considered one of the most lavish end-of-year university parties. The theme is kept a secret until the night itself.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Notable Johnians include former Heads of State, politicians, academics, Nobel laureates, poets and writers. Over 1000 former members of St John's College appear in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1765–66 and 1782, F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1827–28, George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1852–55, Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1855–58 & 1859–65, Alfred Domett, Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1862–63, Sir Francis Bell, Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1925, Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, 2004–14.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Copley Medallists: John Frederick William Herschel (1821), John Frederick William Herschel (1847), John Couch Adams (1848), James Joseph Sylvester (1880), George Howard Darwin (1911), Joseph Larmor (1921), Charles Algernon Parsons (1928), Arthur Schuster (1931), Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (1952), Harold Jeffreys (1960), Nevill Francis Mott (1972), William Valance Douglas Hodge (1974), Frederick Sanger (1977), Rudolf Ernst Peierls (1986), Abdus Salam (1990), Roger Penrose (2008), David Roxbee Cox (2010)


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: Several of St John's graduates were involved in the efforts to abolish the British Slave Trade that culminated in the Act of 1807. In particular, Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, Thomas Gisborne and Thomas Babington were active in the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and other abolitionist efforts.


title: St John's College, Cambridge

text: As part of the commemoration of the bicentenary of the 1807 Act, and as a representative of one of the Ivy League universities offering American historical perspective on the Triangular Trade, President Ruth J. Simmons of Brown University (herself a descendant of American slaves) gave a public lecture at St John's College entitled "Hidden in Plain Sight: Slavery and Justice in Rhode Island" on 16 February 2007. St John's College hosted some of the events relating to the commemoration, including an academic conference and a Gospel Mass in the College Chapel with the London Adventist Chorale.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Patrick Michael Byrne (born November 29, 1962) is an American businessman. In 1999, Byrne launched Overstock.com after leading two smaller companies. Byrne led Overstock as chief executive officer for two decades, from 1999 to 2019. In 2002, Byrne took Overstock public. Early in his tenure he attracted public attention for a long-running legal battle against short sellers and "naked short selling." He eventually resigned as CEO in August 2019, following revelations that he had been in an intimate relationship with Russian spy, and future politician with Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, Maria Butina.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne then emerged as a leading figure in promoting conspiracy theories, including the "Deep State" conspiracy theory. In 2020 and 2021, he repeatedly promoted unevidenced claims that Donald Trump had won the 2020 U.S. presidential election due to voter fraud. He has also toured the United States in order to provide anti-vaccination stump speeches for COVID-19 conspiracy theorists. He became notable for distributing and selling misinformation on various subject matters via websites, social media, books, and film.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne was born on November 29, 1962, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He grew up in Woodstock, Vermont, and Hanover, New Hampshire. He is the son of John J. Byrne, former chairman of Berkshire Hathaway's GEICO insurance subsidiary and White Mountains Insurance Group. His father was a friend of Warren Buffett, the leader of Berkshire Hathaway.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne holds a certificate from Beijing Normal University, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese studies from Dartmouth College, a master's degree from King's College, Cambridge as a Marshall Scholar, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Stanford University.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne was a teaching fellow at Stanford University from 1989 to 1991 and was manager of Blackhawk Investment Co. and Elissar, Inc. He served as chairman, president and CEO of Centricut, LLC, a manufacturer of industrial torches, then held the same three positions at Fechheimer Brothers, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company that manufactured uniforms for the police, firefighters, and the military.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 1999, after leading two smaller companies, Byrne was approached by the founder of D2-Discounts Direct with a request for operating capital. The company had generated slightly more than $500,000 in revenue the previous year by liquidating excess furniture inventory online. Byrne found the idea of online closeouts intriguing, and invested $7 million for a 60 percent equity stake in the company in the spring of 1999. In September the same year he took over as CEO, and the following month the company was renamed Overstock.com.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne initiated a IPO of Overstock.com in 2002, becoming one of the first companies to go public under the "Dutch auction" method, a system advanced by WR Hambrecht + Co to retain a greater share of capital within the company rather than going to the investment bank underwriters used in conventional public offerings. Byrne has said that competing banks reacted against this, attempting to obstruct the success of the offering through negative reports and by shorting the company's stock. When Google later in 2004 went public via a Dutch auction IPO, Byrne commented that Wall Street firms similarly pushed negative stories, but did not keep it from going forward successfully. Four years after the OpenIPO, one official of Hambrecht, its now former co-CEO Clay Corbus was added to Overstock's board of directors. As a part of his role, Byrne advocated for the use of blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Overstock employees, as well as Byrne's father, believed that Byrne's long-running campaign against short sellers, which began in 2005, distracted him from Overstock's core business. The company had losses in some years, and modest profits in others. Byrne's tenure was marked by a series of initiatives that were rolled out with much enthusiasm, but that were later abandoned or had disappointing outcomes. In 2004, Overstock spent several million dollars to establish an online auction platform to compete with eBay, but the project was not successful and shut down in 2011. The company also launched, and then later closed, projects in real estate, travel booking, and auto sales. He took an indefinite leave of absence from Overstock.com in April 2016 because of Hepatitis C complications, and he returned in July 2016 as CEO after his recovery. The company increasingly lost ground to other e-commerce retailers, especially Amazon and Wayfair; by the time of his resignation in 2019, Byrne had largely given up trying to compete with these larger rivals; he led, beginning in 2017, unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer for Overstock's retail business. In the late 2010s, Overstock built a new $100 million headquarters at the base of Utah's Wasatch Mountains, although several rounds of layoffs had left part of the complex empty.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 2013, Byrne began to invest in cryptocurrency and blockchain, and Overstock became the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Byrne shifted some of Overstock's balance sheet to support Tzero, a new digital stock exchange billed as a "blockchain version of Nasdaq; Tzero's initial coin offering in 2018 was largely unsuccessful. As Bryne's focus on the technology intensified in 2017 and 2018, Overstock incurred significant losses—$316 million over two years, more than twice the profits ever made by the company.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In a conference call with analysts in August 2005, Byrne said that "there's been a plan since we were in our teens to destroy our stock, drive it down to $6–$10 ... and even a plan for how the company would then get whacked up." He said that the conspirators were part of a "Miscreants Ball," headed by a "Sith Lord," whom he refused to identify but said "he's one of the master criminals from the 1980s." Byrne said the conspiracy included hedge funds, journalists, investigators, trial lawyers, the SEC, and Eliot Spitzer. Fortune writer Bethany McLean said that Byrne had become a "hero to those who believe that short-sellers are the operators of Wall Street's ultimate black box, predators who destroy companies through innuendo, bullying, political connections—and sometimes through an illegal practice known as 'naked shorting.'" Byrne financed and largely wrote a full-page advertisement in "The Washington Post" which said "Naked short selling ... is literally stealing money from the widows, retirees, and other small investors." In a letter to "The Wall Street Journal" in April 2006, Byrne contended that "blackguards have practiced 'failure to deliver'" of securities, were "destroying businesses and (probably) destabilizing our capital markets." Since 2005, Overstock has filed two lawsuits relating to the matters under Byrne's direction. After her article appeared in 2005, McLean was attacked by Byrne with such vehemence that she ceased covering him.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 2005, Overstock.com sued hedge fund Rocker Partners and the equities research firm Gradient Analytics (formerly Camelback Research Alliance) in California, alleging they illegally colluded in short-selling the company while paying for negative reports to drive down share prices. Gradient countersued Overstock for libel. A portion of this suit was settled out of court in 2008; Overstock and Gradient dropped their claims against each other after Gradient retracted allegations that Overstock's reporting methods did not comply with rules established by the FASB, stated they believed Overstock.com complied with GAAP standards, and that three directors were independent, and apologized. In December 2009, the suit against Rocker, whose name had since been changed to Copper River Partners, was settled by Copper River paying $5 million.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 2007, Overstock filed a second lawsuit against a number of large investment banks, alleging that the brokers engaged in illegal naked short selling. The long-running litigation ended in 2016. Overstock's claims against Goldman Sachs were dismissed, but the other brokers, such as Merrill Lynch, settled for $20 million.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne's campaign against naked short selling and others who he feels targeted him and his company attracted both controversy and praise. In addition to criticizing broker-dealers and hedge funds as corrupt, Byrne also criticized the press as corrupt and unable to understand the financial and dot.com industries, and complained that the mainstream media had "demonized" him.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In part to publicize his thoughts on naked short selling, Byrne founded the website "Deep Capture". In October 2011, Vancouver businessman Altaf Nazerali sued Byrne for libel and defamation in the Supreme Court of British Columbia for articles published on the website. The articles described Nazerali as being involved with "Osama Bin Laden's favorite financier," and that he worked with criminal syndicates including the Colombian drug cartel, the Russian mafia, and various "jihadi terrorist groups" including al Qaeda's Golden Chain. Deep Capture also accused Nazerali of "delivering weapons to war zones in Africa and to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan," of orchestrating "small-time 'pump and dump' scams… [and] bust-outs, death spiral finance and naked short selling," and of carrying out dirty work for "a Pakistani ISI asset" who "works for the Iranian regime." In May 2016, the Court found that the allegations in the Deep Capture articles were libelous and defamatory; Nazerali was awarded $1.2 million in damages, including $500,000 in aggravated damages, $250,000 in punitive damages and $55,000 in special damages. Byrne was permanently banned from publishing these accusations. The Court found Byrne, his employee Mark Mitchell, and Deep Capture "engaged in a calculated and ruthless campaign to inflict as much damage on Mr. Nazerali's reputation as they could achieve." The 102-page decision said "It is clear on the evidence that their intention was to conduct a vendetta in which the truth about Mr. Nazerali himself was of no consequence."


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 2019, Byrne announced that he had had a romantic relationship with Russian agent Maria Butina and also made claims in support of a deep state conspiracy theory. Byrne also claimed the FBI encouraged him to have a sexual relationship with Butina. Insurers' fears that Overstock could not control Byrne's "personality and public comments" ultimately led to his departure.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne resigned his board seat and position as CEO of Overstock.com on August 22, 2019, after his affair with Butina was revealed; Jonathan E. Johnson served as interim CEO.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: While investors had soured on Byrne's leadership and some had called for him to step down as CEO, he did not experience an activist shareholder campaign and maintained that his departure was voluntary, rather than forced by the corporation's board.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne sold some of his Overstock stock over the course of 2019, but remained the company's largest shareholder in the immediate aftermath of his resignation, with a 14% stake. However, in September 2019, Byrne sold his entire stake in company (more than 4.7 million shares, about $90 million), writing on his blog that he would invest the proceeds in gold, silver, and two cryptocurrencies; criticized what he claimed to be "acts of retaliation from the Deep State"; and attacking the SEC as "the Deep State's pets."


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: After Butina's release from prison, she became involved in Russian national politics. Byrne continued to send her financial gifts, which in 2021 led members of the Russian political opposition to object to her running for political office based on her "foreign financial backing". The "gifts" were investigated in the US by the "Business Insider", and Byrne admitted to them, when her candidacy with Vladimir Putin's party United Russia became public.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne was the largest donor to political causes in Utah during 2003–2006 (giving at least $676,500), his father Jack Byrne was the third-largest, giving (with $510,800). Patrick Byrne was the fourth largest Utah individual donor to Republicans and the fifth largest individual Utah donor to Democrats during the time period. The father-and-son pair each gave a half-million dollars in 2004 for ads attacking Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards, and Patrick Byrne also gave $2,500 to Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, a group that attacked the Vietnam War service of Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee. Nonetheless, Patrick Byrne gave $25,300 to the Utah Democratic Party, $25,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and $1,000 to Democratic congressman Jim Matheson.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 2020, Byrne promoted President Donald Trump's claim that he actually won the U.S. presidential election; Trump, the Republican incumbent, was defeated by Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Along with Steve Bannon and Lin Wood, among others, Byrne was a leading figure in an assortment of allies gathered by Trump to amplify his conspiracy theory claims during his months-long effort to subvert the election results and cling to power.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Over a series of months, Byrne repeatedly promoted bizarre conspiracy claims about the 2020 election results, including in Florida, Texas, and Georgia, pushing the falsehoods at public rallies and on Twitter, variously claiming that Biden, election technology companies, China, or other foreign powers engaged in an elaborate scheme to "steal" the election.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: "The Daily Beast" wrote of Byrne's association with Trump that he "became one of the strangest characters of the last days of the Trump administration, visiting the White House in December, dressed in jeans and a hoodie, scarfing down meatballs, and bickering with Trump’s legal team and administration officials, as he, Flynn, and Powell together pitched the then-president on their democracy-thwarting schemes." On December 18, 2020, Byrne visited the White House, where he met with Trump, Sidney Powell, lawyer and former Trump administration official Emily Newman, and Trump's former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn. During a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, the four promoted their disproven fraud claims to Trump and sought to develop a plan to try to overturn Trump's election loss, which had occurred more than a month before and been formalized four days before with the Electoral College vote.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: The four met Trump without the appointment appearing on Trump's private schedule, and Trump's White House staff had apparently not been informed about the meeting. After encountering opposition during their visit from some Trump officials, such as White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Byrne later claimed that Trump's advisors were insufficiently loyal to him and were "mendacious mediocrities" who "want him to lose and are lying to him." In a Twitter post, he advised Trump and his allies to "Trust Rudy [Giuliani] and Sidney [Powell] only." Byrne said that he entered the White House on a bluff—"without any invitation"—and describing the quartet's plan as using Powell and Flynn's fame to "bullshit our way past" White House security to get to Trump. According to Byrne, he had enlisted a White House staffer's help in entering the compound, but Byrne "may have been less than clear that there would be some people with" him.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne was a speaker at the Trump rally on January 6 in Washington, D.C., which was directly followed by a pro-Trump mob, inflamed by Trump's false election claims, attacking the U.S. Capitol. Soon afterward, Twitter suspended Byrne's account. In July 2022, Byrne agreed to testify before Congress during the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack public hearings on his role in the events leading up to the insurrection. News of the meeting led further news organizations to publish lengthy profiles of Byrne's election denier activities, such as the "Washington Post".


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In April 2021, Byrne became the leading financier of the controversial Arizona State Senate Republicans' botched audit of the presidential vote in Maricopa County, Arizona. Biden won Maricopa County (and the State of Arizona), and the result was confirmed multiple times. Nonetheless, in a bid to try to support Trump's lies about the election, the Arizona Senate's Republican leadership, led by Senate President Karen Fann, launched an audit of the county's election results, run by a small Trump-aligned company called Cyber Ninjas, which has no experience in election audits and is led by a CEO who had previously promoted the false claim that the election was rigged. The haphazard, highly politicized audit process failed to follow standard recounting procedures and was condemned by election experts, Democrats, and some Republicans, including the Republican-dominated Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, who wrote that Arizona Republicans "rented out the once-good name of the Arizona Senate" to "grifters" who were perpetrating a "sham."


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne claimed that he had pledged $1 million for his "Fund the Audit" campaign; The America Project, a Florida-based group of which Byrne is CEO and founder, claimed that it raised a total of $1.7 million to support the "audit," including funds sent by social media followers in support of the cause. Byrne stated that he had aspirations to spread his activities to additional counties in other states. In addition to raising money, the group helped to recruit volunteers to count ballots and coordinate with the Arizona state Senate Republicans. Jeff Flake, a former Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona, said Byrne's involvement undermined the "credibility" of the process, adding, "It's damaging to the Republican party and our system of government." In mid-September 2021, Byrne released a series of videos that outlined how he believed that Biden should step down and be replaced by a coalition of individuals led by Michael Flynn, despite his conviction for lying to the FBI, effectively replacing President Biden with Flynn as the leader of the United States.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In late September 2021, the results of the ballot count were released, showing that Biden did indeed win the county - with a potentially larger margin than originally counted. Following the release of the report, Byrne doubled down on trying to find other reasons to keep his conspiracy theory afloat, as NBC News published that Byrne was profiting from the continued false accusations of election insecurity.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 2021, Byrne self-published his book "The Deep Rig: How Election Fraud Cost Donald J. Trump the White House, By a Man Who Did Not Vote for Him", which details his experience promoting his various electoral conspiracy theories. The book, largely compiled of text copied-and-pasted from Byrne's blog, was hastily produced, with the print version including hyperlinks and embedded video not useful in the paper printed format.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne urged election-fraud believers to sign up to pay him $5 per month, in credit-card recurring charges, to view his social media posts about what he claimed to be "insider knowledge"; this could bring Byrne up to $1.15 million annually in subscription fees.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: During the audit in Maricopa County, Arizona, Byrne funded a documentary film, "The Deep Rig", created by director Roger R. Richards, to promote his 2020 election-related falsehoods. Richards was previously known for films promoting fantastical claims, such as the belief that the September 11 attacks were caused by a conspiracy by extraterrestrial aliens. Byrne is the key figure in the film, which features interviews from various other conspiracy theorists. The film, based partially on Byrne's self-published book, has also been promoted by fellow conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, who teamed up with Byrne in 2021 in order to push their respective election theories in concert. The reported budget for the film was $750,000, and the streaming cost for the film was between $45 and $500 per view, which resulted in Rachel Maddow commenting that Byrne "seems to be making a ton of money on that" as well. The film premiered at the Dream City Church megachurch in Phoenix, Arizona, where Byrne spoke alongside the director and, according to "The New Yorker", "a local QAnon conspiracist, BabyQ, who claimed to be receiving messages from his future self." "The Washington Post" stated that the film encouraged right-wing media outlets and social media accounts to promote election denial on behalf of Trump.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne's leadership of the "American Project" reflected his growing influence on the Trumpist right, with the organization playing a major role, in conjunction with other right-wing groups, in promoting election disinformation. Byrne was also the CEO of "Defending the Republic," a fundraising organization founded by Powell that purported to raise funds to fight for "election integrity" but was used instead to Powell's personal legal bills to support her defense against a $1.3 billion defamation suit filed against Powell by Dominion Voting Systems in connection with her promotion of conspiracy theories. In August 2021, Byrne was then added to the defamation lawsuit alongside far-right news outlets OAN and Newsmax filed by Dominion, linking the defamation to Byrne's own pushing of election lies. In the suit, Dominion stated that Byrne had decided that the election "would be stolen" months ahead of the 2020 contest. Byrne and the two news outlets were sued for $1.73 billion each.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 2022, PBS reported that Byrne had been informed that several of the persons he promoted as stating that Trump was defrauded were lying, but that he chose to promote their words anyways. He also told a reporter from PBS that he "could live with" potentially "destroying the country", referring to the United States. During the 2022 Midterm Elections, Byrne was a major donor to candidates that ran on the premise that the 2020 election was not legitimate.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In the context of his election conspiracy theories, Byrne has also written posts pushing alternative cures to COVID-19 and questioning the role of vaccines on his blog "Deep Capture". He has stated that COVID-19 vaccines were either "poisoning Americans" or "putting miniature Covid-19 spike protein factories in our arms to wreak havoc with ovaries and balls". Both claims have been proven false by the medical community. On the same blog, Byrne insisted that the vaccine push has its "origin in political decisions made in Washington, DC," and " little to do with what is best for the health of Americans, and everything to do with political considerations of a regime that came to power in a rigged election." In September 2021, Byrne became a part of a travelling anti-vaccination touring group called the "Reawaken America" tour that also featured Flyne and Lindell. Byrne travelled with the group to multiple US states with a message that COVID-19 was not a threat and that treatment of it was unhealthy—again something long disproven by actual medical doctors. Admission to their events ran between $250 and US$500 per person.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: In 2005, Byrne provided financial backing to the Class Education, whose goal is to change state laws to require schools to spend at least 65 percent of their operating budgets on classroom expenses. Proponents of the standard contend that it would free up money to increase teachers' salaries without requiring tax increases. Critics say that many services deemed "non-classroom" are necessary for education, including librarians, school nurses, guidance counselors, food service workers and school bus drivers.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne also serves as co-chair (with Rose Friedman) of EdChoice. The non-profit organization was founded by Milton and Rose Friedman and promotes school vouchers and other forms of school choice.


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne and his family contributed most of the funds in support of House Bill 148 in Utah, a bill that would allow the state to provide funding vouchers for students who decide to leave public schools for private schools. In January 2008, it was reported that Byrne and his parents contributed about $4 million to the pro-voucher campaign, or three-quarters of its $5.4 million funding and equal the entire total spent by the opposing side. When that bill was defeated in a statewide referendum (62% opposing vs. 38% favoring), the "Salt Lake Tribune" reported that Byrne "called the referendum a 'statewide IQ test' that Utahns failed." He said, "They don't care enough about their kids. They care an awful lot about this system, this bureaucracy, but they don't care enough about their kids to think outside the box."


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Byrne criticized Utah governor Jon Huntsman for not sufficiently supporting the voucher campaign. Huntsman had before he was elected stated that he was "going to be the voucher governor", and Byrne had donated $75,000 to Huntsman's campaign for governor in 2004. When Huntsman was elected, however, he went missing from the debate, and Byrne told the Associated Press that he would now bankroll anyone who could defeat Huntsman at the polls, "even a communist".


title: Patrick M. Byrne

text: Shortly after his graduation from Dartmouth, Byrne suffered from testicular cancer; he recovered, but several bouts of the cancer left him hospitalized for much of his 20s. He holds a black belt in taekwondo. He also owns several homes in Sarasota, Florida, which he purchased through a ghost company called Manatee Investments LLC.


title: Polyana Viana

text: Polyana Viana Mota (born 14 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 21, 2022, she is ranked as the #15 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings


title: Polyana Viana

text: Raised solely by her mom, Viana grew up in São Geraldo do Araguaia, a small town in the Pará region of Brazil. She started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2013 and also made her professional mixed martial arts debut in late 2013.


title: Polyana Viana

text: Viana made her UFC debut at on 3 February 2018 against Maia Stevenson. She won the fight via rear-naked choke in the first round.


title: Polyana Viana

text: In May 2018 it was announced that Viana would be fighting against JJ Aldrich on UFC 227 in August. Viana would lose the fight via unanimous decision as Aldrich out-boxed her most of the fight.


title: Polyana Viana

text: Viana took on Veronica Macedo at . The bout had originally been scheduled between Macedo and Rachael Ostovich, however on July 29 it was announced that Ostovich would be replaced by Viana for an undisclosed reason. As expected, the fight took place on the ground, but surprisingly Macedo submitted Viana via armbar, a submission Viana herself has finished 6 fights with in her career, as of May 2022. The result was Macedo's first UFC win and the first time in Viana's career she had ever been submitted in a fight.


title: Polyana Viana

text: Viana was scheduled to face Emily Whitmire on March 8, 2020, at UFC 248. At the weigh-ins, Whitmire weighed in at 117.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over the strawweight non-title fight limit of 116. She was fined 20% of her purse and her bout with Viana was expected to proceed as scheduled at a catchweight. Subsequently, Whitmire was hospitalized the day of the event and the fight was cancelled. The pair was rescheduled on August 29, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175 in a flyweight bout. Viana won the fight via an armbar submission in round one.


title: Polyana Viana

text: Viana faced Mallory Martin on February 13, 2021, at UFC 258. She won the fight via an armbar in round one. This win earned her the Performance of the Night award.


title: Polyana Viana

text: Viana faced Tabatha Ricci on May 21, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 206. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Polyana Viana

text: Viana faced Jinh Yu Frey on November 5, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 214. She won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned her the Performance of the Night award.


title: Polyana Viana

text: In January 2019, a man attempted to rob Viana using a fake gun as she waited outside her apartment. Viana punched the man and subdued him until the police arrived. Viana did not face charges as the authorities ruled it was self-defense.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Gil Vicente, founded in 1924, is a Portuguese football club that plays in Barcelos. It competes in the Primeira Liga, the top division of football in the country, and it is named after the Portuguese playwright of the same name. The best seasons for the team was in 1999–2000 and 2021–22 Primeira Liga, when they finished fifth in the league.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: Gil Vicente Futebol Clube was founded on 3 May 1924, after the creation of other clubs in Barcelos, such as Barcelos Sporting Club and União Football Club Barcelense. The idea to found a new club came from a group of friends that every afternoon played football near the city's theater, named "Gil Vicente", after the Portuguese playwright. The initial name for the team was Gil Vicente Football Barcelense.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: The team first got promoted to the top Portuguese division, then called First Division in 1990. In 1997, it got relegated to the Liga de Honra and came back two years later by winning it. The best position was in the first year back in the Liga, when it finished fifth, led by manager Álvaro Magalhães, a former Benfica player.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: In the 2005–06 Primeira Liga, Gil Vicente fielded an ineligible player being Angolan forward Mateus in the "Mateus Affair". They therefore lost the right to participate in the 2006-07 Primeira Liga, and Belenenses were allowed to stay up. Gil Vicente were accused by the special sports instances that rule Portuguese football of illegally resorting to regular courts on the dispute of Mateus, according to Gil Vicente, illegal contract with his former employer, FC Lixa.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: Still convinced this is not a sports-related case but rather work-related, Gil Vicente continued in the courts. Along with the relegation, they were also suspended from the Taça de Portugal for one season.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: On 29 May 2011, the club returned to the top flight as champions of the 2010–11 Liga de Honra with a 3–1 home win over C.D. Fátima in front of a club record crowd; manager Paulo Alves beat C.D. Feirense on goal difference to the title, and the key players were strikers Hugo Vieira and Zé Luís. The club finished as runners-up of the 2011–12 Taça da Liga, eliminating Sporting CP from the groups, S.C. Braga on penalties in the semi-final and losing 2–1 to S.L. Benfica in the final in Coimbra.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: A four-year spell in the top flight ended in 2014–15, when Gil Vicente lost 2–1 at F.C. Penafiel in the penultimate round of matches. On 29 April 2018, the club slipped into the third tier for the first time since 1971, but had a place in the 2019–20 Primeira Liga secured as a result of the appeal against the "Matheus Affair". On May 8, 2022, Gil Vicente qualified for a European competition, UEFA Europa Conference League, for the first time in their history, after finishing fifth in the 2021-22 Primeira Liga season.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: The first struggles of the young team were mainly about finding a pitch to play. Back then, the team would play in the Campo da Estação, which belonged to another club, Triunfo Sport Club. On 3 May 1933, Gil Vicente played in its first field, Campo da Granja, with a capacity for 5,012 spectators, and later renamed Adelino Ribeiro Novo which is now the youth academy stadium, after a Gil Vicente goalkeeper who died there during a match on 16 September 1946.


title: Gil Vicente F.C.

text: Gil Vicente played in the Estádio Adelino Ribeiro Novo until the 2003–04 season. From 2004–05 on, the team plays in the new Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, with the former being used for the youth teams. The new stadium, with a capacity of 14,000, belongs to the municipality and received two UEFA Under-21 European Championship 2006 matches: Serbia and Montenegro 0–1 Germany and Portugal 0–2 Serbia and Montenegro .


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: The Volkswagen Bora is a small family car, the fourth generation of the Volkswagen Jetta, and the successor to the Volkswagen Vento. Production of the car began in July 1999. Carrying on the wind nomenclature from previous generations, the car was known as the Volkswagen Bora in much of the world. Bora is a winter wind that blows intermittently over the coast of the Adriatic Sea, as well as in parts of Greece, Russia, Turkey, and the Sliven region of Bulgaria. In North America and South Africa, the Volkswagen Jetta moniker was again kept on due to the continued popularity of the car in those markets.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: The Mk4 debuted shortly after its larger sibling, the Passat, with rear passenger doors differing from those of a five-door Golf. The car was also offered as an estate/wagon. Options included rain sensor-controlled windshield wipers and automatic climate control.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: Two new internal-combustion engines were offered, the 1.8-litre turbo four-cylinder (often referred to as the 1.8 20vT), and the VR6. The suspension setup remained much as before. However, it was softened considerably in most models to give a comfortable ride, which was met with some criticism as it was still quite hard in comparison with rivals such as vehicles offered from French carmakers.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: In 2004, a new range of "Pumpe-Düse" (PD) Unit Injector diesel engines was offered. The design employed unit injectors along with additional electronics and emissions equipment to meet emissions standards in Europe and North America, and is more complex than diesel engines previously offered. To accomplish the task of producing sufficient power while meeting emissions standards, the "PD" technology injects fuel directly into the combustion chamber at pressures up to 2,050 bar (30,000 psi). The purpose of the high pressure is to promote fine atomisation of the fuel, which supports more complete combustion. To reduce noise, the engine employs a "pilot injection" system that injects a small amount of fuel prior to the main injection. All of the new generation of diesel engines required a special motor oil to meet Volkswagen oil specification 505.01 (or newer), noting that serious damage to the engine, particularly the camshaft and injectors, will result if oil not meeting this standard is used.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: The car was manufactured using highly mechanised presses, improved measuring techniques, and laser welding of the roof. In crash tests, the fourth-generation car received very good marks. In the New Car Assessment Program tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the car received five out of five stars for both driver and passenger protection in a 56-km/h (35-mph) frontal impact. New side-impact tests at 62 km/h (38.5 mph) awarded the car four out of five stars for both driver and rear-seat passenger protection. Side-curtain airbags became standard in the 2001 model year. In the more severe 64-km/h (40-mph) offset test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Mark 4 was awarded the highest score of "Good". Injury, collision, and theft losses were low for a car of its class.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: The Bora in its most basic Latin American configuration with 2 airbags received 3 stars for adult occupants and 3 stars for toddlers from Latin NCAP in 2012.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: The Bora/Jetta A4 was praised for its adequate handling and a moderately comfortable ride. Other reviewers noted the car to be a somewhat expensive choice in the compact-car segment. Some complaints were made that the back seats lacked adequate room for two adults. Some found the seat cushioning too firm. The interior was praised for the high level of fit, but is sparsely equipped. New in this generation was Volkswagen's signature blue and red instrument lighting, which became standard in all models in 1999. The climate controls were placed low on the console. The recirculation mode cannot be turned on when air is vented to the windshield, and if the driver changes the climate control to vent air to the windshield, an internal mechanism would turn off the recirculation mode. The power outlet is recessed next to the ash tray and is covered with two flaps, one of which is shared with the ash tray. Retractable cup holders were placed directly above the stereo, obscuring vision of the stereo display and could allow beverages to spill on the stereo, gear selector, and other sensitive components during vehicle movement. Rear passengers have a pair of retractable cup holders located under the cylindrical ash tray on the center console. These problems were rectified in 2003 for the US market by placing two recessed cup holders in tandem in the center console and another behind the arm rest pedestal for rear passengers. The driver must raise the arm rest to access the center cup holder, and a large beverage occupying the front cup holder obstructs the driver's ability to pull the hand brake. European cars were given a redesigned retractable cup holder in front.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: The front bumper cover offered inadequate ground clearance to clear a curb in a parking space, whereby the bumper cover could hook onto the curb and be torn off the vehicle. In the US, a class-action lawsuit regarding this problem was filed in 2009, and a settlement was reached awarding owners a $140 reimbursement for repair costs.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: Owners reported windows falling into the doors, electrical problems, body panels rusting from the inside out, especially on the front wheel arches and wagon lift door, and emissions system defects. The fourth generation takes approximately 52 hours per vehicle to assemble in the Puebla factory.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: Volkswagen introduced an estate/station wagon version of the fourth-generation car at the 2001 Los Angeles Auto Show as the first A-segment wagon Volkswagen offered in North America — the body style solely manufactured in Wolfsburg. The wagon offered 963 l (34 ft) of volume with the rear seat up, and wth rear seats were folded provided 1473 l (52 ft).


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: In Europe, the estate version was at times marketed as a Golf wagon, either in addition to or instead of the Bora. Other than different front bumpers, fenders, headlights, and hood, the cars were identical. In some countries, VW marketed both Golf Variant and Bora Variant, with the Bora Variant being more upmarket than its counterpart.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: As of 2008, the fourth-generation car marketed alongside the fifth-generation due to higher pricing of the fifth-generation in some countries such as Colombia, China, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. Like its second-generation predecessor, the Mark 4 continued to be manufactured and marketed in China by Volkswagen Group's joint venture partner FAW-Volkswagen.


title: Volkswagen Bora

text: In October 2006, Volkswagen re-released the fourth-generation Golf and Jetta in Canada (for the 2007 model year) as the City Jetta, to allow Volkswagen to be more competitive in the compact class. In 2008, the car was restyled to bring its looks up to date with the Volkswagen range. Its engine was the 2.0-l, eight-valve SOHC gasoline four-cylinder with an available six-speed tiptronic (with Sport mode) that was added as an option in 2008. In 2009, both model names were changed to Jetta City and Golf City. The two models were discontinued, the Jetta City for 2010 MY and Golf City for MY 2011. The MK4.5 City Jetta (Clásico/Bora) was manufactured alongside the fifth generation in the Puebla Assembly Plant in Mexico.


title: Hotline Bling

text: "Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake, which serves as the lead single from his fourth studio album "Views" (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made available for digital download on July 31, 2015, through Cash Money, Young Money and Republic.


title: Hotline Bling

text: Music critics were complimentary about the presentation of Drake's emotional side, as well as its production, but criticized its lyrics. A music video directed by Director X was released two months later; it subsequently gained popularity on YouTube and spawned several parodies. The song was included on several year-end critics' polls.


title: Hotline Bling

text: "Hotline Bling" reached number two on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. It also reached number three in Drake's native Canada and the United Kingdom. The song won the award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Song at the 2016 American Music Awards. It also received two wins at the 2017 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance.


title: Hotline Bling

text: "Hotline Bling" is a pop and R&B song written by Drake and Nineteen85, the latter of whom also produced the song. The song was composed in D minor with a tempo of 135 beats per minute in common time with a chord progression of Bbmaj7Am7. The song was directly inspired by DRAM's "Cha Cha" and was originally seen to be a remix, with the song premiering on Beats 1 OVO Sound Radio as "Hotline Bling (Cha Cha Remix)". The song's instrumental heavily samples R&B singer Timmy Thomas's 1972 song "Why Can't We Live Together".


title: Hotline Bling

text: On October 4, 2015, Drake announced a music video for the track via his Instagram account. The video was inspired by Sean Paul's "Gimme The Light" clip. The video was financed by Apple Inc., and released on October 19, 2015, via Apple Music under a timed exclusivity agreement. The Director X-directed video was inspired by the work of American artist James Turrell. X has stated that he hopes that the video inspires men to dance more.


title: Hotline Bling

text: "Rap-Up" wrote that Drake "shows just how suave he can be with his moves" in this video. Evan Minsker of "Pitchfork" called it a "pretty minimal clip". The site also named "Hotline Bling" the seventh best music video of 2015.


title: Hotline Bling

text: The video, which has inspired many memes and parodies, including a commercial from T-Mobile during Super Bowl 50 featuring Drake himself (where representatives of a cellular operator attempt to make Drake add disclaimer-like caveats to the song's lyrics), helped the song rise in chart position according to "NME". The song was parodied in the "Saturday Night Live" episode "Donald Trump/Sia", in which Trump briefly sang and danced while playing Drake's accountant. One of the most popular memes made from the music video is "Wii Shop Bling", a mash up between "Hotline Bling" and the theme music for the Wii Shop Channel.


title: Hotline Bling

text: The song received mixed reviews. Leor Galil of the "Chicago Reader" praised Drake's performance in "Hotline Bling," stating that he "sounds hurt, neglected, and confused even while he's admonishing his ex," and that "it's hard to imagine anyone else pulling off this kind of song with the same verve". Jayson Greene of "Pitchfork" selected "Hotline Bling" as the "Best New Track" of the day, praising its "muted and intimate" beat and declaring it a "halting, aching song" about a man "a little too concerned" for a woman that could be a "rewrite" of "Roxanne" by The Police. Brad Wete of NPR hailed the song as both "remarkably catchy and damp with boo-hoo reflection," writing that "musically, it twinkles with bright organ riffs and boasts a bass line fit to thump in clubs" while its lyrics feature Drake "deeply wondering aloud, channeling the jealous ex in all of us". Rhian Daly of "NME" described the track's "simple and minimal" production as "secondary to Drake’s emotions". "Rolling Stone" ranked "Hotline Bling" at number 3 on its year-end list to find the 50 best songs of 2015. "Billboard" ranked "Hotline Bling" at number 2 on its year-end critics' poll for 2015: "In a trio of freebies Drake plopped on SoundCloud in July, "Hotline Bling" was the only non-diss track. Backed by a tropical, groovy melody, "Hotline Bling" finds Drake giving a rap a hard pass and singing his heart out for some late-night loving through the phone. The record caught some drama, initially being referred to as a remix to Virginia rapper D.R.A.M.'s "Cha Cha." Still, the Toronto MVP got his dance on for the uber-viral video parodied by everyone from presidential candidate Donald Trump to Toronto Councillor Norm Kelly". "Pitchfork" named "Hotline Bling" the second best song of 2015, after Kendrick Lamars "Alright". "Time" named "Hotline Bling" the eighth-best song of 2015. The "Village Voice" named "Hotline Bling" the best single released in 2015 on their annual year-end critics' poll, Pazz & Jop. In 2021, it was listed at No. 373 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".


title: Hotline Bling

text: "Hotline Bling" also received criticism for the perceived sexist and controlling attitude expressed by the male narrator toward his female ex. Allyson Shiffman of "Bullett" took issue with the "super sexist lyrics," explaining that "while [the song is] packaged as a good old fashioned 'Why doesn't bae like me anymore?' Drake tune," what it is "really saying is, 'You used to wanna bone me all the time and now that I've left the 6, you've gotten a life of your own and I'm not okay with that'". Tahirah Hairston of Fusion wrote that, in the song, "Drake is distraught that his ex has moved on," but because he "opts for condescendingly slut-shaming her" and "dictating where she does and doesn't belong," it "comes off so petty that you forget his feelings are hurt".


title: Hotline Bling

text: Canadian singer Justin Bieber recorded a cover version of the song and released it on October 30, 2015. At the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards the alternative version was nominated for the Best Cover Song. Rapper Lil Wayne released his own version of the song from his mixtape "No Ceilings 2". Singer Erykah Badu released a rewrite of the song on her 2015 mixtape "But You Caint Use My Phone" titled "Cel U Lar Device". American singer Billie Eilish released a cover of "Hotline Bling" as the B-side of "Party Favor", on a pink 7-inch vinyl on April 21, 2018, coinciding with Record Store Day for that year. Eilish's cover was later released for digital download and streaming in June 2018 by Darkroom and Interscope Records. Sam Moore of "NME" described the genre of Eilish's cover of "Hotline Bling" as "delicate indie pop".


title: Hotline Bling

text: "W" magazine uploaded a video with 13 celebrities reading the lyrics of the song in December 2015. The song was featured on the episode "She Gets Revenge" from "". "Hotline Bling" was the subject of a Super Bowl 50 advertisement for T-Mobile, in which Drake is interrupted by executives of cellphones provider seeking to make "improvements" to its lyrics. A variation of Drake's dancing in the music video was included in the multiplayer section of 2016's "", renamed to "Bling Bling". The dance is also featured in 2014's "Destiny", referred to only as "Strange Dance". "Heroes of the Storm" features a playable character named Dehaka, whose dance also mimics Drake's. On March 24, 2017, a Red Nose Day short that served as a sequel to the 2003 film "Love Actually" premiered and featured Hugh Grant reprising his dancing skills to "Hotline Bling".


title: Hotline Bling

text: The dance moves in the music video also inspired the opening sequence to the anime "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!", according to a Crunchyroll interview with to one of its animators, Abel Gongora.


title: Hotline Bling

text: "Hotline Bling" entered the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart dated August 22, 2015 at number 66. Its chart debut was fueled primarily by digital download sales, with 41,000 copies sold in its first week. The song soon became Drake's first top 10 in two years when the song reached number nine. It has since peaked at number two on the chart dated October 24, 2015, tying as his second highest-charting single as a lead act with "Best I Ever Had" which reached number two in 2009. The song has peaked at number two for five non-consecutive weeks, behind both "The Hills" by The Weeknd and "Hello" by Adele. As of February 2016, the song has sold over 2 million copies in the United States. "Hotline Bling" remained in the top ten of this chart for nineteen weeks before dropping out on February 13, 2016.


title: Hotline Bling

text: In the United Kingdom, "Hotline Bling" peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Drake's highest-charting song there (at the time) as a lead artist. The song also peaked at the top of the UK R&B Chart. On November 27, 2015, "Hotline Bling" received gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry.


title: Dominican Americans

text: Dominican Americans (, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. As of 2018, there were approximately 2.08 million people of Dominican descent in the United States, including both native and foreign-born. They are the second largest Hispanic groups in the Northeastern region of the United States and the fifth-largest Latin American group, after Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Salvadorans and Cubans.


title: Dominican Americans

text: The first person of Dominican descent to migrate into what is now known as the United States was sailor-turned-merchant Juan Rodríguez who arrived on Manhattan in 1613 from his home in Santo Domingo. Thousands of Dominicans also passed through the gates of Ellis Island in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The most recent movement of emigration to the United States began in the 1960s, after the fall of the dictatorial Trujillo regime.