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Ivan Illich

Ivan Illich

Ivan Illich (Vienna, September 4,1926 - Bremen, December 2,2002), polymath, polemicist. Author of an informal series of polemical critiques of the institutions of 'modern' culture, he addressed issues from education to medicine to work to energy use and economic development to gender.

Personal life

Born in Vienna to a family with Jewish, Dalmatian and Catholic roots, whence they were forced to flee in 1941, he studied histology and crystallography at Florence University. From 1932 to 1946 he studied theology and philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in the Vatican, and worked as a priest in New York City. In 1956 he was appointed vice-rector of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico, and in 1961 founded the Centro Intercultural de Documentación (CIDOC) at Cuernavaca in Mexico, a research centre offering courses to missionaries from North America. After 10 years, the radicalism of CIDOC began to bring the institution into conflict with the Vatican, and in 1976 the center was shut down with the consent of its members. Several of them subsequently formed language schools in Cuernavaca, some of which still exist. Illich himself resigned as a priest in the late 1960s. From the 1980s, Ivan Illich traveled extensively, mainly splitting his time between the United States, Mexico, and Germany. He held an appointment as Visiting Professor of Philosophy and of Science, Technology, and Society at Penn State, and also taught at the University of Bremen. During his later years, he suffered from a cancerous growth on his face that, in accordance with his critique of professionalized medicine, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to treat with traditional methods. He regularly smoked opium to deal with the pain caused by this tumor. At an early stage, he consulted a doctor about having the tumor removed, but there was too great a chance of losing his ability to speak, he was told, so he lived with the tumor as best he could. "My mortality," he called it.

Deschooling Society

His most celebrated work remains Deschooling Society (1971), a critical discourse on education as practised in 'modern' economies. Full of detail on then current programmes and concerns, the book can seem dated, but its core assertions and propositions remain as radical today as they were at the time. Giving real world examples of the ineffectual nature of institutionalised education, Illich posited self directed education, supported by intentional social relations, in fluid, informal arrangements: :Universal education through schooling is not feasible. It would be no more feasible if it were attempted by means of alternative institutions built on the style of present schools. Neither new attitudes of teachers toward their pupils nor the proliferation of educational hardware or software (in classroom or bedroom), nor finally the attempt to expand the pedagogue's responsibility until it engulfs his pupils' lifetimes will deliver universal education. The current search for new educational funnels must be reversed into the search for their institutional inverse: educational webs which heighten the opportunity for each one to transform each moment of his living into one of learning, sharing, and caring. We hope to contribute concepts needed by those who conduct such counterfoil research on education--and also to those who seek alternatives to other established service industries.[http://www.ecotopia.com/webpress/deschooling.htm] The last sentence makes clear what the title suggests - that the institutionalisation of education is considered to tend towards the institutionalisation of society, and conversely that ideas for de-institutionalising education may be a starting point for a de-institutionalised society. And this is where the true radicalism of the ideas becomes clear. As a holistic thinker, with a formidable intellect and a truly catholic breadth of erudition, Illich always considers his insights in the widest possible terms. The book is more than a critique - it contains positive suggestions for a reinvention of learning throughout society and throughout every individual lifetime. Of particular relevance here is his call (from a 1971 perspective) for the use of advanced technology to support "learning webs". Many characteristics of these as described relate strongly to the nature and use of the WWW in general, and strongly to the workings and ideals of this Wikipedia.

Quotes

“Learned and leisurely hospitality is the only antidote to the stance of deadly cleverness that is acquired in the professional pursuit of objectively secured knowledge. I remain certain that the quest for truth cannot thrive outside the nourishment of mutual trust flowering into a commitment to friendship.” Ivan Illich "People need new tools to work with rather than new tools that "work" for them." Ivan Illich “Homo economicus was surreptitiously taken as the emblem and analogue for all living beings.” Ivan Illich “I do think that if I had to choose one word to which hope can be tied it is hospitality. A practice of hospitality recovering threshold, table, patience, listening, and from there generating seedbeds for virtue and friendship on the one hand. On the other hand radiating out for possible community, for rebirth of community..” Ivan Illich

Bibliography

- Deschooling Society (1971) ISBN 0060121394 ISBN 0060121394 ISBN 0060803818
- Tools for Conviviality (1973) ISBN 0060803088 ISBN 0060121386
- Energy and Equity (1974) ISBN 0061361535 ISBN 0060803274
- Medical Nemesis (1976) ISBN 0394712455 ISBN 0714510955 ISBN 0714510963
- Toward a History of Needs (1978) ISBN 0394410408 ISBN 0394735013
- Shadow Work (1981) ISBN 0714527114 ISBN 0714527106
- Gender (1982) ISBN 0394527321
- H₂O and the Waters of Forgetfulness (1985) ISBN 0911005064
- ABC: The Alphabetization of the Popular Mind (1988) ISBN 0865472912
- In the Mirror of the Past (1992) ISBN 0714529370
- In the Vineyard of the Text: A Commentary to Hugh's Didascalicon (1993) ISBN 0226372359
- Ivan Illich in Conversation interviews with Cayley, David. (1992)(Toronto: Anansi Press).
- The Rivers North of the Future - The Testament of Ivan Illich as told to David Cayley (2005) ISBN 0887847145 (Toronto: Anansi Press)
- Corruption of Christianity Illich, Ivan (Author) Cayley, David (Editor) (2000) ISBN 0660180995
External links

- [http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/~ira/illich/bibliography.html A partial bibliography]
- [http://reactor-core.org/deschooling.html Full text of Deschooling Society]
- [http://reactor-core.org/energy-and-equity.html Full text of Energy and Equity]
- [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?IvanIllich A page on Illich on the WikiWikiWeb, with more links]
- [http://www.preservenet.com/theory/Illich.html List of pointers to Illich's writings]
- [http://www.pudel.uni-bremen.de/ Website of Illich's collaborators in Germany]
- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4563612-103684,00.html Obituary from the Guardian newspaper (UK)]
- [http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/21/jan03/illich.htm Ivan Illich, 1926-2002]
- [http://www.wtp.org/archive/transcripts/ivan_illich_jerry.html Ivan Illich with Jerry Brown]
- [http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/s/x/sxs26/ Ivan Illich at Penn State: Continuing the Conversation November 12-14,2004]
- [http://www.ivanillich.org/ Ivan Illich's writings in Spanish]
- [http://www.davidtinapple.com/illich/ An extensive set of Illich's writings and recordings] Illich, Ivan Illich, Ivan Illich, Ivan Category:Humanists ko:이반 일리히 ja:イヴァン・イリイチ

September 4
September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). There are 118 days remaining.
Events

- 476 - Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself King of Italy.
- 1260 - The Senese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of King Manfred of Sicily, defeat the Florentine Guelphs at Montaperti.
- 1781 - Los Angeles, California, is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (the City of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the Little Portion) by a group of 44 Spanish settlers.
- 1870 - Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed and the Third Republic is declared.
- 1886 - Indian Wars: After almost 30 years of fighting, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders with his last band of warriors to General Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.
- 1867 - Establishment of Sheffield Wednesday, England's fifth oldest League Club.
- 1888 - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film.
- 1894 - In New York City, 12,000 tailors strike against sweatshop working conditions.
- 1923 - In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the first U.S. airship, the USS Shenandoah, takes to the sky for the first time.
- 1940 - World War II: The USS Greer becomes the first United States ship fired upon by a German submarine in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result.
- 1944 - World War II: The British 11th Armoured Division liberate the Belgian city of Antwerp.
- 1945 - World War II: Japanese forces surrender on Wake Island after hearing word of their nation's surrender.
- 1948 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons.
- 1949 - Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon.
- 1950 - The "Beetle Bailey" comic strip begins.
- 1951 - The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, California, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
- 1957 - American Civil Rights Movement: Little Rock Crisis - Orville Faubus, governor of Arkansas, calls out the National Guard to prevent black students from enrolling in Central High School in Little Rock.
- 1957 - The Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel.
- 1963 - Swissair Flight 306 crashes near Dürrenäsch, Switzerland, killing all on board.
- 1964 - Scotland's Forth Road Bridge, near Edinburgh, officially opens.
- 1967 - The last new episode of the television sitcom Gilligan's Island airs on CBS-TV.
- 1967 - Vietnam War: Operation Swift begins: U.S. Marines launch a search-and-destroy mission in Quang Nam and Quang Tin Provinces. The ensuingfour-day battle in Que Son Valley kills 114 Americans and 376 North Vietnamese.
- 1971 - A Boeing 727 carrying Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 crashes into the side of a mountain near Juneau, Alaska, killing all 111 people on board.
- 1971 - In the U.S., The Lawrence Welk Show airs its last show.
- 1972 - Mark Spitz wins his seventh swimming gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, becoming the first Olympian to win seven gold medals.
- 1995 - The Fourth World Conference on Women opens in Beijing with over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance.
- 1996 - War on Drugs: Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare that will claim the lives of at least 130 Colombians.
- 1997 - In Lorain, Ohio, United States, the last Ford Thunderbird rolls off the assembly line.
- 1997 - A U.S. Air Force C-141 cargo plane and a German TU-154 collide in mid-air over southwest Africa killing 33.
Births

- 1241 - King Alexander III of Scotland (d. 1286)
- 1454 - Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English politician (d. 1483)
- 1563 - Wanli, Emperor of China (d. 1620)
- 1596 - Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (d. 1687)
- 1717 - Job Orton, English dissenting minister (d. 1783)
- 1768 - François-René de Chateaubriand, French writer and diplomat (d. 1848)
- 1803 - Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (d. 1891)
- 1824 - Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer (d. 1896)
- 1832 - Antonio Agliardi, Italian diplomat (d. 1915)
- 1851 - John Dillon, Irish nationalist (d. 1927)
- 1891 - Fritz Todt, Nazi official (d. 1942)
- 1892 - Darius Milhaud, French composer (d. 1974)
- 1895 - Nigel Bruce, English actor (d. 1953)
- 1896 - Antonin Artaud, French playwright, actor, and director (d. 1948)
- 1905 - Mary Renault, English novelist (d. 1983)
- 1906 - Max Delbrück, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1981)
- 1908 - Edward Dmytryk, American film director (d. 1999)
- 1908 - Richard Wright, American writer (d. 1960)
- 1913 - Stanford Moore, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
- 1918 - Paul Harvey American radio broadcaster
- 1920 - Teddy Johnson, British singer
- 1924 - Joan Aiken, English writer (d. 2004)
- 1925 - Forrest Carter, American author
- 1927 - John McCarthy, American computer scientist
- 1928 - Dick York, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1931 - Mitzi Gaynor, American actress
- 1932 - Dinsdale Landen, English actor (d. 2003)
- 1934 - Clive Granger, Welsh-born economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer
- 1941 - Sushilkumar Shinde, Indian politician
- 1946 - Gary Duncan, American guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
- 1946 - Greg Elmore, American drummer (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
- 1948 - Samuel Hui, Hong Kong singer
- 1957 - Khandi Alexander, American actress
- 1957 - Patricia Tallman, American actress
- 1959 - Kevin Harrington, Australian actor
- 1960 - Damon Wayans, American actor and comedian
- 1968 - Mike Piazza, baseball player
- 1970 - Igor Cavalera, Brazilian drummer (Sepultura)
- 1970 - Daisy Dee, West Indian-born singer and actress
- 1971 - Maik Taylor, Northern Irish goalkeeper (football)
- 1973 - Jason David Frank, American actor
- 1977 - Ian Grushka, American musician (New Found Glory)
- 1979 - Michael Bowen, A nobody who decided to add his own name
- 1981 - Beyoncé Knowles, American singer
- 1982 - Alessandra Rubi Streignard Villarreal, Spanish singer
Deaths

- 799 - Musa al-Kazim, Shia Imam (b. 745)
- 1037 - King Bermudo III of Leon (b. 1010)
- 1063 - Toghrül, Turkish conqueror of Persia and Baghdad
- 1199 - Joan of England, queen of William II of Sicily (b. 1165)
- 1537 - Johann Dietenberger, German theologian
- 1588 - Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English politician (b. 1532)
- 1767 - Charles Townshend, English politician (b. 1725)
- 1780 - John Fielding, English magistrate and social reformer (b. 1721)
- 1784 - César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer (b. 1714)
- 1794 - John Hely-Hutchinson, Irish statesman (b. 1724)
- 1804 - Richard Somers, American naval officer
- 1852 - William MacGillivray, Scottish naturalist and ornithologist (b. 1796)
- 1864 - John Hunt Morgan, American Confederate military leader (b. 1825)
- 1907 - Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (b. 1843)
- 1909 - Clyde Fitch, American dramatist and playwright (b. 1865)
- 1916 - José Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1832)
- 1965 - Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician and missionary, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1875)
- 1974 - Marcel Achard, French playwright (b. 1899)
- 1977 - E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (b. 1911)
- 1986 - Hank Greenberg, baseball player (b. 1911)
- 1987 - Bill Bowes, English cricketer (b. 1908)
- 1989 - Georges Simenon, French author (b. 1903)
- 1989 - Ronald Syme, New Zealand-born classicist and historian (b. 1903)
- 1991 - Tom Tryon, American actor and novelist (b. 1926)
- 1991 - Dottie West, American singer (b. 1932)
- 1993 - Hervé Villechaize, French actor (b. 1943)
- 1995 - William Kunstler, American lawyer and activist (b. 1919)
- 1997 - Aldo Rossi, Italian architect (b. 1931)
- 2003 - Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (b. 1921)
- 2003 - Lola Bobesco, Romanian-Belgian violinist (b. 1921)
- 2004 - Alphonso Ford, American basketball player (b. 1971)
- 2004 - Moe Norman, Canadian golfer (b. 1929)
- 2004 - James O. Page, American paramedic (b. 1936)
Holidays

- Roman festivals - start of the Ludi Romani a.k.a. Ludi Magni, until 19 September.
- RC Saints - Saint Rosalia, Saint Rose of Viterbo Also see September 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- 2005 - Father's Day in Australia and New Zealand (first Sunday in September)
- 2006 - Labour Day in Canada (first Monday of September)
External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/4 BBC: On This Day] ----- September 3 - September 5 - August 4 - October 4 – more historical anniversaries ko:9월 4일 ms:4 September ja:9月4日 simple:September 4 th:4 กันยายน

Bremen (city)

Bremen is a city in northern Germany (official name: Freie Hansestadt Bremen¹ (Free Hanseatic City of Bremen), referring to its membership in the medieval Hanseatic League). It is a port city, situated along the river Weser, about 50 km south from its outflow into the North Sea. Bremen is one of two towns belonging to the state of Bremen, the other being Bremerhaven. Population: 545,983 (1st June 2005).

Politics

The Bürgerschaft (city assembly) is the parliament of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen(official name, German: Freie Hansestadt Bremen), which is voted for by the citizens of Bremen every four years. The first mayor of the city (Erster Bürgermeister) as head of the senate (which forms the executive branch) is elected by the Bürgerschaft (city assembly) and is thus head of the city state. Currently, the First Mayor of Bremen is Jens Böhrnsen.

History

In the 8th century the troops of Charlemagne advanced to the Weser in order to christianise the tribes settling here. Bremen, which may have been an older settlement, became a bishopric²; a deed claiming the town's foundation in 788 has now been recognised as a forgery, so the exact date is unknown. In the following centuries the bishops of Bremen were the driving force behind the Christianisation of Scandinavia. In the 12th century the power of the archbishops was challenged by Henry the Lion. The duke was successful and became the factual ruler of the town. These events led to a civil government and a loss of clerical power. Bremen became a merchants' town, and its ships dominated the southern portions of the North Sea. This dominance ended when the Hanseatic League, originally a trade alliance of the Baltic Sea only, expanded to the North Sea. In the early 14th century ships from Bremen acted as pirates to board hanseatic cogs. In order to avoid open war aldermen from Bremen went to the Hanseatic Council in Lübeck and agreed to becoming members of the league (1358)³. Bremen remained a reluctant member of the Hanseatic League. The town demanded support for its wars against the chieftains of Frisia, who ruled the region around the Weser mouth, but they seldom joined campaigns in the Baltic Sea. In 1425 the conflict escalated, when the citizens burnt hanseatic documents on the market place. Bremen was expelled from the league in 1427. The consequences followed soon: the sudden loss of power led to territorial claims of neighbouring states (e.g. Oldenburg) and significant territorial losses. Oldenburg In 1620 Germany's first man-made harbour was built at Vegesack. ⁶ On March 6, 1901 an assassin attempted to kill Wilhelm II of Germany here. After World War II, Bremen became a part of the American occupation zone since the USA wanted to have one port town within their zone. This prevented the inclusion of Bremen into the new Land of Lower Saxony that was formed around it within the British zone, and secured Bremen independence as a Federal State of its own right in the new West German federation.

Historical population

:1810: 35,800 inhabitants :1830: 43,700 :1850: 55,100 :1880: 111,900 :1900: 161,200 :1925: 295,000 :1998: 550,000 ⁴

Sights

Many of the sights in Bremen are found in the Altstadt (Old Town), an oval area surrounded by the Weser River, on the southwest, and the Stadtgraben, the former moats of the medieval city walls, on the northeast. The oldest part of the Altstadt is the southeast half, starting with the Marktplatz and ending at the Schnoor district.
- The Marktplatz (Market square) is dominated by the opulent façade of the Town Hall. The building was erected between 1405 and 1410 in Gothic style, but the façade was built two centuries later (1609-12), in Renaissance style.
- In front of the Town Hall stand two famous statues: one is the statue (1404) of the city's protector, Roland, bearing the "sword of justice" and a shield decorated with an imperial eagle. The other is Gerhard Marcks's famous 1953 bronze sculpture Die Stadtmusikanten (Town Musicians) which portrays the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster of the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale.
- Other interesting buildings in the vicinity of the Marktplatz are the Schütting, a 16th-century Flemish-inspired guild hall, and the Stadtwaage, the former weighing house (built in 1588), with an ornate Renaissance façade.
- The impressive Cathedral St. Petri (13th century), to the east of the Marktplatz, with sculptures of Moses and David, Peter and Paul, and Charlemagne.
- The Liebfrauenkirche (Our Lady's Church) is the oldest church of the town (11th century). Its crypt features several impressive murals from the 14th century.
- Off the south side of the Markplatz, the 110-metre (120 yards) Böttcherstraße was transformed in 1923-1931 by the coffee Magnate Ludwig Roselius, who commissioned local artists to convert the narrow street (in medieval time, the street of the barrel makers) into a inspired mixture of Gothic and Art Nouveau. Today, the street is one of Bremen's most popular attractions.
- At the end of Böttcherstraße, by the Weser bank, stands the Martinikirche (St Martin's Church), a Gothic brick church built in 1229, and rebuilt in 1960 after its destruction in World War II.
- Tucked away between the Cathedral and the river is the Schnoor, a small, well-preserved area of crooked lanes and fishing houses from the 15th and 16th centuries, now occupied by cafés, artisan shops and art galleries.
- Schlachte, the medieval harbour of Bremen (the modern port is some kilometres downstream) and today a street with one pub/bar next to the other on the one side and on the other side the river Weser. More contemporary tourist attractions include:
- Universum Science Center, a modern science museum
- botanika, an extension to a public park that attempts to the same as above Universum for biology
- Beck's Beer Factory, tours are available to the public which include beer tasting
- The Space Center opened in 2004 inside the Space Park in the Gröpelingen district and closed on 2004 26 September, since then a remarkable investment ruin.

Constructions

- Mediumwave transmitter Bremen
- Fallturm Bremen
- Telecommunication Tower Bremen

Sister City

Bremens Sister Cities are
- Gdansk, Poland
- Pune, India
- Riga, Latvia
- Durban, South Africa
- Izmir, Turkey

Miscellaneous

Bremen has a large and famous university founded in 1971 ⁵, the more practice-related University of Applied Sciences (earliest predecessor founded in 1799) more recently the International University Bremen, and several high-tech industries have settled in the city. Many of Germany's space technology exports are manufactured in EADS SPACE Transportation facilities in Bremen, such as the Columbus module of the International Space Station, Europe's Ariane 5 rocket upper stages and the Automated Transfer Vehicle. Furthermore, Bremen is the home of the second biggest Airbus plant of Germany, producing wing equipment for the A300/A310, A330/A340 and A380 families of aircraft. There is also a Mercedes-Benz factory in Bremen, building the SL and SLK series of cars. Beck's beer is brewed in Bremen. Bremen has an international airport situated in the south of the city (ICAO code: EDDW / IATA code: BRE). It is home of the soccer team SV Werder Bremen which won the German Football Championship for the fourth and the German Football Cup for the fifth time in 2004, making SV Werder Bremen just the fourth team in German football history to win the double. Bremen is famous for a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, the Town Musicians of Bremen, although they never actually reach Bremen in the tale. Every year since 1036 in the last two weeks of October Bremen hosts Freimarkt ("Free market"), one of the world's oldest and in Germany one of today's biggest continously celebrated fairground festival. Bremen is also host to one of the four big annual Techno parades, the Vision Parade, and also the birthplace of the American comedic industrial musician Kompressor. In October-November 2005, Bremen hosted the 14th ACM Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM[http://www.tzi.de/CIKM2005/])

External links

- [http://www.bremen.de/ Official city website]
- [http://www.uni-bremen.de/ University of Bremen]
- [http://www.hs-bremen.de Hochschule or University of applied sciences]
- [http://www.iu-bremen.de/ International University Bremen]
- [http://www.panorama-cities.net/bremen/bremen.html City Panoramas Bremen] - Panoramic Views of Bremen's Highlights
- [http://www.freimarkt.de/en/index.htm Freimarkt website]

History links

- http://www.genealogy.net/reg/BRE (Genealogical research in Bremen)
- http://www.schiffslisten.de (Database: Emigration via Bremen Ports 1920 - 1939)
- http://maus.genealogy.net (Die MAUS - Genealogical society of Bremen)
- http://www.historic.de (Military History of Bremen 1933-1945)

References

[http://print.google.com/print?id=mnPfmoPlrwIC&lpg=64&pg=64&sig=6px9XGkkC3_T_P8U2WftxKu8160 page 64]

Footnotes

- ¹ Kohl since 1815
- ² Kohl claims the Bishopric was created in 787
- ³ Kohl
- ⁴ Kohl population of around 550,000 in 1998 includes 25,000 students
- ⁵ Kohl Category:Cities in Germany Category:Bremen Category:German state capitals ko:브레멘 ja:ブレーメン simple:Bremen

2002

2002 (MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:
- International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains
- Year of the Outback in Australia
- National Science Year in the United Kingdom
- Autism Awareness Year in the United Kingdom See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.

Overview of the year

In contrast to 2000 and 2001, which retained elements of the late 1990s, 2002 shifted into a new cultural decade. With the declining popularity of late 1990s and early 2000s acts like 'N Sync and The Backstreet Boys after band break-ups, rap acts like 50 Cent and Eminem rose in popularity. Pop-Punk acts like Good Charlotte and New Found Glory also appealed to adolescents. 2002 also marked the begining of the controversial Iraq War, which many say, along with 9/11, was the true generation definer of the 2000s.

Events

January

- January 1 - The Republic of China officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.
- January 1 - The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially enters in to force.
- January 5 - Charles Bishop, a 15 year-old student pilot, crashes a light aircraft into a Tampa, Florida building, evoking fear of a copycat 9/11 terrorist attack.
- January 9 - The United States Department of Justice announces it is going to pursue a criminal investigation of Enron.
- January 10 - Enrique Bolaños began his five-year term as President of the Republic of Nicaragua.
- January 13 - President George W. Bush faints after choking on a pretzel.
- January 14 - The case of Adelaide Abankwah comes into trial in New York
- January 16 - A student shoots 6 people at the Appalachian School of Law, killing three.
- January 16 - John Ashcroft announces that American Taliban member John Walker Lindh would be tried in the United States.
- January 16 - The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the Taliban.
- January 17 - Eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
- January 18 - A Canadian Pacific Railway train carrying anhydrous ammonia derails outside of Minot, North Dakota, killing one.
- January 22 - AOL Time Warner brings a federal suit against Microsoft seeking damages. The suit alleges that the market for AOL's Netscape Navigator Internet browser was harmed when Microsoft started to give away a competing browser.
- January 22 - Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in American history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- January 22 - Clyde Hood sentenced for 14 years in prison for Omega Trust fraud
- January 24 - Terrorist suspect John Walker Lindh's hearing begins.
- January 27 - Several explosions at a military dump in Lagos, Nigeria kill more than 1,000.

February

- February 2 - Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands marries Máxima, Princess of Orange in Amsterdam.
- February 3 - Costa Rica: elections for President and Congress
- February 8-February 24 - 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah
- February 12 - The trial of former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague
- February 12 - Nuclear waste: US Secretary of Energy makes the decision that Yucca Mountain is suitable to be the United States' nuclear repository.
- February 13 - Queen Elizabeth II gives former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani an honorary knighthood.
- February 16 - Rachel Thaler, aged 16, blown up at a pizzena in an Israeli shopping mall following a suicide bombing attack on a crowd of teenagers.
- February 19 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of using its thermal emission imaging system.
- February 20 - In Reqa Al-Gharbiya, Egypt, a fire on a train injures over 65 and kills at least 370
- February 20 - In most of the world, at 20:02 (8:02 PM) local time, date (written as day/month), time, and year are all 2002, making each of them alone, any two together, and the combination of all three, all palindromes.
- February 22 - Norwegian-facilitated ceasefire begins in Sri Lanka
- February 23 - FARC kidnaps Ingrid Betancourt in Colombia when she campaigns for presidency
- February 27 - Ethnic conflict in India: 59 Hindu pilgrims die aboard a train burned by a Muslim mob in Godhra, India, sparking a series of riots, leaving hundreds dead
- February 28 - The ex-currencies of all euro members officialy (at EU-level) cease to be legal tender.

March

- March 1 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: In eastern Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda begins.
- March 1 - 28 people die in continuing violence in Ahmedabad. Police shoot and kill five while attempting to control rioters.
- March 1 - The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800km above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500kg.
- March 1 - Space Shuttle Columbia flies Hubble Space Telescope service mission (STS-109).
- March 1 - Peseta discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced with the euro (€)
- March 3 - São Tomé and Príncipe: elections for the legislature
- March 6 - France agrees to return the remains of Saartje Baartman to South Africa
- March 10 - Colombia: elections for the legislature; Togo: elections for the Parliament
- March 11 - BBC 6 Music, the first new BBC music radio station in decades, is launched
- March 12 - In Texas, Andrea Yates is found guilty of drowning her five children on June 20, 2001. She is later sentenced to life in prison
- March 17 - Portugal: elections for the Parliament
- March 19 - US Attack on Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 1) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities
- March 21 - In Pakistan, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh along with three other suspects are charged with murder for their part in the kidnapping and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl
- March 27 - Netanya suicide attack: A suicide bomber kills 28 people in Netanya, Israel
- March 31 - Ukraine: elections for the Parliament

April

April
- April 2 - Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, when militants take shelter there. A siege ensues.
- April 9- Funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother takes place in Westminster Abbey, London.
- April 15 - An Air China Boeing 767-200 crashes into a hillside during heavy rain and fog near Pusan, South Korea, killing 128
- April 15 - The Alameda Corridor transportation project in Los Angeles, California opens to rail traffic, ceasing operations of through freight trains on the 120-year-old BNSF Harbor Subdivision.
- April 17 - Four Canadian infantrymen are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two U.S. F-16s.
- April 18 - New order of insects, Mantophasmatodea, announced.
- April 25 - South African Mark Shuttleworth blasts off from the Baikonur cosmodrome; he had paid £15 million for the trip.
- April 26 - Robert Steinhauser opens fire on his former teachers and other students in Erfurt, Germany and then kills himself: 16 dead.
- April 27 - Three people killed in Laughlin, Nevada River Run Riot.
- April 30 - Pakistan: Pakistani voters approve a referendum granting a five-year term for Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf.

May

May]
- May 4 - In Germany, BV Borussia Dortmund wins the Bundesliga title after a 2-1 victory over SV Werder Bremen.
- May 6 - In the Netherlands, politician Pim Fortuyn is killed by Volkert van der Graaf.
- May 7 - Gay Canadian teenager Marc Hall is granted a court injunction ordering that he be allowed to attend his high school prom with his boyfriend.
- May 9 - The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agreed to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries. The standoff started April 2.
- May 9 - In Kaspiysk, Russia, a remote-control bomb explodes during a holiday parade, killing 43 and injuring at least 130.
- May 10 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for selling American secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
- May 12 - Former President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.
- May 15 - The Netherlands: elections for the Lower House.
- May 16 - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones is released in theaters.
- May 20 - Restoration of East Timor independence
- May 21 - US State Department releases report citing seven State-Sponsors of Terrorism;Iran,Iraq,Cuba,Libya,North Korea,Sudan,andSyria.
- May 22 - In Washington, DC, Chandra Levy's remains are found in Rock Creek Park.
- May 22 - American civil rights movement: 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls.
- May 23 - Irish Football Captain, Roy Keane, Is sent home from the Training Camp in Saipan, by Manager Mick McCarthy after an Argument over Training arrangements. This cause a huge Media sensation in Ireland and Britain. Many people were split over two sides and some called it the Second Irish Civil War.
- May 23 - First Eurovision Song Contest in a former Soviet country: Estonia
- May 25 - The Boston Celtics come back from twenty-six points down to defeat the New Jersey Nets in Game 3 of the National Basketball Association's Eastern Conference Finals.
- May 25 - China Airlines Flight 611 broke up near the Penghu Islands at Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 people on board.
- May 26 - The Mars Odyssey finds signs of huge water ice deposits on the planet Mars.
- May 28 - Washington DC's medical examiner declares that Chandra Levy's death was the result of homicide.
- May 31 through June 30 - 17th Football World Cup in South Korea and Japan

June

June over London in a fly past for Queen Elizabeth II on her Golden Jubilee]]
- June 1 - The Los Angeles Lakers def the Sacramento Kings 112-106, to win Game 7 of the National Basketball Association's 2002 Western Conference Finals.
- June 3 - The "Party in the Palace" takes place at Buckingham Palace, London for Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations.
- June 4 - Quaoar is discovered.
- June 4 - Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh ride in the gold state coach from Buckingham Palace to St Paul's Cathedral for a special service marking the Queen's 50 years on the throne. In New York, the Empire State Building is lit in purple for her honour.
- June 5 - Elizabeth Smart is kidnapped from her Salt Lake City, Utah home.
- June 5 - Mozilla 1.0, the first 'official' version, is released.
- June 6 - The United States House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee announces it is probing Martha Stewart's ImClone stock sales.
- June 8 - Serena Williams defeats her sister Venus Williams in straight sets to win the 2002 French Open.
- June 10 - Annular solar eclipse.
- June 11 - Antonio Meucci was recognised as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
- June 12 - The Los Angeles Lakers def the New Jersey Nets 4 games to 0 to win the 2002 NBA Finals.
- June 13 - The Detroit Red Wings def the Carolina Hurricanes 4 games to 1 in the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 14 - In Karachi, Pakistan, a car bomb in front of the U.S. consulate kills twelve Pakistanis and injures fifty.
- June 18 - Arizona experiences its worst forest fire, burning 462,606 acres (1,872 km²) near the Mogollon Rim.
- June 30 - Brazil defeats Germany 2-0 to win the Football World Cup 2002.

July

- July 1 - Russian passenger jet and a cargo plane collide over the town of Uberlingen in Southern Germany - 72 dead
- July 1 - Wendy J. Hamilton became president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
- July 5 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq once again rejects new U.N. weapons inspections proposals
- July 10 - At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of the Innocents" is sold for £49.5million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson
- July 13 - A lighting strike sets off the Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which is left to burn 499,570 acres (2,022 km²) when finally contained on September 5.
- July 14 - During Bastille Day celebrations, Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed.
- July 15 - So-called "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and for the possession of explosives during the commission of a felony. Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each of the charges
- July 19 - K-19: The Widowmaker starring Harrison Ford is released.
- July 21 - Telecommunications giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the largest such filing in United States history
- July 27 - Helen Clark leader of the Labour Party is historically re-elected in a landslide victory over the Right Wing in the New Zealand general election of 2002.
- July 27 - A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes at an air show in Ukraine killing 78 and injuring more than 100 others, the largest air show disaster in history.

August

- August 27 - Simon & Schuster sues Michael Pelligrino and Artist Management Group because Pelligrino had written a book claiming to be a son of late Mafioso Carlo Gambino

September

- September 2 - The opening of the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development, successor of the 1972 Conference on the Human Environment, 1983 World Commission on Environment and Development, and the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development.
- September 3 - Consolidated Freightways files for bankruptcy
- September 5 - A car bomb kills at least 30 people in Afghanistan, and an apparent assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai fails the same day.
- September 5 - The Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which burned 499,570 acres (2,022 km²), is finally contained.
- September 8 - Typhoon Sinlaku causes huge waves on the Qiantangjiang River in Sheijang Province, China
- September 11 - The World Summit on Sustainable Development comes to a close.
- September 12 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush, addresses the U.N. and challenges its members to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Iraq or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act.
- September 15 - The Swedish parliamentary election leaves Prime Minister Göran Persson and the Social Democrats in power.
- September 22 - The German federal election leaves Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, his Social Democrats and the Greens in power

October

- October 2 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The U.S. Congress passes a joint resolution which explicitly authorizes the President to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate.
- October 7 - Discovery of Quaoar is announced.
- October 11 - Lone bomber explodes a home-made bomb in the Myyrmanni shopping mall north of Helsinki, Finland - casualties include himself. See Myyrmanni bombing.
- October 12 - Bali bombing: Terrorists detonate massive bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta, Bali, killing 202 and injuring over 300.
- October 16 - Iraq disarmament crisis: George W. Bush signs the Iraq war resolution.
- October 24 - The Beltway snipers are arrested.
- October 25 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, his family and staff, are killed by a plane accident at Eveleth, Minnesota.
- October 27 - The Anaheim Angels defeat the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.

November

November.
- November 5 - U.S. Elections: The Republican Party maintains control of the House of Representatives and regains control of the Senate.
- November 7 - Iran bans advertising of US products.
- November 8 - Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council Resolution 1441 – The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences".
- November 9 - In Los Angeles, California, television and film actor Merlin Santana is shot to death while sitting in the passenger seat of a friend's car parked on the 3800 block of Victoria Avenue.
- November 13 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq agrees to the terms of the UN Security Council Resolution 1441.
- November 13 - The oil tanker Prestige sinks off the Galician coast and causes a huge oil spill.
- November 14 - Argentina defaults on a US$805 million World Bank payment
- November 15 - Hu Jintao becomes general secretary of the Communist Party of China.
- November 16 - A Campaign Against Climate Change march takes place in London from Lincoln's Inn Fields, past Esso offices to the United States Embassy.
- November 18 - Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.
- November 21 - NATO Summit in Prague - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia invited to become NATO members.
- November 22 - In Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the contestants of the Miss World contest.
- November 25 - US President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the Department of Homeland Security in the largest US government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 (the Senate passed the bill 90-9 on November 19).

December

- December 4 - Total solar eclipse
- December 7 - Iraq disarmament crisis: As required by the recently passed U.N. resolution, Iraq files a 12,000 page weapons declaration with the U.N. Security Council. Although it is supposed to be a complete declaration, it is seen as incomplete by the Security Council and weapons inspectors.
- December 10 - High Court of Australia hands down its judgement in the Internet defamation dispute in the case of Gutnick v Dow Jones.
- December 18 - Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was released into theaters.
- December 24 - Laci Peterson of Modesto, California is reported missing.
- December 27 - Suicide truck-bomb attack destroys headquarters of Chechnya's Moscow-backed government, killing 72 people.
- December 29 – Communist New People's Army blows up a bust of Ferdinand Marcos in Benguet, Philippines.

Unknown Date

- Naruto (anime) is created by Studio Perriot.
- American Prohibition Foundation incorported.

Births

- August 2 - Kara Hoffman, American actress
- August 2 - Shelby Hoffman, American actress
- December 6 - Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, daughter of Benjamin Bratt and Talisa Soto

Deaths

For more deaths see: Deaths in 2002

January

- January 3 - Freddy Heineken, Dutch-born beer magnate (b. 1923)
- January 8 - Alexander Prochorow, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- January 8 - Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1932)
- January 12 - Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
- January 12 - Cyrus Vance, United States Secretary of State (b. 1917)
- January 13 - Ted Demme, American film and television director (b. 1963)
- January 16 - Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
- January 16 - Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)
- January 16 - Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
- January 17 - Camilo José Cela, Spanish writer (b. 1916)
- January 22 - Peggy Lee, American singer and actress (b. 1920)
- January 23 - Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (b. 1930)
- January 23 - Robert Nozick, American philosopher (b. 1938)
- January 28 - Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (b. 1928)
- January 28 - Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's book author (b. 1907)
- January 29 - Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (b. 1914)

February

- February 6 - Max Perutz, Austrian-born molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1914)
- February 8 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
- February 9 - Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (b. 1930)
- February 14 - Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer (b. 1922)
- February 15 - Howard K. Smith, American television journalist (b. 1914)
- February 15 - Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
- February 16 - Walter Winterbottom, English football manager (b. 1913)
- February 19 - Virginia Hamilton, American writer
- February 21 - John Thaw, British actor (b. 1942)
- February 22 - Chuck Jones, American animator (b. 1912)
- February 22 - Jonas Savimbi, Angolan rebel leader (b. 1934)
- February 24 - Leo Ornstein, American composer and pianist (b. 1912)
- February 26 - Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
- February 27 - Spike Milligan, British comedian, writer, and poet (b. 1918)
- February 27 - Mary Stuart, American actress (b. 1926)
- February 28 - Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (b. 1920)

March

- March 11 - James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- March 14 - Cherry Wilder, New Zealand author (b. 1930)
- March 24 - César Milstein, Argentine scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1927)
- March 25 - Kenneth Wolstenholme, British football commentator (b. 1920)
- March 27 - Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (b. 1908)
- March 27 - Dudley Moore, British pianist, comedian, and actor (b. 1935)
- March 27 - Billy Wilder, Austrian-born film screenwriter and director (b. 1906)
- March 30 - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, queen of George VI of the United Kingdom (b. 1900)
- March 31 - Barry Took, British comedian and writer (b. 1928)

April

- April 5 - Layne Staley, American singer (Alice in Chains) (b. 1967)
- April 8 - Maria Felix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
- April 9 - Leopold Vietoris, Austrian mathematician (b. 1891)
- April 15 - Byron White, American athlete and Supreme Court Justice (b. 1917)
- April 16 - Franz Krienbühl, Swiss speed skater (b. 1929)
- April 16 - Robert Urich, American actor (cancer) (b. 1946)
- April 18 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer (b. 1914)
- April 18 - Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and wrestler (b. 1938)
- April 25 - Indra Devi, yoga teacher (b. 1899)
- April 25 - Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, American rapper (TLC) (b. 1971)
- April 27 - George Alec Effinger, American author (b. 1947)
- April 27 - Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Swiss industrialist and art collector (b. 1921)
- April 28 - Ruth Handler, American toy manufacturer (b. 1916)
- April 28 - Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (b. 1950)

May

- May 5 - Hugo Bánzer Suarez, President of Bolivia (b. 1926)
- May 6 - Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (assassi

Polemicist

Polemic is the art or practice of inciting disputation or causing controversy, for example in religious, philosophical, or political matters. As such a polemic text on a topic is written specifically to dispute or refute a topic that is widely viewed to be a "sacred cow" (i.e. beyond reproach), in an effort to "stir up trouble". The antonym of a polemic source is an apology. There are other meanings of the word, too. Polemic is also a branch of theology, pertaining to the history or conduct of ecclesiastical controversy. Polemic, ‘a Magazine of Philosophy, Psychology, and Aesthetics’, during its short life (1945-47, 8 issues) published some of Orwell's best essays. ‘The Prevention of Literature’ is both a spirited attack on the ‘distortion in writing’ caused by the ‘poisonous impact on “English intellectual life” by Communist and fellow travelling apologists for Soviet actions and a strong defense of freedom of expression’. Swingler, a minor English Communist poet in his mid-30s, attacked Orwell for writing this article ‘through a fog of vagueness and through a hailstorm of private hates’, equating Orwell (and Koestler) with the anti-Soviet ‘HEARST PRESS’. Polemic's editors allowed Orwell to respond to Swingler in sidebars almost as long as the article. Orwell demolished Swingler's arguments. In ‘Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool’ Orwell dredges up and dismisses a long forgotten Tolstoy pamphlet in which the Russian author judged Shakespeare as ‘not even an average author’. Orwell used Tolstoy's pamphlet to condemn those who would practice coercion in support of their beliefs, no matter how principled or noble these might be. Both Polemic essays have been anthologized in various Orwell collections. The word is derived from the character Polemarchus in Plato's Republic whom Plato uses as a vehicle to drive forward an ethical debate. Polemicists typically argue a very narrow point by drawing upon many seemingly unrelated premises, they tend to emote and appeal to the sensibilities of their audience. Another ancient word describing a style of argument is Sophism, a style typified by its deliberate and clever use of rhetoric and fallacy.

Vienna

:This article is about the city and federal state in Austria. For other places or things called Vienna, see Vienna (disambiguation). Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austria's nine states (Land Wien). With a population of about 1.6 million, Vienna is the largest city and the cultural and political centre of Austria. Situated on both sides of the river Danube, Vienna is 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the Austrian-Slovak border, i.e. also from the Slovak capital, Bratislava. Vienna is surrounded by the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is one of the best-known cities in Europe and has a prominent place in the history of Western civilization, world culture and history. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as other United Nations Offices and many international institutions and companies, are located in Vienna.

History

Main article: History of Vienna Vienna was originally the Celtic settlement "Uindobona" 'Fair Bottomland' (Modern Irish
- Fionnbhun) founded around 500 BC. In 15 BC, it became a frontier city ("Vindobona") guarding the Roman Empire against the German tribes to the north. In the Middle Ages, it became the home of the Babenberg and, later, the Habsburg dynasties and through the latter the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Ottoman Turkish invasions of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries were stopped twice at Vienna. See the Siege of Vienna (1529) and the Battle of Vienna (1683). In 1815, Vienna was the site of the Congress of Vienna which redrew national boundaries in Europe after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo. During the