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John Sheppard

John Sheppard

:See also John Sheppard (Stargate) for the fictional character from Stargate Atlantis John Sheppard (around 1515–1559 or 1560) was an English composer and organist. He was choirmaster at Magdalen College, Oxford from 1543–1548, and was a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal by no later than 1552. His works, which are typically richly polyphonic, include motets, two Magnificats, five masses, including one based on the song " The Western Wynde" (also the basis of masses by John Taverner and Christopher Tye), and works in English for Anglican services. Sheppard, John Sheppard, John Sheppard, John Sheppard, John Sheppard, John

John Sheppard (Stargate)

Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard is an Air Force officer played by Joe Flanigan in the television series Stargate Atlantis.

Season 1

Sheppard is an experienced pilot and second-generation military man, though his reputation was somewhat tarnished when he disobeyed a direct order in Afghanistan in an attempt to save the lives of several servicemen. He requested a remote post at McMurdo Station. When called upon to transport General Jack O'Neill to the research base that had been established at the nearby Ancient defence facility he inadvertantly discovered that he not only had the ATA gene (the genetic factor necessary to activate Ancient technology), but that he was naturally proficient at using the gene. After some doubts, he finally joined the expedition to Atlantis, although Col. Marshall Sumner made it clear he was not pleased about Sheppard's involvement in the mission. After they discovered the shield on the underwater city of Atlantis was about to collapse, he joined the mission team searching for a new power source on Athos on Dr. Weir's orders. He made a better impression on Teyla than Sumner; she showed him a cave with old pictures that explained the Wraith threat. When the Wraith attacked, Teyla saved him, but was taken herself. He evacuated the Athosian refugees to Atlantis and, after a discussion with Dr. Weir, led a rescue mission to save the captured Earth personnel and the Athosians. After infiltrating the Wraith hive ship, he found Colonel Sumner near death at the hands of the Wraith Keeper, and killed his superior officer to spare him more suffering. He was then captured by the Wraith, but Ford arrived in time to save him from the same fate. Sheppard then killed the Wraith Keeper, thus awakening all the other ravenously hungry Wraith that were sleeping and earning the emnimity of the entire Pegasus Galaxy. After some fancy flying with the Puddle Jumper he, his team and the rescued Athosians returned to Atlantis, when he found himself the highest-ranking military officer present ("Rising") Aside from being the ranking military officer, Sheppard leads an exploration team that consists of Dr. Rodney McKay, Lt. Aiden Ford and Teyla Emmagan. After McKay acquired the ATA gene, Sheppard helped him test an invulnerability shield device...by shooting the scientist in the leg and throwing him off a balcony. Afterwards, when Jinto unknowingly lets loose an energy creature, he tries to capture it, but the creature doesn't falls into the trap (Hide and Seek). On a later mission, Sheppards was bitten by a bug Wraith-related parasitical insect that was slowly draining him. His Puddle-Jumper got stuck in the Stargate when the pods didn't retract correctly and the only way to get the bug out him was stopping his heart with a defibrillator. It worked, but they could not get his heart started again. Teyla took him to the event horizon of the Stargate, which effectively "froze" him in time until the Jumper was able to get through it. Once in the other side, Dr. Beckett and his team managed to restart his heart (Thirty-eight Minutes). He fought the invading Genii single-handledly to save McKay, Weir and the city of Atlantis. He took out several of them before Ford, Beckett and Teyla arrived to help. When the Genii dialed to get more people in Atlantis, he raised the Stargate's force-field shield, killing more than sixty of them at once. When Kolya took Weir as an hostage as he fled the city, Sheppard shot him in the shoulder; Kolya let go of Weir and fell through the Stargate. They later learned he survived. (The Storm/The Eye) He passed the MENSA exam, but decided not to join (The Brotherhood). During the Wraith attack on Atlantis, Sheppard lost command of the military after the arrival of Colonel Dillion Everett from Earth. Everett was a good friend of Colonel Marshall Sumner and he was pretty hostile to Sheppard. During the first wave of the attack, Sheppard sat on the control chair and used the remaining drones to help fight the darts off. After the drones ran off, Dr. McKay and Dr. Zelenka tried to link the chair to the Puddlejumpers, so the chair could be used to pilot them remotely to deliver Genii-made nuclear bombs inside the Wraith hiveships. But time ran out, and Sheppard decided to pilot the Jumper himself on a suicide mission. ("The Siege, Part 2")

Season 2

Major Sheppard was saved by the timely arrival of the Daedalus, which transported him out of the Puddlejumper seconds before it exploded. After the Daedalus destroyed the remaining hive-ship, Sheppard returned to Atlantis were a Wraith-aged Col. Everett told him that now he understood what happened with Col. Sumner and that he wished Sheppard would have been there for him. Afterwards, when Dr. McKay and Dr. Zelenka discovered 12 more hive ships were traveling through hyperspace to Atlantis, he proposed to use the Daedalus to attack them before they arrived, and Weir agreed. They took two hiveships out, but they were forced to retreat. Once the new hiveships arrived to Atlantis, Sheppards got the idea (thanks to a comment from Dr. Zelenka) to make the city dissapear so the Wraith would leave thinking it had been destroyed. McKay and Zelenka are able to implement the idea and this time it works. After Ford breaks out from the infirmary, Sheppard tracks him down with a Wraith stunner, but it's unable to stop him and Ford flees through the Stargate ("The Siege, Part 3"). After securing Atlantis, the Daedalus takes Sheppard, Weir, McKay and Beckett back to Earth to report. General Hank Landry implies to Weir that the Pentagon wants to make Col. Steven Caldwell military commander, but Weir tells them that Atlantis already has a military commander, John Sheppard. When they complain he's just a Major with a questionable record, she simply tells them to promote him. With the President and the International Committee on her side, Sheppard gets promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and remains military commander of Atlantis, much to the annoyance of Col. Caldwell, who was seeking the same position. On the voyage back to Atlantis, the Daedalus gets infected by a Wraith computer virus. After the virus makes the ship sent a distress signal they couldn't stop, Sheppard uses a F-302 fighter to destroy the transmitter array. Unluckily, the virus has control of the plane and he can't return to the Daedalus until they transport him out. Some time later, when McKay figures out the virus is using the computers of the F-302 fighters to store himself and prevent removal from the system, Sheppard and McKay had to physically remove all memory units from the fighters. When the virus tries to decompress the fighter bay to kill them, they board one F-302 to survive. When a new reboot doesn't work, Sheppard deduces that the virus is hiding himself in the F-302 he was beamed out of and that's been tailing them. He takes the F-302 out, with McKay on the backseat, and manages to destroy the infected fighter after some fancy flying ("Intruder") Soon thereafter, while exploring a planet, a team discovers Lt. Ford's whereabouts. Before leaving for the planet, Caldwell callously reminds Sheppard that Ford's a significant threat to the security of the base and, if he cannot capture him, he's duty bound to eliminate him. On the planet, Sheppard and Teyla are captured by a mysterious man called Ronon Dex. Ronon is a Runner and they finally convince him that their doctor can take out the tracking device implanted on his back. In exchange, he'll help them capture Ford. Sheppard convinces Weir of the deal and, even if they don't manage to capture Ford, Ronon returns to Atlantis with them ("Runner"). Once here, and after seeing Ronon clear the floor with the Marines and pass the shooting range without even blinking, Sheppard offers him a place in his team ("Duet"). After their first try on the Project Arcturus went wrong, Sheppard backed McKay to return to the planet when McKay asked Sheppard to trust him. After it didn't work and 5/6th's of a solar system where destroyed, McKay told Sheppard he hoped he could earn his trust back and Sheppard answered that it might take a while, but that he was sure Rodney can do it if he really wants to ("Trinity"). Afterwards, Sheppard and his team found a planet not used to visitors due to the fact their Stargate was in orbit where they found a young female Wraith who, it seemed, didn't feed on humans. Wanting acceptance among the humans, she stole Dr. Beckett's not-yet ready retrovirus which, instead of turning her into a human, stripped all humanity from her. Sheppard fought and killed her, but not before she infected him with the retrovirus ("Instinct"). Upon returning to Atlantis, the retrovirus slowly started changing him into a human Iratus' bug. As the mutation progressed, his strength and stamina increased, his skin started to change, his eyes became slit and yellow and he got the ability to crawl up walls. Dr. Weir forbade him to accompany his team on the mission to retrieve Iratus' eggs to help him. Afterwards, when Elizabeth visited him in his room to tell him the mission has failed and that she was not going to send anymore else since they lost two marines, Sheppard (heavily mutated already) attacked her and escaped. After a persecution, Ronon finally stopped him. He was returned to the infirmary, restrained and drugged into a coma. After Dr. Beckett deduced he was the only one who can get the necessary eggs, he left with this team and Beckett for the planet. He managed to retrieve the eggs before the inhibitor Beckett gave him lost effect. Dr. Beckett's treatment worked, and he returned to normal in two weeks ("Conversion"). Sheppard, John Sheppard, John

Stargate Atlantis

Stargate Atlantis is a spin-off from the television series Stargate SG-1, which was based on the film Stargate (1994). It premiered on the US Sci Fi Channel on July 16, 2004. The events of Stargate Atlantis follow the cliffhanger Stargate SG-1 seventh season finale Lost City, and the Season 8 premiere New Order (although the latter is only mildly important to the plot of Atlantis) . Stargate Atlantis premiered with "Rising", a movie-style two-part episode, which guest starred Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks and Robert Patrick. Atlantis was originally intended to succeed Stargate SG-1, after its seventh season and a second feature movie. When SG-1 was renewed for an eighth season, the intended movie became the episode "Lost City" and the setting of Stargate Atlantis was moved to the Pegasus galaxy. As of October 24th 2005, Stargate Atlantis has been officially renewed for a third season by the Sci-Fi channel.

Summary

See Stargate for a more general summary of the universe this series is set in, and Stargate SG-1 for how events have transpired to get the plot to Atlantis. In Stargate SG-1 seventh season finale "Lost City", the SG-1 found an outpost made by the race known as the Ancients in Antarctica. After the events of Stargate SG-1 eight season opener "New Order", an international team is sent to investigate the to outpost. Soon, Dr. Jackson discovers the location of the greatest city created by the Ancients, Atlantis. The series follows the adventures of a group of scientists and soldiers that take a possibly one-way trip to this lost city of Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy. Like the SG teams of Stargate SG-1, the new team's use of the Stargate has brought humanity into contact with other cultures, some human and some alien, some friendly and some quite hostile.

Races

Human civilizations

Upon their arrival in the Pegasus galaxy, the Ancients seeded several planets with human life. Most of these planet's civilizations are pre-industrial, but a few have developed more advanced technology. Major human civilizations include:
- Athosians: A pre-industrial civilization, the Athosians were the first Pegasus natives the Atlantis expedition encountered. After their planet was culled by the Wraith, they moved to Atlantis.
- Tau'ri: Humans from Earth who came to the Pegasus galaxy in search of the mythical city of the Ancients, Atlantis.
- Genii: An advanced, militaristic culture with a technology level similar to mid-20th century Earth, that hide under the mask of simple, Amish-like farmers.

Non-human races

Ancients (Alterans)

A highly technologically advanced race that once existed on Earth and other planets throughout the Milky Way galaxy, the Ancients are the builders of the Stargates. The Ancients moved from Earth to the planet in the Pegasus galaxy where Stargate Atlantis is set (see The City below), taking their spacefaring city Atlantis with them, in order to spread new life. In the new galaxy, they faced an enemy, the Wraith, who despite their inferior technology overwhelmed the Ancients with their strength of numbers. Besieged in Atlantis, the remaining Ancients retreated to Earth, passing on not only the legend of Atlantis but also their "Ancient gene" to the Greeks. A small fraction of the terrestrial human race still express the gene ("Ancient Technology Activation", or ATA) that allows them to use Ancient technology, most prominently Major John Sheppard of the Terrestrial human expedition team. Dr. Carson Beckett of the Terrestrial human expedition team is experimenting with transferring the ATA gene expression by means of in vivo retroviral gene therapy.

Wraith

This hive-based species drove the Ancients out of the Pegasus galaxy around 8000 BC, and are currently the antagonists of Stargate Atlantis. They maintain thousands of worlds populated by humans as a source of food, as they feed off the life force of other beings. The Wraith follow a cyclical feeding pattern: they lay in a dormant/hibernation stage for many years or generations, then sweep through the Pegasus galaxy to "cull their human herd", and finally stop when there are just enough surviving humans to maintain a breeding population for the next culling cycle. Although their technology is highly advanced and parallels many Ancient technologies (the similarity between Wraith Darts and Ancient jumpers, for example), the Wraith forced the Ancients to abandon the Pegasus Galaxy mainly by strength of numbers.

Planets

The City

The city of Atlantis hosts much of the action in the series and is the source of much of the technology which the characters employ. Atlantis still holds many secrets from her new human inhabitants.

Technology

The characters on Stargate Atlantis use both Ancient and human SGC technology, which is a mix of native human developments, adapted Goa'uld techonology and gifts from the Asgard.

Cast

ST = Security Team member For complete character lists, including dead characters, see:
- Atlantis personnel in Stargate Atlantis
- Athosian characters in Stargate Atlantis
- Genii characters in Stargate Atlantis

Episodes

As of September 2005, Stargate Atlantis is in the middle of its second season, with 30 episodes broadcasted. For a complete list, see List of Stargate Atlantis episodes.

DVD Releases

Region 1 DVD Releases

Region 2 DVD Releases (United Kingdom)

Region 4 DVD Releases

Broadcasters

- United States: Sci Fi Channel
- Australia: Seven Network
- Canada: The Movie Network, Z Télé (Québec)
- France: M6
- Germany: RTL 2
- Israel: Israeli Channel 1
- South Africa: ActionX (DStv)
- UK: Sky One, five

Books

Fandemonium Press, which also publishes Stargate SG-1 books, will launch a new series of books based on Stargate Atlantis in late 2005. These books will be avaliable in all English-speaking countries.
- Rising by Sally Malcolm (novelization of the pilot episode). On sale December 15.
- Reliquary by Martha Wells (forthcoming February 2006 -- title and release date direct from Martha Wells' site)
- The Chosen by Sonny Whitelaw and Beth Christensen 13 April 2006 -- per gasbo.net news Unlike with the SG-1 books, Fandemonium will not be accepting fan submissions for the Atlantis books. Those will be written only by professional writers.

Trivia

- Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson are the only characters to appear in the original Stargate film, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
- Of the five original cast members, Joe Flanigan is the only American. The other four (Torri Higginson, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell and Rainbow Sun Francks) are all Canadian.
- Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) previously portrayed Dr. Ernest Littlefield, the first human in the 20th Century to go through the Stargate, in the Stargate SG-1 Season One episode "The Torment of Tantalus".
- Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O'Neill) and Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson) are the only actors to appear in the pilots of both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
- Of the five original Stargate SG-1 cast members, Christopher Judge (Teal'c) is the only one who did not appear in the first season of the series. Corin Nemec (Jonas Quinn), Ben Browder (Cameron Mitchell) and Claudia Black (Vala Mal Doran) are the only other cast members who thus far have not appeared on the series.
- The only actors to play the same character on both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis are:
- Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O'Neill)
- Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson)
- Amanda Tapping (Samantha Carter)
- Don S. Davis (General Hammond)
- David Hewlett (Rodney McKay)
- Beau Bridges (General Landry)
- Gary Jones (Sgt. Walter Harriman)
- Dan Shea (Sgt. Siler)
- Ona Grauer (Ayiana)
- Ellie Harvie (Dr. Lindsey Novak)
- Kavan Smith (Major Lorne)
- Bill Dow (Dr. Bill Lee)
- Peter Flemming (Agent Malcolm Barrett)
- This series follows the formula established by Stargate SG-1 in which major events (namely the introduction of a villain) are inadvertently caused by human curiosity. Including:
- The Wraith are "awakened" early after the arrival of the Atlantis expedition in the Pegasus Galaxy.
- Rodney McKay is highly allergic to citrus.

External links

- [http://www.stargateatlantis.com MGM: Stargate Atlantis]
- [http://www.scifi.com/atlantis SCI FI: Stargate Atlantis]
- [http://www.sgatlantis.tk DHD: Stargate Atlantis]
- [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374455/fullcredits IMDb: Stargate: Atlantis]
- [http://www.pegasusgalaxy.com Pegasus Galaxy: Stargate Atlantis]
- [http://www.gateworld.net/atlantis/index.shtml Gateworld.net: Stargate Atlantis]
- [http://www.sg1archive.com/atlantis/ Stargate SG-1 Information Archive: Stargate Atlantis]
- [http://www.chevron26.com Chevron 26: Stargate Atlantis]
- [http://www.gaters.info Gaters.info: Stargate Atlantis Forum]
- [http://www.hypersg1.org/atlantis Hypersg1.org: Stargate Atlantis] (Italian)
- [http://www.gateship-one.net GateShip-One.net: Stargate Atlantis] (French)
- [http://www.battlestargalactica-online.com/stargate-atlantis/ BSG-Online | Stargate Atlantis] (French) Category:Science fiction television series Category:Stargate series Category:Episode lists Category:Sky One programmes Category:Television spin-offs Category:2000s TV shows in the United States Category:Space opera Category:Stargate category:wormholes in fiction S

1515

Events

- June - Invasion of Persia by Sultan Selim I of the Ottoman Empire.
- August 23 - Battle of Chaldiran. Selim I crushes the Persian army of Shah Ismail I.
- September 5 - Selim captures the Persian capital of Tabriz without encountering any resistance, but is unable to hold it.
- September 13 - September 14 - Battle of Marignano - The army of Francis I of France defeats the Swiss, thanks to the timely arrival of a Venetian army. Francis restores French control of Milan
- November 15 - Thomas Cardinal Wolsey invested as a Cardinal
- Sweden declared independence.
- Ottoman Empire conquers Kurdistan.
- The Manchester Grammar School founded

Year in topics

- 1515 in art

Births

- March 28 - Saint Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun and poet (died 1582)
- July 21 - Philip Neri, Italian churchman (died 1595)
- September 8 - Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish Jesuit biblical scholar (died 1585)
- September 22 - Anne of Cleves, fourth queen of Henry VIII of England (died 1557)
- October 4 - Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (died 1586)
- October 8 - Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (died 1578)
- November 22 - Mary of Guise, queen of James V of Scotland and regent of Scotland (died 1560)
- Cristobal Acosta, Portuguese doctor and natural historian (died 1580)
- Sebastian Castello, rector of the College of Geneva (died 1563)
- Valerius Cordus, German physician (died 1544)
- Sebastian Franck, German freethinker (died 1543)
- Pierre de la Ramée, French humanist scholar (died 1572)
- Mikolaj Czarny Radziwill, Polish magnate (died 1565)
- Cypriano de Rore, Flemish composer and teacher (died 1565)
- Thomas Seckford, Master of Requests for Elizabeth I of England (died 1587)
- John Sheppard, English composer and organist (died 1560)
- Francisco de Toledo, third Count of Oropesa (died 1584)
- Johann Weyer, German physician (died 1588)

Deaths

- January 1 - King Louis XII of France (born 1462)
- January 15 - Diebold Schilling the Younger, Swiss chronicler
- February 6 - Aldus Manutius, Venetian printer
- November 5 - Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter (born 1474)
- December 2 - Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general and statesman (b. 1453)
- December 16 - Afonso de Albuquerque, Portuguese naval general (born 1453)
- Antoine Brumel, Flemish composer (born 1460)
- Nezahualpilli, Aztec philosopher (born 1464)
- Alonso de Ojeda, Spanish conquistador (born 1466) Category:1515 ko:1515년 simple:1515

1560

Events

- February 27 - The Treaty of Berhick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland
- The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands.
- July 6 - Treaty of Edinburgh between England, France and Scotland. The French withdraw from Scotland. This largely ends the "Auld Alliance" between France and Scotland, and ends the wars between England and its northern neighbor.
- August 17 - the Roman Church is overthrown and Protestantism was established as the national religion in Scotland.
- Jean Nicot introduces tobacco in the form of snuff to the French court.
- Solihull School was founded.
- The great age of piracy in the Caribbean starts around this time.

Births

- January 17 - Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (died 1624)
- June 25 - Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (died 1634)
- August 7 - Erzsébet Báthory, Hungarian serial killer (died 1614)
- August 10 - Hieronymus Praetorius, German composer (died 1629)
- November 3 - Annibale Carracci, Italian painter (died 1609)
- December 3 - Jan Gruter, Dutch critic and scholar (died 1627)
- Felice Anerio, Italian composer (died 1614)
- Jacobus Arminius, Dutch theologian (died 1609)
- Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Polish military commander (died 1621)
- Dominicus Corea, King of Kotte of Ceylon (died 1596)
- James Crichton, Scottish scholar (died 1582)
- Lieven de Key, Dutch architect (died 1627)
- Hector MacLean of Dowart, Scottish Lord of the Clan MacLean (died 1630)
- Ishida Mitsunari, Japanese samurai
- Niall Garve O'Donnell, Irish nobleman (died 1626)
- Katarzyna Ostrogska, Polish noblewoman (died 1579)
- John Owen, epigrammatist (died 1622)
- Anton Praetorius, German pastor (died 1613)
- Krystyna Radziwill, Polish noblewoman (died 1580) See also :Category: 1560 births.

Deaths

- January 1 - Joachim du Bellay, French poet
- February 7 - Bartolommeo Bandinelli, Florentine sculptor (born 1493)
- February 16 - Jean du Bellay, French cardinal and diplomat
- April 19 - Philipp Melanchthon, German humanist and reformer (born 1497)
- September 29 - King Gustav I of Sweden (born 1496)
- September 30 - Melchior Cano, Spanish theologian (born 1525)
- November 25 - Andrea Doria, Italian naval commander (born 1466)
- December 5 - King Francis II of France (born 1544)
- Anastasia of Russia, wife of the first Russian Tsar
- Mary of Guise, queen of James V of Scotland and regent for her daughter Mary I of Scotland (born 1515)
- Barbara Kola, Polish noblewoman (born 1480)
- Jan Laski, Polish Protestant evangelical reformer (born 1499)
- Amy Robsart, English noblewoman
- John Sheppard, English composer and organist (born 1515)
- Imagawa Yoshimoto, Japanese daimyo
- Ii Naomori, Japanese warrior See also :Category: 1560 deaths. Category:1560 ko:1560년

England

:For an explanation of often-confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). England is a nation and the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom accounting for more than 83% of the total UK population. It occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with fellow home nations Scotland, to the north, and Wales, to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the sea. England is named after the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes believed to have originated in Angeln in Northern Germany, who settled in England in the 5th and 6th centuries. It has not had a distinct political identity since 1707, when Great Britain was established as a unified political entity; however, it has a legal identity separate from those of Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of the entity "England and Wales;". England's largest city, London, is also the capital of the United Kingdom.

History

Main article: History of England England has been inhabited for at least 500,000 years, although the repeated Ice Ages made much of Britain uninhabitable for extended periods until as recently as 20,000 years ago. Stone Age hunter-gatherers eventually gave way to farmers and permanent settlements, with a spectacular and sophisticated megalithic civilisation arising in western England some 4,000 years ago. It was replaced around 1,500 years later by Celtic tribes migrating from Western and continental Europe, mainly from France. These tribes were known collectively as "Britons", a name bestowed by Phoenician traders — an indication of how, even at this early date, the island was part of a Europe-wide trading network. The Britons were significant players in continental politics and supported their allies in Gaul militarily during the Gallic Wars with the Roman Republic. This prompted the Romans to invade and subdue the island, first with Julius Caesar's raid in 55 BC, and then the Emperor Claudius' conquest in the following century. The whole southern part of the island — roughly corresponding to modern day England and Wales — became a prosperous part of the Roman Empire. It was finally abandoned early in the 5th century when a weakening Empire pulled back its legions to defend borders on the Continent. Unaided by the Roman army, Roman Britannia could not long resist the Germanic tribes who arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries, enveloping the majority of modern day England in a new culture and language and pushing Romano-British rule back into modern-day Wales and western extremities of England, notably Cornwall and Cumbria. Others emigrated across the channel to modern-day Brittany, thus giving it its name and language (Breton). But many of the Romano-British remained in and were assimilated into the newly "English" areas. The invaders fell into three main groups: the Jutes, the Saxons, and the Angles. As they became more civilised, recognisable states formed and began to merge with one another. (The most well-known state of affairs being the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy.) From time to time throughout this period, one Anglo-Saxon king, recognised as the "Bretwalda" by other rulers, had effective control of all or most of the English; so it is impossible to identify the precise moment when the Kingdom of England was unified. In some sense, real unity came as a response to the Danish Viking incursions which occupied the eastern half of "England" in the 8th century. Egbert, King of Wessex (d. 839) is often regarded as the first king of all the English, although the title "King of England" was first adopted, two generations later, by Alfred the Great (ruled 871–899). The principal legacy left behind in those territories from which the language of the Britons were displaced is that of toponyms. Many of the place-names in England and to a lesser extent Scotland are derived from celtic British names, including London, Dumbarton, York, Dorchester, Dover and Colchester. Several place-name elements are thought to be wholly or partly Brythonic in origin, particularly bre-, bal-, and -dun for hills, carr for a high rocky place, coomb for a small deep valley. Until recently it has been believed that those areas settled by the Anglo-Saxons were uninhabited at the time or the Britons had fled before them. However, genetic studies show that the British were not pushed out to the Celtic fringes – many tribes remained in what was to become England (see C. Capelli et al. A Y chromosome census of the British Isles. Current Biology 13, 979–984, (2003)). Capelli's findings strengthen the research of Steven Bassett of the University of Birmingham; his work during the 1990s suggests that much of the West Midlands was only very lightly colonised with Anglian and Saxon settlements.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,—
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

William Shakespeare
Richard II (Act 2, Scene 1)

The English are great lovers of themselves, and of everything belonging to them; they think that there are no other men than themselves, and no other world but England; and whenever they see a handsome foreigner, they say that 'he looks like an Englishman', and that 'it is a great pity that he should not be an Englishmen'.

Venetian ambassador to England
Early 16th century
Charlotte Augusta Sneyd
Italian Relations of England (p. 20)

Richard II] Richard II] In 1066, William the Conqueror and the Normans conquered the existing Kingdom of England and instituted an Anglo-Norman administration and nobility who, retaining proto-French as their language for the next three hundred years, ruled as custodians over English commoners. Although the language and racial distinctions faded rapidly during the middle ages, the class system born in the Norman/Saxon divide persisted longer — arguably with traces lasting to the modern day. While Old English continued to be spoken by common folk, Norman feudal lords significantly influenced the language with French words and customs being adopted over the succeeding centuries evolving to a Romance-Germanic hybrid of Middle English widely spoken in Chaucer's time. England came repeatedly into conflict with Wales and Scotland, at the time an independent principality and an independent kingdom respectively, as its rulers sought to expand Norman power across the entire island of Britain. The conquest of Wales was achieved in the 13th century, when it was annexed to England and gradually came to be a part of that kingdom for most legal purposes, although in the modern era it is more usually thought of as a separate nation (fielding, for example, its own athletic teams). Norman power in Scotland waxed and waned over the years, with the Scots managing to maintain a varying degree of independence despite repeated wars with the English. Although it was on the whole only a moderately successful power in military terms, England became one of the wealthiest states in medieval Europe, due chiefly to its dominance in the lucrative wool market. The failure of English territorial ambitions in continental Europe prompted the kingdom's rulers to look further afield, creating the foundations of the mercantile and colonial network that was to become the British Empire. The turmoil of the Reformation embroiled England in religious wars with Europe's Catholic powers, notably Spain, but the kingdom preserved its independence as much through luck as through the skill of charismatic rulers such as Elizabeth I. Elizabeth's successor, James I was already king of Scotland (as James VI); and this personal union of the two crowns into the crown of Great Brittaine was followed a century later by the Act of Union 1707, which formally unified England, Scotland and Wales into the Kingdom of Great Britain. This later became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801 to 1927) and then the modern state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1927 to present) For post-unification history, see history of the United Kingdom.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the United Kingdom, Government of England Since the promulgation of the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan and the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542, Wales has shared a legal identity with England as the joint entity of England and Wales. The Act of Union with the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain, subsuming England, Wales and Scotland into a single political entity. Scotland, along with Northern Ireland, retain separate legal systems. The duchy of Cornwall also retains some unique rights. All of Great Britain has been ruled by the government of the United Kingdom since that date, although in 1999 the first elections to the newly created Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales left England as the only part of the Union with no devolved assembly or parliament. As all legislation for England is passed by Parliament at Westminster there are some complaints about the ability of non-English Members of Parliament to influence purely English affairs. This apparent anomaly has been highlighted by both English and non-English politicians, often those opposed to devolution, and has become popularly known as the West Lothian question. Administratively, England is something of an anomaly within the UK. Unlike the other three nations, it has no local parliament or government and its administrative affairs are dealt with by a combination of the UK government, the UK parliament and a number of England-specific quangos, such as English Heritage. There are calls from some for a devolved English Parliament and from others for the dissolution of the UK and an independent England. The current Labour government favoured the establishment of regional administration, claiming that England was too large to be governed as a sub-state entity. A referendum on this issue in North East England on 4 November 2004 decisively rejected the proposal. Some criticised the English regional proposals for not decentralising enough, saying that they amounted not to devolution, but to little more than local government reorganisation, with no real power being removed from central government. The English regions would not even have had the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly, much less the tax-varying and legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament. Rather, power was simply re-allocated within the region, with little new resource allocation and no real prospects of Assemblies being able to change the pattern of regional aid. Responsibility for regional transport was added to the proposals late in the process. This was perhaps crucial in the North East, where resentment at the Barnett Formula, which delivers greater regional aid to adjacent Scotland, was a significant impetus for the North East devolution campaign. There has also been a campaign for a Cornish assembly along Welsh lines by groups such as Mebyon Kernow, which recently collected 50,000 signatures in support. Some eurosceptics believe that the establishment of English regions as administrative entities is designed to undermine the concept of English nationhood and more easily fit England into a European federal model. Conventionally the national capital of England is London, although technically it would be more exact to call London the capital of "England and Wales" given England's lack of a distinctive political identity separate from the Principality. Winchester served as the country's first national capital until some time in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest. The City of London became England's commercial capital, while the City of Westminster (where the Royal court was located) became the political capital. These roles have, broadly speaking, been maintained to the present day.

Subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of England Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These divisions had emerged from a range of units of old, pre-unification England, whether they were Kingdoms, such as Essex and Sussex; Duchies, such as Yorkshire, Cornwall and Lancashire or simply tracts of land given to some noble, as is the case with Berkshire. Until 1867, they were subdivided into smaller divisions called hundreds. These counties all still exist in, or near to, their original form as the traditional counties. In many places, however, they have been heavily modified or abolished outright as administrative counties. This came about due to a number of factors. The fact that the counties were so small meant, and still means, that there was no regional government able to coordinate an overarching plan for the area. This was especially true in the metropolitan areas surrounding the cities, as the county lines were usually drawn up before the industrial revolution and the mass urbanisation of England. The solution was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities. These were later broken up, with several other counties, into unitary authorities, unifying the county and district/borough levels of government. London is a special case, and is the one region which currently has a representative authority as well as a directly elected mayor. The 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London remain the local form of government in the city. Other than Greater London, the official regions are:
- North East England
- North West England
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- West Midlands
- East Midlands
- East of England
- South West England
- South East England Outside London the regions have very little power and are not accountable to elected representatives; regional authority is placed in the hands of unelected assemblies. If, as now seems unlikely, regions opt to replace these bodies with elected assemblies, local government in England will remain as variable and, some might say, as confusing as ever

Geography

Main articles: Geography of the United Kingdom, Geography of England Geography of England England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 38 km (24 statute mile or 21 nautical mile) sea gap. Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use. The list of England's largest cities is much debated because in British English the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area"; these are hard to define and various other definitions are preferred by some people to boost the ranking of their own city. London is by far the largest English city. Manchester and Birmingham vie for second place. A number of other cities, mainly in the north of England, are of substantial size and influence. These include: Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bristol and Sheffield Using the standard U.S. city limits definition of a city the top six are: Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool and Manchester. Note that London is not on this list (Greater London is a region and the City of London is tiny), and that one of the two candidates for the status of England's "second city", Manchester, is down in sixth. In the UK, this method of ranking cities is generally used only by people whose own city is promoted by it. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel. The largest harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Internationally, it is the second largest harbour in the world, although this fact is disputed (See harbors for a list of other potential second largest harbours) The highest temperature ever recorded in England is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on August 10, 2003 in Kent. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3153532.stm]. The lowest temperature ever recorded in England is -26.1 °C (-15.0 °F) on January 10, 1982 at Newport in Shropshire. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/england/#temperature]

Major rivers

Shropshire.]]
- Thames
- Severn
- Trent
- Humber
- Yorkshire Ouse
- Tyne
- Mersey
- Dee
- Avon Main article: Waterways in the United Kingdom

Major Conurbations

:See main article: List of towns in England The largest cities in England are much debated but according to the urban area populations (continuous built up areas) these would be the 15 largest conurbations. (Population figures taken from 2001 census) #Greater London (8,278,251) #West Midlands (2,284,093) #Greater Manchester (2,244,931) #Leeds/Bradford (1,499,465) #Tyneside (879,996) #Liverpool (816,216) #Nottingham (666,358) #Sheffield (640,720) #Bristol (551,066) #Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton (461,181) #Portsmouth (442,252) #Leicester (441,213) #Bournemouth/Poole (383,713) #Reading (369,804) #Teesside (365,323)

Economy

Main article: Economy of England

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of England, Population of England England is both the most populous and the most ethnically diverse nation in the United Kingdom with around 49 million inhabitants, of which roughly a tenth are from non-White ethnic groups. It is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, second only to the Netherlands. This population is made up of, and descended from, immigrants who have arrived over millennia. The principal waves of migration have been in c. 600 BC (Celts), the Roman period (garrison soldiers from throughout the Empire), 350–550 (Angles, Saxons, Jutes), 800–900 (Vikings, Danes), 1066 (Normans), 1650–1750 (European refugees and Huguenots), 1840–1850 (Irish), 1880–1940 (Irish, Jews), 1950— (Irish, Caribbeans, Africans, South Asians), 1985— (citizens of European Community member states especially Ireland, East Europeans, Iranians, Kurds, refugees). The general prosperity of England as the largest partner of the UK, has also made it a destination for economic migrants particularly from Ireland and Scotland. This segment of English homogeneous society continues to create a diverse and dynamic language that is widely used internationally. The other image of foreign ethnic components in England is still mostly seen as a legacy of the British Empire; especially the Commonwealth of Nations.

English identity

The simplest view is that an English person is someone who is from England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. However, inhabitants of England quite commonly refer to themselves as "British" rather than "English"; centuries of English dominance within the United Kingdom has created a situation where to be English is, as a linguist would put it, an "unmarked" state (i.e. a British person, institution, custom, city, etc. is assumed English unless specified otherwise). The English frequently include their neighbours in the general term "British" while the Scots and Welsh, proud of their separate identities, tend to be more forward about referring to themselves by one of those more specific terms. Although currently a part of England, a notable percentage of those living in Cornwall feel similarly, considering themselves Cornish first. One significant exception is in Northern Ireland, where the Unionist community tend to identify very strongly as "British" (Republicans living in the province are more likely to consider themselves "Irish"), and there is not a "Northern Ireland" or "Northern Irish" identity to the same extent as there is (e.g.) a Scottish one. A person, therefore, using the term "English" to describe him or herself (regardless of personal history) may be going out of his or her way to do so; hence he or she may also be seen (rightly or wrongly, and not necessarily pejoratively) as nationalistic. While Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Cornish patriotism are widely exhibited, specifically English patriotism has often been viewed with suspicion, and most English people feel more comfortable identifying themselves with Britain as a whole. However, this may be to avoid being seen as bullies by their neighbours. The extent to which specifically English patriotism is linked to a right-wing xenophobic agenda has also generated discomfort. The appropriation of English symbols by racist far-right organisations such as the National Front made many people uncomfortable with expressions of Englishness. In recent years, English identity has recently been a topic of debate in the national press, with many English people trying to "reclaim" the term and the flag from the far-right. See English nationalism. One notable exception to the above is in relation to sports, in particular Association football, Rugby football and to a lesser extent Cricket. Transient successes are often accompanied by a revival of the use of the "St George's Cross". While it has not yet replaced the "Union Flag" its use is on the increase. Many English people who have spent a lot of time overseas fall into the habit of referring to themselves as "English". It is the most recognisable designation by speakers of many languages, especially where their own language uses a similar word. Even in other English-speaking countries, people are often perplexed by concepts of "British" or the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". All these distinctions are only possible because there is no "English citizenship" or legal definition of Englishness. Moreover, the hazy understanding many people have of the distinction between "England" and "Britain" compounds the confusion. If in doubt, refer to an "English" person as "British": this will always be correct. It may not be as precise as "English", but it will avoid offence in the event the person is actually from a different part of Britain.

Culture

Union Flag Main article: Culture of England
- English literature
- Sir Thomas Browne
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- John Milton
- William Shakespeare
- Jane Austen
- Mary Shelley
- Charles Dickens
- Thomas Hardy
- George Orwell
- J. R. R. Tolkien
- C. S. Lewis
- Douglas Adams
- List of national parks of England and Wales
- Food and Drink
- English folklore
- English art
- English school of painting
- Music of England

Languages

Music of England.]] As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today (although not officially designated as such). An Indo-European language in Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic family, it is closely related to Scots and Frisian. As the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms merged into England, "Old English" emerged; some of its literature and poetry has survived. Used by aristocracy and commoners alike before the Norman Conquest (1066), English was displaced in cultured contexts under the new regime by the Norman French language of the new Anglo-French aristocracy. Its use was confined primarily to the lower social classes while official business was conducted in a mixture of Latin and French. Over the following centuries, however, English gradually came back into fashion among all classes and for all official business except certain traditional ceremonies. (Some survive to this day.) But Middle English, as it had by now become, showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins; and more recent years, Modern English has extended this custom, being always remarkable for its far-flung willingness to incorporate foreign-influenced words. The law does not recognise any language as being official, but English is the only language used in England for general official business. The other national languages of the UK (Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic) are confined to their respective nations, and only Welsh is treated by law as an equal to English (and then only for organisations which do business in Wales). The only non-Anglic native spoken language in England is the Cornish language, a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, which became extinct in the 19th century but has been revived and is spoken in various degrees of fluency by around 3,500 people. This has no official status (unlike Welsh) and is not required for official use, but is nonetheless supported by national and local government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Cornwall County Council has produced [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/cornish/strategy/english/engl01.htm a draft strategy] to develop these plans. There is, however, no programme as yet for public bodies to actively promote the language. Scots is spoken by some adjacent to the Anglo-Scottish Border. Most deaf people within England speak British sign language (BSL), a sign language native to Britain. The British Deaf Association estimates that 70,000 people throughout the UK speak BSL as their first or preferred language, but does not give statistics specific to England. Like Cornish, BSL has no official status, but has been granted a degree of recognition by the government. The BBC broadcasts several of its programmes with BSL interpreters. Different languages from around the world, especially from the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, have been brought to England by immigrants. Many of these are widely spoken within ethnic minority communities, including Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Chinese and Vietnamese. These are often used by official bodies to communicate with the relevant sections of the community, particularly in big cities, but this occurs on an "as needed" basis rather than as the result of specific legislative ordinances. Other languages have also traditionally been spoken by minority populations in England, including Romany. Despite the relatively small size of the nation, there are a large number of distinct English regional accents. Those with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood elsewhere in the country.

Nomenclature

The country is named after the Angles, one of several Germanic tribes who settled the country in the 5th and 6th centuries. There are two distinct linguistic patterns for the name of the country. The majority of European languages use names akin to "England":
- "England" (Danish, German, Swedish, Norwegian)
- "Engeland" (Dutch)
- "Inglismaa" (Estonian)
- "Angleterre" (French)
- "Inghilterra" (Italian)
- "Inglaterra" (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician)
- "Anglia" (Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian)
- "Anglija" (Russian, Slovene, Lithuanian, Ukrainian)
- "Engleska" (Croatian, Serbian)
- "Αγγλία" ("Anglía") (Greek)
- "Englanti" (Finnish) The Celtic names are quite different:
- "Bro-Saoz" (Breton)
- "Pow Sows" (Cornish)
- "Sasana" (Irish)
- "Sasainn" (Scottish Gaelic)
- "Lloegr" (Welsh) — but "Saeson" for the inhabitants.
- "Sostyn" (Manx Gaelic) Except for Lloegr, which is an ancient geographic term, these names are all derived from the Saxons, another family of Germanic tribes which arrived at about the same time as the Angles. See: Wiktionary:England for a further list of non-English names for England. "England" is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the entire United Kingdom, the island of Great Britain, or the British Isles. This may offend people from other parts of the UK. Frequently the English use the less-specific "Britain" or "the UK", even when "England" is technically correct and commonly also use "England" when "Britain" would be correct. Alternative names include:
- the slang "Blighty", from the Hindustani "bila yati" meaning "foreign"
- "Albion", an ancient name popularised by Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy in the 1st century. Supposedly referring to the white (Latin alba) cliffs of Dover, this term has also been interpreted as a relative of Alba, today the Scots Gaelic name for Scotland. Whatever its origins, "Albion" originally referred to the whole island of Great Britain and is still sometimes seen that way today — but is more often used for England.
- More poetically, England has been called "this sceptred isle...this other Eden" and "this green and pleasant land", quotations respectively from the poetry of William Shakespeare (in Richard II) and William Blake (And did those feet in ancient time). The inhabitants of England are the English. The slang terms sometimes used for them include "Sassenachs" (from the Scots Gaelic), "Limeys" (in reference to the citrus fruits carried aboard English sailing vessels to prevent scurvy) and "Pom/Pommy" (used in Australian English and New Zealand English), but these may be perceived as offensive. Also see alternative words for British.

Symbols and insignia

alternative words for British.]] The two traditional symbols of England are the St. George's cross (the English flag) and the Three Lions coat of arms (see above), both derived from the great Norman powers that formed the monarchy – the Cross of Aquitaine and the Lions of Anjou. The three lions were first definitely used by Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) in the late 12th century (although it is also possible that Henry I may have bestowed it on his son Henry before then). Historian Simon Schama has argued that the Three Lions are the true symbol of England because the English throne descended down the Angevin line. A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with St George and England, along with other countries and cities (such as Georgia, Milan and the Republic of Genoa), which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner. It remained in national use until 1707, when the Union Flag (which English and Scottish ships had used at sea since 1606) was adopted for all purposes to unite the whole of Great Britain under a common flag. The flag of England no longer has much of an official role, but it is widely flown by Church of England properties and at sporting events. (Paradoxically, the latter is a fairly recent development; until the late 20th century, it was commonplace for fans of English teams to wave the Union Flag, rather than the St George's Cross). The rose is widely recognised as the national flower of England and is used in a variety of contexts. Predominantly, this is a red rose (which also symbolises Lancashire), such as the badge of the English Rugby Union team. However, a white rose (which also symbolises Yorkshire) or a "tudor rose" (symbolising the end of the War of the Roses) may also be used on different occasions. The Three Lions badge performs a similar role for the English national football team and English national cricket team.

National anthems

Although England does not have an official anthem of its own, the following are widely regarded as English national hymns:
- "Jerusalem:" Words by William Blake, Music by Hubert Parry
- "I Vow to Thee, My Country": Words by Cecil Spring-Rice, Music by Gustav Holst
- "Land of Hope and Glory": Words by A C Benson, Music by Edward Elgar (although this refers to all of Great Britain, not only England)
- "Nimrod": Music by Edward Elgar "God Save The Queen" (the national anthem for the UK as a whole) is usually played for English sporting events (e.g. football matches), although "Land of Hope and Glory" has also been used as the English anthem for the Commonwealth Games. "Rule Britannia" despite being a song about Britain as a whole was often used for the English national football team when they play against another of the home nations but more recently "God Save The Queen" has been used by both the rugby and football teams. Many believe that English teams should use their own anthems, most popular of which is the use of "Jerusalem".

References

- [http://www.statistics.gov.uk Office of National Statistics]

References

External links

- [http://www.enjoyengland.com/ The official website of the English Tourist Board — Enjoy England]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations]: articles on England and her neighbours Category:Monarchies Category:European countries als:England zh-min-nan:England ko:잉글랜드 ms:England ja:イングランド simple:England th:แคว้นอังกฤษ

Composer

A composer is a person who writes music. The term refers particularly to someone who writes music in some type of musical notation, thus allowing others to perform the music. This distinguishes the composer from a musician who improvises. However, a person may be called a composer without creating music in documentary form, since not all musical genres rely on written notation. In this context, the composer is the originator of the music, and usually its first performer. Later performers then repeat the musical composition they have heard. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians also varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music. For example, in the development of classical music in Europe, the function of composing music initially had no greater importance than the function of performing music. The preservation of individual compositions received little attention, and musicians generally had no qualms about modifying compositions for performance. Over time, however, the written notation of the composer has come to be treated as strict instructions, from which performers should not deviate without good reason. This notion is often seen as a purist one. The term "composer" is often used specifically to mean a composer in the Western tradition of classical music. In popular and folk music, the composer is typically called a songwriter (since the music generally takes the form of a song.)

Lists of composers

- List of composers
- List of opera composers
- List of uncategorized composers
- List of soundtrack composers

By style, time period, or technique

- List of classical music composers
- List of 20th century classical composers
- List of 21st century classical composers
- List of modernist composers

By nationality, culture, or identity

- List of French composers
- List of Dutch and Flemish composers
- List of Indonesian composers
- List of Italian composers
- List of Russian composers
- List of Polish composers
- List of Indian composers
- List of female composers
- List of gay, lesbian or bisexual composers
- List of composers of African descent

By chronology

- [http://members.chello.nl/epzachte/Wikipedia/EasyTimeline/Introduction.htm Timeline of classical composers] Category:Classical music Composers Category:Occupations in music ko:작곡가 ja:作曲家 th:คีตกวี

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays the organ, whether pipe or electronic. In the United States there is a national organisation called the American Guild of Organists (AGO). Comparable bodies in other countries include the Royal College of Organists (RCO) in the United Kingdom and the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO). All these institutions are oriented toward the organist involved in classical music rather than popular music.

Classical and church organists

Worldwide, the greatest number of organists are principally involved in church music, due to the vital role that the organ plays in traditional Christian worship. The role of the organ varies from denomination to denomination; for example, Lutheran churches in the U.S. have greater emphasis on use of the organ in worship than some others. Since there were few organs installed in locations other than churches until the late 19th century, classical organ literature was almost exclusively written for liturgical use. Organists are expected to accompany congregational singing of hymns, accompany the choir, and provide solo music for preludes, postludes, and covering music during otherwise silent portions of the worship service. Many organists also direct a choir. Since the strengths and weaknesses of the organ are difficult to understand without a good deal of playing experience, most music composed for organ has been written by organists. Like other musicians, many organists also teach.

Theater organists

The theater organ has a separate repertoire and playing style, and in its heyday there were considerable numbers of organists employed. A few carry on the tradition today.

Organists in popular music

There are many organists employed in the production of popular and jazz music. Most of them play the Hammond organ. Most are classically trained, often in piano rather than organ.

Famous organists

Notable classical organists of today include: Carlo Curley, Marie-Claire Alain, John Weaver, Ken Cowan, Alan Morrison, Diane Meredith Belcher, Felix Hell, Paul Jacobs, Daniel Roth, Thomas Murray, Cherry Rhodes, Olivier Latry, Gillian Weir, Eberhard Fölster, Rosalinde Haas, Lionel Rogg, Evgenija Lisitsina, Frederick Hohman, and [http://www.everhardzwart.nl/ Everhard Zwart]. Notable organists of the past, many of whom were also composers for the instrument, include: [http://www.feikeasmastichting.com/ Feike Asma], Johann Sebastian Bach, Marcel Dupré, Louis Vierne, César Franck, Jean Langlais, Helmut Walcha, Virgil Fox, Charles Courboin, Fernando Germani, Maurice Durufle, Marie-Madeleine Durufle-Chevalier, Jeanne Demessieux, Pierre Cochereau, Karl Richter, George Dorringtion Cunningham, Sir George Thalben-Ball, Alexander Schreiner, Camille Saint-Saens, Karl Straube, [http://www.everhardzwart.nl/ Everhard Zwart]. In Europe, the historical importance of churches as employers of musicians meant that many composers not now remembered for their association with the organ nevertheless were engaged as professional organists: for example, Mozart, Reger, and Elgar.

List of active concert and church organists

- Alain, Marie-Claire (France)
- Belcher, Diane Meredith (USA)
- Burroughs, Michael (USA)
- Cowan, Ken (USA, born in Canada)
- Frenkel, Simonah (USA, born in Russia)
- Haas, Rosalinde (Germany)
- Hell, Felix (USA, born in Germany)
- Jacobs, Paul (USA)
- Lohmann, Ludger (Germany)
- Morrison, Alan (USA)
- Nordstoga, Kåre (Norway)
- Sherer, John (USA)
- Teti, Federico (USA, born in Italy)
- Watanabe, Kiyo (USA, born in Japan)
- Weaver, John (USA)

1543

Events

- February 21 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeat the armies of Adal led by Ahmed Gragn.
- May - Nicolaus Copernicus publishes De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium
- July 12 - King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine Parr. It is the sixth of Henry's marriages and the third of Catherine's. Princess Elizabeth attends the wedding
- August 5 - Turkish and French troops under Khair ed-Din Barbarossa occupy Nice
- September-October - Landrecies in Picardy is besieged by forces under Emperor Charles V, but withdraw on the approach of the French army.
- Japanese receive first firearms from shipwrecked Portuguese
- Indians in Spanish colonies are announced free against the wish of local settlers

Science

- Andreas Vesalius publishes De Humanis Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body), revolutionising the science of human anatomy
- Nicolaus Copernicus - De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium

Births

- January 18 - (baptized) - Alfonso Ferrabosco, Italian composer (died 1588)
- January 31 - Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (died 1616)
- February 15 - Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (died 1608)
- February 16 - Kano Eitoku, Japanese painter (died 1590)
- April 1 - François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (died 1626)
- September 14 - Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit (died 1615)
- Thomas Deloney, English novelist and balladist (died 1600)
- Domenico Fontana, Italian architect (died 1607)
- Sonam Gyatso, 3rd Dalai Lama, first Dalai Lama
- Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer (died 1607)
- François Pithou, French lawyer and author (died 1621)
- Chaim Vital, rabbi and mystic (died 1620)
- Federigo Zuccaro, Italian painter (died 1609) See also :Category: 1543 births.

Deaths

- January 3 - Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer (born 1499)
- January 9 - Guillaume du Bellay, French diplomat and general (b. 1491)
- February 21 - Ahmad Gragn, Imam of Adal (killed in battle)
- May 24 - Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer (born 1473)
- July 19 - Lady Mary Boleyn, mistress of Kings Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England (born 1500)
- September 20 - Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland (born 1492)
- Georg, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (born 1484)
- Polidoro Caldara da Caravaggio, Italian painter (born 1492)
- Baccio D'Agnolo, Florentine woodcarver (born 1460)
-