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July 14

July 14

July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. The phrase "Quatorze Juillet" (Fourteenth of July in French) has great significance in France as a reference to the celebration of the storming of the Bastille in 1789 during the French Revolution.

Events

- 1223 - In France, Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II of France.
- 1789 - French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille and free seven prisoners.
- 1791 - The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.
- 1798 - The Sedition Act becomes United States law making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
- 1827 - The first Roman Catholic Mass is celebrated in the Hawaiian Islands by Fathers Abraham Armand and Alexis Bachelot of France and Patrick Short of the United Kingdom, members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. It would be the foundation of the present-day Diocese of Honolulu.
- 1902 - The Campanile in St Mark's Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the logetta.
- 1933 - Gleichschaltung: In Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.
- 1940 - World War II: Andrew George Latta McNaughton takes command of the 7th Army Corps consisting of British, Canadian and New Zealand troops.
- 1943 - In Joplin, Missouri, George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
- 1954 - The central region of the United States suffers extremely hot weather, with the temperature reaching 118° F (48° C) in Warsaw and Union, Missouri, and 117° F (47° C) in East St. Louis, Illinois, setting new all-time state record high temperatures.
- 1958 - Iraqi Revolution: In Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by Arab nationalists and Abdul Karim Kassem becomes the nation's new leader.
- 1965 - Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
- 1966 - In Chicago, Illinois, Richard Speck murders eight student nurses in their dormitory.
- 1966 - A fire at a mental hospital in Guatemala City kills 225.
- 1967 - Eddie Mathews becomes the seventh member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.
- 1968 - Hank Aaron becomes the eighth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1981 - MCLN bombs a popular cinema in Bangui, Central African Republic. Afterwards a declaration is issued, demanding withdrawal of French troops from the country.
- 1984 - New Zealand elects the Fourth Labour Government bringing in David Lange as Prime Minister of New Zealand, and thus breaking nine years of National party governance under Robert Muldoon
- 1992 - A major fire consumes an entire city block in tourist destination Gatlinburg, Tennessee, destroying the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" Museum and several other local businesses and attractions in the process.
- 2000 - George Speight, the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, was arrested with 369 of his followers and charged with treason.
- 2001 - The International Olympic Committee votes for Beijing to be the host of the 2008 Olympics. This is the first time that China had been bestowed this honor.
- 2002 - During Bastille Day celebrations, Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed.
- 2005 - São Paulo FC becomes Libertadores Cup 2005 champions. They won the tournament for the third time in their history.

Births

- 1454 - Poliziano, Florentine humanist (d. 1494)
- 1602 - Jules Mazarin, French statesman and cardinal (d. 1661)
- 1608 - George Goring, Lord Goring, English royalist soldier (d. 1657)
- 1610 - Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)
- 1634 - Pasquier Quesnel, French Jansenist theologian (d. 1719)
- 1671 - Jacques D'Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)
- 1675 - Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French soldier (d. 1747)
- 1676 - Caspar Abel, German theologian, historian, and poet (d. 1763)
- 1696 - William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (d. 1761)
- 1721 - John Douglas, Scottish Anglican bishop and man of letters (d. 1807)
- 1743 - Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, Russian poet (d. 1816)
- 1801 - Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist (d. 1858)
- 1816 - Arthur de Gobineau, French philosopher (d. 1882)
- 1829 - Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1896)
- 1857 - Emmeline Pankhurst, English suffragette (d. 1928)
- 1859 - Willy Hess, German violinist (d. 1928)
- 1860 - Owen Wister, American author (d. 1938)
- 1862 - Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and graphic artist (d. 1918)
- 1868 - Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist, writer, spy, and administrator (d. 1926)
- 1885 - King Sisavang Vong of Laos (d. 1959)
- 1891 - Alexander M. Volkov, Russian novelist and mathematician (d. 1977)
- 1904 - Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish Yiddish author (d. 1991)
- 1906 - Tom Carvel, Greek-born businessman and inventor (d. 1990)
- 1910 - William Hanna, American animator (d. 2001)
- 1912 - Northrop Frye, Canadian literary critic (d. 1991)
- 1912 - Woody Guthrie, American folk musician (d. 1967)
- 1913 - Gerald Ford, President of the United States
- 1918 - Ingmar Bergman, Swedish film and theatre director
- 1918 - Arthur Laurents, American playwright, novelist, and director
- 1919 - Lino Ventura, Italian-born actor (d. 1987)
- 1921 - Leon Garfield, English children's author (d. 1996)
- 1921 - Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1923 - Dale Robertson, American actor
- 1924 - James W. Black, Scottish pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1926 - Harry Dean Stanton, American actor
- 1927 - John Chancellor, American television commentator (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Polly Bergen, American actress, singer, and entrepreneur
- 1932 - Roosevelt Grier, American football player, actor, and minister
- 1937 - Yoshiro Mori, Japanese politician
- 1938 - Jerry Rubin, American activist (d. 1994)
- 1939 - Karel Gott, Czech singer
- 1939 - George E. Slusser, American scholar and writer
- 1941 - Maulana Karenga, American author and activist
- 1941 - Andreas Khol, Austrian politician
- 1942 - Javier Solana, Spanish European Union foreign policy chief
- 1946 - John Wood, Australian actor
- 1950 - Gwen Guthrie, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1951 - Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)
- 1956 - Ran Andrews, Canadian painter
- 1961 - Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
- 1967 - Robin Ventura, baseball player
- 1971 - Bubba Ray Dudley, American professional wrestler
- 1977 - Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
- 1988 - James Vaughan, English footballer

Deaths

- 664 - Deusdedit of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1223 - King Philip II of France (b. 1165)
- 1270 - Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1274 - Saint Bonaventure (b. 1221)
- 1575 - Richard Taverner, English Bible translator
- 1614 - Camillus de Lellis, Italian saint (b. 1550)
- 1671 - Méric Casaubon, English classical scholar (b. 1599)
- 1723 - Claude Fleury, French historian (b. 1640)
- 1742 - Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (b. 1662)
- 1766 - František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (b. 1674)
- 1774 - James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley and Kilmaine, British field marshal (b. 1682)
- 1780 - Charles Batteux, French philosopher (b. 1713)
- 1789 - Jacques de Flesselles, French provost (assassinated) (b. 1721)
- 1790 - Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)
- 1834 - Edmond Charles Genêt, French ambassador to the United States during the French Revolution (b. 1763)
- 1850 - August Neander, German theologian (b. 1789)
- 1881 - Billy the Kid, American outlaw (b. 1860)
- 1887 - Alfred Krupp, German munitions manufacturer (b. 1812)
- 1904 - Paul Kruger, Boer resistance leader (b. 1824)
- 1907 - William Henry Perkin, English chemist and inventor (b. 1838)
- 1917 - Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, Swiss author (b. 1866)
- 1954 - Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
- 1965 - Adlai Stevenson, U.S. Presidential candidate (b. 1900)
- 1968 - Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (b. 1892)
- 1984 - Ernest Tidyman, American writer (b. 1928)
- 1984 - Philippe Wynne, American musician (b. 1941)
- 1994 - César Tovar, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (b. 1940)
- 1998 - Dick McDonald, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1909)
- 1999 - Gar Samuelson, American musician (Megadeth)
- 2000 - William Roscoe Estep, American Baptist historian (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Joaquín Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906)
- 2003 - André Claveau, French singer (b. 1911)
- 2003 - Tex Schramm, American football general manager (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

- France and all French dependencies - Bastille Day
- Iraq - National Day
- Kiribati - Independence Day, 3rd day, not a holiday
- Sweden - Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, an official flag day

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/14 BBC: On This Day] ---- July 13 - July 15 - June 14 - August 14 -- listing of all days ko:7월 14일 ms:14 Julai ja:7月14日 simple:July 14 th:14 กรกฎาคม

July 14

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

1223

Events

- August 6 - Louis VIII is crowned King of France.
- Franciscan Rule is approved by Pope Honorius III.

Births

- John FitzAlan, 6th Earl of Arundel (died 1267)
- Baibars, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria (died 1277)
- Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer (died 1265)

Deaths

- March 8 - Wincenty Kadłubek, Polish bishop and historian (born 1161)
- March 25 - King Afonso II of Portugal (born 1185)
- July 14 - King Philip II of France (born 1165)
- Mstislav III of Kiev
- Giorgi IV Lasha, king of Georgia (born 1192)
- Unkei, Japanese sculptor (born 1151) Category:1223 ko:1223년

Louis VIII of France

Louis VIII the Lion (French: Louis VIII le Lion) (September 5, 1187 – November 8, 1226) reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the Capetian dynasty. Louis was born in Paris, France, the son of King Philippe II Auguste and Isabelle of Hainaut. In 1216 the English barons rebelled in the First Barons' War against the unpopular King John and offered the throne to Louis. Louis invaded and was proclaimed king in London in May 1216, although he was not crowned. There was little resistance when the prince entered London. At St Paul's Cathedral, Louis was accepted as ruler with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Many nobles, including the King of Scotland, gathered to give homage to him. On June 14 he captured Winchester and soon conquered over half of the English kingdom. Since other English kings such as Edward V and Edward VIII were not crowned but only proclaimed, there is a good case for including Louis in the list of Kings of England. After a year and a half of war, most of the rebellious barons had defected and so Louis had to give up his claim to be the King of England by signing the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217. 1217 in 1223; aminiature from the Grandes Chroniques de France, painted in the 1450s, kept at the National Library of France]] Louis succeeded his father on July 14, 1223; his coronation took place on August 6 of the same year in the cathedral at Reims. As king, he continued to seek revenge on the Angevins and seized Poitou and Saintonge from them in 1224. There followed the seizure of Avignon and Languedoc. On 1 November 1223, he issued an ordinance that prohibited his officials from recording debts owed to Jews, thus reversing the policies set by his father King Philippe II Auguste. Usury (lending money with interest) was illegal for Christians to practice, according to Church law it was seen as a vice in which people profited from others' misfortune (like gambling), and was punishable by excommunication, a severe punishment. However since Jews were not Christian, they could not be excommunicated, and thus fell in to a legal gray area which secular rulers would sometimes exploit by allowing (or requesting) Jews to provide usuary services, often for personal gain to the secular ruler, and to the discontent of the Church. Louis' prohibition was one attempt at resolving this legal problem which was a constant source of friction in Church and State courts. Twenty six barons accepted, but Thibaut IV, a powerful baron from Champagne did not, since he had an agreement with the Jews that guaranteed him extra income through taxation. Thibaut IV would become a major opposition force to Capetian dominance, and his hostility was manifest during the reign of Louis VIII. For example, during the siege of Avignon, he peformed only the minimum service of 40 days, and left home amid charges of treachery. While returning to Paris, King Louis became ill with dysentery, and died on November 8, 1226 in the chateau at Montpensier, Auvergne. The Saint Denis Basilica houses the tomb of Louis VIII. His son, Louis IX, succeeded him on the throne.

Marriage

On May 23, 1200, at the age of twelve, Louis married Blanche of Castile (March 4, 1188 – November 26, 1252).

Issue

#Philippe (September 9, 1209 – 1218) #Louis IX (April 25, 1214 – August 25, 1270) #Robert (September 25, 1216 – February 9, 1250) #Jean (July 21, 1219 – 1232) #Alphonse of Toulouse (November 11, 1220 – August 21, 1271) #Philippe Dagobert (February 20, 1222 – 1232) #Isabel (June 1225 – February 23, 1269) #Etienne (born and died 1226) #Charles I of Sicily (March 1227 – January 7, 1285) Louis 08 Louis 08 Louis 08 ja:ルイ8世 (フランス王)

Philip II of France

Philip II (French: Philippe II), called Philip Augustus (French: Philippe Auguste) (August 21,1165 – July 14,1223), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. A member of the Capetian dynasty, Philip Augustus was born August 21, 1165 at Gonesse, Val-d'Oise, France, the son of Louis VII of France and his third wife, Adèle of Champagne. Philip was a younger half-brother of Marie de Champagne, Alix of France, Marguerite of France and Alys, Countess of the Vexin. He was an older brother of Agnes of France. In declining health, his father had him crowned at Reims in 1179. He was married on April 28, 1180 to Isabelle of Hainaut. His father and co-ruler died on September 18, 1180. His eldest son Louis (later King Louis VIII), was born on September 5, 1187. As king, he would become one of the most successful in consolidating France into one royal domain. He seized the territories of Maine, Touraine, Anjou, Brittany and all of Normandy from King John of England. His decisive victory at the Battle of Bouvines over King John and a coalition of forces that included Otto IV of Germany ended the immediate threat of challenges to this expansion (1214) and left Philip Augustus as the most powerful monarch in all of Europe. He reorganized the government, bringing to the country a financial stability which permitted a sharp increase in prosperity. His reign was popular with ordinary people when he checked the power of the nobles and passed some of it on to the growing middle class his reign had created. He went on the Third Crusade with Richard the Lionhearted and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I Barbarossa (1189-1192). His army left Vézelay on July 1, 1190. At first the French and English crusaders traveled together, but the armies split at Lyons, as King Richard decided to go by sea, and Philip Augustus took the overland route through the Alps to Genoa. The French and English armies were reunited in Messina, where they wintered together. On March 30, 1191 the French set sail for the Holy Land, where they launched several assaults on Acre before King Richard arrived (see Siege of Acre). By the time Acre surrendered on July 12, Philip Augustus was terribly ill with dysentery and had little more interest in further crusading. He decided to return to France, a decision that displeased King Richard, who said, "It is a shame and a disgrace on my lord if he goes away without having finished the business that brought him hither. But still, if he finds himself in bad health, or is afraid lest he should die here, his will be done." So on July 31, 1191 the French army remained in Outremer under the command of Hugues III, duke of Burgundy. King Philip and his cousin Peter de Courtenay, count of Nevers, made their way to Genoa and from there returned to France. Philip Augustus decided to marry again, and so August 15, 1193 he married Ingeborg of Denmark (1175-1236), the daughter of King Valdemar I of Denmark. She was renamed Isambour, and Stephan of Dornik described her as "very kind, young of age but old of wisdom." For some unknown reason, Philip Augustus was repulsed by her, and he refused to have her be crowned queen. Ingeborg protested this treatment, so he shut her up in a convent. He asked the pope for an annulment, on the grounds of non-consummation. Philip Augustus had not counted on Ingeborg, however; she insisted that the marriage had been consummated, and she was his wife and the rightful queen of France. In the meantime Philip Augustus had married for a third time on May 7, 1196 to Princess Agnès of Méranie (c.1180 - July 29, 1201). Their children were: # Marie (1198 - October 15, 1224) # Philippe Hurepel (1200 - 1234) Pope Innocent III declared that this new marriage was null and void, since Philip Augustus was still wed to Ingeborg. He ordered Philip to part from Agnès and when he did not, the pope placed France under an interdict in 1199. This continued until September 7, 1200. Due to pressure from the pope and from Ingeborg's brother, King Valdemar II of Denmark, Philip Augustus finally took Ingeborg back as his queen in 1213. Philip Augustus would play a significant role in one of the greatest centuries of innovation in construction and in education. With Paris as his capital, he had the main thoroughfares paved, built a central market, Les Halles, continued the construction begun in 1163 of the Gothic Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, constructed the Louvre as a fortress and gave a charter to the University of Paris (the Sorbonne) in 1200. Under his guidance, Paris became the first city of teachers the medieval world had known. Philip Augustus died July 14, 1223 at Mantes and was interred in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son by Isabelle of Hainaut, Louis VIII.

Sources

- Payne, Robert. The Dream and the Tomb, 1984
- Baldwin, John W. The Government of Philip Augustus, 1991 Category:1165 births Category:1223 deaths Category:Natives of Ile-de-France Category:French monarchs Category:Crusades Category:Dukes of Brittany Category:Counts of Vermandois ja:フィリップ2世 (フランス王)

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city of France. Located on the river Seine in the country's north, it is a major cultural and political centre of Europe and the world's most visited city. The area's first inhabitants, a Celtic tribe named the "Parisii" give Paris its name. Its eponym, "the City of Lights" (la Ville Lumière), dates from 1828 when it became the first city in Europe to light its main boulevards with gas street lamps along its Champs-Élysées. The city of Paris is also widely referred to as the "most romantic city in the world." As a cultural and political centre for Europe since the early Middle Ages, Paris preserves many vestiges of its past. While hosting numerous art galleries, museums and theatres, it has grown into a significant centre of international trade with ever-growing modern business districts, including La Défense, the de facto city centre built for the purpose. In addition to the head offices of nearly half of all France's companies and the offices of many major international firms, Paris hosts the headquarters of many international trade and social organisations, including the OECD and UNESCO. The city of Paris proper has 2.1 million inhabitants , but its centre of influence extends to cover a "Greater Paris" metropolitan area that has a population of 11.1 million , over one sixth of the French population. Paris is the third largest metropolitan area in Europe (after Moscow and London), and approximately the 22nd most populous metropolitan area in the world. Paris is also the centre of an economic network that, within the limits of its Île-de-France région (of which it is also the capital), with a GDP of nearly €450 billion , is alone the producer of over one quarter of France's wealth. Because of its financial, business, political, and tourism activities, Paris today is one of the world's major transport destinations. Along with New York, London and Tokyo, it is often listed as one of the four major global cities.

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Name of Paris and its Inhabitants

Paris is pronounced (RP) or in English, and Image:ltspkr.png in French. The original Latin name of Paris was Lutetia (), or Lutetia Parisiorum, known in French as Lutèce (). Lutetia was later dropped in favor of only Paris, based on the name of the Gallic Parisi tribe, whose name perhaps comes from the Celtic Gallic word parios, meaning "caldron", but this is not certain. Traditionally, Paris was known as Paname () in French slang, but this vulgar appellation is gradually losing currency. (.) The inhabitants of Paris are known as Parisians in English, as Parisiens (Image:ltspkr.png ) in French. The pejorative term Parigot (Image:ltspkr.png ) is sometimes used in French slang. Locally, inhabitants of the Paris suburbs are known as banlieusards (Image:ltspkr.png ). Inhabitants of the whole Paris metropolitan area are known as Franciliens (Image:ltspkr.png ), i.e. from Île-de-France.

Geography

Coordinates

Paris is located at (48.866667, 2.333056). The city straddles a north-bending arc of the river Seine. This waterway is dotted with a few islands along its path through the city, and the largest and most central of these, the Île de la Cité, is the Capital's heart and origin.

Area

The city (commune) of Paris proper has an area of 105.398 km² (40.69 mi², or 26,044 acres). Excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, the actual area of the city is only 86.928 km² (33.56 mi², or 21,480 acres), being in the form of an almost regular oval, with a circumference of 35.5 km (22 miles). This oval extends 9.5 km (6 miles) from north to south, and 11 km (7 miles) from east to west. circumference This is not a very large area, and in fact the commune of Paris is only the 113th largest commune of France (out of 36,782 communes). By comparison, Greater London has an area of 1,572 km² (607 mi²), and New York City has an area of 786 km² (303 mi²). This peculiar fact arises because, unlike other large western cities such as New York, London, or Berlin, whose territories were enlarged in the 20th century, the borders of Paris have not been changed since 1860 when Napoleon III and the prefect Haussmann annexed the then suburban communes surrounding Paris, such as Montmartre and Auteuil, more than doubling the the city's area to 78 km² (30.1 mi²), and creating the 20 arrondissements of Paris. Since 1860, the limits of Paris have only marginally changed, reaching the 86.9 km² figure indicated above. In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes were officially incorporated into the city of Paris. Thus, the Brooklyn, Greenwich, or Charlottenburg of Paris are still outside the city of Paris proper, and it can be more accurately compared to the borough of Manhattan (59.5 km²/23 mi²) or to Inner London (319 km²/123 mi²). Even the largest business and financial district of Paris, known as La Défense, is outside the city boundary. The urban area (unité urbaine) of Paris, i.e. the contiguous built-up area, extends past the administrative city limits to cover 2,723 km² (1,051.4 mi²) (INSEE 1999), or an area about 26 times larger than the city itself. The metropolitan area (aire urbaine) of Paris, i.e. the built-up area plus the commuter belt, reaches in part beyond the surrounding Île-de-France administative région to cover 14,518 km² (5,605.5 mi²) (INSEE 1999), or an area 138 times larger than the city of Paris. région]]

Altitude

The altitude of Paris varies, with several prominent hills, of which the highest is Montmartre at 130m about sea level. The highest elevation in the urban area of Paris is in the Forest of Montmorency (Val-d'Oise département), 19.5 km. (12 miles) north-northwest of the center of Paris as the crow flies, at 195 metres (640 ft) above sea-level.

Temperatures

The lowest temperature recorded in central Paris (since 1873) was –23.9 °C (–11.0 °F) and –25.6 °C (–14.1 °F) in the southeastern suburb of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés on December 10, 1879 . The highest temperature was recorded on July 28, 1947 when the temperature in central Paris (Parc Montsouris) reached 40.4 °C (104.7 °F). During the European heat wave of 2003, which caused the death of many elderly people in France, the temperature in central Paris reached 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) (Parc Montsouris) and 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) at Le Bourget Airport in the northern suburbs. A record high night-time minimum of 25.5 °C (77.9 °F) in Parc Montsouris was set on August 11 and August 12, 2003.

History

Paris was occupied by a Gallic tribe until the Romans arrived in 52 BC. The invaders referred to the previous occupants as the Parisii, but called their new city Lutetia, meaning "marshy place". About 50 years later the city had spread to the left bank of the Seine, now known as the Latin Quarter (Le Quartier latin), and was renamed "Paris". Roman rule had ceased by 508, when Clovis the Frank made the city the capital of the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks. In 845, Paris was sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. Thereafter the weakness of the late Carolingian kings of France led to the gradual rise in power of the Counts of Paris; Odo, Count of Paris was elected king of France by feudal lords while Charles III was also claiming the throne. Finally, in 987 Hugh Capet, count of Paris, was elected king of France by the great feudal lords after the last Carolingian king died. Hugh Capet, 1789]] In the 12th and 13th centuries the city grew strongly. Main thoroughfares were paved, the first Louvre was built as a fortress, and several churches, including the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, were constructed or begun. Several schools on the Left Bank were grouped together into the Sorbonne, which counts Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas Aquinas among its early scholars. In the Middle Ages, Paris prospered as a trading and intellectual nucleus, interrupted temporarily when the Black Death struck in the 14th century, and again in the 15th century when urban revolts drove the royal court to abandon the city for almost 100 years. In the 18th century, the royal residence was moved from Paris to nearby Versailles. The French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. From the establishment of the French Second Empire in 1852 until 1914, Paris experienced the largest development in its history. The famous Parisian Haussmann Style dates back to this period, during which much of the Paris known today was planned and constructed. For the World's Fair of 1889 which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, the Eiffel Tower was built, the best-known landmark in Paris and tallest structure in the world until 1930. The large scale display of electricity and light bulbs at the world's fairs of 1889 and 1900, which was a first in the world, earned Paris the nickname "City of Lights". During World War I, Paris was at the forefront of the war effort, having been spared invasion by the German Army due to the French and English victory at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914. In the Interwar period, Paris was famed for its cultural and artistic life, as well as its nightlife. From Russian exiled artists fleeing the Bolsheviks (such as composer Igor Stravinsky), to Spanish painters (such as Picasso or Dalí), to US writers (such as Hemingway), Paris became a melting pot of artists from all around the world. In June 1940, five weeks after the start of the German attack on France, a partially-evauated Paris fell to German occupation forces, who remained there until late August 1944. Paris was fortunate to be the one of the few large cities in Europe that suffered almost no destruction from the war, preserving its 19th century architecture intact. In the post-war period, Paris experienced its largest development since the end of the Belle Époque in 1914. The suburbs around the city proper (commune) of Paris began to expand considerably, with the construction of large social estates known as cités and the beginning of the business district La Défense. In the late 1960s, the Tour Montparnasse, a large, modern skyscraper, was built just south of the Jardin du Luxembourg. Its controversial height and location sparked immediate changes in zoning and administrative rules that now restrict skyscrapers to La Défense. Since the mid-1980s, there has been periodic unrest, sometimes degenerating into riots, in the poor immigrant neighbourhoods of the outer suburbs of Paris, especially in the cités, which have gradually become ghettos. In late 2005 a wave of riots erupted in the Paris suburbs, with thousands of cars and tens of public buildings burnt.

Demographics

wave of riots erupted in the Paris suburbs.]]

Density

At the 1999 French census the population density in the city of Paris was 20,164 inh. per km² (52,225 inh. per sq. mile). Excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, the density in the city was actually 24,448 inh. per km² (63,321 inh. per sq. mile). As a matter of comparison, the density in Manhattan at the 2000 US census was 25,846 inh. per km² (66,940 inh. per sq. mile), and the density in Inner London at the 2001 UK census was 8,663 inh. per km² (22,438 inh. per sq. mile). The population density in the city of Paris is very high compared to those of most western cities, which are rarely as crowded as Paris (except for Manhattan). The density in Paris is comparable to the densities met within Asian cities. In many western cities, people have left the city center in the 20th century to relocate to the distant suburbs, leaving the city center as a business district dead at night. Although the city of Paris has also experienced a decline in population since the 1920s, it has nonetheless seen fewer inhabitants relocating to the suburbs than has occurred in other western cities. More precisely, people relocating to the suburbs were for the most part replaced by new people attracted to an urban lifestyle, and buildings were not converted into offices as systematically as has happened elsewhere, such as in London where the inhabitants have left the city center since the Second World War, and the density of Inner London is now much lower than that of Paris. This is most striking in the medieval heart of both metropolises: the City of London and the four first arrondissements of Paris were the medieval heart of each metropolis, with densities reaching 75,000 to 100,000 inh. per km² before the Industrial Revolution. Today, the City of London is almost empty, with a population density of only 2,478 inh. per km² (6,417 inh. per sq. mile) in 2001, whereas the four first arrondissements of Paris still have a density of 18,139 inh. per km² (46,979 inh. per sq. mile) in 1999, seven times more dense than in the City of London. Today, the most crowded arrondissement in the city of Paris is the 11th arrondissement, with a density reaching 40,672 inh. per km² (105,339 inh. per sq. mile) in 1999. Some neighborhoods in the east of this arrondissement are known to have densities of almost 100,000 inh. per km² (260,000 inh. per sq. mile).

Population Growth

At the 1999 census, the population of the city of Paris (excluding suburbs) was 2,125,246. The population of the metropolitan area of Paris was 11,174,743. Historically, the population of the city of Paris peaked in 1921, when it reached 2.9 million. However, there has been since then a movement toward living in suburbs, as well as the gentrification of many areas of inner Paris, and the use of available space for offices rather than dwellings, although this phenomenon was not as massive as happened in London or in American cities. These tendencies are controversial, and the current city administration is trying to reverse them. As a matter of fact, as of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city reached 2,142,800 inhabitants, increasing for the first time since 1954. As for the metropolitan area, it reached approximately 11.5 million inhabitants in 2004, growing twice as fast in the 2000s as it did in the 1990s. The metropolitan area of Paris has been in continuous expansion since the end of the French Wars of Religion at the end of the 16th century (with only brief setbacks during the French Revolution and World War II). As can be seen from the figures, only 18.5% of the inhabitants of the metropolitan area of Paris live inside the city of Paris, while 81.5% live in the suburbs. Visitors to Paris, who mostly stay inside the city, are usually not aware that 81.5% of "Parisians" actually live outside of the city itself, in its very extended suburbs. A majority of Parisians also work outside of the city proper: at the 1999 census, there were 5,089,179 jobs in the metropolitan area of Paris, 32.5% of which were located in the city of Paris proper, while 67.5% were located outside of the city. These peculiar facts are due to the conservativeness of French administrative limits (see Geography section above). For comparisons, in the metropolitan area of London, approximately 60% of people live inside Greater London proper (2001 census), while in the New York-Newark-Bridgeport metropolitan area, 37.8% of people live inside New York City (2000 census). Even in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County metropolitan area, 22.6% of people live inside the city of Los Angeles proper. Paris can be more rightly compared to the San Francisco Bay Area, where only 11% of inhabitants live inside the city of San Francisco proper. However, unlike in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is no city inside the metropolitan area of Paris that rivals Paris, the largest city (commune) after Paris being Boulogne-Billancourt, with only 108,300 inhabitants in 2004. :See also: Historical population tables

Muséification

As a result, a so-called "muséification" (museumification) of the city of Paris is feared. Already, all airports, the largest financial and business district (La Défense), the main food wholesale market (Rungis), major renowned schools (École Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, etc.), research laboratories (in Saclay or Évry), the largest sport stadium (Stade de France), and even some ministries (Ministry of Transportation) are now located outside of the city of Paris. Similarly, the National Archives of France are due to relocate to the northern suburbs before 2010. It is feared that the city of Paris is turning into a museum for tourists and Amélie nostalgists, while the real economic activity and 21st century development take place elsewhere in the metropolitan area. With some of the most stringent protection laws in the world, it is virtually impossible to build new buildings inside the city. Recent proposals by Paris' new mayor, Bertrand Delanoë to gather renowned architects to build skyscrapers on the outskirts of the city center, have been met with strong opposition on all sides. Delanoë wished to scrap the building height limit dating back to Haussmann in the 19th century, and build upwards to compensate for the lack of space on the ground, as was done in Manhattan. The project also aimed to revitalise Paris in the 21st century, rivaling world cities like Shanghai, or even London where city planners have started building aesthetically acclaimed skyscrapers inside the City. The probable failure of the project may be seen as another sign of the "muséification" of the city of Paris.

Immigration

The metropolitan area of Paris is one of the most multi-cultural in Europe. At the 1999 census, 19.4% of the total population of the metropolitan area were born outside of metropolitan France. As a comparison: at the 2001 UK census, 19.5% of the total population of the metropolitan area of London was born outside of the (metropolitan) United Kingdom, while at the 2000 US census 27.5% of the total population of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport metropolitan area was born outside of the United States (50 states), and 31.9% of the total population of the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County metropolitan area was born outside of the United States (50 states). Still at the 1999 French census, 4.2% of the total population of the metropolitan area of Paris were recent migrants (i.e. people who were not living in France in 1990). The most recent immigrants to Paris come essentially from mainland China and from Africa.

Economy

. See main article for references concerning the figures cited here.
Size
Africa The metropolitan area of Paris is one of the engines of the global economy. In 2003 the GDP of the metropolitan area of Paris as calculated by INSEE and Eurostat was €448,933 million, or US$506.7 billion (at real exchange rates, not at PPP). If it were a country, the metropolitan area of Paris would be the 15th largest economy in the world (as of 2003), above Brazil (US$492.3 billion) and Russia (US$432.9 billion). Year in, year out, the metropolitan area of Paris accounts for about 29% of the total GDP of metropolitan France, although its population is only 18.7% of the total population of metropolitan France (as of 2004). In 2002, according to Eurostat, the GDP of the metropolitan area of Paris accounted alone for 4.5% of the total GDP of the European Union (of 25 members), although its population is only 2.45% of the total population of the EU25. Although in terms of population the Paris metropolitan area is only approximately the 20th largest metropolitan area in the world, its GDP is the sixth largest in the world after the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, London and Osaka. At the 1999 census there were 5,089,170 persons employed in the metropolitan area of Paris, 31.5% of whom worked inside the city of Paris proper and 16% in the Hauts-de-Seine (92) département, home of the new La Défense business district, to the west of the city proper, while the remaining 52.5% worked in the suburbs.
Economic sectors
The economy of Paris is extremely diverse and has not yet adopted a specialization inside the global economy (unlike Los Angeles with the entertainment industry, or London with financial services). The tourism industry, for instance, employs only 3.6% of the total workforce of the metropolitan area (as of 1999) and is by no means a major component of the economy. The Paris economy is essentially a service economy. Its manufacturing base is still important, the Paris metropolitan area remaining one of the manufacturing powerhouses of Europe, but it is declining, while there is a clear shift of the Paris economy towards high value-added services, in particular services. Reflecting the diversity of the Paris economy, at the 1999 census 16.5% of the 5,089,170 persons employed in the metropolitan area worked in business services, 13.0% in commerce (retail and wholesale trade), 12.3% in manufacturing, 10.0% in public administrations and defense, 8.7% in health services, 8.2% in transportation and communications, 6.6% in education, and the remaining 24.7% in many other economic sectors. Among the manufacturing sector, the largest employers were the electronic and electrical industry (17.9% of the total manufacturing workforce in 1999) and the publishing and printing industry (14.0% of the total manufacturing workforce), the remaining 68.1% of the manufacturing workforce being distributed among many other industries.
Administration
printing Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements, numbered in a clockwise spiral outwards from the Ier arrondissement at the center of the city. Two parks on the edge of the city proper, Bois de Boulogne on the west and Bois de Vincennes on the east, belong to the 16th and 12th arrondissements respectively. Citizens of each arrondissement elect a local council, which in turn elects the mayor of the arrondissement. A selection of members from each arrondissement council form the Council of Paris, which itself has the dual function of being council for the Paris municipality and for Paris as a départment. The Council of Paris elects the mayor of Paris. mayor of Paris mayor of Paris has been the Mayor of Paris since March 18, 2001]] It must be noted that modern Paris had no Mayor before 1977. Paris in fact has yet to completely emerge from the "prefecture" administrative system created by Bonaparte in 1800; its laws are still governed by its State-appointed Prefecture of Police (as is its Fire Brigade) and has no municipal police force, although it does have its own traffic wardens. The city of Paris also has other jurisdictional titles: it is a commune and also a département. As a département, until 1968 it stretched beyond its city limits as a Département 75 (or Seine département) to include its immediate suburbs, but that year it was split into four: Paris proper (75) became a smaller département, and in a ring around it three others were created: (Hauts-de-Seine (92), Seine-Saint-Denis (93) and Val-de-Marne (94)). Returning to the Prefecture of Police jurisdiction, it still governs Paris and its closest départements as a unique "Prefecture de Paris". From 1986 Paris became the capital of an Île-de-France région of eight départements: itself as a département, the three abovementioned départements and a yet larger concentric circle of four much larger départements. The three inner département are generally called "la petite couronne", or "small crown", and the outer and larger four "la grande couronne". The Île-de-France région has its own administration, as well as each of the départements in the petite couronne and grande couronne. : See also: Paris mayors (comprehensive list)
Transport
Paris mayors Paris mayors Paris is served by two principal airports: Orly Airport, which is south of Paris, and the Charles De Gaulle International Airport in nearby Roissy-en-France. A third and much smaller airport, at the town of Beauvais, 70 km (45 mi) to the north of the city, is used by charter and low-cost airlines. Le Bourget airport nowadays only hosts business jets, air trade shows and the aerospace museum. Paris is a central hub of the national rail network of very fast (TGV) and normal (Corail) trains, which interconnects with a high-speed regional network, the RER. Six major railway stations, Gare du Nord, Gare Montparnasse, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Lyon, Gare d'Austerlitz, and Gare Saint-Lazare connect this train network to the world famous and highly efficient underground metro system, the Métro. This latter is a network of 380 stations (more than the London Underground) connected by 221.6km of rails There are two tangential tramway lines in the suburbs: Line T1 runs from Saint-Denis to Noisy-le-Sec, line T2 runs from La Défense to Issy. A third line along the southern inner orbital road is currently under construction. Administratively speaking, the public transportation networks of the Paris region are coordinated by the Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France (STIF), formerly Syndicat des transports parisiens (STP). [http://www.stif-idf.fr/ official site] Members of the syndicate include the RATP, which operates the Parisian and some suburban busses, the Métro, and sections of the RER; the SNCF, which operates the rest of the RER and the suburban train lines; and other operators. The city is also the hub of France's motorway network, and is surrounded by an orbital road, the Périphérique, which roughly follows the path of final, 19th-century fortifications around Paris. On/off ramps of the Périphérique are called 'Portes', as they correspond to the former city gates in these fortifications. Most of these 'Portes' have parking areas and a metro station, where non-residents are advised to leave cars. Traffic in Paris is notoriously heavy, slow and tiresome. :See also: Transport in France
Cultural Centres and Organisations
Transport in France Transport in France basilica on Montmartre.]]
Monuments and Landmarks
The three most famous landmarks of Paris are almost certainly the Eiffel Tower, originally a "temporary" construction for the 1889 Universal Expositon, the Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte and the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a 12th-century ecclesiastical masterpiece. Other than the Eiffel Tower, the lone skyscraper Tour Montparnasse and Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on the hill Montmartre are easily visible from many locations around the city, while the window-shaped Grande Arche in La Défense marks the west.

Museums
Paris landmarks's most famous treasures.]]
- Louvre - a huge museum housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue.
- Musée d'Orsay - an art museum housed in a converted 19th century railway station, which contains mainly Impressionist works.
- Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg - houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne and a cultural center with a large public library. Famous for its external skeleton of service pipes.
- Musée Rodin - a large collection of works by France's most famous sculptor
- Musée du Montparnasse in the former residence of artist Marie Vassilieff at 21 Avenue du Maine, details the history of the great artistic community of Montparnasse.
- Musée Cluny, also known as the Musée National du Moyen-Age, houses a large collection of art and artifacts from the Middle Ages, including the tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn.
- Musée Picasso, exhibits nearly 3000 pieces of art by Pablo Picasso as well as art from his own personal collection including works by Cézanne and Matisse.
Historical Centres

- Montmartre - historic area on the Butte, home to the