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June 12

June 12

June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining.

Events

- 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: In England rebels arrive at Blackheath.
- 1418 - An insurrection delivers Paris to the Burgundians.
- 1653 - First Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of the Gabbard – lasted until June 13.
- 1665 - England installs a municipal government in New York City. This was the former Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam.
- 1758 - French and Indian War: Siege of Louisbourg – James Wolfe's attack at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia commences.
- 1775 - American Revolution: British general Thomas Gage declares martial law in Massachusetts.
- 1859 - The Comstock Lode is discovered near Virginia City, Nevada.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Cold Harbor – General Ulysses S. Grant pulls his troops from their positions at Cold Harbor, Virginia and moves south.
- 1885 - At a murder trial in France, a roof collapses, killing 30 people.
- 1889 - 88 are killed in the Armagh rail disaster near Armagh in Northern Ireland.
- 1896 - J.T. Hearne sets a cricket record for the earliest date of taking 100 first-class wickets.
- 1898 - Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines' independence from Spain.
- 1922 - St.Louis Brown pitcher Hub Pruett strikes out Babe Ruth three consecutive times.
- 1922 - In Windsor Castle, King George V receives the colours of the six Irish regiments that are to be disbanded - the Royal Irish Regiment, the Connaught Rangers, the South Irish Horse, the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment, the Royal Munster Fusiliers and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
- 1931 - Charlie Parker equals cricket record for the earliest date to reach 100 wickets. Tich Freeman reaches 100 wickets a day later.
- 1935 - Senator Huey Long of Louisiana makes the longest speech on Senate record. The speech takes 15½ hours and was filled by 150,000 words.
- 1935 - Chaco War ends: A truce is called between Bolivia and Paraguay, fighting since 1932.
- 1939 - The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.
- 1940 - World War II: 13,000 British and French troops surrender to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
- 1942 - Holocaust: Future essayist Anne Frank receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
- 1963 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City.
- 1963 - Civil rights leader Medgar Evers is shot dead in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith.
- 1964 - South Africa sentences Nelson Mandela to life in prison.
- 1967 - The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/loving.html]
- 1967 - Venera program: Venera 4 is launched (it will become the first space probe to enter another planet's atmosphere and successfully return data).
- 1978 - David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam" killer in New York City, is sentenced to 365 years in prison for six killings.
- 1979 - Bryan Allen flies the Gossamer Albatross, man powered, across the English Channel.
- 1981 - Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.
- 1982 - in New York City's Central Park, 750,000 people rally against nuclear weapons. Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Linda Ronstadt are in attendance.
- 1987 - The Central African Republic's former Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa is sentenced to death for crimes he had committed during his 13-year rule.
- 1987 - Cold War: U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall at Brandenburg Gate.
- 1988 - Rusty Wallace wins the last Nascar Winston Cup race at the Riverside International Raceway
- 1990 - Russia Day – The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
- 1991 - Russians elect Boris Yeltsin as the president of their republic.
- 1994 - Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are murdered outside her home in Los Angeles, California. O. J. Simpson is later acquitted of the killings, but is held liable in a civil suit.
- 1994 - German districts Röbel and Waren are merged to form Müritz
- 1996 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a panel of federal judges blocks a law against indecency on the internet.
- 1997 - Interleague play begins in baseball, ending a 126-year tradition of separating the major leagues until the World Series.
- 1997 - The United States Department of the Treasury unveils a new $50 bill meant to be more counterfeit-resistant. [http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/rr1746.htm]
- 1999 - Kosovo War: Operation Joint Guardian begins – NATO-led United Nations peacekeeping force KFor enters the province of Kosovo in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- 2000 - Sandro Rosa do Nascimento takes hostages while robbing Bus #174 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the highly-publicized standoff becomes a media circus and ends with the death of do Nascimento and a hostage.
- 2004 - A 1.3 kg chondrite type meteorite strikes a house in Ellerslie, New Zealand causing serious damage but no injuries.

Births

- 1107 - Emperor Gaozong of China (d. 1187)
- 1519 - Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1574)
- 1577 - Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (d. 1643)
- 1659 - Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Japanese samurai (d. 1719)
- 1775 - Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (d. 1851)
- 1827 - Johanna Spyri, Swiss author (d. 1901)
- 1861 - William Attewell, English cricketer (d. 1927)
- 1875 - Sam De Grasse, Canadian actor (d. 1953)
- 1890 - Egon Schiele, Austrian painter and graphic artist (d. 1918)
- 1892 - Djuna Barnes, American author (d. 1982)
- 1897 - Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1977)
- 1899 - Fritz Albert Lipmann, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1986)
- 1903 - Emmett Hardy, American musician (d. 1925)
- 1905 - Ray Barbuti, American athlete (d. 1988)
- 1910 - Bill Naughton, British playwright (d. 1992)
- 1915 - Christopher Mayhew, British politician (d. 1997)
- 1915 - David Rockefeller, American banker
- 1916 - Irwin Allen, American film producer (d. 1991)
- 1918 - Samuel Z. Arkoff, American film producer (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Uta Hagen, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Dave Berg, American cartoonist (d. 2002)
- 1920 - Jim Siedow, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1921 - James Houston, Canadian artist (d. 2005)
- 1924 - George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
- 1928 - Vic Damone, American singer
- 1929 - Brigid Brophy, British writer
- 1929 - Anne Frank, German-born diarist (d. 1945)
- 1930 - Jim Nabors, American actor and musician
- 1932 - Rona Jaffe, American novelist
- 1941 - Marv Albert, American sportscaster
- 1941 - Chick Corea, American musician
- 1942 - Bert Sakmann, German physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1945 - Pat Jennings, Irish footballer
- 1946 - Harry Glasper, British writer
- 1951 - Brad Delp, American singer
- 1957 - Javed Miandad, Pakistani cricketer and coach
- 1958 - Rebecca Holden, American actress and singer
- 1959 - John Linnell, American musician (They Might Be Giants)
- 1964 - Paula Marshall, American actress
- 1973 - Darryl White, Australian footballer
- 1974 - Hideki Matsui, Japanese Major League Baseball player
- 1974 - Jason Mewes, American actor
- 1976 - Thomas Sorensen, Danish footballer
- 1981 - Adriana Lima, Brazilian-born model
- 1983 - Christine Sinclair, Canadian soccer player

Deaths

- 816 - Pope Leo III
- 1020 - Lyfing, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1418 - Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, Constable of France (b. 1360)
- 1435 - John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel, English military leader (b. 1408)
- 1565 - Adrianus Turnebus, French classical scholar (b. 1512)
- 1567 - Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1490)
- 1647 - Thomas Farnaby, English grammarian
- 1675 - Duke Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy (b. 1634)
- 1734 - James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French military commander (b. 1670)
- 1758 - Augustus William, Prince of Prussia (b. 1722)
- 1778 - Philip Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1716)
- 1816 - Pierre François Charles Augereau, duc de Castiglione, French marshal (b. 1757)
- 1912 - Frédéric Passy, French economist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1822)
- 1917 - Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan pianist (b. 1853)
- 1957 - Jimmy Dorsey, American musician (b. 1904)
- 1962 - John Ireland, English composer (b. 1879)
- 1963 - Medgar Evers, American civil rights activist (b. 1925)
- 1966 - Hermann Scherchen, German conductor (b. 1891)
- 1978 - Guo Moruo, Chinese writer (b. 1892)
- 1980 - Milburn Stone, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1982 - Karl von Frisch, Austrian zoologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1886)
- 1983 - Norma Shearer, Canadian actress (b. 1902)
- 1994 - Ronald Goldman, American actor and model (murdered) (b. 1969)
- 1994 - Nicole Brown Simpson, American ex-wife of O. J. Simpson (murdered) (b. 1959)
- 1995 - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (b. 1920)
- 1997 - Bulat Okudzhava, Russian writer and musician (b. 1924)
- 2002 - Bill Blass, American fashion designer (b. 1922)
- 2003 - Gregory Peck, American actor (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances

- Roman Empire – sixth day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta
- Philippines – Araw ng Kalayaan (Independence Day) 1898
- Russian Federation – Russia Day (Independence Day) 1990
- United Kingdom – Trooping the Colour (Military celebration of the monarch's official birthday held in London on the second Saturday of June)
- Brazil – Dia dos Namorados
- World Day Against Child Labor

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/12 BBC: On This Day] ---- June 11 - June 13 - May 12 - July 12 – listing of all days ---- ko:6월 12일 ms:12 Jun ja:6月12日 simple:June 12 th:12 มิถุนายน

June 12

June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining.

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

1381

Events

- June 12 - Peasants' Revolt: In England rebels arrive at Blackheath.
- June 14 - King Richard II of England meets the leaders of Peasants Revolt.
- The revolt is discussed in John Gower's Vox Clamantis and Froissart's Chronicles.

Births

- May 9 - Johann Schiltberger, German traveller and writer (died 1440)
- October 13 - Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel, English politician (died 1415)
- John I, Duke of Bourbon (died 1434)
- Saint Rita of Cascia (died 1457)

Deaths

- March 24 - Catherine of Sweden, Swedish saint
- May 15 - Eppelein von Gailingen, German robber baron
- June 14 - Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
- June 15 - John Cavendish, Lord Chief Justice of England
- December 2 - John of Ruysbroeck, Flemish mystic
- December 27 - Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, English politician
- Wat Tyler, English rebel Category:1381 ko:1381년

Peasants' Revolt

:See Peasants' War for the German Peasants' Revolt of 1524-1526 :See also: 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, Tyler’s Rebellion or Great Rising of 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. The names of some of its leaders, John Ball, Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, are still familiar even though very little is actually known about these individuals. The revolt was precipitated by heavy-handed attempts to enforce the third poll tax, first levied in 1377 supposedly to finance military campaigns overseas — a continuation of the Hundred Years' War initiated by King Edward III of England. The third poll tax, unlike the two earlier, was not levied on a flat rate basis (as in 1377) nor according to schedule (as in 1379), but in a manner that appeared more arbitrary and hence unfair. Equally unfair, and a longer-term factor, was the way the Statute of Labourers of 1351 was enforced. The Black Death, that ravaged England in 1348 and 1349 had greatly reduced the labour force, and as a consequence, labourers were able to demand enhanced terms and conditions. The Statute attempted to curb this by pegging wages and restricting the mobility of labour, but the probable effect was that labourers employed by lords were effectively exempted, but labourers working for other employers, both artisans and more substantial peasants, were liable to be fined or held in the stocks. In June 1381, two groups of common people from the southeastern counties of Kent and Essex marched on London. The most vociferous of their leaders, Walter, or "Wat" Tyler, was at the head of a contingent from Kent. When the rebels arrived in Blackheath on June 12, the renegade Lollard priest, John Ball, preached a sermon including the famous question that has echoed down the centuries: "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?"^[1]. The following day the rebels, encouraged by the sermon, crossed London Bridge into the heart of the city. Meanwhile the 'Men of Essex' had gathered with Jack Straw at Great Baddow and had marched on London, arriving at Stepney. Instead of what was expected from a riot however, there was only a systematic attack on certain properties, many of them associated with John of Gaunt and/or the Hospitallier Order. On June 14, they are reputed to have been met by the young king himself, and to have presented him with a series of demands, including the dismissal of some of his more unpopular ministers and the effective abolition of serfdom. One of the more intriguing demands of the peasants was "that there should be no law within the realm save the law of Winchester" - thought to be possibly a reference to the more equitable days of king Alfred the Great, when Winchester was the capital of England. Winchester At the same time, a group of rebels stormed the Tower of London — after likely being let in — and summarily executed those hiding there, including the Lord Chancellor (Simon of Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was particularly associated with the poll tax), and the Lord Treasurer (Robert de Hales, the Grand Prior of the Knights Hospitallers of England). The Savoy Palace of the king's uncle John of Gaunt was one of the London buildings destroyed by the rioters. Richard II agreed to reforms such as fair rents, and the abolition of serfdom. At Smithfield, on the following day, further negotiations with the king were arranged, but on this occasion the killing of Wat Tyler led to the dispersal of the rebel group. Most of the other leaders were pursued, captured and executed, including John Ball. Following the collapse of the revolt, the king's concessions were quickly revoked, and the tax was levied. Despite its name, participation in the Peasants' Revolt was not confined to serfs or even to the lower classes. Although the most significant events took place in the capital, there were violent encounters throughout eastern England -- but those involved hastened to disassociate themselves in the months that followed. John Gower, friend of Geoffrey Chaucer, saw the peasants as unjustified in their cause. In his Vox Clamantis, he sees the peasant action as the work of the Anti-Christ and a sign of evil prevailing over virtue. Froissart's Chronicles devotes twenty pages to the revolt. William Morris described the revolt in A Dream of John Ball (1888). In the book Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry (1990) author John J. Robinson (not a professional historian), combines scholarly research with entertaining storytelling to make the case that the leadership of the revolt was somehow involved with the disbanded Knights Templar, and makes broad correlations throughout his book to Freemasonry and the Templar Order. These claims are unique to Robinson and are warily received by professional scholars of the period.

Notes

- Gordon Stein, University of Rhode Island. Library Journal review 1989.[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0871316021]

External links

- A [http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/peasant.html contemporary chronicle], the final meeting of king Richard II and the leader of the Peasant's Revolt Wat Tyler.
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/voices/voices_revolt.shtml "The Peasants' Revolt"] BBC Radio program. 30-mins.
- [http://www.britannia.com/history/articles/peasantsrevolt.html Britannia:The History of the Peasants' Revolt by Jeff Hobbs] with useful bibliography
- [http://www.ku.edu/kansas/medieval/108/texts/froissart.html "Wat Tyler's Rebellion"], from The Chronicles of Froissart, , pp 61-63 includes John Ball's speech.
- [http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/muhlberger/froissart/king.htm "King Richard punishes the rebels in Kent"] from The Chronicles of Froissart, edited by Steve Muhlberger, Nipissing University.
- [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/357 A Dream of John Ball: a King's Lesson] by William Morris (Project Gutenberg etext)
- [http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa071798.htm "Conflagration: The Peasants' Revolt"], by Melissa Snell.

Books

- R. B. Dobson, editor, (2002), The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 (History in Depth) ISBN 0333255054 A collection of source materials
- Alastair Dunn (2004), The Peasants' Revolt: England's Failed Revolution Of 1381, ISBN 0752429655
- P. J. P. Goldberg (2004), Medieval England 1250-1550: A Social History, ISBN 0340577452 Chapter 13 is devoted to the Peasants' Revolt
- John J. Robinson, (1990), "Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry" ISBN 0871316021 Chapters 1-5 are dedicated to the Peasants' Revolt Category:History of England Category:History of London Category:Medieval popular revolt Category:Middle Ages Category:Peasant revolts ja:ワット・タイラーの乱 nb:Bondeopprøret i England

Blackheath, London

Blackheath is a suburb of London, divided between the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Greenwich. The borough boundary runs across the middle of the heath; Blackheath Village is on the south side of the heath, in Lewisham, while the Blackheath Standard area and Westcombe Park lie on the north-east side, in Greenwich. The name derives from the dark colour of the soil, and not, as was popularly believed for many years, from the burial of victims of the Black Death on the heath in the 14th century. Settled by Romans as a stopping point on Watling Street, Blackheath was also a rallying point for Wat Tyler's Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and for Jack Cade's Kentish rebellion in 1450. Wat Tyler is remembered by Wat Tyler Road on Blackheath Common. After pitching camp on Blackheath, Cornish rebels were defeated in the Battle of Deptford Bridge (sometimes called the Battle of Blackheath), just to the west, on 17 June 1497. With Watling Street crossing the heath carrying stagecoaches en route to north Kent and the Channel ports, it was also a notorious haunt of highwaymen during the 17th century. Many years later, Blackheath also had strong associations with the campaign for women's suffrage, the suffragette movement. The sizeable prestigious private estate of Blackheath Park, created by John Cator and known as the Cator Estate, is situated east of Blackheath village. Built in the late 1700s and early 1800s, it contains many fine examples of substantial Georgian and Victorian houses - most notably Michael Searles' The Paragon crescent - as well as some 1930s and 1960s additions. St Michael and All Angels Church, designed by local architect George Smith and completed in 1830, was dubbed the Needle of Kent in honour of its tall, thin spire (it is also nicknamed the Devil's Pick). The Cator Estate was built on part of the estate formerly owned by Sir John Morden, whose Morden College (1695) is another notable building to the south-east of the Heath. The main area of the village lies to the north side of Blackheath railway station, between the south side of the heath and the railway line, and is home to numerous shops, restaurants and pubs. All Saints' parish church is the only building on the heath itself. Just south of the railway station, on the edge of the Blackheath Park estate, is Blackheath Halls, a concert venue today owned and managed by Trinity College of Music (based in nearby Greenwich). Approximately one mile to the north-east, Blackheath Standard is a more modest shopping area, taking its name from the 'Royal Standard' pub. The heath is host to a popular free annual fireworks display on the Saturday in November closest to Guy Fawkes Night, jointly organised by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham.

Sporting associations

In 1608, according to tradition, Blackheath was the place where golf was introduced to England - the Royal Blackheath Golf Club (based in nearby Eltham since 1923) was one of the first golf associations established (1766) outside Scotland. Blackheath also gave its name to the first hockey club, established during the mid 19th century. However, Blackheath is perhaps most famous as the home of the Blackheath Rugby Club, founded in 1858, which was the first Rugby club in the world without restricted membership. The Blackheath club also organised the world's first rugby international (between England and Scotland in Edinburgh on 27 March 1871) and hosted the first international between England and Wales ten years later - the players meeting and getting changed at the Princess of Wales public house. With neighbouring Greenwich Park, Blackheath is also well-known as the start point of the London Marathon. This maintains a connection with athletics dating back to the establishment of the Blackheath Harriers (now Blackheath and Bromley Harriers) in 1878. The heath frequently hosts kite-flying competitions.

Famous residents

(in alphabetical order)
- Sophie Aldred, actress and television presenter, was raised in Blackheath and attended Blackheath High School.
- John Julius Angerstein, whose art collection formed the basis of the National Gallery, London in 1824, built Woodlands, Mycenae Road, Westcombe Park.
- Caroline of Brunswick, married to the Prince Regent, was banished in 1799 to a private residence ('The Pagoda' - attributed to architect Sir William Chambers) in Blackheath.
- James Callaghan, British Prime Minister 1976-1979, lived at Blackheath in the 1950s and 1960s, and his daughter Margaret went to Blackheath High School.
- Montague John Druitt, for many years a popular suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders, lived in Blackheath, at 9 Eliot Place, during the 1880s.
- Peter Martin Duncan (1824-1891), palaeontologist and doctor, practised in Blackheath during 1860s.
- Astronomer Royal Sir Frank Watson Dyson lived at 6 Vanbrugh Hill, SE3 between 1894 and 1906 (blue plaque).
- James Glaisher (1809-1903), who pioneered modern weather forecasting techniques, lived in Dartmouth Row.
- composer Charles Gounod lived at 15 Morden Road in 1870 (blue plaque).
- Malcolm Hardee, anarchic comedian lived briefly at 33 Glenluce Road in the late 1990s.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), American author, lived at 4 Pond Road in 1856 (blue plaque).
- Jools Holland OBE, TV personality and musician lives in Westcombe Park.
- Elisabeth Lutyens, composer, lived in Pond Road.
- E. Nesbit, author, moved to 16 Dartmouth Row in 1879.
- Donald McGill (1875-1962), postcard cartoonist lived at 5 Bennett Park (blue plaque).
- Sir Gregory Page, landowner, had houses in Westcombe Park and Wricklemarsh, near Lee.
- Sir James Clark Ross, who in 1831 located the magnetic North Pole, and whom after the Ross Island and Ross sea are named, lived on Eliot Place.
- Walter Napleton Stone (1891-1917), recipient of the Victoria Cross, was born in Blackheath.
- Terry Waite, humanitarian and hostage in Lebanon (1987-1991), lived in Blackheath.
- Sir Willard White, opera singer.
- Sir Alfred Yarrow, shipbuilder, lived at Woodlands, Mycenae Road, Westcombe Park from 1896.

Transport

Nearest places:
- Greenwich
- Kidbrooke
- Deptford
- Lee
- Shooter's Hill
- Catford
- Crofton Park
- Brockley
- Welling Nearest railway stations:
- Blackheath
- Greenwich
- Lee
- Lewisham
- Maze Hill
- Westcombe Park

External links

- [http://www.blackheathhalls.com Blackheath Halls website]
- [http://www.listedinlondon.com/blackheath/ Blackheath on the Web] Category:Districts of London Category:Greenwich Category:Lewisham

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.

__TOC__

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 fac