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Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum

: the entrance to the galleries lies below the glass pyramid]] The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. The building, a former royal palace, lies in the centre of Paris, between the Seine river and the Rue de Rivoli. Its central courtyard, now occupied by the Louvre glass pyramid, lies in the axis of the Champs-Élysées, and thus forms the nucleus from which the Axe historique springs. Part of the royal Palace of the Louvre was first opened to the public as a museum on November 8, 1793, during the French Revolution. The building it self was sent as a gift from the mighty Polish Empire in the year 700

The building

French Revolution The first royal "Castle of the Louvre" on this site was founded by Philippe II in 1190, as a fortress to defend Paris on its west against Viking attacks. In the 14th century, Charles V turned it into a palace, but Francois I and Henri II tore it down to build a real palace; the foundations of the original fortress tower are now under the Salle des Cariatides (Room of the Caryatids). The existing part of the Château du Louvre was begun in 1546. The architect Pierre Lescot introduced to Paris the new design vocabulary of the Renaissance, which had been developed in the châteaux of the Loire. His new wing for the old castle defined its status, as the first among the royal palaces. J. A. du Cerceau also worked on the Louvre. J. A. du Cerceau During his reign (1589 - 1610), King Henri IV added the Grande Galerie. More than a quarter of a mile long and one hundred feet wide, this huge addition was built along the bank of the Seine River and at the time was the longest edifice of its kind in the world. Henri IV, a promoter of the arts, invited hundreds of artists and craftsmen to live and work on the building's lower floors. This tradition continued for another two hundred years until Napoleon ended it. Louis XIII (1610-1643) completed the Denon Wing, which had been started by Catharine Medici in 1560. Today it has been renovated, as a part of the Grand Louvre Renovation Programme. The Richelieu Wing was also built by Louis XIII. It was part of the Minisrty of Economy of France, which took up most of the north wing of the palace. The Ministry was moved and the wing was renovated and turned into magnificient galleries which were inaugurated in 1993, the 200th anniversary of the Louvre Museum. Commissioned by King Louis XIV, architect Claude Perrault's eastern wing (1665 - 1680), crowned by an uncompromising Italian balustrade along its distinctly non-French flat roof, was a ground-breaking departure in French architecture. His severe design was chosen over a design provided by the great Bernini, who came to Paris for the purpose. Perrault had translated the Roman architect Vitruvius into French. Now Perrault's rhythmical paired columns form a shadowed colonnade with a central pedimented triumphal arch entrance raised on a high, rather defensive basement, in a restrained classicizing baroque manner that has provided models for grand edifices in Europe and America for centuries. The Metropolitan Museum in New York, for one example, reflects Perrault's Louvre design. Napoleon I built the Jardin du Carrousel. In those times this garden was the entrance to the Palais des Les Tuileries. The Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel (Triumph Arch) was built by Napoleon I in 1805, to commemorate his victories. The Louvre was still being added to by Napoleon III. The new wing of 1852 - 1857, by architects Visconti and Hector Lefuel, represents the Second Empire's version of Neo-Baroque, restlessly charged with detail everywhere and laden with sculpture. Work continued until 1876. In 1989, the Crystal Pyramid was inaugurated. It was deesigned and built by Ieoh Ming Pei. It was the first renovation of the Grand Louvre Project. Today, many renovations are taking place. The last one was finished two months ago. That was the renovation of the Carre Gallery, where the Mona Lisa is exhibited.

The museum

Mona Lisa Mona Lisa (1759). Three metres (ten feet) long, this is a painting of other paintings]] 1759]] The Louvre holds the rich artistic heritage of the French people from the early Capetian Kings through the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte and to the present day. Long managed by the French state under the Réunion des Musées Nationaux the Louvre has recently acquired powers of self-management as an "Etablissement Public Autonome" in order to better manage its growth. Since September 14, 2005, the Louvre museum has gradually forbidden the taking of photos of its artworks.[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/It_is_forbidden_to_take_pictures_%21] Among the thousands of priceless paintings is Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, perhaps the most famous painting in the world; it is housed in the Salle des Etats in a climate-controlled environment behind protective glass. Works of artists like Fragonard, Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Poussin, and David can also be seen. Among the well-known sculptures in the collection are the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. The collection of Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934), given to the Louvre in 1935, fills an exhibition room. It contains more than 40,000 engravings, nearly 3,000 drawings and 500 illustrated books. Besides art, the Louvre has many other types of exhibits, including archeology, history, and architecture. It has a large furniture collection, whose most spectacular item used to be the Bureau du Roi of the 18th century, now returned to the Palace of Versailles. The most recent significant modification of the Louvre was the "Grand Louvre" project, under president François Mitterrand. This opened the north wing of the building, which had hitherto housed government offices, and covered over several small internal courtyards. Most spectacular of all, it added a glass pyramid designed by the architect I. M. Pei at the center of the palace. The much expanded and re-organized Louvre reopened in 1989. The Louvre, being so famous, is widely used in novels and on television. Examples include a setting for the book The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, among others.

Le Louvre-Lens

A second Louvre will be built in Lens, Pas-de-Calais in the North of France.[http://www.nordpasdecalais.fr/louvrelens/intro.htm] The museum will be designed by the Japanese architecture cabinet [http://www.sanaa.co.jp/ Sanaa] and should open in 2009. It will be a group of glass and aluminum buildings in the middle of a large garden.

Access

Metro Palais-Royal-Musée-du-Louvre or Louvre-Rivoli.

Notable works

Famous artworks in the Louvre include:
- Et in Arcadia ego
- Lady of Auxerre
- Mona Lisa
- Nike of Samothrace (illustrated)
- Ship of Fools
- Venus de Milo
- The Virgin and Child with St. Anne
- La Pyramide Inversée Image:Poussinorig.jpg|Et in Arcadia ego Image:Lady-of-auxerre.jpg|Lady of Auxerre Image:Mona Lisa.jpg|Mona Lisa Image:Winged victory.jpg|Nike of Samothrace Image:BoschShipOfFools.jpg|Ship of Fools Image:Wenuszmf.jpg|Venus de Milo Image:Virginandchildwithstanne.JPG|The Virgin and Child with St. Anne Image:Invertedpyramidlouvre1.jpg|La Pyramide Inversée

See also


- WebLouvre Category:Art museums and galleries in Paris ko:루브르 박물관 ja:ルーヴル美術館 simple:Louvre

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 Basilica of the Sacré Coeur and also famous for the studios and cafés of many great artists.
- Champs-Élysées - a 17th-century garden promenade turned Avenue connection between the Concorde and Arc de Triomphe.
- Place de la Concorde - at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, built as the "Place Louis XV" site of the infamous guillotine. The Egyptian obleisk it holds today can be considered Paris's "oldest monument".
- Place de la Bastille - Former eastern stronghold and gate of Paris.
- Montparnasse - historic area on the Left Bank, famous for the its artists studios, music-halls, and café life.
- Quartier Latin - Paris's scholastic center from the 12th century, formerly stretching between the Left Bank's place Maubert and the Sorbonne university. Sorbonne in Paris. Given to the city in 1885, it faces west, toward the original Liberty in New York City.]]

Cemeteries

Many of Paris's illustrious historical figures have found rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Other notable cemeteries include Cimetière de Montmartre, Cimetière du Montparnasse, Cimetière de Passy and the Catacombs of Paris

Parks and Gardens

. Two of Paris's most famous gardens are the Tuileries Garden on the banks of the Seine next to the Louvre and the centrally-located Luxembourg Garden, which used to belong to a château built for the Marie de' Medici. During the Second Empire, Napoleon III created three vast gardens on the outskirts of Paris: Montsouris, Buttes Chaumont in the northeast, and Parc Monceau, formerly known as the folie de Chartres, in the northwest. On the western and eastern perimeters respectively are the two "forests", the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes.

Districts


- Les Halles - shopping precinct around an important metro connection station.
- Le Marais - trendy district on the Right Bank with large gay and Jewish populations
- l'Opéra - Shopping area with department stores such as Printemps and Galeries Lafayette

Boutiques, Department Stores and Hotels

Paris is famous for gastronomical establishments like Fauchon (delicatessen), near the Église de la Madeleine, or Berthillon (ice cream) on Île-Saint-Louis. Its department stores, e.g. Galeries Lafayette, Samaritaine (currently closed) or Printemps, are remarkable not only for the wide range of items they sell but also for their 19th-century or Art Nouveau architecture. Paris also hosts a number of famous hotels. The most prestigious are probably the Hôtel de Crillon on Place de la Concorde, and the nearby Hôtel Ritz Paris on Place Vendôme.

Nightlife


- Le Lido - cabaret on the Champs-Élysées famous for its exotic shows and where, as an American GI on leave with some army friends, Elvis Presley gave an impromptu concert.
- Moulin Rouge, Le Crazy Horse Saloon, Folies Bergères - other famous cabarets
- the Paris Olympia, le Zenith, Bercy, Bobino - concert halls
- The Buddha Bar, Barfly, Hotel Costes, Georges - trendy upscale restaurant / bars to see and be seen.
- Les Bains-Douches, le Man Ray, l'Elysée Montmartre, le Queen - famous and trendy nightclubs.
- The Rex Club, Le Tryptique, Le Batofar- good places for electro music (techno, electro-rock, D&B).

Sports Clubs

Paris's main sports clubs are Paris Saint-Germain, Football (soccer) club, Paris Basket Racing, Basketball team and Stade Français, Rugby union club.

Suburban Areas of Interest


- Business district
  - La Défense - major office, cinema and shopping complex, west of Paris.
  - Grande Arche de la Défense - built in line with the Louvre, place du Concorde and Arc de Triomphe.
- Chateaux and churches
  - Palace of Versailles - the former royal palace of Louis XIV and later kings, in the town of Versailles to the southeast of Paris.
  - Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Melun, a smaller palace on which Versailles was modelled.
  - Saint Denis Basilica - ancient Gothic Cathedral and burial site for many French monarchs, located north of the city.
- Civil Constructions
  - Arcueil Aqueduct - built in the 17th century and raised in 1874, it channels water from sources 156km to the south of Paris to the Montsouris reservoirs.
- Recreation parks and areas
  - Parc Astérix
  - Disneyland Resort Paris

References

# INSEE. Recensement de la population 1999. Paris. [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/FR/ST_ANA/D75/POPALLPOP1POP1AD75FR.html "Population totale par sexe et âge"]. Retrieved December 1, 2005. # INSEE. Recensement de la population 1999. Île-de-France. [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/FR/ST_ANA/R11/POPALLPOP1POP1AR11FR.html "Population totale par sexe et âge"]. Retrieved December 1, 2005. # INSEE - Comptes régionaux - données 2003 semi-définitives en base 2 000. [http://www.insee.fr/fr/insee_regions/idf/rfc/chifcle_fiche.asp?ref_id=ecotc001&tab_id=1070 "Produit intérieur brut (PIB) à prix courants."]. Retrieved December 1, 2005.

External links


- [http://www.wikitravel.org/en/article/Paris Wikitravel:Guide to Paris]
- [http://www.paris.fr/en/ English version of official site]
  - [http://www.paris.fr/ Official Paris website]
- [http://en.parisinfo.com/ English version of official Paris tourist office website]
  - [http://fr.parisinfo.com/ Official Paris Tourist Office website]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=paris,+france&spn=0.131836,0.176468&t=k&hl=en Google Maps satellite images of Paris] als:Paris (Stadt) ko:파리 시 ja:パリ simple:Paris th:ปารีส



Palace

, the royal palace of France. Viewed from the back, across the Seine River, with the Sainte Chapelle on the right side. Painted in the 1410s. From the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.]] :This article refers to royal residences. For other uses of the word 'palace', see The Palace. A palace is an important urban residence of a royal or noble family, with its origins as the executive power center of a kingdom or empire. Many extant palaces have been transformed for other uses, such as parliaments or museums. The word "palace" to describe a royal residence comes from the name of one of the seven hills of Rome, the Palatine Hill. The original 'palaces' on the Palatine Hill were the seat of the imperial power, while the capitol on the Capitoline Hill was the seat of the senate and the religious nucleus of Rome. Long after the city grew to the seven hills the Palatine remained a desirable residential area. Augustus Caesar lived there in a purposefully modest house only set apart from his neighbors by the two laurel trees planted to flank the front door as a sign of triumph granted by the Senate. His descendants, especially Nero, with his "Golden House" enlarged the house and grounds over and over until it took up the hill top. The word Palatium came to mean the residence of the emperor rather than the neighborhood on top of the hill. Historians apply the term "palace" anachronistically, to label the complex structures of Minoan Knossos, or the Mycenaean palace societies, or the 4th century incompletely-Hellenized palace system of Philip of Macedon's Vergina— or palaces outside the European world entirely. Vergina Charlemagne consciously revived the Roman expression in his "palace" at Aachen, of which only his chapel remains. In the 9th century the "palace" indicated the whole government, and the constantly-travelling Charlemagne built fourteen. In the early Middle Ages, the Palas remained the seat of government in some German cities. In the Holy Roman Empire the powerful independent electors came to be housed in palaces (Paläste) In stronger monarchies even the greatest noble did not hold court in a palace; the German usage was a signal that the central power was not strong. In France there has been a clear distinction between a château and a palais. The palace has always been urban, like the Palais de la Cité in Paris (above), which was the royal palace of France and is now the supreme court of justice of France, or the palace of the Popes at Avignon (illustration, left). The château, by contrast, has always been in rural settings, supported by its demesne, even when it was no longer actually fortified. Speakers of English think of the "Palace of Versailles" because it was the residence of the king of France, and the king was the source of power, though the building has always remained the Château de Versailles for the French, and the seat of government under the ancien regime remained the Palais du Louvre. The Louvre had begun as a fortified Château du Louvre on the edge of Paris, but as the seat of government and shorn of its fortified architecture and then completely surrounded by the city, it developed into the Palais du Louvre. Louvre In Italy, where localized regimes lasted to the 19th century, many a small former capital displays its Palazzo Ducale, the seat of government. In Florence and other strong communal governments, the seat of government was the Palazzo della Signoria until in Florence the Medici were made Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Then, when the power center shifted to their residence in Palazzo Pitti, the old center of power began to be called the Palazzo Vecchio. But indeed, in some Italian cities, it is not uncommon to find many "palaces," including some comparatively humble mansions, each built by one of the principal noble families. Each family's palazzo was a hive that contained all the family members, though it might not always show a grand architectural public front. In the 20th century palazzo in Italian came to apply to any large fine apartment building. Italian In England, by tacit agreement, there have been no "palaces" other than those used as official residences by royalty and certain bishops. Thus the Palace of Beaulieu gained its name precisely when Thomas Boleyn sold it to Henry VIII in 1517; previously it had been known as Walkfares. But like several other palaces, the name stuck even once the royal connection ended. Although the Palace of Blenheim (illustration, left) was never a royal residence, the name was part of the extraordinary honor when the house was given by a grateful nation to a great general. (Along with several royal and episcopal palaces in the countryside, Blenheim does demonstrate that "palace" has no specific urban connotations in English.) episcopal] As on the continent, these royal and episcopal palaces were not merely residences; the clerks who administered the realm or the diocese labored there as well. (To this day many bishops' palaces house both their family apartments and their official offices.) However, unlike the "Palais du Justice" which is often encountered in the French-speaking world, modern British public administration buildings are never called "palaces"; although the formal name for the "Houses of Parliament" is the Palace of Westminster, this reflects Westminster's former role as a royal residence and center of administration. In more recent years, the word has been used in a more informal sense for other large, impressive buildings, such as The Crystal Palace of 1851 (an immensely large, glazed hall erected for the Great Exhibition) and modern arenas-cum-convention centres like Alexandra Palace (which is no more a palace than Madison Square Garden is a garden). :For the household staff of palaces, see great house.

See also


- List of palaces
-
- ko:궁전 ja:宮殿

Rue de Rivoli

Rue de Rivoli is one of the most famous streets of Paris, a commercial street whose shops include the most fashionable names in the world. It bears the name of Napoleon's early victory against the Austrian army, at the battle of Rivoli, fought January 14 and 15, 1797. The rue de Rivoli marked a transitional compromise between an urbanism of prestige monuments and aristocratic squares, and the forms of modern town planning by official regulation. The new street that Napoleon Bonaparte pierced through the heart of Paris took for one side the north wing of the Louvre, which Napoleon extended, and the Tuileries Gardens. For the first time ever, a handsome, regular, wide street would face the north wing of the old palace. Napoleon's original section of the street opened up eastward from the Place de la Concorde. Builders on the north side of the Place Louis XV, as it then was named, between rue de Mondovi and rue Saint-Florentin, had been constrained by letters patent in 1757 and 1758 to follow a single façade plan. The result was a pleasing uniformity, and Napoleon's planners extended a similar program, which has resulted in the famous arcaded facades that extend for almost a mile. The restored Bourbon King Charles X continued the rue de Rivoli eastwards from the Louvre, as did King Louis-Philippe. Finally, Emperor Napoleon III extended it on into the 17th-century quarter of the Marais (see: Right Bank). Beneath the rue de Rivoli runs one of the main brick-vaulted oval-sectioned sewers of Paris' much-imitated system, with its sidewalks for the sewerworkers. In 1852, opposite the wing of the Louvre, Baron Haussmann enlarged the Place du Palais-Royal that is centered on the baroque Palais Royal, built for Cardinal Richelieu in 1624 and willed to the royal family, with its garden surrounded by chic commercial arcades. At the rear of the garden is the older branch of the Bibliothèque Nationale, in rue Richelieu. North of the rue de Rivoli, at the point where the Grands Boulevards crossed an enormous new square, the new opera house was built. The Opera Garnier is a magnificent monument to the construction of the Second Empire. Just behind the opera house can be found the largest department stores, like the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. Printemps East along the rue de Rivoli, at the Place des Pyramides, is the gilded statue of Joan of Arc situated close to where she was wounded at the Saint-Honoré Gate in her unsuccessful attack on English-held Paris on September 8, 1429. A little further along, towards the Place de la Concorde, the rue de Castiglione leads to the Place Vendôme, with its Vendôme Column surmounted by the effigy of Napoleon Bonaparte.

External links


- [http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paris/hist/rivoli.html WebMuseum Paris History:] Rue de Rivoli Rivoli, rue de

Axe historique

The Axe historique (historical axis) is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that runs out from the centre of Paris, France, to the west. It is also known as the "Voie Triomphale" (triumphal way). France This began with the creation of the Champs-Élysées, designed in the 17th century to create a vista to the west, extending the central axis of the gardens the royal Palace of the Tuileries. Today the Tuileries Gardens (Jardins des Tuileries) remain, preserving their wide central pathway, though the palace was burned down during the Paris Commune, 1870. Between the Tuileries' gardens and the Champs Élysées extension a jumble of buildings remained on the site of Place de la Concorde until early in the reign of Louis XV, for whom the square was at first named. Then the garden axis could open through a grand gateway into the new royal square. To the east, the Tuileries Palace faced an open square, the Place du Carrousel. There, by order of Napoleon, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel was centered on the palace (and so on the same axial line that was developing beyond the palace) . Long-standing plans to link the entrance court of the "Vieux Louvre," as the disused palace was called, with the court of the Tuileries, by sweeping away the intervening buildings, finally came fruition in the early 19th century. Consequently the older axis extending from the courtyard of the Louvre happens to be slightly skewed to the rest of what has become the Axe historique, but the Arc du Carrousel at the fulcrum between the two serves to disguise the join. To the west, the completion of the Arc de Triomphe in 1836 on the Place de l'Étoile at the western end of the Champs Élysées formed the far point of this line of perspective, which now starts at the central block of the Musée du Louvre, passing the modern-day glass Pyramide du Louvre of I.M. Pei. The axis was extended again westwards along the Avenue de la Grande Armée, past the city boundary of Paris to La Défense. This was originally a large junction, named for a statue commemorating the defence of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War. In the 1950s, the area around La Défense was marked out to become a new business district, and high-rise office buildings were built along the avenue. The axis found itself extended yet again, with ambitious projects for the western extremity of the modern plaza. 1950sIt was not until the 1980s, under president François Mitterrand, that a project was initiated, with a modern 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe. This is the work of Danish architect Johann Otto von Spreckelsen, La Grande Arche de la Fraternité (also known as simply La Grande Arche and, L'Arche de la Défense), a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals rather than militaristic victories. It was inaugurated in 1990. This adds a few twists to the axis:
- the network of railway lines and road tunnels beneath the elevated plaza of La Défense prevented the pillars supporting the arch from being exactly in line with the axis: it is slightly out of line, bending the axis should it be extended further to the west
- from the roof of the Grande Arche, a second axis can be seen: the Tour Montparnasse stands exactly behind the Eiffel Tower.

External links


- http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/La_Grande_Arche.html
- http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/defense.htm
- http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Monuments-Paris/Arc-Carrousel.shtml Category:Geography of Paris Category:Buildings and structures in Paris Category:La Défense

November 8

November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining.

Events


- 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great pomp as would befit a returning god.
- 1520 - Stockholm Bloodbath begins: A successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces results in the execution of around 100 persons.
- 1576 - Eighty Years' War: Pacification of Ghent - The States-General of the Netherlands meet and unite to oppose Spanish occupation.
- 1602 - The Bodleian Library at Oxford University is opened to the public.
- 1620 - The Battle of White Mountain, the first battle in the Thirty Years' War, takes place near Prague, ending in a decisive Catholic victory in only two hours.
- 1793 - In Paris, the French Revolutionary government opens the Louvre to the public as a museum.
- 1837 - Formation of Mount Holyoke Seminary, first US college founded for women
- 1861 - American Civil War: The "Trent Affair" – The USS San Jacinto stops the United Kingdom mailship Trent and arrests two Confederate envoys, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the UK and US.
- 1864 - U.S. presidential election, 1864: Abraham Lincoln is reelected in an overwhelming victory over George McClellan.
- 1889 - Montana is admitted as the 41st U.S. state.
- 1892 - U.S. presidential election, 1892: Grover Cleveland is elected over Benjamin Harrison and James B. Weaver to win the second of his non-consecutive terms.
- 1895 - While experimenting with electricity Wilhelm Röntgen discovers x-rays.
- 1917 - People's Commissars gives authority to Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin
- 1923 - Beer Hall Putsch: In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government.
- 1932 - U.S. presidential election, 1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Herbert Hoover in a landslide victory.
- 1933 - Great Depression: New Deal - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveils the Civil Works Administration, an organization designed to create jobs for more than 4 million of the unemployed.
- 1935 - A dozen labor leaders come together to announce the creation of the Congress for Industrial Organization (CIO), an organization charged with pushing the cause for industrial unionism.
- 1935 - Fernand Bouisson becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1937 - The Nazi exhibition Der ewige Jude ("the eternal Jew") opens in Munich.
- 1939 - Venlo Incident: Two British agents of SIS are captured by the Germans.
- 1939 - In Munich, Adolf Hitler narrowly escapes an assassination attempt while celebrating the 16th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch.
- 1941 - Albanian Communist Party founded.
- 1942 - World War II: Operation Torch - United States and United Kingdom forces land in French North Africa.
- 1942 - World War II: French resistance coup in Algiers, by which 400 Civil French patriots neutralized Vichyst XIXth Army Corps during 15 hours, arrested vichyst generals (Juin, Darlan, etc.), and so allowed the immediate success of Operation Torch in Algiers, then, from there, to the whole French North Africa.
- 1950 - Korean War: United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shoots down two North Korean MiG-15s in the first jet aircraft-to-jet aircraft dog fight in history.
- 1960 - U.S. presidential election, 1960: John F. Kennedy is elected over Richard M. Nixon, becoming the youngest man elected to that office.
- 1965 - The British Indian Ocean Territory is created, consisting of Chagos Archipelago, Aldabra, Farquhar and Des Roches islands.
- 1965 - The soap opera Days of Our Lives debuts on NBC in the United States.
- 1966 - Former Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the United States Senate.
- 1966 - U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signs into law an antitrust exemption allowing the National Football League to merge with the upstart American Football League.
- 1971 - The fourth album of British rock group Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin IV) is released, including one of the group's most well known songs, "Stairway to Heaven".
- 1973 - The right ear of John Paul Getty III is delivered to a newspaper together with a ransom note, convincing his father to pay 2.9 million USD.
- 1974 - In Salt Lake City, Utah, Carol DaRonch narrowly escapes abduction by serial killer Ted Bundy.
- 1979 - Foundation of the Chilean Communist Party (Proletarian Action).
- 1987 - Enniskillen massacre: In Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, an Irish Republican Army bomb explodes, at a ceremony honoring Britain's war dead, killing eleven people.
- 1988 - U.S. presidential election, 1988: George H. W. Bush is elected over Michael Dukakis.
- 1991 - Marion Barry is reelected mayor of Washington, D.C..
- 1994 - For the first time in 40 years the United States Republican Party takes control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in midterm congressional elections.
- 1997 - US president Bill Clinton speaks at a dinner sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, the USA's largest gay rights organisation.
- 2002 - Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council Resolution 1441 – The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences".
- 2004 - War in Iraq: More than 10,000 U.S. troops and a small number of Iraqi army units participate in a siege on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.
- 2005 - Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Corzine is elected governor of New Jersey.

Births


- 35 - Nerva, Roman Emperor (d. 98)
- 1491 - Teofilo Folengo, Italian poet (d. 1544)
- 1622 - King Charles X of Sweden (d. 1660)
- 1656 (N.S.) - Edmond Halley, British astronomer and mathematician (d. 1742)
- 1694 - Leonhard Trautsch, German composer (d. 1762)
- 1706 - Johann Ulrich von Cramer, German judge and philosopher (d. 1772)
- 1710 - Sarah Fielding, English writer (d. 1768)
- 1715 - Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern, queen of Frederick II of Prussia (d. 1797)
- 1723 - John Byron, British naval officer (d. 1786)
- 1836 - Milton Bradley, American lithographer and game manufacturer (d. 1911)
- 1847 - Jean Casimir-Périer, French politician (d. 1907)
- 1847 - Bram Stoker, Irish novelist (d. 1912)
- 1848 - Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and logician (d. 1925)
- 1866 - Herbert Austin, English automobile pioneer (d. 1941)
- 1868 - Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (d. 1942)
- 1869 - Zinaida Gippius, Russian woman-poet in exile in France (d. 1945)
- 1883 - Arnold Bax, English composer (d. 1953)
- 1884 - Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1922)
- 1893 - Clarence Williams, American jazz pianist and composer (d. 1965)
- 1896 - Bucky Harris, baseball player (d. 1977)
- 1898 - Marie Prevost, Canadian actress (d. 1937)
- 1900 - Margaret Mitchell, American author (d. 1949)
- 1900 - Charlie Paddock, American athlete (d. 1943)
- 1904 - Cedric Belfrage English-born writer (d. 1990)
- 1908 - Martha Gellhorn, American writer and journalist (d. 1998)
- 1918 - Hermann Zapf, German designer
- 1919 - P.L. Deshpande, Indian author (d. 2000 )
- 1920 - Esther Rolle, American actress (d. 1998)
- 1922 - Christiaan Barnard, South African heart surgeon (d. 2001)
- 1922 - Ademir, Brazilian football player (d. 1996)
- 1923 - Jack Kilby, American electrical engineer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 2005)
- 1927 - Nguyen Khanh, Prime Minister of South Vietnam
- 1927 Patti Page, American singer
- 1927 -1931 - Darla Hood, American actress (d. 1979)
- 1927 - Morley Safer, Canadian journalist
- 1935 - Alain Delon, French actor
- 1942 - Angel Cordero Jr., Puerto Rican jockey
- 1947 - Minnie Riperton, American singer (d. 1979)
- 1949 - Bonnie Raitt, American singer
- 1952 - Jan Raas, Dutch cyclist
- 1953 - Alfre Woodard, American actress
- 1954 - Michael D. Brown, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency director
- 1954 - Rickie Lee Jones, American singer and composer
- 1954 - Jeanette McGruder, American musician (P Funk)
- 1958 - Don Byron, American clarinetist
- 1961 - Leif Garrett, American singer and actor
- 1967 - Courtney Thorne-Smith, American actress
- 1968 - Parker Posey, American actress
- 1968 - Zara Whites, Dutch actress
- 1975 - Tara Reid, American actress
- 1976 - Brett Lee, Australian cricketer
- 1979 - Aaron Hughes, Irish footballer
- 1981 - Joe Cole, English footballer
- 2000 - Madison Poer, American actress
- 2000 - Marissa Poer, American actor

Deaths


- 911 - Louis the Child, last Carolingian ruler of the East Franks (b. 893)
- 955 - Pope Agapetus II
- 1171 - Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut (b. 1108)
- 1226 - King Louis VIII of France (b. 1187)
- 1246 - Berenguela of Castile, queen of Alfonso IX of Castile (b. 1180)
- 1308 - Duns Scotus, Scottish philosopher
- 1517 - Francisco Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros, Spanish statesman (b. 1436)
- 1527 - Jerome Emser, German theologian (b. 1477)
- 1599 - Francisco Guerrero, Spanish composer (b. 1528)
- 1600 - Natsuka Masaie, Japanese warlord (b. 1562)
- 1603 - Robert Catesby, English conspirator (b. 1573)
- 1658 - Witte Corneliszoon de With, Dutch naval officer (b. 1599)
- 1674 - John Milton, English poet (b. 1608)
- 1719 - Michel Rolle, French mathematician (b. 1652)
- 1830 - King Francis I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1777)
- 1887 - Doc Holliday, American gambler and gunfighter (b. 1851)
- 1890 - César Franck, Belgian composer and organist (b. 1822)
- 1917 - Colin Blythe, English cricketer (b. 1879)
- 1934 - Carlos Chagas, Brazilian physician (b. 1879)
- 1945 - August von Mackensen, German field marshal (b. 1849)
- 1953 - Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
- 1953 - John van Melle, South African author (b. 1887)
- 1977 - Bucky Harris, baseball player (b. 1896)
- 1978 - Norman Rockwell, American illustrator (b. 1894)
- 1986 - Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician (b. 1890)
- 1998 - Jean Marais, French actor (b. 1913)
- 1999 - Leon Štukelj, Slovenian gymnast (b. 1898)
- 2005 - David Westheimer, American novelist (b. 1917)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/8 BBC: On This Day] ---- November 7 - November 9 - October 8 - December 8 -- listing of all dates ko:11월 8일 ms:8 November ja:11月8日 simple:November 8 th:8 พฤศจิกายน



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 prospe