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| FEBO |
FEBOFEBO (pronounced fay-bow) is a chain of Dutch walk-up fast food restaurant. Founded in 1941 in Amsterdam, FEBO is most notable for its format: a small counter is available for purchase of beverages and custom-grilled hamburgers. a FEBO store is primarily an automat, in which the clientele orders and receives their food by means of coin-operated vending machines with open backs which are constantly restocked from the kitchen. The primary automat vended items are french fries, hot krokets, sausages, pre-made burgers, and a variety of sandwiches.
According to the official website [http://www.febo.nl], FEBO has almost 60 branches all over the Netherlands, with 54 being franchises [http://www.febo.nl/set_frames/franchise.html]. There are 22 branches in Amsterdam alone.
Originally named "Maison FEBO", due to its location on Ferdinand Bolstraat in Amsterdam. The name was later shortened to just "FEBO".
External link
- [http://www.febo.nl/ FEBO website] (Dutch)
Category:Fast-food burger restaurants
Netherlands
The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland; IPA pronunciation: /"ne:dərlant/) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that is formed by the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch, located in northwestern Europe. It borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.
In many countries, the Netherlands is often referred to by the name Holland, and even within the Netherlands itself this name is occasionally used as an acceptable translation of the country's name. However widespread, this usage is technically incorrect, as "Holland" is actually a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands, divided into two provinces. Also, the English plural form 'the Netherlands' is a remnant from times when the country was not yet independent and united. See below under 'naming conventions'.
The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated and geographically low-lying countries in the world (its name literally means "low country") and is famous for its dikes, windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, bicycles and social tolerance. Its liberal policies (towards drugs and prostitution among other things) receive international attention. The country is host to the International Court of Justice.
The English adjective and noun for "of or relating to the Netherlands" is "Dutch," which is also the name of the Dutch language. In the Netherlands, "Netherlands" is sometimes used as an adjective. The origin of this local usage may be that the Dutch word for "Dutch" is Nederlands and to avoid confusion with the words "Duits" (in Dutch) and "Deutsch" (in German) that refer to the country Germany and its language.
Capital
Amsterdam is the hoofdstad ("capital city"), where according to the constitution, the sovereign must be sworn in. The Hague is the Netherlands regeringszetel or residentie (seat of government, residence of the monarch). It is the seat of government, the home of the monarch, and the location of most foreign embassies.
History
:For more details on this topic, see History of the Netherlands and Dutch monarchy.
Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also includes most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land of France and Germany. In 1568 the Eighty Years' War started after the entire population had been condemned to death by the Holy See and confirmed by the king, and in 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces declared itself independent and formed the Union of Utrecht, which is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go that easily. It would not be until 1648 that Spain would recognize Dutch independence.
After gaining formal independence from the Spanish Empire under King Philip IV, the Dutch grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century during the period of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. In the era, referred to as the Dutch Golden Age, colonies and trading posts were established all over the globe. (See Dutch colonial empire)
Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as such less benign phenomena as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636-1637, and according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider - Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount ("Japan Goes Dutch", London Review of Books [April 5, 2001]: 3-7).
After briefly being incorporated in the First French Empire under Napoleon, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815, consisting of the present day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In addition, the king of the Netherlands became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Belgium rebelled and gained independence in 1830, while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890 as a result of ascendancy laws which prevented Queen Wilhelmina from becoming Grand Duke.
The Netherlands possessed several colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname (the latter was traded with the British for New Amsterdam, now known as New York). These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). Only then did they become official colonies.
During the 19th century, The Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighboring countries, mainly due to its unique infrastructure of waterways and reliance on wind power. After remaining neutral in World War I, over 100,000 Dutch Jews were murdered in the Holocaust of World War II, along with significant numbers of Dutch Roma (gypsies). After the war, the Dutch economy prospered again, being a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and European Economic Community unions. The Netherlands was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union.
Naming conventions
The name Holland is often used, incorrectly, for The Netherlands, especially in other languages. The origin of the misnomer lies in the fact that the region of Holland was the economic powerhouse during the time of the United Provinces (1581-1795). After the Napoleonic era, Holland became a mere province of the Kingdom and was split into North and South Holland in 1840. Many people, especially from the northern and southern provinces, object to the use of the name Holland for The Netherlands. But to avoid confusion when addressing other nationals, the Dutch themselves often use the name 'Holland'.
The plural "Netherlands" is actually an archaic term, referring to the time when it was a collection of regions that were not yet fully united. In The Netherlands itself the country is called Nederland (literally meaning "low country"), the people are called Nederlanders ("Dutch" in English) and the language is called Nederlands (again, "Dutch" in English); the -s in Nederlands is not a plural ending, but rather is cognate to the English suffix -ish. The English word "Dutch" is akin to the German word Deutsch, which originally meant "(Language) of the (common) people" in contrast with the medieval elite who spoke Latin. An old term for the language of The Netherlands is Diets or Nederdietsch. All these terms derive from what in Latin was known as Theodisca, from Germanic - Þeudiskaz.
Politics
The Netherlands has been a parliamentary democracy since 1848 and a constitutional monarchy since 1815; before that it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806 (it was occupied by France between 1806 and 1815). The pro forma head of state, since 1980, is Queen Beatrix of the House of Orange-Nassau. The Dutch monarch has little political power, but serves mostly as a ceremonial figurehead to represent the nation.
Dutch governments always consist of a coalition, as there is not (and has never been) a single political party large enough to get the majority vote. Formally, the queen appoints the members of the government. In practice, once the results of parliamentary elections are known, a coalition government is formed (in a process of negotiations that can take several months), after which the government formed in this way is officially appointed by the queen. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, in Dutch Minister President or Premier, a primus inter pares who is usually also the leader of the largest party in the coalition. The degree of influence the queen has on actual government decision making is a topic of ongoing speculation.
The parliament consists of two houses. The 150 members of the Lower House (Tweede Kamer, or Second Chamber) are elected every four years in direct elections. The provincial parliaments are directly elected every 4 years as well. The members of the provincial parliaments vote (indirectly) for the less important Senate (Eerste Kamer, or First Chamber). Together, the First and Second Chamber are known as the Staten Generaal, the States General.
Political scientists consider The Netherlands a classic example of a consociational state, at least in part caused by the necessity in the Netherlands since the middle ages for different cities to cooperate in order to fight the water (different cities were at the time like different countries by today's standards, and often at war). This necessity to reach an agreement despite differences is called the polder model in Dutch. Also, the Netherlands has long been a nation of traders and for international trade one has to be tolerant of the other person's culture. The Netherlands is a neutral country in most international affairs and thus managed to keep out of World War I (although this did not work in World War II). As a result, the Dutch have a 'friendly' reputation in other countries, to the point that bearers of a Dutch passport often have relatively little difficulty getting into other countries, for visits or even for emigration purposes.
However, the early years of the 21st century have seen a political change with the right wing in politics gaining on the left. This is illustrated by the quick rise (and fall) of the LPF. Pim Fortuyn, its founder, held former cabinets responsible for the failing integration of immigrants.
The present government is led by the cabinet Balkenende II. This cabinet got some critique about economic reforms and the immigration policies.
On June 1 2005 the Dutch electorate voted in a referendum against the proposed EU Constitution by a majority of 61.6%, three days after the French had also voted against.
See also: Prime Minister of the Netherlands, List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands
Provinces
List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands
The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris van de Koningin (Commissionair of the Queen).
- Friesland - north west; capital Leeuwarden
- Groningen - north east; capital Groningen
- Drenthe - south of Groningen; capital Assen
- Overijssel - east central, south of Drenthe; capital Zwolle
- Flevoland - central, north of Utrecht; capital Lelystad
- Gelderland - east central, south of Overijssel; capital Arnhem
- Utrecht - central; capital Utrecht
- North Holland - (Noord-Holland) north west (including Amsterdam); capital Haarlem
- South Holland - (Zuid-Holland) west central, south of North Holland (including Rotterdam); capital The Hague (s-Gravenhage or Den Haag)
- Zeeland - south west; capital Middelburg
- North Brabant - (Noord-Brabant) south central; capital 's-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch)
- Limburg - south east; capital Maastricht.
All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), together 467; see Municipalities in the Netherlands, and also List of cities in the Netherlands by province.
The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are twenty seven. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence.
See also: Ranked list of Dutch provinces.
Geography
Ranked list of Dutch provinces
Ranked list of Dutch provinces
A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is the flatness of the country. About half of its surface area is less than 1 m above sea level, and large parts of it are actually below sea level (see [http://www.minbuza.nl/default.asp?CMS_ITEM=MBZ302750 map showing these areas]). An extensive range of dikes and dunes protect these areas from flooding. Numerous massive pumping stations keep the ground water level in check. The highest point, the Vaalserberg, in the south-eastern most point of the country, is 321 m above sea level. A substantial part of the Netherlands, for example, all of Flevoland and large parts of Holland, has been reclaimed from the sea. These areas are known as polders. This has led to the saying "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands."
In years past, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably due to human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss are the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the south west, and the 1287 storm, which killed 50,000 people and created the Zuyderzee (now dammed in and renamed the IJsselmeer - see below) in the northwest, giving Amsterdam direct access to the sea. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72 km² Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the southcentre. The most recent parts of Zeeland were flooded during the North Sea Flood of 1953 and 1,836 people were killed, after which the Delta Plan was executed.
The disasters were partially man-made; the people drained relatively high lying swampland for use as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, locking the land users in a vicious circle whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The vicious circle is unsolvable and remains to this day. Up until the 19th century peat was dug up, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem.
To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "waterbodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (The waterbodies are still around today performing the exact same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. In the 13th century, windmills came into use to pump water out of the areas by now below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuyderzee (Southern Sea) off from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 1,650 km² were reclaimed from the sea.
After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 2002. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in Holland to once per 10,000 years. (For the rest of the country, the protection-level is once per 4,000 years). This was achieved by raising 3,000 km of outer sea-dikes and 10,000 km of inner, canal, and river dikes to "delta" height, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally incur additional Delta project work in the form of dike re-enforcements. The Delta project is the single largest construction effort in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
Because of the high cost of maintaining the polders some have argued that maybe some of the deepest polders should be given up. Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climatic change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow. These flooded polders might then be used as water catchments to take part of the blow.
The country is divided into two main parts by three rivers Rhine (Rijn), Waal, and Meuse (Maas). The south western part of the Netherlands is actually one big river delta of these rivers. These rivers not only function as a natural barrier, but also as a cultural divide, as is evident in the different dialects spoken north and south of these great rivers and the (previous) religious dominance of Catholics in the south and Calvinists in the north.
The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is south west, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters.
See also: National parks (Netherlands).
Economy
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy in which the government has reduced its role since the 1980s. Industrial activity is predominantly in food-processing (for example Unilever and Heineken), chemicals (for example DSM), petroleum refining (for example Royal Dutch Shell), and electrical machinery (for example Philips). A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport (for example the Rotterdam harbour). The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners.
As a founding member of the Euro, the Netherlands replaced its former currency, the Gulden, on January 1 1999 along with the other adopters of the single European currency, with the actual Euro coins and banknotes following on January 1, 2002. However, in the first years of the third millennium, economic and employment growth came to a standstill, which the government tried to resolve by cutting into its expenses.
In 2003 the economy shrunk 0.9%. In 2004, the recession was over and the economy began its slow recovery with a meager 1.3% growth. The CPB ("Centraal Plan Bureau", Central Planning Bureau), a think tank of leading Dutch economists linked with the government, expects a recovery of the economy in 2005, with a growth of 2.25%. In 2004, inflation was 1.2%, the lowest level since 1989.
- Economic data for the Netherlands: [http://statline.cbs.nl Dutch] [http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/start.asp?lp=Search/Search&LA=EN English]
- List of Dutch companies
Demographics
The Netherlands is the 15th most densely populated country in the world, with 393 inhabitants per square km (or 482/km² if only the land area is counted, 20% is water). Partly because of this it is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world. Internet penetration [http://www.internetworldstats.com/top25.htm] is at 66.2% the 7th highest in the world.
According CBS Statline, the official statistics bureau of the Netherlands, the ethnic origins of the citizens are very diverse. The vast majority of the population however still remains Dutch. They were: 80.8% Dutch, 8.7% other European, 2.2% Turkish, 1.9% Moroccan, 6.4% other
There are no cities with a population over 1 million in the Netherlands, but the 'four big cities' as they are called (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) can in many ways be regarded as one 'big city' agglomeration, the Randstad ('fringe city'), with an agricultural 'green heart' (het Groene Hart). This is illustrated by the idea to create a circular train network with a frequency and carriages similar to a metropolitan railway.
Languages
The official language is Dutch, which is spoken by practically all inhabitants. Another official language is Frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of Friesland and has a strong resemblance to English. Frisian is co-official only in the province of Friesland, although with a few restrictions. Several dialects of Plattdüütsch are spoken in much of the north and are recognised as regional languages, as protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. To the south, the Dutch language shifts into other varieties of Low Franconian and German, which may or may not be best classified as Dutch, most notably West Flemish. One of these, Limburgish, which is spoken in the south-eastern province of Limburg has been recognised as a minority language since 1977.
Religion
According to the governmental statistics agency (CBS) 30% of the population consider themselves to be Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant (predominantly Dutch Reformed) and 8% 'other denominations'. 42% consider themselves not to belong to any religious denomination. Church attendance however is much lower than these figures may suggest: some 70% of the population 'rarely or never' visit a house of worship (be it a church, mosque, synagogue or temple). The most protestants live in the northern provinces while the southern provinces (Noord-Brabant and Limburg) are mainly Roman Catholic.
The largest part of the 'other denominations', at 920,000, are Muslim immigrant workers mainly living in the bigger cities, mostly from Morocco and Turkey, and their offspring. The other denominations also include some 200,000 (1.3%) Hindu, mostly descendants of indentured servants who migrated from India to the former Dutch colony of Surinam around 1900. Prior to the Holocaust about 140,000 Jews lived in the Netherlands, however the vast majority of [http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/communities/weurope/comm_netherlands.html Dutch Jewry] was murdered in the Holocaust. About 30,000 Dutch Jews now live in The Netherlands.
Culture
The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters" such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century are Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. A (in)famous Dutch master art forger is Han van Meegeren.
The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza, and all of Descartes' major work was done there. Christiaan Huygens(1629-1695) is a famous astronomer and mathematician. He discovered Saturn's moon Titan and invented an accurate clock.
In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flowered as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P. C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the bad treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard van het Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. The Diary of Anne Frank was also written in the Netherlands.
See also: List of museums in The Netherlands, Sport in the Netherlands, Music of the Netherlands, List of Dutch people, Public holidays in the Netherlands
Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China.
Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese and Delftware pottery are among the numerous items associated with the Netherlands.
Dutch policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage and euthanasia are among the most liberal in the world.
Miscellaneous topics
- City rights in the Netherlands
- Communications in the Netherlands
- Drug policy of the Netherlands
- Dutch colonial empire
- Dutch people
- Dutch-Belgian War
- Education in the Netherlands
- Euthanasia in the Netherlands
- Foreign relations of the Netherlands
- General Intelligence and Security Office (AIVD)
- Income tax in the Netherlands
- List of football clubs in the Netherlands
- Military of the Netherlands
- Netherlands and weapons of mass destruction
- New Netherland
- Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) of the Netherlands
- Prostitution in the Netherlands
- Public holidays in the Netherlands
- Reporters Without Borders worldwide press freedom index 2004 — first place
- Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands
- Statistics Netherlands
- Telephone numbers in the Netherlands
- Television networks in the Netherlands
- Tourism in the Netherlands
- Transportation in the Netherlands
External links
-
- [http://www.statoids.com/unl.html Provinces of Netherlands]
- [http://www.amsterdam-netherlands.info/ Amsterdam / Netherlands info] - Information about the Netherlands, its provinces and Amsterdam.
- [http://www.haganum.nl Best School of The Netherlands- The Gymnasiun Haganum in the Hague]
- [http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/cijfers/default.htm CBS] - Key figures from the Dutch bureau of statistics
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nl.html CIA - The World Factbook -- Netherlands]
- Dutch news: [http://www.rnw.nl/ Radio Netherlands], [http://www.expatica.com/source/site_content_subchannel.asp?subchannel_id=1 Expatica]
- [http://www.colonialvoyage.com Dutch Portuguese Colonial History] Dutch Colonial History in Sri Lanka, Ceylon, Brazil, India, Malacca (Malaysia), Bengal, Formosa(Taiwan), South Africa, New York, Caribbean, Indonesia. Language Heritage. Maps, chronologies, bibliographies.
- [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572410/Netherlands.html Encarta entry on the Netherlands]
- [http://flagspot.net/flags/nl-index.html Flagspot.net - The Netherlands]- site about flags, but also with province maps showing municipalities, and some other info
- Foreign government info about the Netherlands and their relations with it: [http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/netherlands/index.html Australia] | [http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canadaeuropa/country_net-en.asp Canada] | [http://meaindia.nic.in/foreignrelation/netherland.htm India] | [http://www.esteri.it/eng/3_22_40_214.asp Italy] | [http://www.mfat.govt.nz/foreign/regions/europe/countrypapers/netherlands.html New Zealand] | [http://www.dfa.gov.za/foreign/bilateral/netherlands.html South Africa] | [http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394365&a=KCountryProfile&aid=1019061813313 UK] | [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3204.htm US]
- [http://www.government.nl Government.nl] - official Dutch government web site
- [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Dutch] Dutch for English speakers (from Wikibooks)
- [http://www.skyscrapercity.info/200.php?id=4&country=NL&limit=0 List of ca. 1500 tall buildings in the Netherlands]
- [http://www.nlplanet.com/ NL Planet] - English language resources, background information and free forums
- [http://overheid.nl/guest/sites/ Overheid.nl] - official Dutch government portal (includes official publications from 1995; older ones are only available in some libraries, on paper or microfiche)
- [http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/gemeentes/gemprovin.htm Province maps showing subdivision in municipalities, and linking each municipality to its basic data page]
- [http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/index.jsp The Dutch Royal House]
- [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1104447749&men=gmap&lng=en&gln=xx&dat=32&geo=-160&srt=npan&col=aohdq Maps and data]
- [http://www.track.nl/ Track.nl] - An Internet search-engine that specialises in the Netherlands.
- [http://www.world66.com/europe/netherlands World66 Guide to The Netherlands] A travel guide written by its users.
- [http://www.deltaworks.org Deltaworks Online - Flood protection and watermanagement in the Netherlands]
Category:European Union member states
Category:Monarchies
als:Niederlande
zh-min-nan:Kē-tē-kok
[[got:
Fast-food restaurantA fast-food restaurant is a restaurant characterized both by food which is supplied quickly after ordering, and by minimal service. Food purchased may or may not be eaten quickly as well. Often this food is referred to as fast food. In response to increasing backlash against "fast-food", the industry has been trying to move the public away from that term over the past five years, shifting to the term quick service restaurant (QSR for short). Consumers still refer to the restaurants as fast-food despite the industry's efforts to change them.
The food in these restaurants is commonly cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot, or reheated to order. Many fast-food restaurants are part of restaurant chains or franchise operations, which ship standardized foodstuffs to each restaurant from central locations. There are also simpler fast-food outlets, such as stands or kiosks, which might or might not provide shelter or chairs for customers.
Because the capital requirements to start a fast-food restaurant are relatively small, particularly in areas with non-existent or poorly enforced health codes, small individually owned fast-food restaurants are common throughout the world.
Overview
Within the United States, fast-food restaurants have been losing market share to so-called fast casual restaurants, which offer somewhat better and more expensive foods. In 2002, the McDonald's Corporation posted its first quarterly loss.
With this cultural shift toward healthier, better quality foods, McDonald's and Burger King most notably have begun to move toward selling healthier alternatives such as salads and deli-style sandwiches. This is in a dual effort to match the demand of a changing society and to respond to ongoing lawsuits against the companies.
In 2004, the "Cheeseburger Bill" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3500388.stm] was passed by the US Congress. This law was claimed to "[ban] frivolous lawsuits against producers and sellers of food and non-alcoholic drinks arising from obesity claims."
The bill arose because of an increase in lawsuits against fast-food chains by people who claimed that eating their products MADE them obese, basically disassociating themselves from any of the blame.
Because of this reliance on monoculture, on foodstuffs purchased on global commodity markets and the resulting displacement of local eating habits, the fast-food industry is seen by many as destroying local styles of cuisine. It is often a focus of resistance (e.g., José Bové's bulldozing of a McDonald's which made him a folk hero in France, and the "[http://www.mcshit.co.uk/ MCSHIT]" campaign in the UK).
For these reasons and more, the Slow Food movement seeks to preserve local cuisines and ingredients, and directly opposes laws and habits that favor fast-food. Among other things, it strives to educate consumers' palates to prefer the richer and more varied local taste for fresh ingredients harvested in season.
Although fast-food restaurants are often seen as a mark of modern technological culture, they are probably as old as cities themselves, with their style varying from culture to culture. Ancient Roman cities had bread-and-olive stands, East Asian cultures feature noodle shops. Flat bread, and falafel are characteristic of the Middle East.
In the United Kingdom, while fast-food restaurant chains are now common, the British tradition of take-away foods such as fish and chips and steak and kidney pie with mash remain popular. Closer to the end of the 20th century, these have been joined by take-away outlets selling ethnic or pseudo-ethnic foods such as Italian, Chinese, and Indian. For more on foods in the UK, see British cuisine.
Modern fast-food restaurants
-------------------------------)))))))))))))))))
Although fast-food was pioneered in the United States, it has become a worldwide phenomenon. The fast-food restaurants listed below are arranged according to country of origin. In many cases, these will be franchised beyond a single country.
- Barnacle Bill
- Chicken Treat
- Crepe Cafe
- Domino's Pizza
- Donut King
- Eagle Boys Pizza
- Hungry Jack's (actually Burger King, but known as "Hungry Jack's" due to a trademark dispute)
- KFC
- McDonald's
- Nando's
- Oporto
- Pizza Haven
- Pizza Hut
- Rap It Up (raps)
- Red Rooster
- Subway
- Wendy's Ice Cream
- Bob's [http://www.bobs.com.br]
- Burgão [http://www.burgao.com/]
- Habib's [http://www.habibs-fast-food.com.br]
- A&W
- Coffee Time
- Country Style
- Deluxe French Fries (Maritimes)
- Edo Japan
- Greco Pizza (Maritimes)
- Harvey's
- Lick's Homeburger (Ontario)
- Made In Japan Teriyaki Experience
- Mr. Sub
- Mrs. Vanelli's
- Nando's
- New York Fries
- Pizza Delight
- Pizza Hut
- Pizza Nova
- Pizza Pizza (Ontario)
- Pizza Shack (Maritimes)
- Robin's Donuts
- Swiss Chalet
- Tim Hortons (fast casual restaurant, owned by Wendy's)
- Topper's Pizza
- Valentine [http://www.valentine.qc.ca/] (website in French)
- White Spot (BC)
- California Beef Noodle King
- Mr. Rulao
- Yonghe King
- Café de Coral
- Chaan-tengs
- Fairwood
- Maxim's
- Oliver's Super Sandwiches
- Biggest
- La Neveria
- Mister Donut
- Nash Pizza
- Golden RAX
- Hesburger
- Kotipizza
- Rolls
- Scanburger
- Quick
- Flunch
- Asia Wok
- Hallo Pizza
- Kochlöffel
- Nordsee
- Sausalitos
- Wienerwald
- Goody's
- Pollo Campero
- Pizza 67
- BOOF [http://www.boof.cc/]
- Avache (previously 'Apache')
- Abrakebabra
- Burger King
- Domino's Pizza
- Four Star Pizza
- McDonald's
- Mizzoni
- Subway
- Supermac's
- Burgeranch
- Autogrill on the Italian network of Autostrada freeways
- Brek
- Chef Express in trains and train stations
- Ciao
- Pizzarito & Pastarito
- Spizzico
- Becker's
- Chikuji Gindako
- CoCo Ichibanya
- Dom Dom Hamburger
- First Kitchen
- Freshness Burger
- Kozozushi
- Kyotaru
- Lotteria
- Mos Burger
- Pepper Lunch
- Sukiya, "Beef bowl"
- Tenya
- Yoshinoya, "Beef bowl" [http://www.yoshinoyausa.com/]
- 1901 Hotdog [http://www.1901.com/]
- El Pollo Loco [http://www.elpolloloco.com/]
- Burger King
- FEBO
- KFC
- McDonald's
- Pizza Hut
- Subway
- Ali Baba
- Carnivores - now defunct
- Charcoal Chicken
- Domino's Pizza
- Georgie Pie - now defunct
- Hells Pizza
- Homestead Chicken - now defunct
- Jester's Jaffle Pie
- KFC
- King Pie
- Leaning Tower of Pizza
- Long John Silver's
- McDonald's
- Nando's
- Pizza Haven
- Pizza Hut
- Subway
- Wendy's
- Chow King
- Gonuts Donuts
- Greenwich Pizza
- Jollibee
- Mister Donut
- Tokyo Tokyo
- Tropical Hut
- Burger Ranch
- Burger King
- Carl's Jr.
- KFC
- Long John Silver's
- McDonald's
- MOS Burger
- Old Chang Kee
- Pepper Lunch
- Pizza Hut
- Subway
- Taco Bell
- Yoshinoya
- Nando's
- Pans & Company
- Pêle-Mêle
- Rodilla
- Telepizza [http://www.telepizza.es]
- Telericatorta
- Max [http://www.max.se]
- Frasses [http://www.frasses.se]
- Favorite Chicken
- Great British Burger
- Gregg's
- Harry Ramsden's
- Mr D's
- Nando's
- Pret a Manger
- Wimpy [http://www.kzwp.com/lyons/wimpy.htm]
- A&W
- Arby's
- Arctic Circle
- Arthur Treacher's
- Atlanta Bread Company
- Back Yard Burgers
- Baja Fresh
- Baskin-Robbins
- Big Apple Bagels
- Blimpie
- Bojangles'
- Boston Market
- Brown's Chicken & Pasta
- Bruster's Ice Cream
- Bun Boy
- Burger King
- Captain D's
- Carl's Jr.
- Charley's Grilled Subs
- Checkers Drive-In (also called Rally's Drive-In)
- Chick-fil-A
- Chipotle Mexican Grill
- Chuck E. Cheese's
- Church's Chicken
- Cici's Pizza
- Cinnabon
- Cosi
- Culver's
- Dairy Queen
- Del Taco
- Dick's Drive-In
- Domino's Pizza
- Donatos Pizza
- Dunkin' Donuts
- Einstein Bros
- El Pollo Loco
- Fatburger
- Fazoli's
- Foster's Freeze
- Godfather's Pizza
- The Great American Bagel
- The Great Steak & Potato
- Hamburger Stand with Der Wienerschnitzel
- Hardee's
- Home Run Inn Pizza
- Hot Dog on a Stick
- In-N-Out
- Jack in the Box
- Jimmy John's
- Jim's Burger Haven
- Johnny Rockets
- Kewpee
- KFC
- Krispy Kreme
- Krystal
- Little Caesars
- Long John Silver's
- McDonald's
- Moe's Southwest Grill
- Nathan's Famous
- Noah's Bagels
- The Original Tommy's
- Panda Express
- Panera Bread
- Papa John's Pizza
- Pioneer Chicken
- Pizza Hut
- Popeye's Fried Chicken
- Portillo's
- Potbelly Sandwich Works
- Qdoba Mexican Grill
- Quizno's
- Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers
- Rax Restaurants
- Roy Rogers Family Restaurants
- Rubio's
- Runza
- Sbarro
- Schlotzsky's
- Shakey's Pizza
- Skipper's
- Sonic Drive-In
- Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q
- Steak 'n Shake
- Submarina
- Subway
- Taco Bell
- Taco Bueno
- Taco Cabana
- Taco Del Mar
- Taco John's
- Taco Mayo
- Taco Tico
- Taco Time
- Tastee Freez
- The Hat
- Tim Hortons
- Togo's Eateries
- Una Mas!
- Wendy's
- Whataburger
- White Castle
- Wienerschnitzel
- Winchell's Donuts
Fictional
- Burgerland appeared in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode Carpenter Street. [http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Burgerland]
- Big Kahuna Burger in the movie Pulp Fiction and also several other of Quentin Tarrantino's films.
- McMeatie's is a McDonald's spoof in the popular Nickelodeon cartoon, Invader Zim.
- McSpanky's is another McDonald's spoof, this one on The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
- Bueno Nacho is a Taco Bell style Mexican fast-food outlet featured prominently in Disney's Kim Possible.
- Burger Barn in the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape?. A major event in the small fictional town of Endora, Iowa, is the arrival of the prefabricated restaurant.
- [http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=981130 Burger Meister] is a chain of fast-food restaurant in the webcomic Sluggy Freelance
- Burger World in Beavis and Butt-head and The Steve Harvey Show.
- Good Burger, featured in Nickelodeon's TV show All That, and a feature film known as Good Burger.
- Ninja Burger is a fictional Internet fast-food restaurant run by ninjas.
- Krusty Burger is a chain of fast-food restaurants in the Simpsons TV show.
- Mooby's is in Kevin Smith's series of films.
- WacArnold's, the typical McDonald's clone seen in Chappelle's Show.
- WcDonald's in Cowboy Bebop, InuYasha, and various other anime.
- McDowell's, a McDonald's clone in the Eddie Murphy film, Coming to America.
- Mega Meaty Meat, seen on Teen Titans.
- Weenie Burger in Tiny Toon Adventures.
- Krusty Krab, the fast-food restaurant where SpongeBob SquarePants works and home of the Krabby Patty.
- Doublemeat Palace is the fast-food resturant where Buffy Summers works in the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- Kentucky Schreit Ficken (literally: Kentucky Screams Fuck) was the fast-food restaurant in many sketches of the German comedy show RTL Samstag Nacht
- Circus Burger, Where Reese once worked on Malcolm in the Middle.
- Clown Dog is featured in the movie Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead as a teenager's vocational nightmare.
Fast-food chains which have disappeared
- Burger Chef [http://web.archive.org/web/20030425145203/http://www.burgerchef.com] (link from a former site located at the Internet Archive)
- Burghy: incorporated in McDonald's Corporation Italia
- Doggy Diner: San Francisco based chain of diner style fast food restaurants. Last one went out of business in 1996. The giant fiberglass cartoon dachshund head from the last store was recently made a San Francisco Historical Monument.
- Georgie Pie
- Gino's Hamburgers: East Coast regional chain sold in 1982 to Marriott International which became Roy Rogers Family Restaurants.
- Griff's Hamburger's
- Naugles: merged with Del Taco in 1988.
- Pup 'N' Taco: bought by Taco Bell in 1984.
- Red Barn: burger and fried chicken chain in California and the US east coast. Had television and print advertisements starring puppets that were close in design to those on Sesame Street. Chain vanished in the mid to late 70's. Many of their barn-like structures, now housing independent fast-food restaurants, still remain in the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere.
- Hot 'n Now
Corporations
- Yum! Brands, Inc. (a spin-off of PepsiCo) owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Long John Silver's, A&W, and Pizza Hut
See also
- Fast food
- List of restaurant chains
- List of reference tables
- Slow Food
- Cuisine
- McDonaldization
- Eric Schlosser: Fast Food Nation (Houghton Mifflin, 2002, hardcover, 288 pages) (ISBN 0395977894)
- [http://www.googul.net/modules/zmagazine/article.php?articleid=16 Eat-Out Choice At Home]
- Super Size Me: Morgan Spurlock http://www.supersizeme.com/
Category:Lists of companies by industry
Category:Types of restaurants
-
1941
:For the movie, see 1941 (film)
1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar).
Events
January-February
- January 6 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.
- January 10 - Lend-Lease is introduced into the U.S. Congress.
- January 19 - British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.
- January 21 - World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.
- January 22 - World War II: British troops capture Tobruk from the Italians.
- January 23 - Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- February 3 - World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
- February 4 - World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
- February 11 - World War II: Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli.
- February 19 - The start of the "three nights' Blitz" over Swansea, South Wales. Over these three nights of intensive bombing, which lasted a total of 13 hours and 48 minutes, Swansea town centre was almost completely obliterated by the 896 High Explosive bombs employed by the Luftwaffe. A total of 397 casualties and 230 deaths were reported. The Three nights Blitz ended in the early hours of February 22.
March
- March 1 - World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact thus joining the Axis powers.
- March 1 - W47NV begins operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station.
- March 1 - Arthur L. Bristol becomes Rear Admiral for the U.S. Navy's Support Force, Atlantic Fleet
- March 11 - World War II: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
- March 17 - In Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- March 17 - British Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin, calls for women to fill vital jobs
- March 22 - Washington's Grand Coulee Dam begins to generate electricity.
- March 25 - World War II: Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Vienna joins the Axis powers
- March 27 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii and begins to study the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor.
- March 29 - World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan - Off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean, British naval forces defeat those of Italy sinking five warships. Battle started on March 27.
April
- April 6 - World War II: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece.
- April 17 - World War II: Yugoslav Royal Army capitulates.
- April 21 - World War II: Greece capitulates. British troops withdraw to Crete.
- April 27 - World War II: German troops enter Athens.
- April - Russia and Japan sign a neutrality pact.
May
neutrality pact
- May 1 - Breakfast cereal Cheerios is introduced as CheeriOats by General Mills
- May 1 - Orson Welles' film, Citizen Kane, premieres in New York City
- May 5 - Emperor Haile Selassie enters Addis Ababa, which had been liberated from Italian forces; this date has been since commemorated as Liberation Day in Ethiopia.
- May 6 - At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO Show.
- May 9 - World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the British Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.
- May 10 - World War II: The United Kingdom's House of Commons is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
- May 10 - World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland claiming to be on a peace mission.
- May 20 - World War II: Battle of Crete - Germany launches airborne invasion of Crete.
- May 21 - World War II: 950 miles off the coast of Brazil, the freighter SS Robin Moor becomes the first United States ship sunk by a German U-boat.
- May 24 - World War II: In the North Atlantic, the German battleship Bismarck sinks the HMS Hood killing all but three crewman on what was the pride of the Royal Navy.
- May 26 - World War II: In the North Atlantic, Fairey Swordfish aircraft from the carrier HMS Ark Royal fatally cripple the German battleship Bismarck in torpedo attack.
- May 27 - World War II: President Roosevelt proclaims an "unlimited national emergency."
- May 27 - World War II: German battleship Bismarck is sunk in North Atlantic killing 2,300.
June
- June 1 - World War II: Allies evacuate Crete.
- June 8 - World War II: Allies invade Syria and Lebanon.
- June 9 - World War II: Finland initiate mobilization and put some units under German command.
- June 14 - Mass deportations by Soviet Union authorities take place in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- June 22 - World War II: Germany attacks the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa
- June 25 - World War II: Finland attacked by the Soviet Union seeks the opportunity of revenge in the Continuation War.
July-August
- July 4 - Mass murder of Polish scientists and writers, committed by German troops in captured Polish city of Lwów.
- July 5 - World War II: German troops reach the Dnipro River.
- July 5-19 - War between Peru and Ecuador
- July 7 - World War II: American forces land in Iceland to forestall an invasion by the Nazis.
- July 13 - World War II - Montenegro starts the first popular uprising in Europe against the Axis Powers.
- July 26 - World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indo-China, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States.
- July 31 - Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS general Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question."
- August - Formation of the Political Warfare Executive in the United Kingdom
- August 1 - The first jeep is produced
- August 6 - 6-year-old Elaine Esposito goes to an appendix operation in Florida and lapses into a coma. She dies 1978, still in coma.
- August 18 - Adolf Hitler orders a temporary halt to Nazi Germany's systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and handicapped due to protests. However, graduates of the T-4 Euthanasia Program were then transferred to concentration camps, where they continued in their trade.
September-October
- September 6 - Holocaust: The requirement to wear the Star of David with the word "Jew" inscribed, is extended to all Jews over the age of 6 in German-occupied areas.
- September 8 - World War II: Siege of Leningrad begins - German forces begin a siege against the Soviet Union's second-largest city, Leningrad. Stalin orders the Volga Deutsche deported to Siberia.
- September 16 - Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran is forced to resign in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran under pressure from the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.
- October 2 - World War II: Operation Typhoon - Germany begins an all-out offensive against Moscow.
- October 8 - World War II: In their invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany reaches the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.
- October 21 - World War II: Germans rampage in Yugoslavia, killing thousands of civilians
- October 24 - Franz von Werra disappears during a flight over North Sea
- October 30 - World War II: Franklin Delano Roosevelt approves US$1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
- October 31 - After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.
- October 31 - World War II: The destroyer USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 United States Navy sailors.
November
United States Navy
- November 6 - World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin addresses the Soviet Union for only the second time during his three-decade rule (the first time was earlier that year on July 2). He states that even though 350,000 troops were killed in German attacks so far, that the Germans have lost 4.5 million soldiers (a gross exaggeration) and that Soviet victory was near.
- November 12 - World War II: Battle of Moscow: Temperatures around Moscow drop to −12 °C and the Soviet Union launches ski troops for the first time against the freezing German forces near the city.
- November 13 - World War II: The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal is hit by German U-boat U-81
- November 14 - World War II: HMS Ark Royal capsizes and sinks, having been torpedoed by U 81.
- November 17 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - Joseph Grew, the United States ambassador to Japan, cables the State Department that Japan had plans to launch an attack against Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (his cable was ignored).
- November 19 - World War II: The Australian war cruiser HMAS Sydney sinks off the coast of Western Australia, killing 645 sailors.
- November 21 - The radio program King Biscuit Time is broadcast for the first time (it would later become the longest running daily radio broadcast in history and the most famous live blues radio program).
- November 24 - World War II: The United States grants Lend-Lease to the Free French.
- November 26 - US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States (this partly reversed a 1939 action by Roosevelt that changed the celebration of Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November).
- November 26 - World War II: The Hull note ultimatum is delivered to Japan by the United States.
- November 26 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - A fleet of six aircraft carriers commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo leaves Hitokapu Bay for Pearl Harbor under strict radio silence.
- November 27 - A group of young men stop traffic on highway US 99 south of Yreka, California, handing out fliers proclaiming the establishment of the State of Jefferson.
- November 27 - World War II: Battle of Moscow - Germans reach their closest approach to Moscow. They are subsequently frozen by cold weather and attacks by the Soviets.
December
- December 1 - World War II: Former mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia, and the director of the Office of Civilian Defense, sign an order creating the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) as the civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (in April 1943 the CAP was placed under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Air Force).
- December 4 - State of Jefferson declared in Yreka, California, with judge John Childs as a governor
- December 7, December 6 (in Japan standard time) - Japanese Navy launches a surprise attack consisting of two full regiments on the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor, thus drawing the United States into World War II.
- December 8 - World War II: The United States officially declares war on Japan.
- December 11 - World War II: Germany declares war on the United States.
- December 12 - Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan. United States seizes French ship Normandie.
- December 13 - Sweden's low temperature record with -53° C was set in a village within Vilhelmina Municipality.
- December 25 - World War II: British and Canadians are defeated by the Japanese at Hong Kong.
- December 27 - World War II: British Commandos raid the Norwegian port of Vaagso, causing Hitler to reinforce the garrison and defenses
- December 28 - World War II: starts the Operation Anthropoid (the assassination of Heydrich in Prague).
Unknown dates
- John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford E. Berry developed the Atanasoff Berry Computer.
- Ives and Stilwell prove that ions radiate at frequencies affected by their motion.
- In Sweden, Victor Hasselblad forms the Hasselblad camera company.
- The Pinnacle Commune, a Rastafarian community, is destroyed by Jamaican authorities
- Indochina Communist party, led by Ho Chi Minh, combines with Nationalist party to form the Vietminh.
- Meet John Doe is brought out
Ongoing events
- Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) (which may or may not be a part of World War II, depending on who's telling the tale)
- World War II (1939-1945)
Births
January
- January 3 - Van Dyke Parks, American composer, producer, and musician
- January 5 - Miyazaki Hayao, Japanese film maker
- January 7 - Iona Brown, British violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
- January 7 - John E. Walker, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- January 8 - Graham Chapman, British comedian (d. 1989)
- January 9 - Joan Baez, American singer and activitist
- January 14 - Faye Dunaway, American actress
- January 14 - Milan Kučan, Slovenian politician and statesman
- January 15 - Captain Beefheart, American singer
- January 18 - David Ruffin, American singer (d. 1991)
- January 21 - Plácido Domingo, Spanish-born tenor
- January 21 - Richie Havens, American musician
- January 26 - Scott Glenn, American actor
- January 26 - Henry Jaglom, English director
- January 30 - Dick Cheney, Vice President of the United States
- January 31 - Dick Gephardt, American politician
February
- February 5 - Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- February 6 - Howard Phillips, founding member of the United States Constitution Party
- February 8 - Nick Nolte, American actor
- February 10 - Michael Apted, English director
- February 13 - Sigmar Polke, German painter
- February 16 - Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea and self-proclaimed raghead
- February 17 - Gene Pitney, American singer
- February 19 - David Gross, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- February 20 - Buffy Sainte-Marie, American singer
- February 26 - Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)
- February 27 - Paddy Ashdown, British politician
March-May
- March 4 - Adrian Lyne, English director
- March 5 - Nona Gaprindashvili, Georgian chess player
- March 6 - Willie Starge | | |